Category Archives: Bread

VVP Edition: Mini Jackfruit and Kimchi BLT Slider Bites

Peppered Maple Jackfruit Bacon

Yeah, I invented a new vegan bacon, especially for the Virtual Vegan Potluck 3.0. It might just be the meatiest and most versatile vegan bacon yet… You’re welcome.

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Since I can’t just serve you bacon, (I mean, I could, but this is supposed to be the appetizer course). I’m sharing my take on some special bite sized BLT’s. For size reference, the plate I’m using in these photos only has a 3 inch diameter.

Collage 2

To assemble these little cuties, you’ll need the following: Mini Caraway, Onion and Rye Pretzel Rolls (recipe follows), Kimchi, store bought or homemade, Peppered Maple Jackfruit Bacon (recipe follows), sliced tiny grape and or sun sugar tomatoes, and Vegan Wasabi Ranch Dressing (1/4 c. vegan ranch dressing + 1 t. wasabi paste, stirred til combined)

Vegan BLT Sliders

Peppered Maple Jackfruit Bacon

  • 1 can young green jackfruit in brine (unsweetened) I bought mine from a local Asian Market
  • 1-2 T. liquid smoke (mine is concentrated, so I only used 1 T.)
  • 1 T. Bragg’s liquid aminos or coconut aminos for those with soy allergies
  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil or melted unrefined coconut oil
  • 2 T. pure maple syrup
  • 1 t. – 1 T. ground black pepper (depending on how peppery you want your bacon)
  • 1 t. balsamic vinegar
  • 1 t. unsulphered molasses
  • 1/2 t. sea salt (optional)

Method: Rinse and drain the jackfruit. Press lightly onto clean kitchen towels to drain any excess moisture. Slice jackfruit into very thin strips with a filet knife, it’s okay if some of it shreds. Jackfruit is kinda shreddy like that. Press sliced jackfruit on the clean kitchen towels again to remove additional moisture. Place jackfruit slices in a medium bowl. In a small bowl, whisk together all the other ingredients to form the marinade. Pour marinade over the sliced jackfruit and gently toss to coat with your hands. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes to let the jackfruit absorb the flavors. Preheat your oven to 425°. Lightly oil a large rimmed baking sheet and arrange the jackfruit slices on it so they don’t overlap. Bake for 25-30 minutes, stirring a time or two and watching to make sure the jackfruit bacon doesn’t burn and that it gets nice and crispy (a fine line). Remove from oven and spread onto paper towels and let cool a bit before use.

Collage

Mini Caraway, Onion and Rye Pretzel Rolls

  • 1 1/2 C. unbleached organic all-purpose flour
  • 1/2 C. dark rye flour
  • 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 1/2 C. warm water
  • 1 T. olive oil
  • 1 1/2 t. active dry yeast
  • 1 T. caraway seeds
  • 1 T. cocoa powder
  • 1 T. vital wheat gluten
  • 1 T. unsulphered molasses
  • 1 T. dried chopped onion or 1 t. onion powder
  • caraway seeds, sesame seeds and flaked sea salt for sprinkling on the rolls

Method: in a medium bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients (including yeast). Add the wet ingredients and stir with a wooden spoon til combined. If mixture seems to dry, add warm water, a tablespoon at a time. knead dough for 10 minutes. Place in a lightly oiled bowl, cover and Let rise for 30 minutes or until doubled. Punch dough down, divide into 32 mini pretzel roll bites or 16 slider sized rolls. Lightly press each piece of dough down with your fingertips. Arrange rolls on a baking sheet covered with parchment paper or a silpat (otherwise they’ll stick like crazy). Cover and let rise for 20-30 minutes until doubled in size. In the meantime, bring to a boil: 2 quarts (8 cups) water with 1 T. kosher salt and 4 T. baking soda.  When the water comes to a rolling boil, Poach 4 rolls at a time, if doing bite sized, poach for 20-30 seconds, for slider sized 30-40 seconds, turning over halfway through poaching time. See photos of this method hereRemove rolls with a slotted spoon. Slash each roll a couple of times across the top with a sharp knife. Quickly sprinkle with caraway seeds, sesame seeds and flaked sea salt. Repeat until all buns are poached. Let rest while oven preheats to 400 degreesBake for 10-15 minutes for bite sized or 15-20 minutes for slider rolls. Please use parchment paper or a silpat to bake on, otherwise you will need a chisel and a hammer and quite possibly ruin your favorite baking sheet.

Bite

To start at the beginning of the potluck, click here:

vvpIf you run into any broken links along the way, (some bloggers show up a little late to the party) here’s a list of the bloggers in the potluck to help you get back on track. Pretty cool to see over 169 bloggers from all around the world flaunting their vegan awesome! Use the buttons below to Go Back to visit the lovely Bex (Sparkles) at Vegan Sparkles in Australia. Go Forward to see what The Singing Vegan brought to the party.

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Filed under Appetizers, Bread, Salad Dressings, Vegan, Virtual Vegan Potluck

Celebrating 100 Posts!

It’s a good day all around, this post marks my 100th post since I started this blog in September 2012. I’m feeling all kinds of love and support! Thanks to all of you. Today I got twitter follows from Forks Over Knives, Dr. McDougall and a Hospital!?! I also got featured on the brand new site, Choose Veg. Feeling happy and blessed. Here’s a look back at 99 posts, in no particular order.

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Filed under Appetizers, Beans, Beverages, Books, Bread, Breakfast, Cheez, Desserts, Essential Oils, Films, Forks Over Knives, Friendship, Giveaway, Gluten Free, Green Smoothie Challenge, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Juice Feast, Main Dishes, Movies, Nut & Seed Butters, Nuts and Seeds, Organic, Raw, Reviews, Running, Salad Dressings, Salads, Sandwiches, Side Dishes, Snackage, Soups and Stews, Stock Powder, Sunwarrior, Ulcerative Colitis, Vegan, Vegan Dog, Vegan Household, Virtual Vegan Potluck

Heart Healthy Pizza: Review, Recipes, Interview, Giveaway!

PortraitSpanakopizza, named for Mark by the Prolific Vegan Cookbook Author, Robin Robertson

After I posted a photo of my Margherita Pizza with Foxy Moxy on Facebook, my friend Mark Sutton contacted me and asked if I would be interested in reviewing his book, Heart Healthy Pizza. He said Pizza… So of course I was in like Flynn. He also arranged a giveaway of an Autographed copy of his book for one of my awesome readers.

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I didn’t let him off the hitch there though, I asked if I could interview him and possibly share a recipe or two, I mean, people want to know what they’re getting into when they buy a new cookbook ;) Turns out there wasn’t much arm wrestling. Mark was more than happy to share recipes from his book as well as have me interview him.

I have to admit, when I first dug into Mark’s Book, I was a little overwhelmed. There are nearly a dozen crust recipes (including some for my GF peeps!) Close to 20 sauce recipes (for the pizza base), then more than 50 No-Nonsense  Non-Cheese Sauces. I mean, the combinations are nearly endless. It all felt a bit daunting! Thankfully, Mark knows how to help a home cook out, he devotes a whole chapter to some amazing pizza combinations (nearly 40 combos) to help you get started. All of the recipes in his book are vegan, heart healthy and very low in fat. Several of the combinations immediately caught my eye. However, this Spanakopizza recipe that Mark is sharing with you today is going to be hard to beat.

Spanakopizza

Spanakopizza

For the Crust: 

Whole Wheat Dough

  • 1 C. warm water
  • 1 T. oil (optional)
  • 1 T. sugar (or sweetener of choice)
  • 1 t. salt (optional
  • 1 C. whole wheat flour
  • 1 1/2 C. bread flour
  • 2 1/4 t. yeast (1 packet)

Method: Mark’s book has all sorts of helpful instructions in the dough chapter that I can’t fit here, so this is what I did: Dump everything into my bread-maker. Push the dough cycle. Walk away. Come back an hour and a half later. Roll out into preferred sized pizzas (I did mini’s). You can knead this by hand for 10-12 minutes, then let rise til double (about an hour), punch down and let rise again (another 30-45 minutes) then roll out.

dough

Layering Ingredients:

(Layer in order)

  • chopped raw spinach
  • diced raw mushrooms
  • fresh or dry thyme
  • thinly sliced red onions
  • Tofu Feta Cheese (recipe below)
  • black or green olives (sliced)

Tofu Feta Cheese:

  • 1/2 lb. firm or extra-firm tofu (not Mori-Nu), drained and pressed for at least 30 minutes, then cut into 1/2 inch cubes
  • 1 C. water
  • 1/4 C. red wine vinegar
  • 1 t. salt (optional)
  • 1 t. garlic powder
  • 1/4 t. ground black pepper

Method: Combine all ingredients in a lidded glass container. Refrigerate overnight to develop flavor, stirring a couple of times before use.

toppingsBake at 425° – 450° for 15-20 minutes til lightly browned and delicious

Stay tuned for another recipe from Heart Healthy Pizza and my Interview with Mark Sutton on Friday the 5th of April.

Click on the link below to enter the GiveawaySorry, only open only to entrants in the USA. You must also follow this blog by email or RSS feed to qualify. You have 7 days to enter!  I will notify the winner by email.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

SliceBetcha can’t eat just one slice!

p.s. Don’t forget to enter my Sunwarrior Liquid Vitamin Mineral Rush Giveaway. This is an Organic Raw Vegan Multivitamin made completely without synthetics. I have 5 bottles to giveaway to my blog readers! There are three days left to enter!

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Filed under Books, Bread, Cheez, Giveaway, Main Dishes, Vegan

Individual Vegan Margherita Pizzas with Homemade Fresh Moxarella Cheese

Close up 2Vegan Margherita Pizza

If you don’t want to make a pizza from scratch, then use bottled pizza sauce, and a pre-bought crust, but whatever you do, Please make the fresh Moxarella Cheese. It’s nearly instant.

SlicedHomemade Vegan Moxarella, without any artificial anything. It browns and stretches.

Top ViewIndividual Pizzas Make Everyone Happy!

Vegan Margherita Pizzas 

This Recipe Makes 4 individual pizzas. Don’t forget to have fresh tomatoes and basil on hand. First, start the dough.

Pizza Dough:

This crust contains gluten, for several gluten free crust options, click here.

  • 2 C. organic all purpose flour
  • 1 C. organic whole wheat flour
  • 2 1/4 t. active dry yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 cup warm water
  • 2 t. sea salt
  • 1 t. agave
  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)

Method: Combine all ingredients and knead for 10 minutes. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 60 minutes until doubled. While the dough is rising, make the pizza sauce and the fresh moxarella cheese.

The Dough

The Pizza Sauce:

  • one 14 ounce can crushed tomatoes
  • 3 cloves minced garlic
  • 1/2 t. dried thyme
  • 1/2 t. dried oregano
  • 1/2 t. dried basil
  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 1 t. agave
  • sea salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method: saute the garlic in a little vegetable broth or the olive oil in a small saucepan for a minute or two on medium heat. Add all the other ingredients. Reduce heat to low and let simmer while you make the Moxarella Cheese.

Pizza Sauce

Fresh Moxarella Cheese:

I wanted to call this “Foxy Moxy,” but that name has been taken by some unsavory characters on the web….

This cheese stays in a “melted” type form until baked, and then it forms a nice crust, like dairy cheese does. It’s not intended to be eaten plain (like real dairy fresh mozzarella can). It’s also fairly salty to make it stand out in your recipes, if you prefer less salt, please feel free to reduce to 1/2 teaspoon, or less, but the flavor won’t be as pronounced.

  • 1/4 C. raw cashews (soaked in water for several hours and then drained IF you don’t have a high powered blender)
  • 1 C. hot water
  • 2  T. + 1 t. tapioca starch
  • 1 T. extra virgin olive oil (optional)
  • 1 small garlic clove, minced
  • 3/4  t. sea salt
  • 1 t. fresh lemon juice

Method: Blend all ingredients together in a high speed blender until completely smooth, about 1 minute. Pour into a small saucepan and cook, stirring constantly over medium high heat. After a couple of minutes the mixture will start to look weird, like it’s curdling or separating. This is totally normal, reduce heat to medium and KEEP stirring so you don’t burn the cheese to the bottom of the pot. Keep cooking and stirring til really thick (about 2-3 more minutes) and the mixture becomes like a cohesive mass of melted dairy cheese and stretches like in the photo below. Remove from heat and let cool a bit while you assemble the pizzas.

p.s. Moxarella stores well in a sealed container in the fridge for a few days and can be used to make excellent grilled cheese sandwiches, mac and cheese, etc….

Moxarella

Assembly: Your dough should be nearly ready now, so when it hits 60 minutes or is doubled, punch it down and divide it into four pieces. Preheat the oven to 500°. Roll out the dough on a floured surface as thin or thick as you like. We opted for thicker pizzas this round. Spread each pizza with 1/4 of the pizza sauce. Top with fresh tomato slices, dollops of the fresh moxarella cheese and fresh basil leaves like shown in the photo below.

Pre-Bake

Bake individual pizzas for 10-12 minutes on a baking sheet until cheese and the crusts are nicely browned. Note: there is a very fine line between nicely browned and burnt here, so please, watch your pizzas carefully. Sprinkle pizzas with a bit of additional chopped fresh basil once out of the oven if desired.

BiteI won’t take any responsibility for anyone burning their mouth on hot cheese.

Margherita Pizza

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Filed under Bread, Cheez, Main Dishes, Vegan

Vegan Pani Po’ Po

Vegan Pani Po' PoVegan Pani Po’ Po. You knew this was coming, didn’t you? :)

I had a little break from the Green Smoothie Challenge and the first item of business was to bake some bread. I’m a little obsessed with bread to tell you the truth. I can’t count the number of times I’ve thanked my lucky stars that I don’t have any issues with gluten. This recipe is adapted and veganized from one my sister-in-law Linda contributed to our family cookbook. She was born in New Zealand and raised in Australia. She met my brother in Hawaii. I think all the islanders want to claim this recipe as their own. I can’t blame them. It’s truly fantastic. I can’t call it healthy though, this is pure indulgence. I’m back on the challenge, but I’ll share a couple naughty recipes with you from my break.

Vegan Pani Po’ Po

For the dough:

  • 3/4 C. warm soymilk or other plant milk
  • 1 1/2 t. active dry yeast
  • 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 2 T. raw agave
  • 2 T. organic extra virgin coconut oil
  • 1 T. ground golden flax seed
  • 1 3/4 C. unbleached organic flour
  • 1/4 C. whole wheat pastry flour

For the coconut custard sauce:

  • 5 oz canned coconut milk
  • 1 1/4 C. water
  • 1/4 C. raw agave
  • 1 1/2 T. cornstarch or tapioca starch

Dough Method: Combine all ingredients for dough and knead for 10-15 minutes. Dough will be soft and sticky. Cover and let rise for 60 minutes. Punch down, cut and divide into 16 even pieces. Shape into round balls and place in a lightly oiled tall round dish. Cover and let rise again until double, about 30-60 minutes.

in the pan

Coconut Custard Sauce Method: While the dough is rising (2nd rising)  combine all ingredients for the custard sauce in a small saucepan. Heat over medium-high heat til it comes to a boil. Reduce heat slightly and boil and stir constantly for 1 minute until thick. Let cool slightly.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Pour the slightly cooled custard sauce over the risen dough. Bake for 18-20 minutes. The tops of the bread rolls will be golden brown. Remove from the oven and brush with a little coconut oil if desired. Serve with spoonfuls of the custard sauce. I sprinkled mine with a bit of toasted shaved coconut.

Vegan Pani Po' Po-001

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Filed under Bread, Desserts, Vegan

Oil Free Banana Muffins

Banana Muffins

I make these muffins at least once a week. My kids love them and they provide quick after school snacks or mid-morning treats. I’ve found they don’t need oil to be tender and delicious. The extra banana takes care of that and makes them deliciously and intensely banana flavored.Bananas

I always buy 5 or 6 bunches of bananas so I can have extra ones to go brown just to make these. The rest of the bananas go in to smoothies and for eating.Blender batterBlending up the wet ingredients makes for a really quick recipe with no fuss

Combine

Then you simply pour the liquid into the dry mixture and stir.Fillings

We all have a different preference for fillings, my youngest likes them plain, I like the goji berries, my husband likes cranberries and my daughter likes the chocolate chips. I can just press some into the filled muffin tins to make an assortment, then we’re all happy. Alley at Made of Stars mentioned chopped walnuts in the comments below, chopped pecans would also be lovely, how did I forget? :)

In pan

Oil Free Banana Muffins

I always double this recipe, but we’re banana muffin fiends, so here’s the single recipe here

  • 3 ripe bananas
  • 1/2 C. plain soymillk + 2 T. lemon juice stirred together = vegan buttermilk
  • 1/2 C. raw sugar
  • 1 t. vanilla
  • 1 1/2 C. whole wheat pastry flour or for gluten free option use an equal amount of Cara’s all purpose GF mix + 1 t. xanthan gum or 1 T. ground flax
  • 1 t. baking soda
  • 1/2 t. sea salt

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Blend bananas, sugar, vanilla, and vegan buttermilk in your blender until smooth. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a medium bowl. Pour wet mixture in and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined. Measure out by 1/4 C. measures into a lightly oiled 12 tin muffin tin (don’t use papers, these will stick). Press in a few fillings if desired, or leave plain. Bake for 20-25 minutes until just golden. Cool on a baking rack for a few minutes before eating.

Bite

For more oil-free recipe goodness, check back on Wednesday the 12th, I’ll be reviewing and giving away a copy of Lindsay Nixon’s new Happy Herbivore Abroad cookbook as part of her 31 days of giveaways Blog Tour.

HHA_31DaysofGiveaways_badge

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Vedged Out Thanksgiving Menu

A Vegan Thanksgiving for 21 Guests including the Ladies at

Good Clean Food and An Unrefined Vegan

Bloggers, If I’ve included a link to your post and you’d like a photo of your recipe to be included here, please give me permission to share your photo in the comments below. I would have loved to make and photograph everything in advance, but I’m not that cool. xx -Somer

Appetizers

Vedged Out’s Macadamia Nut Brie En Croute

Vegetable Platter with Hummus

 Salad

Sunday Morning Banana Pancake’s Baby Spinach Salad with Cranberries, Pecans and a Maple Basalmic Vinaigrette (she uses cherries in hers, we’re going to use dried cranberries)

photo used with permission 

Bread

Vegan Monologue’s Buttery Pan Rolls

Amanda’s Whole Grain Cranberry Walnut Sourdough Bread

(this is what we slathered the Brie En Croute all over! They were made for each other!)

sourdough bread

Drinks

Lemon Seltzer Water

Cranberry Fizzy

 

Mains and Sides

In Pursuit of More’s Cashew Loaf

Dad’s Wild Rice, Cranberry and Pine Nut Stuffing

Dad’s Pine Nut and Glazed Onion Mashed Potatoes

Vedged Out’s Sauteed Green Beans, Red Onions and Radishes

Butternut Squash Puree with Orange and Ginger

Fruited Cranberry Compote

photo used with permission

Post Punk Kitchen’s traditional Green Bean Casserole

Maple Glazed Sweet Potatoes

Keepin it Kind’s Miso Mushroom Gravy

 

Desserts

An Unrefined Vegan’s Apple Pie

applepie3

photos used with permission

Razzleberry Pie

Gabby’s No Bake Pumpkin Mousse Cake

An Unrefined Vegan’s Hazelnut Pumpkin Cheesecake w/ Chocolate-Hazelnut Topping

Hazelnut cheesecake

Vegan Coconut Whipped Cream

Vegan Pumpkin Pies

and Vegan Ice Cream

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Filed under Appetizers, Bread, Desserts, Main Dishes, Salads, Side Dishes, Vegan

Buttery Pan Rolls

Are you getting ready for Thanksgiving? I’ll be sharing some items with you that we’ll be celebrating with at our feast, but I really wanted to make sure you include these at your table first. They really are THAT good:

 

 Buttery Pan Rolls

Head on over to Vegan Monologue for the delicious recipe here. The only variation I made was to bake mine in a springform pan instead of a cake round.

You have to make these!

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Vegan Monte Cristo Sandwich – Vegan MOFO Iron Chef Challenge!

I haven’t entered any of the Vegan MOFO cooking challenges yet since I had no idea what I’d make with the ingredients given. This one was a no brainer…

We were given three ingredients to work with, Sunflower Seeds, Grapes and Hot Peppers. I used the hot peppers in the dried variety.

With those three ingredients, I created 3 recipes you’ll need to make this sandwich, a Savory Grape Foccacia, Thick “Ham Slices” and a Sweet and Sour Grape-Pepper Jam

Savory Grape Foccacia

  • 2 C. organic unbleached flour
  • 2 C. whole wheat pastry flour
  • 1 1/2 c. warm water
  • 4 T. extra virgin olive oil, divided
  • 1 T. active dry yeast
  • 2 t. kosher salt, divided
  • 1 T. dried rosemary
  • 2 T. sunflower seeds (for topping)
  • 1 C. grapes, cut into halves (I used red and green)
  • 1 t. crushed red pepper flakes

Foccacia Dough: drizzled with olive oil, pressed with grapes and sprinkled with sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes and dried rosemary

Method: Combine flours, half the salt, half the olive oil, the active dry yeast and the warm water in your kneading apparatus (or use a large bowl and your hands) knead dough for 10 minutes until smooth and elastic. Cover and leave in a warm place until doubled, about an hour. Spray a cookie sheet with cooking spray then roll out dough to fit the sheet.  (I used a 9×13 pan and our sandwiches were so tall they were nearly inedible!) Drizzle the dough with remaining olive oil and smooth it all over the surface with your hands. Press grape halves all over into the dough, sprinkle with sunflower seeds, red pepper flakes and the remaining salt. Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Let dough rise again until doubled in size, about 30 more minutes. Bake for 20-25 minutes, until crust is golden and crispy. Remove from cookie sheet and let cool on a cooling rack. Cut into sandwich sized pieces, I got 8 out of my pan, but I suspect if you use a cookie sheet you’ll get 12 pieces.

Thick “Ham” Slices

  • 2 cans kidney beans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 C. of my grated smoked coconut gouda or other vegan mozzarella cheez
  • 1/4 C. minced onion
  • 1/4 C. vital wheat gluten
  • 2 T. nutritional yeast
  • 1/2 C. sunflower seeds
  • 1 t. celery salt
  • 1 T. liquid smoke
  • 1/4 C. vegan fakin’ bacon type bits (I buy mine in bulk at my local health food store, mine have no artificial colorings or unsavory ingredients)
  • 1/4 C. masa harina (finely ground corn meal used for tamales)

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. If your food processor isn’t broken like mine is at the moment, add all ingredients and pulse til combined. Otherwise, dump everything into a bowl and squish it all to bits with you hands. Beans should be mostly mashed. Press mixture into a lightly oiled (I used pan spray) 9×13 baking dish and score into 8 even pieces with a knife. Spray the mixture with a bit of pan spray and bake for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and and lightly browned. Remove “ham” slices from the pan with a spatula and let cool on a cooling rack.

Sweet and Sour Grape-Pepper Jam

  • 2 C. grapes (I used all red grapes)
  • 1/2 C. grape juice concentrate (the purple kind from concord grapes)
  • 2-4 dried red chilies, snipped into bits
  • 1 clove finely minced garlic
  • 2 T. rice wine vinegar
  • 1/4 t. sea salt
  • 2 t. dry Pomona’s Pectin powder
  • 1 large pinch calcium powder from the Pomona’s Pectin calcium packet

Method: Blend all ingredients in the blender until small bits remain intact, pour mixture into a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring occasionally. Turn down heat and simmer for 5 minutes then pour into a clean glass jar. Jam will set and thicken while it cools.

Additional Assembly ingredients for the Monte Cristo Sandwich: 

  • Sliced Tomatoes
  • Sliced Avocado
  • Sliced Smoked Coconut Gouda or Vegan Mozzarella Cheez
  • Spinach or Lettuce Leaves
  • Vegan Mayo

Assembly: Preheat your oven on the broil setting, Slice foccacia pieces in half to make sandwiches. On a baking tray place thick “ham” slices and cover with slices of smoked coconut gouda. Spread jam from above on the bottom half of the foccacia pieces, cover with spinach, avocado, tomato slices and smoked coconut gouda slices. Broil all on top oven rack until cheez is melted, about 2-4 minutes. Slather top half of foccacia piece with vegan mayo and some of the jam. Put it all together, see if your mouth will possibly fit over it. If you are feeling absolutely ridiculous, sprinkle the sandwiches with vegan powdered sugar before serving.

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Filed under Beans, Bread, Cheez, Sandwiches, Vegan

Bread Secrets and Rustic Multi-Grain Seeded Loaf

I have a dirty little secret.

Even though I make bread nearly every day, I’m not really a bread maker extraordinaire.

I just don’t have the time for endless kneading, rising and baking. On top of that, store-bought vegan bread is hard to come by and pricey when you do find it.  So I make vegan bread for pennies on the dollar and use some tricky shortcuts on the way…

Plus I have a little slave who helps me in the kitchen.

My bread slave, the Sunbeam Bread Maker. I bought it used at a thrift shop for $15

Rustic Multi-Grain Seeded Loaf

  • 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 C. warm water (add the lower amount and if too dry add more, a tablespoon at a time)
  • 3 C. organic whole wheat flour
  • 1 C. rolled oats
  • 1/4 C.  cracked kamut (you could sub any cracked grain here, even coarse corn meal would do)
  • 1/4 C. millet
  • 1/3 C. sunflower seeds
  • 2 T. sesame seeds
  • 2 T. flax seeds
  • 1 1/2 t. sea salt
  • 2 T. molasses
  • 1 1/2 T. vital wheat gluten
  • 1 1/2 T. active dry yeast (slightly more than you would normally use for a faster rise time)

Add ingredients in order to your bread maker, bosch or large bowl. I just plop in all the ingredients and press any bread cycle to knead the dough and walk away. If you don’t have a kneading apparatus, don’t walk away, the dough needs you to knead it by hand for 10-15 minutes until smooth and elastic.

okay, I really need to wipe this baby down. It’s looking rough from daily abuse!

After my slave bread maker kneads the dough for about 10 minutes, I simply unplug the machine and let the dough rise in there for 45-60 minutes. If making by hand, put dough in a bowl and cover with a kitchen towel and put in a warm place.

While the dough is rising, preheat your oven to 200 degrees.

When 45-60 minutes is up, pull the dough out, shape it into a round and roll it in whole wheat flour.

Put the dough on a baking sheet dusted with a bit more flour to prevent sticking. TURN OFF your oven and set the baking sheet on the middle rack. Set your oven timer for 20 minutes.  When the timer goes off, pull out dough and quickly slash (1/4 to 1/2 inch deep slashes) with a sharp knife, get creative with your slashy marks, it can make bread look professional, but don’t get too carried away because you might end up with mutant bread.

 Put dough back in the oven and set the oven to 350 degrees (no need to preheat). Bake this particular loaf for 35 to 40 minutes, until golden. This is bread is lovely when toasted and served with Cozy Roasted Butternut Soup

When I’m really in a hurry I do sometimes let my bread maker cook the bread for me too, because my machine has an express function, I can have a whole wheat loaf ready from start to finish in less than an hour, but I’ll tell you more about that another day.

If you’re in the market for a bread maker, do try to purchase a used model, it will cost you less and used bread makers are everywhere. Make sure the model you choose still has the dough hook (like an idiot, I didn’t check and mine didn’t have the hook, so I had to order it online) and the recipe manual. You might not need the recipes, but bread makers come in all sizes so you need to know the approximate measurements for loaves that will work in your machine (if you choose to bake in it). An express function is also especially handy for harried cooks.

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