Berry Bread Pudding


This is an amazingly simple, dinner-guest-worthy dessert that's actually quite healthy.  It's loaded with mixed berries, whole grain bread, and your choice of soy / rice / almond milk. The only sweetener is some maple syrup and a couple tablespoons of organic cane sugar, and for the volume of dessert this recipe makes I think the sugar is a non-issue.  And c'mon, it is dessert after all!

Prep time: 10 minutes

ingredients:
  • 2 cups frozen berries (I use PC brand 4-berry mix)
  • 1 cup either dried or frozen cranberries, both work equally well
  • 4 cups, slightly packed, cubed whole grain bread (roughly 7 slices)
  • 2 cups soy / rice / almond milk, vanilla flavour if you have it on hand
  • 1/4 cup + 1 Tbsp maple syrup
  • 2 Tbsp organic cane sugar
  • 3 1/2 Tbsp arrowroot powder or corn starch 
  • 1/2 - 1 cup slivered almonds and walnut pieces
  • 2 - 4 Tbsp maple syrup (depending on how many nuts you use)
  • vanilla or almond extract
  • Optional: 1 - 2 Tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl combine and mix well: berries, bread, "milk", maple syrup, sugar, arrowroot powder or corn starch, and optional lemon juice.

Pour into a baking or casserole dish and pat down with a spoon.

Combine nuts, remaining maple syrup, and extract in a small bowl and sprinkle over top of the pudding, leaving 1/4" air space around the edge for steam to escape.

Bake, uncovered, 45 minutes

Allow to cool for an hour at room temperature before serving.



Vegetable Pot Pie with Daiya Vegan Cheese


This is a fairly basic veggie pot pie recipe, but the addition of wonderful Daiya vegan cheese makes it a step way above the ordinary.  I used to make veggie pot pies years ago, but there was no vegan cheese on the market that I would put anywhere near my mouth, so though the pies were tasty, they were really just a bunch of vegetables in a crust.  Well, hello Daiya!!  Daiya vegan cheese will spike up any meal giving dishes that restaurant-made quality.  You can buy it at any Whole Foods in North America, plus a wide, wide variety of other natural grocers.  For a listing of where to buy near you just click here for their locator page.

Note on amount of vegetables to use:  Use as many as will fill up whatever size pie dish you have, so you kind of have to eyeball the amount. My theory is it's better to have too much than too little.  I have a very deep pie dish as well, so all my veggies almost filled up a 4 liter cooking pot (see photo below).

ingredients:
  • 1 double layer pie crust; either store bought or home made
  • 2 - 3 average sized potatoes, cubed
  • 3 medium carrots, chopped
  • a variety of veggies, whatever you have on hand (I used 1 small zucchini, green beans, peas, corn, mushrooms, broccoli florets and stem chopped up)
  • 1 head red or green chard or large bunch spinach, chopped
  • 2 - 3 cups vegetable broth (from cooking the veggies, see method below)
  • herbs of your choice (I used Italian herbs, but cumin & garlic is good too)
  • cornstarch or flour
  • 1/2 bouillon cube
  • 1 package Daiya vegan cheese (you may not use the whole package, depends how cheesy you want it)
method:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

If using pre-made pie shells, thaw and place into pie dish.  If making from scratch, make the crust while the veggies are cooking and line the pie dish with the bottom layer crust.

Cook chard or spinach in a pot with about 1 cup water.

In another pot, a large one, cook the remaining chopped veggies in about 2 cups water until about half done.

Prepare your pie crust if making from scratch and line pie dish with bottom crust.

When veggies are done strain them over a bowl so that you reserve the liquid.  Strain the chard / spinach separately as it is used as a topping layer at the end, make sure to reserve the broth from the chard / spinach as well.

Transfer veggies to a large bowl, set chard aside.

Pour the reserved broth into one of the used cooking pots, put on low heat and add 1/2 bouillon cube and herbs & spices.  Add cornstarch (about 1 Tbsp) or flour (about 2 - 3 Tbsp) and mix well, until sauce thickens a bit.

Pour sauce over veggies and stir to combine.

Spread a handful or two of Daiya vegan cheese in the bottom of the pie dish.  Pour all the veggies over top and top with cooked chard / spinach.  Add some more Daiya over top, the amount is up to you.

Place the top pie shell over everything and seal up as best you can.  Make a few small holes in the top shell for venting.

Bake 45 minutes, or until crust is slightly browned.

Let cool a bit before serving.  I make pot pies in the afternoon if I have time, then leave them in the warm oven until dinner and they're just the perfect temperature. 


brownies with chocolate icing


Who doesn't love a great brownie?  I just made this recipe for the first time today and am pleased with how it turned out. However, I personally love really dense, gooey brownies and this came out a bit more cake-like.  The original recipe calls for more granulated sugar and no agave nectar, so I think next time I make this I will use 1 cup brown sugar instead of 1/2 and scrap the agave nectar.  I'll also take it out at exactly 25 minutes; it still felt pretty "wet" so I left it in an extra 5 minutes and I believe this is what really made the difference.

The icing on these brownies is just an adaptation of a truffle recipe I have on this site and is the absolute bomb for brownie or any cake icing.  The recipe for the icing is at the very bottom.

Yield: This recipe fills a 9" x 13" pan, so how many brownies exactly depends on how you cut it up!

ingredients:

  • 2 cups flour (I use 1 1/2 white, 1/2 whole wheat)
  • 1 cup organic cane sugar
  • 1/2 cup brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup (slightly heaped) vegan cocoa powder
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 3/4 tsp salt
  • 1 cup soy / rice / almond beverage (can use choc. flavour if you have on hand)
  • 1/2 cup light vegetable oil
  • 1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened
  • 1/4 cup agave nectar
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips 
  • 1/3 cup walnuts or pecans (optional)
method:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Prepare a 9" x 13" pan:  "Grease" the sides with Earth Balance and lay parchment paper on the bottom of the pan.

Combine the flour, sugars, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt in a large bowl.  Mix with a whisk until thoroughly combined.

Remove 1 Tablespoon of the oil and pour into a small saucepan along with the chocolate chips.

In a small bowl combine the "milk" beverage, remaining oil, Earth Balance, agave nectar and vanilla extract.  Mix until well combined.

Place the saucepan on the stove on low heat and melt the chocolate chips.  Be careful not to burn them.

While the chips are melting, pour the "milk" mixture into the dry ingredients, and mix just a bit, then add the melted chocolate chips and thoroughly mix the batter, adding in the nuts at this point.

Batter will be thick and wet.

Pour into pan and bake 25 - 30 minutes.  They are done when the top feels a bit firm and springs back under your touch.

Let cool before cutting and eating.

Make the frosting once the brownies come out of the oven and then spread on top right away.  You can cool the whole shebang in the fridge if you like for a faster set.

frosting:
  • 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
  • 1 Tablespoon oil
  • 1/3 cup cashews
  • 1/3 cup water
Add cashews and water to a blender and blend until very smooth and creamy. Pour into a small bowl.

Add oil and chocolate chips to a small saucepan and set on low heat.  Stir until melted, then transfer to cashew blend and combine really well using a fork.