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Creamy Tofu-Port Spread

May 2, 2011 by epicureanvegan

Creamy Tofu-Port Spread -- Epicurean VeganI love experimenting with making vegan cheeses and spreads and this one is so easy and delicious. It’s ideal as a sandwich or wrap condiment, or a dip for crackers and veggies (particularly, veggie crackers)! I also think it’d be great on a toasted bagel, English muffin, or toast.

INGREDIENTS:
14-oz tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
2/3 C nutritional yeast flakes
3 Tbs yellow or red miso (I used yellow)
3 Tbs tahini
1 Tbs lemon juice
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 C port wine
Salt, to taste

DIRECTIONS:
Add everything into the food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes about 2-1/2 cups. Enjoy!

Creamy Tofu-Port Spread
 
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I love experimenting with making vegan cheeses and spreads and this one is so easy and delicious. It's ideal as a sandwich or wrap condiment, or a dip for crackers and veggies (particularly, veggie crackers)! I also think it'd be great on a toasted bagel, English muffin, or toast.
Author: Epicurean Vegan
Ingredients
  • 14-oz tofu, drained, pressed, and cubed
  • ⅔ C nutritional yeast flakes
  • 3 Tbs yellow or red miso (I used yellow)
  • 3 Tbs tahini
  • 1 Tbs lemon juice
  • 2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
  • ¼ C port wine
  • Salt, to taste
Directions
  1. Add everything into the food processor and blend until smooth and creamy. Store in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Makes about 2-1/2 cups. Enjoy!
3.5.3208

 

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dressings/Condiments Tagged With: fast and easy, gluten-free, miso, nutritional yeast, Port wine, tahini, tofu

It’s A Cheeze Extravaganza!

December 25, 2010 by epicureanvegan

It's a Cheeze Extravaganza! -- Epicurean Vegan

Well, first of all, Merry Christmas! I hope everyone has had a wonderful, fabulous holiday full of family, friends and happiness. Even Moe-Dog is having a happiness hangover:

And apparently, he’s a little embarrassed about it:

My mom surprised me with a copy of The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook and I have had uncheese on the brain since.  For Christmas Eve, we typically do drinks and appetizers, games and movies, so I made three different cheezes from the recipe book and one from Vegetarian Times. A few of the cheezes will require a couple days’ worth of time—but rest assured—they’re easy and worth it. You will need to blanch almonds, something I had never attempted before, but found it to be quite an easy process.

First up:

Port Wine Uncheese


This is super simple to throw together. The pinto beans give it that dry cheese taste and texture and even if it doesn’t taste exactly like cheese, it still has excellent flavor. I recommend adding some nutritional yeast–maybe a 1/4 C for more of a cheesy flavor if you feel it needs it. Otherwise, it’s fab on its own. The recipe calls for nonalcoholic red wine, but I went with an actual port.

INGREDIENTS:
2 C (1-15 or 16 oz can) pinto beans
1/4 C nonalcoholic red wine or port wine
3 Tbs sesame tahini
1 Tbs light or chickpea miso (I used light miso)

DIRECTIONS:
Throw it all in a food processor then let it chill several hours or overnight. You could then roll it in roasted walnuts or pecans for extra flavor, if desired.

Source: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Incredible Almond Creme Cheez


This one has a fluffy, lemony flavor that pairs really well with herbed crackers. The taste is very mild, so herbed crackers work great with this one. You will need to blanch the almonds for this, which is very easy: place almonds in a saucepan with enough water to cover them. Bring to a boil for 1-2 minutes, then drain and allow to cool. Pinch the skins between your finger and the skins will slide right off. Dry them off well.

INGREDIENTS:
1/4 C blanched almonds
1/2 C hot water
1/2 C cold water
2 Tbs  lemon juice
2 Tbs kuzu, arrowroot, or cornstarch (I used cornstarch)
1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp salt

DIRECTIONS:
Grind the almonds to a fine powder. Transfer to a blender (I did as the recipe said, but I’m sure just using the food processor is fine) and add the hot water; process until thick and creamy. Add the cold water and remaining ingredients; blend until smooth and creamy.  Pour into a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.  Once it thickens, reduce the heat to medium and cook, stirring constantly for another minute. Let it cool. Fluff with a fork or whisk and transfer to a storage container.

Chill for a few hours. Before serving, beat again with a fork or whisk.

Source: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Onion, Dill and Horseradish Cheez

If you like cheese with a kick, you’ll love this one. The horseradish is perfect in this and makes for a great sliced cheese. I’m not crazy about dill, so next time I will go easy on it and not add the full two teaspoons, but aside from that, it’s a great addition to any cheese platter.

INGREDIENTS:
1-1/2 C water
5 Tbs agar flakes
1/2 C chopped raw cashews
1/4 C nutritional yeast
3 Tbs lemon juice
2 Tbs tahini
2 Tbs white horseradish (not creamed)
2 tsp Dijon mustard
1 tsp salt
1 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp dried onion flakes
2 tsp dried dillweed

DIRECTIONS:
Lightly oil a 3-cup plastic (I used glass) container and set aside. Combine the water and agar flakes in a saucepan and boil.

Reduce the heat and simmer, stirring frequently 5-10 minutes, or until flakes are dissolved. Transfer to a blender and add the cashews, nutritional yeast, tahini, horseradish, mustard, salt, onion powder, and garlic powder.

Process until smooth. By hand, add the onion flakes and dillweed. Pour into the prepared container and cool uncovered in the fridge. Once it is completely cooled, cover and chill several hours to overnight. Before serving, slice thin.

Source: The Ultimate Uncheese Cookbook

Almond Cheese: Spreadable and Feta-Style

(Spreadable)

(Feta-Style)

Now this is probably my favorite. This one comes from Vegetarian Times and despite the time and effort, I’ll be making it over and over again. I doubled the recipe because it can be made into a spreadable version and a feta-style. The only difference is that the feta-style requires baking—a very simple step.

INGREDIENTS: (undoubled)
1 C blanched almonds
1/4 C lemon juice
3 Tbs olive oil
1 clove garlic, peeled (I used minced)
1-1/4 tsp salt
Cheesecloth

DIRECTIONS:
Place almonds in a medium bowl and cover with 3″ of water; soak for 24 hours. Drain and rinse twice with running water.

Puree the almonds, lemon juice, 3 Tbs olive oil, garlic, salt and 1/2 C of cold water in a food processor until smooth.  Place a fine mesh strainer over a bowl and line the strainer with a triple layer of cheesecloth. Spoon mixture into cheesecloth.

Bring the corners and sides of the cheesecloth together and twist around the cheese, squeezing out any excess moisture. Secure with a rubber band.

Chill 12 hours or overnight. Discard any excess liquid—I squeezed a little more out. One half I left in the fridge and for the feta-style: Preheat oven to 200. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and unwrap cheese and transfer it from the cheesecloth to the baking sheet. Flatten to a 6″ round with a  3/4″ in thickness on the sheet.

Bake for 40 minutes. Let cool. I then transferred it to a bowl and used a fork to break it up into feta-like chunks. Place in a storage container and refrigerate for several hours.  Add to salads or soups—you’ll love it! Enjoy!

I’m sure Moe will recover from his Christmas overload soon . . .

Filed Under: Appetizers, Dressings/Condiments Tagged With: almond, cashews, cheese, Cheeze, feta cheese, nut cheese, Port wine, Uncheese Cookbook, vegan cheese, Vegetarian Times

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The Epicurean Vegan is devoted to those wanting to eat healthy, save animals, and reduce their carbon footprint. My decision to go vegan started out as a quest to get healthier, but the more I learned about veganism, the more I realized how damaging the meat and dairy industries are to the environment and, of course, the animals. And it is for these reasons, that I would never go back to eating or wearing animal products. Ever.
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