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.

Mushrooms and Brussels sprouts with creamy hemp sauce

Blender Alert

I love Brussels sprouts and it always seems a bit of a shame to use them as an addition on the side rather than star of the show. They go very well with mushrooms and mixed with this thick hemp sauce, shine in a really good combination to go with pasta.

Hemp seeds, aka hemp hearts

Hemp seeds, also known as hemp hearts, are one of the latest wonder foods, but I particularly like them for making vegan milk and a cream for cooking, because there’s no need to soak them first. Hemp is also a very low-impact crop to grow, requiring little water and no fertiliser; it doesn’t have to be grown in the tropics and processing the seeds doesn’t mean (generally) women are using caustic chemicals, often with inadequate protection, so we should certainly use it in preference to cashew nuts. To serve, linguine, or fettuccine are my choice.

Unfortunately, you really do need a blender or this sauce, although, of course, you could take the concept and use some other form of cream.

Serves 2

Ingredients

olive oil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/2 medium onion, diced

200 ml water

1/2 cup hemp seeds

1/2 tsp mushroom stock powder

2 tbsp nutritional yeast

1/4 tsp salt

generous grind black pepper

2 cups Brussels sprouts, trimmed and halved

6 or 8 button mushrooms, thickly sliced

fettucine or linguine – about 25mm/1” dia. stacked on end

Parmesan cheese to serve

Method

• Heat some olive oil in a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and onion and cook for a couple of minutes, until the onions become translucent. Remove from heat.
• Now add the cooked onion and garlic to a blender, together with the water, hemp hearts, stock powder (if using), nutritional yeast, salt and pepper. Blend for a minute or so to make a smooth and creamy sauce. Taste and adjust seasonings.
• Put some more oil in the saucepan, and add the Brussels sprouts and cook for a few minutes, until they start to brown on the edges.
• Meanwhile, add water to another saucepan and bring to the boil for the pasta. When it’s boiling, cook the pasta as usual.
• Now add the mushrooms to the sprouts and fry for a few more minutes, stirring frequently, until they are browned. A pinch of salt might help here.
• Lower the heat and add the prepared sauce to the vegetables and stir to combine. Gently cook the sauce until it’s thick. When the pasta is cooked, add it to the pan, saving the pasta water, into a jug. Use some of this water to rinse out the blender and add to the pan.
• Cook the sauce a little longer: if it seems too thick, add more of the pasta water.

Serve immediately with extra hemp seeds and/or Parmesan or vegan "Parmesan" cheese.

Notes:

• The pasta sauce will thicken quickly once heated. Keep a close eye on it. If it is too thick, add extra pasta water to loosen it up.

Variations:

• You could use other vegetables, such as asparagus, green beans, mange-tout peas, etc instead of the Brussels sprouts. But the latter are particularly good!

• One alternative I would recommend is broccoli, but cut it into very small florets, the same size as half a sprout, otherwise the sauce won’t coat everything evenly.
• Substitute dried mushrooms for fresh, if these are unavailable.