Good and Lovely Christmas Ice Cream

Last night I had the great fortune of not only seeing The Good Lovelies in concert during their Christmas tour, but making dessert for the band. I wanted to make something holiday-ish to fit with the theme of the night and came up with this. The word is that the band loved the ice cream, hence the name.

The method for the ice cream is from Homemade Vegan Pantry, and the method for sugaring the chestnuts comes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. The recipe works best with a high powered blender like a Vitamix. If you don't have one, just make sure your cashews are nice and soft before blending

INGREDENTS
Ice Cream
- 1 cup whole raw cashews
- boiling water
- 1.5 cups non-dairy milk of your choosing
- 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
- 1 tsp cinnamon
- large pinch of salt
- 1 can coconut milk (light, or regular)
- 2 tsp vanilla

Sugared Roasted Chestnuts
- 1 cup chopped roasted chestnuts (about 3/4 lb whole chestnuts)
- 1/3 cup sugar
- 3 tbsp maple syrup
- pinch of salt

METHOD
Ice Cream
1. Cover the chestnuts with boiling water. Let sit for 15 mins then drain.
2. Blend cashews and non-dairy milk on high in a blender until smooth. Add sugar, cinnamon, and salt and blend until dissolved.
3. Add coconut milk and vanilla and blend until smooth.
4. Place mixture in the fridge until cold.
5. When mixture is cold, make in your ice cream maker per the directions. Mix the sugared chestnuts in before transferring to the freezer.

Chestnuts
1. Roast the chestnuts: preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a sharp paring knife to cut a slit through the shell of each chestnut (to let the steam escape). Place nuts, slit side up, on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 mins, until shell splits around the slit. Wrap in a towel and set aside to cool.
2. When chestnuts are cool, peel, and roughly chop. 
3. Place the rest of the ingredients in a cold pan. Heat over medium heat, stirring, until mixture bubbles. Keep stirring for 3 mins, until mixture is thick. 
4. Remove from heat, add chopped chestnuts and mix to coat. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with parchment. Transfer to the freezer.

Festive Phyllo Triangles

As you can see by the paltry number of posts this month, December has been a pretty busy month in every sense but the culinary. I had all sorts of plans to do baking and post a bunch of ideas for the holiday season, but alas . . . . What is it they say about the best laid plans? I did make Peter Reinhart's stollen recipe (awesome), and I have finally figured out what to make for Christmas dinner. Since I will be feeding vegans and omnis alike, I wanted to make something that could be enjoyed for what it was, and not some imitation of a meat dish. Enter the phyllo! The filling is chickpeas with cranberries and spinach: tasty and also red and green for Christmas.

INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp oil
- 2 shallots, finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped
- 1 19 oz can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 1 cup fresh cranberries
- 1 cup packed baby spinach
- 10 roasted chestnuts, chopped
- 2 tbsp flour
- 1 tsp rubbed sage
- 1 tsp thyme
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- salt and pepper to taste
- 1 pkg phyllo dough
- melted margarine, or oil

METHOD
Makes 16 Preheat oven to 375 degrees
1. Heat oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Saute onion, garlic, and celery for 5-7 mins, until soft and translucent.
2. While onions are cooking, pulse chickpeas, cranberries, and spinach in a food processor. Make sure not to process into a paste.
3. Place chickpea mixture in a bowl, then add onions. Add chestnuts, flour, and spices and mix well. Season to taste.
4. Place one sheet of phyllo on the counter and brush with melted margarine or oil. Place another sheet on top and brush with oil. Cut phyllo lengthwise into three long strips of equal width. Place a scant 1/4 cup of filling at the bottom of each strip. Fold like you see here. Brush folded triangle with oil or margarine. Place on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
5. Repeat with remaining filling. Bake for 15-20 mins, until golden brown.

I served mine with roasted mushroom gravy. As you can see, I could not really figure out how to present the dish. On Christmas day I just plan to put them on the plate with all the other veggies and not worry about how it looks in a picture.

Roasted Chestnuts

Really, I just wanted to share this photo with you (which I have compressed to accomodate for the dial-up connection). Roasted chestnuts are delightfully smoky, nutty, and sweet all at the same time. While I did not sing and yuletide carols whilst I ate these, they were good nonetheless.

METHOD

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.

2. Cut/poke an "X" through the shell of each chestnut with a paring knife. Place on a cookie sheet.

3. Roast for 20-22 mins. The shells will peel back around the X. When cool, peel, sprinkle with sea salt (optional) and enjoy!

Holiday Stew

I have been tossing around this dish in my head for a few days. How to make something that tastes like Christmas is coming? Do you serve with rice? Noodles? Do you bake it? Roast it? Fry it? I finally settled on a stew--warm and hearty. The thyme and sage remind me of stuffing, and the roasted chestnuts and chickpeas work really well together. Cranberries add a nice splash of tart flavour to finish everything off.

INGREDIENTS

- 30 chestnuts

- 2 tbsp oil

- 1 small yellow onion, diced

- 1 small red onion, diced

- 1 celery stalk, diced

- 1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

- 3 tsp sage

- 1/2 tsp dried rosemary, crushed

- 2 tsp thyme

- 1/2 tsp paprika

- 1/2 tsp cinnamon

- 1 cup apple juice

- 2 large (or 4 small) Yukon Gold potatoes, scrubbed and diced

- 1 cup fresh cranberries

- 3 cups of water

- 2 tsp soy sauce

- 3 generous tbsp flour

- 1/3 cup plain soy milk

- 1/4 cup vegan "chicken" broth powder

- 1/2 cup dried cranberries

- salt and pepper to taste

METHOD

1. First, roast the chestnuts. Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Use a sharp paring knife to cut/punch an X through the shell of each chestnut (lets the steam escape). Place nuts, X side up, on a baking sheet and roast for about 20 mins, until shell splits and peels back around the X. Set aside to cool.

2. Heat oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Saute onions and celery until browned. Add chickpeas and spices and saute an additional two minutes. (While onions are cooking, slice chestnuts in half and peel).

3. Add in apple juice to deglaze pot. Add in potatoes, cranberries, water, and soy sauce. Bring to bubbling. Lower heat, cover, and simmer for 15 mins, or until potatoes are softened.

4. Mix flour into soy milk (I put both in a small container with a lid and shake). Add to pot and mix well. Add in broth powder. Bring to bubbling and let thicken.

5. Add in dried cranberries and chestnuts and cook for 5 mins. Season to taste with salt and pepper.