Happy 2nd Anniversary

I just realized I forgot to toot my own horn and celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the Vegan Dad blog on September 8. Go back and look at my first month of posting. Yikes.

Perfect Pumpkin Custard

When I posted a pumpkin custard recipe a week ago I said I didn't have time to refine it any further. Well, I lied. My in-laws have come to visit and so I took the recipe for another spin. Further research on the interwebs revealed a recipe by Bryanna that used corn flour to thicken the custard and give it colour. I gave this a try and I also revised the method to make the whole thing easier.

INGREDIENTS

Makes 4 custard cups

- 1/2 cup sugar

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1/4 tsp nutmeg

- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 2 cups plain soy milk

- 1 tbsp agar agar flakes

- 2/3 cup sugar

- 1/2 cup coconut cream

- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

- 1 tsp vanilla

- 1 1/2 tbsp arrowroot

- 1 tbsp corn flour

METHOD

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get a kettle of water boiling.

1. Grease 4 ramekins (with 1 cup capacity).

2. Place sugar in a saucepan over med-lo heat. While sugar is heating, mix soy milk and sugar in a saucepan and sprinkle agar overtop. Without stirring, heat sugar until it caramelizes (turns brown and liquefies). Shake pan to melt all the sugar. Add spices, quickly stir in, then quickly pour 1/4 of mixture into each ramekin to coat the bottom. Set ramekins aside.

3. Heat soy milk and sugar over medium heat. Bring to bubbling, stirring constantly, until agar is fully dissolved. Set aside. Whisk together coconut cream, pumpkin puree, arrowroot, corn flour, and vanilla. Whisk pumpkin mixture into the soy milk mixture until smooth. Pour into the four ramekins.

4. Place ramekins in a 9 x 13 pan, and fill pan with boiling water, no more than 1/3 the way up the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 40-45 mins, until top has browned and center has set.

5. Cool in the fridge until custard has fully set.

This recipe yields a more delicate custard than the first recipe. I found it tasted best at room temperature, but that it needed to fully cool (and get cold) to be able to hold its shape when inverted out of the ramekin. You may just want to skip the inverting part and serve it straight out of the ramekin itself.

Thanksgiving Mini Pot Pies with Roasted Mushroom Gravy

Canadian Thanksgiving is just around the corner so I took our holiday meal for a test run. I am not in the mood for seitan this year--for some reason it just does not appeal. Obviously, this recipe isn't breaking the mold but it really is tasty. After all, Thanksgiving dinner is really like a big plate of pot pie anyway. I suppose that means this entree might be a bit redundant, except that the roasted mushroom gravy takes it to another level. In fact, you might want to make extra gravy to pour over all those other fall veggies you will be serving.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 8 individual pot pies
Roasted Mushroom Gravy
- 8 oz cremini mushrooms, sliced
- 4 shallots, unpeeled
- 4 cloves garlic, unpeeled
- 2 tbsp oil
- salt and pepper
- 2 tbsp margarine
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 cup plain soy milk
- 1 cup water
- splash of mushroom soy sauce (optional)
- sage and thyme to taste
- salt and pepper to taste

- 1/2 recipe puff pastry (sub margarine for butter)
- 6 small potatoes, thinly sliced
- 3 large carrots, thinly sliced
- 19 oz can white kidney beans
- 1 cup (or more) fresh cranberries

METHOD
Preheat oven to 400 degrees
1. Toss sliced mushrooms, shallots, and garlic in olive oil. Spread out on a baking sheet and sprinkle with salt and pepper. Roast for 20 mins, turning a few times to keep from burning. Remove from oven, let cool, the peel and chop shallots and garlic.
2. Heat margarine in a saucepan over medium heat. Add flour and stir. Let flour darken slightly, then add chopped shallots and garlic. Slowly add soy milk, water, and mushrooms and bring to bubbling. Add soy sauce, if using. Season to taste with spices and salt and pepper (I like a really sagey gravy). Remove from heat and set aside.
3. Bring a medium pot of salted water to a boil. Blanch potatoes for 1 min, then remove with a slotted spoon and drain. Repeat with carrots.
4. Lightly grease 8 ramekins (1 cup capacity). Spoon a layer of gravy on the bottom. Top with a layer of sliced potatoes, then carrots. Top that with another layer of gravy, then top with beans and cranberries. Top with more gravy, then a final layer of potatoes. Note: don't go too crazy on the gravy or your pies will bubble over and make a huge mess. It's OK to have some gravy left over.
5. Roll out puff pastry to about 1/2" thick and cut into circles to fit the top of the ramekin (use the leftovers to make turnovers). Top each pot pie with the pastry, then bake for 20-25 mins, or until pastry is golden and gravy is bubbling.

Pumpkin Custard

The experimentation with year's batch of pumpkins has begun! Since Canadian Thanksgiving is next Monday, I am in the kitchen trying to plan out this year's meal. I wanted to make a baked custard with a caramel bottom, but the trick is trying to mimic the texture of an egg custard. I tried this recipe a few different ways, and this version is the best. It's not really like a "real" custard, but it is still really good. I'm also not sure if I am complicating the method a bit, but I have run out of time to refine the recipe further. In any event, the end result is still really good and is a great alternative for those who aren't crazy about pumpkin pie.

NOTE: I have revised this recipe here.

INGREDIENTS
Makes 4 custard cups
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/4 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp ground ginger

- 2 cups plain soy milk
- 1 tbsp agar agar flakes
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/2 cup coconut cream
- 1/2 cup pumpkin puree
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 3 tbsp arrowroot

METHOD
1. Grease 4 ramekins (with 1 cup capacity).
2. Place sugar in a saucepan over medium heat. Without stirring, heat sugar until it caramelizes (turns brown and liquefies). Shake pan to melt all the sugar. Add spices, quickly stir in, then quickly pour 1/4 of mixture into each ramekin to coat the bottom. Set ramekins aside.
3. Whisk agar flakes into soy milk and sugar and heat in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring to bubbling, stirring constantly, until agar is fully dissolved. Place in the fridge to cool and set (about 1 hr).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Get a kettle of water boiling.
5. When soy milk mixture has set, place in a food processor with coconut cream, pumpkin, vanilla, and arrowroot. Process until very smooth. Pour into the four ramekins.
6. Place ramekins in a 9 x 13 pan, and fill pan with boiling water, no more than 1/3 the way up the ramekins. Bake in the oven for 45-50 mins, until top has browned and center has set.
7. Cool in the fridge until custard has fully set.

To serve, place ramekin back in hot water, or microwave for 10-15 seconds to reheat caramel. Either eat the custard in the ramekin, or run a sharp knife around the edge and invert into a shallow bowl. If some caramel is left behind, heat ramekin again and pour caramel over the custard.

Oyster Mushroom Sushi

Back when I posted my recipe for Grilled King Oyster Mushrooms, Shohga suggested grilling the mushrooms brushed with ponzu and then using them in sushi. I thought that sounded like a great idea, so I filed it away in my brain to try later. The other day I went on the hunt for some ponzu, but couldn't find any without bonito (a type of fish). So, I decided to use some mirin instead. Since my grill was out of propane, I tossed the shrooms into a pan over medium heat and kept splashing them with mirin until cooked. I put them in the sushi roll with some chopped bok choy that I briefly pan fried in a little light soy sauce. The shrooms were slightly sweet and the bok choy added a light crunch. Dipped in some soy and wasabi, it was some mighty good sushi.