Ba Bye 2011!

Wow.

I don't think any year has ever gone as fast as 2011.

Here I am, a junior in college, almost 20 (though I feel a lot older), feeling antsy, too big for my town, and yet also so inmature.

This was the year I learned how big the world really is. I traveled to Portland, which I can't get out of my mind now; got a taste of working in a real bakery, became vegan, made a few too many baked goods, including a few too many that didn't come out but I ate anyway... (like those sourdough doughnuts I mentioned last post....), met a few other fellow vegans, got more antsy to get the heck out of college.... Having spent too much money a farmers' markets and on textbooks and therefore making a lot of homemade Christmas gifts and watching it all pass in a rush because J&W decided it would be a good idea to let us out on the 22nd....

The list goes on and on.

But that's why there's 2012. Another year closer to moving on with my life.

A year of hope.

Hope of getting a job (please Wildllour!!!!!)

Hope of finishing school in..... 418 days.

Hope of calling Portland home in 610 days or less.

Hope of meeting the 1 person that will change my life (so the mediator says)

Hope of being 20+ lb. lighter and not having to care about what I eat.

Yes, there is hope in numbers.

So with that, and another baking expiment, Portland Petit Fours (hazelnut cookies with rosewater frosting and marzipan) behind me (pictures of that to come later.... I need to beautify them); I thought I'd present 12 hopes/wishes for 2012. I'm not very good at resolutions, though then again, I don't think many people are. Maybe having them written down, for all the world to see, might hlep me out. So here goes:

12 Hopes for 2012

1 paying job

2 pounds lost per month

3 gym days per week

4 new friends made

5 random walks in the city

6 vacation days in another state

7 days with Amy (you can get a little of your 2012 beach time with me!)

8 great new recipes

9 pieces of new food writing

10 new favorite vegetables

11 Black Point swims (they are dwindling with each passing year)

12 lives changed

Maybe you've got some hopes of your own. Maybe you've got some new skills to learn of health that needs changing. We all have something.

But first, how about ending the year with some delicious inspiration?

First, the vanilla madelines I baked a few weeks ago. Veganized from Dorrie Greenspan's Baking from My Home to Yours. Just make sure you grease and flour your molds really, really well!

Then there's the Christmas sheet cakes I never thought I could decorate. But I did. Three of them. For the Mary House, a heart-felt soup kitchen that I've had the experience of working with.

And then more cake. Yummy, vegan cake. Pistachio coconut cake to be exact. With some thick, addictive pistachio frosting that didn't want to properly stay on the cake. And some passion fruit curd that you couldn't really taste. And a delicious cake with a secret ingredinet. Yum! Sorry no recipe for this - It's too good.

Oh and Boston Cream Roll! Yes, a roulade can finally be vegan! And a way to get your cake fix when you parents want the real thing that they saw in an issue of Cooks Country, and you can't have any. And you can have some as soon as I open my bakery in Portalnd!!!!

More recipes, including the Portland "Petit Fours" coming in the New Year! May it be a great one for us all!

Holiday Madness

Our Daring Bakers Host for December 2011 was Jessica of My Recipe Project and she showed us how fun it is to create Sour Dough bread in our own kitchens! She provided us with Sour Dough recipes from Bread Matters by AndrewWhitley as well as delicious recipes to use our Sour Dough bread in from Tonia George’s Things on Toast and Canteen’s Great British Food!


Last month, I finally decided to sign up for Daring Bakers. I miss the challenges like Cupcake Hero, and I need something else to feed my inspiration, since I still haven't won the jackpot and can't open a bakery yet. 


What a time to sign up!


Amidst cookie swaps, trips home to roll a couple thousand cookies for our annual cookie count and giveaway to friends, several new ideas to try out, and crocheting for hours to get my Christmas presents done and attempt to get in the holiday spirit, I made sourdough; this month's challenge recipe.


I've made sourdough-based bread a couple times before; but I get impatient with the starter or decide that there isn't really room for it in our shrinking apartment fridge, so I usually give up on it. But, with this challenge and the holidays around the corner, I decided to give it another shot and maybe come up with some creative alternatives.


Like Pomegranate Swirl Bread.


Five days.... no, maybe it was six, seven.... eight days of waiting and the business of going to school, and i finally got to making the bread. Only the starter seemed really dry. Ooops. Guess I thought I was wrong to think I could just add the same amount of flour and water each day.


And impatient not to let my pomegranate filling cool before rushing to fill my bread with it.


So, Alas, I had dense bread. But the flavor was pretty good. And now i have more starter, with which I am today trying something completely bizarre; baked sourdough doughnuts. 


Don't give me that look- I just found a baked doughnut recipe... couldn't tell you where because I look at like a thousand recipes a week... and saw Unique Sweets on Cooking Channel (which by the way no one should have to pay extra for), where one fancy baker baked all her doughnuts and used some molecular gastronomy to turn olive oil into a powder to replace powdered sugar on her doughnuts.


Oh how the wheels turn.


Oh yes, stay tuned. Doughnuts are in our future. Sorry, you can't have any, just the recipe. And maybe the recipe for some delicious madelines and pistachio coconut cake I made recently. If you're lucky.


But not now. Right now you get this bread recipe. The French Country Bread that Jessica provided for this month's challenge; that I didn't quite follow (but not on purpose); plus a rough method for pomegranate cinnamon filling.


Fill up before the New Year strikes! It's still Christmas after all, isn't it? I mean it all goes too fast!

French Country Bread
Servings: 1 large loaf plus extra wheat starter for further baking

Wheat Starter - Day 1:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
Total scant ½ cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm)

Directions:
1. In a Tupperware or plastic container, mix the flour and water into a paste.
2. Set the lid on top gently, cover with a plastic bag, to prevent messes in case it grows more than expected!
3. Set somewhere warm (around 86 F if possible). I sometimes put mine on a windowsill near a radiator, but even if it’s not that warm, you’ll still get a starter going – it might just take longer.

Wheat Starter - Day 2:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
3 tablespoons (45 ml) water
scant 1/2 cup (115 ml) (3 oz/85 gm) starter from Day 1
Total scant cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 1, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 3:
Ingredients
4 1/2 tablespoons (70 ml) (40 gm/1 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour
4 teaspoons (20 ml) water
scant 1 cup (230 ml) (6 oz/170 gm) starter from Day 2
Total 1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8-1/10 oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 2, cover, and return to its warm place.

Wheat Starter - Day 4:
Ingredients
3/4 cup plus 1½ tablespoons (205 ml) (120 gm/4 ¼ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 cup less 4 teaspoons (100 ml) water
1⅓ cup (320 ml) (230 gm/8 oz) starter from Day 3
Total scant 2⅔ cup (625 ml) (440 gm/15½ oz)

Directions:
1. Stir the flour and water into the mixture from Day 3, cover, and return to its warm place. At this point it should be bubbling and smell yeasty. If not, repeat this process for a further day or so until it is!

French Country Bread
Stage 1: Refreshing the leaven
Ingredients
1 cup less 1 tablespoon (225 ml) (160 gm/5 ⅔ oz) wheat Leaven Starter
6 tablespoons less 1 teaspoon (85 ml) (50 gm/1¾ oz) stoneground bread making whole-wheat or graham flour
1 cup plus 2 teaspoons (250 ml) (150 gm/5 ⅓ oz) unbleached all purpose flour
1/2 cup (120 ml) water
Production Leaven Total 2¾ cups plus 4 teaspoons (680 ml) (480 gm /1 lb 1 oz)

Directions:
1. Mix everything into a sloppy dough. It may be fairly stiff at this stage. Cover and set aside for 4 hours, until bubbling and expanded slightly.

Pomegranate Filling

(make at some point before shaping your dough so that it has time to cool/set)

1. In a saucepan on medium heat, bring a cup or so of pomegranate juice to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and allow juice to reduce by half. Let cool to room temperature.

Add about 1 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon and enough brown sugar to make a thick paste. Set aside to allow the sugar to absorb the pomegranate juice.

French Country Bread
Stage 2: Making the final dough
Ingredients
3/4 cup less 1 teaspoon (175 ml) (100 gm/3 ½ oz) stoneground breadmaking whole-wheat or graham flour, plus more for dusting
2 cups plus 2 tablespoons (510 ml) (300gm/10 ½ oz) unbleached all-purpose flour
1¼ teaspoons (7½ ml) (7 gm/¼ oz) sea salt or ⅔ teaspoon (3⅓ ml) (3 gm/⅛ oz) table salt
1 ¼ cups (300 ml) water
1 ¾ cups (425 ml) (300 gm/10 ½ oz) production leaven – this should leave some (1 cup) for your next loaf.
Total 6 cups less 2 tablespoons 1415 ml (1007 gm/35 ½ oz/2 lb 3½ oz)

Directions:

1. Mix the dough with all the ingredients except the production leaven. It will be a soft dough.
2. Knead on an UNFLOURED (I had to use some flour becuase it was far too sticky to knead) surface for about 8-10 minutes, getting the tips of your fingers wet if you need to. You can use dough scrapers to stretch and fold the dough at this stage, or air knead if you prefer. Basically, you want to stretch the dough and fold it over itself repeatedly until you have a smoother, more elastic dough.
See my demonstration here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OqS3raEGdwk
3. Smooth your dough into a circle, then scoop your production leaven into the centre. You want to fold the edges of the dough up to incorporate the leaven, but this might be a messy process. Knead for a couple minutes until the leaven is fully incorporated in the dough. See my demonstration here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UPO97R4iO4U
4. Spread some water on a clean bit of your work surface and lay the dough on top. Cover with an upturned bowl, lining the rim of the bowl with a bit of water. Leave for an hour, so that the gluten can develop and the yeasts can begin to aerate the dough.
5. Once your dough has rested, you can begin to stretch and fold it. First, spread your pomegranate filling in a thin layer all over the surface of the slightly-flattened sough, being careful not to go too close to the edges.Using wet hands and a dough scraper, stretch the dough away from you as far as you can without breaking it and fold it back in on itself. Repeat this in each direction, to the right, towards you, and to the left. This will help create a more ‘vertical’ dough, ready for proofing. See my demonstration here:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDoJRCMfclE
6. Heavily flour a banneton/proofing basket with whole wheat flour and rest your dough, seam side up, in the basket. Put the basket in a large plastic bag, inflate it, and seal it. Set aside somewhere warm for 3-5 hours, or until it has expanded a fair bit. It is ready to bake when the dough responds to a gently poke by slowly pressing back to shape.
7. Preheat the oven to hot 425°F/220°C/gas mark 7. Line a baking sheet with parchment, then carefully invert the dough onto the sheet. I like to put the baking sheet on top of the basket, then gently flip it over so as to disturb the dough as little as possible. Make 2-3 cuts on top of the loaf and bake for 40-50 minutes, reducing the temperature to moderately hot 400°F/200°C/gas mark 6 after 10 minutes.
8. Cool on a cooling rack.

Oh, and one final note: I baked mine in a dutch oven. I preheated in a 500 degree own, lowered the temp to 435, then put my proofed bread in it, covered the pan, and baked it as directed. The pot traps steam and helps the bread rise better :)

Wishful Thinking

I've been doing a lot of wishing lately. Wishing for summer. Wishing for a job. Wishing for Portland and an even better job. Wishing for some messages in my Etsy mailbox. Wishing for sweets.


Ok so that last one is relatively achieveable. After all, I did just make cookies. But there are certain sweets, parts of Christmas, memories I wish to recall. Traditions that just aren't the same any more. Childhood that can't be reclaimed, yet adulthood that can't come fast enough.


Story of my life.


And then there's cherries. And marshmallows. Both of which I'm suddenly craving. And can't have. Cherries - the juciest, frehsest ones - aren't in season at Christmas (though they should be - they are the perfect festive-looking fruit)
Marshmallows - are hard to find - and, more importantly, make - vegan.


Allow me to take you on a sensual adventure through the seasons.

The joys of summer are endless. The warm breezes blowing through my hair like fairy dust. The sunlight invigorating my senses like comfort food. The farmers markets that are, too late, making their way to Connecticut. The hours swimming in sea-blue water of soy sauce. One of the best things about summer is the bounty of sweet, juicy fruit that is available locally. Best of all are the cherries. Their glossy, blood-red skin blushes in embarrassment of its beauty. The perfect handles, woody, thin and black; stick straight up, waiting for me like impatient children. A gentle clink can be heard as they tumble gently into a bowl like calm waves. Snatching one for myself, I finger the skin of silk between my fingers. I sink my teeth into the awaiting flesh, a gentle snap allowing the juice to avalanche, the delicious blood rushing evidence down my face. My teeth clinks against the boulder blocking the path to deliciousness, and I must restart; attacking form a different angle. The smell of summer envelops me now, and I polish off the fruit like an ice cream cone. Reaching for another, I let it dangle by the stem; one last dance in beauty before it falls into the taste trap, feeling bad, since this one is the queen bee. Golden and unique, with a hint of sass. If not for its blood spot, its one blemish, I might have left it alone. But no, the destiny is set, my mouth watering with the thought of a unique experience. Already exhaling the scent of cherry wood and berries, and my though tingling as the sweet river of juice slides across it. A holly jolly treat in deed. If only they weren't a seasonal treat!

http://www.cjolsoncherries.com/

Now we skip to winter. And what does summer have in comon with winter? Clouds. Increasingly more of them as the gloom of winter sets in. I love swallowing clouds. Moist, sweet, fluffy, flavorful clouds. That is marshmallows.Pillowy and delicate, they cast a spell on me. One minute i'm diving in - the next I've eaten a pile of them. Melt-in-your-mouth, yet inexplicably sturdy. White as snow, plush pink, chocolate brown. Any way you make them, I'll eat them. Or at least, I used to. I no longer get the luxury of a marshmallow spell, but instead have been virtually been zapped of my animal eating powers instead. Well okay, of my own choosing. And a happy choice its been I add.

But that still doesn't mean I don't want my marshmallows - one of the few treats that, temporarily, make the winter okay. Floating on top of cocoa like a boat gilding across a glassy ocean, they complete the picture.

And yet, my marshmallow cravings have been given the cold shoulder. All thanks to gelatin. Oh sure, there's agar. But making marshmallows with agar is like building a snowman out of white, icy powder- it'll work, but it definitely won't be the same. Someone has excelled, but for an arm and a leg and leaving my beliefs of homemade whenever possible behind. Plus I inherently want to know how to be able to make just about everything delicious.

They made a superhero out of EnerG egg, can't vegan gelatin be next in line?

Oh, and let's not forget the snow pudding to be served in t-21 days. What's to do about that?

http://www.sophistimom.com/homemade-marshmallows/

But alas, I don't have either cherries or marshamllows right now. I just have a fridge stocked with leftovers of a delicious "Sans Coq au Vin" feast, and a boxful of Almond Sandnuts ready to go to the vegan cookie swap tomorrow. Maybe that will make Christmas more real? Or maybe a dusting of snow? No, forget I ever said that- no snow. 50 degrees is perfectly fine with me. Though I suppose as long as my oven is cranking out goodies, I'm happy.

Almond Sandnuts. Soon to be on a passionbakes Etsy shop near you!

Tarts, Tests, and Tantrums

Ah finals. Hate them!

Reasons why I hate finals:

Stress.

Long weekends that only serve to make you stress more.

Knowing that you really don't have anything to worry about but you do anyway

A professor who thinks his study guide is a gift, but really just confuses you more

Buses that don't seem to care about being on time

Scantrons that should never have been invented

Teachers who don't seem to remember why you can't use Scantrons.

An overwhelming desire to scarf down every sweet thing in site in hopes of relieving your stress.

Oh yes, finals. Three times per year is three times too many.

But the one thing that might make finals a little better is knowing that a nice long breaks lies just 24 hours in the future. And even better, this break involves one great holiday- Thanksgiving.

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, and in need of emptying out the refrigerator of all my farmers' market finds, I decided to combine a few classic fall flavors into one great holiday pie. Of course, it's not even seven days away yet and, three days after making this delicious dessert, it's nearly gone. That's stress and a lack of breakfast eats for you!

Now go get ready and make this pie / tart / dessert / whatever you want to call it!

Pickin’ Pie

Note: I think next time I will caramelize or partially cook the apples before putting them on top of the squash filling (and will bake the filling for 30-40 minutes instead of 20 so that it doens't over-bake). The way I did it this first time, the apples came out kinda chewy.

Crust

132 g. sugar

18 g. molasses

120 g. flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

60 g. rolled oats

76 g. Earth Balance stick margarine, cut into cubes

2-4 tbsp. apple cider

1. Combine sugar, molasses, flour, baking soda, slat, vanilla and oats. 
2. Cut in margarine with your hands, rubbing it until you get small, pea-like pieces of fat.
3. Add enough cider to bring the dough together into a workable dough.
4. Form dough into a disk, wrap and chill for 1 hour or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9” pie plate with high sides or a 9” cake pan.
6. Roll dough out to about a 10” disk (easiest way is between plastic wrap). Transfer to the greased pie plate. Dough should come about 1/2 to 1” up sides.
7. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until browned and firm to the touch. Meanwhile, prepare squash filling.

Squash Filling

2 cups butternut squash puree (from about half a small, roasted squash)

2 cups apple cider, cooked over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup

1 tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 tbsp. coconut oil or shortening

8 . Combine all filling ingredients in a blender, pureeing until completely smooth and evenly distributed.

9.Pour into baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile prepare apples.

Apples

3 medium, semi-tart, firm apples (ex. Empire), peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced

3 tbsp. brown sugar

the juice of half a lemon

3 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

10. Toss apples with all other ingredients. Let sit for at least 10 minutes (can do ahead of time and keep in fridge)

11. When filling is starting to set, remove pan from oven and arrange apples in a single layer on top. I arranged mine in sort of a rose pattern, overlapping apples slightly in rings, but you can do it however you like it best.


12. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until apples have begun to brown.


13. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serve immediately or store in the fridge.

Great with banana "ice cream" (especially pumpkin-flavored)! Get the basic recipe here! Also great for breakfast!!!!

Oh and by the way: If you like all the great, creative treats I've shared on my blog, please check out my Etsy page! Thank you!

Bread Withdrawls

Today I'd like to talk about bread. And snowstorms. And power outages.

How are these all related? Well, if you are one of the unlucky people (i.e. me) who live in the Northeast Connecticut, you know that we had a freak Halloween snow storm last weekend. As in 10 days ago. As in still in October (not that it would have been any better in November or December or January of February or ever)! And if you are further still one of the unlucky people who lives in Farmington Connecticut, you'd know that we are mostly still without power.

Yes, 10 days without power.

Though I must say I am lucky in that respect; I'm not a high-school student anymore, so I don't have to be sitting home without power while my April vacation days get used up because we have no school. Instead I get to be in a nice college apartment, feeling rather weird as I talk to my parents on my cell phones since cable and phone services are also still out.

So I have power here at school. And power... well.. gives me power. The power to do so many things. Delicious things. Like baking bread. And then scarfing down the whole loaf of said bread in a matter of... 4 days?

Yeah, it's that good.

Actually, that makes the second great thing that came out of a power outage. Because there was a previous loaf of said bread, which started last Saturday morning, as the first flakes of winter snow were falling, along with a few precious branches of our new pear tree. Of course, me being me could not decide what to bake, except that I knew I needed to bake something for breakfast. Fast. Like before I couldn't any more.

The recipe I chose, called Amanda Bread (from America's Test Kitchen Baking book), needed to rise for a total of 3 hours. Add to that the time it was going to take me to veganize (and just generally Carinaize) it, and the 10 minutes of mixing, 40 minutes of baking... you get the point... kind of a risk under a time crunch.

So the power went off at minute 20 during baking.

Thanks to the bread goddesses, I kept the door closed on my bread and the oven finished its baking magic, creating a not-quite-brown but still delicious bread.

Fast forward 24 hours, the power still out, the loaf half gone, and my mom decides we should try getting me back to school. So we hurriedly get all my books and food together and head off. One thing we left behind- my delicious bread!

Withdrawals!!!! So much for the delicious toast I was looking forward to starting my week with!

Five long days later, I finally had some time to make more bread. And so my weekend started off with a great breakfast once again. Not quite as delicious as the first one (maybe the power outage is the secret to great bread after all? Or maybe it's just that I like cranberries and hazelnuts together better than almond and ginger? Idk). Now all that's left is 1" chunk; just enough for breakfast. Hence the bad picture. Trust me, it's delicious you won't be able to wait long enough for a proper photo!

Crazy Amanda Bread
(based off a recipe from America's Test Kitchen)

227 g. almond milk (or any other non-dairy milk, but almond provides the best flavor)
57 g. oil
78 g. coarse cornmeal
425 g. whole wheat flour (hey if you're going to eat so much of it, might as well get some fiber in!)
33 g. vital wheat gluten
2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground cardamom (optional)
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
76 g. lukewarm water
2 1/4 tsp. instant yeast
1 tbsp molasses
4 tbsp honey (or 2 tbsp. each agave and brown rice syrup to make it completely vegan)
1 heaping cup total add-ins (my favorite is equal parts toasted, chopped hazelnuts and plumped, dried cranberries)

1. Microwave milk and oil until simmering. Stir in cornmeal, then microwave 15 more seconds, or until the cornmeal has absorbed the milk. Let cool to room temperature.
2. Combine flour, vital wheat gluten, salt and spices in a stand mixer fitted with a dough hook.
3. Combine water yeast, honey and molasses in a measuring cup.
4. Add cooled cornmeal mixture to the flour mixture and mix on low speed for about 1 minute, or until combined.
5. Still on low speed, slowly add the liquid mixture.
6. Once all liquid is Incorporated, increase to medium speed and mix for 5 minutes.
7. Add plumped fruit and/or nuts. Mix for an additional 6 minutes.
8. Form the dough into a ball, then place in a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap. Place in a slightly warm oven and let rise for 1 1/2 hours, or until doubled.
9. Remove dough form bowl onto a very lightly floured surface. Flatten slightly into a rough rectangle. Fold the top edge of the rectangle towards you, gently pressing into the center. Press the other side in as well so you have one, fat loaf.
10. Place loaf in a greased loaf pan. Cover and proof for another 1 1/2 hours.
11. Meanwhile, preheat oven to 350 degrees. Heat a pan of water in the oven to simmering.
12. Once proofed, you can brush the bread with more oil and sprinkle with cornmeal or nuts, if desired. Bake, with steam bath in place, for 40-45 minutes, or until the top of the bread is lightly browned.
13. Let cool in pan until cool enough to handle, then remove form pan to cool completely (you can keep it in the pan, but the bottom gets a bit soggy- but not enough to really bother me! Yum!!!

Cracking the Coconut, among other things

Ever since Cupcake Hero died out, I've been on the hunt for any blog baking-related challenges. Finally I think I've found one! Vegan Mofo's Iron Chef Challenge.

There's just one problem.

I only got three days to do it!!!!!

Day 1: Ponder what to make
Day 2 Ponder some more, decide on what to make, then halfway through change your mind.
Day 3: Wait for your masterpiece to be at its peak of flavor and photo perfection and your mind at its best writing potential, then realize that the deadline is not 11 pm like most other Vegan Mofo deadlines, but 3 pm. What?

Well, might as well post it anyway. Because it's quite delicious, if I do say so myself. An quite unusual too. Part chocolate, part fruity, part creamy coconut and gelatinous panna cotta (side note; can someone please figure out a way to make agar agar more gelatinous and less grainy?), and with a slight hint of:

Curry!

Yes, I said curry. Now don't freak out! It's just a dusting. You put ginger on your mango, right? Well curry has that same kind of spicy kick, and we already know how friendly it is with coconut. So, here you have it: One great desert!

Curry Coconut Bombe

Beanie Brownie

85 g. bean puree
71 g. coconut oil
179 g. sugar
76 g, lite coconut milk
8 g. corn starch
1 tsp. instant espresso
1 tsp. vanilla
95 g. all purpose flour
32 g. cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/8 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a half sheet pan with parchment paper and grease lightly.
Puree beans in a food processor until smooth.
Add coconut oil and sugar and blend until smooth.
Blend in coconut milk, cornstarch, espresso and vanilla.
Gently blend in flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt, just until combined (finish last bit of mixing by hand).
Spread evenly in prepared pan.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or just until set.
Cool completely.
Cut a 6" round of the brownie with a round cutter or the top edge of a 6" round pan. This will eventually be the bottom of your dessert.


Caramelized Mango

1 tbsp. oil
1 mango, peeled, removed from pit, and cut into 1/2" wide strips
about 2 tbsp. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 tsp. fresh ginger

Heat a fry pan with the oil over medium high heat.
Add mango strips; they should sizzle as they hit the pan. Quickly add remaining ingredients and toss to coat.
Cook 1-2 minutes per side, until caramelized.
Remove from heat and let cool completely.


Coconut Panna Cotta

1/4 cup sweetened coconut
1 cup light coconut milk
1/2 tsp. curry powder
1 1/2 tbsp. agar agar powder
100 g. sugar
1 1/4 cup coconut water
3 tbsp. corn starch

Line a tall 6" round pan with plastic wrap, leaving excess at the top so you can pick it up easily.
Arrange 5 of the best looking mango slices in a star-like pattern on the bottom of the lined pan.
Toast coconut in a saucepan over medium heat, stirring constantly to prevent burning. Once toasted, add coconut milk and curry powder. Turn off heat and let steep for 5 minutes. Strain the coconut out of the milk, reserving for later.
Add agar powder to the infused coconut milk, whisking as you add it. Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. Reduce heat slightly, then simmer for another 5-10 minutes, or until agar is completely dissolved.
Add sugar and cook until dissolved.
Dissolve corn starch in the coconut water. Slowly add to boiling agar mixture, whisking constantly.
Bring mixture back to a boil.
Remove from heat and pour into prepared pan.
Working quickly, place the cut round of brownie on top of the custard. Cover and chill overnight, or until set.
When ready to serve, invert dessert onto a plate. Remove plastic wrap and garnish with reserved coconut.

Late Blooms

Ok, I know what you're thinking. You're thinking that you've given up on me- the spontaneous blogger who has way to many ideas choose form and can never choose one to write about. Okay, so that's all true- but I'm also a student with a busy life. But know one thing readers, you are on my mind.

So, amidst all the piles of homework, recipes awaiting conversion to be made for a soup-kitchen crowd, and endless ideas that are limited by my financial and experiential status- I am pausing my life for a few moments to share some culinary inspiration with you.

Since I've come back to Providence (very very, very sadly and begrudgingly), I've missed the variety of ways that Portland has to satisfy a vegan's palate. So, for better or worse, I've had to turn to my own culinary devices and creativity. Meanwhile, my sweet-mates are wondering what all the clatter is and why I can possibly be baking something new nearly every day. Oh and they are probably also wondering how I got peaches from a farmer's market in October. Yes, I said peaches. Sweet, juicy, overripe peaches. Blame my mother for that one. Alas, despite my sincere efforts to buy locally- the peaches for my latest creation did not come form a Providence farmer's market, but from Stew Leonards. Though I guess that's better than getting them frozen or even form Stop & Shop.

So, what did I do with a hankering for dessert, a basketful of bruised peaches, and a brain chock full of ideas? I made pie. Not cupcakes, not cookies, but pie. Well, ok, a tart, but close enough (and maybe next time I'll make a pie crust anyway- I think that might have a better texture). And, ok, I did make mini versions, in the form of cookies, afterwards. But the idea itself, purely pie.

For some reason, I have been craving a vegan lemon meringue pie lately. But I had several problems:
1) I don't have enough lemons to make an extra lemony lemon filling for said pie
2) I haven't been able to successfully make a vegan lemon curd that is rich enough to taste like the real thing
3) I wanted something unique
4) I had 5 peaches that got a little too bumped around and needed to be used fast
5) Ever since I'd had a taste of one great peach pie made by a certain sweet-mate (not vegan by the way)- I've been craving it (and yes, I did consider that the few pies I've made in my life are pretty much limited to Pie & Tarts lab freshman year).

Oh, and I did have one more nagging reason.... I wanted to satisfy another spot in the "State Cookie Lineup" that I could post on my new and growing Etsy page (please check it out!!!!!) - I'm trying to post the most unique, fresh, flavorful products first. Ok, so I guess there were ulterior motives....

Anyway, I set about constructing this pie. I knew I wanted something a bit risky... hence the vegan meringue topping instead of a second pie crust (I've had ups and down getting good quality vegan meringue- this time I succeeded!) I also knew I wanted to keep the filling simple- peaches, brown sugar, some sort of starch... maybe a flavoring or two, and that's it.

The last piece of the puzzle was the crust. I wasn't quite in the mood for waiting for pie dough to chill (because then I'd have to wait all the way until tomorrow to roll it out- who wants that?)... and the sugar addict that I am didn't want to savory quality of a traditional pie crust. And then there's my conscience, which wanted some sort of excuse to think this dessert was healthy.

So, I opted for a simple, press-in pie/tart crust, with a blend of almond flour, whole wheat flour, and a hint of sugar for just the right flavor balance.

Put all the components together, add some heat, a bit of broiling to give the camp-fire, "toasted marshmallow" appeal, and you have one great dessert everyone, vegan or not will be raving about. Just be sure not to forget you pie is under the broiler!

Vegan Peach Meringue Pie (and Alabama Cookies)

Yield: 1 9” tart or pie (for pie, make twice as much peach filling)

Crust

(Based off “Samoa Tart” recipe from Vegan Desserts: Scrumptious Sweets for Every Season by Hannah Kaminsky)

140 g. whole-wheat flour

40 g. almond meal

10 g, granulated sugar

Pinch of salt

50 g. (¼ cup) canola oil

57 g. (¼ cup) non-dairy milk (preferably almond milk)

1 tsp. vanilla extract

½ tsp. almond extract

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 9” tart shell with removable bottom of a heavily grease a 9” pie plate.

2.  Sift dry ingredients.

3.  Add wet ingredients, mixing just until combined. Knead gently if necessary to help dough come together.

4.  Press dough into greased pan, starting by making an even layer of crust on the bottom, then working it about an inch up the side.

5.  Poke the bottom of the crust several times with a fork to prevent puffing. Bake for 12-15 minutes, or until set. Meanwhile, prepare peach filling.

Peach Filling

5 medium peaches, sliced thinly (peeled or unpeeled - your choice)

100 g. (1/2 cup) brown sugar

48 g. (6 tbsp.) tapioca starch or cornstarch

1 tbsp. fresh lemon or orange juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

6.    Toss the peaches gently with all other filling ingredients, coating evenly.

7.    Dump filling into baked crust, evening out the top.

8.    Bake 30-40 minutes, or until filling is reduced and thickened. Cool to room temperature.

“Meringue”

(Based off “Meringue Kisses” recipe from Vegan Desserts: Scrumptious Sweets for Every Season by Hannah Kaminski

¼ cup EnerG Egg Replacer

½ cup plus 1 tbsp. hot water

75 g. (6 tbsp.) granulated sugar

½ tsp. vanilla

½ tsp. almond extract or 1/4 tsp. amaretto flavoring

9.    Combine EnerG Egg and water in the bowl of an electric mixer (make sure it’s clean!), fitted with a whip attachment. Once incorporated, increase speed to high, and beat for 5 minutes, or until tripled in volume and peaks have formed.

10.With mixer still on high speed, slowly stream in the sugar, letting it incorporate fully. The entire process of adding sugar will take about 5 additional minutes.

11.Remove form mixer and fold in extracts.

12.Pipe or mound meringue on top of peach filling, covering all of the filling but only the inner edge of the crust (otherwise the meringue may droop over the edge of the tart).

13.Broil the pie for 1.5 to 2 minutes. Be careful, the meringue burns fast! (I had mine in for 2.5 minutes the first time and the entire top burned. I was able to peel it off and add a little more meringue and broil again. That time I only did it 1.5 minutes and it was slightly droopy, so I would go another 15-20 seconds next time).

14.Cool back to room temperature and then serve. Can be stored at room temperature for a couple of days. I don’t think the refrigerator would be kind to this dessert.