Walnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

These are wonderful vegan cookies. Occasionally, if I offer a vegan baked good to someone who is not vegan I avoid mentioning that the item is vegan. Many people have preconceived notions about vegan food, and I would rather people focus on taste rather than how a food is different.

This recipe comes from Vegetarian Times magazine, which has a very useful website. I like to use the recipe search feature to find recipes to use up a particular ingredient, such as almond milk.

The recipe suggests either chopped bittersweet chocolate bars or chocolate chips. I used chocolate chips, but 1 cup of chocolate chips is plenty (the recipe calls for 1 1/2 cups of chips).

The recipe requires a food processor or similar electric chopper for creating ground walnuts the consistency of peanut butter. I've found that my small food processor is one of the most useful appliances I have in my kitchen.

My cookies were more lumpy than those pictured on Vegetarian Times, but still delicious.

Walnut butter

  The Heart-Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes 30 cookies

• 3 Tbs. canola oil
• 2 cups walnuts
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1½ cups oat flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• ¼ tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 cups rolled oats
• 3 3.5-oz. bars bittersweet vegan chocolate, chopped, or 1½ (1 cup is plenty) cups vegan chocolate chips (12 oz.)
  1. Preheat oven to 350°F. Coat 2 baking sheets with cooking spray, or line with parchment paper.
  2. Blend walnuts in food processor 30 seconds, or until ground into a fine meal. Add canola oil, and blend 2 to 3 minutes more, or until mixture has the consistency of natural peanut butter, scraping down sides of food processor occasionally. Transfer to bowl.
  3. Whisk together brown sugar and ½ cup water in small saucepan, and bring mixture to a boil. Pour brown sugar mixture over ground walnut butter, add vanilla extract, and stir until no lumps remain.
  4. Whisk together oat flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon in separate bowl. Stir oat flour mixture into walnut mixture. Cool 10 minutes. Fold in oats, then chocolate chips.
  5. Shape cookie dough into 2-inch balls, and place 2 inches apart on prepared baking sheets. Flatten cookies with bottom of drinking glass dipped in water. Bake 8 to 10 minutes, or until cookies begin to brown and tops look dry. Cool 3 minutes on baking sheets, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.
  

Perogi Party!

One thing I love to do is cook with friends. A couple of weeks ago I got together with two of my pals and we made my friend erock's family perogi recipe. Perogi (also spelled pierogi) are Central and Eastern European dumplings. They may be filled with sauerkraut, meat, fruit, or in erocks family's case, potatoes.You can actually buy peroigi in the refrigerated section of many grocery stores, though I have yet to try them.

Perogi are great to make with friends (or family) because they can be quite laborious, especially if you want to make a lot to share with friends.

First boil potatoes.

While you are boiling the potatoes, finely chop lots of white onion.

Then prepare the dumpling dough.

Then prepare the filling: onions, cheese, and potatoes.

Roll out the dough so that it is very thin. Cut circles (we used the open end of a glass). Spoon filling onto a dough circle, fold the dough over and crimp the edges with your fingers. 

In small batches, boil the perogi until they come to the surface. Some may split open, but that's ok. 

Drain the boiled perogi.

If you won't be frying them until later, let them continue to cool on lightly floured wax paper and then refrigerate.

erock's family recipe for perogi:

Dumpling:
8 cups all purpose flour
1 egg yolk
2 Tablespoons oil
Enough warm water to blend
Pinch of salt

In a large bowl, add the yolk and oil to the flour. Mix together and add a little bit of warm water until the dough comes together. Knead the dough into a ball, and cover the bowl with a towel until ready. Let the dough rest while you make the filling. 

Filling:
1 large onion
2 large potatoes (we used Russet)
8 oz cream cheese
Salt and pepper

Peel, boil, and mash the potatoes. Finely chop the onion. Fry the onion in butter. In a large bowl, combine the onions, mashed potatoes and cream cheese. Add lots of salt and pepper. (In erock's experience, the filling should taste overly peppered and salted so that the cooked dumplings have enough flavor. Also, cream cheese is used because the Polish cheese erock would use is unavailable in the U.S. and cream cheese comes close to its consistency and flavor.)

Roll out the dough on a floured work surface. It should be very thin so that the cooked perogi don't taste too doughy. Use the open end of a glass or a biscuit cutter to cut the dough into small circles. Spoon a small amount of filling onto half of a dough circle. (About two tablespoons.) You don't want too much or else you won't be able to keep the filling within the dough. Fold the side of the dough untouched by filling toward the side with filling. Bring the dough edges together. Crimp the edges with your fingers to keep the filling contained within the dough.

Simmer the perogi, about five at a time, in boiling water until they float to the top. Use a slotted spoon to remove the perogi from the water and transfer them to a cooling rack placed inside of a cookie sheet so they can drip dry. Fry in butter in small batches. Eat hot!

Make your own granola!

Why buy granola when you can make your own? I made my own granola using a recipe from the Whole Foods website and mobile app, but one can modify it by adding different rolled grains, spices, sweeteners, nuts, and dried fruit.

 

Be careful, stir the granola often while it is baking; it can burn easily. Wait to add any dried fruit until after you have removed the granola from the oven. I enjoy my homemade granola with plain yogurt. 

A new cookbook of mine, D.I.Y. Delicious, also features a granola template with information on how one can include various ingredients. 

The recipe from Whole Foods I used is below.

Serves 6 to 8

All manner of dried fruits are delicious in this recipe. Try adding a handful of sliced dried apricots, dried cranberries or raisins to this filling morning mix. It's equally good eaten out-of-hand as a snack.

Ingredients

3 cups old-fashioned rolled oats
3 tablespoons oat flour or whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup slivered, blanched almonds
1/2 cup pure maple syrup or honey
1/3 cup sunflower oil or canola oil
1 teaspoon almond extract
1/2 to 1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg, or to taste
1/8 teaspoon sea salt

Method

Preheat oven to 300°F.

Toss together oats, flour and almonds in a large bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together maple syrup or honey, oil, almond extract, nutmeg and salt. Add to the oat mixture, stirring well to coat.

Spread mixture on a large rimmed baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake, stirring occasionally to break up lumps, until deep golden brown, fragrant and just dry to the touch, 30 to 40 minutes. Allow granola to cool completely before storing in an airtight container.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 3oz/84g-wt.): 370 calories (160 from fat), 18g total fat, 1.5g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 45mg sodium, 43g total carbohydrate (5g dietary fiber, 15g sugar), 9g protein

Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Several years ago, I bought the wonderful vegan cookbook ExtraVeganZa. Recently I made Triple Chocolate Kahlua Velvet Pudding. One could easily fool people until believing this was conventional (non-vegan) pudding.

Instead of gelatin, agar agar powder is used. You can generally find it in health food stores. Agar is quite amazing; it turns the pudding into a gelatinous blob, which is then smoothed out in a blender. (I wish I had taken a picture.)

Since the recipe is not available online, I scanned the page and posted it below. Please let me know if it is too difficult to read. I highly recommend ExtraVeganZa, by Laura Matthais. It contains many wonderful recipes utilizing farm fresh produce, healthy ingredients (such as brown rice syrup), edible flowers, and includes several gluten-free dishes.

For the love of KALE

Have you checked out 101cookbooks? It's a very popular healthy food-oriented recipe blog. Recently, I made the Raw Tuscan Kale Salad featured on the site. It was delicious. It reminded me of a another raw kale salad I had had before, from Urban Green Cuisine at the South Pasadena Farmers' Market. In addition to farmers' markets, Urban Green LA  does catering, and has a cafe called On Spring Cafe. If you are in Los Angeles you should try their food soon!

The raw kale salad from 101cookbooks helped me discover my new favorite kind of salad: marinated salads. Tougher raw greens like kale, cabbage, and collards taste really great when they've been marinating in a dressing for a day or more. "Normal" salad greens (lettuce, spinach) can get soggy quickly. If you don't eat the dressed greens within a short period of time, the salad has to be thrown out. A marinated salad would be great to serve at any gathering because if not all of it got eaten it wouldn't have to be thrown out, and it would be even better left over.

Here is the recipe as it appeared on the site. 

Raw Tuscan Kale Salad

1 bunch Tuscan kale (for ex: black or lacinato)
2 thin slices country bread, or two handfuls good, homemade coarse breadcrumbs
1/2 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
1/4 cup (or small handful) grated pecorino cheese, plus adiitional for garnish
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for garnish
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon (scant 1/4 cup or ~50ml)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Trim the bottom few inches off the kale stems and discard. Slice the kale into 3/4-inch ribbons. You should have 4 to 5 cups. Place the kale in a large bowl.
If using the bread, toast it until golden brown on both sides and dry throughout. Tear into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until the mixture forms coarse crumbs, or crumbs to your liking.
Using a mortar and pestle or a knife, pound or mince the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into a paste. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup cheese, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, pinch of salt, pepper flakes, and black pepper and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing over the kale and toss very well (the dressing will be thick and need lots of tossing to coat the leaves).. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, then serve topped with the bread crumbs, additional cheese, and a drizzle of oil.
Adapted from the Raw Tuscan Kale Salad with Chiles and Pecorino recipe in Melissa Clark's In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite.

The beginning

I started this blog about two weeks ago after I had spilled tea on my computer. I had to bring it to a Mac store to get the keyboard replaced. Since I had to quickly bring the computer to the store so they could save it from water damage, I didn't have time to send a Microsoft Word file to my email address, so I couldn't finish the job application I was working on at the time.

I was crestfallen, but then I realized, what a great time to finally start a blog about food! I love cooking, and I love sharing what I've made with others. Now I can write about what I'm making and share pictures with people who are somewhat far away and can't enjoy what I just made.

Aprons are important when one is cooking, and I have often worn one while cooking ever since I started cooking. They are useful for protecting your clothing, and they can be used as a towel.

The first thing I made with this blog in mind: Carrot-Oat Cake.
I found the recipe through the Whole Foods mobile application. It is a great app, if you like to cook and have a magic phone, then you should download it. The app allows one to select favorite recipes, search for recipes based on ingredients one has on hand, and create a shopping list based on a chosen recipe. Although the recipe called for currants, I decided to add chocolate chips instead. After tasting the cake, I realize that currants would have worked well, but sometimes you need chocolate.

Happy eating!

Colorful carrots!

A locally produced flour! I used some, along with whole wheat pastry flour.

Here is the recipe, available on the Whole Foods website (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2686):

Serves 16

Enjoy this hearty carrot cake for breakfast, a snack or dessert. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

Natural cooking spray
1 cup rolled or quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup dried currants
1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a (9-inch) square baking pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Pulse oats and walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix well. In a second large bowl, combine carrots, maple syrup, currants, coconut and vanilla. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until cooked through and deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to let cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 2oz/67g-wt.): 190 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 230mg sodium, 32g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 19g sugar), 4g protein