Pecan-Date Truffles (raw)
There has been a few times recently that I needed to make a dessert or snack for a potluck or trip to a friends house. I was always delayed in figuring out what to make and before I knew it I had to leave for the event in less then a half an hour! One option when that happens is just to head to Whole Foods and pick something up. The other option, my favorite, is to make Raw Truffles. From start to finish they take maaaaaaaaybe 10 minutes and what’s even better than that is that I ALWAYS have the ingredients for them. The ones above are made by throwing a handful of raw pecans in a food processor and pulsing them until they are broken down a bit but not too much. I then add about the same amount of pitted medjool dates, a few dashes of cinnamon, a few tablespoons of raw cacao powder and a tablespoon or two of water or juice and blend away until all the ingredients are combined. If it’s not blending well or the ingredients keep getting stuck I just add more water or juice to help get it going again. Once everything is done I take a small cookie scoop and scoop up some of the dough into my hand and roll them into balls and place them into mini cupcake or candy liners that should be ready and waiting on a serving plate. Once all the truffle making is complete cover them with some plastic wrap and stick them in the fridge, taking them out 5 minutes before you are going to serve them. OR if you are anything like me lately just cover them while your running to your car hoping you won’t be too late for the vegan dessert potluck you just made these for!
Now if you have all the time in the world to make these and want to make them extra decadent you can dip them in chocolate and place them on a parchment lined baking sheet tray, stick them in the fridge to set the chocolate and then drop them into individual liners. YUM!
July 31st, 2010
Reno (almost 3!)
Time flies! Its hard to believe but Reno is going to be 3 at the end of August.
This is my new favorite picture of her on her friend Milla’s tire swing.
July 14th, 2010
Steamed Red Seitan with Chimichurri Sauce w. Smoked Paprika
Lindsey over at Decapo Press ever so graciously offered to send me a copy of Terry Hope Romero’s new book Viva Vegan to review. I immediately said yes please! I love latin food. Like really love it. Its the cuisine that if I had to choose one cuisine to eat for the rest of my life I would choose it.
As soon as I received the book I started bookmarking recipes, tons of recipes. I had a really hard time deciding what to make first. Finally I settled on the Steamed Red Seitan and the Chimichurri Sauce w. Smoked Paprika. I really liked both recipes. The seitan was easy to make and it makes a lot which was good because I think Reno and I polished off 1 of the 4 loaves as soon as it cooled down enough for us to eat it. It was so tender and flavorful. Reno kept asking for more. For dinner that night I sliced up 2 of the loaves and pan seared them in a bit of olive oil until both sides were nicely crisped. I then topped it off with the Chimichurri Sauce. I halved that recipe because I knew that 1 1/2 cups of sauce was just too much for the 3 of us and I was pretty sure Reno wouldn’t eat it at all. Also, I wanted to use the parsley I was growing in my garden and the four of them I’m growing were still kinda on the small side and I didn’t want to use it all up in one go.
The 2 recipes were served with a side of refried black beans, canned unfortunately, and a simple mesclun salad (from my garden!) with lemon, olive oil and salt. It was a perfect dinner.
I’m so happy I got a chance to review this book and I can’t wait to make more of the 200 recipes that are in this book. I’m craving a nice chocolate mole and I know that Peter would love for me to make him Feijoada!
July 9th, 2010
Tofu Scramble, Diner Potatoes, Sausage and Toast
Usually weekend breakfast’s for us consist of coffee for Peter, some sorta iced mocha espresso drink for me and bagels with peanut butter or earth balance (sometimes both). Every once in awhile I feel like actually making us something substantial to eat. It takes some time but with careful planning it’s well worth the effort.
As you can see in the picture above I don’t really scramble my tofu. I like to keep it in smallish cubes with a few of them squished up from mixing. Its just a personal preference. I also like them plain as in without veggies. Just some garlic and onion’s, lot’s of nooch and some spices mixed it. The potatoes are diced, or sliced, boiled until softish and then fried in a pan with some onions until there is a nice crispy crust when they are turned out onto a plate. Fry up some homemade sausages or some Field Roast Sausages and toast some bread and you have one hell of a breakfast. You’ll be so full you won’t even think about food again until dinner time.
April 27th, 2010
Pecan Crusted Seitan w. Kale Slaw
This is a new obsession. When I heard about pecan crusted chicken I was already a vegetarian so it was too late for me to try it. I love everything that has to do with nuts so I was bummed that I was going to miss out on this sure to be delicious meal. It wasn’t until MANY years later that I realized that I could make it with seitan. What took me so long? I don’t know. I’m glad I realized it though because I don’t know how I lived without it. If I could crust everything in pecan’s I would. That’s how much I love this recipe.
I wasn’t quite sure how to begin with this recipe so it took me a few tries to get it exactly right. Above was my first attempt which I served with a Kale Slaw, which is a whole other story of delicousness, and some BBQ sauce. It was really good but I knew that some of the ingredient measurements needed to be changed.
Toasted Pecan Crusted Seitan
I made it again for New Years Eve. This time I toasted the pecans first to see if that would change the taste at all. It did but in a subtle way and I decided that toasting the nuts first was unnecessary and an extra step that I could do without. I served it with store bought Orange Papaya Chutney and it went over well with the few that were around to taste it. I then proceeded to make this recipe a few more times the same way over and over again because I decided to teach it to members of my local vegan group at a cooking class I was helping to teach and just because I tend to obsess about things at times.
Needless to say…I’m very happy with this recipe. I’m toying with the idea of maybe marinating the seitan before crusting it in pecans but for now I think it’s just perfect the way it is.
Pecan Crusted Seitan
This recipe gives you the option of frying or baking the seitan. I’m a lover of all things fried but my favorite way to make these is baking them. Almost everyone who has tried both the fried and baked versions choose baked as their favorite way to eat this recipe. Enjoy!
2 cups Pecans (whole or pieces)
1 tablespoon dried rosemary
1/3 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup non dairy milk (unsweetened!)
1 tablespoon dijon mustard
1 tablespoon arrowroot powder
4 seitan cutlets (left whole, cut into strips or nuggets)
canola oil, if you are frying
IF BAKING PREHEAT OVEN TO 350 DEGREES.
1. For the crust: Pulse the pecans in a quisenart until they are broken down somewhat and then add the dried rosemary, all purpose flour, parprika and salt and process until all is combined and it resembles coarse bread crumbs. Empty onto a plate.
2. In a small bowl mix the non dairy milk, mustard and arrowroot until combined.
3. Dip the seitan (cutlet, strips, nuggets) into the milk and then into the pecan crust and roll it around until it is covered with the pecan mixture. Towards the end of your batch you’ll find you might have to press the crust onto the seitan. This happens because of the wetness left behind from some of the milk mixture. This doesn’t always happen when I make it but sometimes it does. Set aside on a clean plate, if frying, or baking sheet tray lined with parchment paper, if baking. Continue with the rest of the seitan.
4. If you are baking the seitan: simply place it in the 350 degree oven for 25 minutes, flipping the seitan halfway through the cooking time.
5. If you are frying the seitan: pour canola oil into a frying pan until it covers the entire bottom of the pan and then some about 1/3 of an inch. Fry until golden brown on each side, about 3-5 minutes each side, (cutlets you’ll have to flip once, strips you will flip 1-3 time and nuggets about 2-4 times depending on how you cut your seitan). Drain on paper towels.
6. Serve as is or with some of your favorite sauces: BBQ, Chutney, Agave Mustard..etc..
March 15th, 2010