Vegan Brie Round

Vegan Brie Round

I love Brie, I miss brie.. lets be serious, I miss all cheese. I don’t mind a lot of my restrictions. I am grateful to be able to chew and taste foods. I am grateful that I am not limited to just candy and jell-o. But I must admit that I do miss cheese. Brie is an excellent cheese, and an expensive one. Is there some way to make an alternative cheese? Could it work?

Well the first job was finding the ingredients. I am lucky enough to live in a great city, a great vegan city. I got all of my ingredients form my natures pantry a local health foods store that is about 10 mins from my house. How convenient right? The only issue is that they only had red miso. I, in my ignorance of Asian ingredients thought that the red and the white can’t be that different. FALSE. I found this blog entry After I had already tried my recipe… now I am on the search for white miso, so that I can try this again. http://www.thekitchn.com/thekitchn/ingredients-pantry/whats-the-difference-white-yellow-and-red-miso-079637

As I found out, after I tried the recipe, I really needed to find white miso… but here is my review of the brie anyway. Red miso smells BAD and tastes worse.. it was truly gross by it’s self. After I tasted the miso I discovered that perhaps it was not the correct ingredient, but I waged on, committed to making something delicious… maybe it would be better after it cooked? It could happen…

Here were the reviewers:

Katie: my resident vegan and best brutally honest friend

Mom and Dad: You know where they come from- they are true cheese lovers, especially brie

Melissa: a cheese lover who had a bad brie experience in her early life and has never tasted it again.

The reviews:

Katie: Loved it, she liked it so much she took it home with her, it was creamy and a good alternative to store brought non dairy cheese.

Mom and dad: they said that if I had told them it was just a dip they would have liked it, but because I said it was brie its taste feel short. It did not taste like brie but rather a creamy brie like cheese dip, not bad but not exceptionally good either.

Melissa- I think she liked it but I tried very hard to convince her that real brie is very different from this fake brie… I hope to someday introduce her to the real thing.

Most importantly- My review. It’s not brie but its not bad…. Not a glowing review, but I know that I made the mistake of using the wrong miso… and I really have to give it another try..

Anywho know where to find some white miso?

Brie Recipe

This dairy-free cheese is incredibly rich, creamy and versatile. It works well on its own, with crackers or bread as an appetizer or in a casserole or pasta dish. This recipe makes an 8" round, but it can be made into two smaller rounds if desired.

Makes one 8" round

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Cook Time: 30 minutes

Total Time: 40 minutes

Ingredients:

• 2 T Egg Replacer powder
• 3 T warm water
• 16 oz. dairy-free cream cheese, such as Tofutti
• 1½ T nutritional yeast
• 1 t. prepared stone-ground mustard
• 1 T. honey or agave (if vegan, use agave!)
• 3 T sweet white miso, lower sodium variety

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Lighly oil an 8-inch round cake pan or two deep soufflé dishes and then line with parchment. Set aside.

2.In a small bowl, combine the Egg Replacer powder with the warm water until well combined. Set aside.

3. In a medium-sized mixing bowl with an electric hand mixer on medium speed, mix the cream cheese, mustard, nutritional yeast, honey and miso until fluffy and well-combined, about 4 minutes. (If you skimp on the whipping time, your cheese will be dense and not as creamy.)

4. Add the Egg Replacer mixture and whip for 3 minutes more on medium-high speed. Spread cheese mixture into prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes or until cheese is golden-brown in spots and has puffed up. Set on a cooling rack to cool. Turn out onto a serving plate and serve warm, at room temperature, or cold. (Leave it in round pan as long as possible and unmold just before serving. This will help this soft cheese keep its shape.)

http://dairyfreecooking.about.com/od/basiccheeserecipes/r/BrieRound.htm

Mozzarella- Shreks Favorite Cheese

If Shrek were a cheese what would he be?
MOZZARELLA!

If Shrek had to describe himself as a cheese I think he would describe him self as Mozzarella- Because it has Layers! (DUH)

All Pre-School jokes aside Mozzarella is awesome, it is tasty and super versatile. It can also be expensive and sometimes the store brought mozzarella lacks flavor. If you have ever purchased the pre shredded Mozzarella you know that we mean! (flavorless and tough) Now don’t get me wrong, I do not wipe up a batch of this stuff every time I need some cheese, but if you have the time it is really fun. This is the second time we have made Mozzarella, and I think that this one turned out even better then the first! Joe’s Mom and I did the pulling, but we all had a helping hand. Since I can’t eat cheese anyway they ate it with pasta and homemade sauce. Yum!!

This recipe is from

http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html

How to make this cheese :

You’ll Need-

Citric Acid Rennet

Salt Lipase

How to make this cheese :

The Milk:
Make sure the milk you use for this cheese is NOT
ULTRA- PASTEURIZED
--Homogenized milk will work fine.
--Fresh farm milk will also work well but we encourage you to try with 1 gallon of store bought whole milk first.
--Low fat milk will work but the cheese will be drier and less flavorful

You will need:
--A 6 to 8 quart stainless steel pot. Aluminum or cast iron will not work.
--A stainless steel or strong plastic slotted spoon.
--A two quart microwave safe mixing bowl
--measuring spoons
--A thermometer which will clearly read between 80 - 120 degrees F

- You will also want some gloves I got these from the dollar store!-

Process:

1. crush 1/4 tablet of rennet and dissolve in 1/4 cup of cool unchlorinated water and set aside to use later.
2. Add 1.5 tsp. of citric acid (diluted in 1 cup cool water to 1 gallon of cold milk and stir well.
   (Add the citric acid solution to the empty cold pot - the photos show adding this dry but do mix with water).
3. Now pour cold milk into your pot quite quickly to mix well with the citric acid . This will bring the milk to the proper acidity to stretch well later. Next Heat this milk to 90F As you approach 90F you may notice your milk beginning to curdle slightly due to acidity and temp.
   NOTE: if having problems with milk forming a proper curd you may need to increase this temp to 95 or even 100F
4. At 90F remove the pot from the burner and slowly add your rennet (which you prepared in previous step) to the milk and stir in a top to bottom motion for app. 30 seconds, then stop. Cover the pot and leave undisturbed for 5 minutes.
5. Check the curd, it will look like custard, with a clear separation between the curds and whey. If too soft or the whey is milky, let set for a few more minutes.
6. Cut the curds into a 1" checkerboard pattern (as in photos above) and if a drier cheese is desired carefully cut and stir this curd to release more whey.
7. Place the pot back on the stove and heat to 105F, while slowly stirring the curds with your ladle. (If you will be stretching the curds in a hot water bath heat to 110F in this step.)
   Take off the burner and continue slowly stirring for 2-5 minutes. (More time will make a firmer cheese)
8. Then scoop the curds with a slotted sp0on into a heat proof bowl to be used in the microwave. (If the curd is too soft at this point let sit for another minute or so)
9. You will now press this curd gently with your hand, pouring off as much whey as possible. Reserve this whey to use in cooking.
10. 
11. Next microwave the curd on HI for 1 minute. You will notice more whey has run out of the curd. Drain off all whey as you did before. Quickly work the cheese with a spoon or your hands until it is cool enough to touch (rubber gloves will help since the cheese is almost too hot to touch at this point)
12. Microwave 2 more times for 35 seconds each and repeat the kneading as in the last step. Drain all of the whey off as you go.
13. Knead quickly now as you would bread dough until it is smooth and shiny. Add salt near the finish. (we forgot this part but I think it was ok.. ish..
14. At this point the cheese should be soft and pliable enough to stretch like taffy.
15. It is ready to eat when it cools.
16. 
17. Form it into a ball and drop into ice water to cool and refrigerate.
    
18. When cold you can wrap in plastic wrap and it will last for several days but is best when eaten fresh.

Option:
--A substitution of reconstituted dry milk and cream is very viable and is a great option if you cannot find the right type of milk
--Lipase may be added to the milk to provide a typical Italian cheese flavor
--If you want a softer texture, do not let the curd set as firm and work less when draining and kneading.. this will make a moister cheese.

Vegan Mac and Cheese

I miss my mac and cheese. I love a challenge when I embarked on this journey
I had 3 questions.
Can I find a Fat free, fiber free, dairy free, MAC AND CHEESE? Can it be done?
Do I have to spell cheese different when not using dairy?

As with all great quests I consulted the internet first. I found a lot of recipes, some had ingredients that I didn’t feel the need in investing in, some just seemed lame… one simply told you to add yeast flakes to hot pasta and stir LAME. I found this site just in time. I was really impressed by the authors knowledge of yeast flakes, I had been curious for quite a while about what was involved in creating such a product. I was impressed to know that they are not simply chemicals! Yeye! Anyway, I took this recipes and added my own little spin. Was it the Mac attack I used to enjoy? Well, not really. Was it good and did I eat a lot of it. For sure. I would recommend this to any vegan. For my cheese loving friends it fell a little short. Don’t get me wrong, it was good and I enjoyed it, but it was not exactly the “no boil mac and cheese” that I used to make for parties… but really nothing could replace that recipe. I did however save some of the left over cheese sauce for crackers, it made a nice dip!

Posted by Kathy on 1/29/2010 originally from lunchboxburnch

http://kblog.lunchboxbunch.com/2010/01/vegan-mac-n-cheese-two-dairy-free.html

Nutritional Yeast Quick Mac n Cheese
vegan

6-7 Tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 1/2 cups plain fat free soy milk
1 cup sweet potato, mashed
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp black pepper
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1Tbsp mustard (I use homemade honey mustard)

1 drop of liquid smoke (be careful not to add too much!)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
8 oz pasta

Directions:

1. Heat your sweet potato - about small to medium sized - in the microwave or oven. Heat until cooked through.
2. In a small medium sauce pan cook the onions. For low residue friends spray the pan in pam, cook for 2 mins. then add ¼ cup apple juice and continue to “braise” onions until translucent. Or Cook on medium heat with a tsp. of oil until translucent.
   After your onion is cooked add your nutritional yeast flakes, garlic powder, pepper, vinegar, soy milk, mustard and liquid smoke. Stir well.
3. When your sweet potato is ready, peel off the skin and mash it well. Scoop about 1 cup of the mashed sweet potato into your sauce pan. Mash it well into the liquid. Cook on low/med low for about 5 mins. You should get a nice thick creamy orange sauce. You can always add more liquid if you'd like a thinner sauce. And you can add more sweet potato if you'd like it super thick and a tad sweeter. You can even add in more nutri-yeast flakes for an extra strong nutty 'cheese' flavor.
4. Boil some salted water on the stove and drop your pasta for cooking as directed on box/bag.
5. While the pasta is cooking use a hand emersion blender Or in a food processor -puree the mixture.– (You can even a whisk the sauce if you don’t have anything fancy, but you will not have as smooth of a sauce.)
6. Drain your cooked pasta and drop it right into your sauce and fold in the sauce. However, you can keep the pasta warm in a 180 degree oven, or re-heat in oven or microwave as needed. I toped mine with panco breadcrumbs as an attempt at a crisp topping.

I hope you enjoy some easy vegan comfort pasta!

I'll be missing you- Feta Cheese

Fabulous Feta?

Warning- this entry is a completely ridiculous.

I feel like if I had music on my blog this entry would be accompanied by the song “I’ll be missing your” (the puff daddy version) So please feel free to turn on that song on your itunes while you read (if you have it)

As many of you know I cannot eat cheese right now but that doesn’t stop me from making it! I miss cheese dearly, but we had a gallon of milk that was about to go bad. I hate to waste things so I figured I could make some cheese for my friends and family… I made some feta , (for the first time) I used the recipe from my cheese kit. It turned out really good. Both Joe and my dad said it tasted right, and I was pleased as punch. I then put it back in the brine to store it. BIG mistake, you want to figure out a different way to store your feta because after 2 days I had white salt water not cheese…WHERES the cheese? It was missing in action, for sure. It was fabulous and then it died, just like biggie smalls. RIP cheese, oh and biggie smalls too, if you happen to be drinking a 40 right now feel free to drop a little for my homies (the feta cheese and biggie of course) . Well at least I know it turned out, it just didn’t keep well. Does anyone have a suggestion for how to store feta after it is made? The book said to store in brine, but is clearly not the correct method! This was my first cheese with our my partner in cheese crime Joe. I have to admit, cheese making by yourself, while still cool is not nearly as enjoyable, I missed Joe for sure!

Pepper Jack Cheese= FAIL

Part of cooking is excepting failure. It is sometimes hard to remember that when you are conducting experiments in the kitchen, sometimes things go wrong… “it’s the law of the land that sometimes the dam just breaks”. This past weekend Joe and I attempted our first pepper jack cheese. Joe is a big fan of spicy things and has been wanting to make some pepper jack for a while. We decided to do a double cheese weekend. We made a large batch of Havarti with our friends Becca and Noah (more on that when its ready) and the pepper jack on Sunday. We decided to try a new recipe, even though we have had good luck with the recipe created by the cheese queen herself… perhaps that’s where we messed up. I want to included the recipe but because I honestly I can't find it online anymore... and don’t know if it was the recipe or us… but the cheese was VERY loose so I expect the pressing time is off and it never did harden and now it has a lot of mold on it… fail. Joe and I are both super worried about food poising. I have Crohn’s diseases and am very susceptible to getting sick and really no one wants to get food poisoning.. right?

Maybe next time...

Backround: Cheese

Our first experience with the dairy delicacy.
As we posted earlier we had a run in with cheese two summers ago. Both Joe and I are avid cheese appreciators but the concept of making cheese seemed FAR beyond our reach. We love to work together in the kitchen and trying new things is always an adventure when we are together. We decided to go for it. Our first cheese was a simple fake ricotta. I say fake because ricotta means re-cook in Italian. Real ricotta as I respect it now is made from whey after making hard aged cheeses.
We were hooked. You can make cheese, CRAZY we used out ricotta with pride in the lasagna and the cannolis. AWESOME results. We then started to research more about what we had actually started. Can we make more cheese? But of course!
That following Christmas Joe got me the Mozzarella and the Hard cheese kit. (from cheesemaking.com). I know that many girls would not think that this was a good Christmas gift form a boyfriend, but I loved it! It was perfect. On New Year ’s Day we made or first cheese. We were so nervous and the whole process took a long time. After all of our careful preparation we forgot to add salt to our little farm house cheddar. Such is life. It turned out to be delicious anyway… there is still some debate about WHEN we opened it last year but the fact remains that our first hard cheese turned out and it was just a matter of time before we tried again.