Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

I wanted to make something special for my daughter’s 2^nd birthday.  People just expect cake or cupcakes at a party but I wanted to create something people would not expect.  I’d been craving Strawberry Shortcake for a while and since strawberries are in season this time of year it seemed like the perfect choice.  But how was I going to make this traditional dessert, vegan.  That was my mission and I successfully completed it.  It doesn’t just look amazing it, tastes amazing.

What You’ll Need:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 Tbs. baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

4 Tbs. cold vegan margarine (we like Earth Balance), cut into small pieces

2 Tbs. sugar

3/4 cup cold soy milk or almond milk

1 pint strawberries

Cashew Crème (recipe follows) or other vegan whipping cream

What You’ll Do:

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Put flour, baking powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl and mix.

Cut the vegan margarine in small pieces into the flour mixture.

Using your hands work in the butter into the flour mixture.

When the mixture has become the texture of sand it is ready to add the soy or almond milk.  Mix large spoon.

Place the dough on a lightly floured workspace and gently kneed to a soft consistency. You may need a little more flour if it is too wet.

Now roll your dough to a 3/4-1 inch thickness and cut out your biscuits, should make 10-12 medium sized biscuits Place them on a baking sheet lined with baking parchment and bake 10-15 minutes or until lightly golden.

Meanwhile, clean the strawberries, set a few aside for garnish. Chop the remaining strawberries.  No need to add sugar to the chopped strawberries, they are naturally sweet.

When the biscuits are ready, remove from the oven and allow them to cool. 

Assemble your shortcakes by slicing each biscuit in half and placing in on an individual plate. Place a generous amount of strawberries on the bottom piece of shortcake. Add the part and top with Cashew Crème or other vegan whipping cream or vegan ice “cream”.

Garnish with sliced berries.

Cashew Crème

What You’ll Need:

4 1/2 cups raw cashews, soaked for about an hour and rinsed
1 lemon juiced
Pinch sea salt
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup agave
1 1/3 cup water (+/-)

What You’ll Do:

Blend Cashew Creme ingredients in Vitamix until smooth and creamy. Taste and adjust as needed. Remember that salt and lemon juice bring out sweetness. I know it sounds counter-intuitive, but if you need it a bit sweeter, try adding a tiny bit more sea salt or lemon juice.

Braised Red Cabbage and Apples with Dijon Mustard Marinated Tempeh

I had this dish at Holy Cow, a local restaurant here in Eugene. It was so beautiful and delicious that I attempted to recreate it. It turned out great! The flavors are simple yet amazing. It does take a bit of time, but it’s completely worth it.

What you’ll need:

1 garlic clove, smashed
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 large head of red cabbage (about 2 pounds), cored and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces
1-2 Gala or Fuji apple, cored and cut into 1/2-inch cubes
1/2 cup unfiltered apple cider
2 whole allspice (optional), crushed
1 1/2 tablespoons apple-cider vinegar

For Mashed Potatoes

Potatoes
Soy Milk
Earth Balance
Salt and Pepper

What you’ll do:

Cook garlic in butter in a 12-inch heavy skillet over medium heat, stirring, 1 minute. Add cabbage, apple, cider, allspice (if using), 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper and cook, covered, stirring occasionally, until cabbage is tender, 15 to 18 minutes.

Add vinegar and cook, uncovered, stirring occasionally, until liquid has evaporated, 2 to 3 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

In the meantime you can prepare you mashed potatoes. No recipe necessary (I assume).

Dijon Mustard Marinated Tempeh

What you’ll need:

½ pound plain tempeh
½ cup apple juice or locally pressed apple cider
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon tamari
2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
2 teaspoons raw apple cider vinegar

What you’ll do:

Cut tempeh into 4 even rectangles. Then slice each one in half horizontally, re-stack each half and cut into triangles. Repeat with the 3 remaining pieces.

Place tempeh triangles into a baking dish in a single layer

Place the apple juice, Dijon mustard, tamari, oil and vinegar into a bowl and whisk until emulsified. Pour over tempeh and allow to marinate for 30 minutes or longer.

Pre heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Bake tempeh for 30 to 45 minutes or until the marinade has been absorbed and the top is golden brown.

To assemble:

Place a scoop or two of the mashed potatoes in the center of the plate. Spoon the braised cabbage and apples around the outside of the mashed potatoes. Add the tempeh triangles into the mashed potatoes. Your guest will be so impressed with the artistic look and delicious flavors.

Apricot Chutney

After a recent weekly trip to a new favourite restaurant in Sofia, a couple of friends decided that I needed to figure out how to make the Apricot Chutney to accompany my Chapatis when preparing Indian meals at home. So, here it is…

What You'll Need:

Dried Apricots - 450 grams (about 16 oz), finely diced
Garam Masala - 1 tsp
Honey - 1 1/4 cups
Apple Cider Vinegar - 2 cups
Fresh Root Ginger - 1 tsp, grated
Salt - 1 tsp
Golden Raisins - 1/2 cup
Water - 2 cups

What You’ll Do:

Put the dried apricots and Garam Masala into a medium pot and add the honey, vinegar, ginger, salt, raisins and water. Mix thoroughly with a spoon.

Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

When the chutney has thickened to a fairly stiff consistency, spoon it into 2-3 clean jars and leave it to cool.

Store it in the refrigerator.

J and J Pad Thai

Jaime has always been great at experimenting with Asian foods, so when she told me we’d be making Pad Thai for dinner - I wasn’t surprised. The end result was incredible! Consequently, Pad Thai has turned into a family favourite. It’s so simple and pleasing. So if you’re one of those individuals who always orders Pad Thai when dining out, or you just love Asian recipes, then this one is for you!

What You’ll Need:

8 oz. dried Pad Thai rice noodles, OR enough for 2 people (linguini-width)
Tofu cut into cubes and fried

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 medium onion, finely chopped

Chinese cabbage or Bok Choy, roughly chopped

Broccoli, chopped

2-3 carrots, chopped
2 cups bean sprouts
2 green onions, sliced
Fresh coriander/cilantro
1/4 cup ground (or well-chopped) peanuts (OR substitute cashews or slivered almonds)

PAD THAI SAUCE:

3/4 Tbsp. tamarind paste (available at Asian/East Indian food stores)

1/4 cup hot water
3 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce, we like Braggs Liquid Amino (or gluten-free soy sauce)
1/2 to 2 tsp. chili sauce (to taste), OR 1-2 fresh red chilies, minced
3 Tbsp. brown sugar or 2 palm kernels
3 Tbsp. smooth peanut butter

OTHER:

3-4 Tbsp. oil for stir-frying 2-3 Tbsp. vegetable stock
lime wedges for serving

What You’ll Do:

I like to make my sauce first so it’s ready when everything else has been cooked. Start by dissolving the tamarind paste in the hot water. Add the other sauce ingredients and stir well to dissolve the sugar. Add as much or as little chili sauce as you prefer, but don't skimp on the sugar (you’ll need it to balance the sourness of the tamarind). Reserve.

Bring a pot of water to a boil and remove from heat. Soak noodles in the hot water for 6-10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water. Tip: Noodles are ready to drain when they are soft enough to eat, but still firm and a little bit "crunchy". The noodles will finish cooking when they are fried.

Place your wok (or large frying pan) over medium-high heat. Add 1-2 Tbsp. oil plus the garlic and onions. Stir-fry 1 minute to release the fragrance. Add broccoli and carrots and cook for 3-5 minutes.

Add the Bok Choy plus the stock. Stir-fry 2 minutes, or until Bok Choy is bright green and slightly softened. Add fried tofu.

Now add the drained noodles and 1/3 of the sauce. Stir-fry everything together for 1 minute using 2 utensils and a tossing motion (like tossing a salad).

Add a little more sauce and continue stir-frying in the same way for 1-2 more minutes, or until the noodles begin to soften and become sticky. Reduce heat to medium if noodles begin to stick and burn.

Add the bean sprouts plus the remaining sauce. Stir-fry to incorporate everything together for 1-3 more minutes, or until noodles are done. Noodles are cooked to perfection when they are soft but still deliciously chewy and a little bit sticky.

To serve, scoop noodles onto a serving platter. Sprinkle with the green onion, coriander/cilantro, and ground nuts. Add wedges of fresh-cut lime on the side. Serve immediately and ENJOY!

Vegan Waffles

(Courtesey of TripWow TripAdvisor)

Why are you still buying frozen waffles when you can make them yourself? It really is quick and easy. Short on time? Then make ‘em a weekend tradition. You can look forward to fresh homemade waffles weekly and then freeze the extras to pull out when you are in a rush. Just eight ingredients and a few stirs of the whisk and you’re ready to go!

What You'll Need:
3 teaspoon of Energizer Egg Replacers mixed with 4 tablespoons water, this is equal to 2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 3/4 cups soy milk

1/2 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon sugar

4 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

What You'll Do:
Preheat waffle iron. Beat egg replacers in large bowl with a whisk until well mixed. Mix in flour, soy milk, oil, sugar, baking powder, salt and vanilla, just until smooth.

Spray preheated waffle iron with non-stick cooking spray. Pour mix onto hot waffle iron. Cook until golden brown. Serve hot.

You can purchase a waffle iron just about anywhere, Target, Bed, Bath and Beyond, Macy's, their everywhere. Prices range from about $20 - $150. Mine was an engagement gift purchased from William-Sonoma over 14 years ago and still works great. Thank you Gulie!

Sweet Rice and Mangos

Recently we had some new friends over and I wanted to make something special for our Asian themed evening. My son wanted Sweet Rice with Bananas (yes, we’ll get that recipe up soon) but I wanted something a bit more refreshing. So I decided to replace the bananas with mangos. I switched the Banana Sweet Sticky Rice recipe up a bit and came up with this light and sweet delectable treat. It so simple and delicious, I just know you are going to love it as much as we did.

What You’ll Need:

1 cups uncooked sweet rice 2 cups water
1 can (13.5 oz) of coconut milk (cream and all)
¼ cup sugar
2 mangos, peeled and sliced

What You’ll Do:

Combine the rice and coconut milk in a rice cooker and cook. Should only take about 10-15 to cook.

Mix the sugar into the hot rice. Portion the rice into 4 bowls. Top with mango slices. Enjoy this sweet refreshing treat. Your guests will rave over it, mine did.

Granola

We're excited to share this week's recipe with you, which is a guest post from my friend Sarah-Kate.  We hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 

-Jessie

Baking granola makes me think of my mom. She made this recipe often when we were kids, one of her many gifts of homemade, wholesome food while I was growing up. When I moved out on my own I asked her for the recipe, and have adapted it a bit over the years. I make it quite often and eat it almost every morning with yogurt. The great thing about granola is you can make it differently every time, depending on your mood and what you have in the cupboard: substitute whatever kinds of seeds, nuts & dried fruit you like best. It’s always healthy and delicious.



What you’ll need:

Combine in a large bowl:
7 cups thick rolled oats
1 cup raw hulled sunflower seeds
½ cup raw hulled pumpkin seeds
½ cup unhulled sesame seeds
½ cup wheat germ
½ cup flaxseed meal
1 cup sliced almonds
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 – 1½ cups diced dried fruit (my favorites are apples, apricots, dates, and cranberries (which you can leave whole) – if you use raisins, add them after the granola is baked)
½ teaspoon salt
2 generous teaspoons cinnamon

Combine in a roasting pan:
¼ - 1/3 cup safflower oil (or any other vegetable oil will work)
½ cup water
½ cup honey
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Put roasting pan with wet ingredients into the oven at 350 degrees for about 3-4 minutes. Take it out and pour in the mixed dry ingredients. Stir well until the dry ingredients are evenly coated.
Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, stirring from the bottom every 7 minutes or so. Cool, then enjoy!