Cranberry, orange & apricot scones.

Because a couple times a year a crave baked good for breakfast and today is one of those days. These are super easy to make and ready in less than half an hour, dishes washed and all.

Homemade marmalade is a must with these and I’m working on a decent vegan clotted cream… I’ll keep you posted!

Cranberry, orange & apricot scones.

Ingredients

• 475 ml (2 cups) all purpose flour
• 125 ml (½ cup) dried cranberries
• 60 ml (¼  cup) dried apricot cut into small cubes
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) sugar
• 5 ml (1 tsp) baking powder
• 0,5 ml (⅛ tsp) salt
• 5 ml (1 tsp) organic untreated orange zest
• 60 ml (¼ cup) virgin coconut oil
• 2,5 ml (½ tsp) pure vanilla extract
• 180 ml (¾ cup) soy milk (or other vegan milk)

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 200°C (400°F).

In a large mixing bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, fruits, sugar, baking powder, salt and citrus zest).

In a separate bowl combine milk, vanilla extract and virgin coconut oil. Heat gently until the coconut oil is melted.

Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. combine using spatula. Knead the dough slightly until it is smooth and easy to handle.

Cut the dough into 6 equal pieces and gently pat into 2 cm thick discs..

Put scones to a parchment-lined baking sheet and bake for 15-20 minutes or until lightly golden.

Makes 6 big scones.

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My mom’s no-meat pie

I didn’t think this was possible but my mom has improved her no-meat pie recipe! This is a traditional dish around here at end of year and her recipe is quite simply the best I’ve ever eaten. The texture is great, the taste is great and paired with her home-made green tomato chutney it is out of this world!

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Mom’s no-meat pie and chutney

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Ingredients

• pie crust
• 60 ml (¼ cup) millet
• 350 ml (1 ½ cup) water
• 60 ml (¼ cup) sunflower seeds
• 60 ml (¼ cup) pumpkin seeds
• 400 ml (1 2/3 cup) cooked drained lentils
• 120 ml (½ cup) corn meal
• 120 ml (½ cup) Red Star nutritional yeast
• 60 ml (¼ cup) tamari
• 15 ml (1 Tbs) virgin olive oil
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 5 mushrooms, coarsely chopped
• 1 potato, grated
• 1 carrot, grated
• 1 onion, minced
• Dijon mustard
• dried oregano
• pinch cinnamon powder
• pinch clove powder
• pinch nutmeg powder

In a medium sauce pan, bring water to a boil and add millet. Cook on medium heat for about 20 minutes and drain.

In a medium size bowl, combine millet, sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, lentils, corn meal, nutritional yeast and tamari and mix well. Reserve.

Heat oil in a pan over medium heat, add garlic and cook 2 minutes. Add mushrooms and cook 3-4 minutes. Add onion, carrot and potato and cook 5 minutes or until the mixture begin to colour. Add seasoning and cook 2 more minutes.

Combine the vegetables and the millet mixture. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Reserve.

Roll out and put half the pie crust in a large well oiled pie plate. Spread the Dijon mustard on the crust.

Fill the pie crust with the vegetable and millet mix and spread evenly.

Cover with the second rolled out pie crust. Pinch  the edges of the crust to seal. Bake at 175 °C (350 °F) approximately 30 minutes or until the pie is a nice golden colour. Serve.

Stuffed seitan roast and roasted vegetables.

Cold and rainy night… We’re having a very traditional winter meal. A homemade seitan roast stuffed with a carrot, leeks & mushroom brunoise, with oven roasted maple glazed root vegetables, potato purée and a simple pan juice & amontillado sauce. We’ll pair this with a simple musclum salad with dill & lemon zest and a lemon & olive oil dressing. And we’ll end things with an apple crisp, my favourite ordinary desert!

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Ingredients

For the seitan

• 225 ml (1 cup) wheat gluten flour
• 175 ml (3/4 cup) white mushrooms
• 60 ml (1/4 cup) porcini mushrooms
• 1 small onion
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) powdered onion soup
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) rosemary
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) thyme
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) smoked spanish paprika
• 1.25 ml (1/4 tsp) nutmeg
• 1 glove garlic
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) strong vegetable stock
• 2 litres (8 cups) strong vegetable stock for poaching

For the stuffing

• 1 carrot
• 125 ml (1/2 cup) white mushrooms
• 1 leeks (white part only)
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) vegetable oil

For the veges

• 4 carrots, quartered lengthwise
• 1 small rutabaga, cut in 1 cm wide sticks
• 4 parsnips, quartered lengthwise
• 2 small onions, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) maple syrup
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) olive oil
• salt to taste

For the purée

• 1 kg (2¼lbs) potatoes
• 15 ml (1 tbsp) salt
• 200 g (7 oz) cold vegan butter, in small chunks
• warm vegan milk, to taste

For the sauce

• 125 ml (1/2 cup) amontillado wine
• 30 ml (2 tbsp) vegan butter

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roast stuffed & tied

roast & veges ready to bake

roast & veges ready to bake

To make

First make the seitan. In a large food processor finely chop the onions, garlic and mushrooms. Add flour and seasoning and pulse a few times. Add just enough stock to get a very firm dough. Process until smooth. Reserve.

Make the stuffing. Brunoise all the veges. Heat the oil in a sautéing pan, sauter the carrots for a minute, add leeks and mushrooms and sauter a minute more until vegetables are tender and golden. Reserve.

Roll out the seitan into a large rectangle about 1 cm thick. Stuff, roll and seal the edges with water. Tie the roast well.

Poach the roast in a large pot of strong vege stock for 10 mins. Remove and drain.

Preheat oven to 190°C (375°F)

Place roast in large roasting pan, brush with oil and seasoning.

In a bowl toss the vegetables with oil, maple syrup, crushed garlic and salt & pepper to taste. Arrange the veges around the roast. Bake for 45 mins or until veges are done and roast is golden brown.

While roast is baking, make the purée. Peel, slice and rinse the potatoes. In a large pot of water simmer potatoes until soft. Drain and rice the potatoes over a bowl containing the cold butter. When you are ready to serve reheat the purée very gently while gradually whisking in a little warm milk.

When the roast is ready, remove it and the veges to a serving plate. Put the roasting pan on the stove, medium high heat, and deglaze with amontillado, scraping the pan with a spoon to dissolve all the fond. Reduce by 1/3. Remove from heat. Adjust salt and pepper. Add butter a little at the time, stirring well after each addition to incorporate it. Keep warm.

Plate and serve.

Serves 4

BBQ!

I’m back at my country place for summer! As I’m super busy working outdoors and as my kitchen here is equiped in a much simpler manner, food is quick & low fuss.

Today this is how lunch is starting out. Add grilled eggplants & mushrooms, couscous and rosé of course!

Preceded by pastis and followed up by a nap…

Enjoy your weekend!

The beginning of lunch

Here’s the beginning of lunch today Pho being my go to cold weather fastfood…

Almost a recipe here.

Lobster mushroom & corn chowder

Yesterday while looking for boletus, I found about a kilo of hypomyces lactifluorum, better known as lobster mushroom. I whipped up this chowder for a quick and simple dinner. The combo of flavours with the richness of the cream makes it quite a decadent little thing.

Hypomyces lactifluorum AKA lobster mushroom

Lobster mushroom &  corn chowder

Ingredients

• 500 gr (1 lb) lobster mushrooms, cleaned and diced
• 235 ml (1 cup) leeks, white part only, cut in half and thinly sliced
• 2 fresh ears of corn, kernels cut off the cob
• 2 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and diced
• 235 ml (1 cup) celery, diced
• 45 ml (3 tbs) olive oil
• 2.5 ml (1/2 tsp) sweet Spanish paprika
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 L (4 cups) vege stock, homemade or best quality store-bought
• 235 ml (1 cup) off-dry Riesling
• 235 ml (1 cup) vegan cooking cream
• salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste
• 30 ml (2 tbs) fresh chives, chopped

Heat the olive oil in a heavy pan. Add the lobster mushroom and sauté over medium heat for 10 minutes until tender. Add the leeks and paprika, sauté 3 more minutes. Deglaze the pan with the wine and simmer for 5 minutes. Add stock, bay leaf, potatoes, celery and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Add corn kernels, cream, salt & pepper and simmer for 5 minutes more. Serve garnished with chives.

Serves 4

Wild harvested boletus risotto with grilled asparagus

Mushroom risotto and grilled asparagus, you’ve seen this before, it’s one from my classic repertoire! This version uses wild boletus picked earlier in the day and locally grown asparagus.

Wild harvested boletus risotto with grilled asparagus.

For the risotto

Ingredients

350 ml (1 1/2 cups) short grain rice preferably Carnaroli or Vialone Nano
750 ml (3 cups) homemade vegetable stock (or best store-bought, might have some left over)
115 ml (1/2 cup) dry white wine
1 french shallot, finely chopped
500 gr (1 lb) fresh boletus, cleaned, trimmed and sliced
15 ml (1 Tbsp) olive oil
vegan cooking cream (not coffee creamer!)
freshly ground nutmeg to taste
salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

In a small saucepan bring stock to a simmer and keep hot.

In a medium size heavy saucepan, cook the shallot and mushrooms in the oil over moderate heat, stirring occasionally for 10 to 15 minutes until mushrooms are done. Add rice and nutmeg and cook, stirring, 3 minutes. Add white wine and simmer until evaporated. Raise heat to medium high and add hot stock gradually in small amounts while stirring gently, almost constantly. After approximately 17 minutes, when rice is tender and creamy-looking but still al dente, take off the heat, add soy cream, salt & pepper and stir well.

Cover to rest 2-3 minutes. Serve immediately after.

The asparagus were sprayed with olive oil and grilled a couple of minutes on each side.

I’ve plated this with thyme and nasturtium flowers from the garden and a sprinkle of Maldon salt.

Serves 4