Chow Vegan

Savory Brownies

February 5, 2012 By chow 25 Comments

I was inspired by a stack of savory brownies I saw at Bello Mundo Cafe, a cute little coffee place in San Luis Obispo, CA. Sadly, they weren’t vegan. I had stopped in on my way back to the Bay Area hoping for a vegan cupcake but got a sugar-free vegan fruit and nut bar instead. But I couldn’t stop thinking about those savory brownies (a 4-hour drive with nothing else to dwell on).

I have a square baking pan, buried way back in the cupboard. I could dust it off and try to make my own. So I did. Now, I’m not sure exactly what a savory brownie should taste like, having never tried one before.

Mine came out with an eggy kind of a taste, sorta like a crust-less quiche but denser. Is it suppose to be like that? I donno know, but it sure was good.

Easy to make with the potential for many flavor combinations. I used what was available at the local farmers market – fresh spinach, shiitake mushrooms and leeks. Pulled from the fridge, I crumbled in slices of smoky maple bacon tempeh which added extra little bits of savoriness.

Savory Spinach and Mushroom Brownies
Makes 9 pieces

1 medium-sized leek, white and pale green parts only, coarsely chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
5 ounces fresh shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 bunch fresh spinach (about 6 ounces cooked)
1/2 package Turtle Island Smoky Maple Bacon Tempeh, crumbled
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 1/2 cup soy milk or other non-dairy milk, divided
1/2 cup firm tofu, water pressed out
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon nutritional yeast
Olive oil

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Heat a skillet or wok until hot, lightly drizzle with olive oil and sauté the leek and garlic until done. Transfer to a dish and set aside. Heat the skillet again and sauté the mushrooms until cooked, drain any water and set aside.

Sauté the spinach until just wilted. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Squeeze out any water and coarsely chop.

In a food processor or blender, combine the tofu, 1/2 cup of the soy milk, nutmeg, thyme and nutritional yeast, process until smooth.

In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt and baking powder. Add the vegetables, tempeh, tofu and the rest of the soy milk and mix well. Pour into a well-greased 8-inch square baking pan and spread evenly.

Bake for about 30-35 minutes, let cool before slicing.

Vegan Foie Gras or Vegan Cheese? Tofu Misozuke From Rau Om

January 28, 2012 By chow 15 Comments

While cruising around the Sunnyvale farmers market, I came across Rau Om, makers of tofu misozuke (miso cured tofu). It’s been described as either a vegan foie gras or a creamy vegan cheese. It’s actually a traditional Japanese cured tofu that dates back to at least the 18th century.

Having never tried foie gras before, I can’t comment on that part. It’s also unlike any cheese I ever had, although I never was much of a cheese connoisseur.

But it is creamy, rich with an intense flavor and savory with umami galore. For me, it’s more reminiscent of Chinese fermented bean curd but without its pungent aroma and you can eat the tofu misozuke plain all by itself. Whereas, you can’t really do that with the Chinese fermented tofu.

You could cook with tofu misozuke, but at 7 bucks for a small block (2.5 oz.), I prefer to enjoy it as is – smeared on a slice of crusty bread. It seems a bit pricey for what you get but it is after all handmade and aged for two months, not unlike fine cheese.

Rau Om has since added a new flavor – kombu (seaweed) aged tofu misozuke, which I liked better than the original. It seemed a lot less like fermented tofu. Aged a bit longer and all wrapped up in kombu, it has more depth and complexity for just 50 cents more ($7.50 for a 2.5 oz. block).

Currently available in-person at the California Avenue Palo Alto farmers market or online. You can also try your hand at making it yourself, the nice people at Rau Om have made the recipe open source, which is so cool. Another thing to add to the bucket list of must-try-recipes.

Heavenly Cheesecake From Vegan Pie in the Sky

January 8, 2012 By chow 19 Comments

I’ve been pretty much overdosing on sweets lately with the holidays and all. But since I recently received Vegan Pie in the Sky by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero to review, I absolutely had to try a recipe or two.

Unable to decide on which cheesecake to make, I half the recipes and made mini cheesecakes. That way I was also able to try out a couple of flavors instead of making one big 9″ pie.

Pictured above is the Chocolate Galaxy Banana Cheesecake – such a smooth and creamy texture! So very decadent-tasting, just like regular cheesecake. Unlike some other vegan cheesecake recipes, there’s no packaged cream cheese in these. The creaminess is from raw cashews, banana and silken tofu.

The other flavor was Raspberry Lime Cheesecake, pictured in the middle. Also very good. Never thought raspberry and lime go together but they do. Since I had a bit of the raspberry and lime topping leftover, I plopped some on top of the chocolate cheesecake, pictured below.

Both flavors were easy enough for me, a baking simpleton, to make. The cookbook is written in the same style as the authors’ other books – easy to understand, lighthearted, full of useful tips and suggestions. Besides the cheesecakes, there’s recipes for various pie crusts, fruit pies, creamy pies, cobblers, crisps and tarts.

When I fully recover from the overindulgence of holiday sweets, I have very high hopes of finally being able to actually make a real pie with a real pie crust and everything. I’m so excited!

Chocolate Galaxy Banana Cheesecake
Makes one 9 1/2 – inch cheesecake

1 recipe Graham Cracker Crust

Filling
1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews, soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours or until very soft
1/2 cup well-mashed banana (about 2 medium-size bananas)
1 (12-14 ounce) package silken tofu, drained
2/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons coconut oil, room temperature
4 teaspoons cornstarch
1 tablespoon lemon juice
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2/3 cup semisweet chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly spray a 9-inch springform pan with cooking spray. Prepare the crust and press it very firmly into the pan. Bake for 10 minutes and move the pan to a cooling rack.

2. Meanwhile, prepare the filling: Drain the cashews and blend with the banana, tofu, sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla and almond extracts, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and absolutely no bits of cashew remain.

3. Set aside 1/3 cup of batter and pour the rest into the crust. Melt the chocolate chips over a double boiler or in a glass bowl in the microwave. Stir the melted chips with a spatula until smooth; add reserved batter and stir until smooth.

4. Spoon dollops of chocolate batter randomly onton the cheesecake. Poke the end of a chopstick into a chocolate batter blob and gently swirl the top to creat a marble-like pattern; repeat with the remaining chocolate blobs.

5. Bake the cheesecake for 50 to 55 minutes until the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden.

6. Remove the cake from the oven and set on a cooling rack for 20 minutes, then move it to the fridge to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or even better, overnight. To serve, slice the cake with a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.

Graham Cracker Crust
Makes one 9- or 10- inch pie crust

1 3/4 cups finely ground graham crackers (made from 10 ounces of whole graham crackers)
3 tablespoons sugar
4 tablespoons melted nonhydrogenated margarine, melted coconut oil, or canola oil
1 tablespoon plain soy milk or almond milk

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and lightly spray a 9-inch pie plate with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In a mixing bowl, combine the graham crumbs and sugar. Drizzle in the oil or melted margarine. Use a spoon to blend the mixture thoroughly to moisten the crumbs, then drizzle in the soy milk and stir again to form a crumbly dough.

3. Pour the crumbs into the pie plate. Press crumbs into the sides of the plate first, then work your way down to the bottom. Bake for 8 to 10 minutes until firm. Let the crust cool before filling.

From the book Vegan Pie in the Sky by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Excerpted by arrangement with Da Capo Lifelong, a member of the Perseus Books Group. Copyright (c) 2011. www.dacapopresscookbooks.com

Disclosure: I received the book free of charge from the publisher to review. The opinions and experience with the book expressed herein are my own. There was no pay to say.

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