RECIPE: Spreads for BC Living "From Scratch" - Cream Cheese

Spreads - Part 3: Cream Cheese
BC Living - “From Scratch”
May 2024

If you love making homemade jam after a bountiful summer of berries and other fruits, but have never tried to make other spreads at home, this is your sign.  Making peanut butter (or any kind of nut-butter) is very simple, and even if they seem daunting, cream cheese and butter from scratch are well worth it. Not only because you can use fresh, organic ingredients, but you can customize them on the spot!

Cream Cheese

INGREDIENTS: 

8 Cups Whole Milk 
Juice of 1 Large Lemon (approx. 5 tbsp) 
½ tsp salt (or more) 
(Optional: additional herbs and spices for flavoring)

INSTRUCTIONS:

Begin by pouring the milk into a saucepan. Heat the milk over medium-high heat until it comes to a boil.  
 
Once the milk is boiling, add the lemon juice and immediately turn off the heat.  
Let the mixture sit for a few minutes to allow the milk to curdle. (During this time, you'll observe curds forming and a yellowish liquid separating.) 
 
Once the curds have formed, strain the curdled milk through a cheesecloth (or clean tea towel) lined sieve to separate the liquid whey.  
 
Rinse the curds under cold water to remove any excess whey clinging to them. Squeeze the curdled milk to remove any remaining liquid whey. You may need to do this several times. 
 
Transfer the strained curds to a food processor, or blender, and add the salt (to taste).  
Blend until the mixture becomes light and fluffy, usually within 1-2 minutes, depending on the machine's power.  
 
If desired, add additional herbs or flavorings at this stage. Note that certain ingredients may affect the cheese's shelf-life; dried herbs will make the cream cheese last longer than fresh, but if you’re consuming quickly, go fresh! 
 
Store the cream cheese in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to 7 days.  
 
ENJOY! 

RECIPE: Spreads for BC Living "From Scratch" - Peanut Butter

Spreads - Part 2: Peanut Butter
BC Living - “From Scratch”
May 2024

If you love making homemade jam after a bountiful summer of berries and other fruits, but have never tried to make other spreads at home, this is your sign.  Making peanut butter (or any kind of nut-butter) is very simple, and even if they seem daunting, cream cheese and butter from scratch are well worth it. Not only because you can use fresh, organic ingredients, but you can customize them on the spot!

Peanut Butter

INGREDIENTS: 

3 cups of dry roasted peanuts 
salt – optional and to taste 

INSTRUCTIONS:

Three cups of peanuts will amount to about one cup of peanut butter, so adjust this as you see fit for how much you’d like to consume. It will last about one month. 
 
Place the peanuts in a stand mixer or high-powered blender and blend at high speed. Scrape down the sides with a spatula every time the pb starts to build up. 
 
A rough dough-like ball will start to form, keep going and it will smooth and blend itself out. 
 
You can blend until you reach the desired consistency, but a creamy and smooth peanut butter will take approximately 10 minutes to come together 

RECIPE: English Muffins for BC Living "From Scratch" - April 01, 2024

English Muffins
for BC Living "From Scratch" Column
April 01, 2024

English muffins are so versatile, from a simple buttered one, to holding together a greasy breakfast sandwich, to being the sturdy base for an eggs benedict. 
 
Whichever way you prefer, once you make them from scratch and taste them for the first time, you may never go back. And while they’re extremely good fresh out of the pan (yes, pan!), you can also freeze them for that Sunday morning brunch. 
 

INGREDIENTS: 

2 cups all-purpose flour 
1 tablespoon granulated sugar 
1 teaspoon salt 
1 tablespoon active dry yeast 
1 cup warm milk (around 110°F/45°C) 
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted 
Cornmeal, for dusting 
 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
 
You can make this by hand if you don’t have a stand mixer, but the dough can be very wet and hard to work with. 

In the bowl of your stand mixer, combine warm milk and sugar. Sprinkle the yeast over the mixture and let it sit for about 5-10 minutes until it becomes frothy. 

Attach the dough hook to your stand mixer. Add the flour, salt, and melted butter to the bowl with the activated yeast. Mix on low speed until a shaggy dough forms. 

Once the dough comes together, increase the speed to medium-low and knead the dough for about 5-7 minutes until it becomes smooth and elastic. Scrape down the sides of the bowl occasionally. 

Form the dough into a ball and place it in a lightly greased bowl. Cover it with a clean kitchen towel and let it rise in a warm place for about 1 to 1.5 hours, or until doubled in size. 

Once the dough has doubled in size, punch it down and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Roll the dough out to about 1/2 inch thickness. Use a round cutter (about 3 inches in diameter) to cut out the muffins. Re-roll any scraps and continue cutting until all the dough is used. 
Place the cut muffins on a baking sheet dusted with cornmeal. Sprinkle some cornmeal on top of the muffins as well. Cover them with a clean kitchen towel and let them rise for another 30-45 minutes. 

Heat a cast iron pan over medium-low heat. Lightly grease the pan with butter or oil. Carefully transfer one of the muffins to the hot pan. Cook for about 6-8 minutes on each side, or until they are golden brown and cooked through. If you have a food thermometer, the internal temp should be around 200°F. 
 
You may need to adjust the heat to ensure they cook evenly without burning. Once you can tell the correct cooking time and temp, repeat with the rest of the muffins, a few at a time, leaving some space between them. 
Once cooked, transfer the English muffins to a wire rack to cool slightly before serving. Slice them open with a fork to reveal their nooks and crannies. 
 
(It’s best to separate them before freezing, if you are choosing to do so. They can go directly into a toaster from the freezer.) 
 
Serve warm with butter, jam, or make your favourite breakfast meal. 
 
ENJOY! 

RESTAURANT: Food Photography for Highwayman Pub South Surrey

Highwayman Pub South Surrey
Food & Drink Photography
February 23, 2024

RECIPE: Cinnamon Buns - "But Make It Vegan" for Environment911.org

Cinnamon Buns
”But Make It Vegan” for Environment911.org
June 2022
 
I don’t think I need to sell you on these, because... cinnamon buns. 
But what if I told you that you could make them in about 30 minutes!? 
 
I was cooking recently with my friend Rebecca Coleman, who wrote a cookbook called “Vegan Baking Made Easy” and she has a quick vegan cinnamon roll recipe that is sure to make your Sunday morning even better. 
I made some adjustments for what I had in my house, but I found them simple and delicious! They’re not the big super fluffy ones, but they’re SO fast and simple to make. 
 
Makes 12 Small Cinnamon Buns 
 
INGREDIENTS: 
 
- 1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons vegan butter 
- ½ cup non-dairy milk 
- 1 tbsp of apple cider vinegar (or white) 
- 2 cups all-purpose flour 
- 2 tbsp granulated sugar 
- 1 tsp salt 
- 3 tbsp of baking powder 
- 1/3 cup of brown or granulated sugar 
- 2 tsp cinnamon (or more if you’d like) 
 
- ½ cup powdered sugar 
- 2 tsp of non-dairy milk 
- 1 tsp vanilla (optional) 
 
 
INSTRUCTIONS: 
 
Melt 1/2 cup of the vegan butter and let cool while you prepare the rest of the recipe. 
Preheat oven to 350F, grease a round cake pan (approx. 8 inches) with the un-melted butter. Rebecca also suggests using a muffin tin for this (but I always claim the middle buns with all soft sides). 
 
Combine the ½ cup of non-dairy milk in a bowl with the vinegar – this will curdle the milk and make it into vegan buttermilk – let sit for at least 5 mins. 
 
In a large bowl, mix the flour, 2 tbsp of granulated sugar, salt and baking powder. 
Add 1/3 cup of melted butter to the vegan buttermilk and stir to combine. 
 
Create a well in the flour mixture and add the buttermilk/butter combo in and mix to combine, then knead with your hands into a dough. 
 
Sprinkle a clean surface with flour and turn the dough out onto it and knead it a few more times. 
 
Flatten the dough with your hands and rolling pin and shape into a ¾ inch thick, 12x6 rectangle. 

Spread the remaining melted butter on top of the dough with a pastry brush, and then sprinkle your desired sugar (I used golden) and cinnamon evenly across. 
 
Roll the dough into a log (12-inch side), and pinch the end to close the seam. 
 
Cut into 12 equal sized pieces (cut in halves until done) and then place evenly in the greased pan. 
Bake for 20 mins until they start to become golden brown on the edges. 
 
While they are baking mix the powdered sugar with the 2 tsp of non-dairy milk, an optional vanilla, in a small bowl. 
It will be thick, but you want it that way because it will melt on the buns. 
 
Remove the buns from the oven when ready and let cool for 5-10 mins in the pan. 
Carefully remove and spread the icing on top of the buns and serve. 
 
You can store these at room temp in an airtight container for a few days, or freeze for up to 3 months. 
 
ENJOY! 
 

RECIPE: Vegan Breakfast Sausage

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RECIPE: Breakfast Sausage - But Make It Vegan
for Environment911.org
April 2022

Some mornings call for a really big breakfast—and these breakfast patties fit in beautifully with a tofu scramble and some roasted potatoes. I like to make them for brunch, or on a camping trip, while sipping on my hot cup of tea. They’re loaded with so much flavour and spice, I guarantee you won’t miss the meat.

Makes Approx. 8-10 Sausages

INGREDIENTS

- 2 cans of black beans
- small onion
- 1 red pepper
- 6 cloves garlic
- fresh rosemary
- fresh sage
- fresh thyme
- 1.5 tsp fennel seeds
- salt & pepper
- optional: teaspoon of paprika (or other spice)
- 2 flax eggs (instructions here)
- (optional: bread crumbs)
- cooking oil

INSTRUCTIONS

Make your flax eggs.

Roughly chop and de-seed your pepper, peel and quarter your onion, and peel your garlic.
Add three ingredients into a food processor and pulse until finely chopped.
Remove and place into a large bowl.

Add the black beans into the processor and blend until almost a paste, and then place into the bowl with the pepper-onion-garlic mixture.

Chop your fresh rosemary, sage and thyme and add to the bowl with some salt and pepper. (This is also great to sprinkle over potatoes if you’re having them.)

Mix ingredients together with your hands, then add in the flax eggs and mix until combined.
(If the mixture doesn’t hold together fully, add in some bread crumbs or oat flour.)

Dive into equal parts of desired size. Roll and then press flat.
Heat oil in a pan and fry until both sides are nicely browned.

If you have leftovers, try making a breakfast burrito or hash the next day.