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

HAPPY VEGAN HALLOWEEN!


 Baked Pumpkin Doughnuts

Just a quick post to give you a couple of our favorite Halloween doughnut recipes.  I don't know why, but I've always made doughnuts on Halloween!  We live so far in the "boonies" that we don't get trick-or-treaters, but my grandchildren and any close neighbor children always come over for some warm doughnuts!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S BAKED PUMPKIN DOUGHNUTS
Makes 12
A great Halloween treat!  You will need 2 black, 6-count nonstick doughnut pans (or, if you only have one, make 2 batches) like this:



Liquid Ingredients:
1 1/4 c. soy, hemp or nut milk with 1 tsp. vinegar or lemon juice added
1 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. thick cooked, mashed and drained pumpkin (or squash), or canned pumpkin puree
(TIP: hang home-cooked mashed pumpkin or squash over the sink in a jelly-bag or in several layers of cheesecloth until it is as thick as canned pumpkin puree)
3 T. oil
Dry Ingredients:
1 c. wholewheat pastry flour (do not use ordinary whole wheat flour, or your doughnuts will be tough!)
3/4 c. unbleached white flour
1/4 c. soy or chickpea flour
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly-ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spray the two 6-count nonstick doughnut pans with oil from a pump sprayer and sprinkle each one with a little organic unbleached sugar (this makes the bottoms crispy). Beat the liquid ingredients together in a medium bowl. Whisk the dry ingredients together in another bowl, then add to the liquid ingredients and stir briefly, just to mix. Divide the batter evenly between 10 doughnut molds and smooth it out evenly. Bake 10 minutes. Remove the doughnuts to a rack to cool.

If you like, roll the doughnuts in unbleached sugar which has been ground to a powder in a dry blender (add about 1 tsp. cornstarch to every 1/2 c. of sugar); or coat with  a powdered sugar glaze or White Glaze (below ). The glazed doughnuts can also be dipped in coconut or chopped nuts.

BRYANNA’S WHITE GLAZE
Makes 1/2 c.

This can be used on sweet yeasted breads, tea breads, cupcakes, doughnuts, etc..

1/2 c. good-tasting powdered soy milk (such as a Better than Milk-- do not use bulk soymilk powder!), or powdered rice milk.
1/4 c. Grade A light maple syrup
1/4 tsp. vanilla or other flavor extract

Mix the ingredients together thoroughly in a bowl. For a thin glaze, spread it on the hot doughnuts, bread or cake. For a firmer glaze, spread it on the cooled doughnuts, bread or cake.


This is what Picarones usually look like! My photo didn't turn out, but mine look like any drop doughnut, or kind of like messy "doughnut holes"!

Printable Recipe

BRYANNA’S QUICK PICARONE DROPS (Pee-kah-roh-nays) (PERUVIAN PUMPKIN DROP DOUGHNUTS)
Makes 52 drop doughnuts
Traditionally, these are shaped into a ring right in the hot oil, but I just make them as a drop doughnut. It takes some practice to get the dough to fall into the hot oil formed as a ring! (And they are often lopsided!) There are many versions of this treat-- some are made with sweet potato as well as squash. I "veganized" this recipe from an old (1950's) Peruvian cookbook of my mother's. It’s a great Halloween specialty!

DOUGHNUTS:
1 T. dry active baking yeast (or 2 teaspoons instant yeast)
1 tsp. sugar
1/4 c. warm water
1 T. cornmeal
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. crushed anise seed
3 c. unbleached white flour
1 c. beer, at room temp (can be dealcoholized)
1 c. canned pumpkin puree, or cooked, WELL-drained, pureed winter squash, at room temperature
(TIP: Hang home-cooked mashed pumpkin or squash over the sink in a jelly-bag or in several layers of cheesecloth until it is as thick as canned pumpkin puree)
2 to 4 c. oil for frying (peanut or canola, preferably)

SYRUP: (This is called "miel de chancaca" in Peru because it is made with raw unbleached sugar called "chancaca". It translates roughly to "honey of brown sugar".)
1 1/2 c. brown sugar
1 c. water
3 x 1/2” strip of organic orange peel
(some people also add a cinnamon stick and a couple of whole cloves, but that's up to you!)

In a small cup, dissolve the yeast and sugar in warm water. In a large bowl mix the cornmeal, salt, anise seed, 1 c. flour and the beer. Add the dissolved yeast. Mix well. Add pumpkin and remaining flour. Mix to form a soft dough. Cover and let rise in a warm place 2 hours, or cover with plastic wrap and let rise in the fridge 4-12 hours.

To make the syrup, mix the ingredients (including the orange peel) in a heavy saucepan and bring to a boil over medium heat. Reduce heat to low and boil gently until a thick syrup forms, about 15 minutes. Remove from heat and discard the orange peel.

Heat the oil in a wok, stir-fry pan or deep pot (you use less oil in a wok), to about 375 degrees F. To test for proper oil temperature, drop a small spoonful of dough into hot oil. If it rises quickly to the surface, it’s hot enough.

Drop tablespoons of dough in the hot oil. Fry until golden. (If they are browning too fast and are raw in the middle, lower the heat a little.) Drain on paper towels.

Serve hot with hot syrup poured over them, on a dessert plate with a fork. Tip: Doughnuts can be kept warm in a 200 degree F oven for up to 1 hour.

To reheat pre-made Picarones, place them on baking sheets in a 350 degree F oven for about 5 minutes.

Have a great night!

I was down in Portland, OR last week, filming segments for a vegan cooking DVD that Julie Hasson and her husband Jay are producing, and which should be out early in 2007. Julie and I and Dreena Burton will all be cooking on it.

Check out a little video clip promo here.

It was great fun, but lots of work, too. My friend Holly did all the long-distance driving-- thank you, Holly! Julie kept us fed SO WELL, and Jay was very professional with the lighting and filming and everything! (And patient with my nerves!) They were excellent hosts, and we fell in love with their dog, Bruno!


Bruno


Julie and Bruno

It was fun to be with another food fanatic, and we talked food, food, food! Julie took me to her favorite food stores (I loved Trader joe's and New Seasons!). I looked for products that I can't get where I live. I bought smoked salt, smoked pimenton,


(which are delicious in chowders, stews, soups, etc!)

and vegan soy parmesan,

(Boy, I've missed this one! I used to get it in bulk and went through lots for my Italian cookbook, but we can't get it in Canada anymore!) UPDATE Nov. 1 2011: It IS available in Canada now, but only in these little containers.  As far as I know, it is not available in bulk anymore, anywhere (except perhaps for restaurants.

and, for treats, Gardenburger BBQ Riblets, organic Newman-O's, and Soyatoo whipped soy cream (which now I'm told I can get in our town, as of very recently!).



Also, Smoked Apple Sage Fieldroast "sausages"-- delicious! We had them the day after I got home with my gravy, carmelized apples, and frozen potato and onion pyrogies:

We did have greens on the side!

We had homemade delicious Indonesian tempeh dishes and yellow rice with mutual friends Yongkie and Pokie Hurd, who make it themselves.


Yongkie and Pokie with Jay and Julie before dinner


Julie and me in Julie's kitchen preparing a few quick additions to the dinner.


Tucking in!

We went to the farmers market on Saturday and had the most delicious vegan tamales! Now I am getting ready for a tamale binge! We went to a Lebanese restaurant and saw a great bellydancer. The food wasn't the best I've had, but she was great. (Have to get her name from Julie.)

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I'm still catching up with work and family and have hardly had time to breathe since getting back!

We had a little congratulatory party just before I left for our friend Mike, who got his landed immigrant status, finally! Along with his spouse Fireweed, my mother, and our friend Suzanne, we enjoyed a butternut squash and walnut lasagna, salad and, a coffee-flavored cake with coffee icing, chocolate ganache and hazelnuts.



  
UPDATE: This recipe is in my book World Vegan Feast

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HALLOWEEN


Last night I made vegan beignets rolled in cinnamon sugar, something I've done for many years at Halloween:




PS: Portland photos by Holly Walker.

Cheers!