November 5, 2013November 5, 2013 by betsy

Blooming Platter “Vegan Q & A Tuesday” with Caryn Hartglass + Caryn’s Vegan Baked Potato Pancakes (Latkes) Recipe

Based on Inside the Actor’s Studio host’s James Lipton’s famous “Q & A”–after the Proust Questionnaire–“Vegan Q & A Tuesday” is The Blooming Platter’s first Tuesday feature on a creative force in the vegan culinary world. Read more about “Q & A Tuesday” HERE.

Featured Force:

Caryn Hartglass

[See below for link to Caryn’s Vegan Baked Potato Pancakes (Latkes) recipe.]

Caryn Hartglass is the founder of Responsible Eating And Living (REAL) a nonprofit organization that combines science with practical knowledge from real life experiences to help people understand the affects of food choices on health and environment. Prior to REAL, Ms. Hartglass was Executive Director of EarthSave International. She has appeared on Dr. Oz, Geraldo At Large, 20-20 and CNN, and hosts the weekly IT’S ALL ABOUT FOOD show on the Progressive Radio Network. Ms. Hartglass, with Bachelor and Masters degrees in Chemical Engineering from Bucknell University, worked in the semiconductor industry for 20 years. A classically trained singer, she has performed in opera and musicals in the United States and abroad and has won two international voice competitions (France, South Africa).

More about Caryn, her nonprofit REAL, her radio show and her newest project The Swingin’ Gourmets can be found at the links below:

http://CarynHartglass.com

http://ResponsibleEatingAndLiving.com

http://prn.fm/shows/lifestyle-shows/its-all-about-food

http://SwinginGourmets.com

1. What is your favorite culinary word?

Aroma. I love returning home and smelling the aroma of the previous meal, the pleasant fragrance of teas, baked goods, soups, whatever has been prepared. I love the delicious smells while cooking – caramelized onions, a whiff of herbs and spices. Our neighbors always tell us they are envious of the aromas coming out from our apartment.

2. What is your least favorite culinary word?

Deboning! As someone who has not eaten animals in over 25 years, this term is unpleasant on so many levels. Just visualizing the process, I wonder how anyone could do it without thinking about who they are doing it to.

3. What about cooking turns you on?

Creating beautiful, delicious, nourishing, health-promoting dishes that people enjoy eating.

4. What about cooking turns you off?

Appliances that are supposed to be convenient with bad tasting results, like the Keurig Coffee and Tea Makers. I’ll take a French press and a tea pot any day.

5. What sound or noise in the kitchen or around the dinner table do you love?

The silence of people focused on eating something delicious. It’s best when there has been a lot of wonderful conversation, a dish is served and everything goes quiet.

6. What sound or noise in the kitchen or around the dinner table do you hate?

Complaining. I don’t like hearing people complain – about anything.

7. What makes you curse in the kitchen?

I move quickly in the kitchen, sometimes too quickly. I am very annoyed with myself when I skip a step or leave out an ingredient.

8. What cooking profession other than your own would you like to attempt?

Food manufacturing. My partner Gary and I are always talking about vegan products we would like to manufacture.

9. What cooking profession would you not like to do?

Working in a fast food, chain restaurant, (not vegan of course!) serving burgers, soda, greasy fries, junk food.

10. If heaven exists, what would you like to hear God say when you arrive at the pearly gates?

“You were right, it is all about food!”

Vegan Baked Potato Pancakes (Latkes), gluten-free

Just in time for Chanukah or “Thanksgivikah” since Chanukah and Thanksgiving fall on the same day this year, I offer one of my very favorite recipes, Baked Potato Pancakes. I am not a religious person but I love holidays and holiday foods. We’ve been making potato pancakes in my family for decades. First I figured out how to make them vegan, without eggs. Then I learned how to make them gluten-free. And finally I came up with a great way to may them without frying them and using all that oil! This recipe is so good I made a food show on how to make them. Recipe and food show video can be found HERE.

October 16, 2013October 16, 2013 by betsy

Vegan Savory Mexican Black Bean Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Frosting Made Go Dairy Free’s “Big List of Ghoulishly Good Dairy-Free Halloween Recipes” for 2013!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA I am so excited for my Vegan Savory Mexican Black Bean Cupcakes with Sweet Potato Frosting to have made “The Big List of Ghoulishly Good Dairy-Free Halloween Recipes” for 2013 on the Go Dairy Free website!

I created this recipe last Halloween and I’ve never run across anything else like it before or since. Beautiful, but simple, these savory cupcakes are like eating your deliciously moist sides and bread all in one festive little package.

For the rest of the list of beverages, snacks, savories, and sweets, click HERE.

Happy Halloween!

March 15, 2013 by betsy

Vegan Grasshopper Pie–Happy St. Pat’s Day!

Vegan Grasshopper Pies are a varied lot. Refrigerated, frozen, made from mint ice cream…made from spinach(!), they cover the gamut.

My brand new recipe created in celebration of St. Pat’s Day is as much like the traditional icebox pie as I could make it, complete we Creme de Menthe and Creme de Cacao (don’t worry: both are vegan!).

Click over to One Green Planet–how appropriate!–right HERE for the delicious recipe!

Happy St. Pat’s Day!

December 22, 2012December 22, 2012 by betsy

Beautiful Holiday Dessert: Vegan Apple, Pear and Dried Apricot Crisp with Chai-Scented Streusel Topping

Yield: 8 servings (easily halves)

My fellow vegan cookbook author friend, the gifted and generous Bryanna Clark Grogan, mentioned making an apple crisp to take to a friend–along with a lasagna!–in a recent email. I told her that I rarely allow myself to make crisps, cobblers and such, as I don’t know when to stop eating them. They just go down so easily with their tender filling and crunchy topping.

But, alas, she “planted the seed” and I couldn’t resist, especially since I had all of the ingredients on hand, and since Hurricane Sandy was pelting our coast at the time making venturing outside unappealing at best. I had inadvertently neglected to post it back then, but decided to now, as I think it would make a beautiful and welcome addition to your holiday table.

Lately I’ve seen several recipes for chai-flavored this and that, which sounded perfect for this cool and drizzly day. So, I decided that my Crisp’s streusel-like topping would be infused with all of those warm chai spices, including the somewhat surprising black pepper. I found my ratio of spices quite delectable, but feel free to experiment, as proportions vary widely, at least in the recipes I consulted, so that I ultimately decided to create my own.

Wow! The aroma in our kitchen was particularly inviting! I think you’ll love the tanginess and slight chewiness of the dried apricots playing off of the otherwise creamy and sweet–but not too sweet–apple and pear filling. And the gentle heat of the black pepper is perfect in the mix.

Enjoy with vegan vanilla ice cream or your favorite vegan whipped “cream”! I would love for you to try my “invention” of Vegan Whipped “Cream” published in November by VegNews (thanks VN food editors!). It is unlike anything else I’ve seen published in print or online. Very exciting…and you will love it. Just be sure to “whip it good”! (Bryanna was my co-tester for this recipe and when she gives something a “thumb’s up,” you KNOW it’s the best.)

I hope you have the bloomin’ best holiday ever!

2 tablespoons olive oil (you may substitute vegan butter, but there is a fair amount of vegan butter in the topping)

2 large apples (any sweet-tart variety recommended for cooking), stemmed, cored, and cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch pieces

2 small pears, stemmed, cored, and cut into 1/2 to 3/4-inch pieces

1/4 cup natural sugar

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

Pinch of sea salt

1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (about a 1/4-inch dice)

1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Chai-Scented Streusel Topping (recipe follows)

Accompaniments: vegan vanilla ice cream or vegan whipped “cream”

Oil 8 1/2-cup ramekins, place them on a baking sheet, and set aside. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large cast iron skillet set over medium-high, heat olive oil to shimmering. Add apples, pears, sugar, lemon juice, and a pinch of salt. Saute, stirring frequently, for about 3 minutes, or until tender and just starting to break down. Add apricots and cook, stirring, one minute more. Turn off the heat and stir in flour just until well-incorporated. Divide the mixture evenly among ramekins and top with Chai-Scented Streusel by breaking it into small moist clumps almost completely covering the top surface of the filling. Place the tray of filled ramekins on the center rack of the oven and bake for 20 minutes or until filling is bubbly and streusel is golden brown. Remove the pan from the oven and cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving accompanied by ice cream or whipped “cream.”

For the Chai-Scented Streusel Topping:

3/4 cup unbleached all purpose flour

Optional: 1/2 cup old fashioned oats (I didn’t have any or I would have added)

2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground allspice

1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground cloves

1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

1/2 cup natural sugar

1/2 cup pecan pieces

1/2 cup vegan butter

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium-size bowl. Break butter into pieces and work into dry ingredients with your fingers until well-combined. Avoid over-working or butter will melt from the heat of your hands.

December 18, 2012December 19, 2012 by betsy

The Blooming Platter All Girls 12th Annual “Christmas, Chanukah, Curry & Cakes 2012”–Vegan Hors d’ouevres and Holiday Swap

12/12/12 marked the eve of the 12 anniversary of my annual “Christmas, Chanukah, Curry & Cakes” party. That’s a lot of twelves!

Each year, about 20 or more (not 12) of my “peeps” gather at Joe’s and my home on the second Wednesday of December for some holiday cheer. For ten years, the format was a veg curry dinner–with lots of fun toppings–and gifts for all. Nobody was complaining…quite the opposite: it was a much-anticipated get-together.

But, last year, I decided to shake things up a bit by hosting the annual fete as a “swap” of new or gently used items no longer needed or wanted. It was such a hit–we all got so much holiday swapping done!–that I did it again this year and probably for the next ten! You can read all about last year’s party, including simple directions for hosting your own swap and the vegan menu with some dishes from The Blooming Platter Cookbook, HERE.

For this year, I changed all but one dish–the Indian Saag Dip–to create the following menu:

*Indian Saag Dip with Rice Crackers

Roasted Pumpkin with Pepita-Sage Pesto

(served with toothpicks)

The Blooming Platter Tofu Egg Salad with Melba Toast Rounds

*Brie with Red Grape Chutney atop “Everything” Crackers

**Red Velvet Shortbread Cookies with Dark Chocolate Drizzle & Sugar Pearls

Organic Cava

*From The Blooming Platter Cookbook (Note: I didn’t wrap the brie in pastry and bake it. Rather, I spread the chilled “cheese” on a serving platter and topped it with a different chutney than that in my cookbook. For a similar result, you could substitute red grapes in the recipe in the cookbook recipe.)

**This delicious and simple recipe is not yet posted–sorry!

December 17, 2012December 17, 2012 by betsy

My Friend Bryanna Clark Grogan’s Homemade Vegan Palm Oil-Free “Buttah” is Perfect for Holiday Baking

If this week finds you firing up the oven for some last minute holiday baking, as it has me (Vegan Red Velvet Shortcake Cookies anyone?), I recommend that you try homemade vegan palm oil-free “Buttah” created by my new friend-across-the-miles and fellow Vegan Heritage Press cookbook author, Bryanna Clark Grogan (World Vegan Feast and others).

It cooks up and bakes up beautifully! Heck, it even freezes well. So make a double batch and freeze half. Find the back story, the eco-rationale, and the recipe HERE, on Bry’s blog.

I am preparing tins of the aforementioned cookies (so pretty with a dark chocolate drizzle and sugar pearls) and Vegan Smoked Paprika and Garlic Roasted Pumpkin Seeds (with Nutritional Yeast) for students, a couple of friends, and my freelance clients. The Pepitas, especially, should come with a warning! A recipient of the first batch on Saturday night texted me a photo Sunday morning of him eating them by the spoonful saying, “It’s all over but the shouting now!”

On a more serious note…Sunday night, I made dinner and a tin of the Pepitas for a good friend who, sadly, is battling stage 3 breast cancer and has been advised against soy since her cancer is estrogen positive. (This is somewhat controversial in medical and health circles, but she is following her doctor’s advice for now.) Though there is a soy-free Earth Balance vegan butter, I didn’t have any, so I made the recipe with olive oil instead of butter and bumped up the amount of spices and nutritional yeast. Delicious! So, if you or anyone you know is avoiding soy, know that olive oil is a more than respectable substitute.

Get your baking on with Bry’s Buttah!

December 8, 2012December 8, 2012 by betsy

Vegan Winter Holiday Recipes Abound in The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA — Vegan Indian Saag Dip from The Blooming Platter Cookbook

Are you in need of accessible, but creative holiday recipes that you won’t find anywhere else? If so–and who isn’t!–look no further than The Blooming Platter Cookbook.

My12th Annual Christmas, Chanukah, Curry & Cakes party is this Wednesday and I plan to pull out my copy of The Blooming Platter Cookbook, make my menu and shopping list this weekend, and begin the preparations for this beloved gathering.

I used to host the party as a vegan curry buffet dinner with gifts for about 20 dear friends. But last year, I changed it to a “Swap” with vegan curried hors d’oeuvres conducive to browsing. It was such a hit, that I decided to host a Swap again this year.

Click HERE for a fun look at last year’s party, including the menu and a description of my foolproof approach to hosting this type of event where guests bring unused or gently used home & garden items, clothing, accessories, and art to swap with each other. Ours even ended up benefiting charity, not only through the few leftover items I donated, but through cash that guests used to purchase items when their tokens ran out!

While they shopped, my guests enjoyed, among other things, these dishes all from The Blooming Platter Cookbook:

Bloomin’ Broccoli Dip

Curried Cous-Cous

Indian Saag Dip

Lavender Shortbread Cookies

The Blooming Platter Cookbook also makes a great gift…but not just for vegans! Anyone who loves fresh, inventive food will find “4 Seasons of Yum!”

As always, while I encourage buyers to support their local booksellers, Amazon is offering some incredible deals right now.

December 2, 2012December 2, 2012 by betsy

The Blooming Platter Gets Crafty–Cool and Contemporary Ceiling Medallion Wreath

I may have mentioned before that I am an accidental DIY columnist for the Virginian-Pilot. (Do you remember the book and move, The “Accidental Tourist?)

Don’t get me wrong: I love conceiving of each month’s project and sharing it with readers. It’s just that I am not the crafty type at all. So my rule to myself is that I will only present ideas–and I’ve been writing this column for well over a year–that I would not be embarrassed to have in our home or to give as a gift. So far so good.

This month’s is one of my favorites.

Essentially, I spray-painted a plastic ceiling medallion from Home Depot silver using an inexpensive paint that bonds to plastic.

Then, using a white paint pen, I painted white dots on each of the beads that create the relief border in order to complement the white polka dots in the narrow orange ribbon.

And finally, I made and tied together two bows. The charcoal gray one was made out of wired ribbon. I tied the bow so that there was one short and one long tail and I knotted these tails together–concealing the knot behind the bow–to make a loop from which to suspend the wreath from an over-the-door style wreath hanger. Easy-peasy!

The whole enterprise, including hanger, cost about $47. But, I have lots of silver paint leftover, in addition to the paint pen, some of the orange and white polka dot ribbon, and the reusable wreath hanger.

If, like me, you favor a minimalist aesthetic, then this may be the wreath for you. If, on the other hand, you are a fan of over-the-top holiday decorations, you could start with this basic idea and then embellish to your heart’s content using ornaments and an adhesive that will withstand the elements if you plan to hang it outdoors.

My holiday mantra is: “Simplify without sacrificing.” But yours should be whatever you want!

December 1, 2012December 1, 2012 by betsy

The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes (for ALL Seasons–even the heart of winter!)

Whether you are continuing your holiday shopping from Black Friday and Cyber Monday or just getting started, I would like to humbly suggest–with no pressure at all–that The Blooming Platter Cookbook: A Harvest of Seasonal Vegan Recipes might make a perfect gift for the plant-powered person in your life!

With “Four Seasons of YUM!” as someone once said, it really is the gift that will give all year… for many years. Each chapter of appetizers, sandwiches, soups and much more is sub-divided into the four seasons with beautiful icons in the top corner of the pages, so it is a cinch to find delicious and nutritious dishes for every meal of the day regardless of the month of the year.

Beautiful things can bloom on your platter even in the coldest winter months, say:

White Bean and Pesto Tart

Roasted Cauliflower Salad with Mustard Vinaigrette

Pear, Walnut and “Blue Cheese” Sandwiches

Sage-Scented Fettuccine with Butternut Squash

Burgundy Poached Pears with Rosemary-Scented Onions

Pear-Rum Cupcakes with Tea-infused Buttercream Frosting

Grits and Greens with Mushroom Gravy

I would love to see you support your local bookseller, but Amazon is running sale…If you live in the local area, I am happy to meet up with you to personalize your book. But if you live far away, I am happy to personalize and sign a custom-designed bookplate and mail it to you or the book recipient.

Thank you for your support of The Blooming Platter; here’s wishing you and yours a lovely start to the holiday season!

~betsy d.

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Category: Vegan Holiday