Happy 2nd Birthday, Vegan Daughter!

Today we celebrated Vegan Daughter's 2nd birthday with this Holly Hobbie cake. She doesn't actually have a Holly Hobbie doll, but she does have a bonnet that is very Hobbie-ish. Vegan Mom picked up the cake pan at the library and I pulled out this recipe for the cake batter. I used it once before for my Valentine's Day Edible Art and found it a little tough and chewy. I had to triple the recipe to fill the pan (the perfect amount) and played around a bit with the ingredients and amounts. I left out the flax (totally unnecessary, I think), upped the soy milk to 2.5 cups (for the triple recipe), the sugar to 1.5 cups, and the oil to 1/2 cup. The cake worked perfectly in the pan and took 50 mins to bake (I always find it tricky to bake in these pans so the entire cake is cooked). The final product was still a bit dense so I may concoct a recipe next time that is somewhere between this one and Isa's cupcake recipe.
This cake also forced me to learn a new skill: making drop flowers. It took a few times to get it right, but I think I did pretty well in the end. The funky part is that you make the flowers on parchment then freeze, carefully transferring them to the cake when needed. Also, I did not have the proper leaf tip so I just shot some green icing around to get the same effect.

Crispy Chinese Tofu Balls

After posting this recipe and asking for advice on how to make the batter crispier, many of you replied with very helpful advice. Basically, you advocated for 3 things: chickpea flour, rice flour, and/or some kind of starch. I did not have any rice flour, so I went with cornstarch and chickpea flour. Success! The batter crisped up nicely and did not tend to burn like the previous recipe. I also upped the vital wheat gluten to make sure the tofu was not too moist, and made smaller balls. I think the flax might be superfluous with the chickpea flour but I kept it anyway. So, there is some room to play with this recipe. Have fun!

INGREDIENTS
- 1/4 cup all purpose flour
- 3 tbsp chickpea flour
- 1 tbsp cornstarch
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup + 1 tbsp plain soy milk
- 1 tbsp finely ground flax seed
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu, pressed for 20 mins
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp poultry spice (or to taste)
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- ground white pepper
- 1-2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
- oil for frying

METHOD
1. Heat your frying oil to 375 degrees.
2. While oil is heating, make the batter by whisking together flours, cornstarch, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk flax seed and water together until thick, and then whisk flax mixture into the soy milk. Whisk wet into dry ingredients. Add more liquid or flour as needed. The goal is a thick pancake batter consistency--not too thick, but not so thin that it drips right off the balls. Refrigerate until ready to use.
3. Make the tofu balls: mush the tofu in your hands until very fine and clumping together. Add spices and hoisin sauce and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste. Sprinkle the wheat gluten over top and mix in. Form into about 30 balls, not too big.
4. To fry: dip a few balls into the batter, letting any excess drip off (I use 2 spoons to coat the balls and transfer to the oil). Fry for 1-2 mins, until very lightly golden. Drain. Repeat with remaining balls. Return first set of balls to the oil, letting fry until a deep golden brown. Drain and serve with your sauce of choice.

Chinese Tofu Balls

Every time I make tofu ricotta I think to myself that I should try to make a fried tofu ball not unlike the fried chicken balls I used to scarf down at Chinese buffets back in the day. I would like to get the batter a little crispier, so if anyone has some tips please pass them along. (UPDATE: see this recipe).

INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour (plus extra for dusting)
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/2 tsp salt
- 1/3 cup plain soy milk
- 1 tbsp finely ground flax seed
- 2 tbsp warm water
- 1 pkg extra firm tofu, pressed for 20 mins
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp poultry spice (or to taste)
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- ground white pepper
- 1-2 tbsp vital wheat gluten
- oil for frying

METHOD
1. Heat your frying oil to 375 degrees.
2. While oil is heating, make the batter by whisking together flour, baking powder, and salt in a medium bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk flax seed and water together until thick, and then whisk flax mixture into the soy milk. Whisk wet into dry ingredients. Add more liquid or flour as needed. The goal is a thick pancake batter consistency--not too thick, but not so thin that it drips right off the balls.
3. Make the tofu balls: mush the tofu in your hands until very fine and clumping together. Add spices and hoisin sauce and mix well. Adjust seasonings to taste. Sprinkle 1 tbsp of wheat gluten over top and mix in. Check to see if you can form into balls, and add more gluten if needed. Form into about 16-20 balls, not too big.
4. To fry: dust a few balls with flour, then dip into the batter, letting any excess drip off. Fry for 1-2 mins, until very lightly golden. Drain. Repeat with remaining balls. Return first set of balls to the oil, letting fry until a deep golden brown. Drain and serve with your sauce of choice.

Thai Orange Curry

Technically, this is a red curry, but the tumeric in the curry paste gives the final dish a wonderful orange colour. The key here is to make your own curry paste--it's not too hard and the taste is fabulous. No one sells dried chiles around here, so I bought about 10 bags of them the last time I was in Columbus (there is a Mexican grocery store on Cleveland Avenue I used to frequent when I lived there). The paste is not too hot (best for the kids), but you can make it hotter by adding a few more Japanese chiles in place of one Guajillo chile. You can also add as many serranos as you like to the final dish. The recipes are veganized and slightly adapted from True Thai.

INGREDIENTS
Curry Paste
- 4 large dried Guajillo chiles
- 2 dried Japanese chiles
- 2 stalk lemon grass, lower section, trimmed and sliced
- 3 tbsp minced ginger
- 1 1/2 tsbp chopped garlic
- 1/2 cup chopped shallots
- 2 tbsp tumeric

METHOD
1. Stem and de-seed chiles and soak for 30 mins in hot water. While the chiles are soaking, pulse the lemon grass in a food processor until broken down into small pieces.
2. Add the rest of the ingredients to the processor and process into a paste, as smooth as you can get it. Add the water you used to soak the chiles as needed (about 1/2 cup) to make a smooth paste.

Thai Orange Curry
INGREDIENTS
- 1 can light coconut milk
- 1/2 cup, or so, curry paste from above
- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 8 lime leaves (I used dried), or zest of 1 lime
- serrano chiles to taste, sliced in half, lengthwise
- 1 tbsp brown sugar
- 1 tbsp hoisin sauce
- 1 tbsp vegan oyster sauce
- salt to taste
- 1/4 cup basil leaves (Thai or Italian)

METHOD
1. Heat coconut milk and curry paste in a saucepan over medium heat. When bubbling, add chickpeas, lime leaves (or zest), chiles, sugar, and sauces. Bring to bubbling again, then lower heat, cover and let gently simmer for at least 20 mins.
2. If using dried lime leaves, remove. Add salt as needed. Adjust curry paste and sauces as needed. Right before serving, add basil leaves and mix in until wilted. Serve with rice.

3rd Annual Mother's Day Brunch

Sunday was the 3rd Annual Mother's day brunch. This year's guest list was 30 people, a big step up from the first brunch I hosted, and 10 more than last year. More people meant a simplified menu. I had all sorts of plans to make danishes and croissants and donuts, but I just did not have the time to pull it off. But, rather than lament what I did not make, let's talk about what I did. First up: muffins. I decided that mini-muffins would be best since they would allow people to sample a variety of food without getting full from a mega-muffin. I made a batch each night in the days before the brunch (24 mini muffins per batch) and stuck them in the freezer. I went with the lemon poppy seed, pumpkin bran, bakery-style berry, and espresso chocolate chip from Vegan Brunch. Next: cinnamon rolls from Artisan Breads Everyday. The great thing about this recipe is that it does not call for an egg in the dough and is easily made vegan. I like the recipe better than the one I blogged about before (though the pic for that post is the background for the brunch invite I sent out). I also made lemon currant rolls. I always make them for the school bake sale and so they have become a thing. I always give the people what they want. This time I just used flax eggs and did not bother with the whole tofu thing. They turned out great. You can also see some vegan apple muffins my neighbour brought over. Next up is Vegan Mom's scrambled tofu. Simple and plain, and the kids don't freak out. Next to that is a bowl of sauteed onions, mushrooms, and pepper for those who wanted to dress the tofu up a bit. In the chafing dishes (new this year--borrowed from a friend) are roasted baby potatoes and a ton of pancakes (from Vegan Brunch).
We lined up three tables and sat 20 in the dining room/living room, with a kids' table in the summer room. Guests brought juice, tea, coffee, and fruit salads to round out the menu and we all went to town (I had to blur some faces because I did not ask anyone if I could post the pic). All in all, a great success!