Vegan cheese ?? Why not…

It is quite controversial if a certified cheesemaker starts making a cheese-like something from non-dairy products, but I was really curious of this new wave of food consumption and also a lot of vegetarian and vegan friends have been asking me when will I start to make a vegan version of cheese for them.

At first I was sceptical and a little bit denying about this as I  have been a cheese addict eversince I have known how to talk and also it made me angry that people call a plant based something cheese… but I am a quite open-minden person so I dug myself into to this new project see what vegan people call cheese.

It turned out that a vegan cheese requires a lot more ingredients that I thought, but all of them are easy to get in a supermarket and also if you have a Kithen Aid or a simple mixer you can make it in 2 hours , plus the 6-8 hours cooling them which can be handled puting the “cheese” to the fridge overnight.

 

To cut the long story short I was amazed how good this vegan cheese turned out and how glad my friends were  ( especially the ones with lactose intolerancy)  that I served this to them on or Sunday brunch 🙂

Anyway, here you go, the recipe… enjoy and let me know if you have another favouite recipe that you’d like to share 🙂

Ingredients:

• 1 cup sunflower seed
• 1/2 cup cashew nut
• 1/2 cup almond
• 1 cup oatmeal
• 1 teaspoon curcuma
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika ( hot one for those who prefer it)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground mustard seed
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 filed onion
• 2-3 filed garlic
• 1/4 cup barm
• 1 cup almond milk or rice milk

To give it a texture:

• 1 cup of water
• 1 teaspoon agar-agar

 

Put all the ingredients to the plant based milk for 1-2 hours to soak a little bit so it will be easier to mix the nuts.   Start heating the water with the agar-agar  and let it boil until the agar-agar is fully melted.

Put the ingredrients in the Kitchen aid or mixer and add the agar-agar gradually until the mixture gets creamy. If you don’t find it creamy enought you can add some extra milk or water. 

Once the mixture is done put ot to a simple plastic box , bowl or any kind of shape you’d like to add to your cheese and let it settle in the fridge overnight .

Bon apétit ! 🙂

Source: http://veganreceptek.webnode.hu/products/fokhagymas-trappista-sajt-/

 

Unforgetable Chocolate Stout Beer Cheescake

Chocolate Stout Beer Cheescake

The  weather is said to be good this weekend so I am pretty excited that I’ll have a chance to spend the Saturday out with friends in a park along with some delicious munchies.

It’s been raining in the last couple of weeks so having the Sun out and a nice, clean weather is something we have all been waiting for.Sunscreen, hats, and shorts are needed finally and we can soak in some solar energy aswell. It is really nice to have a ” nothing to do” type of day without internet anyway  and conversate with your hungovered friends while laying on blanket.

I have been thinking a lot about what to bring for this potluck as my friends usually make the same stuffs: dips, fresh bread, home-made marmalade and sausage – which is of course the best thing you could dream of on a Sunday -, however its not so pleasing if all of you bring the same foods… hahah…

So I am excited to make something extraordinary and mouth watering for the event, however I just can’t  ignore the fact that I have been having  extreme amounts of work at the office this week…. result: NO TIME FOR SOMETHING SURPRISINGLY GOURMET…but who cares, I’ll bake something that will combine all the things my friends are addicted to as well: beer, cheescake, fresh fruits, healthy living… I think it will work for all invitants… at least I hope… 😉

So here’s  the  Chocolate Stout beer cheesecake recipe I imagined …

I really hope that my pals will like it and please share with me what your friends and beloved ones thought about the recipe… Enjoy summer time!! 🙂

Ingredients 

• 1 cup oatmeal cookie crumbs
• 5 tbsp low fat, sugar free  cocoa powder
• 2 tbsp cane sugar
• 2 tbsp butter,melted
• 2 tbsp heavy cream
• 8 oz lowfat cream cheese
• 4 oz mascarpone
• 1/2 low fat natural yogurt
• 3 eggs
• hint of salt
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 chopped apple
• 1 sliced apple
• 3/4 cup Guinness

Instructions

1. Mix the oatmeal cookie crumbs, 2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp  cane sugar and melted butter together in a medium bowl.  Pour into the base on a 9-inch springform pan and press down into the bottom of it. Store in the freezer for 1-2 hours or  while you make the filling. The longer it stays in the freezer the better it gets.
2. Preheat oven to 350 F ( 180 celsius) .
3. In a separate big bowl mix 2 tbsp cocoa powder and heavy cream, stirring together until combined.
4. Add the cream cheese, mascarpone, mix in 1 tbsp of cane sugar, yogurt, eggs, vanilla extract, chopped apple and the Guinness.
5. Pour this mixture into the springform pan and decorate the top with some sliced apple.
6. Bake for 50- 60 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave the cheesecake in the oven, with a wooden spoon in the oven door to hold it slightly ajar. Let sit for 60 minutes.
7. Chill in the fridge overnight before serving.

Enjoy+Enjoy+ Enjoy 🙂

 

Source: 

http://www.yummly.com/recipe/Guinness-Chocolate-Cheesecake-1448304?columns=4&position=67%2F69

 

Cheesy outdoors spring picnic #1

Cheesy outdoors spring picnic #1

I have not written anything for a long time since I had a lot of work and Spring has also started here therefore I tried to spend as much time out in the nature as possible.

I really had to abandon my kitchen for a while but the  thought of creating cheesy recipes for sunny outdoors events inspired me a lot.  You know you don’t always have to create something totally mind-blowing if you would like to both enjoy good weather and your favourite ingredients . 🙂

So what I figured out for a perfect picnic is…. ok, I have several ideas so lets make a series of outdoors indulgence and let  ourselves be as greedy as possible on cold beer and tasty cheese….yummmm

The 1st recipe to be shared is a Stout beer  bread based grilled cheese with fresh rucola salad.

If you only wish to have the salad or the grilled cheese on its own, its totally fine of course, but the 2 dishes together would make a match made in heaven for a Sunday eat-out with your friends or family.

So here you are… the magnificent grilled cheese and the salad….:)

STEP #1 – Preaparation of stout beer bread:

Ingredients:

• 2 3/4 cups  of rye flour ( 350 gramms)
• ‘/4 cup milk ( 0, 5 dl )
• 1 tablespoons cane sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 package yeast
• 1 cup Stout or Porter beer ( I used Guinness)
• 1 tablespoon butter
• 1  tablespoon honey
• 1 egg

Preparation:

1. Put the yeast to the slightly warm milk for 4-5 minutes  ( my grandma always said it should be just as warm as your hand)  to ferment it a little bit.

2. Mix the flour, sugar, salt, and yeast in a large bowl till thoroughly mixed.

3. Get a small sauce pan and warm the beer on the stove, then add the butter and the honey until they are melt together ( Warning! don’t let it boil)

4. Crack the egg in with the dry ingredients, then  pour in the warmed beer/butter/honey mixture and stir till you get a mixed, slightly sticky dough

5. After you mix everything together, let the dough raise for 30- 40  mins. To help the raising cover  the bowl with a kitchen towel and put some blankets on it or put next to a heater.

6. After 30 mins of rising flour knead the dough for an additional 2-3 minutes , add extra flour if needed but its not necessary.

7. Put some butter to the bread pan to grease it and place the dough in the pan. Let it raise for an addititional 20-25 minutes back under the blankets.

8. Preheat the owen to 375 Farenheits and bake the bread for 30-35 minutes till the top is golden brown. You can also check with  a needle if the dough is ready inside. As the rye flour itself  is darker than plain flour it might get tricky if you are only checking the color changes of the crust.

STEP #2. – Stout bread Grilled Cheese

Ingredients:

• 2 slices of the freshlybaked stour beer bread
• ‘ tablespoon butter
• ruccola
• 4 slices of Old Amsterdam Gouda Cheese

Preparation:

1 . Heat 1 tablespoon  butter in a cast-iron or nonstick skillet over medium-low heat.

2.  Put some butter, ruccola and the Old Amsterdam cheese together as a sandwich

3.Press the sandwich slightly and place it in the skillet. Cook until golden on the bottom, 3 minutes.

4.Flip, adding more butter to the pan if needed, and cook until the other side is golden and the cheese melts, 3 minutes.

STEP #3 – Fresh ruccola salad:

Ingredients:

• 1 box of ruccola ( approx. 250  gramms)
• 1 box of blueberries ( 100 gramms)
• 2 pears ( the type does not matter, its delicious with all )

Dressing :

• juice of a half lemon
• 2 tablespoons of  honey
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil ( extra virgin)

Prearation:

Well there is not much to say. Mix the ingredients of the salad. Mix the ingredients of the dressing and pour it on the salad.  … Ready to be served 🙂

 

 

And here  you go, the perfect picninc menu to be enjoyed with a bottle of stout beer  and ones you’d like to share it with.

Have a nice sunny Sunday and let me know it the recipes worked for you as well ….:)

 

 

Source:

http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-make-Awesome-Beer-Bread-with-Yeast/?ALLSTEPS