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

Wholewheat butterfly or bowtie pasta (farfalle) with lowfat Vegan Alfredo Sauce, veggie "chicken strips", peas, mushrooms, and Cheddar "Sheese" on top.

Sorry I haven't blogged for ages-- family business and catching up on other business got in the way. I haven't cooked anything terribly interesting this week, but I did make a couple of good improvisational quick pasta dishes for lunch, using what I had in the house. I didn't write them down as I cooked, but I have a pretty good eye and memory for what I cooked (I wrote them down later), if too much time doesn't pass, so I'm pretty sure these recipe should be accurate.

In the following recipe I used a vegan "cheese" from Scotland called "Sheese" as the topping. I have just been sent a box of Sheese-- many kinds, including some creamy spreads, which I don't think are available in North America yet! The "strong cheddar" is the only one we have tried yet, but we like it! Nice texture, punchy taste. No hydrogenized fats, either!



"Sheese" is available in the UK, and in many other countries; see where to buy.
(UPDATE 2015: Unfortunately, Sheese is not available in the USA anymore, and only available in Canada via Koyo Foods' Ontario catalogue.)

I used my low-fat vegan Alfredo sauce to moisten the pasta.

Printable Recipe

RECIPE #1:
BRYANNA'S ALFREDO MUSHROOM-"CHICKEN"-FARFALLE CASSEROLE (WW CORE PLAN COMPATIBLE)
Servings: 6

12 oz wholewheat farfalle (bowtie or butterfly) pasta
1 cup frozen baby peas, thawed
1 Tbs olive oil 2 cups sliced mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
227 g (about 8 oz.) vegan "chicken strips" (I used President's Choice, which is produced by Gardein, but you can use any brand you like; or you could use some reconstituted Soy Curls) salt and freshly-grated pepper to taste
1 cup grated vegan cheese", a strong cheddar style (or any favorite strongly-flavored vegan "cheese")
Alfredo Sauce
1/2 cup water
1/4 cup corn flour (or yellow cornmeal ground to a fine flour in a dry electric coffee/spice grinder)
2 cup nondairy milk
2 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp salt
1/4 cup Go Veggie! vegan soy parmesan or your favorite vegan parmesan sub
freshly ground black pepper to taste

Put the water for the pasta on to heat before starting the sauce. Preheat the oven to 350 ° F.

Make the sauce:
In a small saucepan or microwavable bowl, whisk together the water and the corn flour. If you are cooking the mixture in the pot on the stovetop, stir it constantly over high heat until very thick.

Microwave option: microwave at full power for 20 seconds. Whisk. Repeat three times, or until very thick.

Mix the cooked corn mixture in the blender along with the remaining soy milk, garlic, and salt. Blend until very smooth, which may take a couple of full minutes. Add the soy parmesan and black pepper to taste. Blend briefly. Heat gently before adding to the pasta.

Cook the pasta until "al dente" in plenty of salted boiling water; drain in a colander and set aside mixed with the peas.

Sauté the mushrooms, onions and garlic in the oil in a large nonstick skillet until the onions soften. Add the veggie "chicken" strips and stir to heat.
Add the pasta, peas, and sauce to the pan and mix well. taste for salt and pepper. Scoop the mixture into an oiled 10" round casserole with a cover. Sprinkle the top with the grated Sheese. Cover and bake for 20 minutes. Serve hot.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 424.8 calories; 16% calories from fat; 7.9g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 664.4mg sodium; 556.6mg potassium; 61.8g carbohydrates; 6.0g fiber; 5.2g sugar; 55.9g net carbs; 24.7g protein; 8.4 points.

RECIPE #2:

This is a creamy pasta recipe, too (I seem to be in the mood for this!). I had ordered some Porcini Mushroom Powder by mail from Pistol River Mushrooms in Oregon-- only $24.95 US for a lb., which lasts a LONG time!!


It is made in Italy, smells and tastes divine! I want to experiment with using this product in my mushroom broth and in seitans.

Anyway, they sent me a little packet of dried portobello mushrooms as a gift, so I decided to try them in the following dish, which I made for lunch today.

They are really delicious!

I also had some silken tofu from an open box that needed using, some reconstituted Soy Curl "crumbs" (the small bits left in the bottom of the box) in the freezer, and a little bit of wholewheat fusilli left in the box. This is what I came up with:


Printable Recipe

BRYANNA'S CREAMY MUSHROOM FUSILLI (WW CORE PLAN COMPATIBLE)
Servings: 2

NOTE: If you don't have any suitable dried mushrooms, use about 1 1/2 cups sliced fresh portobello mushrooms, and sauté them with the other veggies.

3 oz. fusilli pasta ("corkscrews"), or other similar pasta
1/2 oz. dried, sliced Portobello mushrooms (or other favorite dried mushrooms), soaked in about 1 cup boiling water
1 cup reconstituted Soy Curls "crumbs" (or finely-chopped veggie "chicken" strips of your choice, or Yves Veggie "Ground Round Chicken", which is only available in Canada)
1/2 Tbs olive oil
3 green onions, chopped
4 cloves garlic, chopped
1/2 a red bell pepper, seeded and diced
3/4 cup firm or extra-firm SILKEN tofu OR medium firm tofu
3/4 cup mushroom soaking water
2 tsp. veggie broth powder or paste
salt and freshly-ground pepper to taste
Go Veggie! or EarthIsland/Follow Your heart vegan soy parmesan, or your favorite parmesan sub to sprinkle on top

Soak the dried mushrooms in the boiling water and let sit for 10 minutes. then drain them and save the soaking water.

Cook the fusilli in a medium pot of salted boiling water until "al dente". Drain and set aside.

Meanwhile, sauté the onion, garlic and pepper over medium heat in the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet until they soften. Add the Soy Curl "crumbs" and stir to heat.

Mix the tofu and 3/4 cup mushroom soaking water with the broth powder in the blender until smooth.

Pour the tofu sauce, drained mushrooms, and cooked pasta into the skillet and stir until it is well-heated. taste for salt and pepper. Serve with vegan soy parmesan.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 487 calories, 86 calories from fat, 9.8g total fat, 0mg cholesterol, 968.3mg sodium, 526.5mg potassium, 78.5g carbohydrates, 5.7g fiber, 4.8g sugar, 23.9g protein, 13.4 points.

Enjoy!

My "Neatball" Pho (a Vietnamese soup; see more pics below), minus the veggies, cooked in mushroom broth.

I use mushroom broth in some of my seitan recipes, and in recipes that call for a "meaty" broth.

One tasty broth, Superior Touch Better Than Bouillon Mushroom Base contains "cultured whey"! (You have to also look out for beef fat in some “vegetarian" bouillons.)

But here are some that ARE vegan:

My favorite is Star brand, which is an Italian brand, but it's hard to find in my neck of he woods. On the (brown) box it says “Porcini Dado”, which means “porcini bouillon”. Here is a US online source. Star is distributed in the USA by Ranieri Corp., 281 Metropolitan Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211.  Star products are distributed by Italpasta Ltd. In Canada. I can find the mushroom cubes in some Italian markets in Vancouver.

Here is a porcini mushroom powder (from Pistol River, OR), available online at a very reasonable price. Amazon also carries various brands. You can make a rich-tasting broth using 1 cup of your favorite vegetarian bouillon with 1/2 Tbs. of the porcini powder mixed in!

Not recommended:
Harvest Sun is a US organic brand, but I think it's far too salty and lacking mushroom flavor.

I tried Pacific Foods Organic Mushroom Broth in a carton and I wasn't impressed. It had a strong onion odor as soon as I opened the carton, and more onion flavor than mushroom.

It's too bad the organic mushroom broths I've tried do not make the grade in the kitchen!

WANT TO MAKE YOUR OWN? It's easy and delicious:



BRYANNA'S RICH MUSHROOM STOCK

1 Tbs olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
12 cups good vegetarian broth or bouillon (a tasty one that is not too salty-- homemade or commercial)
2 oz. (2 1/2 cups) dried mushrooms-- preferable boletus or porcini, or a wild mushroom mix, or shiitake


The kind I bought at Costco

Saute the onions and garlic in the Earth Balance or oil over medium-high heat in a large nonstick pot until they start to brown. Add the broth and dried mushrooms and bring to a boil. Turn down, cover and simmer 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and let the stock cool. Strain off the solids.


The mushrooms after cooking and straining

You can freeze the mushrooms to use in other dishes. The broth can be frozen in 2 cup or 1 cup freezer containers, or in ice cube trays (2 tbs. per cube). the cubes can then be stored in zipper-lock bags.

Yield: 11 cups

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per cup): 30.6 calories; 31% calories from fat; 1.1g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 12.1mg sodium; 99.4mg potassium; 5.4g carbohydrates; 0.8g fiber; 1.6g sugar; 4.6g net carbs; 0.7g protein; 0.5 points.

Now here are some of the things I've been working on:


"Neatball" Pho (same as above, but with the veggies and accompaniments)


"Neatballs" ready for soup (UPDATE Aug. 2019--(UPDATE Aug. 2019-- neatball recipe post)


Vegan "Wedding Soup", and Italian soup that also utilizes my "Neatballs"


Triple Ginger-Espresso Cake UPDATE: the recipe is in my new book, "World Vegan Feast".


Vegan Gianduia (a homemade chocolate-hazelnut spread similar to Nutella) Muffins UPDATE: the recipe for the Vegan Gianduia is in my new book, "World Vegan Feast".


Authentic Tamale Pie, vegan-style UPDATE: the recipe is in my new book, "World Vegan Feast".



The three photos above are of my easy, vegan version of Vietnamese Bahn Xeo, also known as "Sizzling Crepes", "Sound Crepes", "Saigon Crepes", and "Happy Pancakes". UPDATE: the recipe is in my new book, "World Vegan Feast".   I made my pancakes with split mung beans and brown rice flour for a heartier, healthier version than the usual white rice flour ones.

Enjoy!

This is a quick, fresh stir-fry that we have loved forever, it seems. A great way to use the fresh asparagus that is getting seasonally less expensive all the time.

If you have never used vegetarian "oyster sauce", this is a great place to start. If you can't find it (and I give you an online source at the end of the stir-fry recipe), I have posted a homemade sauce recipe below.

For the "beef" in this recipe, I used Soy Curls®, strips similar to TVP but made with the whole soybean. They are very tender. I usually use them for a chicken sub, but I decided to try them as a beef sub, and they worked really well. They are much less expensive than commercial vegetarian meatless strips, though you can use those if you wish.

Printable Recipes and Notes

BRYANNA'S CHINESE-STYLE VEGAN "BEEF" AND ASPARAGUS STIR-FRY WITH VEGETARIAN "OYSTER SAUCE" 

This recipe is different from the one in my Chinese cookbook, "Authentic Chinese Cuisine for the Contemporary Kitchen". Serve immediately with brown basmati rice.

1/2 Tbs dark (Asian) sesame oil
1 Tbs dry sherry
about 1 lb vegan "beefy strips" (**see suggestions below)
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 Tbs grated fresh ginger
1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 Tbs oil
12 oz fresh thin asparagus, ends trimmed, cut into thirds on the diagonal
1/2 cup chicken-style vegetarian broth
3 Tbs vegetarian "oyster sauce" (This is mushroom-based and there are a few brands available in large supermarkets and Asian stores.  See Notes below recipe for brand names and a homemade version.)

Combine the sesame oil, sherry, ginger, garlic and cornstarch with the "beefy strips" in a non-metallic bowl. Set aside.

Heat a heavy skillet or stir-fry pan over high heat, add the 1/2 Tbs oil and swirl to coat. Add the "beef strips". Stir-fry until browned.


Browning the "beefy" Soy Curls®

Add the asparagus and 2 Tbs water. Cover and cook over high heat until the water evaporates, but don't let it stick. Stir. Add 2 Tbs more water, cover and let evaporate. Toss the mixture each time before adding water. You may have to do this 1 or 2 more times. Stop cooking when the asparagus is crisp-tender.

Pour the broth mixed with the "oyster sauce" into the pan, bring to the boil and boil rapidly for 1-2 mins. or until the sauce is slightly reduced, and the mixture is heated through and coated in the sauce.

Servings: 4

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 254.0 calories; 24% calories from fat; 6.6g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 650.9mg sodium; 787.2mg potassium; 14.5g carbohydrates; 7.8g fiber; 3.1g sugar; 6.6g net carbs; 31.9g protein; 4.8 points.


VEGAN "BEEFY STRIPS"
Vegan "Beefy Strips" can be 2 1/2 pckgs. Yves Veggie "Beef Tenders", 2 pckgs. Lightlife Smart Menu "Beef Strips", 2 pckgs. Morningstar Farms Meal Starters "Steak Strips", or 1 2/3 pckgs. Presidents Choice Meatless "Beef Strips".

OR, you can use Soy Curls®. Soy Curls® are made from the whole soybean. Though they are dry, keep them (double-bagged) in the freezer to keep them fresh.
For this recipe, use 5.3 oz. (a scant 4 cups) dry Soy Curls® reconstituted for about 15 minutes with a mixture of:
4 cups boiling water, 4 tsp. Marmite  (or other yeast extract paste), 4 Tbs. + 1 tsp soy sauce, 4 Tbs + 1 tsp ketchup, and 4 tsp gravy browner. Drain the Soy Curls® when they are tender, and use in the recipe.


"Beefy" Soy Curls® before stir-frying

Note on Vegetarian "Oyster" Sauce:
Lee Kum Kee Vegetarian Stir-fry Sauce (a mushroom-based Chinese vegetarian oyster sauce substitute) is widely available and worth stocking up on this sauce (it's very inexpensive) when you are in a large city that has Asian stores, if it isn't available in your area. I use it frequently to coat plain extra-firm tofu for use in stir-fries and fried dishes instead of chicken, and, of course, it's essential in some Chinese dishes. As well, it can add rich flavor to homemade seitan and other dishes. Another good brand I have found is Woh Hup Shiitake Mushroom Vegetarian Oyster Flavoured Sauce.

If you can't obtain the commercial sauce, I have invented a pretty darn good homemade version:

BRYANNA'S HOMEMADE CHINESE VEGETARIAN MUSHROOM "OYSTER" SAUCE (ALSO KNOWN AS "VEGETARIAN STIR-FRY SAUCE")

1 1/2 cups boiling water
6 Tbs ground dried Chinese mushroom (*see note below)
6 Tbs Chinese brown (or yellow) bean paste (**see note below for alternate names and substitute)
6 Tbs soy sauce
7 Tbs. brown sugar
1 Tbs cornstarch dissolved in 1 T. cold water

Blend all the ingredients EXCEPT the dissolved cornstarch in a blender (leave the plastic thing out of the center hole in the blender lid and cover with a folded towel, so that the hot liquid doesn't explode) until as smooth as possible. Pour into in a medium saucepan and heat to boiling over high heat. Add the dissolved cornstarch and stir until thickened. Cool and store in a covered jar or bottle in the refrigerator. Since it is quite salty and sweet, it should keep for several months.

NOTE: You can, alternately, microwave the mixture, with the cornstarch, in a medium bowl and cook on HIGH for 1 minute, then whisk. Repeat until thickened.

NOTE ON DRIED MUSHROOMS: For the dried mushrooms, you don't need expensive shiitakes-just use the inexpensive dried Chinese mushrooms that are easily available (sometimes called "dried Chinese Forest mushrooms" or just "dried Chinese black mushrooms") in most supermarkets and Asian groceries. Snap off the stems and discard them, then grind the mushrooms to a powder in a DRY blender or coffee/spice grinder (well-cleaned).  But you can use dried shiitake mushrooms.

NOTE ON CHINESE BROWN BEAN PASTE: This is a very common Chinese ingredient and should be available wherever Chinese foods are sold. It is also known as "brown bean sauce", "yellow bean paste or sauce', "soybean condiment", "Yuan Shai Shih" or "Mo Yuen Shih". If, however, you can't find it, substitute a mild brown miso (can be chickpea miso or even adzuki bean miso), mixed with a bit of water to make a softer mixture, sort of halfway between a sauce and a paste.

Yield: 18 liquid oz.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per 0z.): 38.6 calories; 7% calories from fat; 0.4g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 415.8mg sodium; 52.8mg potassium; 8.2g carbohydrates; 0.4g fiber; 5.8g sugar; 7.8g net carbs; 1.1g protein; 0.7 points.

Cooking Tips
1 oz. is about 2 T.


Enjoy!

I had a hankering for biscuits and gravy this morning, but didn't have much time. (Biscuits and gravy are a Southern US dish which I did NOT grow up with, but have come to enjoy very much.) I decided to try making biscuits from my homemade vegan, partly wholegrain pancake mix, which I had blogged about a couple of weeks, ago. I tried making them with less fat and also with oil instead of a solid fat, but they were much lighter and tastier this way:

BRYANNA'S QUICK BISCUITS USING HOMEMADE BISCUIT MIX

2 cups Bryanna's Vegan All-American "Buttermilk" Pancake Mix
2 Tbs COLD vegan butter(try my homemade palm oil-free vegan Buttah)
1 Tbs lemon juice plus
10 Tbs soy or nut milk (2/3 c. liquid all together)

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Dump the mix into a bowl and cut in the cold vegan butter with two forks, or a pastry cutter until the mixture is like crumbs.

Mix together the lemon juice and milk. Pour into the mix and mix briefly with a fork.

Place the dough on a lightly-floured piece of cooking parchment and fold one side over the other, then repeat. Roll out to about 1/2" thick. Cut with a biscuit cutter. You can re-roll the scraps, but handle them gently so they don't get tough. Place on a baking sheet. Bake 12 minutes. Serve hot.

Servings: 8
Yield: 8 biscuits

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per biscuit): 132.3 calories; 38% calories from fat; 5.7g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 178.4mg sodium; 135.8mg potassium; 17.6g carbohydrates; 2.2g fiber; 1.5g sugar; 15.4g net carbs; 3.3g protein; 2.7 points.

Cooking Tips
FOR DROP BISCUITS:
Use about 3/4 cup lquid in total and drop spoonfuls close together in a nonstick baking pan.

For the gravy, I usually make a vegan "milk gravy" with some kind of vegan "chicken" or "sausage" in it. I had, for some reason, picked up a box of Bisto Traditional Gravy Mix last time I shopped. It's made for use with poultry and meat gravies, but the actual mix is vegan. It's a British product, but we have it here in Canada in most supermarkets. I was in a hurry, so I decided to try it with the biscuits, and it worked out very well! I have never used a gravy mix before! There are other brands with better ingredients, perhaps that would work in this  recipe, but you might have to tinker with the amount of mix and you probably won't need to use the vegan broth powder. 



BRYANNA'S QUICK VEGAN "MILK GRAVY" FOR BISCUITS

Also good on toast!  NOTE: I used Soy Curl "crumbs" in this-- the little pieces at the bottom of the bag. Just soaked them in hot vegan chicken-style broth and drained them.

2 1/2 cups soymilk or other nondairy milk
3 1/2 Tbs Bisto Traditional Gravy Mix (for poultry) (this is a vegan product-- see text above for info and alternatives)
2 tsp dark Asian sesame oil
1/2 Tbs vegan "chicken-style" broth powder (you  may not need this with the alternative mixes listed above) or broth paste

1 cup ready-to-eat chopped vegan chicken sub (such as reconstituted Soy Curls) or vegan sausage, crumbled and browned

Mix the milk, Bisto, sesame oil, broth powder together with a whisk. Pour into a small skillet or medium saucepan and whisk constantly over high heat until it thickens and boils.

Remove from heat and stir in the chicken substitute. Serve hot over split biscuits.


Servings: 5

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per serving): 98.8 calories; 29% calories from fat; 3.3g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 625.1mg sodium; 263.8mg potassium; 10.6g carbohydrates; 0.7g fiber; 4.7g sugar; 9.9g net carbs; 8.1g protein; 2.1 points.


I tried a cappuccino with Almond Breeze-- the foam is nice, but the coffee is creamier with soymilk.

CAT BLOGGING:


"Our gang", Sinéad, Ringo, and Tina waiting on the stairs like they do every morning, for us to come up and feed them!

Enjoy!

UPDATE: HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY 2011! At this new post, I've posted 2 new vegan truffle recipes, with variations, that do not contain margarine or vegan butter-- one is nut butter-based, and one contains silken tofu.



You gotta have chocolate on Valentine's Day, right? Well, we certainly do! As I've mentioned before, though, I'm not much of a candy maker. But, I discovered some years ago that truffles are actually not very hard to make, and make an impressive gift for your sweetheart! Believe me, if I can do it, you can do it!

Why are chocolate truffles called truffles, anyway? These candies, based on ganache (which is generally chocolate mixed with cream to make a smooth mixture, but in this case, liqueur and vegan butter are used instead of cream), resemble the French mushroom-like fungus of the same name. And, like the original truffle, chocolate truffles also denote luxury and a sumptuous taste experience.

I make a basic dark chocolate truffle mixture with a few variations that we like-- coffee, orange, and raspberry-almond. I use appropriately-flavored liqueurs for deep flavor (and maybe a bit of buzz?) If you don't use alcohol, you can substitute a flavored syrup used for special coffees and Italian sodas (like Monin or Torani.)


You can find organic, vegan (and often fair trade) sugar, powdered sugar, chocolate, and cocoa on many online vegan grocery sites, such as:

Vegan Store (Pangea)

healthy-eating.com

Vegan Essentials

Vegangoods.com (A Different Daisy)

Cocoa Camino (organic, fair trade) has chocolate chips that are vegan. I use Vivani dark chocolate, or Denman Island dark chocolate, but there are others. Dagoba has a wide range for baking. Newman's Own has some vegan bars, all organic, fair trade. Check out some of the online vegan stores I mentioned above for other brands of vegan, organic chocolate and chocolate chips. There are more every year!

I use organic, fair trade Cocoa Camino unsweetened cocoa powder. Other organic cocoa powders (unsweetened) include:
Rapunzel,
Ah!Laska, Fairly Traded cocoa, Now Foods Organic Cocoa Powder, Green and Black's ( a UK brand, but available in North America), Organic Dutched and Natural Cocoa.



BRYANNA'S VEGAN DARK CHOCOLATE TRUFFLES
makes about 2 dozen

12 oz. organic vegan semisweet chocolate
1/4 c. vegan butter, softened (try my homemade palm oil-free vegan Buttah)
1/2 c. liqueur of choice (or flavored syrup for Italian coffees and sodas)
Unsweetened organic cocoa powder
blended with organic powdered (icing) sugar (equal amounts)
(Organic, vegan powdered sugars: Hain, Rapadura, Wholesome Foods, Woodstock Farms, Nature's Flavors, Florida Crystals.)

OR, instead, use ground, chopped, or slivered lightly-toasted nuts
(your choice-- could be almonds, walnuts, pecans, Brazil nuts, hazelnuts or filberts, macadamia nuts, coconut, etc.)

Break up the chocolate in very small pieces. Place in the top of a double boiler over barely simmering water. Cook until chocolate melts, stirring often. Transfer to a medium-sized bowl. With an electric mixer, beat in the Earth Balance. Gradually beat in the liqueur, beating constantly to keep the mixture creamy and smooth. Cover and refrigerate 1-2 hours, til firm. With hands, roll mixture into 1" balls. Roll balls in cocoa mixture or nuts, shaking off excess.

You can place them in little candy cups, if you like-- gold foil ones are nice.


Equally divide between two pint freezer bags with zip-lock tops. Remove excess air and seal. Can Freeze up to 6 months.

Nutrition Facts
Nutrition (per truffle, rolled in cocoa/sugar mixture): 109.2 calories; 44% calories from fat; 6.2g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 21.8mg sodium; 65.5mg potassium; 12.4g carbohydrates; 0.3g fiber; 1.3g sugar; 12.1g net carbs; 0.8g protein; 2.6 points.



NUTTY ORANGE TRUFFLES:
Use orange liqueur instead of coffee liqueur and add grated zest of 1 orange. Roll in chopped nuts. Hazelnuts are nice.





RASPBERRY ALMOND TRUFFLES: Use raspberry-flavored liqueur (or syrup), and chopped or slivered lightly-toasted almonds for the coating.





COFFEE OR ESPRESSO TRUFFLES: Use Kahlua or other coffee-flavored liqueur (or syrup) and any nut of your choice.