Heart Cooks Brain

VEGAN RANCH DRESSING

This is it. A defining moment in my pursuit of vegan fine food crafting- the creation of my very own vegan ranch dressing. I take my ranch dressing very seriously. From a very young age I have poured that tangy creamy goodness on just about every food imaginable. As a meat-eater I couldn’t eat steak or fish without it (I later realized I really just liked the ranch.) So when I recently went vegan I knew that this was going to be one of the hardest things to give up. Most vegan products I’d already been using and actually preferred. And I can even get down with vegan cheese in certain situations. But I have never seen vegan ranch dressing for sale in any store and even at my favorite vegan joints their “ranch” didn’t make the cut (I’m pretty sure it’s the same sauce they also served as their tzatziki on their vegan gyro and yes, i’m talking about you, foodswings.) You see I have refined tastes when it comes to my ranch dressing- I can taste imposters; no low grade Super-A bullshit for me, even Thousand Island won’t do it. Nothing less than Hidden Valley would satisfy my tastes. So when I embarked on my mission to develop a truly satisfying vegan ranch I was nervous to even test it. But I have to say it exceeded my expectations. The freshness and tanginess of this concoction was everything I ever wanted and more. So if you share my passion for ranch, please enjoy:

-1/2 package tofu (silken would be preferred but I used firm and it was just fine)
-2 tbsp olive oil
-2 tsp apple cider vinegar
-2 tsp sugar (or other sweeter of choice)
-juice of 1/2 lemon (up to 1 whole lemon, depending on taste)
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup veganaise
-1 clove garlic
-flat Italian parsely
-chives (fresh, can be substituted for scallions)
-onion powder
-fresh ground pepper
-optional but highly recommended: alternative milk of choice, nutritional yeast aka NOOCH

1. Crumble tofu into food processor or blender. Add olive oil, vinegar, sugar, lemon, and salt. bllllllennnnd.
2. Peel garlic, crush with knife and chop very finely. Sprinkle a small amount of coarse salt (kosher or sea) onto garlic and mash into it until it turns into a sort of paste. Add to mixing bowl.
3. Chop up desired amount of parsley and chives, probably no more than 1/4 c on the parsely and 2-3 tbsp on the chives, but I’m gonna leave that up to you. Add to bowl.
4. Ok this is the part you pretend you don’t know what you’re doing so you can forget about it and enjoy your ranch dressing later. Add a cup of veganaise to the mixing bowl. I mean it’s VEGANaise, it’s not as gross as real mayo… right? Let’s just get this done quickly and move on.
5. Add your spices and mix this thang up! Oooh looks good don’t it? Now you can add your milk to get your desired consistency, depending on if you want this more as a dip or a dressing. Taste test, adjust spices if needed, and then go forth; pour, dip, and drench that stuff on as many healthy and unhealthy things as you can think of :)

*also for those looking for a soy free option, I am pretty sure you could do this without the tofu, you just might need to adjust your mayo-milk ratio. and veganaise make soy-free versions

Fingerlings

Tomatillo Salsa

Loooooove me some tomatillo salsa with the fresh purple/green tomatillos we’ve been getting from the coop. It’s super easy too, pretty much just slicing, roasting in the oven, and throw it all in the food processor :)

-1lb tomatillos (this was approximately 30 tomatillos and made about 3-4 cups salsa, so multiple accordingly if you want a large batch
-3 cloves garlic
-3 shallot onions or 1/4 cup onion slices
-juice from 1 lime
-cilantro
-1/2 pepper (I used a poblano)
-for those who like it hot: chiles de arbol or other hot chiles, and a spoonful of pureed chipotle peppers in adobo sauce
-a pinch of sugar, adding more to taste if necessary
-spices: chili powder, cumin, salt, pepper

1. Remove husks from the tomatillos, rinse, and slice in half. Lay open side down on a baking sheet and broil for about 15 minutes or until lightly browned on top and juice is starting to come out of them. I also roasted the garlic and shallot onions i was using at the same time, drizzling them with oil and water and wrapping it all up in a foil packet. (if you want to roast regular onions just lay them out of the sheet with the tomatillos)

2. Once the tomatillos are done let them cool a bit. Then add everything to the food processor, chop chop grind grind, adjust spices/sugar to your liking and bam! you have salsa!

My batch here came out a strange color because it was half green and half purple tomatillos, but oh well it was still delicious! (sorry it is such a low quality picture though, i made this before work and was not in the mood to try and make things look nice)

Quinoa Pilaf

Ooooh how I love quinoa (KEEN-wah)! I’ve become pretty obsessed with it lately. Here’s why you should be too: it’s delicious! It is soooo good for you- it has a complete protein with all nine essential amino acids and many other vitamins, and weight for weight contains more protein than meat, and is wheat-free and gluten-free. Hurray for quinoa! I also just love it’s unique texture- somewhere between rice and couscous but in my opinion way way better. I’ve actually come to prefer it to rice and other grains in general (most of the time.) It ranges in color from whitish yellow to reddish brown/black, and I prefer the red variety (probably just because it’s pretty) but alas that is hard to find in bulk. There are lots of awesome ways to eat quinoa- plain as an accompaniment to beans/stir fry/etc., something i like to called mashed sweet potatoes and quinoa (just throw cubed sweet potatoes in with the quinoa, they cook at the same rate and when it’s all done mash em and voila, super easy yum yums!), veggie burgers (recipe to come soon… hopefully, i am bad at updating this…), and PILAF which finally brings us to…

THE RECIPE (of sorts, the great thing about this is that it’s really easy to make and you can use pretty much use whatever you have on hand!):

-1 cup quinoa (this is a pretty ample amount, definitely enough to serve a couple hungry people)
-EVERY/ANY veggie you have and want to use
-proteins of your choice: beans, tofu, tempeh, seitan
-veggie bouillon cube or broth packet
-olive oil
-soy sauce
-dark sesame oil
-apple cider vinegar (ACV)
-lemon juice
-assorted spices (chili powder, curry, cumin, tumeric, nutritional yeast, paprika, pepper, etc.)
-optional: fruit (mango/apple/oranges…), chipotle pepper paste (and/or hot sauce), honey/maple syrup/brown sugar, sesame seeds

1. Boil Water in a saucepan (I usually do double the amount of water for how much quinoa i’m making, so for 1 cup quinoa 2 cups water.) Add the bouillon cube and let dissolve to make broth, add quinoa. Cover and simmer on medium heat about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally until the water is absorbed and the little spiral tails have popped out of the quinoa buds, then it’s done!
2. While that’s happening you can start sauteing you veggies/proteins in a large wok/pan with a bit of oil. You know the drill with this, i should hope…
3. Once all your veggies are nicely sauteed add the spices you want to use. Mmmm.
4. Okay, your quinoa should be done by now, right? So add that goodness to the veggies and mix it all up.
5. Now it’s sauce time. You can mix all your sauce ingredients (soy, sesame oil, ACV, lemon, hot sauce, honey/maple syrup) together beforehand to make sure you get a sauce mixture perfect to your liking, or you can just ad a couple tablespoons of each to the pan, mix it in an adjust accordingly. Just note that if you’re not used to cooking with sesame oil it is pretty strong so a couple tablespoons sbould be plenty. Lastly I would throw those fruits/ sesame seeds in if you got em and there you go!

Vegan Blueberry Scones

As foretold, my scones recipe has arrived! Skipping ahead as well because I’m still in the Irish spirit I suppose. This is again based off a newspaper cut out recipe, good old Joan Finn’s Irish Scones, but I veganized them so all could enjoy them at a potluck I was going to. And they were a big hit- the contents of the huge bowl vanished under mysterious circumstances. So I would say they were a success. Scones come in many different shapes, sizes, and varieties, and mine are a moist, soft almost doughnut or cake like scone. Which I think is a good thing cus nothing is worse than a dry scone. Onto the recipe!

*3 cups flour plus some extra for kneading
*5 teaspoons baking powder
*1/2 teaspoon salt
*5 tablespoons sugar (I did 3 white sugar and 2 brown) plus some extra for the top
*5 tablespoons solid Crisco
*1 1/2 cups blueberries
*2 tablespoons ground flax seed mixed with water to get an “egg-like” consistency
*1 1/8 cup milk
*1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
*2 tablespoons apple sauce
*cinnamon and nutmeg

1. Mix together flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and nutmeg.
2. Cut in Crisco with a pastry mixer (or 2 knives if you’re sadly without one) until mixture resembles a coarse meal
3. Add blueberries
4. Mix together ground flax seed and water and add enough milk to make 1 and 1/3 cups. Add vinegar to milk. Add mixture to the dry mix and stir well.
5. Add the apple sauce, sparingly. I added too much and it made my dough way too sticky and i had to knead in a lot of flour to mix it, so I would add it slowly and see how your consistency is. You want it to be moist but not so sticky that you can’t put it down on a surface/ your hands without it becoming permanently adhered.
6. Turn onto a floured area and knead lightly. Flatten dough to 3/4 inch. Using a rounch glass, cut into scones.
7. Brush or drizzle scones with a little bit of milk for a glaze, and sprinkle with granulated sugar and cinnamon. Place on a lightly floured baking sheet and bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Makes 12 scones.

St. Patrick’s Day Casserole

May the luck of the Irish be with you (it was with me!) This recipe is skipping many other dishes lined up in my queue to post because of yesterday’s wonderful holiday. This veggie casserole is super delicious and enjoyed heartily even by skeptical friends. The original recipe was clipped out by my mom from the local paper and props go to Steve Petusevsky. I made some additions of vinegar, mustard, and kale cus they’re all delicious things. I also haven’t ever made this with tempeh cus perchance I just haven’t had it, but it doesn’t seem to need it (though I’m sure it couldn’t hurt!) This is great because you can make a big ol thing of it and it keeps or freezes well and is yummy as leftovers. Don’t let the fact that St. Patty’s is over stop you from trying it- all these veggies are in season so you should embrace your irishness and go for it! I also have a recipe for scones I may try out pretty soon… stay tuned!

*1 tablespoon olive oil
*1 head green cabbage, cored and sliced
*1 medium onion
*3 or 4 cloves garlic
*2 or 3 large carrots, peeled and sliced into 1/2 inch thick coins (lol)
*2 pounds skin-on red bliss potatoes, sliced 1/2 inch thick
*1 tablespoon caraway seeds
*vinegar (typically you would use white in this situation but I used apple cider because that’s what I had and I also love it- did you know it can cure a sinus infection? For real! 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar in a little bit of hot water with some honey 3 times daily and VOILA! um anyways…)
*some good spicy mustard
*1 package tempeh (I didn’t have it… damn you Mr. Kiwi’s…)
*1 1/2 cups shredded Swiss cheese (hmmm not so Irish…)
*3 cups veggie broth

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees
2. Heat oil in a LARGE (look at all that cabbage!) nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add garlic/onions first then cabbage, carrots, kale, caraway seeds, salt, and pepper. Saute a bit then douse with some vinegar to help that cabbage wilt down and to add the flavor. How much you use is really up to you- you think I keep track of everything? Once everything is wilted and sauteed add some mustard-again depends on how mustardy you want it- mix it all in and set it aside.
3. Arrange half the potatoes in a big ol casserole baking pan, covering the bottom. Layer half the tempeh strips over the potatoes, top with a layer of half the sauteed cabbage mixture. Sprinkle with half the cheese. Repeat layers using the remaining ingredients.
4. Pour the broth over all. Cover the pan with foil and bake 45 minutes. Remove cover and BROIL for 10 minutes until top browns lightly. Cool before shoving in mouth. Erin go bragh!

Peach-Maple-Bran Muffins with Brown Sugar Glaze-

I am proud to say that I whammed together this recipe pretty much out of thin air, only using the bran box for hints for quantities. And they are awesome. Warm, gooey, brany, peachy- you couldn’t ask for more in your muffin. The glaze sweetens them up, but if you want them as a plainer breakfast muffin they are perfectly scrumptious without. Enjoy!

For Muffins:
* 1 cup unprocessed wheat or oat bran
* 1 cup wheat flour
* 3 tablespoons ground flax seed
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* 2 tsp baking powder
* cinnamon and nutmeg to liking
* 1 tablespoon butter
* 2 tablespoons applesauce
* 1 cup buttermilk (soy milk + 1/2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar)
* 1/4 cup maple syrup
* Fresh or frozen peach slices

For Glaze:
* 3 tablespoons butter, room temp
* 2 tablespoons brown sugar
* Cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix together flour, bran, flax, sugar, and baking powder. Cut in butter (if you have a pastry mixer that’ll work perfectly for this step. Ooooh how I love my pastry mixer…)
2. Add applesauce, soymilk, and maple syrup. Mix well.
3. Fill lined muffin cups 2/3 full. Stick peach slices down into the batter of cups.
4. Using a fork whisk together butter sugar and cinnamon for glaze until it is a stickly/gooey/crumbley consistency. Distribute evenly ontop of muffins.
5. Bake for approx. 20-25 minutes.

Raspberry-Jam Tea Cakes-

These were quite delightful little tea cakes, based off a wee bit complicated Martha recipe. There was too much separating of eggs and beating egg whites non-sense for my liking. I also didn’t have as many eggs as the recipe called for and I really wanted to use flax seed, cus it’s nommy in muffins and whatnot, but the recipe made such a hoo ha about all the egg business that I figured it must be important. So I ended up using 2 eggs instead of 4 and adding some flax seed and applesauce to equal it out. After doing this I’m not quite sure that all the hub bub added that much. Maybe it gave a tad bit of lightness to the consistency, but I’m pretty sure you could make this without eggs at all. I would just add the flax seed mixture where it says to add egg yolks and add applesauce where it says to fold in egg whites (maybe try whipping the applesauce if you really wanna get fancy.) Anyways, they were very delicious and enjoyed by all. Another note: my citrus glaze came out a bit runnier than Martha’s (alas.) This is because I used less sugar. The glaze already tasted very sweet to me, and i think any more confectioner’s sugar would have melted my teeth out. I also used a bit of honey to decrease the amount of sugar needed. It was still delicious and after it set it looked nice enough to me (especially since I used a blood orange so it came out pink- so pretty!) All in all, this is definitely a recipe to devote a bit of time to, but it was well worth it. I’ll have to make these again and tweak it a bit to see if i can make it a bit easier.

For Tea Cakes:

-1 cup unsalted butter, room temp, plus more for tins
-3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for tins
-1 teaspoon baking powder
-1 sugar
-1/2 cup brown sugar
-2 teaspoons finely grated orange zest (this means you use a grater to grate just the orange part of the peel, stopping when you get to the white. technically you are supposed to use a microplane grater for zest, but i only have a regular ol cheese grater and that has worked just fine for me)
-4 large eggs, separated, room temp (oook. see my note above about the eggs and the possibility of replacing them with flax seed mixed with water and applesauce- for this I recommend you use BOTH! If you are using eggs you have to separate them- crack the egg but don’t allow it to spill out, GENTLY pour the yolk back and forth between the shell halves letting the white drip out into a bowl below until it is all separated, then place the yolk in a separate bowl. this takes some finesse)
-1/2 cup milk (soy + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar ftw)
-1 cup jam of your preferred flavor

*Makes 16 tea cakes (I know such an odd number since standard muffin pans have 12… annoying.)

1. Preheat oven to 350. Brush muffin tins with butter; dust with flour tappin out excess. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt.
2. With an electric mixer on med-high, cream butter, sugar and zest until pale and fluffy. Add egg yolks, one at a time, beating until each is incorporated, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Reduce speed to low. Add flour mixture in three batches, alternating with two additions of milk- so that’s flour, milk, flour, milk, flour. Beat until just combined after each.
3. In anaother bowl, with an electric mixer on med speed whisk egg whites to soft peaks; gently fold into batter. Spoon 1 heaping tablespoon into each prepared muffin tin. Make an indentation in the middle of each; fill with 1 tablespoon jam. Top with an additional 2 tablespoons batter, covering jam completely.
4. Bake, until you fork em and it comes out clean- about 30 minutes. Remove from oven, run fork around edges of cakes to unstick them and let cool completely.
5. To finish, drizzle cakes evenly with citrus glaze (recipe follows) and let set, about 20 minutes.

Citrus Glaze:

-1 1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar, sifted, (ook this is how much the recipe says to use, and says you might even need more if it is coming out thin, but i probably used less than a cup. It is up to you and how sweet/thick you want your glaze to be.)
-1/4 teaspoon finely grated citrus zest (you can use the peel of any kind of citrusy fruit- lemon, lime, orange, grapefruit- the choice is yours!)
-3 tablespoons fresh citrus juice, plus more if needed (I used a blood orange and that’s why mine are cute and pink!)
-optional: honey

1. Whisk together all ingredients until smooth. If necessary, add more sugar to thicken or more juice to thin the glaze. Use immediately.