With Hanukkah and other winter holidays just around the corner, I was thrilled that One Green Planet (OGP) published my latkes recipe from The Blooming Platter Cookbook (TBPC) to which I added a couple of tasty toppings to make them more of a tapas-style meal.
Consider them dressed up for the season!
Find the recipe and a little about their inspiration here.
Thanks OGP for making our holidays and our world just a little greener!
To purchase TBPC, just click on the title in RED above.
The Blooming Platter is honored to be included on Cookstr, which really is the world’s #1 collection of cookbook recipes online!
Here’s what the creators say about Cookstr:
“Cookstr’s mission is to organize the world‘s best cookbooks and recipes and make them universally accessible.
We are setting the standard for innovation in the delivery of 100% trusted, tested, recipes to home cooks around the world. Our online recipe library offers thousands of recipes by hundreds of the top chefs and cookbook authors, that are free for everyone on Cookstr.com. This year alone, Cookstr.com powered recipe searches in over 20,000 cities and 200 countries!”
I invite you to check out The Blooming Platter Cookbook page by clicking here. You’ll find six recipes from the book, complete with full color photographs. My Sage-Scented Fettuccine with Butternut Squash appears to be a big favorite among Cookstr members, and it is certainly one of mine!
If you like what you see, I hope you might consider ordering a copy or two of The Blooming Platter Cookbook for holiday gift-giving–it’s the gift that lasts all year, year after year.
And while you’re at it, I’ll be you’ll want to join Cookstr!
Move over “Black Friday;” some of us favor “Green” when it comes to our holiday shopping!
And if you happen to be one of those people–and I suspect you are–perhaps the blooming platter cookbook would be perfect for someone on your list.
TBPC is truly a gift that lasts all year–year after year– with what has been called “Four Seasons of Yum!”
Note: for local residents, I’ll be signing books at the Eastern Shore Chapel Parish Book Store holiday open house this Saturday, December 3, 10 a.m. to noon. Please join us!
Here my pretty sister-in-law, Terri Ann Lindelow, and “My Pretty Pony,” Huff, visit in our living room in the afternoon before everyone reconvened for the Thanksgiving Feast last night.
Check out Terri Ann’s pretty jewelry here.
As some of you know, though my “day job” is as a high school art teacher, followed closely by cookbook author and blogger, I “moonlight” as a freelance writer. One of my fun monthly gigs is the “DIY Decor” column for the Virginian-Pilot newspaper. It keeps the creative juices flowing, but I accepted the job on one condition: that I not have to do anything so “cutesy” or “crafty”–and definitely not “duck and bunny,” that I wouldn’t have it in my own home or, at the very least, give it to a friend with good, but different, taste than my own! Fortunately, my wonderful editor allows me near complete freedom.
If anyone ever sees me with a Bedazzler in my hand, please tell me to set it down gently and ease away slowly!
I hope you enjoy this month’s column which features cool place card holders made from antique forks, just in time for Thanksgiving. And, so you have plenty of time before the beginning of Advent season, it also features my idea for a quick and clever Advent calendar (though, as my article says, this concept is adaptable to any celebration or holiday in which days are counted and little gifts are given on each of those days).
Many recipes call for making a cashew cream of equal parts cashews and water which I find WAY too thin. These recipes also often call for melted chocolate which is luscious, but fairly high-fat. So, I make mine with cocoa powder and powdered sugar. Try them–you’ll LOVE them.
And, by the way, I hope this post isn’t too late to do you any good for Valentine’s Day tomorrow. This is the earliest I could get it done, so I apologize if you’ve no time left to make a batch. They are ultra quick to prepare and shape, though the mixture does need to chill for about 2-3 hours.
On the other hand, don’t feel you can only indulge on special occasions!
2 cups cashews halves or pieces (raw or roasted and lightly salted; if the latter, the truffles will have that “roasted” flavor and you will be able to taste the salt, but I love salt and sugar together)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1/2 cup water plus up to 1 tablespoon more
optional: 1/2 teaspoon flavoring of choice, e.g. vanilla, rum, hazelnut, etc.
Coating: cocoa powder, colored sugar, very finely chopped nuts, etc. (I used red sugar for the one in the photograph)
24 mini-paper liners in Valentine’s colors/patterns (I purchased mine at a craft store) Line a baking sheet with waxed paper.
Place all ingredients except paper liners, of course, in the bowl of a food processor. Process for a few seconds and then scrape the sides of the bowl. Process the mixture for several minutes or until very smooth, scraping the sides as necessary. Add the additional 1 tablespoon of water, 1 teaspoon at a time, if needed to prevent stressing the motor of your food processor, as this is a very thick mixture. Scrape it into an airtight container and chill for 2 to 3 hours or until it is firm enough to handle very easily. (Believe it or not, the motor of your food processor working will have caused the mixture to warm slightly.) Scoop the mixture into 1-inch balls (I use a small scoop for this task), rolling each one between your palms quickly to shape, and placing it on the prepared baking sheet. Return the sheet to the refrigerator if necessary before coating the candies. Pour the desired coating into a small bowl, quickly roll each truffle in it to cover completely, and place it in a mini-paper liner. Store the truffles in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Package as desired.
Yield: 2 dozen 1-inch truffles
Yield: 8 pancakes
I love Red Velvet everything. Ever since childhood and the first taste of my Aunt Bessie’s signature cake of crimson layers swathed in fluffy white frosting with a Jackson Pollock-style drizzle of bittersweet chocolate, it has been my favorite. As beautiful as it is delicious, I chose it as the groom’s cake for Joe’s and my wedding, and I made an especially baroque one as the wedding cake for our good friends Donna and Art. Plus no one who saw “Steel Magnolias” could forget the Armadillo cake.
Over the years, I’ve created Red Velvet versions of anything I could think of from cookies to shortcakes. I even won a prize in a Better Homes & Gardens recipe contest with one version of the cookies.
Presuming I would create a menu and recipes for a romantic dinner for two for February’s “Veggie Table” column in the Virginian-Pilot, I immediately changed my mind when I learned that Valentine’s Day fell on a Sunday. Instead, I started thinking of family-friendly breakfasts, conceiving of and rejecting several ideas in favor of Red Velvet Pancakes. (But my Vegan “Sausage” and Red Bell Pepper Puff Pastry Heart Tarts would be a delicious savory accompaniment.)
First I conducted a little on-line research and, not surprisingly, there were a number of non-vegan iterations, including some from a couple of California restaurant that folks raved about, but none were right. Either they were pink, were too thin, or had an odd-looking texture. Quite honestly, only one that I found appealed: a very romantic and lovely photo with a recipe on someone’s blog, but they were not vegan. Still, it was the look I was after and I knew it could be done dairyless.
So, I turned to the go-to pancake formula that I developed, complete with some whole grain goodness, and then added the key Red Velvet ingredients. After a couple of adjustments, they were ready to cook and boy-oh-boy, can I just tell you: I ate all four from my photo shoot for breakfast. They are the exact shade of deep red that any self-respecting thing calling itself “Red Velvet” ought to be. And they have the characteristic flavor profile of a slight tanginess and an almost imperceptible, yet undeniable, hint of cocoa. Granted, there is more sugar in this recipe than in most of my pancakes, but it is needed to balance the tartness of the vegan “buttermilk” and the appealing bitterness of the cocoa powder.
I hope you and your loved ones, young or old, enjoy them just as much as I did. Happy Valentine’s Day!
1 ½ cups unsweetened soy milk less 1 ½ tablespoons (plain or vanilla soy milk or lite soy milk would also be good)
1 ½ tablespoons apple cider vinegar or white vinegar
½ cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup self-rising flour
½-3/4 cup granulated sugar
2 tablespoons cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon baking soda
1-1 ounce bottle (2 tablespoons) red food coloring
Vegan butter and/or vegetable oil for frying
Vegan Sour Cream-Maple Syrup (recipe follows)
Optional Garnish: additional vegan sour cream, orange zest, vegan chocolate chips
Optional Sidecar: fresh or frozen thawed fruit
Preheat oven to warm. In a small bowl, whisk together soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. In a medium mixing bowl, place next 6 ingredients. Make a well in the center and pour in soy milk and food coloring. Stir together with a fork until well combined. In a large cast iron skillet or griddle over medium-high heat, melt 1 tablespoon of the vegan butter, oil or a combination. Using a 1/3 cup measure, make pancakes, one at a time if using a skillet, as this batter tends to spread, but it rises nicely. Cook a couple of minutes on the first side until quite a few bubbles appear and the edges appear set. Gently flip and cook another couple of minutes on the reverse. Add butter and/or oil to keep skillet greased as needed. If pancakes are cooking too quickly, lower heat to medium, especially for second side. When cooked through, remove pancakes to plates or a serving platter, keep warm, and repeat with remaining vegan butter and pancake batter. Note: for smaller pancakes that allow you to cook two at a time in a skillet and more on a griddle, use a ¼ cup measure. Serve warm with Vegan Sour Cream-Maple Syrup, an extra dollop of vegan sour cream, and a garnish of a little orange zest and/or a very few vegan chocolate chips, along with a sidecar of fresh or frozen thawed fruit.
Vegan Sour Cream Maple Syrup:
4-6 tablespoon vegan sour cream
4-6 tablespoons pure maple syrup
a squirt of lemon juice (optional)
Whisk together and, if desired, heat gently in microwave for a few seconds. Note: you can make as much syrup as you like; just whisk together equal parts vegan sour cream and syrup and adjust lemon juice accordingly.
Yield: 1 Cheese Ball
This is one of those treats I remember from childhood. It was always a favorite and it always signaled the Christmas holidays. Of course, I haven’t eaten it in MANY, MANY years, but this Christmas when I was home, we stopped over to visit the Crumbleys, some family friends–our parents have known each other since college–and Ann and her chef son, James, had actually made this particular cheese ball. I was filled with nostalgia and determined to clean it up vegan style. It’s a little late for Christmas, but it’s just in time for the Super Bowl!
1-14 ounce box extra firm tofu, drained
juice of one lemon
1 tablespoon Amino Acids
1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar
1 tablespoon light miso
1 tablespoon vegan mayonnaise
1 teaspoon prepared mustard
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon pickling or “corning” spice (grind or crush if some of the spices are whole)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
Season Salt to taste
coarse sea or kosher salt to taste
1 cup toasted chopped pecans
2-4 green onions, thinly sliced
1 small or medium can mushrooms, drained (ordinarily, I would NEVER use canned mushrooms, but they are a key ingredient)–I prefer the medium size can
1 small or medium can sliced black olives (ditto about the canned product)–I prefer the medium size can
Garnish: 1 small bag pecan chips
Puree first 13 ingredients in food processor until smooth, stopping and scraping down bowl as necessary. Transfer to a medium mixing bowl and stir in remaining ingredients, except pecan chips, by hand.
Line a medium sized bowl–as half-spherical in shape as you can find–with plastic wrap. Spoon and press “cheese” mixture firmly into bowl; smooth top. Fold ends of plastic wrap over to cover. Refrigerate several hours or up to a couple of days to allow “cheese” to set and flavors to marry. Fold plastic wrap back from top surface of “cheese” ball, place a serving platter on top, and invert ball onto platter. You may have to tug gently on corners of plastic wrap to help it release. Remove plastic wrap, gently press pecan chips into the surface, and serve with crackers or small toasts.
Yield: 30 candies
I was a fan of York Peppermint Patties in my vegetarian days. Recently, I’ve been coveting the pretty heart-shaped pink variety that Helen Cox, our beloved IB Coordinator, keeps in her candy dish. So, I decided to make her a well-deserved box of vegan ones for an early Valentine’s gift…and, of course, sample a few in the process.
I’m sold! I found a very fine recipe at ChooseVeg.com. The only changes I made were to 1) dry them longer than instructed and flip them during the process; 2) add a little vanilla in addition to the peppermint extract for a more nuanced flavor; and 3) spread chocolate on the top of each patty, rather than dipping them, as dipping can be hit-or-miss for me in the make-a-mess department. I also think they’d look snazzy drizzled with the chocolate Jackson Pollock-style.
Oh-so-pretty in pink, these can also be tinted green for Christmas or even St. Patty’s Day. To give as gifts, layer them between pieces of waxed paper in a colored tissue paper-lined box, tied with a ribbon.
4 tablespoons vegan butter, softened (I use Earth Balance)
1/3 cup light corn syrup
two drops of red or green food coloring
4 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 teaspoon peppermint extract
1/4-1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 ounces semi-sweet or bittersweet vegan chocolate
Line baking sheet with waxed or parchment paper or Silpat. Cream together first three ingredients. Beat in powdered sugar, 1/2-1 cup at a time, then beat in extracts until mixture is uniform in color, very smooth and quite stiff, but not in danger of cracking. Using a very small scoop, make 30 balls a couple of inches apart on lined baking sheet. With the oiled bottom of a glass, press balls into a disk about 2-inches in diameter. (Using two fingers, hold down the baking sheet liner as you lift the glass away to help prevent sticking.) Let patties dry, uncovered, in a cool place for 2 or more hours. When fairly firm, flip patties to help dry the other side. Melt chocolate at 30 second intervals in a small bowl in the microwave or over simmering water on the stove top. Whisk between intervals until very smooth. Allow to cool somewhat, but remain spreadable. Spread tops of each patty with 1/2 teaspoon or so of chocolate, or drizzle decoratively across surface, Jackson Pollock style. Allow to dry/harden a couple more hours in a cool place and then refrigerate for a few more before packaging. Note: you may add sprinkles or other decorations while chocolate is still soft. I like the minimalist approach, but I think it looks nice to choose a few to embellish, sort of like Harry and David includes one gold foil-wrapped pear in each of their gift boxes.
Source: Slightly adapted from ChooseVeg.com
