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Yam and Potato Quinoa Curry

Published November 14, 2010 Uncategorized 2 Comments
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I didn’t quite know what to call this stew at first, because it was really just one of those ‘kitchen sink’ dishes that made use of whatever had been lying around the refrigerator for a while. In my case, it was some potatoes, a carrot, pumpkin purée, ginger, black kale, and chickpeas. I think my favourite part is the whole fennel seeds, because every now and then you get a delicious licorice-like pop when you bite down on one. If you buy the canned pumpkin purée to make this, you’ll likely have at least a cup leftover. If you wanna use it up and don’t know how, check out this previous post for a sweet biscuits recipe. Or you could use it up by buying a pre-made pie crust and searching out an easy pumpkin pie recipe.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, peeled and minced
1 cup onion, diced
1 large carrot, diced
2 stalks celery, diced
3 or 4 Yukon gold potatoes, peeled and chopped
1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
2 teaspoons fennel seeds
1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
1 19oz. can tomatoes
3/4 cup canned pumpkin purée
3 cups water
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
4 cups kale, spinach, or other leafy green, chopped
2 cups chickpeas
Juice of 1/2 a lemon

Instructions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a stockpot over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, onion, carrot, and celery. Sauté, stirring frequently for about 8 minutes.
2. Add the potato, sweet potato, tamari, fennel seeds, cumin, coriander, curry powder, turmeric, cloves, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Cook for another 6 minutes, stirring often.
3. Stir in the tomatoes, pumpkin, and water. Turn heat up and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
4. Stir in the quinoa and let simer, covered for another 20 minutes or so. Add the leafy greens and chickpeas and let cook for another 5 minutes, or until both the quinoa and the potatoes are cooked through.
5. Uncover and stir in the lemon juice before serving. If needed, season to taste with more salt.
Serves: 5 to 7

Quinoa-Pumpkin-Apple Stuffed Portabellas

Published November 4, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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Sticking with the seasonal theme, I’m following up my last entry with another pumpkin recipe. Obviously you can substitute the pumpkin here with whatever other winter squash that’s in season. Butternut squash is always a popular favourite. If you do end up using a pumpkin, make sure you buy a small one that feels heavy for its size. The tiny pumpkins are used in cooking and are often labeled ‘pie pumpkins’ because their flesh is soft and sweet, while the bigger, decorative, jack o’ lantern pumpkins aren’t so good for cooking or baking with. Make sure you completely peel your squash and remove all the pulp and seeds from it. Sometimes this can seem like a bit of a hassle, I know, but the pie pumpkins are usually so small that it won’t even take more than 5 minutes. Also, make sure you save the seeds, toss them in a bit of olive oil, salt, and cumin, and roast them in the oven for about half an hour or so at 300ºF for a delicious snack. One more thing, you might have bit of leftover quinoa mixture once all your mushrooms are stuffed, but no worries, it’s pretty tasty on its own.

Ingredients:
1 cup quinoa, rinsed
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, minced
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cups pumpkin, diced (remember: the smaller you cut them the quicker they’ll cook)
2 cups apple, diced
2 heaping tablespoons fresh thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 teaspoons cider vinegar
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
1/4 cup water
5 or 6 portabella mushrooms

Instructions:
1. In a saucepan combine the quinoa with 1 1/2 cups water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low, cover, and let simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from heat and let sit, still covered, for another 15 minutes. Remove lid and fluff with a fork. Set cooked quinoa aside for later.
2. Preheat oven to 375ºF. Heat the olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic, ginger, and onion. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 6 or 7 minutes, until the onion is softened.
3. Stir in the pumpkin, apple, thyme, allspice, cloves, salt, and pepper. Cook for about 5 minutes. Add the cider vinegar, maple syrup, and water. Stir through, turn heat down to medium-low, cover with a lid and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until the pumpkin is fork tender.
4. Meanwhile, brush the mushrooms with olive oil and sprinkle with a bit of salt and pepper. Place them with their gills down on a lightly greased baking tray and throw them into the oven for about 10 minutes, or until the edges are a bit wrinkled.
5. Remove mushrooms from oven. Remove the pumpkin and apple mixture from the stove top and stir in the cooked quinoa. Flip the mushrooms over so their tops are down and pack a few big spoonfuls of the quinoa mixture onto them. Place the mushrooms back into the over for another 8 minutes or so. Drizzle with a bit of olive oil before serving. Garnish with fresh parsley if you want.

Pumpkin-Spiced Sweet Biscuits

Published October 29, 2010 Uncategorized 4 Comments
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Once again, it’s been a while since I’ve posted something on here, so I thought I’d share a seasonally festive little treat with you all. I was originally trying to make a cake-y sugar cookie of some sort with this recipe, but they turned out way more like a biscuit. The first time I made them, I had kneaded the dough too much and they turned out a bit too chewy and tough, so I’d suggest mixing the wet and dry ingredients together until just combined. Also, I used a starch-based egg replacer for this recipe. The one I use, which is pretty much the only one around where I live, is made by PaneRiso. I got it at a health food store, but I think you can find it in most Metro supermarkets too. I’m also familiar with the one made by Ener-G, but I think it’s only available in the States, because I’ve never seen it up here in Ontario-land.

Ingredients:
3 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup sugar
3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree
1/4 cup Earth Balance, near room temperature (or other vegan butter)
Egg replacer enough for 2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons soy or rice milk

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, and salt. Stir together until well mixed.
2. Using an electric mixer (or a food processor or a whisk) cream together the sugar, pumpkin puree, and Earth Balance. Mix in the egg replacer, vanilla, and soy or rice milk.
3. Add the creamed sugar mixture to the dry ingredients and stir together just until dough forms. Don’t knead the dough. Form pieces of the dough into balls about the size of a small golf ball and flatten into a cookie. Lightly grease a baking tray (or line one with parchment paper) and bake for about 7 to 10 minutes, depending on how hot your oven is.
Makes: about 20 biscuits

For Glaze:
1 cup powdered sugar
1 tablespoon soy or rice milk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
A few drops of food colouring of your choice

Whisk everything together. Add more sugar if it’s too thin, add more soy or rice milk if it’s too thick.

Grilled Portabella Sandwich with Avocado, Fresh Basil and a Chipotle BBQ Sauce

Published October 7, 2010 Uncategorized 5 Comments
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First thing’s first. There has been somewhat of an exciting development here in the Vegan Eats camp: I’ve decided to offer my cooking services (for a reasonable fee) to those seeking meatless catering for small-scale events. For more information, click here to check out the page I set up for this new little venture of mine.

I really do love a good sandwich. I was having a conversation about it with my friend Billy, a fellow sandwich aficionado, and we were trying to narrow down the essential complimenting ingredients in each of our ‘perfect sandwiches’. For me, it came down to five components: 1. at least two good spreads/sauces, 2. something pickled, 3. avocado, and 4. alfalfa sprouts. Avocado is good enough to hold it’s own as the main ingredient of a sandwich, but I like the richness of it so much that I usually throw at least a little bit of it in every sammie I make. The star of this sandwich is the rich and meaty portabella mushroom, sautéd in olive oil with a bit of thyme and balsamic vinegar.

The BBQ sauce here turned out really deliciously. My best one yet, for sure. Depending on where you live, dried chipotle peppers might be a little hard to find. I got mine from Perola Supermarket in Kensington market, my favourite local Latin grocer. Any Latin grocer should carry them, but if you can’t find any dried chipotles in your area, just go with the canned ones. This recipe makes quite a lot of sauce and since it’ll keep for about a week or so, you might want to freeze some of it if you’re not going to use it all in that time.

Ingredients:
1 or 2 dried chipotle peppers
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28 oz. can diced tomatoes, with juices
3 tablespoons tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons molasses
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup organic cane sugar
Sea salt, to taste
2 tablespoons corn starch + 2 tablespoons cold water

Instructions:
1. Put the dried chipotle pepper in a bowl and pour boiling water over them. Cover with plastic wrap or a lid and let them hydrate for a few minutes. Drain the water and diced the pepper. Set aside for later.
2. In a large saucepan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onion and garlic and sauté, stirring frequently, for about 6 to 8 minutes. Add the diced chipotle pepper and sauté for another few minutes.
3. Add the tomatoes, tamari, Dijon mustard, molasses, cider vinegar, balsamic vinegar, sugar, and a big pinch of salt. Stir and mix together well so that the sugar dissolves. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and let simmer for about 50 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and let cool for about 15 minutes. If needed, season to taste with more salt. Using a ladle, transfer the sauce in small batches to an upright blender and purée until smooth. Be careful not to overfill the blender and don’t burn yourself! Alternatively, you could use an immersion blender, but you won’t get the same liquefied purée consistency.
5. Transfer the sauce back to the sauce pan and turn onto medium-high heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the corn starch and water well enough that there’s not lumps of starch. Stream the starch and water mixture into the sauce and whisk well so that it dissolves immediately. Bring to a boil and remove from heat. When it cools down it should be nice and thick like a commercial BBQ sauce. Store in the refrigerator.

Stuff you’ll need for one sandwich:
Extra-virgin olive oil
1 portabella mushroom cap, sliced
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 slices of good bread
Chipotle BBQ sauce from above, to taste (I like to use a lot)
Dijon mustard, to taste
Prepared horseradish, to taste
1/2 an avocado, diced small
Fresh basil, small handful
Tomato, a couple thin slices
Red onion, thinly sliced
Alfalfa sprouts, small handful

Instructions:
1. Heat the olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the mushroom, dried thyme, balsamic vinegar, and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Sauté, stirring frequently, for about 8 minutes. Turn off heat.
2. Start to assemble the sandwich by spreading the chipotle BBQ sauce on one piece of bread and the Dijon mustard with the prepared horseradish on the other slice (if that isn’t obvious enough). From top to bottom, I put the sandwich together as follows: Dijon, horseradish, diced avocado, fresh basil, tomato slices, red onion, cooked portobello slices, alfalfa sprouts, chipotle BBQ sauce. Play around with it and add or subtract ingredients as you see fit!
3. Butter it up with some Earth Balance vegan spread, or if you don’t have that on hand and/or can’t be bothered to go buy some, just brush both sides of the sammie with some olive oil and grill on a sandwich press. If you haven’t got a sandwich/panini press, you could either just toast the slices before putting together the sandwich or sauté the sandwich in a tiny bit of olive oil for a couple minutes on each side.

Sweet Potato-Chickpea Coconut Curry

Published September 22, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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I know it’s been a while since I’ve posted a new recipe, but fear not, I haven’t disappeared from the interweb just yet. My absence can be explained by equal parts negligence and a busy work/school schedule. Both of my photographer roommates have been super busy lately, with one of them actually being out of the country, so unfortunately, the photo accompanying this recipe isn’t nearly as beautiful as some of my more recent past entries.

Admittedly, this Thai-inspired coconut curry is not very authentic. I would have liked to have busted out the lemongrass, galangal, kaffir lime leaves, and red chillis for this recipe, but I’m supremely broke right now and watching nearly every penny, so I tried to stick to things I already had in my pantry. Which really wasn’t such a bad idea, because it still turned out pretty delicious, using everyday ingredients that you don’t have to search very hard for.

Ingredients:
3 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons ginger, finely grated or minced
2 carrots, peeled and sliced diagonally into coins
½ teaspoon mustard seeds (optional)
1 medium or large sweet potato, peeled and cut into bite-sized chunks
2 medium-sized potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
1 red bell pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
1¼ teaspoons curry powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
¼ teaspoon turmeric
Pinch cayenne (more if you want it spicy)
Sea salt, to taste
2½ cups water
2 cups cooked chickpeas (or 1 can, drained and rinsed)
1 cup coconut milk
1 tablespoon organic cane sugar
2 tablespoons freshly squeezed lime juice
Cilantro, for garnish (optional)

Instructions:
1. In a stockpot or large saucepan, heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, carrots, and mustard seeds. Sauté for 6 to 8 minutes, stirring frequently.
2. Stir in the sweet potatoes, potatoes, red pepper, tamari, curry powder, cumin, coriander, turmeric, cayenne, and a good pinch of salt. Sauté together for about 2 minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the water and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to medium-low and cover. Simmer until the root vegetables are tender, about 35 to 45 minutes.
4. Uncover and stir in the chickpeas, coconut milk, and sugar. Heat through while stirring for about 1 minute so that the sugar dissolves.
5. Turn heat off and stir in the lime juice. If needed, season to taste with a pinch more salt. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve.
Makes: 5 servings

Olive and Sundried Tomato Polenta Wedges

Published August 31, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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I’ve only made polenta once before, which made the formulation of this recipe quite the lesson in trial and error. My frustration was most definitely exacerbated by the fact that there is a heat wave scorching through Toronto right now, making it so that every time the oven or stove top is turned on in our kitchen it feels like the temperature rises to about 45 degrees Celsius. Totally bogus. Big thanks to Warren for braving the hellish temperature long enough to stick around and snap some pictures of the end result.

I originally put way too much oil in this recipe and the polenta turned out a bit soggy inside, so I cut it in half from 1/4 cup to only 2 tablespoons. This way, the polenta should turn out relatively fluffy on the inside and crispy on the outside after frying it. Also, it’s way tastier with a dipping sauce to accompany it. I whipped up a tomato-basil sauce with the leftover kalamata olives and it was delicious. Or you could spread some pesto over it. Even the marinara sauce from my last post would be great too.

Ingredients:
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/2 cup onion, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/3 cup kalamata olives, pitted and sliced
1/4 cup green olives, pitted and sliced
1/3 cup sundried tomatoes, sliced
1 teaspoon dried oregano
Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
1 1/2 cups water
1 1/2 cups cornmeal
1/4 teaspoon sea salt

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic. Sauté, stirring frequently for about 5 minutes, until fragrant and the onions are turning translucent.
2. Add the olives, sundried tomatoes, oregano, and black pepper. Sauté for another 2 or 3 three minutes, stirring often.
3. Add the vegetable broth, water, and salt. Turn heat up to high and bring to a boil. Once boiling, turn heat down to low and stream in the cornmeal, whisking it constantly. Continue stirring until the polenta mixture thickens up (check out the above picture for reference). I usually get the right consistency after less than a minute of simmering, but depending on the type of cornmeal, it could take up to 15 or 20 minutes.
4. Remove from heat and let cool for about 5 minutes. Spread out about 1/2-inch thick onto a lightly oiled tray or baking sheet. Cool in the refrigerator for about an hour.
5. Slice into rectangular wedges and heat a large non-stick skillet over medium heat. Don’t bother putting any oil in the pan. Instead, very lightly oil the polenta wedges and put them in the hot pan. Fry on each side for a few minutes until crispy (you’ll likely need to repeat this step a couple times depending on the size of your skillet). Sprinkle with a bit of sea salt and serve with your dipping sauce of choice.
Serves: 4 or 5

Spaghetti alla Marinara

Published August 15, 2010 Uncategorized 4 Comments
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I haven’t been able to post much in the last few weeks since I’ve been keeping quite busy. I was in British Columbia for a week visiting some wonderful family members that hadn’t seen in too long and since I’ve been back, I’ve picked up a couple extra shifts at work. Furthermore, the Vegan Eats family has been experiencing some tough times over the past couple weeks. About two weeks ago we lost a family member to old age and a couple of bum kidneys, as we said goodbye to our little dog, Chester, with whom we had the blessing of living with for 14 years. Chester lived nothing short of a great life; his mother spoiled him much more than she ever spoiled me, which says something because I grew up as an only child! When Chester wasn’t incessantly barking at anyone who dared to walk by our house, he enjoyed relaxing in the sun, rolling in the grass, and eating spaghetti. Spaghetti was seriously his favourite food. I had always known when he had been eating it, because his grayish white beard would be nearly completely stained red by the tomato-based sauce. Needless to say, this recipe is for him. It makes enough sauce to serve about two or three people, depending on how hungry they are, but you can easily double or triple the recipe for leftovers. Tomatoes are relatively acidic, so tomato-based sauces should stay good in the fridge for at least a week before they turn.

Ingredients:
Spaghetti, enough for 2 or 3 people
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup onion, diced
1½ cups cherry tomatoes, halved
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
¾ cup canned tomato sauce (look for one without any salt added)
1 scant teaspoon balsamic vinegar
Handful fresh basil, chopped

Instructions:
1. Cook the pasta according to package instructions.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet, heat the oil over medium-low heat. Sauté the garlic and onions for a few minutes until softened and fragrant. Add the tomatoes, a big pinch of salt and pepper, and cook for about 5 or 6 minutes over medium heat.
3. Add the tomato sauce and balsamic vinegar. Bring to boil and turn off the heat. Stir in the chopped basil and season to taste with more salt and pepper. Pour sauce over spaghetti and serve.
Serves: 2 to 3

Green Bean and Potato Salad with a Lemon-Dijon Dressing

Published July 25, 2010 Uncategorized 2 Comments
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My Dad spends a lot of his free time in the backyard during the warmer months of the year, although instead of half-nakedly basking in the sun and doing crosswords as per usual, this year he has devoted much of his time toiling away in his new vegetable garden. I was really proud of his little backyard project when he started planting it, and especially now that the first harvest of vegetables are popping up. He’s got two types of beans growing back there, but these tender green beans were ready for picking about a week ago, so I took a commuter train back to Oakville on my day off and loaded up. The end result was this green bean and potato salad, which I was pretty pleased with, because of how well all the flavours paired with each other; both the dill and the lemony dressing compliment the potatoes nicely and the same goes for the toasted almonds and the green beans. Enjoy!

Ingredients:
1½ teaspoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
½ teaspoon sugar
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½ cup sliced almonds, toasted
2 pounds new potatoes (I used a mixture of baby red and white potatoes)
½ pound green beans, blanched and cut in half
2 stalks green onion, thinly sliced
½ cup fresh dill, chopped

Instructions:
1. In a small bowl, whisk together the Dijon mustard, lemon juice, sugar, and a pinch of salt and pepper. Add the olive oil and whisk until incorporated. Set dressing aside for later.
2. To toast the almonds, heat a pan over low to medium heat and toss them in. Stir them frequently and keep an eye on them, because they can burn easily. Should only take a few minutes.
3. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add the potatoes and cook until fork tender, about 8-12 minutes, depending on the size. With a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and run them under cold water until cool enough to handle. Cut potatoes in half (or quarters if they’re bigger) and set aside.
4. In the same boiling water, add the green beans and blanche for about a minute. Remove the beans from the cooking water and throw them into a large bowl filled with ice to stop them from cooking (this way they’ll retain their vibrant green colour. You could also run them under really cold water for a bit). Once cool, cut them in half.
5. In a large mixing bowl, combine the potatoes, green beans, almonds, green onions, and dill. Stir in the dressing and mix well. Season to taste with more salt and pepper. Drizzle with a touch more lemon juice and olive oil before serving.
Makes: 4 servings

Cashew-Basil Noodles

Published July 17, 2010 Uncategorized 3 Comments
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A few months ago, my wonderful friend, Andrea, brought me some herb plants from a farm that she had been working at. From among her fragrant green loot, I was particularly excited about the Thai basil plant, which has since blossomed with some pretty awesome purple flowers. I really love Thai basil’s slight liquorice-like anise flavour and it always reminds of eating spicy basil noodles from one of my favourite Thai/Vietnamese restaurants in Oakville, Ontario, the suburbs where I spent much of my (ongoing) formative years. I’ve no doubt mentioned this before, but noodles are huge comfort food for me, so I was really looking forward to trying this stir-fry dish out. I think it turned out fairly good. It’s a pretty simple dish; it reminds me of the Asian stir-fries I used to make daily when I first started cooking for myself.

One more thing about my pal, Andrea: she’s a seriously great writer who actually just published a little interview with me about veganism for our friend’s online publication, ‘Monsters vs. Me.’ Read the interview here. Thanks, buddy!

Ingredients:
125 grams rice noodles
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger root, peeled and minced
1 cup onion, diced
1/2 large green pepper, cut into chunks
8 to 10 cremini mushrooms (can use white button mushrooms too)
1 tablespoon + 2 teaspoons tamari (or other good quality soy sauce)
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 tbsp water
Big handful of Thai basil, sliced thinly
1/2 cup roasted cashews, unsalted
3/4 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
1 green onion, sliced

Instructions:
1. Cook the rice noodles according to package instructions. Set aside for later. Don’t overcook them; mushy rice noodles are the worst.
2. In a wok or a very large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Toss in the garlic, ginger, and onion. Sauté, stirring frequently, until the onion is beginning to soften up, about 8 minutes.
3. Add the green peppers and mushrooms. Sauté for another 3 or 4 minutes. Add the soy sauce and a good pinch of salt and pepper. Stir together and cook for another minute.
4. Add the water, basil, and cashews. Stir together and cook for another 2 minutes, until some of the water has boiled off. Add the sesame oil and rice noodles to the wok or skillet and heat through for a minute, mixing everything together. (If the rice noodles are all stuck together in your strainer, just run them under warm water for a few seconds before adding to your veggies).
5. Garnish with the sliced green onions.
Serves: 2 to 3

Strawberry-Coconut Cornbread

Published June 30, 2010 Uncategorized 1 Comment
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I haven’t yet gone strawberry picking this season, but I know the time is ripe, because the berries I got from the farmers’ market yesterday morning were stupidly delicious. The last couple days in Toronto have cooled off a bit and it almost feel like autumn. I’m sure it’ll get scorching hot soon enough, but it’s a welcome change for now, because sweater-weather is definitely a part of my natural habitat. I found that the little dip in temperature also suited this recipe really well, since this rich cornbread has a comfort food feel to it. The batter would make great muffins too! Also, big thanks to my roommate/personal food photographer, Warren, for taking wonderful pictures again.

Ingredients:
1 cup cornmeal
1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
3 tablespoons organic cane sugar
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon sea salt
2 tablespoons Earth Balance vegan margarine*
3/4 cup coconut milk
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 cup strawberries, hulled and cut into quarters

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. In a large mixing bowl, add the cornmeal, flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Stir until combined. Add the Earth Balance and mix together with your hands until it’s the consistency of tiny pebbles in the flour mixture.
2. In a separate bowl, whisk together the coconut milk, water, apple cider vinegar, and canola oil. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and stir together until just combined.
3. Grease the inside of a loaf pan with about 1 tablespoon of oil and pour the batter into it. Throw into the oven for about 24 to 28 minutes, or until golden brown on the outside. To check for doneness, stick a toothpick or a knife into the center and if it comes out clean, it’s ready!
Makes: 5 to 7 servings
*Alternatively, you can use coconut butter if you have it on hand. Although, use 1/2 teaspoon of salt instead of 1/4 teaspoon.

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My name is Ross. I'm a food loving vegan and these are some of my recipes. I'm also the owner of Hot Beans vegan takeout in Kensington Market, Toronto. Check out my 'about' page for more info. Enjoy!

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All images and recipes (unless otherwise noted) Copyright © Ross Corder and Vegan Eats Blog, 2009-2012. All rights reserved. Please do not re-post or otherwise duplicate without permission. Thanks! Also, the "gluten-free" recipe tag is meant primarily for cataloging purposes and does not necessarily ensure that the recipe is completely gluten-free. Be careful to read the labels of any pre-packaged products to ensure that they are indeed gluten-free!
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