Vegan Baking

In Holland it is traditional to celebrate your birthday by treating others to cake, tart, borrel, or dinner. For example, on your birthday you bring in something like vlaai, appeltaart, or cake (usually purchased from the baker) for your co-workers. I always bring in homemade cake, quickbread, and/or cheesecake.

One of my colleagues is vegan, and doesn't  normally get to enjoy the treats people bring in, so I went hunting for some recipes that would work for him too. I started with the basics—banana bread and chocolate cake.

Vegan Banana Bread
Adapted from PostPunk's Banana Bread by substituting oil for margarine, reducing the white sugar, and adding ginger.

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat or spelt flour 
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
6 tablespoons oil
6 tablespoons soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2-3 very ripe bananas, mashed
6-8 pecans (optional)

1. Preheat oven to  350F/180C. Grease and flour an 8×4 bread pan (use oil or margarine, not butter!) 
2. In a large bowl, sift together the flours, baking soda, salt, and spices.
3. Mix the sugars, liquid ingredients, and mashed bananas. I puréed the liquid ingredients because I don't like chunks of banana in the resulting cake.
4. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, mixing just enough to moisten everything. 
5. Pour the batter into the pan, garnish with pecans (if using). 
6. Bake for aproximately 45 minutes.

Vegan Cocoa Cake

Adapted from The Essential New York Times Cookbook, Amazon Cake

This is a very easy, everyday cake. 

1 1/2 cups flour

1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup cold coffee or water

5 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon cider vinegar

icing sugar

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C. Line the bottom of a 9-inch cake pan with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl, mix the liquid ingredients together. (I dissolved 4 teaspoons of espresso powder into a cup of cold water.) 
3. In another bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients.
4. Gradually add the dry ingredients to the liquid ingredients and mix well so that there are no lumps.
5. Pour into the greased cake pan and bake for 35-45 minutes. 
6. After 10 minutes, carefully turn the cake out onto a cooling rack, peel off the parchment paper, and flip onto another cooling rack or a plate.
7. Just before serving, sieve some icing sugar over the cake. (Use a paper doily or other cut out to produce a pattern.)

Dulce de Membrillo

I've seen them in the Turkish grocers and wondered what they were, and only recently discovered that they are quinces (kweeperen in Dutch). A South African colleague said he used to eat them sliced with a bit of salt, and apparently the Chinese and Turks also eat them this way. The Spanish and Portuguese, however, make them into dulce de membrillo. This is a firm, jelly-like paste that is traditionally sliced and served with a good cheese, such as the Spanish sheeps cheese manchego. The sweet and salt combination really works for me!

I recently acquired a new cookbook called Comfort Food by Janneke Vreugdenhil, which despite its name, is in Dutch. This recipe comes from her, but I've also seen recipes that call for some lemon juice and/or rind, a vanilla bean, and lots more sugar.  Although I like the idea of the lemon rind, I can't imagine using more sugar. This is plenty sweet enough.

Apparently membrillo is supposed to be a very rosy pink or red color. For whatever reason, my mebrillo turned out to be a caramel colour. It tastes fine, but I'm sorry it didn't turn pink. I wonder if it has to do with the variety of quince.

Dulce de Membrillo
Adapted from Comfort Food, Janneke Vreugdenhil

It is not difficult to make membrillo, but it is time-consuming. Ideally, you should have a kitchen scale (the amount of sugar you use depends on the weight of the cooked quinces) and a food mill (to puree the cooked quinces and separate the peels and cores). I don't have a food mill, so I used a sieve, but this was a lot of work.  I have since discovered some tips that would have made this less work. I've made note of these in the instructions.

4 quinces (this was1.6 kilos)
500-600 grams (2.25 - 2.75 cups) sugar
water

1. Wash the quinces, chop them, and put them in a large heavy pan. However, next time I will first peel and core the quinces, wrapping the peel, cores and seeds in a couple of layers of cheesecloth or muslin. (If these are hard to come by, consider using a very fine mesh laundry bag, or a knee-high stocking). 
2. Add enough water to the pan to reach a depth of 2 inches, add the peels and cores in muslin, and cook the quinces for 45 minutes until they are cooked soft. The peels and cores add a lot of pectin, which is needed to set the membrillo, so they really should be included.
3. Drain the cooked quinces, reserving the liquid for another purpose (add some sugar to make it into a syrup for pancakes or ice cream), and discarding the peels, cores, and seeds.
4. Purée the cooked quinces using a food mill, sieve, or food processor. (Using a spoon to push small batches of cooked quinces through a sieve took a good half hour. If I had separated the peels and cores, I could have used a food processor which would have been so fast and easy!)
5. Weigh the quince purée and return the puree tthe pan.
6. Add sugar that is equal to half the weight of the quince puree. In my case, the purée weighed about 1120 grams and had a volume of 4.5 cups, so half the weight in sugar was 506 grams.
7. Cook the quince purée, stirring frequently, to reduce it to a thick paste. Although you can start cooking over medium high heat, you'll need to turn it down soon to prevent the bottom from burning. I even used a flame spreader. 
8. Line a 9-inch square pan with baking parchment.
9. After 1.5 to 2 hours, the purée should no longer or hardly flow back when you stir it. At this point it's ready.
10. Pour and scrape it into the lined pan, spread it evenly with a spatula. Let it cool and set for a day. If the bottom has not quite set, turn the membrillo over onto a plate lined with more parchment paper, and return that to the pan. Let it stand for another 12 to 24 hours so that it can dry out and set some more. 
11. Cut the membrillo into squares or rectangles and wrap these in pastic wrap.  These will keep a long time int the fridge.
12. Serve with a good hard cheese, cutting it into thin slices. 

And All the Trimmings

Although I had guests to dinner for both Christmas and Boxing Day, the turkey event was on Boxing Day. I had ordered a free-range bronze turkey of almost 4 kilos and dry-brined it for three days before cooking. Since I discovered this technique several years ago, it's my go-to method of roasting poultry. The result was the best turkey I've ever eaten—moist, well-seasoned meat with lots of flavour.

But this blog is about a couple of the trimmings, specifically the gravy and the cranberry sauce. I stumbled upon Jamie Oliver's recipe for Get-Ahead Gravy and thought "that's a good idea"—less palaver before serving and knowing there is enough. I didn't have bacon and forgot about finishing with cranberry sauce, but even then, it was terrific. When making turkey gravy just before serving, it never gets to cook long enough and it doesn't get the extra vegetable flavour that this gravy gets. The recipe makes lots and there are leftovers that I'm going to freeze in small containers for those times I want a bit of gravy with the mashed potatoes.

The cranberry sauce was another hit. I made it last year too but made no notes about it. I paid special attention this year and I now declare my search for the perfect cranberry sauce at an end. This is lovely stuff, not too sweet, with a fairly pronounced citrus component, which I really like. In fact, it's actually a cranberry cumberland sauce.


Make-Ahead Poultry Gravy
This is slightly adapted from the original recipe. Based on comments and my own gut feeling, I reduced the amount of star anise. I also added a couple of garlic cloves. I think it was a good call. The resulting gravy has a hint of fennel/anise flavour but more would be overpowering. An alternative might be to include a quartered fennel bulb, but I didn't try this.

2 celery sticks, coarsely chopped
2 carrots,coarsely sliced
2 onions, peeled and quartered
2 cloves of garlic, smashed
5 bay leaves
5 sage leaves
4 sprigs of rosemary
1 star anise
2 rashers of bacon (I didn't have any, but I'm sure it would be great)
8 chicken wings
2-4 tablespoons olive oil salt and freshly ground black pepper
4 tablespoons flour
2 liters hot water
60ml sherry optional:
2 heaped tablespoons cranberry sauce, for finishing

1. Preheat the oven to 200C (400F)
2. Break the chicken wings open and pound them with a meat hammer or rolling pin to crack the bones open. (I put them in a plastic bag and used a rubber mallet.)
3. Put the chopped vegetables, herbs, star anise,  bacon (if using)  and chicken wings in a roasting pan. Season with salt and pepper, drizzle with the olive oil, and stir it around to coat. 
4. Bake for an hour until the meat is tender and falling off the bone.
5. Put the roasting pan on low heat on top of the stove.
6. Use a potato masher to mash everything up, squeezing as much flavour and juice out of everything as you can.
7. Gradually add the flour, and continue to mash, stir and brown for 5-10 minutes.
8. Add 2 liters of hot water to deglaze the pan, scraping all the browned bits up.
9. Transfer everything to a large pot, bring to a boil for 10 minutes until the sauce has thickened, and then simmer uncovered for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally. The liquid will reduce by about half. 
10. When it has reached the desired consistency, add the sherry, check and adjust the seasoning, then strain through a sieve into a large bowl. Mash as much stuff through the sieves as you can, then discard what remains.
11. Let the gravy cool, pour into plastic containers or freezer bags, and freeze until the day you need it. 
12. You can heat it and use it as is, or if you have roasted a bird, remove as much fat as you can from the roasting pan, and use the pre-made gravy to deglaze the pan. 
13. Optionally, add some cranberry sauce and transfer to a pot to keep warm on low heat until use.

Cranberry Cumberland Sauce

• I adapted this recipe, mostly by adjusting the seasonings to suit the quantity of one 375 gram bag of cranberries.
  
  
  375 grams  fresh cranberries
• 200 ml ruby port
• 90 grams sugar
• 90 ml fresh orange juice
• 3/4 tsp corn flour
• 3/4 tsp English mustard powder
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• pinch of ground cloves
• 50 grams dried cranberries or raisins
• 40 grams flaked almonds
• 2 tsp grated orange rind
• 1 tsp grated lemon rind

1. Grate the peel of a large orange and juice the orange.
2. Combine the cranberries, port, orange juice, and sugar in a pan and cook over medium heat for about 10 minutes until the berries burst.
3. Mix the cornstarch, mustard powder, and ground cloves with a small amount of the cranberry liquid to create a paste. Stir into the cranberries.
4. Add the dried cranberries or raisins, almonds, orange and lemon rind
5. Simmer for five minutes, season, and then chill. 

My Turkish greengrocer often has some surprising vegetables, and last week he was carrying something I had heard of but never seen locally—yellow beets. They look yellowy brown and indescript on the outside, but cut them open and they reveal gorgeous golden yellow flesh. The taste of the beets is, I think, less earthy and more subtle than the normal red variety.

I used a few of them to make beet soup, which was very tasty, but the yellow color faded and turned somewhat brownish. Maybe I cooked it too long.

The raw beet salad, however, was vibrant, fresh, and golden. It's super easy to make and could even turn beet haters into beet lovers.

Golden Beet Salad

This is inspired by a salad on Nigella Lawson's web site, made with red beets and dill (which I admit would be a great combo). However, I didn't have fresh dill on hand so I used parsley, and of course, my beets were yellow. The toasted mustard seeds add a slightly bitter note to the salad, balancing the sweetness of the beets, and the sour of the lemon juice. 

For an Asian-influenced variation, consider using cilantro (coriander leaf) and sweet wine vinegar to replace the parsley and lemon juice, with a bit of pickled ginger to garnish.

This serves two as an appetizer.

200 grams yellow beets (about 1 large beet)

2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice

3 tablespoons of finely chopped parsley

1 teaspoon fresh mint leaves, minced

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil (However, I think a more neutral oil, or even no oil at all would make this salad even better.  )

1. Use the julienne disc of your food processor to grate the beets, or you can just grate the beets using a box grater.
2. Scoop it into a bowl and mix with the parsley, lemon juice, and oil.
3. Toast the mustard seeds until they begin to pop, then add to the salad.
4. Optionally, finish with a bit of flaky sea salt (like Maldon)

Squash Stuffed with Couscous and Feta

Fall and winter bring lovely little squashes into the market. Most popular are orange-skinned ones with orange flesh, but there are green ones with yellow flesh too. I love them both, and in the past week have used them both. Their small size makes them perfect as a meal for two, especially when stuffed.  And when stuffed whole, there is a definite wow factor when they are brought to the table.

You can stuff them with anything—rice, bulgar, bread, vegetables, a bit of cheese. My choice this week was a couscous pilaf, flavoured with mushrooms and sage, with some feta cheese. It's a keeper.

Feta and Couscous Stuffed Squash

2 servings

This makes a stuffed squash with extra couscous pilaf to serve on the side. It is easy to prepare this dish ahead of time and then finish baking it just before serving.

1 small globe squash
1/2 cup couscous
3/4 cup boiling water
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 leaves sage, or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1 medium onion
1 celery stalk
1/2 sweet red or yellow pepper
150 grams mushrooms
1-2 garlic cloves
1/2 teaspoon thyme
50 grams feta cheese

1. Preheat the oven to 350F/180C.
2. Cut the top off the squash, and a small slice off the bottom so that it sits straight.
3. Cut a hole in the top and scoop out all the seeds, then rub the insides with a bit of salt and pepper.
4. Bake the squash (including its top) for 30-40 minutes until the flesh is cooked but the squash still retains it shape. This can be done a day in advance (in which case, cover it with plastic wrap and keep it in a cool place).
5. Place the couscous in a bowl, pour boiling water over it, and cover with a lid or plate. Let sit for 15 minutes, then uncover and fluff it with a fork.
6. While the couscous cooks, mince the onion, celery, pepper, mushrooms , and garlic. Because couscous is so fine, I like to chop the vegetables in a very small dice.
7. In a large frying pan, fry the sage leaves in the olive oil for a few minutes until they turn crisp. Remove and reserve the leaves. (You can skip this step if you are using dried sage.)
8. Add the onions and celery to the pan and cook for a few minutes until the onions are softened and translucent. Then add the garlic and mushrooms and cook for another few minutes, finishing with the red pepper. Crumble in the fried sage (or the dried sage), and add the thyme. Keep sautéing and stirring until the vegetables are cooked through. 
9. In a bowl or in the frying pan,  mix the couscous and vegetables. Season with salt and pepper. 
10. Using a small spoon, fill the squash with the couscous pilaf, firming it into the bottom and sides. Leave the center free, and push the feta cheese into it. If there's still some room, pack in some more pilaf. You will have pilaf left over, but you can reheat this an serve it as a side dish, perhaps with some extra feta cheese crumble over it.
11. Bake the stuffed squash in a medium oven for another 30-40 minutes. (If you prepared it in advance with chilled ingredients, you will probably need to cook it for 45 minutes or so).
12. Serve with a steamed green vegetable (green beans, broccoli, or, spinach), roasted tomatoes, and the rest of the pilaf. 

It looks so cute with its little caps on

Made with orange squash, it tasted even better.

Couscous pilaf is also great on its own as a side, or with some feta cheese

Tracking Recipes

I don't write up all the recipes I try, but that's not to say I don't have opinions about them or want to keep them accessible. If a recipe comes from a cookbook that I own or from a cooking blog I frequent, I will sometimes review it on Cookbooker, rather than blog about.

Not only is it a way to keep my own comments about a recipe, it gives me insight into what other people may have done with it, which can be quite helpful.

For a list of my recipe reviews, check out Barbara's Reviews.

Here's a list of some of the recipes I've tried and might make again with modifications:

Red Wine Chocolate Cake
Minestrone all Romagna
Cubed aubergine cooked with onions
Cauliflower with a cashew and sesame seed sauce
Curried cauliflower
Easiest Baked Macaroni and Cheese

English Muffins

When I first moved to Holland there was a Marks and Spencers store in the Kalverstraat. I always found their clothes boring but they had a pretty good food section, and that was where I bought my English muffins. English muffins are unknown in Holland (except for the Egg McMuffin, perhaps), so when Marks and Sparks closed, I was bereft of one of my favourite breakfast foods.

Since then, I've had to rely on visits home to Canada for my EM fixes, and I've occasionally tried making them myself, with various recipes. Most of these seemed too bread-like and never achieved the chewy, porous texture of the commercial muffins I was used to. But I've found English Muffin valhalla with the following recipe. Using a yeast batter (not dough) and rings to keep the muffins in shape on the griddle, this is it!


English Muffins
I adapted this recipe from Alton Brown by using milk instead of hot water and milk powder, and swapping in 1 cup of whole wheat flour. Yields 8-10 muffins, depending on how much you fill the rings.

Equipment: 3-inch muffin rings, griddle or large heavy frying pan

1 cup milk
1 tablespoon butter
1 tablespoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt

1/3 cup lukewarm water
1/4 teaspoon sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons dry yeast
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup corn meal

1. Scald the milk, then pour into a large bowl with the butter, sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Stand and let cool to lukewarm.
2. In a small bowl, mix the water, 1/4 teaspoon sugar, and the yeast and let stand until the yeast bubbles.
3. Pour the yeast mixture into the cooled milk mixture.
4. Add the flour and beat the batter for about 5 minutes. (I did this by hand because the original recipe called for this, but next time I'll try it with the mixer.)
5. Cover the bowl with a tea towel and let stand for 30 minutes, until the batter begins to form bubbles.
6. Add the remaining 1/2 teaspoon salt and beat into the batter.
7. Heat a griddle or heavy frying pan. The original recipe suggested an electric frying pan set to 300F. I heated my cast iron frying pan on medium high and then turned it down to low for cooking the muffins. Because I was using the largest burner, I even used a flame spreader.
8. Generously sprinkle the griddle with corn meal (or lightly oil the griddle), oil the insides of the muffin rings, and place the rings on the griddle.
   
9. Using a small ladle, put the batter into the rings so that it about half fills the rings (it can come just over the half way point). (The rings in the picture are a bit over-filled.) The number of rings and the size of the griddle determine how many muffins you can cook at one time. I only had 2 rings, so it took a while. If you lightly oil the griddle (for example using an oil spritzer), the muffins are easier to turn but may burn more easily. Corn meal prevents the muffins from burning but tends to stick to the rings and makes it slightly harder to free them from the rings. 
10. Cover with a large pot lid and let it bake cook for 4-6 minutes. The batter will rise to fill the ring completely.
11. Turn the muffins over, cover, and cook for another 4-6 minutes.
12. Remove the muffins from the rings and let cool, while you re-oil the rings and cook another batch of muffins, until the batter is gone.

To serve, prick the sides of the muffin all around with a fork, separate the halves, toast them, then put your favourite sweet or savory topping on them. I favour butter and honey, or sliced cheese and ginger marmelade. They are also great as tosties with tomato and cheese.