Vegan Red Coconut Curry with Cranberry Saffron Rice and Cucumber Raita

This is my favorite go to dinner when I want something hearty, warming, and delicious. This is the kind of recipe that hardly even needs measuring, aside from the rice. This recipe serves 8, but can easily be scaled to serve fewer. Once you have the basic preparation down, it is so easy to throw together!! The spice filled tomato coconut curry pairs so well with the saffron rice. The dried cranberries give a nice sweetness to balance out all of the strong flavors and the cucumber raita helps to cool it all down! I like to top it off with some fresh mint and cilantro if I have it in the fridge.

Red Coconut Curry

Ingredients

2-3 tablespoons olive oil 
1 large sized yellow onion
3 cloves fresh garlic
1 1/2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground fennel seeds
1 teaspoon cardamom
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground clove
1 teaspoon fresh grated ginger
1/4 cup white wine (water or vegetable broth works perfectly as well)
3 medium sized potatoes, washed, peeled and cubed into 1.5 inch cubes
28 oz crushed tomatoes
8 oz tomato sauce
1 can coconut milk
1 cup frozen peas
Salt and pepper to taste


In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add garlic and saute until soft and lightly browned. Add garlic and saute lightly. Add spices and grated ginger. Stir to combine and let the heat bring out all of these amazing flavors! Gently pour in the white wine to deglaze the bottom of the pan. Add the potatoes, crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, and coconut milk. Turn down heat to simmer, cover, and gently cook for 25 to 30 minutes. Add frozen peas right before serving. Season with salt and pepper to taste

Cranberry Saffron Rice

Ingredients

4 cups water
2 cups basmati rice
1/8 teaspoon saffron
1/4 cup dried cranberries

  
Rice and drain the basmati rice 1-2 times. Bring 4 cups of water to a boil in a medium saucepan. Add the rice, cranberries, and saffron. Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 25 to 30 minutes, until rice is tender and water is absorbed.

Vegan Raita

Ingredients


1/4 cup Veganaise
1/2 cup coconut milk
1 carrot, julliened
1/2 cup cucumber, peeled and diced.
1 tablepoon fresh mint, chopped
1 tablespoon lemon juice
Salt and pepper to taste


Whisk together the Veganaise and coconut milk. Add carrot, cucumber, mint, lemon juice, salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Croquembouche

I was super curious experiment and to see how the new Follow Your Heart vegan egg would work in a recipe that heavily relies on eggs. These definitely didn't rise and puff up the same as a non vegan cream puff does but they did hollow out and they tasted amazing! I ended up sandwiching 2 puffs together to make one rounder puff and then I was able to stack them and make the classic croquembouche shape! I'm sure with some more experimentation, a super fluffy round cream puff is possible with the Follow Your Heart vegan egg, but for my first try, I was still happy flavor wise and think the end result is perfect for a holiday party dessert or centerpiece. 

For the filling: 

Combine 2 cups of non dairy milk, 3/4 cup sugar, 3 Follow Your Heart eggs (6 tablespoons powder mixed with 1 1/2 cup ice water) and 1/4 cup cornstarch in a small saucepan. Heat over medium low stirring constantly till the mixture begins to thicken. Add in 1 tablespoons vegan butter and 2 tablespoons sugar. Chill at least 2 hours. Place filling into a pastry bag fitted with a small round tip.

For the puffs: 

Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

Combine 1 cup water, 8 tablespoons vegan butter, and 2 teaspoons sugar in a medium sauce pan and bring to a boil. 

Add 1 cup of flour into the liquid mixture and stir with a wood spoon till a dough forms. Keep cooking over low heat and stirring to cook out some of the moisture. Place this mixture into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment. 

Combine 6 tablespoons of Follow Your Heart vegan egg powder with 1 and 1/2 cups ice cold water. Whisk to combine. With the mixer on medium low speed, add the egg mixture into the dough and continue to mix till smooth. 

Place dough in a pastry bag fitted with a round tip. Pipe equal sized mounds onto parchment lined baking sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 15 minutes at 425 F, reduce heat to 375 degrees F. and bake another 20 minutes. 

Since these didn't puff up quite as much as traditional cream puffs do, I filled them all and attached 2 together to make one round puff. Using a small knife, poke a hole into the back of each puff and insert the tip of the pastry bag filled with the filling into each puff and pipe a little filling into each one. Then sandwich 2 together using some of the caramel. 

For the caramel:

Combine 1 1/4 cup sugar and 1/3 cup water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil and let cook till a medium amber color. Let cool slightly. 

To assemble: Dip one edge of each puff into the caramel and arrange about 5 in a circle for the bottom layer. Then use 4 more for the next layer to make a smaller circle, 3 for the next, etc. I topped it off with 1 small puff. To get the spun sugar i used the back of a metal spoon to push on the sugar coating the outside and kinda pull back and make circular motions around the croquembouche. I did this a bunch of times till I got lots of spun sugar going on. 

I have a little cotton candy maker that I got from Bed Bath and Beyond a few years ago and just made some simple white cotton candy with organic sugar to put the croquembouche on but its totally not necessary! 

Pfeffernüsse

Vegan Pfeffernusse

Ingredients:

1/2 cup vegan butter, softened (I use Harvest Award brand)

3/4 cup sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners brand)

1/2 cup brown sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners brand)

1/2 cup molasses

1/4 cup vegan honey (I used BeeFree Honee brand)

3 tablespoons @followyourheart vegan egg

3/4 cup ice cold water

1 teaspoon almond extract

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

4 cups cake flour (can substitute APP flour or GF flour if needed) 

1 tablespoon cocoa powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 teaspoons ginger

1 teaspoon clove

1 teaspoon freshly ground white pepper (black pepper is totally okay too)

1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup powdered sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners brand)

2 to 4 teaspoons non diary milk or water

Cream together the vegan butter, sugar, brown sugar, molasses, and honey till smooth. 

In a small bowl, whisk together the vegan egg, cold water, almond extract and vanilla extract. Add into the molasses mixture and mix till combined.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, cinnamon, ginger, clove, black pepper, and baking soda. Add into the molasses mixture and mix till soft dough forms. Chill for about an hour.

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment. Roll about 2 tablespoons of dough into a ball for each cookie. Place an inch apart on baking sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool.

Whisk together the powdered sugar and the non dairy milk to make the icing. Coat each cookie with the icing and set on a cooling rack set over parchment paper to catch the icing that drips. Let the icing set on the cookies for about about hour. 

Thanksgiving Recipe Roundup!

A few of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes from last year in one place!


Pumpkin Cheesecake Brownies

Herbed Cornbread Stuffed Mushrooms

Rosemary Ginger Cranberry Cocktail

Herbed Buttermilk Biscuits

Orange Glazed Rainbow Root Vegetables

Sautéed Brussels Sprouts with Candied Walnuts

Spiced Pumpkin Churros with Cinnamon Chocolate Sauce

6 tablespoons palm oil free vegan butter (I love Harvest Award Brand)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon ground clove

1/4 teaspoon all spice

1/4 teaspoon nut meg

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

2 cups water 

(or substitute all spices for 2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice mix if you have it)

2 cups all-purpose flour (can substitute GF)

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

2 teaspoons Ener-G egg replacer

5 tablespoons water 

About 2 cups Vegan sugar for coating (Imperial Brand pure cane sugar is bone char free)

1 tablespoon ground ginger

In a medium sauce pan, combine the vegan butter, vanilla, spices, pumpkin and water.  Heat over medium till the mixture is hot and the butter is melted. 

Meanwhile, combine the ground flax, Ener-G egg replacer, and 4 tablespoons water. Whisk. Let sit about 5 minutes.

Transfer to the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add in the flour and beat till soft dough forms. Add in the flax mixture and beat till smooth. This part can also be done by hand with a wooden spoon!

Heat about 4 inches of oil in a large pot. Heat to 350 degrees. 

In a medium bowl, combine the sugar and ginger.

Place dough into a piping bag fitted with a medium star tip. In once hand, hold the piping bag over the hot oil. In the other, hold a pair of kitchen scissors or sharp knife. Pipe about 4 inches of dough out above the oil and cut the dough free into the oil. Repeat with remaining dough. Fry till golden, about 4 minutes. Drain on paper towels and toss with the cinnamon sugar.

For the chocolate: Melt about 1/2 cup semi sweet vegan chocolate chips over a double boiler with 3 tablespoons non dairy milk and 1 teaspoons cinnamon. Whisk till smooth. 

Serve churros warm with the dipping sauce. 

Autumn Pumpkin Pasta

Pumpkin Cashew Cream Sauce, Sage and Hazelnut Pesto, and Oven Roasted Baby Squash

For the vegetables, I used a baby squash mix, cut into bite sized pieces, tossed in a little olive oil, salt, and pepper and roasted at 400 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes till softened and nicely browned. 

For the pasta, I used Williams Sonoma pumpkin pasta and cooked according to packaged directions, but any pasta will work!

For the Autumn Pesto

1/4 cup fresh sage leaves

1/2 cup flat leaf parsley 

1/4 cup chopped hazelnuts

1 tablespoon pine nuts

1/2 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor and pulse till almost smooth, adding more olive oil if necessary. 

For the sauce:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

1 teaspoon chopped rosemary

1 teaspoon chopped thyme 

1 cup cashews, soaked over night

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

1/2 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup chopped marinated red bell pepper

salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a saucepan over medium heat. Add in the onion, rosemary and thyme. Sauté till onions are soft. Add in the garlic and cook for just a minute more. Transfer to blender or food processor.

Add the cashews, nutritional yeast, pumpkin, and red pepper to the blender. Turn blender on. Add a little water at a time till you get the consistency you want. Like a cream sauce consistency. Taste and adjust with salt and pepper if needed. 

Toss the pasta with the cashew sauce and roasted vegetables. Drizzle with pesto and top with grated vegan mozzarella cheese (I love Follow Your Heart or Field Roast!!)

Almond Ricotta Puff Pastry Tarts with Caramelized Onions, Thyme, and Fresh Figs

(Photo by Lu Tapp, @dustylu on Instagram)

I had the pleasure of serving some of my vegan creations at one of GoodCarma studio's recent events! So happy to share plant based goodness with so many people! I also had the pleasure of having my food photographed by one of my favorite people and photographers, Lu Tapp. This fig tart is one of the appetizers I made for the party! 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups blanched almonds (soaked in cool water overnight)

1/2 cup water

1 package vegan puff pastry dough, thawed 

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (I like Trader Joes)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

3 large onions

2 tablespoons olive oil

salt and pepper to taste

Balsamic reduction (balsamic vinegar, water, and vegan apple honee, slowly reduced for about 35 minutes)

Strain the blanched almonds. Place into a blender or food processor with 1/2 cup fresh water. Blend till smooth, no almond chunks.

Line a sieve with cheese cloth. Pour almond mixture into the cheese cloth and let sit in refrigerator overnight.

For the puff pastry shells, preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Usually there are 2 sheets of dough per package. I used 1 sheet cut in half lengthwise for each shell. Place the half sheet of dough into a rectangular tart pan, letting the puff pastry go up the sides of the tart pan. Bake in preheated oven till puffy and lightly golden brown, about 15 to 20 minutes. The middle will puff up so using a sharp knife, outline with middle of the tart and remove the top layer to reveal a nice pocket for your filling! 

Peel and slice the onions. Heat olive oil in a large skillet over medium and add in the sliced onions. Turn heat to medium low. Slowly caramelize onions for about 40 minutes till deep golden brown and soft. You can add a little sugar towards the middle to help with the caramelization process. 

Combine the almond mixture with the lemon juice, vegan cream cheese, thyme, flour, salt and pepper to taste and mix till smooth. Fold in the caramelized onions. 

Spread the almond mixture into the bottom of your tart shell. Bake in 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes till the filling is slightly set.

Let cool and top with thinly sliced fresh figs and balsamic reduction.

(Photo by Lu Tapp, @dustylu on Instagram)