Vegan pumpkin pie

I had trouble with my pie crust this morning - I used a random recipe that I found online and the proportions were all wrong.  It called for 3 cups of whole wheat flour, 1 teaspoon salt, 3/4 cup margarine and 5-6 tablespoons cold water.  I mixed the first three ingredients (using my brand new pastry blender from Williams Sonoma, which is awesome and only 10 bucks), then added water, water and more water, and it still wouldn't hold together.  I then looked at my tried-and-true pie crust recipe (why I didn't use that in the first place I really don't know) and saw that there needed to be either less flour or more margarine.  So I added some more margarine and it still wouldn't hold together, so I decided to just press it into the pan like a graham cracker crust.  It worked out okay, but was a little too thick for my taste.  But I did manage to do my first sort-of fluted pie crust edge, which looks pretty good.

Then I assembled my ingredients for the pie filling and discovered that my newish jar of applesauce that had been in the fridge for a little while had somehow grown some mold - blech.  No worry - I peeled and chopped a Granny Smith apple, cooked it in a little water with some sugar for 10 minutes, then pureed it in my food processor.  Voila - applesauce!  It was pretty good, and super easy.

So here's what I did after I finally finished making the pie crust and the applesauce.  I'm really pleased with the result - my in-house photographer and I each just had a big slice and it was delicious!

Preheat oven to 425.

Combine:

   3/4 cup vegan sugar
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/2 teaspoon powdered ginger
   2 teaspoons cinnamon
   1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
   15-ounce can pumpkin puree
   2 teaspoons applesauce
   1 cup soymilk

Whisk until the mixture has thickened a bit, then pour into the pie crust.  Bake for 15 minutes.  Then reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for 40-50 minutes. Cool in refrigerator for about an hour then serve.

Moroccan tagine

I love putting together a recipe to use up all of the odds and ends I have in my fridge and pantry. 

This recipe for Moroccan Tagine appeared in my facebook news feed earlier this week (thank you, VegNews).  I looked at it this morning and realized that I had most of the ingredients it called for, that I could also throw in several of the ingredients I had in the kitchen that I needed to use up soon, and that I could improvise as to the rest.  The result was really delicious - spicy, unique, warming, filling and healthy.  A perfect one-pot meal for a crisp autumn day.  Here's what I did:    


Mix the following spices in a little bowl and set it aside:

   1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
   1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
   1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
   1/2 teaspoon turmeric
   1/2 teaspoon salt
   1/4 teaspoon paprika
   1/4 teaspoon chili powder

Chop up the following items and put them in a small baking dish. 

   3 smallish potatoes - one purple, one red and one yellow
   4 small turnips
   6 or 8 cloves of garlic

Add salt and pepper to taste, then drizzle with olive oil and roast in the oven at 450 for 15-20 minutes. 

Meanwhile, chop 4 leeks (just the good, tender part - not too far up the stalk) into 1/4-inch slices.  Saute in a big soup pan with a little olive oil for about 5 minutes until softened.  Then add your spice mix and cook for another 30 seconds. 

Then add:

   4 cups vegetable broth
   2 bay leaves (remove before serving)
   small can of tomato puree
   about 2 cups of fresh green beans, cut into 1-inch pices
   15-ounce can chickpeas, drained
   1 Tablespoon lemon juice

Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 30 minutes.

Then measure out:

   1 cup dried apricots

While the stew is cooking, soak the apricots in hot water for 30 minutes.  Then drain and cut the apricots into 1/2-inch chunks and add them to the stew.

Cook the stew, uncovered, for 20 minutes.

Stir in:

   1/2 cup frozen peas, thawed
   2 tablespoons minced fresh cilantro

Cook 10 more minutes then serve hot over brown rice, quinoa or other grain.

Some products I love

Of course I love having a kitchen full of fresh fruits and vegetables and all kinds of grains and spices and accoutrements to help me make delicious vegan food from scratch.  But I also love having certain go-to products that make cooking easier and faster and still meet my standard of not contributing to the cruelty in the world.  Here are a few of those favorite products.

Rice Dream - Vanilla Enriched:  I've been using this product for about 20 years and I love it.  Sometimes I buy the Trader Joe's version because it's a little bit cheaper, but I really think the Rice Dream tastes better.  I use it in coffee and on cereal, for smoothies and protein drinks, and for baking, and I occasionally just have a glass by itself.  An 8-ounce serving has 30% of your daily calcium, 25% of your B-12, and some other vitamins.

Earth Balance products:  Let me count the ways.  I use the "buttery spreads" just about every day - the Whipped version on bagels or mixed in with pasta, rice or steamed vegetables, and the Original version for baking.  The Original version has given me perfect cookies, cakes, breads and even pie crusts.  Plus it's really flavorful and delicious all by itself.  The peanut butter is out of this world - it's no-stir, which is great because I find it pretty much impossible to deal with natural peanut butter that has separated, and it's sweetened with agave which gives it a light, sweet taste.  Really yummy on a sandwich.  I have a recipe for vegan peanut butter cups up on my computer screen right now, and I think the Earth Balance peanut butter will be perfect in it.

Soy Vay products:  I've been using these sauces forever, in my stirfrys and as a dipping sauce for potstickers.  My favorite is the original Hoisin Garlic sauce, but I also really like the Veri Veri Teriyaki and the Island Teriyaki with pineapple juice.  These sauces make it possible for me to come home after a long day and whip up a quick, really good dinner - I just chop up some tofu and veggies and saute them in a little oil until they're almost done, then pour in some Soy Vay, cook it for a couple more minutes, and I'm done.  The flavor is complex and interesting, and it's thick enough that it really sticks to the vegetables.

Imagine Organic Creamy Tomato Basil soup:  The creaminess comes from soymilk.  This is a new discovery for me - I think it's a pretty new product - and I've been using it a lot.  I basically use it as a condiment for rice or pasta.  It has a fresh, comforting, slightly tangy taste. 

Daiya vegan cheese:  I'm so crazy about this stuff - I don't know how I ever lived without it.  I use the Mozzarella Style Shreds on pizza, and it really melts and acts a lot like real cheese.  I usually top my pizzas with Tofurky Italian sausage, broccoli and red bell peppers, but a couple of weeks ago I made one with brussels sprouts, corn, and thinly-sliced purple potatoes, and it was incredibly yummy (not to mention really cool-looking).  The Daiya makes all of this possible.  I also like the Cheddar Style Shreds - I use it for quick mac-and-cheese (cook some pasta - bowtie is best, but any kind will do, drain it, then while it's still really hot stir in some Cheddar Style Shreds and sprinkle in some pepper).  One of my favorite comfort-food dishes lately. 

Whole Foods vegan chocolate chips:  I don't have a link for these, but I almost always have a bag of them in my pantry.  My philosophy in baking is that just about anything is made better with the addition of a little chocolate, so I love having these chips around to throw into banana bread, zucchini bread, various kinds of muffins, etc.

Gardein Chick'n Scallopini:  I'm seriously crazy about this stuff.  I generally stay away from vegan "meats" - they're just not my thing - but Gardein does such perfect things with the texture and flavor of this product that I can't resist it.  You get them in the frozen foods section and throw them in the freezer, then when you want a really quick, warm, satisfying dinner you saute them in olive oil for 3 or 4 minutes and they're done.  They're perfectly seasoned, so you just put them on your plate and go.  Each serving has 90 calories, 2 grams of fat, 14 grams of protein, and 25% of your daily iron!  And I basically always eat two servings in one sitting, so those are some pretty impressive nutritional values.  Gardein has recently published a recipe for Sage and Pumpkin-Seed Encrusted Gardein with Cranberry Cabernet Sauce, which uses the Chick'n Scallopini filets as a base - it sounds amazing and I'm going to try it soon.