Ganache, Nuts & Requests!

99% of my food requests come from my other half. Sometimes they're easy ("Babe, I want a salad!") and sometimes they're uh...not. ("Babe, I want a vegan lamb stew!") 

I have been making hella truffles lately which means I have hella ganache sitting in the fridge. Tonight's blog post is brought to you by, "Babe, I want Ferraro Rocher!"

Admittedly, this first round is SO delicious, but not 100% where I want it to be. I have some ideas to mimic the cookie wafer shell. I'll update when I get around to it. 

In order to make ganache, it's a bit finicky but so worth it. You'll need:

1 cup of vegan chocolate chips

1/2 cup of full fat coconut milk

1/2 tbsp vegan butter, melted

Bring the coconut milk to a boil and pour over the chocolate chips in a bowl. Let sit for two minutes and then stir until well combined. Then stir in the vegan butter and transfer to a shallow dish to cool. (I used a glass lasagna dish.) After a few hours, it should be cooled completely, now you will have to cover and refrigerate over night. (I tried every possible cheat. It won't work unless you follow these steps. Drats!) 

Fast forward 24 hours and you now have endless possibilities with your ganache! You can roll it into spheres and top with cacao, chopped pistachios or pecans and you've got killer truffles. 

Or if you want to make someone you love happy and take a lot of time making something amazing, make THESE!

You'll need:

Whole hazelnuts 

Coarse chopped hazelnuts 

Vegan chocolate chips

Coconut oil 

Parchment lined cookie sheet

"Wrap" the hazelnut with the ganache. Roll in the spheres using the palm of your hands. If the ganache gets too soft just take a break and throw them back into the fridge to firm up. 

Next, roll them in the coarse chopped nuts. Then in a small bowl heat chocolate and coconut oil until it is fully melted. Roll the spheres in the chocolate mixture and spoon them out onto the cookie sheet to set. Sprinkle with chopped nuts if desired. Let firm in the fridge and enjoy!! 

Besan Omelettes

Brunch. That gluttonous massive meal when you've slept in and want to eat your weight in something, anything. Preferably something greasy and carby to help you forget that you made the mistake of opening and finishing that second bottle of wine (and bag of chips) the night before.

Ok, maybe that's just me. But even people who don't often suffer the morning after the night before like a good brunch. Which brings us to Besan Omlettes.

Like any good vegans, we always have heaps of onions, peppers and other veggies on hand. I also really REALLY like spices. Not just the ones with heat, but ones that add dimension and flavour, too.

Besan, is ground chick peas for those who don't know. Chick peas can do no wrong in any form. That's not just my opinion, it's actually 100% factually true. They're perfect for everything from mock tuna, burgers, salads and yes - even flour.  It has a great binding ability and the flavour is everything you'd expect from a ground chick pea. 

I'm going to make up measurements as close as possible to what I actually did for a certain friend who doesn't like a simple "2:1" explanation. 

Besan Omelette Batter

1 cup besan flour 

2-3 teaspoons of your favourite spices. I used 1 each of roasted red pepper flakes, roasted garlic and powdered habanero

1/2-2/3 cup of milk (I used sunflower)

Mix your spices into the flour and then add the milk slowly while stirring to avoid lumps. You want your batter to be thick enough to fold. It should stick to a fork for 1-2 seconds before slowly running through.

Set aside the batter and work on your filling. I used fried onions, red peppers and spinach in mine. When your filling is ready remove it from the heat and start the omelette. 

Preheat a frying pan (with a lid) to medium-low heat. Melt a good dollop of vegan butter into the pan and when it's melted pour or spoon in the batter. You'll want to swirl the pan to make sure that you just get a nice 1/4" coating on the bottom of the pan. Cover with the lid until the top is no longer shiny and looks cooked. Add a generous amount of your toppings on one side, use a spatula to fold in half and voila! An amazing, savoury besan omelette. 

Sunday August 10th at Studio.89!

I am so excited to be doing another pop-up, this time in Mississauga at Studio.89!

Studio.89 is a great space, with great people and a great mission! Great! :D 

For more info on them and their mandate, check out their website:

www.studio89.org

Roasted Jalapeno & Corn Hummus

Chick peas, am I right?? They're pretty spectacular. They can do no wrong. Ever.

I bought jalapenos with the best of intentions of making some grande dish that I never got around to. And I had fresh local corn that I was going to BBQ, but never got around to it. See a theme here?? Like I said in my last post - WE'RE BUSY!

One thing that we always have in apocalyptic quantities in our house is chick peas. Because they're awesome. I don't ever need a special occasion to make hummus. I can pretty much eat it out of the jar with a spoon, as a spread on sandwiches, as a dip for fresh veggies, nacho chips or pita. Yum, yum, yum!

While looking for something to use my sad looking corn and jalapenos for, I found this gem. A couple of mods later, and there was hummus! (And then a few hours later, there was none!)

Hot Mess Warning: This will not be a Siobhan approved recipe. There will be no measurements. :)

For starters, I always pour a healthy amount of tahini into my food processor with a good splash of lemon juice and whip that first. It's the secret to creamy hummus! Then add in your drained and rinsed chick peas and pulse until coarsely chopped.

In the oven on low broil, I blackened the corn and at the end added the jalapenos. It took about 15-20 minutes. When they were done, I chopped the jalapenos and used a sharp knife to cut the corn from the cob and threw it all into the already coarse chopped chick pea mix. I turned on the food processor on low and started pouring in olive oil until the hummus was thick and smooth and lovely.

I didn't think to take a picture of it, though it was quite pretty. It's far too late now. But I did take a photo of the roasted jalapeno and corn. That'll have to do. Cheers!

Deep Fried Avocado Tacos

I don't know about you all, but avocados are one of my favourite foods. I eat at least one a day. I know that there are some people out there who panic and fret that "avocados are so high in fat, though! You shouldn't eat that many!", to which I reply PPPFFFFTTTTTTT.

When did fat become the enemy?? And is it the "fat" in avocados that people are afraid of or literally BEING fat? Either way, my PPPFFFFTTTTTTT still stands. I'm no professional or anything, but my motto when it comes to food is simple. Whole over Processed. Mostly in moderation (Because we all need a bag of chips and a bottle of wine for dinner now and again, or is that just me??) and get off your butt and DO SOMETHING. I'm not selling an illusion here; I'm not some primed Olympic athlete - but we walk the dog, go for family bike rides, cut the grass, work in the garden, work Cedar Row Farm as often as possible and just generally are busy people. I take the stairs  I deserve an avocado or two. :)

Now, onto the good stuff. I originally saw this recipe online somewhere, but it was very un-vegan. It called for buttermilk and loads of eggs. It really only served as inspiration for deep frying my own avocados so I don't feel schmucky not linking to it. As with most deep fried foods, you will need three bowls. That way you can make a really big mess and thrice the dishes.

Bowl # 1:
- 1/2 cup of flour
- 1 tsp garlic powder
- 1/2 tsp onion powder
- 1/2 tsp habanero powder
- 1/2 tsp dried cilantro flakes

Bowl # 2:
- 1 cup milk (I used unsweetened almond)
- 1 egg replacer (I used Ener-G, but Flax would also work)

Bowl # 3:
- 1 cup Panko bread crumbs
- 1 tbsp dried cilantro flakes (Because you can NEVER have too much cilantro!)

In a large heavy bottom sauce pan, heat about an inch and a half of oil medium-high. I don't have any fancy thermometers, I just splash some water in and when it fires back at me I know it's ready. Safety first! lol Depending on the size of your avocados, or your mouth I suppose, slice it in quarters or eighths.

Hot Mess Tip: Before you start frying, make sure you have a plate ready with paper towels to transfer them to. Also, you'll want to eat them right away so have your plates ready and waiting. I used corn tortillas, chopped iceburg lettuce, garden fresh tomatoes and fresh cilantro and green onion.

With your avocado sections, coat evenly in bowl 1, transfer to bowl 2 and then into bowl 3 for the Panko. Don't skimp on the Panko. Press it right into it! Repeat until all avocado is coated and ready to go. I laid mine out on a cutting board so that I could do them all at once but if you allow help in the kitchen there's no reason you couldn't use teamwork here.

You can use tofutti sour cream, or daiya cheez on your tacos but I wanted a rich, creamy, spicy sauce to top off my tacos with so I whipped up this:

3/4 cup Vegenaise

2 tbsp lime juice
2 tbsp Sriracha Hot Sauce
2 green onions, chopped. I used my herb scissors.
1 large bunch fresh cilantro, chopped with scissors

The end result? THIS.

Moxarella ON EVERYTHING!

Very rarely do I get THIS excited about things. (That may be an absolute lie.) but I am really REALLY excited. So excited in fact, that I just used caps locks on five words, including the title. Good grief!

Those who know me, know I'm not a big fan of faux cheeses. Actually, that's a little general. Specifically I don't like processed faux cheeses. They just taste so weird to me! I had good luck with the tofu ricotta for the stuffed shells. Then I saw this little gem and thought it was worth a try. I did not make the whole pizza recipe - just the moxarella. I had very low expectations. Very low. Almost non-existent.

But something beautiful happened. It was easy. Like, really, really easy. And cheap. Tapioca starch is only .99 cents for a lifetime supply and the cashew count is only 1/4 a cup. And friggin' delicious. It has the perfect mix of salt and tang and it's creamy and light and wonderful.

As the original recipe states it isn't a good replacement for a Caprese salad but baked it is 11/10.

Copied from One Green Planet:

• 1/4 C. raw cashews 
• 1 C. hot water (NOT boiling)
• 2  T. + 1 t. tapioca starch
• 1 small garlic clove, minced
• 3/4  t. sea salt
• 1 t. fresh lemon juice

After chilling it and using it on pizza with some tomatoes from our garden and a sweet basil base sauce I had lots left over.

I got to thinking. What if I roll them in a mix of panko and herbs and bake them? And then inhale them like my life depended on it? Yes please. The moxarella is really "sticky" so you'll need to wrap it in saran wrap. Oddly it doesn't stick to knives or other objects, just fingers. Anyhow, the breading was easy to make. On a silpat, or sheet of saran wrap mix:

1 cup panko crumbs
1/2 tbsp oregano
1/2 tbsp basil
1 tsp garlic powder

Cut the moxarella into "sticks" and roll into panko mix. They will flatten and roll out as you go. Repeat for as many as you'd like. Arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet, spray with canola oil (If you want them more like fried, as opposed to baked) and bake at 425 degrees for 5-7 minutes per side or until golden brown.

You can dip them in whatever you'd like. I made a quick vegan ranch dressing dip. This one's good.

Enjoy!

Dessert Pizza

Sometimes, something so simple can be so amazing. We were going for dinner with friends the other night and I needed to make a dessert to bring.

Maybe because I've baked so many cakes lately I'm all caked out. I wanted something would really 'wow' them. And then I thought of it. Dessert pizza! 

First I whipped up a batch of my fave chocolate chip cookies, but instead of dividing it up I rolled it out on a parchment lined cookie sheet and made my "pizza" base. You can either let the giant cookie air cool, or put it in the fridge or freezer to harden to be able to apply the next layer.

Then I used a tub of Almond Dream vanilla ice cream as the next layer. I spooned the entire tub into my food processor with 1 tbsp of almond milk and when it was smooth and spreadable I slathered it on the now cooled cookie and immediately got it into the freezer to harden while I prepped the next layers.

I had walnuts kicking around, but they weren't chopped so I worked my magic. Because I had previously made thick, rich bourbon caramel I got the cheat this next step. You will need to follow this link and make your own caramel :)

Now, to assemble!

Repeat after me. Cookie. Ice Cream. Chopped Nuts. Caramel. OM NOM NOM.

If you're feeling EXTRA fancy you can add a chocolate drizzle on top, as well. Perfection.