Vegan Rhurbarb Strawberry Crisp

When rhurbarb is in season there is only one thing to pair it with: sweet fresh strawberry and a crispy crumble on top, warm out of the oven. To keep portion size under control, I made individual servings in small, but tall ramekins. Each one was filled to the brim with the fruit mix and topped with a bit of the rolled oats and almond meal mixture. After baking, the fruit mix shrunk to have the ramekin, but the kitchen smelled fabulous and of course, I had to eat one, hot out of the oven. Heaven!
Fruit mix:

• 1 cup fresh strawberries, cut into small chunks
• 1 cup fresh rhubarb, cleaned and cut into small chunks
• 1/2 tart apple, small dice
• 1 TB organic sugar

Crisp Topping:

• 1/4 cup rolled oats
• 2 TB almond meal (basically ground non-blanched almonds)
• 2 TB flour (any kind)
• 2 TB brown sugar
• 1 TB earth balance, at room temperature
• 1/2 ts vanilla extract

In a bowl, mix the fruits with the sugar. Fill into 4 small ramekin. Set aside. In the same bowl, mix the dry ingredients, and with a fork knead in the butter. Distribute on top of the 4 ramekin. Since there is little butter and no baking powder the crisp will not rise, but it will still be a sweet crunch on top of the fruit mixture. Bake at 400F for 35min. Serve with ice cream or whipped cream or… straight up!

Feta Pumpkin Spinach Muffins revisited

It was a warm sunny day, the regular farmers market had started up again with its wonderful mix of produce, artisan cheeses, free range organic eggs and chicken, fresh pressed wheatgrass, fish and shellfish from the coast, and bakery items, most stands with plenty of samples. Last fall I had tried the Appleton Creamery feta cheese for the first time, and it is undoubtedly the best feta I ever ate outside of Greece. Strong, creamy, tart, salt, strong rich flavors. Last fall I made feta spinach pumpkin muffins with the feta, and I waited all winter for the feta to be available again to make these muffins. They are delicious, and freeze well.
 
Pictures from the farmers market.
 
Appleton Creamery Halloumi and Feta.

Feta Pumpkin Spinach Muffins:

• cooking spray (for the muffin pan)
• 1 TB olive oil
• 255g cubed butternut squash, cut 1/2-inch cubes (I buy peeled butternut squash)
• salt and pepper to taste
• 1 large handful of fresh baby spinach, chopped
• 1/4 cup sunflower seeds kernels, roasted, unsalted
• 100g cubed feta (full-fat)
• 2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
• 2 large eggs, lightly beaten
• 180 ml non-flavored almond milk
• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup quinoa flour
• 4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
• 1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Preheat oven to 405F / 200C, with rack in the top third. Grease a 12-hole muffin pan and set aside.

Sprinkle the olive oil, salt and pepper over the cubed squash. Arrange in a single layer on a baking pan and bake for 15-20  minutes so that the squash is mostly cooked, but not mushy or dry. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl beat the eggs and almond milk together. Sift the flours and baking powder onto the mix, add in some salt and a generous amount of freshly ground black pepper, and mix until smooth. Fold in gently the spinach, sunflower seeds, feta, and all of the mustard. At last, fold in the baked squash.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack. 

 

Rich Chocolate Cake (Vegan)

Angela’s fabulous looking chocolate cupcakes made me rummage in my recipe collection and unearth a recipe of a birthday chocolate cake that I loved, long before I was vegan. Its rich dark chocolate taste and wonderful light texture is the secret. No sugar, eggs or butter – just baking soda and apple cider vinegar to make the cake rise, and maple syrup for the deep sweetness. 

Ingredients for a cake baked in a small spring form:

1/3 cp whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup all-purpose unbleached flour
1 ts baking powder
1/2 ts baking soda
1/3 cp cocoa powder
1/4 ts salt
1/2 cp almond milk
1/4 cp canola oil
3/4 cp pure organic maple syrup
1/2 ts apple cider vinegar
1 ts vanilla extract

Raspberry Sauce (for a small cake):
1 cp frozen raspberries, thawed
1/2 ts maple syrup
1/2 ts vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray a 9 inch spring form pan with non stick cooking spray. Sift together flours and baking powder and baking soda. In a saucepan, heat the almond milk on low-medium heat. When it is slightly bubbling, add the cocoa powder and whisk well until it is dissolved. Remove from heat. Combine the other liquid ingredients in a bowl and whisk well. Add the cocoa mixture and combine. Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Pour batter into prepared pan, bake at 350 F for 25 minutes until a toothpick or butter knife comes out clean. Let cool completely and frost with your favorite frosting.

How to make Gluehwein

There are 6 feet high piles of snow everywhere, but one of the perks of warming up in winter is drinking Gluehwein. Gluehwein is a German mulled red wine, which literally means "wine that makes you hot like a hot iron rod".... It definitely lifts temperature and spirits in the very cold season...... Similar idea like a Sangria, just served hot.

Gluehwein

1 bottle of red wine (a Barefoot cabernet or even the new Barefoot Sweet Red work very well; for the Sweet Red leave out the sugar)

1/2 TB mulling spices (ca. 5 cloves, 1/2 stick of cinnamon, 1-2 cardamon pods, dried orange zest)

2 TB sugar

3 TB spiced brown rum (like Captain Morgan, or I use a very famous Austrian spiced rum, Strohrum)

1 orange

Pour the entire bottle of wine in a large enough pot, and heat the wine slowly. Add the mulling spices, the sugar and the rum, and stir. Discard the rind-only ends of the orange, and cut it in half, and then into quarters. Thinly slice the orange, and add to the gluehwein. Heat, but don't boil. Once it is heated, stir, and put on a low simmer to keep it hot. Serve hot in a cup with some of the orange slices! Keep warm!

Dark Pumpernickel Bread

While others are taking off to get training in bread making and running a Great Harvest bread store, my nearest Great Harvest bread store is about 500 Mi away. Now, I have a onslaught of bread envy. Sigh. Fortunately, I still get great bread, thanks to King Arthur Flour Company and their great bread mixes. Last night, I made a loaf of the Dark Pumpernickel. It is surprisingly simple to make (mix, let rise, pour in pan, let rise again, bake), and it tastes just fabulously. I see great sandwiches in the near future!

No-Bake Vegan Granola Bars

Anne (fANNEtastic food) inspired me with her 5 minute granola bars. I have been looking for a recipe to make my own granola bars for a while, and this seemed the right fit. I made several changes to the original recipes, plainly because I did not have the ingredients and had others I wanted to use. They still taste great! Especially, I love the goij berries.

No-Bake Vegan Granola bars
Dry ingredients:

1 & 3/4 cup multigrain flakes (similar to rolled oats )
1 cup crisp puffed brown rice cereal
1 TB sunflower seeds
2 TB chia seeds & cacao bits
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1/8 cup finely ground flaxseed
¼  cup Goji berries

Wet ingredients: 

1/2 C brown rice syrup
1 TB creamy peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Add the dry ingredients to a large bowl, and mix them together. In a separate, microwave safe bowl  mix the wet ingredients, and microwave them for about 20 to 30 seconds (I actually did it for 1 min but my peanut butter still would not melt, so there was less in the mix than what the original recipe asked for). Now,  pour wet ingredients into dry and mix with a spatula and coat the dry ingredients to make them sticky! 

Layered a 8x12 baking form with parchment paper. Cut slits in tbe corners of the parchment paper, so that you can fold the paper at the corners and the parchment paper fits snuggly into the pan. Pour the mixture in the pan, distribute and press flat.  Cover with another parchment paper sheet, and chill in the fridge overnight.

On the next day, cut the granola 'sheet' into 12 rectangles, and package them seperately in plastic wrap. Store them in the fridge.

Blog Bites: Feta Spinach Pumpkin Muffins

I cannot believe I have not blogged about them yet; I made them twice already! I favor savory things to sweets any day, and these are now my favorite savory muffins. My local farmers market sells a wonderful, strong feta, as well as fresh spinach and any type of winter squash, and these are the main ingredients. I adapted it slightly from the original recipe from 101Cookbooks, but they are also delightful in their original conception.

cooking spray (or butter for the muffin pan)

1 gluck of olive oil

255g cubed butternut squash, cut 1/2-inch cubes (I buy peeled butternut squash, less work)
salt and pepper to taste
1 large handful of fresh baby spinach, chopped

1/4 cup sunflower seeds kernels, roasted, unsalted
100g  cubed feta (full-fat, and best a local product from the farmers market)
2 teaspoons whole-grain mustard
2 large eggs, lightly beaten

180 ml un-flavored almond milk

1 cup allpurpose flour

1 cup quinoa flour

4 teaspoons aluminum free baking powder
1 teaspoon fine-grain sea salt

Preheat oven to 405F / 200C, with rack in the top third. Grease 2 12-hole muffin pans and set aside.

Sprinkle the olive oil, salt and pepper over the cubed squash. Arrange in a single layer on a baking pan and bake for 15 - 25 minutes so that the squash is mostly cooked, but not mushy or dry. Set aside to cool.

In a bowl beat the eggs and almond milk together. Sift the flours and baking powder onto the mix, add in some salt and a generous dose of freshly ground black pepper, and mix until smooth. Fold in gently the spinach, sunflower seeds, feta, and all of the mustard. At last, fold in the baked squash.

Spoon the mixture into the prepared pan, filling each hole 3/4 full. Bake for 15-20 minutes or until the tops and sides of the muffins are golden, and the muffins have set up completely. Let cool for a couple minutes then turn out onto a cooling rack.