FRUIT SPONGE
2 t agar-agar powder
½ c water
1 ½ c rich soy/nut milk
½ c fruit juice concentrate
(eg. granadilla, apple, pineapple) pinch of salt
Soak agar in the ½ cup of water for 1 min., then boil for a min. In blender blend the milk, juice and salt. Add the hot agar while blending slowly. Pour quickly into dish and chill. (Agar-agar sets very quickly).
CAROB SPONGE
4 t agar-agar powder 1 c water
3 c rich soy milk
25 pitted, dates (= 1 1/4 cup) 1 ¼ c boiling water
¾ c carob powder
¼ c cashews
few drops natural vanilla
Soak and boil agar as for Fruit Sponge. Soak dates for a few min. in the boiling water in the
blender, then blend till fine. Add all remaining ingredients and the agar and blend till smooth. Pour into dish and chill.
NO-BAKE TOFU CHEESECAKE
1 ¼ t agar-agar powder (3 T flakes) 1 c water
500 g tofu
½ c concentrated pineapple juice (or canned crushed pineapple)
_ c honey 1 t salt
grated rind of 1 lemon
shredded coconut, toasted lightly
Soak agar in water. Bring to boil and simmer 1 min. Add tofu and heat gently (to prevent rapid setting of mixture). Blend all ingredients till smooth and pour into pie dish, which has been sprinkled with toasted coconut or muesli. Refrigerate and decorate when set.
BASIC PIE CRUST
(makes 2 pie bases, or 1 base and crumble for the top)
½ c macadamia butter (or other nut or seed butter)
2 c whole-wheat flour (small quantities [± ½ c] of rice, millet,
barley or oat flour may be substituted)
1 t salt
½ c water (approx.)
1 T honey/brown sugar (for sweet pies) (optional: one may add chopped nuts, coconut, lemon rind, etc.)
Mix dry ingredients well, then rub nut butter into flour mixture. Dissolve honey in the water and add to flour mixture. Knead and form 2 balls. For Apple Crumble roll out one ball for the base and grate the other for the crumble topping. (You might worry about the cost of so much nut butter, but firstly, consider the nutritional value compared to dairy butter, margarine or oil, and secondly, as mentioned before, do some detective work and find a cheap source of nuts and seeds and buy in bulk – then your butters will not be much more expensive than the conventional fats.) If you only have a blender, and cannot make nut butter, 1 c thick nut or seed cream (i.e. blending nuts/seeds with water till smooth) can be used instead of ½ c nut butter,
which is then worked into the flour. Reduce the amount of water added.
EASY APPLE CRUMBLE
Crust:
Basic Pie Crust
Filling:
5 c peeled and sliced apples
½ c grated pineapple (or crushed canned pineapple)
¼ t ground cardamom
_ t salt
¼ c honey, brown sugar or
½ c fruit sugar
Mix ingredients for filling well together, spread onto unbaked Basic Pie Crust and top liberally with grated pie crust. Bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35 min., or till apples are soft. Serve slightly warm with a nut or soy cream (see section on Milks and Creams)
.
APPLE CAKE
(or any other fruit)
Crust:
Yellow Corn Meal Dough, but add ½ cup honey, raw brown sugar, dates or fruit sugar in the place of the 1 T honey (rice flour may be used instead of corn flour for an even lighter crust).
Topping:
Same as for Easy Apple Pie, or vary with other fruit. Canned peaches or apricots make a pleasant change.
Make the dough as described in the section on main meals. After dough has risen once, roll out to thickness of about 1 cm and place in a sprayed shallow square dish. Do not line the sides as
for a pie. Arrange the apples or other fruit neatly and close together on top of dough and sprinkle with sugar and cardamom, or drip with the honey. Let rise till double in size and bake at 190°C (375°F) for 35 min. or till fruit is cooked. Serve with Custard (see Sauces) or nut/soy cream.
CAROB MILLET PUDDING
Cook together till soft
1 c millet, dehusked 4 c water
½ t salt
Blend (one cup at a time):
1 c hot cooked millet
2 T peanut butter 2 T carob powder
15-20 dates, softened in boiling water natural vanilla
a little water (if necessary) to aid blending
(optional: a few drops peppermint oil/essence)
Blend till all the millet is used. The millet must be very smooth. Place a layer of sliced bananas in bottom of glass dessert bowl, followed by a layer of the carob-millet mixture. Repeat, ending with a layer of millet pudding. Sprinkle with shredded coconut. For special occasions, make a generous amount of nut or other sweet cream and repeat layers of banana, millet pudding, then cream, reserving some cream for the top. Sprinkle carob powder over cream and chill. This pudding is a definite hit with everyone.
MILK TART
Crust:
Basic Pie Crust, or sprinkle base of pie dish with muesli or crumbled cookies
Filling:
Use Breakfast Butter (see Spreads) as base, but omit the turmeric and lemon juice and sweeten with honey. Pour into baked pie shell and leave to set.
OR
If you wish to bake the pie, use the following ingredients:
1 c cooked millet 1 c cold water
¼ c cashews
¼ c honey
1 T cornflour
¼ t salt (unless millet was cooked in salt water)
Blend all ingredients well together and pour into unbaked pie shell. Sprinkle with coriander or cardamom and bake at 190°C (350°F) for 30 min.
ICE-CREAM
Making ice-cream is much easier than you thought! Just peel and slice ripe bananas and freeze in plastic bags. When frozen, pour ice cold soy milk or nut milk (strained if desired) into blender and add frozen sliced bananas little by little while blender is blending. Add honey and vanilla if needed and continue blending until mixture is very thick. Can be eaten immediately or frozen slightly for later, but do not let the mixture freeze hard. For variety add a few drops of peppermint oil or add carob powder for chocolate flavour. Any other fruit (particularly apricots and strawberries) can be frozen (no need to cook) for other fruit flavours. Delicious served with hot Substitute Chocolate Sauce (see Sauces) and toasted sprinkle nuts.
PANCAKES/FLAPJACKS (CRÉPES)
As mentioned in the introduction many recipes are of such a nature that they can easily be adapted for a variety of dishes. The recipe given for Tofu Omelet (in the section under Quiches, Pies and other Tofu Dishes) can be adapted to make tender PANCAKES by adding a little water for a more fluid consistency, omitting the onion powder, garlic and half the salt and adding some sweetener. Pour a thin layer of the pancake mixture into the sprayed pan and flip over when light brown underneath. For FLAPJACKS retain the thicker consistency and drop spoonfuls into the pan. Serve with Orange Sauce or honey and nut/soy cream.
EASY PANCAKES
½ c cashews (or sunflower seeds)
¾ c white bread flour
¼ c soy flour
½ t salt
2 c water (1 ½ c if using sunflower seeds)
Alternative recipe:
2 c water
¾ c cashews or sunflower seeds 1 c rice or millet flour
1 T honey pinch of salt
Blend all ingredients together till very smooth. Use to make pancakes or flapjacks. Remember to whiz batter between each batch.