Categotry Archives: Dairy-Free

Dueling Falafel

Posted on by

Tonight I’m going to try one of these recipes. Notice the first one calls for deep frying the falafel patties. I’m not going to do that. The second one calls for an oil-coated baking dish. I’m going to try that, but I also wanted to compare the amounts of oil each recipe calls for inside the patties. – Helen

from TouchpointIsrael.com:

2 c vegetable oil, for frying
2 *T extra-virgin olive oil
1 1/2 c dried, raw chickpeas, soaked 20-24 hours
1 bunch scallions, coarsely chopped
4 cloves garlic, coarsely chopped
1/4 c loosely packed fresh parsley leaves
2 T freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 t ground cumin
2 t ground coriander
1 1/2 t kosher salt
1 t baking powder

  1. Mix the drained chickpeas, scallions, garlic, parsley, olive oil, lemon juice, cumin, coriander in a large bowl.
  2. Pulse small batches in a food processor until the chickpeas are finely chopped.
  3. Sprinkle the baking powder over the mixture. Pulse the chickpeas again until the mixture forms a ball when you squeeze it in your hand.
  4. Scoop the falafel into 2 tablespoon-sized balls and place on a parchment paper-lined baking sheet.
  5. Heat the oil in a 10-inch straight-sided skillet over medium-high heat
  6. Lower 6 falafel at a time into the hot oil and fry until deep golden-brown, flipping them halfway through, 5 to 7 minutes total per batch. Remove the cooked falafel to a paper towel-lined baking sheet.
  7. Serve the cooked falafel in a warmed pita with yogurt or tzatziki sauce (below), tomatoes, feta cheese, and shredded lettuce.

from CookieandKate.com:

  • ¼ c olive oil, for coating pan
  • 1 T extra-virgin olive oil
  • 1 c dried, raw chickpeas, soaked 20-24 hours
  • ½ c roughly chopped red onion (~ ½ small red onion)
  • ½ c packed fresh parsley (mostly leaves)
  • ½ c packed fresh cilantro (mostly leaves)
  • 4 cloves garlic, quartered
  • 1 t salt
  • ½ t (~ 25 twists) freshly ground black pepper
  • ½ t ground cumin
  • ¼ t ground cinnamon
  1. Preheat oven to 375F. Pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into a large, rimmed baking sheet and turn until the pan is evenly coated.
  2. In a food processor, combine the soaked and drained chickpeas, onion, parsley, cilantro, garlic, salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, and the remaining 1 tablespoon of olive oil. Process until smooth, about 1 minute.
  3. Using your hands, scoop out about 2 tablespoons of the mixture at a time. Shape the falafel into small patties, about 2 inches wide and ½ inch thick. Place each falafel on your oiled pan.
  4. Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, carefully flipping the falafels halfway through baking, until the falafels are deeply golden on both sides. These falafels keep well in the refrigerator for up to 4 days, or in the freezer for several months.

Sauce

  • 1/4 cup tahini
  • Zest and juice of 1 small lemon
  • 1 tablespoon white miso
  • 2 garlic cloves, pressed
  • 2 tablespoons fresh dill, chopped
  • 1 tablespoon fresh parsley, chopped
  • Pinch of cayenne
  • 1/3 cup water

Pulse in a mini-blender until smooth.

*T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon

“Traditional” refried pinto beans

Posted on by

We served these at my birthday party a few weeks ago and some friends (Hi, Kasha and Debbie!) wanted the recipe and we said, “Sure, we’ll send that to you later this week!” and that never happened so this is our apology to them for our tardiness…

As much as I don’t have a drop of Hispanic blood in me (23andme says I’m 99.9% Northern European…) I like to think I can make a good pan of refried beans–the original of this is from Helen’s mother and grandmothers (…) but has been modified to use oil instead of lard or bacon grease–I’m not sure if Helen misses the original or not, but she prepares them this way also, so I’ll take that for what it’s worth!

Ingredients

  • 3 cups dried pinto beans
  • olive oil; other oils such as sunflower will work, too.  Not sure exactly how much on this as we pretty much just add until it seems right
  • salt.  Lots of salt.  At least it seems like a lot of salt–at least a couple of teaspoons in the end
  • freshly ground black pepper; to taste

Preparation

So the beans obviously take a long time to cook and there are different ways to get that done depending on time available and whether or not you remember to soak them the night before.  There are just a few key things to know about it:

  • use enough water; it should be inch(es) above the top of the beans.  If you are pressure-cooking them, then follow the guidelines for the pot as you don’t want to plug the valve (we have a few stories about that)
  • bring the beans + water to a boil for a couple of minutes, then drain the water and refill with fresh water.  This supposedly gets rid of some of the compounds that cause digestion problems for some people.
  • cook them for a long time–or what seems like forever.  If they’re gritty (my description) or crunchy (Helen’s word) at all, then they’re not done.  For non-pressure-cooked beans this will likely be more than an hour and a half even after soaking.  Of course, you don’t want them too soft either so pay closer attention after they’re almost done…  This is where cookbooks fail, if you ask me–they say things like “cook for 5 minutes” and you think “oh, I need to cook it for 5 minutes” but you really need to just cook it until it’s the right amount for whatever you’re trying for…

Once the beans are done, do not discard the water!  Get a big cast-iron skillet pretty hot–on our electric stove (I know, I know, real cooks use gas stoves) I set it to about an 8 out of 10 and let it get hot.  When it’s hot enough (it doesn’t need to be max as you’re not trying to really fry the beans) start ladling in the beans with some water from the pot.  You want some water in there but it should be mostly beans.  Think of just using a measuring cup to scoop the beans up getting mostly beans.

Anyway, once you have the skillet mostly full, add a bunch of oil–just drizzle it around the top and mix it in.  We probably end up using 3+ (or more–it’s really hard to tell!) tablespoons in a batch.  Add at least a teaspoon of salt and grind some black pepper on top and mix it all up and let it heat up and bubble.

At this point you should start mashing/stirring the beans using something like a potato masher (in a pinch, you can use the back of a large spoon, but that’s somewhat masochistic).  I like leaving a bunch of beans unmashed but I admit that tastes vary on that–a lot of people like smooth refried beans, but not me!  (I also like lump mashed potatoes–some say I’ll write that recipe up!)

Reduce heat and keep stirring until it’s able to simmer without burning on the bottom and let cook for a few more minutes.  Add more salt.  Yeah, it’s “to taste” but everyone seems to like the “salt” part of “beans, oil, salt”.  Add some of the reserved bean water if it needed.

 

Blistered Green Beans with Shishito Peppers and Mushrooms

Posted on by

I admit it, I saw this in a Whole Foods mailer and thought it sounded good and so we tried it for *Thanksgiving 2018 and people loved it.  Go figure!

The original calls for including 1/4 teaspoon salt when blistering the ingredients but that just seems to end up with a bunch of what looks like ash on the pan bottom so I’m going to go out on a limb and suggest just truly dry blistering followed by the sprinkling of salt after it’s out of the pan.

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons miso paste; I used white miso paste
  • 2 tablespoons lemon juice; I used a whole medium lemon and have no idea if that was even close to 2 tablespoons
  • 1 tablespoon water (measured that one, I did!)
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • 12 ounces haricot verts (French green beans), ends trimmed
  • 1/8 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
  • 3/4 teaspoon salt; Morton’s seemed too plain so I used Redmond’s
  • 6 ounces shishito peppers
  • 6 ounces mushooms; I used crimini
  • lots of caramelized onions

Preparation

Caramelized onions (as topping) can be made by chopping 1 medium yellow onion into longish pieces and medium-cooking them for a long time in a skillet.

In a small bowl whisk miso, lemon juice, water, and olive oil until smooth and set aside.

Place large cast-iron skillet over high heat and when very hot add green beans and red pepper flakes.  Let sit undisturbed until blistered on the bottom–maybe 2 minutes or so, then attempt to rotate so that blisters are upside so you can blister other parts.  Note that this is easier said than done and that in the end you’ll probably just have to scooch them around to get them evenly blistered.  Sigh.  Anyway, remove them when they’re starting to soften and put them in large enough serving bowl.  Do the same with shishito peppers, but after you take them out, I highly suggest clipping the stems off of them with scissors (it’s kind of a pain to try to pick out the stems when eating them otherwise).  Ditto with mushrooms.

When the veggies (well, actually mushrooms are not a fruit or a veggie, but you know…) are all in the serving bowl, add the salt, drizzle the sauce over the top, turn a bit to coat everything, then put the caramelized onions on top.

*Notes from Helen

Thanksgiving 2018 at Delores’s house included: Delores, Lana, Deboro, Elle, Scarlette, Ivy, Ann, Karen, Helen, Scott, Anna, Maddie

We had a veggie Thanksgiving due to the fact that Delores tried to cook a frozen turkey in four hours. Lovely spread nonetheless. Little Svays played with cardboard jungle animals; Elle & Scarlette wrote thankful thank you cards for Aunts Karen and Helen; Lana shared her mindfulness work at her neighborhood charter school; Anna played piano in the background; Maddie enjoyed the little girls.

 

 

McCall’s Celebration Cake

Posted on by

When I graduated from college, my mother asked me what kind of cake I wanted. I asked for this cake, the best one she ever made by far. Last July, right before her 25th birthday, Anna asked me if I had a good chocolate cake recipe. I dug out the old photocopy my mom had made for me, and she and Scott whipped it up together. She took a giant, tipping version of this recipe to work.

We enjoyed this dark chocolate delight on Anna’s birthday again this year, and on every occasion I could think of this month. (Make it once, and you’ll find excuses to make it over and over). Ma sat at the counter with me as I baked. Try this gluten-free, dairy-free version, which I think is just as heavenly as the original. Honest to goodness. (It’s the buckwheat.)

Note: The following recipe is half the size of the original recipe (in case you remember it and were curious).

Recipe margin notes:

Anna: Grandma Salas and I made you a chocolate cake when you turned 26. 

Chocolate Cake

  • 1 cup hot water
  • 2 teaspoons instant coffee (stir into water; cool)
  • 2  1/2 cups dextrose (original: 2 cups table sugar)
  • 8 ounces plain coconut milk yogurt (original: buttermilk)
  • 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup canola or olive oil
  • 2 eggs

Blend. Blend into mixed dry ingredients:

  • 1  3/4 cups whole-grain buckwheat flour (original: white flour)
  • 3/4 cup cocoa
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1  1/2 teaspoons baking powder
  • 1  1/2 teaspoons baking soda

Pour into three baking rounds. For ease of removal, place a circle of parchment paper or lunch bag paper the size of the bottom of the pan in the pan. No need to flour or oil the pan. Bake at 350F for 30 minutes. With a knife, cut around the sides of the cake. Reverse onto a cooling rack.

When cool, frost with chocolate glaze:

Chocolate Glaze

  • 1  8 oz. unsweetened chocolate baking bar
  • 1/2 cup (or more) brown rice syrup or non-HFCS corn syrup
  • half the cream from a can of whole-fat coconut milk
  • 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Stir brown rice syrup or corn syrup into melted chocolate. Start with a half cup; add more as desired. Let cool a bit. Stir in coconut fat.

Pour over chocolate cake. Adorn cake with sliced strawberries.

Original Chocolate Glaze

  • 8 ounces semisweet chocolate, melted
  • 1/4 cup whipping cream
  • 1 tablespoon butter

 

 

English peas, onions, and smoked vegan cheese

Posted on by

A late-night snack that turned out better than expected:

  • a handful of English peas, pods and all.  These are the really big fat ones that you think would be good for dipping because they look like overgrown snap peas but whose shells are actually quite fibrous…
  • half an onion
  • a small amount of Aged English Smoked Farmhouse vegan cheese, from Miyoko’s Kitchen (www.miyokoskitchen.com).  Maybe a tablespoon or a bit more
  • olive oil, salt and pepper

Rinse and slice the pea pods into half-inch pieces; dice onion into whatever size pieces you like.  Saute both in, oh, a few tablespoons of olive oil for maybe five or more minutes.

Check on the tenderness of the pea pods and a few minutes before it’s where you want, add the chunk of the vegan cheese and cover with a pan lid.  The cheese will (eventually) soften enough to stir it into the rest–it really is mostly just for flavoring and not so much for eating cheese.  Add salt and pepper to taste.

Helen was impressed with the flavor, real-cheese eater that she is!

(Note:  plan ahead on this as this smoked cheese–which is actually fermented vegan cheese–can only be ordered online…sad but true.)

Gluten-Freedom Chocolate Cupcakes

Posted on by

Rich, dark and glazed. Couldn’t get much better. Hard to believe they’re gluten-free!

Cupcakes

1. Mix well:

  • 100 g unsweetened baking chocolate bar, melted
  • 3/4 of a 14 oz can coconut milk, stirred
  • 2 eggs
  • 2 tablespoons *vanilla
  • 1 cup dextrose (or ~7/8 cup table sugar)

*I prefer the flavor of Mexican, Jamaican or Dominican Republic vanillas

2. Combine, then mix into wet ingredients:

  • 1/2 cup nutmeal
  • 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons teff flour (or buckwheat flour)
  • 2 tablespoons baking powder
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt

Nutmeal

Grind equal parts (all together) till fine:

  • flax seeds
  • raw pumpkin seeds
  • buckwheat kernels

Or use any of these: lentils, almonds, walnuts, cashews.

3. Bake at 350F in a stone muffin pan for 20-25 minutes. Cool. Apply glaze or frosting,  or both!

Chocolate Glaze

  • 50 g unsweetened chocolate bar
  • 50 g virgin coconut oil, *coconut cream, or butter
  • 50 g dextrose (or corn syrup)

Melt chocolate on low. Stir in coconut oil and dextrose until dextrose dissolves. Remove from heat.

*Skimmed from the top of a can of coconut milk, full fat.

Mocha Buttercream Frosting

Adapted from “Mocha Butter Cream” in the The Creative Cooking Encyclopedia

  • 1 stick butter, softened
  • 4 oz cream cheese
  • 1 cup dextrose (or powdered sugar)
  • 1 tablespoon cold espresso
  • 1 square unsweetened chocolate bar, melted and cooled

Cream butter and cream cheese with electric mixer. Add espresso and chocolate; beat until smooth. Add dextrose until desired consistency and sweetness have been reached.

 

 

 

Refried Beans

Posted on by

Don’t be dismayed by the lack of fancy ingredients in these refried beans. Pinto beans don’t need dressing up any more than an old pair of jeans. They are a main attraction in themselves. Serve them with nicely browned tortillas.

  • 2 cups dry pinto beans
  • 8 cups water

Cook beans in a pressure cooker (45 minutes) or the long way on the stove until just right. Drain and set aside most of the broth.

  • 3-4 tablespoons olive or canola oil
  • salt

Heat wide, flat saucepan on stove. Pour in oil. Pour in beans and a cup or two of bean broth. Salt to taste (be generous). Cook for 10 minutes, or until the beans begin to get creamy. Remove from heat and let cool. They’ll get even creamier and tastier as they sit in the bowl at the table.

I don’t know the history of the ‘re’ in refried beans, but once or twice fried tastes the same to me. If you make enough beans for leftovers, fry ’em up!

End note: When I was a kid, I loved to ladle out the bean broth from the top of the beans and salt it, drinking it ladle by ladle. You’ll have more broth than you can use for the beans. Refrigerate the extra, and drink it later salted and heated.

 

 

 

Roasted Butternut Squash Soup

Posted on by

We love this soup. Scott found it in the cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

Family notes from the page: 12/26/07: The Quinns and Sasha and Ben came over after sledding with the Peterson Brest Van Kempens and we ate this soup and masa cakes. We had fun. 

  • 5 pounds butternut squash (about 3), peeled, bulbous part cut from the stem part, then each part sliced in half, seeds removed
  • 4 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 medium-sized onion, diced
  • 1 serrano chile, chopped (any chile will do, or you can omit if you don’t want it spice at all)
  • 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger
  • 3 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)
  • 4 cups vegetable stock, or 2 cubes vegetable bouillon dissolved in 4 cups water
  • 1 tablespoon maple syrup
  • juice of 1 or 2 limes, to taste

Preheat oven to 425F

Lightly coat the squash halves with 2 tablespoons of the olive oil and place cut side down on a nonstick or parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet (if you don’t have a rimmed baking sheet then use baking pans, to prevent the oil from dripping onto the oven floor).  Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender and easily pierced with a fork.

When the squash is about 15 minutes from being done, in a stockpot over medium heat saute the onions in the remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil for 5 minutes.  Add the chiles; saute 5 minutes more.  Lastly add the ginger, garlic, and salt; saute 2 minutes more.

When squash is ready, puree in a blender or food processor along with the vegetable broth and sauteed onions, until smooth.  Return the mixture to the pot and heat through, add the maple syrup and lime juice, and serve.

Pumpkin Pie

Posted on by

The coconut milk is what gives this pie a cow-dairy-like mouth feel. The tasty GF graham crackers are a good substitute for the usual wheat pastry crust, a GF version of which I haven’t yet managed to pull off. See “Pie Crust” for a tasty wheat flour crust.

For the Filling (recipe in progress 10.30.14)

  • 15 oz + 7.5 oz canned pumpkin
  • 2 large eggs or 3 small eggs
  • 12 oz coconut cream (sans liquid in the can) or *cow cream
  • 1 cup dextrose (or 3/4 cup sugar)
  • 1/4 cup real maple syrup
  • 1/4 teaspoon clove
  • 1/2 teaspoon ginger
  • 1 teaspoon cinnamon

*1/2 whipping cream and 1/2 half-and-half

For the Crust

  • 100 grams gluten-free graham crackers (try Smoreables brand)
  • 100 grams *nut-seed-meal (e.g., walnuts, pecans, almonds, flax seeds)
  • 3 tablespoons melted salted butter
  • 2 tablespoons powdered dextrose (or 5 teaspoons table sugar)
  • 1/4 teaspoon salt (if not using salted butter)

*I used 50 g walnuts and 50 g flax meal.

Pour filling into crust. Bake at 350F for 50 minutes or until inserted knife comes out clean. Cover the crust edges with foil before baking.

Anna and Maddie came home to help us prepare Thanksgiving dinner. Anna and I set out to make pumpkin empanadas, but we used this filling recipe (the dairy version) by mistake. We realized that pumpkin pie filling is liquid, and empanada filling is not. Anna added extra pumpkin, but there was no fixing it. We made a very tasty pie instead.

 

 

Camping Cakes

Posted on by

You can call these flax cakes if you’re serving them to adults, but they taste better to children if you call them camping cakes.

  • 3 tablespoons flax meal
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 pinch salt
  • 1 egg
  • 1 tablespoon coconut oil, virgin or liquid

1. Mix all ingredients in a cereal bowl. If you use room-temperature virgin coconut oil, it will be difficult to blend completely, but the lumps will resolve in the baking.

2. Cook approximately 1 minute 15 seconds in a microwave oven. Let cake sit for one minute. Swipe a knife around the inside of the bowl and remove the cake. Slice it in half horizontally to make two round slices.

3. Or bake: Make four recipes; pour into in a 12-count muffin pan; and bake in a 350F oven until golden brown. Skip step 4 below.

4. Toast in a toaster oven for about 3 minutes. Spread with butter or oil spread . Top with jam or syrup.

High-Protein Variation

  • Add 1 tablespoon plain gelatin powder

Camping Tip

Pack untoasted cakes in your cooler. Brown cakes in oil at breakfast time in a pan on a cookstove. Serve.

1 2