Pecan-Crusted Vegan Cheeseball

2 Comments

Making a vegan cheeseball might seem like a lot of work, but it’s actually just a quick whizz in the food process. No dairy analogs used here, the flavor comes from nuts, nutritional yeast, and a few seasonings and spices.

Pecan-Crusted Pate:Cheeseball

Pecan-Crusted Cheeseball (vegan)

1 cup almonds
1/2 package extra firm tofu, pressed of excess moisture
1/2 cup (24 g) nutritional yeast flakes
2 1/2 teaspoons (12 g) garlic powder
1 teaspoon (5 g) crushed thyme
1 teaspoon (5 g) dried oregano
Juice from half a lemon
Sea salt and fresh ground pepper to taste
1 cup (143 g) pecans, chopped into pieces

Place almonds in the food processor and whizz until finely ground. Add all remaining ingredients, except for pecans, and blend until smooth. Test for seasonings.

Spread chopped pecans onto a plate. Using your hands, form the almond/ tofu mixture into a ball, then roll in the pecans until coated. Wrap and place in refrigerator until ready to serve. (Overnight is best; you can do all of the steps without the pecans, then do that about an hour before serving).

Serve with vegetable sticks and crackers.

Pecan Pie Teff Porridge

3 Comments

Mmm… pecan pie in a breakfast cereal. Simple and delicious, this also works well with buckwheat, quinoa, rice, and your other favourite grains. Just change the proportion of water and cooking time, if needed.

Pecan Pie Teff Porridge

Pecan Pie Teff Porridge

3 1/2 cups water
1 cup teff grain
1/2 cup pecans, toasted
1/2 cup raisins
3 to 5 tablespoons pure maple syrup (to taste)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Cinnamon, to taste
Nondairy milk, for serving

Bring the water to a boil in a medium-sized saucepan over high heat. Once boiling, add the teff. Whisk to mix, then reduce heat to low. Cover and let simmer, about 20 to 30 minutes, until teff has absorbed the moisture.

Once cooked, remove from heat. Add the pecans, raisins, syrup, vanilla and cinnamon. Taste for seasonings. Serve family style with nondairy milk on the side, or divide mixture into 4 bowls, and top with nondairy milk. Serve immediately.

Three Mushroom Gravy

4 Comments

If you own any of my books or been to any of my speaking engagements, you likely know I never use rice flour in my baking – it is nutritionally void and has a terrible texture. But I do like it for thickening because it is really smooth and works well in pretty much everything. This thick, earthy gravy, rich with the flavour of dried and fresh mushrooms is open to your interpretation: add your favourite herbs, puree it smooth, make it thick or thin. There is loads of room for experimentation. (Here it’s shown over roasted potato wedges).

Thick-Cut Fries with Tri-Mushroom Gravy2

Three Mushroom Gravy

1 0.5 ounce/14g package dried morel mushrooms
6 cups boiling water
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 pound  white button mushrooms
1 pound cremini mushrooms
Sea salt to taste
Fresh ground pepper to taste
3 shallots, finely chopped
3 to 5 cloves garlic, minced
8 to 10 sprigs fresh thyme
Additional water, if needed
3 tablespoons  sweet rice flour, plus more as needed
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley

Put the dried mushrooms in a large bowl (with a capacity of at least 6 cups). Top with the boiling water. Let stand 30 minutes.

Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan. Add the mushrooms, and a bit of salt and pepper. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes, until mushrooms are golden brown. Add the shallots. Cook until softened. Add the garlic and continue to cook until fragrant, about a minute longer.

Drain the dried mushrooms, reserving both the mushrooms and the liquid. Chop the mushrooms, and add to the pot along with the soaking water and the thyme. Bring to a boil, then reduce and simmer for 15 minutes.

Whisk in sweet rice flour, and simmer until thickened. Depending on how thick you may like your gravy, you can add more water and sweet rice flour to suit your tastes.