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

It 's just a social whirl around here, I tell you! Just kidding! But we have had some good feasts lately, in between some yummy Weight Watcher's Core Plan dinners. (DH and I are on the Core Plan-- together this time, which makes it alot easier for me! But, more about that in another post.)



We attended a vegan potluck dinner party with a birthday them last week with four other couples. It turned out to be a pretty much Italian affair, just by accident. The food and wine was delicious, the company was great, and my friend Fireweed made a grand chocolate cake for her DH Mike's birthday!


My plate:(from the top, clockwise) a sort of Italian colcannon, with kale; a yummy cauliflower roasted dish; hummous with wholegrain focaccia; farinata-- Farinata, an Italian savory "chickpea pancake" (I brought this); a savory tofu cake (in the middle); and Giant Lima Beans (Gigantes) Italian-style (another one of my dishes). There was also a lovely salad with lots of different vegetables and nuts-- you can see it in the photo above this one.

Here's Mike's birthday cake:





Mmmmmmmm-mm!

We had two Easter dinners this year. Saturday was Family Day, and my oldest daughter and her daughter were there, with a friend. My middle daughter came with her DH and 3 girls; my foster son Daiv came up from Victoria, and my son put in a quick appearance (they were hosting a giant birthday party at his house!). My stepson Sean and his girlfriend were also with us for a while. We had my McDougall hummous with crudites for starters, and then roasted potatoes, Italian Rice salad with asparagus, my seitan "ham" with "ham gravy", and a broccoli salad that my daughter brought-- a pretty modest feast for us. (My grandaughter's friend, however, was impressed!) My oldest daughter brought our traditional Italian Easter bread ring.  (I forgot to take pictures-- I have a tendency to get distracted with grandchildren around!! in a good way!)

On Sunday we hosted two friends, who gladly helped us finish up the second "ham", the rest of the "ham gravy" and the Italian Rice salad, some crisp freshly-roasted (Denman Island-grown) potatoes, and a spinach salad with thinly-sliced artichoke hearts, sundried tomatoes and mushrooms, in a creamy, lemony agave-spiked dressing (see recipe below).



For dessert on both evenings we had my S'More Brownies, which I developed for my Vegan Feast Newsletter.









Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S FAVORITE SPINACH SALAD
Servings: 6
A luscious veggie combination with a creamy, tangy-sweet dressing. It is practically a meal in itself! TO MAKE THIS RECIPE SOY-FREE, omit the tofu and use 1/3 cup more nondairy milk and 1/3 cup raw cashew pieces. Blend until VERY smooth.

CREAMY LEMON-AGAVE DRESSING
6 oz. (1/2 a 12.3 oz. box) extra-firm SILKEN tofu
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice or organic bottled
3 Tbs agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp onion powder
1 small clove garlic, crushed
THE SALAD
12 oz organic baby spinach leaves, from a bag or box already cleaned and dried
14 oz jar marinated artichoke hearts, drained and sliced thinly
8 oz fresh crimini mushrooms, sliced thinly
24 large pieces sundried tomatoes in oil, well-drained and thinly-sliced

To Make the dressing:
Blend the Dressing ingredients in a blender until smooth. Place in a covered jar in the refrigerator until serving time.

Just before serving, distribute the spinach between 6 salad plates and top evenly with the sliced mushrooms, artichoke hearts and sundried tomatoes. Drizzle each salad with about 4 Tbs. of the dressing and serve.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 109.2 calories; 9% calories from fat; 1.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 457.3mg sodium; 1065.8mg potassium; 21.2g carbohydrates; 6.2g fiber; 8.5g sugar; 15.1g net carbs; 8.4g protein; 1.5 points.

Enjoy!

A poster with some good ideas, for sale at 10,000 Villages (fair trade store) on Denman St. in Vancouver (my cousin's partner is the manager)

I am just catching up after 4 days away from home in Vancouver. I'm always very glad to get back to Denman Is., but we had lots of fun in Vancouver. Our main reason for going was to see family, and we stayed with my cousin Chris and his partner Roxanne at their lovely house in the East End of Vancouver, near "The Drive" (Commercial Drive), which is a lively, funky neighborhood (I lived there many years ago!) with lots of ethnic eating.

We visited with my youngest daughter, Justine, and her son and partner; with my stepson, Laurie, and his girlfriend; with my sister, Karin, and another cousin, Rose; and my cousin's daughter and little granddaughter. We also visited with an old friend of DH who lives in Port Moody, and his wife, who is a sweetheart. DH and John grew up together in Quebec City and have only recently discovered that they live not too far from each other and still have much in common!

We also visited the 10,000 Villages store that Roxanne manages on Denman St. (she also opened the very successful one on Commercial Drive). So many beautiful things, all fair trade! (Roxanne got an award last year for being a "Fair Trade Pioneer" in Vancouver!) here are some photos from the store:









The other important reason for this visit was to attend a concert at Capilano University. The artist was Habib Koité, one of our favorite African artists, who was born in Senegal, but is actually from Mali. "Habib comes from a noble line of Khassonké griots, traditional troubadors who provide wit, wisdom and musical entertainment at social gatherings and special events. Habib grew up surrounded by seventeen brothers and sisters, and developed his unique guitar style accompanying his griot mother." He has a great band, Bamada. Google his name for lots of videos online!


(Photo by Brian Grogan)

It was a small theatre, so we had a great view, and the audience was very responsive and enthusiastic. Several dancers came on stage at times, and this one was our favorite. I heard that she was an African dance teacher. Look at her go!

(Photo by Brian Grogan)

What fun!

And, of course, the 3rd pleasurable activity was eating! Vancouver is a great place to eat if you like ethnic foods, and it's very vegetarian-friendly. This time we didn't know where we would be half the time, so we didn't plan anything fancy, and just ate at inexpensive neighborhood places. I meant to take pictures of everything, but, alas, I got distracted at times!

Friday afternoon, Chris picked us up at the ferry in Horseshoe Bay and we went for our first Vancouver meal of the trip, lunch at Rangoli, the bistro attached to the upscale Indian-fusion restaurant Vij's (which has been written up in Gourmet magazine). The owner, Vikram Vij, is quite a Vancouver legend.

Rangoli's prices are quite a bit lower than Vij's, but the food and the diners receive the same care and attention. The General Manager, Akiko Masutani, happens to be the daughter of some very good friends of ours. She is only 23 and runs the bistro-- smart girl! She greeted us with open arms and made sure that we got lots of attention!

Shun me if you want, but I didn't eat strictly vegan at this meal! I wanted to taste their legendary food and figure out how to make it vegan at home! It was definitely the best meal we had on this trip! I am still tasting the flavors and will get on with vegan experimenting soon. Even the little salads were exquisite. We had:

\
Lentil and Chickpea Kachori with cilantro-jalapeno chutney (a stuffed pastry)


Black Chickpea, Peas and Onion Cakes in Spicy Coconut Curry with vegetable rice pilaf


Kale and Yam Curry on Semolina Crepe spiced with coriander, ginger and mustard seeds

And the best of all:

Portobello Mushroom and Red Bell Pepper Curry with beet salad & naan

Akiko also ordered us Savoury Chaat wheat crisps with potatoes, sprouts, chutney & yogurt, which was very good (cold) and unusual. (The picture didn't turn out.) I just have to do a vegan re-creation of that! Crunchy, spicy, cold, creamy, sour, savory...mmmmm

On Friday night we met my cousin Chris and Roxanne, and my daughter Justine and her son at Hon's Wun-Tun House on Robson St.. It's a big, noisy, crowded Hong-Kong-style Chinese diner, I guess you'd call it. Nothing stylish or romantic about it! There are 5 Hon's in the Vancouver area, but the Robson St. venue has a separate vegetarian kitchen! You can see the two kitchens from the dining room. They have a great veg wonton soup (better than the Bo Kong, I think, though that is a really good Chinese Buddhist vegetarian restaurant, which we didn't get to this time). DH and I had that, a spicy gluten "chicken" dish with peppers and peanuts, which was great, and a stir-fry of mixed "mock meats" and veggies in a sweet potato "nest" (fried), which wasn't that great. I totally forgot to take pictures, being busy admiring my young grandson!

On Saturday Roxanne had to work, so Chris and DH and I met with DH's old friend John and his wife Brenda and went to lunch at the funky Foundation Lounge, which my publisher always visits when he goes to Vancouver. I thought it would be vegan, but it is vegetarian with vegan choices. It's pretty bare-bones decor, and I hear that at night it can get pretty loud with grunge music and lots of young folks. I didn't think the food was great, but it was good, cheap, and plenty of it!

Chris and I shared the Yam (actually sweet potato) dip with a variety of crunchies. Very yummy!:


Chris and DH both had the "BLT". You can leave off the cheese if you like, because it has avocado in it. It has lots of mayo, so, if you're vegan, ask if they have a vegan option.:



Brenda had the "Serial Salad", which had lots of grains and fruit in a creamy dressing:


I had the "Molten Tofu" with lots of greens. It was tasty and VERY filling!:


Saturday night we were in a hurry to get to the concert, so we ate at one of our favorite little restaurants, the Legendary Noodle on Denman St., near Roxanne's store. I have written about this before, so check out this blog post. I always like their food, which is fresh and fast, and they are famous for their "House Tea":



DH and I shared the veggie gyoza/potstickers (they call them "pan-fried dumplings"), which are excellent, and are served like French fries in a paper-lined basket:


We also shared the "Hit Me w/ Dao Xiao Mian, Tofu Vegetarian" dish ("Finely Sliced Noodle from a Flour Dough, Stir Fried Green, Red Pepper, Celery, Bean Sprouts, Dark Bean Soy Sauce")-- ask for no egg in it if you are vegan:


We all indulged in the Fried Pea Shoots w/ Garlic-- so simple and so divine!:


Roxanne had her favorite, which I'm going to try next time, the noodles with Lemon Garlic Green Onion Sauce:


On Sunday we had a gang of family over, so we just went down to the Drive to a Middle Eastern grocery store and set out a buffet of flatbreads and buns, dips and spreads, olives, vegetarian dolmades (stuffed grape leaves), vegetable relishes and salads, and a bowl of strawberries.

For dinner, after the crowd had thinned a little, we went down to the local Thai takeout place and brought home vegetarian pad thai, garlic broccoli, and "Swimming Rama"-- tofu on spinach with peanut sauce. Forgot the photos again on Sunday!

I also forgot the camera in the car when we had our last meal with Chris before we left for home, a sort of brunch at another bare-bones, funky family vegetarian place on the drive, the Cafe Du Soleil (not to be confused with another funky family vegetarian place on the drive that's also good for brunch, Cafe Deux Soleils!). Chris and DH (who eats eggs sometimes) got the vegetarian Eggs Benny (Chris is not vegetarian, but he said it was one of the best he'd had), and I got the Lentil Rolls with a salad and Miso-Ginger dressing. It was a bit stodgy, but it tasted good and was filling and very inexpensive. The server was very pleasant, too.

So now we're back home, glad to be eating our own food again, but savoring the memories of a great concert, good visits with family and friends, and some pretty interesting meals.

Before we left, we checked out some other restaurants on the drive that we'd like to try next time-- an Algerian one that has a vegetarian couscous; a new Ethiopian place (always good veggie fare in Ethiopian restaurants!); an Asian-caribbean-fusion place called Clove, which Chris says is excellent, and the menu looked promising; and a vegetarian Mexican place called Bandidas Tacqueria, which has plenty of vegan options. Stay tuned!

Enjoy!

                 Farro Minestrone with Squash and Greens

We're heading for Vancouver tomorrow, for a much-needed little holiday (4 days only). We'll stay with my cousin Chris and his partner Roxanne, and spend time with my sister, Karin, my youngest daughter and youngest grandson, an old friend of DH's, and perhaps another cousin of mine, Charo, from my Peruvian father's side of the family. I'll report on the restaurants!

Before I go and pack, I want to leave you with a delicious Italian soup recipe. Instead of pasta or rice, this soup contains a grain, farro. Farro was a mainstay of Tuscan cuisine for centuries. In recent decades, farro was replaced, for the most part, by easier-to-grow-and- harvest varieties of common wheat. But farro is making a comeback! It features in the dishes of upscale restaurants from coast to coast.

Farro and its cousins emmer and einkorn are known as 'hulled wheats'. This means that the berry or kernel retains its hull or husk during harvest and must be dehulled prior to further processing.

In North America, this fine grain is known as Spelt. While there are occasional descriptions of spelt as not 'true' farro, the International Plant Genetic Resources Institute, via its report on Underutilized Mediterranean Species states that 'the only registered varieties of farro belong to T. spelta or spelt."



From the Random House Dictionary: "Farro-- This is a type of hard wheat known as 'spelt' in English. It has been grown and used in Italy since Roman times and is now mostly grown in Lazio, Umbria and Abruzzo. A famous wedding soup of these regions is called 'Confarrotio'."

There is some confusion about what farro actually is. Some will argue vehemently that farro is NOT spelt! But here is a quote from the above-mentioned report, "Farro in Italy": "It is very difficult to make the distinction between the three different farros (einkorn, emmer and spelt) as particularly the term spelt and farro are often used as synonyms. As mentioned above einkorn (T. monococcum) is the least cultivated form of farro in Italy. The Italian Ministry of Agriculture estimates the cultivation of spelt (T. spelta) and emmer (T. dicoccon) to be 500 and 2000 hectares respectively."

It goes on: "In Italy, as in other European countries, all three farro species have experienced a comeback in the past few decades. While in Germany and Switzerland the primary species of farro produced is spelt (Dinkel, used for making bread, biscuits or pasta), in Italy emmer has the biggest surface. In Italy since the early 1980's, emmer has seen a return in various regions within the centre of Italy, as the healthy properties of this cereal attract consumers. Emmer contains high levels of fibre and it is cultivated traditionally, without the use of synthetic pesticides or fertilizers. Why had it survived there? Not because the farmers deliberately set out to conserve genetic resources, but because farro, handed down from antiquity, offered something modern wheats could not in the steep mountain fields: a reliable harvest.

Farro is particularly spread in the Apennines central-southern areas and concerns prevailingly organic cultivations. This species, indeed, is characterized by a high agronomical and environmental adaptability and these features permit it, more than other cereals, to cope with weeds and to exploit as well as possible marginal and poor soils escaping any fertilizing action. The spread concerns both areas where emmer is “traditional” and areas where it has been recently introduced. While in the traditional areas emmer growing has never been abundoned and landraces have been maintained, in the new areas emmer varieties are imported either from the traditional areas or from recent plant breeding programs. This situation creates an intense market competition that causes loss of competitiveness of traditional areas, favours the replacement of traditional genetic material, doesn’t guarantee the product traceability and makes weaker the local production phases (Porfiri, 2006). One option to cope with this challenge is the establishment of geografical identification labels with clear production regulations (see chapter about Farro della Garfagnana). Todays main production areas of emmer are: Garfagnana, Valneriana and Altopiano die Leonessa, alte Valli del Tronto and dell’ Aterno, valle dell’Aniene, alto Molise, Appennino Dauno and Appennino Lucano (Falcinelli, 2006)."



Okay-- you're yawning! Sorry-- I like to know these things. What they basically are saying is that all three of those grain varieties, emmer, spelt and einkorn can be called farro. You can use whichever you like or can find. The soup is hearty and delicious!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S FARRO MINESTRONE WITH SQUASH AND GREENS
Servings: 8

This is a delicious soup to make with leftover beans. It's from my book, The Fiber for Life Cookbook.

1/2 cup whole spelt or farro kernels
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon roasted (Asian) sesame oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 medium carrots, scrubbed and chopped
1/2 cup chopped celery with leaves
4 cloves garlic, minced
3 cups (or 2/ 15-oz. cans) cooked pinto, barlotti, Romano, Great Northern, cannellini, or white kidney beans, rinsed and drained
5 cups good vegetarian broth
1 14-oz can diced tomatoes with juice
2 cup cleaned, peeled and cubed winter squash
2 medium red-skinned potatoes, scrubbed (unpeeled) and diced
4 cups cleaned, trimmed and sliced greens (kale, Swiss chard, collards, turnip greens, etc.)
1 teaspoon dried marjoram or crumbled sage
1 teaspoon dried thyme or rosemary
1 bay leaf
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
extra-virgin olive oil for drizzling on top
OPTIONAL:
1 tablespoon soy "bacon" bits
vegan Parmesan substitute (such as GoVeggie!)

Bring the spelt or farro kernels to a boil in a medium covered saucepan in water to cover (the water should be about 1" above the grains), for 40-90 minutes, or until the kernels are tender. (Add more water if it seems to be evaporating too fast.) Set aside.

In a heavy soup pot, heat the oil over medium-high heat. Add the onion, carrots, celery, and garlic and stir-fry until the onion starts to soften, adding a tiny bit of water now and then to keep the mixture from sticking. Add the cooked spelt or farro (and any liquid left in the pot) and the remaining ingredients, including optional soy "bacon" (except salt and pepper, and vegan parmesan). Simmer, covered, for about 30 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. Taste for salt and pepper and serve with the olive oil and/or soy Parmesan to sprinkle on top.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 323.0 calories; 12% calories from fat; 4.5g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 582.2mg sodium; 1606.7mg potassium; 59.0g carbohydrates; 12.5g fiber; 4.8g sugar; 46.5g net carbs; 17.2g protein; 6.0 points.

Enjoy!

 Vegan Wholegrain Spaetzle with Browned Parsnips (This particular recipe is from my book,  World Vegan Feast.  The basic vegan spaetzle recipe-- wholegrain or not-- is at the end of this post. )

I really love homemade pasta, but I have to confess I don't make it that often these days. However, there is a quick and easy type of "drop noodle" (or "drop dumpling") that anyone of Northern Germanic, Austrian or Hungarian descent will know about, but many of the rest of us have more recently discovered. It's called spaetzle or spätzle or spätzli in German (pronounced shpet′slē), and galuska or nokedli in Hungarian. Similar drop noodles are called knöpfle or knödel in Southern Germany and Austria; and knöpfli in Switzerland. (Some of these words remind me of the Italian dumpling/pasta gnocchi, and, indeed, spaetzli are made in Northern Italy.) The German word is literally translated from German as "little sparrow".

You just mix up a batter, let it rest a bit and then scrape the batter (which is like a thick pancake batter) through some sort of device with holes so that it drops into boiling water like little beads. It cooks in a very short time. You drain it and serve it like any pasta, really. Spaetzle are usually served with gravies or cheesey, creamy sauces, or cooked in browned butter, but modern chefs are experimenting with many innovative ways of serving it. It is mixed with cooked greens, for instance, or herbs are added to the batter, or it is served with tomato sauce. A favorite German treatment for spaetzle is kaesesplaetzle, which are spaetzle mixed with cream and grilled chopped bacon, then topped with cheese and more bacon, and baked for half an hour or so. I'll have to work on a vegan version of that! But, you see, it can easily be used instead of macaroni or other pasta in casseroles.

Spaetzle seems to be all the rage just now-- like many other cheap, peasant foods of the past. The original version is made with white flour and lots of eggs. I devised a vegan version for the final issue of my newsletter, the Vegan Feast. We liked it fine, but yesterday I wanted to make a whole grain version that wasn't heavy.

White whole wheat flour came to mind, because it is lighter in color and lighter in taste than the ordinary whole wheat flour made from red wheat. Generally speaking, it is best to use an all-purpose or a bread flour for these noodles, because you need gluten to give them some "bite" (especially with no egg to hold them together). However, I only had white whole wheat PASTRY flour in my cupboard. That didn't deter me, however, and there is an option in the recipe for using that type of flour, with a little addition. Chickpea flour (or soy flour) provides the protein and color of eggs, and more whole grain goodness.

When I first made this recipe, I didn't have a spaetzle maker, so I improvised. Now I have two different devices, and I also have a food mill and a potato ricer, which can be used to make spaetzle that are more like long noodles (see below). Below, I'll post pictures and sources of various devices-- most are inexpensive.

IF YOU HAVE NEVER MADE THESE BEFORE, SOME VISUALS ARE USEFUL. TAKE A LOOK (These pics are not of vegan spaetzle, but it works the same). The vegan recipe for basic spaetzle is at the end of the post.

Here's a page with pictures of making spaetzle in the "Spaetzle hex" (or "Wizard").

Here's a youtube video of making them with a sliding spaetzle maker.

My spaetzle were little short ones, but this video shows how you can make long noodles with the spaetzle press  (this one makes s-shaped noodles.) You can use a potato ricer instead.

This video shows you how to make the batter (albeit, an egg batter), the resting process, and using a sliding spaetzle maker, then sauteing the spaetzle, which I didn't do, but it's an option. She also adds chopped herbs to her batter, which is a nice idea.

COOKING THE SPAETZLE:

SPAETZLE MAKERS:

IMPROVISED VERSION:
I didn't have a spaetzle maker the first time I made them, so I used a plastic grater-thingy with round holes that came with my mandolin slicer. I pushed the batter through with the back of a soup spoon:





My first batch of vegan spaetzle, made with my improvised device-- this batch was made with unbleached white flour.

It worked fine, but if you want to do this often, check out these spaetzle makers. (Who knew there would be so many?)

I now have one of these, Nana's spaetzle maker (also called a "pasta maker"):
(A metal steamer with similar holes would work as well.)


Canadian source
US Source

It fits over the pot and you scrape the batter through the holes with a bench scraper.

I also have a Norpro Stainless Steel Spaetzle Maker:
US Source
Canadian Source

And, also, there is a: Spaetzle Wizard


And a Spaetzle Pan
A metal steamer with similar holes would work as well.

And, why did I not think of using this ?? (Next time!) A food mill, for heaven's sake! (Use the disc with the largest holes.)




For images of even more spaetzle makers (both commercial and improvised), do a Google image search for "Pinterest spaetzle makers".

This picture is of my wholegrain version of spaetzle:
Printable Recipe


See serving suggestions at the end of the recipe, and see above for information on inexpensive and improvised Spaetzle makers. 

PS: "White whole wheat flour" is whole grain flour-- the only difference is the lighter color and milder taste.  If it comes from hard white wheat, it's good for making bread and noodles.  If it comes from soft white wheat, it's a pastry and cake flour.  I have seen a recipe or two using spelt flour, but I haven't tried that yet.



Happy Noodle-Making!

In my post about making raw hemp milk, I mentioned using the soymilk maker to make a hemp milk that wouldn't separate so easily. I tried several batches before I got it to my satisfaction-- the results are below-- and it, indeed, does not separate as easily as the raw version. But it does eventually separate after standing in the refrigerator for a day or so. However, you can shake it up and it's just fine.

I had a little accident with one batch that I made, but, never one to waste food, I salvaged something good out of it! You can see that tale below the milk recipe!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S SOYQUICK HEMP AND OAT MILK
Yield: 5 1/2 cups
This is a nice mild nondairy milk. You need the filterless  SoyQuick Premier Milk Maker 930P to make this milk.

5 1/2 cups water (up to the "minimum" mark in the SoyQuick container)
3/4 cup shelled hemp seeds (also called "hemp nuts")
3 tablespoons rolled oats (oatmeal)
1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons organic sugar or agave nectar
IMPORTANT: IF YOU USE AGAVE NECTAR, DO NOT ADD UNTIL THE MILK COOLS OR IT WILL CURDLE! (see what happens below!)
1/2 teaspoon salt

Add water , hemp seeds, and oats to the Soy Quick container. Attach the rest of the machine, plug in and press the "Multigrain" setting.

When it beeps, remove the grinding mechanism, etc:


You'll see a residue or hemp seed and oats on the blade protector, etc.

and pour the milk through a cloth inside of a colander placed over a pot (sterilize all equipment with boiling water).





Let it drain and then pull up the sides of the cloth, twist and squeeze until all the milk is in the pot and you are left with a small residue on the inside of the cloth (discard that).

Stir in the sugar and salt, pour the milk into a scalded glass jug or canning jars, cap tightly, and refrigerate.

IF YOU USE AGAVE NECTAR FOR THE SWEETENER, DO NOT ADD IT TO THE HOT MILK, OR THE ACID IN THE AGAVE WILL CURDLE THE MILK! WAIT UNTIL THE MILK COOLS OFF. (See what happens below!)

The hemp milk will probably separate after a day or so-- just shake it up before serving.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 1/2 cup): 70.1 calories; 46% calories from fat; 3.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 91.5mg sodium; 4.9mg potassium; 5.2g carbohydrates; 0.5g fiber; 2.1g sugar; 4.7g net carbs; 4.2g protein; 1.6 points.

OKAY, SO WHAT ABOUT THAT "ACCIDENT"?

With one of my test batches, I unthinkingly added agave nectar to the fresh, hot hemp milk and poured it into jars. This is what happened:



I instantly knew that that "citrusy" flavor I detect in agave nectar is acidity! Not one to waste food, I gently poured the contents of both jars (a little at a time) into the cloth lined tofu press that comes with the SoyQuick. However, the curds were very fragile, so I didn't want to press them. I gathered up the cloth after it had drained for a time in the sink, tied it with a rubber band and drained it on the end of the sink tap:


After it drained for several hours, I scraped it out of the cloth into a small bowl and was left with about 1/2 a cup of "hemp curd cheese":



I seasoned the curds with a little salt, garlic, and herbs and used it as a tasty spread:


This would probably not be worth doing on purpose very often, as the yield is meager and it would be fairly expensive. But it was certainly good!

Enjoy!