Black Bottom Banana Spice Pie

A couple of summers ago, I made the happy discovery that you can substitute bananas for pumpkin in a cake or muffins. Ever since then, I've been wondering if it would work with pie. It does! I took my basic pumpkin pie recipe, replaced the pumpkin with an equal volume of bananas, and it worked great. I even managed to make it a no-bake pie by using extra-firm tofu.

This is my second and last entry to Raven's Cook. Eat. Delicious - Desserts, hosted this month by me.

Black Bottom Banana Spice Pie

Crust:

24 chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies, such as Newman-O's or Oreos

1/4 cup coconut oil or margarine, melted

Oil a 9-inch pie pan. Break up the cookies in a food processor until they become fine crumbs. Add coconut oil or margarine and process until well combined. Transfer the crumbs to the pie pan. Using your fingers or the back of a spoon, press the crumbs evenly in the bottom and up the sides of the pan. Refrigerate until ready to fill. Wipe out the food processor bowl and set aside for the filling.

Filling:

3 medium-sized ripe bananas (about a pound)

1 (12.3-ounce) box extra-firm silken tofu

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon salt

Slice one banana and place in a single layer over the crust. Cut the remaining bananas in chunks and puree in the food processor with the tofu, sugar, cinnamon, cloves, allspice and salt.

Spread the filling evenly in the crust and refrigerate for several hours or overnight to firm up the pie.

Serves 8.

Vegan Jamaican Meat Patties

 

 

I had a hard time getting these patties to the table. It was touch and go there for a while.

I started with some leftover cauliflower and walnut burger crumbles left over from Moussaka and this recipe from Emeril that has been in my recipe bookmarks forever.  I made the filling first and it was delicious. Then I tackled the pastry. It tackled me back and pinned me to the kitchen counter. My recipe notes read, "Used food processor… bad bad pastry. I will throw you away now. " I'm not sure what I did wrong, but I suspect I used too much water, too little fat, and overworked the pastry dough. It was impossible to work with at room temperature and turned hard as a rock in the refrigerator.  I threw out the pastry, put the filling in the freezer, and licked my metaphorical wounds. 

Pastry is just not my forte. I've only made one recipe that I can remember being happy with, the one I used for apple empanadas, so I turned to that one. I dropped the sugar, added curry powder, and finally, I had patties.  The quantities even matched - no leftover dough and no leftover filling.  So, this pastry dough recipe is going to be my go-to from now on.

I'm not sure how authentic these are, but they're savory, filling and I'll definitely make them again. If you didn't want to use Ricki's cauliflower and walnut burger crumbles in these, you could use a package of store bought burger crumbles or even cooked lentils (although if you choose lentils you'd want to adjust the seasonings). 

 

Vegan Jamaican Meat Patties

Cauliflower-Walnut Burger Crumbles

Adapted from Diet, Dessert and Dogs.

1 head cauliflower, trimmed into florets, about 1-1/3 pounds after trimming

2-2/3 cups walnuts (I used 2 cups walnuts and the rest sunflower seeds

3 cloves garlic, peeled

2 teaspoons smoked paprika

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon sage

1/4 teaspoon thyme

2-1/2 tablespoons olive oil

2-1/2 tablespoons soy sauce

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil a large jelly-roll pan or baking sheet with sides.

Use a food processor to mince the cauliflower, nuts and garlic. Transfer to a large bowl. Stir in paprika, salt, sage, thyme, olive oil and soy sauce. Spread mixture evenly on the pan. (This is easiest using two forks held in both hands upside-down.)

Bake for 30 minutes, then turn mixture over using a spatula and spread back out evenly. Bake for another 15 minutes and turn. Continue baking and turning each 15 minutes until mixture is evenly brown and mostly dry (this took me an hour total). Be careful not to over cook.

Makes about 4 cups; recipe uses 2 cups. The rest can be frozen.

Dough:

1 cup all-purpose flour

1-1/3 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon salt

3/4 teaspoon curry powder

7 tablespoons coconut oil

1/4 - 1/3 cup water

Whisk together flour, salt and curry powder in a medium bowl. Melt coconut oil and add to flour. Blend well with a fork. Add a couple of tablespoons of water, then continue blending in water 1 tablespoon at a time until the dough is no longer crumbly.  Knead the dough by hand for three to five minutes until it's smooth.

Cover the dough and allow it to rest at room temperature for about an hour. (You can also refrigerate the dough overnight.)

Filling:

1 tablespoon olive oil

1/2 cup finely diced onion

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 inch piece of fresh ginger, minced

1/2 to 1 scotch bonnet pepper, minced (I used 3 red finger peppers, seeds and all)

2 teaspoons curry powder

1/8 teaspoon thyme

2 cups burger crumbles

2 green onions, green and white parts, thinly sliced

8 ounces diced tomatoes

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon rum

1 tablespoon water, or as needed

Heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add onion and cook until tender, about 3 minutes. Add garlic, ginger and peppers and cook for a minutes. Add curry powder and thyme and cook for a minute.

Stir in burger crumbles, green onions, and tomatoes. Add salt, pepper and rum; taste and adjust seasonings. Pinch some of the filling between your fingers; if it does not hold together, add a tablespoon or two of water.

Putting the patties together:

Preheat oven to 375 F. Oil a baking sheet. Divide the pastry dough into eight pieces. Roll a piece into a ball with your hands and then use a rolling pin to roll the ball into a 6 to 7-inch circle. Place a rounded 1/4 cup filling in the center of the circle. Fold over and crimp the edges with a fork. Repeat with remaining dough and filling.

Bake for 15-20 minutes or until edges are just starting to brown.

Makes 8.

Orange-Pumpkin Whole Wheat Monkey Bread

Monkey bread as it's usually made is something I'd never eat. It's made from canned biscuits coated with loads and loads of butter and sugar. If I ate something like that, I'd feel bad later from the sugar crash and too much butter.
 

My mom used to make a savory "monkey bread" from a yeasted dough that was completely different, though. I loved hers, and when I came across a sweet yeasted version in Cooking Light, I knew I wanted to make my own. The magazine reduced the fat and sugar a good bit from the original, and I reduced it more. I also used all whole wheat flour and a good bit more orange juice. The magazine version had icing on top, but I thought it was sweet enough without it. Finally, I had some peeled, roasted pumpkin in my freezer, so I mashed that up and threw it in the dough. To bring the orange and pumpkin flavors together I added cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves. Delicious, and I feel better after eating some, not worse.

Theoretically this is a breakfast dish, but we couldn't resist having it for dessert. Thus, I'm entering it in Raven's Cook. Eat. Delicious - Desserts, which I am hosting this month. We are headed to the Florida Keys for a week, so I won't be posting in the meantime, but I'll be able to read and comment on your delicious entries to the event, so send them my way! 

 

Orange-Pumpkin Whole Wheat Monkey Bread

Dough:

1 cup almond milk, warm

1/3 cup orange juice

3 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1 cup mashed pumpkin (mine was roasted but canned would work)

1/4 brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground flax seed

2 teaspoons yeast (or 1(1/4-oz.) packet)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vital wheat gluten

3-1/2 cups whole wheat flour

Heat almond milk, orange juice and eb over medium low heat until the eb melts and the mixture is warm (don't get it above 110 F; 105 F is ideal.)

Transfer the almond milk mixture to the bowl of a stand mixer or a large mixing bowl. Add the pumpkin, brown sugar, flax seed, yeast and salt.  Mix well with regular beaters (or a whisk if mixing by hand.) Stir in the flour, and knead with dough hooks on the lowest setting for 5 minutes, or knead by hand for 10 minutes. Transfer to an oiled bowl. Cover and set aside for an hour or until doubled in size.

Make sugar coating. Oil a 9-inch springform or cake pan. Preheat oven to 350 F.

Sugar coating:

1/3 cup orange juice

1 cup sugar

1-1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger powder

1/2 teaspoon cloves

Have orange juice at hand in a medium bowl. In another bowl, mix together the brown sugar, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and cloves.

Punch down dough and divide into 8 pieces. Roll each piece into a rope and then slice each into 8 chunks. Dip a chunk into the orange juice and roll in the sugar coating. Place in the pan. Repeat with remaining chunks of dough; you'll end up with two layers of dough pieces. If you have any leftover sugar mixture, pour it over the top.

Bake for 30-35 minutes until firm in the center. Let cool for 5-10 minutes, then pop the ring off the springform pan, or if using a cake pan, turn upside-down over a plate.

Serves a crowd.

Soup Redux

It's soup season! Kalyani at Sizzling Tastebuds hosts a monthly event called Kitchen Chronicles; this month Nupur at UK Rasoi is hosting and she has chosen the theme Soup It Up! I'm reposting a couple of my favorite soups from my archives for her event. Be sure to check out the roundup at the end of the month on Nupur's blog for a load of wonderful soup recipes. 

 

The Best Mushroom Soup

This is probably the best mushroom soup I've ever had. It is definitely the best I've ever made.  It takes a little bit of time because of the broth that you make first, but the broth can be made ahead of time and refrigerated or frozen. The finished soup freezes, too. Both recipes are adapted from Vegetable Soups from Deborah Madison's Kitchen.

The Best Mushroom Broth

I use 2 whole ounces of dried mushrooms in this, which can be expensive. I found an 8 ounce container of mixed dried mushrooms for less than $20 at Costco, but if affordable ones aren't available to you, use 3/4 ounce dried (preferably using both porcinis and shiitakes) and 8 ounces of chopped fresh button mushrooms added to the pot at the same time as the onions.

Since the broth is strained, you can chop the vegetables in big pieces,and include washed onion peels and celery leaves. Also, since you don't have to bother peeling the garlic, this is a great way to use those skinny cloves from the middle of the bulb-just use more of them if they're tiny.

2 ounces mixed dried mushrooms, including some shiitakes and porcinis

6 cups boiling water

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 large onion, roughly chopped

2 large carrots, roughly chopped

2 celery stalks, roughly chopped

4 garlic cloves, cut in half

4 thyme sprigs

1 bay leaf

1 sprig rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 tablespoon tomato paste

2 cups dry red wine

1-2 tablespoons miso, red if you have it

Soak the mushrooms in the boiling water while you prepare the rest of the broth.

Heat the oil in a large pot. Sauté the onion, carrots, celery until soft and slightly browned, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, thyme, bay leaf, rosemary and salt and pepper and sauté for another minute or two. Stir in the tomato paste. Add the red wine and bring to a boil. Boil for 2 minutes, scraping the bottom of the pot to incorporate the browned vegetable bits.

Add the mushrooms and their soaking liquid. Cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Strain vegetables from broth and discard. In a small bowl, stir 1 tablespoon miso into a half-cup or so of hot broth and then stir into the rest of the broth. Taste and add more miso if you like. 

This should make 4 cups, just enough for the soup, but I always end up with more. The extra freezes well and is great in risotto and veggie loaf. Or you could just make more mushroom soup.

The Best Mushroom Soup

8 ounces button mushrooms

8 ounces cremini mushrooms

2 tablespoons olive oil

1/2 cup minced shallot or onion

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 teaspoon salt

4 cups of The Best Mushroom Broth, above

1 cup bread crumbs from about 2 slices bread

1/2 cup non-dairy creamer (plain) or milk

Reserve 4 or 5 of the smaller, shapelier mushrooms and chop the rest finely. Heat olive oil in a large pot. Sauté the shallot and mushrooms until they are tender and mushrooms are releasing their liquid. Add garlic and salt and sauté another minute. Add the bread and mushroom broth and simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes. Stir in creamer.

Divide the soup into 4 bowls. Thinly slice the reserved mushrooms and use them to garnish the soup.

Creamy Tomato Basil Soup

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, finely diced
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes, preferrably imported from Italy
1 14.5-ounce can diced fire-roasted tomatoes
6 oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, chopped (or some of these tomatoes, if you have them)
1/3 to 1/2 cup minced basil
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup non-dairy creamer or milk*
salt and pepper to taste

Heat olive oil in a large pot. Add onion and cook until very soft, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and cook another minute.

Add all the tomatoes, the basil, and the vinegar. Bring to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add baking soda and watch the chemical reaction. Stir in the creamer or milk and add salt and pepper to taste. Transfer to a blender and purée, or use an immersion blender. Heat through and serve.

Makes 4 servings.

*I use Better than Milk soymilk powder and mix it double strength. 

My Legume Love Affair 43 Roundup

We had some amazing entries for My Legume Love Affair 43, everything from snacks to sweets, with plenty of soups, salads and main dishes between.

First, for the winners: Nupur of UK Rasoi won the Chili Peppers Wall Calendar and  Sravani of Srav's Culinary Concepts won the Hurst Bean Box. Congratulations, you two!

I had so much fun hosting MLLA this month. It was great seeing entries from familiar bloggers and meeting new ones. I might be biased, but I think this was the best MLLA ever (so far.) This month, Vanessa of Sweet Artichoke is hosting. I have an entry for you already, Vanessa!

And now, your lovely entries:

Heather of girlichef made Dulce de Frijol (Bean Candy)

Gayathri of Gayathri's Cook Spot made Palak Kofta Curry

Roshni of Roshni's Kitchen made Misal Pav

Anh of a food lover's journey made Simmered Soy Beans with ginger and soy sauce

Janet of The Taste Space made Trinidadian Black-Eyed Pea Stew

Roshni of Roshni's Kitchen also made Masoor Dal

Richa of Ambrosia made Matar Kebabs

Lisa of Lisa's Kitchen made Kidney Bean Curry - Rajma

Francesca of BurroeZucchero made Maltagliati e Fagioli - Bean Soup with Maltagliati (Pasta)

Roshni of Roshni's Kitchen also made Masala Peanuts

Rinku from Cooking in Westchester made Medhi Vada

Hema of Hema's Blog made Aamvada

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's made Tri Daali Daal au Joovar jo Dhodho

Harini of Tamalapaku made Mixed Lentil Khichdi

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's also made Gul Gule'

Hema of Hema's Blog also made Aloo Bath

Nandini of Foodiliciousnan made Poornam Sevai

Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes made Broccoli & Chickpeas Clear Soup

Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes also made Sesame Powder

Priya of Priya's Easy N Tasty Recipes also made Chickpeas and Spinach Masal Vada

Harini of Tamalapaku also made Kabuli Chana Fry - Garbanzo Beans Fry

Emily of Triumph Wellness made Mini Tofu Quiches

Harini of Tamalapaku also made Bottle Gourd - Channa Dal Curry

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's also made Daal Paatra

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's also made Daalwada

Simona of Bricioli made ful medames

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's also made Kalmi Vada

Rose of Magpie's Recipes made Peas and Tomato Curry

Akheela of Torviewtoronto made Beef Curry with Cashews and Coconut

Kalinda at Wheat-Free Meat-Free made Cabbage Kidney Bean Casserole

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's also made Hari Daal ke Kebab

Emily of Triumph Wellness also made Baked Vegan Chimichangas

Northern Lights of Kosher Frugal Menus made Tomato Soup with Black Beans and Rice

Valerie of City|Life|Eats made Warm Carrot Broccoli Slaw

PJ of Seduce Your Tastebuds made Channa Dal Spice Mix

Harini of Tamalapaku made Masala Vada - Chana Dal Fritters

Harini of Tamalapaku also made Pigeon Pea Chutney

Harini of Tamalapaku also made Red Chori Beans - Bottle Gourd Tangy Gravy

Divya of Dil Se..  made Yellow Moong Dal Tadka

Caffettiera of La Caffettiera Rosa made Freekeh, Brown Lentils and Tomatoes

Divya of Dil Se.. also made Sambar / South Indian Lentil Soup

Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds made Agathi Keerai Kariamudhu with Toor Dal

Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds also made Sprouts Adai | Sprouts and Lentil Crepes

Divya of Dil Se.. also made Low Fat Ural Dal Fritters

Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds also made Ulundu Dosa | Urad Dal Dosa

Nupur of UK Rasoi made Rajma - Rice

Swetha of Our Cherished World made White Chickpea Sundal

Divya of Dil Se.. also made Paruppu Thuvayal / Spicy Lentil Dip

Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds also made Moong Sprouts Grapes Salad with Lemon-Honey Dressing

Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds also made Oats Pongal with Moong Dal

Kalyani of Sizzling Tastebuds also made Moong Dal Ladoo (Split Green Gram Sweet Roundels)

Sravani of Srav's Culinary Concepts made Chickpea Puffs / Channa Puffs

Cinzia of Cindystar made Peanut Brittle

Rose of Magpie's Recipes also made Kerala Simple Beans Stir Fry

 
I made Lentil-Wild Rice Pilaf

I also made Masala Fried Rice-Tofu Scramble