Vegan Whipped Cream

If you had asked me last year if homemade vegan whipped topping was possible, I would have said no. If you had asked me several months ago, I would have the same answer. If you ask me today, I would say absolutely! Yes, homemade vegan whipped topping is absolutely possible.

I'll begin by saying that there is no tofu involved here. None. As much as I love my tofu, whipped cream it's not. This is a fluffy, ethereal topping, the perfect accompaniment to crepes, waffles or chocolate cake (yes, I've topped them all).

Another thing that's so fantastic about this vegan topping, is that you can also whip it into a marshmallow cream (thanks Bryanna, for the tip) and possibly meringue as well. Yes, Bryanna's in on the secret too. I also plan to test out chocolate and citrus versions too. I mean, really, can you ever have too many toppings?

Last week, feeling like kids in a candy shop, my husband and I quickly grabbed our mini kitchen torch, toasting the top like a campfire marshmallow or meringue-topped pie. Unbelievable! We looked at each other with sheer excitement, as we started grabbing ingredients and kitchen tools. What followed next was s'more waffles, a true breakfast of champions. Our kitchen has become a whipped topping wonderland.

Notice the little flecks of vanilla paste in the cream.

Now that I've piqued your interest, you'll have to come back for the rest of the story. I have some more experimenting to do before I can share the details. Just know that I will share, so even though you may not live close enough to come over for s'more waffles, lemon meringue tarts or chocolate fluff cake, I will send you in the right direction. I mean, come on, whipped topping and marshmallow fluff, this is the stuff of vegan dreams!

Chocolate fluff cake

As a side note, I've actually come across several new ingredients recently (or at least new to me), which take vegan desserts to a whole new level. I can't wait to share! So check back, because they're coming soon (and hopefully to a kitchen near you!).

Julie

One Amazing Dish

Let me start off by saying, this is not your 70's-style tofu. This is tofu prepared in an elegant and upscale way. This is fine dining tofu.

Imagine Marsala-marinated tofu, coated with herbed panko crumbs and pan-seared until it's got a gorgeous crispy golden crust. Close your eyes and imagine this ethereal tofu perched on a mound of rosemary garlic mashed potatoes, and topped with an earthy mushroom Marsala sauce. Now this is tofu.

I first tasted this tofu dish at The Farm Cafe in Portland Oregon. I was having dinner with my good buddy Joanna, and she highly recommended the tofu. After careful scanning of the menu, chock-full of local, fresh, organic produce, this was definitely the dish that caught my eye. Herbed Crusted Tofu With A Mushroom Marsala Sauce. OMG! It had my name written all over it! The dish was divine. So much so that I started holding it up as my standard of what a good tofu dish should be. No problem preparing this at home, right? Wrong, actually. This was a tougher nut to crack than I imagined.

So, fast forward to last month, when the owner of The Farm Cafe accepted my offer to come prepare her amazing herbed-crusted tofu on Everyday Dish. Now everyone can learn their secret to a fabulously prepared tofu dish. And, we all have a delicious new tofu recipe to serve at our next dinner party, or try out on our tofu-phobic husbands/children/friends.

The recipe and video are up now on Everyday Dish. Thank you Fearn and Russel and The Farm Cafe, for sharing your delicious recipe with us. Now, what are you waiting for? You've got to try this dish!

White Wheat

As most of you know, I love my kitchen toys, and the grain mill is no exception. I've blogged about the mill before, but I thought it was a good time to revisit it again. First of all, there is nothing liked home milled flour. Absolutely nothing. Especially if you are a baking nut like myself, and a beautiful silky flour gets you going. When you grind your own wheat, the resulting flour is beautiful, soft, sweet and flavorful. It really is something to behold.

Now don't get me wrong. I do still buy some flour, such as white pastry or unbleached all-purpose (or vital wheat gluten), but I'm finding that white whole wheat flour works beautifully in so many recipes. White wheat often goes undetected in many of my baked goods, which is a great thing with a houseful of teenagers. My kids certainly wouldn't choose "healthy" tasting cookies, not in a million years, but I want them to get all of the wonderful benefits of whole grains. This is where white wheat has been my savior. No one detects a "healthy" taste, whether it be pancakes, chocolate cakes, cookies or breads. This is a very good thing.

So when I received an email last week, asking if I might be interested in purchasing some white wheat from Montana, my interest was piqued. It seems that a former student of mine became alarmed with the rising cost of wheat, and the lack of white wheat available. If you haven't heard yet, the cost of wheat has nearly doubled, and apparently white wheat is now hard to find. So she contacted a farm and was able to lock in a fantastic price, so long as she purchased an entire semi-truck load. We're talking thousands of pounds of wheat. The unbelievable thing is that she found homes for all of the wheat right away. Amazing. She's thinking about doing it again, and asked if I would help put the word out to see if there's enough interest for her to place another order. If you're interested, email me at the blog and I can put you in touch with her (blog@everydaydish.tv). You would need to be able to get to the Portland area to pick it up, and they are 50 pound bags. She isn't making a penny on this. She justs wants to help people out.

So, needless to say, not only is grinding your own flour fun, but it's an adventure too. Now, I just need to find a good use for my red lentil flour. Any ideas?


Oh, and before I sign off, we have a new recipe and video up on everyday dish. Peanut sesame noodles, which are perfect warm weather fare. I promise you will love them, and if you have any peanut allergies in your household, just substitute another nut, seed or soy butter for the peanut.

Happy cooking!

Ice Cream

Ice cream anyone?


I recently had the opportunity to try a new line of premium ice creams from Purely Decadent that are hitting the market, and boy are they good! The ice creams are non-dairy, rich, creamy and delicious, yet aren't total diet busters. The base of the ice cream is coconut milk, which gives you a wonderfully silky texture and clean taste. In fact, my daughter and I both thought that there was almost a marshmallow flavor to it. Yum!! The ice creams come in five flavors, although I only tried the vanilla, chocolate and coconut. I think there's also cookie dough and mint chip. They are perfect flavors for eating with a spoon, ice cream sundaes, topping summer pies or making refreshing root beer or soda floats. Hello! You've got to give these ice creams a try.

I think they're available in a couple of stores at the moment, Whole Foods being one of them. I can't wait until there are more flavors to choose from. These non-beany, creamy ice creams were a quick hit in my house. Now I just need to replenish my stock. Time to go shopping...

The Winner Is...

Vegyogini! Thank you to everyone for putting your name down and playing along (and your awesome comments!). I'll do another drawing again soon. So Vegyogini, please email me in the next 2 days with your name and address, so I can send you a copy of the DVD. You can email me through my profile on this blog.

Now, about the picture. This incredible bread is a Sin Dawg from Dave Dahl, of Dave's Killer Bread. It's super awesomely delicious, and virtuous too! It's a lovely, soft whole grain dough wrapped up with an ooey-gooey cinnamon sugar filling. A-mazing!! Fortunately even if you don't live in Portland and frequent the Saturday Farmer's Market, you can still get your hands on one. Well actually three. Not only did Dave share the recipe with us, but he also filmed a segment of Everyday Dish, and will walk you through the entire bread baking process. Now there's no excuse for you not to bake up a batch at home. The recipe and video are up on Everyday Dish. The direct link to the video is here.

I'll be back in a couple of days with a review of a creamy new ice cream hitting the market. Until then, go bake yourself a batch of Sin Dawgs!

In A Nutshell...

Just to let you know, there's a new recipe & video up on Everyday Dish. The dish is Sauteed Chard With A Cherry Ginger Gastrique. It is really delicious, and comes from executive chef Derek Hanson at Nutshell restaurant in Portland, Oregon (which is a fantastic vegan restaurant). The dish is on their restaurant menu, though they serve it atop a creamy polenta at the restaurant. It's a very simple recipe and I encourage you to give it a try. This is a perfect way to use all of the yummy chard from the farmer's market.

We've been bookin' on the Everyday Dish segments and have some great ones (with some great chefs) coming up. I'll let you know here on the blog, as we post them each week.

On another note, check out the latest podcast of Stumptown Vegans with Jess (of Let's Get Sconed) and Webly (from Fueled By Popcorn). For the latest podcast, Jess and Webly invited me over to shoot the breeze and talk about vegan food and cooking.

Also, I thought that it would be fun to do another DVD giveaway, so if you want to be included in the drawing, please add your name to the comments. I will randomly select a winner by putting all of the names in a mixing bowl, and will announce the winner here on the blog. Once I announce the winner, I will need you to email me within 2 days, or unfortunately I will have to randomly select another winner. I’m not sure when I will announce the winner, so check back.

I think that's all for now. Happy cooking!!

Julie

Hot Artichoke Dip

I promised that I would tell everyone when the Hot Artichoke Dip video and recipe are up on Everyday Dish, and they are! This dip is really delicious! Chef Brian Igarta has some awesome recipes. Go check it out and make yourself a batch.


I also wanted to share some pics from my birthday last week. This is the birthday cake my daughter and husband made for me. They tried to bake it in a giant cupcake pan, but there were a few complications and only the top of the cake survived. It was an absolutely delicious vanilla cake with vanilla frosting and a little dusting of cinnamon. Truly, the combo of the cinnamon and vanilla made it one of the best tasting cakes I've ever had. It was also the perfect amount of cake for the four of us.

The best part of all was that my birthday dinner was homemade by my daughter and husband. We had a Mexican fiesta with awesome jalapeno poppers, tacos and all the fixins'. There was even a lovely agave tequila for that special authentic touch (that my daughter didn't have anything to do with). Dinner was perfect!

These are a couple of my fun new birthday toys. A special little rack for making grilled or roasted jalapeno poppers. This is super-cool and can go right on your BBQ or even in your toaster oven, and holds the stuffed peppers upright. No need to deep fry these babies. A Williams-Sonoma special.

My other new toy is a mini burger press, which my husband thought would make cute little sausage patties. I have to agree with him on this. I think it will make some cool vegan sliders too!