Sunday, March 15, 2020
NEW VERSATILE, TANGY VEGAN "CHEESE" SPREAD (GREAT FOR CHEESE "TOASTIES"!)
I'm so happy with this new recipe! I wanted a cheese spread with a little more "bite" than my those I had devised in the past-- tasty as they may be! My priorities were that it be easy and inexpensive to make (with ingredients that are easy to find), reasonably low in calories and fat, versatile to use, more or less "meltable", and, most of all, full of flavor. This new recipe ticked off all the boxes! And I was thrilled that it even gets brown spots and a sort of "crust" on top when grilled, broiled or briefly air-fried. I hope you'll give it a try.
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| Tangy "Cheese" Toast Printable Copy |
BRYANNA’S
NEW VERSATILE, TANGY VEGAN "CHEESE" SPREAD (GREAT FOR
CHEESE "TOASTIES"!) (Updated on April 26, 2020)
Makes
2 cups; 16 servings (2 tablespoons each serving)
© Bryanna Clark Grogan, 2020. All rights reserved.
© Bryanna Clark Grogan, 2020. All rights reserved.
This spread is delicious for filling celery sticks, or scooping up with other raw vegetables. It’s also delicious on crackers, and it make the best “cheese toasties”! (See note at end of recipe.)
If you can't use corn products, omit the corn flour in the recipe (see highlighted note on this in ingredient list below) and use finely-ground millet flour instead, or 2 Tablespoons of potato starch (not potato flour).
NOTE: After 1 or 2 days in the refrigerator, the flavor will be even more delicious, and tangier, too.
8
ounces medium-firm tofu, drained (but not pressed)
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes
2 tablespoons coconut oil
[I haven't tried this yet, but you could try using olive oil instead of the coconut oil, OR, if you don't use oil, use 2 T. more soymilk instead. With no oil, I don't know if it will melt as well. I will try it out soon and let you know.]
2 tablespoons tahini
4 teaspoons fine corn flour
[Clarification: "Corn flour" in North America is made up of 2 words. It refers to finely-milled yellow cornmeal. (It is usually available in South ASian grocery stores, BTW.) This is what you should be using.
"Cornflour" in the UK & much of the British Commonwealth, is written as 1 word and refers to what we call cornstarch in North America. See https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cornstarch-vs-corn-flour#processing ]
1 heaping tablespoon white miso
2
teaspoons tomato paste
1
teaspoon smooth Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2
teaspoon garlic granules OR 6 soft, lightly roasted garlic cloves, peeled
Measure
all of the ingredients into your blender and blend on high speed
until the mixture is very smooth. You may need to stop the blender
and push the mixture down at some point, especially if you aren’t
using a heavy-duty blender.
Scoop into a 2-cup capacity refrigerator storage container, smooth it out and cover. (A container with a lid that locks in place is best.)
NOTE: Making “cheese toasties”. My method is to toast the bread slices lightly, smear with about 2 T. of the spread (or more, if you want it really “gooey”) and air-fry in my Cuisinart Air-fry Oven for a few minutes, on the wire basket. Watch carefully and remove when there’s a nice little “crust” with a few brown spots. You can use an oven broiler or a toaster oven on "broil", too.
Enjoy!
Friday, January 31, 2020
SUPER EASY, SUPER TASTY CRUSTY NO-KNEAD SPELT BREAD
It's taken me some time to get this blog post done and I'm pretty thrilled with this bread! Let me tell you-- spelt has a wonderful nutty flavor! I've been experimenting with spelt flour in yeast breads because it has a lower glycemic load than wheat. I had success with Quick & Easy Spelt Burger Buns in my last blog post. But I really wanted to make a tasty, crusty bread, like the French loaves I used to make.
My first spelt loaf was a disaster, because I hadn't done my homework! It came out like a rock. I didn't know that you need to use less liquid with spelt flour, and that kneading the dough like a wheat loaf is not a good idea! That sent me to the computer to do some research.
For one thing, spelt is more water-soluble than wheat and it also has a higher level of gliadin, the protein that makes dough stretch-- another reason to use less water than with wheat dough. The high gliadin content makes the dough more fragile, which means that vigorous mixing and/or kneading should be avoided in spelt yeast breads. Some stretching and folding takes the place of kneading.
My first spelt loaf was a disaster, because I hadn't done my homework! It came out like a rock. I didn't know that you need to use less liquid with spelt flour, and that kneading the dough like a wheat loaf is not a good idea! That sent me to the computer to do some research.
For one thing, spelt is more water-soluble than wheat and it also has a higher level of gliadin, the protein that makes dough stretch-- another reason to use less water than with wheat dough. The high gliadin content makes the dough more fragile, which means that vigorous mixing and/or kneading should be avoided in spelt yeast breads. Some stretching and folding takes the place of kneading.
The following recipe is a good place to start-- there's a long rise at the beginning, but that can happen overnight, or during the day while you do other things. The rest of the breadmaking process goes quite fast, and the reward is a delicious, crusty artisan loaf!
Happy Bread Baking!
BRYANNA'S SUPER EASY, SUPER TASTY, CRUSTY NO-KNEAD SPELT BREAD
Makes 1 loaf, but the recipe can be multiplied with good results.
NOTE: I do not advise using sprouted spelt flour in this particular loaf. If you do, the loaf will be crusty on the outside, and tasty and moist on the inside, but with a tighter crumb-- without the open and irregular crumb (the holes) of, for instance, a French loaf. See what I'm referring to below:
Here's the recipe:
1 cup whole grain spelt flour (fine grind if available, stirred before measuring)
2 cups white or "light" spelt flour (stirred before measuring)
Optional, but I used it: 1 Tbsp vital wheat gluten
1 1/4 tsp table salt
1 1/4 cups lukewarm water (OR you can use 1 cup water + a generous 1/4 cup of sourdough starter (refrigerated is fine)
1/4 tsp instant baking yeast
1 Tbsp agave syrup, or maple syrup
In a medium bowl, stir together the two flours and salt. In a smaller bowl or 2 cup measuring cup, mix together the water, yeast and syrup until combined. Add the liquid mixture to the dry ingredients and, using a wooden spoon or spatula, mix until the dough comes together. Now, use your hands to mix the dough until the flour completely mixed with the liquid is a bit sticky.
Cover the bowl with a towel and let sit at room temperature until bubbley and the dough has just about doubled. ***(7-8 hours depending on your room temperature).
When this first rise is complete, place a heavy cast iron pot and lid, or a medium-sized Granite Ware roaster with a lid into your oven. Turn on your oven to 500 degrees F. Position the rack in the lower third of the oven. (***The pot needs to pre-heat for at least 30 minutes.)
Generously dust a work surface with spelt flour. (I cover my countertop with a baking or pastry mat.) Use a bowl scraper or spatula to scrape the dough out of the bowl and onto your work surface in one piece.
The Folding Process (this takes the place of kneading in spelt breads): Using lightly floured hands, gently pat the dough out into a rectangle. With your dough/pastry scraper or bench knife (pictures below), fold one short side of the dough into the middle and then fold the other short side on top. Then fold the dough in half the other direction. Dust lightly with flour, cover with plastic and let rest for 5 minutes.
(***While you are waiting, line a medium sized bowl with parchment paper, pushing the paper down into the bowl with one hand and using your other hand to crease the paper around the inside and top edge of the bowl.)
Repeat the folding process outlined above a 2nd time, then let the dough rest for 5 minutes, then repeat folding process a 3rd time.
Now, with lightly floured hands, pull the dough over on itself gently to form a ball or an oval loaf, pinching it together gently. Place it gently, seam-side-down, into the parchment-lined bowl, large loaf pan or oval casserole, depending on the shape you want). Cover the dough and let rest in a warm spot for 20-25 minutes for the second rise.
To test if the dough is ready, gently press down with the tip of one finger, about half an inch into the top of the dough. If the dent from your finger remains and springs back only slightly, the dough is ready to bake. If the dent fills in, give the dough another 5-10 minutes to rise and then re-test.
Remove the cover from your bread bowl. Using pot holders, carefully remove the hot pot that you have been pre-heating from the oven and remove the lid. Using both hands, lift the dough out of the bowl by holding all corners of the parchment paper, and lower it into the pot. The edges of the parchment paper will brown, but will be just fine in the hot oven.
Working quickly, spray a gentle mist of water over the top of the dough. Then dust the top of the bread lightly with spelt flour. Use a sharp pair of scissors to make 3-4 shallow cuts at an angle down the center line of the dough (see photo below). Cover the pot with the lid and place it back in the oven.
Reduce the oven heat to 450 degrees F and bake for 30 minutes.
After 30 minutes, remove the lid and continue baking for another 5-10 minutes until the bread is a crusty and browned. Using potholders, carefully lift the bread out of the hot pot (right in the baking parchment) and place it (without the parchment) on a rack to cool thoroughly before cutting with a sharp bread knife.
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| The round loaf on the left was baked in a heavy enameled cast iron lidded pot; the oval loaf on the right was baked in a covered oval Granite Ware roaster. |
Sunday, January 12, 2020
SUPER QUICK & EASY VEGAN SPELT BURGER BUNS
But, the good news is that I am feeling much better and regaining my energy and interest in cooking and writing. (I hope to get back to writing a blog post every week!) As you may have read in past posts from the summer of 2019, back to March of 2018, I was diagnosed with pre-diabetes, which inspired my interest in a low-glycemic diet. My blood sugar levels are now just over the line into diabetic. But, it's low enough that if I get back into dancing, walking and exercising more frequently, and keep learning about and implementing new information about low-glycemic living, I may be able to beat this.
Just one of the items of interest in my search is low-glycemic baking. I have always loved baking bread and I don't intend to give it up! For this last year or so I have been eating pretty much only sprouted grain bread (a Canadian brand from the Vancouver area called Silver Hills Bakery). The sprouted wheat can be ground and kneaded into a strong bread dough (see this blog post). The miraculous thing is that (to explain it in a very simple way), when there are just little white "beads" showing at the point of the grains, the sprouts have used up most, if not all, of the carbohydrate in the grains, making the dough low-glycemic. I definitely want to get back into making that sprouted wheat bread now and then, but I'm also investigating other low-glycemic grains to use.
In muffins and quick breads I've been using mostly a mixture of chickpea flour and oat flour (often with added oat bran, wheat bran and/or bean puree for added fiber and protein, which displace some of the usual carbohydrates). But my experiments with non-wheat yeast breads didn't turn out so well, to put it mildly! So, I have been exploring the world of spelt flour, which is a fairly low-glycemic relative of wheat, but one which many people who have problems with wheat, but aren't really allergic to gluten, are able to tolerate.
My first spelt bread, which I made using methods generally used for wheat breads, came out like a rock! So, I did my research, and learned that the glutens in spelt are different from wheat, and you have to use different methods than with wheat baking. 1.) You need to use less liquid per cup of flour than wheat. 2.) The dough should be soft-- even pretty wet, in some cases. 3.) You should not knead the dough for longer than a minute or so. And. 4.) Spelt dough doesn't need as much rising as wheat dough. All of this makes spelt yeast bread baking quite easy!
One of the first spelt breads that I successfully made was spelt burger buns. I made them when our neighbor came over for a casual dinner, because she suffers from IBS or something similar, and spelt is often a good option for some folks with stomach issues. The buns were so easy and quick to make, as well as being very tasty (spelt has a very pleasant "nutty" flavor) and having great crumb and crust.
This week I'd like to share the burger bun recipe with you! (Next week I plan to share a delicious crusty spelt bread recipe with you.)
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S SUPER QUICK & EASY VEGAN SPELT BURGER BUNS
Makes 7 buns-- can be doubled
NOTE: You may want to use sprouted spelt flour (though it's more expensive than non-sprouted spelt flour). If you do, you may have to use up to a third more of it than you would of ordinary spelt flour.
Flax Mixture (Let sit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients.)
3 T. water
1 T. flax meal (brown or golden)
Flour Mixture:
3 1/2 cups spelt flour (I used half brown spelt flour and half light spelt flour)
1 T. vital wheat gluten powder (optional)
1/2 T. salt
Liquid Mixture:
1 cup lukewarm water
1 T. instant yeast
1 T. brown sugar
1 T. oil
Mix the Flax Mixture with the Liquid Mixture in a medium bowl. Stir in the Flour Mixture with a stout wooden spoon or a dough whisk (see photo just below) for just a couple of minutes. Flour the dough lightly and pat it out into a long rectangle on a floured mat. Cover and let rise for 15 minutes.
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
With a knife or dough cutter, cut the rectangle into 7 equal parts (weigh them, if you want them to be of even sizes). Form the dough into round buns about 4" across. Don't make them too thick-- they will rise just enough. In fact, I pressed down gently in the middle of each one with the the heel of my hand after shaping them, to prevent them from having a domed top. Place the buns on a baking parchment-lined cookie sheet, leaving some space between them. Cover and let rest for 10 minutes.
Enjoy!
Monday, November 4, 2019
MY NEWLY UPDATED HOMEMADE VEGAN PARMESAN-- DELICIOUS, EASY TO MAKE, INEXPENSIVE
Yikes! It's been months since I last blogged! But, I haven't stopped cooking or thinking about new recipes. As I wrote about in earlier blogs, I'm on a low-glycemic diet for early stages of diabetes, which sincerely I hope will not get any worse. So, being stubborn, I do alot of research and experimentation. Sometimes it's fun and we end up with something delicious, and sometimes it goes in the compost! A learning experience!
These last couple of months, I've spent quite alot of time working on some new vegan cheeses. To tell you the truth, I've been a bit fed up with cashews, cashews, cashews when it comes to vegan cheese! For one thing, they are expensive, especially the fair trade, organic variety. For another, they can be ethically compromised (See https://bit.ly/2oLeHgM for more on these issues.) My aim was (and is) to make a vegan cheese that is delicious, easy to make, inexpensive and made with easily-obtained ingredients, and without the need for culturing.
I ran across Martine's groundbreaking recipe for Vegan Steamed Rice Cheese at lowcarb-vegan.net/vegan-steamed-rice-cheese/ I tried it right away-- it was easy to make and tasty!
BUT, it was made with white rice flour, which is not particularly low-glycemic. I got the idea to use some sort of bean flour, along with some high-resistant-starch potato starch instead, and it worked beautifully. I added more nutritional yeast, along with some white miso (for a fermented flavor), onion powder and garlic granules, for more flavor. Even better!
My far-away Australian Facebook friend Fran was also working on such things and we shared our successes and failures. I hoped (and still hope) to make a cheese that melted, but I'm still working on that. But, one day I got the idea to grate this very firm, tasty cheese and it seemed to me to be a delicious and much less expensive alternative to commercial vegan "parmesan" products.
I'm working on some other versions of this type of cheese, which I will post very soon. But I wanted to share this one with you right now because we're so pleased with it. Let me know what you think!
Printable Recipe
(Low-glycemic, high in protein and fiber, nut-free, soy-free) April 23, 2021
Makes enough to fill at least two 142g Earth Island/FollowYourHeart Vegan Grated Parmesan-Style Cheese shakers.
Low-Fat Option : I have made this cheese with NO OIL, using 1 cup + 1 1/2 Tbsps. water and it turned out just fine, but may not melt as well.
This very tasty cheese is high in protein from bean flour, and is low-glycemic. It's also a great source of resistant starch (which acts as a soluble fiber). Potato starch [not the same thing as potato flour, BTW] is also very high in resistant starch and makes for a VERY firm cheese, suitable for grating or pulsing in a food processor.
(See https://bit.ly/2PJhaU9 for info on resistant starch, which improves insulin sensitivity, lower blood sugar levels, reduces appetite and has various benefits for digestion.)
Ingredients:
• 1 1/3 cup/124 g chickpea flour (NOTE: I've tried several bean flours and this works best.)
• 1/4 cup/ 41 g slightly packed-down potato starch (NOT potato flour)
• 1 cup water
• 1/4 cup melted refined coconut oil (preferably Fair Trade, organic)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tablespoon dark miso
NOTE: dark miso gives a more fermented flavor than the white variety.
• 1 1/2 tsp. Dijon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice OR sauerkraut juice
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 1 tsp. onion powder
• 1 tsp. garlic granules
Steps:
1. Pour 2 cups water into your steamer pot, InstantPot or pressure cooker, equipped with a flat steamer basket in the bottom.
2. Put all the ingredients into the jar of your blender, and blend until it forms a completely smooth, milky mixture, without lumps or visible oil droplets.
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| This is the Pyrex mold that I use. |
3. Pour the cheese mixture into a greased or parchment-lined Pyrex, metal or ceramicmold. Choose a mold that will hold 2 cups, with about 1/2 inch of “head room”.
Place the mold onto the steamer basket. I fold a long piece of aluminium foil lengthwise into a wide strip and use it to lower the mold onto the steamer basket. This makes it easier to remove the hot mold from its close quarters after it's cooked, too!
4. Steam the cheese for about 45 minutes (or 25 minutes on Steam function in Instant Pot, or pressure cooker). Release pressure in the InstantPot or pressure cooker after cooling down for about 20 minutes.
Use the aluminum foil to lift the hot mold out of the pot onto a cooling rack.
After the steaming, the cheese will still be a bit soft. Don't worry, it will firm up once it cools. If a thin layer of water dripped onto the cheese from the pot's lid, drain this off carefully.
5. Let the cheese cool to room temperature and then cover it and put it into the fridge overnight to firm up.
Once it is firm, you can release it from the mold and store it in a lidded container for a week or so, or you can freeze half of it, well-wrapped. The cheese tastes best if you leave it to firm and develop flavor for a day or two before eating. You can grate the cheese on a box grater, if you wish,
but I use a food processor. I cut the block into small squares and place them in a food processor.
Pulse until they are chopped and then process until it looks like commercial grated parmesan. Taste it-- if you like, you can mix the ground cheese with a bit more nutritional yeast for a stronger flavor-- but add it a little bit at a time.
Scoop the resulting "granules" into two shaker bottles-- I have used two 142g Earth Island/FollowYourHeart Vegan Grated Parmesan-Style Cheese shakers, but you can just uses some jars and scoop it out. Or, if you prefer, cut the block in half, process one half, and freeze on half, well wrapped, for grating later. PS: I keep my grated "Parm" in the freezer.
Enjoy!
Saturday, August 17, 2019
MY "SAUCY NEATBALLS" RECIPE: EASY, VERSATILE, INEXPENSIVE
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| Neatballs in sour cherry sauce |
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| Neatball Pho containing baked and cooled Neatballs that have been browned and simmered in the Pho broth. |
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| Neatballs coated with a curry sauce |
This is a vegan "meatball" recipe that I developed over 10 years ago (yikes!) and meant many times to share on this blog, but, somehow, never got around to! The recipe was originally supposed to be included in one of my books, but that never happened.
I love "meatballs", not only because they taste good and are so versatile, but also because so many cuisines boast at least one, and often dozens, of delicious recipes featuring them. Real comfort food, the world over!
You can make several times the recipe at one time and freeze them for future meals. One time I was very ambitious and made 150 Neatballs in one morning! Here are some photos:
Printable Recipe
BRYANNA'S BASIC SAUCY NEATBALLS
Servings:
5
Yield: 25 neatballs
These Neatballs, when removed from the oven, resemble rather
dry, round cookies. However, when they are simmered in broth, or in a sauce of
your choice,
they plump up and have a texture almost alarmingly meatlike!
You can
add whatever appropriate spices and herbs that would go with the
final dish you are making, or just make the basic
version. The recipe can be doubled, tripled,
quadrupled, etc.,
if you would like to freeze some for a later date. Serve with pasta, rice,
bulgur, quinoa, etc., or bread.
Dry
Mix:
1
1/2 cups textured soy protein granules (TVP)
3/4
cup pure gluten powder (vital wheat gluten)
1/2
cup fresh breadcrumbs (not dried), packed down
1
1/2 tsp garlic granules
1
1/2 tsp onion powder
freshly-ground
black pepper to taste
herbs
and spices, to your taste
Wet
Mix:
1
1/4 cups plus 3 T. cold water
3
Tbs soy sauce or tamari
1
1/2 Tbs ketchup
1/2
T. vegan gravy browner, such as Kitchen Bouquet (for color)
Flour
for coating
Cooking
spray or oil in a pump-sprayer
Optionals:
For
ethnic recipes, you can add some
chopped vegetables (well-drained or squeezed, if very wet), grated
ginger, fresh garlic, vegan
parmesan, chopped green onion,
etc…..
Instructions:
Mix
together the Dry Mix ingredients in a medium bowl. Whisk the Wet Mix
ingredients together and pour into the Dry Mix, adding whatever
optionals you like. Cover and let the mixture set for at least one
hour. If made ahead, the mixture can be refrigerated for several
hours or days before cooking.
Preheat
the oven to 400° F.
Roll
the mixture into 25 equal-sized balls, squeezing firmly. As you can see in the photo below, you can also shape the Neatball mixture into oval "kofta" shapes for Middle Eastern recipes. Dredge in
flour to coat all over.
Place the balls on an oiled cookie sheet and
spray with cooking spray or oil from a pump-sprayer.
Bake 20 minutes-- smaller neatballs may need only 15 minutes
cooking time.
The "Neatballs" will look quite dry, as I mentioned, but this is their advantage-- when cooked in a sauce, they become plump and tender, but don't fall apart. Cool thoroughly. They can be frozen at this point and then cooked in a sauce or soup at a later time, if you wish.
To
cook the dry, baked Neatballs in a sauce:
Drop
them into a pot containing about 5 cups of your preferred sauce (commercial or
homemade-- homemade should be fully-cooked), mixed with 2 cups of
water and brought to a simmer. If necessary, add a little more liquid to the sauce, in the form of wine, broth or juice. Simmer them for at least 20 minutes, during which time the Neatballs will "plump up".
OR, if you are planning to use them later in recipes coated in a sauce, or to use them in a soup, cook them in a pot containing simmering vegan broth of your choice to cover.
OR, if you are planning to use them later in recipes coated in a sauce, or to use them in a soup, cook them in a pot containing simmering vegan broth of your choice to cover.
If they have been simmered in broth for future recipes, remove the Neatballs from the pot with a strainer spoon, rinse them off gently, and let them cool thoroughly. They can then be frozen. Otherwise, add them directly to a soup, or browned in a bit of oil and coated with a sauce of your choice, such as a curry sauce.
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| Baked, simmered (in broth) and cooled Neatballs that have been browned. |
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| My Version of Italian "Wedding Soup" ("Minestra Maritata" or "Zuppa Maritata"), containing baked and cooled Neatballs that have been browned before simmering in the soup.
Try this delicious Vietnamese Pho recipe, using Neatballs instead of the vegan "steak":
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Nutrition
Facts (calculated
using low sodium soy sauce and ketchup)
Nutrition
(per serving; 5 Neatballs):
195.6 calories; 3% calories from fat; 0.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 404.9mg sodium; 86.3mg potassium; 19.7g carbohydrates; 0.7g fiber; 1.9g sugar; 27.4g protein.
195.6 calories; 3% calories from fat; 0.8g total fat; 0.0mg cholesterol; 404.9mg sodium; 86.3mg potassium; 19.7g carbohydrates; 0.7g fiber; 1.9g sugar; 27.4g protein.
Enjoy!
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