A 100% WHOLE WHEAT PIZZA CRUST THAT WE ACTUALLY LIKED!

COMMENTS ARE WORKING AGAIN!

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS ON MY VEGAN FEAST OPEN COOKING FORUM!

As you may know, if you have read my other blog posts on pizza, I have not really cared for whole wheat pizza crust. I have been using about 1/3 whole wheat flour in my dough, with good results, but the whole wheat doughs i have tried have been awful! Until yesterday.

I have owned a copy of my baking hero Peter Reinhart's book, Peter Reinhart's Whole Grain Breads (in addition to his classic The Bread Baker's Apprentice: Mastering the Art of Extraordinary Bread) for some time now, but I had not had the nerve to try his 100% whole wheat pizza dough recipe.


However, DH and I are following the Weight Watcher's Core Plan and so we are trying to eat whole grain products for the most part. After a month without pizza, we decided to use our remaining extra points for a pizza blow-out for lunch! I planned it a day ahead and made Peter's whole wheat dough.

The recipe calls for two pre-doughs, a biga (Italian bread starter), which has to be refrigerated overnight, and a soaker, which is some of the flour (in this case-- it can also be whole grains) with liquid and sometimes a little salt.


Biga on the left, soaker on the right. I used my home-ground hard red wheat flour, so the dough looked fairly dark. If you used white whole wheat, it would be more golden.

You probably have some idea of what a starter is (this one is started with yeast, not sourdough), but why use a soaker? Well, for one thing, flour soaks in liquid for several hours (12-24 hours, in this case), the gluten gets a head start in development. The two proteins that make up gluten begin to join together, which makes the dough more malleable and cohesive. For another, soaking hydrates the bran and germ, which are the harder particles that can cut the gluten strands and sometimes prevent whole grain doughs from rising properly. And, very importantly, soaking flour initiates enzymatic activity. Enzymes convert complex starches into simple sugars, which feed the yeast, which rises the bread. The soaker gives a head start to this process. The enzymic action develops the umami flavor compounds in wheat flour to “ripen” the dough and develop its flavor.

When you are ready to make the final dough, you turn out the soaker on a floured board and cut it into 12 pieces;


Then you get out the refrigerated biga, which has fermented for at least 8 hours,



and cut it into 12 pieces, too.


(NOTE: Peter Reinhart says: "... The surface of the soakers and bigas will sometimes darken due to oxidation--no harm but if you want to avoid it, lay some plastic wrap directly on the surface of the dough to keep it from reacting to the air..."

Then you place them in your stand mixer with the other ingredients for the final dough (yeast [he uses instant yeast added with the flour-- I didn't have any, so I used ordinary dry active baking yeast dissolved in 1 tablespoon warm water-- you have to use about 1/3 more regular yeast than instant], salt, a little more whole wheat flour, olive oil, sweetener of your choice):


and knead it. The dough, once risen, can be refrigerated for up to 24 hours before use, and it can be frozen, too.



The dough was moist and easy to handle. (See an alternative way to stretch the dough at this post.) Although the instructions said to divide the dough into 5 parts, I divided it into 4, so that we could each have a good-sized individual pizza, and then freeze enough for 2 more.


I added the topping just before I baked each pizza. If you have a pretty moist dough and you are making a thin crust pizza, letting it sit too long with the toppings on it may the dough soggy and very difficult to get it off the peel! (As you can see, it is already on my Mini SuperPeel.) NOTE: Make sure to flour your peel and then sprinkle with plenty of cornmeal to make sure the dough will slide off nicely. Some people place a piece of parchment over the peel and dust that with cornmeal, but I haven't tried that with my metal peel, and you don't need to do that with the SuperPeel.



The verdict?

We liked it! It puffed up nicely on the edges and it had a nice flavor-- not "muddy", which is the only way I can describe some whole wheat crusts. I found the rim of the first pizza crust I baked a bit dry, so I sprayed the rim of the second pizza crust with a little oil from my pump-sprayer during the last few minutes of baking, and that really improved it (also in terms of how it looked-- more golden).

Reservations? It was still a bit coarse for my taste, though, but that might have been our home-ground flour. I want to try it with white whole wheat flour and see if that makes a difference. I would probably also add a bit more salt.

One whole pizza crust (1/4 of the dough) was 9.7 points. It was worth it (we had saved up points)! I didn't want a measly 2 little slices-- I wanted it to be my whole meal! I figured that if I try the recipe again with a white biga dough, and the rest whole wheat (maybe white whole wheat), it might come up to my expectations better. If I use 1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil in the dough, instead of 2 tablespoons, then the points will be pretty much the same as the a 100% crust (actually, slightly less-- 9.2).

So, stay tuned for updates!

BTW, I can't reproduce the recipe here, since it's not online anywhere, so I don't think he wants it posted all over the 'Net. The book is worth buying (both of them, actually), anyway, if you are a serious baker, and not bad prices on amazon even for the hardcover versions.

Enjoy!

FANTASTIC JAPANESE GOBO TASTING DINNER!

COMMENTS ARE WORKING AGAIN!

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO JOIN THE DISCUSSIONS ON MY VEGAN FEAST OPEN COOKING FORUM!


Our Host, Matsuki (pronounced "Matski") Masutani, surveying the feast.

Our friends (here on Denman Is.), Matsuki and Jane Masutani invited us to dinner last night. I had been discussing gobo (burdock root) with Matsuki a few days before, and told him I had heard of it, and maybe had eaten it, but didn't really know that much about it. He explained that this root vegetable is an integral part of Japanese cuisine and also has medicinal qualities. (In North America it is often regarded as an invasive weed! Here is a history of burdock root.)


Burdock plant

Here's a great description of an introduction to gobo from Tom at blisstree.com:
"Before I moved to Japan, I had never seen, tasted or even heard of burdock. Now I know why. It would have to be one of the strangest vegetables I have ever seen in a shop anywhere. To the untrained eye it looks like a dirty old stick, about a metre long and maybe as thick as your thumb at the thick end. It is covered with dirty brown “bark” and it really looks very unappetising. Talk about Cinderella!


Gobo (burdock roots)

When it makes it to you plate, it is hard to believe that you are eating the same thing that you would previously have used to play “fetch” with your dog. You see burdock isn’t a dirty old stick at all. It is actually a root or tuber and within it’s ugly duckling appearance is actually a beautiful vegetable.

The Japanese call Burdock Gobo and the Chinese use it as a medicinal herb, but Australians really don’t use it at all. So I was a loss as to how to cook this bizarre thing. Having, up until now, tried it cooked by others, I gave it a stab myself the other night. And I failed. There is a fine balance between cooking it enough to make it edible and plain old burning it. I lost the balance and the burnt burdock ended up in the compost. I haven’t given up yet and so will give it another go soon. It is definitely worth the trouble and so I will persist.

Burdock root is usually scraped, rather than peeled, and either shaved or julienned thinly. Its most popular recipe seems to be burdock kinpira, where it is sauteed with carrots, chilli, and the usual suspects of sake, mirin, soy and sugar."

Matsuki and Jane were hosting an old friend from Japan, Kazuko (pronounced Kah-zukoh, with the accent on the Kah), who is a wonderful musician, storyteller and actress-- and, apparently, a great cook, too! So, they invited us for a gobo tasting dinner last night. They provided the convivial atmosphere, music (a beautiful recording of the Dalai Lama "chanting", but it was actually more like singing and it was very enjoyable), salad, the brown rice, and the beverages. Kazuko; our mutual friends Yoshi and Susan-Marie Yoshihara (who make the greatest miso here on Denman Is.-- Shinmeido Miso); and Norie (pronounced Noree-ay), a young professional Japanese chef and cooking teacher (specializing in macrobiotics and sushi), all cooked traditional Japanese gobo dishes for us to sample (actually, we feasted!). They very kindly made everything vegetarian. (Also present was Norie's young son and the Masutani's lovely daughter-in-law, Nobue (pronounced Nohbu-ay.)


I wait for DH to finish taking pictures of the food before we can sit down and eat!

Susan-Marie grows gobo (burdock root) in her wonderful garden. She uses a Lee Valley Dandelion Digger to dig out the slim roots without breaking them! If you are interested in growing burdock, it's hard to find info because of it's bad reputation as a weed in North America, but I found some good information here.

Anyway, on to the dinner! What a treat! What a delight to the senses! I don't have their recipes, but they did give me some of the ingredients, and I am including online recipes to investigate.


Norie brought the dishes above, some beautiful Soba-Sushi and Shikai-Sushi, along with some Kaki-Age (Julienned Vegetable Tempura) and Maze-Gohan (Japanese Rice Pilaf) wrapped in a banana leaf.




Norie is famous for her sushi here on Denman Is. (and rightly so!). Look at that beautiful Shikai-Sushi-- the square ones-- which translates to "Four oceans Sushi", Kazuko told me, because it looks like four waves closing in)! The tempura (on the bottom) was delicious, too. Here are some online instructions for making Shikai-Sushi. And here's another page. (But neither tell you how to get the purple effect that Norie did-- I'll have to ask her about that!)

Here is a page on how to make Soba-Sushi (Norie made two kinds-- one with buckwheat soba [Japanese noodles] and one with spinach soba).


Norie also brought a type of salad, Classic Kinpira Gobo, made with burdock and carrot. It was delightful! Here is a recipe for it. And here is another.

Yoshi also brought a dish of Maze-Gohan (Japanese Rice Pilaf), but it was a bit different from Norie's (I don't know what she put in hers). Yoshi's was Yuba-Maze-Gohan, containing strips of simmered yuba, hijiki seaweed,ginger pickle, soy sauce, sugar, and sesame oil. He instructed us to roll spoonful of it in squares of nori seaweed-- it was delicious that way! Here's a basic recipe for Maze-Gohan, but you can use all sorts of ingredients in it. I really liked the yuba in it! Yoshi said you could add a dash of hot sauce, such as Thai hot sauce, also known as Sriracha or "rooster sauce", if you like.



Yoshi's second dish was Kiriboshi-Daikon, a salad made with shredded carrot, strips of fried tofu (atsuage), onion, soy sauce, sugar, sesame oil, and dried daikon radish. The dried daikon has a more intense flavor than the fresh radish, giving a pleasant "bite" to the salad. There is a recipe for this here and another one here.


Kazuko made a delicious "Chinese-Style" Oden, or stew (I forgot to ask her why it was considered "Chinese-style"). It contained daikon radish, potato, burdock root, fried tofu (atsuage), seaweed, ginger, carrot, shiitake mushrooms, green onion, garlic, soy sauce, star anise, 5-spice powder (maybe that's the "Chinese-style" part?), sake, and sugar. There are many types of oden, but here is one recipe.

Kazuko also made a delicious appetizer, which we failed to photograph. She steamed carrots lightly (the Japanese prefer their root vegetables cooked) and cut them into pieces, and served them with a dip made of miso, crushed black sesame seeds, white wine, and sesame oil, if I remember rightly. It was absolutely scrumptious! She just made it up on the spot, so I have no idea of amounts, but I'm going to try to replicate it.

Susan-Marie provided the dessert, with two things from her garden-- it was a sort of crustless rhubarb custard "pie" (or pudding, I guess you could call it), made with only half of the usual sugar, due to the addition of the herb Sweet Cicily, which, according to Brenda Hyde, "It can be added to some dishes to reduce the sweetener, but it's not actually a sugar substitute."

It was really delicious! Unfortunately it got served and eaten before I could take a photo! Susan-Marie said she got the recipe from her friend and fellow Denman Is. Gardener, Phyllis Fabbi, but I found a similar recipe, for a Rhubarb and Sweet Cicely Pudding Recipe from Yorkshire (not vegan, of course). I have a vegan recipe for Sour Creme Rhubarb-Orange Pie which might be a good place to try Sweet Cicely. Go to this link and scroll down to almost the end of this section for the recipe.

Kampai!

GOOD VEGAN MEALS ON THE WW CORE PLAN; LOW-FAT TIP; & UPDATE ON NONSTICK SKILLETS

COMMENTS ARE WORKING AGAIN!

YOU ARE CORDIALLY INVITED TO JOIN IN ON MY VEGAN FEAST OPEN COOKING FORUM!

The ingredients for a delicious stir-fry using what I had available, and what needed using up.

DH and I have been on the Core Plan for almost 3 weeks now and have done pretty well, even with Easter and eating out a few times. I'd like to share some of the meals we've had (that I photographed, anyway!), and a tip for cutting down on oil. You will see that I DO use my own cookbooks!

One day we just HAD to have some Pasta alla Puttanesca, and it fit right into the plan! I used whole wheat pasta, and we used up our daily ration of 2 tsp. of oil (olive, of course) and 4 kalamata olives each on this recipe (I really like some olive oil in this dish-- I used 4 tsp. total in half the recipe):


One night I decided to have an Asian version of "weiners and cabbage"-- stir fried veggie weiner slices (I use the Yves Veggie "Bavarian Sausages") with Brussels sprouts. It was delish! I was a remake of a recipe for stir-fried weiners and cabbage that I used to make over 40 years ago:


We took this Vegan "Chicken" Caesar Salad to a dinner party at a friend's house, to rave reviews. I used reconstituted Soy Curls® stir-fried with chopped garlic (no oil) for the "chicken", the Caesar Dressing that's in my books "Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause" and "20 Minutes to Dinner", whole wheat garlic croutons (tiny bit of oil in a nonstick pan), and my New, Improved Okara Parmesan Substitute.


Another day I made a big pot of Vegetarian Feijoada (Brazilian Black Beans-- the recipe is in my books "The Almost-No-Fat Holiday Cookbook" and also in "The Fiber for Life Cookbook") and we had a simple meal of rice and beans:


Then I made my Spicy Mexican Bean Dip (or "Refried Beans") with some of the pot (the recipe for the dip is in several of my books), which we used as a dip for veggies, and also in some tacos. I froze the rest of the beans for future meals.

I made a variation one night on my Asparagus Tofu with Black Bean Sauce from my book "Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen", using ingredients that needed using up and that I had on hand (see photo at top of his blog post). I used I used reconstituted Soy Curls® instead of tofu, because I had just the right amount in the fridge:




Instead of rice, we ate the stir-fry with a mixture of steamed bulgur and quinoa:


I really like this mixture (it's cheaper than straight quinoa, too), and we use it alot instead of rice on the Core Plan. I make it in my electric rice cooker. I just cook 1 part medium bulgur, 1 part quinoa, 4 parts water, and a little salt. I make quite a bit at a time and freeze portions of it to microwave for quick meals.


Quinoa and bulgur in the rice cooker.

One evening we had a lovely Syrian Tomato and Cucumber Salad with Mint (using our daily quota of olive oil and olives!), a recipe from Habeeb Salloum's lovely book, "Arab Cooking on a Saskatchewan Homestead: Recipes and Recollections" (you can read more about it at this blog post):


One recent meal was a virtually-fat-free version of my Vegan "Chicken" Divan Casserole (I wrote about it and gave the original recipe in this blog post). I had a whole bunch of broccoli to use up and felt like something "homey" and comforting. I stir-fried the Soy Curls® with the garlic in a nonstick pan, and I omitted the fat from my Vegan Bechamel Sauce (just blended the flour in with the ingredients and cooked it in the microwave). I omitted the bread crumb topping and used a light sprinkling of my New, Improved Okara Parmesan Substitute. I didn't have any vegan cheese handy to grate, so I made my easy Melty Chedda Cheeze (2 x the recipe), also in the microwave, just before assembling the casserole, and drizzled half of it in the middle:


and half of it on the top, covered with the Okara Parmesan sprinkle. It came out very well! The Bechamel puffed up nicely during the baking:


Here's a little preview of an upcoming post I'm working on about using chickpea flour for various treats. This was my first attempt at making Panella, which is a sort of deep-fried Italian chickpea polenta, only I oven-fried it. It was too thin, but otherwise very tasty:


One night we had a craving for peanut sauce, and some fresh spinach to use up, so I made low-fat version of my Thai-Style Spinach and Tofu with Peanut Sauce. The only changes I made to the recipe were to omit the 1 tsp. sesame oil and to dry-fry the tofu in a nonstick skillet instead of frying it in oil. The peanut butter made up our daily fat ration.


Today for lunch we had my vegan Minestrone alla Milanese (from my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen"). I used cooked brown Basmati rice in it and used no oil:


A FAT-SAVING TIP:
The way I saved on oil in the Minestrone recipe was something that I use frequently-- I "sweat" the onions, and other chopped or sliced veggies, in a covered Pyrex casserole or pie plate in the microwave. Then you can use your oil or fat ration in a more interesting way-- a salad dressing or whatever. (PS: If you are afraid of using a microwave, please email me for some up-to-date information: bryannaclarkgrogan@gmail.com )

Microwave option for “sweating” the vegetables: Spray a microwave-safe pie plate or casserole lightly with oil from a pump sprayer, add the chopped or sliced vegetables.



Cook the mixture on high power for about 5 minutes, covered with a microwave-safe lid, plate or pie plate. If you are doing alot at one time, you might need 10 or more minutes. Cook until they are softened.



(To "sweat" vegetables with no oil on the stove-top: Spray a sturdy nonstick skillet lightly with oil from a pump sprayer, heat over high heat, then add the chopped or sliced vegetables. Stir-fry for a few minutes over high heat, then reduce the heat, cover the pan and cook gently over low heat for 5 to 10 minutes to soften the vegetables.)

I made the following soup using this method to cook the leeks, onions, and garlic:



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S FAT-FREE CREAMY LEEK AND POTATO SOUP
Servings: 4

A very easy and deliciously rich-tasting leek soup. I like the green parts of the leek, so I use them as well as the white part.

3 medium leeks, cleaned and sliced thinly crosswise
1 small onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1 teaspoon coarse salt
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme leaves
4 cups good vegetarian chicken-style broth
2 cups (@ 12 oz.) diced, peeled Yukon Gold potatoes (or Russets, in a pinch!)
1 small bay leaf
Garnishes:
a few tablespoons minced fresh parsley (or dill)
Tofu Sour Creme (Tofutti or homemade)
freshly-ground black pepper

Combine the white part of the leeks with the onion, garlic, coarse salt and thyme in a Pyrex casserole sprayed lightly with oil from a pump sprayer. Cover and microwave on High for 10 minutes. (Or use the Stove-Top Method above.)



In a heavy soup pot, mix about half of the leek-onion mixture (reserve the rest) with the broth, potatoes and bay leaf and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to a simmer. Cover and cook about 15 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender.

Remove the bay leaf from the pot and discard. Blend the soup right in the pot with a stick/immersion blender until smooth. Add the reserved cooked leek mixture and stir briefly. Taste for salt and pepper.

Serve immediately, garnished as you wish.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 134.0 calories; 1% calories from fat; 0.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 1179.7mg sodium; 717.2mg potassium; 32.4g carbohydrates; 2.9g fiber; 4.3g sugar; 29.5g net carbs; 4.3g protein; 2.1 points.

UPDATE ON PFOA AND PTFE-FREE NON-STICK SKILLETS:

Many people I talk to are afraid to use non-stick skillets, even though such respected doctors as John A. McDougall and Neal Barnard advocate their use. (Here is Dr. McDougall on the subject.)

I blogged a bit about this previously (here). These folks are unaware that the industry has really been listening to the public and the technology is more advanced. Gone are the days of non-stick surfaces peeling off into your food!

The new coatings are inert (see the McDougall article) AND PFOA and PTFE-free (these are the substances that caused alarm).

There are so many makes of cookware out there, it's hard to know what to buy! And I know that not everyone can afford to or wants to spend over $100 on a skillet! If you want a mid-priced, but sturdy, skillet you can do very well with the new Cuisinart Green Gourmet line. The skillets were reviewed very favorably by Fine Cooking magazine in terms of construction and performance. From the Cuisinart website: "...Exclusive Cuisinart Ceramica™ nonstick technology is ceramic based instead of petroleum based, helping to conserve existing oil supplies and the coating is applied at a temperature one half that of conventional nonsticks. And it’s completely free of PTFE and PFOA. The cookware’s hard anodized construction provides high heat conductivity, which requires less energy to reach desired cooking temperatures. Riveted stainless handles stay cool on the stovetop and are made from 70% recycled stainless steel. ..."

(It's important to have a sturdy pan with some heft-- otherwise it will warp. That's what usually happens to the cheaper pans, even the "green" ones. [I have some myself!] The popular Green Pan™ feels too light to me.)

There is a Cuisinart Green Gourmet Hard-Anodized line of cookware and a Stainless Steel Green Gourmet line, but the inner surface is the same. In the USA, they offer full lines of Green Gourmet cookware, not just skillets. (Only the hard-anodized seems to be available in Canada, and only some of the skillets.)

The 12" Cuisinart Green Gourmet skillet usually sells for $69.95 in the USA. You can get it for $49.99 Cnd or $41.31 USD at this Canadian source (they ship to the USA)!

They also have the 10" model for $34.99 Cnd or $28.92 USD. These are the hard-anodized line only. But that's a great price either side of the border!

Here's a blog review.

I hope this helps!

EASTER DINNER; A VEGAN DINNER PARTY; VEGAN S'MORE BROWNIES; & MY FAVORITE SPINACH SALAD!

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN IN ON MY BRAND NEW VEGAN FEAST OPEN COOKING FORUM!

It 's just a social whirl around here, I tell you! Just kidding! But we have had some good feasts lately, in between some yummy Weight Watcher's Core Plan dinners. (DH and I are on the Core Plan-- together this time, which makes it alot easier for me! But, more about that in another post.)



We attended a vegan potluck dinner party with a birthday them last week with four other couples. It turned out to be a pretty much Italian affair, just by accident. The food and wine was delicious, the company was great, and my friend Fireweed made a grand chocolate cake for her DH Mike's birthday!


My plate:(from the top, clockwise) a sort of Italian colcannon, with kale; a yummy cauliflower roasted dish; hummous with wholegrain focaccia; farinata-- an Italian savory "chickpea pancake" (I brought this); a savory tofu cake (in the middle); and Giant Lima Beans (Gigantes) Italian-style (another one of my dishes). There was also a lovely salad with lots of different vegetables and nuts-- you can see it in the photo above this one.

I am currently on a chickpea flour kick and will do a post about the farinata and other tasty things very soon!

Here's Mike's birthday cake:





Mmmmmmmm-mm!

We had two Easter dinners this year. Saturday was Family Day, and my oldest daughter and her daughter were there, with a friend. My middle daughter came with her DH and 3 girls; my foster son Daiv came up from Victoria, and my son put in a quick appearance (they were hosting a giant birthday party at his house!). My stepson Sean and his girlfriend were also with us for a while. We had my McDougall hummous with crudites for starters, and then roasted potatoes, Italian Rice salad with asparagus, my seitan "ham" with "ham gravy", and a broccoli salad that my daughter brought-- a pretty modest feast for us. (My grandaughter's friend, however, was impressed!) My oldest daughter brought our traditional Italian Easter bread ring.

(I forgot to take pictures-- I have a tendency to get distracted with grandchildren around!! in a good way!)

On Sunday we hosted two friends, who gladly helped us finish up the second "ham", the rest of the "ham gravy" and the Italian Rice salad, some crisp freshly-roasted (Denman Island-grown) potatoes, and a spinach salad with thinly-sliced artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms, in a creamy, lemony agave-spiked dressing (see recipe below).



For dessert on both evenings we had my S'More Brownies, which I developed for my Vegan Feast Newsletter, but I made a lighter version. (See recipe below.)




My recipe for the vegan "Marshie Fluff" (marshmallow creme) topping will be available from the upcoming Everyday Dish TV subscription service soon! But Ricemellow Creme Fluff can be used

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S LOWER-FAT S'MORE BROWNIES
Servings: 16

These are to die for-- dark vegan brownies, baked on a crunchy crumb crust, with a luscious vegan marshmallow crème on top-- inspired by the old Girl Scout camp dessert. The original recipe that I created for my Vegan Feast newsletter was richer, but this is easier and just as yummy, I think!

PS: I used my homemade "Marshie Fluff", which I haven't published yet, this time-- but I didn't broil the top because I wasn't sure it would work. I'll give it a try one of these days.

INGREDIENTS

Graham Cracker Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (most are vegan if purchased as crumbs, and Health Valley has some good Amaranth Graham Crackers)
(NOTE: If you can't find vegan Graham crackers or crumbs, use organic whole grain animal cracker crumbs, plus 1/4 cup of bran.)
1 Tbs organic sugar
3 Tbs melted Earth Balance

Brownie layer:
1 cup brown sugar
4 oz (1/2 c.) medium-firm tofu OR firm or extra-firm SILKEN tofu
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1/3 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup water
4 tsp Ener-G powdered egg replacer
1 Tbs coffee (or coffee substitute) granules or 1/2 tablespoon espresso powder
1 Tbs vanilla
1 1/2 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda

Topping:
1 cup (approximately) Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme (see where to buy and alternative products above in Cooking Tips)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the Graham Cracker Crust: Have ready an 8 x 8" square cake pan sprayed with oil and lined on the bottom with cooking parchment.

Mix the crust ingredients and press in the bottom of the pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a rack.

To make the Brownie Layer:
In the food processor mix until smooth the sugar, tofu, cocoa, water, egg replacer, coffee granules, vanilla and vinegar.

In a medium bowl whisk together the flour, salt, baking powder and soda. Add the cocoa mixture and mix briefly.

To bake the brownies:
Spread on the brownie batter top of the baked graham cracker crust. Bake for about 25 minutes. You may have to experiment with timing, according to your oven (try to use an oven thermometer to check the temperature, which can vary even in new ovens), and according to how fudgey you like the brownies.

Topping the Brownies:
Spread with the Ricemellow Crème while still hot-don't be tempted to spread on too much. It's very sweet and gooey and a little goes a long way! Just cover the top so that the brownie layer is covered.

Place 4" under the broiler and WATCHING CAREFULLY, broil until it bubbles up and browns. This takes very little time!

Cool on a rack, then cut into 16 squares. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 141.8 calories; 26% calories from fat; 4.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 245.1mg sodium; 96.7mg potassium; 24.0g carbohydrates; 1.6g fiber; 8.7g sugar; 22.4g net carbs; 2.1g protein; 2.9 points.

Cooking Tips
Check out Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme. It's a delicious vegan marshmallow creme made with brown rice syrup. It's available at veganstore.com, veganessentials.com and http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/candy.html

If you can't find it, buy vegan marshmallows and place them on top of the brownies, broil as instructed. You can buy Vegan Marshmallow Kits by Angel Food at veganessentials.com and http://store.foodfightgrocery.com/candy.html

You can by Sweet & Sara's Marshmallows at veganessentials.com and veganstore.com

IN CANADA Viva Granola Boutique sells Sweet & Sara Vegan marshmallows and the Angel Food Marshmallow Kits.




Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S FAVORITE SPINACH SALAD
Servings: 6

A luscious veggie combination with a creamy, tangy-sweet dressing. It is practically a meal in itself! TO MAKE THIS RECIPE SOY-FREE, omit the tofu and use 1/3 cup more nondairy milk and 1/3 cup raw cashew pieces. Blend until VERY smooth.

CREAMY LEMON-AGAVE DRESSING
6 oz. (1/2 a 12.3 oz. box) extra-firm SILKEN tofu
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
3 Tbs agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 small clove garlic, crushed

THE SALAD
12 oz organic baby spinach leaves, from a bag or box already cleaned and dried
14 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced thinly
8 oz fresh crimini mushrooms, sliced thinly
24 large pieces sundried tomatoes in oil, well-drained and thinly-sliced

To Make the dressing:
Blend the Dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. Place in a covered jar in the refrigerator until serving time.

Just before serving, distribute the spinach between 6 salad plates and top evenly with the sliced mushrooms, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes. Drizzle each salad with about 4 Tbs. of the dressing and serve.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 109.2 calories; 9% calories from fat; 1.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 457.3mg sodium; 1065.8mg potassium; 21.2g carbohydrates; 6.2g fiber; 8.5g sugar; 15.1g net carbs; 8.4g protein; 1.5 points.

Enjoy!

A MORE EXOTIC MATZOH BALL SOUP (VEGAN)

YOU ARE INVITED TO JOIN IN ON MY BRAND NEW VEGAN FEAST OPEN COOKING FORUM!

**Vegan Easter and Passover Resources
**Vegan Holiday Dinners
**Vegan Easter and Passover-Oriented Blog Posts



By that I mean matzoh balls from the Republic of Georgia (veganized, of course)! I'm not Jewish, but I've long been intrigued by the global scope of Jewish cooking and by all religious and cultural holidays. 3 years ago I wanted to make a vegan matzoh ball soup for my newsletter, which I know is hard because it's usually the eggs that hold the matzoh dumplings together. I also wanted to make them a bit different in taste and character. These walnut-matzoh balls (from my subscription newsletter The Vegan Feast, which is no longer in publication, but I am making individual issues available for purchase) are flavored with oregano as well as lots of ground walnuts.

I found a recipe for Georgian Walnut Matzoh Balls in a Russian cookbook and was intrigued. I decided to try using silken tofu in place of the egg, and use more matzoh meal to help hold them together without eggs. I understand that many vegan Jews choose to follow the Sephardic tradition for Passover cooking, even when they are of Ashkenazic ancestry, because it allows more choice within the vegan diet. Tofu is acceptable in the Sephardic Passover tradition.

("Ashkenazic" refers to Western and Central European, Yiddish-speaking Jews; "Sephardic" refers to Ladino-speaking Jews of the Iberian Peninsula and the Levant.)

See this older post for notes on Georgian cuisine, and about using tofu during Passover.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S VEGAN GEORGIAN-STYLE WALNUT MATZOH BALL SOUP
Servings: 6

The dumplings have to be steamed instead of simmered, or they tend to fall apart, but they are then served in a light broth with lots of herbs and we loved them! It makes a light meal or a lovely starter for a larger meal, any time of the year!

Have a joyous Passover!

MATZOH BALLS (makes 32):
1 3/4 cups walnuts, ground fine in a dry food processor
12.3 ounce box extra-firm SILKEN tofu, drained and crumbled
3/4 cup matzoh meal
1 small carrot, peeled and finely grated
1/2 small onion, minced
1/2 Tbs dried oregano
1 tsp salt
3/4 tsp freshly-grated black pepper

BROTH:
use 8 cups of your favorite homemade or commercial good-tasting vegetarian broth
OR:
6 cups chicken-style vegetarian "chicken" broth
2 cups mushroom bouillon
1/4 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup minced fresh basil or cilantro
1 1/2 Tbs chopped fresh dillweed (or 1/2 Tbs dry dillweed)

Add all of the dumpling ingredients to the ground walnuts in the food processor. Process until well mix and fairly smooth. Cover and refrigerate for at least one hour.

When ready to shape, divide the dough into 32 more-or-less equal pieces and roll them into smooth balls.



You can cook the dumplings ahead of time and add them to the soup before serving, if you wish, or make them just before serving.

Steaming is preferable to simmering, since these dumplings are delicate. Place the balls, not touching, on oiled steaming plates or baskets, with small holes in them, not grates. You can use collapsible metal steamers.

Chinese aluminum or bamboo steaming baskets can be used. If using bamboo baskets, line them with cooking parchment with holes punched in it with a bamboo skewer.

If you have no streaming apparatus, place the balls on dinner plates lined with cooking parchment. The plate can be balanced on two chopsticks placed across the inside of a wok or stir-fry pan (or 4 chopsticks, "tic-tac-toe" style). (You'll have to steam one plate at a time.) Cover with the domed wok lid while steaming.

You can improvise a steamer using a large pot with a tight lid. An electric frying pan with a domed lid also makes a good steamer. The lid should be 1 to 2" above the food so that the steam can circulate around the food. To hold the food above the water, you can use cans with the ends removed or scrunched up aluminum foil. The food should be supported at least 2" above the simmering water.

Steam the dumplings over gently boiling water, covered, for 10 minutes. If you make them ahead of time, they can be steamed again for a few minutes just to re-heat.

In the meantime, mix the broth ingredients in a large pot and heat it.

To serve:
Place 5-6 hot dumplings in a wide soup plate and gently ladle the hot broth over them. Serve immediately.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 289.3 calories; 59% calories from fat; 20.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 358.4mg sodium; 301.1mg potassium; 19.3g carbohydrates; 3.1g fiber; 2.0g sugar; 16.1g net carbs; 10.5g protein; 6.9 points.


Enjoy!

MUSIC, FOOD AND FAMILY IN VANCOUVER!

A poster with some good ideas, for sale at 10,000 Villages (fair trade store) on Denman St. in Vancouver (my cousin's partner is the manager)

I am just catching up after 4 days away from home in Vancouver. I'm always very glad to get back to Denman Is., but we had lots of fun in Vancouver. Our main reason for going was to see family, and we stayed with my cousin Chris and his partner Roxanne at their lovely house in the East End of Vancouver, near "The Drive" (Commercial Drive), which is a lively, funky neighborhood (I lived there many years ago!) with lots of ethnic eating.

We visited with my youngest daughter, Justine, and her son and partner; with my stepson, Laurie, and his girlfriend; with my sister, Karin, and another cousin, Rose; and my cousin's daughter and little granddaughter. We also visited with an old friend of DH who lives in Port Moody, and his wife, who is a sweetheart. DH and John grew up together in Quebec City and have only recently discovered that they live not too far from each other and still have much in common!

We also visited the 10,000 Villages store that Roxanne manages on Denman St. (she also opened the very successful one on Commercial Drive). So many beautiful things, all fair trade! (Roxanne got an award last year for being a "Fair Trade Pioneer" in Vancouver!) here are some photos from the store:









The other important reason for this visit was to attend a concert at Capilano University. The artist was Habib Koité, one of our favorite African artists, who was born in Senegal, but is actually from Mali. "Habib comes from a noble line of Khassonké griots, traditional troubadors who provide wit, wisdom and musical entertainment at social gatherings and special events. Habib grew up surrounded by seventeen brothers and sisters, and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother." He has a great band, Bamada. Google his name for lots of videos online!


(Photo by Brian Grogan)

It was a small theatre, so we had a great view, and the audience was very responsive and enthusiastic. Several dancers came on stage at times, and this one was our favorite. I heard that she was an African dance teacher. Look at her go!

(Photo by Brian Grogan)

What fun!

And, of course, the 3rd pleasurable activity was eating! Vancouver is a great place to eat if you like ethnic foods, and it's very vegetarian-friendly. This time we didn't know where we would be half the time, so we didn't plan anything fancy, and just ate at inexpensive neighborhood places. I meant to take pictures of everything, but, alas, I got distracted at times!

Friday afternoon, Chris picked us up at the ferry in Horseshoe Bay and we went for our first Vancouver meal of the trip, lunch at Rangoli, the bistro attached to the upscale Indian-fusion restaurant Vij's (which has been written up in Gourmet magazine). The owner, Vikram Vij, is quite a Vancouver legend.

Rangoli's prices are quite a bit lower than Vij's, but the food and the diners receive the same care and attention. The General Manager, Akiko Masutani, happens to be the daughter of some very good friends of ours. She is only 23 and runs the bistro-- smart girl! She greeted us with open arms and made sure that we got lots of attention!

Shun me if you want, but I didn't eat strictly vegan at this meal! I wanted to taste their legendary food and figure out how to make it vegan at home! It was definitely the best meal we had on this trip! I am still tasting the flavors and will get on with vegan experimenting soon. Even the little salads were exquisite. We had:

\
Lentil and Chickpea Kachori with cilantro-jalapeno chutney (a stuffed pastry)


Black Chickpea, Peas and Onion Cakes in Spicy Coconut Curry with vegetable rice pilaf


Kale and Yam Curry on Semolina Crepe spiced with coriander, ginger and mustard seeds

And the best of all:

Portobello Mushroom and Red Bell Pepper Curry with beet salad & naan

Akiko also ordered us Savoury Chaat wheat crisps with potatoes, sprouts, chutney & yogurt, which was very good (cold) and unusual. (The picture didn't turn out.) I just have to do a vegan re-creation of that! Crunchy, spicy, cold, creamy, sour, savory...mmmmm

On Friday night we met my cousin Chris and Roxanne, and my daughter Justine and her son at Hon's Wun-Tun House on Robson St.. It's a big, noisy, crowded Hong-Kong-style Chinese diner, I guess you'd call it. Nothing stylish or romantic about it! There are 5 Hon's in the Vancouver area, but the Robson St. venue has a separate vegetarian kitchen! You can see the two kitchens from the dining room. They have a great veg wonton soup (better than the Bo Kong, I think, though that is a really good Chinese Buddhist vegetarian restaurant, which we didn't get to this time). DH and I had that, a spicy gluten "chicken" dish with peppers and peanuts, which was great, and a stir-fry of mixed "mock meats" and veggies in a sweet potato "nest" (fried), which wasn't that great. I totally forgot to take pictures, being busy admiring my young grandson!

On Saturday Roxanne had to work, so Chris and DH and I met with DH's old friend John and his wife Brenda and went to lunch at the funky Foundation Lounge, which my publisher always visits when he goes to Vancouver. I thought it would be vegan, but it is vegetarian with vegan choices. It's pretty bare-bones decor, and I hear that at night it can get pretty loud with grunge music and lots of young folks. I didn't think the food was great, but it was good, cheap, and plenty of it!

Chris and I shared the Yam (actually sweet potato) dip with a variety of crunchies. Very yummy!:


Chris and DH both had the "BLT". You can leave off the cheese if you like, because it has avocado in it. It has lots of mayo, so, if you're vegan, ask if they have a vegan option.:



Brenda had the "Serial Salad", which had lots of grains and fruit in a creamy dressing:


I had the "Molten Tofu" with lots of greens. It was tasty and VERY filling!:


Saturday night we were in a hurry to get to the concert, so we ate at one of our favorite little restaurants, the Legendary Noodle on Denman St., near Roxanne's store. I have written about this before, so check out this blog post. I always like their food, which is fresh and fast, and they are famous for their "House Tea":



DH and I shared the veggie gyoza/potstickers (they call them "pan-fried dumplings"), which are excellent, and are served like French fries in a paper-lined basket:


We also shared the "Hit Me w/ Dao Xiao Mian, Tofu Vegetarian" dish ("Finely Sliced Noodle from a Flour Dough, Stir Fried Green, Red Pepper, Celery, Bean Sprouts, Dark Bean Soy Sauce")-- ask for no egg in it if you are vegan:


We all indulged in the Fried Pea Shoots w/ Garlic-- so simple and so divine!:


Roxanne had her favorite, which I'm going to try next time, the noodles with Lemon Garlic Green Onion Sauce:


On Sunday we had a gang of family over, so we just went down to the Drive to a Middle Eastern grocery store and set out a buffet of flatbreads and buns, dips and spreads, olives, vegetarian dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), vegetable relishes and salads, and a bowl of strawberries.

For dinner, after the crowd had thinned a little, we went down to the local Thai takeout place and brought home vegetarian pad thai, garlic broccoli, and "Swimming Rama"-- tofu on spinach with peanut sauce. Forgot the photos again on Sunday!

I also forgot the camera in the car when we had our last meal with Chris before we left for home, a sort of brunch at another bare-bones, funky family vegetarian place on the drive, the Cafe Du Soleil (not to be confused with another funky family vegetarian place on the drive that's also good for brunch, Cafe Deux Soleils!). Chris and DH (who eats eggs sometimes) got the vegetarian Eggs Benny (Chris is not vegetarian, but he said it was one of the best he'd had), and I got the Lentil Rolls with a salad and Miso-Ginger dressing. It was a bit stodgy, but it tasted good and was filling and very inexpensive. The server was very pleasant, too.

So now we're back home, glad to be eating our own food again, but savoring the memories of a great concert, good visits with family and friends, and some pretty interesting meals.

Before we left, we checked out some other restaurants on the drive that we'd like to try next time-- an Algerian one that has a vegetarian couscous; a new Ethiopian place (always good veggie fare in Ethiopian restaurants!); an Asian-caribbean-fusion place called Clove, which Chris says is excellent, and the menu looked promising; and a vegetarian Mexican place called Bandidas Tacqueria, which has plenty of vegan options. Stay tuned!

Enjoy!