Smokey red miso, overnight oat spread

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A rich spread for crackers, wraps, pita, potatoes or other similar foods, here served with sliced ripe red pear, baby kale and spinach greens, and crackers.

Ingredients

1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup sauerkraut vinegar (use unpasteurized)
1/4 cup sauerkraut
1 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
1/2t coarse sea salt
1T heaping smoked paprika
1/2t garlic powder
1t turmeric powder (or to taste)
2T red miso
1/4 cup walnut butter
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
2T agar agar flakes
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Instructions

Grind the walnuts in a food processor until they have the consistency of nut butter.
Add the oats and grind until they have the texture of ground coffee.
Add the sauerkraut, vinegar and walnuts and grind until well mixed.
Add 1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk, puree, and let stand 20 minutes.
Add a second 1/2 cup of soy milk and puree.
Cover and set aside for least 8 hours (or overnight).
When the oats are ready,in a small pan with a lid, bring
the last 1/2 cup soy milk to a simmer.
Whisk in the agar agar flakes, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes.
Add all of the remaining ingredients to the oats and puree as smooth as you can get it.
Add the oat mixture to the soy milk and puree again.
Cover and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the mixture is quite thick.
Remove from heat and least cool 15 minutes uncovered.
Transfer to a container with a lid, cover and chill for at least 4 hours to setup.
Serve with the pear and greens, sliced apple, with sauteed mushrooms or other rich and flavourful foods.

Peanut butter frozen dessert with salted chocolate, walnut and maple fudge sauce

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A time honoured flavour combination sweetened with maple syrup.

Ingredients

1T heaping and 1t chopped walnuts, separated
2T cocoa powder (I used a fair trade, Dutch processed brand)
2T warm water
2-3T maple syrup, separated
1/4t coarse sea salt
3 medium frozen bananas (about 2 cups)
1/4t vanilla extract
1T unsweetened, unsalted peanut butter

Optional: 1t powdered maca

Directions

Puree 1T walnuts, the cocoa powder, water and 1T
maple syrup until emulsified and thick, but fluffy.
Add the sea salt and stir to combine.
Puree the banana, vanilla extract, peanut butter, and 1T
maple syrup (including the maca if you’l be using it).
Add additional syrup to either the peanut butter mixture and/or the fudge to sweeten to taste.
Spoon out into an appropriate container.
Add the fudge and garnish with the 1t chopped walnuts.

 

 

Handmade manicotti with mushroom, herb tomato sauce and cashew, miso white sauce.

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Stuffed with tofu, baby greens and miso, a rich and impressive dish that’s less complicated than it looks. This makes four manicotti.

For the manicotti shells
1 cup heaping semolina flour
A pinch coarse sea salt
1/3 cup cool water
2t olive oil
2 liters boiling water with 1T coarse sea salt

For the filling
1lb extra firm tofu, drained and pressed if necessary
2T unsweetend soy milk
1/2T white miso
1/4 cup sesame seed butter (or cashew if you would prefer a milder taste)
2t milled flax seed
1/4t black salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 cup loose baby greens (I use a mix of spinach and kale), minced
Sea salt and black pepper to taste
A pinch of nutmeg if you like

For the red sauce
2T cooking oil
2 scallions, minced (3-4″ green reserved for garnish)
1T dried basil, rubbed
1/2t dried thyme, rubbed
1/2t dried oregano, rubbed
2T fresh garlic, minced
2 large cremini mushrooms, stemmed and diced (1/2″)
2T red wine
2 cups passata (tomato puree)
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the white sauce
1 cup scant unsweetened soy milk
1/2T white miso
1/2T white vinegar
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
2T cashew butter (use sesame seed butter for more flavour)
2T nutritional yeast
1t dried oregano, rubbed
4t tapioca flour whisked with 1T cold water
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

First, make the dough.
Mix the wet ingredients, mix with the dry, mix the wet and the dry and knead until a smooth dough forms, and then another 5 minutes.
Cover with a damp cloth and let rest for 30 minutes (it can rest longer), make the filling, next.
In a food processor (or by hand), mince the tofu, soy milk, white miso and other ingredients except the greens until you have a thick, moist filling.
Puree about 1/3 to 1/2 of the filling until smooth, and stir with the rest of the filling to combine.
Hand-mince the greens, stir with tofu mixture until well combined.
Season to taste, set aside and make the tomato sauce.
Bring the oil and sea salt to heat on medium high.
Add the scallion and saute for 2 minutes.
Add the garlic and herbs and saute for 1 minute.
Add the mushrooms and saute for 3-5 minutes until the mushrooms and the pan starts to lightly brown.
Add the red wine and deglaze.
Add the passata and return to a low simmer.
Reduce by about 1/4.
Remove from heat, and set aside.
While the sauce cooks, make the manicotti.
In a large pot, bring the water to a boil with the 1T sea salt.
Roll out the dough on a floured board to 1/8″ thickness, making the dough as close to a rectangle as you can.
Cut the dough in rectangles approximately 6″ long by 4″ wide.
Trim the ends of each quarter sheet so that they have a point in the middle at the bottom and the top — the outside edges of the manicotti should be about 1″ shorter than the inside point in the middle.
Roll the pasta gently a sushi mat (or similar surface designs for ridging pasta) to lightly ridge the dough.
Roll each piece of dough into a long tube carefully with your fingers with the ridged side facing out.
Pinch the outer edges of the dough into a firm seam.
Repeat until you have four manicotti shells.
Add each to the boiling water, and gently stir until all are added.
Boil until the manicotti float and are done (about 3-5 minutes), being careful not to overcook.
Drain the manicotti, run under cool water until they are cool enough to handle and carefully fill.
Filling the manicotti can be tricky. You can either use a piping bag to do this, or carefully spoon the manicotti full of filling — they should be a little overloaded.
When all four manicotti are filled, preheat the oven to 375F and assemble the dish.
Season the tomato sauce to taste.
Then, to a small baking dish with a lid, add 1/4 cup tomato sauce.
Layer in the manicotti and cover evenly with the remaining red sauce.
Cover the baking dish with its lid.
Bake for approximately 30 minutes or until the sauce is looking quite thick and rich.
If the sauce is looking a bit watery, uncover and bake an additional 10 minutes.
While the manicotti bakes, make the white sauce.
In a small sauce pan, bring the soy milk to a light simmer.
Add the white miso, white vinegar, garlic and sesame seed butter and puree until smooth.
Simmer on medium low for 10 minutes uncovered.
Puree the sauce to homogenize and return to a light simmer.
Add the dried oregano.
Whisk the tapioca with water until dissolved.
Stirring continuously, add the tapioca mixture to the sauce slowly until thickened.
Set aside and allow to cool for about 10 minutes.
Remove from the manicotti from the oven, let stand 10 minutes to cool, and carefully dish out the manicotti.
Season the white sauce to taste and spoon it over over each manicotti.
Garnish with sliced scallion and other herbs of your choice and serve.

Black cherry, vanilla and persimmon frozen dessert

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A simple frozen dessert that combines cherries and persimmon for an extravagant looking presentation and lovely flavour.

Ingredients

3/4 cup frozen dark cherries
3 medium frozen bananas (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 fuyu persimmon
1T agave nectar, divided
1/4t vanilla extra

Optional: 1t powdered maca

Directions

Trim the permission and puree with 1 banana until smooth, and return to the freezer.
Puree the cherries with 1/2T agave nectar, and the maca if you’ll be using it, until smooth.
Puree the remaining 2 bananas with the vanilla and 1/2T agave nectar until smooth.
Add the permission, the vanilla and the dark cherry to an appropriate dish and gently stir to swirl.

Mostly raw watercress, green apple soup with cashew cream

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Normally cooked and chilled, this soup is a very
nutritious, simple and mostly raw variation on this
superb if surprising flavour pairing.

Ingredients

2 green apples, cored and thinly sliced, 1/8″ (reserve 4-6 slices for garnish)
1 cup packed watercress, minced
1/4t coarse sea salt
2 scallions, minced (reserve 4″ of green for garnish)
2t fresh garlic, minced
1T lemon juice
2T cashew butter
2 cups warm water
2T nutritional yeast
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the garnish
2t cashew butter
2t warm water
1/4t coarse sea salt
2t nutritional yeast
Sliced apple and sliced scallion as above

Directions

Puree the apples with the watercress, garlic, scallions, nutritional yeast, and lemon juice with the cashew butter and sea salt until smooth.
Add the warm water, let stand 20 minutes, and puree again.
Chill the soup for one hour to setup.
When ready to serve, ladle out into bowls and add the garnish
Dissolve the cashew butter in the 2t water and sea salt to make the cashew cream. Add another 1t of water if necessary for consistency.
For the garnish, add a few apple and scallion slices to the middle of the soup, sprinkle with nutritional yeast and a few dollops of cashew cream.

Hand rolled and cut pici noodles with tempeh, kale and mushroom ragù

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Pici are a rustic pasta — like a long, thick spaghetti — deceptively simple and forgiving but more labour intensive than some other types of pasta. As a more robust pasta, they’re paired here with a more robust and heartier sauce with some baby greens and heirloom tomatoes for additional flavor and colour.

Pici are a good noodle to practicing hand rolling — you’ll get a reasonable amount. Expect around 2 hours to make this dish beginning to end, with about 45 minutes of hands-on work. It’s hard to match the texture and feeling of full chewing with pici, but this sauce will also do well with farfalle or gemelli. This makes a good sized appetizer portion for four and a large bowl for two.

Ingredients

For the pasta
2 cups whole wheat flour — the softer the flour, the softer the noodle
1/4t coarse sea salt
1 cup semolina flour
1 to 1 1/4 cup warm water
1T olive oil
4 liters boiling water with 1T coarse sea salt

For the tempeh
2 cups vegetable stock
1 cup water
1 spring dried kombu (about 2″)
1/4 cup tamari (or to taste)

For the sauce
1/4 cup cooking oil
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T fresh garlic, minced
1T dried basil, rubbed
1/2t dried oregano, rubbed
1/2t dried thyme, rubbed
1/2t red Thai chili paste (or to taste, or similar)
1 scallion, minced (4-6″ green reserved for garnish)
1 medium vidalia onion, finely chopped (about 1 1/2 cups)
4 medium cremini mushrooms, finely chopped (about 75g)
1T lemon juice
2 cups passata (or tomato puree)
2T coconut sugar (or to taste)
2 cups chopped kale
2T pasta water
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1T olive oil
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the garnish
1/2 cup baby greens, finely chopped
8-12 heirloom grape tomatoes, halved
Scallion green as above

Directions

Make the sauce, then the noodles.

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water and stock to a light simmer. Add the tamari and the tempeh, reduce heat to low, cover and simmer/poach 30 minutes. Uncover and simmer for another 15 minutes on medium-low. Preheat the oven to 400F. Remove the kombu and add the tempeh and its marinade to a small baking pan with edges. Crumble the tempeh coarsely with the spatula, and bake the tempeh in its marinade for about 30 minutes.

While the tempeh bakes, make the dough for the noodles. Combine the dry ingredients, the wet ingredients, and then the wet with the dry. Add up to an additional 1/4 cup water 1 tablespoon at a time if you need more moisture to reach a smooth dough, which depends on the flour you choose. Knead until you reach a smooth pliable dough and then another 5 minutes. Cover the dough with a warm, moist towel and let rest about 15 minutes.

While the dough rests, start the sauce. In a frying pan with a lid, bring the cooking oil to heat with the sea salt on medium high. Add the herbs and spices and fry for 2 minutes. Add the scallion and vidalia onion and saute for 5 – 7 minutes or until the onion is becoming translucent. Add the mushrooms and saute another 5 minutes, or until they are losing their moisture. Cover, reduce heat to medium low and let the vegetables simmer for about 10 minutes. Remove the lid, return to medium high heat and saute until the pan starts to brown. Add the lemon and deglaze. Add the passata and coconut sugar and stir to combine.

Around the 30 minute mark, the tempeh should be starting to brown lightly at this point, and much of the stock should be condensed. Add the passata and vegetables mixture, and stir to combine. Bake for 20 minutes. At the 50 minute market, add the chopped kale in a thin even layer over the top and then bake another 10 minutes. The tempeh should be a nice reddish brown in the sauce, and the kale should be a vibrant green. Ovens vary; use the colour and amount of moisture in the pan as a guide.

While the tempeh and sauce bake, make the noodles. Roll the dough out on a floured board into a long rectangle about 1/8″ thick. You may need to break the dough into two parts depending on the size of your cutting board. Cut the dough in 1/4″ to 1/3″ strips. These don’t have to be perfect — you’re going to roll them by hand and even them out in that process.

When the noodles are cut, roll them gently on the board one hand gently rolling toward you, one hand gently rolling away. You can also roll the pasta with both hands in the same direction — it may not be as even. Roll each noodle out until it’s thinner than a pencil. They’ll be quite long — expect noodles that are in the 14″ – 18″ range. Keep your dough covered with a warm moist cloth while you roll and/or don’t be afraid to dampen your fingers while rolling. Enjoy!

When the sauce is all but done and your noodles are rolled, bring the 4 liters water with the sea salt to a boil in a large pot. Add the noodles, and gently swirl or pull them gentle with a fork to keep them separated. While the noodles cook, remove the sauce from the oven. Add 2T pasta water to the sauce. Toss with nutritional yeast, 1T olive oil and season to taste.

Boil the noodles for 3 – 5 minutes or until they float. For a good, al dente chew, drain them and rinse with cold water. For a softer pasta, cook another minute or two, drain and rinse. Add the pasta to appropriate bowls. Add the sauce, then the garnish, and serve.

 

 

Vanilla frozen dessert with cherries, walnuts and maple syrup

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What makes this dessert (or breakfast) more fun and more clean-up is the wholly unnecessary use of the piping bag for visual effect. But some things just aren’t as nice with a spoon. Carefully rolled parchment paper or a plastic storage bag with a trimmed corner make good, make-shift piping bags if you don’t need the refinement a tip provides.

Ingredients

1T maple syrup, divided
1/2 cup frozen cherries, divided
A pinch coarse sea salt
1T walnuts, chopped
3 medium frozen bananas (about 2 cups)
1/2t vanilla extract

Optional: 1t powdered maca and/or a little shaved chocolate for garnish.

Directions

Finely chop half of the cherries.
Toss the cherries, 1/2T maple syrup, sea salt and all but about 1t of the walnuts.
Let stand about 5 minutes at room temperature.
Puree the bananas, vanilla and 1/2T maple syrup until quite smooth. Add the maca if you’ll be including it.
Using a piping bag (I use it without a tip for this), pipe the banana mixture into an appropriate glass into the design of your choice, narrowing about an inch or in from the sides around the top for the cherries and walnuts.
Add the cherries and walnuts and drizzle with the maple syrup.
Sprinkle the top with the remaining walnuts and serve.

Crispy, maple and red Thai chili-glazed, white miso and sesame seitan with roasted Brussels sprouts and millet, artichoke mash

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Baking gives seitan a denser, chewier texture well
suited to this dish.

Ingredients

For the seitan
3/4 cup vital wheat gluten
A pinch coarse sea salt
2T tamari
2T sesame seed butter (not the same as tahini)
1t white miso
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
2t cooking oil, divided

For the glaze
1T maple syrup
2t red Tha chili paste (or similar and/or to taste)
Coarse sea salt to taste

For the sprouts and carrots
8 small heirloom carrots, trimmed
12 small small Brussels sprouts, halved
1/4t coarse sea salt
1T olive oil
Coarse sea salt and black pepper to taste

For the millet, artichoke mash
1 1/2 cups water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2 cup millet
1 cup artichoke hearts
1/2 cup unsweetened soy milk
2T nutritional yeast
1T lemon juice
1t prepared brown mustard
1 scallion, minced
1/2T fresh garlic, minced
1T heaping sesame seed butter
1t dried sumac
Sea salt and black pepper to taste

Directions

First, start the seitan, then the millet, and finally the
roasted vegetables.
Preheat the oven to 325F.
Combine the gluten and salt. Combine the remaining ingredients, ensuring the sesame and miso are both well dissolved with the water and tamari.
Combine the wet with the dry, and mix until a smooth dough forms.
Knead the dough for several minutes, twisting and
palming to stretch the gluten.
Lighlty oil two sheets of aluminum foil with 1t cooking and wrap the seitan securely.
Bake for 40 minutes on the middle rack, turning once.
While the seitan bakes, at the 20 minute mark, start the millet.
In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water and sea salt to a boil.
Add the millet, cover, reduce temperature to low and simmer for 25 minutes or until the water is fully absorbed.
A the 40 minute mark, remove from the seitan oven and let rest 10 minutes.
While the seitan rests, make the sprouts and carrots.
Increase heat to 450F.
Toss the carrots and Brussels sprouts with the oil and sea salt.
In a lightly oiled baking sheet, roast for 10 minutes, and then turn the sprouts and carrots.
The millet should be done around this time.
Remove from heat, and let the millet fluff covered in the pan for 5 minutes.
Glaze the seitan and add to the baking sheet.
Roast for 10 -15 minutes. or until the seitan in a nice golden red to brown. Ovens vary; use the colour as a guide.
While the seitan finishes, mash the millet.
With a food processor or immersion blender, puree the cooked millet with its remaining ingredients except the sumac until smooth.
Set aside to cool and setup.
Remove from the sprouts, carrots and seitan from the oven and let cool 5 minutes.
Season each component to taste, plate the millet with a sprinkle of sumac and serve.

 

 

Blueberry frozen dessert with lime and maple accented ginger sesame sauce

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A little sweet, a little sour, a little spicy.

Ingredients

For the blueberries
2 cups frozen blueberries
1 medium frozen banana (about 3/4 cups)
1T maple syrup (or to taste)
1/4t vanilla extract

Option: 1t powdered maca

For the sesame ginger sauce
2t sesame seed butter
1t lime juice
1T warm water
1/4t fresh grated ginger (or to taste)
1T maple syrup
A pinch coarse sea salt

Directions

In a small bowl, whisk the ingredients for the sesame ginger sauce until smooth and thick. Let stand 15 minutes.
Puree the blueberries, banana, vanilla, and maple syrup until smooth. Add the maca if you’ll be using it. Season to taste.
Spoon out the blueberries into an appropriate dish, spoon the sesame ginger sauce on top and enjoy.

Chocolate amaranth pudding, red pear and walnut cream and sweet black cherries

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A simple, very nutrient dense pudding — a healthy dessert or a rich breakfast.

Ingredients

For the amaranth
1 1/2 cups water
1/4t coarse sea salt
1/2 cup dried white amaranth
1/4 cup cocoa (I use a fair-trade, Dutch-processed brand)
1/4 cup agave (or to taste)
1T cashew butter
Coarse sea salt to taste

For the garnish
1 red pear
2T chopped walnuts
1T lemon juice
1T agave nectar
1 cup dark cherries
1/4t coarse sea salt

Directions

In a small sauce pan with a lid, bring the water and sea salt to a light boil.
Add the amaranth, cover and simmer on low approximately 25 minutes, until the amaranth is thick, stirring occasionally.
Remove from head, add the cocoa, agave, and cashew butter.
Whisk to combine, season to taste and transfer to small glasses.
Chill uncovered for 20 minutes, cover with plastic wrap, and chill for 2 hours.
Core and chop the pear.
Puree the pear with the walnuts, lemon juice, and agave until thickened.
Spoon the pear and walnut sauce over the top of the amaranth.
Garnish each with 1/2 cup of cherries tossed in the remaining sea salt.