Tag: vegan

Coconut Cream Pie

I’d probably be content smearing the Earth Balance coconut spread on various baked goods, but they sent a nice little pamphlet full of recipes that sound tasty, so it was time to dive in. Okay, I did cheat a little and bought the crust. If you’re looking for a cool, easy summer dessert, this one is nice. There’s only a bit of the coconut spread in the filling, but it adds an extra creaminess. Also, since it uses light coconut milk, it isn’t all that bad for you, 249 calories a serving.

Coconut Cream Pie with Graham Cracker Crust

Crust

13 graham crackers (to make 1 1/2 cups crushed)
3 Tbs raw cane sugar
1 pinch of salt
1/4 cup melted Earth Balance Coconut Spread

Topping

1/2 cup flaked coconut
1 7oz can vegan whipped topping

Filling

2 1/2 cups unsweetened light coconut milk
1/2 cup raw cane sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup finely shredded coconut
2 Tbs Earth Balance Coconut Spread
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 tsp coconut extract

Preheat oven to 350℉ .

Place graham crackers in a plastic ziplock bag and crush using a rolling pin.

Place crushed graham crackers in a bowl and stir in sugar, salt and melted Earth Balance Coconut Spread.

Press graham cracker mixture into a 9-inch pie pan, making sure the bottom and sides are covered. Bake 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Keep oven and 350℉.

Place flaked coconut for the topping on a baking sheet and toast in oven 4 to 5 minutes, until golden brown. Remove from oven and set aside.

Whisk together coconut milk, sugar, cornstarch and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, then turn down to a simmer, stirring continuously until the mixture begins to thicken, about 5 to 7 minutes.

Once the mixture is thick, stir in shredded coconut, Earth Balance Coconut Spread, vanilla extract and coconut extract.

Spoon filling into cooled pie crust, cover with foil and chill for at least one hour.

Top the pie with vegan whipped topping and toasted coconut.

Recipe from Earth Balance Cooking with Coconut pamphlet.

 

 

Thai House and the Symphony

You’d think with my job I’d have access to all kinds of cool free tickets. Not so much. But occasionally something comes along. This Saturday I had tickets for Cirque de la Symphony with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra at Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre. Since we had to travel way up to Alpharetta, a stop at Thai House for dinner was in order.

The sizzling rice soup, every time.

They have two sorts of fake meats: a chickeny one called su gai and a fishy one called su yi. I like the su yi and it’s different than the fake meats anyone else uses so I usually get that. Here it is in green curry form.

And on a bed of rice.

The symphony was okay but the sound wasn’t that great at the amphitheatre. I’d like to see them again at Symphony Hall. The acrobats were amazing, especially the final act. The things they did just were not possible.

Summer Spaghetti with Corn and Tomatoes

The year I went vegetarian, 1996, I received Vegetarian Cooking For Everyone as a Christmas gift from one of my co-workers. And I’ve been using it regularly ever since. Again, not a vegan cookbook but there is plenty in here for vegans. I come back to this recipe just about every summer when corn and tomatoes are at their peak. I’ve used corn pasta in the past, but this time I used whole wheat spaghetti. The recipe calls for a little cheese which I just ignored although I did sprinkle some fake parmesan on top.

Oh, and there at the top, corn muffins with that coconut Earth Balance. Need more delivery systems for that spread.

One last time

Last week Matt and I went out for Indian food. He wanted meat so we tried Madras Woodlands even though the good chef is no longer there. His meat was terrible and not spicy even though he ordered it that way. My veg food was okay, but nothing spectacular. There are definitely other places around town doing it better. My main complaint about the samosa was the lack of complexity of the filling. The dosa wrapper was really good. But the potato filling was oily and a bit bland. The main flavor of it was the onions. I’m glad I opted for the Mysore Masala Dosa because the extra spice was needed.

However, this Evil Twin Ryan & the Beaster Bunny, along with the Stillwater Artisinal Ales Debutante and Victory Prima Pils that followed at the Midway were mighty tasty. Hanging out, drinking good beer, watching a down pour from a covered patio … most excellent.

West Indian Rundown

Some cookbooks are pretty straight forward and just give you the recipes with minimal commentary. And then some almost read like a memoir. Passionate Vegetarian is the latter. The whole book, 1000+ pages, is sprinkled with stories about food and the author’s life. It’s also a “joy of cooking” type of book where sections like “great grains” show you different things to do with quinoa, kamut, etc. I like these sorts of cookbooks for when you run across something a little unusual and want ideas on how to use it. While the book isn’t vegan, there are plenty of vegan or veganizable recipes. And the recipes are interesting, not the same old thing.

This past week, I pulled out this book and decided to make West Indian Rundown. Instead of using seitan, I substituted beef style TVP. I didn’t even bother to rehydrate it, just chucked it in the stew. We just ate it over brown rice. It made a ton and I ended up eating it all week for lunch. It was as good as I’ve had at a Caribbean restaurant, but it doesn’t photograph that well.