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

Our vegan dinner group of 5 couples enjoyed our 2nd annual "Thanksmas" dinner last Sunday. It's a joyful celebration of vegan holiday food on a date halfway between Canadian Thanksgiving and the Christmas/Winter holidays.  Our dinners are sort of  "planned potluck".  The host/hostess sends out an email asking what people want to bring and it usually works out to be a quite balanced meal.  If not, the host/hostess will fill out the menu or put it out there that there is a gap in the menu.  It always works out perfectly.


The female half of the table-- our friend Ellen was unable to attend-- in Sarah's kitchen.

I wrote a post about the Fluffy Vegan No-Knead Hazelnut/Bran Dinner Rolls I made as part of my contribution in my last post (recipe included):


They were a perfect accompaniment to Fireweed's ambrosial Wild Mushroom Soup, which was our first course, and nary a one left over.






The first course could have been a meal in itself, but we soldiered on and filled our plates with: 

Fireweed's delectable Roasted Vegetable and Spud Platter:



Pelka's Creamy, Cheezy Cauliflower Casserole:



My Seitan Wellington (served with Madeira Gravy and homemade Cranberry Sauce with Orange, Ginger and Rum-Soaked Raisins )-- recipe in World Vegan Feast:



Pelka's colorful, fresh and crunchy Winter Holiday Salad:



Here are two views of the main course buffet table (we filled our plates and met around Sarah and Gordon's lovely large square table):






And, then, even when we thought we could not eat another morsel, we were tempted further by Sarah's gorgeous and sensational Steamed Pumpkin Pecan Pudding with Brandy Sauce & Tofu Whipped Creme: 



Ellen was not able to join us on Sunday, but her husband Rudy brought some of her wonderful traditional Scandinavian treats and truffles that are a tradition in their family, so we nibbled ourselves into blissful oblivion:



Until next time!


Happy Vegan Thanksgiving to all of my American friends, relatives and readers!

Some of our vegan "Thanksmas" feast

I'm getting ready to head off to Vancouver for the weekend, and then down on the train to Seattle for a few days. So, I won't be blogging for a week, and I'll leave you with a mish-mosh of events, pictures, and food!

VEGAN "THANKSMAS" DINNER:
First of all, our vegan "Dinner Club", I guess you could call it (which consists of 5 vegan couples of a certain age, who get together randomly a few times a year to share good vegan food and conversation, and music, etc.) got together at the end of November for what our hostess, Ellen, called our vegan "Thanksmas" feast. Here are some images from that lovely dinner! Ellen is Scandinavian, so their home was warmly decorated and very Christmasy, and she went all out with vegan versions of family Christmas treats!


Christmas candles


Fireweed's delicious seitan rolls (in the 40's and 50's, these would have been called Seitan "Birds"!)


Rudy's mashed potatoes and a bowl of lovely Denman Island squash


Pelka and Robs's delicious Brussels Sprout Salad with walnuts, beside the squash bowl


Another delicious winter salad from Pelka and Rob, this one made with red cabbage and pecans


My contributions-- Tofu Pot Pie ( from my book Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause) and Sage and Onion Bread Stuffing (I also brought homemade Cranberry sauce-- both recipes from my book The Almost No-Fat Holiday Cookbook).


An overloaded dinner plate!


Ellen's berry dessert topped with soy "ice cream" and a vegan truffle!


Vegan Scandinavian treats and truffles made by our lovely hostess!

Boy, were we full! (Or "full-top" as DH claims they say in Quebec!)

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A DINNER WITH FRIENDS, FEATURING DAIYA VEGAN CHEESE

We had some friends over last week and I served my Italian-American-style lasagna, but, instead of using my usual vegan bechamel sauce, I used my newly-purchased shredded white vegan Daiya cheese, which I bought from the Karmavore Vegan Shop in New Westminister, BC (by mail).

Everyone raved over it and I liked it, too, but I think I used too much! It was so rich that I think I will use half bechamel and half Daiya next time. Our omni guests couldn't get over it!



With the meal, we had wine, a lovely salad brought by 2 of our guests (avid gardeners), some braised butternut squash with basil, garlic and olive oil, baguettes, and then an Italian-style Apple Tart from my book Nonna's Italian Kitchen:


An Sweet Topping Innovation:
I made some almond milk to accompany our tea and coffee-- actually it was more like almond cream. I also needed a topping for the tart, so I left the almond pulp in half of the creme and strained the other half. I squeezed the pulp I had left from straining to get all the almond creme out, and then I added the pulp back to the other half of the recipe. (I had sweetened the creme slightly with maple syrup before straining.) The result was a thick, cloud-like, very almondy-tasting topping that everyone loved, and some nice smooth, pourable creme for our hot beverages.



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THE DENMAN ISLAND CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIRE

This took place last weekend. We didn't stay too long-- too crowded! That means it was well-attended, of course, and why not? It's always full of friends, food and wonderful arts and crafts. Our friend Leticia won the prize for the "Best Display" and we happened to be there when she was presented with it. She and her friend Tosha make wonderful handmade olive oil soaps-- chocolate, lemongrass and lavender, chai tea...they smell so good!

Leticia and her handmade olive oil soaps



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TRYING THE NEW GARDEIN "CHIK'N FILETS"

Vegan chef Tal Ronnen uses these "Chik'n Filets" in his new book, so I thought I'd give them a try. I made a sort of scaloppine with white wine and mushrooms-- very quick and easy.



They were good, meaty texture, etc., but I think I like my own seitan cutlets better!

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BREAD WORKSHOP AT THE DENMAN ISLAND COMMUNITY SCHOOL

Well, I did bring my camera, but forgot to ask my friend Holly, who was being my kitchen slave for the evening, to use it! But I had lots of dough to bake off at home the next day, so below are pictures of what I made in the class. (Everything I made in the class got eaten or taken home by the students, along with the recipes, of course!


Crusty No-Knead Artisinal Bread (recipe in my book World Vegan Feast)


Another loaf of Crusty No-Knead Bread with the Apulian Focaccia (both recipes in my book World Vegan Feast)



A loaf of vegan Julekage (Scandinavian Christmas bread with cardamom and fruit) made with my Vegan Low-fat Sweet Dough (recipe in my book World Vegan Feast)


Last, but not least, my 100% Wholewheat Bread


Enjoy! See you next week!

Using my new Mini Super Peel to load the pizza onto the peel.

NOTE: This is a long mish-mosh of stuff today! I'm going to be pretty busy until next week, so I thought I'd just post everything I have!

I was fascinated by the Super Peel, The Ultimate Baker's Transport Tool. It's a fantastic way to get pizza, bread, and other baked goods from the counter, onto the peel, and then onto a baking stone or pan without messing up your masterpiece! You can read all about it on the website.

My problem was that I bake my pizza in my Cuisinart Brick Oven-- a counter-top oven with a 12" square interior. (Read about it here.) The Super Peel is 14" square. So, I wrote to Gary, the owner, just to suggest that he might think about making one that fits in popular smaller ovens. Well, he made me one-- as a prototype only, but he will probably be making them for sale soon, so keep an eye on his website! I got it last week (my Christmas present a little early!) and it works beautifully! It also looks pretty neat:

Here it is without the cloth:


And here it is with the cloth:


Here are some more comments from happy bakers.

You can watch videos of how it works here.

THE CHRISTMAS CRAFT FAIRE ON DENMAN ISLAND...it's a 2-day affair, a Christmas tradition, with great arts and crafts-- really high quality. My granddaughters made homemade lollipops, candied apples, and other treats to sell at the children's booth.


The scarves-- made by my 9-year-old grandaughter and her friend!


Our friend's Bev's lovely pottery display


Jacquie's funky French fry stand


My talented good friend and dance teacher Bronwyn with her beautiful pottery and tiles.


Two of our young friends, Leticia and Tasha, with their yummy-smelling handmade soap--cocoa, chai spices, coffee...

MORE WAYS TO USE MY WHOLE GRAIN SOURDOUGH PANCAKE BATTER... I am really happy with my vegan, whole grain pancake batter. It's light and delicious.


Really bubbly whole grain pancake batter!

I've been keeping a wholewheat starter or two just for that recipe, so that it's all-whole grain.


If you are unfamiliar with sourdough, see http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.com/2006/04/1906-earthquake-in-sf-my-grandfather.html  My San Francisco starter, how to make it vegan and how to use and care for it is at that link.  I actually have two vegan sourdough starters-- both are very reliable. 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.)

If you would like a longer version of all this info, with recipes, write to me via my contact page.

I made delicious waffles with the same batter (nonstick waffle maker with oil spray just to be safe!):




And, when the extra batter had been in the fridge for a couple of days and thinned out, I made crepes with it:





NOW, ABOUT THAT SPREAD... We like my Coconut-Corn Buttery Spread, but sometimes, for a treat, I make the following spread, adapted from a recipe in my book Nonna's Italian Kitchen. It just makes vegan margarine into a homemade reduced-fat spread, but it's quick, easy, cheap, and you know what goes into it!



Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S HOMEMADE REDUCED-FAT VEGAN BUTTERY SPREAD Yield: 1 1/4 cups

This easy, homemade spread contains half the fat of butter or margarine, but spreads and melts nicely, and tastes great. 1 serving= 1 tablespoon

10 tablespoons (1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) nondairy milk
10 tablespoons(1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons) palm oil-free vegan buttery spread (try my homemade Buttah)
4 teaspoons Instant Clear-Jel (see Cooking Tips below about this product and Commonwealth country sources)
OR 1/4 teaspoon xanthan gum
1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon salt

Mix the ingredients together in a food processor and whiz until very smooth. Scoop into a covered container and refrigerate until firm.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per tablespoon): 54.2 calories; 93% calories from fat; 5.6g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 76.0mg sodium; 9.5mg potassium; 0.7g carbohydrates; 0.0g fiber; 0.2g sugar; 0.7g net carbs; 0.2g protein; 1.5 points.

Cooking Tips
INSTANT CLEARJEL®

Instant Clearjel® is a modified corn starch, which simply means that it is precooked, used to thicken recipes. And the vegan ice cream made with it does not crystallize, or get rock-hard. It's creamy, and has no starchy mouth feel.

For clump-free, smooth results: "...it is best when first combined with dry ingredients, before adding liquid. It will begin to swell or thicken as soon as it is added to water, milk or juices; it will impart a smooth, short texture when fully hydrated, reaching its full thickness within 5-10 minutes (without requiring any cooking). Instant Clearjel® can be used in cooking as well. The viscosity will increase slightly upon heating. It has excellent heat and acid resistance and can be used in acid containing foods and in those applications where heating is required. It has good cold temperature storage stability, making it particularly well suited for refrigerated and frozen foods." http://recipes.wikia.co/wiki/Instant_Clearjel®

America's Test Kitchen recommends it for fruit pies, BTW.

It isn't available on store shelves-- here in Canada I had to get 11 lbs. of it from a bakery supply company (Snowcap), but maybe a bakery would sell you a smaller amount. You can now order it in Canada from the Gourmet Warehouse (Vancouver):

n the US, you can mail-order it from (and I believe that they all ship to Canada): amazon.com 
Barry Farm and
King Arthur Flour 

Enjoy!