Calling all Cookie Monsters!

We've been busy little elves making cookies and more cookies! We made 32 dozen cookies in one day, but we're not done yet. Every surface in my kitchen was covered in cookies - what a delicious sight!

One lady ordered 27 dozen cookies to be gift wrapped and shipped to family, then she said with a huge smile, "My Christmas shopping is done!"

We've also had orders for cookie trays for parties. Imagine all of the time you will save by letting us make your fresh, homemade cookies for your holiday parties. You can even claim that you made them yourself; we won't tell!

I also spent a morning at my CSA selling cookies to fellow members. It was a great success, especially for my first time. Once people tasted the cookies, they told me that they "had to buy some."

Once again, the Everything cookie was the favorite. One lady described it as "a different cookie in every bite!"

Order Your Homemade Holiday Cookies Now!

Happy Holidays! Following much success in making 60 dozen cookies last year, I decided to make homemade cookies for other people this year. The cookies are made from scratch, with natural ingredients, and love. Available made with butter and non-dairy margarine; please specify.

A baker's dozen (13 cookies) for $12.

Choose from a variety of cookies:

Chocolate Chip Heath Bar

White Chocolate Chip

Oatmeal Cranberry-Raisin

Oatmeal Chocolate Chip

Peanut Butter

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip

Macaroons Dipped in Chocolate

Lavender with Sprinkles

Everything (just what it say, chocolate chips, white chocolate, coconut, oatmeal, raisin, cranberry, Heath, etc.)

Also, I'm making my famous banana bread with chocolate chips (only made with real butter) for $15 a loaf. I'm still working on a dairy-free version that is as moist and yummy as the butter version. 

I'm taking orders for pick-up or delivery via USPS. (Shipping not included.)
To order email me: jrwozniak at gmail.com

Easy Pie Crust Recipe

Here are is an easy pie crust recipes that I use with great success. It's really two recipes that I combined, the first comes from the Classic Crisco Pie Crust recipe and another recipe that I don't remember the source.

Ingredients
2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
3/4 cup cold shortening/non-dairy butter
4-6 Tbs ice cold water
2 Tbs vodka or alcohol of your choice (remember the flavor can enhance the taste of your pie)
1-2 Tbs of sugar (optional)

Directions
Sift the flour and salt into a mixing bowl.
Using a fork, two knives, or a pastry cutter, "cut" the butter into the flour. (In other words, gently mash the cold butter until it's in small pieces, do not mix the butter and flour.) The flour and butter should start to form large crumbs.
Then add the vodka and continue cutting the mixture. (The vodka prevents the flour from turning to glue and adds tiny air pockets for a lighter, flakier crust.)
Next start adding the ice cold water one tablespoon at a time. The crumbs should start to stick together to look like dough. When most of the crumbs have started sticking together, use your hands to roll the dough into a ball in the bowl, incorporating the last of the flour at the bottom of the bowl.
Divide into two balls, cover and refrigerate for at least 45 minutes.

Let the dough stand on the counter for a few minutes before rolling out. Spread wax paper over the counter and sprinkle with flour. Place the dough in the middle of the wax paper, top with more flour and another sheet of wax paper. Then roll out using a rolling pin or even a wine bottle.

When the dough is large enough to cover the pie pan, carefully lift the top sheet of wax paper off. Then pick up the bottom layer of wax paper and invert into the pie dish. Press the dough into the pan and then remove the wax paper. Tuck and scallop the edges of the crust to make it look pretty.

You can use the second half of the dough for the top crust or for a second pie. You can brush the edges of the crust (and top crust) with an egg wash (beat one egg white with a teaspoon of water) for a pretty, shiny golden crust.

Then fill and bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes, and then lower the heat to 350 degrees for whatever length of time require by the pie recipe.

Chocolate Pecan Pie

I've tried many recipes for pecan pie over the years, including Kentucky Derby pie, chocolate pecan pie, bourbon pecan pie... it was hard work, but somebody has to do it! This is my favorite recipe and inspired my boyfriend to suggest that I start a bakery called, "Minus One Slice" so he could taste test every pie.

Ingredients
1/2 cup of non-dairy butter
3 eggs
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup light Karo syrup1 Tbs molasses
1-2 Tbs bourbon or whiskey
1 Tbs flour
1-1/2 cups pecan halves
1 cup non-dairy chocolate chunks, such as Baker's semi-sweet chocolate chunks

1 unbaked pie crust

Directions
Melt butter. In a separate bowl, beat eggs and salt. Continue beating and add sugar, vanilla and then Karo syrup, molasses, bourbon and flour. Mix in the melted butter.

Place chocolate chunks on the bottom of the unbaked pie crust. Then arrange the pecan halves on top of the chocolate chunks. Then slowly pour the egg mixture over the pecans.

Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Then reduce heat to 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the center is no longer jiggly. Let the pie cool completely before serving.

Pumpkin Flan

My partner's favorite dessert is flan, or a caramel egg custard. I stumbled upon a recipe for pumpkin flan just in time for Thanksgiving.

I found the original loaded-with-dairy recipe in a Latina magazine. It was easy enough to modify it to make it dairy-free, and my guests preferred the dairy-free version!

Ingredients
1-2/3 cup sugar, divided
1 can coconut milk
1 can pureed pumpkin
5 large eggs
1/2 tsp cinnamon, ginger & nutmeg
1/4 tsp clove & allspice
1 tsp Mexican vanilla
boiling water for the water bath for baking


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a small pan, melt 1/3 cup white granulated sugar on medium heat. The sugar will become a caramel-colored syrup. Remove from the heat and immediately pour into baking dish about the size of a 9" pie pan. I have a slightly taller pan with a lip (from a double boiler) that has become my "flan pan."

Blend or mix the remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Pour the pumpkin mixture over the (hardened) syrup in the baking dish.

Place the pan with the flan inside a larger baking dish with tall sides. Then set both pans on the shelf in the oven, and then fill the larger pan with HOT water. The level of hot water should be as high as the flan mixture in the smaller pan, so the entire flan is immersed the hot water bath. Carefully close the oven and bake for approximately 40-50 minutes.

OR if you have ramekins, you can bake individual-size flans. You will need extra melted sugar to pour into each ramekin. Then fill with flan mixture and place in the hot water bath. Baking times will vary.

Check to see if the flan is done by inserting a knife in the middle. If the knife comes out clean, then it's done, but it will still be jiggly in the middle. Do not over bake. Very carefully remove the pans from the oven and lift the flan pan out of the HOT water. Let the flan cool completely. (If you can't wait that long, which often we can't, it's not the end of the world to serve it warm.)

When ready to serve, place the bottom of the flan pan in hot water to ensure that the caramel syrup is melted. Then run a knife around the edges of the pan. Remove from the hot water and invert onto a serving dish with a lip. The caramel syrup will run over the top and down the sides.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Key Lime Pie

Every time a friend has a birthday, I always ask what dessert they want to celebrate. Year after year, one friend's husband is easy to predict: key lime pie. I have a delicious, easy recipe, but it includes a can of sweetened condensed milk. No wonder it tastes so good! Then one day I had an idea...

"You put the lime in the coconut..."

WOW! It's delicious! And so simple too.

Ingredients

4 eggs

1 can Coco Lopez cream of coconut (found with the drink mixers)

3/4 cup fresh squeezed key lime juice (plus more to taste), strained

graham cracker crust (non-dairy)

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F

Mix all of the ingredients together. 

Pour into the crust and bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. The pie will set up as it cools. 

Let the pie cool completely before serving. 

Notes 

Key limes are less bitter than regular limes, so choose wisely. Be sure to strain the lime juice to remove any seeds, stems, or pulp. I used 1 cup of lime juice, because I wanted to feel the pucker to counter the sweetness. 

To make a graham cracker crust from scratch, crush approximately 2 cups of non-dairy graham crackers. Add a couple tablespoons non-dairy margarine.  Press into a pie pan and bake for 5 minutes before filling. 

I think Harry Nilsson would approve! 

Baked Apples

I had a craving for baked apples the other day, so I raided my cabinets and created this recipe. I hope you like it as much as we do!

Ingredients
apples - your choice of apple, but often the signs at the stores tell you which ones are best for baking
brown sugar
dates
raisins
ground cinnamon
Mexican vanilla extract
Soy butter

Directions
Cut the apples in half, core and peel them. (Peeling is optional if the apples are organic.)
Place the apples cored side up in a baking dish.
Add about 1/2 teaspoon of brown sugar (or more to taste) to each apple half.
Sprinkle with cinnamon and 2-3 drops of vanilla per half apple.
Take the dates and slice them open length wise. Stuff a few raisins inside the date. Place the dates in the cored apples.
Top each apple half with a tablespoon of soy butter.

Bake at 425 degrees for 20-30 minutes, or until soft. Serve warm.

Cocoa Angel Food Cake with Black Cherry Swedish Cream

A friend and I ran into Central Market for "just a couple of items" (HA!) and ended up leaving the store with a basket full of food, including these delicious black cherries and a cocoa angel food cake.

Angel food cake is dairy free, and the CM cocoa one is dangerously good! You can use plain angel food if you prefer.

We made Swedish Cream (posted March 2008) and added fresh black cherries, which turned it pink.

Black Cherry Swedish Cream
1 cup sugar
1 envelope unflavored gelatin (if you want to make this vegan, substitute agar flakes)
2 cups substituted Silk brand coffee creamer (Note: the creamer is thicker than the regular milk)
1 pint Tofutti Sour Supreme Better Than Sour Cream
(2 tsp Mexican vanilla - OMITTED in place of cherries)
2 tsp almond extract (Dr. Oetker is the best brand; one vial is plenty)
handful of fresh cherries, pitted and sliced

Directions
Combine sugar and gelatin in saucepan. Add Silk creamer and mix well. Heat until boiling then remove from heat, add sliced cherries and let cool. When cool, fold in Better than Sour Cream. Stir in almond extract. Chill in fridge until set, approximately an hour. The Swedish cream can be made a day early and stored it the refrigerator.

To serve, cut up the angel food cake. Layer Swedish Cream, chopped fresh cherries, and angel food cake in a tall glass or trifle bowl. Repeat layering until full. Serve immediately.

So simple and yet your guests will ask for seconds!

Vegan Double Chocolate Waffles

I found this recipe in the Vegetarian Times magazine this month and just couldn't resist! The waffles are deliciously chocolaty, but they are not overly sweet. They are perfect served with maple syrup, fresh berries, ice cream or even just a sprinkle of powdered sugar.

The last time I made these I had a few extra zucchini laying around (a common problem this time of year). So I decided to add a some fresh, finely grated zucchini to see how it would come out. Yum! I preferred the waffles with zucchini.

Ingredients

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

2/3 cup almond milk (or soy, or rice milk)

1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar

5 Tbs unsweetened cocoa powder (not Dutch-processed)

3 Tbs vegan chocolate chips or vegan semisweet chocolate chopped

1/3 cup dark brown sugar

1/4 cup canola oil

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup boiling water

Option: 1/2 cup freshly grated zucchini

Directions

Preheat the waffle iron.

Mix almond milk and apple cider vinegar in a glass and let stand for 10 minutes. 

In a small bowl combine flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.

In a larger bowl, combine cocoa powder and chocolate chips. Add boiling water and whisk until melted and smooth.

Whisk almond milk mixture into chocolate mixture. 

Then whisk in brown sugar, oil, and vanilla. 

Finally whisk in flour mixture. (Note: the batter will be extremely thick, similar to brownie batter.)

If adding the zucchini, stir it into the batter.

Coat waffle iron with oil or cooking spray. Spoon batter onto waffle iron and let cook for 3-5 minutes, until waffle is crisp. 

Since these waffles are vegan (and they do not have the egg which usually is the "glue" that holds the final product together), you will find that they fall apart easily. I had to cut the waffles into quarters and then carefully remove them from the hot waffle iron one-quarter at a time. Also, I've noticed with vegan baked goods that they are delicious fresh, but if you're not planning to eat them immediately you need to freeze them. Then you can pull the waffles out of the freezer and pop them directly in the toaster oven. Otherwise they dry out within a day.

Rosemary Cake

I was intrigued by a recipe in my Yoga Journal this month for a dairy-free rosemary cake. One of my good friends and I like to go on culinary adventures, so I invited her over for lunch and dessert (of course!). To save baking time (and reduce the length of time I had to leave my oven turned on during the summer heat) I made muffins rather than a loaf. The muffins were really good!

Ingredients
4 eggs
3/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup EVOO (extra virgin olive oil)
2 Tbsp finely chopped rosemary (luckily I had fresh dried rosemary from my farmers' market!)
1-1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon Kosher salt

Directions
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees. Lightly oil a 10-inch loaf pan or muffin pan (makes 12 muffins).

Using an electric mixer, beat the eggs and sugar in a bowl until it becomes foamy and pale in color. Continue mixing while adding the EVOO a few drops at a time. Fold in the rosemary.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients. Then fold the dry ingredients into the egg mixture. Pour into the pan and  bake.

If using the cake pan, the recipe recommends baking for 45-50 minutes. For the muffins I found 15-18 minutes to be perfect. The top will start to turn slightly golden brown, and a cake tester comes out clean.

We tried the muffins plain, which as I said earlier were delicious and didn't need any icing or frosting. However, I just happened to have a little left over almond-flavored (Tofutti) cream cheese frosting in the fridge. Add a few colored sprinkles and viola!

Rhubarb Ice Cream

This ice cream turned out better than I dreamed... yes, I dream about rhubarb, sometimes.

Rhubarb Sauce (see previous post from July 2010)

Dairy-Free Ice Cream

6 egg yolks

3/4 c granulated sugar

1 Tbs Mexican vanilla

1-1/4 c almond milk (or soy milk)

1-1/4 c canned coconut milk (this adds the creaminess in place of whipping cream)

Beat egg yolks and sugar until it thickens and becomes light colored. Slowing add the milk to the eggs and sugar, stirring until combined. Then heat the eggs and milk in a small sauce pan over medium-low heat, continuously stirring about about 2-3 minutes. Then remove from heat and chill.

Once cooled, add the coconut milk and stir. Strain the mixture into an ice cream maker, or freeze in a shallow pan, whipping the ice cream at least once during the freezing process. Just before the ice cream is completely frozen, swirl in the rhubarb sauce. For me there is no such thing as too much rhubarb sauce, but add to taste. 

Reserve a little of the rhubarb sauce. Top each scoop of ice cream with a spoonful of the beautiful red sauce and serve. I'd say that I hope you saved room for dessert, but there's always room for ice cream!

Rhubarb Sauce

It's summer again and that means it's rhubarb season!

I bought some fresh rhubarb a couple weeks ago, but then life took a different turn and I knew that wasn't going to have time to make anything with it right away. So I chopped it into 1/4" pieces, generously sprinkled some white sugar over it, and froze it.

Then when I had a little more time on my hands last week, I pulled it out of the freezer. Once it was mostly defrosted, I placed it in a sauce pan and heated it on low and I added more sugar to taste. I let it cook down for about an hour, and then added a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar.

Here are some basic guidelines, but you can tweak the amounts to your tastes:

4 cups fresh rhubarb
1 cup white sugar
1 tsp balsamic vinegar

The sugar and rhubarb should create enough juices that you don't need to add any liquid, but if it becomes dry you can add a tablespoon or two of water or fresh squeezed orange juice. When it's done, the pieces of rhubarb should fall apart when you stir it. Let the mixture cool before placing it in jars and refrigerating. The mixture will thicken a little as it cools.

We used this rhubarb sauce to make rhubarb dairy-free ice cream; as a topping for ice cream, cereal, and toast; and in a refreshing drink with sparkling mineral water and some fresh mint. I'll let you in on a little secret, I even like to eat the rhubarb sauce by the spoonful. Shhhhh....

Here's another recipe for rhubarb syrup that was emailed to me by a friend. I guess I'm just going to have to buy more rhubarb!
http://tmagazine.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/07/01/case-study-rhubarb-syrup/

Chocolate Pie

I remember from some of my earliest memories making chocolate pie with my mom. In the vernacular of my childhood, I insisted on calling it "chocolate peach pie" despite the complete lack of fruit. I believe that my "job" consisted of licking the spoon clean, while Dad got to lick the bowl. Then recently I thought of a new twist on this old fav.

This is a super-quick and easy dairy-free recipe, especially if you use a pre-made crust and boxed pudding. I'm still working out the details of using a homemade pudding instead, but the box pudding was surprisingly good.

It's also a great recipe for the summer, because you don't have to turn on the oven. It's what they used to call an "ice box pie."

What you will need:
1 pre-made Oreo cookie or chocolate graham cracker crust (read the label to ensure that it is dairy-free, but there isn't any dairy in that creamy Oreo filling; kinda scary, right?)
1 - 4oz package chocolate pudding (once again read the label; I have found at least two brands that are dairy-free)
2 cups plus 1 Tbs of non-dairy milk (soy, almond, rice, etc.; I prefer almond milk) divided
one-half of a 12 oz container Tofutti Sour Supreme (or another non-dairy sour cream)
4 ounces dark chocolate chopped

Melt the chocolate and 1 tablespoon of milk in a double boiler over low heat, stirring regularly. Remove from heat and stir in the fake sour cream. Let the chocolate and sour cream cool completely before mixing in the pudding, otherwise it might not set up properly.

Mix the dry pudding with 2 cups of cold milk until smooth. Then add the chocolate/sour cream mixture to the pudding. Stir well until combined. Pour into the pre-made crust and refrigerate a couple of hours until set.

Top with a dollop of non-dairy whipping cream and viola!

Chocolate Ice Creams

No banana split would be complete without a scoop of vanilla, a scoop of berry, and a scoop of chocolate ice creams. Here are two of the recipes for chocolate ice cream that even my dairy-eating friends loved.

Chocolate Hazelnut Ice Cream with Chocolate Chunks
6-7 oz semi-sweet or bitter-sweet dark chocolate (non-dairy)
2 cups So Delicious Hazelnut Coconut Creamer (found at Central Market)
4 egg yolks
1/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
dark chocolate cut into small pieces

Heat the chocolate and the creamer in a double boiler, until the chocolate is melted.

Beat the egg yolks and the sugar until light colored and slightly thickened. Beat in the hot chocolate-creamer mixture. Let the mixture cool.

Then add to the ice cream maker and allow to freeze. When almost frozen, add the chocolate pieces so they are suspended in the ice cream.


Chocolate Coffee Ice Cream
6-7 oz of semisweet dark chocolate (non-dairy)
2 cups of Silk soy creamer
2/3 cup sugar (or to taste)
4 egg yolks
1 tsp instant espresso powder

Heat the chocolate and the creamer in a double boiler, until the chocolate is melted. Add the espresso powder and stir.

Beat the eggs and sugar until light colored and thickened. Slowly beat the hot chocolate-creamer into the eggs. Let the mixture cool. 

Then add to the ice cream maker and allow to freeze. 

ICE CREAM!!!

"I scream; you scream; we all scream for ice cream!!!" YEA!!

Ice cream is one of those things that I've mostly cut out since going dairy free. I've tried the Tofutti ice cream and the mini ice cream sandwiches. Central Market also carries a variety of dairy-free ice creams, including Nada-Moo and So Delicious coconut milk ice cream, which are really quite yummy.

Then a friend loaned me her ice cream maker last month and I began looking for dairy-free recipes. Since then I've had fun trying many different recipes, and my friends have been more than happy to be my guinea pigs tasting and helping to eat my mistakes.

Here are two of my favorite recipes.

Blackberry, Strawberry, and Banana Ice Cream

1 cup Tofutti Sour Cream
2 soft bananas
1 cup berries (you can mix different berries totaling around 1 cup, maybe a little more)
1/2 cup almond milk
3 TBS honey (or other sweetener to taste)

Mix the berries in a blender and then strain the seeds out. If you don't mind the seeds, than skip that step.

Blend together the berries, bananas, sour cream, almond milk, and honey.

Place the mixture in an ice cream maker and allow to freeze.


Mexican Vanilla
6 egg yolks
2 cups Silk Creamer
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 TBS Mexican Vanilla
cinnamon (optional)

Heat the creamer in a pan until almost boiling. If using the cinnamon, add 1 stick cinnamon to the creamer while it's heating and let steep for about 30 minutes. Then remove cinnamon.

Beat the egg yolks and sugar until thickened and light colored. Then beat in the hot creamer a little at a time. Stir in the vanilla.

Pour into the ice cream maker and allow to freeze.

Molten-Chocolate-Centered Chocolate Cakes

This recipe comes from Bill Granger's cook book, Bills Open Kitchen. Being that he's Australian (let me give a shout out to all of my Aussie and Kiwi friends down under!), he calls it a "soft-centred chocolate pudding." Being that I am just an uncivilized-American, my idea of pudding is entirely different.

This is a simple recipe that's sure to win over the hearts of chocolate lovers on every continent!

Ingredients

7 oz good quality, dairy-free, dark chocolate
7 Tbs of non-dairy, non-hydrogenated, vegan butter
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 cup sugar
2 Tbs all-purpose flour

Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place chocolate and butter in a double boiler and stir until just melted. Or you can use a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water, making sure that the bowl does not touch the water. (Bill says, "The most important thing to remember when melting chocolate is not to overheat it. If the temperature is too high, your chocolate will end up with a grainy texture.")

In a bowl, mix the eggs, sugar, and flour. Gradually mix the egg mixture into the melted chocolate. Pour the mixture into four oven proof ramekins and place on a baking sheet. The recipe calls for 1-cup ramekins, but mine were closer to 1/2-cup size but the worked fine.

Bake until the edges are set, and the top is dry and cracked, about 15 minutes. Serve warm.

Side note: When I made the recipe, I used half 70-percent dark chocolate and half 85-percent dark chocolate. Wow, was it chocolaty, but not overly sweet.

Green Chile Jam

Like any good New Mexican, I can eat green chile on almost anything. Green chile is in my blood. I have frozen green chile in my freezer at all times, and when I run out it's time for a trip back to the Land of Enchantment. Although thanks to Chuy's Restaurant and Central Market, we now get Hatch green chile here in Texas too!

I've tried jalapeno jelly and chipotle jam. Why not green chile jam? So I picked up a packet of fruit pectin for making freezer jam.

I modified the recipe on the package a little, so as to not kill anyone with the spicy green chile. I think it's a delicious combination of sweet and spicy, and it certainly has a kick. I eat it on toast, crackers, biscuits, almost anything... and even sometimes by the spoon. However, most of my friends prefer to cut the spicy burn with something. For example, pour it over (non-dairy) cream cheese to use as a dip with crackers. Or use it as a relish on the side with meat.

Green Chile Jam
1 1/2 cups roasted, peeled and diced green chile (or you can use frozen), mild or hot depending on your preference
1 1/2 cups cucumber, peeled, seeded and diced (you can add more or less cucumber depending on how hot the green chile is)
1 cup water
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 package freezer jam fruit pectin (enough for four cups of fruit)

The directions on the package say to mix it all together and pour it into jars. I placed my jars in the refrigerator rather than the freezer and it set up ok.

So while most people would never think of green chile and dessert, to my green-chile-addicted-New-Mexican friends this one is for you!

Blueberry & Pineapple Pie

My dad has been hinting (not-so-subtly) that I should make a blueberry pie - his favorite! While my other pies have been good, nothing compares to a blueberry pie... etc, etc.

If you know my dad, then you know that he has this funny, endearing way of asking for things (repeatedly, if necessary) that makes you think that (fill in the blank) is the best thing in the whole world, so you have to make it for him, or let him have the last piece, or make a special trip to the store just for that item. How could you say no? When it's his favorite. And people fall for this routine all of the time. If he's reading this, he's saying, "Who me?!" Yes you, Dad!

Even though it's not blueberry season, my mom and I found fresh blueberries at the store and, like a good daughter, I had to do it. Yep, one spoiled Dad coming right up!

At the same store I found a deliciously-sweet smelling pineapple that I couldn't resist. Later that night while I was preparing the pie, the pineapple was sitting on the counter trying to get my attention. Then it fell over for no particular reason. I stopped what I was doing and picked it up. While holding the pineapple in my hand inspiration struck!

What if I added fresh pineapple to the blueberry pie? The worst case scenario is that the pie doesn't turn out and I'd have to make another blueberry pie for Dad. It's worth a try!

Make the pie crust dough and refrigerate.

Filling
2 1/2 Tbs cornstarch
1 cup sugar
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 cup fresh pineapple chunks, about the same size as the blueberries
1 Tbs of fresh pineapple juice or lime juice

Mix the cornstarch and the sugar. Add the berries and stir to coat. Stir in the pineapple and pineapple juice and let stand for 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Roll out the pie dough and make the top and bottom crusts. Fill the pie. Add the top crust and brush with an egg white beaten with a little water.

Bake at 425 degrees for 15 minutes.
Reduce the heat to 375 degrees for 40-50 minutes. The pie will be bubbly and golden brown.

Let cool on a wire rack. Serve warm with your favorite (non-dairy) ice cream.

Dad's Verdict: he liked it as much, if not better, than the plain blueberry pie. Ahh, the sweet taste of success!

Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Grandma used to make the best strawberry-rhubarb pie! To this day it is still my favorite pie, but for some reason it never turns out quite the same when I make it. I assumed it was Grandma's home-grown rhubarb, or maybe her years and years of experience, or maybe just her love that made her pies taste better.

Then recently my friend loaned me her copy of the Complete Book of Pastry Sweet & Savory, by Bernard Clayton, Jr.  So far everything I've made out of the book has been delicious. Then I found the strawberry-rhubarb pie recipe and couldn't resist. As long as you make a dairy-free crust, the pie all good!

I tried the pie crust the book recommended for this pie, but the non-dairy version just didn't turn out well. (The lard and butter version was excellent, of course!)

Start by preparing the non-dairy, double-crust pie crust recipe of your choice.

Filling
1-1/2 pounds (4 cups) fresh rhubarb
1 pint (2 cups) fresh strawberries
1-1/4 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cup orange juice
2 tsp grated orange peel or zest
2 Tbs quick-cooking tapioca
1/2 tsp salt

Cut the rhubarb into 1/2 inch pieces and the strawberries in quarters (or halves depending on the size).

In a bowl combine the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, OJ, zest, tapioca, and salt. Let stand for 20 minutes.

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Make the bottom crust for the pie. Then pour the filling into the pie shell, filling it higher in the middle than on the sides.

Roll out the remaining pie crust dough to make the top crust. You can make a lattice design, or just use a solid crust with slits. The pastry book had excellent instructions for making the lattice crust, and I was feeling brave so I gave it a try.

Wet the edges of the pie crusts to secure the top to the bottom. Then using your fingers, crimp or twist the edges to make it look pretty. It's ok if the crimped edges of the pie crust are thicker than the rest of the pie.

Before you bake the pie, the book says to sprinkle with 2 Tbs granulated sugar. I like to beat 1 egg white with a little water and brush over the top crust.

Bake at 425 for 20 minutes.
Then reduce temperature to 375 degrees and continue baking for 35-40 minutes. The crust will be golden and flakey, and the juices from the filling should be bubbling up through the top crust. If the edges of the pie brown before the rest of the pie is done, cover only the edges with aluminium foil.

Let the pie cool on a wire rack for at least an hour. This is the hardest part for me, but the filling will remain runny until completely cooled. If you don't mind a runny pie, dig in!

It may not be quite as good as Grandma's, but now it's my second favorite pie!

Blueberry Buckle (or muffins)

Blueberry buckle is a New England treat. It's basically a cake, but it can easily be made into muffins as well. A friend made this recipe for me years ago and it immediately became a favorite. The non-dairy version is just as good as the original. The recipe she shared with me came from a cookbook she purchased at the Cape Cod National Sea Shore.

Blueberry Buckle
4 Tbs vegan butter
3/4 cup white sugar
1 egg
2 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup almond milk (soy milk or rice milk will work too)
1/4 tsp vanilla
2 cups fresh blueberries

Crumble Topping
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup flour
1/2 tsp cinnamon (or nutmeg)
1/4 cup vegan butter

Cream butter and sugar. Add egg and beat well. Sift together flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix egg mixture, flour mixture, milk, and vanilla together and beat until smooth. Fold in blueberries.

In a separate bowl, mix together ingredients for crumble topping until crumbly. (If the butter is too soft it will become creamy, not crumbly. Also, I find that mixing it with my fingers or two butter knives works best.)

Spread batter in greased 9x9 baking dish for buckle, or pour into lined muffin pan. Sprinkle crumble topping over batter.

Bake at 375 degrees in 9x9 pan for 35-40 minutes, or for muffins for 20-25 minutes, or until toothpick comes out clean. Watch carefully for the last few minutes because it can dry out fast. We prefer to err on the side of slightly under-baked.

Hot Chocolate Cupcakes

I found a dairy-free cake mix on sale at the supermarket a few weeks ago. While I prefer baking from scratch, I was excited to see my local chain store carrying more "alternative" foods and the price was right, so I bought the mix. The things we do in the name of research!

It was a Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Cake Mix that is peanut free, dairy-free, egg free, and nut free.

I also had leftover candy canes from the holidays, and chocolate and peppermint go well together. (Really, what doesn't go well with chocolate?!?)Hummm, add a marshmallow frosting... voila, my idea for hot chocolate cupcakes was born!

I made the Cherrybrook Kitchen Chocolate Cake Mix according to the box, but baked them as cupcakes. I was pleasantly surprised to see that there were mini chocolate pieces in the chocolate cake.

As they were cooling I attempted making a couple different marshmallow frosting recipes, but most of them were too hard once they cooled. I really wanted a bright white frosting to set off the candy canes. Then I remembered a recipe for a meringue frosting, which I found on the Dog Hill Kitchen blog, that would work with minor changes.

Meringue or Seven-Minute Frosting
2 egg whites
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
3 Tbs water
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
pinch of salt

Bring the water in a double boiler to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and then set on top of the simmering water. Using a handheld mixer, beat the mixture on high until frosting is thick, creamy white and fluffy. (Approx. 5 - 7 minutes) Remove from heat and beat until mostly cool. The frosting turns bright white and is the consistency of melted marshmallows (or that marshmallow fluff that you can buy in a jar).

Once the cupcakes are cool, spread warm frosting on top. Be warned, though, that this frosting makes a sweet, sticky mess. Then sprinkle with crushed candy cane pieces.

Tapioca Pudding with Coconut Milk

During one of these cold days of January, I've was craving a warm pudding. So I tinkered with the tapioca recipe on the box to see if I could make a dairy-free version. My partner likes it so much he asked me to make it again!

1/3 cup brown sugar
3 Tbs Minute Tapioca
1 can coconut milk (approximately 1 3/4 cups, adjust the coconut and almond milk to equal 2 3/4 cups total)
1 cup almond milk (or soy milk)
1 egg beaten
1 tsp Mexican vanilla
cinnamon to sprinkle on top

Combine the brown sugar, tapioca, milks, and egg in a sauce pan and let rest for 5 minutes. Then heat on medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture comes to a full boil. The box notes: a boil that doesn't stop bubbling when stirred.

Remove from heat and stir in vanilla. Serve warm with a sprinkle of cinnamon on top.

The pudding thickened as it cooled, so I added a little extra almond milk and rewarmed the left overs. Yum!