Robin Robertson

After coming off of a two-week virtual tour for my own new cookbook, Fresh From the Vegan Slow Cooker, that included my guest posts on several wonderful blogs (thanks again to all the amazing bloggers who hosted me!), I’m happy to “turn the tables” today by hosting a guest post about transforming your sweet tooth by the wonderful Chef AJ who, in addition to sharing this tremendous information and her yum-tastic recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge Truffles, is also allowing me to give away a copy of her fabulous book, Unprocessed.

To enter the giveaway, leave a comment at the end of this post.  For more chances to enter you can do any or all of the following and then leave another comment telling me you did so:

1. follow me on Twitter
2. follow Chef AJ on Twitter
3. spread the word about this giveaway (with a link to it) on Facebook or Twitter

I hope you enjoy this informative guest post by Chef AJ, her delicious (and easy!) recipe for Peanut Butter Fudge Truffles, and a giveaway of her amazing book, Unprocessed! Now I will turn things over to Chef AJ….

Transforming Your Sweet Tooth

By Chef AJ

As little as 100 years ago, Americans ate about a pound of sugar a year.  We now eat, on average, 150 pounds a year!  That means that some folks are literally eating their weight in sugar, every single year.  )And since I don’t eat any, some of you are probably eating 300 pounds a year! J)  The American Heart Association says that if we choose to consume sugar that we should consume no more than 5% of our total daily calories (approximately 5 teaspoons a day for most of us) from processed sugar a day.  But if most of us are consuming 22 teaspoons of sugar every day (roughly 365 empty calories) how is it even possible to satisfy your sweet tooth and stay within these recommend guidelines?  The answer is to use fruit, like dates.

Dates are a whole food which means that they have vitamins, minerals, phytochemicals, antioxidants, micronutrients, fiber and water.  All refined sweeteners have none of these beneficial qualities and have been linked to the development of numerous diseases.  The date fruit is one of the oldest cultivated tree crops, and has been grown for thousands of years.  By using whole dates, it is possible to satisfy your sweet tooth, healthfully and deliciously, without ever using sugar.  Even though dates are a high sugar fruit, research shows that they are still the most favorable sweetener, and do not raise blood glucose or triglycerides.  (I have the medical journal article if you need it).

One of my favorite ways to us dates in a dessert is with these decadent peanut butter fudge truffle that is easy to make and contains only 5 ingredients.

Peanut Butter Fudge Truffles

INGREDIENTS:

One batch of Chocolate Fundue*

Chopped peanuts

METHOD:  Chill FUNdue until firm.  Using a small retractable cookie scoop, drop FUNdue into crushed peanuts and coat evenly.  Bananas are also delicious when dipped in FUNdue and rolled in crushed nuts and then frozen.

For a lower fat version, substitute one can of rinsed and drained cannellini beans for half of the nut butter.

*Chocolate FUNdue

Also delicious when made with raw almond butter, raw sunflower seed butter or tahini

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup peanut butter* (no salt or sugar)

1 cup date paste*

1/2 cup raw cacao powder or good quality cocoa powder

1/2 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk

1 Tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla extract

 METHOD:

Place all ingredients except for the milk in a food processor fitted with the “S” blade and process until ingredients are incorporated, scraping down sides if necessary.  Slowly add non-dairy milk, a little at a time until desired consistency is reached.  You can eat this immediately or chill for a firmer texture.

*raw almond butter, raw cashew butter, raw tahini or raw sunflower seed butter may be substituted for the peanut butter.

 DATE PASTE

Make sure you always have some on hand to create a healthy dessert in no time

INGREDIENTS:

One pound of pitted dates

One cup of liquid (water, unsweetened non-dairy milk, unsweetened fruit juice)

METHOD:

Soak dates in liquid overnight or for several hours until much of the liquid is absorbed.  In food processor fitted with the “S” blade, process dates and liquid until completely smooth.  Store date paste in the refrigerator.

These recipes are from UNPROCESSED copyright 2011

 

Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this post for a chance to win a copy of UNPROCESSED — the contest closes Thursday, September 27 at midnight.  The winner will be announced on Friday, September 28.  Good luck!

UPDATE:  THIS CONTEST IS NOW CLOSED.  CONGRATULATIONS TO THE WINNER!!!

I’m excited to announce a blog tour for my new cookbook!   Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker hits stores in just a few weeks, but you don’t have to wait that long to check it out.  Beginning tomorrow and over the next two weeks, you’ll be able to see some sneak peeks from the book during my blog tour.

Between September 5 and 21, you can find me on a different blog every day (sometimes several on the same day!), with guest posts, Q&As, and sample recipes from the book. Many of the bloggers will also be hosting a giveaway of Fresh from the Vegan Slow Cooker.  Plus, there are still more bloggers that will be doing reviews and giveaways that I will add to the list below as I get confirmation about it.

Be sure to check back here each day for links to the various blog tour stops.  Here is my Blog Tour Schedule (to be updated regularly).  Check out all of my wonderful hosts!

Blog Tour Schedule

Wednesday, September 5:  Olives for Dinner

Thursday September 6:  Hungry Vegan

Friday September 7:  Manifest Vegan

Saturday September 8: Veg-in-Training

Monday September 10: Pickles & Honey

Monday September 10:  Keepin’ It Kind

Monday September 10:  Robin Asbell

Tuesday September 11:  Julie’s Kitchenette

Wednesday September 12:  GoDairyFree.org

Thursday September 13:  Veganlovlie

Friday September 14:  VegKitchen

Friday September 14:  Allison’s Gourmet

Monday September 17:   Cathe’s Kitchen

Tuesday September 18:  JL Goes Vegan

Tuesday September 18: Plant Based Dietitian

Wednesday September 19:  Chic Vegan

Wednesday September 19:  VeggieGirl

Thursday September 20: Savvy Vegetarian

Friday September 21: Vegan Crunk

I’m thrilled and honored by all the tremendous support from these wonderful friends, colleagues, and bloggers.

I hope to “see” you on the tour!

 

 

 

 

This has got to be one of the hottest summers ever, don’t you think?  I never thought that temperatures in the mid-80s would be considered a “cooling” trend.  Most days, I try to plan ahead to get cooking out of the way early in the day, especially if I’m making something that will heat up the kitchen.  Sometimes a main-dish salad is the order of the day, with any cooked components being prepped ahead of time.

Often, I just put together a “kitchen sink” salad, using whatever is on hand.  But when I’m in the mood for particular flavor combinations, many of my favorites can be found in Quick-Fix Vegan.  Among my go-to salads are the Rainbow Noodle Salad (with added white beans or chickpeas); Corn, Red Beans, and Blueberry Salad with Mango Dressing; Panzanella with Grilled Vegetables; Quinoa Salad with Apples and Walnuts (“summer-ized” with peaches and other stone fruits instead of apples these days); and Black Bean and Sweet Potato Salad, served over lettuce and cucumber.

My absolute personal favorite salad, however, is the Deconstructed Banh Mi Salad.  Served with slices of toasted baguette, spread lightly with a spicy vegan mayonnaise, it contains all the refreshing flavors and texture of a Vietnamese banh mi sandwich – but with more veggies and less bread.

It can be made with strips of either tofu (below) or seitan (above) or you can use reconstituted Soy Curls instead. Serve it with as much or as little toasted French bread as you like and, depending on how much heat you prefer, use more or less sriracha sauce.  It’s a great way to enjoy the salad days of August! (Note: the photos were taken by recipe testers Tamasin Noyes (seitan) and Kamber Sherrod (tofu). Whenever I make this salad myself, it doesn’t stick around long enough for a photo!) For those of you who don’t yet have Quick-Fix Vegan, I’m posting the recipe below — it’s too good not to share!

Deconstructed Banh Mi Salad

Serves 4

The banh mi sandwich reconfigured for the salad bowl makes a luscious lunch or light dinner.  Use your choice of shredded cabbage or lettuce. This recipe is adapted from Quick-Fix Vegan. (Note: Sriracha sauce is a hot Asian chili sauce sometimes called “Rooster Sauce” because of the rooster on the bottle. Look for it in well-stocked supermarkets or Asian grocers.)

1 tablespoon neutral vegetable oil

8 ounces seitan or extra-firm tofu, thinly sliced (or reconstituted Soy Curls)

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons hoisin sauce

2 teaspoons sriracha sauce

1 teaspoon sugar

2 tablespoons rice wine vinegar

3 cups finely shredded cabbage or Romaine lettuce

1 large carrot, shredded

1/2 English cucumber, peeled, seeded and chopped

1 cup fresh cilantro leaves

1/4 cup minced scallions

1/2 French baguette, cut diagonally into 1/2-inch slices

Vegan mayonnaise (with a little sriracha added, if desired)

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat.  Add the seitan or tofu and cook until browned on both sides, about 4 minutes per side. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute longer. Splash with 1 tablespoon of the soy sauce and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, combine the remaining 2 tablespoons soy sauce with the hoisin, sriracha, sugar, and vinegar, stirring well to blend.  Set aside.

Spread the shredded cabbage or lettuce on a large platter, sprinkle evenly with the shredded carrot, cucumber, cilantro, and scallions.  Arrange the cooked seitan or tofu on top and drizzle with the reserved sauce.

Toast the baguette slices and spread with a thin layer of vegan mayo.  Arrange the bread around the outside of the salad platter and serve immediately.

 

 

I realize the idea of “cooking with scraps” doesn’t sound very appealing, but it’s actually one of my favorite ways to cook.  Whether it’s a kitchen sink pasta dish or a clean-out-the-fridge soup or salad, I love to use up odd bits from the refrigerator, freezer, and pantry to create something delicious.

Case in point is the soup in the photo above.  It consists of a small amount of leftover linguine, a few grape tomatoes, some frozen peas, a half block of tofu that was waiting to be used up, and hot chilies that I got at the farmers market.  For seasonings, I included some grated lemongrass I had in the freezer and the last bit of a piece of ginger, along with some Asian chili paste.  The soup tasted as good made with “scraps” as any I’ve made with more intentional ingredients.

A second example of “scrap cooking” are these Chocolate-Stuffed Cherry Pie Bites.  After the success of my Cherry-Chocolate Pie Balls made with puff pastry, I wondered if we’d like them as well (or better) if they were made with pie crust.  I also wanted to experiment with shapes other than round.  Fortunately, I always freeze scraps of pie dough whenever I have it and I put it to good use with these pie bites.  I was able to make a few bites of various shapes (mini-turnover, dumpling, etc.) by rolling out just a small amount of dough to wrap around pitted cherries stuffed with a few chocolate chips.  One (or two or three) make the perfect “bite” of pie when you want just a little something sweet.  Verdict:  we like the pie bites made with pie dough just as much as the pie balls made with puff pastry.  Maybe we need to sample a few more just to be sure….

 

 

 

 

My obsession with cherries and chocolate continues…. mainly because fresh cherries were even cheaper and more delicious this week than they’ve been in previous weeks, so I just had to figure out yet another fun cherry treat.  The only thing better than cherries and chocolate is cherries and chocolate in a pie crust, and these little “pie balls” have got it all.

A fancier name for these luscious flavor orbs would be “Pastry-Wrapped Chocolate-Stuffed Cherries” but I think “Cherry-Chocolate Pie Balls” is more fun to say!  They taste fabulous no matter what you call them – the layers of flavor and texture from the flaky crust, juicy cherry, and yummy chocolate is almost too wonderful to describe.  You’ll just have to taste it for yourself.  And with only three ingredients, these little beauties are a cinch to make, too!

Cherry-Chocolate Pie Balls

I use my trusty cherry and olive pitter to pit my cherries.  It works great and is fun to use.  One-third of a sheet of puff pastry makes 6 pie balls.  You can make as many or few of them at a time as you wish – (1 cherry and 3 chocolate chips per ball). This recipe makes an even dozen, but I’ve actually only been making them six at a time because they’re best when eaten fresh out of the oven (after cooling for a few minutes).  Recipe by Robin Robertson © 2012.

1 sheet Pepperidge Farm Puff Pastry, thawed

12 fresh ripe cherries, pitted and blotted dry

36 semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.  Cut a sheet of parchment paper to fit a baking sheet and set aside.

Unfold the sheet of puff pasty (it is fold in thirds). Cut the pastry along the folds to make three strips.  Wrap one of the strips tightly and return to the refrigerator or freezer (or use it to make 6 additional pie balls). On a flat surface, cut each of the two strips into 6 equal pieces.

Carefully stuff each cherry with 3 chocolate chips. Wrap one piece of pastry around the stuffed cherry, carefully pinching any seams closed to seal the cherry inside the pastry.  Gently roll the ball in between your hands to smooth it.  Place the ball on the prepared baking sheet and repeat with the remaining ingredients.

Bake until nicely browned, about 20 minutes.  Set aside to cool for a few minutes.  These are best served while still warm.

Makes 12

Here’s another photo of the pie balls served with a scoop of my Cherry-Chocolate Chip Ice Cream and a few fresh cherries.  Such a fun dessert!

NEWS FLASHES: 

GREEN MONSTER: I am honored to be the featured “Green Monster” on One Green Planet this week.  Check it out and give it a “Like” – you can link to all the recipes I’ve posted on One-Green Planet from that feature.

 MAJOR COOKBOOK GIVEAWAY:  Vegan Heritage Press is having a spectacular giveaway!  Enter to win your choice of six wonderful cookbooks including Vegan Fire and Spice and Vegan Unplugged.  If either of these or the other great titles published by VHP have been on your wish list, now’s your chance to win a copy!