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

Me (in my new chef coat from crookedbrook.com) and Cathi DiCocco from Cafe DiCocoa in Bethel, Maine (Chef Eric Tucker of Millennium restaurant in San Francisco, in the background)

I'm back from the Vegetarian Awakening vegan chef's conference in Grand Rapids, MI, but with a bad cold, which is why I'm slow getting this posted! I will tell all in future blogs, with more pics from other participants. Suffice it to say, for now, that it was fabulous experience! Here are a few more pics:


Chef Kevin Dunn, the conference organizer, executing a tempeh recipe from Chef Ken Bergeron, who could not attend.

Chef Dunn making his own scrumptious Crème Brulée


Chef Tucker making his fabulous mushroom pâté


Raw Chef Chad Sarno showing off his three "fettucine" recipes and macadamia "cheese".


Cathi DiCocco and Chef Fran Costigan watching a demo


Four tired chefs at the airport ready to return home: Eric Tucker, me, Fran Costigan of New York, and Sualua Tupolo of the Atlantic Union College vegetarian culinary program.

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We just had our family Easter dinner yesterday. It was potluck, with three of my kids and their families, my mother, and my sister and niece from Vancouver. It was pretty low-key, due to me being sick and just getting back, but we had a nice time. I made my seitan "ham" with "ham gravy", green salad, my orange and rosemary white beans, and the Italian rice salad (see recipe below), plus my vegan Key Lime Bars (have to see my subscription newsletter for all but the rice recipe, I'm afraid). One daughter brought a potato casserole, and another our traditional Italian Easter bread (you can see a picture here).

my seitan "ham"

Orange and Rosemary White Beans

My vegan Key Lime Bars UPDATE: The recipe is now on the blog here.

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For a little treat I made these beautiful Rosewater-Pistachio Cupcakes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's book "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" (I made the glaze really pink):

I made them in my rose cupcake pans:


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Printable Copy

BRYANNA’S INSALATA DI RISO (PIEDMONTESE RICE SALAD) (CAN BE A WW CORE PLAN COMPATIBLE RECIPE IF YOU USE BROWN BASMATI RICE!)
Serves 8-12
From my book “Nonna’s Italian Kitchen”.

There are many, many versions of this delicious salad, some with a mayonnaise-type of dressing, some with a vinaigrette. I have combined vegetarian broth and roasted garlic with a small amount of olive oil in the salad dressing, to produce a creamy product with a fraction of the oil and all of the flavor.

This salad makes a wonderful late spring or summer luncheon dish, or can be the star attraction at a buffet or potluck.

Rice:
2 1/2 c. light vegetarian broth (or use 2 1/2 c. water with broth cube or cubes meant for 2 c. liquid)
1 1/2 c. brown or white basmati or other long-grain rice (I used brown basmati)
NOTE IF YOU USE A RICE COOKER: If you use an electric rice cooker and choose the brown basmati, use 3 cups liquid.

Roasted Garlic Dressing:
1 head roasted garlic, squeezed out of peels
1/2 c. chickpea broth (aquafaba) or other vegetarian broth
1/4 c. extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 c. cider vinegar or white wine vinegar (or white balsamic vinegar)
1 tsp. Dijon mustard
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. freshly-ground pepper

Vegetables and Herbs:
1/2 lb. fresh asparagus, cut into 1" pieces OR 1 c. shelled fresh or thawed frozen petit pois (baby peas)
4 green onions, chopped
1 small jar marinated artichoke hearts, rinsed and sliced (or use half a 14 oz. can)
2 roasted red peppers , chopped, or equivilant from a jar of roasted peppers, rinsed (NOTE: if you have no red peppers, use a chopped green pepper and about 6 sundried tomatoes in oil, sliced)
2 stalks celery OR fennel, chopped
1/2 c. sliced pitted green Italian olives or pimiento-stuffed green olives
OPTIONAL: 2 T. capers
2 T. chopped Italian parsley or regular parsley
2 T. chopped fresh basil OR 2 tsp. dried

Optional Topping:
1/4 c. toasted pine nuts or slivered almonds

To cook the rice, bring the broth or water and broth cubes to a boil in a medium saucepan with a tight lid. Slowly add the rice in a stream, bring back to a boil, cover and lower the heat to almost the lowest heat. Cook 15 minutes for white rice, 30-45 minutes for brown rice. Fluff with a fork and let sit a few more minutes before scraping into a large salad bowl.

Meanwhile, steam the asparagus until crisp-tender, and rinse under cold running water to stop cooking. Drain very well. Prepare the other vegetables and herbs.

Blend the dressing ingredients together in a blender or mini-chopper until smooth. Toss with the warm rice and add the asparagus and remaining vegetables and herbs. Cover and refrigerate. Serve at room temperature, if possible, with the nuts sprinkled on top.

Happy Easter!

I've been back on the Weight Watchers Core Food Plan for 5 days now (lost 2 lbs. already!), but DH wanted a sweet treat today! So I got out my very first book "The Almost No-fat Cookbook", and made a slightly changed version of the Light and Easy Chocolate Cupcakes, with my fluffy vegan frosting (low in fat and sugar; not in any of my books). Since I have 35 points per week to play with, 4 points ( actually 3.7) is not bad for a treat!

I prefer not to use artificial sweeteners, Splenda, or stevia, so these cupcakes contain sugar, but no added fat except a little in the icing. I used part whole wheat pastry flour for a little more fiber, and I used brown sugar, coffee, and vanilla for a deeper flavor. (NOTE: it's important to use pastry flour in no-fat baking-- except for yeast breads, of course-- because you want a lower gluten flour for tenderness. Fat coats gluten and makes it tender, so, if you aren't using fat, or are using very little, you want less gluten.)

The cupcakes are tender and light, but remember that fat-free treats don't keep very well, so freeze what isn't being used in a day or two. I had one with my tea for a snack this afternoon-- yum!



BRYANNA'S LIGHT AND EASY CHOCOLATE CAKE (OR CUPCAKES) WITH FLUFFY VEGAN ICING
Servings: 12
Yield: Makes 12 cupcakes 
These are easy to make, but tender and moist. Be sure to use pastry flour, since there's no fat in this (see note above in text). You have the option of making a white or cocoa icing.  Remember that fat-free treats don't keep very well, so freeze what isn't being used in a day or two

WET MIX:
8 oz medium-firm tofu OR extra-firm SILKEN tofu, drained and crumbled
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup water, liquid coffee (can be decaf) or coffee substitute
NOTE: Coffee accentuates the chocolate flavor.
1 Tbs vinegar (I use cider vinegar)
1 Tbs pure vanilla extract
DRY MIX:
3/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup white pastry flour (preferably unbleached)
6 Tbs organic unsweetened cocoa
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
BRYANNA'S FLUFFY VEGAN ICING
1/2 cup nondairy milk
2 1/2 Tbs white unbleached flour
1/4 tsp agar powder
1 1/2 Tbs Earth Balance regular
1/2 cup unbleached organic granulated sugar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 pinch salt
Light chocolate version: Add
4 tsp organic unsweetened cocoa

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Grease and flour 12 cupcake/muffin cups, or line with parchment tulip baking cups, unbleached paper liner cups, or silicone liners.

Blend the Wet Mix ingredients until smooth. Whisk the Dry Mix ingredients well in a medium bowl. Add the Wet Mix and whisk in just until blended-- briefly. Scoop evenly into the prepared cups. Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on rack for 5 minutes, then carefully remove the cupcakes and place on the rack to cool thoroughly before icing.

BRYANNA'S FLUFFY VEGAN ICING
Whisk milk into flour and agar in small saucepan until smooth (You can use an immersion blender if you wish, or even run it through a regular blender). Heat over medium-high heat, stirring or whisking constantly until it boils and thickens.

MICROWAVE OPTION: Whisk the flour, agar and milk in a microwave-proof bowl. Microwave for 45 seconds, whisk, and repeat twice, or until thick.

Cool thoroughly (place in a small bowl inside of a larger bowl of cold water). It will get quite stiff-- don't worry!

With an electric mixer beat the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt until light and fluffy-- several minutes. Beat in the cooled flour paste (and optional cocoa, if using) with the electric beaters and mix until smooth and fluffy. Chill thoroughly before frosting. Keep the frosted cupcakes refrigerated (covered, so that they don't dry out) until serving time.

Nutrition Facts for iced cupcakes:
Nutrition (per cupcakes): 193.2 calories; 12% calories from fat; 3.0g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 237.1mg sodium; 232.1mg potassium; 39.7g carbohydrates; 2.3g fiber; 26.5g sugar; 37.4g net carbs; 4.2g protein; 3.7 points.

Nutrition Facts for UN-iced cupcakes:
Nutrition (per cupcake): 137.7 calories; 7% calories from fat; 1.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 193.4mg sodium; 208.3mg potassium; 29.5g carbohydrates; 2.0g fiber; 17.9g sugar; 27.5g net carbs; 3.6g protein; 2.5 points.

Enjoy!

 
My son Tim and his family with my three little grandaughters, came for lunch yesterday, along with my stepson Sean and a lovely young visitor from Scotland, Jen. I was in the mood for cupcakes, but I don’t like to make them when it’s only the two of us, or we eat them all! But little girls love cupcakes, so, I thought this was a good opportunity to try the combination of pumpkin batter with lemon “buttercream” and pecans, which I love. I used a pumpkin cake batter that I had devised for my newsletter, The Vegan Feast, 2 years ago for a Thanksgiving dessert— mild in spiciness, and nicely moist and fluffy. I had some Lemon “Buttercream” in the refrigerator, which is what gave me the idea in the first place. I didn’t have quite enough icing to make the cupcakes look really beautiful, so they didn't look pretty, but were pretty darn good to eat!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S VEGAN PUMPKIN-PECAN CUPCAKES WITH LEMON “BUTTERCREAM”
makes 18 cupcakes
© Bryanna Clark Grogan 2006

DRY MIX: (NOTE: Be sure to use pastry flour!)
1 and 1/2 cups sifted white pastry flour
1 and 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (stir well before measuring)
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground cloves or allspice

PUMPKIN MIX:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup nondairy milk

SUGAR MIX:
1 cup light unbleached granulated organic sugar
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup vegan buttery spread, softened a bit (try my homemade palm oil-free "Buttah") OR 6 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1 Tbs. Ener-G egg replacer powder or Orgran No-Egg
1 tsp. vanilla


Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.  Prepare 18 muffin cups (I use one full [12 cup] muffin pan and one half [6 cup]) by spraying with oil from a pump sprayer, greasing with my homemade vegan "cake release", or by lining with parchment cupcake liners (or silicone ones), or use a silicone muffin pan (12 cup-- this one is on a frame, so they don't sag; 6 cup-- this one has the silicone molds inside of a metal pan.)

Whisk together the Dry Mix ingredients into a medium bowl and stir them together well.

In a measuring pitcher, whisk together the pumpkin and nondairy milk; set aside.

In a large bowl, beat together the Sugar Mix ingredients with an electric mixer at high speed for about 2 minutes, scraping the sides of the bowl with a rubber scraper now and then.

At low speed, beat in the Dry Mix, alternately with the pumpkin mixture, starting and ending with the Dry Mix. (Don’t worry if it looks a bit curdled at certain points.) Then beat for 1 minute more.

Spoon the batter into the cupcake liners. Bake until the cupcakes are golden and spring back when gently pressed with your finger, 18-20 minutes. Place the pans on racks to cool for 5 minutes, then run a table knife carefully around the edge of the cupcake liner and gently lift the cupcakes out and onto the rack to cool.

When they are thoroughly cool, ice with the Lemon “Buttercream” and dip the tops into the pecans to coat the tops.

BRYANNA’S VEGAN LEMON “BUTTERCREAM” FROSTING
© Bryanna Clark Grogan 2006
This is a creamy vegan “buttercream” with a lower percentage of fat than most “buttercreams”.

1/2 cup vegan buttery spread (try my homemade palm oil-free Buttah")
about 2 cups+2 Tbs. organic powdered sugar (such as Hains, Wholesome Foods or Florida Crystals), sifted (have a bit more on hand in case the icing needs thickening-up)
1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice
5 tsp. water
1 1/2 Tbs. grated organic lemon zest
1/2 tsp. vanilla

In the large bowl of an electric mixer, cream the buttery spread until smooth. Add 1 c. of the sugar, the lemon juice and water, the lemon zest, and vanilla. Beat until creamy. It may look curdled— don’t worry! Add the remaining sugar, a little at a time, as you beat it, until it holds it shape well and you can see “trails” in it from the beaters. Refrigerate, covered, until it’s time to ice the cake.

Enjoy!