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Fig And Hazelnut Balls

Written on December 20, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Snack

One of the things I said I was going to do now was eat better, especially when it comes to sugar. Now I’m not delusioned too think I could ever give up the sweet stuff; instead I’m just looking to eat more sweets that also have nutrition to them. And for that I look towards dried fruit.

fig-and-hazelnut-ball

I’ve always loved fruit and nut snack bars like Larabars. They’re one of those all-too-few things that taste good and are good for you. They’re also incredibly easy to make at home, which opens up infinite flavor combinations. The combination of figs, hazelnuts, cinnamon and nutmeg taste like Winter to me.

Fig And Hazelnut Balls

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 14):

8oz pitted dates
8 figs, chopped
3/4 cup toasted hazelnuts
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Method:

In a food processor, blend the dates until they form a sticky dough ball. If after a few minutes your dates haven’t come together, they might have been too dry to begin. Simply add a tablespoon of water and continue blending until they do come together.
Move the date dough to a separate bowl. Chop the hazelnuts and figs in the food processor until they’re broken into small pieces.
Dump the fig and hazelnut bits into the bowl with the date dough, adding in the cinnamon and nutmeg. Knead the two together. Break off pieces to roll into a ball or into a bar.
Store in an air-tight container at room temperature for up to a week.

I used the roasted salted hazelnuts from Oh Nuts! and the little bit of salt really was a nice touch if you like salty-sweet snacks. It’s not going to fool anyone as a dessert but it’s a good snack to keep on hand to fight an afternoon sweet craving.

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Honey Vanilla Peanut Butter

Written on December 19, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Miscellaneous

I really like fancy flavored peanut butter and almond butter and all those butters. The problem is they’re usually double or triple the price. Thankfully they’re so easy to make at home. This is a great DIY recipe if you want to make breakfast a little more special, or even a great homemade gift to give a peanut butter lover in your life.

Honey and vanilla go so well together, even better with peanut butter. I got tired of making this in single servings and decided to make a big batch so I could eat it again and again. You can start with peanuts or peanut butter that’s already ground—the recipe’s pretty much the same either way.

Honey Vanilla Peanut Butter

Prep time: 10 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 16oz):

12oz(3 cups) peanuts OR 12oz(1 1/2 cups) peanut butter
1/2 Tablespoon good quality vanilla extract
3 heaping Tablespoons honey

Method:

Put the peanuts into the food processor and blend until it forms a smooth, runny butter(if using peanut butter, omit this step).
Combine the rest of the ingredients with the peanut butter in the food processor and blend until emulsified.
Scrape into a seal-tight jar. Store at room temperature for up to a month.

I somewhat wanted to add more honey to this because it wasn’t quite sweet enough for my taste; then again, I have a huge sweet tooth and would turn everything into dessert if I could, so I’m guessing 3 tablespoons is enough for most people, although judge by taste always.

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Maple-Sriracha Lentils

Written on December 16, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Hi, again. I’m back after a short posting hiatus. I figured I needed to post something if only so that my parents don’t think I died. I’ve done plenty of writing over the past few days, but not about food; it’s mostly been commentaries on ancient elegiac and epic poetry, and I figured no one wants to read that(I don’t even really want to read that). And cooking? Oh, cooking. Well, there’s plenty of time for that now.

This might be an unpopular opinion, but I really don’t like sriracha sauce—at least not on its own. It’s far too spicy for me; even just thinking about pouring large amounts of it over food makes jump back. I do, however, love the flavor it adds to sauces with a little sweetness to balance the heat. I’ve made this sauce with maple syrup and soy sauce a few times lately and poured it over everything: Lentils, quinoa, eggs—there’s no bad combination.

If you’re a sriracha fan, I’m sure you’ll love this. Even if you’re not a sriracha fan, give it a shot and you might just be surprised how much you like it.

Maple-Sriracha Lentils

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 40 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 servings):

1 cup dry lentils
3 cups water
3 Tablespoons maple syrup
3 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons sriracha sauce

Method:

Cook the lentils for 30-40 minutes in the boiling water until they’ve become tender and soaked up all the liquid.
Turn off the heat and add in the soy sauce, maple syrup, and sriracha and mix, letting the lentils sit over the burner for a couple minutes to absorb the sauce.
Serve hot or cold as leftovers.

The sriracha adds a great complexity to a sauce that’s only 3 ingredients. For a little more depth of flavor you can add a Tablespoon of toasted sesame oil at the end of cooking.

And now I have 6 weeks with not much to do and a full kitchen at my exposal so expect to hear a lot more from me.

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Peanut Butter Buttercream Sandwich Cookies

Written on December 9, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Like I’ve said before, I’m not a big cookie fan. I’m a frosting person. I was the kid who would break apart an Oreo or maple leaf cookie, lick out the inside, and put the cookie halves back in the box. You can’t imagine how much that thrilled my parents.

I was going to fill these with a soft chocolate ganache, but since the cookies are rather unsweet on their own I thought a sweeter filling would contrast nicely and let all the flavors show. Because of that I went with my favorite kind of frosting: Buttercream. The filling is rich, sweet, and creamy adding a whole new level to the cookies.

I give a suggested recipe for the cookies to use but you can really do this with any cookie recipe. Again, this is really easy to make vegan by simply substituting a dairy-free margarine for the butter.

Peanut Butter Buttercream Sandwich Cookies

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 0 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 9 sandwich cookies):

1 batch peanut butter cookies
3 Tablespoons no-oil added peanut butter
3 Tablespoons butter, room temperature
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method:

Cream together the peanut butter, butter, powdered sugar and vanilla extract until it makes a smooth and thick buttercream.
Scoop 1 tablespoon of buttercream onto the flat side of a cookie and sandwich together with an equally sized cookie. Repeat until all of the cookies and frosting are gone.

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10-Minute Chickenless, Noodleless Soup

Written on December 8, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

After weeks of unseasonably warm weather, Winter is hitting and it’s hitting hard. It’s rained the past few days; and the temperature has dipped into the 30 and 40s. It’s no wonder I was craving chicken noodle soup recently.

I was thinking of just riding out the craving, since it’s not the easiest thing to satisfy for someone who’s vegetarian and gluten-free. Then I realized I had enough food lying around to make a decent meat-free, gluten-free soup that hit all the right notes.

I loved how flavorful this was, especially for something that was so simple. It was exactly like any good soup I’ve ever had, with a deep and savory broth. The quinoa and tempeh make this totally satisfying, as well. If gluten’s not an issue, I bet the texture of seitan would work great in this soup, too, in place of the tempeh.

10-Minute Chickenless, Noodleless Soup

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 10 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 4 side servings or 2 entrée servings):

2 cups precooked quinoa
3/4 cup chopped kale, fresh or frozen
3/4 cup peas, fresh or frozen
1 block of tempeh, cubed
3 cups water
1 vegetarian bouillon cube
1/2 teaspoon salt plus more to taste

Method:

Combine all of the ingredients in a large pot
Bring the water to a boil. Make sure to mix well enough that the bouillon cube dissolves completely into the broth.
Once heated through, remove from the stove and serve hot.

And then I ate this with 2 clementines because I’m paranoid about getting sick during finals period. Nobody sneeze on me, please.

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Egg-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Written on December 7, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

Well I made it 4 days into December before breaking down and making Christmas cookies. I couldn’t hold up to the pressure any longer.

The truth is I’m not the biggest cookie fan. I have my favorites(like peanut butter cookies) but on the whole would rather have something else. One cookie I love is the peanut butter cookie from Wildflour Bakery which is gluten-free and vegan. It’s so sweet and soft and falls apart in your mouth. I thought I might try to make a cookie like theirs; this isn’t nearly the same, but I like it in its own respect which is why I’m posting the recipe. It’s less sweet but much more peanut buttery; it almost tastes like eating a spoonful of peanut butter in cookie form.

This recipe can easily be made vegan by using a dairy-free butter substitute. I would not recommend subbing in coconut oil for the butter in a 1:1 ratio because they do not act the same in baking and I can’t say for how it would turn out.

Egg-Free Peanut Butter Cookies

Prep time: 30 minutes

Cook time: 16-18 minutes

Ingredients(Makes about 1 1/2 dozen cookies):

1 cup no-oil added peanut butter
1/4 cup butter
3/4 cup maple syrup
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup tapioca starch(or corn starch)

Method:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and line a couple baking trays with parchment paper.
Beat together all of the ingredients. Put the batter in the refrigerator of freezer to harden until you can handle the dough and roll it into balls.
Once the dough has reached that stage, scoop the dough and roll it into balls. Place the balls about 2 inches apart on the baking trays.
Bake for 16-20 minutes until the outside is golden. The cookies will still be very soft to the touch when they’re done.
Remove the cookies from the oven and let them cool completely before handling. As they cool, the outside will harden up and make them less fragile.
Store sealed in an airtight container at room temperature when not eating.

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Vegan Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Written on December 6, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

After a week and a half, this is the final recipe I have to share from Thanksgiving. I’m sorry to drag it on for so long, but I think I saved the best for last.

My favorite part of any meal is dessert. For this celebration I made my recipe for rum raisin ice cream again, only since I was short on time and feeling slightly lazy I skipped the custard base making the recipe totally vegan. You couldn’t tell I changed a thing; it was just as rich and creamy as the first batch.

This ended up being a favorite of everyone’s. I was a little heavy-handed with the rum; I’m sure that helped. My relatives described it as “a frozen tropical bar drink”. We ate almost the entire batch by the end of the day; I take that as a good sign.

Vegan Rum Raisin Ice Cream

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes to churn + 2 hours to set

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups coconut milk, preferably full fat
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 cup rum
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup Thompson raisins

Method:

Whisk together the coconut milk, sugar, maple syrup, rum, and cinnamon until it forms a smooth base.
Turn on your ice cream maker and churn according to manufacturer’s directions. Add in the raisins during the final 2 minutes of churning.
Put in the freezer to harden for at least 2 hours. Remove from the freezer and let sit on counter for 5 minutes before scooping for best result.

You really can’t go wrong with this plus a slice of paleo pumpkin pie—I’m telling you. Pumpkin, pecans, raisins, cinnamon, and rum. It’s all good.

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Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce Recipe

Written on December 5, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Side Dish

Let’s look past the fact that Thanksgiving was now 2 weeks ago. You might want to make cranberry sauce for Christmas, or just for anytime, right? Maybe? Sure.

I wanted to make a sauce with a twist. Since my whole family is from northern New Hampshire, I tried adding some blueberries into the cranberry sauce. And a little ginger because who doesn’t like ginger? Orange juice replaces some of the sugar with a less refined sweetness to round out the flavor of the sauce.

And since I figure somebody’s going to wonder or ask: No, that’s not my plate. Yes, I am still a vegetarian. But I did carve the turkey for the second year in a row because I’m damn good at it.

Thanksgiving Cranberry Sauce

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 30 minutes

Ingredients(Makes around 6 cups):

24oz fresh cranberries
1 cup blueberries
2 cups orange juice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2-inch fresh ginger peeled and grated
6 Tablespoons cane sugar

Method:

Combine the cranberries, blueberries, and orange juice together in a large pot.
Cover the pot and bring the contents to a boil. Keep boiling until the juice evaporates.
Once finished, pour the cranberries and blueberries into a food processor. Add in the salt, ginger, and cane sugar and puree until smooth.
Move the sauce to a container and leave it out to cool. Once at room temperature, place the sauce in the refrigerator to until eating.

Next time I make this I want to swap another cup of cranberries for blueberries to make the flavor more prevalent. Nobody noticed there was blueberries in the sauce; I didn’t even notice and I made it.

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Paleo Mug Cakes

Written on December 2, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Dessert

You’re going to want to bookmark this one; trust me.

I never understood the appeal of mug cakes before recently. It seemed to me that if you wanted something chocolate and delicious you should put in the time and effort to bake some almond flour brownies and the extra hour would be well worth it. It also didn’t help that most mug cake recipes aren’t gluten-free, or—if they are—come out with a weird starchy taste to them.

But now I’ve seen the light and have come around to mug cakes, partly because the oven I use was 3 floors below where I lived at the time I made this and partly because the recipe is so damn good. When I was trying the recipe, I also wanted something that was sort of healthy. This is healthy enough even to be eaten for breakfast, which I’ve done on a few too many occasions.

The original recipe is only 4 ingredients, but you can add in things like chocolate chips, walnuts, candied ginger, vanilla extract, and anything else to shake things up.

Paleo Mug Cake

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 3 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 1 cake):

1 small ripe banana
1 1/2 Tablespoons almond butter(or any nut butter)
1 egg
2 heaping Tablespoons cocoa powder
2 teaspoons sweetener(optional)
Chocolate chips, walnuts, dried fruit, or other mix-ins(optional)

Method:

With a fork, mash the banana into a smooth puree.
Mix the almond butter, egg, cocoa powder, and extra sweetener if using into the banana puree until it forms an even batter.
Fold in any mix-ins into the batter that you’d like. Otherwise, our the batter into a mug or other microwave safe container. Be sure to only fill the container up to 2/3rds the way because it will expand in the microwave.
Microwave on high for 2 and 1/2 minutes until the center is set. Carefully remove the mug from the microwave and enjoy hot, cold, or at room temperature.

I don’t add sweetener to mine and it still tastes delicious. I’ve only ever made it with almond butter but I’m sure peanut butter would be a nice alteration. The banana flavor is definitely prevalent, especially once it cools, but that only reminds me of a chocolate covered banana which I love. The best things about these cakes are that they don’t have any sort of flour flavor to them and are rich and fudgy like a brownie. The worst thing about this recipe is once you make it you’ll never stop.

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The Best (Vegan) Quinoa Stuffing

Written on December 1, 2011 by Wannabe Chef in Entree

Since I eat quinoa all the time, I get asked a lot what recipe should somebody who’s not really a fan of quinoa try to get themselves to like it. This is that recipe.

I made this last Thanksgiving and then again for Christmas Eve since it was such a hit. If you’ve never seen 80 year old aunts nudging each other to get the serving spoon for more quinoa, it’s quite hysterical. The only difference I made this year was using oil in place of butter and vegetable broth for chicken broth so that this was both vegan and gluten-free. You won’t miss the white bread in this untraditional stuffing.

If you want to save some time and chopping, you can buy pre-diced mirepoix at most grocery stores like Trader Joe’s nowadays.

The Best Quinoa Dressing

Prep time: 5 minutes

Cook time: 20 minutes

Ingredients(Makes 8 servings):

2 cups quinoa, rinsed
4 cups vegetable broth(or chicken broth)
2 medium carrots, diced
2 stalks of celery, diced
1 yellow onion, diced
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 tablespoon parsley
1/2 tablespoon rosemary
1/4 cup cane sugar

Method:

Bring the quinoa and broth to a boil in a large pot. Cover the pot and turn off the heat, letting the quinoa sit to absorb the water.
In a pan, sauté the onion, celery, and carrots in 2 tablespoons of oil until the onions are translucent and the carrots have cooked through.
When the quinoa is fully cooked, add in the sautéed vegetables, sugar, and herbs. Mix those in while fluffing the quinoa.
Move to a serving bowl and serve warm.

I’ve never been so happy for Thanksgiving leftovers.

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