chocolate coconut donuts (soy and dairy free)

i was going to wait a bit before posting these donuts, but i decided there are much worse things in the world then back to back donut posts. and for those of you tired of fried things, don't despair, homemade seitan's coming up next!

donut ingredients:

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup cake flour (unbleached if possible)

1/4 cup unsweetened dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup of coconut milk

1 tablespoon soy free earth balance, melted*

1 tsp vanilla extract

canola oil for frying

glaze ingredients:

1 tablespoon water

2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1/3 cup coconut milk

4 tablespoons soy free earth balance*

4 oz dark chocolate, finely chopped (i used theo's because it didn't contain dairy or soy lecithin)

1 tsp vanilla extract

3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes

for the donuts: in a large bowl, beat together the egg and 1/2 cup of sugar until pale and creamy. add the coconut milk, melted earth balance, and vanilla and mix well. sift the flours, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt directly into the wet mixture and mix until just combined. cover and refrigerate for as least half an hour, but no longer than an hour.

in the meantime, prepare a deep fryer (or heavy saute pan) with canola oil set to 360 F, arrange a floured work space for rolling out the dough, and line a cookie sheet with paper towels to absorb excess oil from the fried donuts. 

once the donut dough is ready to roll out, roll it 1/2 an inch thick and cut out donuts and holes with a 3 inch diameter cutter or circles. fry in batches of 2-5 (depending on how large the surface area of your oil is) for 1 1/2 minutes, then flip and fry for an additional minute. allow the oil to return to 360 F between batches to prevent soggy donuts. 

while the donuts are frying (or immediately after they've finished) begin the glaze by combining the tablespoon of water and 2 tablespoons of sugar in a small sauce pan over medium-high heat. when the sugar has completely dissolved, but not yet begun to boil, add the coconut milk and earth balance. when the mixture is hot, but not boiling, remove it from the heat and add the finely chopped chocolate. allow the chocolate 30 seconds or so to heat up before stirring the mixture. once all the chocolate is incorporated, add the vanilla. allow the glaze to thicken for about 20 minutes before dipping the donuts. 

this is a good time to toast the coconut. i used a toaster oven because it's such a small amount of coconut and it's easier to monitor. if using an oven, set it to 325 F and allow the coconut to toast in a single even layer for about 7 minutes or until lightly golden.

when the glaze has thickened, dip the donuts on their flatter sides and sprinkle with toasted coconut flakes. serve immediately : )

*butter or regular earth balance can be substituted

buttermilk donuts

deep fryers are magical because they have the power to change lives for the better (sorry joseph, but it's true). the recipe for these buttermilk donuts comes from a williams-sonoma cookbook titled donuts (how appropriate) and they are the first of many donuts to come. 

ingredients:

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 cup cake flour (if you can find unbleached stuff, go with it)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp salt

1 large egg
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup buttermilk
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, melted
1 tsp vanilla extract

canola oil for frying
confectioners' sugar for dusting

in a large bowl, sift together the first set of ingredients, and set aside. in another large bowl, mix together the egg and granulated sugar until pale in color. add the buttermilk, melted butter, and vanilla and mix well. slowly add the sifted dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and mix until they just come together into a soft dough. gather the dough into a ball, wrap with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for half an hour.

while the dough is chilling, line a baking sheet with paper towels to absorb excess oil from the fried donuts, prep a space for frying (set about 2 inches of oil to 360 F, either in a deep fryer or heavy saute pan), and another for rolling out the dough (a generously floured surface). when the dough is ready, roll it into an approximately 10 inch circle that is about 1/2 an inch thick. with a 3 inch donut cutter (or 2 circle cutters), cut out as many donuts and holes as possible. re-roll the scraps and repeat cutting out as many donuts as the dough yields.

when all the donuts have been cut, slowly lower the first batch (about 2-5, depending on the surface area of the oil) into the hot oil and fry until golden brown (about 1 1/2 minutes), then flip and fry for an additional minute.  repeat with additional batches, until all the donuts and holes have been fried, allowing the oil to return to 360 F between batches.

arrange the finished donuts in a single layer and using a fine sieve, dust generously with confectioners' sugar.

enjoy with coffee and friends!

roasted acorn squash quiche with spinach and peas

photo by mike. thanks mike : )

my nephew is most likely lactose intolerant which means that my sister has to avoid dairy while nursing. while this isn't exactly life altering, it has been pretty difficult and as a result, i've been experimenting with dairy-free recipes. when i saw a similar recipe for a pumpkin quiche, i thought it would just be cruel to make something so exciting and not be able to share the product, and so dairy-free quiche filled our hearts and bellies.

ingredients (for 2 quiche):

1 medium to large acorn squash, seeded and sliced, but not peeled (the peel will come off easily after roasting)
1 medium yellow onion, sliced
5-7 cloves garlic, peeled
2 tablespoons olive oil
9 eggs
1 8 oz package tofutti
1 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tablespoon stone-ground mustard
2 tablespoons fresh chives, roughly chopped
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1-2 cups frozen spinach, thawed to a point where it is easily handleable
apx 1 cup frozen peas, same as spinach
1/3-1/2 cup earth balance, melted
12-16 sheets filo dough
bread crumbs for dusting (less that 1/4 cup)
salt and pepper to taste

preheat oven to 375 F.

dress the squash, onion, and garlic with the olive oil, and season with salt and pepper. roast for apx 40 minutes, until squash is tender and slightly brown.

while the veggies are roasting, you can prepare the egg mixture and filo crust. for a more textured filling, you can simply mix the eggs, tofutti, soy milk, chives, cilantro, thyme, mustard, salt and pepper together. for a smoother filling, you can first mix the tofutti and soy milk together to eliminate all of the tofutti chunks, then add the rest of the ingredients.
for the crust, begin by brushing a pie or tart tin with melted butter and layering sheet of filo dough upon the base. brush the layer with butter, sprinkle with bread crumbs (to prevent the next layer from sticking if it is accidentally mis-laid), and repeat with 5-7 additional layers, bunching the dough along the edges to prevent the eggy filling from spilling outwards. make sure to brush the final layer with butter, but at this point, the bread crumbs are no longer necessary.

when the roasted veggies have cooled enough to handle, you can easily peel the squash and arrange chunks within the prepared crusts, along with onions and garlic. upon the roasted veggies, you can sprinkle a layer of peas and another of spinach. to finish the quiche, you can ladle the egg mixture evenly between the two crusts and smooth over the tops. bake for 35-40 minutes or until the filling has set, and broil the tops if necessary.

this quiche is much lighter than a typical quiche because of the lack of cream and cheese, but it is still complemented nicely by a fresh salad.

enjoy : )

herbed biscuits

now that i'm in oregon, i have my sister's herb garden at my disposal, which means there will be several herbalicious recipes in the very near future, starting with these:

ingredients:

1 cup buttermilk
1 large egg, beaten
1 tablespoon fresh parsley, finely chopped
1 tablespoon fresh chives, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh thyme, finely chopped
1 tsp fresh tarragon, finely chopped
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour (you could also do a 50/50 white and wheat combo)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, cut into small pieces

preheat oven to 375 F.  in a medium-sized bowl, combine flour, baking powder, and salt. work the butter into the flour (i used my hands) until the mix has pea-sized crumbles, then place the bowl in the freezer for about 15 minutes while mixing wet ingredients. in a small bowl, combine the buttermilk, egg, and herbs. create a well at the center of the flour mix and stir in the buttermilk mixture until just blended. drop batter in cupcake or muffin tins and sprinkle with salt. bake for 12-15 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center of one of the biscuits comes out clean.
serve warm and toasty.

note: you can switch up the herbs to anything you prefer. i've also made other version of these with lavender and lemon zest, for which i used 2 tablespoons of zest and 2 tablespoons of lavender buds in place of the herbs. those were less savory, but awesome with a bit of honey.

asparagus, spinach, and feta cheese frittata

frittatas are amazing because everything about them is super easy. from prep, to cook, to clean up, they're perfect for when you don't have much time, but don't want to sacrifice a nutritious meal.

frittata (modified from this recipe):

10 egg whites

2 eggs
2-3 tablespoons soy milk

1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil

5 cloves of garlic, minced

apx 20 asparagus spears, tough ends removed and cut into 1 inch chunks

4 cups of fresh spinach, roughly chopped

3 green onions, diced

1 cup feta (i use french, but any variety would work), crumbled

salt and pepper, to taste

preheat over to 350 F. 

whisk together eggs, egg whites, and soy milk (use more milk for fluffier eggs, and less for denser eggs) and set aside. in an oven safe skillet (i used cast iron) heat the olive oil. add the asparagus, spinach, onion, salt and pepper, and cook on medium for 5-7 minutes or until asparagus is tender and spinach has wilted. pour the egg mixture over the veggies and mix in about half of the feta. cook for an additional 5-7 minutes on medium-low until the eggs are mostly set. sprinkle the remaining feta over the eggs and transfer the skillet to the oven. bake for 10-15 minutes until the frittata is firm, and broil for 1-2 minutes to allow cheese to brown.

nutella

when i lived in italy i ate mass quantities of nutella with my roommates. everything was perfect then, and the day i realized that nutella had hydrogenated oils was a sad, sad day. until now. here it is, better than ever...

nutella

1/2 cup toasted hazelnuts with skins peeled (i usually toast mine in a toaster oven at 350 F for apx 10 minutes, but once they are slightly browned and fragrant, you'll know they're ready)
1 tsp extra virgin olive oil (or any vegetable oil really, it's only added for consistency)
1 tsp unsweetened cocoa
1.5 ounces dark chocolate (i used 70%), melted and cooled
1/2 tsp of vanilla
1/4 cup confectioner's sugar

run the hazelnuts through a food processor until they are the consistency of peanut butter. add all of the other ingredients, giving the mixture a quick blend by hand to prevent the confectioner's sugar from poofing up at you once you turn on your machine. process until smooth and try not to eat it all in a day...

note: my final product was grainier than store-bought nutella, but i liked the added texture. it was also less sweet because nutella is made with milk chocolate.

breakfast of champions

breakfast of champions (conceptually approved by teeny,  she has not taste tested the product)

oatmeal smoothie (sans oatmeal...):

1 ripe banana
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp cocoa unsweetened
1/4 cup greek honey yogurt
1/2 cup unsweetend soy milk
1/4 cup almond butter
1 tsblespoon ground flax seed
4 ice cubes
1/3 cup old fashioned oats (i didn't have any oats, but would have added them to the mix)

blend all ingredients in a blender on an ice crush setting and top with a dash of cinnamon, some flax, and a sprinkle of oats.

mango kiwi smoothie

1 1/2 cups mango (2 manilla mangoes)
2 kiwi
1 banana
1/2 cup yogurt
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
4 ice cubes (frozen orange juice cubes would be awesome too)

blend all ingredients in a blender on an ice crush setting. the seeds of the kiwi add great texture and crunch, they function similarly to the flax and almonds in the oatmeal smoothie.

both of these combos would be great served in small portions at a brunch.