Honey Chicken

Tried a variation on this from NYT https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1025319-honey-garlic-chicken. Had to sub out the soy sauce for legume allergies in the family and used miyoko's vegan butter to avoid lactose and soy. 

Mix in a small cup: 

3 TB water

2 TB honey

1 tsp salt 

In another cup, combine 2 TB apple cider vinegar, 4 cloves garlic chopped, 2 TB miyoko's butter 

Use a meat hammer to pound ~1 lb chicken breasts to uniform thickness (so it will cook at the same time as the other pieces) 

In hot pan, add oil. Fry the chicken about 5 minutes until golden on one side. Flip over, continue cooking until golden on both sides. 

Remove chicken from the pan. Pour the honey-water into the pan, delgaze the pan. Now add the garlic mixture and simmer, reducing the sauce and gently cooking the garlic. 

Return the chicken to the pan and coat in the sauce. 

Serve with crusty bread or rice or mashed potatoes to scoop up the sauce! 

Lactose free cake and frosting

For my dad who can't do dairy or legumes, which makes both traditional and vegan baking taboo! 

White vanilla cake 

https://chocolatecoveredkatie.com/vegan-cake-recipe/

yield: Two 8" cakes, or one 9x13" or three 6" cakes

Combine liquids: 

1.25 C non dairy milk 

1.5 TB vinegar

1 TB vanilla 

0.25 C avocado oil

Optional: add the leftover egg yolks from the meringue frosting to the cake batter. It will no longer be vegan and white, but instead yellow cake. 

Then add 

2 C flour 

1 TB baking powder

0.5 tsp salt

1 C granulated sugar

Greased baking pan

bake 30 minutes at 350 F 

Swiss Meringue Buttercream 

This is a Half batch, and it's enough to just barely cover a cake, from https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/swiss-meringue-buttercream/. I love that it's not sickly sweet like typical american frostings, and it has a nice lighter fluffier texture than typical butter-sugar frosting. And the fact it uses granulated sugar makes it more pantry friendly!

Get the equipment ready, wipe down with vinegar to make sure no trace of oily residue: 

stand mixer, whisk and paddle attachment

double boiler

hand whisk, spatula/scraper

candy or food thermometer 

Heat in double boiler, whisking, until 160F 

3 egg whites

1 C granulated sugar

1/4 tsp cream of tartar to stabilize eggs

Remove cooked egg white from double boiler. Pour into the stand mixer and whip into stiff peaks (probably 10 minutes) with the whisk attachment. Stiff peaks means it does't fold back on itself when you pull the beater up out of the bowl. 

Once the egg whites are stiff peaks, and not too hot (don't want to melt the butter) add these slowly and whisk a bit (to get most of the egg off the beater). Switch to the paddle attachment on the mixer. 

1 tsp vanilla

1/16 tsp salt 

12 TB vegan butter (3/4 C) like Miyokos (which doesn't have soy)

Note the frosting will get grainy looking if it heats up too much, so storing in the fridge is a good idea but not strictly necessary. If it firms up too much in the fridge, you can whip it with the paddle attachment. 

Mochi Party

 DAY BEFORE PREP 

Mochi uses raw cornstarch (or katakuriko/potato starch) as the coating.  Depending on who you ask cornstarch may not be good to eat raw. For the utmost food safety, bake 3/4 C of cornstarch and 1 TB powdered sugar at 350F for 5 minutes or until 160F.   When done, stone in a glass container. 

Pressure cook adzuki (red beans)  does not require soaking beans! Place 250 g dried adzuki beans in pressure cooker with 4 C water. optional add vanilla bean. pressure cook 25 minutes, then let it sit for 20 minutes (natural release). Open the lid, check that beans are soft. Strain the cooked beans and the liquid, reserve some liquid.  Dissolve 1 C sugar  and 1/4tsp salt into the hot beans. Blend in Vitamix, pour into a container and chill. 

Optional: Pressure cook taro (peeled, cubed taro. steamer basket. instant pot. 10 minutes "Steam" button).  Mash and add sugar and nondairy milk until it's a good taste and texture (inspiration1, inspiration2,  purple sweet potato variation)

Optional: pressure cook white beans (cannelini, navy, or some people like lima beans), flavor with sugar, cocoa, peanut butter, black sesame paste etc. 

Scoop the pastes with small cookie scoop onto a parchment lined baking sheet and freeze.  Frozen fillings are much easier to wrap mochi around!  

DAY OF 

Pour the baked cornstarch/sugar mixture onto a parchment paper lined baking tray. This is where hot mochi dough will go later. 

In a large microwave save ceramic or glass bowl, combine: 

1 C glutinous rice flour, "mochiko". You can use Shiratamako but I can't taste the difference and mochiko is easier to find at the store! 

1/4 C powdered sugar 

1 TB cornstarch (raw is fine b/c we will cook this) 

1 C water (or non dairy milk) 

Zap mochi dough in microwave for 1 minute. Stir with silicone/rubber spatula. Zap for another 1 minute. Stir. Zap for 30 seconds and stir. continue until the raw wet spots are either gone or very very small. 

Stir in 1 TB avocado or neutral oil, you will have to kind of massage it into the mochi dough with the spatula. Be careful b/c it's very hot. 

Spread the mochi out on the prepared cornstarched sheet. Let cool for 5-10 minutes until it's not burning your hands to touch it. 

Bring the frozen fillings out. Place muffin cups (silicone or paper) in a a tray. 

Cut off a small chunk of mochi dough (like 1-2 TB? some people weigh it but I'm lazy). Flatten with your hands, brush off excess cornstarch with a pastry brush. If it's too sticky use more cornstarch on your hands. 

Wrap the mochi around frozen filling, seal the mochi onto itself. Shape it around the frozen filling with your hands. Optional: press it in mooncake molds to make a "snowskin" shape. 

Place in muffin cup ( Use cupcake liners to keep each mochi separate from each other. )  

Let the mochi rest: the hot exterior will cool and the frozen interior will soften up in 30-60 minutes.  Eat day of or lasts 2 days in the fridge. 

If you want to be extra fancy and put some powder on top: don't do this in advance!! A little bit of matcha + some grainy granulated sugar on top is delicious, but sugar is hygroscopic and the mochi will get gooey if you leave it like that. 

C's instant pot chicken curry

Throw into instant pot:  

1 TB yellow curry paste

frozen cooked sliced chicken 

3/4 lb frozen brocoli

6 small potatoes, diced  

1.5C water

1/2 tsp salt 

Cook in instant pot (pressure cook) 4 minutes 

When done cooking, stir in cashew cream (1/4 C cashew + 1/2 C water, blended) 

season to taste with 

lime/lemon juice

sugar

fish sauce

serve with naan bread

Spring Rolls and Vietnamese dipping sauce

 I finally got the proportions right! These are refreshing salad or spring rolls, and a great way to eat up a lot of produce! 

PREP 

Open a firm tofu package, we will use only about half of a 16oz tofu box. Slice into domino shaped pieces. Place between two rimmed cookie sheets, weigh it down and let it sit for 15 minutes or more to squeeze out the liquid. Drain. 

snap rice vermicelli noodles into 4-6" long strands. Soak in hot boiling water for 3 minutes or until soft and white/opaque color. Strain, pour cool water over them, strain again. Let sit. 

Cut cucumbers into thin long strands

Use food processor to grate 2 carrots

Mince mint, basil, cilantro 

SAUCE 

inspired by this NYT recipe, but omitting the garlic since it's uncooked (to reduce heartburn potential). In a small jar, mix: 

2.5 TB sugar

1/4 C lime juice

2 TB fish sauce (red boat brand) 

1 or 2 birds eye chilis sliced thin 

If you can't get the sugar to dissolve, then nuke in the microwave for 30 seconds and stir. Then refrigerate to chill. 

ASSEMBLY 

In a large glass pan like a pie pan, pour hot water.  Dip rice sheets one at a time into hot water to soften, remove immediately. 

Layer the fillings, then wrap up tightly. Set on a baking sheet or large plate, do not let them touch each other (or they will stick). 

Serve with chilled dipping sauce. 

Leftovers will last 1 day but will start to get hard if you leave them too long. 

Thai Basil Chicken

Inspired by eating this or similar dishes at Thai restaurants, and now that we are eating chicken again, I found some recipes for Thai Basil chicken and liked the Woks of Life version  but thought it needed more sugar. I was afraid to use the full amount of chiles, but I was wrong! It was delicious but didn't make enough for much leftovers, so doubled the recipe and added our changes below. 

PREP

Dice 10-12 cloves garlic

slice 6-8 shallots 

4 birds eye red chilis (the small long narrow ones) 

pull the leaves off of basil until you have about a cup or 2C of basil leaves

Finely mince 2 lbs raw chicken breast (or use ground chicken) 

Pour sauce ingredients into a small jar: 

4 TB soy sauce

2 TB fish sauce 

2 TB sugar

COOK 

On the stove, heat a big pan. Add 1 TB high heat oil (avocado, canola etc.) and swirl. 

Cook garlic, shallots and chiles for a couple minutes until starting to get golden brown. 

Add the chicken, stir and cook until all white (no longer pink). 

Pour the sauce over the chicken and stir, let it bubble and reduce a bit. When there's less liquid in the pan and it looks nearly done and chicken fully cooked through, add the basil. Stir to combine and let the basil wilt, about 30-60 seconds. 

Serve with rice, and optional chili crisp. 

Kung Pao Walnut Tofu

 Like kung pao Chinese takeout but I don't often have peanuts on hand! https://thewoksoflife.com/kung-pao-tofu-vegan-vegetarian/#recipe

Cut one pound tofu into cubes, press. Drain. 

Mix up the tofu coating slurry: 

1/3 C cornstarch

1/4 to 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1/4 to 1/2 tsp onion powder

1/2 tsp salt 

1/4 C water

Once tofu is drained, toss with the slurry. set aside. 

Mix up the stir fry sauce, set aside. This was actually very much like restaurant kung pao, I was impressed with how plain /pantry staple the ingredients are. 

2/3 C warm water

1 TB soy sauce

1 tsp dark soy sauce (kecap manis) 

1.5 tsp rice vinegar

0.5 tsp sesame oil 

2 tsp sugar

1/4 tsp salt

2 tsp cornstarch 

Meanwhile, do some mise en place to prep: 

break apart 2 dried red chili peppers, toss the seeds. 

mince or microplane 1 TB ginger

mince 3 cloves garlic 

slice 3 scallions/green onions

chop 2 carrots into peanut sized pieces

chop 2 stalks celery into peanut sized pieces

In hot pan, add 1/4 C avocado oil. Fry up 2/3 C walnuts  for a few minutes but do no burn.  Using slotted spoon, pull the walnuts out of the pan and set aside. 

Fry the tofu in 2 batches. Let it sit undisturbed until it browns and releases from the pan. set aside. 

Reserving the oil in the pan, fry up the carrots and celery. Add the ginger and chilies. Then add the garlic and green onions. 

Pour in the sauce and let it bubble. 

Pour the toasted walnuts and fried tofu and stir to coat. 

Serve over hot rice. 

• 
  

Spaghetti Squash Carbonara (vegetarian)

 Cut spaghetti squash in half lengthwise. discard seeds. Pressure steam for 7 minutes. When the squash has cooled slightly, use a fork to pull apart the spaghetti squash strands.  Drain if necessary. Reserve the hot steaming water. 

Beat 2-3 eggs. Add <=1 C shredded parmesan cheese and 1/4 tsp salt to the egg mixture. 

finely dice 1 clove garlic.  crush 1/4 tsp fresh black pepper.  

Rough chop 2-3 tomatoes. Chiffonade slice basil. 

In hot pan (large enough to hold the squash eventually), add 1-2 TB olive oil. Toast the garlic and black pepper in the hot oil but do not burn. Add tomatoes and stir. Add the sqaush strands and stir. 

slowly pour some hot steaming water into the eggs, continuously stirring so they don't curdle.  Now that you've warmed up the egg mixture, slowly pour egg mixture into the hot pan over the squash. Stir to keep it from curdling. Throw the basil in at the last minute. Serve immediately. 

 

Soy Curl Satay Skewers

Combine one 8oz package of soy curls with hot water to rehydrate. Drain and press out excess water.  (Pro-tip: use the largest pieces of soy curls, you may need to sort through a couple bags and use the big pieces from each bag)

Mix up marinade:  

1 TB Maple syrup

2 TB avocado oil

2 TB soy sauce

1 tsp lemongrass paste

1 tsp sriracha 

1/8 tsp ginger powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

Stir the hydrated soy curls in the marinate. Then thread onto skewers.  Place on a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. 

Broil at 500 F for 15 minutes. Then flip and boil another 5-7minutes. 

Serve with soba or vermichelli noodles, peanut sauce, veggies. 

Blackberry Vodka Spritzers

Make blackberry vodka by combining washed blackberries and vodka in a glass jar. Let sit for a few weeks, then strain. 

For Vodka spritzer, combine: 

1 TB blackberry vodka 

1 tsp lime juice 

1/4 C simple syrup (sugar + water ) 

about 3/4 C sparkling water

C's Favorite Veggie Soup (Instant pot)

 Chop 1 onion and 4-5 cloves garlic. Heat instant pot on saute function.

 When warm, add 1 TB oil. Then saute the onion and garlic in ¼  tsp salt

When carmelized, turn off saute function. Add cracked black pepper , 2 bay leaf, ½ tsp dried thyme. 

Meanwhile, chop veggies: 

3 carrots

2 stalks celery 

1 large russet potato (skin on) 

Optional: 1-2 C chopped green cabbage

Drop these into instant pot. 

Add 1 package veggie stock/broth (32 oz), approx 3 C water and 2-3 C frozen cooked chickpeas

Pour in enough extra water to come to the top of veggies. 

Seal and pressure cook for 5-8 minutes. 

Season with salt (1TB for normal folks, or 1/2 TB for lower salt diet) and 1 tsp lemon juice or vinegar 

Serve with crusty bread

Make ahead Sweet Potato Freezer Burritos

Make enchilada sauce: mix chili spices in a ramekin. In hot pan add 2 TB oil and 2 TB flour and toast. then add the spices, then tomato paste (or tomato paste concentrate). deglaze with 1.75 C veg broth.  Simmer to thicken. Set aside.

Peel and dice 2 medium yellow onions (or 1 big one). Saute in 2 TB avocado oil 1/2 tsp salt 

Peel and cut 2 sweet potatoes. Pressure steam in instant pot for 5 minutes. 

3-5 C cooked black beans (we soak, pressure cook, drain and freeze in ziplocks so they are ready!) 

2-3 C frozen corn 

Combine it all, taste and add salt if necessary. 

14 large flour tortillas. Heat up 2 at a time and fill and roll. Wrap in aluminum foil. Freeze

Fish Green Curry

Hot pan on the stove

add 1 TB avocado oil and swirl to coat bottom of pan 

fry up 2 TB or 50 grams green curry paste in the oil (<=60 seconds). We like Mae Ploy brand

add 1 to 1.5 TB sugar and 1-2 C plain non dairy milk (oat milk is good b/c it's richer than almond). Stir to combine. 

Add sliced mushrooms or green beans or vegetable of choice.  Cook on medium-low until the vegetables are nearly all done cooking. 

Place 2-4 portions of white fish fillets (halibut, cod or white fish) into the pan.  Spoon some of the curry liquid over the top. Turn stove to low and cover.  Let cook a couple minutes, then flip.  Fish is done when it flakes apart. 

Serve over rice. 

Vegan Papaya Lassi with Cardamom

Inspired by this and this, veganized a lassi! It's deceptively simple; super tasty.  

Blend: 

1 C ice cubes

1-2 C papaya 

1 C oat milk

1/2 tsp cardamom, crushed in mortar and pestle

2 medjool dates (pits removed) 

Favorite Tofu Recipes 2020-2021

Main method: Cut tofu into squares or slabs, press. Drain.  Marinate in soy sauce and maple syrup and some oil. Then toss in cornstarch (or panko and sesame seeds). Bake on parchment paper at 400 F for 20 minutes each side.  The basic idea is described well by Cookie and Kate. I hate frying as it's a lot of standing over the stove time, so I try to bake whenever possible!

Are these steps really necessary? Yes, even for someone like me who likes to skip steps and streamline. Pressing and draining is essential for better texture and crisping. Cornstarch or some dry coating on the outside is essential, otherwise the tofu just kind of steams in the oven. Parchment is essential (so you get a crisp exterior, otherwise it sticks to the pan and you can't get the crispy exterior off in one piece). 

Variants: 

• Marinate in sriracha and honey, then coat in corn flour/cornmeal like this recipe from The Woks of Life

• This version from Just One Cookbook uses Japanese flavors and reminds me of Agedashi tofu, but is much simpler. If you eat fish, the katsuobushi on top is delicious!  I wait until it's out of the oven and sprinkle while pan is still hot. 

• Sesame tofu is very popular. Use a flax egg or real egg to dip and adhere a thicker layer of panko or bread crumbs, like It Doesn't Taste Like Chicken or  Love and Olive Oil or Lazy Cat Kitchen. 

We also really like these tofu recipes from Chloe Coscarelli's book "Chloe Flavor": 

Thai Tofu Satay with peanut sauce pg 78 - adapted to the oven instead of stove top. I bake for 40 minutes at 375 - 400 F and flip half way through. These planks are so good we love them in sandwiches, especially with some kind of greens plus mango chutney. 

General Tso's Tofu on page 176 which uses an orange juice, sriracha sauce. 

Future Tofu ideas: 

Next I want to try tofu "Fish", in either the fish and chips or fish burger form factor from Elephantastic Vegan. 

I also want to try tandoori tofu on skewers like this from Hello Veggie or Holy Cow Vegan or Rabbit and Wolves. 

Vegan soy curl pot pies/chick*en and dumpings in instant pot

I saw this recipe for vegan pot pies and wanted to try making it in the instant pot, and adding soy curls for  a "chicken" like effect.  You can make this as either pot pies or more simply as "chick*n and dumplings"  

Measure out in a small cup: 

2 TB flour

1 tsp thyme

1 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp ground black pepper 

4 bay leaves

Dice: 

1 medium russet potato

2-4 carrots

2-4 celery stalks

1 small yellow onion

4 cloves garlic 

Soak 1/2 package soy curls in 1-2 C hot water. 

Meanwhile, make the dumpling/biscuit topping by mixing: 

2 C flour 

1.5 tsp baking powder

0.5 tsp salt
1/4 C olive oil 

3/4 C milk or non dairy milk

Saute the onion and garlic in the instant pot, with 2 TB oil and 1 tsp salt.  Now add the flour-spice mixture and stir, cooking until the flour is a little toasted (about 60 seconds). Add 2 C broth and 1-2 C water and scrape the bottom of the pan with a long spoon. 

Add the diced veggies, soaked and drained soy curls and stir.  

For pot pies, lock the lid now.  For dumplings,  spoon the biscuit mixture as separate pieces and plop into the liquid in the instant pot.  Lock the lid. 

Pressure cook at high pressure for 9 minutes. If you don't have a pressure cooker/instant pot, then cook for longer, until veggies are soft and dumplings are cooked inside. 

For dumplings, open instant pop and enjoy. 

For pot pies, pour the cooked vegetable mixture into a large pyrex pan. Top with the biscuit topping.  

If making for later, wrap and store in fridge. When ready, bake at 400 F for 20-40 minutes or until golden brown on top and you can see bubbles around the sides. 

Stir Fry Sauce

I really like the taste of this stir fry sauce, it goes well with a lot of things, and it doesn't require weird ingredients not already in my cupboard. 

Chop 3 cloves garlic finely, or keep as thin slices

Microplane 1 TB ginger 

Slice up scallion/green onion. 

Mix in a cup: 

1 TB hot water
1 TB cornstarch 

Now add to the cup with the cornstarch:  

1 TB maple syrup 
3 TB soy sauce
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes 
1/8 tsp chili oil 

In hot sauce pan, add 2 TB avocado oil. shallow fry the garlic, ginger and scallions. 

Add whatever other stir fry items. Once they are cooked, then add the liquid and stir to combine. it will thicken a bit. 

vegan corn chowder

Inspired by this and this recipe, I made some vegan corn chowder!

In hot pan (or instant pot on saute mode), add 1 TB avocado or canola oil. 

saute  1 diced yellow onion with 1/2 tsp salt until browning. 

Add 2 stalks celery, diced, and 3 cloves garlic, diced.  Deglaze pan with 1/4 C dry white wine.  

Now add: 

1 can diced mild chili peppers like hatch

2 small potatoes, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

bay leaves

veg broth or water 

Pressure cook for 5 minutes at high pressure, or cook on stovetop until potato is fork tender. 

Open pressure cooker, add 4 C frozen corn, stir into hot soup to thaw the corn. 

Scoop some of the mix into blender and blend with 1/4 C cashews. 

Pour back into the pan, add chickpeas or white canelini beans.  Heat until warmed through. 

garnish: chopped cilantro and finely diced red onion

Serve with corn bread or warm corn tortillas. 

Red Currant Jelly (canned)

Red currants make an excellent jelly!  I looked up a few references for making currant jelly and canning it in boiling water bath:

• University of Alaska Fairbanks Extension
• David Lebovitz's recipe
• Colorado State Extension

According to a couple sources, no need to add lemon juice (like the usual jam recipes for other fruits) because red currants have enough acid already.  (Cooksinfo and Colorado state extension jelly page)

METHOD

Sort the currants, remove any moldy bits or rocks. Leave them on the stems, no need to pull the berries off the stems. Rinse in a colander.

Boil the currants (stems are ok) and a bit of water  until soft
Strain to get the juice ( I used a fine metal mesh sieve)

Measure how many cups of juice you have. By volume, the ratio is:1 part juice to .8 part sugar.

Combine currant juice and sugar in saucepan and bring to boil.

Pack into hot sterilized half pint (or smaller) jars with 1/4 inch headspace.

Place in boiling water bath canner for 5 minutes (for half pints or smaller).

Yield: I bought 4 pints of red currants, which fit comfortably in my large saucepan. It yielded 2.5 C red currant juice, to which I added 2 C sugar. Yielded 3 half pint jars of jelly.

Vegan Urad Dal Makhani (w cashew cream)

Soak 1/2 C raw unsalted cashews in 1 C of water for an hour.

Pressure cook 10 minutes at high:
1 C urad dal (split with skins on (looks black and white)  (no need to soak)
3 C water
Let pressure reduce naturally. Open pressure cooker, then strain off extra water. Reserve.

Meanwhile, saute in avocado or other neutral oil:
1 onion, chopped
1/4 tsp salt 
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 TB ginger, grated (microplane)
(I saute the onion and salt first until sweating, then add the garlic and then the ginger a few minutes later, since the onion needs more time. Get them nicely browned but not burnt).

Pour 1 can chopped tomatoes into blender. Add 1/2-1 C water (I use the water to rinse out the last drops of tomato from the can). Scoop the caramelized onion mixture into the blender. Blend until smooth.

In a hot pan with oil, add 1-2 tsp cumin seeds, stir for 60 seconds.
Now add and stir for another 30 seconds:
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric 
1 tsp chili powder 

Into the hot spice pan, pour the pureed tomato onion mix (be careful, it wants to splatter). Stir to scrape up the goodies at the bottom of the pan.  This is your curry sauce.

Now stir in the cooked urad dal from the prior step, plus:
1 can cooked kidney beans (drain off liquid first)
1 TB kasoori methi (fenugreek leaves) 
1/2 tsp amchur (sour mango powder) or lemon juice to taste
salt to taste

Let it simmer until combined and soft. The urad dal will break up a bit.

Make the cashew cream: drain off the soaking liquid. Combine the soaked cashews with 1/4 C fresh water in blender, blend until smooth (scraping down the sides of the blender to catch chunky bits).  (cashew cream recipe from https://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-the-ultimate-vegan-cashew-cream-242648)

Top dal with some cashew cream. Serve with rice.


inspiration links:
https://www.mamtaskitchen.com/recipe_display.php?id=13297
https://www.thecuriouschickpea.com/vegan-dal-makhani/
https://twosleevers.com/pressure-cooker-dal-makhani-buttery-lentils/