Baked Donuts

While talking to a friend about homemade Twinkies she suggested that I post a recipe for homemade baked donuts.  Voila!  This recipe is easy to make.  We rarely eat sweet pastries for breakfast, so use this as a dessert instead.

Ingredients

DONUTS

• 1 1/2C flour, sifted
• 1/4C sugar
• 1 pkg. rapid rise yeast
• 1/4t salt
• pinch of nutmeg
• 2t olive oil
• 1/2C warm homemade almond milk (microwave milk for 30 seconds)

TOPPING

• 1/4C sugar
• 1t cinnamon
• 1/4C liquified coconut oil

Directions

1. Combined all ingredients and mix until a dough is formed.
2. Knead for about 5 minutes.
3. Placed the dough in a lightly-oiled bowl and let it rise for one hour or until doubled in size.
4. Roll out dough to a thickness of 1/2-inch.
5. Cut out donuts using a donut cutter or large (3-inch) and small (1 1/2-inch) biscuit cutters.
6. Place donuts on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Cover the donuts with a cloth and allow to rise one hour.
8. Preheat over to 375 degrees during the last 15 minutes of rising (make sure the dough is out of the oven).
9. Bake at 375 degrees for 7 minutes.
10. Cool for 5 minutes. 
11. While donuts are cooling, combine sugar and cinnamon in a small plate.
12. Brush donuts with coconut oil and pressed into the cinnamon coating.

Guilt-Free Vegan Cheese Ball

One thing I don't like about parties is party food.  If I attend a function where there's not a real meal, but just hors d'oeuvres and snack foods, I end up eating a lot but don't feel satisfied.

This cheese ball may not satisfy all of your hunger, but at least you can eat and enjoy as much as you want.  It is made using cashews, sun dried tomatoes, and seasonings.  The cheese ball works well with bread, crackers, vegetables.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2C raw cashews (whole or pieces)
• 3T sun dried tomatoes, chopped in small pieces
• 1/4C nutritional yeast flakes
• 1t salt
• 1t onion powder
• 1/2t dry ground mustard
• 1/2t paprika
• 1/4t tumeric
• dash cayenne pepper
• 1T mellow white miso
• 1T apple cider vinegar
• 1T dry sherry (optional)
• 1/2C coconut oil (melted)
• Slivered almonds for coating.

Directions

1. Place cashews and sun dried tomatoes in a bowl and cover with boiling water.
2. While the cashews are soaking place dry ingredients (except almonds) in a small ramekin.
3. Drain the water from the cashews and tomatoes.
4. In a large food processor, place the cashews, tomatoes, and liquid ingredients (except coconut oil).
5. Pulse to blend into a paste.
6. Add dry ingredients and continue to pulse until completely smooth.
7. Gradually pour in the coconut oil.
8. Scrape the cheese into a container, cover, and chill in the refrigerator for 4-6 hours.
9. Scrape the cheese out of the container and form into a ball.
10. Cover with slivered almonds.

Make Your Own Almond Milk

When I was a child, I had a friend, Jeremy, who lived two houses down from me.  On occasion, while we played at his house, his mom would offer me a glass of milk.  Except this wasn't regular, dairy milk - it was soy milk, made from a soy drink powder.  It was a little a funky tasting, but I liked it - probably because it was different from the dairy milk we drank at home.

Now, fast forward a few years.  My family - my wife, daughter, and I - now drink mostly almond milk and occasionally soy milk at home.  Personally, I prefer almond milk because it responds like dairy milk for cooking.  This recipe is very simple and cost-effective to make. 

 

What's in your milk?

Regardless of the commercial brand that you purchase, it contains a lot more than almonds!  Compare the ingredients for one brand to homemade.

BLUE DIAMOND ALMOND BREEZE - Original Unsweetened 
(This is what we used until I learned how to make almond milk)

HOMEMADE ALMOND MILK - Original Unsweetened

Ingredients

• 1C whole almonds plus water for soaking
• 3 1/2C purified water or spring water
• pinch, sea salt
• 1 whole vanilla bean (optional)
• 2-4 medjool dates (optional)
• 1/4t ground cinnamon

Directions

1. Soak the almonds in water for 8-12 hours.
2. Drain and rinse the almonds.
3. Place all ingredients in a blender and blend at the highest speed for 1 minute.
4. Place a nut bag in a mixing bowl.  Pour the liquid into the nut bag.  The majority of milk will simply drain into the bowl.  
5. Knead the almond pulp inside the bag until all of the liquid has been pressed out.
6. Transfer the milk to a quart-size storage bottle (preferably glass) and chill.

This milk will stay fresh for 4-5 days.

If you like this recipe, please comment below and share on Facebook.

Adult Mac and Cheese

If Macaroni & Cheese out of the box is old, try this recipe which - in the words of chef Emeril Lagasse - "kicks it up a notch."  With fresh tomatoes, a spicy kick, and rich sauce, you will not go back to powdered cheese out of a box.

In this picture:  Adult Mac & Cheese, Vegan Chicken, and a side of stir-fried kale and spinach.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Ingredients

• 5 Roma tomatoes, peeled and diced*
• 1 package bow tie pasta
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 1C diced vegan chicken
• 1 can cream of celery soup
• 1 small can, diced green chili peppers
• 1C vegan cheese sauce or 8oz. Velveeta cheese
• 1/2 t Sriracha or Tobasco sauce (optional)

Directions

1. Prepare pasta according to directions on box.
2. Saute onion.
3. While onion is cooking, combine other ingredients (except pasta) in a large bowl.
4. Drain pasta and stir into mixture.
5. Place in a 9x13 pan and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

*see How to Remove Tomato Skins

If you like this recipe, please comment below and share on Facebook.

Almond Sharp Cheese Spread

For aspiring vegans, cheese is typically the last hold out.  However, for many reasons it is better to leave milk to the cows and leave commercial food production - even for health foods.  If you can make it at home (see the tie-in to EatAtHome?) it is fresher, healthier, and simpler than most similar products for sale.

In the last few months, some of my Facebook friends have shared a link to "14 Vegan Cheeses That Will Make You Forget About the Real Thing" and "10 Vegan Cheeses That Will Knock Your Socks Off."  As a service to others, I will be making several of these cheeses and posting the results here, of course, along with the recipes.

Ingredients

• 1 1/2C ground almonds
• 1/4C lemon juice
• 1/2C water
• 3T olive oil
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1t salt

Directions

1. Combine all ingredients in a blender and blend until smooth.
2. Line a small bowl with three layers of cheese cloth.
3. Transfer the cheese mixture to the bowl.  
4. Put up the edges of the cheese cloth and tie with a small ribbon or secure with a rubber band.
5. Place the cheese in a strainer and set the strainer in the bowl.  See picture below.
6. Refrigerate over night.  A small amount of liquid will drain the from the cheese.
7. Remove cheese from the cheese cloth and place in an oiled and floured oven-safe bowl.
8. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.  The cheese should be golden brown and cracked across the top.
9. Remove from the baking dish.
10. Place in a serving dish. Option:  Using a fork, stir the cheese so that it appears as a creamy spread.

Pinkies - Pratt's Vegan Twinkies

In the town where I lived between the ages of 3 and 12, there were - and still are - two main industries: a college with its associated businesses and a large snack cake company, the McKee Baking Company.  McKee's primary product line is the Little Debbie Snack Cakes, including the Oatmeal Cream Pie, Swiss Roll, and other tasty treats.

The story of how O.D. McKee built an international business on snacks is a true American tale of success.  O.D. began his business by baking at home and selling the cookies from the back of his family car. 

My brother was friends with one of the McKee children.  On one trip, when my brother accompanied the family, they stopped at a convenience store for fuel, bathroom breaks, and snacks.  My brother came walking out of the store eating a Hostess Twinkie - a direct competitor to McKee!  Mrs. McKee said, "You can't eat that in the car," and he had to finish it while standing outside the car.

In the last couple of years, Hostess fell on hard times and, for a while, looked like it was going to close.  Because Twinkies are, in the the words of former president Bill Clinton, "an object of enduring American symbolism" he wanted to put a Twinkie in a national time capsule.  More recently, President Clinton has become vegan, and has vegan Twinkies shipped to him periodically.

The recipe below features a sponge cake that is light and airy.  The filling is from my recipe for 4 Layer Pudding - it is the second layer, comprised of whipped topping and cream cheese.  While it differs slightly from the actual filling (many copycat recipes exist) it is easy to make and tastes good in pudding, in Twinkies, or on the tip of your finger.

Preparation

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Prepare 6 Twinkie tins using foil.  Use the directions below or watch the video tutorial.

• Take a piece of heavy duty foil that is 18 inches by 7 inches.  
• Fold both ends over the middle in thirds (like a letter).  
• Place a regular size spice bottle (for example, Spice Island) and bring up the foil on the sides of the bottle.  Fold in the foil on the ends.  Basically you are making a bathtub-looking receptacle for each Twinkie.  
• Six of these will fit in a 9x13 pan.  
• Spray tins generously with nonstick cooking spray.

Ingredients - Cake

• 3/4C + 1T almond milk
• 1t ground flax (flax meal)
• 1t apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4C flour
• 1 1/2t baking powder
• 1/2t teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2C sugar
• 2T oil
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1/4t salt
• 1/8t almond extract

Directions - Cake

1. In a small bowl, combine milk, flax, and vinegar.  Mix well and set aside.  This needs about 5 minutes to curdle, which contributes to the spongy consistency of the cakes.
2. Sift flour, baking powder, and baking soda into a mixing bowl.
3. In a separate small bowl, combine the sugar, salt, oil, and extracts and stir to mix.
4. Add the milk mixture to the sugar mixture and stir to combine.
5. Pour the liquid mixture into the flour mixture and mix well.
6. Place about 1/2C of batter into each prepared Twinkie tin.
7. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes.
8. Cakes should be golden brown, spring back at the touch, and an inserted toothpick should come out clean.
9. Allow cakes to cool and remove from foil tins.

Ingredients - Filling

• 8oz cream cheese, softened (20 seconds in the microwave works well)
• 1C nondairy whipped topping (aka CoolWhip) at room temperature
• 1/2C powdered (confectioner's) sugar

Directions - Filling

• Place cream cheese, whipped topping, and sugar in a bowl and mix well.  A small hand mixer will blend these well.

Assembly

• Using a wooden chopstick, poke three holes in the bottom (flat) part of each Twinkie.  Wiggle the chopstick around to make a space inside the Twinkie.  (Alternately, you can poke the chopstick - or the thin handle of a wooden spoon - through the ends.)
• Place the filling in a pastry/icing bag and squeeze into the holes, being careful not to overfill.
• You can also add "bonus" icing on top of each Twinkie, as there will be extra icing.