Recipe: Lazy Vegan’s Butter Unchicken!

In my downtown Toronto neighbourhood, we have a magical spot called Java House to quickly and cheaply feed us in our laziest, poorest and most pressing, about-to-throw-a-hissy-fit hungry moments. If Queen West were a school or camp, Java House would basically be our cafeteria or mess hall.

There’s lots to choose from on the menu, but as in any quest for adopting a healthier diet,  lots to choose from inevitably dwindles down to just a few, sort of acceptable choices. One item from Java’s menu that I’ve been lusting after since I was 17 and vegetarian, but not overly health-conscious, is their butter chicken. I won’t lie, I’ve stolen a few potatoes in my day from the plates of those who order it, so I can attest to how god damn delicious the sauce is. It’s golden, it’s curry, it’s creamy, it’s sweet, it’s spicy — it’s fucking perfect.

This is what I aspire to one day perfect; no butter, no chicken, no milk or cream, and none of the other shifty ingredients probably lurking in their thrifty kitchen. Hey, if you can give me a salad and a large entree for $6.95, I’m not going to delude myself into believing I’m not eating some sketchy shit.

This recipe comes close. Very close. If I had almond/cashew cream on hand, I probably would’ve added some of that, too. Considering I know diddly squat about Indian cooking, I think I did a pretty decent job of pulling ingredients out of my butt to concoct more or less exactly what I envisioned and hoped for when I set about making the meal. The best part is that I actually just tossed everything in the pot, left the ingredients to have an orgy while I did laundry, and BAM!

If you don’t have all of these ingredients on hand, I strongly suggest you acquire them. You don’t have to buy them often, and it really doesn’t have to be overly expensive. It’s nice to have fun, out of the ordinary flavouring options at your fingertips!

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups of whichever whole brown rice you have/like, cooked. I used an organic long grain brown rice/wild rice blend. I wish I’d had basmati!

SAUCE:
3 cans organic coconut milk
1/8 cup high grade maple syrup (adjustable to taste)
2 tbsp organic coconut oil – or as much as you like, really. can you ever have too much of the stuff?!
1 tsp each coconut butter, almond butter, sunflower seed butter, pumpkin seed butter (or whichever creamy nut butter you have!)
1/2 cup white wine (I used dry, but something a little sweeter, like Riesling would probably be awesome)
1/2 cup filtered water
1/4 cup golden curry powder (adjustable to taste)
1/8 cup of turmeric (or as much as you want – it’s so good for you that you can’t really put too much!)
1 tbsp cumin
1 tbsp dehydrated shallot flakes (or you can use fresh shallots, of course, if you’re not being lazy like I was)
1 tsp true cinnamon
1 tsp garam masala
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp chipotle pepper flakes (or any chili flake you like/have, really)
freshly ground black pepper to taste
real sea salt or himalayan mountain salt (any salt with real mineral content) to taste
4-5 medium-sized organic, yellow-fleshed potatoes, cut into large chunks, rinsed under cold water
if you like tofu or have a tasty chicken substitute & are willing to ingest whatever surprises are in that, toss it in the mix too!

** You can also change this recipe up a bit by blending a mango and a handful of basil in with some of the coconut milk before adding it to the pot.

DIRECTIONS:

1. cook rice
2. toss all of the sauce ingredients in a  large pot, cook covered on low-medium heat (5 on my stovetop) for 45 minutes. cook uncovered for another 30 minutes or so, or until sauce reduces a bit, potatoes are cooked, and all the flavours intensify.  feel free to add more of any of the spices listed.
3. EAT.

I didn’t remember to take photos while preparing, and I have one crappy iPhone photo to show, because the members of my household demolished everything as soon as it was ready to eat.

WINE PAIRING:
Go for an off-dry or slightly sweeter white wine, like a Riesling or Gewurztraminer. I like:
Jackson-Triggs Black Series Crisp & Lively (a sweet Riesling/Gewurztraminer blend)
Strut or Open Riesling/Gewurztraminer
Inniskillin Late Autumn Riesling
I suppose you could go for a super light Pinot Noir or Cabernet Franc if you insist on a red!

Recipe: Chewy chocolate almond & walnut, mouth-melting cookies!

I’m no nutritionist — not yet, anyway — but in the last year or so, my descent into healthier eating has been pretty steady! Using common sense, independent research here and there, books like Brendan Brazier’s The Thrive Diet (http://www.brendanbrazier.com), and tips/blogs from wonderful people encountered through social media (like holistic nutritionist Joy McCarthy –> http://www.joyoushealth.ca), I’ve gradually transformed my whole outlook on food and health. Being more aware of what I eat and which nutrients come from which foods has totally opened up the world of cooking for me! It has made me more creative, adventurous and excited about cooking food and baking. Bit by bit, it’s becoming less of a pesky necessity, and more of a delightful part of most days. I’m sure the cold glass(es) of white wine I inevitably have during the cooking and eating processes don’t hurt that outlook.

Blah blah blah, long story short, I’m at a point in my culinary development where recipes are only springboards for inspiration. I’m past the point of obsessing over matching each and every ingredient exactly, and rubber-necking to check and double-check teaspoon measurements of herbs and spices. All I wanna do is achieve two things: 1) replace all the nasty ingredients with the healthiest options possible, and 2) end up with something motherfucking delicious!

So, with that in mind, here’s my adaptation of a bakery recipe for flourless, chewy chocolate cookies. I’m still training myself to take pictures of recipes in their various stages of completion, so there’s not many right now. But if I can swing it, anyone can swing it.

Ingredients:

– 225g (or 8oz.) of organic, free trade semi-sweet baking chocolate,  in easily melted chunks (I like Camino: http://www.lasiembra.com/camino/). You can use a combination of semi-sweet, unsweetened or even sweet chocolate, according to your palate. obviously, the less added sugar, the better for you.

– 2 tablespoons coconut oil

– 1 & 1/4 cups finely crushed almonds, walnuts or both. I have one of those $5 Ikea Slap Chop imitation dealies, and it does the trick just fine for getting the right consistency. FYI, almonds pretty tough, and as such more difficult to grind up to the required consistency — but they also give you a more Marzipan-esque cookie!

– 2 organic, free range eggs

– 3/4 of a cup Succanat, or whatever sweetener you use. Just please avoid processed stuff or retarded stuff like Splenda.

– 1 teaspoon REAL vanilla extract

– 1/4 teaspoon REAL almond extract

And, if you really need the contrast:

– 1/2 a cup of icing sugar (there are hippie dippy varieties, but I have yet to figure out how they’re better than non-hippie varieties.)

Directions:

1. In a double boiler (if you don’t know what that is, take a little pot, fill it halfway with water, put a heat-safe safe bowl – slightly bigger than the pot so it’ll kinda float like a steamer – in the mouth of the pot, and turn the heat on), melt the chopped chocolate and coconut oil together, stirring it until it’s liquidy smooth

2. In a glass bowl, beat together the succanat, eggs, vanilla and almond extracts until well blended. The recipe I adapted from said to blend until fluffy. I use my immersion hand blender, and to be honest, after about 30 seconds, I figure it’s about as fluffy as it’s gonna get. I don’t have the patience to coax it into higher levels of fluff.

3. Once the chocolate mixture is nicely melted together, mix in the ground almonds and walnuts while the chocolate is still in the double boiler. It should be easy to coat the nuts with chocolate thoroughly.

4. Fold the nut and chocolate mix into into the eggs/sugar/extract with a spoon, fork, spatula – whatever ya got. Once looks thoroughly combined, chill the mixture for about an hour and a half.

5. Preheat your oven to 350/175 degrees. Once your dough is not too stiff, but cool enough to maneuver, form it into 1 inch balls, and space them a couple of inches apart on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper – they WILL expand in all directions. And your hands WILL look like you had an accident with laxatives because the dough melts quickly! I forgot one batch in the fridge overnight — not a big deal if you do the same, just bring it to room temperature the next day, it’ll still be good.

If you want your cookies to look slightly prettier, you can roll the balls in the aforementioned icing sugar, so when they bake, puff up and crackle, there will be a pretty contrast between the chocolate and the dusted sugar. I don’t think it adds any significant flavour, so, it’s really your call if you need to ingest the extra sugar.

6. Bake for 10-12 minutes and leave to cool. If they’re slightly stuck, you can easily lift the parchment or wax paper up and peel the cookie off.

I’d say you can store them for a week or so, but they’re like fucking crack, so I doubt they’ll last that long. They’re actually not too shabby for you given the right ingredients, so guilt need not apply, as long as you share!

This is how everything should look right before you pop them in the oven.

Or, if you opted for the icing sugar, THIS is how they should look just prior to baking!

I’m still on the hunt for a picture of the baked cookies. Like I said, they don’t last long at my house!

Recipe: Medenki – festive Bulgarian honey and spice cookies!

Medenki seem ever-present when I look back on my childhood – like I always had one in hand! They’re soft, chewy, flavourful, and assuming that you use substitutes for refined, processed and bleached ingredients as outlined below, you don’t have to feel particularly terrible about what you’re eating!

Recipe adapted from: http://easteuropeanfood.about.com/od/bulgariandesserts/r/Honey-Spice-Cookies-Recipe.html

“This Bulgarian recipe for honey-spice cookies or medenki are typically rolled and cut into fanciful shapes. The warm cookies can be brushed with stiffly beaten egg whites and then sprinkled with colored sugar or decorations of choice. When the dough is shaped into ovals or pushed into walnut-shaped molds, and then sandwiched together with rosehip jam and one end is dipped in melted chocolate and nuts, they become Bulgarian acorn cookies.”

Makes: 2-4 dozen Honey-Spice Cookies, depending on desired size.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups flour (preferably whole grain, unbleached flour – try kamut or spelt)
• 7 ounces succanat or brown cane sugar (just under 1 cup or 14 tablespoons)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon (to learn about types of cinnamon: http://www.ceylon-cinnamon.com/Identify-Cinnamon.htm)
• A pinch of salt
• 3 eggs (free range and organic make a a tastier, happier cookie!)
• 3 1/2 ounces raw, organic honey (7 tablespoons)
• 1 3/4 ounces coconut oil (3.5 tablespoons)
• 1 stiffly beaten large egg white

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking soda, ground cloves, cinnamon and salt.
2. In a separate, large bowl, beat together eggs, honey and oil. Add sugar.
3. Add to flour mixture bit by bit, stopping to blend in thoroughly each time. Form into a smooth dough. If dough is too soft, wrap in plastic and refrigerate for an hour or so. Don’t be afraid to use your hands to fully incorporate everything together once the dough gets too thick for blending (if you don’t have a heavy duty mixer, anyway!).
4. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
5. For cookie cutter cookies, roll dough 1/4 inch thick between sheets of parchment paper. Cut into desired shapes, leaving 1 inch of space between. If you just want round, soft, chewy cookies, roll bits of dough into balls with the palms of your hands to desired size and press them flat to desired thickness.
6. Bake 1-14 minutes or until slightly golden around the edges.
7. If you wish to decorate, brush with beaten egg white and sprinkle with coloured sugars or decorations of choice while cookies are still hot. Let cool completely and store tightly covered.

Recipe: Adventures in Pumpkin Maple cheesecake

It’s kind of ridiculous, but the topic that finally propelled me into the future blog-wise (meaning away from LiveJournal or MySpace) is cheesecake. I’m so into cheesecake, that I just had to write about it.

When I discovered plain New York style cheesecake as a kid, I became pretty enamored by the whole concept and the creamy delight it brought. My mom and uncle indulged me by buying ingredients for us to make our own on several occasions, and while they were good, they weren’t fantastic.

In fact, MOST cheesecake is mediocre, at best. It can get thick and gummy, lack genuine cream cheese flavour and all around be a huge letdown. In the last year or so – and largely compelled by Cake Boss – I’ve been baking a lot, even though I’m not as big on sweets as I used to be. It’s a fun challenge, because it’s not like cooking where, if you completely fuck something up, you can most likely fix it. If you screw something up in baking, chances are you won’t even know until you pull something out of the oven or fridge and see it’s a flat mess. So when you DO succeed in producing something decadent, it’s a nice feeling, and the ensuing praise from people isn’t all that shabby either!

Long story short, I’m pretty sure I made the best cheesecake filling EVER yesterday! It’s divine, to say the least. I adapted the recipe from this one: http://www.squidoo.com/homemade-pumpkin-cheesecake-recipe, substituting here and there to make things healthier.

INGREDIENTS:

– 1/4 cup brown/cane sugar

– 1/3 cup melted butter (I used Earth Balance butter replacement or coconut oil)

– 1 3/4 cup crushed graham crackers (preferably ones without hydrogenated vegetable oil, white sugar, white flower or any other nasty ingredients/additives. But since this is hard to find, your best bet is to get a box of cookies for babies/kids from the health food store that fits the above criteria, and to crush them up yourself. Blenders or Magic Bullets may help the process, depending on make and model.)

– 24 oz (680 grams) softened organic cream cheese (I think Philadelphia cream cheese is too thick, gummy, heavy and all-around gross, even the light variety. I really like Arla cream cheese http://www.arlafoods.ca/about/, it made a perfect cheesecake. I advise you to be very careful about picking a cheese – try it on its own before you buy $20-worth of it and make a whole cake, just to make sure you like the flavour).

– 1/2 cup fresh pumpkin or canned organic pumpkin

-1/2 cup organic canned pumpkin pie mix

– 3/4 cup brown/cane sugar

– 2 Tablespoons natural vanilla extract

– 1/4 cup pure Maple syrup (the better the quality, the better the taste)

– 3 beaten organic/free range eggs

– For topping, a drizzle of maple syrup and some crushed walnuts or pecans works really well!

DIRECTIONS:

1. Preheat an oven to 325 degrees F. Combine the melted Earth Balance, brown sugar and cookies crumbs in a bowl. Press the mixture onto the sides and bottom of a springform 9 inch pan, ungreased. Bake the shell for about 8-10 minutes and let it cool.

2. Beat the cream cheese in a large bowl with an electric mixer or immersion blender until smooth and creamy. Add the vanilla, brown sugar, maple syrup and eggs and beat the mixture again until it is smooth. (I was terrified it wasn’t viscous enough and that it’d never set like it should because my organic eggs were so wee, but it was fine after several hours in the fridge).

3. Pour the filling into your now cooled graham cracker or crushed cookie shell and ensure that it’s evenly spread our in the pan.

4. If you don’t have time to deal with baking the cheesecake in a bath, you can bake it on a baking sheet for approximately 60 minutes, or more time if the cheesecake is not set. The cheesecake will be done when the top is firm and doesn’t wiggle when shaken. It’s normal for some cracking to occur in the filling.

I experimented with baking my cheesecake in baths with 3 of the 4 cheesecakes I made in October 2010, because I wasn’t impressed with the bajilion cracks in the first one that wasn’t in a bath.  When baking in a bath, you’re essentially placing your springform pan in a larger oven-safe vessel which is then filled with water. It helps bake cheesecake more evenly so that it doesn’t crack. You’re welcome to Google search it (http://www.google.ca/search?q=baking+cheesecake+in+a+bath&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a) to see which set of instructions makes the most sense to you.

I improvised, of course.

– I used a large, rectangular metal pan which was big enough to fit the springform pan into.

– It’s suggested that you line the bottom of the bigger pan with a tea towel, but I didn’t have one, so I just used a regular hand towel.

– Once the pan is lined, place the cheesecake in the centre. The springform pan should be wrapped airtight in aluminum foil. Naturally, I screwed that up some way, somehow, and my cheesecake was still awesome, so fret not!

– I placed the pan-in-pan action in the oven before adding the water to the bath, just because it gets pretty heavy. You can pull the over rack out slightly to get better access to it when putting the water in, obviously. I added just enough water to cover/soak my towel because I didn’t want to set it on fire and the whole thing was new to me.

– Now, I baked it for the full 60 minutes, plus another 10. It still looked really runny to me, so each time, I removed the cake from the bath and baked it for an extra 20 minutes. Like I said, this is all improvisation on my part, and it will vary depending on your oven.

5. The longer you cool it, the better. Cheesecake is not an immediate gratification kind of a dessert. It terrifies you, gives you anxiety and makes you wait by the phone all night before it satisfies you. You can run a knife under warm water and run it along the edges of the cake before removing the springform sides to get a clean look. Or you can just take the damn thing off and be grateful you have cake at all, like I did!

6. Like I said, a drizzle of Maple syrup and some slap-chopped pecans or walnuts makes for great garnish.

Cheesecake is somehow a scary thing to make, at least in my mind. Have a little faith, put some love into it, don’t panic every time you screw up a little, and chances are you’ll have a fantastic dessert.

And if something DOES go horribly wrong, well, your eggs are cooked, and you have a pumpkin maple cream cheese puddin’ that’s gonna be delicious too!