Cooking the Candle 79 Cookbook

Home-Style Pancakes

At 7.45 am the food co-op was already so packed with Thanksgiving shoppers that it took me 25 minutes to get through the check-out line. I thought I was being smart by getting there early. Me and all of the rest of Park Slope.
On the upside, I worked up an appetite and came home to make pancakes. My first vegan pancakes. They didn't have as much spring to them as non-vegan, and I actually liked them better. My German mother only ever made crepes when I was growing up, and these seem like the perfect middle ground between those, and the fluffy American pancakes that V. grew up with. Completely delicious!! (Recipe is on page 134).
Neither one of us was crazy about the idea of mixing blueberries into soy butter, as called for in the recipe. Instead, I cooked 1 bag of frozen blueberries with 1 cup of maple syrup and we poured that on top (well, not all of it). Yum! And we can eat the left-over sauce over ice-cream!
Also, feline supervision helps, if you can get it.

Spiced Apple-Plum Jam

This weekend we still had apples left from apple picking. They really needed to be used or thrown out, so I made jam. It was my first time, and I almost talked myself out of it because it seemed intimidating to sterilize jars, and I have heard so many stories of my mom's friends trying to make jam and having it turn out way too runny. As with everything kitchen related though, you just have to do a little research and follow instructions, and it turns out to be perfectly simple. We also had some prunes left from making plum cake, so I combined the two fruits and added some spices. It's great for afternoon tea with scones, especially when it's cold outside.

Spiced Apple-Plum Jam

Fresh prunes, cut in half and de-stoned

Apples, peeled, cored and cut into pieces

How much fruit you use really depends on how much you want to peel and chop. I don't peel the plums, because it's a royal pain in the butt, and because I think the skins add a little texture to the finished product that's perfectly good. I used about 1/3 plums and 2/3 apples, which is a good ratio for a firmer consistency jam.

For every 2 lbs of fruit, I used:

2 cinnamon sticks

1 tsp. ground ginger

1/4 tsp. ground cloves

1 cup of sugar or more (this depends on how sweet you like it, and you just have to taste it as it cooks)

I put everything in a big pot and let it cook down, on low heat, stirring occasionally. I had some pectin handy, but it turned out that I didn't need it. The jam came out the consistency of chunky apple sauce, so it was fine. If you like it a little firmer, you could add some pectin, following the instructions on the package.

While the jam cooks, wash the jars well and put them in the oven at 235 degrees for 20 minutes. Leave them in the oven, so that they are hot when you put in the jam (this will prevent the glass from cracking). Wipe any jam from the rims and then screw the lids on tightly. 

This is all I did. I let everything cool and then refrigerated the jam.

If you are making a huge amount and are worried about spoilage, you can submerge the filled jam jars in boiling water for 5 minutes. I only made 3 jars, which I knew were getting eaten soon, so I didn't bother.

Vegan Pumpkin Apple Crumb Muffins

We still have copious amounts of apples. So I made these muffins to bring to work. Used up maybe 4 apples. Will have to make more. 

The recipe is from the ppk, with my addition of apples and a crumb topping. 

They are moist. People ate 2 or 3 each. You could easily make several batches and have no leftovers.

This recipe makes 12 muffins.

Pumpkin Apple Crumb Muffins

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cup sugar

1 tblsp. baking powder

a pinch of salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp allspice

1/8 tsp cloves

1 cup pureed pumpkin (canned is fine, but don't use pumpkin pie mix)

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil (I used olive....didn't affect the flavor)

2 tblsp. molasses

4 apples, peeled, cored and chopped

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 cup brown sugar

4 tblsp.vegan butter (Earth Balance)

Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a muffin tin.

In a bowl, mix together the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together the pumpkin, soy milk, oil, and molasses. Mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. 

Put a tablespoon of batter into each muffin tin. Add a few pieces of apple on top of each. Cover with another tablespoon of batter. 

Using your hands, cream together the butter, sugar and flour. Form it into coarse crumbs and sprinkle on top of each muffin.

Bake 18-20 minutes, or until a skewer comes out clean.

Cherry Scones!

 

There is nothing better than sleeping over at someone's house and waking up to them baking something for breakfast.  I know, because I have several friends who are very good at whipping up waffles and muffins and biscuits when I come to visit. So when V's mother came to stay with us for the weekend, I decided to pass along the fresh baked morning goodness karma, and made some cherry scones.

They are Nigella Lawson's recipe, with cherries thrown in. Raisins would be good too. Or chocolate chips. Or nuts. Or all of the above! 

I love that this recipe doesn't have a lot of sugar in it, and none sprinkled on top, so you can be more generous with the jam of your liking, without it being overpowering.

Oh, and that's grandma's old cake plate right there. She turned 95 yesterday and she's almost blind, so she doesn't do a lot of baking anymore (actually, I'm not sure if she ever did). She gave it to me last Christmas and we've been using it a lot. Thanks grandma!

Cherry Scones

3 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. salt

2tsp. baking soda

4 1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

1/4 cup unsalted butter

2 tsp. vegetable shortening

1 1/3 cup milk

1 egg, beaten for egg-wash

1 1/2 cups dried cherries

 

Bring some water to a boil and soak the dried cherries.

Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees.

In a bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda and cream of tartar. Cut the butter and shortening into pieces and work them into the flour mixture with your fingers. Drain the cherries, and add them. along with the milk. Mix very, very briefly.

Knead on a floured surface until it all holds together well.

Roll the dough into even sized balls (they will expand in the oven). Or you can roll out the dough and use a large, fluted cookie cutter to cut more regular shapes. 

Place on a sheet pan with parchment. Brush the tops with the egg-wash. 

Bake for about 10 minutes, until they are golden.

If possible, eat them right away. They will still be good if toasted the next day though!

Shiitake I can't believe it's not Bacon!

Sometimes a vegetarian gets a craving for bacon. So she goes to the store (or the alternative New York diner that caters to vegetarians .... Curly's on 14th St., or Dizzy's in Park Slope come to mind) and gets some tempeh bacon, or some other kind of soy product that's supposed to simulate pork. And no matter how long you fry it, it ends up just being this limp strip of salty soy, that may taste ok, but doesn't satisfy any kind fo craving.
A few weeks ago, my friend took me to Sun in Bloom, which is a fantastic vegan cafe here in Park Slope, where I wish I could eat three meals a day! It's that good! And I ordered an avocado sandwich, and it came with shiitake bacon. Now, I've worked in a vegan restaurant for 5 years and I do a lot of recipe searching, but this delicious morsel completely slipped by me.
Well, I googled the recipe. It was developed by chef Elliot Prag at the Natural Gourmet cooking school, and it turns out to be the easiest thing to make. So I ran to the co-op, bought a huge bag of shiitake mushrooms and made bacon!! I swear it comes closer to the real thing than you can possibly imagine! It's crispy, it's fatty, it's salty! The perfect food!
A huge bag ends up making not very much. V. and I planned on saving some for sandwiches and salad, but then we picked a little off the sheet pan to taste. And then it was all gone. Oops!


Shiitake Bacon


shiitake mushroom caps (you can't buy too many)
olive oil
sea salt


Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Slice, or chop the mushroom caps into pieces (not too tiny, because they shrink a lot). In a bowl, toss with olive oil (the mushrooms soak up the oil, so give it a good drizzle, without drenching them). Spread out evenly on a sheet pan. Sprinkle generously with sea salt.
Bake for about 1 hour, tossing with a spatula, every 15 minutes or so.
When the mushrooms are crispy, remove from the oven and cool. 
They will keep in an airtight container for a few days, if you have that kind of self-control.

Favorite breakfast

Talk about eating the rainbow!
This has been my breakfast all summer, and I'm going to miss it a lot when the variety of fruits is no longer available (any day now).
Banana, peach, kiwi, raspberries, papaya, orange, grapefruit and raisins. With a tiny splash of dark rum. Just for flavor!
That's at least 7 or 8 servings of fruit, which is a lot for breakfast, and a lot of sugar. But it's better than a jelly doughnut breakfast! And I do try to share with V., but he picks out the raspberries and leaves me the rest.

Crustless Quiche

Baked omelette, potato-less frittata...? Whatever you want to call it, it makes for a delightful breakfast. I made this for 2 of us and we had way too much left over, so I recommend making it if you have guests over (or if you have a big family, or neighbors that appreciate you coming over with a random plate of cooked eggs).
Pre-cook your favorite veggies (I sauteed mushrooms, carrots, onions and collard greens). Whisk 4 eggs with 1 1/2 cups milk of your choice. Spread the veggies out in a tart pan. Pour the eggs over the top. Cook for 30-40 minutes at 375 degrees. The outsides will be well done but the center will be softer.

Orange Hazelnut Waffles with Raspberry Sauce

I know, I know, we just had waffles. But I'm telling you about these anyway, because they were delicious, and breakfast is the most important meal after all, and you can really never have too many waffles! Also, this was the only meal I've made in the last two weeks, and I feel like I should honor that momentous achievement with a post!
We've been exploring Brooklyn lately, so we've had several of our meals there, all of them excellent, which will warrant their own blog entry sometime soon.

For the waffles, I made a variation of Alton Brown's pancake mix, and stored the leftovers in the fridge for the next batch (it keeps for at least 3 months). If you're not a fan of hazelnuts, these can easily be made with only AP flour. I also used ghee (clarified butter), which, I think, intensified the flavors, but regular butter would have been fine. The raspberry sauce was amazing, but almost too much of a good thing (because it added two more strong flavors, raspberries and maple syrup), so we ate the second batch with just syrup. A little tempeh bacon on the side...hooray for weekend brunch!

Waffle Mix

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 cups hazelnut flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1 1/2 tsp. baking powder

pinch of salt

Orange Hazelnut Waffles

2 eggs, separated

2 cups buttermilk (made by mixing 2 cups of milk with 2 tablespoons of vinegar)

4 tblsp. ghee or butter, melted and cooled

2-3 cups waffle mix

2 tblsp. honey

1/4 cup orange juice

peel of 2 organic oranges

a swig of orange liquor, such as cointreau (optional)

Mix the egg yolks with the melted butter. Whisk together the buttermilk and the egg whites. Combine the 2 mixtures and whisk in the waffle mix, until lumps disappear. The batter should thickly coat a spoon, so you have to eyeball the amount of dry ingredients you add. Mix in the honey, orange juice, peel and liquor (if using).

Cook in waffle iron as directed by manufacturer.

Raspberry Sauce

Melt 1-2 cups of frozen raspberries in a pot over low heat. When warm, add as much maple syrup as desired. Done.

Birthday Pumpkin Waffles

Recently we celebrated Ryland's 4th birthday, and as per his request I made Pumpkin Waffles for his celebratory breakfast!

2 cups flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbl cornstarch (I use arrowroot)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2 large eggs, separated
1 3/4 cups milk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 Tbl melted butter (I've sometimes used oil)
3/4 cup chopped nuts

Combine flour, sugar, cornstarch, baking powder, cinnamon, salt, ginger and nutmeg in a large bowl. Combine egg yolks, milk and pumpkin in a medium bowl and mix well. Add wet ingredients to the flour mixture. Stir in the melted butter or oil. Beat egg whites in a small bowl until soft peaks from. Gently fold them into the batter mix.

Preheat waffle iron according to manufacturer's directions. Pour in batter and generously sprinkle with nuts (I've discovered that many kids do not like nuts in their waffles, so I do the first half of the batch without this step, then add the nuts to the second half).

Delicious served with yoghurt and pumpkin maple sauce - which I make by mixing pumpkin puree with cinnamon, adding maple syrup and heating on the stove top.

Ryland obviously THOROUGHLY enjoys these:-)

Granola

We're big granola eaters in this family - I love it as an evening snack when I'm feeling peckish, and now that Jamie has to get up so early on the days he drives into work, he likes a meal that he can bring along with him and eat once he arrives in the office. We haven't found a brand that we like in the grocery stores, so have been experimenting with homemade ones. We quickly discovered that we don't like granola made with molasses, so have scratched those recipes from our list - and then last weekend I tried out a combination of a few recipes I'd read and came up with a version we both really enjoyed. I still may tweek it a bit here and there, but since that's more to personal tastes, I thought I'd share the recipe so far. I'd love to hear other versions that you make, as it's fun to change up our breakfast foods every once in a while!

Homemade Granola

6 cups of oats (we use a combination of regular oats, quinoa flakes and barley flakes)
4 cups of seeds and nuts (things like sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds, sunflower seeds, chopped almonds, hazelnuts, pecans, shredded coconut, raisins, cranberries, etc - essentially a combination that appeals to you!)
2 cups of flour (I tried adding a bit of wheat bran, but I think that made it more bitter)
1 tsp cinnamon
pinch sea salt
2/3 cup oil
2/3 cup maple syrup
1/2 cup orange juice (we used mango juice as that's what we had)
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract

Mix all of the ingredients well, and place on a baking sheet or two. Bake in a 300 degree F oven for 45-60 min, turning the pans every 15 minutes or so to ensure even browning. Store in an airtight container.

I love to eat this with half yoghurt and half applesauce, while Jamie prefers his with a little milk. Enjoy!

Oatmeal Pancakes

MarthaStewart.com is very much in my kitchen these days, though V's ipad is looking a little worse for it ("that floury fingerprint? Noooooo, that wasn't me!)

I was using Alton Brown's recipe for pancakes, but Erica inspired me to try oat pancakes, so I adapted Martha's recipe. It makes thick, slightly denser than usual, pancakes. We froze the leftovers and have been eating them with veggie sausages all week!

2 cups flour

1/4 cup sugar (I used white because it's all I had, but Martha calls for brown)

1 tblsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 cups old fashioned rolled oats

2 cups milk (regular, soy or any other kind)

2 (organic, free-range) eggs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Soak oats in the milk for at least 1 hour, preferably overnight (turns out this makes them a lot more easily digestible).

Mix the remaining dry ingredients. Add the wet ingredients and mix until combined.

Spray skillet with oil and cook pancakes over low to medium heat, flipping when they start to bubble.

Applesauce...

Is applesauce worth blogging about? Everyone knows how to make it, right? (Peel and chop apples, add a little water, cook until soft). I might as well write about the toast I made this morning (place bread in toaster and turn on).

But I like applesauce, and it's one of the few things I actually made this week. And I'm having fun taking pictures of all the food that comes out of my kitchen.

And there are surprisingly many questions that come up when you tell people you're making applesauce...

Do you add cinnamon and nutmeg? (I did, but V said it made it taste too much like pie filling and he would have preferred it without. Personally I think this is a good thing...pie filling for breakfast, woohoo)!

Do you add sugar? Never!! The sugars concentrate as the apples cook and it was soooooo sweet as is!

Do you puree it after it's cooked? This is a personal preference of course, but I think the thing that makes homemade applesauce so unique is its chunkiness. So you could throw it in the food processor, but then it would taste like store-bought and you'd have more dishes to do! :)

So actually applesauce is a very nuanced and delicate thing to make and not like toast at all.

But I do like toast! And taking pictures! And it is another one of the few things I made this week...