Pumpkin Pie for Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving has meant a lot to me over the last 10 years or so, pretty much since I became vegan.  After an argument with my parents concerning their consumption of turkey, they agreed to not eat turkey and I agreed to visit them and my sister on the holiday and we all enjoyed a delicious meal together that I cooked.  Luckily my sister being vegan as well helped my side quite a bit.  I started out with a veganized version of a traditional meal and eventually decided on food themes to further my culinary curiosity and skill.  Just recently I started to spend more time with friends rather than family on Thanksgiving, but I appreciate and recognize the uniqueness of my family forgoing turkey out of respect for me.  Obviously I wish they would forgo the turkey out of respect for the animal, but we haven't gotten there quite yet.

Recently I received a request for a traditional vegan pumpkin pie recipe and realized I could not find mine which was probably written down on some abscure piece of paper from years ago that somehow disspearred in the mean time.  I remember most of what I did, so I decided to go back in the kitchen and share the recipe before I forgot.  

I was never much of a fan of pumpkin pie myself, but I like this recipe since it is not overwhelmingly pumpkin.  It uses moderate spices so feel free to up the amounts if you like alot.  

Pumpkin Pie

1 - 15 oz can of Pumpkin Puree

1 - 12.3 oz package of Mori-Nu Silken Tofu (Firm)

3/4 cup Organic Cane Sugar

1/4 cup Cornstarch

1 tsp Vanilla

1 tsp ground Cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground Nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground Ginger

1/4 tsp ground Cloves

1 prepared Pie Shell

Blend all the ingredients in a food processor until creamy.  Spread into a pie shell.  Bake at 350 degrees for 1 hour.  Allow to sit a couple hours before serving.  

If you are looking for other Thanksgiving recipe ideas, I have many more to share.  

Thanksgiving Gluten Roast

Flaky Pie Crust

"Buttermilk" Biscuits

Traditional Stuffing

Buckwheat Stuffing (Gluten Free)

Basic Bundt Cake

I am so sorry for neglecting all my recipe developing, and enjoying, for the last month.  I have been so busy with school my culinary time has been cut down considerably.  But I have so much more flavor to create!  I will try harder.  And have fun doing so.

The last thing I baked up was some Orange Spice Budnt Cake.  This is such a great recipe to base a zillion variations on.  I have also made blueberry, strawberry and chocolate chip bundt cakes and have many more ideas to implement.  Here is the basic recipe and some variations you can try.

Basic Bundt Cake

3 Tb Flaxseed Meal

1/2 cup Water

1 cup Alternative Milk (Soy, Almond, Coconut, Rice)

1 1/2 cups Organic Cane Sugar

1/2 cup Oil

2 tsp Vanilla

2 1/2 cups Unbleached White Flour

1 Tb Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Salt

Combine the flaxseed meal and water, let stand a few minutes.  In a large bowl, combine the milk, sugar, oil and vanilla and mix to combine.  In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and salt.  Use a whisk to blend the dry ingredients together.  Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and stir to combine, careful not to over mix.  When the batter is mostly mixed, add any extras and finish mixing.  Pour into a greased bundt pan and bake at 350 degrees for 50 - 55 minutes.

Variations:

Orange Spice- Add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/4 tsp ground clove, zest of one orange, replace 1/2 cup orange juice for milk alternative.

Berries- Add 1 cup berries of choice (blueberry, strawberry, cranberries).

Lemon Poppy seed- Add 2 Tb Poppy seeds and replace 1/4 cup lemon juice for milk alternative.

Double Chocolate- Add 1/3 cup cocoa powder and 1/2 cup chocolate chips.

Raspberry White Chocolate- Add 1/2 cup vegan White Chocolate Chips (if available) and replace 1/2 cup fresh raspberry juice for milk substitute.

Apple Walnut- Add 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1 cup finely chopped apple.

Coconut Almond- Add 1/2 cup shredded coconut and 1/2 cup sliced almonds.

You can also be creative, or basic, with a topping for the bundt cake.  You can simply combine powdered sugar with milk alternative until you reach the consistency you desire.  Or you can use orange/lemon/raspberry juice instead of a milk alternative with powdered sugar.  The cake can also go bare since it can stand alone.

What other flavors can you think of? 

Seitan 101

I taught a class about seitan through NW Veg and their Veg 101 series. A class about seitan is great to teach since there is so much more involved than just a recipe. Seitan has a certain texture you are looking for, so seeing it first-hand can make a difference. 

Gluten is the protein found in some grains, especially wheat. Vital Wheat Gluten is a flour made from a concentration of the protein in wheat and contains 75-85% protein. Do not get this mixed up with high gluten flour which is used for baking.  

There are many different types of recipes you can make using gluten. Seitan is basically a gluten dough which is cooked through a boiling process, while gluten is when you bake the dough. For this class, I sampled and shared recipes for basic seitan, thanksgiving gluten roast (including a buckwheat stuffing) and restuarant veggie burgers; recipes below.  You can also make BBQ gluten strips which are always popular at potlucks.

Basic Seitan

2 ¼ cups Vital Wheat Gluten Flour
2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp Garlic Powder
1 tsp Onion Powder
2 cups Hot Water
2 Tb Tamari

Broth:
8 cups Water
3 Tb Tamari
2 Tb Molasses

In a medium bowl, blend together the gluten flour and seasonings. Add the hot water and tamari and blend with a sturdy spoon until combined. Knead the dough for about a minute, making sure all the flour is absorbed, but there no excess of water in the dough. Cut the dough into two-inch pieces.

Combine the ingredients for the broth and bring to a boil. Add the cut pieces of gluten to the broth, reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for 1 hour. The gluten will float to the top, so stirring the gluten often will allow the pieces to cook evenly.  Drain the liquid and use for stews, stir fry, sandwiches and so much more.

Restaurant Veggie Burger

1 ½ cups TSP (Textured Soy Proetin)
6 oz Tomato Paste
1 ½ cups Hot Water
2 Tb Braggs
1/3 cup Olive Oil
½ tsp Liquid Smoke (optional)
¾ cup Gluten Flour
1 cup Quick Oats
1 tsp Sea Salt
1 Tb Onion Flakes
2 tsp Poultry Seasoning
1 tsp Garlic Granules

Combine the hot water and tomato paste. Pour into the TSP and mix; let stand 5 minutes. Add braggs, oil and liquid smoke to the TSP mixture. *TVP (Textured Vegetable Protein) can replace TSP in any recipe.

In a separate bowl, combine the dry ingredients. Pour the liquid ingredients into the dry and mix until all is combined. Form into patties and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bakes at 350°F for 20 minutes, flipping burger after 10 minutes. Makes 8 burgers.

Thanksgiving Gluten Roast

Gluten:
2 cups Vital Wheat Gluten
1 ½ tsp Marjoram
1 ½ tsp Onion Powder
1 ½ tsp Sage
1 ½ cups Water, warm
2 Tb Tamari
2 Tb Oil

Tahini Mixture:
1/2 cup Onion, chopped
1 tsp Paprika
2 Tb Oil
½ cup Tahini
¼ cup Nutritional Yeast
2 tsp Salt

Basting Liquid:
2 Tb Sesame oil (toasted)
1 Tb Tamari

Gluten: Mix together all wet ingredients in one bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the dry ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, stirring quickly. This will form a sponge-like dough. Squeeze out any excess liquid.

Tahini paste: Fry onion in oil until soft and golden. In a small bowl, combine the cooked onion and the paprika, tahini, nutritional yeast and salt.

In food processor, process ¼ of gluten dough and ¼ of tahini mixture. Set in bowl and do the same with the rest of the gluten dough and tahini mixture. Place dough in a greased bread pan if baking alone. If forming dough over stuffing, or to bake with vegetables, place is a 9-inch square baking pan. Pour basting liquid over the roast and bake at 375°F for 1 hour.

Buckwheat Stuffing

I was preparing for a cooking class all about seitan and gluten making when I decided I wanted to make stuffing for the Thanksgiving Gluten Roast. The roast dough is wrapped around the stuffing and it works wonderfully for a Thanksgiving dinner. I didn’t have any breadcrumbs though, so I looked around my pantry. I recently discovered Buckwheat Groats even though I knew of them for many years. Buckwheat is almost circular in shape, has a mild flavor, cooks up in a jiffy and is a super nutritious whole grain. The class participants demanded I include the recipe on my blog so here you go!


Basic Buckwheat Stuffing

1 cup Buckwheat Groats, dry
2 cups Vegetable Broth
2 Tb Earth Balance Margarine
3 stalks Celery, chopped
½ cup Onion, chopped
1 tsp Sage, rubbed
1 tsp Parsley
¼ tsp Black Pepper

Cook the buckwheat in the broth until absorbed, about 15 minutes. In a frying pan, melt the margarine and add the celery and onion and cook until soft. Add the cooked buckwheat groats to the celery/onion sauté and add the sage, parsley and pepper, stirring to combine. Serve by itself as a side, or in the recipe for the Thanksgiving Gluten Roast.

The seitan and gluten recipes will be posted next!

Cookies for camping

I leave this afternoon to go camping and since I had the day off, I decided to make some cookies for my trip.  I bought some Dandies Marshmallows for the campfire and white chocolate chips for the cookies at Food Fight! today.  I am not a big chocolate fan, so the white chocolate chips are especially great for me.  I also made some Artichoke & White Bean Sauce from my last post for sandwiches and a dip.  

Vanilla Fan Cookies

1 cup Unrefined Cane Sugar

2 Tb. Earth Balance Margarine*

3 Tb. Vegetable Oil

1/3 cup Almond Milk

1 tsp Vanilla

1 3/4 cups Unbleached White Flour

1/2 tsp Baking Powder

1/2 tsp Baking Soda

pinch of salt

1/2 cup vegan White Chocolate Chips**

Cream together the sugar, oil and margarine.  Add the vanilla and almond milk and blend well.  Add the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt.  Blend until barley combined, then add the chocolate chips and blend until combined.

Place by the double tablespoon on a grease cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes.  Makes a dozen cookies.

*I used the new soy free Earth Balance in the red tub since I am trying to cut down on soy.

**Regular chocolate chips or vegan peanut chips can be added in this recipe since the white chocolate chips are hard to find.

Portland this weekend

So much potential fun this weekend!  All day Saturday is Veg Fest which will be bigger and better than ever!  Music, food to eat and plenty of samples, food demos and talks galore.  Admission is only $5 for all this.  There will be something for everyone at this event! 

 

The weather for Sunday is suppose to be nice.  When summer starts to go away I get a little sad, until I remember the great things about fall.  One of my favorite things to do in the fall is going to the Crystal Springs Rhododendron Gardens because there are less people in the park and the migrating water birds are showing up.  The most diverse combination of birds are seen around this time of year and I get so excited trying to find some less common sights such as mergansers, ruddy ducks and shovelers.  The air is also fresh and leaves start to change color and it reminds me how beautiful life can be.

Have a great weekend!

Artichokes & Beans

I am trying to cut down on my soy intake.  I have a long love affair with soy ever since going vegan, but too much any anything can be a bad thing.  I think if there is one thing I was told I couldn't eat, soy would have the biggest impact on my food choices.  Luckily, I am just cutting down, not giving it up.  

Almond milk is my favorite milk alternative and there are so many great coconut based vegan ice cream treats will be easy.  However, less soy options for my proteins will be an issue, especially since me and beans are not the best of friends.  Due to this, I am trying to re-develop my relationship with beans and decided to start off with a creamy sauce for pasta.  So far, the new relationship is going well.  

Artichoke & White Bean Sauce 

1 - 15 oz can Great Northern Beans*

1 - 14 oz can Artichoke Hearts, drained**

1 Tb Lemon Juice

2 Tb Olive Oil

1/4 cup Nutritional Yeast

1/2 tsp Garlic Granules

1/2 tsp Salt

1/4 tsp Black Pepper

Put all ingredients in a food processor or blender.  Blend until smooth.  If you want a thinner sauce, add some water to desired consistency.

* Cannellini Beans or another white bean will also work great.

** I have found the canned artichoke hearts in water from Trader Joes are good quality and affordable.

I mixed the sauce with 12 ounces of prepared pasta and cooked up a variety of vegetables (zucchini, mushrooms, garlic and spinach) to go on top.  I really enjoyed the combination and look forward to eating more of it this week for my lunch.  This recipe can also be used as a dip or spread.