Cookbook Review: I'm Loving Mayim's Muffins

Recently, I received a review copy of Mayim Bialik's brand new cookbook, Mayim's Vegan Table. Because I absolutely love her character Amy Farrah Fowler on "Big Bang Theory," I had to give it a read. The first 59 pages provide a good foundation on the vegan diet and its health benefits and philosophies. Even without the recipes, I'd recommend it for someone who is new to the practice or for parents of newly minted vegans.

Most of the recipes are straightforward and easy to produce. They don't require uncommon ingredients or a long time to make. Most (except the dessert section) also are easy to make gluten free. Now that I'm living in the GF sphere, that's a pretty important feature for me in a cookbook.

For my test recipe, I decided to take on a recipe that was already gluten free, but that I could tinker with a bit for this blog. That recipe was Fruity Oatmeal Muffins.

They turned out to be pretty tasty muffins. They are indeed oaty, which a cakey crumb -- an unexpected pleasure in a gluten-free muffin made without gums. The muffins also are much lighter than you would expect for such a healthy baked good. I can easily see these becoming my go-to muffins.

My alterations were relatively minor. First, I used my unsweetened, home-dried cranberries (thanks to the behemoth of a dehydrator I recently purchased via a mandate by my wonderful mother-in-law who gave us a check and said we couldn't save it, but had to spend the thing). Next, I added walnuts because what's a muffin without nuts? I also used pumpkin pie spice as the spice, flax meal and water as my egg substitute, olive oil for the fat, and agave nectar (and consequently, half the applesauce) as the sweetener. Finally, I dropped the oven temperature to 375 degrees F (to account for the agave), but baked it for the same amount of time.

Here's the recipe as I made it.

Fruity Oatmeal Muffins

Yield: 12 muffins

Ingredients:

1 teaspoon flax meal
3 teaspoons filtered water
1 1/4 cup rolled oats
3/4 cup rolled oats run through the coffee grinder to make oat flour
2 tablespoons potato starch
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup unsweetened dried cranberries (if you have to use sweetened, use fruit-sweetened ones)
3/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/2 cup olive oil
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup applesauce

Directions: 
1. In a very small bowl, mix together the flax meal and water until combined and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, combine the oats, oat flour, potato starch, baking powder, spice, and salt.
3. Mix in the cranberries and walnuts.
4. In a separate bowl or large measuring cup, whisk together the olive oil and the flax mixture. Whisk in the agave and the applesauce.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and stir for about 2 minutes.
6. Heat your oven to 375 degrees F.
7. Line your muffin tray with paper liners.
8. Scoop the batter into the liners so that they are filled about 3/4 of the way.
9. When your oven reaches temperature, bake the muffins for 20 minutes. They should have very small crumbs clinging to a wooden tester when done.
10. Let cool in the try for 5 minutes before taking the muffins out to cool completely on a wire rack.

They are best slightly warm, but wonderful when cooled as well. Enjoy!

Making a Vegan, GF Muffin Oh-So-Cobblerific

This luscious bit of muffin-y goodness is somewhat based on the BabyCakes Ginger-Peach Corn Muffins recipe, except that I made a few key changes. Importantly, I turned it into a cobbler-muffin (or what John and I decided would be either a cobblin or a muffler -- you decide). That is, I loaded this baby up with a cobbler-like filling (hence the wee air hole toward the bottom of the photo).

Suffice to say, it's hardly your ordinary muffin. And, that's a nectarine, rather than a peach because the organic peaches in the stores here were unnaturally large and didn't smell like peaches. The organic nectarines, on the other hand, smelled like summer.

I also used a non-beany-based gf flour mix because I really don't enjoy the beany flavor in sweet baked goods. Because there were so many changes, I'm going to share my version here. Please let me know how yours turn out!

Summer Fruit Cobblins
Makes 12 standard muffin-sized cobbler-muffins

Ingredients
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tablespoons of apple cider vinegar
6 medium-sized (smaller than a baseball) fresh nectarines scrubbed well, pitted and cut into 1-inch-ish pieces
The juice of one juicy organic lime
1/3 cup of the liquid sweetener of your choice (I used agave nectar. If you use maple or brown rice syrup, just remember that your muffins will have a maple or caramel flavor, which is fine. I'm sure it will taste great.)
3/4 cup of a non-beany, finely ground gf flour mix (I used King Arthur Flour's All-purpose GF mix, but you also could use Pamela's Artisan mix and it would be successful.)
1/4 cup blanched almond flour
1 cup corn flour (not corn meal; it's a very different experience, much less grainy)
1.5 teaspoons baking powder
1.5 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum (although you don't have to use it; you could use chia or flaxmeal, although it might end up a bit crumbly -- try it and let me know)
3/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ginger (dry ground)
1/2 cup very good, fruity olive oil (or if you don't like the flavor, use grapeseed oil)
3/4 cup liquid sweetener of your choice (I used agave nectar, but you could use maple or brown rice syrup)
1/4 cup apple sauce
1 teaspoon vanilla

Directions:

1. Whisk together the almond milk and vinegar. Put the mixture aside so it can become vegan "buttermilk."

2. Combine the nectarines, agave nectar, and lime juice, and stir until the fruit is well coated. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F and pour the fruit and sauce into an 8-in. glass baking dish. Roast the fruit until it softens but doesn't burn or dissolve. It should take about 15 minutes. Let the fruit cool in the baking dish on a rack while you make the rest of the recipe. Set aside the "prettiest" 12 pieces you can find -- these will be the cobblin toppers.

3. Whisk the dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

4. In another bowl, mix together the liquid ingredients, then add them to the dry ingredients and mix the batter until smooth.

5. Turn down the oven to 325 degrees F and line your muffin pan with paper liners. Fill the liners half way with batter, then spoon a tablespoon or so of the fruit on top of the batter of each cobblin. Then add equal amounts of the remaining batter to each cobblin. Top each with one of the pretty fruit pieces you set aside earlier.

6. Bake the cobblins for 20-25 minutes until they are a lovely golden brown around the edges. Let them cool in the pan for 20 minutes, then out of the pan on a wire rack until cool enough to enjoy.

Here's a photo of what you should see inside:

Re-altering Plates or My New Gluten-Free Life

Yep, I know it's been two years since I've updated this blog. Sorry about that. I've been updating Here and There regularly and been very active on Facebook, but it's not the same. And, I've gone gluten free.

Since November 2012, I haven't had any gluten in my food, and it's made a huge difference as far as my Hashimoto's Thyroiditis goes. I'd been having a lot of digestive distress and pain last fall, and before I found out that it was reproductive, I decided to give up gluten just in case I'd become sensitive. I had no idea that folks with autoimmune diseases like mine tend to benefit from giving up gluten.

Prior to the change, it seemed like each doctor's appointment (3x per year), my prescription needed to be increased to get my thyroid numbers right, and I was symptomatic. Since the change, all of my blood levels have been great!

All that to say, my plates have altered once again, and I'm beginning to re-make my recipes gluten free. The first is my Vegan Blueberry Apricot Cobbler.

Vegan Blueberry Apricot Cobbler (Originally posted here.)

Yields 12 servings (or 10 large servings)

Ingredients

Filling
5 cups fresh apricots, pre-pitted and sliced
4 cups fresh blueberries
2/3 cup agave nectar
Pinch of salt
3 tablespoons Gluten-Free all-purpose flour (not the beany kind)

Topping
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2/3 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk for mine)
1/2 cup almond meal
1 1/2 cup Gluten-Free all-purpose flour (not the beany kind)
 2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (makes all the difference)
1/2 teaspoon Pensey's baking spice (or cinnamon, if you don't have it, but you might want to consider ordering some because it's really great stuff, and they don't pay me to say that)
5 tablespoons agave nectar or maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons good, fruity olive oil (or experiment with another good oil you enjoy)

Directions

1. Lightly oil a glass 9x13x2 in. baking dish.
2. For the filling, gently mix together the fruit, agave nectar, flour, and salt in a large bowl and let rest.
3. For the topping, in a separate bowl, combine the apple cider vinegar and non-dairy milk.
4. In a large bowl, mix the almond meal, flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and the spices.
5. Add to the vinegar/milk mixture the remaining agave nectar, vanilla, and olive oil. Give it at least a minute of whisking.
6. Pour the liquid ingredients over the dry mixture and combine until just mixed.
7. Give the fruit filling one more stir before pouring it into the prepared baking dish.
8. Scoop the topping on top of the filling.
9. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F while the topping rises. It won't rise a lot, but it will poof up a bit.
10. Bake the cobbler for 40 minutes, then check to see if it isn't getting too brown on top. You're looking for a nice golden brown. The filling should be good and bubbly.
11. Cool on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before serving. It's best warm, but just as good from the fridge 4 days later.

The cobbler will keep at room temperature for 3 days. After that, if there is any left, and my guess is that there won't be, keep it refrigerated until it's gone.

Agave MythBuster at Madhava

If you haven't seen it yet, you should definitely check out Madhava's newest resource on agave nectar, Agave MythBuster. Go now, tell your friends!

Light As Air Cherry Fig Not-ins

From April 2010 photos

As I've said many times, one of my favorite cookbooks is Vegan with a Vengeance by Isa Chandra Moskowitz. My copy is well worn, especially on pages I've used to make Altered Plates versions of dishes. I've also started to write my alterations on the pages because the slips of paper with my notes sometimes slip out or I make additional changes later.

In the photo above, you can see the outcome of my tinkering with Isa's Fig Not-ins. In my youth, I ate my share of Fig Newtons. These were quite different from the dense cookie of my past. My agave-nectar sweetened cookies were light and fluffy, more cakey than cookie, but lovely.

From April 2010 photos

Because my version uses agave nectar, I was very careful about not letting them brown too much. I'm going to continue to noodle with these a bit because I read on Isa's blog that you could use the dough to make Hamantaschen. My dough was way too wet for that, and I'd like to use coconut oil instead of the shortening to achieve a more butter-like result (however coconutty it may taste).

The cookies have a definite vanilla flavor, but the filling is king. The cherries add a great fruity flavor, while the figs and dates pull it down to earth. These cookies make an excellent light dessert for a big meal or a nice snack on their own.

From April 2010 photos

The upskirt view (can you use that on other descriptions than pizza?) shows how light and cakey this bar cookie is.

From April 2010 photos

Here's a really nice shot of the filling. I used organic Turkish figs and organic Medjool dates from the co-op combined with my favorite dark sweet cherries from Trader Joe's, and omitted the lemon zest. I also used considerably less sweetener overall because the fruit was sweet enough. The most important step here is the blending. I added this because the filling was way too chunky otherwise. As you can see from the photo, I didn't quite divide my dough evenly between the top and bottom, so you might want to do this better than I did (although it didn't affect how tasty these were at all).

Another cookie I used to enjoy as a kid was raisin bars. My mom would by these flat packages of cellophane wrapped bars with a wavy score between each cookie (making them about 3 in. long once separated from their brothers). I'd like to try to replicate those, and will work on that over the summer.

Here is the recipe as I made it, greatly inspired by the Fig Not-ins recipe on page 202 of Vegan with a Vengeance.

Cherry Fig Not-ins
Yield: 24 big cookies or 36 small cookies

Ingredients:
1/2 cup dried sweet cherries (unsweetened), chopped
1/2 cup Medjool dates, pitted and chopped
3/4 cup dried Turkish figs, chopped
1 cup filtered water
2 tablespoons agave nectar

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
1/4 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups all-purpose or whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions:
1. Combine the first 5 ingredients in a medium saucepan and stir while you heat it to medium.
2. When it starts to bubble, turn off the heat and either use an immersion blender (my choice, but be careful!) or a regular blender to blend all the big chunks out of the mixture. Set the filling aside to cool.
3. With a mixer in a large bowl, whip the fats with the agave nectar for at least 3 minutes, until they are well combined.
4. Mix in the arrowroot, almond milk, and vanilla until well combined. It will look a bit curdle-y, but that's alright.
5. In a separate bowl or a large measuring cup, combine the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt until all are incorporated.
6. Add the dry ingredients to wet mixture to form a light dough.
7. With well-floured hands on a well-floured surface, form the dough into a ball and split it into two. Wrap each dough ball in plastic and let it rest and chill in the fridge for at least an hour.
8. When the dough has cooled, take it out of the fridge and its wrapping, and flour a large piece of parchment paper, your hands, and your rolling pin. Take one of the dough halves and roll it until it is about 9 x 15 inches. You can leave this on the parchment paper because it will be your bottom layer. Place this layer on a cookie sheet (I used a pan with 1 in. sides just in case the filling oozed, which it didn't). Roll out your top layer the same way, but set it aside for a moment.
9. Spread the filling thickly, but evenly on top of the bottom layer in the pan.
10. Here's the tricky part, take your top layer, still on the parchment paper, and turn it paper side up on top of the filling layer. Then, gently peel the paper off the top layer.
11. With a pizza cutter, or a sharp, long knife, cut the cookies into the size bars you wish. Do not separate them now. It just makes them super-easy to cut once they are baked.
12. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F. When the oven is at temperature, bake the cookies for approximately 20 minutes or until lightly browned.
13. Let them cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then using the edges of the parchment paper, lift the entire batch out of the pan and onto a wire rack to cool for an hour before cutting along the same lines you made earlier. Separate the cookies, then let them cool completely.
14. Enjoy!

Purim!

Back in May 2007, when the Holiday post beow originally ran, this blog was new to the world and I was new to making Hamantaschen with agave nectar. What I learned was that too much coconut flour (used as a way of dealing with too much liquid in a recipe) can make a dough go very stiff. But when life hands me challenges like the one shown in the little movies below, I just make star cookies.

Note to vegans: While looking into veganizing this recipe, I found a very helpful posting at the Post Punk Kitchen that says you can use the dough for their Fig Not-Ins (from Vegan With a Vengeance) as a base instead. However, that uses regular sugar instead of agave nectar. It will require some food science to nail this one down, but I'm up for the challenge! It just might take place after graduation in May.

(By the way, whenever I see these old videos, I laugh at two things -- my wacky presentation style and my old kitchen. I really need to film the next Altered Plates blog post and bring my filmmaking into the next decade!)

Here's hoping you have a wonderful holiday and enjoy this original post from May 28, 2007:

The Hamantaschen That Became Stars

Here's a 15-minute short film in three parts on my experience re-doing hamantaschen from the King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. The dough didn't turn out to be pliable to fold into the traditional shapes, so I made cut cookies instead. Regardless, they were a huge hit.

Veganomicon's Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel

From February 2010 photos

For fans of the Veganomicon or for folks who haven't yet purchased this wonderful collection of tasty vegan recipes, I recommend the easy-to-make Pumpkin Crumb Cake with Pecan Streusel. I wish I'd made more of the streusel because it was definitely the best part. In fact, I'm planning on making a bundt cake using it as a center swirl.

From February 2010 photos

Above is a close up of the yummy topping.


Because I didn't make that many changes to the original recipe, I can't post it here. However, I will post my alterations below. Again, I highly recommend purchasing the Veganomicon for its diverse recipe collection, its very tasty dishes, and its handy guides and useful information along the way.

My changes:

1. Substituted agave nectar for the brown sugar in the streusel.
2. Added 2 tablespoons of barley flour to the streusel.
3. Used vanilla unsweetened almond milk instead of the soy milk in the cake.
4. Cut the oil in the cake to 2/3 cup.
5. Used 1 cup of agave nectar instead of the 1 1/2 cups sugar and 3 tablespoons molasses (it was definitely sweet enough) in the cake.
6. Used 2 1/3 cup pastry flour and 1/3 cup coconut flour for the all-purpose flour in the cake.
7. Baked it for 40 minutes at 325 degrees F.

Overall, the texture was quite moist from the pumpkin. I would probably substitute the spices for 5-spice powder the next time I make this. I also would double the amount of streusel and swirl some of it into the batter before topping it.

Vegan Pear-Cranberry Crisp

From February 2010 photos

A few weeks ago, my friends Bo, Rosie, and Tony visited for a celebration of vegan flavors. Now, understand that these folks are not vegan, nor am I, but I wanted to introduce some omnivores to the tastier and healthier dishes that can be found in the strict vegetarian diet. Tony was the most impressed with the massive spread and the dishes that kept emerging from the kitchen. He thought of going vegan right then!

Rosie and Bo were tougher sells, but this Pear-Cranberry Crisp sealed the deal. They enjoyed the granola-y texture and the fruity flavors. They also liked the ginger zip and the overall vanilla taste. It's the perfect warm dessert for a frosty evening (which tends to be the case in February), plus it lets me use up some of the thousand cranberries I froze back in the fall.

The recipe below is inspired by one of the same name found in the sadly out of print The Angelica Home Kitchen from the restaurant Angelica Kitchen down on the Lower East Side of Manhattan. I also made the incredible Walnut-Lentil Pate as well as the Miso-Tahini Spread, which went over very well. (I'll be making the pate again for my mom and Dave's famous Flowers In February party to celebrate their gorgeous orchids blooming.)

From February 2010 photos

Above is another shot of the still-warm crisp topped with 3 small scoops of Vanilla Bean flavor Purely Decadent Coconut Milk frozen dessert. It was heavenly, to say the least. The scant leftovers were fantastic for breakfast the next morning.

Tip: Quick way to chop pecans is not to chop them at all, but to seal them in a plastic bag (or roll 'em up in a towel) and hit them with a mallet.

From February 2010 photos

Pear-Cranberry Crisp
Serves 8

Ingredients:
1 cup old fashioned oats
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup barley flour
1 cup chopped pecans (I pummeled mine with a mallet instead of dirtying a knife.)
1/2 cup sliced almonds
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup oil of your choice (I used grapeseed oil.)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla


6 firm pears, cored and cut into 1/2 in. sized pieces.
1 cup cranberries (I used frozen that I'd bought fresh and quick frozen back in November.)
2 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1/2 cup apple juice
3 tablespoons agave nectar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 tablespoon of freshly grated ginger (the more finely grated the better)
pinch of salt

Directions:
1. Mix the flours, pecans, almonds, and salt together in a medium bowl.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the oil, agave nectar and vanilla (from the top section of ingredients) until well incorporated.
3. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir until crumbly. This is your topping. Cover and refrigerate until the next two steps are done.
4. Combine the remaining ingredients in a large bowl and mix well.
5. Lightly oil a 9 x 9 in. baking dish and pour the fruit mixture into the dish. Cover with foil and bake at 350 degrees F. for 25 minutes.
6. Take the dish out of the oven briefly, then sprinkle the crumble on top of the baked fruit. Cover again, making sure the foil does not touch the crumble, and bake again for 20 minutes.
7. Uncover the dish and bake until the topping is golden brown, approximately 15 minutes.
8. Serve warm.

Vegan Hazelnut Thumbprint Cookies

From January 2010 photos

Oooh these are rich and tasty. If you have a penchant for hazelnuts, these treats from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar are definitely up your alley. Like all the others I've tried in this small, but wonderful book, these cookies are a snap to make and easy to alter.

I've made lots of different vegan and ovo-lacto thumbprints over the years, but the more I make them, the more partial I am to the vegan variety. While I'm not a huge fan of hazelnuts (much bigger fan of pistachios and pecans), I really enjoyed the buttery, distinctively nutty flavor of these cookies.

Recently, a friend and I made these using agave nectar rather than the brown sugar called for in the original recipe (on page. 198). We also used an orange apricot Trader Joe's fruit spread instead of the raspberry jam. My friend and I agreed that the spread made the cookies. They completely set off the richness while adding a citrus zip. I suppose they would do equally well with an orange or other citrus marmalade.

From January 2010 photos

Because we didn't do much different from the original recipe, I really can't reprint it here. Instead, I'll tell you what we differently:
1. We used agave nectar for the brown sugar.
2. We made our own hazelnut butter by grinding up hazelnuts in the food processor with a small amount of canola oil.
3. We used orange apricot fruit spread for the raspberry jam.
4. We dropped the oven temperature by 25 degrees F.

All that to say, if you don't already have VCIYCJ, you should definitely invest the ~$12 to get it. It's not a lot to pay for loads of great recipes to turn to again and again.

From January 2010 photos

Zucchini-Cranberry Muffins

From January 2010 photos

I've spent a lot of time among zucchinis and cranberries in the past year, seeking to develop a tasty, healthy, vegan muffin that would do justice to this pairing. I think I finally discovered the secret ingredients: barley flour and whipped avocado. Previously, I used olive oil as the only fat, but now I am a true believer in the power of avocado as a butter substitute. Which is not to say that I won't use olive oil in some recipes, but for now, avocado is a dear friend in my baking efforts. And, barley flour? Well, barley, according to Dave Grotto, is good for circulation, digestive issues, insomnia, leg cramps, and migraines.

Dave, by the way, just came out with a new book, 101 Optimal Life Foods. I've been giving some extra attention to the book here because several of my recipes are featured in it. I've also experienced the results of eating optimal life foods since I became a vegetarian 20 years ago.

As I have mentioned in previous posts, the format of the recipe as printed in Dave's new book is different than that of my Altered Plates postings (down to the use of the term agave syrup instead of agave nectar). Also, I never turn the oven on until everything is ready to be baked because my oven only takes a few minutes to come to temperature. However, I respect integrity, so below is the recipe straight from 101 Optimal Life Foods by David Grotto, RD, LDN Copyright © 2009 by David Grotto. The recipe is excerpted from the original book by permission of Bantam, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

Zucchini-Cranberry Muffins
Servings: 12

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup barley flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
2/3 cup agave syrup
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup whipped avocado (easily done in a blender or with an immersion blender)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon fiori di Sicilia extract (optional)
1 1/3 cups grated zucchini (leave the skin on for lovely green bits)
1/2 cup frozen or fresh cranberries

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Line two muffin pans [if you have 6-cup pans] with nice paper liners.
     Sift together the dry ingredients (except the walnuts) into a large bowl with a lip or into a very large measuring cup. Fold in the walnuts, making sure to mix them in well. They also help to better distribute all the dry ingredients.
     In a separate large bowl, whisk together the agave syrup, olive oil, avocado, vanilla, and fiori di Sicilia, if desired, until well blended. Ensure that there are no lumps of avocado. With a big spoon or silicone spatula, mix in the zucchini. Add the dry ingredients, mixing until just blended. Fold in the cranberries for about 1 minute.
     Using an ice cream scoop, fill the muffin liners. The muffins will rise a little, so make sure not to overfill the liners. Bake for 12 minutes, then rotate the pans and bake for another 12 minutes, or until a bamboo tester comes out clean. The tops should be golden brown.
     Let the muffins rest in their pans for 10 minutes, no more. Then remove them from the pans to cool completely on wire racks. Break 'em open and enjoy!

Nutrition Profile
190 calories, 7 g total fat, 1 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 190 mg sodium, 31 g carbs, 4 g fiber, 3 g protein.

From January 2010 photos

Beanie-Greenie Brownies

From January 2010 photos

Yep, this is another recipe for brownies with beans, but my newest version is extra-special. I've cut the bad fats dramatically by using whipped fresh avocado as the primary fat. Avocado does wonderful things for brownies (as well as your skin and heart). First, it makes brownies rich in the most wonderful way. Second, they are fudgy in exactly the way you would expect chocolate fudge brownies to be, except that they are carob. Best of all, avocados are so nutritionally dense, we should be eating them more often, and what better way than with a brownie! (If you ignored the above link, you might re-think it and visit the California Avocado Commission for more info.)

From January 2010 photos

See? Super-fudgy.

These special brownies are another work of mine that Dave Grotto published within his 101 Optimal Life Foods.

While my brownies are carob, you could easily make these chocolate. Admittedly, I couldn't resist tinkering. Even though this recipe is well-tested by both me and Dave's test kitchens, I still had to tinker with it. I used 1/2 cup less agave nectar than I used originally and still found the brownies to be sweet enough for me. Your mileage may vary.

As I mentioned in the previous post, the format of the recipe as printed in Dave's new book is different than that of my Altered Plates postings (down to the use of the term agave syrup instead of agave nectar). However, I respect integrity, so below is the recipe straight from 101 Optimal Life Foods by David Grotto, RD, LDN Copyright © 2009 by David Grotto. The recipe is excerpted from the original book by permission of Bantam, a division of Random House, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.

To indicate any alterations I made, I'll include them in bolded font.

Greenie-Beanie Brownies
Servings: 48

Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups unsweetened carob chips
3 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread, plus more for the pan
1/4 cup tahini
1 cup whipped avocado (easily done in a blender or with an immersion blender)
3/4 cup pureed cooked beans (I used cannelini because they have such a creamy flavor.)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup oat flour (or coconut flour)
1 cup carob powder
2 cups agave syrup (I used 1 1/2 cups agave nectar.)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. (I waited until the batter was in the baking dish prior to preheating the oven.) Using Earth Balance buttery spread, generously grease a 13 x 9-inch pan.
     Mix together the carob chips, Earth Balance, and tahini in a large heatproof bowl. Bring a medium saucepan filled halfway with water to a boil. Turn off the heat and place the bowl with the carob mixture over the hot water. Whisk the melting carob mixture until smooth.
     Transfer the carob mixture to a stand-mixture bowl, and whisk in the avocado until incorporated. Whisk in the pureed beans until incorporated.
     In a separate bowl or very large measuring cup, sift together the dry ingredients; mix thoroughly with a fork until all the dry ingredients are combined.
     In a large measuring cup, combine the agave syrup with the vanilla.
     On the mixer, switch to the paddle attachment. Alternate adding 1/2 cup at a time of the dry and agave mixtures to the batter. When the batter has been mixed well, fold in the walnuts. Let the batter rest until the oven has reached temperature.
     When the oven has reached temperature, spread the batter into the prepared pan, making sure to get it in all the corners. It will be pretty thick. Bake for 40 minutes, or until a tester reveals a few moist crumbs. Let the brownies cool completely on a rack (at least 2 hours) before cutting into 48 pieces.

Nutritional Profile
110 calories, 4 g total fat, 0.5 g saturated fat, 0 mg cholesterol, 50 mg sodium, 20 g carbs, 2 g fiber, 2 g protein.

From January 2010 photos

A Whole Different Kettle of Cranberries

From December 2009

As you can tell from my recent posts, I'm a bit up to my knees in cranberries. I love the tart snap of a fresh cranberry. When they pop, bursting their juices in these muffins, they add the most refreshing color to these oat-bran-heavy breakfast goodies.

This is another big alteration of an original recipe from the great new cookbook from the Moosewood folks, Cooking for Health. I'd almost begun reviewing the book again when I remembered that I already had on yet another cranberry-heavy recipe! My version of Moosewood's "Apple Muffins with Oat Bran and Dates" is vegan, and substitutes agave nectar for molasses, apricots for dates, and cranberries for the apples. I've also added in a little fat in the form of 2 tablespoons of grapeseed oil.

In my baking career, I've made a few cholesterol fighters in my time, but I think these will become part of my daily diet. Between all the oat bran, flaxmeal, and walnuts in these muffins, my numbers will be decreasing in no time. Overall, these oat-y, cranberry muffins go a long way toward making healthy taste good.

Here's the recipe as I made it.

Cranberry Oat Bran Muffins (Greatly inspired by "Apple Muffins with Oat Bran and Dates" on page 52 of The Moosewood Restaurant Cooking For Health.)
Yield: 12

Ingredients:

1/2 cup soy or coconut milk yogurt
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons flax meal
3/4 cup finely chopped dried apricots
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
1 cup oat bran
1/4 rolled oats
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Baking Spice by Pensey's
2 cups fresh or frozen cranberries
1/2 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together the yogurt, vinegar, flax meal, apricots, vanilla, agave nectar, and oil until well combined.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together the oat bran, oats, flour, baking soda, salt, and spices.
3. Add the dry mixture to the wet mixture and stir until the dry ingredients are coated with the wet.
4. Fold in the cranberries and the walnuts.
5. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with paper liners.
6. Fill each liner to the top edge with the muffin batter. These won't puff up much at all, so don't worry about these being over filled.
7. Bake for 20 minutes or until a bamboo tester comes out clean.
8. Cool in the pan for 10 minutes, then tip out the muffins and let them cool completely on a wire rack. Freeze any that will not be eaten in the next 3 days.
9. Enjoy!

From December 2009

Making Over Martha: Cranberry Tangerine Muffins

From December 2009

Catching up a bit from recent baking (and scholarly) triumphs, here is my latest Making-Over-Martha moment. The original recipe was called "Clementine-Vanilla Bean Quick Bread," from the November issue of Martha Stewart Living. I wanted to noodle around with this recipe for several reasons:
1. I still have a few pounds of cranberries I froze right after Thanksgiving.
2. The recipe seemed "bendable" enough for me to be able to do some alterations with it.
3. I had several tangerines in the fridge that needed to be eaten.

From December 2009

The original recipes call for making a loaf of the batter and soaking it with a citrus simple syrup. I handled it a bit differently by making muffins glazed from a mixture of simmered agave nectar, tangerine juice, and tapioca flour. That worked very well and I've since applied the technique with other flavorings to different baked goods.

To my vegan friends, this recipe can be veganized by substituting 3 oz. of solid coconut butter for the dairy butter, increasing the baking powder and baking soda to 3/4 teaspoon each, and by using 2 teaspoons of flaxmeal in 2 tablespoons of water instead of the eggs. By the way, since my cholesterol came up high again this week, I'm with you. No more butter and eggs for me. So, you'll be seeing all veganized recipes after this one.

The resulting muffins are very cakelike in texture with a lovely fresh flavor from the tangerine segments. A note about that: removing the fruit from the bitter membrane and pith is very time consuming. Build in an extra hour when you make these and put on a David Sedaris CD for some good laughs while you're doing it.

The cranberries were the exact right foil for the richness of the muffin. They paired well with the tangerines, and made me think of adding cut halves of cranberries to my next fruit salad.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Cranberry Tangerine Muffins (greatly inspired by "Clementine-Vanilla Bean Quick Bread" on page 200 of the November 2009 issue of Martha Stewart Living)

Yield: 12 large and 12 mini muffins

Ingredients:
4 large tangerines
1 stick unsalted butter at room temperature
1 cup agave nectar
2 eggs
2 cups white whole wheat flour (or whole wheat pastry flour)
1/4 cup coconut flour (sifted)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup soy creamer
2 tablespoons vanilla
1 cup fresh or frozen cranberries
2 tablespoons tapioca flour

Directions:
1. Zest and juice 2 of the tangerines.
2. Take the other 2 tangerines apart by separating the orange fruit from the white pith and membranes. It's an awful task, I know, but it will be worth it.
3. In a large bowl, beat the butter with 3/4 cup agave nectar until completely incorporated. Beat in the eggs (it will look terribly globby, but don't worry about it) for 2 minutes.
4. In a separate bowl, whisk together the soy creamer, vanilla, and 1/4 cup of the tangerine juice.
5. In yet another bowl (I know, lots to clean, sorry), sift together the flours, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
6. In alternating turns, add the creamer and flour mixtures to the butter mixture. It should take about 2 minutes to add everything in and mix everything well.
7. Fold in the tangerines and cranberries.
8. Preheat oven to 325 degrees F. Line 12 cups of a large muffin pan and 12 cups of a mini muffin pan.
9. Using scoops, fill the muffin cups to the top with the batter.
10. Bake for 30 minutes for the minis and 45 minutes for the large muffins (or until a bamboo tester comes out clean).
11. While the muffins bake, make the glaze. In a small saucepan, simmer the agave nectar, remaining tangerine juice, and tapioca flour. Whisk often until it thickens, then turn off the heat and let cool.
12. After the muffins cool for 10 minutes, take the muffins out of their pans and let them cool completely.
13. Using a pastry brush, gently brush the glaze over the tops of the muffins. It will set up nicely.
14. Enjoy!

Sometimes You Win, Sometimes Your Cookies Spread Too Much

I wish I could be posting about the wonderful new recipe I'm working out for some highly seasonal, cranberry walnut oatmeal cookies. But I can't. Well, technically, that is what I'm doing, albeit not in the originally intended way.

Normally, you'd see a photo up here showing the results of some new kitchen surprise I've reworked from someone's fine recipe to accommodate agave nectar and/or veganizing, but not today. Today, I'm writing about what happens when you bake in a hurry. A hurry necessitated by too long a list of to-dos and too short a time for doing them. Yes, I know. Join the club.

All that to say, a very kind fellow from Princeton sent me a bunch of marvelous recipes, one of which I made earlier on a break between reading for tomorrow's classes and working on an extensive (read: way too long, yet pretty darn useful) annotated bibliography for my independent study work.

Because I noodled with the recipe while my mind was elsewhere, I neglected to take some needed precautions (chill the dough for 2 hours prior to baking -- my direction, not his). The resulting cookies spread so much that they became very thin, very large facsimiles of oatmeal cookies. On the other hand, they are very tasty. The combination of fresh cranberries with crunchy walnuts and rich oats is right on the money. I also used coconut oil instead of butter (you know I have mixed feeling about the stuff -- scary that it's so solid at room temperature), but the next time I rework these, I will use less. They don't end up tasting coconutty at all. Just buttery.

Oh well. Only a few more weeks left in the semester and many decisions about what to make for Thanksgiving at Mom's. My intention is to perfect a vegan version of these cookies as my contribution, but they will definitely take more noodling before they are ready for prime time.

One thing I may do next year, if I have time, is work on an agave-sweetened cranberry sauce. I've thought about it a lot over the years and just haven't gotten to it yet. There might be agar involved (to get the right "straight out of the can" rigidity to appeal to the kids who don't like the more authentic stuff), and I need more practice with that.

In the meantime, I encourage you to get some of the fantastic fresh cranberries from New Jersey. The crop I sampled is amazing.

::Continuing to chant "I love a challenge. I love a challenge. I love a challenge."::

Ah, the Miracle of Coconut Oil -- Veganized Anzac Biscuits

From October 2009 Photos

I'm very fond of many of my cookbooks, but few are written with such care as The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion. It's really a great book for beginners because it explains so much of the food chemistry that goes into baking. It's even better for those of us a bit more practiced who like to tinker with recipes.

One of the recipes in the Cookie Companion that I've had tagged for a few years without trying is "Anzac Biscuits." Traditional Australian cookies, crisp and buttery, these yummy bits are usually made with golden syrup and sugar. I knew they would be a challenge, and not quite authentic made with agave nectar, but I pushed forward. The big issue is that agave nectar just doesn't crystalize. Add in coconut oil instead of butter, and you get a cookie that's moist, not crispy.

From October 2009 Photos

All that aside, these are really great, habit-forming cookies. Even though the recipe calls for no spices or flavorings, these still have plenty of flavor from the caramelized agave nectar, the oats, and all that coconut.

From October 2009 Photos

The interesting step of mixing a slurry of baking soda and boiling water with the agave nectar and coconut oil does something fizzy and magical to the cookies. It makes them light and indescribably snackable. I couldn't keep my mitts off them. Luckily, I brought the majority of the batch to Mom and Dave as well as some friends on Monday night. They were quite the success. No one thought they weren't made with butter. And, that my friends, is the miracle of coconut oil. Solid at room temperature, the stuff frightens me with all its saturated fat. However, it's supposed to be good fat, so I'm not going to worry (OK, I worry a little and only eat two cookies -- please send me links to research that will set my mind at ease!) too much.

All that to say, I'm happy to be able to veganize classic recipes and make them agave nectar friendly. One last thing -- when I make these again, I'm adding vanilla and ginger. Mom thought they would be excellent as well (and we know that she knows what she's talking about). Here's the recipe as I made it.

Anzac Biscuits (greatly inspired by the recipe of the same name on page 83 of The King Arthur Flour Cookie Companion)

Yields 3 dozen cookies.

Ingredients:

1 cup rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour (sifted)
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded dried coconut
Pinch of salt
1/2 cup coconut oil (measured solid)
2/3 cup agave nectar (you'll want amber for this)
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
2 tablespoons boiling water

Directions:

1. Mix together the oats, flours, coconut, and salt in a large bowl until well combined. Set aside.
2. In a small saucepan, melt the coconut oil in the agave nectar over low heat. This will take about 10 minutes of stirring often. If you need to turn up the heat a little, you'll need to keep a close eye on it. Just make sure it doesn't boil.
3. While the oil is melting, boil the water and make the baking soda slurry. Add the boiling water to the baking soda and stir well.
4. Take the oil/agave nectar mixture off the heat and stir in the baking soda slurry. This will foam up in a lovely caramel color. It won't foam over, so don't worry about that.
5. Gently mix the liquid mixture into the dry ingredients until everything is well combined. Let rest.
6. Heat the oven to 325 degrees F and prepare three baking sheets with parchment paper liners.
7. Using a medium cookie scoop (or two spoons), scoop the dough in even measures with lots of spreading room (because these guys spread a LOT) onto the cookie sheets.
8. Bake for a total of 12 minutes, turning and switching the positions of the sheets at 6 minutes.
9. Let the cookies sit on their sheets for 10 minutes before delicately moving them to racks to cool completely. They crisp up a bit, but will always have a nice moistness to them.
10. Enjoy!

Heavenly Banana Apple Walnut Muffins

From October 2009 Photos

I'm a big fan of The Sweet Melissa Baking Book. You might remember the very buttery and delicious Pistachio Linzer Thumbprints I made the last time I wrote about the book.

This recipe is greatly inspired the book's recipe "Mom's Banana Apple Bread," especially when it comes to the wonderful apple element. I noticed that I've been having trouble making successful recipes that require the use of a loaf pan (the original bread recipe was to be a loaf), so I noodled around with the recipe a bit and made muffins from it. The resulting muffins were fantastic. And, for my vegan friends, I have included ingredient swaps and directions.

From October 2009 Photos

The neat thing about this recipe is that the directions call for sauteing the apples in butter, vanilla, cinnamon, and brown sugar prior to adding them to the batter. Of course, I used agave nectar in my saute and substituted the most gorgeous Gala apples I've ever seen for the Granny Smiths. By the way, if you wanted a very simple dessert or topping, you could easily just make the apple portion of this recipe. I'd also recommend making this with pears. If you use apples instead of pears, increase the amount of nutmeg to 1/2 teaspoon. It just tastes better that way.

From October 2009 Photos

This is a close-up shot of the muffin's interior. As you can see, these are moist muffins with plenty of walnuts and apples. The original recipe does not call for walnuts, but if you're going to make banana bread, in my book you need walnuts.

From October 2009 Photos

The original recipe calls for a baking time of around an hour. So, if you're successful with loaf pans, that's your wait time. These little fellas took only 35 minutes in my oven.

I know the yield is weird (16 muffins) because I wound up putting muffin cups into ramekins and putting those in a pan filled about 1/2 in. with water next to the pan with the other muffins. That worked to keep them very moist, I'm sure. It also made them take a bit longer to bake than the others. In the future, I'd probably just fill a pan of mini muffins instead.

I also know that this is the second apple recipe in a row, but it's such a good season for apples. And, the Galas at the co-op have been especially tasty and crisp this year. Must be because we've finally had a real fall for a change.

OK, here's the recipe as I made it.

Heavenly Banana Apple Walnut Muffins (greatly inspired by The Sweet Melissa Baking Book recipe Mom's Banana Apple Bread)

Yields 16 standard muffins.

Ingredients:

2 tablespoons butter (vegans: walnut or non-flavored oil)
2 tablespoons agave nectar
3 Gala apples, cored and cut into 1/2 in. pieces (I peeled mine and ate the peels, but you can leave the peels on.)
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
--------------------
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon coconut flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon apple pie spice
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup rough chopped walnuts
1 stick butter, softened (vegans: equivalent amount of non-dairy spread)
2/3 cup agave nectar (you'll want amber for this recipe)
2 eggs (vegans: add 1/2 teaspoon baking powder to the dry ingredients and a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar to the wet ingredients)
1/4 cup pineapple juice (the original calls for orange, but pineapple works fine)
1 teaspoon vanilla
3 very ripe bananas, mushed

Directions:

1. In a cast-iron pan, melt the butter until just pooling, then stir in the agave nectar until combined. Be careful here because you don't want to burn the agave nectar.
2. Add the apples, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla, stirring until the apples are completely coated with the mixture. Saute for about 3-5 minutes until the apples just begin to soften their edges.
3. Remove the apple mixture from the pan and set it aside while you make the batter.
4. In a large bowl, combine the flours, baking soda, spices, salt, and walnuts until the dry ingredients are well mixed. This should take about 2 minutes.
5. Beat the butter and agave nectar until well combined. Add the eggs, juice, vanilla, and bananas.
6. Add the dry ingredients to the wet ones and mix until just combined.
7. Fold in the apples, making sure they are evenly distributed.
8. Let the mixture rest while you line your muffin tins with paper cups and heat your oven to 325 degrees F.
9. Load up your muffin cups to the tops with the batter. They won't overflow much at all.
10. Bake the muffins for 30 minutes, then check with a bamboo skewer. They are done when the tester comes out with only 1 or two moist crumbs attached.
11. Let the muffins cool for 10 minutes in the pan before tilting the muffins in the pan (so that the underside cools) for another 30 minutes before eating.

These are best served warm and will keep for 3-5 days in an airtight container. They freeze very well if individually wrapped and bagged.

Book Review: Forking Fantastic by Zora O'Neill and Tamara Reynolds -- Veganized Apple Spice Cake

From October 2009 Photos

I'm quite enjoying the quest to veganize as many Altered Plates dishes as possible. This delicious apple spice cake inspired by the one in Forking Fantastic by Zora O'Neill and Tamara Reynolds was a lesson in food chemistry for me. As a result, I'm a full convert to the use of apple cider vinegar with baking powder to create an awesome egg substitute. Additionally, the original recipe calls for dark brown and granulated sugars, and molasses, all of which I don't use, so I called on my creative muse to help me on my journey with this cake.

From October 2009 Photos

I wasn't too worried once I tasted the batter, but I did become concerned when as it cooled, the cake part started separating from the apples a bit.

From October 2009 Photos

But, I carved out a small chunk and was so happily surprised that it took a lot of strength not to eat more of it before I took it to Mom's for her annual family party yesterday. Even though I made my cake with whole wheat and whole wheat pastry flour, as well as a nice amount of flax meal just to be on the safe side in the veganing, no one complained about it being "too healthy" at all.

From October 2009 Photos

I received rave reviews on the cake, especially it's flavor and texture. I'd say it's about half apples and half cake. That makes for interesting serving, but I eventually was able to cut nice squares while my cousin Alan handed out the plates and forks. It's a very most cake with a wonderful spiced flavor and fluffy texture. I would definitely make this one again. Maybe for Thanksgiving.

About the book, while it's really not for vegetarians and vegans (or, very importantly, for folks who do not drink or cook with wine), there are plenty of worthwhile dishes to try and lively stories to read. If rough language also turns you off, you probably will have to exercise tolerance at turns, but generally it's written in a very informal way that is immediately approachable. I prefer more photos, especially of the finished dishes, but the book is targeted at those who want to throw fun dinner parties like the authors, so I supposed they are appropriate. All that aside, making a vegan version of the authors' apple spice cake was a fun thing to do for a dinner party of sorts at Mom's.

Here's the recipe for my version so you can try it for yourself.

Apple Spice Cake (inspired by the one of the same name on page 118 of Forking Fantastic by Zora O'Neill and Tamara Reynolds

Easily serves 20.

Ingredients:

1 cup whole wheat flour
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour + a little extra for the baking dish
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon Pumpkin Pie Spice
1 teaspoon Cake Spice
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 cup oil (I used a mix of olive and canola oils) + a little extra for the baking dish
1 1/2 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
5 Gala apples, cut into 1/2 in. chunks (keep the peels on the fruit)
1 cup walnuts chopped roughly

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients except the walnuts until very well combined.
2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients except the apples until very well combined.
3. Oil and flour a 9 x 13 in. baking dish (I used a glass one)
4. Add the wet to the dry ingredients and mix until just combined.
5. Fold in the apples and walnuts and mix until just combined.
6. Pour the mixture into the baking dish and let it rest for 15 minute before baking.
7. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
8. Bake the cake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees F, then tent lightly with foil and bake at 325 for another 30 minutes (or until a tester emerges with moist crumbs attached, but you don't want it to be gooey).
9. Cool for an hour before serving. It's wonderful warm, but will be just as wonderful for the next two days. It won't last longer than that.

Just some procedural notes: once you mix the wet with the dry, the vinegar immediately starts reacting. You'll have to act quickly to get it into the pan and spread it evenly before it becomes challenging to do. Don't worry if you see air bubbles, it all works out fine.

I'm also sure that you could make a chocolate or carob version of this by substituting cocoa or carob for some of the flour. If you try it that way, please let me know how it goes!

Making Over Martha Month: Veganized Raspberry Tart (nee Linzertorte)

From September 2009 photos

This Linzertorte, inspired by Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook (p. 171), is probably the most time-consuming recipe I've ever made. It also is one of my proudest achievements as far as veganizing challenges go. Why? Well, translating 3/4 of a cup of butter (read: 1.5 sticks) and 1 cup of granulated sugar into appropriate amounts of olive oil (yep, it's olive oil alright) and agave nectar that would mesh with a nut-based crust was almost as rough as my shortbread Everest. Oh, and did I mention an egg? Yes, I had to work out the egg issue too. What I do for my vegan friends.

From September 2009 photos

This cutaway shows just how jammy (or rather, no sugar added spread-y) this luscious linzertorte is. Boy, this is rich stuff. Between the toasted hazelnuts and almonds in the crust, and the thick layer of jam between, a small portion is all you'll need for a great agave-sweetened, vegan fancy dessert. It's really quite the show-stopper for a gathering.

From September 2009 photos

When I served it to my pal Teresa, she almost didn't believe that it was vegan. That says a lot. She's a big fan of butter, so she would know.

OK. I know. You've waited long enough. Here's the recipe as I made it -- a very far cry from Martha's, which is fitting since it's the last of the month. Hope you've enjoyed my Making Over Martha Month. By the way, for you linguists, I know I'm completely misusing nee in the title, but it's the closest I could come to saying that the thing is so completely changed that its previous incarnation was a linzertorte.

Caveat: This takes FOREVER to make due to all the chilling involved. Believe me, you can do it. Just plan to make it on a day when you have lots of small, short-term tasks to accomplish. Like cleaning. Or laundry. Or repotting plants.

Sorry, one last thing -- Martha's original says it's best eaten the day it's baked. Mine improves over time, although eating it the first day is certainly a good thing.

Veganized Raspberry Tart (inspired by the Linzertorte in Martha Stewart's Baking Handbook; p. 171; 2005.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup toasted and rubbed clean of skin hazelnuts
1 cup blanched almond flour (it's OK if you don't have this, just run a cup of blanched almonds through your coffee grinder or food processor until they are powdery)
1 1/3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon Pensey's Baking Spice
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil (use your best light oil)
2/3 cup agave nectar
1 tablespoon flax meal

Nearly 2 10-oz jars of no-sugar-added raspberry spread (I used the 365 brand from Whole Foods, and it was lovely.)

2 tablespoons no-sugar-added apricot spread
1 teaspoon filtered water

Directions:

1. In a food processor, blend together the hazelnuts, almond flour, whole wheat pastry flour, baking powder, Baking Spice, and salt.
2. In a mixer, beat together the olive oil, agave nectar, and flax meal.
3. Add the dry to the wet ingredients above and mix until well incorporated. Expect that it will be wet. Split the dough in two uneven halves (one should be slightly larger than the other -- that will be the bottom crust). Wrap each individually and refrigerate the crust dough for 1 hour.
4. Using the slightly larger half, press the dough into the bottom and sides of a tart pan with a removable bottom. If you don't have one, you could definitely use a springform pan (in fact, next time I make this, that's what I'll use), but only go 3/4 of an inch up the sides with your dough. Cover with plastic and freeze for 2 hours.
5. Meanwhile, between two sheets of parchment paper (and with a LOT of flour on both sides of the dough), roll out the other half of the dough until it is about 1/4 to 1/8 inch thick. Wrap this up in plastic and freeze it for 2 hours.
6. Spread the raspberry spread onto the bottom crust, re-wrap and freeze it again while you work on your top crust cut-outs. (This can take from 30 to 45 minutes, depending upon how well you do keeping your crust from sticking. As it warms, it gets very sticky. And, like any good crust, you don't want to handle it much at all.)
7. Using your favorite cookie cutters, cut out enough pieces of the rolled out crust to cover the top of your tart while leaving air holes (they also provide nice contrast against your crust).
8. Take the bottom of the tart out of the freezer and top the tart with your lovely little cut-outs. Wrap the whole thing up and freeze it until you complete the glaze step.
9. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F.
10. Whisk the apricot spread with the water until well combined. Then, take your tart from the freezer.
11. Using a pastry brush, quickly spread the glaze on the top of the tart, place the whole thing on top of a rimmed baking sheet topped with parchment paper, and place it in the center of your hot oven.
12. Bake the tart for 30 minutes, then check to see how quickly the edges are browning. Cover any parts that are browning too quickly with foil, then bake it for another 15 minutes or until completely golden brown and bubbling.
13. Let it cool completely before removing the sides of the pan to show off your amazing veganized raspberry tart!

Take some photos and show me how yours turns out!

Making Over Martha Month: Turning Galette into Pie, Altered Plates Style

From September 2009 photos

Oh Martha, you are wonderful, but your Pate Brisee does not hold a candle to Elise's All-Butter Crust as I make it with agave nectar and whole wheat pastry flour. On the other hand, your fillings are killer (at least with the alterations I've listed below).

The original recipe was for Martha Stewart's Apricot-Blackberry Galette, Baking Handbook (2005), pg. 266. but I reworked it with the double-crust (my version) and significantly tarted it up with fresh raspberries. I also changed up the rest of the ingredients a bit, so I've included the recipe as I made it below.

The raspberries make the filling very tart, but it calms down after the first day. I highly recommend enjoying the pie with some delightful vanilla frozen dessert. Also, if you are vegan and wish to make this veganly, you could use a combination of oils, including almond oil, measuring 3/4 cup total, and omit the egg wash on thee crust. Instead, you could brush the top with a jam wash (a few tablespoons of apricot jam and an equal amount of water, whisked together). It will have a nice, glossy finish. Oh, and the crust will give the whole pie the best that almonds can give. I can't think of a better way to eat apricots and raspberries.

Killer Apricot-Raspberry Pie

Ingredients:

1 awesome almond-y double-crust recipe
15 fresh apricots, cut into bite-sized pieces
2 fresh apples, peeled and cut into similarly sized pieces
2 cups fresh raspberries
4 tablespoons arrowroot
1/4 cup agave nectar
pinch of salt

Directions:

1. Press 1/2 the crust recipe into your best pie dish, wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge. Roll out the rest of the crust, wrap in plastic and chill in the fridge.
2. Mix together the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Make sure that the arrowroot is completely dissolved.
3. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
4. Pour the fruit mixture into your chilled crust in the pie dish. Wrap back in plastic and chill in the fridge.
5. Take the rolled-out crust out of the fridge and use some fun cookie cutters to cut out enough pieces to cover the top. Take the filled pie dish back out of the fridge and place your top pieces on top of the fruit until you have a decorative top crust. Remember to leave air/juice holes. This is very important.
6. Bake your pie for 20 minutes, then tent with foil to prevent the top and edges from browning too quickly. Bake for another 20 minutes, or until the juice is bubbling and the top has become evenly light brown.
7. Let cool completely on a wire rack before serving.

Making Over Martha Month Begins!

From September 2009 photos

And, what a beginning it is! To kick off Making Over Martha Month here on Altered Plates, I've veganized and spiced up Martha's Oatmeal-Raisin Bars. The original version was printed on page 103 of Everyday Food, Issue 53, June 2008. I made a boatload of changes to this recipe, i.e., it's a actually a new recipe at this point. Some of the highlights include agave nectar (of course!) for granulated sugar, olive oil for butter, whole wheat pastry flour for AP flour, Pensey's Baking Spice for half the amount of cinnamon, and the wonderful addition of walnuts. How she could have made oatmeal raisin cookies without walnuts is beyond me... but I've corrected that here.

The thing about Baking Spice is that it imbues everything with a wonderful anise, cinnamon, and cardamom mix of flavors. And, in this case, it works marvelously with the Fiore di Sicilia, which is itself a magical ingredient. If I ever decide to make a fruitcake, I would definitely use Baking Spice and Fiore di Sicilia in it.

From September 2009 photos

This rather in-your-face close-up of a bar slice shows the texture of this fragrant treat. Mine was a tiny bit dry because I did not let it cool completely in the pan. (That's a lesson for you -- leave it alone!) My pal Teresa suggested that it would make an excellent crumble over ice cream. We each had a bar with some vegan coconut milk ice cream on top. It was a highly satisfying dessert.

Here's the recipe as I made it:

Spiced Oatmeal Raisin Walnut Bars
Yield: 16 bars

Ingredients:

1/2 cup + 1 tablespoon olive oil
3/4 cup agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon Fiore di Sicilia (if you don't have it, just use vanilla)
1 teaspoon Pensey's Baking Spice (if you don't have it, make a mixture of cinnamon, mace, anise, and cardamom -- 1/4 teaspoon each)
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 cup golden raisins
1 cup coarsely chopped walnuts

Directions:
1. Beat the oil with the agave nectar and Fiore di Sicilia until very well blended.
2. Whisk together the dry ingredients except for the raisins and walnuts, until very well combined. Add in the raisins and walnuts and mix with a big spoon until well combined.
3. Give the wet ingredients one more beating, then add in the dry ingredients. Mix until just moistened.
4. Preheat your oven to 325 degrees F, and line an 8 in. square baking dish with two lengths (horizontal and vertical) of parchment paper.
5. Spread the batter into the dish and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until a bamboo tester comes out with a few moist crumbs.
6. Let cool completely in the dish, on top of a wire rack, then slice into bars.
7. These will keep in an airtight container for about 5 days, but they certainly won't last that long. They smell and taste terrific!

Overall, this was probably the most fun I've had veganizing a recipe of Martha's. I didn't veganize the other Making Over Martha Month Recipes for September, but if you take the plunge to veganize them, please let me know how it goes. Thanks! Hope you enjoy this recipe.