Vegan Pina Colada French Toast

Yes, I have been a terrible blogger for the last two weeks!  Do you ever just need a break?  That's my only excuse really.  I just needed a break!  Have no fear however, we certainly have not stopped eating just because I stopped posting about it!

Truthfully, I spent 9 days out of town with my husband's step-mother who has two types of cancer; Papillary Cirus Endometrial and Lung Cancer.  It really wasn't the time or place to mess around in the kitchen whipping up something to photograph. 

However, since I got home, I have been back in the kitchen...just not back at the computer!  I spent most of the time that I was gone working on new menu plans for the next month.  By the way, in case I have not mentioned this before; I am a total control freak plan-a-haulic.  I don't recall whether or not this is a subject I've ever brought up in the blog but I'm quite good at that sort of thing.  Much of my personal chef work has consisted of preparing menu plans for my clients based upon the dietary needs and or restrictions that they provide for me. 

It is quite labor intensive to prepare a weeks worth of meals with their nutritional content AND provide a variety of good tasting dishes that meet a client's dietary needs.  In any event, I've done it for myself for so many years that it was a natural extention to do it for others.

To begin with, I've really fallen off the wagon a bit over the last few months when it comes to certain ingredients!  As a rule, I usually strive to make foods as healthy yet tasty as possible.  Too much sugar and white flour have been finding their way into my recipes lately and I really felt that a exorcism was in order!  The following are some of our "cleaned up" recipes from the last couple of weeks.

First up is a fantastic breakfast offering...Vegan Pina Colada French Toast.

Before I go into the particulars let me just say a word about the photos first.  I am aware that there is a shadow; I'm not a professional photographer and my camera is a point and click.  I have decided to stop worrying about whether or not my photos will garner praise or "clicks" because they won't...and that is okay.  The recipes are the point.  Clearly, readers can see that this is a lovely dish...crappy photo notwithstanding.

Secondly, I write like I speak.  I'm frank, funny and literate.  I may misspell a word here and there but that's more likely because of my fingernails than my education.   My blog reads like a conversation around my dinner table and that is the way I like it.  Thanks Lazaro for reminding me that ultimately this is MY blog, my ideas and my passion. 

Whew...that felt good!  Now to the recipe.  My constant readers know that I am horribly allergic to eggs.  I've actually ended up in the ER on more than one occasion thanks to those little devils.  Consequently, many of the classic breakfast foods are out of the question for me.  I may make them for the hubs and my mother but you won't find a bite of frittata crossing these lips! 

I was messing around in the kitchen Sunday morning making my husband some French toast and it looked so delicious.  I decided to take a stab at making a vegan French toast and to my great surprise...it actually worked and it was delicious.  The bread I have used here is Cinnamon Raisin Ezekiel bread which is a flourless bread.  I really love it.  This is a bread made from seven different sprouted grains.  It is vegan but even though it is flourless it is NOT gluten free.  Check out the website at the link above if you are not familiar with Ezekiel bread.

The recipe is really simple:

1 heaping tablespoon tapioca starch or Ener-G egg replacer
1 cup unsweetened organic almond, oat, hazelnut, soy or hemp milk
1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
*for this version I also added 1 teaspoon coconut extract but that may be omitted if you are not making the pina colada sauce

Put the starch or egg replacer in a shallow wide bowl and add the milk.  Whisk to dissolve the starch.  Stir in the extract/extracts.  Melt some coconut oil in a skillet or griddle.  Dip the slices of bread in starch/milk mixture and place them in the heated, oiled skillet.  Cook over medium low heat until toast is browned; flip and brown on second side. 

I also prepared a pineapple sauce to pour over top the French toast.

1/3 cup unsweetened pineapple juice
1 teaspoon tapioca or non gmo corn starch
2 tablespoons Xylitol natural sweetener
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract

In a small saucepan, whisk starch with xylitol until mixed.  Whisk in pineapple juice.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat, stirring constantly.  Cook 1-2 minutes or until mixture is loses it's milk appearance.  Remove from heat and stir in coconut extract. 

When I plated this, I sliced the French toast in half diagonally and topped it with shredded unsweetened organic coconut and some fresh bananas and raspberries then drizzled it with this delicious pineapple sauce.  I must say, it was wonderful!!

For lunch we've got a velvety smooth soup made with three types of roasted winter squash, coconut milk and vegetable broth and millet.  This soup is so simple and yet so very delicious.

Three Squash and Millet Soup is comfort food to the max.  The roasted squash is pureed to a smooth, velvet texture.  The millet provides a healthy boost of fiber and protein.

6 cups of mixed peeled, cubed hard squash * I've used butternut, turban and kombucha

2 tablespoons organic extra virgin coconut oil

1 teaspoon sweet yellow curry powder

8-10 scrapes fresh nutmeg

6 cups organic reduced sodium vegetable broth

1/2 cup dry organic millet

1 dried bay leaf

1/2 cup organic full fat coconut milk plus more to drizzle on top

salt and black pepper to taste

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.  Toss peeled cubed squash with melted coconut oil, curry powder and nutmeg.  Cover with foil and roast until squash is fork tender.

Working in two or three batches, place roasted squash in blender or food processer with 2 cups of vegetable broth.  Pulse and until completely smooth. Pour into a 3 quart kettle with lid.  Repeat with remaining squash and vegetable broth.  Add the millet and bay leaf.  Bring mixture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer very slowly until millet is tender; about 45 minutes. 

Remove bay leaf and stir in coconut milk.  Heat through but do not boi.  Season with salt and pepper to taste.  Sever with a drizzle of coconut milk on top.

Not a very good picture...even by my standards but this soup is fantastic!

There will be more recipes forthcoming.  My slump is officially over!  By the way, thank you so much to my new youtube subscribers!  I've got new videos ready to post that I HOPE we will get to this week AND...just wait till you see the next one!  Its going to be a healthy pizza dip with baked pita chips!

To all my foodbuzz friends...please don't be offened if I don't comment on any of your posts from the last two weeks.  I cannot believe how many posts I had sent to me while I was on hiatus...THOUSANDS!  There is no way I can possibly go through all those.  I'm just going to delete them and start fresh with your new posts.  I'm sorry because I really do like to check out what all my friends are cooking but this is overwhelming!

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding with Gingered Peach Compote

With being away so much this summer, I feel as though my typing muscles have withered and died!  My poor arthritic fingers...backspacing and correcting typos every other word.   I actually made today's recipe before I left for Kentucky but did not have sufficient time to post it. 

We love rice pudding in this house.  While my husband would be more than happy to eat the dairy version...it is like kryptonite to my species.  Despite all the non-vegan foods that I make and post, personally I eat as animal free as possible with two notable exceptions; feta cheese and greek yogurt!

The first time I ever prepared my vegan rice pudding for him, he made a face like he'd just drank curdled milk and declared that he would "pass" on the dessert.  A few minutes later, I caught him skulking around the kitchen with a spoon and an ambivalent look on his face.  That first bite was a true epiphany!

There's no big secret to making coconut milk rice pudding unless of course it's using the wrong kind of rice or overcooking it.  The former will result in a loose watery bowl of sweet rice and the latter...a glop of sweet starchy mush.

I have tried to "healthify" rice pudding a bit further by using brown rice but it comes out more like a breakfast porridge than a dessert.  It just isn't the same.  However, if you prefer that to the creamier, more custard-like consistency of rice pudding; by all means, knock yourself out.

The ingredient list is short, the recipe simple and yet the end product is sinfully delicious.  Add ins depend upon your likes but the basic recipe is as follows.

Vegan Coconut Rice Pudding with Gingered Peach Compote

• 1 1/2 cups long grain organic jasmine rice
• 2 1/2 cups water
• pinch of kosher salt
• 3 cups full fat organic coconut milk
• 1/2 cup raw Coconut Crystals*
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoons Coconut butter**
• optional ground cinnamon for top of pudding
• 3 fresh organic peaches; peeled, pitted and diced
• 1/2 inch peeled fresh ginger, grated
• 3 tablespoons raw coconut syrup or raw blue agave*
• 1/2 cup water, divided
•  1/2 teaspoon arrowroot

1. Bring 2 1/2 cups water to a boil; add salt and jasmine rice.  Reduce heat; cover and simmer until water is absorbed.  The rice will still be a little undercooked due to the water/rice ratio.
2. To the rice; add coconut milk, coconut crystals and ground cardamom.  Return to heat and bring to a simmer.  Cook uncovered until thick and creamy.  You will need to stir often.  Most of the coconut milk will get absorbed. 
3. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla extract and coconut butter.  Stir to combine.  Turn pudding out into a 2 quart glass dish.  Immediately cover the entire top of the pudding with ground cinnamon if using.  This makes a "crust" that prevents pudding from forming a skin and it tastes great too!  Pudding may be served warm or cold.

To prepare the Gingered Peach Compote:

1. Place prepared peaches, raw coconut syrup or agave and grated ginger and 1/4 cup of the water in a small sauce pan.  Bring to a boil and cook until peaches are tender.
2. In a cup, combine remaining 1/4 cup of water with arrowroot to make a slurry.  Stir this mixture into the peaches and cook 2-3 minutes until thickened and sauce has lost its cloudy appearance.  Serve warm of cold over top Coconut Rice Pudding.

*For those not familiar with raw coconut crystals, they are sold under the brand name "Coconut Secret" (there may be others but this is the only brand I've been able to get).  Raw coconut crystals are 100% pure dehydrated coconut tree sap.  They are gluten-free, unbleached, unrefined, non-gmo and vegan.

Coconut trees are tapped for their nutrient-rich sap which comes from the blossoms.  It is a low glycemic index sweetener coming in at 30 calories, 7 carbohydrates and 7 sugars per tablespoon.  With a GI of 35, it is a more diabetic-friendly sweetener than sugar.

Since the product is raw (evaporated at a low temperature for only 90 minutes) the abundant minerals and enzymes have been retained.  Coconut crystals contain 17 amino acids, vitamin C, broad-spectrum B vitamins and a nearly neutral ph.  The evaporation process preserves the live enzymes as it's drying temperature is consistent with the average temperature in the tropics.  By way of contrast; brown sugar is boiled at 220 degrees with an end product containing 93% sucrose.  Coconut Sap Crystals contain 16% sucrose.

The product is also available in a syrup form which I used as the primary sweetener for the peach compote.  If you cannot obtain raw coconut crystals or syrup you may sub succanat in the pudding and raw agave in the compote.

Nutritional information for Coconut Secret Raw Coconut Crystals comes from the label of the canister and is provided by the producers of the product.  I have not been contacted or compensated in any way by Coconut Secret.  I'm simply sharing what I feel is an extremely wonderful product.

** Coconut Butter or Concentrated Coconut Cream can be found in some health food stores or you can order it online from http://www.tropicaltraditions.com/ 

If you don't have any coconut butter, you may substitute coconut oil or even some Earth Balance vegan margarine.

Creamsicles and Conversation

Yesterday was pick up day for the co-op and I came home with a booty fit for a pirate.  Oh wait...is that booty or bounty?  I guess it depends on the pirate eh?  Ok...I need to get Johnny Depp OUT of my head and FOCUS on the fruits and vegetables! 

I've been scouring the local grocery stores for a couple of weeks now looking for some organic Swiss Chard...to no avail.  I hit the jack pot this week with the co-op because she had some of the prettiest red chard I have seen in a long time.  I'm planning to use it rather like a grape leaf to make a quinoa stuffed chard appetizer.  It is steamed in lemon broth just like Greek Dolmas.  I like to serve mine on a platter of greek olives, feta shards and crusty bread with some olive oil for dipping.  Its hard to find better food than that! 

Pretty amazing looking produce huh?

Anyway, I am making that today along with Polenta toasts with Wild Mushroom Medley, Roasted Vegetable Quesadillas and if I have time...baba ganoush.  That will complete the photos for the appetizer chapter of my book. 

This morning I made Papaya Orange Creamsicles and I have to say, they turned out fantastic!  The recipe is SO simple and only requires a few ingredients.  The "cream" in this instance is coconut milk, making these luscious frozen pops completely vegan AND completely insanely delicious!

Papaya Orange Creamsicles

Makes 6 (2 ounce each) frozen creamsicles

• 1 extra large navel orange, zest before peeling and reserve zest - removed only the oil orange part of the skin with a paring knife and leave some of the white
• 1 cup frozen papaya cubes (or fresh...you'll just have to wait longer for the creamsicles to freeze)
• 1/2 cup unsweetened organic full fat coconut milk
• 2 teaspoons reserved orange zest

*Note :  I did not add any type of sweetener to these because the orange and ripe papaya is sweet enough for my taste.  If you want them sweeter, try adding a little raw blue agave or stevia.

1. Run peeled orange through a juicer.  Place orange juice, papaya cubes and coconut milk in the blender.  Blend until smooth.  Pour into a bowl and stir in reserved orange zest.
2. Pour mixture into 6 (2 ounce) moulds of choice.  If you  have used frozen papaya, the mixture will be thick enough to stand the lollipop stick in.  If not, freeze for 20 minutes or until stick will stand straight in mould.  Freeze until completely firm.

If desired you can serve with some strained raspberry puree.  I add 1 pint of fresh raspberries to my blender with 2 tablespoons of raw coconut tree syrup (you could also use raw blue agave).  Blend until pureed; strain out seeds and served with Creamsicles.

This was RIDICULOUSLY GOOD!

(c) copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet

Gluten Free, Vegan Tropical Raw Fruit Pie

Since I needed to make this today anyway to get some pictures, I thought I'd go ahead and post it for everyone.  I've made this pie several times for cooking demos and everyone always begs for the recipe. Its so easy that its almost a non-recipe.  The key to this pie's success is the combination of flavors and chilling the finished dish long enough to be able to get it out of the tart pan. 

The inspiration for this dish actually comes from an old church supper favorite.  My grandmother made it and I'm sure many of your grandmothers made it as well.  It was a jell-o salad with crushed pineapple, bananas, marachino cherries, pecans and that dried artificial whipped cream stuff that you mixed with milk and vanilla.  There is a laundry list of things that were unhealthy about that dish but it actually tasted good.  So I got to thinking about what elements of the dish actually WERE good and came up with this raw tropical fruit pie.  Oddly enough, it absolutely does taste like the old church supper dish.  Its hard to believe that the entire thing is made of fruit and nuts (in various forms).

Anyway, give it a try and see what you think. 


The grainless date, nut pie crust can be made ahead, wrapped and stored until you are ready to use it.  The wrapped crust dough will keep for a week in the fridge.  Once it has been made into a pie, it is best used within 1-2 days.

Note:  I have used raw almond meal that I had left over from making almond milk.  I place it on a sheet pan and turn my oven on the lowest setting and dry the meal for several hours.  You need to stir it so that it dries completely.  If you don't have your own raw almond meal, Bob's Red Mill has it in 16oz. bags available at healthfood stores and some grocery stores.  However, that almond meal is not raw.

For the crust: 

12 fresh (not dried), pitted medjool dates

1/2 cup unsweetened freeze dried organic coconut flakes

1 cup raw almond meal 

2 tablespoons organic coconut flour

1/4 cup melted organic extra virgin coconut oil

pinch of kosher salt

Place the pitted dates in food processor along with coconut.  Pulse until dates are processed and mixture has formed a gooy ball.  Add almond meal, coconut flour and kosher salt to mixture.  Pulse until mixture is well blended and crumbly.  Drizzle in melted coconut oil 1 tablespoon at a time, pulsing for several seconds between addtions.  Mixture will still appear somewhat crumbly but will hold it's shape when pressed together.  Press crust mixture into bottom and up the sides of a removable bottom tart pan, chill.

Tropical Raw Fruit Pie

There are two items in this pie that are not raw and they are the coconut milk and the crushed pineapple.  I have tried several substitutions but find that even though its not raw, unsweetened full fat coconut milk produces the most satisfactory results.  As for the pineapple, you CAN use fresh pineapple that you have crushed in the food processor but it has to be squeezed as dry as possible and the pie needs to be eaten within a few hours of preparation.  The longer it sits, the fresh pineapple will begin to "weep" and make the pie soggy.

1 cup unsweetened freeze dried organic coconut flakes

1/2 cup full fat organic coconut milk, refrigerated

2 large bananas sliced 1/4" thick

1 teaspoon fresh lemon juice

1 pint fresh organic strawberries, sliced

1 can organic crushed pineapple in natural juices, drained and squeezed dry

1/2 cup chopped organic pecans

additional unsweetened flaked coconut to sprinkle on top

Keep pie crust refrigerated until ready to assemble pie.   Using a spoon, remove only the creamy top layer of coconut milk until you have half a cupful.  Combine coconut milk and flaked coconut in a small bowl.  Let stand for 15 minutes until coconut is hydrated and coconut milk is completely absorbed.  Spread this mixture in the bottom of prepared crust.  Slice bananas and place in a small bowl.  Sprinkle with lemon juice and toss gently.  Lay banana slices out evenly on top of coconut layer.  Spread sliced straweberries evenly over banana layer.  Evenly distribute crushed pineapple over the top of pie.  Sprinkle pecans and additonal coconut on the top to garnish.  Chill for at least 4 hours.  To remove sides of tart pan, run a small knife around the sides to loosen and gently push up on the removable bottom until side ring comes free.  The pie will slice when it is cold. 

Make some whipped coconut cream to top the pie.  Spoon off the remaining "cream" in the can of coconut milk.  Save the watery layer at the bottom of the can for another use.  Place the cold coconut cream in a metal bowl and stash in the freezer for 15 minutes.  Add 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar and beat with electric mixer until soft peaks form.  Coconut whipped cream will not beat to stiff peaks.  You may sweeten with a few drops of stevia extract if desired but I find the unsweetened cream to be a better compliment to the pie.

Enjoy!

(c) copyright Jill Anderson

The Homegrown Gourmet