Root Beer Float Cupcake

I have to admit I was never much of a Root Beer fan.  I never disliked it, but even mixed with ice cream I always preferred a cola of some kind.  Speaking with a customer the other day about sugar free baking I remembered my mother using diet soda on occasion to make brownies and cupcakes.  I preferred real sugar in my desserts, but the thought sparked some inspiration, and after some searching I came across a cola cake recipe.  I guess a few cola cake recipes have been in circulation for quite a while now, so I thought I'd try and do something a little more unique.  I did a search for Root Beer cupcakes, just out of curiosity, and surprisingly enough to me I discovered a food bloggers worst nightmare.  Dozens of recipes all varying slight from the next and the first recipe on the Google search actually turned up a vegan recipe.  I felt that it was necessary to try it out, and after tasting it I felt that it was really too sweet and I think all the sugar from the soda created a crust on the surface that I didn't care for.  With the simple exchange of Kefiir for some of the Root Beer it completely changed the texture of the cake without removing any of the flavor.  I also added some allspice, just to make sure.  These turned out incredibly well and after finding the root beer concentrate they're actually quite easy to make.

Wet:

3/4 c Root Beer of your choice, I've been happy with Virgil's, but I also made my own with this recipe

1/4 c So Delicious Coconut Milk Kefir
1/3 c oil of your choice

1 t apple cider vinegar

1/2 t vanilla extract

2 t root beer concentrate (I used concentrate from a home-brew store, but I also found an organic option here)

3/4 c sugar

Dry:

1 1/3 c AP Flour

3/4 t baking soda

1/2 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1/4 t allspice powder

Directions:
1. Combine Kefir, Root Beer, and vinegar and set aside
2. Sift Together all the dry ingredients in a separate bowl and set aside
3. Combine sugar and oil into the Kefir Mixture, whisking vigorously until a lighter appearance is formed
4. Using a hand-mixer add the dry ingredients to the wet in 3 installments, making sure everything is well combined while mixing as little as possible
5. Fill Cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-22 minutes
6. Top with Vanilla Bean Coconut Whipped Cream and dust with Vanilla Sugar.  Garnish with a soda straw.

*to make coconut cream put one can of full fat coconut milk in refrigerator and store for a few days (I've heard overnight is fine, but I kept mine in for almost a week).  The fat solids will separate from the liquid and should have the texture of butter.  The fat solids will be your coconut cream, and you can scoop them out of the can with ease.  Beat lightly with a hand mixer, add 1 cup of sifted powdered sugar (or more to taste), and 1 tsp vanilla extract.  Beat until everything is well incorporated but DO NOT OVERMIX, the coconut fat breaks down and does not retain the desired texture.  A very generous chef friend and fellow blogger, George Vutetakis, gifted me a bundle of Indian vanilla beans, so I split and scraped one and added the pulp to the coconut cream.  If you are willing to spend the money, or get lucky like I did, it really heightens any dish where vanilla is required.  If you're looking for impressive vegan dishes George's Blog is full of recipes and corresponding instructional videos.

Mint Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

Recently our cake decorator at Whole Foods was asked to create a special cake for another coworkers going away gift.  The request implied the making of a cake that was unique to everything else he had done and needless to say, I think he felt some pressure.  He needed something that required ingredients we had on hand, and after glancing around at the garnishes I had around after decorating the gelato case I suggested a Mint Chocolate Chip cake.  Lavel worked his magic and put together a cake that went over rather well with everyone, but not well enough to ever make it again.

Seeing as how I'm now the one feeling the pressure to create some cakes I decided that this would be a good opportunity to reintroduce the Mint Chocolate Chip cake, but in a vegan cupcake form.  When my brothers and I were young my parents would often take us out for ice cream after church on Sundays.  I suppose sugar was enough of an incentive to influence the behavior of my brothers and I during the services.  I have a feeling a trip to the ice cream parlor was more of a reward for Mom and Dad, keeping 4 unruly young boys at bay in the crowded pews during Pastor Dave's sermons every week had to have taken a lot of patience.  Regardless of who actually deserved it, most weeks we had the privilege of post-church gluttony and  my brothers and I would rarely stray from our usual dose of Mint Chocolate Chip ice cream.  I had a habit of taking large bites, sucking all the cream off the chips and then saving the chocolate to eat afterward (only now realizing how unsightly that must have been).

This was my first attempt at this recipe and so far it seems to have turned out rather well.  The aroma in the kitchen is reminiscent of the Sunday afternoons I spent with my family, and I imagine the first bite will bring back more fond memories.  These cakes don't have the same unnatural green hue the forementioned ice cream did, but the flavor is spot on.  I was really tempted to top them with something on the more creative side, but in the end I wanted to capture the flavor of that cup of ice cream, so I went with a whipped coconut cream with a hint of vanilla.  We'll see if I actually get around to taking any photos of these.

Makes 12 cupcakes

dry:

1 tsp distilled white vinegar

1 1/4c AP flour

2 tbsp cornstarch

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

wet:

1c coconut milk kefir

1/3c canola oil

3/4c sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

final additions:

1/4c mini chocolate chips (I used some Valhrona brand Chocolate Pearls since we only had regular size chocolate chips, try a baking supply store or the internet)

1 tbsp minced fresh mint

Preheat oven 350* F

1. Mix Kefir and vinegar together in a bowl and set aside for a few minutes
2. Mix wet ingredients and vinegar mixture together in mixing bowl.
3. Sift dry ingredients together.
4. Using a hand held electric mixer, add dry ingredients to wet in 3 installments, making sure everything mostly combined before adding the next addition
5. Fold in the mint and the chocolate (if you can find a Chocolate Mint plant I think that would be rather appropriate)
6. Fill cupcake liners 2/3 of the way full and bake for 20-22 minutes.
7. Remove from oven and let cupcakes cool in pan for ten minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to finish cooling.
8. Top with Whipped Coconut Cream, and maybe a cherry if you feel so inclined

*to make coconut cream put one can of full fat coconut milk in refrigerator and store for a few days (I've heard overnight is fine, but I kept mine in for almost a week).  The fat solids will separate from the liquid and should have the texture of butter.  The fat solids will be your coconut cream, and you can scoop them out of the can with ease.

 

Romanesco Cauliflower with a Leek and Pistachio Pesto

So I fell off the wagon for a bit.  I'm not going to elaborate too much, I'll just say I was overwhelmed for a bit with life but I want to try and make the blog a more regular part of my life.  I've got a handful of recipes I'm really proud of that I'd like to share, one of which is a recipe I plan on using in Whole Foods Hillcrest, if I can ever pull myself away from my responsibilities as "the gelato guy" for a few moments to get the ball rolling on that new project.  Until then, however, I'll be bringing in lots of unique gelato and sorbet flavors that will be exclusive to Whole Foods.  I've been talking with the guys at Bottega Italiana, whom we source our gelato from and who've done a wonderful job with my requests thus far.  Bringing in several new flavors and putting up with my incessant nagging, I really appreciate these guys for their cooperation and their product.  I'll be in Seattle next week, where the headquarters are located, so I might go checkout their retail location and steal some ideas from them.  Be on the lookout for Curry, Honey and Ginger, and Black Sesame gelatos in addition to the Lemon Rosemary, Lime and Cardamom, and Hibiscus sorbets.  I like visitors, so if you're in the San Diego area and get excited about frozen deserts then I'd love to hear your feedback on the new flavors.  If you're a diehard gelato fan, they want me to update the Hillcrest Whole Foods facebook and twitter pages when the new flavors come in, if you're into that kinda thing.

Suzie's Farm has some of the most beautiful produce in San Diego.  If you've been to the farmers markets then you've had to notice a few tables adorned with several baskets filled with unique little gems like pea tendrils, lambs quarter, gigantic black radishes, stinging nettles, and an assortment of sprouts and microgreens that can only inspire a young, aspiring chef.  Behind these tables you'll generally find a very enthusiastic staff who share an equally genuine admiration of the food.  They don't give you the hard sell, when they talk about how much they like the new variety of arugula that they just started growing, you bet your ass you're leaving with at least one bagful of it.  So when you see this giant head of green fractals, what are you inspired to do?  I wanted to highlight the lime green color, so somewhere along the way I decided a leek and pistachio pesto would be a great idea.  I really adore leeks, and I feel like I always use them in the same manner.  When I go to a restaurant I expect to be surprised, so I feel it's necessary to think outside the box when cooking at home as well.  The pesto has an uncanny resemblance to guacamole, which turned out better than expected.  Anyhow, this is what I used:

1 medium head Romanesco or other Cauliflower of your choice, broken into florets
2 medium sized leeks, trimmed, and sliced
1/3 cup of shelled pistachios (try to find raw, unsalted)
2 garlic cloves
1 small handful of parsley
olive oil
half a lemon
salt
pepper


Preheat your oven to 425 F


Start by steaming the Romanesco until tender, but not soggy, in fact a little underdone would probably be just right.  Pull the Romanesco out of the steamer and let it steam dry itself as much as possible (if it's wet the pesto will have trouble sticking).  Pour a tablespoon or two of olive oil in a medium sauce pan, toss in the leeks and a heavy pinch of salt.  Saute the leeks over medium heat for a few minutes then reduce the heat to low, and let the leeks sweat for a while, 30 minutes wouldn't hurt, stirring occasionally until they almost look like they could be starting to caramelize.


Put the garlic in your food processor and pulse a few times to mince it.  Add the pistachios and pulse a few more times, then add the leeks, parsley, another pinch of salt and a few generous grinds of pepper.  Turn on your processor and slowly add maybe a third of a cup or so of olive oil, possibly more if you like a smoother consistency (mine came out like a chunky paste, and it was decadent).  I put about a third of the pesto into a bowl, added the Romanesco and tossed until the pesto was evenly distributed.


Spread out the Romanesco on a sheet pan so there's just a bit of space between each floret.  Squeeze the lemon over the cauliflower.  Put the sheet pan on the top rack of your oven for 12-15 minutes or until some of the fractals barely start to brown.  Pile up the florets on a plate, zest a small amount of lemon over top and serve.  Seriously good.


I shared these with some friends last night and they were a big hit, so I'll probably make more again tomorrow since I still have so much pesto left, and unlike guacamole which would be brown by now my pesto is still a rich green color!  Pictures will come tomorrow!

Butternut Squash Risotto with Roasted Hazelnuts

I'd like to think I'm not the only vegetarian who can do without faux-birds during the holiday season.  I've actually grown to detest any prepackaged mass claiming to either taste similar to or, in some beguiled marketing disaster, better than the real mccoy.  I've overheard many an anarcho-eco-vegaholic spout off about the benefits of a vegan diet while filling their shopping cart or stuffing their face with some greasy, rubbery, tasteless slab of hypocrisy wrapped individually for our convenience, lacking, if not completely void of nutrition.

I'll admit, in those early years of becoming vegetarian I purchased, shared and thoroughly enjoyed one or more of those boxed "cruelty-free" roasts.  In most cases I would take one or two of the smaller slices of said roast, drizzle some mushroom gravy, then surround the meager helping with copious amounts of freshly mashed potatoes, casseroles, assorted roasted vegetables and heavy helpings of homemade desserts, all things that recall pleasant moments from Thanksgivings past.  I've never been much a fan of mock meats and while those holiday substitute turkeys tend to be the (soy)cream of the crop, in no way do they resemble poultry in taste or texture.  After a couple years, however, they did provide that much needed staple food to signify that Thanksgiving had indeed arrived.  I have many fond memories from those holidays I shared with friends and family that I wouldn't trade for anything but for now I would like to encourage anyone reading this to pass on that frozen faux-fowl this year and opt for something equally if not a more autumn inspired dish that I hope will impress all that partake.

For the past few years I've relied on butternut squash as my go-to vegetable for a hearty main dish.  Risotto is surprisingly easy and incredibly versatile, although in any traditional recipe I guarantee any one of a variety of hard italian cheeses will be called for.  Fortunately, it's a rather small amount that can be omitted while having relatively no impact on the outcome and in this recipe the squash actually contributes to the creamy texture.  Here's what you need:

1 small butternut squash
1 1/2 cups arborio rice, or any "risotto" rice
1 cup dry white wine
6 cups vegetable stock
1 onion
1/3 cup crumbled roasted hazelnuts
1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and grated
oil (I prefer coconut, but olive oil is good too)
2 Tbsp minced sage leaves
salt and pepper


Preheat your oven to 400 degrees.


First, take your biggest nice and carefully cut the squash in half lengthwise.  Scoop out the seeds and stringy pulp, save the seeds and roast like you would pumpkin seeds for snacks or garnishing this dish.  Take one half of the squash and rub it with oil.  Roast in the oven for roughly 45 minutes or longer, until the squash is browning and a knife can be easily inserted into the deepest part of the squash.  When cooled, mash or puree the squash and set aside.  Take the other half of the squash, peel and dice into half inch pieces.  Toss with oil and roast for 12-15 minutes, turning the pieces about 8 minutes in, until the corners start caramelizing and set aside.


Bring the vegetable stock to a low simmer, you'll be adding the warm stock in small quantities to the rice.


Dice the onion and over medium-low heat start sweating the onions in 2 tbsp of oil in a large pot, add about half a teaspoon of salt.  When the onions are translucent add the rice and stir, making sure all the rice is coated in oil.  After a minute or two the grains of rice will become clear around the outsides, this is where it become a bit of a chore.  Add the wine and start stirring, you're going to need to stay near the pot for the rest of the cooking time, roughly 30 minutes.  You're going to want the rice to start absorbing all the liquid very slowly, as the rice absorbs liquid it will release starch, thus creating the creamy texture we're hoping to achieve.  Stir the rice frequently, constantly if you can, making sure no rice is sticking to the bottom of the pot and burning.  If any of the grains are browning, your heat is too high, lower the heat!  When the wine is absorbed, add about a cup of the simmering stock to the rice and start stirring again.  When the rice has absorbed the stock, add another cup of stock.  Continue adding stock until the rice is tender, as the pot's contents increase you may need to adjust your heat a bit, turning it ever so slightly higher.  When the risotto has reached the right texture add one last installment of stock, the squash puree and pieces, nuts, ginger, sage, and any more salt and pepper to taste.  Stir in all the ingredients until everything is well incorporated.  Serve immediately, garnish with more nuts or sage if you'd like, and maybe some really nice olive oil.

This year I made the risotto with chestnuts rather than hazelnuts, but I think I prefer my original plan of action.  I may try adding more spices and making a curried butternut squash risotto.  This dish loses it's creamy texture quickly, so if you happen to be making a lot of other dishes, are planning on taking this to a potluck, or just aren't able to serve the risotto immediately I might suggest preparing it the night before, then on the big day form balls or patties with the rice, coat them in breadcrumbs and pan fry (or bake, but really, not nearly as good) until the crust is golden.  I know this recipe is a little late for Thanksgiving 2010, but this dish is quite easily made any night of the week, and there's also another holiday creeping up which would be perfect for risotto as well.  Thanks for reading!  I was busy cooking all day and wasn't really able to get any photos, but there was a couple cameras floating around that evening so hopefully I'll be able to post some pictures of the feast we compiled.

Polenta and Leeks with a Mushroom Ragout

This weekend we had the pleasure of hosting our friend Joe Gocong.  Joe contributed quite a bit to the projects of the household in the past few days, and after 2 solid days of soundproofing our garage he was adamant about rewarding everyone's hard work.  Joe has a strong reputation for crafting a fine pizza pie, and he was excited to share his talent.  Regrettably I was not to be found amongst the gorging.  Chewing has become rather trying since starting my braces treatment on Thursday.

I could not sit back and let my jealousy stew, instead I took some regional inspiration from Joe's plan and picked up something from Ye Olde Whole Foods I would be able savor without the aid of pain killers.  I returned home with some coarse cornmeal and a bottle of my favorite relatively inexpensive Cabernet.  Luckily, like pasta and risotto, polenta leaves itself open for the addition of a multitude of ingredients.  When making this dish in the past I've used the red wine to braise torpedo onions and fennel, which I would definitely suggest trying, but I had a handful of cremini mushrooms hanging out in the fridge that needed some attention.  The mushrooms could have held their own in the ragout, but I had some sweet little sunburst tomatoes that I dried a few months ago while they were in abundance so I could carry their divine flavor into my winter dishes, and I was pretty pumped to try them out.  These are the results:

Polenta

1 1/2 cups polenta, or coarse cormeal

1 cup sliced leeks

2 T olive oil

1 1/2 cups water

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

a couple heavy pinches of salt

pepper

Bring the broth to a boil and reduce to a simmer in a small saucepan.  In a large pot heat the oil over medium-low heat.  Add the leeks and the salt, stirring occasionally for about ten minutes until soft but not browned.  Add the water and bring to a boil.  Add the polenta slowly while stirring to avoid clumps.  Reduce the heat to a slow simmer.  When the water is absorbed start ladling in small amounts of broth at a time, letting each ladleful absorb before adding another and stir, a lot, until the polenta is soft and creamy.  If it looks a little dry just add a little more water, or maybe some cashew milk if you feel so inclined.  Season with pepper and more salt if desired.

Ragout

3 cups sliced mushrooms

1/2 cup dried tomatoes (or one cup fresh cherry tomatoes sliced in half)

1 small onion, diced

2 cloves garlic, sliced thin

1 cup dry red wine

1 1/2 t dry thyme

Salt and Pepper

2 T Olive Oil

Saute the mushrooms in oil with some salt in a large skillet over medium heat until the mushrooms have given up their moisture and are starting to brown.  Add the garlic and onions and saute until the onions are soft and then add the tomatoes, thyme, pepper and wine.  Reduce the wine until saucy consistency has formed. 

Plate the polenta and serve the ragout over top.  I sprinkled micro-basil over the ragout which added some really mild, earthy subtlety.  In addition to the basil, the arugula salad offered some color the plate was begging for.  Joe contributed all the photos.  He's leaps and bounds ahead of my grasp on my own camera.  I'd like to revisit this dish and alter the finished product, but considering the condition of my gums this was exactly what the doctor ordered.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Autumn in San Diego reminds me how much I miss living in the midwest.  

While composing this first entry in my new blog I am currently visiting friends in Chicago, where the air is crisp, the sidewalks are littered with an array of crimson and gold, and the inspiration for anything containing winter squash is annoyingly cliche.  However, who doesn't appreciate a good pumpkin pie recipe?  This particular pie was adapted from a recipe at www.joyofbaking.com, which called for a gingersnap/pecan layer between the pumpkin filling and the crust, I used walnuts instead but trust me, it's better.  I also roasted my own pumpkin, canned pumpkin works just as well (and is probably cheaper and definitely less time consuming) but I would still suggest roasting your own if you can and pureeing it in a food processor.  I feel the need to stress that this was my first attempt at a pumpkin pie and decided to not stray too far away from the traditional ingredients, but I must say that this is one damn good vegan dessert.

First, set your oven to 350 F

Crust

3/4 c all purpose flour

1/2 c wheat flour

1/2 t salt

1 T white sugar

1/2 c vegetable shortening (i like the ones made from palm fruit oil, non hydrogenated)

1/8 c ice water

Pulse together flour, sugar and salt in a food processor until combined.  Add shortening in pieces to the flour mixture and pulse together until all the large pieces of shortening are almost fully integrated.  Drizzle in water while the food processor is on, everything should combine fairly quick but if the dough looks too dry add a little more water.

Take your dough and form it into a ball on a countertop, cover it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 30-60 minutes.

Dust your countertop (or a flexible cutting board, preferably)  with just a bit of flour, take out your dough ball and flatten with your hands into a disc.  Then start rolling out your dough, picking up the mass and turning it a 1/4 turn with each roll (if you don't do this it will stick to whatever surface you're rolling the dough on and will break apart and will be incredibly discouraging).  Roll to an even thickness, I prefer something around 1/8 of an inch or so.  Take the pie pan and lay it on top of the dough, then flip over the pan, dough and cutting board (if you don't have the flexible cutting board you can lift up the dough and put it in the pan, just pinch the cracks back together).  Press the dough into the bottom of the pan and trim off the excess, form into another mass, roll out the dough and cut into decorative shapes that will thoroughly impress your buddies.  Wrap in plastic and put back in the refrigerator for at least another 30 minutes.

Walnut/Gingersnap Layer

1/4 c walnuts

1/4 c broken gingersnap cookies (I like Mary's Gone Crackers Gluten Free Gingersnap Cookies)

Toast Walnuts in a hot pan until aromatic.  Pulse Cookies/Nuts in a food processor until a coarse mixture is formed.  Press evenly into the crust and then return to the refrigerator while you make the pumpkin filling.

Pumpkin Filling

1 15oz can pumpkin puree (I roasted two small sugar pumpkins and that came out to be just enough)

1/4 c apple sauce

1/4 c Artisana Coconut Butter (softened)

1/2 c So Delicious Coconut Milk Kefir, or homemade cashew cream

1/2 c light brown sugar

1 t cinnamon

1/2 t ground ginger

1/8 t ground cloves

1/2 t sea salt

Whisk all the ingredients together, use an electric hand mixer, or pull that food processor back out for a third time and puree everything together.  Pour into the chilled pie crust, bake for 45-55 minutes or until a knife inserted about an inch away from the edge comes out clean (the center might still look wet, really, it's ok).  Let the pie come to room temperature and serve with So Delicious Coconut Milk Vanilla Bean Ice Cream, or maybe a homemade vegan maple ice cream if you feel like going through the extra work and plan that far ahead.  I also rolled out that extra dough and cut a maple leaf, then brushed it with maple syrup and baked it in the oven until it had started to brown then meticulously garnished the my masterpiece.

This is how the pie came out.  I can promise you it tasted like perfection and I am quite proud to christen my new blog with this recipe.  Thanks for reading and please tell me if you try it out, nothing would tickle me more.