FoodNuts!

Text I made my own vegan cheese!

I took an Advanced Raw Class with Russell James last month at Organic Avenue and I was obsessed with trying to make the two cheese recipes that we tasted.

(Russell James’ Caraway, Fennel & Olive Cheese & his Cashew Cheese at Organic Avenue)

The recipes were included as part of the class and they are not for me to share. You can find the Caraway, Fennel & Olive Cheese recipe in Russell’s Raw Cheese e-book (and I suspect the “Basic Raw Cheese” recipe in the book is the Cashew Cheese recipe). I started with the Cashew Cheese because I had all of the ingredients and a nut milk bag (during the class he indicated that he now prefers to use nut milk bags for cheese rather than cheesecloth). I whipped up the ingredients (which included a probiotic for culturing) in Viv (my Vita-Mix) and poured it into the nut milk bag (error number one?).

I pressed it by setting a Turkish coffee pot on top.

The trick here is to have enough weight to press out the liquid but not too much that the cheese comes oozing out. I’ll confess I was obsessed with this. I tried a few mason jars with beans and saw cheese coming through. With the coffee pot, really no liquid came out (error number two?). The cheese was to remain on the counter for 24 – 48 hours to culture. At 24 hours I processed in the additional ingredients and transferred the cheese to a ring mould where it would sit for another 24 hours, this time in the refrigerator. After 24 hours, it seemed fairly moist (again, pretty certain more liquid should have come out during the 24-hour culturing/pressing process) but I removed the ring mould and wrapped it up as instructed. I placed it in the back of the refrigerator (it’s supposed to be ready in one week, or up to 6 weeks) and headed to Arizona where I completely forgot about it. I returned to New York, anxiously unwrapped the cheese and, well, it didn’t look like Russell’s. And it didn’t taste like Russell’s. I wrapped it back up and waited another week.

That extra week helped! It still doesn’t look quite like Russell’s but it is tasty. It’s now two weeks old and keeps getting better! So maybe there were no errors, but… …I bought a cheesecloth. Last weekend I tried my hand at making the Caraway, Fennel & Olive Cheese. The base is macadamia nuts. I blended the nuts and probiotics and wrapped up the cheese in my new cheesecloth.

See! Liquid came out! I was feeling very positive about this experience! This cheese cultures on the counter for 48 hours. I had to rinse the bowl because the liquid got stinky (but not the cheese!) but mostly kept my hands off of it. After 48 hours I stirred in the remaining ingredients and transferred it to a ring mould–the consistency was perfect, no excess liquid!

I placed the cheese in the dehydrator to form a “rind”. The next morning…

…I nibbled. WOW! It was delicious! But, I held back and wrapped the cheese up and placed it in the refrigerator — this cheese will last awhile, too — and tried it 12 hours later.

A huge success! Long-time readers know I’m a rather short and sweet kind of cook. I like yummy food but I’d like it to be pretty simple. Don’t let the length of this process scare you away. Making cheese is very simple. There are just a few steps along the way and patience is required. I’m going to be making a lot of cheese in the future. And I’ll be using my nut milk bag for milk and use my cheesecloth for cheese! Originally posted on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a Side of Kale.

Text Raw Carrot-Banana Cake

Have carrot pulp? Make cake!

Raw Carrot-Banana Cake (adapted from Healthy Simple Living)
Serves 4 – 6

PRINTABLE VERSION

INGREDIENTS

*3/4 c pecans
*4 medjool dates, pitted and diced
*1.5 c carrot pulp
*1/2 c shredded coconut
*1.5 tsp flax seed oil
*1.5 Tbsp ground flax seed
*1 small, ripe banana
*Dash cinnamon
*Dash of nutmeg

METHOD

Pulse pecans and dates in the food processor using the “S” blade. Add the remaining ingredients and pulse again until a “dough” forms.

Transfer “dough” to ramekins, filling each half-way. (I only found two small ramekins — where did the other two disappear to?! So I took the remaining dough and added it to a larger “ramekin” style bowl.)

Dehydrate on 145F for one hour. Reduce to 105F for another 3 hours. Flip the cake out of the dishes directly to the dehydrator screen and dehydrate for 4 more hours.

I made this incredible frosting and spread it on the carrot-banana cake.

This dessert was delicious! Even the omnivore husband loved this raw, vegan cake!

Original post on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale. You can follow JL on Twitter and Facebook.

Text Very Veggie Split-Pea Soup

JL’s Very Veggie Split-Pea Soup
Makes 6 cups

Text Vegan Marshmallow Sandwich

Yep, I was crazy enough to do it. I made a marshmallow sandwich. I toasted an Ezekial English Muffin. I cut it in half and added three Sweet and Sara vanilla marshmallows, a teaspoon of unsweetened, shredded coconut and a teaspoon of Navitas cacao nibs. I microwaved the sandwich for thirty seconds. And then I squealed with delight.

If loving this is wrong, I don’t want to be right. Original post on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale. You can follow JL on Twitter and Facebook.

Text Cucumber & Beet Noodle Salad with Avo-Hemp Dressing

With just one cucumber

and one beet

and an avocado, you can make this! JL’s Cucumber & Beet Noodle Salad with Avo-Hemp Dressing (Raw) Serves 1, generously INGREDIENTS *Half a large cucumber *1 small beet *1 avocado *1/4 cup hemp seeds *Juice of 1 medium lemon *2 T coconut aminos *1 small clove of garlic *2 pinches of cayenne pepper *1/4 cup filtered water (add more, if necessary, for desired consistency) METHOD Run the cucumber and beet through a spiralizer (I use a Spirooli Spiral 3-in-1 Slicer) For the dressing: Add all remaining ingredients to a blender and pulse to desired consistency. Makes just over 1 cup. Serve about 3 Tablespoons of the dressing over the cucumber and beet noodles.

Enjoy! Original post on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale. You can follow JL on Twitter and Facebook.

Text Johnny Cakes and Black-Eyed Peas

My husband IM’d me the other day at work. No commentary, just a link for Johnny Cakes (from Adventure Journal, no less). The first thing I did was scan the ingredients to see if the recipe was vegan. It was. I IM’d a reply “you make those and I’ll make black-eyed peas in the pressure cooker.” Later that night the omnivore and the vegan cooked together and made a delicious meal!

The Johnny Cakes Dave started with this Johnny Cakes recipe. But the ratio of dry and wet didn’t seem right to him so he referred to this oh-so-NOT vegan Bobby Flay recipe and adjusted the amount of water (he did not use sugar) and added diced jalapeno. They came out beautifully The Black-Eyed Peas I rinsed and drained one cup of dry black-eyed peas and tossed them into the pressure cooker. I added three cups of water, three cloves of garlic, one tablespoon Sriracha and a bay leaf. I brought the peas to high pressure for 10 minutes, followed by a natural release of pressure. The Johnny Cakes were still on the griddle so after removing the lid from the pressure cooker I added salt to the black-eyed peas and allowed them to simmer for five minutes.

We were obnoxiously proud—there may have been a high-five, or two—of this rather impromptu plate of simple, vegan, fabulous good eats. Originally posted on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale. You can follow JL on Twitter and Facebook.

Text Quinoa-Stuffed Bell Peppers

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon or not at all. ~Harriet Van Horne

This recipe originally appeared on Put a Spork In It. Recipe source: Good Cheap Eats

stuffed red bell pepper

When cooking for guests, it’s always nice to have a “stunner” recipe in your repertoire - something that is beautiful to the eye, complex to the palate, enticing to the nose, and kind to the stomach. This is just such a recipe. It can be made as a main course or side dish, and is friendly to vegetarians and Celiacs alike. The first step of this recipe is to prepare the filling. And the filling is so good, you might just want to stop there! (No, seriously… it’s great even by itself as a one-dish meal. Don’t fret if you have extra!) Begin by cooking quinoa, carrots, and water in a covered saucepan for about 20 minutes.

carrots & quinoa

At the same time, saute onion, celery, and poblano pepper, season with cumin and garlic, and then add in sliced mushrooms and drained canned tomatoes.

onions & peppers

When the quinoa is tender, stir in black beans, shredded pepperjack cheese*, and the onion mixture. Your filling is now ready. *Taste tip: You can make these vegan by omitting the cheese. Entertaining bonus! Everyone is welcome. :)

yummy quinoa mixture

Next, pour liquid from tomatoes into the bottom of a baking dish (a 9x13 glass dish worked well for me) and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. If you’re making this recipe as a side, slice the bell peppers in half vertically and scoop out the seeds and as much membrane as possible. *Shopping tip: For this serving especially, try to find peppers with the shallowest bottom possible. The curvier your peppers are, the less room you will have to fill them inside. After cutting one open, you’ll see what I mean.

stuffed green bell peppers

If these are going to be a main dish, cut only the tops off the peppers. If you reserve them, they make cute little hats at the dinner table! You can get creative with the colors of peppers you serve as well - I stuffed red and green peppers for a Christmas dinner last year.

stuffed red & yellow bell peppers

Fill each bell pepper with a heaping serving of filling, and place in the baking dish. Cover with foil and bake for 40 minutes, then uncover and sprinkle each pepper with a bit more cheese. Bake for another 15 minutes and let stand 5 minutes before serving. RECIPE - Quinoa-Stuffed Bell Peppers 2 tablespoons olive oil 1 medium onion, finely chopped 2 ribs celery, finely chopped 1/2 of a poblano pepper, diced 1 tablespoon ground cumin 2 cloves garlic, minced 1 (8 oz.) pkg. mushrooms, thinly sliced 1 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes, drained, liquid reserved 3/4 cup quinoa 1 1/2 cups grated carrot 1 3/4 cups water 1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained 1 1/2 cups grated reduced-fat pepper Jack cheese, divided 4 large bell peppers, halved lengthwise to serve 8 or tops removed to serve 4 Heat oil in saucepan over medium heat. Add onion, celery, and poblano pepper and cook 5 minutes, or until soft. Add cumin and garlic, and sauté 1 minute. Stir in mushrooms and drained tomatoes. Cook 5 minutes, or until most of the liquid has evaporated. In a separate saucepan with a lid, stir in quinoa, carrots, and water. Cover and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer 20 minutes, or until quinoa is tender. Combine quinoa and carrots with black beans, 1 cup of cheese, and the onion mixture from the first step. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Preheat oven to 350°F. Pour reserved liquid from tomatoes into the bottom of a baking dish. Fill each bell pepper half with heaping 3/4-cup of quinoa mixture, and place in baking dish. Cover with foil and bake 40 minutes. Uncover and sprinkle each pepper with 1 tablespoon of remaining cheese. Bake 15 minutes more, or until tops of stuffed peppers are browned. Let stand 5 minutes. Transfer stuffed peppers to serving plates and drizzle with pan juices before serving. Serves 4 as a main dish or 8 as a side.

~Liked this post? Check my out other recipes at http://putasporkinit.wordpress.com! ~

Text An afternoon with the winemaker at Schug Carneros Estate

Last summer I interviewed Mike Cox, winemaker at Schug Carneros Estates. I had just learned that not all wine is vegan and Mike’s interview educated me further. At the conclusion of the interview Mike suggested I visit next time I was in Sonoma.

I did. On a grey, cold day in Sonoma earlier this month my husband, two friends and I visited Schug Carneros Estates.

Vince, Lisa, Dave and JL at a vineyard the previous day

Mike had quite an experience planned for us!

We started outside.

A few interesting tidbits:

*Schug sits on 50 acres in Sonoma, in the Carneros appellation.
*The Chardonnay grapes are on the flats, the Pinot Noir grapes on the hill.
*Schug uses both stainless steel and oak barrels for fermentation.
*Harvest is in October and bottling is in July and August.

Once inside

we wound our way to the reserve room, but only to grab our wine glasses for a particularly special tasting.

Schug red wines are vegan but the whites are not. That is, once the whites are finished they are no longer vegan (many wineries use animal products in the finishing process). Mike took us out to taste the wines in various stages of the fermentation process so that I could try some whites. Nicest. Gesture. Ever.

It was great to hear Mike react to the wines as he tasted them. He spoke about what he might do to each wine to attain the taste he is looking for. We enjoyed new whites and reds directly from the barrel. I loved this part of the tasting because it helped me understand the robust process, from vine to barrel to bottle, and beyond.

Back to the reserve room

for red — sweet, glorious red —wines.

*2007 Rouge de Noirs Sparkling Pinot (This was surprising and delicious. So much so that we ordered a bottle of rouge brut with dinner at Bistro Jeanty!)
*2008 Pinot Noir, Sonoma Coast
*2008 Pinot Noir, Carneros
*2008 Schug Estate Pinot Noir, Carneros
*2007 Pinot Noir, Heritage Reserve
*2005 Cabernet Sauvignon, Heritage Reserve
*2006 Merlot, Heritage Reserve

Can you believe this tasting? It’s true; I enjoyed every wine immensely, particularly the 2007 Pinot Noir and the 2006 Merlot. This red wine lover was in HEAVEN.

Because of air travel restrictions with liquids (I’m a carry-on only gal, thank you very much) we were unable to purchase wine to take home. I did the next best thing. I joined the Schug wine club!

Mike spent hours with us. It’s a bit impossible to describe how meaningful this special experience was, from standing atop a hill overlooking the vineyard, to sauntering from barrel to barrel for a taste here and a taste there, to sitting in the reserve room and slowly, methodically tasting the reds. Mike shared his wealth of information about the science and agriculture behind winemaking, and, equally important, his passion for winemaking.

Our heartfelt thanks to the incredibly generous Mike Cox (read more about him here) for giving so much of himself — his time, his expertise, his enthusiasm. We will never forget the experience.

Schug Carneros Estates
602 Bonneau Road
Sonoma, CA 95476
(800) 966-9365
info@schugwinery.com

Originally posted on JL goes Vegan: Food & Fitness with a side of Kale. You can follow JL on Twitter and Facebook.

Text Food and Wine Pairing at Vineyards at Southpoint

This past Saturday I had the pleasure of visiting Vineyards at Southpoint, one of North Carolina’s many wonderful wineries, located on a gorgeous rolling property near Chapel Hill and Durham.

North Carolina ranks seventh in the U.S. in wine production; its 100th winery just opened this month, with more scheduled to open this year.

There are more than 400 vineyards in the state, and no – they don’t all grow muscadine grapes! The NC wine industry is a significant part of the state’s growing reputation as a culinary and agro-tourism destination. (Click here for more on NC wines!)

Vineyards at Southpoint produces an impressive variety of wines, from light whites and Rieslings to a deep, full-bodied Cabernet Sauvignon. At my visit, we tasted five wines, and had the additional great delight of sampling ideal food pairings for each one.

Dave Allison was our wine and food expert for the day. A winemaker and chef, Dave presented perfect pairings, while explaining exactly why each food went with each wine.

It’s complicated and simple at the same time. The complicated part is understanding the flavor elements in both the food and wine, and how they alter, map to, or overpower each other. The simple (and fun) part is trying as many as you can and deciding what you like best!

We started with the 2007 Viognier, a light fresh white that starts off dry but has a slightly sweet finish. It was my favorite wine of the day for drinking by itself, and it paired exquisitely with a simple snack of macadamia nuts. We also tried it with a crunchy, salty cracker with some creamy bleu cheese (wonderful!).

Next we tasted a wine called Niagara, made by Southpoint’s sister winery, Horizon Cellars. This one was sweet and acidic, and worked especially well with the salty and smoky snack of hummus, olives, and crackers.

The next wine, a 2006 Cabernet Franc, was a dry and relatively light red – good with lunch fare like sandwiches. I found it particularly tasty with a fun little appetizer that I’m going to make for every cocktail party from now on – a slice of baguette drizzled with Asian dressing and topped with half a grape tomato. Simple, and one of my favorite takeaways from the day.

The 2006 Chambourcin is made from a grape that grows particularly well in NC. It is very full-bodied with a gorgeous color, and it pairs well with spicy/herby foods. Dave presented it with a yummy treat of sundried tomato cheddar on a cracker topped with a bit of pepperoni, and I could have eaten heaping handfuls of those!

Last, we enjoyed the 2006 Cabernet Sauvignon, a Gold Medal winner. Classic and rich, it was sublime with a bit of bread and bleu cheese. (My personal favorite of the day.)

Although we didn’t have it with a food pairing, I want to mention their Double Gold Medal winning Prestige Reserve. At only $22.95 per bottle, this wine is a steal! I could easily see this wine costing $70 or more outside of the state.

There’s so much more I could rave about at Vineyards at Southpoint — their passion for wine; the breadth and savvy of their business vision; their sustainable farming techniques; their vast knowledge of grapes, wine, and food; their hospitality and friendliness; I could go on…