veganmofo 2013

Blueberry Spelt Muffins

/ Kelly / Leave a comment

It was only a matter of time until this day arrived. With a theme that heavily focuses on berries, there just had to be at least one muffin recipe, right? Blueberry muffins are the classic choice, and, well, I’m a sucker for the classics.

The bakery-style muffins from Vegan Brunch were my go-to muffins of choice for a while, but they don’t offer much in the way of nutrition, and they’re awfully sugary. Not that these muffins are much better! They’re certainly not what I would call particularly healthy or wholesome (though spelt and flax certainly don’t hurt), but hey—they taste damn good. And that’s what I want out of my classics.

 

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Blueberry Spelt Muffins
(makes eight normal-sized muffins)

1 T ground flax + 3 T warm water
¾ C unbleached all-purpose flour
½ C spelt flour
½ T baking powder
¼ tsp salt
Scant ½ C sugar
½ C non-dairy milk
Scant ¼ C vegetable or sunflower seed oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
Heaping ¾ C blueberries

Preheat your oven to 350˚ F. Grease or line a muffin tin.

In a small bowl, whisk together the flax and water and set aside.

In a large bowl, sift the dry ingredients (flour through sugar) and stir to combine. Make a well in the center and add the wet ingredients. Stir gently to combine, but don’t overmix. Fold in the blueberries.

Pour or spoon the batter into the prepared muffin tins, nearly filling the wells. Bake for 21-23 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

What’s your favorite blueberry muffin recipe

MoFo Monday: Erdbeerboden(ish) from Seitan is My Motor

/ Kelly / 3 Comments

Okay, I know my title is a bit nonsensical—every Monday during MoFo is a MoFo Monday. I’m referring to a new sub-theme I’ve recently (i.e. today) implemented: on Mondays, I will venture into the wider world of MoFo and make a recipe that 1.) still qualifies for my theme of seasonal fruits, but 2.) is another MoFoer’s recipe. There are so many wonderful blogs participating this year, and I’ve been Pinning up a storm as I see recipes that inspire me.

This year, I’ve been absolutely loving Mihl’s theme over at Seitan is My Motor. Mihl’s blog was one of the first ones I started following when I began toying with veganism, and I’ve been a fan ever since. This year, she’s veganizing classic German desserts, and her treats are just so enticing. When I saw her recipe for Erdbeerboden, a strawberry spongecake, I was smitten. I just adored the idea of a light spongecake that lets fruit stand front and center.

Because strawberries aren’t in season around here (sadface!) I swapped in blueberries instead. So this is not a true Erdbeerboden, I suppose! But no matter. It’s still delicious, even though I had to make another last-minute substitute when I realized I was out of agar-agar. Cornstarch saved the day, even though agar would certainly have been a more elegant solution; my cornstarch mixture was a little… thick. On the bright side, I had the perfect pan to make this in, even though I thought I’d gotten rid of it before moving to Maryland. I’m glad my minimalism hasn’t taken full hold yet. ;)

 

Isn’t it pretty? It’s light and just sweet enough. The blueberries made a lovely topping, too—I fully endorse the substitution, and the recipe as a whole. Thanks, Mihl!

What’s your favorite recipe using spongecake?

Lazy Sunday I

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

Hooray! We’ve made it through the first week of MoFo. I’m feelin’ pretty pleased with my progress so far; I’ve shared more original recipes in a week than I had in the previous… I dunno, six or so months. Go me.

But now it’s Sunday, and I promised myself to take it easy on Sundays. (Plus my apartment is a mess, my dog has bowl-you-over vomit breath, and I am plum tuckered out.) So, in lieu of a legit post, I’m going to answer a few of the “official” blogging prompts from the folks at MoFo HQ.

Share your first experience cooking with tofu.

Ahh, this takes me back. It was autumn of 2008, and I was beginning my senior year of college. I lived in an on-campus townhouse with two of my very best friends. I’d been vegetarian since the end of high school, but somehow I’d never made tofu for myself (hey, I had a meal plan for the first three years of college!). Now, though, with a full kitchen at my disposal, a burgeoning interest in veganism, and time to spare (ha ha jk) while working on my senior comps project, I decided to branch out. I hied myself down to the local co-op and picked me up a package of tofu. It looked somethin’ like this:

Box of aseptic packaged extra firm silken tofu.Oh yes, you know where this is going. I gamely cut the pale block into cubes, coated it in some barbecue sauce, and put it in the oven, hoping that some sort of magical tofu fairy who lived in the back of our little gas oven would wave her wand and transform the jiggling cubes into toothsome bites of savory soy.

Alas; no amount of kitchen wizardry can transfigure silken tofu into regular ol’ tofu, and the cubes were as quivery as ever when I removed them from the oven. I ate them, but reader, I did not enjoy them. It took a shameful amount of time for me to realize that I could not ignore the word “silken” on the front of the package and assume that all “extra firm” tofu was the same thing.

Five years later, I consider myself much more knowledgeable. I can recognize tofu that’s been frozen, tofu that’s been pressed… and tofu that’s from a little aseptic package.

Is there something you do in the kitchen that you know you’re not supposed to (knives in the dishwasher, soap on cast iron, etc)?

Well, I can get a little lazy when it comes to certain types of cleaning—if I used a measuring cup for some soy milk, for example, I might just rinse it with water instead of washing it with soap. It just seems like overkill to go through alllll the trouble of turning the faucet to “hot,” pumping some dish soap on a washcloth, and scrubbing away at a single barely used measuring cup. Ugh. (I’m pretty cleanly otherwise, I swear!)

Also, I put some of our crappier knives in the dishwasher, because they are crappy and I don’t really care.

I have been known to eat food that had mold growing on it. Not the actual mold, ew.

Let’s move on.

What’s your favorite accidentally vegan product?

Honestly? Oreos. I know—potential bone char sugar, super processed, questionable corporate ethics… mmhmm. Got it. It’s not like I buy them every month, but damn it, sometimes you’re on a late-night grocery run with your man and you want a snack to eat while you get home and binge watch The West Wing and you just do not feel like baking. In situations like that, I do not hesitate to pick up a package of Oreos. They go great with almond milk.

A single Oreo with a bite taken out of it.

What’re your answers to any/all of these questions? What are you doing on this Sunday?

Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

Live from Maryland, it’s Saturday morning!

There’s nothing quite like the exhilaration of waking up, making something for breakfast, and crossing your fingers and toes that it turns out well because you still need something to blog about that very day. Not that I’m speaking from experience or anything. Ahem.

Happily, this particular breakfast is well-worth a post. I’ve always thought baked oatmeal was, quite literally, oatmeal you make on the stove and then pop in the oven for… some unknown reason. To firm up? To enhance the oat-y flavor? I had no idea. Turns out, you do the actual oatmeal-cooking right in the oven! And it makes a dish more akin to a casserole than a traditional oatmeal! Amazing. Who knew?!

My baked oatmeal is based on this one from Epicurious and this one from the fabulous Ricki Heller. I love Ricki’s idea of whizzing up the ingredients to make a baked oatmeal “pudding,” and I’ll definitely try that method next time. Meanwhile, though, I’ll be enjoying this blueberry-laden breakfast—and I hope you do, too.

 

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Baked Blueberry Oatmeal

Serves four

  • Coconut oil or Earth Balance for buttering the pan
  • 2 C rolled oats (I like Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats)
  • ½ C chopped walnuts, divided into two ¼ C portions
  • Scant ⅓ C brown sugar
  • ¼ C dried wild blueberries (optional)
  • 1 ½ t cinnamon
  • 1 t baking powder
  • Very scant ½ t salt
  • Dash nutmeg
  • 2 C non-dairy milk
  • 2 T ground flax
  • ⅓ C unsweetened applesauce
  • 2 t vanilla extract
  • 1 C fresh or frozen blueberries (use more if omitting wild blueberries)

Preheat the oven to 375˚. Spread the coconut oil or Earth Balance around the inside of an 8”x8” square baking dish, making sure to cover all sides.

In a large bowl, mix together the dry ingredients (rolled oats through nutmeg, including ¼ C of  the walnuts) and stir to combine.

In a small bowl, add the wet ingredients (not including the blueberries) and whisk to combine.

Add the oat mixture to the baking dish, then pour the milk mixture over the top. Use a flat spoon or spatula to push the milk down into the oats so that they’re covered. Sprinkle the remaining walnuts (¼ C) and blueberries (fresh or frozen) over the top, pushing down a little to gently fold them into the oats.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the top is golden and the milk doesn’t look liquid-y on top of the oats. If you’re feeling decadent, sprinkle additional brown sugar or drizzle additional maple syrup over the top before serving.

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Apples + Agave

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

Oh, friends. It’s finally happened: I don’t have a photo to share with you today. Yesterday was busy busy busy. I celebrated my first Jewish holiday (assuming the childhood Hanukkah celebrations I held with my dolls and a bee-yoo-ti-ful clay menorah don’t count) at a Rosh Hashanah dinner with S’s extended family. Since we knew there wouldn’t be much vegan-friendly fare, we took matters into our own hands. We brought kugel (super yummy; and yes, you can cut down that olive oil measurement by a TON), macaroons (a never-fail recipe), and a mock chopped liver (delicious with flatbread crackers from Whole Foods). We had a nice time, even though S’s six-year-old cousin refused to talk to us and hid in the kitchen the entire night. Kids, eh?

Anyway, we also brought agave nectar to stand in for honey, because it’s a tradition to eat sliced apples dipped in honey on Rosh Hashanah. According to some page I read on the internet, eating sweet foods is meant to “express our hope for a sweet new year.” Well, I can surely get behind that! And I’m okay with apples and agave, too.

Two big, plastic jars of agave .

Okay, I lied—there’s a photo for ya. We buy our agave from Costco, and it comes in a big ol’ double pack just like that stock image right there. It lasts foreverrr. Maybe I should start dipping my apples in agave more often.

How have you veganized a holiday tradition?

Easy Unbaked Apple Not-Quite-Crisp

/ Kelly / 3 Comments

There are a few foods that I will always and forever associate with my childhood. Somewhere near the tippy-top of that list is apple crisp. My mom took my siblings and I on near-annual outings to the apple orchard every fall, and I always knew that the bounty we brought home would soon find its way into dozens of delicious recipes. My favorite was apple crisp. I liked helping Mom bake it, if only because I could swipe the occasional spoonful of topping. After Mom put it in the oven, the crisp’s warm cinnamon-y smell wafted through the house as I waited anxiously for the oven timer to ding. Then, when it did, we all dug in. With five people in the family, we were lucky to get more than one serving. “Seconds” usually meant a few paltry slices of apple and maybe a crumble or two of topping. And that was with Mom making a double batch!

These days, S and I have lots of crisp to share when I make it. But when the weather’s warm and I don’t feel like turning on the oven, I opt for an unbaked stand-in that captures all the flavors of traditional apple crisp with none of the heat. It’s a little less rich, too, because you don’t bake the apples. And that means it comes together in no time—no more waiting for the oven timer!

 

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Easy Unbaked Apple Not-Quite-Crisp
Makes one large serving or two small

  • 2 T Earth Balance or coconut oil (you can substitute applesauce for one tablespoon if you want to keep the fat content down)
  • 2 T spelt flour or other flour of your choice
  • 3 T rolled or quick oats
  • 1.5 T dark brown sugar
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1/8 tsp ground nutmeg
  • Dash cloves
  • Dash salt
  • 1 large apple, peeled and cut into thin slices OR diced into cubes

In a small bowl, melt the Earth Balance or coconut oil. Add all other ingredients (except the apples!) and mix with a fork until it forms large crumbles. Move your diced or sliced apples into a second bowl, top with crumbles, and enjoy.

Note: I prefer Earth Balance in this recipe, but it’s not bad with coconut oil! Half and half would probably work well, too.

What’s your favorite quick dessert recipe?

Lemon-Glazed Blackberry Spelt Scones

/ Kelly / 4 Comments

The astute among you might notice that this second MoFo blackberry recipe uses the same accompanying flavor as my previous one: lemon. I couldn’t resist! The two fruits are just so complementary. Blackberries are the stars here, though, studded sparingly throughout a simple spelt scone that begs to be savored with a cup of hot tea.

Working with this tender dough requires care and attention so as to avoid crushing the large yet delicate berries. Don’t be afraid to use your hands when you fold them in, gently tucking them into their doughy cushion. The results are worth the extra work.

 

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Blackberry Spelt Scones
Makes six large or eight medium

  • 1 C spelt flour
  • 1 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
  • ½ C sugar
  • 1 T baking powder
  • ¼ tsp salt
  • 1 C coconut milk
  • ¼ C vegetable oil
  • ½ tsp vanilla extract
  • ½ C fresh or frozen blackberries (I used fresh, but I think frozen would work well here!)

Lemon Glaze

  • 1 T Earth Balance or other margarine of choice
  • 1 T + 1 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
  • 1 T non-dairy creamer (non-dairy milk works fine too)
  • 2/3 C confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 375˚ and prepare a baking sheet by lightly oiling or lining with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (except the blackberries!) and mix until combined. Make a well in the center of bowl and add the wet ingredients. Mix gently until a soft dough forms. If it’s too tacky, add an additional 1-2 TB all-purpose flour. Add the blackberries, gently folding the dough over them.

Turn dough out onto a well-floured, clean surface. Flour your hands and gently give the dough a few kneads. Pat dough into a circle about an inch high. Using a floured bread knife, cut the circle into sixths or eighths, depending on how large you like your scones. (I did sixths and they were quite large!) Transfer scones to the prepared baking sheet and bake for 17-20 minutes or until the edges are slightly brown and a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool.

To make the glaze, melt the Earth Balance in a small bowl, then whisk together all the ingredients until a thick yet runny paste forms. Drizzle on cooled scones and let set a bit before eating.

Blueberry-Infused Vodka, aka My First MoFo Fail

/ Kelly / 15 Comments

Oh dear. We’re only three days into MoFo and I’ve already experienced my first fail. I had such high hopes, too. A few weeks ago, I made a basil-infused vodka that turned out really well—after just a week of infusing, the vodka was super flavorful. High on my success, I put some of my frozen blueberries into another glass jar of vodka and eagerly watched as the liquid turned a surprising and stunning shade of ultraviolet. Yesterday, I made myself a drink with the infusion, a simple concoction of simple syrup, the blueberry vodka, and club soda. I imagined a light, fruity, fizzy spritzer, perfect for the 90˚F Labor Day holiday. It certainly looked the part.

blueberry-infused-vodka_9655919519_oAlas! Like a vapid pop star*, its looks were really all this drink had going for it. It was dull and tasted mostly of the club soda, with no discernible blueberry taste at all. Crushed and not wanting to waste the vodka I’d already infused, I went back to the drawing board. I muddled another handful of blueberries in a mortar and pestle, then added some sugar and let them stew in their juices for a half hour or so. Then I added that liquidy mess back into the vodka and put it all back on the shelf to infuse some more. Here’s hoping that next week, I’ll taste the infusion and come back triumphant, with a post about my success. If you don’t hear anything, assume the worst.

Have you ever made an infused alcohol? If so, what’s the secret?!

* That was a cheap shot; I know a total of zero pop stars and shouldn’t disparage the ones I don’t know personally.

Lemon Pudding with Blackberries

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

Pudding is one of those desserts that always fascinated me as a kid. The transformation from a straight-up liquid to a thick goop more akin to a solid seemed magical—at what point did it happen? I knew it had to be a gradual state change, but my young self knew there had to be a turning point that triggered it, probably related to its temperature. And the care that went into preventing the pudding from sticking—the constant whisking and diligent scraping of the saucepan’s bottom—lent an additional air of glamour to the endeavor. Pudding was not something to, ahem, trifle with.

Perhaps I haven’t quite mastered the art of perfect pudding. I wanted to make a luscious lemon pudding to serve as the vehicle for a topping of big, ripe blackberries, but my pudding came out a little… funky. It tasted just fine, but its aesthetic appeal was diminished by ubiquitous tiny white dots suspended throughout its gelatinous form. Although improperly mixed cornstarch seems the likely culprit, I think I’m pointing the finger at my almond milk. I’ve been disappointed with Almond Breeze recently; their milk seems to separate at the drop of a hat, and the little white dots look suspiciously like separated almond milk.

But no matter. The pudding works just fine as a base for a topping of gorgeous blackberries, dots or no dots. Next time, though, perhaps I’ll opt for a pudding base of silken tofu… ;)

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Lemon Pudding
(serves three; adapted from this recipe)

  • 5 T cornstarch
  • 5 T cold water
  • Juice of two lemons (about ½ cup)
  • 2 C almond milk
  • Scant ½ t vanilla extract
  • ⅔ C sugar
  • ¼ t salt
  • Dash turmeric, for color
  • 1 C fresh raspberries, divided

In a small tightly-lidded jar, combine cornstarch and water and shake vigorously to combine. Set aside, preferably in the refrigerator.

In a small saucepan over medium heat, combine the lemon juice, almond milk, vanilla extract, and sugar. Whisk to combine and heat for a couple of minutes. If the mixture separates, that’s okay–just give it a whisk.

Add the salt and turmeric. Stream in the cornstarch mixture slowly while constantly whisking. Continue to whisk until the pudding starts slowly boiling, then turn the heat down to low and continue whisking as the pudding thickens, for about 5 minutes.

Turn off the heat and remove the pan from the stove. Pour into serving dishes and let cool to room temperature before placing in the fridge. Cool for three hours or overnight. Top with fresh raspberries and serve.

Note: If using organic lemons, feel free to add a tablespoon of lemon zest. Mine weren’t organic, so I didn’t want to use the rinds.

Blueberry-Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

/ Kelly / 5 Comments

Welcome to VeganMoFo 2013! This year, I’m focusing on seasonal fruits–basically, any fruit that’s in season in Maryland in September. My first recipe is a bit of a cheat, though. I used dried wild blueberries instead of fresh, but you can substitute fresh wild blueberries if you like.

It’s amusing that slapping the word “breakfast” in front of any kind of baked good automatically lends it an air of healthiness. A cake is usually a sugary treat one consumes at a celebration, but call it a “breakfast cake” and you’ve got the green light to go to town on it at 10:00 in the morning.

Same thing goes for these cookies. A big ol’ scoop of rolled oats, a couple tablespoons of flax, and blueberries + banana make these puffy cookies A-okay for a quick on-the-go breakfast option.

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So on this first day of VeganMoFo 2013, why don’t you bake up a big ol’ batch of oatmeal cookies, brew a pot of coffee, and call it breakfast? It’s Sunday. You deserve it.

Blueberry-Oatmeal Breakfast Cookies

Makes 13

  • 2 T ground flaxseed + 6 TB warm water
  • 1 C unbleached all purpose flour
  • ½ C whole-wheat flour
  • 1 t baking soda
  • Scant ½ t salt
  • ½ t cinnamon
  • Dash nutmeg
  • 1 medium-sized very ripe banana
  • 2 T coconut oil, softened or melted
  • ½ C dark brown sugar
  • ⅔ C nondairy milk of choice
  • 1 ½ C rolled oats (I like Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats)
  • Heaping ⅓ C dried wild blueberries
  • ⅓ C walnut pieces (optional)

Method

Preheat oven to 350˚F. Lightly grease a cookie sheet and set aside. (You could also use parchment paper.)

In a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the ground flax and warm water and set aside.

In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients except the oats, blueberries, and nuts.

Add the banana to the bowl with the flax mixture and mash it well. The flax and banana mixture should be thick and goopy.  Add the oil, sugar, and milk to the wet mixture and stir well to combine.

Make a well in the bowl with the dry ingredients and add the wet to the dry. Stir to combine, then fold in the oats, blueberries, and walnuts if you’re using them. The dough should be thick and a little sticky. Drop heaping, rounded spoonfuls of dough onto the prepared cookie sheets and bake for 12-15 minutes, depending on your oven.

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Blueberry oatmeal breakfast cookies // vegan //govegga.com

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