Vegan Cooking Demo #3

At dinner one night with a group of friends, one of them thought it would be a good idea if I started teaching them how to cook vegan.  The women who are in this little group with me are thoughtful about what they bring when we eat together, but I always bring both an entree and a dessert so I know for sure I will not go hungry, in case someone forgets that chicken broth is not vegan, or that eggs are not okay if they are in a cake.  Sometimes they just don’t know how to make a cake without any animal products.  “What should I use instead of eggs?  Ground flax seed?  How would that work?”  or “What would I put in the salad if you don’t eat goat cheese?”  (The answer to that one is easy—leave out the cheese, or at least offer it on the side.)

I thought it was a good idea, but I am a bit shy about standing in front of a group and talking about, well, anything, really.  I am comfortable in small, informal settings with people I know.  Stage fright hits when I am standing in front of a roomful of people and expected to perform in any way, even just cooking.  My friend Michaela, the one who is a superb baker and who has the most imploring big brown eyes asked again and again until I finally conceded.  Vegan cooking lessons for everyone.  In my kitchen.  Second Sunday of each month at 2 pm.

I thought it would be good to start with desserts, an area that seems the most challenging for bakers who want to try making vegan sweets.  I double and triple checked my recipes, trying things out ahead of time, and my family benefited from multiple batches of cookies and muffins.  I scrutinized recipes I make regularly, making sure the measurements were exact.  I prepared a sheet of vegan baking substitutions and handouts of all the recipes.

I was shaking as I began the first session, but after a few minutes, I forgot I was being watched and just started chatting away as I measured, mixed, and baked.   I planned to pull off three different recipes—giant, crunchy, chocolate chip cookies, molasses ginger cookies, and the famous Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffin recipe.  I printed the blueberry muffin recipe right off of the internet, using it like a worksheet so everyone who came could see how easy it is to figure out the substitutions.  1/4 c silken tofu for each egg.  Soy or almond milk in place of dairy milk.  Vegan margarine in place of butter.  Organic sugar.  I made the muffins with the changes, and no one could believe how delicious they were—just as good, if not better than the original recipe.

It went well.  Really, really well.   “Is it okay if I invite a friend next time?”  “Can I bring my niece?”  “Could you please email me a link to your blog?  To that website?”  “What was the name of that book you read?”  My cell phone began ringing—strangers calling.  “I heard you are giving vegan cooking lessons.  Do you have room for one more person?”  “How much does it cost?”

The answer was, of course, yes!  And it’s free.

The second lesson focused on entrees, and I demonstrated how to make homemade seitan, a chewy and delicious main course.  I also showed how to make cashew cream, and from that, made a vegan Alfredo sauce with mushrooms, peas, and kale, served over spaghetti squash.  We ate dinner together at the end of that demo, and I happened to have enough raw ginger cookies to pass around for dessert.  “Raw cookies?  How do you do that?”  “These are the best cookies I have ever eaten!  Could you share the recipe?”  It was a small group, easy to please, full of excitement for learning vegan cooking.  Then another round of phone calls and suddenly a bunch of people, some of whom I have never met, are sitting in my kitchen, raptly watching me chop, stir, process and talk about why I am a vegan.  And a vegan cook.

So— here I am at the beginning of my third group vegan cooking demonstration, this time teaching how to make vegan cheeses.  My friend Krissie was kind enough to bring her camera and take a few shots of the event.

I am holding up a package of agar-agar, a type of seaweed used as a thickener for many vegan cheeses.

I make three different cheeses in one hour.  The first is  smokey cashew cheese from the fabulous website:

 http://www.olivesfordinner.com

  Krissie got a great shot of the smokey cashew cheese.

The second is pine nut cheese, adapted from a recipe a friend found online while trying to impress me with her vegan cooking skills.  (Not that she needs to try—my friend Stephanie is an amazing cook and I always leave her table with a happy, full belly.)

http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Beet-Ravioli-with-Pine-Nut-Goat-Cheese-Rosemary-Cream-Sauce-Aged-Balsamic-Vinegar-354390

I have made this entire recipe as it stands and was a bit disappointed, especially in the pine nut cheese.  The lemon was far too strong, so I eliminated the lemon zest, and instead of using the full amount of lemon juice, I used a little less than half the amount and used organic apple cider vinegar for the remaining volume.  I added about 2 tsp fresh rosemary to the processor along with everything else and wound up with what is perhaps the best nut-based ricotta cheese ever!  It freezes very well, so go ahead and make the full recipe, then divide into 1/2 cup containers and store in the freezer.  This is amazing in a vegan lasagna, or on a whole wheat pizza with a little vegan pesto, some tomato sauce and some caramelized onions and sauteed mushrooms.

The final cheese is tofu feta.  Tofu feta is tricky.  There are a lot of recipes out there and I have tried many.  This one is truly delicious and easy.

http://www.ourveggiekitchen.com/2010/03/tofu-feta.html

My captive audience.  I’m making tofu feta in this one.  Beneath the orange pot lid is a block of tofu.  The block is wrapped in a clean dishtowel and the weight of the lid is pressing out the excess water so that the tofu will absorb more of the marinade.

I serve the tofu feta mixed with some chopped cucumbers, halved baby grape tomatoes, Kalamata olives, all dressed with a dash of hemp oil, a bit of lemon juice, a sprinkle of oregano, and some freshly ground black pepper.

For a quick and easy tasting of the pine nut cheese, I cook a box of pasta, add a couple of cups of chopped fresh broccoli, a can of drained chickpeas, and some red sauce.  I pour that into a casserole, dollop on the pine nut cheese, and heat at 350 ° for about half an hour.  There are no leftovers!

Sometime during the lesson, my friend Jane raises her hand, old-school style.  “I think you should get paid for this, Elizabeth.”

“Oh, no, I don’t want to take any money for this.  I am truly okay doing it for free.”

“No, we should at least reimburse you for all the ingredients.”

“No, it’s really fine!”

And so on, until, as I stand behind my kitchen counter, trying to talk and cook and be entertaining and all that, one after another, my audience comes behind the counter.  They tuck bills into the front pocket of my jeans.  I am uncomfortable with this, but at the same time, secretly thrilled that anyone is willing to pay me to teach how to cook vegan.  After they leave, and I clean up, I empty the contents of my pocket onto the counter.  I think— I could make a living doing this—and my gratitude is immense for the generosity and kindness of my friends and the friends they have brought to me.

Can a Vegetable Really Pass for a Noodle?

The answer is yes!   Each time I pass by the pale yellow spaghetti squash in the vegetable aisle, I think about the magic that happens when that squash is cut in half, seeded, and roasted.  Wielding my Nana’s three-tined cooking fork, I scrape the flesh.   Sweet strands separate from the skin, yielding a firm, golden, noodle-like pile, ready to be dressed up and served to a crowd.  I have not cooked spaghetti squash since my pre-vegan days. Then, the sauce was all about cream, Parmesan cheese, freshly ground black pepper and crumbled bacon.  I once tried it with traditional sauce, but somehow the squash didn’t meet my expectations when ladled with tomatoes and ground beef.  The creamy sauce was definitely the favorite.

At Trader Joe’s, I eye the stack of local produce in the entrance way.  I think of cashew cream, and know exactly what to do.  I buy the squash and make a vegan Indian yellow curry with vegetables to serve over it.

Indian cooking can be mysterious— there are many complex flavors, and sometimes the list of spices can be intimidating.  I have experimented with Indian cooking for years, combining various flavors to try and duplicate the tastes I love from my favorite restaurants.  This recipe came out exactly like something I ate recently at Passage to India in Portland, ME.  The spaghetti squash turned out to be the perfect bottom layer, replacing the traditional Basmati rice usually served with curry.  My son was home for the weekend and couldn’t wait to get to the dinner table.  I think he even ended his skateboarding session early to join us.  We didn’t talk much at the table that night— dinner was too tasty to do anything but savor each bite.  My daughter insisted I write down exactly what I did before I forgot.  I did as she asked and was able to duplicate the recipe again a few days later.  We needed to finish the leftover squash and I couldn’t imagine serving it with anything else.

Yellow Curry  and Vegetables with Spaghetti Squash

Ingredients:

1 spaghetti squash, washed, split, and seeded

For the Vegetables:

olive oil

1 sweet onion, chopped into medium dice

1 red bell pepper, washed, split, seeded and chopped into medium dice

3 cloves fresh garlic, peeled and minced

2 medium potatoes, scrubbed, skins on, chopped into medium dice

4 cups finely chopped cabbage

1 cup peas, fresh or frozen

1/2 cup raisins

1/2 cup unsweetened shredded coconut

1/2-3/4 cup thick cashew cream

2 cups water

For the curry:

olive oil

2 tsp. mustard seeds

2 tsp. cumin seeds

1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated

1 tbsp. Madras curry powder

1 tbsp. turmeric

1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, or to taste

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/4 cup raw slivered almonds

1 tsp. sea salt

Method:

Preheat the oven to 400 °.  Line a large cookie sheet with foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray.  Place the clean squash, cut side down, on the cookie sheet and roast for about 50-60 minutes, or until the skin gives when pressed firmly with your finger.  Remove from oven, turn over the halves and allow to cool.

While squash is cooking, prepare the vegetables and curry:  For the vegetables:  In a large skillet or wok, heat 2 tbsp. olive oil.  Add onions and peppers and cook over medium-high heat until onion begins to soften.  Add garlic and stir.  Add potatoes and cook for about 5 minutes, or until potato starts to soften.  Add a little water if the skillet becomes too dry.  Add the cabbage and cook about 5 minutes more.  Add peas, raisins, coconut, cashew cream and the water.  Stir well to combine and turn off heat.

For the curry:  Heat a small skillet over medium heat. Add 2 tbsp. olive oil and roll the oil around the pan to coat.  Add the mustard and cumin seeds and cook until you can smell the cumin and the mustard seeds begin to pop.  Add the almonds and another tbsp. of oil.  Continue to cook until the almonds start to brown, about 3 minutes.  Stir in the Madras curry, the turmeric, the ginger and the salt.  Stir well to combine.  The pan with start to look dry when it is ready.  Stir in the cinnamon and remove from heat.  Sprinkle with the cayenne pepper.

Combine the curry with the vegetable mixture, stirring gently but thoroughly.  The mixture should be thick and creamy, the vegetables tender but not mushy.

To serve: Spoon about a cup of spaghetti squash into a shallow bowl.  Ladle the vegetable curry over the squash.  Serves 6-8 hungry people for dinner.

Some nice condiments to add to this meal are tamarind chutney, (a sweet thick sauce of tamarind and dates), coriander chutney,(a bright green, slightly spicy, tart cilantro paste), and lime pickle (a fiery-hot, salty traditional Indian pickle).  Most grocery stores carry these in the international food section.