Thursday Recipes

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BANANA RUM VEGAN CHEESECAKE WITH MAPLE RUM SAUCE

This is from Jolinda Hackett, About.com's Vegetarian Food expert. Jolinda wrote, “This gourmet banana rum vegan cheesecake with maple rum sauce has several steps, but the bananas, pecan crust and rum sauce can all be prepared in advance. Then, the only thing left is to blend the vegan cream cheese and the other ingredients and bake. Easy! If you're looking for a gourmet vegan cheesecake recipe, this is the one to try.”

To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

4 very ripe bananas

16 ounces nondairy cream cheese

3/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar

3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup dark rum

2 tablespoons cornstarch

1/4 teaspoon salt

Prepared pecan pie crust (recipe follows)

Prepared maple rum sauce (recipe follows)

Toasted pecan halves for garnish

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.Place 4 large, very ripe, unpeeled bananas on a roasting pan and roast for 15-20 minutes, until bananas are soft and skin turns dark brown. Let bananas cool to room temperature in the pan in their skins.

Turn oven up to 400 degrees.

Peel the roasted bananas and remove any obvious strings. Puree bananas in a food processor until very smooth. Add nondairy cream cheese, brown sugar, cinnamon, rum, cornstarch and salt then pulse until smooth, scraping sides of bowl periodically. Do not overprocess or cream cheese will separate and curdle.

Pour the filling into the prepared pecan pie crust and bake at 400 for 10 minutes. Reduce temperature to 350 and bake another 35-45 minutes, until the top is the color of light brown sugar and center is set. A toothpick inserted in center should come out clean.

Let cheesecake cool to room temperature on a rack for at least 1 hour, then cover with plastic wrap and chill in refrigerator at least 3 hours, preferably overnight.

Drizzle with prepared maple rum sauce just before serving and garnish with extra toasted pecan halves.

PECAN PIE CRUST

Jolinda Hackett's pecan pie crust can be used for either cheesecake or as a regular pie crust, and can be viewed online here.

Ingredients

1 cup pecan nut flour (see instructions below)

1/2 cup spelt flour (white or whole wheat )

1 tablespoon firmly packed light brown sugar

4 Tbsp vegan margarine, partially melted

1/8 teaspoon ground cardamom

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Pinch of sea salt

Preparation

Note: To make pecan nut flour, freeze the nuts overnight, then place in a food processor and pulse until finely ground. Freezing the nuts prevents them from turning into nut butter when you process them.pre-heat oven to 400 degrees.

Combine all ingredients in a bowl and mix until well combined and incorporated.

Press the mixture into a 9-inch springform pan and put in freezer for 5 minutes.

Bake for 8-10 minutes, until crust is a little dry and edges are light golden. Let cool completely before using in a recipe.

VEGAN MAPLE RUM SAUCE

Jolinda wrote, “Use this vegan maple rum sauce recipe to drizzle on top of a banana rum cheesecake or on top of ice cream or chocolate brownies.Yum!” To view this online, click here.

Ingredients

1 cup real maple syrup (grade B organic is best in this recipe)

4 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan butter

Sea salt

1 tablespoon dark rum

Preparation

In a small saucepan, combine maple syrup, vegan butter, and sea salt to taste and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce has thickened slightly, about 10 minutes.

Remove from heat and stir in rum, stirring carefully, as sauce will bubble up a bit. Let cool for a few minutes then taste and add more salt if necessary.

Cool to room temperature, then transfer to a squeeze bottle.If not using immediately, the sauce can be rewarmed by putting the bottle in a pan of hot water off the heat.

LEMON-DIJON SALAD OF WINTER VEGETABLES

This comes from the February 2004 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “With both raw and barely cooked ingredients, this sprightly, very lightly dressed salad contrasts textures and seduces both eye and palate. It is full of flavor, freshness and color to spark even the grayest February day, and the snow pea greens add a breath of spring. These greens are sold in well-stocked markets. This salad is a good first course for almost any meal. To save time, use a bag of fresh precut broccoli and cauliflower bud mix, available in the produce section of most markets, and blanch them at the same time. Ideally, however, you should blanch each vegetable separately. You will want to serve the vegetables cold and crisp, so plan ahead – —even a day ahead – when preparing this dish.” Serves 4 to 6 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

1/2 head cauliflower, cut into florets of uniform size

1 small crown broccoli, cut into florets of uniform size

12 prepeeled baby carrots

3 oz. sugar snap peas, optional

3 oz. snow pea greens, optional

1 Tbs. Dijon mustard

1 Tbs. fresh lemon juice

1 large clove garlic, minced

2 Tbs. olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/2 bunch radishes, stemmed, and thinly sliced

3 scallions, ends trimmed, all white and about 2 inches of green, thinly sliced

1/2 bunch parsley, minced

Bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanch cauliflower for 2 minutes. Drain well, and rinse cauliflower with cold water. Refill pot, blot drained cauliflower dry and roll florets up in a paper towel.

Place in a plastic bag, and refrigerate. Repeat procedure with broccoli.

Refill pot, and bring to a boil again. Place snow pea greens in a colander, and set aside in kitchen sink. Blanch carrots, and pour carrot water over greens to wilt slightly. Repeat cold water-blot-refrigerate treatment with carrots, sugar snap peas and snow pea greens, if using.

Meanwhile, 1 hour before serving, combine mustard, lemon juice and garlic in a large salad bowl. Whisk in olive oil, salt and pepper. Put all blanched and raw vegetables in bowl. Toss, season with salt and pepper again and serve.

nutritional information Per Serving: Calories: 90; Protein: 4 g; Total Fat: 5 g; Cholesterol: 10 mg; Sodium: 105 mg; Fiber: 4 g; Sugar: 4 g; Vegan

QUICK GREEN CHILE SOUP-STEW

This also comes from the February 2004 issue of Vegetarian Times, and begins, “In an ever more time-pressured world, “quick” and “good” become more and more what we all want. On those nights when we must eat now or our blood sugars will crash, try this. It’s as fast as opening a few cans, but it is in fact uncannily good and healthful to boot. If you’re serving it with the muffins above, put them in to bake, begin making the soup-stew, and all will be done by the time the muffins emerge from the oven. It is good, straightforward and unadorned, but you can serve it with any of the following options passed at the table: grated cheddar or Monterey Jack cheese or soy equivalents, low-fat sour cream or soy sour cream and minced cilantro.” Serves 6 to 8 in 30 minutes or less.

To view this online, click here.

2 cups black beans, undrained

2 cups kidney beans, undrained

2 cups garbanzo beans, undrained

2 cups black-eyed peas, undrained

1 28-oz. can chopped tomatoes with juice

30 oz. enchilada sauce, preferably New Mexico-style green chile, mild, medium or hot

1 cup canned, unsweetened pumpkin

Salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Spray a large soup pot with nonstick cooking spray. Put beans, tomatoes and all liquid into pot, and heat over medium-high heat, stirring often.

When heated through, reduce heat to medium-low, and stir in enchilada sauce and pumpkin. Heat again, stir in salt and pepper and remove from heat. Ladle into large soup bowls, and garnish as desired.

Variation:

Omit pumpkin, using 1 large onion, diced, instead. Heat 1 tablespoon olive or vegetable oil in a large soup pot over medium-high heat, and when onion has softened, add 3 cloves garlic, chopped, and sauté for 2 minutes more. Drain the liquid from the tomatoes and the beans over the onions. When the liquid comes to a boil, add 1/4 pound fresh green beans, stemmed and sliced crosswise in 1/4-inch wide lengths, as well as 1 large yam or sweet potato, peeled and diced into 1/3-inch cubes. You may also use or substitute several small scrubbed but unpeeled, diced Yukon Gold potatoes. Reduce heat to low, and cook, partially covered, for 10 to 12 minutes, or until potatoes and green beans are tender. Add all canned beans, tomatoes, and green enchilada chile sauce. Heat through, and serve.

nutritional information Per Serving: Calories: 310; Protein: 16 g; Total Fat: 8 g; Saturated Fat: 3 g; Carbohydrates: 47 g; Cholesterol: 20 mg; Sodium: 720 mg; Fiber: 14 g; Sugar: 8 g; Vegan

CREAMY DARK CHOCOLATE PUDDING

This is from the January 2007 issue of Vegetarian Times. It starts off, “This dessert tastes like a gourmet version of the ones in the pop-top cans you ate as a kid.” Serves 4.

To view this online, click here.

2 cups plain soymilk, divided

2 Tbs. cornstarch

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/4 cup vegan semisweet chocolate chips, such as Sunspire

3 Tbs. sugar

1 Tbs. instant decaffeinated coffee granules

Pinch ground nutmeg

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Whisk together 1/2 cup soymilk and cornstarch in small bowl. Set aside.

Combine remaining 11/2 cups soymilk, cocoa, chocolate chips, sugar, coffee and nutmeg in large saucepan. Warm over medium heat until chocolate chips have melted. Whisk in cornstarch mixture, and cook 10 minutes over medium-low heat, or until pudding thickens and begins to boil. Remove from heat, and stir in vanilla.

Divide pudding among 4 custard cups. Chill well before serving.

nutritional information Per SERVING: Calories: 163; Protein: 5 g; Total Fat: 5 g; Saturated Fat: 2 g; Carbohydrates: 25 g; Sodium: 39 mg; Fiber: 2 g; Sugar: 12 g; Vegan