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

HAPPY NEW YEAR, EVERYONE!


Yesterday, I checked the refrigerator for greens that needed using up.  We live on an island, so we only shop every 2 weeks.  I'm trying to avoid any food waste (watching this documentary has strengthened my resolve!), so I moved all the vegetables out of the refrigerator drawers (filled them with condiments) and I have my veggies right in the center of the fridge, with the ones that need to be used up first in the front, so that I don't forget about them.  Anyway, I had spinach and baby bok choy to use up, so I turned to two of my older recipes.  (BTW, if you can't watch that movie outside of Canada, check out this review and watch for screenings in your area-- it's worth watching!)

For lunch, I made Baby Bok Choy and Tofu Soup from my book "Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen: All Vegan Recipes", and, for dinner (because I had some vegan crepes left over from Saturday breakfast, and some of DH's spaghetti sauce in the refrigerator), I made Italian Savory Crepes Stuffed with Vegan Ricotta & Spinach from my book "Nonna's Italian Kitchen: Delicious Home-Style Vegan Cuisine", both with a couple of little tweaks. It's been too long since I made these recipes-- so delicious and healthful!  So, I'd like to share the recipes with you. Enjoy!

Crepes have been made in Italy for centuries, with many different types of flours.  They are particularly popular in Tuscany. Filled crepes that are cut into short lengths and baked are called bocconcini, which means "little mouthfuls".  Crespelle "cakes", or timbali, are crepes stacked with filling in between and cut into wedges.

BRYANNA'S CRESPELLE RIPIENE (STUFFED CREPES) WITH VEGAN SPINACH/RICOTTA FILLING  
Serves 6 (Can be soy-free)

12 vegan crepes (see my recipe below-- can be made ahead and refrigerated or frozen--OR you can use my recipe for Fat-Free Whole Grain Crepes)
Spinach and "Cheese" Filling:
2 onions, minced
1 T. extra-virgin olive oil
2 lbs. fresh cleaned spinach, OR 2/ 10 oz. pckgs. chopped frozen spinach, thawed
1 1/2 cups Tofu or Almond Ricotta OR Okara/Cashew Ricotta
4 to 6 tablespoons vegan Parmesan substitute (we like GoVeggie! brand)
salt, freshly ground pepper to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg
Bake crespelle with a light tomato sauce or a medium Besciamella (Bechamel) sauce, ( or you can layer Besciamella over the tomato sauce, for a really special dish), along with a vegan Parmesan substitute or alternate. There is a recipe for my low-fat Creamy White-Bean-Flour Based Bechamel here, and my basic vegan Bechamel/White sauce recipe is here.

Sauté the onions in the olive oil in a non-stick or cast iron or hard-anodized skillet until they are soft and starting to brown (adding a tiny bit of water as needed, to keep from sticking).  

Meanwhile, place the fresh spinach in boiling water until it is completely wilted, then drain, squeeze dry, and chop it finely.  OR, if using frozen chopped spinach, thaw it thoroughly (you can quick-thaw it by placing the whole carton in the microwave for 5 minutes) and squeeze it as dry as possible.

Mix the spinach in a bowl with the cooked onions, ricotta, Parmesan sub , and salt, pepper and to taste, and a pinch of nutmeg.  




Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.



Place a generous amount of filling down the center of each crepe and roll it up.   



Place the rolls in an oiled baking dish.  (You can prepare the crepes up to this point several hours ahead of time.)  



Pour a little of the sauce you are using over the crepes, sprinkle with Parmesan or alternative (and some shredded vegan mozza-type cheese, too, if you like) and bake for 20 minutes. 







Serve immediately!

**********************************

BRYANNA'S TOFU CREPES    
Makes 12-13 crepes
From my book "Soyfoods Cooking for a Positive Menopause".

These are really excellent--they have that flexible "eggy" texture of regular crepes.  You can freeze them, too.

1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
1 cup unbleached white flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup medium-firm tofu or silken tofu
1/4 cup soy or chickpea flour
OPTIONAL: 1 to 2 tablespoons  nutritional yeast flakes
1 tablespoon unbleached organic sugar
1/2 tsp. EACH salt and baking powder
a pinch of nutmeg

Process all ingredients in a food processor or blender until very smooth.  If the batter seems too thick (and it should be like thick cream), whisk in a bit more non-dairy milk or water until it is the right consistency.

No need to "rest" this batter first.  Tofu crepes are made just like ordinary crepes.

Heat a nonstick or cast-iron 8" skillet over medium-high heat and wipe it lightly with oil before making each crepe. Use 3-4 tablespoons of batter per crepe (stirring the batter before you make each crepe), rolling and tilting the pan until it evenly covers the bottom.  Cook for a few seconds, or until the top looks dry.


Carefully loosen the crepe with a spatula and flip it over.


Either fill the crepes and serve according to the specific recipe directions, or let them cool and place in a plastic bag or rigid container (with pieces of waxed paper in between each crepe) and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze them for future use (thaw thoroughly before filling).

********************************************************************************

Printable Recipe

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!

Fresh Denman Is. corn with Chipotle Creme instead of vegan butter

We are having a great corn season here on Denman Is., so sweet that I have been eating them plain. But sometimes you just HAVE to have something on your corn! In past years I've tried various lowfat toppings. Salsa is good, but I like something creamy. I devised the following a few years ago and it is quite yummy!

Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S LOWFAT CHIPOTLE CREME 
Yield: 3/4 cup
This is delicious on corn on the cob, but would make a good start for a dip, too.

1/2 cup extra-firm or firm silken tofu
1/4 cup low-fat vegan mayonnaise (my lowfat mayo recipe here; my Tofu Mayonnaise recipe here)
1 clove garlic, crushed
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 to 1 whole drained canned chile chipotle in adobo sauce, seeded and chopped (depending on how hot you want it)

Puree the ingredients in a blender or with a stick/immersion blender. Refrigerate in a covered jar.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 2 tablespoons): 11.1 calories; 29% calories from fat; 0.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 90.4mg sodium; 31.1mg potassium; 0.5g carbohydrates; 0.0g fiber; 0.2g sugar; 0.5g net carbs; 1.4g protein; 0.2 points.

Cooking Tip
A chipotle pepper is a smoked jalapeno; they are sold dried or in cans in a tomato sauce (adobo or adobado), which is my preference.

************************************************************

When I was at the McDougall Celebrity Weekend in Santa Rosa in June, we were not supposed to use any added fat or oil, even pan-spray on the pans. I was planning to make no-fat crepes made with wholewheat pastry flour, chickpea flour and oat flour (see recipe below). In the nonstick pans Mary provided, I made about 50 crepes for audience tasting, and then, in the workshop, I made several in front of the audience, with no mishaps. They were very impressed, and Chef Kevin Dunn told me he never would have tried that!

Here's the crepe recipe I made at the McDougall event:





Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S FAT-FREE WHOLE GRAIN CREPES (WW Core plan Compatible)
Makes 12

2 1/4 cups nondairy milk
3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour (do not substitute ordinary whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup oat flour (or use 2/3 cup rolled oats, ground in a dry blender or electric coffee/spice mill)
3/4 cup extra-firm silken tofu (can be reduced-fat)
1/3 cup chickpea flour (besan) or low-fat soy flour
1 1/2 tablespoons unbleached organic sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon baking powder

Process all of the ingredients ingredients in a food processor or a blender until very smooth. You do not need to "rest" the batter before cooking, as you do with egg crepes.

Heat a good nonstick 8" skillet (a shallow crepe skillet is the best, if you have one) over medium-high heat. (You can use a spray of oil from a pump-spray bottle if you like.) Use 3-4 tablespoons of batter per crepe (stirring the batter before you make each crepe), rolling and tilting the pan until it evenly covers the bottom. Cover the pan and cook for a few seconds, or until the top looks dry. Carefully loosen the crepe with a very thin silicone spatula and turn over carefully. (Or, if the crepes are to be filled and baked, you only need to cook them on one side.)

Stack the cooked crepes on a plate and cover them with a clean napkin.

Either serve the crepes right away, or let them cool and place in a rigid container (with pieces of cooking parchment in between each crepe), and refrigerate for up to 3 days, or freeze them for future use (thaw thoroughly before filling).

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per crepe): 85.5 calories; 14% calories from fat; 1.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 157.7mg sodium; 171.1mg potassium; 14.4g carbohydrates; 1.8g fiber; 3.1g sugar; 12.6g net carbs; 4.7g protein; 1.5 points.


Enjoy!