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

BRYANNA'S S'MORE BROWNIES
Servings: 16 (It's possible to make these GF-- see notes in recipe)
These are to die for, except you don't have to! Dark vegan brownies, baked on a graham cracker crust, with a luscious vegan marshmallow crème on top-- inspired by the old Girl Scout camp dessert.

INGREDIENTS
Graham Cracker Crust:
3/4 cup graham cracker crumbs (See Cooking Tips below, including ideas for GF)
1 Tbs organic unbleached sugar
3 Tbs melted vegan butter (try my homemade palm-oil-free Buttah)
Brownie layer:
3 Tbs vegan butter (try my homemade palm-oil-free Buttah) OR 3 T. oil (this works just fine!)
3 Tbs water
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup organic cocoa powder, unsweetened (I use Dutch-process-- read about cocoa powders here)
1 Tbs espresso powder, or instant coffee or coffee substitute granules
1/4 cup water
1 Tbs flax seeds
1 Tbs Ener-G or Orgran No-Egg egg replacer powder
1/2 cup regular whole wheat or unbleached flour (NOT pastry flour) (OR use a GF flour mix)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
Topping:
1 cup (approximately) Suzanne's Ricemellow Creme
(UPDATE: or try the 2nd vegan meringue topping recipe here.)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

To make the Graham Cracker Crust: Mix the crust ingredients and press in the bottom of a greased 8-inch square cake pan. Bake for 6-8 minutes, or until lightly browned. Cool on a cake rack.

To make the Brownie Layer:
In a small saucepan, melt the vegan butter and 3 T. water gently over medium heat, OR melt it in a medium microwave-proof bowl in the microwave for 1 minute. Stir in the sugar until dissolved, then stir in the cocoa, vanilla and coffee powder. Set aside.

IF YOU USE OIL INSTEAD OF VEGAN BUTTER, skip the melting step. Just mix the oil with 3 T. HOT water and stir in the sugar, then the cocoa, etc. (I use a whisk for the cocoa).

Place the 1/4 c. water, flaxseeds and egg replacer in a blender. Blend on high for several minutes, until the mixture is "gloppy" like slightly beaten egg whites, with little brown flecks of flax skin throughout. Fold this into the cocoa mixture.

In a small bowl, mix together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Add the flour mixture to the cocoa mixture and stir briefly.

To bake the brownies:
Spread on the brownie batter top of the baked graham cracker crust. Bake for about 15 minutes. You may have to experiment with timing, according to your oven (try to use an oven thermometer to check the temperature, which can vary even in new ovens), and according to how fudgey you like the brownies.

Topping the Brownies:
Spread the brownies with the Ricemellow Crème while they're still hot-- and don't be tempted to spread on too much. It's very sweet and gooey and a little goes a long way! Use just enough so that the brownie layer is covered.

Place the pan 4 inches under the broiler and WATCHING CAREFULLY, broil until it bubbles up and browns. This takes very little time!  Or, use a culinary butane torch.

Cool on a rack, then cut into 16 squares. Serve at room temperature.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 154.0 calories; 29% calories from fat; 5.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 107.4mg sodium; 130.6mg potassium; 26.8g carbohydrates; 1.7g fiber; 18.8g sugar; 25.1g net carbs; 1.5g protein; 3.2 points.

Cooking Tips
Instead of the Ricemellow Creme, you could  place vegan marshmallows ( this brand or this one) on top of the brownies, broil as instructed.



Happy National Brownie Day!

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!