Thursday, November 27, 2008

Wai Lana's Cauliflower Pastries


Here's another great recipe from Wai Lana. It is equally delicious as the first Wai lana recipe I posted (avocado tarts) enjoy!


Filling:
3/4 cup fresh cashew milk*
1 tsp. olive oil
1 1/2 cups cauliflower, finely chopped
1 tsp. fresh ginger juice**
1 tsp. lemon juice
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
Pinch of turmeric and asafetida
1/2 Tbsp. Bragg liquid aminos
1/16 tsp. salt, or to taste
1 Tbsp. cornstarch mixed with 2 Tbsp. water

Pastry:
3/4 cup unbleached white flour
1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 tsp. egg replacer powder
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/16 tsp. baking soda
1/8 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. olive oil
1 Tbsp. eggless mayonnaise
3-4 Tbsp. water, or as needed

1. Prepare the cashew milk as directed below and set aside. Heat the oil in a nonstick skillet on medium heat and sauté the cauliflower until lightly browned. Add a little water and cook until tender.

2. Stir in the cashew milk and the next 6 filling ingredients and gently simmer for a few minutes. Add the cornstarch mixture and stir until thickened. Cool before using.

3. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Combine the dry pastry ingredients in a medium bowl. Add the oil and eggless mayonnaise and rub in until evenly crumbly. Gradually add enough water to make a soft ball.

4. Divide the dough into 8 pieces. On a floured work surface, roll the pieces out into thin circles about 1/16 inch thick. Spoon 1/8 of the filling onto one side of each pastry, leaving room to seal.

5. Fold the other side over the filling. Seal by fork-pressing the edges evenly. Prick the tops and lay the pastries on an oiled cookie sheet. Bake for 30 minutes, or until light golden brown.

Makes 8 half moon pastries

*Cashew milk: Blend 1/4 cup raw cashew pieces with 1 cup hot water until smooth. Strain through a fine strainer.

**To make fresh ginger juice, simply grate some fresh ginger, then manually squeeze the pulp.

Nutritional Information Per Serving:
Calories: 150, Fat 8.3g (74 cal), Carbohydrate 16.2g (64 cal), Protein 2.9g (12 cal)
Added information: Saturated Fat 1.3g, Cholesterol 0mg, Sodium 168mg, Dietary Fiber 1.4g

source: http://www.wailana.com/lifestyle/recipes/

Tuesday, November 4, 2008

Vegan Apple Cake

Because of curiosity I tried this vegan dessert recipe (also from http://www.eggless.com) just to see how a non-dairy cake would taste like...It's undeniable that this cake has that "healthy" tang, I know you can agree simply by reading the list of ingredients.
  • 2 cups wholemeal self-raising flour
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1/2 cup soft vegetable margarine
  • 6 tablespoons dark brown sugar
  • 2 dessert apples, cored and grated
  • 1 tablespoon soya flour
  • 1 tablespoon wheat germ
  • 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
  • 1/2 cup sultanas
  • 2 tablespoons soya milk
  • juice of 1 lemon
  • water if necessary

Preheat the oven to 190C/375F/gas mark 5

Use a 20cm/8 inch sandwich tin.

Oil and line the cake tin. Cream the margarine and sugar together for 5 minutes or until light and fluffy. Stir in the apples. Mix together the flours, wheat germ, cinnamon, baking powder and sultanas. Stir this into the creamed margarine and apples and add the soya milk and lemon juice plus a little water if the batter is too thick. Pour the batter into the sandwich tin. Bake for 40 minutes to 1 hour in the preheated oven. The cake is baked when a warm knife inserted into it comes out clean. Remove the cake from the tin and allow to cool on a wire rack.