Vegan Donuts!

Instead of cake for my birthday, I wanted donuts. So I got them. What, I mean it is MY birthday right? These are the best damn donuts of all time. so amazing. Super easy to make too. Basically a milk and fat enriched yeast dough that is deep fried then covered with icing or sugar, and filled with pastry creme or jelly or a hole I guess. All I know is that there is little in this world of sugary delights that is as satisfying as a freshly made doughnut.

Deep fried love.

I think this is what is meant by Christ has risen.

Filling, resting, eating, powderedsugar-ing, simultaneously.

We used that chopstick alot.

The first one done and ready for its photo shoot.

Heavenly.

Up close and personal.

Confetti fun.

We got the whole gang together.

Sprinkles make me happy

Oops! I ate one (dozen).

Boston cream in your face

The whole assortment

I cant get enough sprinkles in this weird exposure

Untitled

The outfit.

Vegan Yeast Doughnuts

base dough

4 cups white whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting
1 pkg instant dry yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup Earth balance melted
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup warm soymilk
3 tbsp flaxseed meal mixed with 4 tbsp warm water

Mix all ingredients to from a dough. Knead for about 8 minutes. Form into a ball and let rise for about 1.5 hours. After this, form small pieces of dough into donut shapes ( with holes and without) Place on a sheet tray lined with parchment paper, and loosely cover with plastic wrap. Let rise for about an hour before frying in 375F canola oil. You need a decent amount of oil, depending on the size of your pot (around 4 cups) , and I recommend using a thermometer to check oil temperature.

After you fry for about 2 minutes per side, the doughnuts should puff up and be golden brown, place on a paper towel to drain. Cover with your favorite frostings, sprinkles, or glaze them in vanilla icing. We made boston creme, jelly filled, and glazed doughnuts with sprinkles.

Arugula done up cooked and raw

This dish was inspired by a Jamie Oliver recipe in which he went out and picked wild vegetables all around the inner city in London. He found wild fennel, arugula and a bunch of herbs, which makes me want to start looking around Urbana a whole bunch more for wild food stuffs. I got my arugula wild picked at Trader Joes.

Arugula and Wild Mushroom Spaghetti, Cashew Creme Sauce, Smokey tofu, Arugula Salad

for the pasta

1/2 lb ww spaghetti
3 cloves garlic sliced thin
2 cups wild mushrooms, sliced ( I used shiitake, cremini, and oyster)
2 large spring onions, sliced lengthwise to mimic the pasta shape
1 bunch arugula
1 cup cashew creme
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 block of smokey tofu, sliced into strips, or cut into triangles
salt + pepper to taste (easy on the pepper because the arugula is quite peppery)
olive oil

for the salad

1 bunch of arugula
3 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp lemon juice
salt
1/4 cup toasted pine nuts

Smokey tofu

1 block of tofu, pressed and drained, sliced into 8-10 slabs
1/4 cup tamari
3 tbsp liquid smoke
black pepper

Marinate tofu for about an hour. Reserve marinade. Fry tofu in a pan until brown on both sides, then splash with leftover marinade. Throw on a sheet tray and into a 400F oven for about 30 mins.

Cashew Creme

1/2 cup cashews
1 cup water

Add cashews and a half a cup of water to a blender. Blend until smooth adding more water if needed.

Start out by making the smokey tofu. Then start your boiling water and throw your pasta in. Get a pan hot add oil and crisp up your mushrooms, cook for about 5 minutes, add sliced garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Cook for a few minutes. Add your sliced spring onions. Then add your arugula. Make sure not to over cook. Add cashew creme and nutritional yeast. Add cooked pasta and a little pasta cooking water to thin out the creme.

When ready to assemble make the salad by dressing the arugula with the oil, lemon juice and salt. Plate the spaghetti on the bottom. Sprinkle your sliced smokey tofu and then top with the arugula salad. Garnish with toasted pine nuts.

Enjoy right away.

Whole Wheat Pugliese

Whole Wheat Pugliese



So this is a super simple bread recipe that almost takes no work at all. It is based off of the New York Times no knead bread recipe with almost zero changes, except for the shape. It comes out of the oven with a chewy dense crumb, but has nice airy holes that make the bread a bit lighter. I used whole wheat white flour instead of the white flour as the recipe suggests. So so good.


For the recipe follow the link above. For a quick overview, you basically mix all your ingredients, then let sit for 12-18 hours, then shape, then rest for 2 hours then bake in a preheated 500F+ oven and cast iron pot with a lid (mimics a steam injection oven professional bakers use).

Make your own bread because it is easy.

Channa Masala with Curried Naan

Masala again.

I made an ass-load of this dish because it is so damn good I could eat it for days. So here is my take.

Channa Masala with Curried Naan




Channa Masala

6 cups cooked chickpeas
4 potatoes, cubed cooked
1-2 onions, diced
8 cloves garlic minced
1 32 oz can fire roasted tomatoes
1 small can tomato paste
2 cups broth or chickpea cooking liquid

1/2 cup canola or coconut oil
2 tbsp coriander seeds
2 tbsp fennel seeds
2 tbsp mustard seeds
2 tbsp black pepper
2 tbsp cardamom
2 tbsp cumin
3 tbsp curry powder
1 tbsp turmeric
2 tbsp chili powder
4 tbsp cilantro
4 tbsp ww flour

Bash up all your spices in a mortar and pestle. Make sure you toast the mustard, fennel, and mustard seeds first. Pour oil in a pot. Cook all the spices until fragrant. Add onions and garlic. Cook until translucent. Add tomato paste and flour. This helps to thicken the gravy. Cook for about 5mins, stirring constantly, then add tomatoes and juice from the tin. Season intelligently with salt. Add chickpeas and potatoes, cook for 15 minutes, then mash up some of the chickpeas and potatoes and cook for about 15 minutes longer. Serve with naan or rice and some vegan yogurt.


The naan is just a yeast leavened whole wheat dough with coconut milk and curry powder. Cooked in a scorching hot oven, then nicely rubbed with vegan butter.

Here is the recipe.

Curried Naan

3 cups flour, plus more
1 can coconut milk
1 package instant yeast
1 tbsp salt

Mix all this together until dough forms. Knead for about 9 minutes. Let rise in warm area for an hour. Get your oven roasting hot at like 500 with a pan in there to preheat. THen punch down and roll into balls, then roll flat. Put a little oil on each naan piece and through on your hot hot pan and bake for about 5 minutes for each side.

It should get puffy and delicious.

Enjoy.

Catsup

This post is just me playing catch up (where the title comes from, who spells it like that anyways, obviously its with a k). So I will keep the intro short and sweet. I think this is probably how I will be doing all my posts actually.

Chili Rellenos, BBQ Seitan, Sweet Potato Salad

Chili Rellenos

1 poblano chili, roasted over a flame, skin removed
chunk of cashew cheese, or other vegan white mild cheese
1/3 cup cooked brown rice
1 scallion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
1 tsp cayenne
salt



Prepare the roasted chili. Saute scallion, or onion, in oil for a few minutes, add garlic, cayenne and salt. Cook for about 5 minutes. Stir in rice.
Stuff the pepper with rice and grated vegan cheese.
Stick in a 400 degree oven for about 10 minutes, so the cheese gets melty.
Put a bit of vegan sour cream on top.



BBQ Seitan

1 cup gluten flour
1 tbsp onion powder
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tbsp nutrional yeast
2 tbsp tamari
3/4 cup water
2 tbsp nut butter or tahini
dash of liquid smoke

Mix all dry ingredients together. Mix all wet ingredients together. Mix both wet and dry together. Knead for a few minutes. Cut into manageable pieces. Simmer in veg broth for about 30 mins. WHen its done, slice, fry and add favorite BBQ sauce. I prefer some sort of maple-chipotle version. Sweet and smoky.




Sweet Potato Salad

7-8 baby sweet potatoes, roasted for about 30 minutes at 400F until done
lots of fresh herbs (parsley, dill, cilantro)
2 dried chilis, sliced
salt
olive oil
pepper
lemon juice
vegenaise

After potatoes are done but still warm, make dressing by mashing up all the ingredients to taste in a mortar and pestle. Dress sweet potatoes, and let salad cool.









CHICAGO Style Deep Dish Pizza

Pizza Crust, made with a bit of cornmeal
Vegan butter, obviously, for rubbing down the baking pan

FOR THE BOTTOM
1 package italian sausage ( i use this one, or homemade)
3/4 package mozarella Teese or FYH Monterry Jack
1/2 small onion
2 cloves garlic
italian seasoning dried herb blend
salt pepper

FOR THE TOP
tomato sauce
vegan parmesan

Saute onions and garlic. Add sausage. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add Italian seasoning.
Layer crust, made much thicker than usual of course, about 1/2- 3/4 in thick, with vegan cheese, top with sausage mixture, then top with tomato sauce and Parmesan. Bake at 400F for about 35 minutes. I use a cast iron skillet for mine, and it worked great.









Lemon Dill Seitan Sandwiches with Chipotle Aoli and Baked French fries (on homemade whole wheat bread mind you)



for the seitan

follow the recipe above, except sub vegan chiken broth for water and oil for nut butter. omit the liquid smoke. COok the same. Except after you slice it, fry the seitan strips in oil, then in the last minute, after they are browned add fresh lemon juice and dried dill.

Chipotle Aoli

2 chipotles in Adobo sauce, 2 tsps sauce
1 box silken tofu
4 cloves roasted garlic
3-4 tbsp olive oil
salt, pepper
squeeze of lemon juice

Mix all ingredients except oil really well in blender or food pro. Graudually add oil. Should be mayonnaise like texture.

Build sandwich with tomatoes, avocado, and lettuce. SO good.

Serve with baked fries according to this recipe.





This is a salad. No recipe. Just a salad. It has pea shoots, cashew cheese, baby lettuces, shaved zucchinis, olive oil, lemon juice, chilies, and mint. So eat more salads and vegan food. We will all be happier if you do.