Candy Corn Parfait, a grown-up dessert for Halloween

Even though I never dress up, host parties or go to them, I somehow still manage to get really really excited for Halloween. I have spent literally hours this year poring over recipes and recipe ideas for this holiday, wondering what I should conquer first. Some of these ideas are incredibly easy, while others are a bit more complicated. There are those that are completely kid-friendly, while still others are meant for grown-ups.

Take this easy-to-make parfait, for instance. It can be made for kids, but overall this one is for the adults. With a little orange liqueur and a wine glass, this one is a candy corn lover’s dream, mimicking the yellow, orange and white layers found in this candy often seen in trick-or-treat bags and bowls – a perfect twist for your more sophisticated Halloween party or dinner. The end result of the recipe below serves one, but you’ll have enough lemon curd for 4-6 glasses. Make it kid-friendly by omitting the liqueur and using a sturdier clear bowl or glass.

Candy Corn Parfait
This recipe is adapted from the one found on the Food Network website

Lemon Curd
This recipe is by Kim Garr and can be found on VegNews

• 3/4 cup coconut milk, preferably from a can
• 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice, or the juice of 2-3 medium-sized lemons
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch
• 1/2 cup vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/8 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 teaspoon lemon zest

Remaining Ingredients for the Parfait
This makes a single serving, depending on size of glass and preferred amount for each individual serving

• 1 large orange, or 1 10.75-ounce can of mandarin oranges
• 1 to 2 tablespoons orange liqueur, optional
• 3 tablespoons vegan lemon curd
• 1/4 cup vegan whipped cream, like Soyatoo (either in a can or box)

For the lemon curd, cut and juice two to three lemons, then pour into a small saucepan.

Tip: when juicing lemons, juice first with the cut side up, then turn over and squeeze again - this gives you more juice than you would get otherwise

Zest about a teaspoon of lemon peel (ideally do this before you juice your lemons, but I somehow forgot!).

Zesting lemon peel

Pour in the coconut milk. Store the unused coconut milk in your refrigerator.

Use unsweetened coconut milk from a can

Add your remaining ingredients: corn starch, sugar, vanilla extract, turmeric and lemon zest. Per the original recipe, you can stir in the lemon zest after you take the thickened curd off the stove. Stir or whisk the mixture on medium heat for two minutes, then turn to low and continue to stir for several minutes until it begins to thicken.

Adding remaining ingredients

Once it has thickened, take the lemon curd off the heat and pour into a container, then let sit for ten minutes before chilling for an hour.

Thickened lemon curd

Once it has been in the refrigerator for at least an hour, it will be set even more. You can use the lemon curd for other things like spreading on toast or muffins, or as a filling to pies and tarts, or as a lemon pudding.

Thick lemon curd

For the parfait, if using a regular orange, peel and segment the orange with a paring knife, removing the membranes and white pith, then chop the orange segments. If using canned mandarin oranges, drain the juice. Either way, place the oranges into a bowl, then toss with the orange liqueur and let sit for about ten minutes.

Grand Marnier and mandarin oranges

Meanwhile, if making your own vegan whipped cream using Soyatoo, open the box and dump the contents into a metal mixing bowl.

Soyatoo whipped cream

Put the mixer on its highest setting and let it go for about three minutes or until the whipped cream is at the desired thickness. Any leftover whipped cream can be stored in the refrigerator, but it should be used within a few days.

Vegan whipped cream

Using a clean and dry wine glass, place about three tablespoons of lemon curd on the bottom. Then spread a dollop or two of whipped cream on top, creating a flat surface. Add the oranges.

Assembling the candy corn parfait

Finally add a nice finish of whipped cream, then serve.

Finishing touches

This is a delicious dessert, but I admit that the Grand Marnier was a bit much. I would have preferred a touch less, or at least allowing the orange segments to drain a bit before placing them into the glass. Still, I think this is a beautiful parfait and perfect to serve to the guests who love citrus desserts.

A sophisticated and vegan candy corn dessert - Happy Halloween!

Are you making anything fun or special for Halloween this year?

Easy chilled peach soup

Some of you may remember that last summer I discovered that I was seemingly allergic to one of my absolute favorite fruits: peaches. I was extremely disappointed when I found that my mouth felt like cotton and my tongue itched. These are weird sensations to experience anyway, but when it is in direct relation to a long-loved fruit like peaches, it is so disappointing. This year, I seem to not be experiencing the same symptoms – or at least not as strong – so I am trying to still get my fix of summer peaches.

But let’s get to the important matter at hand – cold soup, most specifically cold peach soup. Soup and summers don’t generally mix, but this soup does the trick. It uses what is in season, plus a few other ingredients that are always available at your grocery store, and it’s easy to make. My suggestion would be to serve this at brunch, or as a first course with a small side salad drizzled with a raspberry vinaigrette. And of course, it’s perfect as a refreshing dessert after a heavy or spicy meal.

Chilled Peach Soup
Based upon the Pretty Peach Soup recipe found at Allrecipes.com
Serves 4 to 6

• 1 cup fresh or frozen raspberries, thawed
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 3 cups fresh or frozen peaches, thawed
• 3 tablespoons lemon juice, or the juice of 2 small lemons
• 1-2 tablespoons water
• 1 cup peach nectar (you may substitute another nectar or fruit juice if peach nectar is unavailable)
• 1 cup plain vegan yogurt
• 1/4 cup vegan sugar
• 1 teaspoon almond or vanilla extract

Place raspberries in a blender; cover and process until smooth. If you are using frozen raspberries that have not been thawed, you may find that it will be easier to blend them with one or two tablespoons of water (or even three).

Making raspberry puree

Strain and discard seeds. It will be easier to strain if you use a spoon or spatula to scrape the bottom of the sieve. Once it is strained, cover and refrigerate the puree.

Straining raspberry seeds

Whether you use fresh or frozen peaches, make sure they're pesticide-free

Place peaches and lemon juice in the blender; cover and process until smooth. If using frozen peaches that are not thawed, you may need to add one to two tablespoons of water in case they have a hard time blending. Transfer to a bowl.

Making a peach puree

Stir or whisk in nectar, vegan yogurt, vegan sugar if needed (if fruit is tart) and almond or vanilla extract. Cover and refrigerate for 2 hours.

I taste-tested the soup before adding the sugar in case it wasn't needed, then I whisked it into the soup

To garnish with the puree, drizzle about one tablespoon of the raspberry puree in a large circle on top of each serving. Grab a toothpick or knife to start in on the design.

Now to garnish

Use a toothpick to draw six or eight lines toward the center of circle, forming a flower. Or you can do other designs, too. Just do whatever feels creative and fun for you, and if you mess up – don’t worry, it’s pretty anyway.

Making the final touches before serving

This soup is lovely and would be the perfect accompaniment to any meal. I would only recommend that you do not serve this on its own as it is quite sweet, and really needs something else to balance it out.

Beautiful for serving

Do you have any favorite cold summer soups?

Pretty any way you look at it

Braised Endive

You wouldn’t believe how much I’ve missed cooking, I mean really cooking over the last few weeks. I’ve made a few things here and there, but my community supported agriculture (CSA) veggies and groceries have been aging and wilting ever since I have been putting in so many extra hours at work. A couple of weeks ago, the people over at California Vegetable Specialties sent me a complimentary bouquet of endive (pronounce it on-deev and you’ll feel French for about a minute), plus a few extra, and I was crossing my fingers that they would last until I could use them the soonest. It really bothers me when I get such amazing produce and it winds up going to waste because of little time or energy available to me.

I was so excited this weekend, when I finally was in the kitchen, to discover that every single head of endive was usable. A miracle. Or a miracle of packaging. I have never seen endive with its root still attached, but the root is about the same length or longer than the endive plant. The bouquet I received all had the root still attached to each, and I imagine that this is what helped to keep them intact.

Endive

Endive, as a general rule is very bitter raw. I had it raw a few years ago and didn’t like it, but I read recently that the French frequently cook it, thus reducing the bitterness and bringing out some of the more subtle flavors. As soon as I found out that I would be getting some endive in the mail, I knew I’d be braising it.

There are many different recipes out there for braised endive, but I decided to go with a vegan adaptation of an adaptation of Julia Child’s braised endive. Prep time is fast, but it spends some quality time in the oven. You can make this ahead of time and reheat, or just be sure to give yourself plenty of time to make this before serving – about 2 1/2 to 3 hours.

Braised Endive
This recipe is based upon Julia Child’s Braised Endive at Sippity Sup

• 12 small, or 8 large belgian endives
• 1⁄4 teaspoon kosher salt, or more to taste
• 1⁄2 cup water, plus more as needed
• 1⁄2 lemon, juiced or 1 1/2 to 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 4 tablespoons vegan butter, sliced into 1/2 tablespoon pieces (if making this gluten-free, be sure the vegan butter you use is gluten-free – not all vegan butters are)
• 2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, minced as garnish, optional
• Vegenaise, optional

Prepare the endive for cooking by trimming the root ends of the endive, being careful to ensure that the leaves remain attached. Remove any wilted leaves and cut out the brown portions. Wash under cool running water.

Preparing endive

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit. Arrange the endives in a single layer in a stove top and oven-proof casserole or baking dish just large enough to accommodate them.

Ready to cook

Add the salt, water, lemon juice and vegan butter. Cover the dish with a lid or foil and simmer on top of the stove, until just tender, about 20 minutes.

Adding the ingredients, then cooking on the stove for a few minutes

Remove the cover and lay a piece of parchment cut to size onto the surface of the vegetables. Place into the preheated oven and bake about two hours. Baste the endive several times during cooking with the liquid in the dish. If you do not have a baster, just use a ladle or large spoon to pour the liquid over the endive. You may need to add more water to make sure that the liquid remain at about 1/4-inch deep.

Endive about to go into the oven

They are done when the endive is very tender and a pale golden color. Remove from the oven, discard parchment and garnish with parsley if using. Serve warm. To cut the bitter flavor down further, try serving with a little Vegenaise.

Fresh from the oven!

I’m definitely a fan of endive now that I’ve tried it cooked. It is still somewhat bitter, but it is not displeasing and the other flavors that come through – a bit reminiscent of steamed or baked artichokes – are really mellow, yet rich.

Delicious!

There are other recipes I’d love to try, and I’d even be willing to try endive raw again. But what is your favorite way to enjoy endive?

Pasta with vegan cheese sauce

I’ve been using the same vegan cheese recipe for at least four or five years now. It’s very quick and easy to make, and I love using it in burritos and with tortilla chips. But I’ve never really enjoyed it with pasta – it’s much too thick and the flavor seems just an odd pairing with pasta. I’m always curious about finding a new creamy vegan cheese sauce to use with pasta, so when I saw Amber’s comment (hi Amber!) the other day about one of her favorite recipes on my Teese Cheese Review I knew I had to experiment.

One of the things that caught my attention first was the fact that it contains potatoes and carrots. All of the other ingredients I’ve seen in vegan cheese recipes, but never anything like vegetables. Of course, I realized right away that this could be a fantastic recipe for those of you who follow a gluten-free diet. My other recipe that I’ve relied on for years uses white flour to thicken it, but in this recipe potatoes help to thicken this up a little bit, but only just enough to be a creamy sauce.

Vegan Cheese Sauce
This is based on the VegYum Mac & Cheeze recipe posted on VeganYumYum

• 1 package vegan and/or gluten-free pasta
• 1 cup potatoes, peeled and finely chopped
• 1/4 cup carrots, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 cup water
• 1/3 cup raw cashews
• 1 tablespoon miso (can omit if gluten-free, or use a clearly labeled gluten-free miso)
• 1 tablespoon tahini
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice or 1 teaspoon white wine vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard
• 1/3 cup vegan butter (and gluten-free if necessary)
• 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 to 1 1/2 teaspoon salt
• Black pepper to taste

Prepare your pasta according to package directions.

Chop your potatoes and carrots and cover them with 1 cup water (or a little more if needed), bring to a boil, then cover and turn down to low heat and allow to simmer for about 15 or 20 minutes, or until they are tender.

Cooking potatoes and carrots

Meanwhile, in a blender, proceed to add your remaining ingredients: cashews, miso, tahini, lemon juice, mustard, vegan butter, nutritional yeast, salt and black pepper.

Putting ingredients for vegan cheese sauce in blender

Once the potatoes and carrots are done cooking, add both the vegetables and their water to the blender.

Adding the cooked potatoes and carrots

Cover and blend until very smooth, about five minutes. You want to be sure that it’s not grainy, so you may want to check about halfway through or after the five minutes is up to see how smooth it is.

Vegan cheese sauce

It should be warm enough to go ahead and serve with your pasta, but if not, you can heat it up on the stove for a few minutes while constantly stirring. Then serve!

Pasta with vegan cheese sauce

This turned out pretty well, although it was a little bit of an unusual flavor and seemed to be a little salty. I may experiment in the future and reduce the amount of tahini and salt, or increase the potatoes a little bit. I also think it might be a little more balanced if peas or another vegetable were mixed into the sauce.

What is your favorite vegan cheese sauce – or have you found one yet?

Learn more about Vegan MoFo.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

I am not big on making New Year’s resolutions, and this year I have made only minor ones that I’ve already broken. That said, here’s one that I am confident I can keep up throughout the year. My resolution is to try to make more foods outside of my comfort and cultural zones. While I love the food I grew up on – the mashed potatoes, fried okra and apple pie, I think that it’s too easy to always fall back on those. It’s time to break out a little and try my hand at new cuisines.

One thing I have wanted to learn how to make for quite some time is stuffed grape leaves, also known as dolmas or dolmades, a food that can be found in many areas of Europe including Greece and the Middle East.* Because this is made in a variety of places, it can be made in many different ways, so this is just one recipe of many that you can try. (Quick note: not all stuffed grape leaves are meat-free. If you buy it from a store or order it at a restaurant make sure that you’re getting vegetarian [vegan] stuffed grape leaves.)

Stuffed Grape Leaves
Makes about 50 or 60 dolmas
This recipe is based upon My Own Famous Stuffed Grape Leaves found at allrecipes.com

• 2 cups uncooked long-grain white rice
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh dill (I did not have fresh dill, so I used about 2 or 3 tablespoons dried dill)
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley leaves
• 2 quarts vegetable or vegan chicken broth
• 3/4 cup fresh lemon juice, divided
• 60 grape leaves, drained and rinsed
• hot water as needed
• 1 cup olive oil

Gather together and prepare your ingredients.

Preparing ingredients for making dolmas (stuffed grape leaves)

In a large saucepan saute your rice, onion, parsley and dill in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil over medium to medium-high heat for about five minutes. Add half of your broth to the rice and turn down the heat, and let simmer for about 10 or 15 minutes.

Sauteing and cooking rice for stuffed grape leaves

Don’t allow the rice to cook completely, and once the 10 or 15 minutes is up, take it off the heat.

Undercooked rice

Stir in about half of the lemon juice and allow to cool for a few minutes. I used a strainer to make sure no small seeds were added into the rice.

Squeezing and using fresh lemon juice

Take one grape leaf, with the shiny side down and the protruding veins facing you, and add about one to two teaspoons of rice mixture close to the bottom of the leaf.

Grape leaf

Then proceed to wrap your grape leaf by following these steps:

1. First, fold the bottom left part of the leaf over the rice.
2. Then, fold the bottom right part of the leaf over the rice.
3. Fold over the top left portion of the leaf.
4. Fold over the top right portion of the leaf.
5. Roll up the rest of the leaf.
6. Done!

How to roll up a stuffed grape leaf

Place each stuffed grape leaf into a large saucepan, and make sure that they are placed tightly together.

Stuffed grape leaves pre-cooked

Once all of the stuffed grape leaves have been added to your saucepan, sprinkle the remaining lemon juice over them, then pour the cup of olive oil and remaining broth over them. Place a plate top side down on top of the stuffed grape leaves to weigh them down and keep them submerged.

Preparing the stuffed grape leaves to cook

Cover the saucepan with a lid and cook on medium low to medium heat for about 30 minutes (the original recipe calls for a full hour, but you may find that your rice is too mushy if you cook them for that long). Let these sit in the refrigerator for several hours overnight, then serve cold. You can serve these as an appetizer, a snack or with a salad.

Stuffed Grape Leaves

These are so easy to make, although I will say that I imagine that these would be easier to make with fresh grape leaves. The leaves I purchased were stuck together and if I wasn’t careful some leaves tore easily making them unusable. It also seems it would be better to select your own leaves because some were already torn or had holes in them. I would imagine that these would be a great thing to make when your herb garden and grapes are coming into their own in the summer, that way you can rely on your own backyard for ingredients.

Despite some frustrations with the grape leaves, I think that these turned out great and I’m impressed with how simple it is to make them. While they don’t taste exactly like what I’ve had from the store, they do taste similar and taste just as good. They are lemony and spicy, and I love how fresh these taste.

Have you made these before? If you haven’t made these, have you had stuffed grape leaves before, or are these completely new to you?

Yum.

*I had asked my Facebook fans what cuisine they wanted me to make next on Novel Eats. It was a tie between Greek and Middle Eastern, and as you can see, everybody won! Become a fan of Novel Eats on Facebook so you, too, can help me in times of culinary indecision. :)

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

Years ago, when I was living in a dorm, I came up with my own staples of food that I could either easily make in a shared kitchen or in my own microwave that I had in my room. Aside from the typical ramen noodles and popcorn, I tried to make things that I could put together quickly and still taste pretty good. By no means are these dishes gourmet, and to the average person, they may taste bland, but from time to time I still make them and remember that period in my life when I was a little less responsible and a lot more poor. Surprisingly, too, many of these bachelorette foods were vegan, which may have been an indication of culinary times ahead.

One such dish is this pasta salad. It’s not exactly pasta salad, but I am not sure what else to call it. It takes only minutes to prepare, and once done is completely satisfying. This basic recipe is not for those who tend towards more ingredients or eye-popping flavors, but you could also use this as a base recipe and add other ingredients if you have them. I have never added anything else other than what you see here, but you could probably add things like chopped black olives, fresh or dried dill or pepperoncinis (banana peppers, for those of you who know them by this name). I will also point out that I just throw this dish together based upon taste, so the measurements are approximations.

Quick and Easy Pasta Salad

• 1 lb. package rotini or farfalle pasta
• 1 medium or large onion, chopped according to personal preference
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 – 4 tablespoons lemon juice or the juice of one lemon
• 2 – 4 tablespoons red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon black pepper

Boil pasta according to package directions. I prefer using a tri-color pasta like this Hodgson Mill Veggie Rotini, but you can use whatever you prefer.

Tri-color rotini pasta

About 3 to 5 minutes before the pasta is done, stir your chopped onion into the boiling pasta.

Adding chopped onion into boiling pasta

When the pasta is done, drain and rinse the pasta and onion in a colander under cold water. Put the pasta and onion in your serving dish or back in the pan in which it was cooked, then add the remaining ingredients and mix well.

Adding the lemon juice and red wine vinegar

Taste test and adjust ingredients according to your personal taste preferences. Note that the liquid ingredients will fall to the bottom of the pan, so make sure you mix the pasta well before you serve.

You may chill this pasta, but you can also eat it immediately as rinsing it under cold water will cool it down considerably.

Quick and easy pasta salad

What was – or is – your staple food(s) when you were in college or single?

Tofu Salad

July 4th wound up being a very lovely day for us here in New York City. We have been getting an unusual amount of rain lately, so much so that many have joked around that we’re actually in Seattle. Somehow we managed to have the perfect day for barbecuing and picnicking, and took full advantage of the weather to enjoy ourselves and good food.

One thing that I decided to make this year was this tofu salad. It’s easy to make, and if you used to eat eggs, you may be surprised at how very much this tastes like egg salad. True, eggs have a distinct flavor and a starring role in egg salad, but you’ll realize that just by switching out the eggs with tofu and any other non-vegan ingredients for vegan ones that the supporting ingredients have a far bigger impact on the resulting flavor of the spread.

Tofu Salad

• 1 block firm or extra firm tofu, drained
• 2 or 3 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 or 2 dill pickles, chopped
• 2 sprigs dill, chopped or 1 teaspoon dill, dried
• 1 tablespoon paprika
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 5 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise, like Vegenaise
• 1 tablespoon mustard
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

In a medium sized mixing bowl, mash the tofu with a fork or potato masher.

Mashing tofu

Chop up your onions, celery and pickles.

Chopped onions, celery and pickles

If you have fresh dill, chop up a couple of sprigs. We have some growing on our back porch this year, so I used some of that (be sure to clean well).

Fresh dill growing in the garden

Chopped dill

Add in all remaining ingredients and stir. Taste test to see if you need to increase any ingredients or add in others not listed.

Finishing up the tofu salad

Once you’re satisfied with the flavor, chill in the refrigerator for at least 1 to 2 hours before serving.

Tofu Salad

This is a great salad to put on toast at home, dip crackers or chips in, or just to have as a side dish. We have made this for road trips, although it can be messy if you’re eating and driving at the same time (a lesson we learned for ourselves).

Do you make tofu salad spread? What other ingredients do you typically use?

La Conda Extra Virgin Blood Orange Olive Oil

Last month, Matt and I went to California and Oregon to visit family and friends for a much needed two-week vacation. We often wait months and months, me saving up vacation days at work, before going away for an extended amount of time. By the time our vacation has arrived we’re both about to go insane with the necessity of an honest and true break. Yes, it was much needed and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

As part of our vacation we did a road trip up to Oregon, and on the way there we saw a billboard advertising The Olive Hut. We all love olives and olive oil, so we figured it was a good detour and the perfect opportunity to stretch our legs. When we went into the store, we found we were the only customers (helps to have it be the middle of the day and the middle of the week), so it was easy for us to browse and linger over their copious amounts of locally grown and produced olives. As we walked through, we saw a sampling table where we could try various stuffed olives and a variety of olive oils. To the right of the table was a glass enclosed room where a couple of women quickly pressed garlic cloves into olives.

After a while I decided that I needed a culinary souvenir, so I finally settled on a small bottle of blood orange olive oil because of its unique flavor. I wasn’t exactly sure what I’d use it for, but I knew it had vast potential in my kitchen. I used it for the first time with these homegrown collard greens and spinach, but if you don’t have orange flavored olive oil you can get a similar citrus flavor if you use a couple of tablespoons of fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice.

Collard Greens and Spinach

• 1 large bunch of fresh collard greens  (de-stemmed and cut into smaller pieces, if desired)
• 1 or two large handfuls of fresh spinach
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 2 – 3 cups water
• 1 to 2 tablespoons olive oil (or orange-flavored olive oil)
• 2 tablespoons fresh squeezed orange or lemon juice (omit if you do have a citrus-flavored olive oil)
• Other seasonings as desired (dill, black pepper, garlic, onion, etc.)

Boil water and salt in a medium sized saucepan. Once the water is boiling add the collard greens. Let the collard greens cook for three to five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Collard Greens

Add in the spinach at the end and let cook for 15 to 30 seconds, then turn off the stove and take the pan off the heat.

Fresh Spinach

Drain the greens and place them in a serving bowl. Drizzle on the olive oil, citrus juice and other seasonings and quickly mix. This can be served either warm or cold.

Collard greens and spinach with blood orange olive oil and spices

I absolutely love both collard greens and spinach, so this wound up being a lovely pairing and the orange olive oil gave it such an interesting flavor. If you don’t have or like either of these greens you could try this with other greens like kale, swiss chard, or arugula. You could also do broccoli (boiled or steamed), asparagus or carrots. It’s such a basic recipe, but the addition of citrus and olive oil give it an exotic and unexpected twist.

Do you have any ideas on how to use an olive oil like this that is infused with a unique flavor?

Delicious collard greens and spinach

As you may know, I’ve made vegan cheesecake a few times. Every time I’ve made cheesecake, however, I have never made my own crust. This month’s Daring Baker’s challenge has given me the motivation and opportunity to make my own crust, which I think turned out great.

Without further ado, let’s jump into it.

Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake

Shortbread Crust

• 1 cup vegan butter
• 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

In a large bowl, cream vegan butter and confectioners’ sugar until light and fluffy.

Stir together flour and baking powder, then add and blend into your vegan butter mixture.

If you are using a springform/cheesecake pan, trace and then cut a circle of parchment paper based upon the base of the pan, then brush canola oil or vegan butter on the pan, press the parchment on top and then brush oil or vegan butter on the parchment. You may also use a regular pie pan and forgo the parchment.

Press the shortbread dough into the bottom of the springform or pie pan. You may have extra dough which you can keep for another recipe. Once it’s in the pan, take a fork and poke a few holes into the dough.

Bake in preheated oven for 12 to 15 minutes, or until edges are lightly browned.

Once it’s cool enough to handle, grease the sides of the springform pan with butter so that the cheesecake won’t stick.

Filling

• 1 12.3-ounce package extra firm light silken tofu
• 1 8-ounce package Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan milk
• 6 squares dark chocolate (I used the Trader Joe’s brand)
• 5 tablespoons peanut butter
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 3 tablespoons cornstarch

Preheat the oven to 350 Fahrenheit. Drain the tofu and put it and the Tofutti cream cheese into your food processor. Blend until smooth.

Add the sugar and milk, and process again until sugar is dissolved, about 3 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients (except chocolate and peanut butter) and process until completely smooth, about 3 more minutes.

Melt the chocolate in a double boiler on the stove, or in the microwave in a microwave-safe dish.

You currently have about three cups of cheesecake batter. Pour one cup into a separate bowl, and pour another cup into another separate bowl. Add the melted chocolate to the one cup of cream that remains in your blender or food processor and mix until the chocolate is well incorporated.

Pour the chocolate mixture into the pie crust. Then spread it out so it is an even layer. Place in the fridge as you prepare your peanut butter layer.

Add the peanut butter, one tablespoon at a time, and one cup of plain cheesecake batter back into your blender or food processor (clean) and blend again until completely smooth. You may want to taste test at this point to make sure that the peanut butter flavor is strong enough. If not, add one tablespoon of peanut butter, blend, then taste test again. Continue in this way until you are satisfied with the flavor.

Pour the peanut butter mixture into the pie crust on top of the chocolate mixture layer, and spread it around carefully so as to not mix the two layers together. Chill in the refrigerator for a few minutes.

Finally pour the last layer on top, which is the plain batter. Again, spread as carefully as you can to make sure it’s even and doesn’t mix with the next layer.

If you are using a springform pan, wrap the pan in several layers of foil, then place in a pan that is a little larger. Pour boiling water in the outer pan. This is a water bath, which helps the cheesecake to bake more evenly and the foil makes it so the water does not seep into the cheesecake. Finally, place the cheesecake in the middle of the oven for about 55 minutes (do not allow to brown). Filling will be slightly jiggly, not completely set until chilled.

Remove from oven and allow to cool. Refrigerate until completely chilled (the longer, the better).

So finally, what you should end up with is a three layered cake:

If you want the layers to be more even, I’m thinking that chilling in the refrigerator for about 30 minutes after adding each individual layer would help. I didn’t do this, but chilling the first layer for a few minutes did seem to help a tiny bit.

I think that this cheesecake turned out nicely. It had a delicate flavor and it was a more balanced cheesecake than some of the ones I’ve made in the past. Overall I’m pretty pleased with the results and would probably make this exact version again.

Have you made vegan cheesecake? How do you think it compares to the original dairy version?

When we moved into our new apartment we gained a display case for knick knacks, so for the first time in my marriage or our relationship, I broke out The Collection. I’d never really had a good way to display my various rabbits until now – sure I had placed a few pieces here and there. But my husband really had no idea that I was “one of those” until a few weeks ago. You know, like the guy with hubcaps all over his yard or that lady with the zillion Christmas trees all over her house. I’m in the beginning stages, but I think that I’m young enough that in thirty years Channel 5 will be over at my house asking me, “So what got you started collecting rabbits?” and I’ll reply, with a contented sigh, while holding up a very worn out looking bunny, “I don’t know. I just love them.”

Maybe the reason is because of Easter, though. When I was a kid Easter was one of my favorite holidays. One parent would run outside while I wasn’t looking, deposit a basket of goodies outside the front door, and the other would say, “Did you hear someone knock at the front door? You’d better go see who that is.” Then I’d open up the door and I’d see an Easter basket and probably wonder where the Easter Bunny went (or where my other parent went). Then there was the Easter egg hunt, which my cousin and I proudly continued playing with plastic eggs long into the summer when he was visiting.

My latest acquisitions from an antique store in Massachusetts

These days, we don’t really do anything for Easter (this year I might admire my rabbit collection), but one thing I do attempt to do is to make something good to eat (of course – what else did you expect?). This year I decided to give VeganYumYum.com’s crumb cake recipe an early try, and I have to tell you – even if you don’t celebrate Easter, you should still make this. The cake has a dense, yet moist texture and the crumb is a perfect amount of crunch and sugary goodness. It’s rich, though, so you’ll want to have this with some coffee or tea.

Crumb Cake

Crumb Topping

• 8 tablespoons vegan butter, melted
• 2/3 cup granulated sugar
• 1 teaspoon molasses
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 pinch of salt
• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Cake

• 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil, or 6 tablespoons vegan butter, softened
• 1/3 cup vegan milk, plus 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch mixed with 1/4 cup water
• 1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

Put the sugar, molasses, cinnamon and salt in a bowl.

Add in the vegan butter and whisk well with the other ingredients.

Mix in the flour.

If it doesn’t seem to be mixing well, go with the old fashioned method of using your hands.

A thick dough should form, but as in my case, if a thick dough doesn’t form just add in a tablespoon or two of vegan butter at a time until it gets to the right consistency, similar to that of cookie dough.

Let sit to cool for about 10 minutes. It should be ready when after you’ve put together the batter for the cake.

Line an 8×8 pan with aluminum foil (two sheets in a cross formation, leaving excess draped over the edges to help you remove the cake later), and then spray with vegetable oil.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.

Add oil, vegan milk mixture, cornstarch mixture and vanilla extract.

Whisk until smooth, but do not overmix.

Add the batter to the lined pan.

Begin to break apart the crumb mixture into smaller, pea sized pieces. You want to take chunks from the bowl and gently break off the crumbs. Cover the batter evenly with all the crumb mixture.

Bake for 40-50 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit, or until the crumbs are slightly browned and a toothpick in the center of the cake comes out clean. Grab the aluminum foil and gently lift the cake out to cool for 20-30 minutes on a cooling rack, then serve with a pot of coffee or tea.

I hope you all have a lovely Easter weekend no matter what you do. But if you make some crumb cake, make sure you eat an extra piece for me!