vegan mofo :: ninja ginga’ bread

Amy, one of my dear readers and a new vegan, wrote and asked for some Thanksgiving recipe ideas. So I give you my recipe for Ninja Ginga’ Bread. It’s so named because its sophisticated flavors are not for the faint of heart. [Stay tuned for more ideas, Amy.]

Being a city girl, I choose to ignore gingerbread conventions and instead start a few trends of my own. While most gingerbread recipes rely on light, dainty molasses, I use Blackstrap Molasses, since I adore its deep, damp muskiness. I also don’t think that white flour has any business going anywhere near a gingerbread batter. But adding a helping of nutty teff flour to the spelt flour-based batter complements the spectrum of spices. Best-quality Dutch cocoa powder, espresso powder, and a splash of best-quality balsamic vinegar…yes, balsamic vinegar! … further round out the heady flavors of this seasonal favorite. It’s delicious as is, better when slightly warmed, and through-the-roof good when served slightly warmed, with a large scoop of vanilla soy ice cream or vegan whipped cream, which helps to balance the ninja assault of autumnal spices.

NINJA GINGA’ BREAD
• 1½ cup spelt flour
• ¼ cup teff flour
• 2 heaping T soy flour
• ½ cup brown sugar, packed
• ¼ cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• ¼ cup dark corn syrup
• 1/2 cup Blackstrap molasses
* 2 T Dutch cocoa powder
• 2 tsp espresso powder
• 1 T baking powder
• 1 T powdered ginger
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp cloves
• ¼ tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extracts
• 1 tsp rum extract (optional, but wonderful)
• ½ tsp balsamic vinegar
• Few drops orange oil
• Confectioner’s sugar, for dusting

Serves 9

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9 x 9 inch baking pan.

In a large bowl, with electric mixer, cream together oil, applesauce, brown sugar, corn syrup, extracts, and orange oil until smooth (Depending on the temperature, the coconut oil may not totally dissolve, This is normal.)

In another large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet, about a cup at a time, mixing each time until smooth. Pour the batter into the pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean.

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Veganomicon Feast

I went on a cooking/baking spree one day to use up the groceries I had bought, before they went bad. It resulted in two entrees and two baked goods from Veganomicon.

First, pasta della california. It’s linguine with a white wine garlic sauce, arugula, broccoli and avocado. The avocado is pretty good, since it’s just added in at the end, although warming up leftovers is bit harder, since I don’t feel like eating hot avocado. It’s a good plate though, with just enough saltiness and spicyness.

Then I made the tempeh shepherdess pie. I had two packages of tempeh in the freezer, and this was a great way to use it up. The tempeh is simmered with a tamari mixture, then cooked with spices, peas and corn, and cremini mushrooms. Then you make a gravy sauce right in the whole mix! Top it with mashed potatoes and bake, and voila, you have dinner. I didn’t have any soymilk left, so my potatoes are probably a little less creamy than desired, but it still tastes great. A very homey, comforting meal.


Then, to use up the pumpkin puree I had leftover from making a pie, I made pumpkin-cranberry scones. These are wonderfully spiced and not too sweet, but not bland either! It was my first time using fresh cranberries, and they provide a nice, tangy bite every once in a while. They’re topped off with pumpkin seeds.


Also, I made chocolate hazelnut biscotti. There are so yummy. I love almond extract in chocolate things. I wish I had some soymilk around so I could dunk these in tea. I brought them, along with the scones, to work for everyone to try, and the biscotti was more popular, although I prefer the scones. Not to brag, but my baked goods are somewhat treasured at work now Once everyone hears I brought something in, it’s a race to see who will get some. And no one cares that it’s vegan.

Happy Halloween!

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Shoujin ryouri

“Shoujin ryouri （精進料理) is a type of vegan cuisine that was developed by Japanese Buddhist monks. It is based on a foundation of vegetables and rice, and various vegetable proteins.”

It is also amazing and amazingly hard to find on average in Japan, because the Japanese love to make the EXACT SAME FOOD but put fish stock in it (stocks, sauces, soups, dips, EVERYTHING).

So if you are in Japan, head up to Koya-san in Wakayama Prefecture which is littered with vegan monks and shoujin ryouri abound!

Before we get to cooking, lets take a look at some real traditional shoujin ryouri (top left, clockwise):

After eating all this amazing food, I wanted to make my own version of shoujin ryouri… so I did!

Let this bring inspiration to make your own mini-feast!!! The only thing that’s holding you back are how many plates you have =)

Popularity: 4% [?]

British Scones

British scones are different than American scones. They’re not flaky and are more like a soft, slightly sweet biscuit. Eat them warm with jam! British omni-monkey approved.

Vegan Scones by Charlotte O’Leary

8oz self-raising flour*
1 tsp baking powder
1½oz soya margarine, plus extra for greasing
2 tbsp caster sugar
150ml/4¼fl oz soya milk, plus extra for glazing
To serve
strawberry jam

1. Preheat the oven to 220C/425F/Gas 7.
2. Sift the flour and baking powder into a large bowl, and rub in the soya margarine until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
3. Add the sugar and mix together thoroughly.
4. Make a well in the middle of the mixture, and slowly pour in the soya milk, stirring with a metal spoon. Bring the mixture together until it forms a dough.
5. Generously flour a large board and knead the dough for five minutes. Roll it out to a thickness of about 2.5cm/1in and, using a fluted 9cm/3in cutter, cut rounds from the dough.
6. Place the rounds on a greased and floured non-stick baking tray, and glaze the top using the extra soya milk.
7. Cook in the top of the oven for about 15 minutes, until a deep golden brown colour.
8. Leave to cool.
9. Serve with strawberry jam.

This recipe is from the BBC vegetarian recipe site.

*Make your own self-rising flour, Mix:
1 C flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt

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Pot stickers

a.k.a. gyoza or Chinese dumplings

This recipe is pretty organic, working with what you have! I think mushrooms make a pretty good filling (in lieu of fake meat), I added some tofu just to bulk it up.

Mushrooms (pack), diced
Onions (1/2), diced
Tofu (1/2 block), drained & crumbled
carrot (1/2 stick),
sesame oil*
small bowl of water

Pack of pot sticker wrappers**
oil for frying

*Sesame oil really makes this meal, so try to use it!
**Big grocery stores don’t really carry vegan wrappers, but little Asian stores do.

1. Stir fry all the veggies and tofu together with a little sesame oil until all the vegetables are soft and the liquid is gone. Remove from heat.

2. Place about a small tablespoon size scoop of filling in the middle of a wrapper.

3. Dab your finger in the bowl of water and rub along half of the edge of the wrapper, making a semi circle. This will keep it together.

4. Bring edges together and pinch together while trying to make sure the air is pressed out. (There are also pot sticker presser which makes it a little easier!).

5. When you are finished, heat a frying pan on medium heat. Place pot stickers in pan and cover with a lid to steam the top (you will not flip them).

6. When the bottom is nice and brown, flip them out onto a plate!

Serve with a soy dipping sauce!

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Maple Smoked Tempeh Bacon

Just a nice little snack!

1 pack of tempeh
3 Tbsp soy sauce
3 Tbsp maple syrup
2 tsp Chipotle Tabasco sauce (or liquid smoke)
1/4 tsp salt
oil

1. Cut tempeh into strips

2. Mix soy sauce, maple syrup, Tabasco sauce, and salt in a shallow bowl or container.

3. Place tempeh strips in mixture to soak.

4. Marinate for one hour, turning at least once.

5. In an oiled frying pan on med-low heat, fry tempeh strips for about 5 minutes each side until crispy!
OR
Place in toaster over and toast til crispy!

Eat by themselves, in a sandwich with lettuce & tomato, in a salad, etc!

Popularity: 1% [?]

Tofu Tonkatsu

Tonkatsu, a fried pork cutlet, is really a really well-liked dish in Japan. Envision my shock when I opened up The Asian Vegan Kitchen by Hema Parekh and saw its fatty fried vegan twin staring back at me! You use freeze dried tofu (known as “koyadofu”) which provides it a great texture when rehydrated. It even passed omni-monkey’s taste check. It is a small function, but SO worth it!

This is the exact recipe from The Asian Vegan Kitchen and you NEED to go buy this AWESOME book RIGHT NOW!!

“8 cakes koyadofu, about 6 ounces (170g) in total
All-purpose flour for dusting
1 C (125g) all-purpose flour
1/2 C (120 ml) water
1 C (100g) breadcrumbs (panko)
Vegetable oil for deep frying
Shredded white cabbage, for garnish
Lemon wedges, for garnish
Tonkatsu sauce

SIMMERING SAUCE:
2 C (480 ml) dashi stock
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 Tablespoon mirin
1/2 inch (1 cm) cube fresh giner, peeled and grated
1/2 teaspoon grated garlic

I used 5 large blocks that was about 6oz/170g

1. Soak the koyadofu cakes in hot water for 10 minutes, then drain.

2. In a saucepan use a large pan!!, combine the simmering sauce ingredients and bring to a boil. Put in the drained koyadofu and simmer for 8-10 minutes over medium heat, until all the liquid is absorbed.

3. Dab the koyadofu in the dusting flour. Mix 1 cup flour and 1/2 cup of water to make a thick paste. Dip the floured koyadofu in the flour-and-water paste, then roll each cake int he bread crumbs. Set aside.

4. Heat the oil for deep-frying to 350F (180C). Slide the breaded tofu pieces into the oil in batches and deep-fry until crisp and golden brown. Drain on kitchen paper and serve hot with shredded cabbage, lemon wedges, and tonkatsu sauce.”

The Asian Vegan Kitchen: Authentic and Appetizing Dishes from a Continent of Rich Flavors

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The Indian Vegan Kitchen: More Than 150 Quick and Healthy Homestyle Recipes

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Soup n’ Such

So a lot to weblog about, but really, so small time…

As Tracy pointed out in her post, it is gotten so cold that soup is definitely an perfect meal. I pulled out Nava Atlas’ Vegetarian Soups for All Seasons and created a Creamy Golden Potato Squash Soup. It was so silky and smooth! 1 point this recipe created me understand would be to not use the crumbled bay leaves that came with my spice set – there’s a cause why recipes usually say to get rid of the entire bay leaf prior to serving (certainly not feasible with the bits I’ve)…individuals points don’t soften up and lead to small irritating pieces with each and every bite.

Another scrumptious soup was courtesy of 1 of Sarah Kramer’s books – Auntie Bonnie’s Black Bean Soup. Scrumptious! The addition of vinegar was genius! It provided the ideal quantity of tang! I was also impressed with how simple it was to place this together.

And nevertheless on the entire fall theme…time for pumpkin scones! Some pie pumpkins grew on their personal in our garden thanks to our compost pile (I guess a number of final year`s pie pumpkins’ seeds germinated!), so I roasted them up and created Pumpkin Scones!

Fall also indicates Thanksgiving. I am so late in posting my feast, and the pic is of my plate of leftovers! I am terrible! But I was much more concerned with eating my meal than getting a pic of it although the small girl was pleased! I created Dreena Burton’s Rosemary Tofu Balls into cutlets (I believed they had been as well spicy but everybody seemed to like them!), and served them with maple-ginger winter squash, mashed potatoes, stuffing and veggies.

And lastly, it was small Ash’s baptism. We experienced a large shindig at my mom’s following the ceremony, which at first experienced me a small stressed because I desired to create plenty of food (such as a dessert) but would have no time. I made the decision to outsource the dessert and proceeded to attempt and discover somewhere that could make some type of vegan cake. I searched on the internet for locations in Ottawa, but experienced no luck – 1 bakery told me they could do vegan, but to anticipate it to taste ‘dry and bland’ (what???) and to create a little cake for the couple of vegans at the party and do a non-vegan cake for everybody else. I knew there experienced to become a much better choice out there! Thank goodness 1 of the moms in my mom’s group sent me a link to Lil’ Cakes. They had been capable to complete all sorts of vegan cupcakes for me!

I was indifferent about the entire ceremony, but super excited for the 5 dozen cupcakes that had been waiting for us! There was vanilla with buttercream, vanilla with raspberry mousse filling, chocolate with chocolate mousse, pumpkin chocolate chip and gingerbread with lemon buttercream. Greatest of all, they had been completely stunning AND delicious! I believe I may have to set up a weekly standing order for cupcakes…

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Catch Up

I could go on about how long I’ve been gone, but I won’t bother. There’s been little time/little motivation for me to be in the kitchen often, which is so not like me. But I’m starting to get back to business. To the food!

This is Mac Daddy from Veganomicon. It’s a nutritional yeast cheesy sauce, mixed with macaroni and firm tofu and baked. It’s pretty good for a nutritional yeast sauce, although I must admit I’m a “fake cheese” mac and cheese girl now. I plan on mixing the leftovers with some steamed broccoli.

Next, maple and brown sugar pinwheels, also from Veganomicon. I didn’t have enough brown sugar, so I subbed the rest with regular sugar and molasses. These turned out very nicely. I didn’t make the orange icing to go along with it. They’re pretty sweet on their own, and as they bake the sugar coats one side with yummy goodness. They’re like cinnamon rolls, but no cinnamon. The underused cardamom is used instead, along with allspice.

I couldn’t get Thanksgiving off from work, and all of my family left town, so Billy and I had a small dinner at home together. I made a simple, but good, “meat and cheese” lasagna, and pumpkin pie. The pie recipe was from Sinfully Vegan. I believe I undercooked the crust, as it was a bit chewy on the bottom. I wasn’t a huge fan of the filling. I know pumpkin pie isn’t meant to be supersweet, but this one just wasn’t sweet enough for me.

In the summer, I ordered marshmallows (which led to severe finger burns at a bonfire) and ricemellow creme, which led to some yummy homemade treats, such as:
Last minute smore with graham crackers, melted chocolate and ricemellow creme;

and rice krispie squares! These were pretty soft, but very yummy. I think I got the recipe from a youtube video for vegan rice krispies.

I’ve got plans for more food this week….if I get over this cold and feel like cooking.

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Vegan Chocolate Tiffin/Fridge Cake

Vegan Chocolate Tiffin/Fridge Cake.

250g of Digestive Biscuits or Plain Hobnobs
50g of Raisins
50g of Macadamia Nuts
400g of chopped up Dark Chocolate or Chocolate Chips
100g of Vegan Margarine
4 tablespoons of Golden Syrup or Agave Nectar

1. Crumble the digestive biscuits or hobnobs into a bowl. You’re aiming for them to be in small pieces, not like the dust you’d want for a cheesecake base.
2. Add the raisins and chopped nuts to the biscuits and mix well.
3. Melt the butter in a large saucepan, and then add the syrup/nectar, heat for a couple of minutes – gently – stirring frequently.
4. Add the broken chocolate to the mix and mix till it has melted, don’t over heat.
5. Tip the chocolate mix over the crushed biscuit mix and stir until the dry ingredients are all thoroughly coated.
6. Press the mixture into an 8-inch tin, and smooth with the back of a spoon. It’s best to line the tin with some clingfilm to make it easy to remove the cake later.
7. Cover the top with more clingfilm, and when cooled place the cake into the fridge for at least a couple of hours to become firm.
8. Take out of the fridge; turn out onto a plate, cut into 12 pieces.

Popularity: 1% [?]