The Jolly Fox
Find Food & Frolic.
Lavender Apple Rhubarb Crisp.
Spring has really inspired my treats this year. I worked in my garden the other week and added a bunch of new plants. It makes me so happy just to sit and look at them. Does anyone else feel that way about their garden? Of course you do J Today I went out and bought 4 different varieties of lavender and planted them. They look so cute, so small and innocent. Soon they will be giant lavender plants blowing up with their awesome purple flowers everywhere.
Speaking of lavender, how about a lavender springtime treat? I think it’s in order.
Lavender Apple Rhubarb Crisp
Ingredients:
Topping-
½ c pecan halves, coarsely chopped
1 c unbleached all-purpose flour
½ c unbleached cane sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 stick or 8 tbsp Earth Balance
Filling-
4 granny smith apples, peeled and sliced into ½” slices
3 tbsp fresh lemon juice
2 tsp vanilla
5 rhubarb stalks, cut into ¼” chunks
2 tbsp dried lavender, ground in a spice grinder
¾ c unbleached cane sugar
3 tbsp unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp cinnamon
Method:
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Lightly oil an 8×8 baking dish.
Once the pecans are chopped, set them aside. Combine flour, sugar and salt. Cut in the Earth Balance with a pastry cutter and mix until it starts to resemble fine crumbs. Set aside.
Place the apples in a mixing bowl and toss with the lemon juice and vanilla. Add the rhubarb and all remaining ingredients. Transfer the fruit to the prepped baking dish. Sprinkle the pecan pieces on top of the fruit. Next, sprinkle the flour and Earth Balance mixture over the nuts. Bake 50-60 minutes. Served warm with a cold scoop of ice cream is the way to enjoy this treat.
Earl Grey Shortbread Hedgehog Cookies with Pixie Tangerine Zest & Citrus Glaze.
Earl Grey is my favorite tea; a distinct black tea with bergamot and citrus. Okay, I am going to make myself a cup after I finish writing this post. I saw this recipe for Earl Grey Shortbread cookies over on Clockwork Lemon. It looked easily veganizable and I had to use the last of my amazing Ojai citrus.
It also turned out that there was a Worldwide Vegan Bakesale event going on right down the street from my house. This bakesale was raising money for the awesome organization Compassion Over Killing. I decided to make up a batch of the above cookies and donate most of them to the bakesale.
I am happy to say they were buttery and delightful. I hope everyone else who got to try them feels the same.
Earl Grey Shortbread Hedgehog Cookies w/ Pixie Tangerine Zest & Citrus Glaze
Veganized from the adapted Martha Stewart recipe found on Clockwork Lemon
Ingredients:
2 c unbleached all purpose flour, minus 1 tbsp
1 tbsp arrowroot
2 tbsp earl grey tea
¼ tsp salt
1 c Earth Balance, room temp
½ c confectioner’s sugar
1 tbsp pixie tangerine zest
Method:
Preheat oven to 375°F. Line two baking sheets with silpats.
Combine flour, tea and salt. Next, in the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together Earth Balance, sugar, and zest until fluffy. With the mixer on low, add the flour mixture.
Gather dough into a ball and chill in the fridge until cool enough to roll out. Roll dough out to about ¼” thick and cut into desired shapes. I don’t know, I was feeling hedgehogs! Bake 10-13 min until edges of cookies just start to turn golden.
For the glaze, I juiced my remaining citrus. It was a combo of navel oranges, pixies, gold nugget tangerines, and a Minneola tangelo. The juice was so good!
Anyhow, take 1-2 tbsp of orange, tangerine etc juice and the zest of a pixie or orange or whatever. Add confectioner’s sugar until a glaze of your desired thickness and consistency comes together.
Risotto w/ Leeks and Sun-Dried Tomatoes.
Mmm risotto. I’ve posted a lot of recipes for risotto. And, I’m telling you right now…I can’t stop, won’t stop! Haha, hope you enjoy this recipe for this comforting risotto.
Risotto w/ Leeks and Sun-Dried Tomatoes
Ingredients:
4 c No-Chicken Broth (Imagine Brand, Better than Bouillon, Edward & Sons)
2 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
2 leeks, white part only, cleaned and sliced cross-wise
1 yellow bell pepper, diced
1 ½ c Arborio rice
½ c dry white wine, at room temp.
½ c sun-dried tomatoes, julienned
1 tbsp Earth Balance
salt & freshly cracked black pepper to taste
Method:
Keep your broth warm and nearby for ladling into the risotto.
In a large, heavy bottomed pot or large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat. Cook leeks and bell pepper until softened. Use a slotted spoon and transfer the veggies to a bowl and keep warm.
Add the rice to the same pan and stir until each grain has some oil. If you need to add a bit more, go on ahead. Toast rice for a few minutes and add the wine. Stir until completely absorbed.
Add the broth, one cup or ladleful at a time, stirring frequently after adding. Make sure the liquid is totally absorbed before adding the next bit of broth. Never let your rice become dry.
After about 20 min, your rice should be tender and creamy. Add the leek mixture and sun-dried tomatoes. Heat through and remove from heat. Stir in the Earth Balance and season with salt and pepper to taste.
Cape Gooseberry Custard Tart.
I saw these cape gooseberries (also known as physalis) at Whole Foods a couple of weeks ago. I’ve seen them a few times, but I have never tried them. They’re typically pretty expensive and I just never got around to trying them. I saw a recipe for a Gooseberry Custard Tart in my new Martha Stewart pie book and well, basically gave me a reason to buy a bunch of cape gooseberries.
Little did I know this variety of gooseberries came wrapped in little papers of sorts, like tomatillos. Then I discovered that’s because the tomatillo and gooseberry are relatives. Cousins or something of the sort. Anyhow, I came home and discovered that my recipe called for green gooseberries and I had purchased these perfectly colored marigold, yellowy -orange little paper wrapped orbs. And did I mention they were sticky?
Being the rogue that I am, I decided to go forward with the wrong berries. I thought we were up to the challenge and we were, oh yes we were!
I don’t really have an exact recipe for you here. I used a basic tart shell recipe, really nothing special– and while I had every intention of making a delightful vanilla custard, I ended up using Wayfare’s Vanilla Pudding flavor as the base. It’s quite sturdy in texture and makes a great base if you need something really quick. I roasted the gooseberries in sugar until they were tender and delicious. I let them cool and then spooned them atop this tart.
I have full intention of making this again with green gooseberries (if and when they should appear) and perhaps I will come back with a homemade custard recipe and a proper veganization of this interesting dessert.
Blood Orange & Strawberry Fry Pies w/ Rosemary Crust.
Hello glorious blog reading and blog writing friends!
I probably shouldn’t post when I’ve had so much beer and wine (yes, both) and by “so much” I naturally mean one beer and one glass of wine. BUT….I plan to have more! Maybe one more. I don’t know. So, basically I’m finally (at 27) understanding why people need to either come home and have a drink after work or, drink on the weekends….or weekdays, whatev, I don’t judge. Although I love beer and consider myself an amateur connoisseur of such things, in actuality, I don’t really drink very much….especially with the idea of being drunk.
I don’t want to talk too much about my job, but for those who may not know, I am a self-employed dogwalker & petsitter (and very occasional babysitter). You may be thinking, oh snap!!! That’s the best job ever! And… it is in so many ways. But sometimes it’s a lot of pressure. It’s always a lot of responsibility. It’s sometimes stress….so much stress. When you care about people and animals as much as I do….sometimes it can be hard. I don’t know how many people out there are reading my blog, but I bet some of you are are thinking, that’s my job too!! Alas! Such is working….I have my ups and downs, like everyone. I am in need of a vacation, but in reality, I will probably not take a real one until Summer or Fall.
Okay enough about that shit. Oh snap, I cursed, but seriously, onto a post with a recipe!!!
My latest veganization. I saw these fry pies on Eat the Love and instantly fell in love. Lucky for me I had just enough blood oranges left over from my Ojai trip and had coincidentally gotten some fresh organic strawberries. I love when desserts just fall into place. And into your mouth. I can always manage to cut some fresh rosemary from the garden (so easy to grow), so these came right together for me. I was never about frying them; first, I am nervous to fry in general because I know how unhealthy it is and also has the potential to drench me in a warm yucky nausea….ugh. Since I fry things so rarely, I’m no expert. Needless to say I did the best that I could and they were a success. My testers enjoyed them and so did I.
Blood Orange & Strawberry Fry Pies w/ Rosemary Crust
Adapted from Eat the Love
Recipe requires ADVANCED PREPARTION
Ingredients:
Crust:
2 c flour
½ c non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening
2 tsp fresh rosemary, chopped
½ tsp sea salt
½ c non dairy milk mixed with:
½ tsp apple cider vinegar
Filling:
2 blood oranges, as much skin and pith removed as possible, sliced into thin segments
1 c unbleached cane sugar
¼ tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
about ½ lb fresh strawberries, hulled and sliced
¼ c plus 2 tbsp arrowroot
A few cups of safflower oil to fry-
Method:
Take your blood orange slices and place them in a bowl with the sugar. Mix it around and refrigerate overnight/8 hours.
After the oranges have sat overnight, add the arrowroot, vanilla and salt. Mix until arrowroot dissolves. Pour mixture into a saucepan and cook over medium high heat. Be careful not to burn the mixture or overcook. Cook until it starts to look translucent. Remove the mixture from the heat and add the strawberries.
To make the dough, combine flour, rosemary, and salt in a mixing bowl and stir. Cut in the shortening using a pastry cutter until the mixture starts to form crumbs. Start adding your vegan buttermilk mixture (non-dairy milk plus apple cider vinegar). Add a few tbsp at a time until the dough comes together.
To assemble, divide the dough into about 6 pieces. Flatten out dough into 4-5 inch disks and place a tbsp of filling inside. Add more if you think it needs more, but be careful not to overfill. Fold your dough over and use a fork to seal the edges closed. If your edges are not sealing, add just a touch of liquid.
Pour oil into medium sauté pan. Heat oil to about 350°F. If you don’t have a candy thermometer, test your oil by sticking the bottom of a wooden spoon into the hot oil (tip courtesy of the Spork Sisters). If bubbles start to form around the base of the tool, the oil is ready for frying. Alternatively, you can reserve a small scrap of dough and do a test fry as well. Never let the oil smoke. If your oil smokes, remove your pan from the heat, wipe out the burnt oil and start again.
When the oil is ready, use tongs and a spatula to place the first pie into the oil. You can use your spatula to help some oil onto the side facing upward, so that it cooks a bit while the other side is cooking. After a minute or two, flip your pie over and fry the other side. This should only take a few minutes per pie. They will turn golden brown and crispy when they’re done—Fry one pie at a time and place cooked pies on a plate lined with paper towels. Safflower oil tends to lend a less greasy quality to fried foods, so I like it for that reason.
Irvin added a glaze to these once cooked, but I thought they were sinful enough as is. 😉
Thyme-Flaxseed-Brown Rice-Crispie-Dark Chocolate Cookies.
Today I bring you Thyme-Flaxseed-Brown Rice-Crispie-Dark Chocolate Cookies adapted from Eat the Love. These were so different tasting; a definite party in your mouth. You’ve gotta be like me though and have a love for the sweet and savory brought together. If you do, you’ll love these.
Thyme-Flaxseed-Brown Rice-Crispie-Dark Chocolate Cookies
Adapted from this Eat the Love recipe
Ingredients:
¼ c unsweetened coconut or almond milk, combined with ¼ tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp thyme, dried
8 oz semi sweet chocolate
2 c unbleached all-purpose flour
½ c dutch processed cocoa
2 tsp baking powder
½ tsp sea salt
3 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
½ c Earth Balance
1 ½ c brown sugar
¼ c whole flax seeds
1 ½ c brown rice crispies (I Like Nature’s Path)
about ½ c unbleached cane sugar for rolling the cookies
Method:
Preheat oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or silpats
Combine the ¼ tsp apple cider with the non-dairy milk and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. After the milk has curdled, add vanilla extract and thyme. Set aside for a few minutes to let the flavors come together.
Meanwhile, carefully melt the chocolate in the microwave or in a double boiler.
In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine the flour, cocoa, baking powder, egg replacer and salt. Stir to combine.
In the bowl of your stand mixer, cream together the Earthy B and the brown sugar until it is fluffy. Add half of the dry ingredients and mix until incorporated. Add buttermilk mixture and continue to mix. Add the remainder of the dry ingredients, mix, then add the flax seeds and rice crispies.
Grab tbsp size bits of dough and roll into a ball. Roll in cane sugar and flatten just a bit on the baking sheet. Bake 13-15 minutes.
Blood Orange Yogurt Tart.
About twice a year, Sur La Table sends out a coupon for $10 off your next purchase. Can I tell you that I look forward to these coupons? I immediately head over to the store and see what goodies they have for me.
Well, you can probably tell by that introduction that I got my coupon not too long ago. And whilst I was browsing, I decided to buy something unexpected. A book. A book?!? A book; a Martha Stewart cookbook all about pies, tarts and the like. While not at all vegan, I knew I wanted it for ideas and methods to improve my pie and tart making abilities. I can say that after having just made my first recipe, I love the book!
And I love that I get to present you with this Blood Orange & Yogurt Tart. In the book, Martha uses navel oranges, dairy yogurt, butter etc. Here’s the foxed edition for your masticating pleasure.
Blood Orange Yogurt Tart
Ingredients:
Crust
Slightly heaping ½ c almond meal (Tarder Joe’s has some affordable stuff)
¼ c unbleached cane sugar
½ tsp sea salt
1 c unbleached all purpose flour
6 tbsp cold Earth Balance
Filling
1 tsp VegeSet
½ c MimicCreme Healthy Top (unwhipped—just pour from container into measuring cup)
1 ½ c So Delicious Greek Style Yogurt (I used a combo of vanilla & plain) Sub So Delicious regular coconut milk yogurt if you can’t find the Greek.
¼ c brown sugar
pinch sea salt
4-5 blood oranges
Method:
First, to the crust! Combine almond meal, flour, sugar, and salt. Cut in the Earthy B with a pastry cutter, until you’ve got crummage forming. Press crumbs into a very lightly oiled 8-inch fluted tart pan. Stick in the fridge or freezer for 30 or so minutes.
Preheat oven to 350°F. Bake tart shell for 30-35 min until it begins to turn golden brown. Set aside to cool.
For the filling, whisk together the yogurt, brown sugar and pinch of salt. In a small saucepan, add the Healthy Top and sprinkle the VegeSet over the cream. Turn on the heat and bring the cream to a boil stirring constantly to make sure the VegeSet is dissolving and not clumping (ew!). Once you bring the mixture to a boil, immediately turn the heat down or remove completely, all while stirring. Add the cream to the yogurt mixture and combine. Pour into the cooled crust and place in the fridge for at least 2 hours to set. When you are ready to serve, grab the blood oranges. Use a pairing knife to remove as much of the peel and pith (white stuff) as possible. Slice oranges into rounds and arrange them on top. If you’re lucky like me, you will end up with blood oranges that vary in their bloodiness creating some beautiful contrast for the top of this yummy tart.
Roasted Vegetable and Vegan Meatball Pappardelle
When I saw this meaty recipe in Sunset, I realized I hadn’t made vegan meatballs in a while. And now my friends, well now is the time.
Roasted Vegetable and Meatball Pappardelle
Adapted from Sunset Magazine
Ingredients:
Meatballs
Ingredients:
1 tube Gimme Lean Meatless Ground Beef
1 tbsp Dijon mustard
½ c flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
¾ tsp salt
¾ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
½ tsp lemon zest
2 tbsp bread crumbs
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
Pappardelle & Veggies
1 red onion, cut into ½” thick wedges
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
¾ lbs small red potatoes, quartered
3 tbsp safflower oil
½ tsp sea salt
½ tsp freshly cracked black pepper
½ lb dried pappardelle pasta (vegan pappardelle?!?! What?!?! No?!? Yes. Get it here. It’s the best ever)
½ c shelled fresh English peas (I know they can be hard to find. Try the farmer’s market, Whole Foods or sometimes Trader Joe’s has them shelled & packaged)
½ c dry organic dry white wine
½ tsp lemon zest
½ c flat leaf parsley, finely chopped
Method:
For the meatballs, mix/mash all ingredients together in a big mixing bowl. Grab about a tbsp sized amount and roll into a ball. Place on a baking sheet and refrigerate until ready to cook.
Preheat oven to 425°F.
Toss onion, garlic, and potatoes with the oil, salt, and pepper. Make sure everything is coated evenly. Spread out in a large baking dish or in a roasting pan. Nestle your meatballs around the veggies and bake about 30 min. Check your potatoes to make sure they are tender.
Meanwhile, cook your pasta according to package directions….even though I never do that, I just check it to see when it’s done….When your pasta only has about a minute left to cook, add the peas. Drain pasta and peas and return to the pot. Stir wine into meatballs and veggies and then mix with the pasta. Add lemon zest and parsley and toss to combine. Add more salt/pepper to taste if desired.
Easter Cake.
These days I am all about veganizing. I love creating new recipes. I love making vegan recipes from cookbooks, magazines, the interwebs etc. But I also fancy taking a meat and dairy extravaganza and adjusting it to fit my lifestyle.
I have blogged a few times about baking blog Eat the Love. It’s filled with all kinds of amazingly fancy, decadent wonders of sugar and flour and chocolate and all that desserty goodness. The blog has a few vegan recipes, but most are not. One of my favorite things to do is to see which of Irvin’s awe-inspiring recipe will work in vegan form.
For Easter Sunday, I decided to veganize the Carrot Pineapple Spice and Brownie Layer Cake with Whipped Cream & Cream Cheese Forsting andddd Marzipan Carrots. I had a long, but wonderful day in Ojai the day before Easter and I did not anticipate how tired I would be when I got home. I powered through and made this cake. I took a few shortcuts, like instead of making a carrot juice reduction, I just added a 1/4 cup carrot juice. This probably changed the cake in ways I don’t understand, but everyone still liked it, so whatever, I do what I want. I also made a single marzipan carrot because although I had a brand new tube, it kept crumbling and falling apart….giving me an all around difficult time, so I tossed it. So, rather than post the vegan version, I’m just going to give you the notes today.
Carrot Pineapple Spice & Brownie Layer Cake with Cream & Cream Cheeze Frosting and a Single Marzipan Carrot.
Notes–
1. For the 3 eggs I added 1 tbsp plus 1 ½ tsp of Ener-G Egg Replacer dry. Do not mix with water.
2. Rather than making ¼ c reduced carrot juice, I just used ¼ c fresh carrot juice
3. For the brownie layer, use your favorite vegan brownie or chocolate cake recipe. Try to pick a recipe that makes moist or cakey brownies. My brownies were of the more traditional variety, less cakey and a bit more dense—like a blondie. My testers said that although they liked the flavor and texture of the brownie layer, they would have preferred if the brownie layer was the same consistency of the carrot-pineapple layers.
4. Irvin’s recipe for marzipan carrots is vegan. I had a tube of premade marzipan that I attempted to use, but it was crumbly. Anyhow, a normal tube of premade marzipan should work. Just grab some all natural orange food coloring by Select or India Tree and work it into the marzipan to get an orange carrot. For the carrot top, I colored some coconut flakes green
5. For my dirt layer, I used ground chocolate cookie crumbs
6. For my grass, I used green sprinkles
7. And for the frosting, I used a basic vegan cream cheese frosting
I thought my cake turned out pretty hideous, especially in comparison to Irvin’s masterpiece, but people seemed to think it was endearing.
Red Potato & Gardein Chick’n Salad w/ Yogurt-Chive Dressing
Along with the great spread about Ojai Pixie Tangerines, the new issue of Sunset Magazine had this amazing looking potato salad meets chicken salad meets salad made out of lettuce. So… naturally, I thought, I want. Hence I went forth to the kingdom of Whole Foods and picked up some Gardein. I used fresh herbs from my garden and So Delicious yogurt. It was fresh, delicious and reminded me of Spring.
Red Potato & Gardein Salad w/ Yogurt-Chive Dressing
Veganized from Sunset Magazine
Ingredients:
1 1/4 lbs small or baby red potatoes, scrubbed, unpeeled
3 c loosely packed lettuce, I used romaine
1 c loosely packed chervil, roughly chopped
1 c loosely packed flat leaf parsley leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 c fresh marjoram leaves, roughly chopped
1/4 c fresh tarragon leaves, roughly chopped
3 c Cooked Gardein Chick’n, chopped or cubed (Tuscan Breasts, filets, or scallopini will work)
1 13/ c So Delicious Coconut Milk Yogurt, plain flavor
1/2 c chives, chopped
3 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
salt & pepper to taste
Method:
Put potatoes in a pot and cover with water. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook until potatoes are tender when pierced with a fork, about 10 to 12 minutes. Depending on the size of your spuds, it may take a few more or a few less minutes, so be sure to check on them.
Place the lettuce, all of the herbs and Gardein in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the yogurt, chives, olive oil, and salt and pepper. Slice the potatoes and add to herbs/chick’n. Add dressing and toss to combine. Add more salt and pepper to taste.
The Jolly Fox 