Vegan Cheddar Cheese Brick Substitute

(pictured: two slices of vegan cheese on cucumber rounds)

I don’t remember where I got the original recipe for this cheese. In fact I no longer have the original recipe. This recipe changes almost each time I make it. What remain consistent are the agar, water, cashews and yeast. The spice mixture seems to change continually.

We use this to make pimento cheese spread, sliced on crackers or to make grilled cheese. This cheese substitute is also good on quesadillas.

I have had non-vegan friends ask me if this tastes like cheese. Honestly it does not taste like cheddar, but it does taste good and has a cheese texture. The flavor is smoky from the paprika and cumin, with a hint of heat from the cayenne. If you know what nutritional yeast tastes like you can taste it in this cheese but it is not the dominant flavor. Raw cashews add fat and give the cheese the correct mouth feel. Overall, the texture is very close to cheese and the flavor is a reasonable substitute.

Vegan Cheddar Cheese Brick Substitute
Makes 1 brick or 6 - Three ounce servings

Ingredients:

5 teaspoons of agar powder (not flakes)
1 ½ cups of water
½ cup of raw cashews
¼ cup of nutritional yeast
1 clove of garlic
½ tablespoon of kosher salt
½ teaspoon of smoked paprika
¼ teaspoon of cumin, toasted
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne powder
¼ teaspoon of dry mustard
¼ teaspoon of turmeric

Directions:

Put the agar powder in the water and stir to thoroughly incorporate the agar into the water in a saucepan. Allow this mixture to stand while you put the other ingredients together.

Place the remaining ingredients in your blender and process until things are powdered.

Turn the heat to medium under the agar pan and continue to stir so the agar doesn’t burn. When the mixture begins to simmer lower the heat and cook for 5 minutes continuing to stir.

After 5 minutes pour the agar mixture into the blender quickly (before the agar begins to gel). Blend until everything is thoroughly incorporated.

Pour the cheese mixture into a heatproof container. I use a rectangular Pyrex dish. Allow the cheese to cool at room temperature and then refrigerate (takes about an hour). If you refrigerate the mixture while hot condensation will form in the container and result in an unpleasant texture on the surface of the cheese.

As soon as the cheese is cool it is ready to use. I have had it last a week in the refrigerator

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 65.05
Calories From Fat (46%) - 29.72

Total Fat - 3.55g
Saturated Fat - 0.63g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 670.07mg
Potassium - 376.17mg
Total Carbohydrates - 4.2g
Fiber - 0.74g
Sugar - 0.5g
Protein - 4.88g

Comments:

This is a tasty cheese substitute that I prefer to the store bought varieties. I think the texture of this recipe is more “cheese-like” than the products I have purchased. Making your own cheese means you can add different flavors so the flavor suits your taste not those of the manufacturer.

Succotash

When there are organic fresh lima beans at the farmers’ market there is probably going to be succotash at our house. I love fresh lima beans but I really dislike shelling the beans. Two quarts of lima beans in their pods yielded a whopping two cups of beans and took almost 90 minutes to peel. Like I said, I love fresh limas but they are a bit of work.

The rosemary and cayenne were last minute additions. Since the succotash was a little sweet I added the cayenne to balance the flavors. Rosemary was included for no reason other than I love it and it is easy to grab from the garden. This is the first time I added rosemary to succotash, but it won’t be the last. We really liked the corn and rosemary combination.

Succotash
Serves 6

Ingredients:

½ tablespoon of extra virgin olive oil
½ red onion, finely minced
4 cloves of garlic, finely minced
¾ cup of almond milk
2 cups of fresh lima beans
5 ears of corn, kernels removed (I used silver queen)
1 roasted red pepper, finely minced
1 teaspoon of fresh rosemary, finely minced
1 pinch of cayenne pepper
½ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of freshly ground black pepper

Directions:

Sauté the red onion and garlic in olive oil until the onion is translucent. Add the remaining ingredients and cook for 5 minutes.

Serve hot.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 219.63
Calories From Fat (14%) - 30.24

Total Fat - 3.45g
Saturated Fat - 0.41g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 579.93mg
Potassium - 644.57mg
Total Carbohydrates - 41.8g
Fiber - 9.16g
Sugar - 5.93g
Protein - 9.08g

Comments:

Succotash is something that I like to make when I have fresh lima beans and corn. By sautéing the onion, adding the roasted red pepper, increasing the corn and using almond milk this succotash is sweeter than most. I added the cayenne and rosemary to add a little depth of flavor. This is a nice combination that everyone enjoyed this evening (including the carnivores).

Whole Wheat Corn Fritters with Fresh Tomato and Corn Salsa

I have been promising my husband I was going to make corn fritters for a couple of weeks now since we made the traditional version in cooking class. Tonight was the night I finally kept my promise.

My version of the corn fritters was made with whole-wheat pastry flour to increase the fiber and nutrition. I added a number of spices to the corn fritters to add a bit of complexity to the pancakes. I crisped the cakes in small amount of oil in a cast iron pan. The corn fritters were starting to get too much color so I finished them in a 300 degree oven to finish the inside of the corn cakes without burning the exterior.

My husband could have eaten the entire batch of corn fritters by himself tonight. If your family includes big eaters you may want to double or triple this recipe.

Whole Wheat Corn Fritters
Serves 2 or 1 hungry man

Dry Ingredients:

½ cup of whole-wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons of white corn meal
¼ teaspoon of baking powder
¼ teaspoon of kosher salt
¼ teaspoon of cumin seed
1/8 teaspoon of oregano, dried
1/8 teaspoon of ancho chili powder
1/8 teaspoon of cayenne pepper

Wet Ingredients:

¾ teaspoon of egg replacer (ENERG)
1 tablespoon of warm water
¼ cup of almond milk
enough water to make a pancake texture batter
1 cup of corn kernels, fresh from the cob or frozen and drained
2 tablespoon of fresh cilantro, minced

½ tablespoon of canola oil to cook the cakes

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 200 degrees to hold the corn fritters while you finish the over components of the meal.

Mix the dry ingredients and set them aside.

Combine the egg replacer and warm water and whisk to combine. Add ¼ cup of almond milk.

Mix the dry ingredients and wet ingredients and stir to form”pancake” dough. I keep my flour in the freezer so it tends to be more dry. While the original recipe called for ¼ cup of liquid I had to use ½ cup total liquid in my recipe tonight.

When the pancake batter is the correct consistency, add the corn kernels and cilantro and mix to combine.

Heat a cast iron pan until it reaches approximately 350 degrees. Add half the oil so that it lightly covers the bottom of the pan. Drop approximately 2 - 3 tablespoons of batter onto the pan for each fritter. I cooked 4 corn fritters in the pan at a time. Each fritter cooked for approximately 3 minutes per side. I removed them from the pan when they reached the appropriate golden color. Cook the final 4 fritters using the same method.

My fritters were the appropriate color on the outside but were not cooked completely through so I turned the oven to 350 degrees and baked the fritters for 15 minutes to ensure they were done.

Serve hot with a little salt and pepper to taste. I served my fritters with the corn and tomato salsa below.

Nutritional Information (assumes 2 servings):

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 206.62
Calories From Fat (22%) - 45.07

Total Fat - 5.15g
Saturated Fat - 0.46g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 325.59mg
Potassium - 288.45mg
Total Carbohydrates - 37.58g
Fiber - 5.6g
Sugar - 1.58g
Protein - 6.27g

Corn and Tomato Salsa
Serves2

Ingredients:

½ red onion, finely minced
2 tablespoons of sherry vinegar
1 large red tomato, finely diced (approximately 2 cups)
1 cup of corn kernels, cut from the cob or frozen and defrosted
¼ cup of fresh cilantro, minced
¼ teaspoon of oregano, dried
kosher salt, to taste
freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

Combine the red onion and vinegar to reduce the sharpness of the onion. Allow the onion to sit in the vinegar at least 10 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients and toss to coat. Taste for seasonings and correct before serving.

When you serve this salsa use a slotted spoon so most of the vinegar stays in the bowl.

Nutritional Information:

Amount Per Serving
Calories - 101.98
Calories From Fat (7%) - 7.47

Total Fat - 0.9g
Saturated Fat - 0.1g
Cholesterol - 0mg
Sodium - 211.66mg
Potassium - 548.13mg
Total Carbohydrates - 23.7g
Fiber - 4.24g
Sugar - 6.07g
Protein - 3.71g

Comments:

The corn fritters turned out much better than I expected. When I make them the next time I will increase the cumin and oregano. I also may add a little drained shredded zucchini to the fritters. I think I would like the texture of the zucchini and the increase in vegetables in the fritter. If you have a few fat calories to spare cilantro oil drizzled over the top of the cakes would taste great and look nice.

The salsa was nice and refreshing. It would have been better with avocado, but I didn’t want to add the fat to dinner tonight. A little drizzle of oil would also have been nice in the salsa, but I didn’t add it for the same reason. Fresh diced cucumber or green pepper would have also been nice in the salsa if you have it handy.

Overall we were happy with the fritters and the resulting nutritional statistics.