| Julia Goes Vegan

Thursday, January 10

Vegan Spinach Quiche

Recipe seven:

Quiche aux Epinards - Vegan Spinach Quiche

From top left: Baby spinach leaves, crust, whipped silken tofu, nutmeg, shallot, vegan butter, vegan cheese.

Since we made the pate brisee recipe from making the Quiche Lorraine we two balls of dough to work with. We wanted to perfect the quiche, also these are the only ingredients we had in the fridge at the time. I'm glad we went with this recipe, the flavor of the sautéed shallots in the butter with spinach turned out far better than expected.

1 Ball Pastry Dough (recipe here)
1 1/2 Cups Spinach
1 Package Silken tofu
1 1/2 cups Vegan Cheese
3 tbsp Tapioca Flour (not in the picture, sorry)
2 Tbs Shallots minced
2 tbs Vegan butter
1 tsp Nutmeg

Friday, January 4

Last minute (Gluten-Free) French Bread

Julia Child's recipe (which is already vegan) with a Gluten Free twist:

Classic, homey flavor and soft rich texture

½ Tsp xanthum gum

2 cups Gluten Free all purpose flour (+ a combination of other flours, we are still in process of experimenting with which work best for the oven we're using)

½ tsp salt

25 oz yheast (gluten free is best)
*Note: a kitchen scale is really helpful for these types of measurements.

1) Mix dry ingredients together

2) Put into a mixer with a dough hook. Slowly incorporate 2/3 cup warm water with the mixer on low.

3) With a wooden spoon, scrape down sides of the bowl to incorporate the rest of the flour.

4) Lightly dust a surface with (what kind?) starch and knead for about 5 minutes. This is really fun! It was reminiscent of working with playdough as a kid.

5) After kneading the dough into a stretchy firm ball, grease the bowl with olive oil and set the ball gently in.

6) Cover the ball with a towel and let rise for 2 hours or over night ( this feels like torture to wait after all the hard work but it will pay off)

7) After dough rises, curl your hand into a fist and punch it down! This actually doubles as a stress reliever ...

8) Bake the bread for aprx 40mins

9) Serve warm - smeared with homemade vegan butter or drizzled with honey

Fantastic tasting, but a little doughy because the temperature in the room was very cold. We are going to revisit this recipe again.

2 comments

Wednesday, January 2

Quiche Lorraine

Recipe six:

Quiche Lorraine - Savory Quiche

We have been experimenting with vegan egg based recipes and have finally created a successful concoction. This one is perfect for a sunday brunch (dont forget the mimosas) or as a tasty addition to New Years Day lunch.

So delicious, it would be difficult to tell the difference between this and the original version, but we can guarantee it is much lower in fat, calories and cholesterol. With the incredible flavor, this is sure to be a crowd-pleaser.

From top left to right: Vegan pie crust, silken tofu, vegan bacon, vegan cheese, egg substitute , tapioca flour, freshly grated nutmeg.

Recipe and Ingredients:

1 partially cooked pastry shell (see recipe here)
3 tbsp tapioca flour
1 1/2 tsp Vegg mixed with 6 tbsp water

1 package silken tofu
1 package of vegan bacon
2 tbsp vegan butter cut into small pieces
salt and pepper to taste

Our steps:

Tuesday, January 1

Vegan Pastry Dough

Pate Brise - Vegan Pastry Dough