47 posts tagged “vanilla”
Yay! I finally got the time and courage to make the "official" ratatouille (recipe by Thomas Keller) in the movie Ratatouille. Boy, it was worth hours of roasting vegetables in heat. It was the most tasty ratatouille I've had so far! And it looked so darn pretty!
This is the vegan version of Ann Brettingen's Swedish apple cake. The recipe I used is adapted from Dorie Greenspan by Gretchen Noelle of "Canela & Comino". It was a very soothing and mild-flavored fruity cake. Perfect for the afternoon tea.
My sweet tooth kicked in hard, so I made chômeur pudding - a traditional dessert from Quebec, Canada. The recipe is from Andrée of PPK. This is how it looked right after baking. Obviously my six portions of the dough all melted together and turned into one beautiful cake.
The tempting warm pudding on the plate now. I loved it very much after I made it. But I guess for the sake of my diet, I'll have to wait a long time before I can make it again. It's a little too dangerous for me.
I don't really have time to write a post now but I do have some food porn to share. So let's get down to business immediately.
The first thing is Jamie Oliver's Asparagus, Mint and Lemon Risotto with Fresh Fava Beans. I found the recipe in Lisa's Vegetarian Kitchen. I replaced dry white wine with Merlot (no choice), omitted cheese, and added fresh fava beans (a.k.a., broad beans). The risotto had a very nice and creamy Middle Eastern flavor.
The second thing is inevitably a dessert - Hot Fudge Cake (recipe courtesy of Jewish Vegan). Boy, it was such an ooey gooey hot cake! Hot fudge+chocolate pudding+warm chocolate cake. I wasn't so sure when the cake just came out of the oven. I'm never sure when I have to pour a lot of hot water directly over the cake dough.
Now look at it again! After a slice was plated, I poured some of the hot fudge and pudding over cake. It was clearly the best chocolate fudge I've ever had! Everything just melted in my mouth.
The last thing is Choklay's Tibetan Lentil Soup, recipe by "eat me, delicious". I don't need to say anything. The photo shows everything. Oh, just one thing: I didn't know Tibetan's eat lentils too. Did you?
I tried out a very simple yet ultra-yummy recipe of Nava Atlas - Stewed Tofu with Corn and Tomatoes. I've always enjoyed Nava's recipes because they are simple, straightforward and often involve a balanced and tasty combination of commonly-used ingredients. No fancy schmancy, and no fuss. Vegetables, grains and tofu taste good on their own, and we shall try to remember that whenever we cook. My variation of this recipe: I added a small onion (cut into half-moons), 2 celery sticks, half a red bell pepper, bok choy, and I used fresh cilantro and basil as suggested. I also subbed packaged fried tofu so I avoided pan-frying firm tofu squares. The stew is full of different textures and different tastes that blend well together.
And I'm really glad to announce that I finally tried the chocolate pudding Purplesque made a while ago, recipe by courtesy of Jugalbandi. This is clearly the best chocolate pudding (vegan or non-vegan) I've ever had. It's so chocolatey and rich that we practically inhaled it. I didn't even have a chance to photograph its complete form before it was chilled. My husband, who doesn't like any dessert, ate half of the pudding when it was still warm. The photo below was what was left for me.
Thanks, Purplesque, for the wonderful recommendation of this pudding! Now it's a staple in our household.
I went to Purplesque's blog and got myself all hungry looking at her food porn. And it almost seems like I was often waiting for her food photos to be uploaded so that I could make another banner and make myself even more hungry staring at the banner.
I took a photo of the tree right outside our house without even knowing what kind of tree it is. I was also too lazy to look up.
And another shot, just because I didn't find a reason to delete it from my album.
I was really determined to make the Lemon Coconut Custard by Kittee (Kittee's Papa Tofu Ezine). I was so happy with the final product that I decided I had to make a cake for it. I was overwhelmed and moved by the white purity this custard showed me.
And obviously I ate way too much of this tempting cake. Am I regretting it? Unfortunately, no! Next time when I have some extra time on my hands, I'll make another decadent cake.
This is the first time that I have attempted to make savory pancakes. My husband said that it was about time (about a year after I began making my own vegan pancakes). We were both very pleased with the first batch of savory pancakes. I still find it hard to believe that I never wanted to make savory pancakes before, but I'm a diehard dessert fan after all.
Savory Scallion Pancakes
(makes 6-7 large pancakes)
2 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk
2 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour*
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
A dash of black pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
2 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
1 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup buckwheat flour*
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
A dash of black pepper
1/4 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. cumin
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 bunches scallions, chopped finely
3/4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 tsp. ginger powder
3/4 tsp. garlic powder
2 bunches scallions, chopped finely
3/4 tsp. extra-virgin olive oil
1. Add apple cider vinegar into soymilk to set aside to curdle for at least five minutes.
2. Sift all-purpose flour, whole wheat flour and buckwheat flour. Mix well in a mixing bowl together with baking powder and salt. Add spices into the flour mixture and combine well.
3. Add the curdled soymilk by batches into the flour mixture and combine well until there's no more lump. Add 3/4 tsp. of olive oil into the wet dough and mix well again.
4. Fold in scallions.
5. Now cook your pancakes. Enjoy!
Notes:
* You can use quinoa flour instead of buckwheat flour if you prefer a moister and lighter texture. Buckwheat flour tends to add a stronger flavor to the baked goods.
While I've been unusually interested in savory pancakes recently, I'm still on a serious fruit kick. I never fully explored the dessert section of Veganomicon. Now I'm in the right mood for it. I finally made my first crisp, Blueberry-Coconut Crisp (Veganomicon, page 248).
This is a wheat-free dessert. Quinoa flour and rice flour made the topping really light and fluffy. I ran out of raspberries (entirely my own negligence) so I subbed peaches. It turned out to be really really good. Even my savory-all-the-way husband loved it a lot, because of the irresistible coconut flavor. I'll definitely make more crisps from now on. It has the best of both worlds: plenty of fruit flavors and rich crusty dough with no hassle of making a pie crust.
This is the money shot below.
The weather has been continuously capricious. Jumping from a long and bitter winter to a all-too-short spring, it suddenly feels like summer. I'm afraid that I'm still constantly shocked by the obvious effects of global warming. In this overly warm weather, all I want to eat is some fruit. I've already consumed many cucumbers and tomatoes and whatnot. Then I fancied a nice fruit pudding.
(makes 4 servings or 2 generous servings if served as breakfast)
I eyeballed everything when I made this pudding, so the measurements can be freely adjusted according to everyone's own preferences. I'm not even sure if this is the best way of making a vegan pudding. But it tasted great and I was left with no more fruit craving.
5 cups unsweetened soymilk
1 1/2 cups 100% natural coconut milk
1 1/2 cups frozen blueberries
3 cups frozen peaches
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
3 Tbsp. cornstarch
3 Tbsp. arrowroot powder
Add all the ingredients into a sauce pan. Bring to a simmer and whisk constantly. Cook for about 7-8 minutes until the pudding thickens. Pour into a covered container and refrigerate at least 3-4 hours before serving. I just left it in the fridge overnight.
I also took some more photos of the lilies before I removed them from the vase. I guess this signified that spring was finally replaced by summer.
I haven't been such a good neighbor. I rarely have time to read blogs or leave comments, which I enjoy doing very much. I've got more than 630 new feeds in my Google reader. I feel like I'm getting busy again. Sometimes I really wonder so hard where all the time has gone. Especially when I continue to read In Search of Lost Time by Proust, I strongly believe I should at least start a quest called "Chasing the Lost Time". But I don't think I have the answer to my own question and I don't have the guts to really chase time.
Well, besides chasing time, I did some cooking. Or rather, I found some photos and had to post them here before forgetting what they were. The first one is Vegan Haggis (recipe by River of Bean Vegan). I didn't have scotch so subbed dark rum. It was quite interesting and satisfying. But we were not really in the mood for it, unfortunately.
Here's how it looked being plated. Well, I know I usually don't spend much time making the plate look nice. All in good time, I guess.
The second is my own 50% Whole Wheat Strawberry Pancakes. The batter is half all-purpose flour (2 cups), half whole wheat flour (2 cups), baking powder (1/2 teaspoon), unsweetened vanilla soy milk (1 1/2 cups) with apple cider vinegar (2 teaspoons), orange juice (3/4 cup), pure maple syrup (3 tablespoons), sugar free strawberry preserves (1 1/2 cups), vanilla extract (1 teaspoon), salt (1/4 teaspoon), olive oil (1/2 teaspoon). You basically sift flours, baking powder, and salt; add vinegar to soy milk to curdle it for 5 minutes; then mix the curdled soy milk with all the other wet ingredients. The last step is to combine the dry and wet ingredients together. The verdict? Great! Very much like spring. It satisfied my strawberry craving.
The last thing is my first attempt at veganizing Buttermilk Spoon Bread. It's a hybrid of polenta, cornbread and a souffle. The original recipe is by courtesy of Nicole of Baking Bites again. The result was rather good but it's definitely a working process. The photo doesn't show the texture well. It was moist, cakey, and pudding-y all at the same time. I'll post the vegan recipe once I think it's perfected to my satisfaction.
I haven't been cooking, because I have to nurse Emma most of the time. She sleeps on my lap during the day so I more or less are confined to my chair. She might be getting slightly better. I didn't see her latest stool but I didn't hear any of the horrible gas and diarrhea sound. We'll see.
So the best food porn I can share is of pancakes. I made a stack of banana coconut cornmeal pancakes to de-stress myself. I smothered the pancakes with vegan margarine to get the extra fat as well as the comforting sweetness. The batter (to make 5 big pancakes) is basically all-purpose flour and cornmeal (1:1), one ripe banana (mashed), 100% natural coconut cream, unsweetened soy milk, maple syrup, two drops of olive oil, and vanilla extract. The batter can easily be thinned out a little to create crêpes instead.
The pancakes came out a little coarse, a little smooth, a little coconutty, a little refreshing, and a little like crêpes. I was really satisfied with the taste and texture.
One vegan cookbook is essential. Two vegan cookbooks are fun. Three vegan cookbooks are definitely the charm. You've got a whole world to enjoy now. I actually made three things out of three different cookcooks. Well, be warned first: my sweet tooth kicked in when I was cooking.
Spanakopita In A Pie (VwaV, page 91). I still didn't get any phyllo dough. I made the pastry crusts (Veganomicon, so a 4th cookbook?) better this time and used a little less lemon juice. My husband was very pleased with the result. He said it was better than the first time I made it.
Hot Apple Turnovers (Cozy Inside, page 75). This is the first time I have tried any recipe from this cookbook though I bought it like two months ago. This is an excellent dessert choice after a hard day. The turnover wasn't overly sweet or heavy. A very gentle touch on your whole body. I was really glad I tried it.
Mom's Chocolate Pudding (La Dolce Vegan!, page 207). I didn't like this pudding as much as I thought I would. It was very easy to make so I didn't mind it. It's probably just not my type of chocolate pudding. I was expecting something closer to the 75% dark chocolate, rich and velvety. But it wasn't quite there. A little too timid for my liking but it was still good enough to satisfy a chocolate craving.
Flavorful fruity pancakes are really nice and I can hardly resist them most of the time, but sometimes all I want is a stack of the old faithful buttermilk pancakes. They are fluffy and plain but they are so versatile that you can easily eat them together with some scrambled tofu or other savory dishes. I've been into flaxseeds lately so I added some flaxseeds into my vegan "buttermilk" pancakes to increase the nutritional value.
The batter consists of all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, flaxseeds, curdled soy "buttermilk" (soy milk with apple cider vinegar), maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Buckwheat flour certainly added some subtle and pleasant flavor.
The batter consists of all-purpose flour, buckwheat flour, flaxseeds, curdled soy "buttermilk" (soy milk with apple cider vinegar), maple syrup, vanilla extract, salt and baking powder. Buckwheat flour certainly added some subtle and pleasant flavor.
I can easily eat these pancakes with some roasted asparagus or garlicky greens. I'd like to dunk them in some soup too.
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