Pecan Shortbread Jam Tarts (gluten, dairy, egg, soy-free; vegan)

I’ve made these a few times and keep meaning to post them. They are super simple to make and tend to be a crowd pleaser. I wasn’t paying super close attention this time around, so I let them bake a minute longer than I meant to… but the jam softened them up just enough to bring back the correct texture. So I suppose they are pretty foolproof, too!

(Also… I just accidentally uploaded this without the recipe! Sorry for the confusion!)

My jam of preference in these is raspberry, though I bought strawberry this time around as requested by some anti-raspberry family members (I know, I know… I don’t get it either). Actually, in some cases it is about the seeds, so I suppose I understand. And, I mean, I totally hate pineapple…

Anyway.

Hallowe’en treats and, yeah, I’m a little gross

Two years ago I wrote an article for the Standard. It was pretty gross. It was about Hallowe’en (which, really, I don’t even like very much).

That being said, I dug up the article and thought I would post some of it. Mostly because it’s gross.

You know what is also gross? My pumpkin that I carved this way for the last 8 years or so. This one is from a few years ago.

Book info and vegan ice cream sandwiches!

It has been a very exciting journey to the publication of my cookbook! I will be updating my cookbook page with more information very soon. The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Bread is completely gluten-free, dairy-free, egg-free, and free of many other allergens. It’s filled with yeast-based and quick breads, muffins, and more. I’ll update with more info soon.

The second book in the series is focused on cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and bars. If you’re interested in being a tester, please contact me and we’ll make it happen!

In the meantime, summer weather is still here and I’m keen to deliver some recipes I wrote in the St. Catharines Standard earlier this summer.

Tasty, tasty updates.

I haven’t had much time to update but have been making a slew of goodness.

Among them, a Cinnamon Swirl Sweet Potato Bread (to be in the cookbook).

Birthday celebrations!

On the weekend I celebrated my birthday.

I made fantastic stuffed peppers on a whim, my favourite warm tahini salad, and a boston cream pie: two marble cakes stuffed with vanilla pudding and topped with chocolate ganache (all gluten-free and vegan, of course).

Everything maple: donuts, chili, cornbread and nutballs

Another month, another article. And what better to highlight than seasonal, delicious and local maple syrup? The answer… Nothing. Nothing better to highlight, I say.

I love maple syrup. I love it.

In fact, I recently came across Crunchy Maple Sunrise, a new gluten-free cereal from the folks at Nature’s Path. The verdict? I love Crunchy Maple Sunrise. I love it.

The article highlights all vegan and gluten-free foods, including donuts, chili, cornbread and nutballs (falafel-like morsels with a maple glaze).

From the St. Catharines Standard:

Blueberry pancakes. Belgian waffles. French toast. Simple breakfast foods that are taken to another level with the addition of nature’s candy: maple syrup. (read the full article here).

A vegan Valentine from me to you.

My latest article in the newspapers focused on Valentine’s Day. Despite my lack of interest in the Hallmark event, making tasty treats to tempt a lover is never something I’ll pass on.

The .pdf file to the article is here, but it can always be read online. For reasons unknown, the Standard left out the truffles in the online version, so included is the link to the Niagara Falls Review.

Both truffle recipes will be featured in my next cookbook.

Meanwhile, I’ve been so busy that I’ve been rotating quick soups, leftovers from recipe testing various baked goodies, tofu scrambles, roasted vegetables, and salad with a tahini vinaigrette.

Regardless of the free Lindor heart shape chocolates that RW&Co. was passing out today, I’m happy enough with my supply of truffles sitting in my freezer for me to snack on. And frankly, Mr. Lindor, your truffles aren’t chockful of protein and healthy fats, are they?

tofu-stuffed portabellos with marinara

I really like stuffed foods. They go along with my other favourites, such as knee socks, the sunshine, and yellow mustard.

okay, who am i kidding? i love goodies, too.

In generally, I don’t usually consume said stuffed-foods as a stuffed food. I eat the filling, or separate all of the components as I am enjoying it on my plate, trying each one to savour their individual goodness, once in a while scoring a little of each on my fork or spoon.

tofu stuffed portabellos with marinara

In the midst of my baking, I whipped up a quick marinara and stuffed some portabellos. Amounts are approximate to taste, or you can use your own favourite versions of both the filling and the sauce. Served with green beans sauteed with leeks, roasted vegetables, and fresh breadsticks, this was a pleasing way to end the week.

Tofu-Stuffed Portabellos with Marinara

For the marinara:
Red onion
Bell peppers (all colours)
Mushrooms
Garlic
Italian seasonings (thyme, basil, oregano, rosemary, anything you love)
Salt, fresh ground pepper
1 large can of tomato paste
Water to dilute
A squeeze of agave nectar

For the stuffing:
1 (350g) package of extra-firm lite tofu
Garlic powder (three dashes or so)
Nutritional yeast (about 4 tablespoons)
Couple squeezes of fresh lemon
Italian seasoning
Salt, fresh ground pepper

4 large portabello mushrooms

For the marinara: In a large saucepan, heat a little oil and saute the onions. Add the other vegetables, sauteing until slightly softened, a few minutes. Stir in garlic until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Add seasonings, then tomato paste and water to dilute to a saucy consistency. Add a squeeze of agave to cut the acid, turn to low, cover, and simmer.

Meanwhile, drain and crumble tofu in a large bowl. Add all other ingredients, adjusting seasoning to taste. Use your hands and smush ingredients all together, squishing it through your fingers to make it smooth. You can also do this in a food processor, but this is easy and doesn’t require you to get an appliance dirty.

Preheat oven to 425F. Take a little sauce and spread it on the bottom of a glass baking dish. Place in portabellos and pack in stuffing (I actually packed this into three, but they were quite packed). Bake until topping is lightly browned and mushrooms are soft, about 15 minutes, depending on thickness of mushrooms.

almost better than knee socks

CBE V… of VI

almond-crusted berry truffle

soft pumpkin cookies

I promised myself that this Extravaganza needs to end. Today I opted the last day, however, mid-way through the day, a scratchy throat slowly came upon me, a light fever emerged, and frankly, I am terrified of getting ill for the holidays. Tomorrow I plan on making a fruitcake and a panforte, and in lieu of candied fruits I use dried fruits, so I packed my dehydrator full of apples, apricots and cranberries for tomorrow’s (final) CBE. In addition, tomorrow brings chocolate almond bark and peanut butter balls.

peppermint patties

After pumpkin cookies, fluffy, full of raisins and dotted with pepitas (which I was going to use a cinnamon glaze, but I loved them as-is), peppermint patties, and berry truffles, I was finished.

Both with my baking for the day, and physically. Tomorrow, I pray, can be filled with baking and last-minute gift buying, to be completely finished.

berry truffles (cocoa-crusted, coconut-crusted, almond-crusted)

CBE IV and tofu quiche with millet crust

ruldolph cookies

Christmas Baking Extravaganza Part IV went underway on Sunday afternoon, when I plugged away in my kitchen to prepare three new things. Alas, I ended up with two, as I had a relatively tight schedule, but the next day, finished off the third. This entailed some tasty Ruldolph cookies, complete with an almond butter base, chocolate chip eyes, pretzel antlers, and a Hot Tamale nose (the only red safe candy I could find!). Sweetened with agave, these slightly chewy, slightly fluffy cookies are definitely my favourite thus far – the base I will save and work with more and more. These were a trial – perhaps adjusted later for my book – as they cracked a little and weren’t up to par. The taste, though, is excellent. The look – eh, not so much.

I also made some cranberry cookies, dotted with tart, fresh cranberries, half-dipped in melted chocolate, and rolled, then, in toasted, chopped almonds. The last one – to be continued the next day, was a Eggnog (eggnot?) Glazed Nutmeg Cookie.

These are “to be photoed”, as I was baking primarily in the evening, and will get them up once the Christmas trays start being assembled.

Monday was also the day I finally handed in all of my forms to finish my masters degree (yay!) so I celebrated on Tuesday with a yummy tofu quiche and a greek salad.

tofu quiche with millet crust

I have made tofu quiche with both silken and regular tofu and find that both are tasty, but really enjoy the hearty non-silken version. If you use silken, add a couple tablespoons of a preferred flour or starch to help bind it together.

Tofu Quiche with Millet Crust

for crust:
3/4 cup millet grits
2 1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
salt, fresh ground pepper to taste

for the filling:
350g package of extra-firm lite tofu, squeezed of moisture
1/4 cup non-dairy milk
3 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
fresh ground pepper to taste
1/2 teaspoon yellow mustard

1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, chopped
1/2 large red bell pepper, chopped
10 button or cremini mushrooms, sliced

For the crust:
Lightly oil a 9″ pie plate. In a saucepan, bring water to a boil and add millet grits. Turn down heat, and let simmer until water is absorbed, about 12 minutes, stirring a couple of times. Remove from heat and let stand about 10 minutes, covered. Uncover and stir in nutritional yeast, salt, fresh ground pepper. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

For the filing. In a blender or in a deep bowl with an immersion blender, puree tofu with non-dairy milk. Stir in nutritional yeast, garlic powder, turmeric, salt, and mustard. Set aside.

Go back to the millet and sample for seasoning. Adjust accordingly, and dump it into the pie plate. Using a spatula/spoon/back of fork/your fingers, smooth into the pie plate on the bottom and up the side, into a crust, pressing firmly. Set in fridge.

In a non-stick skillet, heat a little oil and saute onion for about 3 minutes. Add the remainder of the vegetables, sauteing until cooked through and softened, about 5-7 more minutes, depending how thinly you sliced them. Remove from heat and add into tofu mixture, stirring evenly.

Preheat oven to 350F.

Remove millet crust from fridge and dump tofu mixture into the crust. Carefully spread it evenly into the crust.

Place in preheated oven and bake for 30 to 40 minutes until lightly browned. Let cool about 10 minutes or longer – this is great at room temperature and excellent the following day.

Makes one 9″ quiche, about four large servings.