Portable cheesecake

Following up on the pie in a jar notion, I’ve extended the same idea to cheesecakes. The following recipe is from La Dolce Vegan with minor modifications for convenience.

Filling

• 300g silken tofu
• 2 cups tofutti “cream cheese”
• ¾ cup sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract (I also added one vanilla bean)
• 1 tbsp lemon juice (I think I put in 1½)
• 1 tsp lemon rind, finely grated
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ flour

Glaze

• 1 cup jam
• 1 tbsp corn starch
• ¼ cup water

Method

1. Using a premade graham cracker crust (much faster), ground it up and split it between 8 jars.
2. Blend the filling in a food processor (wets first, drys second) and pour into the jars on top of the crust.
3. Cover and leave overnight in the fridge.
4. The next day, bring the glaze to a boil and simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly (make sure to mix the water and cornstarch first to avoid clumps).
5. Split the glaze between the 8 jars and refrigerate again for an hour.

Pie in a jar

Just about any pie recipe can be easily converted into jar pie. It’s really just a matter of form factor. Prepare a bunch, leave them in the freezer, thaw before use and bake at 375°F for 45 minutes. Couldn’t be simpler.

Alternate ideas: layer on multiple pie flavours, or partition them horizontally with the aid of construction paper. The photo below is cherry on the left, blueberry on the right.

Chocolate truffles

• ½ “butter” (Earth Balance works better than margarine here as consistency is important)
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• ½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tbsp maple syrup
• 1½ cups icing sugar

Cream the “butter” and mix the rest in slowly, one at a time. When you’re done, you can coat each with melted chocolate (as pictured above), roll them in cinnamon, top them with an almond perhaps. These keep fairly well in the fridge when they’re done, although I’m no chocolatier, so venture with caution.

Macaroni casserole

The following details Greg Opperman‘s recipe for vegan macaroni and “cheese”. Likely one of the tastiest of dishes I’ve ever had. It’s a touch elaborate, but well worth the effort.

Veggie Beef

• 1 cup TVP
• 2 cups water
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 tbsp mild chili powder
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 1 tsb soy sauce
• 1 veggie broth cube
• 1 tbsp Sriracha
• ¼ cup chopped sage leaves

1. Combine ingredients in a saucepan.
2. Boil then simmer.
3. Adjust flavours as necessary.

Main sauce

• ½ cup flour
• ½ cup vegetable oil
• 4 cups unflavoured “milk” (soy, almond or rice)
• 1½ tbsp tumeric
• 1½ tbsp madras curry
• 1 tbsp garam masala
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 1 veggie broth cube
• 1 tbsp yellow mustard
• 1 inch fresh ginger
• 4 cloves garlic
• 1 batch veggie beef (as per above)
• 1 cup nutritional yeast flakes
• 8 ounces peas
• 8 ounces corn
• 1 pound rotini pasta (al dente)

1. Make a roux with the oil, flour and milk.
2. Add the spices and bring to a bubble.
3. Simmer with the remaining ingredients.

Topping

• ¼ cup sage leaves
• 1 cup panko breadcrumbs
• 8 ounces margarine

1. Melt the margarine.
2. Add the sage.
3. Add the breadcrumbs and combine.

Combine

1. Preheat the oven to 400°F.
2. Pour the main sauce into the casserole dish, followed by the topping.
3. Bake for 30 minutes (you’ll want the topping to be crispy, which may require broiling).

Fondue and fudge

This recipe works well both as fondue (while hot) and a soft fudge (while cold).

• ¼ cup margarine
• 225 grams dark chocolate
• ½ tbsp flour
• ½ cup corn syrup
• ½ tsp vanilla
• 2 tbsp soy milk

1. Melt the chocolate and liquids in a double boiler.
2. Sift in the flour to thicken the mixture up.

Root latke waffles

• 8 cups shredded root vegetables (e.g. yam, sweet potato, beet, carrot, onion, etc.)
• 1 cup flour
• ½ cup cornstarch
• 1 tsp salt
• ½ cup water
• ¼ cup oil
• spices to taste

Shred the vegetables in a food processor (if you try this by hand, you’re likely to be at it all day). Mix the dry and wet separately before combining. Fry them up in a waffle iron and serve hot with any kind of dressing that suits: ketchup, salad dressing, raw tahini. It’s all good.

Chocolate oatmeal cups

Sometimes a recipe doesn’t turn out the way you’d expect. I have this one for oatmeal cookies that’s always turned out much flatter than I’d like. Instead of putting them on a cookie sheet, I tried using a muffin sheet such that they might hold their shape a little better. Little did I know that they’d puff up and collapse, creating chocolate oatmeal cups. Fantastic.

Ingredients

• ½ cup margarine
• 1 cup dry sweetener
• 1½ tsp vanilla extract
• 1 “egg” (I’m using Ener-G)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• 1 cup rolled oats
• ¼ cup cocoa
• ½ cup flour

Method

1. Like with all cookie recipes, mix the wet, sift together the dry, combine.
2. Bake in a muffin tray at 350°F for 10 minutes.
3. Let them cool down before putting them in the freezer for at least an hour.
4. Fill with anything: jam, ice cream, peanut butter, etc.

French Onion Soup

I don’t think I’ve ever had onion soup before, so I’m kind of winging it on this one. The first attempt turned out tasty enough to share, as inauthentic as it may be.

Ingredients

• ¼ cup margarine
• 4 onions, sliced
• 1 tsp sugar
• 1 tbsp flour
• 2½ cups water
• 2½ cups onion broth
• ½ cup red wine
• croutons
• vegan cheese, sliced (Earth Island Mozzarella works well, but I’m looking forward to trying Daiya’s)

Method

1. Melt the margarine in a soup pot. Stir in the sugar. Add the onions and cook until caramelized (about 10 minutes).
2. Stir in the flour until the mix thickens.
3. Add the water, broth and wine. Bring to a boil, then simmer covered for 10 minutes.
4. Ladle the soup into ramekins, placing a single layer or croutons on top, then multiple layers of the sliced cheese
5. Bake at for 10 minutes at 220°C.

Sesame ginger cookies

The following recipe comes from The Veganomicon, my newest of cookbooks.

Dry ingredients

• 2¼ cups flour
• ½ tsp baking powder
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ½ tsp salt
• ½ tsp ground ginger
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon

Wet ingredients

• ½ cup vegetable shortening
• ½ cup chunky peanut butter
• ¼ cup brown rice syrup
• 1¼ cups sugar
• ½ cup soy milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp almond extract

Additional ingredients

• 5 oz. candied ginger, diced finely
• ⅓ cup sesame seeds

Method

1. Sift together the dry ingredients in one bowl.
2. Beat the wet ingredients in another until smooth.
3. Add the dry to the wet.
4. Mix in the candied ginger.
5. Roll small balls of batter first in the sesame seeds, then in some extra sugar before placing on a cookie sheet.
6. Bake at 350°F for 13 minutes.

Pumpkin cheesecake cupcake

Cheesecupcake? Cupcheesecake? Whatever. Delicious. The recipe is loosely based off of the pumpkin tofu cheesecake from La Dolce Vegan, but with necessary substitutions based on ingredient scarcity.

Ingredients

• 425g firm tofu and 300g silken tofu (I was short and used 350g firm tofu and an 8oz tub of Tofutti creamcheese)
• 1¼ cups sugar
• 1 cup pumpkin purée
• ¼ cup flour
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• ½ tsp maple extract (I used about 2 tbsp maple syrup)
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• ½ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp ground ginger (I doubled this as I love ginger)
• ¼ tsp ground cloves
• 1 tbsp maple syrup (Omitted as per above)

The crust was just graham cracker crumbs with a bit of melted margarine and sugar.

Method

1. In a set of about 8 ramekins, crumble the crust into the corners, forming a thin bottom and a reasonable ring around the outside.
2. Blend the above ingredients (wet first, then dry) and pour the smooth mixture into the ramekins, on top of the crumble crust
3. If desired, sprinkle some crumbled pecans, sugar and cinnamon on top. Drizzle some maple syrup if you’d like too. It’s not necessary, but they spice up an otherwise bland surface.
4. Bake for 75 minutes at 150°C then let cool overnight in the fridge.