Vegan cream

Blender altert

 

While most vegetarians happily eat dairy products, there is definitely a spectrum between an easy-going vegetarian (happy to eat caged eggs and factory-farmed milk products), and a full-on vegan (no honey or wool).  Personally, I'm towards the vegan end of the spectrum and left to my own devices, I won't eat any by-product of cows.  When I'm with other people I sometimes eat cheese, just because it's easier than causing a fuss.  I would also eat cheese from the Mahoe Dairy in the Bay of Islands, because I've been to their farm and seen how well the cows are treated.  But even if it were readily available in my local supermarket, I would still only eat it occasionally.

 

Apparently, soya cream and various alternatives are readily available in some parts of the world, but not in Northland and I suspect not in many places where a small-income veg~an may end up voyaging.  That being so, the only alternative to dairy, is to make a substitute.  Fortunately, the homework has been done for me and I can simply copy the recipe for you!

 

Makes a generous 1/4 cup

 

Ingredients

 

1/4 cup cashew nuts

1/4 cup water + more if necessary

 

Method:

• Put the cashew nuts into the blender and grind to a fine powder.  To avoid inadvertently making cashew nut butter, it's better to do this in short bursts.
• Now add the water and blend again to a thick cream. 
• Empty the contents into a small jug or bowl.  

Note:

• The trouble with blending small quantities, is that as much seems to remain in the blender as pours out. Check the consistency of the cream in the jug.  It will be pretty thick and if that's how you want it, you'll just have to patiently scrape out the rest of the cream.  However, if you want it a bit thinner, add a little water to the jug, close it up and give it a good shake, to clean it out.  Add that to the jug.  Keep on adding a little water, and cleaning the blender until you get the consistency you want.

Variations:

• There are a couple of arguments against using cashews.  Firstly they are really quite expensive and secondly they appear to be produced in a way that badly exploits women, whose hands are often damaged by the caustic substances used in extracting the nuts.  I usually use blanched peanuts, which are a lot cheaper and don't appear to have any real downside.  The resulting cream doesn't taste quite as good, but as I never make desserts, it doesn't matter to me.  If you are using the cream to be eaten as is, you might possibly find it unacceptable.  
• Blanched almonds, also make a delicious cream.  You can blanch them yourself by pouring boiling water over almonds in a bowl and leaving them for a few minutes.  Once the skin has softened a little, it slips off easily.
• Hemp seeds also make a good cream, but it isn't as attractive due to the dark flecks in the seeds.
• Equally, Brazil nuts make a lovely cream, but again, the flecks of skin on most Brazil nuts spoils the appearance.
• I'm sure macadamia nuts would also make an excellent cream, but as they're shockingly expensive, I've never tried.                                  

 

You will find many more recipes for this type of thing here.

Porridge

I rather like porridge, with a dribble of honey and a spoonful of mixed seeds sprinkled over it. I truly enjoy real porridge: made with oatmeal, as the Scots know it – but am not so fond of that made with rolled oats. Oatmeal seems to be unavailable in a number of places: it looks like cream-coloured, coarsely ground corn and is sometimes described as ‛steel-cut’: if you can get it, try it instead of the rolled oats in the following recipe. Why it’s not used more frequently and is not more generally available, I don’t know, because it is more compact, cooks more quickly, produces a smoother result and tastes better than rolled oats.

Quick-cooking oats do not have the flavour and texture of jumbo oats. If you’re eating porridge simply as belly timber, use the quick oats; if you enjoy it, use traditional, slow-cooking oats.

Serves 2

⅔ cup oatmeal OR 1 cup rolled oats

2 cups water

pinch of salt

• Put the ingredients into a small saucepan and mix.

• Bring to the boil, stirring constantly.

• Turn down the heat as low as possible and cook, very gently, for about three minutes (more like ten for jumbo oats). Whatever you do, don’t burn it. It will taste dreadful if you do.

• Pour into bowls and eat immediately, with some milk and either salt (for the purists) or brown sugar (for most other people).

Variations:

• Try treacle, golden syrup (my dad’s choice), honey or dulce de leche (see recipe) to sweeten it.

• Use cream rather than milk. Who would have thought that porridge could be luxurious? (Yoghurt and porridge do not go together, in my opinion.)

• Add 1/4 cup of raisins with the oats.

• Use 50/50 milk and water to cook it. This makes a much richer version.

• Of course, substitute 2/3 cup of seawater for the fresh.

• Serve with sliced, fresh fruit.

Vegan "Parmesan" (Parmegan)

For many years, I lived with a man who detested cheese and because money was in short supply, I hardly ever bought this treat for myself.  I missed it, but its lack was tolerable, although I really enjoyed eating it when I had a chance.  Then I lived with someone who loved cheese and, moreover, we had a little more money, so we generally had it on board.

When I decided to live on my own in New Zealand, I could finally eat exactly how I wanted to.  However, my budget was again pretty limited and I found that New Zealand, in spite of being awash in dairy cows, has no tradition of its own cheese.  Most of the affordable cheese made here, is a pastiche of Camembert or Brie, of Gouda and Edam and of course, the ubiquitous so-called Cheddar.  I had hoped for so much more, remembering the open markets of my English youth, where I could buy several different versions of my local cheese.  While there is some superb artisan cheese in this country, not only is most of it beyond my financial means, but most of it is beyond my physical means, only being sold in the major cities.  Over recent years, the plight of dairy cattle (particularly calves) and of the planet overall, has inexorably inched me towards veganism.  However, I still succumbed to the lure of Parmesan or Pecorino cheese.  It was a very happy day, therefore, that I stumbled across a vegan alternative on the Internet.

Not only is vegan "Parmesan" a genuinely acceptable alternative to the real thing, it even emulates it sufficiently accurately, that friends have tipped generous amounts of the food I've served them, without even noticing that it's not the 'real thing'.  Often what you taste is what you expect!

Many people use cashew nuts: I prefer Brazil nuts.  (In this blog I am not generally going to discuss the various ethical pros and cons of one nut/grain/legume over another.  Suffice it to say that the worst of them is probably less unethical than most animal products.)  You will need a blender or good mouli-grinder to make this.

Brazil nuts are one of those that tend to go stale quite quickly - like walnuts - so I have assumed that the 'cheese' would also lose its flavour and freshness quickly.  I therefore limit its production to about 1/3 cup at a time.  The recipe is so simple that it's extremely easy to make larger quantities.  However, I do find that a small jar will keep happily for at least two or three weeks without refrigeration, which is another of its great virtues.

Makes about 1/3 cup

Ingredients

1/4 cup Brazil nuts 

1 tbsp nutritional yeast 

1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt

 

Method:

• Roughly chop the Brazil nuts into about 1cm pieces
• Put the chopped nuts, the nutritional yeast and the salt into your blender or mouli and process until you get the consistency of finely grated cheese.
• Serve over pasta, etc, as you would Parmesan cheese.

Adjust the salt according to your personal taste.