Vegan MoFo: Agave Beer Pizza Crust

On Tuesday, I wrote about our and pizza, beer and wings night, but I didn't show the pizza.  Here it is! We often make our own pizza, and about half the time, we use this crust. I love the soft, bready-like texture, the quick, easy recipe, and the slightly sweet, yeasty flavor. We love making our own pizza, because it's economical, fun and each get make it just the way we like it.

For this pizza, I doused the crust in sauce, then I chopped up a few handfuls of spinach very thinly, topped that with some chopped Morningstar Farms/Gardein chick'n strips, finely sliced frozen artichoke hearts, thinly sliced kalamata olives and tons of Monterrey Jack flavored Follow Your Heart.

Before I covered it in FYH.

          Agave Wheat Pizza Crust
        Christina Terriquez

 In my hometown, there’s a local pizza chain that’s famous for their crusts. The standard crusts are wheat, semi-thick, bready and lightly sweetened with honey. Each pizza even comes with a small side of honey so that you can dip your crust and eat it for dessert. We didn’t go to that pizza chain often, but the crusts left a huge impression on me. This recipe is my answer to that crust. It’s soft, bready, and very flavorful. 

 1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour    

1 1/2 cups organic unbleached flour    

         1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt   

3 teaspoons baking powder     

1 tablespoon organic extra virgin olive oil,     

1 tablespoon organic agave nectar     

11 ounces your favorite beer, pale ale, hefewizen or light  lagers work well  

Directions   

Preheat oven to 350° F.      

Sift dry ingredients together into a large bowl.  

In a small bowl, whisk together oil and agave nectar, then add beer and gently mix. Fold wet ingredients into dry ingredients and gently mix to incorporate. Batter will be slightly wet and sticky. Knead until dough comes together, adding more flour as needed.  

Cover two baking sheets with unbleached parchment. Divide dough in two, and lightly flour. Using flour as needed, roll dough out into a round approximately 10–12 inches in diameter.  

Bake crusts for 10–15 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and done in the center. Top as desired and bake.  

Variations 

Try dividing dough into thirds or fourths for personal pizzas.  

Use 2 cups whole wheat flour and 1 cup unbleached white for a heartier wheat flavor.              

Brush crust with olive oil prior to baking.  

Notes 

The beer will flavor your crust quite a bit, so use a beer you enjoy drinking. Light to medium beers with heavy wheat or honey flavors work especially well here.  

         This crust is very bready, the texture is like a quick bread, not stretchy like regular pizza dough.

Finished product, covered in FYH.

What's your favorite pizza? Do you ever make your own crust?

Vegan MoFo Iron Chef Challenge

When the first Iron Chef Challenge of Vegan MoFo 2010 was announced as mashed potatoes, I immediately knew what I was going to make: Samosas! But I couldn't decide between plain white potato or sweet potato samosas.


I ended up making a half-batch of each. I made one batch of dough, and added sautéed spices, onion, garlic, sweet peas, sliced almonds and dried currants to each batch of mashed potatoes. I really love this combination, and enjoy how much character each ingredient brings to the whole dish. The spices bring the heat and flavor, but the sweet peas and currants help cut the heat, and the almonds bring a nice crunch.

I love samosas, and I like all the various ways you can customize them. You can use different spices, different dried fruit, different vegetables, and different nuts, or completely omit the fruit, vegetables or nuts based on what you like, and what you have.


I also made a small bowl of fresh apple tamarind chutney. It was basically about some tamarind paste, a bit of yellow mustard, agave to taste, salt, ginger and garlic, mixed up, then stirred together with one apple, which had been peeled and minced.


Since the challenge was mashed potatoes, I mashed these potatoes completely, although I usually like them a bit chunky for samosas. Either way is nice, it's just a personal pereference. You can probably tell from the first picture that my sweet potato samosas were a little flatter. When using sweet potatoes, you need to make sure they are very well drained, since they tend to contain more moisture than white potatoes.

Thanksgiving 2008 Menu Update

Yesterday, while at the grocery store for the third time this week--picking up the Thanksgiving items I forgot during the second trip this week--I finally finalized our menu. I also locked myself out and forgot the shoyu, one of the main reasons I went to the store in the first place. When I finally got a hold of my roommates and they let me in, I started getting ready to make my pie crusts, only to find that my previous day's purchase of flour included some kind of insects. Rather than go back to the store again, which would mean either taking the bus or walking about 2 miles each way, and could take anywhere from 1 to 3 hours, I did what any sane person would do at this point in a bad day. I napped.

Later, JD graciously took me to the store and I was able to get some decent albeit pricey-as-all-get-out flour, and I made my pies and cornbread. I also made a mini test batch of the savory corn pudding, mulled the cider, washed the gluten, and made the cranberry and cherry sauce. With all that prep already done, and since I had made the vegetable stock a few days ago, I feel like I'm starting the day with a decent jump start.

If things go according to plan--which has never in my life happened, as the first paragraph indicates, but it's nice to be able to say you planned anyway--then we will be enjoying:

Appetizers
assorted green olives
Roasted Tomato Tart with Fresh Basil
Maple Macadamia Nuts
Sweet & Spicy Pecans

Beverages
Homemade Mulled Cider
Syrah
Blanc de Blancs Sparkling white wine
Reisling

Main Event
Stuffed Seitan with Yuba Skin (basically like an Unturkey, but with different flavors)
Cranberry, Fig, Walnut, and Cornbread Dressing
Mashed Potatoes
Wild Mushroom Gravy
Cranberry and Dried Cherry Sauce
Caramelized & Spiced Butternut Squash
Wild Rice Pilaf
Raw Cranberry Relish with Orange, Apple and Ginger
Green Beans with Shallots
Savory Corn Pudding
Jelled Cranberry Mold
Garlic Sautéed Broccoli
Chocolate Pecan Bourbon Pie
Sweet Potato Pie

Oh yeah, and JD will be making a turkey. I made a Cranberry Sorbet, but I don't think we'll be eating it, with so many other cranberry dishes--seriously, I had to restrain myself with the cranberries and mushrooms, as there were two other cranberry dishes I was keen on, and I just always want to use tons of mushrooms. When I was little I didn't even like cranberries, now I eat them as much as possible when they're in season.

I hope you all have a great Thanksgiving!

Guide to a Vegan Vanguard Thanksgiving, Part 2

What Do I Eat, Now That Turkey's Off The Menu?

I remember the panic of my first Thanksgiving. I had been a perfectly content vegetarian for about 4 months, and while I had experienced my share of food disasters, for the most part, I was having a lot of fun learning about nutrition and trying out new foods. Then, a few days before Thanksgiving, something occurred to me: for the first time in my life, I wouldn't be able to join in the family traditions. I wouldn't be eating the turkey, or the gravy, or the giblet stuffing, and I definitely wouldn't be making my family's annual Thanksgiving Jell-o. As I was only 14 at the time, this was a big moment for me, and I suddenly felt extremely alienated and isolated. Not because I wouldn't be eating turkey, but because I would be breaking one of the few traditions we observed, and I would be the only one doing so. I thought that I would be left out. As it turns out, my mother was great, and set aside stuffing for me without giblets, and the other dishes that couldn't be converted were things I didn't really care for anyway, so I was able to be part of the family and share most of the meal.

What did I eat instead of turkey for my first vegetarian Thanksgiving? I actually don't recall. I think it was some savory tofu dish that seemed daunting at the time, and ended up tasting okay but was generally underwhelming. The point is, the food itself didn't really matter, having my family make an effort on my part was enough to allow me to realize I could never not be a part of the family, and see how loved and accepted I was. I do know that for Christmas that year, and for the all of the Thanksgivings since that I've spent with them, my parents bought me a Tofurky. A whole Tofurky. Just for me. I've always appreciated the sentiment, even if I didn't really enjoy the entrée itself....I rag on it a bit, but it does make things easy, and I know many people who enjoy it immensely.

I actually was never a big fan of turkey on Thanksgiving because it usually came out kind of dry and wasn't particularly flavorful, which may account for why I don't miss turkey and don't care for Tofurky roasts. Give me a variety of delicious side dishes, or even just a plate of dressing and cranberry sauce, and I could be totally happy. I do enjoy the ritual of cooking for days, having a big production leading up to the main event, and then the delicious sedated afterglow, though. Plus, JD, my love, has a healthy appreciation for tradition, so we do a full spread, and we do it right.

I've been away from my family for 6 years now, so I've had some time to work on my Thanksgiving dishes, and I've done many different things for the vegan entrée at my Thanksgiving celebrations. For a few years, I made a simple harvest bake by mixing fall vegetables like celery, onions, sweet potatoes, potatoes, carrots, and parsnips in a casserole dish with tempeh or seitan, seasoned it all with soy sauce, garlic, herbs, and wine if I wanted, and baked until everything was tender. I've also made yummy but not especially festive protein dishes like tempeh marsala. Last year I tried making a tofu and gluten mock turkey, but it was terrible. I generally enjoy foods more when they're not trying to mimic something exactly, so I should have known better.

I usually try to do something a little different each Thanksgiving. Here's a recap of last year's Thanksgiving feast. I haven't finalized this year's menu yet, and there are over 20 recipes in contention, including chocolate bourbon pie, cranberry sorbet, cranberry, currant and champagne relish, cranberry upside down cake --yes, I have lots of love for fresh cranberries--and yuba holiday "duck". I do know we'll definitely be making the Cranberry, Fig, and Walnut Cornbread Dressing and Spiced and Caramelized Butternut Squash from last year's menu as well as traditional favorites like mashed potatoes.

Many blogs have compiled great recipes and ideas, some of my favorites include:

Vegan Bits - The link will take you directly to a compilation of holiday recipes, but check out the more recent posts for more Thanksgiving info.

PETA's VegCooking - Tons of recipes, most of which look like they were tailor-made for home cooks with limited time.

Bryanna Clark Grogan - The vegan food mogul and author offers up recipes for some of the most common holiday dishes. Great info, ideas, and recipes for soy-free vegans.

Karina's Kitchen - Anyone with gluten or wheat allergies will understand why Karina is a Gluten Free Goddess. While it's not a vegetarian or vegan blog, Karina does make sure her vegan readers have plenty of gorgeous recipes to try. In her pre-Thanksgiving post she includes tons of dishes that everyone can enjoy, just make sure click on any recipe that sounds inviting, as many of Karina's recipes have tips or variations for vegans.

101 Cookbooks - Heidi's compiled and organized all of her vegan Thanksgiving recipes, so you don't have to search. She's even separated all of the vegetarian Thanksgiving recipes on another page so everything is simple and easy for her readers. I love Heidi's style because it's simple, elegant, beautiful, and everything starts with quality ingredients.

Unturkey - Do you remember Now and Zen's UnTurkey? So do the vegans who created this site. They've opensourced the recipe, so you can recreate it in your home.

Finally, there's Field Roast - many people serve the Celebration Roast version, but I'm partial to the Hazelnut Herb Cutlet. The official website also offers recipes.

Up next: Guide to a Vegan Vanguard Thanksgiving, Part 3 - Where Can a Vegan in Austin Go to Get Their Thanksgiving Grub On?

Seitan Asada, and Wheat Flour Tortillas

My computer has apparently died. Last week, I installed the new microsoft update and firefox 3.0, one of which, I guess caused my firewall to disengage, which let in a virus, which killed my comp. Thankfully, JD's computer is across the room, and I can use it, although I can't access many of my recipes, pictures, movies, and music.

I promised to post about the seitan asada tacos and homemade flour tortillas, so here they are.

Carne asada was traditionally made with the cheap, tough cuts of meat, which were marinated in a citrus or vinegar based sauce or rubbed with spices, and then grilled or roasted to produced an easier to chew and more flavorful, dish. When I was growing up, my dad would buy carna asada tacos from roadside taco stands and taquierias, which consisted of carne asada served in a small tortilla with a wedge of lime, a sprinkle of fresh cilantro, occassionally grilled onions or scallions, and your choice of salsa.

I don't really measure ingredients for my seitan asada, so this is a broad recipe.

Seitan Asada Tacos
by Christina Terriquez

1 batch of Quick and Easy Seitan, homemade seitan, storebought seitan, or beef-style strips like Morningstar Farms Veggie Steak Meal Starters
cold-pressed unrefined safflower oil
garlic powder
onion powder, optional
chipotle powder
Mexican oregano, optional
sea salt
6-10 tortillas
1 medium onion, sliced into thin half moons
cilantro
lime wedges
salsa

Directions
If using seitan, cut seitan into thin strips, approximately 1/4"x 1/4" and 2" in length.

In a cast iron skillet, heat a small amount of oil. Add seitan strips, 1 tsp. garlic powder, 1/2 tsp onion powder, a shake of chipotle powder, and a shake of oregano. Sauté for a few minutes, and taste. Season with spices and salt to your tastes and sauté for a few more minutes. Remove seitan from pan, but do not wash pan.

Heat the same skillet over medium high, with fond and bits of seitan intact. Add onion and two pinches of salt. Allow onion to brown before turning, and cook about 2-3 minutes on each side. Alternately, sauté onions until translucent or grill.

Heat tortillas in a clean, dry skillet.

To serve, place about 2-3 tablespoons of seitan in each tortilla, garnish with a few pieces of onion, and a sprig or two of cilantro. Plate with a lime wedge and salsa.

Variations
-Steam tortillas.

-Add lettuce, and tomatoes.

-Add avocados.

-Add Quick-Pickled Pepper Onions instead of cooked onions.

And since almost everything is better when it's homemade, why not try your hand at making tortillas from scratch? They're much easier than they seem, and don't require special equipment, although the resting time is mandatory.

Flour Tortillas

2 cups wheat flour (white, whole or a combination)
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/4 cup cold pressed unrefined safflower oil
1/2-3/4 cup water

Directions
In a medium bowl, sift dry ingredients. Add oil and mix well. Add 1/2 cup water slowly and knead until dough is soft and consistent in texture, adding more water if needed.

Cover dough and let it rest for 30 minutes.

Divide the dough into 8 equal balls. Flatten balls intos discs and let rest 30 more minutes.

Roll each disc into a 7--8 inch tortilla, but do NOT stack. Heat griddle or large cast iron skillet. Heat tortillas, separately, about 45 seconds on each side. They should puff up with air, turn opaque, and become speckled with brown.

Wrap in a dry towel to keep warm.

Both recipes are pretty simple. They are tasty together, but that's an awful lot of flour, so I would serve corn tortillas with the seitan asada, and use the flour tortillas for something else. Sorry about the lack of pictures, I can't access the stuff on my computer, so back logged photos might be lost, but I CAN upload directly to JD's computer, so I'll still be able to post new photos.

Valentine's Day Love Bites

Valentine’s Day is a perfect special occasion to indulge in something really decadent with your loved ones. However, one of the biggest problems with indulging is the indigestion and feeling of heaviness that accompanies most baked goods. Nothing ruins romance like an upset stomach or feeling bloated and too-full.

These Love Bites are gluten-free for easy digestion. They have a complex yet classic combination of flavors which is rich and satisfying, yet their petite size makes them a perfect end to your meal, that won’t leave you or your sweetheart’s tummies feeling overstuffed.

Love Bites
Christina Terriquez

Yields: 20 servings

1 recipe Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
1 recipe Crème Anglaise for garnishing, optional

1/4 cup organic juice sweetened raspberry preserves, diluted
with 1 or 2 teaspoons of water

3/4 cup organic unsweetened non dairy milk, like soy, oat,
coconut, almond, rice, etc.
1/2 cup organic grain-sweetened chocolate chips

organic fresh raspberries for garnishing, optional

Directions
Prepare Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake and Crème Anglaise according to recipes.

Place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, heat soymilk over medium-high heat until soymilk just begins to boil. Pour hot soymilk over chocolate chips and let stand for two minutes. Whisk soymilk and chocolate together until a smooth homogeneous texture is achieved.

To assemble Love Bites:
Place a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet.

Cut off any crisp or tough edges of Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake and set aside for other uses. Cut remaining cake into individual servings using a small heart cookie cutter, or cut into 1 inch squares. If using a cookie cutter, make sure it is no more than 2 inches by 2 inches.

Cut heart in half, so that you have doubled the amount of hearts.

Spread 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of thinned raspberry preserves over the top of half of the hearts, then place another heart on top, creating a sandwich.

Place heart sandwiches on a wire rack/cookie sheet set up. Slowly pour chocolate sauce over each heart, allowing some chocolate to flow down the sides of each heart If chocolate has thickened, heat it or whisk in a tablespoon or two of more nondairy milk. Decorate hearts with raspberries while chocolate is still soft, if desired.

Place chilled and whipped Crème Anglaise in a small plastic bag and cut the very tip of one corner off the bag. Use the bag to gently drizzle crème over each heart.

Allow chocolate and crème to set up. Share with your loved ones.

Variations
Try using a different flavor of preserves or Cashew Crème.

Substitute your favorite cake recipe for the Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to soymilk before boiling.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Christina Terriquez

Yields: 9–16 servings

1/3 cup organic quinoa flour
1/4 cup organic chick pea flour
1/4 cup organic white rice flour
1/3 cup organic, free-trade cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon, optional
1/4 cup organic safflower oil
5/8 cup organic unsweetened soy milk or coconut milk (1/2 cup
plus 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons organic white wine vinegar
1/2 cup organic agave nectar
1/8 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, Lima or SI brand recommended
1 tablespoon organic ground flax meal
1/4 cup filtered or spring water
1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon organic almond extract, optional

Directions
Preheat over to 350° F.

Prepare one 8 inch square cake pan by lightly brushing with safflower oil, then lining with an 8x16 inch piece of unbleached parchment. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, sift flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together.

In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients together. Add dry ingredients and gently mix to incorporate.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30–50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool completely on cooling rack. Run a knife along the edges of the cake, and use long ends of parchment to gently remove cake from baking pan.

Variations
Double this recipe for a two–layer 8 inch square cake.

Frost with Creamy Chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, Tofu Cream Icing, Cashew Creme, or serve with Orange Blossom Syrup.

Garnish with a fruit sauce made with fruit sweetened preserves diluted in apple juice or water and thickened with kuzu.

Crème Anglaise
Christina Terriquez

3/4 cup organic unsweetened soymilk
2 tablespoons agar flakes
1 organic vanilla bean
1/3 cup organic coconut milk
1/4 cup organic light agave nectar
1/4 cup organic amasake
1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil, optional

Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine soy milk and agar flakes and let rest for 10 minutes.

While agar and soymilk are resting, split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape the tiny black seeds from each half, and put vanilla seeds and pod into soymilk.

Add remaining ingredients to saucepan and simmer for 10–15 minutes, until agar flakes have dissolved and sauce has thickened slightly. Remove vanilla pod from sauce. Remove from heat and blend in blender or with immersion wand once again. Use immediately for glazing.

If using sauce for garnishing, cool until set. After sauce has set, purée in blender or with immersion wand. Sauce should be soft custard consistency.

Notes
Crème Anglaise is usually made with cream, refined sugar, egg yolks and vanilla beans. This vegan version is much healthier for your heart.

Store it in a squeeze bottle (this is a perfect use for your agave nectar bottles when you've used all the agave inside), and use it to garnish any other desserts you make that week.

Make a double or triple batch and put it in an ice cream maker for a rich, French Vanilla-style ice cream.

Cornbread

Cornbread cubes for Cornbread Dressing.

Before moving to Austin, I had never heard of cornbread dressing, and the only cornbread I had ever made, was the kind from the little blue Jiffy box. Since I've been in Texas, though, it seems like every fall, you can't escape the innumerable mentions of cornbread dressing, recipes for cornbread dressing, and smell of cornbread baking in anticipation of being made into cornbread dressing. Needless to say, I've tried a few different versions of cornbread dressing, and while they may have been tasty, I couldn't help thinking that the dish would have been better if the building block of the dish, the cornbread, was better. It seems to me that the cornbread used is usually off, either too dry, too soggy, too sweet, or having too little corn flavor. So, I decided to experiment with cornbread recipes. Many of these were good, but something about each just wouldn't work for dressing. Finally, I decided to just create my own. This recipe is the result. It's slightly sweet, moist enough to eat alone, but dry enough to soak up soup, chili or bean likker. It also makes an awesome basis for cornbread dressing.

Christina's Cornbread
by Christina Terriquez

Dry Ingredients
2 1/3 cups fine cornmeal
1 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda

Wet Ingredients
1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn kernels
1/3 cup non-GMO corn oil
2-3 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons flax meal (ground flax seeds)
1/2 cup water
2 cups soy milk
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar


Directions
Preheat oven to 350° F.

Lightly oil a 13"x9" baking dish.

In a large bowl, sift dry ingredients together.

In a blender or food processor, blend corn kernels, oil, agave nectar, flax meal and water until smooth. Add soy milk and vinegar and let rest for 5 minutes.

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Pour into prepare baking dish and bake until a toothpick comes out of the center clean.

Notes

This can be frozen in air tight bags for up to a month, though it will dry out a bit.

JD was extremely excited about the cornbread, as he grew up eating it often, and to him, apparently, nothing is better than a bowl of "soup beans" and cornbread. So I made this meal for him. It's cubes of cornbread, covered with whole, slow cooked pinto beans, slow cooked collard greens cooked with a little alderwood smoked sea salt and sesame oil (to give it a sort of smoky oily flavor, like ham hocks or bacon), and sweet potatoes.

JD's comfort bowl.

Attack of the Crepes!

Luscious Strawberries and Cashew Creme Crepes

Back when H came to visit, around the end of May, I started experimenting with crepes. It turns out that they are incredibly easy if you have the right tools! Luckily, in this case, "the right tools" all happen to be pretty inexpensive (excuse me while I momentarily geek out over gadgets, most of which have been in my kitchen for a while): a mesh sieve, colander, strainer or flour sifter; a well seasoned cast iron skillet, crepe pan, comal or flat griddle; a silicone brush; a crepe spreader (although an offset spatula may work, too); and a flexible stainless steel spatula.

The mesh sieve is for sifting your flour to make sure your crepes are light and lump-free. Mesh sieves are very useful in the kitchen as they can ensure your sauces, soups, sorbets, coulis, etc. are smooth and silky. You can also use it for rinsing dry grains or bean, or draining soaked nuts.

The skillet is where you'll cook the crepes, and cast iron is my favorite cooking medium: it conducts heat well so that food can cook evenly, it's durable as long as you treat it well, it takes on the best flavors and imparts them back into your food, it's naturally non-stick if it's well-seasoned, without being toxic (unlike Teflon....), and can be really inexpensive if it's a bare bones style. Of course, there are also the high-end enameled pieces of cast iron like Le Creuset which are pricey, but definitely worth it....they're just not for everything. While Le Creuset makes a crepe pan, I think it's unnecessary if you have a small kitchen or a tight budget.

The silicone brush enables you to keep your hot crepe pan well lubricated without having to worry about melting the bristles. I'll admit I was skeptical when I first saw the thick, rubbery bristles of a silicone brush. I though, "How in the world is that thing supposed to hold any oil, or agave nectar, or heaven forbid, a lighter liquid like soymilk?" And then I tried one. Immediately, I was hooked. Silicone pastry brushes are, in my opinion, the only way to go. Have you ever made baklava? If you use a plastic bristle pastry brush, the firm bristles catch and tear the delicate filo, and if you try using a soft natural bristle brush, you'll inevitably end up losing bristles in your baklava, which sure is appetizing! And the best reason to use silicone brushes is that they don't melt when you're working with heat, as silicone brushes have high melting point, usually around 500° F.

I'm sure the benefits of a crepe spreader are obvious, so there's really nothing for me to add.

Finally, there's the super thin and flexible stainless steel spatula. These are amazing tools. Perfect for flipping pancakes or crepes, moving hot cookies from cookie sheet to cooling rack, flipping burgers, tempeh or tofu in a cast iron skillet, or even for moving a cake from a square cake pan to a cooking rack. I certainly don't advise you to use any non-stick coated pans, but if you do, you'll want to avoid the stainless steel spatula, and instead opt for one of the nylon versions.

So, now that you know what the utensils do, I suppose you'll want a recipe and some pictures.

Simple Crepes
Christina Terriquez

1/2 cup organic whole wheat flour, or more if needed
1/8 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, SI brand recommended
organic safflower oil
3/4 cup organic unsweetened soy milk or rice milk

Directions
Sift flour and salt into a small bowl.

Mix 1 teaspoon of safflower oil and soy milk together, then whisk into dry ingredients. Batter should be about the consistency of melted ice cream, add more flour 1 tablespoon at a time if needed. Set batter aside.

Lightly brush safflower oil onto a griddle or cast iron skillet and heat to medium–high heat. Pour 2--4 tablespoons of batter onto hot skillet and quickly spread batter into thin round. Gently flip crepe in a quick, fluid motion and cook just until crepe is set. Crepes should be beige and flexible, not golden brown or crispy. Remove crepe from pan and repeat until all batter has been used. Brush more oil onto pan if needed.

Variations
-Fill crepes with fresh fruit and cashew créme for a simple but elegant brunch.

-Fill crepes with cooked tempeh, steamed asparagus or sautéed mushrooms for a savory meal.

The crepe recipe is pretty easy and straight forward, so I'm showing you some of my favorite ways to enjoy crepes. I think my favorite of all were the Crepes with Wild Asparagus and Shiitake Béchamel and the Luscious Strawberries and Cashew Créme Crepes: both of these dishes were gorgeous and delicious, but they also had very complex flavors and textures while being clean and simple. The Luscious Strawberries and Cashew Créme Crepes are something I would never order at a restaurant, but oh. my. god. were they amazing!

Quinoa, Teff and Corn Timbal with Appled Beets, Zucchini, Carrot, Candy Cap and Sugar Snap Pea Sauté, and Tempeh Crepes with Chives and Béchamel

For tempeh: simmer tempeh in water, shoyu and oil for 20 minutes, or alternately, steam tempeh for 20 minutes, then marinate in shoyu and pan fry until crispy.

For béchamel: heat olive oil in a skillet and mix in flour to make a white roux. When flour is well incorporated into oil, add unsweetened soy milk and whisk until sauce/gravy texture is achieved. Season with sea salt and/or shoyu and herbs or pepper if desired.

For Tempeh Crepes with Chives and Béchamel: wrap 2-4 pieces of tempeh up in each crepe. Covered with béchamel and garnish with chives.

Asparagus in Crepes with Wild Mushroom Béchamel

For Wild Mushroom Béchamel: reconstitute dried wild mushrooms and slice, or wash and slice a mix of fresh wild mushrooms. Sauté mushrooms in olive oil with a bit of shoyu or tamari. Remove cooked mushrooms from pan, add more olive oil and mix in flour to make a white roux. When flour is well incorporated into oil, add unsweetened soy milk and whisk until sauce/gravy texture is achieved. Add mushrooms back into sauce and season with sea salt and/or shoyu and herbs or pepper if desired.

For Asparagus in Crepes with Wild Mushroom Béchamel: blanch or lightly steam asparagus. Fill crepes with cooked asparagus and roll crepes. Pour hot béchamel over crepes.

Crepes with Wild Asparagus and Shiitake Béchamel

For Crepes with Wild Asparagus and Shiitake Béchamel: Blanch or lightly steam wild asparagus. Stuff asparagus into crepes, cover with shiitake béchamel and garnish with fresh, ripe tomatoes and scallions or chives.

Fresh Fruit and Cashew Créme in Crepes

Cashew Créme: soak approximately 1 cup of cashews in filtered water overnight. Drain water, purée with a pinch of sea salt, sweetener or your choice (I use agave nectar) and a small amount of water if needed. You can season with vanilla beans, vanilla extract, lemon juice, lemon zest, cinnamon or any combination thereof.

To prepare Fresh Fruit and Cashew Créme in Crepes: slice or dice fresh seasonal fruit or your choice you can use one variety or many (I used blackberries, pineapple, and mango). Fill crepes with about 1 tablespoon of cashew créme, 3 tablespoons fruit, and roll closed. Garnish with fresh mint, fresh fruit and/or cashew créme.

Luscious Strawberries and Cashew Créme Crepes

Luscious Strawberries: Slice berries and macerate in fresh squeezed orange juice, liquid sweetener of your choice (like agave or maple syrup), or for super luscious berries, a little maraska and/or amaretto liqueur and a bit of raspberry jam. In this case I opted for the super luscious variation, which was divine!

To prepare Luscious Strawberries and Cashew Créme Crepes, fill crepes with about 1 tablespoon cashew créme, add some berries, roll closed, top with more berries, a generous amount of berry liquid, and an extra dollop of cashew créme.

Blackberry Crepes

Blackberry Crepes: Fill the crepes with fresh blackberries and a touch of blackberry or raspberry jam (I was lucky enough to have some homemade blackberry jam from JD's mom), roll up crepe, top with a few more berries, and dust with powdered sugar, brown rice syrup powder, or drizzle with maple syrup or agave nectar.

Tempeh Madness!

Golden Brown Pan Fried Tempeh

Let's talk about tempeh. No, it's not a town in Arizona. The picture above is a great example of tempeh that has been pan fried until golden brown. I'm sure by now most vegans and vegetarians know what tempeh is. Hopefully, you've tried it, and it has become a part of your diet, whether you're a vegetarian or not. JD loves tempeh's nutty texture and flavor. As a chef, I love its versatility. It can be steamed, marinated, deep fried, pan friend, baked, sautéed, simmered, braised, smoked, grilled, broiled, crumbled, used in sushi, sate, paella, gumbo, fried rice, tacos, burritos, paté, stews, stuffing, patties, and, I've even heard of people using it for smoothies! Some of my favorite tempeh dishes to prepare include Tempeh Marsala, Tempeh Tacos, a Persian dish of tempeh in a walnut pomegranate sauce, Tempeh Sushi and Tempeh Ruebens, and I love ordering Nasi Goreng with Deep Fried Tempeh locally from Java Noodles, or getting Tempeh Scallopini from Watercourse Foods when I'm in Denver.


So what is tempeh? It's a soybean product. A fermented soybean patty, to be exact. I know it sounds kind of horrendous, but good homemade tempeh only has the most subtle of smells, and really only an earthy, slightly mushroomy smell. Commercial tempeh doesn't even really have a smell. Don't let the fermentation scare you, I think Americans in general are scared of fermented foods, but we unwittingly eat them every day from various sources like: chocolate, coffee beans, sauerkraut, beer, wine, yogurt, kefir, vinegar, pickles, olives, cheese, soy sauce and tamari.

Recently, soy foods have been getting unfairly lumped together, but as I've stated before, soy foods are not all equal. Tempeh is frequently grouped with tofu as a meat analog or meat substitute, and although both can a great addition to vegan or vegetarian diets, they're both foods with long, rich histories. Tofu originated in China, most likely more than two thousand years ago. Tempeh originated in Indonesia, probably around the 16th century, where it was produced by the Javanese people. Both of these soy products have been the subject of cancer prevention studies.

So how is tempeh different from tofu, you ask? Texturally, I always think of tempeh as the "steak" of soy products and tofu as the "cheese", although I think tempeh has much more inherent flavor. Nurtritionally, tempeh has more calcium and iron, and almost twice as much protein as tofu.

Tempeh is made from whole, skinned soybeans which are soaked, partially cooked, then mixed with the Rhizopus oligosporus spore (usually called PTS for Powdered Tempeh Starter), and incubated for about 24 hours, so it's not only a whole food, but also a cultured food which (when prepared properly*) is easy to digest since the fermentation has started breaking it down, and over time it can aid digestion and help propagate good intestinal flora and strengthen your immune system. Tempeh has also been sited as a good source of vitamin B12 for vegans, although that is up for dispute.

Tofu, on the other hand is a heavily refined soy food made from soaked soybeans, the raw soaked beans are blended with hot water, then lightly cooked and the soybean pulp is strained, giving you soy milk and okara (soy pulp). A coagulant is then added to the soy milk to make it curdle ( like dairy cheese), and then the curds are strained and pressed.

I know that you have busy lives and sometimes it's hard enough to order take-out, let alone prepare a food that requires not only incubating and culturing for 24 hours, but also de-skinning soybeans (!), but I'd like to encourage the more adventuresome of you to try your hand at culturing your own batch of tempeh. Why? Well, for one thing, once you get the hang of it, and set up your incubator, it's pretty easy. For another, there's a huge difference between homemade tempeh and store bought tempeh. Finally, you know how I said that tempeh could propagate good intestinal flora? Well, commercially produced tempeh is made in sterile environments, and pasteurized, so while it can be easy to digest, most likely it won't do much for your flora or immune system. In even the cleanest of home kitchens, there's a little bacteria in the air, and in this case, that's a good thing. That bacteria makes your tempeh more hardy, and when you eat that fresh, unpasteurized tempeh, your immune system reaps the benefits.

And if you needed any other reasons, imagine going to bed at night and waking up to find this lovely, downy white block of tempeh all ready to prepare for your breakfast, lunch or dinner?

Fresh, homemade chickpea tempeh.

Or maybe making something wild like chickpea tempeh, sesame seed tempeh, pumpkin seed tempeh, walnut tempeh, wakame tempeh, or fu nori tempeh?

Clockwise from top left: wakame tempeh, pumpkin seed tempeh, flax seed tempeh and fu nori tempeh.

Since there are already some great online guides to making tempeh, most notably this one, I'll only offer some notes and tips.

Notes:

To make skinning the soybeans easier, I pulse the dry beans in my food processor 1 cup at a time, until the majority of the beans are cracked (but not powdered!). This is very loud, so I wear earplugs. Skinning the soybeans is an important step, and ensures that you have firm, non crumbly tempeh. You don't have to remove ALL the skins, but you do need to take off most. Why? Well, the mycelia attaches to the outer layer of the soybeans, if that layer happens to be the skin of the beans, then as soon as you cut into your tempeh, the skins will stay attached to the mycelia, but the actual bean will pop out, leaving you with a soggy mess when you try to do anything with the tempeh.

I like to crack and soak the beans in the evening, then soak them the next morning (loud noises early in the morning are too jarring for me), cook them in the evening, after dinner, so I can begin the fermentation process a few hours before bed. This way, I'm usually home from work to check on them around the time they're done fermenting. Of course, you may not work outside the home, or choose to do this on a weekend. I'm just saying that you do need to take into account where you'll be between about hour 18 and 24.

I've experimented with using vinegar along with the starter, and it's never worked, so I just use PTS and the soybeans. I've never tried brewer's yeast, but I've heard that others do. Experiment with small batches and see what works best.

I like culturing the tempeh patties in zippered, sandwich size plastic baggies. I use a fork with thin, sharp tines to poke holes in the bag for ventilation, usually three rows of four. The baggies make the finished tempeh cakes easy to handle and store and means that the tempeh is already divided into portions.

If I'm making large batches all at once, I chill the tempeh cakes in the fridge, and once they are cool, put them into gallon sized freezer bags and freeze them.

For general use, I put about 1 1/2 cups into each baggie, which is about 3 or 4 servings.

Make sure you have a warm, dry place all prepped BEFORE you begin boiling the beans. Optimal incubating temperature is about 85, so your home's normal room temperature might be perfect. If not, the oven, top of the refrigerator, above the dryer, etc. might be good spots. I use my oven, turned off, with the light on.

I like to dry the partially cooked soybeans on large flour sack towels, because terry cloth towels can leave fuzzy lint threads, that can look like hair. Not appetizing.

I'm still experimenting with adding things to my tempeh, but 2-3 teaspoons per 1 1/2 cups of tempeh seems to be a good amount for small seeds like sesame or flax. Additions should be dry, room temperature, and at least as small as the beans, so nuts or seeds can be roasted, toasted or soaked, but cool and toweled dry like the beans. For sea vegetables, I've had good luck cutting them into small bits and adding them dry. I think if you reconstituted them, they'd be too slick and add too much liquid. For the bean mixtures, I think it's a good idea to boil them separately so that you have more control over how soft they become. I made a mostly chick pea version that was very nice, although JD didn't like it (R, who has a soy sensitivity, loved it) . The chickpeas are drier and almost pasty, but I enjoyed it very much, and I think it would be great for people with soy sensitivities. I know you can make soy/grain tempeh, but I haven't done this. I'm not a fan of the Lightlife and White Wave versions, so I don't see a point in trying it at the moment.

Good luck and happy fermenting!

Glamour shot of the pumpkin seed tempeh (which happens to be my favorite so far).

*Please note: since the soybeans for tempeh are only partially cooked, it's very important that you always cook any commercially produced tempeh for at least 20 minutes in order to make it digestible. I've noticed that my tempeh is always much more tender and the beans are much softer, so I think cooking homemade tempeh for 10 minutes is probably sufficient.

Samosa Tutorial

Sorry for the long delay, but as promised, here's a new tutorial. I'll try posting about the chutney soon. I think I may try a more macrobiotic-friendly version of samosas soon, but until then, here's a vegan version.

Samosas with Pomegranate Cilantro Chutney and condiments

A little backround on this tutorial: I had a hankering for samosas one evening when I happened to be feeling experimental. I decided that learning how to make them would serve me better and be much more useful than simply going out to find some, either frozen or take-out (who knows what kind of preservatives and additives would be in them?). By sheer luck, I happened to have three small potatoes leftover from the Thanksgiving mashed potatoes I made--I don't normally have potatoes in my home--but I did not have any peas, and to me, those ingredients are the basis for samosas. A quick call to JD ensured that he had some, which he'd bring over before he came for dinner. A little online research and some calculations gave me a basic idea of what I'd be doing, but I still wasn't sure how to roll the dough, fill the dough, or achieve the proper shape. I adjusted the ingredients of the dough a bit, since most recipes called for 2 cups of flour, which I knew would make way too much, and tried following the only set of directions I could find. The directions seemed to skip a few steps, and they didn't roll the dough into large enough circles, so I decided that the next time I made samosas-because there would definitely be a next time-I would take pictures and post a tutorial. After a bit of practice, they really are quite simple.

Samosas
Christina Terriquez

For crust:

1 cup organic white wheat flour
2 teaspoons organic safflower oil
1/4 teaspoon unrefined sea salt
1/3--3/4 cups water

1-3 cups of organic safflower oil, rice bran oil, or sunflower oil for frying

Filling:
1 teaspoon organic olive oil
1 tablespoon (or to taste) curry powder or a mixture of your favorite Indian spices such as:
coriander, tumeric, ground clove, ginger powder, cumin, chili powder, etc.
1/4 cup organic onion, diced (optional)
1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced (optional)
1--2 cloves organic garlic, minced (optional)
3 medium organic potatoes, boiled until soft and slightly mashed
1/2--1 cup organic frozen peas, thawed
unrefined sea salt
1/4--1/2 cup organic toasted slivered almonds (optional)
1/4--1/2 cup organic currants, raisins or sultanas (optional)

To prepare dough:

Shift flour and salt into a medium sized bowl. Add oil and mix until texture resembles a fine sand. Add 1/3 cup water and mix until flour comes together as a ball. More water may be needed. I usually use 1/2 cup. Knead dough for about 5 minutes, until dough is smooth and soft. Set aside and let dough rest for about 15 minutes.

To prepare filling:

Heat oil in a stainless steel or cast iron skillet (oil should never smoke). Add dried spices and sauté over medium heat for 45 seconds to two minutes, until spices turn slightly darker and become fragrant. Add onion, garlic, and ginger and sauté until onion becomes translucent. Add potatoes and stir well. When all spices are evenly incorporated throughout the potatoes, add the peas, almonds and dried fruit, if using it. Remove from heat and set aside.

Prepared samosa filling with almonds and currants

To roll out dough and fill samosas:

Knead the dough for about two minutes.

Set up your workspace with an area (countertop or cutting board) large enough to roll the dough out, a small cup of water (1/2 cup) for dipping your fingers, a small amount of flour (less than 1/2 cup) for dusting your board, a bowl with the prepare filling and a small spoon, and two platters, plates or cookie sheets, one lined with parchment paper or a covered with a floursack towel and the other lined with paper towels.

Lightly flour your rolling area. Use just enough flour so that your dough will not stick, but not so much that thedough is completely caked in flour, either. Cut off a golf-ball-sized piece of dough, and roll it out into a large circle, approximately 6-8 inches in diameter. Cut the circle in half.

Fold one half circle in half.

Wet the top rounded edge of the quarter circle, then fold the bottom rounded edge over and gently press, so that you have a hollow cone.

Being careful not to tear the dough, use the small spoon to gently fill the cone 3/4 of the way full.

Once the cone is 3/4 of the way full, lay one half of the unfilled portion of the cone down over the filling.

Next, wet the free-standing edge and gently fold and press it over the samosa.

Gently heat the organic safflower oil, rice bran oil, or sunflower oil. I used about 1 cup in an 8 inch cast iron pan, but if you have a tempura pan or something similar, use it, and fill with about 1 inch of oil. Oil is hot enough when a wooden chopstick inserted into the oil bubbles, or alternately, when a small, dry piece of dough is dropped in the oil and it bobs up to the surface almost immediately. Be careful to make sure oil does not smoke.

When oil is hot, gently place a few samosas in pan being careful not to overcrowd pan. Samosas will need to be turned at least once. If samosas are especially full, they may have three sides to brown. When a samosa is brown on all sides, remove it and let it drain on paper towels. I use cooking chopsticks for this as they give me more control and make less of a mess than skimmers.

Serve samosas warm. Especially delicious with chutney.

Samosas filled with curried potatoes, peas, almonds and currants.

Notes:

You may use unbleached white flour or regular whole wheat (or even spelt flour), but I've found that the color and texture are best when I use white wheat flour. White wheat flour is a whole wheat flour that is made from a lighter variety of wheat, so it is lighter in color and softer, but still contains the bran, which gives it more texture and nutritional value than white flour (which contains no bran). It's kind of like the difference between white rice and brown rice. Neither whole wheat flour nor white wheat flour are really whole grains, though. Flours, by definition, cannot be whole grains as they have been ground. I have not tried to make any gluten-free samosas, but I'm sure garbanzo bean flour would be appropriate as far as taste.

Almond Bliss Scones

JD decided he wanted to make a 20-pound turkey for Thanksgiving. Since we both live (separately) in apartments with tiny kitchens, we decided that he'd make all the non-vegan essentials--turkey, giblet gravy and stuffing (plus a small batch of vegan dressing), at his place, and I'd make all the other dishes vegan-friendly, at my place. We had agreed on a 6 pm dinner. But the turkey wasn't going to be done by then, so we pushed it back to 7 and I cooked all my dishes at a leisurely pace, watching a movie and relaxing as I prepped so that everything would be fresh and hot when the turkey was ready....when it wasn't done at 7, and I had already cleaned my kitchen, I decided to whip up a quick batch of scones, since the oven was already at the proper tempurature.

These scones feature almonds, coconut, and chocolate (like those candy bars), are a joy to make, but absolutely blissful to eat. I made similar scones for JD's family the first time I met them, and they all loved them. I've never met anyone who didn't like these, and a batch never lasts more than twenty four hours.

Almond Bliss Scones
Christina Terriquez

Yields: 6-9 scones
Baking time: 20-25 minutes

1 cup organic whole wheat or whole spelt flour
1 cup organic unbleached white flour or white spelt flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 pinch unrefined sea salt
1/2 cup safflower oil or vegan butter substitute such as Earth Balance or Soy Garden
1/2 cup agave nectar, maple syrup or organic unrefined sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract (optional)
1/4 cup dairy-free, fair trade dark chocolate chips (or your favorite vegan chocolate bar, chopped)
1/4 cup almonds, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2-1 cup unsweetened soymilk

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Sift flours, baking powder and salt in a bowl.

In a separate large bowl, mix sweetener and oil or margarine with extracts. Add dry ingredients and mix until a sandy texture is reached. Add chocolate, almonds, coconut and mix well. Add 1/2 cup soymilk and stir gently. If dough is too dry add a bit more soymilk, being careful not to overmix.

Scoop by 1/4 cup scoops onto a stainless steel cookie sheet or glass baking dish. Bake for about 20-25 minutes.

Notes:

I like to use the big coconut flakes, but you could use shredded coconut

This recipe is very easy to change. I like making cranberry coconut walnut scones, or chocolate pecan scones. Simply substitute 1/4 cup of up to three of your favorite ingredients in place of the coconut, almonds and/or the chocolate.

Great with coffee, tea or grain coffee as a light breakfast or for dessert.

The last bite

Sugar High Fridays: Pomegranate Truffles, Hazelnut Macadamia Truffles, and Peppermint Truffles

I am participating in my first blog event, Sugar High Fridays. I used a few of my tried and true vegan truffle recipes, and decided to create a new and unexpected recipe using a seasonal fruit, the pomegranate! In case you're unfamiliar, truffles are notoriously hard to veganize (by the way, if you're avoiding refined sugar, I have grain-sweetened truffle recipes, but I didn't have time to make any before the Sugar High Fridays deadline. Post a comment if you're interested).

The pomegranate truffles came out better than I could have imagined. The chocolate covered version is amazing: the center melts as soon as it enters your mouth, so when you take a bite, or press your tongue against it, the tart liquid explodes in your mouth, the coating collapses, and the only tangible thing you have is the rich chocolate coating, slowly melting away. I will definitely use this ganache recipe again for truffles, as a sauce for a simple cake and maybe even as a chocolate fondue. (It reminded me of something from Chocolat, and I told JD I thought it was sinfully sensual and sexy. He said he never understood why people considered chocolate "sexy". I balked. He said I was sexy, then proceeded to lick the ganache from my fingers--after I had finished rolling all the truffles-- and we both agreed that that was sexy.)

The cocoa/powdered sugar covered pomegranate truffles are lovely in a less in-your-face kind of way. The powdered sugar cuts the tartness a bit and makes the ganache a little bit more solid. For these I used Scharffen Berger 99% unsweetened chocolate and Valharona 61% chocolate. Please, use the recommended ingredients and the best quality you can find/afford as it really does make a difference.

I've made a small change to the instructions for the pomegranate truffles. I made them last week and the soymilk and pomegranate mixture curdled and tasted decidely less pomegrante-y. I will be retesting soon, but hopefully these updated instructions will fix that snafu.

Pomegranate Truffles
Christina Terriquez

For filling:
2 oz 99% unsweetened chocolate, chopped (about 1/2 cup)
1 tablespoon organic raw, unrefined coconut butter
1 tablespoon pomegranate pekmez
1 tablespoon organic pomegranate jelly
1/2 cup organic, unsweetened soymilk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch of sea salt or drop of ume vinegar

For garnish:
2 oz 60-65% dairy-free chocolate, chopped
and/or
1/4 organic unrefined sugar, plus
2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder

In a double boiler, melt unsweetened chocolate with coconut butter and soymilk.

In a separate bowl, mix pekmez, jelly, salt and vanilla extract and stir thoroughly.

When chocolate is completely melted, carefully remove from heat and stir chocolate into pomegranate mixture and blend well. Refrigerate or freeze until ganache is firm enough to be handled (ten to twenty minutes in freezer).

Working quickly, roll ganache into balls by the teaspoon. Balls will be about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Place balls on a foil covered plate and freeze for about two minutes.

For chocolate covered truffles:
In a double boiler, melt half of the sweetened chocolate. Remove from heat, add half of the remaining chocolate and stir until melted. Add remaining chocolate and stir until melted. Working quickly, dip chilled ganache balls into melted chocolate and place on a foil covered plate.


For cocoa covered truffles:


Mix sugar and cocoa powder then blend in a food processor or blender.

Roll ganache balls in cocoa powder mix. You will need to roll each ball in cocoa a few times.

Hazelnut Macadamia Truffles
Christina Terriquez

For filling:
1/2 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips or 2 oz 60-65%
1 tablespoon organic raw, unrefined coconut butter
2 tablespoons raw macadamia nut butter
pinch of sea salt or drop of ume vinegar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon hazelnut or almond extract

For garnish:
1/4 cup finely chopped toasted hazelnuts or hazelnut meal


In a double boiler, melt chocolate with coconut butter and macadamia nut butter.


When chocolate is completely melted, remove from heat and add salt and extracts. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is firm enough to be handled (ten to twenty minutes in freezer).

Working quickly, roll chilled chocolate into balls by the teaspoon. Balls will be about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Roll balls, one by one in hazelnuts.

Note: Vary this recipe but using different nut butters and rolling in different nuts. Almond butter and toasted almonds work well.

Peppermint Truffles
Christina Terriquez

For filling:
1/2 cup dairy free dark chocolate chips or 2 oz 60-65%
1 tablespoon organic raw, unrefined coconut butter
pinch of sea salt or drop of ume vinegar
1/2-1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

For garnish:
2-3 tablespoons organic, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 teaspoons raw cacao nibs, chopped finely

In a double boiler, melt chocolate with coconut butter.

When chocolate is completely melted, remove from heat and add salt and extracts. Refrigerate or freeze until chocolate is firm enough to be handled (ten to twenty minutes in freezer).

Mix cocoa powder with cacao nibs in a shallow bowl and set aside.

Working quickly, roll chilled chocolate into balls by the teaspoon. Balls will be about 3/4 of an inch in diameter. Roll balls, one by one in cocoa powder mixture. Balls may need to be rolled in cocoa powder more than once.

Note: These are great as after dinner mints.

Update on 11-26-2006: The (tempered chocolate covered) pomegranate truffles were definitely the favorite, with the hazelnut macadamia easily sliding in second. I was surprised that JD loved the pomegranate so much, especially considering how much he loves hazelnuts. The hazelnut macadamia truffles are lusciously creamy without being so soft that they need to be kept in the fridge, or covered in chocolate.

The peppermint truffles were just a bit dry, but that was my fault, I accidentally used a bit too much vanilla(the alcohol in most extracts seizes the chocolate a bit, which is essential for these recipes, but if you add too much, the chocolate will seize completely. Adding extra peppermint extract is generally fine because 1) it's so strong you can't really add very much and have the end product still be edible and 2) peppermint extract is usually made from peppermint essence and some kind of oil, so it is alcohol free. Rolling the truffles in cocoa powder without coating in tempered chocolate also dries them out, so I may amend this recipe to always cover in tempered chocolate, then roll in cocoa powder. I love the dark, only slightly sweet flavor you get when you roll directly in unsweetened cocoa powder, but I suppose I could retain that aspect if I used 80% chocolate.