This toffee, once finished, looks beautiful and makes a great gift. But it's incredibly easy, and only takes a few minutes of active cooking.
VERY IMPORTANT: You will need a candy thermometer!
Vegan Scottish Toffee
Ingredients:
-1 cup margarine
-1 cup brown sugar
-250 g (or 9 oz) dark chocolate chips
-1 cup crushed almonds
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1 tsp. fine salt
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350F. Spread almonds in a baking/cookie pan (a 9"x13" would be perfect, or 8"x16", make sure it has at least a 2" high rim) and toast in oven for 6-10 minutes, watching carefully. They should be slightly toasted/browned looking and smell nice. Remove from oven and turn the oven off. Pour 1/2 of the almonds into a separate bowl and set aside. Spread the rest of the almonds around the pan evenly.
Heat a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and mix together the margarine and sugar, stirring constantly. Keep stirring as it bubbles and take the temperature with a candy thermometer at 1-2 minute intervals until the temp is 280-300F (this is the right temp for hard candy which cracks).
Once the toffee is the right temperature, remove from heat and immediately mix in the vanilla and salt. It will boil - keep stirring to combine. Then, immediately pour the toffee into the cookie sheet (evenly). At that point, sprinkle the chocolate chips over the toffee and wait a minute for them to melt, then use a spatula to spread the chocolate out evenly over the toffee (so the toffee is completely covered). Sprinkle the remainder of the almonds over the chocolate, and place the whole pan in the freezer for at LEAST 90 minutes.
Remove from the freezer, twist the pan gently to try and get the candy to separate from the sides, bottom, and up-end the pan onto a cutting board or similar surface. It should come out in on large slab. Then use a knife or your hands to crack it into the sized pieces you desire. I put mine into a little cardboard gift box.
If you have a food processor, you can make bread with only 5 minutes of hands-on time. But I call this "Saturday bread' because the longer you let it rise before baking, the better it will be. You can put in whatever herbs or fillings you like!! I made mine with chopped red chilies and rosemary.
Homemade Herbed Saturday Bread
Ingredients:
-1 cup whole wheat flour
-2 1/2 cups white flour
-1 tsp. salt
-2 tsp. active dry yeast
-1 cup (+ a couple tbsp) water
-2-4 tbsp herbs of your choice (or fresh chopped chives, chilies, olives, sundried tomatoes, etc etc! You could really do almost anything here.)
Method:
In the food processor, combine the flours, salt and yeast. With the processor running, slowly pour in the water. It should become the consistency of a only slightly sticky dough ball which turns around and around against the wall of the processor bowl. It definitely should not leave any liquid on the wall. If it isn't sticking together, add 1-2 tbsp water and let it combine again. If by chance you add TOO much water and it gets a bit too sticky, just add 1-2 tbsp flour and mix again. Keep mixing until you get a good bread dough consistency.
(It's hard to describe here but if you YouTube search it, I am sure you'll find a video showing what the right consistency is.)
Take the dough out, knead it just a little bit with your hands, and place it in a bowl and cover it with Saran wrap. Let rise for AT LEAST 2 hours, or up to 5-6 hours. As long as you want, really. I went out and did errands. :)
Uncover the dough and knead a bit - this is the time when you will knead in your herbs/additions. Sprinkle a surface with flour and shape the dough into whatever you want - 1 large boule, a baguette, smaller boules, individual-sized rolls, etc. Put onto a floured surface and cover with a tea towel and let rise again, for at least an hour but up to 3-4 hours.
When you're ready, preheat the oven to 400F, preferably with a pizza stone in there. If you don't have a pizza stone, that's ok. Once the oven is preheated, transfer the dough to a pizza stone or onto a metal baking tray dusted with flour. Using a sharp knife, slice 1-2 lines into the top (only a bit less than 1 cm deep), then pop into the oven. Lower the heat to 375F.
Bake 25-45 minutes, or until the crust is golden and the internal temperature of the bread is 210F. (You can use a meat thermometer for this.)
Enjoy warm!
I love soups which are thick and creamy, but omit the cream! This one achieves that with the addition of white beans. You can use a hand blender for this recipe but I just put it in the regular blender in 2 batches and then put it (blended) back on the stove.
Hearty Pumpkin-Chipotle Soup
Ingredients:
-2 tbsp. olive oil (I like pepper-infused, but regular is fine)
-1 medium yellow onion, chopped
-3 large garlic cloves, chopped
-2 tsp. chipotle Tabasco sauce
-1 1/2 tsp. chipotle powder
-3/4 tbsp. cumin
-3/4 tbsp. dried oregano
-4 cups vegetable broth
-1 can (15 oz.) pumpkin puree (make sure it's only pumpkin, not "pumpkin pie mix" with spices)
-1 can white beans, drained and rinsed
-1 tbsp. red wine vinegar
-1 tbsp. honey
Method:
Warm the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat; once hot, add the onion. Stir for a few minutes until onion is a bit soft. Add in the garlic, Tabasco, chipotle powder, cumin, and oregano. Saute for 2-3 minutes until aromatic.
Add the broth, pumpkin puree, and beans to the pot and stir until combined. Then simmer for 20-30 minutes (uncovered) until your kitchen smells fantastic. Add in the vinegar and honey. At this point, I used a ladle to move about 1/2 of the soup to my blender, and then blended until very smooth. Then pour the blended soup into a bowl and set aside. Repeat with the remaining soup.
Pour it all back into your pot and keep it warm until ready to serve. You can top with another sprinkle of chipotle powder or with paprika!
These truffles are so easy to whip up, and so rich and delicious, you only need one to satisfy. :)
Vegan Chocolate-Coconut Truffles
Ingredients:
-1 1/4 cup dark chocolate chips
-1/8 cup + 2 tbsp. almond or soy milk
-1/8 cup + 2 tbps. graham cracker or cookie crumbs (finely ground)
-1/8 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
-1/8 cup + 2 tbsp. coconut rum
-coconut shavings for rolling
Method:
Melt the chocolate chips and almond milk in a double boiler, or in the microwave (on low heat, stirring after every 10-15 seconds to make sure it doesn't burn). Once creamed together, add in the cocoa powder and mix well (no clumps). Then add in the crumbs and the rum. Once blended, cover and put in the refrigerator for at least 5-6 hours (I left mine in overnight).
Take the mix out of the fridge and use a spoon to scoop out a heaping tablespoon of the chocolate. It should be pretty hard, but that's a good thing so it doesn't melt completely when you roll it into a ball in your hands. Once it's in a ball shape, roll in the coconut shavings (or, if you prefer, powdered sugar or even more unsweetened cocoa powder) and put in mini cupcake liners. Store in the refrigerator until ready to serve.
So I finally perfected the recipe for coconut cupcakes! (I posted the recipe for the frosting a while back, which is also great on chocolate cupcakes, carrot cake, or... on a spoon.) Here are the cupcakes to match the frosting. :) And they are perhaps the moistest cupcakes I have ever eaten. Frosting recipe here:
http://somewhatpreachyvegan.blogspot.de/2013/11/the-best-coconut-frosting-in-world.html
Coconut Cupcakes
Ingredients:
-1 3/4 cups flour
-1 cup sugar
-1 tsp baking soda
-1 tsp baking powder
-1/2 tsp salt
-1 cup coconut milk
-1/2 cup non-flavored oil, like vegetable or rapeseed
-2 tbsp vanilla
-1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
-1/2 cup coconut shavings (garnish)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350F. In a large bowl, whisk together dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, whick together the milk, oil, vinegar, vanilla and vinegar. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined, but don't over-mix.
Let this sit for about 15 minutes in the bowl.
Spoon batter into muffin liners in the muffin tin about 2/3 full and bake for about 18-19 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean). If you're going to frost them, let them cool completely on a rack first. Frost with the amazing frosting (recipe above) and then dust with coconut shavings for garnish. Would also be great with a berry-flavored frosting for a little bit of tartness!
This sauce/marinade is possibly one of the best I have ever had. It's great on this dish but it's also great as a sauce or drizzle on almost anything. I'm obsessed!
Miso-Charred Eggplant with Asian Giant Couscous Salad
Ingredients for eggplant/sauce:
-2 medium purple eggplants
-3-4 tbsp. sesame oil
-4 tbsp. dark miso paste
-3 tbsp. sugar
-2 tbsp. soy sauce
-4 tbsp. rice vinegar
-2 cloves garlic, finely chopped or even ground into a paste
-2-3 tsp. Sriracha or sambal oelek chili sauce
-2 scallions, finely chopped
Ingredients for couscous salad:
-1 package giant Israeli couscous (or regular couscous if you prefer)
-1 tbsp. lime juice
-2 tbsp. sesame oil
-1 tbsp. rice vinegar
-1/2 tsp. ginger powder
-2 scallions, chopped
-handful of snow peas
Method:
First, make the couscous according to package directions. Drain and set into a bowl. While it's still warm, whisk together (or shake in a jar until emulsified) the other ingtedients for the couscous salad - lime juice, sesame oil, rice vinegar, and ginger powder. Pour over the couscous and toss in the scallions. Boil up some water, throw the snow peas in for 3-4 minutes until bright green and a little soft but still crisp, and then drain. Run the peas under cold water, then toss them in with the couscous. Set that aside.
Meanwhile, heat the sesame oil for the eggplant in a frying pan (large) over medium heat. Cut the eggplants in half lengthwise, and then score each one diagonally (crosshatch in a diamond pattern) with a sharp knife (do not cut the skin, just the flesh) with cuts about 1" apart. Once the oil is hot, place 2 of the eggplant halves flesh-side down into the frying pan and cook for 4-5 minutes. Then turn them over and cook for 2-3 minutes more on the skin side. Do this with the other 2 halves next. Set all 4 halves flesh-side up in an oven-safe dish and set aside.
Preheat your broiler to the top heat. In a bowl, whisk together the ingredients for the miso marinade (miso paste, sugar, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, chili sauce). Spoon the marinade thickly over the eggplant halves then put in the oven under the broiler. Watch it carefully - they should probably only be in there for about 5-6 minutes, until the eggplants look a little softer and the marinade is bubbling but NOT burned on top of them. Remove from oven.
Plate any way you want - I piled some couscous salad on the plate and laid eggplant halves on top, then topped with more sliced scallions. I saved some marinade to use as extra topping sauce as well. Enjoy!
These shortbread-chocolate squares are so easy to make and absolutely delicious. You can substitute any topping you want on top - any kind of nut, or even crushed toffee or M&Ms, etc etc.
Shortbread-Chocolate Squares
Ingredients:
-1/2 cup margarine
-2/3 cup brown sugar
-1/4 tsp. vanilla
-1 1/3 cups flour
-1 cup dark chocolate chips
-topping of your choice! (I used about 1/2 cup shredded coconut and 1/2 cup crushed pecans)
Method:
Preheat oven to 350F and prepare a square pan (I used 8"x8") with a parchment paper lining.
Cream the sugar and margerine with an electric mixer, then add the vanilla. Mix in the flour in small batches until it's completely incorporated. Press the dough with your fingers into the pan, making sure it's fairly even and tightly "packed" in. Bake about 15 minutes or until it's firm and golden/tan. Remove from oven.
Spread the chocolate chips over the shortbread and, as they melt, spread around with a spatula. Put the pan back in the oven for about 30 seconds until they're completely melted. Sprinkle your topping of choice all over and put in the fridge to cool and harden. When the chocolate is completely set, remove by pulling the parchment paper out of the pan. Place the block on a cutting board and, using a chef's knife, cut into squares. Delish!
