Tag Archives: Cooking

Homemade Soft Pretzels: Vegan, Of Course…

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It’s been such a reallyreally long time since I baked pretzels that I almost forgot how to shape them, but it all came back pretty quickly as soon as I started rolling.

Pretzels are so easy to make, it’s something everyone should try, especially now that it’s officially fall. I like them simply salted and plain or served with a vibrantly spicy mustard dipping sauce.

Easy Soft Pretzel Recipe

Ingredients

  • 2 and 1/4 teaspoons instant or active dry yeast (1 packet)
  • 1 Tablespoon brown or white sugar
  • 1 and 1/2 cups warm water, not too hot
  • 2 Tablespoons oil or melted vegan butter
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 3 and 3/4–4 cups all-purpose flour plus more as needed
  • coarse salt, for topping

Baking Soda Bath
(Some recipes use lye but I think that’s not healthy, so I never have tried it and wouldn’t recommend.)
In a large pot, add 1/2 cup baking soda to 9 cups water, stir, and bring to a boil.

Instructions

  1. Whisk the yeast and sugar into warm water.
  2. Cover and allow to sit for a few minutes.
  3. Whisk in the oil and/or vegan butter and salt.
  4. Add 3 cups of flour.
  5. Mix with a wooden spoon (or dough hook attachment if using a stand mixer) until combined.
  6. Add 3/4 cup more flour until the dough is slightly tacky and pulls away from the sides of the bowl. If it is still sticky, add up to 1/4 cup more flour, one tablespoon at a time.
  7. Knead the dough. Keep the dough in the mixer and beat for an additional 3 to 5 full minutes, or knead by hand on a lightly floured surface for 3 to 5 minutes. If the dough becomes too sticky during the kneading process, sprinkle 1 teaspoon of flour at a time on the dough or on the work surface/in the bowl to make a soft, slightly tacky dough. Don’t add more flour than you need because you don’t want a dry dough.
  8. Shape the kneaded dough into a ball. Cover lightly with a towel and allow to rest for 10 to 30 minutes or longer.
  9. This is a good time to start the water + baking soda boiling.
  10. Preheat oven to 400° degrees.
  11. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper or silicone baking mats. If using parchment paper, coat with nonstick spray.
  12. With a sharp knife, cut dough into twelve equal balls.
  13. Roll the dough into a 20–22-inch rope.
  14. To shape a classic pretzel, roll dough into a long rope, form it into a U-shape with the ends pointing away, then cross the ends over each other twice and bring them down to the bottom of the U, pressing to seal.
  15. There are lots of great YouTube videos that explain in detail how to shape pretzels if you need help.
  16. When the baking soda water has come to a rolling boil, drop 1–2 pretzels in for 20–30 seconds. Any longer than that and your pretzels will have a GROSS metallic taste.
  17. Using a slotted spatula, lift the pretzel out of the water and allow as much of the excess water to drip off. Place pretzel onto prepared baking sheet. Sprinkle the top with coarse sea salt. Repeat with remaining pretzels.
  18. If you want, you can cover and refrigerate the boiled/unbaked pretzels for up to 24 hours before baking.
  19. Bake for 12–15 minutes or until dark golden brown.

I used my stand mixer to knead, placed in another bowl, let rise for about 30 minutes, and cut into 12 equal balls.

Roll to about 22 inches. This is the fun part.

eatlittlebird.com

Not perfectly shaped, but it doesn’t really matter as long as they taste good.

Drop into the boiling baking soda water for only 20-30 seconds. The water isn’t dark gray, not sure why the photo shows that color.

Bake 15 minutes or so depending on your stove.

They won’t win any awards for beauty but they were DELICIOUS.

Tip: Don’t forget to put the salt on before you bake or it won’t stick.

Medievil Hummus Recipe

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Enough ugly reality; now we’re back to our regularly scheduled programming of avoidant, happy posts…

This isn’t the smooth, creamy dip we know today, but a rustic, nutty dish called Himmas Kassa from a recipe preserved in a medieval 14th-century Egyptian cookbook.

The marriage of ingredients elevates the humble chickpea into a dish worthy of royalty. I’ll definitely make it for Thanksgiving this year.

This is my very own, very basic Hummus Recipe. It’s SO easy! https://enchantedseashells.com/2023/06/14/zesty-veggie-hummus-vegan-pinwheels/

Instead of blended until silky smooth, Himmas Kassa was coarse, full of texture, and mixed with walnuts, fresh herbs, and spices like cinnamon, ginger, and caraway. It was served at banquets as one of the opening courses, to showcase the host’s refinement and generosity.

Recipe

  • 1 cup boiled chickpeas
  • 2 tablespoons tahini stirred with 2 tablespoons water and 2 tablespoons wine vinegar
  • ¼ cup finely ground walnuts stirred with 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1 teaspoon wine vinegar
  • ½ cup chopped parsley
  • ¼ cup chopped mint
  • 3 tablespoons olive oil
  • ¼ teaspoon each of caraway coriander, black pepper, ginger, and cinnamon, all crushed
  • ½ teaspoon salt
  • For garnish: olive oil, olives, chopped pistachios

Instructions 

  • In a mixing bowl, mash the boiled chickpeas until they form a coarse paste.
  • Stir in the tahini mixture and the walnut mixture until combined.
  • Fold in the parsley, mint, olive oil, and spices. Taste and adjust salt as needed.
  • Transfer to a shallow serving dish. Garnish with olive oil, olives, and pistachios.
  • Serve with flatbread, pita, or crackers. Also delicious spread on tortillas.
  • I’d also serve with carrot sticks and cucumbers, sliced apples and jicama.

https://eatshistory.com/medieval-hummus-recipe-one-of-the-first-recorded-recipes-himmas-kassa/

Featured image courtesy of Pinterest

It’s A Tofu Miracle!

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Yes, an actual tofu miracle!

Tofu Tip: Save tofu water; do NOT discard it!

Photo from Pinterest

Tofu water can be used to water plants, add to compost, or as a substitute for aquafaba or other liquids in recipes. 

My mind is completely blown. I’ve drained tofu water ever since I started eating it, and that’s been a long long time.

Truthfully, I never thought it was anything but messy and annoying. Now I’ll save every single drop and tonight, I’ll try a DIY Tofu Facial.

Here’s what I learned: tofu water contains beneficial nutrients like protein, fat, carbohydrates, and minerals (N, P, K) which fertilize plants and promote growth. You can also drink it, use it in soups, or even for DIY facials due to its soothing properties. 

Some things you can do with tofu water:

  • Plant Fertilizer: Pour it onto your houseplants or in your garden to provide nutrients and help them grow. 
  • Compost Additive: The liquid can be added to a compost heap to enhance the organic material and nutrient content. 
  • Aquafaba Substitute: Use it in recipes that call for aquafaba (the liquid from canned chickpeas) as a vegan alternative for binding ingredients in sweets or savory dishes. 
  • Cooking Liquid: Incorporate it into dishes like soups or stocks, especially if the liquid has been reduced to a thicker consistency. 
  • Baking: Add it to the overall liquids.
  • Beverage: Some people boil tofu water with flavorings like vanilla almond milk, stevia, or cocoa for a nutritious drink. 
  • Smoothies: Add to blender with juices, plant milks.
  • Facials: Tofu water contains compounds that can have soothing and calming effects on sensitive skin. 

Let me know if you tried any of those suggestions, or if you plan to!

“Why are you always in the kitchen?”

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These incredibly observant Angel Kids of mine are full of nonstop chat as they watch my every move with their laser focused eyes and brains, especially when they sit at the counter (their favorite spot), waiting to be served exactly like baby birds in a nest with their beaks open wide for mom to bring a freshly caught worm..

“Why are you always in the kitchen, Grandma?” “It’s like you have a force field around you and you’re stuck in there.” (He is SO funny.)

“Yeah, Grandma, you’re always in the kitchen!” Angel Girl has to offer her opinion, too. ALWAYS.

I stop chopping veggies or flipping pancakes or cutting the crust off another slice of bread (only for Angel Girl), and respond with a question,

“Why are you guys always hungry?”

Well, that made them think a bit, that’s for sure.

“Good point”, Angel Boy 2.0 sagely nods as he ponders what I meant by that, as he chews on a slice of apple.

Those kids LOVE apples as a pre-meal snack. Sometimes dipped in nut butter, but they’re perfectly satisfied with a bowl of sliced apples.

The key is to give each of them their own bowl or they’ll squabble about equal amounts. “Why does s/he have more than me?” Since I only birthed one child, I’m not used to this kind of sibling behavior. I actually find it incredibly annoying and to avoid listening to it, for me, separate bowls are the easiest solution.

They eat a lot, not junk food or snacks, but wholesome and dense nutrition. That’s what healthy kids do; eat, play, sleep. They’re exactly like puppies. Their growing bodies and brains demand it and I’m only too happy to oblige.

“Play with us, Grandma. We’ll even play Candyland just for you. Or Scrabble.” That’s quite the concession on their part, as they know those are my two favorite games.

“How about after you guys have this smoothie and ants on a log and a (lentil/oat/kale) muffin, we’ll play. How does that sound?”

Two curly heads nod in unison.

Eat, play, sleep.

******************************************************

Featured photo by Enchanted Seashells at Crystal Cove. Vintage kitchen, not mine.

Easy Crockpot Apple Butter Recipe 🍎

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Is there anything better than homemade apple butter?

Apple butter is not a single invention by one person, but rather a preservation method with roots in medieval Europe. It originated in Germany and the Netherlands, with monasteries in those areas using it to preserve their apple harvest. 

The Pennsylvania Dutch, who are actually of German origin, later brought the practice to North America, particularly to Pennsylvania, and it then spread throughout Appalachia and the American South. 

This is how they used to make apple butter! It was a slow, laborious process.

My mom and I made apple butter every year. We’d get a bushel of apples and spend a fun day working together.

Cooking apple butter typically takes eight to twelve hours in a slow cooker on low heat. This long, slow cooking process allows the apples to break down, caramelize, and develop the rich, sweet flavor characteristic of apple butter. 

Here’s my easy recipe. Even though it’s easy ingredient-wise, it’s going to take a long time for the apples to cook down, so be patient, otherwise, you’ll end up with a lot of applesauce.

Ingredients:

🍎 Apples, a lot of apples. I used the ones from my tree so I know they’re organic and free of any pesticides.

🍎 Cinnamon…I add a massive amount of cinnamon because that’s how we like it, so add as much or as little as your taste dictates.

🍎 Water

🍎 That’s all you need, except this time toward the end of cooking, I tasted the concoction and added two tablespoons of apple cider vinegar and three tablespoons of sugar because my apples were VERY tart. (ACV brings out the sweetness, too.)

First, core and cut the apples into medium size pieces or chop them smaller, whatever you feel like doing is fine. No need to peel.

I started the cooking process on the stovetop, rather than in the crockpot, because I had too many apples to fit and I needed to wait until they cooked down before transferring. This is when you add water, about 1/2 cup to one cup depending on the amount of apples you have.

Add cinnamon.

Cook over medium heat for about an hour, stirring ever so often so the bottom doesn’t burn. I used a potato masher to make sure the apples were all getting softened.

When it looks like applesauce, carefully spoon into a blender and zap until smooth.

After that, transfer it into the crock pot and cook on high for four hours. Stir every once in a while.

After that initial four hours, turn the crockpot on low for twelve hours to cook overnight. Keep the crockpot top cracked open or condensation will form and drip into the pot and make the apple butter too watery.

If you like it super smooth and creamy like we do, blend it one final time.

And this is the finished product, so good you’ll want to eat it with a spoon. It looks like chocolate, doesn’t it? YUM!

While it’s still warm, I store some in glass canning jars in the refrigerator to eat right away, and freeze the rest.

An Apple A Day🍎

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If an apple a day is supposed to keep us healthy, what can I do with all of these?

This is the first year I won the battle with rats and squirrels. I netted and secured the entire tree and picked the most abundant harvest yet.

I counted at least seventy apples and now I’m left with a busy day.

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

I’ll post the recipes later, but I plan to fire up the crockpot to cook and freeze applesauce, apple butter, and prep apple slices ready for pies. I’m feeling very much like Little House on the Prairie with this bounty. I am so proud of myself!

Photo by Enchanted Seashells

These apples were from one tree; there’s another tree on the upper garden with smaller apples but I’ll pick them today and add them to the crockpot, too.

The smell of apples + cinnamon is sooo therapeutic! 🍎

Easy Vegan Chocolate Mug Cake

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This is such an easy recipe — just a few minutes mixing and cooking in the microwave.

Since I have zero impulse control when it comes to being able to STOP eating chocolate, and since I was literally dying for some chocolate cake, and knowing my propensity to eat the whole thing, I decided to try a recipe for a single serving microwave chocolate cake.

I choose one of my favorite Grandma mugs…

I have to confess that my very first mug cake was way more delicious than I anticipated! What a pleasant surprise! I will definitely make this again. But to be completely honest, those few bites weren’t quite enough to satisfy my cravings.

Ingredients:

  • 2 tablespoons all purpose flour
  • 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
  • 1/8 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
  • 1 tablespoon oil or melted vegan butter
  • 3 tablespoons plant based milk or half plant based milk and cold black coffee
  • 1/2 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
  • 2 tablespoons dairy free chocolate chips (I didn’t have any in the pantry.)

Add the flour, cocoa powder, sugar, salt and baking powder to a mug. Whisk to combine.
Pour in the oil, non-dairy milk and vanilla into the mug with the dry ingredients and stir well with a spoon. If you have them, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top.
Cook in the microwave for 40 seconds. It will likely be a little undercooked in the middle at this point, but if you want it cooked more, microwave another 10-20 seconds. 
Serve immediately. 

Sweet Potato Brownies | VEGAN

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I make these so often, I can probably do it in my sleep. They are always requested by my son and DIL. The kids don’t eat chocolate, so it’s a grownup treat ONLY.

It’s SOOO easy and SOOO yummy.

Even if you’re not #vegan, don’t skip this recipe. I bet you’ll find it’s worth a try, especially if you love chocolate as much as I do.

It was so good, I’ve made it twice. The first time I used only five ingredients:

*Sweet potato, one cup cooked VERY SOFT and mashed
*Nut butter (I used almond), 1/2 cup
*Maple syrup, 1/3 cup
*Vanilla, one teaspoon
*Cocoa, 1/3 cup

Blend all ingredients by hand or in a food processor. Spread in a pie plate or small square baking dish.

Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes. Let sit until completely cool.

If you have the time, the flavors are enhanced if it’s refrigerated or even frozen. I cut them into bite-sized pieces ‘cos it’s really rich.

You don’t actually NEED frosting, but who ever said no to more chocolate? Here’s my best baking hack for that…
https://enchantedseashells.com/2014/09/17/best-baking-hack-ever/

The results can be a bit dense; sometimes I add 1/4 cup all-purpose flour or buckwheat flour. It would also be easy to blend some oats for oat flour, so that’s definitely an option.

YUM. Delicious AND healthy!

P.S. This recipe isn’t overly sweet, so if you want to add more maple syrup or even a LITTLE sugar, go ahead. I thought it was perfect without any additional sweetener, but I’m a choco-holic.

BEST Crispy Tofu With Spicy Mayo Dipping Sauce

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This recipe is everything, and SO easy. Vegan, of course.

The secret to success is freezing the tofu before cooking. Here’s what to do. Drain the tofu, cut into squares, place on a plastic cutting board, and freeze.

Don’t be worried if the tofu changes color; it’s all good, and the color change means the texture of the tofu will be chewier and even more delicious.

When it’s nice and frozen (took a couple hours for me) place in a bag with some cornstarch and shake.

Add three tablespoons of oil to a pan and heat until shimmering. I like avocado oil.

Be patient and don’t check on the crispy progress too soon. You’ll know the tofu is ready to turn when it releases easily from the pan.

You could also bake in a 350 degree oven or place in an air fryer, but this time I used the cooktop ‘cos it was quicker.

When it’s brown and crispy on both sides, sprinkle with a little cracked pepper, and serve.

For my yummy Dipping Sauce, mix 1/3 cup vegan mayo with a tablespoon of Sriracha. Add a little chopped cilantro. This sauce is very similar in taste to the Japanese mayo at sushi restaurants.

It’s seriously SO full of flavor, I could almost eat an entire block of tofu. Not kidding.

Veggie Tomato-y Tofu Soup #Vegan

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Perfect for this cooler autumn weather…

Last weekend was my monthly refrigerator cleaning project and I thought I’d toss everything I could into a pot and create some sort of soup.

The good news is I have a scrumptious pot of healthy soup to last a few days; the bad news is that now empty refrigerator and a need to hit the grocery store.

Here’s what I found to work with:
-Mushrooms
-Red Pepper
-Carrots
-Celery
-Onion
-Broccoli
-Fresh chard and garden herbs
-Tofu

I first cubed and marinated the tofu in a little olive oil and Italian herbs with spicy dried red peppers.

I didn’t have any Better Than Bouillon  (vegan) which is too bad as it’s amazing, and I didn’t have homemade stock, so I pan roasted the veggies in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil for a long time to develop fond on the bottom of the pan.

FYI: Fond are the brown particles found at the bottom of pans after browning vegetables. It adds flavor and moisture to a dish.

When I saw all those yummy little brown bits, I added a bit of water to make it easy to scrape up, then I added the marinated tofu, along with one large can of San Marzano tomatoes and one can of water.

FYI: I like to use the best Italian tomatoes because I think it really makes a flavor difference, especially when they’re the star of the show.

I added one scant teaspoon sugar and sea salt/pepper to taste along with these garden herbs:

Thyme, bay leaves, sage, oregano, and a lot of basil, saving some to sprinkle on just before serving.

Such vibrant colors! Simmered for about 45 minutes, pulled out the stems of the herbs as the leaves had fallen away as it cooked.

Before serving, I used my immersion blender to make the texture velvety and creamy.

YUM!

Options: Add cooked beans, lentils, pasta. croutons

Serve with fresh basil and vegan parmesan shreds.