desserts and drinking for the long weekend

Ok so show of hands how many of you folks reading this post are renters? Homeowners? Well my husband and I are renters, long time renters. This is our first home together and we like it just fine. More than that, we love it. Often what takes a rental from nice to fantastic is a great landlord. In our case we have two great landlords. They have become our friends since we moved in. They are interesting, artistic and incredibly friendly and considerate. I have been driven crazy by a couple former landlords so finding two awesome and supportive landlords is priceless. To show our appreciation my husband and I occasionally have them over for drinks,  food or both. They live close by so casual get-togethers are not too difficult to arrange.

For those of you outside of Britain or Canada, this weekend is a long weekend in celebration of Queen Victoria. It's the first big weekend of the Canadian summer roster and often means barbeques, family get-togethers, picnics, concerts and camping. We are trying to tick as many of these fun ideas off our imaginary list before Tuesday morning. So far we've had a little get together with our friendly neighborhood landlords and are in the process of trying to get out of town and down by a lake somewhere.

Since I created Baking Backwards a couple months back I've become pretty obsessed with making vegan and gluten free desserts using as little or no refined sugar as possible. This little get together at our place  last night was the perfect opportunity to test out some recent dessert ideas on my unsuspecting landlords/friends, let's call them L and T. I say unsuspecting because these folks love food, I mean really love food. Not just that, they know their stuff. Self-proclaimed foodies and avid-travelers they have experienced different cultures and cuisines the world over and don't restrict themselves when it comes to fine dining. They have no allergies and are not on special diets. To me they are the perfect people to taste test my creations. They are unbiased and enjoy "normal" desserts so they can honestly let me know if something falls flat or knocks their socks off. Last night I took the opportunity to test out three desserts on them which I served in small quantities. They loved them! To me this meant a major success on my part.

They didn't miss the gluten or sugar one bit.

I also used our dessert party to try pairing gluten-free alcohol with dessert. L and T really enjoy nice alcohol, particularly fine wine from around the world. I enjoy wine as well and I have particular favorites but I don't pretend to know a lot about wine, honestly that's like saying you know a lot about food. There is so much to "know" out there I don't pretend to be an expert. I am getting more and more into making boozy desserts.

Exhibit A is my Instant Whiskey-Banana-Date-Raspberry Ice Cream, otherwise known as my new favorite ice cream flavor! When I was a kid I really hated alcohol, particularly when it ruined a nice dessert for me (fucking rum balls). My husband still detests most booze-filled desserts but has taste tested and loved all of the ones I've made lately. For last night's dessert I decided to try and find anther alcohol to pair well with fruit and chocolate.  

When in doubt, ask.

I went to the local liquor store near my house and asked one of their very knowledgeable staff to help me pick out the right liquor for the job. The very friendly man informed me that Port would be perfect to serve alongside or accent chocolate and fruit.  He even found me a great bottle for around $15.  So Port it was! I did some research to see if port was ever used in ice cream and it was, often on top of it as a syrup or blended right in. I opted for the latter and decided to make an instant raspberry and port ice cream to pair with my chocolate main course.  

Here's what we served L and T last night:

The Zucchini Mini Molten Cakes were similar to the molten cakes I made last week only even more healthy as they are full of zucchini and not just fruit. I think I prefer them to my original recipe as they get a little firmer the next day and taste a bit more intensely chocolatey. The little milkshakes were lovely and provided a bit of a palate cleanse from the chocolate overload. The ice cream paired really well with both the port we drank and the little chocolate cakes.

Overall it was a great way to start the long weekend! I hope you give these recipes a try. They're all winners whether you're gluten intolerant, avoiding refined sugar, or just want to make a great dessert.

 Zucchini Mini Molten Cakes:

Makes 7 or 8 mini-mason jar cakes

• 1/3 cup + 2.5 tbsp cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 cup pitted Sayer dates
• 1 cup finely grated zucchini
• 2.5 tbsp amaranth flour
• 2.5 tbsp millet flour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 6 tbsp pear sauce (unsweetened)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 2.5 tbsp Danielle's Vegan Butter (recipe coming soon!) OR frozen olive oil OR vegan buttery spread
• 1 tbsp frozen olive oil
• 1 cup + a little over 1/2 cup water
• 2 dashes coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vinegar (apple cider or rice vinegar)
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp baking powder

Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 5 mini mason jars (tiny jars) with a piece of parchment paper and a little frozen olive oil.

Pulse then blend first 1 cup of water with all ingredients except millet and amaranth in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and blend again. Add millet and amaranth flour and blend until smooth. Add additional 1/2+ cup water and blend thoroughly. Taste! Add extra tsp cocoa if not chocolatey enough. Add extra water if too thick. Add extra dates if too bitter. The batter should be the texture of thick chocolate pudding.

Carefully spoon cake batter into mini-mason jars and fill each jar 3/4 full. Wipe the edges clean if you get batter on the rims of the jars to avoiding burning. Place mason jars in a DIY bain marie and bake 25 minutes in 350F oven until the top forms a dark crust but the middle is loosely set. They should look risen but not quite baked like a cake. DO NOT OVERBAKE!  Serve immediately with a scoop of homemade ice cream (raspberry-port ice cream recipe below) and a tiny raspberry shake.

Tiny Raspberry Shakes
Makes 4-6 tiny raspberry shakes

• 1 package frozen raspberries (2 1/2 cups)
• 2 large frozen bananas
• 2 tsp chia seeds
• 2 dash coarse sea salt
• 4 pitted Sayer dates (about 30g)
• 2 cups water
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 dashes cinnamon
• pinch baking soda
• pinch baking powder
• tiny squeeze of lemon juice

Blend all ingredients in a food processor until very smooth and creamy. Pour into mini glasses and serve with fun straws!










 
Raspberry 'N' Port Ice Cream
Makes 4 servings

• 1 package (about 2 cups) frozen raspberries (or another dark berry)
• 2 large frozen bananas
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• dash coarse sea salt
• dash cinnamon
• 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
• pinch baking soda
• pinch baking powder
• 4 + 3 extra pitted Sayer dates (about 40g)
• 1/3 cup Port or Creme de Cassis Liquor or Framboise Wine or Chambord
• 1 heaping teaspoon veganaise

Blend all ingredients except the extra 3 dates together until very smooth and thick in a food processor. Add the 2 extra dates and pulse to incorporate. You want the dates to dot through the ice cream in visible pieces. Scoop and serve immediately or chill in freezer up to 30 minutes before serving.

Vote for my recipes for Best Dessert in the Virtual Vegan Potluck!

The polls are open! Please vote for my recipe entries in the 2013 Virtual Vegan Potluck! Help Baking Backwards win Best Dessert! 


Winning Best Dessert will help Baking Backwards garner a bigger audience!


To VOTE please click here and select Baking Backwards in the drop down menu for Desserts.


To see my Virtual Vegan Potluck blog post, click here.


Don't remember what I made? Take a gander at these shots...

virtual vegan potluck! My dessert table

Today's the big day! Today my blog is part of a global conversation. Virtual Vegan Potluck! 

What does that mean exactly?

Virtual Vegan Potluck is the beautiful brainchild of Annie of the blog An Unrefined Vegan, Somer of the blog Vedged Out, and Jason of the blog The Veganauts. 

It is a blog-linking phenomenon that takes place only a few times per year. Hundreds of vegan bloggers from around the globe are participating today, including me! 

Each blogger signs up to prepare a dish (or dishes) for a particular course of the virtual potluck meal. They share their plant-based recipe with the world on their own blog, linking to the next REGISTERED blog offering at the end of their post. This creates one massive chain of blog posts and one incredible virtual meal!

Predictably, I signed up Baking Backwards to share a DESSERT.  Ahem, DESSERTS!  
 

 I tried to pick just one recipe to share today but I couldn't make up my mind at all. In fact I've been racking my brain for weeks trying to choose what to make today. Once it was confirmed that I was participating in this virtual event, I knew I needed to step up my game a little and share a few recipes to please different palates. 

I did a little research to see what some of the most popular desserts are. Several online sources say that the top 10 most popular desserts (in order) are:

1. Fudge
2. Chocolate cake
3. Chocolate chip cookies
4. Brownies
5. Ice cream
6. Apple pie
7. Carrot Cake
8. Jello
9. Cupcakes 
10. Cheesecake
  
I actually only enjoy about half of the desserts on this list. Fudge is #1? Really? There was no way I was going to make them all but I took some cues from this list for sure.

The weather in Toronto this week was balmier than usual. It was in the 20s Celsius and everyone has been walking around in shorts and tees. Ice cream season has arrived and the thought of turning on the oven for long periods of time in my tiny kitchen is not too appealing.

The desserts I am sharing today are easy to throw together, involve next to no time (in some cases no time at all) in the oven. They are all totally vegan, fruit-sweetened and gluten-free. 

Those of you who know my blog already know that all of the above are pretty standard descriptions of my recipes on Baking Backwards. That all being said, these recipes are healthy for you and delicious too! They even taste decadent.

The recipes below are designed as ideal potluck desserts -- served in small and pretty portions. I designed my desserts today in this way so that guests could hypothetically taste several desserts without having to make tough choices or leave the party too full. These desserts are all light enough for Spring and Summer menus.

Welcome to My Virtual Dessert Table:

 Drunken Peach Crumble Jars

Mini Molten Cakes

                                  Overnight Raspberry Ice Cream &

Instant Whiskey-Banana-Date-Raspberry Soft Serve

                                                         

Chili Chocolate Fudgesicles

  OR Milkshakes

                                                

Molten Cakes in Mini-Mason Jars (gluten free and fruit-sweetened)

Mini Molten Cake Batter Ingredients:

• 1/3 cup and 1 heaping tsp cocoa powder
• 1 heaping cup pitted Sayer dates
• 3 tbsp amaranth flour
• 3 tbsp millet flour
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 3 tbsp pear sauce (unsweetened)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 4 tbsp frozen olive oil or vegenaise
• 1/2 cup + a little over 1/2 cup water
• 2 dashes coarse sea salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vinegar (apple cider or white)
• 1 tbsp baking soda
• 1.5 tsp baking powder

 Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly grease 5 mini mason jars (tiny jars) with a piece of parchment paper and a little frozen olive oil.

Pulse then blend first 1/2 cup of water with all ingredients except millet and amaranth in a food processor until smooth, stopping to scrape down the sides and blend again. Add millet and amaranth flour and blend until smooth. Add additional 1/2+ cup water and blend thoroughly. Taste! Add extra tsp cocoa if not chocolatey enough. Add extra water if too thick. Add extra dates if too bitter. The batter should be the texture of chocolate pudding.

Carefully spoon cake batter into mini-mason jars and fill each jar 2/3 full. Wipe the edges clean if you get batter on the rims of the jars to avoiding burning. Place mason jars in a DIY bain marie and bake 20 minutes in 350F oven until the top forms a thin crust but the middle is only loosely set. They should look risen dark tops with  but not quite baked like a cake. DO NOT OVERBAKE!  Serve immediately either plain or with a scoop of homemade ice cream (2 homemade vegan ice cream recipes below).

Note: These little molten cakes are best baked in a bain marie. A Bain Marie is a good idea when you are baking small portions of something delicate or finnicky as the water bath creates even heat. To create a bain marie grab a large lasagne dish and fill it bottom of the pan 1/2" high with water. Place your cake batter-filled mason jars in the large water dish and then carefully place the lasagne dish into your preheated oven and bake. You want to be careful not to splash the water into your jars as you transfer the bain marie to the oven. If the jars slide too close together as you transfer them to the oven rack, space them out once you set the pan down in the oven and bake. Bain maries are very useful when preparing desserts such as souffles and cheesecakes.

Instant Whiskey-Banana-Date-Raspberry Soft Serve

(instant and coconut-free recipe)

Ingredients:

• 3 very large frozen bananas
• 1 tsp ground cinnamon
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 big dash sea salt
• 10 small pitted Sayer dates (I buy Parnoosh brand ``honey dates``) (about 70g)
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• squeeze of organic lemon juice (about 1 tsp)
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tbsp gluten free Whiskey (Jack Daniels or Maker's Mark)
• 1/2 cup frozen raspberries ( I like Stahlbush Farms brand) 

In a food processor, pulse and then blend bananas, dates, vanilla, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder, lemon and chia together until smooth and mixture resembles soft serve with small chewy bits of dates throughout, scraping down the sides with a spoon occasionally. Add whiskey and blend to incorporate. Add frozen raspberries and pulse briefly 3 times to marble the ice cream.

Serve immediately or pour into a plastic tupperware container and seal shut. Freeze sealed container until ready to serve.

Overnight Creamy Raspberry Ice Cream 
(overnight recipe that contains coconut)

Overnight Raspberry Ice Cream Ingredients:

• 1 package frozen raspberries, about 220g ( I like Stahlbush Farms)
• 1 very small cans of coconut milk, chilled in fridge
• 2 frozen bananas
• 1.5 tsp vanilla extract
• 2 dashes sea salt
• 11 small pitted Sayer dates (I use Parnoosh honey dates), or 5-6 large pitted medjool dates
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• squeeze of organic lemon juice
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp baking soda

Reserve 2 tbsp of frozen raspberries in a bowl. In a food processor, pulse then blend bananas, the rest of the raspberries, dates, vanilla, sea salt, baking soda and baking powder, lemon and chia together until smooth and mixture resembles soft serve, scraping down the sides with a spoon occasionally. Do not shake the can of coconut milk before opening. Open and scoop out thick cream from the top and add to banana mixture. 

DO NOT ADD THE COCONUT  WATER AT THE BOTTOM. Puree until smooth. Add reserved berries and pulse once. Add extra tsp baking soda and puree until smooth. Pour into a plastic tupperware container and seal it. Freeze 1 hour. Put back into food processor and blend until smooth again. Scrape back into tupperware, seal and freeze another 2 hours or longer. Serve.


Drunken Peach Crumble Jars
Recipe Note: Don`t like peaches? Replace them with equal amounts of peeled green or gala APPLES!  This recipe can me made into a great Apple Crumble for National Apple Pie Day, Monday April 13th, instead! I promise it will be just as delicious!

These crumble jars are delicious hot or cold after some time in the refrigerator.

Date Crumble Topping

• 1/4 cup amaranth flour
• 1/4 cup millet flour
• 1/2 cup pitted Sayer dates (I use Parnoosh honey dates)
• 1/3 cup quinoa flakes
• 1/3 cup amaranth flakes
• 1/4 tsp coarse sea salt 
• dash coarse sea salt
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp lemon zest and big squeeze of lemon juice
• 2 tbsp frozen olive oil
• 1 tbsp my recipe for Date Caramel sauce (You could use maple syrup in its place but my date caramel sauce is way better for you and tastes better too)

Pulse the dates and sea salt, and vanilla in a food processor until they break into little pieces and form a ball. Remove and set aside in a bowl.

In your food processor, add flours, flakes, dash sea salt, lemon juice and zest and spices together and pulse until evenly incorporated. Add frozen olive oil and date caramel/maple syrup and pulse briefly. Add the date paste you made earlier, first breaking it into smaller spoonfuls, then pulse the spoonfuls of paste into the flour mixture until evenly incorporated. Scrape down the sides and pulse once more briefly. The mixture should look like a crumble topping now, not smooth but full of clumps.

Spread mixture out thinly over a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Bake in 350F oven until fragrant and lightly golden brown, 18 minutes.

Remove and spoon on top of prepared peach or apple filling.

Drunken Peach Crumble Filling

• 1 SMALL pack frozen PEACH slices OR 6-7 FRESH small organic peaches (if you don't like peaches, substitute peeled, cored and chopped green or gala apples to make an awesome APPLE crumble)
• 1 tbsp frozen evoo
• tiny pinch chilli powder
• squeeze fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 tsp lemon zest
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 3 tsp cinnamon
• 1 dash coarse sea salt
• 1/2 cup of my recipe for Date Caramel sauce (You could substitute maple syrup or brown sugar for this but the date caramel tastes way better and is healthier too)
• 1.5 tbsp gluten free whiskey (Jack Daniel's or Maker's Mark are gluten free)
• 1 tsp chia seeds
• 1 tsp baking powder

Heat oil in a large stirfry pan (not non-stick ideally) over medium high heat. Add spices and saute 20 seconds. Add peaches and saute for 1 minute. Add vanilla and whiskey and chia and let alcohol simmer for 2 minutes, stirring often. Add lemon juice and zest, and date caramel sauce and let simmer, reduce heat to medium,stir often letting it simmer until liquid has reduced in half and mixture is thick, about 10 minutes. Stir in baking powder and simmer additional 1 minute.

Spoon into small jam jars or mini-mason jars (filling 2/3 full). Top with 1-2 tbsp warm or cold crumble topping. Serve immediately or with a small scoop of ice cream on top. These crumble jars are also delicious cold after some time in the refrigerator.

Chili Chocolate Vegan Milkshakes AND/OR Fudgesicles

• 3 tbsps unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 dashes coarse sea salt
• 1.5 tsp chilli powder
• 1.5 tsp cinnamon
• 1 small frozen banana
• 5 small pitted sweet Sayer dates (about 35-40g) (I use Parnoosh honey dates)
• 1.5 tbsp chia seeds
• 2 cups water
• 1.5 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 tsp chocolate extract
• 2.5 tsp soy free vegenaise
• 1 small very ripe red Bartlett pear
• 3.5 tbsp pear sauce
• 1 tsp pear butter
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1.5 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp maple syrup

Add all ingredients to a food processor or high speed blender. Pulse ingredients together then scrape down sides and blend again on high speed until smooth. I blended for about 5 minutes in my food processor. Taste! Adjust sweetness by adding more dates if necessary. Add extra cinnamon and chilli powder if not spiced enough. If not chocolatey enough, add extra cocoa and blend. 

Taste! If satisfied, serve mixture either as 2-4 milkshakes immediately, OR spoon mixture into either 4 large popsicle molds or 8 smaller popsicle molds and chill in freezer until frozen. Enjoy.

THANKS FOR VISITING BAKING BACKWARDS TODAY! BE SURE TO COME BACK AND VISIT ME FOR MORE GLUTEN FREE HEALTHY DESSERTS AND SAVORY RECIPES. 

Like what you saw today?? You can get all my recipes by following me on twitter, liking Baking Backwards on facebook, finding me on pinterest...

IF YOU ARE CONTINUING DOWN THE VIRTUAL VEGAN POTLUCK TRAIL, YOUR NEXT STOP IS BROCOLLI ADDICT BLOG TO SAMPLE ULA'S CREATION.

Date Caramel: A Healthy Dessert Sauce

Today's post will be short and sweet. Tomorrow's post will be epic!

As some of you already know, tomorrow I am participating in a global blog share known as Virtual Vegan Potluck. For more info on this event visit this page. 

This amazing virtual event is a blog-linking phenomenon. There are over 160 blogs from around the globe participating on Saturday and I am humbled to say that Baking Backwards is among them. I am serving up three delicious and healthy desserts in tomorrow's post. Today's recipe is for Date Caramel Sauce -- a simple and easy dessert sauce. 

This caramel sauce is entirely sugar-free, gluten-free and vegan! 

This caramel is amazing on ice cream, cake, hot chocolate, fancy coffees and frappuccinos or on it's own with a spoon! I use small amounts of it in some of my baking recipes which I will share tomorrow as a brown sugar and maple syrup replacement. What an amazing swap it makes! I promise you that you won't regret using my version of date caramel in your recipes instead of sugar.

Those of you who have made date caramel sauce before may notice that my recipe is a bit different than most. 

It involves a few ingredients that may seem strange or unnecessary (like baking powder, chia seeds and baking soda). Please use these despite any doubt you may have! Trust me! They are included in my recipe for several reasons. Baking soda helps make purees extra smooth when they involve gritty ingredients such as dates. Baking powder has a touch of cornstarch which helps make the mixture a little thicker, and chia seeds are a wonderful healthy binder that really makes this caramel come together.

Most date caramel sauces keep for a very long time in the fridge. If you decide to make my version, I find that it starts to go off after a week.  

I think chia seeds in liquids start to sprout after that length of time so I would not recommend making this sauce and storing it for longer than one week in your fridge.

I hope you enjoy it!

Vegan Date Caramel Sauce

• 1 cup loosely packed pitted Sayer dates (chilled in the fridge)
• 1 1/4 cup water (warm or hot is best)
• 2 dashes sea salt
• 2.5-3 tsp of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tbsp chia seeds

Pulse then blend all ingredients together in a food processor until very smooth (a few minutes). Scrape down sides and blend again for 30 seconds. Transfer to an airtight container and seal. Store container in the fridge until ready to use.

Cinco de Mayo Brunch: Fiesta Porridge Bowl!

Fiesta Porridge! I love porridge. I have been devouring it since I was little. I blame my father who eats it for breakfast almost every day. My dad makes a thick oatmeal porridge with rolled oats and drenches it with maple syrup and cold milk. It's incredibly comforting and delicious. I ate my oatmeal that way too almost daily growing up. 

Despite my love for oatmeal, I admit that I always felt a little queasy after eating oats, most likely due to my wheat allergy (which I only discovered during the past 2 years). Most oats are contaminated with wheat and if you have a gluten sensitivity they can cause a reaction. For me it was an itchy and upset stomach. I stopped eating oats for the most part though I am interested to try certified Gluten Free Oats and see if I react. I have replaced my oatmeal porridge with a variety of gluten-free grain and seed porridges. I mix up different grains and seeds (like quinoa flakes and chia seeds) and cook them the way I would cook oats. At first I topped these porridge bowls with fruit, maple syrup or demerara sugar but I have been experimenting with savory porridge more and more over the last few months. I also don't eat porridge for breakfast anymore, I have my bowl as a dinner side dish in lieu of bread, pasta or rice.

This dish is the most savory bowl of porridge I have ever created. 

This meal was eaten for dinner originally but would also make a fantastic brunch entree. It would be perfect for this coming Sunday which happens to be Cinco de Mayo! The recipe began as a total experiment and has evolved into a true success! It's easy to prepare, gluten-free, corn-free, soy-free, dairy-free, vegan and totally delicious. It is thick and silky, and boldly flavored -- cheesy, spicy, and rich. 

  Two weekends ago my husband and I made some great vegan tacos. We both adore Mexican food and the meal was a real wake-up call for my taste buds. Spicy, savory, cheesy, amazing! A few nights later I started jonesing for the savory Mexican flavors that the tacos had. I didn't want to make the tacos again as it would require more time than I had that night. Instead I began making porridge with some leftover quinoa from our taco night. My experiment began with the addition of the Mexican spices we used for our tacos and then I remembered that Chinese rice porridge, congee, often incorporates pureed pumpkin or squash to great effect. I decided I would give it a go and added some leftover frozen squash into the mix. It was easy to mash into the porridge and gave it a lovely golden hue and gentle sweetness. It also made the porridge taste incredibly cheesy once I added nutritional yeast to it.

I decided that a porridge that savory deserved some condiments and garnish so I grated some cucumber for color and texture, added a dollop of salsa and made a vegan crema like the one we drizzled on our tacos. The dish looked great and was totally different from any bowl of porridge I ever had growing up. It tasted awesome too! I'm not sure how to describe it. I suppose that it tastes like a Mexican version of polenta -- minus the corn. 

When I first made this dish I brought it into our living room and set it down on our coffee table. My husband looked up from our i-pad and said, "that looks good...what is it?". I gave him a taste and he loved it...

"You can make this for me anytime you want...."He really liked it, in fact I had a hard time getting the bowl back from him.

"You don't want this, this is no good" he giggled, cradling the bowl and turning away from my hands as I grasped for it. I promised I would make him a bowl some night later in the week.

The next time I made this recipe I decided to change a few things. I toasted the spices and the millet together before I boiled them which gave the millet grits a chewier texture and smokey flavor. I  added extra butternut squash for silkiness and color, more vegetable broth  for a more savory taste, extra nutritional yeast and a bit of pumpkin seed butter for a cheesier and slightly nutty flavor and a rich texture to make the dish taste like it  had real cheese in it. The result was even better than my original batch. We both enjoyed it with salsa, grated cucumber and a vegan lemon crema drizzled on top. Warm, cheezy, spicy, tangy -- exciting flavors in a comforting package.

I am calling this bowl of bliss my Vegan Fiesta Porridge. If you are vegan and want something different and tasty for brunch, give this recipe a try. It would be a nice meal for a brunch with friends too. If you are not vegan but don't consume dairy or gluten, this makes a great hearty brunch or breakfast meal. If you eat eggs I'm certain that adding an egg (sunny-side up, fried, poached, over-easy) would be a delicious and hearty addition to the bowl.

The following recipes are:

Vegan Spicy Cheeze Porridge
Makes 1 large serving

• 1/4 cup millet grits
• 1/4 cup amaranth flakes
• 1.5 cups water
• 1 tbsp chia seeds
• 1/2 cup frozen butternut squash
• 1.5 tbsp kelp flakes
• 1 tbsp onion powder
• 1.5 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• Dash sea salt
• 1 level tsp pumpkin seed butter (or sunflower seed butter, or tahini paste)
• 2.5 tsp chilli powder
• 1/4 - 1/3 cup nutritional yeast
• Squeeze of 1/4 small lemon
• 6 tbsp leftover cooked red and black quinoa
• 1/4 cup low sodium veg broth
• 2 dashes natural rice wine vinegar
• 1 tsp vegenaise

For a smokey flavor, lightly toast the millet and spices (except nutritional yeast and only 2 tsp of the chilli powder) together in a dry pan over medium high heat for 30 seconds to 1 minute, stirring frequently, before adding water and bringing it to a boil.

If you don't enjoy smokey flavor, skip this step and follow instructions below.

Boil water. Add millet, sea salt, 2 tsp chilli, onion powder, garlic powder, cinnamon. Add squash and stir thoroughly. Add chia and stir quickly to incorporate. Reduce heat to medium. Once squash is tender, mash it gently with a fork against the sides of the pot. Stir through. Add amaranth once the mixture looks like thin cream of wheat. Stir. Add nutritional yeast and stir to incorporate. Add veg broth and pumpkin seed butter and stir thoroughly until the clump of butter incorporates. Add 4 tbsp of the cooked quinoa, rice wine vinegar and lemon juice and stir through. Reduce heat to simmer once mixture is thick. Stir through vegenaise and remaining 1/2 tsp chilli powder.

Keep mixture warm over low heat, stirring often, until ready to serve.

Lemon or Lime Crema
Makes 1-2 servings

• 3 tsp vegenaise
• 1.5 tsp fresh lemon or lime juice
•  1.5 tbsp water
• 1 heaping tsp chia seeds
• 1.5 tsp onion powder
• 2 tsp kelp flakes
• 1/2 tsp nutritional yeast
• 1 tsp chilli powder or 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder

Mix all ingredients except vegenaise together thoroughly in a small bowl. Allow to sit in room temperature for 5-7 minutes before stirring through vegenaise. Allow another 5 minutes to thicken. Stir and drizzle on Fiesta Porridge or refrigerate until ready to use.

The Lemon or Lime Crema also makes a great salad dressing!

Vegan Fiesta Porridge Bowl
Makes 1 large serving

• 1 batch Vegan Spicy Cheeze Porridge (recipe above)
  
• 1/4 cucumber, grated
• 2 tbsp store-bought or homemade fresh or cooked salsa
• 2 tbsp cooked red or black quinoa (reserved from porridge recipe above)
  
• 1 batch Lemon or Lime Crema (recipe above)
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Transfer warm Vegan Spicy Cheezy Porridge to a large cereal or soup bowl or deep bowl. Top with salsa. Top salsa with the grated cucumber. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the lemon or lime crema over the bowl. Add the quinoa to the side of the cucumber. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the top if using. Serve.


Fiesta Porridge Bowl (non-vegan variation)

Makes 1 large serving

• 1 batch Vegan Spicy Cheeze Porridge (recipe above)
  
• 1 organic hen's egg (sunny-side up, over-easy or poached) or 2 sunny-side up quail eggs
• 1/4 cucumber, grated
• 2 tbsp store-bought or homemade fresh or cooked salsa
• 1 batch Lemon or Lime Crema (recipe above)
• 1 tsp finely chopped fresh cilantro (optional)

Cook your egg or eggs in your preferred style (poached, fried, sunny-side up, over-easy, poached).
 
Quickly transfer warm Vegan Spicy Cheezy Porridge to a large cereal or soup bowl or deep bowl. Top with salsa. Top salsa with the grated cucumber. Place the egg(s) beside of the grated cucumber. Using a teaspoon, drizzle the lemon or lime crema over the bowl. Sprinkle chopped cilantro over the top if using. Serve.