Showing posts with label Tamasin Noyes. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tamasin Noyes. 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!
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!
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
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.
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.
Enjoy!
Friday, December 10, 2010
RECIPES I MADE FROM 2 COOKBOOKS I RECOMMEND, AND A NEW TOOL
Last night we had dinner at our good friends Yoshi and Susan-Marie's house. Our hosts provided the bulk of the meal, our friends David and Carmen brought a lovely green salad, and I brought a bean dish and a simple dessert. The dinner wasn't Japanese, but was served somewhat in the Japanese style, with a number of small vegetable dishes to complement the rice. Yoshi made a delicious rice dish with yuba (beancurd skin) and mushrooms, and Susan-Marie served it with; a sweet and sour tomato soup with potatoes, steamed winter squash, marinated leeks and crostini. Most of the produce she used was grown in their own garden. The leeks tasted almost like marinated artichokes... so good!
I brought a dish I blogged about before-- Madhur Jaffrey's Black-Eyed Peas with Corn and Dill from her book "World Vegetarian". I've been reading (and owning) Ms. Jaffrey's books for years, but "World Vegetarian" is my favorite. It's not confined to Indian cuisine, with over 600 recipes from five continents with endless flavor combinations for beans, vegetables and grains (and dairy, too-- but you can ignore that chapter or use vegan subs). This encyclopedic volume it is arranged so that you can look up the chapter, say, on "Dried Beans, Dried Peas, Lentils and Nuts" and check for, in my case this time, recipes featuring black-eyed peas, and you will find a few recipes utilizing whatever is the particular item you have in mind and in your pantry. You always find a new surprise because you are always looking at it in a different frame of mind from the last time!
The recipe I made (on p. 19) is one of my favorites. It's made with items that I always have in my cupboard and freezer (corn, dill, chiles, onions, etc.),and it's full of flavor and texture, but very easy to make. Diners are always surprised by the goodness of this homey but spicy dish.
For dessert I brought the pineapple upside-down cake from Tamasin Noyes' recent and very popular book, "American Vegan Kitchen
". It was easy to make and turned out beautifully-- as you can see from the photo! The only changes I made were to use half wholewheat pastry flour in the batter, and substitute dried cranberries for the cherries in the topping. Our hostess asked me for the recipe because she, though not a vegan, would prefer to make this without the eggs and so much fat as her normal recipe. We ate the whole thing!
". It was easy to make and turned out beautifully-- as you can see from the photo! The only changes I made were to use half wholewheat pastry flour in the batter, and substitute dried cranberries for the cherries in the topping. Our hostess asked me for the recipe because she, though not a vegan, would prefer to make this without the eggs and so much fat as her normal recipe. We ate the whole thing!
Tamasin's book is well-written, with clear instructions, lots of homemade basics (so you don't have to go buy all your components!), and the kind of recipes most us in North America remember with nostalgia!
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Here's a photo of my homemade Almond Creme whipped topping on top of a trifle (UPDATE: recipe from my book "World Vegan Feast", and shared here:
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NEW KITCHEN TOOL (GOT MY CHRISTMAS PRESENT EARLY!):
My new Cinnamon Red KitchenAid Wide-Mouth 12-cup food processor!
A few months ago my food processor died and I had to decide on a new one. The KitchenAid got rave reviews, but I couldn't afford the 12-cup one (over $300 in Canada!), so I got the 7-cup one with a small extra bowl for chopping small amounts. It's a great machine, but I missed having more room to do large batches, and my stepson said he'd buy my smaller one. Cook's Illustrated magazine reviewed food processors and gave the 12-cupper a rave review-- even better than the largest Cuisinart! Now they have one with "the largest feed-tube in the business!", called a "wide mouth"-- you can practically put 1/2 a small cabbage in there! I searched and searched for the best prices, locally and online, debating whether to go for the older 12-cupper, or the new wide-mouth. Price WAS an issue, even though I expect to get alot of years out of it.
Well, long story short, I found the wide-mouth (in Cinnamon Red-- not a popular color, I guess!) on eBay, IN CANADA (wonder of wonders), brand-new, in the box, for $179 (which included shipping!). That included all the 3 slicing and shredding discs, an egg whip (have to try it with egg replacer!), and a citrus press. (You can get this same one in white
in the States from amazon.com for $199 in the States; or in Candy Apple red
, with 4 discs for $228. But it was $273.75 Cnd. from amazon.ca and $379 in alot of places in Canada!. So, I'm happy, and my stepson is happy!
in the States from amazon.com for $199 in the States; or in Candy Apple red, with 4 discs for $228. But it was $273.75 Cnd. from amazon.ca and $379 in alot of places in Canada!. So, I'm happy, and my stepson is happy!
It should get a work-out during the holiday season, and looks very Christmasy, too!
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