Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Vegan Feast Kitchen/ 23rd Century Table: Celine Steen

Showing posts with label Celine Steen. Show all posts

Thursday, May 23, 2013

"WHOLE GRAIN VEGAN BAKING" BLOG TOUR-- REVIEW, BOOK GIVEAWAY, & A RECIPE, OF COURSE!

BLOG TOUR SCHEDULE (CHECK OUT THE OTHER BLOG POSTS ON THE TOUR FOR MORE SAMPLE RECIPES, REVIEWS AND PHOTOS)

WIN A COPY OF THIS BOOK! Comment on this post and 2 contestants will be chosen randomly to receive a copy (US and Canada only, I'm afraid). CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED! THE WINNERS ARE CLAUDIA AND VEGINTRAINING-- I'LL BE IN TOUCH!

If you are laboring under the impression that whole grain baked goods are dark, heavy, and too "healthy" to actually taste good, and that VEGAN whole grain baked goods must be even moreso, "Whole Grain Vegan Baking" will change your mind in a hurry! The authors are both experienced and innovative vegan bakers, so you will be in capable hands! (Celine Steen is the co-author of “Vegan Sandwiches Save theDay!”, “500 Vegan Recipes”, “The Complete Guide to Vegan Food Substitutions”, and “Hearty Vegan Meals”. She is the founder of the award-winning blog Have Cake, Will Travel.

Tamasin Noyes is the co-author of “Vegan Sandwiches Save theDay!” and author of “American Vegan Kitchen” and “Grills Gone Vegan”. She is the founder of the blog Vegan Appetite .)

I was honored to be invited to participate in this "Blog Tour" for Celine and Tamasin's new book, but it was difficult to select a recipe for this post from such an array of goodies! The breakfast chapter alone beckoned with delectable recipes, from Lemony Spelt Scones to Chocolate Sesame Granola and Chocolate Stout Spelt Doughnuts, to Breakfast Pie Pastries, to yeasted Lemon Ginger Rolls (can you tell that I love chocolate and lemon?). But there were still chapters of quick loaves and muffins; artisan yeast breads, rolls, bagels, pretzels and pizza; a jam-packed (not to make a pun) snack chapter of crackers, quiches & tarts, flatbreads, bars and cookies; and the one many of us may open first, "Perfectly Wholesome Desserts". Lots of photos, too-- groan!

You know that I am not a "purist" when it comes to baking-- I have nothing against some unbleached white flour once in a while! I use a great deal of whole grains and whole grain flours because they are nutritious and full of flavor. But this book is so full of variety that I'm sure it will move you (and me) well beyond whole wheat flour and oats.

I almost had to do the eeny-meeny-miney-mo thing to choose my recipe for the Blog Tour, but, in the end, I chose the following cornbread recipe for this post. It's jazzed-up with jalapeño peppers and one of my favorite baking additions, dried cranberries. I sincerely love cornbread and this one not only sounded interesting, but it contains only 1 tablespoon of oil! I also liked the combination of whole wheat pastry flour, cornmeal and corn flour, which is finely-ground cornmeal. (Chapter One is full of baking tips and information about the various flours and other ingredients.) Using the two varieties of corn products gave the bread a smoother texture than most cornbread, but still with a bit of graininess.

We enjoyed this cornbread with some of my vegan Habitant Pea Soup for a hearty supper. It was moist and very flavorful (and yummy heated up for breakfast the next day with a drizzle of maple syrup!). Now I have lots of experimenting to do with more than 100 recipes in this book-- poor me!

Bravo to Celine and Tami for producing such a lovely, inspiring and user-friendly cookbook!

Printable Recipe

SPICY CRANBERRY CORNBREAD (WITH MY NOTES: BCG)

From "Whole Grain Vegan Baking" by Celine Steen & Tamasin Noyes

Yield: 6 servings

A wee bit sweet, a wee bit spicy, and all very savory, this cornbread has the perfect crust thanks to the hot cast-iron skillet. Cornmeal is packed with nutrients, minerals, and amino acids. Plus, it tastes great! Start with this recipe, then tweak it to your taste. Double the scallions, jalapeños, or cranberries to make it your own.

11⁄2 cups (355 ml) unsweetened plain vegan milk, more if needed (I used soy milk: BCG)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar

60 g (1⁄4 cup) unsweetened applesauce

2 tablespoons (30 ml) pure maple syrup

18 g (3 tablespoons) minced scallion (I didn't have any, so I used minced leeks, green & white parts: BCG)

18 g (2 tablespoons) minced jalapeño peppers (I used rinsed pickled jalapeños: BCG)

15 g (2 tablespoons) dried sweetened cranberries, chopped

1 tablespoon (15 ml) neutral-flavored oil

120 g (1 cup) whole wheat pastry flour

60 g (1⁄2 cup) corn flour (see page 10) (grind some yellow cornmeal to flour in a clean, dry coffee/spice grinder if you don't have any: BCG

88 g (1⁄2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) coarsely ground cornmeal

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

1⁄4 teaspoon ground black pepper

12 g (1 tablespoon) baking powder

Nonstick cooking spray (or oil from a pump-spray bottle: BCG)

Put an 8-inch(20 cm) cast-iron skillet in the oven and preheat the oven to 400°F (200°C, or gas mark 6).

Combine the milk and vinegar in a medium-size bowl: The mixture will curdle and become like buttermilk. Stir in the applesauce, syrup, scallion, jalapeño, cranberries, and oil.

Combine the flours, cornmeal, salt, pepper, and baking powder in a second medium-size bowl. Whisk to combine. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir until combined, but do not over-mix. If the mixture is too dry, add additional milk 1 tablespoon (15 ml) at a time as needed. (I didn't need to add any extra: BCG) The mixture should be pourable.

Carefully take the skillet out of the oven and coat it with cooking spray.

Pour the cornbread batter into the skillet and put it back in the oven.

Bake for 33 to 38 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool slightly before serving.

Enjoy!

Sunday, November 25, 2012

"VEGAN SANDWICHES SAVE THE DAY" BLOG TOUR FINALE: PROTEIN-HAPPY QUINOA WRAPS

I had a really difficult time choosing which recipe from Celine Steen and Tamasin Noyes' new book, "Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day!" This book has energy! And its contents will fuel you through your day, morning, noon or night-- 101 new, original recipes that are not only plant-based, but seriously yummy.

Was it to be Berry-Stuffed French Toast Pockets for a luxurious breakfast? Or perhaps an elegant lunch of French Tofu Salad with Grapes on baguettes with arugula or Tofu Pomegranate Pockets? Or a supper sandwich such as the German stuffed buns, Bierocks; or Portobello Po' Boys; or mile-high Dagwood's Special Sandwiches? Honestly, you are spoiled for choice with this book.

In the end, I opted for a delicious-looking wrap that would fit well into our pre-Christmas low-fat, high-fiber eating regime-- Protein-Happy Quinoa Wraps. I had most of the ingredients, and would only have to deviate slightly by using chopped green olives in place of a couple of tablespoons capers, dark raisins instead of golden, and 8-inch whole grain flour tortillas instead of white 10-inch ones. (I live on an island-- can't run to the store whenever I like!) I'm sure you could use a gluten-free wrap instead.

I made cooked the quinoa and made the sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade in the morning so that, as the recipe mentions, it would have time to develop flavor. When the quinoa was cool, I quickly made the quinoa and bean filling, sliced the raw veggies and set everything aside, covered, until lunchtime. Since I had smaller tortilla wraps than were called for, I made 3 wraps instead of 2 to share with my husband for lunch. (He is quite happy to take the rest for a work lunch tomorrow.)

The sun-dried tomato and olive tapenade really added a depth of flavor to the mild, nutty quinoa salad, and there was plenty of crunch and a little bit of chile heat there, too. Very filling, satisfying, healthful and delicious.

Congratulations to Celine and Tamasin for this creative take on this worldwide favorite, the sandwich!

PRINTABLE RECIPE

PROTEIN-HAPPY QUINOA WRAPS

Yield: 4 wraps, generous 3/4 cup (100 g) tapenade

(From Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day! Fair Winds Press, 2012)

For tapenade: (Note from BCG-- Make at least 2 hours ahead of serving)

1/2 cup (28 g) minced sun-dried tomatoes (moist vacuum-packed, not oil-packed)

1/4 cup (25 g) minced (pitted) kalamata olives

2 tablespoons (15 g) chopped capers

2 tablespoons (30 ml) olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes

For filling: (Note from BCG-- good idea to make this an hour or two ahead, as well)

1 ½ cups (355 ml) vegetable broth

1/2 cup (84 g) dry quinoa

1/4 cup (30 g) packed golden raisins (optional)

1 tablespoon (15 ml) apple cider vinegar

1 tablespoon (15 ml) fresh lemon juice

1½ tablespoons (25 ml) olive oil

1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes, to taste

1 ½ tablespoons (15 g) minced red onion

1 clove garlic, minced

Fine sea salt, to taste (I used 1/2 tsp.--BCG)

Cracked black pepper, to taste

2 tablespoons (15 g) roasted salted pepitas (pumpkin seeds)

3/4 cup (197 g) cooked cannellini beans

2 tablespoons (8 g) chopped fresh parsley

1 tablespoon (2 g) minced fresh basil

For wraps:

Four 10-inch (25-cm) flour tortillas (BCG-- I used whole grain)

1 red bell pepper, cored and cut into strips

1 small cucumber, cut into strips

To make the tapenade:

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor. Pulse a few times, but leave it chunky. Chill for at least 2 hours to let the flavors develop.

To make the quinoa:

Bring the broth to a boil in a medium size pot. Add the quinoa and cook for 8 minutes. Add the raisins and cook for 2 to 4 minutes longer, or until the quinoa is cooked and the telltale tail appears. Drain in a fine-mesh sieve. Set aside to cool completely.

In the meantime, prepare the dressing by combining the vinegar, lemon juice, oil, red pepper flakes, onion, garlic, salt, pepper, pepitas, and beans in a large bowl. Add the quinoa mixture, parsley, and basil to the dressing and stir until well coated. (Note from BCG-- If making ahead, cover and refrigerate until serving time.)

To assemble the wraps:
In the middle of each wrap, spread 3 tablespoons (25 g) tapenade. Top with a generous 1/2 cup (120 g) quinoa filling. Divide the red bell pepper and cucumber among the wraps. Fold the ends in and roll closed.