Vegan Cream Sauce

I read a recipe for “cream sauce without the cream” in Eating Well magazine (the February 2013 issue) and decided to adapt it for our tastes.

 

This makes a big batch, so I froze much of it, for later use in soups or other dishes, such as the gratin I’ll post next.

 

Ingredients:

1 onion

olive oil

1 vegetable stock cube

2/3 cup rice

5 cups boiling water

1 tsp lemon juice

 

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion and cook it lightly in the oil in a big saucepan.

2. Add the stock cube and the rice and cook for 2-3 minutes.

3. Add the water and cook, covered, for about 30 minutes.

4. Add the lemon juice.

5. Puree with a handheld blender in the pot until smooth. If too thick, add a little more water.

Sweet Potato and Greens Pie

I had a sweet potato that I needed to use, plus fresh chard from our garden, so I made a sweet potato and greens pie.

 

Ingredients:
1 onion
2-3 cloves garlic, optional, depending on taste
2-4 tbsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar

2 pounds greens (spinach, chard, cabbage, etc.) (if fresh, it should be washed carefully, and if frozen, it should be well thawed)

1 sweet potato

handful of black olives

1 dash salt

black pepper
1 package filo dough

Instructions:

1. Dice the onion. Mince the garlic, if using it. Preheat the oven to 190 C.
2. Gently fry the onion in some of the olive oil until golden, then add the garlic, if using it. Add the sugar so the onions caramelise.
3. Defrost the greens, if frozen, or steam it, if fresh. Add to the onion and garlic.
4. Thinly slice the sweet potato.
5. Chop the olives. Mix them into the greens. Season with salt and pepper.

6. Lightly oil a casserole dish. Line it with three sheets of filo, layered over one another so that the pieces hang over the edges of the dish.
7. Spread out some of the filling on top of the filo. Layer potato slices on top.
8. Place another sheet or two on top, then some more filling, then more potatoes. Repeat until the filling is all used up and then cover it with another sheet of dough. Brush it lightly with olive oil and tuck any excess edges in.
9. Bake the pie for 25-40 minutes, checking after about 20 minutes to see how golden and ready it is.
10. Serve and enjoy!

Gayby

We watched a silly, light film called Gayby. In it, a straight woman decides to have a baby with her gay best friend. Somewhat strangely, they decide to make this baby the traditional way, but they don’t have much luck at first, so the film follows them on their journey.

 

The main character does eventually get pregnant, but the question is whether the baby is actually her best friend’s or not.

 

It is an easy-to-watch film that has some funny moments. I get tired of the gay stereotypes (the effeminate guy who always has a witty remark, for example), but the film clearly was going for laughs. If you’ve had a bad day, it’s a good movie for an evening with some popcorn.

Rhubarb Meringue Cupcakes

Another experiment with rhubarb! Yum!

 

Ingredients:

200 g rhubarb

200 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla

130 ml milk (I used rice milk)

1 tbsp lemon juice

200 g flour

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp baking powder

2 tsp cinnamon, optional

1 egg

2 tbsp vegetable oil

 

Meringue

3 egg whites

120 g sugar

1 tsp vanilla

 

Instructions:

1. Wash the rhubarb and dice it into fairly small pieces. Mix it with the sugar and vanilla.

2. Mix the milk and lemon juice and set aside.

3. Stir together the flour, bicarbonate of soda, baking powder, and cinnamon.

4. Make a well in the centre of the flour mixture and slowly add the egg, oil, and milk, stirring the whole time.

5. Add the rhubarb.

6. Pour the rhubarb mixture into cupcake/muffin cases until about half full. Bake for 10-12 minutes, until mostly cooked, but still slightly gooey in the middle.

7. Meanwhile, whisk the egg whites, sugar, and vanilla into meringue. Spoon meringue on top of the cupcakes and bake for another 4-6 minutes.

Rhubarb Muffins

If you frost them, they are rhubarb cupcakes. I made a simple vegan buttercream (butter, icing sugar, and vanilla, plus added chopped rhubarb), but M preferred them without the frosting. You can also make rhubarb curd first, then blend it into muffin batter.

 

Ingredients:

1½ cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup vegetable oil or coconut oil

1/3 cup milk (I used rice milk)

1 egg

1 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp bicarbonate of soda

1 tsp salt

1 cup rhubarb

 

Instructions:

1. Mix all the ingredients for the muffins except the rhubarb. Once well mixed, chop and add in the rhubarb.

2. Place into muffin cases, filling each one about ¾ of the way up.

3.Bake for 20-25 minutes at 190 C.

Vegan Hot Fudge

I had an urge for hot fudge, so this is what I made one evening. It wasn’t as thick as fudge, but it worked on top of Booja Booja ice cream – delicious.

 

Ingredients:

 

1 cup coconut milk (you can also use almond milk, rice milk, etc)

½ cup cocoa

6 tbsp caster sugar

2 tsp vanilla

 

Instructions:

1. Mix the ingredients together and warm them over low heat until slightly thickened.

2. Serve as desired.