Almond Ricotta

Almond Riccotta

Almond Riccotta

• 1 cup Almonds without skin
• 2 cups HOT water
• 2 cups cold water
• 8 tablespoons corn starch
• 8 teaspoons lemon juice
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Add all ingredients to a blender. Turn on and process, be patient you want to get the almonds as smooth as you can. When done mixing add to a 3qt pot and stirring consistently until it thickens and boils. Let cook 1 more minute and then let cool. 

May be used right away or put in fridge to cool over night to get the "ricotta" consistently. When you take it out of the fridge break it up with a fork to get the crumbles. 

Phyllo Dough

Phyllo

No need to ever buy phyllo dough again. (You're welcome) I have had this recipe for years and no idea where I got it from. This recipe has two ways to make it one is it sits overnight and the other is it needs to rest about one hour. I'll be honest I prefer the one that sits overnight because it rolls thinner and it has a better developed taste but I will tell you this much both are worth it. I actually made the quick Phyllo Dough tonight and thats what the pictures will show. When I make the other one I will take photo's so you can see the minute differences. Unless you own a handy dandy Pasta Machine the only option you have is to make the "instant" Phyllo. I have a 4 foot dowel that sits in my kitchen that I use to hand roll the dough.

Overnight Phyllo (pasta machine)

Golf ball sized 

• 8 cups bread flour 
• 2 teaspoons white vinegar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1-2 cups hot water*
• flour for rolling

"1 hour" Phyllo: (hand rolled or pasta machine)

Notice you can see my skin?

• 6 cups flour
• 2 teaspoons vinegar
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1-2 cups water
• flour for rolling

Use the hottest tap water that you can. Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix for 20 minutes. Until the dough has a soft feel. Adding additional water if you need to. Wrap in plastic wrap and put in the fridge till the next day. Unused Phyllo can be kept in the fridge for up to 10 days.

For the Hour Phyllo it will much more pliable. Mix and wrap and let sit for a hour. Now for the dough that you don't use... it's going to become harder to work with the longer that you have it in the fridge until it is almost too hard to use.And what I mean is that it will rip and tear and you won't be able to do anything but hand roll it so keep that in mind. I always try and use up the hand rolled dough as quick as I can. 

 Tear or cut off from the dough a piece about the size of a golf ball. Run it through your pasta roller all the way to level 9. 

Starting to hand roll it

Rolled out and wrapping it up to flip it

Ready to be rolled up and layed out to be cut

Or if you are hand rolling it get a 4 foot dowel and hand roll it out. As you roll it use the dowel to pick it back up and off the table to lay it down and unroll it on its other side. Hand rolled phyllo will be about the thickness of 2 sheets of copy paper.

Fully rolled up to be layed down on a big cutting board to be cut to size

Rolled to "9" in the pasta machine

Getting ready to cut to size

Spank! (aka spanakopita) We call it Spank! 

"Vegan "Ham"burger

Vegan burger with "mayo" 

So as I already stated calling it a "ham"burger is truly head scratchingly, numb minded, bendingly... strange. (and that actually makes more sense then calling a "ham"burger a "ham"burger (being that it's made from COW and not ham).... so I am not a person that NEEDS to create a "meat" kind of, replacement. But! I will tell you it sure is fun.... and this is what I think.... meat (as we know it nowadays) is not meat..... it's so full of STUFF and things that it actually and very rarely  honest to goodness meat.... now If I knew a farmer and a butcher that I could trust. Well frankly I would feel a lot better about eating meat... but in truth? I most likely would not, and this is why... When I stopped eating meat my body, and my health improved so much that I would hate to test the balance. So with all due respect to the animals- and everyone- that chooses their own path. Mine is what it is for my body. No judgement and I don't care to be judged back.  Food tho is common ground and frankly fun. So this is the closest thing I have had to "hamburger" made from Seitan and "No soy"(tofu)!  Soy sauce is its own thing and Not a bad word as far as I'm concerned...neither is Miso.

Dry Ingredients:

just mixed dough

• 2 cups Vital wheat Gluten
• 1/4 cup nutritional yeast  
• 1/2 cup oats
• 1/4 cup -or more Dried onions
• Seasonings ( Pepper, Garlic, Emerial's, salt)
• 1/4 cup tapioca pearls 

Wet Ingredients:

• 1 cup boiled lentils
•  2/3 cup Mushroom broth*
• 1/4 cup (at least) steak sauce*
• dash of "smoke sauce" .. I soak 3 chipotles in enough water to slightly cover them in a small bowl and drain them of the "smoke flavor" usually about 4 tablespoons
• *feel free to add additional liquid's till it comes together 
• 2 tablespoons Molasses 
• 4 tablespoons oil 

Add dry ingredients and mix, Mix and add wet ingredient's stir with fork till it comes together .... mix by hand the little bit of dry ingredient into the wet ingredient adding any additional wet into the mix to just pull it together, when it's mixed cut into 4 parts. press out into a 6" by 2 1/2 inch round log ...roll into cheese cloth and tie off each end. Add each one to the cooking liquid and turn on . Cover and set to boil. "Just as it boils!" turn down to simmer and let simmer for 1 hour. Turn off and let sit in pan until cool. When cool take out of cooking liquid and cut the cheese cloth off ... put into a pan and add 2 cups cooking liquid, cover with tin foil and let cook in a 350 degree oven turning every 30 mins until liquid has started to simmer off.... then remove the tin foil and cook for another 30 min's or so. Turning as you see fit. Whats left of the cooking liquid makes a great gravy. Wrap and keep it in the fridge or freeze it. I save and use the cooking liquid for braising and reheating when I want to reheat it ...Place the seitan in a deep dish and  add a little to the pan,  cover it with tin foil and let reheat in oven (350 degrees)....  any extra liquid ....just freeze it and reuse it the next time you want to make more.

Cooking liquid

just out of the oven

• 1/3 cup soy sauce
• 1/3 cup mushroom brooth
• 1/3 cup steak sauce
• seasonings (pepper, garlic, salt etc..)
• a little olive oil (3Tbs.
• 6 qt's water 
• (feel free to add more or less of the above to your own taste)  

sliced in half

*Mushroom broth

 1 pound  (approximately) of mushrooms chopped and placed in a 3 QT sauce pan. Any kind will do ( I use a mix of White, Shiitake, and Oyster, and or King Oyster
Place in pan, Fill with water

Cover and Boil, when it boils turn to simmer and cook till mushrooms are cooked through. Turn off and use either a hand held blender or let cool and add to a blender and mix. It freezes well for later uses.

*Steak sauce

"steak" sauce

• 4 cups tomato sauce 
• 1 cup raisins
•  1/4 cup orange juice
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 1/4 cup red wine vinegar
• 1/4 red wine 
• 3  chipotle's  soaked till soft in water (just enough to hydrate, add  the soaking water also)
• seasoning's (sweet?, hot? ) you get to add what you want .... it's a taste test process (onion, garlic, fennel, pepper(s) of all kinds, seasoned salts(smoked?, lemon?, Emeril's? Lowery's?) a little cumin? Taste is what your looking for. If it doesn't "pop" quite as much as you want, try adding a little more vinegar or squeezing a lime into it .. Have fun!

Add all ingredients to saucepan and cover. Turn on high when starts to boil turn down and simmer. You need to watch it and stir it often or it will burn. When it's done, again either use a hand held blender or wait till it's cool and add to blender. Now this is the fun part...... you get to make it what YOU want... adjust any flavors you need to, (sweet barbecue sauce, hot sauce, steak sauce...don't forget molasses is a big flavor addition also, sweet, but strong and smoky)

Taco Shells cooking

Vegan Almond "Mayo"

Vegan "Mayo" 

So far Almond Mayo has become a staple for us. We use it as sour cream, cheese, cream cheese, and so much more.
I made a cheesecake with it (to die for.) It makes great won tons,.... the list is endless.

Ready to start blending ;)

• 1 Cup Blanched Almonds (*for unblanched) 
• 1 Cup Water
• 1 to 1-1/2 cups Olive Oil
• Dried Onions
• Seasonings (I use a little garlic, Cayenne, and Emeril's)
• Squeeze two Lemons for the juice (1/4 cup)

*For unblanched, Fill small pot with water and boil. Once water has boiled add almonds, and turn the heat off let them sit for 15-20 minutes. they'll just pop right out of their husk. Remember the longer they soak the smoother they blend out. 

Add almonds and everything but the oil to the blender and process till smooth. It will thicken up A LOT. After it has blended add the oil ( I always start with a cup) and sometimes add the half  cup extra. It will continue to thicken as it cools.  

Vegan Fajitas (our dinner for 2nite) ;)

Making a Boule

I'm  turning the dough inside itself, kinda like when your rub your fingers together? Thats what I am doing to the dough. Mind you I have small hands, and that piece of dough is about 2 inches.

All Purpose Buns

'Ham'burger Buns

So Is it just me that questions calling a hamburger a "hamburger" when its actually cow meat not pig meat? So I love making bread. It's one of my most favorite things to do. This dough is a higher hydration then even making Baguettes and its so worth your 4 hours time. I love this site The Fresh Loaf . It's gives me inspiration and a starting point to for me to create my own ideas. 

• Bread flour 650 grams
• Water 290 grams
• Milk* 200 grams
• Olive oil 30 grams
• Salt 13 grams
• 2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast
• **130 grams bread flour (approximately)

* Because we don't use milk I either use almond milk that I have made or a just take a couple of tablespoons of almond mayo and mix in to the 200 grams of water...  and its good to go.

Mix together sifted flour, salt and yeast. Add oil, water and "milk" stir it up. I mix this dough counter clock wise (I'm right handed) spinning the bowl every time I turn it in on itself.  I use the four fingers on my right hand with my thumb tucked up and out of the way. Because it's wet dough and it's nice to actually have dough to use ... I mix it till its cohesive (at least ten minutes... maybe 15) watching it the whole way. After it starts to come together I add **additional flour ...just enough till when I can just barely pick the dough up off of the bowl without it sticking. Once it is mixed I dump a tablespoon or so of oil on the bread coat each side and cover it.

After a hour I gently pull each of the sides in and flip it over . I wait another hour and do the same. After another 1/2 hour . I take the dough out and cut it up into how many pieces I want. This time I made a dozen but I have made 18 also, Feel free to choose how many you want. Using the boule technique form the buns and place in a lightly greased pan. Gently olive oil the buns .Cover them and while the buns are rising preheat the oven to 450 Degrees.  

Bake for 15 minutes or till the tops are lightly browned.(mine usually take a little longer then 15 minutes. After they you take them out, again gently olive oil them.