Suma Bloggers Network - Homemade Vegan Cheese x 3

How do you start a post when you've been off line for nearly 2 months? 

Dive straight into the recipe or in this case recipes, I'm a little late posting my Suma recipe due to circumstances out of my control but better late than never eh?

Suma Recipe - Homemade Vegan Cheese x 3

This is my third recipe for the Suma Bloggers Network, please check out my other two recipes; Vegetable Tagine and Blueberry Cheesecake and the other bloggers recipes, there are lots of tasty creations waiting for you to try.

Suma is the UK's largest independent whole food wholesaler/distributor and are a workers' co-operative committed to ethical business. They have a fantastic range, everything they sell is vegetarian and many products are vegan.

When I first transferred to a vegan diet I thought I would miss cheese the most, I was pleasantly surprised that I didn't. There are many vegan cheeses out there in case you do miss the taste but its far more rewarding to make your own. You can play around with flavours there is no limit, whatever flavour takes you fancy.

I decided to make three different ones with the ingredients that I chose from Suma. Two spreadable and one you could slice.

The herb cream cheese uses cashew nuts, the cheddary cheese uses almonds and the third which is baked uses almonds too, although you would never know.

Herb Cream Cheese

Ingredients
100g Cashew nuts
400ml Water
2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
½ Tsp Onion granules
½ Tsp Smoked garlic granules
½ Tsp Herbamare
2 Tbsp Fresh herbs, finely chopped
I used parsley, coriander and basil (predominately basil)
1 Garlic, crushed
60ml Almond milk (unsweetened)

Method
Soak the cashew nuts in the water overnight and then drain well. Add the drained cashew nuts to a food processor with the remaining ingredients and blitz to a thick paste.

Add the mixture to a small bowl lined with clingfilm, press the mixture down and fold over the clingfilm adding a weight to the top. Place in the fridge for 4 hours or over night and remove the herb cream cheese from the bowl and the clingfilm to a board.

Spreadable Cheddary Cheese

Ingredients
75g Ground almonds
2 Tbsp White miso
25g Nutritional yeast
¼ Tsp Turmeric
1 Tsp English mustard
½ Tsp Smoked Garlic powder
½ Tsp Herbamare
200ml Almond milk 
1-2 Tbsp Agar agar

Method
Add the ground almonds, miso, herbs & spices and 100ml of the almond milk to a food processor and whiz to a paste.

Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and whisk in the remaining almond milk.

Sprinkle over 1 Tbsp of the agar agar and slowly bring the mixture to a simmer. When the mixture starts to bubble, the agar agar will have melted a little and you can stir it in. Let the mixture simmer for 10-15 minutes.

If the mixture is still a little thin, add the remaining agar agar and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Transfer to a bowl and leave to cool. Transfer to the fridge and let set before turning out onto a board.

Baked Almond Cheese

Ingredients
1 Lemon - juice only - about 45ml
2 Tbsp Olive oil
120g Ground almonds

1 Garlic clove

1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast

40ml Water

Method
Place all the ingredients into a food processor and whiz until you have a thick paste. Spoon the mixture out onto a piece of clingfilm and wrap tightly shaping into a circular mound.

Place in the fridge for 15 minutes to firm up a little more. Spritz a baking dish with olive oil and turn the 'cheese' onto the dish, removing the clingfilm.

Bake in a moderate oven for 15-20 minutes until a crust has formed.

Slice and eat with crackers.

So, if you're spending Christmas with loved ones who aren't vegan, why not make and take your own cheese board. You don't have to be vegan to enjoy delicious food.

Back again soon

Jasmine x

Broad Bean "Cheese" & Olive Crackers

Broad beans. You either love them or hate them. They are the marmite of the vegetable world. I know so many people that hate these little beauties so I thought I would make something that didn't resemble the vegetable and teamed it with a herb to tone down their unique flavour. I have been taking this "cheese" to work as a snackage with the olive crackers and I've managed to tempt a few colleagues to try it, the result - "Ooooh that's nice", "That isn't made with broad bean is it?" 
So, if you're a broad bean hater give this Broad Bean "Cheese" a go you might be pleasantly surprised.

Ingredients

160g Shelled broad beans
1 Clove of Elephant garlic, equivalent to 2 large cloves
30 Basil leaves
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
200ml Unsweetened almond milk
1 Tbsp Agar Agar flakes
Salt & Pepper, to taste

Method

Cook the broad beans and garlic in boiling water for 5 minutes, drain and rinse with cold water to stop the cooking process. Once cool enough to handle remove the outer skin of the broad bean, which can taste bitter.

Transfer to a blender and top with the basil leaves.

Add the almond milk and agar agar flakes to a saucepan and slowly bring to a rolling simmer. You need to simmer until the agar agar has melted, about 4-5 minutes.

Pour the milk and agar agar liquid into the blender and blend until you have a smooth liquid with no flecks of basil remaining. The colour should be a vibrant green!

Transfer to a glass or ceramic container and store in the fridge until set. I left it overnight before slicing. Serve with your favourite vegan crackers, I used olive crackers and the flavours paired up very well together. Enjoy!

I've submitted this recipe into "Shaheens Eat Your Greens" Recipe Challenge. Shaheen runs the fabulous Allotment to Kitchen blog. The idea behind this challenge is really simple, to make something with a green vegetable each month. Once you've posted a recipe you email Shaheen and a round up of all the entries will be posted on her blog before the end of the month.

I've also entered this recipe into the Simple and in Season recipe challenge, which asks you to enter recipes which use a product that is in season right now. Ren over at RenBehan.com is very busy right now with a new born so Elizabeth's Kitchen is hosting the challenge for August. 

Elizabeth's post that informs the entry details for this challenge states that she has just finished blanching and podding some broad beans, I wonder if she'll give this broad bean recipe a go?

I think this recipe also fits the bill for another recipe challenge, which I've only just come across and that's the "Extra Veg" Recipe Challenge. This event is run by Helen and Michelle and the August blog event is being hosted by Sarah over at Maison Cupcake.

The "Extra Veg" Recipe Challenge was set up to encourage everyone to a healthier start to 2014 and to set the course for the rest of the year. What a great idea, fill up on veggies and there's no room for the bad stuff.

Welsh Rarebit with a Leek & Thyme Garnish

Happy St David's Day! 
Or should I say 
Dydd Hapus Gŵyl Dewi!

We're celebrating in style today with all things Welsh and you can't beat the classic dish of Welsh Rarebit. When I transferred to a vegan lifestyle, I did think that I would miss cheese but surprisingly I haven't. There are plenty of cheese substitutes out there for you to try and my favourite at the moment is the smoked version of the Tesco free from range.

After making the three 'cheese' cauliflower and broccoli bake I found that a combination of three different cheese substitutes gave a winning combination. This recipe incorporates that winning combination to give a really 'cheesy' taste to this famous dish.

Ingredients - Serves 4-6
1 Tbsp Plain flour
1 Tbsp Vitalite
150ml Vegan Beer
80g Vegan 'Mozerella', grated
1 Tsp Mustard powder
2 Tbsp Nutritional yeast
Pinch Cayenne pepper
Good grind of black pepper
35g Smoked Vegan cheese (I used Tesco free from), grated
2 Tbsp Soft vegan cheese (heaped)
Loaf of bread
2 Leeks
1 Tsp Dried thyme


Method

First, melt the Vitalite in a small saucepan, then sprinkle in the flour. Mix until you have a thick paste and cook over a very low heat for a minute. Slowly add the beer stirring continuously to prevent lumps.

Add the vegan mozzarrella and stir until its melted, add the mustard powder and nutritional yeast and stir until combined. 

Add the black pepper & cayenne pepper and the smoked vegan cheese and stir until the cheese has melted. The mixture will be very very thick, a paste rather than a sauce.

Finally add the soft vegan cheese and stir until melted.

Slice 6 pieces of your bread of choice and place under a grill, toast each side.

Spread the 'cheese' paste onto one side of each slice of bread and return to under the grill. Grill for 3 minutes or until the 'cheese' paste starts to bubble.

Meanwhile fry the leeks in a little olive oil for 2-3 minutes or until soft and starting to brown. Sprinkle over the dried thyme and cook for another minute.

Cut each slice diagonally in half and serve with the leek and thyme garnish on top.

Specials Board: Three "Cheese" Cauliflower & Broccoli Bake

Yep, it's another recipe from the specials board and this time it's a twist on cauliflower cheese. I don't know about you but the few pub chains near where I live always seem to have a cauliflower & broccoli bake on the menu, which for obvious reasons isn't suitable for vegans. So I thought let's make one and see what all the fuss is about.

Ingredients - Serves 2 as a main course and 4 as a side

1 Cauliflower
1 Head of Broccoli
1 Tbsp Vitalite
1 Tbsp Plain flour (heaped)
400ml Almond milk
1 Tsp Dijon mustard (heaped)
Good grind black pepper
2 Tbsp Soft vegan cheese (I used the Tesco free from creamy Cheddar Style spread)
80g Vegan hard cheese (I used the Tesco free from Soya one)
1 Tbsp Nutritional yeast



Method

Boil or steam the cauliflower and broccoli so it still has and set aside to drain.

Pour the almond milk into a saucepan and add the flour and vitalite and whisk continuously over a low heat until the mixture starts to simmer and thickens. 

Add the soft vegan cheese and stir to melt, turn off the heat.

Add all but a tablespoon full of the vegan hard cheese and stir to melt, the mixture will be quite thick.

Add the nutritional yeast and stir to combine.

Tip the drained cauliflower and broccoli into an oven proof dish and pour over the cheese sauce. Sprinkle over the remaining hard cheese and bake in a moderate oven for 30 minutes.

Cauliflower Cheeze

Well, it's been a whole week since I last posted, I can't believe how time flies and I can't believe that I managed to post everyday during September. Some bloggers say it was easy and have carried on posting every day but I was glad of the rest. But I'm back and with another 'cheese' sauce recipe but this time for cauliflower cheese.

I had fun creating 'cheese' sauces for the Mac 'n' Cheese Mondays throughout Vegan Mofo that I will carry on experimenting with vegetable 'cheese' sauces for a while.

I had bought a beautiful romanesco cauliflower from the local green grocers in town a few days ago now and it had been sitting in my fridge waiting for me to create a dish worthy of its beauty. These cauliflowers are so pretty it's actually quite hard to face cutting it up!

I wanted to keep to a yellow colour for the 'cheese' sauce so the vegetable base was limited and after scanning my kitchen cupboards I decided on sweetcorn. Here's what I did:

Ingredients (Serves 4 as a side dish or 2 as a main)
1 Cauliflower, cut into florets
1 Onion, chopped
340g Tin of sweetcorn (drained weight 285g)
1 Tsp English mustard
200ml Almond milk
6 Tbsp Nutritional Yeast
Salt and Black pepepr
40g Vegan cheese, grated

Method
Boil or steam the cauliflower until al dente and transfer to an oven proof dish. 

Fry the onion in a little olive oil until translucent about 5 minutes. Add the drained sweetcorn and stir to combine, fry for another couple of minutes and transfer to a liquidizer. 

Add the mustard, milk, nutritional yeast, salt and pepper and blend until smooth. My liquidizer isn't powerful enough to make a completely smooth sauce it leaves the outer skins of the sweetcorn kernels, so I pushed the liquid through a fine mesh sieve into a saucepan. 

Heat gently to a simmer, turn off the heat and add half the grated cheese and stir until melted. 

Pour the sauce over the cauliflower florets and top with the remaining grated cheese. Bake in a moderate oven for 20 minutes.

And not a bean in sight! But not too worry there will be more beans eaten this year as I harvested another 2kg of runner beans from my 6 plants yesterday!

Cauliflower & Broccoli Bake

Well I didn't get round to cooking something from one of my 9 vegan cookbooks tonight!

All I fancied tonight was a plate full of vegetables, but my taste buds needed tantalising and a plate of cooked vegetables on their own just wasn't that appealing. In my days pre-vegan, one of my favourite dishes was cauliflower cheese, I couldn't get enough of it. I really was addicted to cheese! My Nan, bless her cotton socks was the best cauliflower cheese maker in the WORLD! Nothing ever came close that I made or indeed anyone else. The recipe was never passed on and we will never know what she did to make it so tasty. No-one can put their finger on the secret ingredient. My Mum has come close but never quite close enough. Since I've transferred to a vegan diet I no longer eat cauliflower cheese for obvious reasons but I still crave my Nan's dish! The reminiscing of Nan and her infamous cauliflower cheese dish had wet my appetite, I needed to veganise this dish and that's what I did!

Ingredients

Cauliflower

Broccoli

1 tsp Swiss vegetable bouillion powder

400ml soy milk

1 tbsp flour

1 tbsp vitalite

2 tsp English Mustard

4-6 tbsp Nutritional Yeast

Black Pepper

Non dairy cheese-grated

Method

Turn on your oven to pre-heat at 180°C. Dissolve the vegetable bouillion powder in a saucepan of hot water and bring to the boil. Add the cauliflower and cook for 4-5 minutes, then add the broccoli and cook for a further 5 minutes or until the vegetables have cooked and still have a little bite. Transfer to an oven dish.

Meanwhile pour the milk into another saucepan and add the vitalite and flour, whisk over a low heat until the vitalite has melted and the flour has been whisked in with no lumps. Add the English mustard and stir through. As the liquid starts to thicken add the nutritional yeast and whisk. Have a quick taste and add more mustard, nutritional yeast as required. Add the black pepper whisking all the time. Once the mixture has reached the desired thickness to your liking pour over the cauliflower and broccoli. Grate over the non dairy cheese of your choice. I used cheesly melting (non dairy & non soy). Bake in the oven for 15 minutes. Serve with a garden salad, mash potato or chips and peas.