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

This was a cake I developed for a wedding 6 years ago.  I did a post on it at the time, but I removed it because, not only were the information links broken, and the recipe contained palm oil products, but I had written it in haste and it needed to be re-done.  So, here its is again, re-written and sans palm oil!

I must confess that, even though I've always loved to cook, I have never thought of myself as a sweet baker, really (yeast baking, yes, however). I never imagined myself making a wedding cake!  But, I have made a few since becoming a vegan, for family and for paying customers, and I'll wager that, though they might not look as slick and gorgeous as even the average supermarket bakery cake, they taste a heck of a lot better! 

In any case, I hope I have provided enough information to help the novice-- if not, I'm  sure you'll let me know! And I hope that the fact that I can manage this in my little kitchen, with my rather low self-confidence in this area of baking, will be reassuring.

It makes a great birthday cake, BTW.  My DIL made it once for the principal of the Denman Island Elementary School where she teaches. Said principal is a vegan and one of of our Vegan Dinner Group friends, and she remembers that birthday cake fondly to this day.  DIL, being the very creative person that she is, added rose water to the cake and decorated it with rose petals!
BRYANNA’S HOMEMADE PALM-OIL-FREE, NON-HYDROGENATED “CAKE RELEASE” (PAN COATING OR PROFESSIONAL BAKER'S GREASE)

Enjoy!

This recipe is a slight variation on a recipe in my book "20 Minutes to Dinner" (now out of print, but you can still buy it). I hadn't made these patties for a while, but recently made them again for a quick, tasty meal-- I'd forgotten how much I liked them! Originally I had designed this recipe to use up okara, the soy pulp left over from making soy milk or tofu, but the editors of my book thought (wisely, no doubt) that we should substitute crumbled frozen tofu for the okara because most people don't make their own soy milk or tofu, nor do we all have a tofu shop that sells it just down the street. So, you have a choice-- okara or crumbled frozen tofu. These "cakes" are very tasty, with a mild seafood flavor, and they are an excellent, down-home way to use up that last 2 cups of leftover cooked rice (or, possibly, okara). The plain ones make great "fish burgers", served on buns, but I've also included some exotic flavor options below. You can freeze any leftovers (the uncooked mixture, or the cooked patties) for future meals. BRYANNA’S VEGAN "FISH CAKES" (can be GF) Makes about 20 patties 2 cups okara (pulp from making soy milk or tofu), drained well (If you have no okara, you can use 2 cups of medium-firm tofu that has been frozen for at least 48 hours, then thawed, squeezed dry and finely-crumbled. You can keep some tofu in your freezer for just such a purpose.) 2 cups cooked short grain brown rice (Be sure that it is short grain rice because that helps bind the patties together-- long grain is not sticky enough. 1 small onion, minced 6 tablespoons nutritional yeast flakes 2 tablespoons minced celery 1/4 cup unbleached flour (can be a GF flour mix) or pure gluten powder (Vital wheat gluten) Blended Mixture: 4 oz. medium-firm tofu OR extra-firm SILKEN tofu (NOT frozen!) 2 1/2 tablespoons soy sauce (low-sodium is fine) 2 tablespoons water or white wine 1 tablespoon lemon juice 1 tablespoon herbal salt OR 2 tablespoon miso 1 teaspoon kelp powder or 2 teaspoons dulse flakes 1/2 teaspoon each dry mustard powder and dried dill weed freshly-ground black pepper to taste pinch celery seed Mix the okara (or crumbled frozen tofu), rice, onion, yeast and celery in a large bowl. Combine the Blended Mixture ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth. Add this to the bowl, along with the flour or gluten powder. Mix well with your hands. (You can make this ahead of time and refrigerate it until you are ready to cook the patties.) Form the mixture into 20 thin patties. Brown in a nonstick skillet over medium-low heat with a little bit of oil (say 1 tablespoon) about 6 minutes per side, covering the skillet while cooking the first side. (THE MIXTURE CAN ALSO BE SHAPED LIKE "FISH STICKS", if you like, instead of patties.) ALTERNATE COOKING METHOD: Place the patties on lightly-greased or nonstick cookie sheets and bake at 400 degrees F for about 7 minutes per side. FOR A CRUNCHY OUTSIDE COATING ON THE PATTIES, coat the patties with Seasoned Coating Mix (below) OR Japanese panko breadcrumbs and use either cooking method. A GF coating option might be crushed whole grain puffed crispy rice cereal or corn flakes. Serve the "fish cakes" alone or on buns with Vegan Tartar Sauce (below), ketchup, or chile sauce. (PS: You can make chile sauce by mixing 1/2 ketchup and half tomato salsa.)(shortened version--stats soon): 63 calories; 6 g protein; 1 g fat;8 g carbohydrates "FISH CAKE" VARIATIONS: 1.) For Thai "Fish Cakes": Add 1 tablespoon fish-free Thai red curry paste, 4 cloves crushed garlic, 1/2 cup chopped green beans or peas. Top with a "Vinegar Sauce" of 1/2 cup rice vinegar or cider vinegar, 1/3 cup minced onion, 2 tablespoons tablespoons sugar, 2 tablespoons minced fresh basil or cilantro, 2 tablespoons grated carrot, and 1 small dried red chile, crushed. 2.) For Indian-Style "Fish Cakes":< Add 2 tablespoons grated fresh ginger, 2 tablespoons minced cilantro, 1 tablespoon minced fresh mint, 2 cloves crushed garlic, and a pinch EACH of curry powder, cayenne, tumeric, coriander, and red chile pepper flakes. 3.) For Cajun-Style "Fish Cakes", Add 1/2 cup minced green onion, 2 teaspoons Cajun Seasoning (homemade recipe- "http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.ca/2010/11/common-seasoning-mixes-made-in-your-own.html" here and 2 crushed cloves of garlic. **VEGAN TARTAR SAUCE: To 2 cups vegan mayonnaise homemade low-fat  recipe cucumber with a bit of dried or fresh dill weed and white wine vinegar to taste. BRYANNA’S SEASONED COATING MIX: Mix together: 1 c. soft whole wheat breadcrumbs 1/4 c. cornmeal 2 tsp. paprika 1 tsp. salt or herbal salt or seasoned salt (homemade: http://veganfeastkitchen.blogspot.ca/2010/11/common-seasoning-mixes-made-in-your-own.html">recipe here: 1/2 tsp. ground sage 1/2 tsp. dried thyme 1/2 tsp. dried basil Store in a container with a tight lid, in the refrigerator. Enjoy!

The other day my friend Holly brought me some of her "Ruby" rhubarb-- it's so beautiful--  makes your desserts look nicely pinky-red instead of green. I rejected making a pie-- not much time and even my low-fat crust gives DH heartburn (don't tell I said that in public!).  Since I had some apples that needed using up, I made a crisp combining the two, but I wanted to add a little "zing" to the dessert, so I added orange zest and juice, and some fresh mint.

For the oat topping, I used pecans instead of walnuts, but use whatever nuts you have around.  I use whole wheat flour and oil instead of margarine/vegan butter in my crisp topping-- nobody has ever noticed the difference and it's more nutritious that way.

The oat topping ingredients

It turned out very well, and the mint and orange did indeed perk up this old-fashioned stand-by.  A keeper, I'd say!