Showing posts with label Vegan Cheddary Spread. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Vegan Cheddary Spread. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
SUPER BOWL DIPS AND DINNER
Our (vegan) friends Mike and Fireweed have joined us for Super Bowl Sunday for the last few years. Mike and DH Brian watch the game, with munchies supplied by me. Fireweed comes a little later and we have a visit together, then the four of us have dinner. I kept it pretty simple this year because Fireweed, DH and I are all trying to eat low fat and moderately. (Mike can eat like there's no tomorrow and not gain an ounce!)
I decided to serve two hearty dips with vegetables and Ryvita crackers, one a recipe from Betsy DiJulio's blog and one my own recipe, with a little tweak inspired also by Betsy. Betsy, author of The Blooming Platter Cookbook, is one of my favorite vegan cookbook authors (see my review here to find out why!).
Betsy's dip is a clever take on the old spinach dip-- Vegan Spinach-Three Bean Dip (fat-free if you use tofu instead of vegan mayonnaise). I loved the idea of sneaking three kinds of beans into a dip! Here's Betsy's recipe, but I changed it a wee bit according to the ingredients I had on hand. I didn't have the dry vegetable soup mix, so I added 2 tablespoons of vegan bouillon powder instead, plus a little dried thyme, basil and oregano. I used my quickly-made silken tofu mayonnaise (with no added fat) because I didn't have any of my usual homemade low-fat mayo on hand. The guys ate about half of it at one sitting!
The second dip was an old favorite of ours that I've posted on this blog-- Cheddary Spread.-- except that I added a twist from Betsy's book, which she uses in her homemade vegan cheeses-- I added some beer to the recipe! This ingredient is genius! It adds just the right amount of tangy fermented taste, which really adds to the over-all flavor of the spread, or dip. Thank you, Betsy! But, in order to do this and not have it turn out too liquid-y, you have to crumble the silken tofu into a nut bag or a large square of white cotton sheeting-sort of material and twist and squeeze the bag until you have 1/4 cup of liquid from the tofu squeezed out. Then proceed with the recipe, but add 1/4 cup of beer to the mixture. Simple!
For dinner, we had a lovely salad with an avocado dressing that Fireweed brought, and lasagna made with DH's leftover homemade spaghetti sauce (with some red wine and Yves Ground Round hamburger substitute added), Okara/Cashew Ricotta, my vegan Bechamel Sauce, and some Daiya Cheese on top. For dessert we each had an espresso cup of organic drinking chocolate. A great evening with good food and good friends!
Enjoy!
Monday, June 22, 2009
GREENS GALORE!
Italian kale from our garden patchI have to tell you that DH and I are NOT gardeners! We both don't like gardening much (I'm almost afraid to admit that around here!), and our soil is very rocky, but DH has made a fertile little patch and then we grow some hot-weather plants in pots on our back deck-- enough to keep us in fresh greens, herbs, and tomatoes for the summer and fall, with a few things in the freezer.
Below are some photos of our VERY modest little veggie patch, and potted plants on out back deck.
A view of some of the plants on the deck (tomatoes, peppers, basil, parsley, etc.)
Basil!
More greens:
Beets
Chard
Russian kaleWhile I'm at it, here are some views of the woods and greenery around our house:
View from the back deck
View from the living room window
**Back to the eating sort of greenery-- I picked a big bowl of mixed greens the other day and at the same time made a batch of my lower-fat guacamole, and then I had to figure out something to do with them that didn't involve tortillas or tortilla chips (which I didn't have on hand). So below is what I came up with, and it was good!
Below that are some family photos.:)
Masa Crepes with Green Filling, Topped with Black Bean and Corn Salsa and Lower-Fat Guacamole (UPDATE: the recipe will be in my new book coming up at the end of August 2011!)
And now, proud Nonna has to show off a little!
My granddaughter H. at her piano recital.
5-year-old grandson L., seen here playing swordsman, is now reading whole books by himself!
Here he is playing hockey for the first time:
Two more granddaughters (who are stepsisters, one already 10 and one about to be 10) got their yellow belts in tai kwon do on Saturday:
Going through their paces:
F. doing her high kick.
M. doing her high kick.
Proud moment!
F. on the far left, and M. on the far right.
Enjoy!
Sunday, February 1, 2009
VERSATILE VEGAN CHEDDAR-Y SPREAD, GRILLED CHEEZE FILLING, & CHEEZE SAUCE BASE, ALL-IN-1
I work on recipes so often that I often forget to make old favorites, but I've been making this recipe (from a book of mine circa 1999) often these days as a low-fat snack. It's a spread that's super-easy to make, and it's great on toast (for breakfast), in celery sticks (an old favorite), or just on crackers.
**This spread is also delicious used as a filling for grilled (vegan) cheeze sandwiches-- why didn't I think of that before? This spread doesn't melt, but that doesn't matter, because it is already soft and creamy like melted cheese, so the grilling just heats it up. Yum!
** Another variation-Vegan Cheeze Sauce: If you thin out 1 cup of the spread with 1/2 cup nondairy milk, it makes a great "Cheddar-y Cheese Sauce". (Whisk it well until it's smooth. This can be heated gently.) We loved it on steamed broccoli.
Give this recipe a whirl (not to make a pun!)... it's definitely a keeper.
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S 3-IN-1 CHEDDARY SPREAD
Yield: 1 3/4 cups to 2 cups
UPDATE, Feb 2012: Last time I made this I added a twist from Betsy DiJulio's book, The Blooming Platter Cookbook. She uses this genius ingredient in her homemade vegan cheeses-- beer! So I added a little beer to this recipe. It adds just the right amount of tangy fermented taste, which really adds to the over-all flavor of the spread, or dip. Thank you, Betsy! **But, in order to do this and not have it turn out too liquid-y, you have to crumble the silken tofu into a nut bag or a large square of white cotton sheeting-sort of material and twist and squeeze the bag until you have 1/4 cup of liquid from the tofu squeezed out. Then proceed with the recipe, but add 1/4 cup of beer to the mixture. Simple!
See 2 variations in yellow-highlighted text above.
12.3 oz (1 box) extra-firm SILKEN tofu, crumbled (OR 1 lb. medium firm tofu or Chinese "Traditional" Tofu, pressed or squeezed to make 12 oz.- 12.3 oz.)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons tahini
2 tablespoons lemon juice (fresh or organic bottled)
1 1/2 tablespoons miso (medium brown)
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon paprika (or use all or half smoked paprika [pimenton])
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic granules or powder
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon dry mustard powder
Mix all the ingredients in a food processor until VERY smooth.
Spoon into a covered container and refrigerate several hours to firm up and meld the flavors (overnight would be ideal). Keeps refrigerated about 1 week.
Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 2 tablespoons): 35 calories; 1.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 175mg sodium; 100mg potassium; 2.5g carbohydrates; 1.0g fiber; 0.5g sugar; 2g net carbs; 3.5g protein; 0.8 points.
Enjoy!
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