Crepas de Spelt sin Huevos

Ya hace algún tiempo que estaba loca por compartir una receta de crepas que no tuviera huevos…

Es que todas las recetas tradicionales por ahí los tienen y estaba segura que podía tener los mismos resultados sin la necesidad de añadirle hueveos a la mezcla.

 

CREPAS DE SPELT SIN HUEVOS

1 ½ tazas de harina de spelt orgánica

½ cdita de sal kosher

2 tazas de leche de soya, mas 6 cdas

4 ½ cditas de replicador de huevos (egg replacer)

5 cdas de mantequilla, derretida

1 cda de aceite de oliva

¼ de taza de agua, si fuese necesario

 

1. En una cacerolita pequeña a fuego bajo, derrite la mantequilla.  Pon a un lado.
2. En un bowl pequeño, mezcla bien el egg replacer y las 6 cdas de leche de soya.  Ponlo a un lado.
3. En un bowl grande, cierne bien la harina y la sal.  Ponlo a un lado.  Es importante cernir la harina de spelt, porque tiene unas hojuelitas que no necesitamos si queremos una mezcla suavecita.
4. Echa la leche de soya restante en una licuadora.  Añádele la mantequilla derretida, la mezcla de egg replacer y la harina.  Licúalo bien por unos minutos.  Coloca el vaso de la licuadora con la mezcla en la nevera para que repose por 2 horas mínimo.  Yo hice la mezcla por la mañana para usarla en la tarde.

 

1. Cuando esté lista para usar la mezcla, sácala de la nevera y menéala un poco y asegúrate que tiene la consistencia de una mezcla da pancakes finita.  Si sientes que está muy espesa, añádele ¼ de agua para hacerla más livianita.
2. Calienta un sartén pequeño a fuego mediano.  Añádele la cda de aceite de oliva y espárcela con un papel toalla en el sartén.
3. Vierte un cucharon de sopa de mezcla en el sartén, mientras viras el sartén para que la mezcla se esparza en una capa finita sobre el fondo del sartén.  No se desesperes si las primeras veces no te sale muy bien.  Me tomo unas cuantas veces cogerle el swing a echar la mezcla y virar el sartén a la misma vez.  Pero se puede…
4. Despega las orillitas de la crepa del sartén usando una espatulita.  Veras que la crepa hace burbujitas, tal y como lo hacen cuando haces pancakes.  Poquito a poco vas despegando la crepa del sartén usando una espátula de silicón.  Cuando puedas mover la crepa al mover el sartén, como al minuto de estarla cocinando, es tiempo de virarla por el otro lado usando la espátula de silicón.
5. 
6. Cocina la crepa por el otro lado como por 30 segundos.  Y escurre la crepa del sartén sobre un plato con papel de cera por encima.
7. 
8. Repite el proceso hasta que acabes la mezcla de crepas.  Pásale el papel toalla con aceite de oliva al sartén de vez en cuando para asegurarte que nada se pega.

 

Sírvelas inmediatamente o puedes guardarlas en un recipiente al vacio en la nevera como por 2 semanas.  Las crepas tienen suficiente mantequilla que no se pegarán unas con las otras.

Si las guardas en la nevera, sólo tienes que recalentarlas un poquito en un sartén tibio como por 1 minuto para que estén suavecitas y moldeables nuevamente.  Usé estas crepas para mi Gateau des Crepes, pero también son deliciosas como postre rellenas de cajeta/dulce de leche o con jalea de frutas.

Carrot Cupcakes

It’s Spring, or as we say here in Puerto Rico… Summer’s here!!!!   The heat is blazing already, the humidity is rising and I am in the mood to bake cupcakes.

I learned this recipe from Mr. Alton Brown, one of my culinary teachers from the Food Network.  I love this cupcake recipe because I do not need a mixer.  It’s super easy to make and super reliable.  I always make them to raise funds for the Yoga Center… people can’t get enough of them.  They’re moist, chewy, and taste delicious.  I usually make them without the traditional cream cheese frosting because of all the dairy-free people at the center.  But I will make some with cream cheese frosting and share the recipe with you.

Also, these cupcakes are the 1^st recipe I am making for my “catering/baking” business.  I am looking to understand if my next serious career move should be something regarding my cooking and selling these cupcakes are a start…   The picture is from the dry run I did before I actually go out and sell these to people.  I know I still need to make them larger, so I am playing around with quantities… but for your personal enjoyment, the measures in the recipe work very well.

 

 

 

CARROT CUPCAKES

Adapted from an original recipe from Alton Brown

2 ½  cups, whole-wheat or spelt flour
About 5 medium carrots, grated medium
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
¼ tsp ground cinnamon
¼ tsp freshly ground nutmeg
½  tsp salt
1 ½ cup brown sugar, firmly packed
4 ½ tsp egg replacer mixed with 6 tbs of water
6 oz plain yogurt
6 oz vegetable oil

½ cup raisins

½ cup chopped walnuts

 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Measure the flour, baking powder, baking soda, spices, and salt in a large mixing bowl and whisk to sift and combine.  Add the carrots to this flour mix and toss until they are well-coated with the flour.
3. In the bowl of the food processor or in a blender, combine the sugar, egg replacer, vegetable oil and yogurt.   Pour this mixture into the carrot mixture and stir until just combined.   Add the raisins and walnuts and stir one last time to combine.
4. Line cupcake pan with cupcake liners and pour about ¼ cup batter measure per cupcake.   Bake on the middle rack of the oven for 45 minutes. Reduce the heat to 325 degrees F and bake for another 20 minutes.
5. Remove the pan from the oven and allow cake to cool 15 minutes in the pan. After 15 minutes, take the cupcakes out of the pan and allow them to cool completely.

Eggless Scramble – A Taste of Yellow 2008

Barbara at Winos and Foodies is hosting A Taste of Yellow 2008 to celebrate LiveSTRONG Day.  As you may recognize, LiveSTRONG is the organization Lance Armstrong created to raise awareness and funds for the research and eventual cure of cancer.

Barbara is a cancer survivor and when I read her story in her original round-up of A Taste of Yellow 2007, I was inspired and touched, because my family, like many, many families around the world has been struck by cancer too…  my grandma developed a skin cancer tumor in an ankle, my aunt had cancer cells in her bladder and my grandpa passed away from complications from prostate cancer.  Plus, she is a traveler just like me… and learned about her diagnosis right after completing the challenging and spiritual Camino de Santiago.

I am a firm believer that food can be your nourishment as well as your medicine.  I also believe that what we eat over our lifetime determines how healthy we will be overall.  We can stray to savor some goodies here and there, but overall we need to eat as naturally and organically as possible to give our body the best fuel possible.

Soybeans are the only vegetable containing all the essential amino acids needed for human health.  Soy protein has been linked to benefiting and decreasing risks of certain cancers, when consumed in moderation. Also, tofu is a vegetable source of omega-3 fatty acids.  This is why I decided to submit my Eggless Scramble recipe to A Taste of Yellow 2008.

 

 

EGGLESS SCRAMBLE

Scramble:

½ package of firm silken tofu

3 tbs soymilk or buttermilk

1/3 cup water

1 tbs olive oil

Squirt of Dijon mustard

3 tbs cornstarch

½ tbs garlic salt

½ tsp turmeric

A pinch of paprika

 

Filling:

¼ Small onion, chopped small

½ Tomato, chopped small

¼ Green bell pepper, chopped small

 

1. Spray a medium non-stick skillet with canola oil spray and heat over medium-high heat.  If your skillet has a cover, even better.
2. Sautee the filling ingredients of your choice until softened – I was going for a western-style scramble here at the beginning. (You’ll see why the qualifier later on).
3. Blend together all scramble ingredients until smooth.
4. When the skillet is very hot, pour the batter in the center of the skillet, turning it around a few times until the batter reaches the edges evenly.   
5. When it has set somewhat, sprinkle the filling ingredients on top.  Cover the skillet for a few minutes to help the scramble batter cook thoroughly.
6. Check the bottom for doneness and browning.  With a heat-proof spatula, break the tofu mixture to resemble scrambled eggs.  The filling will combine with the scramble.

 Serve hot.  I added my Tomato Relish on top for added veggies and a little zing!!

 

 

TOMATO RELISH

10 grape or cherry tomatoes, chopped small

2-3 sun-dried tomatoes, chopped small

4-5 fresh basil leaves, cut into thin strips

1 garlic clove, finely minced

2-3 tbs extra-virgin olive-oil, or as much needed to almost cover the tomatoes

Salt and freshly cracked Black Pepper

1. Mix everything in a small dish.
2. Let all ingredients macerate together for about 30 minutes, mixing it all occasionally during that time.

 

 

Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake – DBC March 2008

I was very excited to receive the recipe for March 2008 Daring Bakers Challenge - a cake!!!  That is definitely something I can do.   This month’s challenge is hosted by Morven at Food, Art and Random Thoughts and the original recipe comes from Dorie Greenspan’s Baking: From My Home to Yours.  So thanks Morven for such a nice recipe.  I was so excited about this recipe that I actually tried it twice – the first time I made it with whole wheat pastry flour and the second time I tried it with spelt flour.  As you’ll see, spelt yielded better results overall.  What I loved most about this challenge was that Morven gave us the flexibility to change ingredients and presentation as long as we followed the basic recipe components – the cake, the frosting and the fruit preserves.  The rest, was up to us, the creative daring bakers…

I was faced with 2 other challenges for this recipe… First, I do not own any round cake pans – as I mentioned in my last DBC post, I am not a “baker” per se, so I have never attempted to do any layered cakes before and second, I could not find lemon extract anywhere.  My solutions to these dilemmas…  to use my cupcake/muffin pans and to double on the lemon zest and add the juice of the lemons to get the lemony taste.

 

So here’s the Karma-Free version of Dorie’s Perfect Party Cake…

For the Cake:

2  ½ cups spelt flour

1 tbs baking powder

½ teaspoon salt

1 ¼ cups buttermilk

6 tsp egg replacer diluted into 8tbs water

1 ½ cups brown sugar

Zest of 2 lemons (about 4 tsp)

1 stick unsalted butter, at room temperature

The juice of 1 lemon

For the Sweetened Whipped Cream frosting:

1 pint heavy cream

1 cup brown sugar

1 tsp vanilla powder

For Finishing:

2/3 cup seedless raspberry or strawberry preserves stirred vigorously or warmed gently until spreadable

1. Centre a rack in the oven and preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Butter and flour your pans – I used 2 cupcake/muffin pans. I also used cupcake liners and worked great too.

To Make the Cake

    2. Sift together the spelt flour, baking powder and salt. Set aside.

    3. Whisk together the egg substitute and buttermilk. Set aside.

    4. Whisk together the sugar and lemon zest in a mixer bowl or another large bowl and rub them together with your fingers until the sugar is moist and fragrant.

    5. Add the butter and working with the paddle or whisk attachment, or with a hand mixer, beat at medium speed for a full 3 minutes, until the butter and sugar are very light.

    6. Beat in the lemon juice, then add one third of the flour mixture, still beating on medium speed.

    7. Beat in half of the milk-egg sub mixture, then beat in half of the remaining dry ingredients until incorporated.

    8. Add the rest of the milk/egg sub mixture beating until the batter is homogeneous, then add the last of the dry ingredients.

    9. Finally, give the batter a good 2- minute beating to ensure that it is thoroughly mixed and well aerated.

  10. Divide the batter in your muffin/cupcake pans.

  11. Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until the cupcakes are well risen and springy to the touch – a thin knife inserted into the centers should come out clean

  12. Transfer the cakes to cooling racks and cool for about 5 minutes, then take them out of the pans to fully cool.
 

To decorate the Cake

I made a Sweetened Whipped Cream Frosting just because I do not particularly like the taste of buttercream.  So, to make the frosting:

1. Using both a chilled bowl and chilled beaters, beat the cream until frothy.
2. Add the brown sugar and vanilla gradually while beating.
3. Whip until light and a thick enough consistency to spread as an icing.
4. Use immediately.

Here are my renditions of these lovely cupcakes… 

    

This first picture is the whole wheat version.  As you can see, the tops cracked and the color was a bit paler.  The picture on the right, are the spelt version, with much nicer color, top texture and flavor too.

As you can see, I still have a lot of ways to go in terms of decorating techniques… but the flavors were spot on.

    

     

This recipe is super easy to make.  After you’ve done it once, the following tries are much, much easier… and everyone who had the chance to taste them were impressed by the lemony taste and the crispiness that the bundt muffin pan imparted to the outside…  aren’t they cute?

My favorite way to eat them was to leave them plain, without any decorations, and just spread some of the preserves to a morsel of cupcake and pop it in my mouth.  Delectable!!

Storing
The cake is best the day it is made, but you can refrigerate it, well covered, for up to two days. Bring it to room temperature before serving.

                        

TuNofish Salad Sandwich

I am a sandwich person at heart… I love sandwiches for lunch or even dinner.  Heck, I love sandwiches for breakfast and snacks as well.  I bought these nice whole wheat hoagie rolls this last week and I have just been making sandwiches away… 

One of my favorite ones is TuNofish Salad – pay attention to the spelling, because it’s made with Tuno, the soy protein flavored with seaweed to taste like regular tuna.  It’s light and makes a great lunch.  My friend Jesiel would say it makes a great breakfast… because she only has tuna sandwiches as breakfast, ever since she was a little kid… 

It’s super simple…

TuNofish SALAD SANDWICH

1/3 cup Tuno soy protein, defrosted and squeezed as dry as possible

3 tbs egg-free mayonnaise, such as Vegenaise

1 tbs finely chopped onion

juice of 1/2 lemon or lime

Garlic salt and pepper to taste

Choice of bread – I used a whole wheat hoagie roll

Lettuce – romaine or arugula works great

3 tomato slices

Extra mayo to spread

1. Mix together in a bowl the Tuno, mayo, onion, lemon juice, garlic salt and pepper. 
2. Toast bread to your liking.
3. Spread mayo on both sides.
4. Place TuNo salad on bottom bread.  Top with lettuce and tomatoes.  Sprinkle some salt and pepper on top of tomatoes.

Enjoy with your favorite kind of natural potato chips or plantain chips.

Just to give you an idea that if you enjoy tunafish sandwiches and you decide to go veggie, you will not have to give the experience or the flavor.  Believe me, these taste just as good as the real thing used to taste to me.

Try it…

Nuggets with MayoKetchup

Mayo what?????

People who are not from Puerto Rico usually ask me that question when I mention the Puerto Rican concoction MayoKetchup.  It’s exactly what it sounds like… a mixture of mayonnaise and ketchup. 

Who invented it?  I don’t know.  I do know that some guy registered the name and the mixture, bottles it and sells it in supermarkets.  But why pay someone to mix something you already have in your fridge or cupboard?  I’ll show you how.

 

MayoKetchup

Egg-less mayonnaise

Ketchup

Garlic Salt to taste

1. In a bowl, mix 1 part ketchup to 1 1/2 parts mayonnaise… the thing is to have a bit more mayo than ketchup. 
2. Sprinkle and mix in some garlic salt to give an added dimension of flavor to the sauce. 

Use this to dip your favorite snacks…  I used it today to dunk some veggie “chicken” nuggets.  This is my version of fast food at home.  I also use it to dunk corn sorullitos, potato chips, and even as a base for a Thousand Island dressing.

 I hope you like it as much as I do.

My favorite mayonnaise… Vegenaise

Just wanted to share with you my favorite brand of egg-less mayonaise… Vegenaise.  Particularly, the grapeseed oil variety.  It’s creamy, thick, rich… the closest thing to Helman’s Mayo.  You’ll find it in the refrigerated section of your neighborhood health food store.

Egg-less Frittatas

 This recipe has many ingredients, but it’s easy to assemble and TASTY!!!!

I took them as an addition to a non-vegetarian party and they were all gone in about 10 minutes… my best friend and her mom almost did not get a chance to try them.  If non-vegetarians were devouring them at a Christmas party, image how good they taste.

EGG-LESS FRITTATAS

1 package of firm silken tofu, drained of water

1/2 cup of soy milk

4 tablespoons of cornstarch

2 oz goat cheese - I used half of a small log

1/2 cup sour cream

squirt of Dijon mustard – about 1 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of as much water as possible

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, without sulphur dioxide

1/2 cup of chopped grape tomatoes

4 green onion stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Canola oil spray

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Place the first 7 ingredients in a blender.  Process until completely smooth and silky.
3. Place tofu mixture in a large bowl and add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, garlic, parsley, seasoning, green onions, salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray 2 muffin tins with canola oil spray.  Spoon mixture into muffin pans using a 1/4 cup measure.
5. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes until they’re set and a bit golden on top.  Check that a knife or wooden skewer comes out cleanly before removing from oven.
6. When they’re done, remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes.  When they’re cooler, they’ll come out from the pan neater and nicer.

They’re light…  you can serve them as a party appetizer, you can also serve them as a nice brunch entree with a nice green salad.  I guess you could also bake it in a baking dish and cut it into pieces instead of doing individual servings… I just have not tried it like that yet… so I am not sure if we’ll need to make adjustments to to baking time.

This recipe yielded me 20 individual fritattas.

  

 ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 This is my last post of the year.  I will take a few days off from cooking and blogging.  This has been a wonderful few months… I promise to come back in the new year with new added inspiration to cook and share with you all.

May the New Year 2008 bring only the best…  until then.

Madelyn.

Brown Rice Krispies Treats

This is my Xmas present to all my vegetarian friends.

I’ve always been a fan of Rice Krispies Treats but they’re made with marshmallows, which are made with egg whites. This version is a mixture of a bunch of recipes I found on the Internet. And I even made a few adaptations of my own.

I hope you and the rest of my friends enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making them.

 

BROWN RICE KRISPIES TREATS

1 cup light corn syrup with brown sugar (Karo brand)
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 cups brown puffed rice krispies
1 cup carob chips

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and almond butter until their all pretty warm, mixed together and syrupy.
2. Remove from heat and pour in the puffed rice cereal. Stir well until all the cereal is covered in the sticky mixture. This is where going to the gym will some in handy…
3. After all the mixture is combined, stir in the carob chips. They’ll melt a bit, but that’s part of the charm, in my humble opinion.
4. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 glass dish. I greased using my Canola Oil Spray.
5. Spray your hands with the Canola Oil Spray too and press flat.
6. Let cool for 1 hour before cutting into squares. Don’t put in the refrigerator, it gets rock hard there. I had a tough time cutting it.

Makes 18 nicely sized squares.

Coquito – The Perfect Holiday Drink

Coquito is the Puerto Rican ultimate holiday drink.

It’s served in a small glass, like a shot glass or jigger, but it’s sipped slowly. It’s never meant to be a shot. This is the Puerto Rican version of an eggnog. There are many versions out there – with raw eggs, with rum, with “cañita rum”, however, my version is the Vegetarian way – the spice and warmth comes from the ginger, anise seeds, star anise and cinnamon. The only way to know this does not contain alcohol is because you’ll not get drunk… because it still has a nice kick. And the nice thing, you don’t need to do a kiddie version.

 

COQUITO

1 can condensed milk
1 carton evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
3 cups of water
4 inch piece of fresh ginger
5 sticks of cinnamon
4 tablespoons anise seeds
4 tablespoons star anise
2 tablespoons whole cloves

2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
1 vanilla pod
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or alcohol-free vanilla extract

ground cinnamon to taste

1. In a medium saucepan create a “spiced tea” – pour the 3 cups of water, ginger, cinnamon sticks, anise seeds, star anise, nutmeg and cloves. Scrape the seeds inside the vanilla pod and add to “tea water”. Throw in the vanilla pod too.

2. 

3. Steep for about 15-20 minutes to create a strong spiced tea. This will give the coquito most of its spiciness. Let cool a bit.
4. In a blender, mix together all the milks with 2 ”cans-worth” of the “spiced tea” and the vanilla powder.
5. Pour into a clean bottle and chill in the refrigerator.
6. Serve chilled in small shot glasses.  Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Salud, Dinero y Amor!!!!!

I try to avoid buying anything canned, but unfortunately condensed milk is something that ONLY comes in a can. The same happens with coconut milk. If you can make your own coconut milk, I highly recommend it. But, I am a working vegetarian woman and I do not have the time to do it.