Vegan Gluten-free Hamantaschen

The original recipe for this Purim cookie can be found at ShalomVeg.com at this link. I just changed the flour to a mix of gluten-free flours that I had on hand.

• 4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
  (My gluten-free mix: used a mix: 2 cups brown rice flour, 1 cup almond flour, 1/2 cup tapioca flour and  1/2 cup potato flour, 1 tsp xanthan gum)
• 4-3/4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup margarine, at room temperature ( I used Earth Balance sticks)
• 1-3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/2 cup water
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• filling (prepared poppy seeds, chocolate chips, jam, halvah)
  (I used orange marmalade and fig jam. Also made a couple with chocolate chips.)

1. In a large bowl, with a mixer set on medium speed, beat flour, baking powder, salt, margarine, sugar, water, and vanilla. Add a small amount of water if necessary to smooth (I added about 1/4 cup more water).
2. Preheat oven to 375°F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.
3. Roll out dough to 1/4" thickness. Cut out 3" circles with cookie cutters.
4. Place spoonfuls of desired filling into center of each circle and fold into triangular shape.
5. Bake for 10 minutes or until slightly browned. Remove from pans and cool on wire racks. Baking time may vary depending on your oven.
6. Chill overnight. (Umm, we just ate them right away!)

More about Purim and the origins of this cookie a little later....

Winter White Chili

Gluten-free

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon canola oil
• 1 1/2 cups chopped onion
• 2 4-ounce cans chopped green chiles (opt)
• 1-4 cloves garlic
• 1 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1 can each great northern beans, white lima beans
  and navy beans, rinsed
• (or use 2 ¼ cups dried beans, soaked)
• 4 cups reduced-sodium broth
• 1-2 cups diced soy strips
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped up
• salt, to taste (after beans have cooked)
  
  Add after cooking:
• 2 tablespoons cider vinegar
  

Preparation

1. Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion; cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Stir in garlic, chiles, oregano, cumin and cayenne. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes. Stir in beans, cauliflower, soy strips and broth; bring to a simmer. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 20 minutes. Add soy strips and vinegar; cook for 5 minutes more.  Add cider vinegar. Serve.
   
   
2. Pressure Cooker method: Use dried beans. Soak in water the night before, pour off water and rinse before adding to soup. Cook onions in oil in bottom of pressure cooker, add garlic, stir, add herbs and spices. Add other ingredients, cook on high pressure for 10-12 minutes, slow release.
   
   Either method: For a thicker soup base, use an immersion blender in the pot or take some out and blend it.

Holiday Herbed Cheeze Ball

My sister used to make the greatest herbed cheese when my parents had a restaurant in Stockton, CA. I think we used it as a spread in a sandwich. (The restaurant was "St. George and the Duck" at St. Mark's Plaza for those who might remember it!) I was eating cheese in those days, still not realizing all that my dairy allergy entailed.

Fast forward to today, when I am a vegan with fond memories of herbed cheese and a longing to be able to eat a cheese ball at a party!

I've put them all together here. It might look fancy, but it's quite simple. You do need to plan ahead a little if you want to make it into a ball (it needs to firm up in the fridge), but you can even make and eat it in 10 minutes if you want to use it as a dip or spread. (Although the flavor is enhanced if you let it sit for a few days to really infuse the cheese with the herbs.)

You can use fresh herbs, but I've made mine with what I've got in the spice cabinet. All measurements are estimates since I just throw in what I think will work. You can adjust to your own tastes and contents of your spice cabinet!

Herbed Cheeze Ball
(Vegan, Gluten-free)

1 8 oz container non-dairy cream cheese
3 Tbs white wine (adjust amount for firmness)
1-3 tsp dried parsley
1-3 tsp dried rosemary
1-3 tsp dried thyme
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1-4 Tbs dehydrated onion flakes (these will help to firm it up)

Coating (if you are making a ball)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (I used walnuts)
1/4 cup dried cranberries (optional)

Serve with crackers. (Serve with gluten-free crackers if you've got GF friends. I like rice crackers.)

Instructions:
Put the first seven ingredients in a bowl and mix well with a fork. You are done now if you want to serve it as a dip or spread right away or you can let it sit in the fridge.

To make the ball:
Place the mixture in the fridge for 1-3 days to firm up. The longer it sits, the more the flavors develop. If you have used the dehydrated onion flakes, they will help soak up the wine and make it firmer.

Just before serving (or the day of the party), take the mixture out of the fridge. With clean hands, roll it into a ball shape (this is the messy part), and then either:

1. Roll the ball in the chopped nuts, covering the ball well. Place on your serving tray.

or

2. Place the ball on your tray and arrange cranberries in two lines over and across the ball, like a ribbon on a package. You can even place a row along the bottom edge. Carefully apply chopped walnuts in the areas between the cranberries.

A note on serving: when I made this for a party at someone else's house, I put my "naked" cheeseball on a small circle of cardboard covered with tinfoil. That way I didn't have to apply the nuts to it on a big plate that wouldn't fit in my fridge. I could still fit it in a container (wrapped loosely in tinfoil) and I dressed my plate once I was at the party.

Tofu Stir-fry

Sometimes I forget that a stir-fry is my best choice on a busy day when I haven't planned much. I threw this together quickly, especially since I had extra cooked rice on hand (Tip #2 of the day: always cook extra rice to get you through a few days!)

Tofu Stir-fry

2 cups cooked brown rice
1/2 cup sliced carrots
2 cups spinach
1 package firm tofu, cubed
soy sauce

oil of choice (used coconut oil today for extra flavor for the frying, and a little toasted sesame seed oil)

Heat your pan, then add oil to coat pan.
Add carrots, cook for a few minutes. Add the tofu and brown it. Add in rice. Top with spinach, stir it in until it wilts. Ready to eat!

And of course, this is the kind of meal you can just about any left-over to. Just cut them up to nearly the same size and put the denser ones in first so they can cook longer. You can also make this oil-free by frying in water, not oil.

Easy White Beans

I bought a pressure cooker earlier this year and I've been having a lot of fun with it. I had to be convinced that it would not fulfill my mother's stories of her mother exploding a pot in her kitchen.

Jill Nussinow, the Veggie Queen, has a great pressure cooker cookbook out and this is based on one of her recipes.

These days, however, I don't always follow recipes, but just throw in some soaked beans, the right amount of water, some veggie broth powder, some onions and garlic and there you go, you've got tasty beans. On this day I added some spinach at the end to wilt it and tossed it over some pasta.

Yes, this is where I get my protein. (One of the many places...)