Kaiser Rolls: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

Oh, man. Where have these kaiser rolls been all my life? I am kicking myself for not making these when I first bought The Bread Baker's Apprentice over a year ago. To be honest, I was intimidated by the knotting process needed to get that characteristic look, so I never made them. As it turns out, it is super easy to make these and they taste absolutely amazing.

GENERAL NOTES
1. The pate fermentee will keep in the fridge for three days, by which time it develops an amazing flavour that makes for a great kaiser roll. I make a double batch, use half right away, then keep the other half to make more buns a few days later (or French Bread).
2. I also made small 2 oz buns for the kids' lunches. They loved them, and the buns baked up in about 15 mins.
3. I find 20 mins is enough time to bake the large 4 oz buns.
4. When making a double batch, I place two sheets of buns in the oven on the second lowest and second highest shelves, then rotate halfway through.

VEGAN NOTES
1. I subbed an equal amount of soy yogurt for the egg. I have also made them with no egg substitute. Both ways are fine, though the yogurt does enrich the dough and make it slightly more tender.
2. I brush the rolls with soy milk (instead of water) before sprinkling with seeds just to get a darker crust.

Irish Stew 2.0

Here is the stew I made for St. Patrick's Day. I have made Irish Stew before but this time I found a secret ingredient that made it even more awesome: Montreal Steak Spice. The pepper adds some kick while the coriander and paprika make for an earthy and hearty tasting stew. I did not have any seitan on hand, so I made "beef" by adapting the vegan sausage recipe and was thus able to whip up a tasty stew fairly quickly. As while most stews, feel free to improvise as you see fit. Here is what I did.

INGREDIENTS
Seitan
- this recipe, made with 1 1/2 cups of wheat gluten, no fennel, and 1 tbsp Montreal steak spice. I also added 1/2 tsp of gravy browner to get the dark brown colour. I then shaped it into a square, wrapped it in foil, and steamed it for 45 mins. I used half of the seitan (and froze the rest), cut it into small cubes and simmered it in the stew for about 30 mins. The end result was pretty good. Not too tough or bouncy.

Stew
- basically this recipe, but I did not use the vinegar or red wine. Instead I used veggie broth and added 2 tbsp Montreal steak spice. A reader commented that this was WAY too much steak spice, so maybe mine is old and less potent. Just add to taste.

HiKool Update

Sorry I have not posted any new recipes lately, but all the content from my blog for the past seven months had been illegally posted on a site called HiKool. Every time I posted something new, it would soon be posted on that site. And it was not even my blog. I recognized pics and recipes from other vegan blogs as well. So, I filed a DMCA letter with HostGator, the site's hosting service, listing the 48 blog posts stolen from my website. Remember, bloggers, you maintain the copyright to the material on your blog. That means you have exclusive control over where that material appears. No one can re-post your recipe or pictures, even if they provide a link back to your blog, without your permission. This is not about plagiarism, necessarily, it is about copyright. It is your property, and you get to distribute it at your discretion.

I am happy to report that HostGator has now disabled access to the aforementioned site. Huzzah! Now that that is all sorted out, I will get back to posting recipes.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

The kids and I decided that the best way to celebrate St. Patrick's Day was with a cake. Yes, nothing honours the death of a saint from the 400s like cake. But not just any cake: green marbled cake! I made two batches of Isa and Terry's basic vanilla cupcake recipe, and dyed one green with Wilton's gel dye. 1/4 of the of plain batter went into a buttered and floured 8" cake pan, followed by 1/4 of the green batter, then 1/4 of the white, and 1/4 of the green. I repeated with a second 8" pan, then used a knife to slice through the batter to get the marbled look. I then baked the cakes for 22 mins, as per the recipe.

The frosting is Isa and Terry's buttercream frosting. After laying down a layer of frosting, Son #1 drew a picture of a leprechaun on it with a toothpick, and I filled it in with frosting. Son #2 suggested the shamrock and Son #3 licked all the bowls clean.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

This is a nice, simple soup, perfect with the baguettes you see in the background.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1 shallot, diced
- 2 celery stalks, chopped
- 1 garlic clove, chopped
- 2 heads of broccoli, cut into florets
- about 3 cups water
- 2 cups cashew cream (or soy creamer/soy milk/coconut milk)
- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute onion, shallot, celery, and garlic for 15 mins, until nice and soft and stating to get golden.
2. Add broccoli and enough water to cover about 3/4 of the way up (about 3 cups). You don't want too much water or the final soup will be too thin. Cover and simmer for 15-20 mins, until veggies are soft.
3. Blend broccoli mixture with an immersion blender (or what have you) until very smooth. Add in cashew cream and season to taste. Heat to desired temperature, then serve.