Choosing cheezes: sharp cheddar

For my third homemade cheeze, I wanted to find an agar agar based recipe, something very different from the three-day-long process I've used for cheezes so far. Years ago I took a class through the community college called "David's Vegetarian Kitchen" focused on such cheezes, but when I found the cookbook I bought from the class, there were no such recipes.

After a quick web search, I found a good candidate. I whipped it up while waiting to pick up some friends visiting from Alaska, and put it in the fridge to set while we were at dinner. We ended up going to a movie, so I just now got home with only 30 minutes to get my Vegan MoFo post in! Hence the truly un-artful photo.

The flavor of this cheeze is amazing-- spot-on sharp cheddar. The coconut oil gives it a full, fatty mouth-feel. The texture of is very much like soft, artificial Velveeta. Next time I'd use more agar agar to make a firmer texture. Actually, I would use this recipe without the agar agar for cheeze sauce-- it tastes great! I really like the way the author breaks down the "macros" of why dairy cheese tastes the way it does, and how to recreate that with non-dairy items. That intense scientific method pays off. This is the best cheeze I've had yet.

Sweet potato chipotle bisque

After making quinoa-corn chowder from Viva Vegan!, I had to go back and make the recipe that first caught my eye: sweet potato chipotle bisque. Mine's not really a bisque as I didn't blend it smooth, preferring to leave some chunky texture. I made it on Sunday but we didn't get around to eating it until tonight, when Ann came over to watch The Girl Who Played with Fire. First we had a roasted baby beet, spinach, hazelnut and feta salad while we waited for the gluten free baguette that Ann brought from New Cascadia bakery to warm up in the oven.

I topped the soup with marinated, pan-fried tofu to add some substance, and a dollop of Tofutti Sour Supreme (also brought by Ann). This soup is really good-- spicy, sweet, and the addition of white potatoes adds an earthy complexity. I will definitely make it again, maybe with chickpeas or another bean, spinach or a hearty green, and cilantro.

Open-face veggie burgers

Although I spent five hours in the kitchen on Sunday, I made mostly smooth, saucy things that don't photograph well: tomato sauce, sweet potato chipotle bisque (from Viva Vegan), pureed roasted pumpkin, and chocolate chip cookies (from Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookie Mix). And tonight when we got home at 8pm, we needed dinner fast. It's not very photogenic either, although it sure beats purees. So here are the open-face veggie burgers (SprouTofu Veggie Burger) I had for dinner-- on a spelt bagel (we're trying spelt, although it's related to wheat, to see if Erik is sensitive to it), with Veganaise, spinach and pickle slices. One burger has barbeque sauce on it and the other has salsa. Served with frozen waffle fries, which are the reason this is a 15 minute dinner rather than a 10 minute one.

Coconut chana masala

Chana masala is our favorite Indian curry around these parts, but we wanted something a little different. Less tangy, more creamy. I decided to use coconut milk instead of the usual tomato and margarine base. It's a bit more mild and came together even quicker. The coconut adds a subtle, exotic flavor so this seems more of an Indonesian curry than an Indian one. You can use your favorite beans instead of chickpeas, and any vegetables you have around.

Coconut chana masala

vegan, gluten-free

serves 4

Ingredients

• 1 can coconut milk (I used light)
• 1/2 large or 1 small onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, run through a press or crushed
• 2 tbsp curry powder (use a pre-made chana masala powder or make your own)
• 1 tbsp amchur powder (or a squeeze of lemon or lime for tartness)
• 1 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 can chickpeas
• 1/2 red pepper, chopped
• 2 C spinach, chopped
• 2 C faux chicken, torn into bite-size pieces
• salt

Directions

• The fatty part of the coconut milk will have risen to the top, so be careful not to shake it up when you pour just enough to cover the bottom of a medium pot. Heat on medium til the center starts to bubble.
• Add onions and saute til soft, about 8 minutes. Add garlic, saute another 2 minutes.
• Add curry and amchur powders, mix in and let cook for 1-2 minutes. Add tomato paste, mix, and cook another 1-2 minutes.
• Add chickpeas, stir, cook til heated through or about 2-3 minutes.
• Pour the rest of the coconut milk in, mix thoroughly, and bring to a simmer.
• Add red pepper, spinach, and pre-cooked faux chicken.
• Salt to taste. Garnish with fresh cilantro if you like.

Choosing cheezes: Veg Times almond feta

There are very few things I miss about dairy, especially with the amazing assortment of good vegan parallel products. There's just one little thing... something so seemingly insignificant that it's most often treated as a garnish. Feta! Stinky, salty, tangy goat cheese. This void is why, after dipping my toe in with last week's cashew cheeze, I was very excited to try Vegetarian Time's almond feta. Mostly because I've been dreaming of a roasted baby beet, spinach, hazelnut and feta salad dressed with fancy olive oil, balsamic vinegar, Maldon sea salt and freshly ground black pepper.

This cheeze was much easier to make than the previous one. With more water added at the blending stage, I got a beautifully smooth, fluffy whipped cream consistency. It also gave up a lot of water from the cheesecloth stage, and emerged quite cleanly in a cohesive ball. Baking gave it a nice, crusty texture. I skipped the whole herb oil part, but that would add a nice fatty mouthfeel and earthy herb flavor. Despite the amount of salt, my finished product tasted strongly tangy from the lemon juice, not salty at all. I will definitely make this again-- with more salt and less lemon juice.

Oh yeah, I also made these No-Bake Chocolate, Peanut Butter & Oatmeal Cookies. I'd never made a no-bake cookie before, and after a run with Ann during which we discussed peanut butter confections at length, these sounded perfect.

I didn't have quick oats, so I used regular rolled oats. I only made a half batch (but didn't halve the cocoa powder) just in case they didn't turn out. These were ridiculously easy to make, but absolutely must be refrigerated before consumption. I loved the creamy, salty peanut buttery fudge acting as glue to hold the oats together. The oats were a bit chewy and al-dente, which would probably be solved by using the called-for quick oats. I might make this again without the oats, just as fudge. It would be nice if it stayed solid at room temperature though.