Vegan for a Weekend - Part II

For this post, I was inspired by a combination of things
1) dish that my friend (who is doing the Raw Diet) brought to a potluck recently.  She had made this and pressed it into a big pancake/plate and served that way.
2) "Bliss Balls" as found at The Market on Yates

Both things are a combination of fruit and nuts, blended together and pressed or rolled into balls.

Here is what I put into mine (It is very approximate):


Raw Vegan Nut Balls 


2 handfuls  Whole Almonds
1-2 handfuls Walnut Pieces
1-2 handfuls Pecan Halves
1 handful Hazelnuts
1 dozen Fresh Dates (remove pits) (ours tasted a little "drunk")
1-2 handfuls Dried Cranberries
1-2 handfuls Raisins
1 Tbsp Agave Nectar (Honey or Maple Syrup acceptable also)
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
4-5 Tbsp Shredded Coconut (To roll formed balls in)

1. In a food processor combine nuts  (Not all types are necessary, use what
    you have and/or can eat) until ground (think finely chopped, not flour).
2. Add in dates, cranberries, and raisins.  Process until all combined. (Will
    start to stick together)
3. Remove from processor and put in bowl,  Add in Agave and Vanilla,
    Mix by hand until all combined and formed into one mass.
4. Form into small balls
5. Roll formed balls in the shredded coconut.  
6. Place on parchment paper and refrigerate if desired.

What it should look like in "Step 3"

Formed Balls -Pre Coconut (Step 4)

Rolling in Coconut for Step 5

Step 6

Vegan for a Weekend - Part I

Being that it is the end of Summer, I decided that I would do some Vegan experimentation... Hey I can't have dairy in my baking anymore so how far off is it to go fully Vegan in a few baking attempts! 

The First "Experiment":  Vegan  Cheesecake

I don't know about all you fellow Dairy Free Eaters, But personally I have really been missing out on Cheesecake.  (Prior to going G.F. and D.F. I was on a huge cheesecake kick and experimenting with many different flavours etc) So, Yes, I was feeling depressed that I might never eat cheesecake again!

I came across a number of recipes online which included ingredients like "Tofutti Cream Cheese" and other such ingredients,(Which I did not have on hand, nor could I find at the store). Then I stumbled across a very simple looking recipe which used "Extra Firm Tofu" which I know you can get almost ANYWHERE so I was very excited to give it a try!  

Here it is:

(These recipes are for 1- 9" cheesecake, I made it and split into 4 small pans) 


Crust:
2 cups fine ground Dairy-Free/Gluten-Free Graham Cracker Crumbs  
                                                    (I found them at Safeway) 
1/3 cup Agave Nectar or Maple Syrup 
1/3 cup Grape-seed Oil (Canola Oil is also ok)
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 pinch of sea salt. 


1. Preheat oven to 375'
2. Oil or grease pan/dishes and set aside. 
3. Blend ingredients in food processor until you achieve rough crumbs. 
4. Press into pan with fingers and bake for 7-10 minutes (about 10-12 worked 
    better for me) 
5. Cool on a rack before using(I cheated and put mine in the fridge to cool while 
    I made the filling)


Filling:
2  (12oz) packages of Extra Firm Tofu, ~ drained and cubed
1 cup White Sugar
1 tsp Pure Vanilla Extract
1/4 tsp Salt 


1. Preheat (or turn down) Oven to 350' 
2. In food processor, combine above ingredients and blend until smooth.  Then, If 
    desired, separate into 4 smaller bowls for flavouring.
3. Add in desired flavours.   
    I used as follows: 
    Strawberry flavour = 3-4 tsp of Strawberry Jelly from homemade jam. 
    Lemon flavour = 1-2 tbsp lemon juice (depending on preferred strength), and 
    1/4 lemon rind grated. 
    Blackberry flavour = 3 tsp homemade blackberry jam
    Almond-Rose flavour = 1.5 tsp pure rose water, 1 tsp almond extract, and 1-2  
    tsp almond milk. 
4. If needed for smoother consistency, feel free to add almond or soy milk (1 tsp at 
    a time).
5. Once filling is blended, pour into crusts and bake in oven until slightly browned. 
    20-30 minutes depending on oven (Mine was about 24 mins) 

Clockwise from top left:  Strawberry, Lemon, Blackberry, Almond-Rose.  Pre-baking.

Post-Baking.

The Verdict on the finished product was very good.  Our Vegan friends were especially pleased, while the regular dairy eaters liked it, but perhaps still preferred the original "real" cheese cake.
My Uncle actually said it was "The Best Tofu he has ever had! "

My only suggestion and what I will do next time, is go for some stronger flavours....


Enjoy!

Cupcakes for SALE!

Eeek! I am about to head out to the store for ingredients for another batch of the flourless cupcakes (Not mini ones)... That will be available for purchase TOMORROW ONLY at Ma Leos Cafe in Sidney!!!
This will basically be a trial to see how the customers like them..... So if you are in the area please come and get one (or two).   Will also be trying a meringue buttercream icing !

VERY LIMITED QUANTITIES WILL BE AVAILABLE!

Stay tuned for pictures and recipes!!

~A.

Pre-Icing

Rice Flour Gold Mine!!

So I don't know about all you other GF people out there, But I know when I first learned that this would be my new diet,  I had a bit of a freak out!  The cost of the different GF flour's out there REALLY adds up!

Cheap, Delicious fresh produce found in China Town

This weekend while out with my son and husband, we made a discovery that just made my day!
While in China Town to pick up some fresh produce, we decided to look and see what kind of baking supplies they had in this one particular store... and to my surprise, RICE flour for umm $0.79 a bag!! (400g per bag I believe) This sure beats the $3-5 a bag for some of the better known brand names out there...
Also, They had some other products that I should mention (similarly priced, most expensive item was $1.39 for 400g):  Tapioca starch  (used in some home made flour mixtures), Sweet potato powder, and.... GF Tempura Rice Flour (which includes Recipes for doing meats, vegi's and fruits!).  Here I had thought I would have to live the rest of my GF life without that little weakness of mine!!   Can't wait to try Tempura Fried Banana.... Mmmm!

Additionally I have to say, if you are looking for any type of GF noodles,  China Town is the place to go... So many different varieties (including sweet potato noodles).


My lovely husband decided yesterday that he was going to make us breakfast (and has been making a big effort to cook GF for my sake...)   And so converted a traditional waffle recipe to use rice flour, coconut oil and almond milk instead of the usual dairy products that are used.

Modified Recipe is:

2 + 3/4 cups  White Rice Flour
2 tbsp            GF Baking Powder
1/4 tsp           Sea Salt
2 large           Eggs
1 + 1/2 cups  Almond Milk
1/2 cup          Coconut Oil


He just added them all into the blender and turned it on,  Modified the flour/milk to get the right consistency... It was a little runnier then the normal waffle recipe but made a VERY delicious waffle, with a nice coconut flavour.
Served with heated up blackberries and pure maple syrup.

Cupcakes anybody?

So I have to admit, I have never really been a big fan of cupcakes  (I know, I know,  crazy because EVERYBODY loves them right now and all these specialty cupcake stores are opening etc etc etc.)  I guess I always found they were too "cake-y" and/or had too much sugar for my tastes.
Last week I found a recipe for a flourless chocolate cake at Elanas Pantry (one of my favourite inspirational websites for going Gluten Free).  Now I had previously tried a flourless chocolate cake that was made with chickpeas, to which I was told was "too dry" and the chocolate taste in that recipe was bitter... So I have to admit I went into this second version with some skepticism and didn't expect it to have a light, moist texture...Boooooy was I WRONG!  When I made the cake I remembered my husbands suggestion of making a "mini-cake" to sample before serving this creation to people, so I knew what it would taste like....  and this then led me to making a singular cupcake... YUM!

Today I wanted to make some mini cupcakes to take to an event as a gluten free option to share...
I modified Elana's recipe slightly;


3 large  Eggs (Separated)  *(I add extra yolks if  I've been doing other baking, or an extra egg)
1/4 tsp  Sea Salt
1/2 cup Agave Nectar *(Honey, or Pure Maple Syrup are what i have used)
1/4 cup Grape-seed oil
1 cup Mashed Bananas *(she says approx. 2, I usually use 3)
1/2 cup Cocoa Powder


1. In a blender (or food processor), whip egg yolks, agave (honey/maple syrup) and salt on med. for 1-2
    minutes.

2. Add grape-seed oil and bananas (I added them just in chunks today, not previously mashed), blend 1-
    2 minutes

3. Blend in cocoa powder until smooth

4. In a bowl, whip egg whites to stiff peaks

5. Gently fold blender contents into egg whites

6. Insert liners into mini-muffin pans

7. Pour batter into liners (almost to brim)

8. Bake @ 350' for 13-15 minutes until toothpick comes out clean.

9. Cool on rack

10.  Apply icing as desired (VERY tasty without icing)

Today given the fact that we are taking these cupcakes to an event I wanted to make some icing for them.  This one is QUITE the experiment for me but so far it tastes good...

I am going to call this the "Black and Blue (berry) Icing"

Ok I did this mostly by feel as far as ratios, but the icing is an approximate mix of;

3 Tbsp Blackberries (approx.)
1 dozen Blueberries
3 tbsp Coconut Oil (used instead of butter)
2 Eggs  (separate the whites)
2-3 cups Icing Sugar


1. Heat berries in microwave until soft,  then use stick blender and strain to get the juices but not seeds
    (ending up with approx 2 Tbsp of juices)

2. thaw blueberries in microwave until soft and then add into blackberry mixture, blending with stick
    blender until smooth

3. Cream together the coconut oil and icing sugar until smooth, then add in berry mixture

3. In a separate bowl, beat egg whites until stiff, then fold into the sugar/berry mixture.

4. chill to thicken,  once done, put into icing bag and ice cupcakes.

**My first try with this concoction was hmmm a little runny, I have put it on the cupcakes and then put the iced cupcakes into the fridge in hopes that it will harden somewhat.   I do really like the combination of the coconut oil flavour, and the berries...