The Everyman's Chocolate Mousse

The Everyman's Chocolate Mousse

*My brilliant baker friend Sarah loves to challenge herself by making Jefe-friendly desserts. This one is his favorite and I am always jealous cuz he won't ever share. It is super simple and has literally 3 ingredients, 2 of which are different forms of water. SO, this mousse is allergy AND vegan-friendly!


INGREDIENTS:

3/4 cup (6 oz.) water
8 oz. chocolate (70% recommended, but pick what you love)
ice cubes
whipped cream for topping *optional


DIRECTIONS:

1. Pour water into a saucepan *you can flavor it with orange juice or cassis puree if you want to get fancy. Over medium-low heat, whisk in the chocolate. The result is a homogenous sauce.

2. Put the saucepan in a bowl partly filled with ice cubes or pour into another bowl that is over the ice--it will chill faster. Then whisk the chocolate sauce by hand or with an electric mixer *if mixer, it will thicken faster, so watch out! Whisking creates large air bubbles in the sauce, which steadily thickens. After a while, strands of chocolate form inside the loops of the whisk. Pour or spoon immediately into ramekins, small bowls, or jars, and let set. Serve immediately or refrigerate


3 things can go wrong and here's how you fix them:

1. If your chocolate doesn't contain enough fat, melt the mixture again, add some chocolate, and then whisk it again.

2. If the mousse is not light enough, melt the mixture again, add some water, and whisk it once more.

3. If you whisk it too much so that it becomes grainy, this means the foam has turned into an emulsion. In that case, simply melt the mixture and whisk it again, adding nothing.

Buffalo Chickpea Taquitos

Vegan comfort food yeah!  From here...

Recipe

1 onion, chopped
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 bell pepper, chopped
1 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1/2 c tomato sauce
3+ tbsp hot sauce
2 tbsp milk
1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp onion powder
3/4 tsp coconut / brown sugar
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
1/2 tsp ground cumin
chili powder to taste
~10 flour tortillas

• Preheat oven to 400.
• Mash the chickpeas.
• Heat some oil over medium, and saute the onion and bell pepper 3 minutes, then add the garlic and spices for another minute.
• Add sauces and chickpeas to the pan, bring to a boil, and simmer a couple minutes, adding chili powder for more spice if needed.
• Scoop about 2 tbsp of filling into each tortilla, roll up, and put close together on a baking sheet.  Brush with oil for extra crispiness.
• Cook 15-20 minutes until crispy.
• Serve with vegan cheese sauce if you've got it!

Notes

Not super easy and not quite as good as chicken :/ but overall a fun one!

Avocado Pesto Pasta

Found another recipe looking to use up some nearly-over-ripe avocados for an easy, hearty dinner...

Recipe

12 oz pasta
1 large avocado
1 c fresh basil
1/3 c walnuts
1 small lemon, juiced
1/2 c olive oil
1 tbsp chopped garlic
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
salt & pepper
optional topping: cherry tomatoes, halved

Cook the pasta.  In the meantime, blend or process everything else together into a creamy sauce.  Mix in with cherry tomatoes and serve!

Notes

Another really easy one - basically just takes you as long as it does to make a pot of pasta.  One thing - we usually get aggressive with garlic, but since it's not cooked, you can be a little lighter on that ingredient here ;)

Mushroom Stroganoff

While the sibs might not have great stroganoff memories, it was never one of my unfavorites, and this recipe looked pretty awesome...

Recipe

1/2 red onion
16-20 oz mushrooms
1 tbsp olive oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 c picked onions
1/3 c pickles
2 tbsp capers
1/2 c parsley
1 tsp smoked paprika
1/4 c vegan creme fraiche

Saute the onions and mushrooms over high heat, about 5 minutes.  Then add the olive oil, garlic, pickled onions, pickles, capers, and most of the parsley, and cook another 5 minutes.  Remove from heat and add the paprika, creme fraiche, rest of the parsley, and salt & pepper, with some hot water if needed to thin it out.  Serve!

Notes

Whoa those mushrooms...  We didn't get plating nearly as nice as the IG version, but less important than taste...  They recommend serving over rice which was good, but (non)egg noodles might be good too!

Beyond Meat Slow Cooker Chili

Trying out a few quarantine / work from home vegan recipes, and thought this recipe looked like one of the best and easiest options:

Recipe

1 can pinto beans
1 can diced tomatoes (with green chilies)
1 cup (or 1 pack) Beyond Meat crumbles
1/4 cup water
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp smoked paprika (or a few drops of liquid smoke)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/4 tsp chili powder
nutritional yeast, salt & pepper to taste

Add everything to your slow cooker and heat on low for 7-9 hours. Season with nutritional yeast & salt & pepper; serve over rice if desired.

Note that you may need to stir it up about an hour in - Beyond Meat can clump up a bit, but if you break it up then you should be all set.

Notes

Turned out really well!  A little on the dry side, but maybe because it was in a thin layer at the bottom of the somewhat oversized crockpot.  Would probably double in the future although that starts to be a lot of crumbles...

Vegan Sweet Potato Mac & Cheese

I love mac & cheese, one of the things I miss with a more vegan diet these days... Found this one and figured given all the ingredients it was worth a shot...

Recipe

1 sweet potato, roasted
1/2 yellow onion
1 head garlic
1/4 c nutritional yeast
1/2 c almond or non-dairy milk
1 tsp salt
1/4 c tahini
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
3 tbsp lemon juice
12 oz pasta
bread crumbs

Roast the sweet potato until tender. In the meantime, cut the head off the garlic. Drizzle the garlic & onion with olive oil and wrap in foil; bake 25-30 minutes.

Combine all the sauce ingredients in a blender: sweet potato, onion, garlic (peeled), etc. Blend, and if it's too thick, add more milk.

Mix the sauce with the (cooked) pasta. You can top with breadcrumbs or any other favorite toppings!

Notes

I really liked this recipe, but I wasn't convinced I was eating mac & cheese - more of a sweet, somewhat cheesy pasta sauce. Overall pretty easy and tasty!

Pasta Autunno

Pasta Autunno

INGREDIENTS:

Pasta *substitute gluten free pasta if need be
Bacon (½ pack cooked crisply and crumbled)
Sweet potatoes (2 small, cubed)
Small head of cauliflower
Brussels sprouts (½ - ¾ lb, cut in halves)
garlic cloves (whole)
pesto (from a jar or homemade in a food processor with greens, lemon, olive oil, salt, pepper etc)Halloumi *substitute tofu to make vegan

DIRECTIONS:

*This is basically an excellent odds-and-ends or using-leftovers pasta. You can mix and match based on what you have on hand in the fridge.

1.) Cut sweet potato into small cubes, halve brussels sprouts, chop cauliflower into small pieces, and skin at least 4 cloves of garlic

2.) Toss in olive oil and salt and pepper. Roast on a baking sheet until golden brown and soft.

3.) While the veggies roast, cut the halloumi into cubes (I prefer 1/2 inch). Heat a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat and cook the halloumi until you get some good color on those lil babies. *It will need to sit a lot initially! Be patient before you toss it around.

4.) Make pasta of your choice. *Spirals are best, though

5.) Toss all ingredients together and add some pesto sauce of your choosing.

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

Salt and Pepper Shrimp

INGREDIENTS:

2 lbs frozen shrimp, peeled and deveined *We like it best will ALL the shell removed, but you CAN keep the tail shell on if you want
1 cup cornstarch
4 cups oil
6 cloves garlic, chopped
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, sliced thin
2 teaspoons red pepper flakes
2 teaspoons salt
3 teaspoons black pepper
¼ cup scallions, sliced
3 cups white rice, cooked

For sauce *We improvised this just to add a drizzle of wet flavor

Gochujang
Soy sauce
Sesame oil
Fishsauce
ginger
Honey

DIRECTIONS

1.) Set a wire rack over a baking sheet.

2.) Add the shrimp to a medium bowl. Cover with cold water and let sit until thawed, about 20 minutes.

3.) Drain the thawed shrimp on paper towels and pat dry.

4.) Place the cornstarch in a large bowl. Add the shrimp and toss until well-coated. *Next time we will add salt and pepper to cornstarch before adding shrimp

5.)Heat the oil in a wok or large pan until it reaches 400°F (200°C). Add the garlic and fry for 40 seconds-1 minute, until golden brown. Remove the garlic with a strainer or slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.

6.) Fry the shrimp, about 6-8 at a time, for 2 minutes, or until light golden brown. Transfer to the wire rack to drain.

7.) In a clean wok or large pan, add the ginger and red pepper flakes and toast for 2 minutes, until the ginger is starting to brown.

8.) Add the shrimp and toss to combine. Season with the salt and pepper and toss until well-coated.

9.) Transfer the shrimp to a plate, drizzle on sauce and garnish with the scallions and fried garlic. Serve over rice.

Savory Soda Bread

Savory Soda Bread

INGREDIENTS:

2 cups all purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp kosher salt
2 tbsp finely chopped herbs of your choice
2 tbsp chopped scallions
2 oz. cubed sharp cheddar cheese *or cheese of your choice
2 oz. shredded cheddar *or cheese of your choice
1 cup buttermilk (1 cup milk and about 1 tbsp lemon, which you let sit 5-10 minutes)
1 large egg
1 tbsp melted butter
1/4 c roasted sunflower seeds
a bunch of cloves of garlic, chopped and sauteed until golden brown
at least 4 slices of cooked and largely crumbled bacon


DIRECTIONS:

1.) Preheat oven to 425. Line sheet pan with parchment paper, sprinkle lightly with flour

2.) In a medium-large bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine. Add herbs, scallions, cheese, sunflower seeds, bacon, and garlic. Stir again. Run through the dough with fingers to break apart diced cheese that has stuck together.

3.) Combine the egg and buttermilk in a small bowl or cup until well combined.

4.) Make a well in the center fo the flour mixture and add the buttermilk and egg. Stir just until all the flour is incorporated.

5.) Turn the dough out onto a work surface that has been generously dusted with flour. Turn the dough several times to coat with flour then form into a round loaf. If the dough is sticky and difficult to shape, add a little extra flour to the work surface and your hands if need be.

6.) Transfer the loaf to the sheet pan. With a sharp derated knife, cut an "X" on top of the loaf (maybe 1/4 to 1/2 inch deep).

7.) Bake for 20 minutes. Cover with foil if getting too brown. Bake for another 8-10 minutes. The top should be a nice golden brown.

8.) Remove from oven. Brush the loaf with melted butter and allow to cool for about 20 minutes before slicing.