Planted Based Cooking Class #3 at Country Village

Another cooking class at Country Village Cafe went very well and I thoroughly enjoyed myself.  I heard quite a few other folks did too.  I had some great help from my friends in the kitchen and they all said they had a great time. Thanks to all who lent a hand, I am still learning how to navigate through all of this, and it's a lot easier with supportive friends and family. We fed more than 40 people plant based treats, including some grocery store customers who stopped by to view the activity in the cafe.  It's usually closed on Saturdays so the activity was a little curious.  Which reminds me, a few years ago I looked at the closed cafe one Saturday and told Patti I should try to run it on Saturdays.  I thought a breakfast or lunch special, not a full menu, might be fun.  Hmmm, there I was feeding a full cafe.  I loved it!

Country Village was also celebrating 35 years in business by hosting "Customer Appreciation Days".  We contributed by keeping a sample tray of plant based goodies filled throughout the day.

Twenty five students attended, some of them very new to plant based eating.  I did my best to get new tastes and textures introduced to the interested.  I cooked this time.  I just love my portable burners.  It's like a stovetop in my pocket.

This time the guests found cheezy kale chips, savory pepitos, and a crudite of brightly colored vegetables and papaya seed ranch on the tables waiting for them.  Yes, papaya seed ranch.  I learned something new also.  While out picking vegetables at Willow Grove Gardens, Ruth picked some purple caulflower and sprial broccoflower and put it in my box.  I know a lot of people might want to try these out of the ordinary vegetables so I picked up my Complete Idiot's Guide to Eating Raw cookbook in search of a nice raw ranch dressing.  I found a papaya seed ranch, very easy, not many ingredients.  I never knew you could eat the papaya seeds.  I immediately cut one opened and ate a spoonful of the tender seeds.  Wow, they're great!  They have a flowery, yet spicy, taste.  Sort of like a nasturtiam flower.  I'll make more of this dressing, I loved it and so did the students.

We tasted:

Raw Creamy Broccoli Soup
Curried Winter Squash & Apple Soup
Fettuccini Alfredo
Forbidden Black Rice & Polenta Casserole
and Gluten Free and Oil Free Pumpkin Spice Cake

Enjoy the class, I know we did.  Country Village employees made a list of interested shoppers while we held the class.  Looks like I get to do another.

Vegan, Gluten, & Oil Free Pumpkin Spice Cake

It's about time I catch up on my blogging.  I've been so busy the last couple months and there are a few dishes I've made that I would like to be able to look up again and make.  September and October are busy, stressful months at work.  I am sure if you checked out a blog from this time last year, I probably mentioned the same thing.  My day job is pretty pleasant for the most part, but we do some pretty heavy number crunching in the fall preparing the plan for the next year.  I call it an accounting marathon.  I also had the great pleasure of heading up the kitchen at the VegFest in Portland, OR.  That took a bit of commitment too.  Things are settling back to the normal chaos, I'm coming up for air now, and have time to catch up on some great recipes.

I've been keeping my cooking classes not only plant based, but gluten free.  I am not gluten intolerant, that I know of, but I'm meeting more and more people who are.  I've been out with some friends who have celiacs disease and many times they can only have lettuce or raw carrots in a restaurant.  In all the presentations I attend and articles I read, it's a good idea for all of us to moderate our gluten intake.  It's not been difficult to make some great gluten free meals. 

This cake took some work because I also wanted to make it oil free. It took a few tries, but I managed to come up with a recipe that works every time.  My husband was a little disappointed I figured it out because it meant I wasn't going to make a cake every three days trying to get it right.  Here it is for you to try.  If you don't mind using wheat flour, just leave out the xanthum gum.

Here's one of my first attempts.  It was good, but still a little too moist in the middle for my tastes.

I went to so much trouble to make this cake healthy, I chose not to frost it at my cooking class.  I lightly sprinkled it with a mixture of organic powdered sugar and a dash each of cinnamon and nutmeg.  I thought it was a bit dry for some so I added just a little dollop of some pre-made rice whipping cream and garnished with a couple nice dried cranberries.

Vegan & Gluten Free Pumpkin Cake

               By Debbie Kay

Two eight inch layers or one 9”x 11” baking pan, or 24 mini cupcakes

Ingredients:

• 2 cups pumpkin puree
• 3/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce (1 large or two small apples with 2 TB filtered water puréed in high speed blender)
• 1 teaspoons cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ¼ teaspoon each cloves & ginger
• 1&1/2 cups organic Sucanat, coconut sugar, or brown sugar, packed
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 egg replacements, (I like ENERG egg replacer for this cake, 1 TB egg replacer with 2 TB water = one egg replacer)
• 2 cups Bob’s Red Mill Gluten Free All Purpose flour
  Unbleached all purpose flour can be used, omit the Xanthum Gum
• 1 teaspoon Xantham Gum
• 2 tsp. baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon salt

Directions:

To make the cake:

1. Preheat the oven to 375º
2. Cream vegan margarine or applesauce with the sugar.
3. Mix the powdered egg replacement with water as directed on the package.
4. Add the liquid egg replacements to the creamed vegan margarine and brown sugar.
5. Mix the pumpkin puree and vanilla to the creamed margarine mixture.
6. Sift the flour in a large mixing bowl, add the baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, and ginger and mix well.
7. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and blend well.
8. Pour the batter into parchment lined baking pans.
9. Bake for 55 min. to 1 hour. Test with toothpick, toothpick should come out clean
10. Cool on a rack before removing from the pan for five minutes.

Sprinkle warm cake with mixture of organic powdered sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Or, frost with your favorite vegan frosting after completely cooling.

Here's a quick buttercream frosting if you prefer a frosted cake.  Add a tablespoon of lemon juice for a cream cheese taste.

Buttercream Frosting

1 cup softened Earth Balance or other vegan butter

1 cup palm oil shortening

3- 4 cups pound sifted organic powdered sugar

½ tsp Vanilla or seeds from ½ Vanilla bean

In the bowl of a standing mixer or food processor cream together the Earth Balance and the palm oil on medium to high speed until completely combined.  Turn the speed down to low and slowly add in the sifted powdered sugar one cup at a time, allowing it to blend thoroughly before adding more.  Add in the vanilla and continue to blend until the mixture looks creamy. 

 

Pine Nut Polenta with Cherry Sauce - Another Way to Get Your Grains

In preparation for the big VegFest weekend, I purchased a cookbook by each chef I'd be working with so I could have them ready to sign for my collection.  I didn't get Robin Asbell's cookbook in time so I purchased one at the VegFest which she graciously signed for me.  I bought The Big Vegan at the festival and her Sweet & Easy Vegan just came in the mail yesterday. I opened the book and chose the first recipe I saw:  Pine Nut Polenta with Cherry Sauce.  A warm whole grain treat made with coarse corn meal and teff that can be eaten for breakfast or dessert.  I had just about everything the recipe called for except for a little teff.  I took some cherries out of the freezer to thaw, picked up some more teff and whipped it together Saturday afternoon.  I chilled it overnight and grilled it for a delightful Sunday breakfast. Oh yeah, did I mention this is an Easy recipe?  The cherry sauce is very simple.  I just did something similar with raspberries for the thumbprint cookies.  Any berries will work for this recipe.

Pine Nut Polenta with Cherry Sauce
    Robin Asbell, Sweet & Easy Vegan, page 47

Polenta

1 Cup coarse cornmeal/polenta
3 Cups filtered water
1 Cup amaranth or teff or 1 cup additional cornmeal
1 Cup vanilla non-dairy milk
1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

The grains can be substituted with other grains and cashews or other nuts can be substituted for the pine nuts.

Cherry Sauce

10 oz. frozen dark cherries (your favorite berries)
1/2 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup apple juice
1 TB corn starch

Lightly oil a 9 x 5 inch loaf pan.

To make the polenta:

Put the cornmeal in a medium saucepan, then add the water gradually while whisking continuously.  Whisk in the amaranth or teff.  Bring to a boil over medium heat, then cook, whisking continuously until thick, about 5 minutes.  Stir in half the pine nuts.

Scrape the polenta into the prepared pan and spread it in an even layer.  Sprinkle the remaining pine nuts on the top and press to adhere.  Cover tightly and refrigerate for at least 4 hours, until firm.

To make the sauce:

In a small saucepan, combine the cherries and maple syrup.  Bring to a boil over medium heat.  Lower the heat to maintain a simmer.  In a cup or small bowl, whisk the apple juice and cornstarch together until smooth, then stir the mixture into the cherries.  cook until shiny and thickened, about 5 minutes.

Slice the polenta and either fry it in a lightly oiled, well-seasoned cast-iron skillet or bake it on an oiled baking sheet at 400º for 10 to 15 minutes, until heated through and browned.  Serve topped with the warm sauce, reheating it, if need be.  Stored in separate airtight containers, the polenta and cherry sauce will keep for about 1 week.

Looking forward to breakfast again tomorrow. Yum!

Nutty Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies

This weekend at the Portland VegFest I had the pleasure of organizing the prep kitchen.  Scott & I packed up the kitchen and had two wonderful days of playing with our food.  We assisted seven vegan chefs from around the country for nine chef demos.  We learned a lot, especially about working together.  I have a lot more confidence Scott & I can work as a team whichever way this vegan cooking adventure takes us.

The first chef we got to work with was Chef Del Sroufe, author of the Forks Over Knives cookbook.  I opened it at work Wednesday and chose the first recipe I saw for my "plan review" treats, Nutty Raspberry Jam Thumbprints.  They look easy and made with the oat flour, they're gluten free. Today is just a little bit tense having the budget reviewed by our superiors.  I like to break the ice with some vegan treats.  If nothing else goes well, and it will, the cookies usually cause a little smiling.

I had most the ingredients in the recipe, except some nuts.  I stopped by the grocery store after the garden last night and picked up some nice pecans.  I didn't have any applesauce handy, but an apple in the Blendtec worked out just fine.  Yesterday morning before I went to work I took some raspberries out of the freezer to thaw.  I made a little jam with some pure maple syrup and Agar and let it cool.  You can use a good pre-made jam.

My Quick Jam

About 2 cups fresh or frozen berries
3 TB pure maple syrup
1 TB Agar
1 Cup boiling water
1/4 tsp cinnamon, optional
1/4 tsp nutmeg, optional

Heat the berries with the maple syrup until they come to a gentl boil.  Add the Agar to the boiling water and dissolve.  Add the Agar mixture to the hot berry mixture, mix well, add cinnamon and nutmeg.  Bring it to a gentle boil again, remove it from the heat and let cool.  It will thicken as it cools.

Nutty Raspberry Thumbprint Cookies
     Forks Over Knives Cookbook, page 271

Makes 18 cookies

1/2 Cup unsweetened applesauce,
1/4 Cup almond butter
1/2 Cup dry sweetener:  raw cane sugar, coconut sugar, sucanat, etc.
1 TB ground flaxseeds
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 3/4 cups oat flour (If you're not concerned with gluten, unbleached wheat or spelt, flour will work fine)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely chopped walnuts, (I used pecans)
1/2 cup raspberry jam, or to taste

Preheat oven to 350º.  Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a Silpat baking mat.

In a large mixing bowl use a  strong fork to mix the applesauce, almond butter, sweetener, and flax seeds.  Once relatively smooth, mix in vanilla.

Add the flour, baking soda, and salt and mix well.  Fold in the oats and walnuts.

Roll about 2 tablespoons of batter into a ball and place on the prepared baking sheet.  Repeat with remaining batter until you have 18 balls.  They can fit into once cookie sheet because they don't spread much at all during baking.  Moisten you thumb (or index finger) and make a deep indent in the center of each cookie.  Place about 1/2 teaspoon of jam in each indent.

Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, or until the bottoms of the cookie are golden brown. 

Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool on the sheets for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

I sprinkled them with a bit of powdered sugar, that's optional.