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

On the left are the pizzas I made for dinner last night, cooked in dark metal pizza pans on the oven racks, at 550 degrees F, with convection; on the right is a pizza made with the same dough, but baked on unglazed ceramic tiles in my oven, same temperature.

The pictures are just to illustrate the different quality of pizza that you can get in your own home oven. They were both good, by the way! But the "stone-baked" one has a crust that is crispy all over, not just on the bottom. It looks more Italian, somehow! Last night I was just too preoccupied to heat up the tiles
beforehand.

I'm not going to go into a long explanation of how I make pizza.  For that you can get my book Nonna's Italian Kitchen (your library might have it) or my new book World Vegan Feast for a newer version.

There is so much bad pizza out there! Which is puzzling, because, once you know a few things, it's easy. And the dough is not an afterthought-- in Italy it is the primary component, and it should be here in N.A., too. In Italy they don't over load a pizza with sauce, ingredients, cheese, etc.. The dough is simple, very simple, but it tastes so good you want to eat the edges, and you don't need them to be stuffed with cheese or have some gloppy sauce to dip them into! I'm going to give you my latest favorite dough recipe, which is from my newsletter. Both of the pizzas above were made with this dough.

HINT: Pizza dough is better if you make it hours before using and let it rise in the refrigerator for 8-14 hours. Yes, it's true, and it's very convenient. The directions are in the recipe below. An alternative is to make it in the morning, let it rise once, punch it down and refrigerate as instructed until about 2 hours before dinner (so it has time to warm up). Why is it better this way? Because dough needs time to develop the enzymes which give dough flavor and good texture.

BTW, "American Pie" by master baker Peter Reinhart is a wonderful book on pizza!

A way to stretch the dough without rolling or throwing in the air! Drape the dough over an over-turned bowl (see picture) and gently stretch it  all around until it is the right size, again using the weight of the dough stretch it.


Work slowly so that you don’t tear the dough. If it does tear, you can patch it and seal it again. The pizza does not have to be absolutely round!

Cheers!

Not really a recipe-- just a guide!

The original of this recipe is from Susan V's wonderful blog, Fatfree Vegan Kitchen. I've been wanting to try it since it was posted, but had to go shopping first. Susan used fingerling potatoes, but I couldn't find any, so I used those little baby nugget potatoes, the yellow ones.

I changed the recipe a somewhat, mostly in the cooking method. I used 1 lb. of nugget potatoes and 1 large fennel root (you could use celery root, or even celery) which I cut into chunks. I had half a large onion in the fridge, so I diced that up. I mixed everything in a shallow pan with the 1 cup broth Susan called for, and I roasted it in a 500 degree F oven for about 20 minutes, instead of braising it like Susan did. The broth cooked off and everything was starting to brown. I stirred it up gently, sprinkled it with some coarse salt that my daughter brought me from Mexico, and some freshly-ground pepper, and put the pan under the broiler for a few minutes, just to get a bit of a charred thing going-- not too much.

It was delicious, and totally fat-free. Thanks, Susan!

Enjoy!

After vegan cappuccinos, I'll continue the breakfast theme with waffles. This recipe is a variation on a recipe from one of my books. I love the combination of orange, pecan and cornmeal-- seems very Southern to me, and it's always delicious. I decided to use this flavor combo in my bean-based waffles, which I usually make with oats. These waffles are high in protein and fiber and great for anyone with allergies. Hope you like 'em!

PS: These bean waffles do not work for me in a Belgian waffle iron (the thicker kind), so use a good nonstick traditional type.  A good one is the round Cuisinart Traditional.  Other waffles irons recommended by Cooks Illustrated are:  Chef’s Choice WafflePro Express; Cloer Double Waffle Maker; Cuisinart 6-Slice Traditional Waffle Iron.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S CRISPY VEGAN ORANGE PECAN CORNMEAL WAFFLES
makes 8-9/ 4” waffles   (wheat-free and can be soy-free)
Adapted from a recipe in my book “The Fiber for Life Cookbook”

Don’t be put off by having to put the beans on to soak the night before. This takes just minutes before you retire for the night and then, in the morning, the batter is quickly made in the blender while the waffle iron heats up.

These waffles take a little longer to bake than ordinary waffles (about 7-8 minutes), so you might want to make them ahead of time, or have two waffle irons going at the same time. They can be reheated quickly in a very hot oven for a short time (you just want to crisp and heat them, not dry them out), or in a toaster.NOTE: And, don’t worry, no one will suspect that there are beans in these waffles!

THE NIGHT BEFORE:
1/3 c. dried Great Northern beans OR chickpeas
(If you use other beans, be sure to see the Important Update at this post.)
Plenty of water to cover
IN THE MORNING:
1 1/2 c. fresh water
1/3 c. orange juice concentrate
1 c. cornmeal
2 T. oat bran (or you could use rice bran or wheat bran instead)
4 tsp. organic sugar or other sweetener
2 T. ground golden flaxseed (measure after grinding)
1 T. grated (organic) orange zest (see below)
1/2 T. baking powder
1 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. baking soda
3/4 tsp. salt
1/3 c. finely chopped toasted pecans

The night before:
Soak the beans in plenty of water to cover, with a few inches of water above the beans-. The beans can soak in water in the refrigerator for up to a week with no fermentation, if you aren’t sure when you’ll make the waffles.

In the morning:
Drain the beans. Place them in the blender along with all of the other ingredients. Blend until smooth and light and foamy. This may take several minutes.

Let the batter stand while you heat up your NONSTICK waffle iron.  

NOTE: USE A REGULAR WAFFLE MAKER, NOT A BELGIAN WAFFLE MAKER-- THE BELGIAN WAFFLE IS TOO THICK AND DOESN'T COOK PROPERLY WITH THIS BATTER! See recommended waffle irons above.).

NOTE: Even if you have a non-stick iron, this recipe will work better if you spray the grids with oil from a pump-sprayer.

When the iron is hot, pour on about a heaping 1/3 c. of batter for each 4” square waffle . Close the iron and set the timer for 7 minutes. Don’t check before 7 minutes is up. If the iron is hard to open, let it cook a couple of more minutes.

If the batter gets thicker on standing, add a LITTLE water, just until it’s the consistency you started out with.

The waffle should be brown and crispy. Serve immediately, or let cool on cake racks. When they are cool, they can be frozen in plastic bags or rigid containers. Serve with your favorite toppings.

If you don’t use up all of the batter, and you don’t want to cook the waffles ahead of time and freeze them, just refrigerate the batter in the blender with the lid on. You can re-blend the batter (adding a tiny bit more water if the batter has become too thick) just before cooking the waffles.

COOKING NOTE: If you don't have one of those microplane zesters yet, for citrus zest (and fresh ginger) use a little tiny box grater about 2 1/2" high. it works just beautifully and cost about $1.50 Cnd!






Enjoy!

Blue-striped cup, rear left: homemade soymilk; white cup, rear right: Almond Breeze; front in blue cup: Soy Dream















UPDATE: Ap. 28th, 8:50 am....cappuccino with Vitasoy Original.

PS: FOR NOTES ABOUT HOW TO KEEP SOYMILK FROM CURDLING IN COFFEE, LOW-ACID COFFEE, CHOOSING COFFEE, STOVETOP ESPRESSO MAKERS, ETC., SEE THE BLOGGER COMMENTS FOR THIS ENTRY.

COMPARING NON-DAIRY MILKS FOR THE BEST CAPPUCCINO FOAM

I'm not a regular coffee-drinker, but I do like a good cappuccino (made with organic, fair-trade dark roasted beans) now and then. We went shopping yesterday and I had a soy cappuccino at a local coffeehouse. The foam was pathetic! They used Silk and a professional foamer, but I might as well have had a latte. Now, as it happens, just the day before, I had pulled our cheap plunger-type milk foamer:


out of the cupboard and made myself a beautifully-foamed cappuccino using my homemade soymilk.






























My husband (an expert) was very impressed! The foam really lasted, too.

Today I wanted to compare some vegan milks, so I made three cappuccinos-- one with my freshly homemade soymilk, one with Soy Dream (Original), and one with Almond Breeze (Original). (From past experience, I know that rice milk doesn't foam well, so I chose good-tasting Almond Breeze for the non-soy option..it's quite low in fat, too.)

The homemade soymilk won hands-down again! A beautiful stiff, long-lasting foam with only 30 seconds in the hand-plunger! The Soy Dream came in second, and the Almond Breeze third-- though it had a much better foam than the Silk used in the coffeehouse. UPDATE, morning of April 28th: I tried a cappuccino with Vitasoy Original this morning (see photo above) and it was very nice-- similar to soy Dream, so I'd say they tie for second place.


Blue-striped cup, rear left: homemade soymilk; white cup, rear right: Almond Breeze; front in blue cup: Soy Dream

Cheers!

HEAR MY INTERVIEW ON GO VEGAN TEXAS! RADIO, ALONG WITH KAREN DAVIS OF UNITED POULTRY CONCERNS-- go to this link to access the archived interview.

Lately, I've been rushing upstairs from my office to the kitchen around 5 PM to find something to make for dinner. Usually I plan ahead, at least in the morning, but I've been on a deadline. This is a favorite quickie meal:

POTATOES AND BRAISED KALE WITH MUSHROOMS AND ITALIAN VEGGIE SAUSAGES

This is just a guide--you don't need a recipe for this.

Clean and trim and slice a whole pile of kale-- it will cook down alot.

Steam, boil or microwave some thin-skinned potatoes, cut into chunks. I microwave them in a microwave steamer.

In a large deep skillet, saute as much chopped garlic as you want in a little olive oil-- gently-- don't brown it! I would use maybe 4 cloves for the two of us. Add some sliced mushrooms-- as much as you want-- and brown them a bit. Add the kale and about a cup of vegetarian broth. Bring to a boil and then turn it down to medium and cover it. While this cooks (check it to see if you need more broth-- you want it to cook down, but still be a bit brothy to moisten the potatoes), brown as many Tofurkey Italian Sausages as you like, in a grill or in a skillet with a little olive and/or Asian (toasted) sesame oil.

These vegan sausages are really good, but they are big and kind of high in fat. A big eater or a very hungry person can eat a whole one; daintier or less hungry diners may only want half of one.

When the kale is tender (I cook it maybe 10 minutes) and the potatoes are done, drain the potatoes and add them to the kale, stirring gently to mix the ingredients. Add a bit more broth if necessary. Add salt and pepper to taste (you could add a bit of red pepper flakes, if you like things spicy) and serve with the browned veggie sausages.

Enjoy!

My mom came over for lunch today and I was looking for a light entree to make. I had 1/2 a raw sweet potato left, and 1/2 a block of my homemade vegan "cheddar" in the freezer, so I decided to mix the sweet potato with white potato and make a vegan gratin. It was delicious! My "cheddar" is tahini-based and has alot of flavor-- it also melts well. (a related recipe for Vegan "Gruyere" is in my new book .) However, you can use any other favorite vegan cheese instead.

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S POTATO AND SWEET POTATO GRATIN WITH SAGE
Updated April 2011
Servings: 4 ( actually, 3 of us ate the whole thing!)

1 large onion, thinly-sliced
1-2 Tbs chopped fresh sage
2 tsp olive oil
8 oz. sweet potato, peeled and sliced very thinly
1 lb thin-skinned white potatoes, scrubbed and sliced very thinly
1/2 cup chopped parsley
1 large clove garlic, minced
about 2 cups (grated and not packed down) of your favorite vegan "cheese" that melts well
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
1 cup soy or nut milk, warmed

Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil a 2 qt. gratin dish or shallow casserole. Put on a pot of water to boil.

Heat the oil in a nonstick heavy skillet and add the onions and sage. Cook over medium heat, stirring often, until they soften and turn golden. OR, place the oil in a microwave-safe dish or casserole, add the onions and sage, cover and cook on full power for 8 minutes. (Shy of microwaves? Please read this.)

I use a mandoline slicer to cut the potatoes very thinly. I have one similar to this one, but there are so many and some for every budget . You can also do this on an attachment of your food processor. When the water boils, add some salt and add the potatoes and sweet potatoes. Stir the potatoes so that they don't clump together. When the water boils again, time for 1 minute.

Drain the potatoes and mix in a large bowl with the cooked onions and sage, and the parsley and garlic. Mix well.

Grate the "cheese". (The photos are of my Vegan "Cheddar" from my old Vegan Feast newsletter, which grates best when frozen or semi-frozen-- a related recipe for Vegan "Gruyere" is in my new book)


Spread 1/3 of the potatoes in the prepared pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and 1/3 of the "cheese". Repeat layering two more times. Pour the warm soy or nut milk over the gratin.


Cover with foil. Bake 25 minutes. Remove foil and bake 25 minutes more. Let the gratin stand for 5 minutes before serving.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/4 of the casserole): 209.2 calories; 20% calories from fat; 4.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 137.0mg sodium; 857.5mg potassium; 36.8g carbohydrates; 6.0g fiber; 6.7g sugar; 30.8g net carbs; 6.1g protein; 3.8 points.



Enjoy!

My grandfather, Gilbert Tonge (on the left), with his silkscreen art printing company colleagues in San Francisco in 1916.
SCROLL DOWN FOR A LIST OF LINKS TO SOURDOUGH RECIPES ON THIS BLOG.

Today is the centennial of the Great 1906 San Francisco Earthquake. That's where I'm from, originally, and my maternal grandfather, Gilbert Tonge, survived the disaster (he was a 22-year-old art student at the time). He used to tell us about it and I wish I had recorded some of that! But, of course, we were young, and didn't realize the historical importance of his stories. He was born in California, in what is now Placerville, in El Dorado County. The town was called "Hangtown" at one time!

Cooking in the street after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake:  Above is a photo of my grandfather, Gilbert Ross Tonge (age 22 at the time, on the far left-- my cousin Chris Tonge looks just like him!); Guillermo DeCastro next to him; then my great-grandmother, Mary Hicks Tonge; then someone named Amelia; and, on the far right, my grandfather's Aunt Libby (Elizabeth Tonge Barret). This photo was sent to one of my cousins by a Swiss art historian, Guido Lengwiler, who wrote a fascinating book on the history of screen printing. The book includes a section about my grandfather, who helped develop a type of silk-screening. (See http://www.signindustry.com/screen/articles/2014-04-01-History-of-screen-printing-part-2.php3)

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My mother was also born in California. Not to be outdone by her father, my mother was visiting California in 1989 when the Loma Prieta earthquake hit. In fact, she was in Santa Cruz, near the epicenter, and she and a friend [both senior citizens] had to run from a store, with goods from the shelves falling on their heads!

Anyway, all this got me thinking about San Francisco food memories. What came to mind first and foremost was sourdough. The sourdough bread was so delicious! I hope it still is-- I haven't visited for some time. You can't always get good sourdough bread up here very easily, so I make it myself. Of course, I really need an outdoor oven to get a good crust on it, and we may try making one this summer! UPDATE: Try the "bake in a pre-heated heavy pot or casserole" method for a super crust in your stove's oven.



I make a yogurt-based sourdough starter. It works like a dream, doesn't need to be fed all the time, and can lie dormant in the refrigerator or freezer for months, if necessary, and be revived. I have since revised the starter to use a soy yogurt starter.

**I also use the "Oregon Trail Sourdough Starter", which I treat the same way. You can get a free (dried) starter (and it's a great story that goes with it!) here. You just pay postage. (PS: I don't use the sugar and potato they call for in the instructions., and it works fine.)**

To acknowledge the centennial, I'm posting the vegan yogurt-based starter recipe.

UPDATE: More sourdough recipes on this blog:

Golden Sourdough Rolled Biscuits



Dutch Pumpernickel Bread

No-Knead Sourdough Bread Experiment

Crusty No-Knead Half-Whole Wheat Sourdough Bread (free-form or pan loaf)



Vegan Whole Grain Sourdough Pancakes