Almost Raw Vegan Peach Cheesecake

The weather is cooling and fall has crept in.  Usually it waits for Labor Day weekend. But not this year.  Even though it's sunny the mornings and evenings have been much cooler.  The peaches are done, I have the jars of sliced peaches, some dried and in the freezer, and then some just frozen and ready for smoothies or a quick cobbler in November. It was a tasty job. I've had peaches for dinner a couple nights this week. I'll be putting up tomatoes next, some this weekend and the rest next weekend.  The garden has been going pretty well too. The other night while watering I had a cucumber, a small ear of corn, and some peas for dinner. My kind of fast food, just wash and eat. I just love the availability of fresh food at harvest time.

Almost Raw Vegan Peach Cheesecake

 I'm pretty happy with the peach cheesecake I made Tuesday night. This is almost an original recipe so I've got to write it down so I can make it again. The texture of the cheesecake filling was perfect. I call it "almost raw" because I baked a spelt flour and cardamom crust. It was crisp and crumbly all at the same time. I used a couple recipes I'd made before as a base. For the crust I began a Vegan Fusion recipe from a cheese cake in The Vegan Fusion World Cuisine.

I made a couple of changes to it which is highly encouraged in the Vegan Fusion cookbooks.  The filling I made up myself from experience making vegan cheesecakes.  It is really fun now that I can just create something without consulting a recipe sometimes.  I do have to write it down so I can make it again though.  This blog has come in very handy for that.

I made some vegan cream cheese ahead of time.  It's a very easy blend.

2 cups raw cashews soaked for two hours or more
1/2 cup vegan soy yogurt
1/2 tsp sea salt

Blend all together until smooth in  a high speed blender or food processor.  Place mixture in a large mason jar or glass bowl and cover with saran wrap.  Place in a warm spot in your kitchen for 24-48 hours until the desired thickness.  This cheese will last in a covered container in your refrigerator for up to three weeks.

Crust Dry:

2 C spelt flour
1/4 C Coconut Sugar
1 TB Arrowroot powder
1/4 tsp Cardamom powder
1/4 tsp sea salt

Crust Wet:

1/3 C Coconut Oil, melted
2 TB Stevia Syrup*
2 TB Apple Juice, fresh (I used some of the applesauce I canned last summer.)
1 tsp Almond extract

Sift together dry ingredients, blend wet ingredients in separate bowl.  Mix the wet into the dry and mix until crumbly and dough slightly sticks together.  Press into a 9" pie pan and bake at 350º for about 15-20 minutes until it just starts to brown and you can smell the cardamom and almond.  Take out of oven and allow to cool on a wire rack.

*Stevia Syrup - 3/4 cup fresh stevia, packed
1 pint filtered water

Combine Stevia and water in pint jar.  Allow to chill 24 hours.  Sift stevia out of liquid. Store in airtight container up to two weeks.

While the crust is cooling prepare the filling.

1 cup vegan cashew cream cheese (above)
1/4 - 1/2 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice and zest from two lemons
2 cups fresh peaches, sliced or chopped
2 TB raw agave, or to taste
1 TB Agar powder dissolved in 1 cup boiling water, cooled slightly
 
Blend all in the blender until smooth.

Pour into cooled pie crust and allow to cool for a couple hours.  After the cheesecake has set and thickened it's ready for the peach puré topping.

Peach Puré Topping

4 Medjool dates, soaked for 30 minutes
1-2 cup fresh peaches chopped
1/2 TB Agar powder dissolved in 1/2 cup boiling water, cooled slightly

Pour onto cooled cheesecake and return to refrigerator to set.  Garnish with fresh peaches and toasted almonds.

My husband liked it so much he thought I should make it for our Vegan/Vegetarian potluck tomorrow night.  Not a bad idea!

Enjoy.

Processing the Gifts of Summer

It was a big produce weekend that started with picking up our organic peaches Friday and waking up to pick some wonderful figs on Saturday morning.  The first thing I did was whip up a vanilla chia pudding and added some of the chopped ripe figs. My husband is enjoying it right now.  Aside from snacking on the lovelies all day, I dried many of them for future recipes and snacks.

Figs headed for the dehydrator.












I delivered Rachel's peaches to her out on Puget Island and took out a couple of my own boxes.  I grabbed a few random veggies to use for our meal. I love this time of year when I go shopping in my own garden. We spent a lovely day canning, visiting, and enjoying the day.  We picked up Kaylee on the way out and I brought her a bead making kit for something to keep her busy.  She doesn't stay in much there though.  She gets to feed and run with chickens and kitties.  It's a pretty free place for a kid. She and Allison sat together and created bracelets for everyone there.  We were all decorated at the end of the day.  Every one helped out with the peaches, picking up a knife and peeling and pitting throughout the day.  I manned the jars and the canners, keeping them going.  We processed four boxes, eighty pounds, and ended up with 33 pint and a half jars.  That should make for some good peach treats through the winter.  We always have a great time doing this too.  This time Allison joined in and made a fresh apple pie with the apples she and Rachel foraged on the Island.

Sunday at home and I have lots of produce coming out of the garden right now.  I have to get to work preserving it so it doesn't go to waste. Even though we're not able to give away as much as we'd like, we are still pulling out a good amount of groceries.  This morning I had two very large heads of cabbage I wanted to get into something.  I made a nice pot of Tuscan Cabbage & White bean soup.  I used some white onions, red onions, garlic, carrots, collards, and herbs from the garden.  I added a couple of the ripe heirloom tomatoes I picked up at the organic farm Friday, and used some low sodium vegetable broth.  I cooked up about a cup of white beans ahead of time, but you could use a drained and rinsed can of white beans.  I seasoned it very simply with fresh garlic, sea salt, ground black pepper, a sprig of thyme, and a spring of rosemary.  Here's a link to a pretty easy recipe for cabbage and bean soup.

The big red cabbage became sweet & sour cabbage just like my grandmother used to make.  I put three pints up, but I don't think they'll last long.  I really like it. I think of my grandma with every bite.  This is really good stuff. It's pretty easy to make.

 Sweet and Sour Red Cabbage Recipe

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup vegan margarine, non hydrogenized
• 1 2-pound red cabbage, thinly sliced (about 12 cups)
• 6 Tbsp sugar
• 2/3 cup balsamic vinegar

Method

Melt the vegan margarine in a large pot over medium heat. Add cabbage and sauté until slightly wilted, about 5 minutes. Add sugar, toss to coat evenly. Add vinegar. Reduce heat to medium-low; cover, simmer until cabbage is tender, stirring often, about 30 minutes. Season to taste with salt and pepper.
Serves 6-8.

The canning station is ready, I quickly put some cabbage soup and sweet & sour cabbage up for a quick meal sometime.

Somehow this weekend I also managed to squeeze in some almond and flax meal crackers with rosemary and garlic.  I made a pretty wonderful vegan capri cheese for them.  I've been playing with a few vegan cheese recipes.  I think I'll have some good ones coming up soon. I roasted up some beets & onions and it all made for a great Sunday dinner.

But that's not all, we still had a large zucchini and probably would like something sweet on hand this week.  I shredded it up and stored most of it for salads and meals this week.  But, not before I made a double batch some of what I call "Zucchini Muffin Top" cookies.  I made these gluten free too.

I should warn my calorie counting friends at work, I'm going to mess with their calorie count tomorrow. ***giggling***

It's a bit of work, but none of the fresh produce is wasted, we have some great handy meals for lunch and dinner this week, and we've stored some goodies for later.  I don't have to cook, if I don't want to, until at least Wednesday.  I'd say it was a successful weekend.

A Yummy Vegan Pink Mess

Or, Dairy Free Strawberry Cream pie with Peaches, Cashew Coconut Creme, and Brazil Nut & Coconut Crust

This was a great idea in my head. But by being shy on the Agar because I didn't want it to gel too much, I didn't use quite enough so I didn't get that layered look I wanted. I'm still working with Agar trying to get the right amount for the desired texture. After the first piece was cut this beautiful pie became a big delicious pink mess.  I'll try again, practice is yummy.

The crust is a mixture of 1 cup raw Brazil nuts, soaked for 2-4 hours, 1 cup shredded or flaked coconut, 1/2 cup spelt flour, 1/2 cup sucanot, 2 tsp. cinnamon, and about 5 TB vegan margarine. Mix in the food processor until it becomes a coarse dough.  Press on the bottom and sides of a springform pan and bake at 350° for about 7- 10 minutes.

When the crust was cooled, I added a layer of my canned peaches and a layer of sliced strawberries, frozen right after they were picked in July.

The strawberry filling: I blended 1 cup raw cashews, soaked for 2-4 hours, about 2 cups strawberries, 2 TB Agave, and a bit of coconut milk.  I added about 3/4 cup hot water and 3/4 TB Agar flakes, until they were dissolved, to the strawberry mixture, blended a little more, and poured it on top of the layers of fruit. (I should use the whole cup next time.) I poured the filling on top of the fruit.

The topping: Cashew coconut cream with a mixture of 1/4 cup hot water and 1/4 TB of agar flakes.  This chilled for about an hour.  The topping came out with a really nice texture and gelled nicely.  The strawberry portion could have used a little more agar, but this is really a tasty mess. 

Vegan Peach Ice Scream

I made some very easy and simple vegan peach ice cream with the peaches this year.  I found this recipe on another blog, called the Gluten-Free Goddess. Vegan Peach Ice Scream It's only four ingredients because I omitted the rum.  My husband says that's his favorite kind of rum, "may omit." I also used pure maple syrup instead of the organic brown sugar.  I made a little too much of the mixture for the ice cream maker so I added a little agar and made a nice peach sauce.

Beans, Greens, & Cornbread, Vegan Peach cake and Ice Creme

Beans, Greens, & Cornbread

Had lunch with my granddaughter this weekend.  We had some Cannellini beans  simmered with a little chopped onion, peppers, fresh carrots, and chopped summer squash over steamed beet greens.  I made some quick fried cornbread, dairy free, and some fresh cucumber and tomato salad.

She's a veggie luvin' kid and that makes me smile.  She's only six, but so far she likes what grandma serves her.

We also made some dairy free chocolate chip ice cream and a peach upside down cake together.  We used raw cashews and almonds, coconut, non-dairy milk, a little agave, seeds from a vanilla bean, and wheat sweetened chocolate chips.  I would have liked just the vanilla ice cream, but it was fun for her to add something to the mixture.

Local and "In Season" Processed Food

Enjoying and preserving the gifts of summer, I processed our food this weekend. 

Two batches of Tumeric Refrigerator Pickles, one made with cucumbers and the other with golden zucchini,

fresh tuna and peaches,

baked some zucchini loaf cake,

steamed some fresh from the garden artichokes,

and made some twice baked potatoes with summer squash and potato stuffing topped with a little freshly grated Parmesan cheese and fresh parsley.