rustic pear anise pie (vegan and soy free)

this pie was inspired by a pie recipe found in the december/january issue of ready made magazine. it's not overly sweet, has a wonderful tartness, and the anise pairs perfectly with the pears (no pun intended).

crust ingredients:

2 cups unbleached all purpose flour, plus extra for flouring surfaces
2/3 cup very cold soy free earth balance (regular earth balance or butter could also be used)
2 tsps sugar
1/4-1/3 cup ice water

in the bowl of a food processor, pulse together the flour and sugar. add the earth balance and pulse until the mixture begins to form pea-sized crumbles. with the processor running, slowly pour the ice water down the feed tube until the dough just begins to stick together. dump the dough onto a floured surface and form into a disk. wrap with plastic wrap and refrigerate for half an hour. take the chilled dough and roll it large enough to fit into a 10 inch pie dish. place the dough in the pie dish, being careful not to stretch it. poke several holes along the base using a fork. place the dish in the refrigerator and allow to chill for an additional half hour.

preheat oven to 425 F and bake the chilled crust in the center of the oven, for about 20 minutes, or until it is a light golden brown. while the crust cools, you can prepare the filling.

filling ingredients:

7 barely ripe bosc pears, cored and sliced into 1/4 inch slices
juice of 3 lemons
3/4 cup sugar
4 tablespoons unbleached all-purpose flour.
1 tablespoon arak or another anise flavored liqueur
1 tsp anise seeds, divided
1 dash cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
3 dashes bitters (i used an orange variety, but old fashioned or lemon bitters would also work well)

combine the sliced pears, lemon juice, and arak in a large bowl (the pears and lemon should be combined as soon as possible after slicing to prevent the pears from browning). in another bowl, combine the sugar, flour, anise seeds, cinnamon, salt, and bitters. gently combine the sugar mixture with the pears and transfer the filling to your cooled crust. cover the edges of the crust with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning and bake the pie in the center of the oven for approximately 40 minutes, or until the pears are tender when poked. enjoy hot or cold!

kitchen sink soup

i've recently become an assistant in a series of cooking demonstrations called tuesdays in tuscany. yesterday's demo was all about italian soups and i got to go home with some of the unprepared loot. a bounty of chard, kale, celery, carrot, basil... all of which, if you ask me, scream soup. i made use of some other stuff i had lying around, and voila the kitchen sink soup was born.

ingredients (these things are just what i happened to have on hand, anything goes for a kitchen sink soup):

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1 large yellow onion, diced
2-3 carrots, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
10 cups liquid (you can use 10 cups of veggie broth, or a blend of broth and water)
2 red potatoes, diced
1 cup red lentils (these will disintegrate into the soup and give it a heartier body)
1 cup brown rice
2 cups italian kale, removed of stems and roughly chopped
3-4 cups swiss chard, removed of rough stems and roughly chopped
1/4 cup diced parmesan rind, optional (the rind of the parmesan gives soups a salty bite, but it can certainly be left out if making a vegan version of the soup)
1/2 cup fresh basil leaves, chopped
1/2 cup italian parsley leaves, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

in a large pot over medium-high heat, heat up the olive oil and saute the onions, carrots, and celery. once they have softened a bit (about 5-7 minutes), add the minced garlic. saute an additional minute or two and add the balsamic vinegar to de-glaze the bottom of the pot. the vinegar will not only lift up the good browned bits from the base, but it'll also add depth the flavor of your soup. add the liquid, potatoes, lentils, rice, kale, chard, and parmesan (if using) and bring the mixture to a boil. once boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and allow to simmer, stirring occasionally, until the rice is tender, about 30 to 40 minutes. once the rice is tender, stir in the basil and parsley and remove the soup from the heat. garnish with whole basil or parsley leaves and a sprinkle of parmesan. enjoy!

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