Goodbye, summer.

For Thursday: use three of the following: apples, cranberries, eggplant,cream cheese.

I've been dying to make a dessert, so I obviously went with the apples, cranberries, and cream cheese. Sorry, eggplant. Another day, maybe.

I wanted to do something cheesecake-y for sure, but an apple cranberry cheesecake sounded odd. I associate apples and cranberries with crisps and crumbles; hearty and fragrant treats that go great with the chilly weather we welcomed to Minnesota this week. So, I combined the two for something that turned out a lot more elegant than I'd envisioned. Despite all the sugar, it's not too sweet.

Cranberry Apple Cheesecake Bars

makes 12 servings

Fruit layer:

2 apples (I used Fujis), peeled, cored, and diced

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp dried ginger

1 tsp lemon juice

2 tbsp brown sugar

1 tbsp cornstarch

1/4 water

Crust:
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp lemon zest

1/2 tsp baking powder

pinch salt

1 stick (1/2 cup) vegan margarine (cold)

1 Ener-G or flax egg

1/4 cup chopped pecans

Cheese layer:
8 oz tub vegan cream cheese at room temperature

3 tbsp vegan sour cream or soy yogurt

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp cornstarch

2 tbsp lemon juice

1 tsp almond or vanilla extract

Heat oven to 350°, spray an 8x8 brownie pan with cooking spray.

In a saucepan, combine the ingredients for the fruit layer. Cook and stir over medium heat for about three minutes, just until it starts to bubble. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, lemon zest, baking powder, salt, and egg replacer. Cut in the margarine until it resembles pea-sized crumbs. Scoop out about 3/4 cup of the flour mixture, fold in the chopped pecans, and set aside. Press the rest of it lightly into prepared baking pan. 

On low speed, mix the cheese layer ingredients until smooth. Spread over the crust. Top with the fruit mixture, and spread evenly. Loosely scatter the rest of the crust mixture with the pecans over the top. 

Bake for 45-50 minutes. The crust should be light golden brown. Cool completely before cutting and serving.

Back of the box, someday?

For tomorrow: Your recipe must include at least three of the following ingredients: green beans, hazelnuts, mustard greens, green bell peppers, and walnuts.

So, I had a different idea using mustard greens (which I can't remember), but I guess the farm that supplies my Whole Foods had a rough season. So,  I went with the peppers, green beans, hazelnuts, and walnuts. If any of my gardening friends have some mustard greens, I'll try to scoop through my memory for that idea. I've had a million ideas since.

I totally want to make these again using red bell peppers. I wanted to for these, but rules is rules. From here on out, this is just a basic recipe to spring from with your own ideas. But, yeah. If Lundberg sees this and, I don't know... wants to put it on a box,  then it's MINE MINE MINE ALL MINE.

Stuffed Peppers
makes 6 stuffed halves

3 bell peppers, halved and scooped of seeds and white stuff (use the ones with four bumps on the bottom- also known as the females-because you can fit more stuffing in there)
1 box Lundberg's rice mix, prepared (I went with the Garlic and Basil). If you don't get this where you are, leftover seasoned rice (about two cups) should do the trick.
1 cup assorted veggies of choice, chopped (I used green beans, onion, and some frozen peas and carrots)
1/2 cup vegan sausage, browned (or favorite burger crumbles, or browned tempeh, etc), if desired
2 tbsp walnuts, chopped and toasted
2 tbsp hazelnuts, chopped and toasted
1/4 cup white wine
pepper to taste
3 tbsp shredded vegan cheese
fresh parsley

Heat oven to 375°

Assuming that you've already prepared the rice, stir in everything but the cheese. Stuff your pepper halves, top with cheese, and wrap loosely in foil. Bake for 25 minutes. Unwrap the peppers and continue baking for another 5 or so minutes, so the cheese can melt and brown a little. Remove from oven and cool for a minute before moving to plates. Garnish with a little reserved chopped toasted nuts and fresh parsley.

Beets me.

Tuesday's challenge: Use at least two of the following: walnuts, beets, and bean sprouts.

Beets. Ugh. It had to be beets. Luckily, this turned out delicious.

With Gardein meatloaf, which is also yum.

Pomegranate Glazed Roasted Vegetables with Walnuts
makes four servings 

1 medium sized golden beet (I used one a little larger than a baseball)
10-15 brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved lengthwise
1-2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chopped garlic
1 tbsp pomegranate glaze (I got mine at Trader Joe's. If not handy, pomegranate molasses or balsamic vinegar would work)
2 tsp dried thyme
1/3 cup  toasted walnuts
salt and freshly ground black pepper

Heat oven to 400°. Scrub the beet, but don't peel it. Rub a little olive oil on it, sprinkle with some of the thyme, wrap in foil and roast for an hour. Let cool, then peel the beet, and dice it. While the beet is cooling, toss the sprouts with the olive oil until just lightly coated, but not swimming in it. Roast in a shallow pan for 20 minutes, then toss lightly with the garlic, thyme, and the diced beet. Drizzle the glaze over the vegetables. Roast for another 10-15 minutes. Stir in the walnuts (that you just toasted yourself, riiiight?) Salt and pepper to taste.


 P.S. You ought to check out Suzie V. Homemaker's answer to this challenge. I may be a beet fan after all.

Mystery Box Day 2: Edamame Burgers

Today's challenge: Three of these four for Monday: celery, sunflower seeds, scallions, edamame.

These turned out DELICIOUS. 

Edamame Burgers with Sunflower Aioli
makes 4 large patties

2 cups frozen edamame, thawed 
1/4 cup hummus
1 tsp dried dill
dash salt
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
About 1 slice of bread's worth of crumbs
1 heaping tbsp golden flaxseed meal

Put all of this in the food processor, and combine until somewhat smooth. Stir in:
4 scallions, thinly sliced

Heat 2 tbsp olive oil in a cast iron pan. Fry the patties, about 2-3 minutes each side, until golden brown. Move to paper towels, so they don't get so oily.

Aioli:
1 cup vegan mayo
zest of 1 small lemon
2 garlic cloves, crushed
dash salt
3 tbsp raw sunflower seeds
olive oil (maybe 2 tbsp)

Blend until totally smooth, adding a stream of olive oil until it reaches the perfect consistency. Store in the fridge until ready to use.

Put whatever you want on your burger: tomato, onion, sprouts. Slather with aioli. Grub. 

Mystery MoFo!

Ok, first I'll address that I didn't post yesterday. I had spent most of the day shopping, and then went out to eat with a bunch of vegans.  I inhaled my banh mi before taking pictures. Sorry!

When I was preparing for this year's MoFo, I thought it would be fun to have a Mystery Box Challenge like they do on Master Chef. I found a website that spits out lists of random ingredients, and decided to make a week of it. It got even more exciting when Chelsea from Suzie V. Homemaker joined in!

Today's Mystery Box Challenge: Use at least two of the following ingredients: asparagus, avocado, and lima beans.

The prawns I used are from the Asian market. I just sauteed them in Earth Balance, garlic, jalapeno,  and white wine before dredging in flour and chopped macadamia nuts, and broiling for a few minutes. The real star is the salad.

Succotash Salad
makes four servings

Corn from 3 medium ears,  or two cups of frozen corn, thawed.
2 cups lima beans, fresh or frozen and thawed
1/2 lb asparagus,  trimmed and cut into 1/2" pieces
1 sweet red bell pepper, diced
1/2 medium red onion, finely diced
1/2 jalapeno pepper, minced

Dressing:
1 avocado, peeled and pitted
1/2 cup packed cilantro
juice of one lime
2 tbsp olive oil
1 clove garlic, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Coconut bacon (I use Fettle Vegan's recipe, or there's the Phoney Baloney stuff)

Blanch the corn, asparagus, and lima beans if using fresh.  Set aside to cool.

In a food processor, combine all of the dressing ingredients. Process until smooth and creamy. Combine with vegetables. Serve garnished with coconut bacon and cilantro.

Burrito night!

So, today is payday. But, since I had to work today, I didn't get a chance to do a thorough grocery trip.  I was planning to make something out of my new Non -Dairy Evolution cookbook, but apparently soy lecithin and lactic acid powder aren't readily available in town. Making my own vegan buttermilk, butter, and creme fraiche will have to wait.

So, that leaves what I did grab at the store, which was some Beyond Meat chick'n strips and some Daiya cheddar shreds.  When I got home from work at 10:45pm, my brain could only come up with burritos.

Another super easy lunch or dinner.  All you need is some warmed refried beans or black beans, tortillas, some  vegan meats if you'd like,  leftover rice, and some sauteed onion.

Top with lettuce, vegan cheese, and salsa. Maybe some avocado and Tofutti sour cream if you have some.

Roll it up, and stuff it in your face!

Cheap and Good Bacteria

It's been a rough couple of years for vegan yogurt. First, Whole Soy & Co shut down production as they built a new facility. Wildwood disappeared from shelves locally, without so much as a goodbye. So Delicious released a coconut yogurt,  but it was sweetened.  Whole Soy came back, and after a few gritty batches, became a luxury purchase at $1.99 a serving. Also, still no unsweetened plain. I assumed I'd never be able to make my sweet potato chili again. Then,  Chelsea over at Suzie V. Homemaker told me how easy it was to make my own.

I ordered a yogurt machine online (the EuroCuisine one was a steal at $14.95), a box of vegan yogurt starter (I ordered this one, and now they've started carrying it at Whole Foods), and headed to Trader Joe's for soy milk. I read that it was best to use soy milk with very little added to it; especially without carageenan, because it may hinder the culture process.  Westsoy soy milks are purely soy beans and water, and maybe vanilla. The Trader Joe's brand organic, plain, unsweetened soy milk is the same, and a steal at $1.69 for a quart in an aseptic box. I got one of those, and a quart of Westsoy vanilla.

I did entirely too much work for my first batch;  heating the milk, cooling it, whisking in the starter, and finally breaking my candy thermometer. Then Chelsea pointed out that I could skip the heating part, since the milk was in the aseptic container. Also, no cornstarch, agar, pectin, etc was needed to thicken. A good 8-10 hours in the yogurt machine made seven little jars of soygurt, for a fraction of what it would cost to buy it already made.  Once the jars are cooled, mix in fruit, maple syrup, lemon juice,  or whatever you like in your yogurt.  Use plain for recipes, dressings, and vegan cheeses.