BitterSweet

The Heat is On

Despite the great number of quirks and traits that I share with my family members, there are still times when I can’t help but wonder if I might have been adopted. Some differences are glaring, but others are more subtle, such as the great range of temperaments we each have- And I’m not just talking about moodiness here. Almost always the first to run for the AC, it would seem as though my internal temperature runs a good 10 or 20 degrees hotter than most, making for some unusual sources of conflict. Just the other night, I woke up sweating through my sheets, and popped out of bed to turn on the air conditioning. Well, as you can imagine, that did the trick and I fell right back to sleep… Leaving the fan churning the air, until my mother was in turn awakened, claiming to be nearly frozen to death. There’s just no winning in this family!

Regardless, there are always compromises that can be made, and dessert is no different. Though I would be perfectly happy to eat nothing but ice cream for the next 3 or 4 months, I accept the fact that I can’t avoid the oven forever. The trick is to minimize its utility, baking off little treats quickly before the whole kitchen turns into a sticky, sugary sauna.

Cookies fit the bill quite nicely, but what fun is that? No, a mere biscuit isn’t enough to bring to a big dinner party, or say, 4th of July potluck, now is it?

However, try layering gently spiced, soft cookies with a bright and tangy lemon custard, chill the whole concoction into a a cool, refreshing cake-like assemblage, and now we’re talking! File this one under “looks ultra-impressive but is a breeze to make.” If you can bake cookies, you can throw this one together, and yes, keep it on hand in the freezer until it’s needed. Can you tell I’m into that sort of thing these days?

This is another recipe inspired by a request from Nasoya, but should you be unable to find the Vanilla Silken Creations, just use a regular block of silken tofu, plus an additional 1/4 cup of confectioner’s sugar and 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract.

Lemon Gingersnap Icebox Cake

Gingersnaps:

3/4 Cup Margarine
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/4 Cup Molasses
1 Tablespoon Flax Seeds, Ground
2 1/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
2 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1 1/2 Teaspoons Ground Cinnamon
1/2 Teaspoon Ground Cardamom
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Allspice
Pinch Freshly Ground Black Pepper
2 Tablespoons Plain Soymilk

Lemon Custard:

1 13.5-Ounce Can Full-Fat Coconut Milk, Chilled
Zest of 2 Lemons
1 Package Vanilla Silken Creations
1/4 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar
1/3 Cup Instant Clear Gel
Pinch Salt

To make the gingersnaps, preheat your oven to 375 degrees and line 4 baking sheets with silpats or parchment paper.

With your stand mixer, cream together the margarine and sugar thoroughly. Add in the molasses and flax seed, and mix well until completely homogeneous.

In a separate bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices together, to evenly distribute all of the dry ingredients throughout the mixture. Slowly incorporate the dry mixture into your stand mixer, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. The resulting dough will still look a bit dry, so go ahead and add in the soymilk.

Once a smooth dough has been achieved, scoop out about 2 – 3 teaspoons per cookie, roll them into balls, and flatten them slightly onto your prepared sheets. If they begin to stick to your hands, simply wash your hands and leave them slightly damp when you go back to work.

Bake for 8 – 10 minutes, until slightly cracked on top and lightly browned around the edges. The longer you bake them, the snappier they’ll be! Cool the cookies on the sheets, and make sure they are completely cool before using.

To make the custard, begin by removing the coconut milk from the fridge and DO NOT shake it. Skim off the top layer of thick, white cream, and place it in your stand mixer with the whisk attachment installed. Start on low speed for a minute, and then increase to high, beating the coconut cream for about 5 minutes, until light and fluffy light whipped cream. Add in the vanilla silken creations and lemon zest, and stir well.

Mix the confectioner’s sugar, instant clear gel, and salt together in a small dish before slowly adding the mixture in, making sure that the motor continues running the whole time. Stop periodically to scrape down the sides of the bowl. It’s very important to continue agitating the mixture while introducing the instant clear gel, as it will create clumps if it isn’t dispersed throughout the liquid quickly.

The custard will begin to thicken after another 3 – 4 minutes of whipping, and will continue to thicken once chilled.

Now you’re ready to assemble the dessert. On a large plate, start by placing 6 cookies in a tight circle, plus one more in the very center. Place a generous dollop of the custard on top, reaching out almost to the edge of the circle but leaving a good amount of the outermost cookies visible. Place another circle of cookies on top in a similar manner, followed by more custard. Repeat this process into you run out of both; You should end up with around 6 cookie layers and 5 custard layers. Chill thoroughly overnight before serving; it gets better when the cookies have time to soften and become part of the custard itself!

Serves 8 – 12

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Skinny Dipping

Whereas most people treat bean dip as a condiment, in my eyes, it’s more often a main course. Perhaps it’s a habit that grew out of being relegated to only platters of raw veggies at many early family gatherings, when not a single prepared dish could be considered vegan even by the greatest stretch of the imagination. But maybe, just maybe, it’s because hummus is so damn good. Addictive, even. Once the plastic lid comes off that container, it’s hard to snap it back on until I’ve excavated the majority of its contents. Hummus has always been my dip of choice, given its prevalence all around the world and how tasty chickpeas are the begin with. Possessing a seemingly endless appetite for that little legume, it’s not unusual for me to clear out the entire grocery store shelf at times of sales, and there’s always one or two flavors on hand in the fridge.

Even the most fanatic hummus devote needs a break every now and then, though. For fear of turning into a chickpea myself, I do force myself to look else where for dipping enlightenment from time to time. Thus, my second favorite bean, the adzuki, enters the picture. Wonderfully creamy and generally agreeable in flavor, it opens the door to all sorts of new flavorful experiments.

Sticking with seasonings appropriate for this Japanese-grown bean, ginger, garlic, and shiitake mushrooms join this unique blend, and the results are just a bit tangy, spicy, and of course umami.  Lighter than your average bean dip thanks to the undetectable addition of zucchini, it’s the perfect summer spread, guaranteed not to weigh you down with tons of extra oil.

Hummus may be the top pick of all bean dips, but this version comes in at a close second, with a habit-forming flavor all its own. If there was ever a reason for me to forgo that classic chickpea spread, it could only be in favor of the adzuki dip instead!

Asian Adzuki Bean Dip

2 Cups Cooked Adzuki Beans*
1 Small Zucchini, Roughly Chopped
2 Fresh Shittake Mushroom Caps
2 Tablespoons Tahini
1 Tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1/2 – 1 Inch Fresh Ginger, Peeled and Roughly Chopped
1 Small Clove Garlic
2 Tablespoons Rice Vinegar
2 – 3 Scallions
1/4 Cup Fresh Parsley
1/4 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes
Salt, to Taste

*I cook my beans either with a few bay leaves or a strip of kombu to reduce their -ahem- digestive difficulties.

Simply toss all of the above into your food processor or blender, and puree until smooth, pausing and scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed. Adjust seasonings to suit your tastes, and enjoy. It tastes even better if you can let it sit in the refrigerator overnight for the flavors to meld, but you might find it difficult to leave alone for so long!

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Frozen in Time

It’s a shame that this recipe didn’t see the light of day earlier, but the truth is, this sweet and simple show-stopping dessert was first created well over a year ago, and has been waiting for its moment to shine ever since. Not a slice nor scrap remains, as if anyone would be interested in eating year-old, frozen cake, but thankfully recipes never get stale. With strawberries on my mind and very likely smeared all over my face, it seemed that now was as good a time as ever to share another fun way to use up that berry bounty.

Providing something to tempt even the pickiest palate, this is a great dessert to make ahead and then pull out of the chill chest at a moment’s notice. To add even more allure, try using chocolate cakes instead of vanilla! Just add 2/3 cup dutch-processed cocoa powder to the cake, and remove 1/4 cup of flour.

Frozen Fraiser

Vanilla Cake:

1 1/2 Cups Plain Soymilk
1 1/2 Teaspoons Apple Cider Vinegar
1/2 Cup Canola Oil
1/2 Cup Unsweetened Apple Sauce
1 Tablespoon Vanilla Extract
3 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 1/2 Cups Granulated Sugar
2 Teaspoons Baking Powder
3/4 Teaspoon Baking Soda
1/2 Teaspoon Salt

For Assembly:

2 Tablespoons Limoncello
1 Pint Fresh Strawberries
2 Packages Strawberry Silken Creations*
1/3 Cup Whole Strawberry Preserves or Jam
1/2 Cup Confectioner’s Sugar, Plus Additional for Serving

*If unavailable, substitute 2 12-ounce packages of extra-firm silken tofu plus an additional 2/3 cup of strawberry preserves or jam

Preheat your oven to 325 degrees, and lightly grease 2 9-inch round cake pans.

In a large bowl, whisk together the soymilk and vinegar, and let rest for 5 minutes, until slightly curdled. Add in the oil, apple sauce, and vanilla, and whisk vigorously to combine. Set aside.

Separately, sift the flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, and salt, and stir well to distribute the ingredients equally throughout the mixture. Slowly incorporate the dry goods into the wet, stirring just enough to bring the batter together- A few lumps are fine.

Distribute the batter equally between your two prepared pans, and bake for 25 – 30 minutes, until golden brown on top and a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Let cool in the pans completely.

Once cooled, remove one cake from the pan and trim the top off with a serrated knife. Place it in a 9-inch round springform pan, and brush the limocello evenly over the cut side. Slice the strawberries in half, and place them around the outer edge, fitting them together snugly.

Whisk together strawberry silken creations, preserves, and confectioner’s sugar, and pour the mixture right in the center of the cake, smoothing it out to the edges, so that it completely fills the ring of strawberries. Turn the second cake out, and carefully place it on into the springform pan, on top of the strawberries and filling. Move the whole thing into the freezer, and allow at least 3 – 4 hours for it to solidify before serving.

If the cake is frozen to hard to cut, let sit at room temperature for 15 minutes before slicing.  Top with a light dusting of additional confectioner’s sugar to serve, if desired.

Serves 12 – 14

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Uncooked Cookies

You know it’s summer when you have to think twice about starting up the oven, dreading the excess heat it’s sure to pump out into the already sweltering kitchen. Although the temperature is still generally manageable here, it’s only a matter of time before legs start sticking to chairs and AC becomes mandatory. Anticipating this inevitable progression of the season, I’ve begun to prepare, finding treats and other eats that require little to no cooking, lest I risk making everyone in the house miserable and inspire an all-out cooking ban. Heck, I’d banish myself if I continued to roast and broil like usual when thermometers start pushing 100!

Reasonably, raw foods become a promising source of inspiration, as I naturally gravitate towards simpler and fresher foods as they become available. There’s a big difference, however, between a perfect peach plucked right from the tree and eaten straight away, and preparing elaborate raw desserts. Luckily, both can be very tasty, but the latter definitely requires a bit more patience.

Wasting no time in working on my arsenal of comfort foods, classic chocolate chip cookies sounded like the perfect place to start. One could very easily use cacao nibs for the chips, but craving a richer, more familiar chocolate chunk, the project begins by whipping up a glossy, luscious raw chocolate bar.

Lacking that satisfying “snap” but still smoothly melting over the tongue, no chocoholic would be able to turn this treat down. A fine confection by itself, but there was still cookie dough to make! Happily, I ended up with far more chocolate than could reasonably fit into my batch of cookies, so I considered the extra bar as a bonus for the cook. Just doing my job in cleaning up, right?

Based on a number of similar recipes, this concept is certainly nothing new, but the excessive amount of almond meal sitting in my pantry practically cried out to be included, so my main modifications were made in order to use up a good deal of it.

Sadly, these seemingly fool-proof uncooked sweets were a bit of a disappointment. So soft that I had to store them in the freezer to hold their shapes, the texture is mostly what left a lot to be desired. They won’t be replacing my baked CCC’s any time soon, and are more akin to a Larabar than any cookie I know, but the flavor is still quite enjoyable in its own right. The raw chocolate is still a highly successful imitation though, and will work nicely in a pinch when my stockpile of chocolate chips suddenly turns up missing.

Raw Chocolate Bars

1/2 Cup Coconut Oil, Melted
1/4 Cup Light Agave Nectar
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 Cup Cocoa Powder
Pinch Salt

Simply whisk together all of the ingredients until completely smooth- It may take a bit of patience, as the cocoa powder is prone to clumping. Once entirely lump-free, pour the liquid cocoa into 2 chocolate bar molds, or a lightly greased 8 x 4-inch loaf pan. Carefully stash the molds in your freezer until set, at least 2 hours. Though it will be stable at room temperature, this chocolate does have different melting properties than the traditional version, and may behave differently if baked. If it’s getting hot where you live as well, I would highly recommend storing these bars in at least in the fridge in a zip-top baggie, if not in the freezer for prolonged freshness.

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A Fermented Feast

Ever since probiotics and prebiotics became the hot new functional food additive, bacteria in general has seen a monumental rise in popularity. Funny as it may sound, these “good bugs” have understandably suffered from image issues for years, often sounding about as appetizing as the carpet lint you might find beneath the sofa. Now that their healthy attributes are being touted left and right, it seems that people are much more willing to try fermented foods, and that in itself is a beautiful thing. Without these bacteria, not only would we be missing out on the digestive benefits that they impart, but fabulous treats like kefir, and thus kefir cheese, would be impossible.

Still jazzed about my little fermentation experiments, I was thrilled to be gifted some kefir grains to play with. Before you start worrying about any milk involved, let me assure you that it’s absolutely possible to make completely vegan kefir at home. Yes, many standard kefir grains will be of dairy origin (meaning, they were essentially “fed” with milk, but are not made of milk themselves) but water kefir grains, otherwise known as tibicos, will have never touched the stuff. Though intended for making a beverage similar to kombucha using coconut water, they can also be quite effective at turning soymilk* into standard kefir. Unlike regular kefir grains, however, they will not multiply and continue to grow; Over time, they will in fact “die” and stop turning your soymilk sour.

Whew… Got all that? It may sound complicated, but once you get your raw materials straight, it’s really a walk in the park. To make soy kefir, I take a quart of unsweetened, plain soymilk and about 1/2 tablespoon kefir grains to get things going. The soymilk should be just barely warmed, to about room temperature, before your plunk in your grains. Store the whole thing in a large mason jar with the lid on but not screwed tight. That’s all there is to it- Just let it sit and do its thing. It should take between 3 – 7 days to get sufficiently sour kefir, so just keep tasting it until you’re happy with the results. My grains, however, were surprisingly voracious little bacteria beasts, and fermented my soymilk so quickly in just 2 days that it actually separated in to curds and whey!

Clearly, I had only one reasonable choice of action here: Make kefir soy cheese. Reaching into the jar with very clean hands, I fished out the hungry bacteria blobs and set them right back to work on a fresh quart of soymilk. Just like the procedure for any other fresh cheese, I then poured the whole concoction into a fine mesh sieve lined with cheesecloth, catching the whey that filtered out below. Hang on to that stuff, it’s great for baking! Let the curds drain for a day or two in the fridge, until thickened to your liking, and that’s it!

It works beautifully as a ricotta subsitute, and can take the place of just about any other soft or fresh cheese. Just add a pinch of salt, and perhaps a touch of white miso or nutritional yeast if desired. To make the dip pictured above, I went with all the aforementioned recommendations, plus a handful of fresh chives and parsley. Doesn’t get much easier than that!

Plus, it makes an excellent stand-in for cream cheese or cheese spread on bagels, sandwiches, wraps- Anything you can think of smearing it on, really. There’s practically no limit to how kefir cheese can be used!

*I would imagine that other non-dairy milks would work as well- I have only used soy so far, and can’t make any promises for anything other than coconut, which has been well-documented to be a successful growing medium.

Rainy Day Baking

Propelled out of bed by the light of a new day, it’s the sunshine that pushes me to my feet and sends them racing down the stairs, seemingly of their own power.  No matter how little sleep occurred that previous night, hardly a minute past sunrise will elapse before I bolt awake, feeling the intense urge to start whittling down my lengthy to-do list.  Morning without sunshine are like rhubarb without sugar; bitter and disappointing.

It’s not unheard of for me to sleep right up until noon if the sun fails to show, as if I forgot to set my internal alarm clock. Cloudiness goes hand in hand with mental fogginess, so it’s always safest to avoid heavy intellectual lifting on such occasions. However, there is one reason why I still have a soft spot for the otherwise unlovable rainy days of summer- That warm, humid air that is otherwise my eternal foe (at least as far as keeping anything less than a frizzy afro goes) creates the perfect environment for raising yeast. Thus, rainy days have become synonymous with yeast bread for me.

With a rainy stretch predicted recently, there seemed like no better time than to pour through my files of bread ideas and pick out something new. Feeling a little bit short on desserts lately, I leaned towards the sweeter side of the kitchen, and turned a classic spring cake into a sturdy but tender yeasted loaf. Speckled with walnuts, raisins, and of course orange flecks of carrot, this new take on carrot cake is certainly a mouthful, but it’s not at all hard to swallow. One might even feel slightly virtuous selecting a slice or two for breakfast, since you’re getting a nice serving of carrot, right?

Since no good carrot cake is ever plated without that signature cream cheese frosting, I could hardly leave my bread without the same. Instead of smearing it on the outside, however, a lightly sweetened “cream cheese” swirl spirals around the center, making for a more portable, clean-cut version of the original as well.

Toasted lightly to crisp up the edges and make the swirl slightly gooey, it may just provide sunshine enough to get me out of bed early on the next rainy set of days.

Yeasted Carrot Cake Bread

Carrot Cake Dough:

1 Cup Plain Non-Dairy Milk
2/3 Cup Dark Brown Sugar, Firmly Packed
2 1/4 Teaspoons (1/4-Ounce Package) Active Dry Yeast
4 – 6 Cups All Purpose Flour
1 Tablespoon Ground Cinnamon
2 Teaspoons Ground Ginger
1/4 Teaspoon Ground Nutmeg
3 Cups Shredded Carrot
1/2 Cup Chopped Walnuts
1/2 Cup Raisins
1 Tablespoon Flax Seeds, Ground
1/2 Teaspoon Salt
1/3 Cup Canola Oil
1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

“Cream Cheese” Filling:

1 8-Ounce Package Vegan “Cream Cheese”
1/3 Cup Cornstarch
3/4 Cup Granulated Sugar
1/2 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Starting with the dough, begin by warming your “milk” of choices for just a minute or two in the microwave, until it reaches between 105 – 115°F. No more, or else you’ll kill the yeast. Stir in the brown sugar, and sprinkle in the yeast and let sit for about 5 minutes, until it becomes bubbly and alive.

Meanwhile, combine the first 4 cups of flour, spices, raisins, walnuts, carrots, ground flax, and salt in the bowl of your stand mixer. Mix lightly just to distribute all of the ingredients evenly and coat the carrot shreds with flour. Pour in the proofed yeast mixture, along with the oil and vanilla, and start mixing on a low speed, so as not to kick any flour out of the bowl. Once incorporated, switch over to the dough hook, add in 1 more cup of flour, and allow the mixer to begin kneading the dough.

After about 5 minutes of mixing, assess the texture; You’re looking for it to be tacky and elastic, not wet or sticky. You may need to add up to another cup of flour, depending on the consistency. Continue working the dough with the dough hook for 5 – 10 more minutes. Scrape the dough out onto a lightly floured surface, and kneed by hand briefly, for just 5 minutes or so, before placing it into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover loosely with a cloth or piece of plastic wrap, and let sit in a warm place for about 1 1/2 hours, until doubled in volume.

Once risen, lightly grease two 8 x 4-inch loaf pans, and set aside.

Gently punch down the dough with your knuckles, cut it into two pieces, and on a well-floured surface, take one piece and roll it out into a rectangle. Be sure to keep the two short sides no longer than 8 inches so that it will fit in the pan, but roll it out lengthwise as far as possible- The longer the dough, the more impressive your spiral will be in the finished loaf.

To make the “cream cheese” swirl, simply beat together the “cream cheese,” cornstarch, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Take half of the mixture and smear it evenly over your rolled out dough, leaving about an inch of one short end clear. You may want to spread a slightly thinner layer near the other edges, to prevent it from dripping out when you move the dough. Starting with the short end that’s fully covered, roll the dough up as tightly as possible without squeezing out the filling. Pinch the end to the main body of the loaf to seal, and quickly but carefully transfer the whole thing to one of your waiting loaf pans, ends slightly folded under and seam-side down. Repeat with the other piece of dough.

Let the breads rise for another hour or so, until about doubled or just peeking out above the edge of the pans, and then pop it them a 375 degree preheated oven, for about 26 – 36 minutes. It should be golden brown on top, and when removed from the pan, it will sound hollow when tapped. (Yes, you can cool it, tap it, and then toss it back in the oven if it doesn’t sound right.)

Let cool completely before slicing.

Makes 2 Loaves

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