Spiced Sweet Potato Soup

A new year, the Gregorian calendar tells us.  What will 2014 bring?  For me, it brings a return to blogging.  Inspired by my time at the Atlanta Veg Fest, I am recipe developing and testing once again and posting the results here.  I am still pretty busy in my non-blogging life, but I realized that I really needed the creative outlet that is this blog.  Plus, I met so many great people in Georgia who love what I do, even though I had not been doing it for a while.  So thanks to everyone: the people who email me about the recipes they like, the almost 27,000 likes on Facebook, the amazing people I have met in person during my travels, etc., etc.  Here's to the vegan family in 2014!

This Christmas Santa brought me a Breville FastSlow Cooker--a slow cooker and a pressure cooker all in one.  My mom never was into the whole crock pot thing, so it's not something I am familiar with.  If you are also unfamiliar with the ways of the slow cooker, this recipe will show everything you need to know.  The beauty of slow cooking this soup (besides dinner being ready when you come home from work) is that is makes the chunks of sweet potato tender and delicate without being mushy and breaking apart in the broth.  Delightful.  This soup is reminiscent of Indian dal, and so its warm spices and hearty lentil goodness are perfect for a cold polar vortex kind of day.

INGREDIENTS:
- 2 tbsp oil
- 4 cups of sliced onions (halve and slice onions, then measure)
- 6 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and minced (optional, or more if you want more heat)
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 2 tsp chili powder
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1 cinnamon stick
- 4 whole cloves
- 6 cups of peeled sweet potato chunks (large, but still bite-sized)
- 1.5 cups chopped tomato (canned or fresh)
- 1 cup red lentils
- 6 cups vegetable stock (or water)
- 1 tsp salt (or as needed, to taste)
- chopped cilantro for garnish (optional)

METHOD
This method is for the Breville FastSlow Cooker.  You may have to adjust for your own appliance.
1. Set the slow cooker to the saute setting.  Sauté onions for 8-10 mins, until deep golden brown.  Add garlic and jalapeno (if using) and sauté for 1 min.
2. Add spices and sauté for 1 min.
3. Add the remaining ingredients and mix well.  Adjust salt as needed (it depends on how salty your broth is).  Put the lid of the slow cooker on and cook for 8 hours.  Adjust seasoning as needed.  Top with chopped cilantro if you like it.  Serve.

Holiday Nog

OK, I think I have all of my holiday beverages sorted out now.  For the past few years I have made Isa's Matrioshka EggNog, but the problem has always been getting the perfect avocado (as this image suggests).  Considering how far avocados have to travel to get all the way up here, it's no surprise.  If you have a party to host and all the avocados at the store are as hard as rocks then it's no nog for you.  So this year I swapped out the avocado with cashews, blended like crazy, and presto: holiday nog!  For better or worse it is very much like the 99 cent cartons of eggnog we used to quaff down when I was a kid (i.e. sweet milk with nutmeg).  Works for me.

.  For the past few years I have used Isa's

INGREDIENTS
- 1 cup whole, raw cashews soaked in cold water overnight
- 3 cups plain almond milk, divided
- 1/2 to 3/4 cup sugar
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 tsp turmeric (optional)
- 1 tsp nutmeg
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- rum to taste

METHOD
1. Place the soaked cashews and 2 cups of the almond milk in a blender.  Blend until very smooth.  If you are like me and have a pretty crappy blender, you can pass the mixture through some fine cheesecloth at this point to remove any graininess.  Or leave it as is if you don't mind a little texture.
2. Add remaining ingredients and blend until smooth.  Chill and reblend right before serving.

Vegan Irish Cream

Another quick post because I have not posted enough calories on this blog for the holiday season.  Har har.  When Vegansaurus posted this recipe for vegan Irish Cream it caught my eye because Bailey's was one of my all-time faves back in the day.  I'm not sure why I have not explored Irish cream before because there are a bunch of recipes for it out there on the interwebs that are easily veganized.  I made the recipe linked to above, but I remember Bailey's being much sweeter.  Granted, it's been a good 8 years since I have had the original version, but the combination below satisfies my food memory. The above pic is a 50/50 mix of the Irish Cream and almond milk with ice--delicious!  Here is what I did, just in case you like specific measurements.   

INGREDIENTS
- 1/2 cup extra strong coffee
- 1 tbsp cocoa powder
- 1/4 cup each maple syrup, white sugar, brown sugar
- 2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups Irish whiskey
- 1 can coconut milk
- 1/2 cup plain almond milk (optional, see note)

METHOD
1. Brew coffee and place into a pitcher.  Blend in cocoa powder, then sugars and maple syrup until dissolved.
2. Add extract, whiskey, and coconut milk and blend with an immersion blender until smooth.  Thin with almond milk if desired.
3. Refrigerate in a glass jar with a lid and serve cold.  Shake jar to re-blend before serving.

Note: I made this with full-fat coconut milk.  It's a bit thick and rich, so I thinned it with almond milk.  I think this would work just as well with low fat coconut milk, but you might not want to thin it.  Do what works for you.

Cranberry Christmas Cookies

This will probably be my last post until the new year, so here is a wonderfully crisp sugar cookie with a tart cranberry filling that are pretty easy to make.  There are many recipes of this kind of cookie floating around out there, so call them whatever you want (I went alliterative).  Usually these kinds of doughs are chilled and then rolled, but I don't find any difference with rolling first and chilling later.  In fact, I find it much easier to roll this dough first because when chilled it is pretty finicky.  The cranberry filling is also a snap.  If it does not set up enough to your liking, just boil it again for another minute and retry.

INGREDIENTS
Cookies
- 1/2 cup refined coconut oil, room temperature (or margarine)
- 1/2 cup margarine, room temperature
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1/2 tsp almond extract
- 3/4 cup (90g) icing sugar
- 2 cups (315g) all purpose flour (spoon and level flour if you are not weighing it)

Cranberry Filling
- 1 1/2 cups cranberries (fresh or frozen)
- 3 tbsp orange juice
- 3/4 cup sugar

METHOD
Makes 12-18, depending on size
Cookies
1. Cream together coconut oil and margarine with a hand mixer, or stand mixer with the whisk attachment, until smooth and fluffy.  Blend in extracts.  Blend in icing sugar.
2. Using a wooden spoon, mix in flour and bring into a soft dough.  Use your hands finish it off if needed.
3. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
4. Roll out dough on a lightly floured surface to about 1/8 inch thick.  Using a metal cookie cutter, cut out as many shapes as you can.  Using a smaller cutter, punch out the centres of half of them (these will be your tops).  Re-roll dough scraps and repeat until dough is all used up.  Place on prepared sheets, (using a pastry scraper to transfer), cover, and chill for about 30 mins, until firm.
5. While cookies are chilling, preheat oven to 325 degrees.  Bake cookies one sheet at a time for 15-17 mins, until lightly golden on the edges.
6. Let cookies cool on the sheet for 5 mins, then remove to a wire rack to fully cool.

Cranberry Filling
1. Heat cranberries and orange juice to bubbling in a saucepan over medium heat.  Cook for about 5 mins, mashing cranberries as they cook.
2. When cranberries are well-mashed, add sugar and turn heat to high.  Cook for about 2 mins at a rapid boil, stirring constantly.  Filling is ready when it drips thickly off your spoon (let it drip off the spoon when you first add the sugar and you will see what I mean).
3. Use a spoon to pass the filling through a fine mesh sieve.  Place in the fridge to cool down.

Make the cookies:
1. When jam has cooled but is not cold, spread on the bases of the cookies.  If the cookies puffed up too much during baking, simply flip the bottom cookie over so that the baking sheet-sides of the cookies are in the middle.  Don't spread right to the edges, and mound it up a bit in the centre.  Gently press a top on so that the jam spreads into the cut out middle.
2. You can store/freeze the cookies like this.  When ready to serve, dust gently with icing sugar.

Comment: some people are finding the dough crumbly.  The dough is a bit tricky to work with, but it also makes for a very delicate cookie.  A few tips: 
1. Roll first, refrigerate later.  If you chill first, allow the dough to warm up before rolling.  
2. Make sure you spoon and level the flour and icing sugar if you are not weighing it. 
3. Add some melted margarine if everything is still crumbly.

Tofu Banh Mi

Here is part two of my 2-part series on making Banh Mi for a holiday (or some other kind of) party.  Now that you have your baguettes fresh from the oven, it's time to top them and eat!  This recipe makes a lot, so if it is just for you, cut the tofu and marinade in half.  You can get away with marinading the tofu, and picking the carrot/daikon, for a few hours, but it all tastes better if you make it the day before.  You will have some tofu left over, so just save it for tomorrow. 

INGREDIENTS
- 2 pkgs of firm tofu, cut into 16 slices each

Marinade
- 1/2 cup light soy sauce
- 1/4 cup sesame oil
- 1/4 cup fresh lime juice
- 2 tbsp rice vinegar
- 2 tsp Sriracha
- 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2 tbsp mined fresh ginger

Carrot-Daikon Pickle
Double the recipe if you like lots of pickle
- 1 cup white vinegar
- 1 cup water
- 1/2 cup sugar
- 3/4 tsp minced fresh ginger
- 11oz grated carrot (about 1 1/3 cup)
- 11oz grated daikon (about 1 1/3 cup)
- 1 whole star anise

- sliced cucumber (I use a vegetable peeler to get long, thin slices)
- Vegenaise
- chopped cilantro (optional)

METHOD
Prep the Tofu
1. Whisk together the marinade ingredients.  You can mash the garlic and ginger together with a mortar and pestle if you desire.  Place sliced tofu in a large baking dish and pour marinade over.  It is OK to stack pieces of tofu on top of one another--just make sure there is marinade between the slices.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Make the Pickle
1. Bring vinegar, water, and sugar to boil in a saucepan.  Add ginger, carrot, and daikon, and bring back to boiling.  Remove from heat and add the star anise.  Pour into a large glass jar, and bring to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.

Bake the Tofu
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Adjust oven racks so you can bake two baking sheets at a time.
2. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.  Place 16 pieces of tofu on each sheet.  Brush generously with the marinade.
3. Bake for 10 mins, then flip tofu and brush generously with marinade.  Switch the rack that the sheets are on, and bake for another 10-15 mins.  Tofu should be dry and slightly crisp on the edges.

Assemble the Sandwiches and Serve
1. Cut baguettes horizontally.  Spread Vegenaise liberally on the inside (not traditional, I know, but I like it).  Top with tofu (I like to overlap the tofu 1/2 on the piece underneath instead of side by side).  Top with sliced cucumber, and then with drained pickle.  Top with chopped cilantro, if desired.
2. Slice each baguette into 8-10 pieces each and serve.