Cashew Cheeze in Block Form

Greetings,

Giving up cheese is always the hardest part of going vegan or ital. It is part of so many favourite dishes and often we backslide because of that. Over the years I have missed it in sandwiches, pizza and as a topping for salad. Thankfully the vegan community online discovered the Japanese gelling agent agar-agar which is an all natural plant-based gelling agent unlike gelatin which comes from pigs. So with agar you can make jellies and gummies and all kinds of desserts and now cheeze!

With this recipe you can make numerous small blocks of cheeze or one big block. It all depends on the size of the container or containers you use. Here are a few things to note:

*OIL YOUR CONTAINERS BEFORE YOU POUR!* I cannot stress this enough, as my first go-round, I forgot this vital part! The cheeze will NOT budge as an entire block if you forget!

*Make sure you have your containers oiled and ready to go BEFORE you mix in the melted agar as the cheeze thickens immediately once blended with the agar.

* I use the bottled kind for this recipe specifically as sometimes the lime/lemon can be too tangy which can affect the flavour you get, but you are free to use your fresh limes or lemons once they are properly ripe.

*Put all the salt if you want your cheeze to have flavour!

*Your blender MUST be able to properly blend nuts right down to a paste. I use my food processor which is ideal. A Vitamix will work as well.

*If you only have agar strands you will need a Nutribullet or a blender that has a milling blade or the flat blade, to make it into a grainy dust. You need to mill the strands as fine as possible, using a pulse method instead of just letting it blend at high speed, because the agar is so light that it just flies around without breaking down. So pulse the Nutribullet - slide  on and off a lot as that keeps the agar flakes to the bottom of the blender where the blade is. I hope this makes sense!

#Ingredients:

1 1/2 cups or a 200g pack raw unsalted cashew nuts (don't soak to retain the flavour)
You can also use 1 cup of cashews, but adjust the agar water to 1 cup as well.
1/3 cup water
5 tbs lemon/lime juice (4 tbs also works)
2 tbs coconut oil (I use Nariel brand which is slightly refined for cooking but still solidifies in cold temps. But I figure whatever cooking oil without a strong flavour can work)
2 1/2 tsp pink salt
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (you can omit it you don't use or have, I find it still tastes great!)
1 tsp garlic powder
(1/2-1 tbs chili flakes if you want a peppery cheeze)

Gelling Ingredients:

1 tbs agar powder to 1 cup water
OR for agar strands you need 1/4 cup of the milled strands and 1 1/4 cup water.
A small pot and spoon

Method:

1. Add all the #Ingredients to your food processor or blender and blend until a smooth paste is formed. The nuts should not be gritty any longer, though one or two grains may still be there. Stop and rest your machine as needed, and push down the paste from the sides as needed.

Leave the mixture in the blender while you prepare the agar.

2. In a small pot bring the 1 cup of water to boil and add your 1 tbs of agar. STIR CONTINUOUSLY until a thick gel forms.

OR if using the agar strands: pull apart strands and using a scissors clip them into fine pieces. Using the milling blade on your Nutribullet, mill them to as fine a dust as you can manage. This is important as it takes a while to form the gel and if the pieces are too big, they take forever to gel. Add tsp amounts of water if necessary as you keep stirring but remember not to add too much.

3. When the agar is properly melted, add it to the blender/processor. Blend until it is mixed into the cheeze. Pour IMMEDIATELY into greased container(s) and allow to cool properly. Slap the container on to the counter to make the cheeze settle properly.

4. Cover and store in the fridge to set for at least 5-6 hours, but I tend to leave mine until the morning.

You can simply scrape with a knife and spread onto your crackers or bread, or you can slice or even grate the cheeze. The more agar the firmer it will be but it will still be soft enough to spread.

My huge block lasted about 2 week in the fridge. When I make smaller blocks however, I found they should be consumed within 7-9 days.

I hope you like this one, it is certainly a favourite with every member of my family which is a huge success for me! I often have to police the poor cheeze or it will be devoured in no time! (It's expensive to make!)

Let me know how you make this recipe your own in a comment below or if you have tried it, leave a review! Tag me on Instagram so that I can see and share your creation @italpeople

Love!
Ila

Eggless Besan Quiche

Greetings!

This recipe is one of my Sunday Prep meals along with my new Blender Blackbean Burger recipe, both eaten with a salad. My kingman and I are giving up bread so instead of eating with bread we substitute with a side salad of lettuce, tomato, cucumber and seeds (pumpkin, chia, hemp and sunflower).

I found the basics for this recipe on Pinterest, but I added a few powdered spices to give it more flavour as salt alone just simply will not do for a savoury flour like besan/garbanzo/chick pea!

Here are some tips I discovered over the last month or so making these weekly:

*Allow the batter to sit for a while, that allows the flax and besan to work on creating a thick batter, You don't want it to be too wet. The longer it rests the least likely it will not cook in the centre.

*A foil container to bake the quiche in works much better than regular tins which can cause the quiche to stick, but once you get the temperature right (low) sticking should not be a problem.

*Filling a pie dish with only a cup of the batter, or any dish beside a muffin tin will cook quickly and avoid the inside not cooking. The deeper the batter the longer it takes for the inside to cook.

*To store the finished quiche, line your air-tight container at the bottom with paper towel, then each layer of quiche with paper towel, and the top, because you want to absorb any moisture that will form in the fridge.

* You need 18 muffin holes or 3 muffin pans to make all muffins. I use 2 muffin pans and 1 pie pan or bread pan for the remaining batter which is about a cup of batter. Or I use 3 pie foil pans and 1 bread foil pan. I bake this one batch in multiple containers so that I have enough pieces to stretch from Monday to Friday.

*Oil the pans generously as the batter will stick easily as it cooks!


Ingredients

Batter:
1 3/4 cup besan/garbanzo flour
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried basil flakes
3/4 tsp pink salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/2 tsp turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1 flax egg (1 tbs flax meal and 3 tbs boiling water)
2 1/4 cup water

Veggies:

3/4 cup canned corn (optional but my daughter likes it and I am working on getting her into more vegan foods)
1 cup finely chopped bell pepper usually 1 big one or 2 smaller ones
1/2 a zucchini finely diced
2 leaves of greens finely chopped  (optional, i don't always include)
1/2 red onion finely chopped
chives finely chopped
1/2 finely grated carrot
*You can change your veggies as you desire but about 3/4 cup of each is good.

Oil for your baking pans *remember to coat them well*

Method:

1. In a large bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients: the besan flour, nutritional yeast, baking powder, salt, cumin, turmeric, garlic, basil, paprika and any other seasonings you use.

2. Mix the flax egg and let fluff up or turn gooey. With the whisk add it to the batter mixing it completely in, and ALLOW TO SIT WHILE you prepare the veggies.

4. Finely chop all your veggies and add them to the batter and whisk together again.

5. Oil your baking pans well. The spray oil can works best. Using a 1/4 cup measure, scoop the batter into each muffin hole. If using a pie or bread pan, use a 1 cup measure. Using the measuring cups REALLY help get the most out of your batter.

6. Bake on top rack at a low-medium heat, 150 C or 300 F. Bake for 30 minutes, 35 the most for muffins especially.
A toothpick inserted in the centre should not be wet but a bit of the quiche will be on it.

7. Remove from oven and allow the quiche to COMPLETELY COOL which will also thicken the centre properly.

8. Toast to reheat as necessary.

I really hope you fulljoy this recipe as I surely do and my family - minus my son who isn't a fan of the savory flavours. This one was a big win with my daughter who is a very picky eater and is transitioning from dairy in her diet (Our eating habits were always meatless but included dairy when she was born and younger so it has been a struggle to get her on board with our dairy-free livity over the years. And now that I am trying to go as gluten-free as possible that is a whole other fight! But don't sweat it if you have this issue too, as the older they get, the more they want to eat and they tend to try the alternatives willingly!)

If you try this recipe please leave a comment, even your variation! And if you post a picture on Instagram, tag me @italpeople.
 Also, if you have a recipe to share email italpeople@gmail.com and I will post.

DIY Nut Mylk

Nut Mylks are much better for the body than dairy or soy mylk. Homemade nut mylk is also much better for the body than store bought almond, rice or other type of nondairy mylk because those mylks contain unhealthy additives and wayyyy too much sugar.

24 ounces coconut mylk

2 cups almonds, cashews or 1 coconut – white meat extracted.
1 mason jar or glass bottle
blender
1 nut mylk bag or cheese cloth or you can use a clean bandana

Method:

For 12 hours, soak almonds/cashews in water, in a mason jar or bowl filled to the brim.

Throw off water and place almonds/cashews into a blender. Pop off the skin of almonds first.

Or extract coconut white meat and place in blender. To extract coconut meat easy, crack shell and allow to bake in oven for no more than 3-5 minutes or place in hot sun if you have the time. Use a knife to push out meat. Cut into small pieces.

If you have a big blender jar combine 4 cups of water and the nuts in the blender and blend well.

If using a Nutribullet blend in two parts: 2 cups of water with half the nuts or coconut meat at a time.

Pour some mixture into nut mylk bag and squeeze out mylk into a bowl, repeat this til blender is empty.

Strain the nut mylk a second time to remove any remaining nut pulp.

You can sweeten the mylk with powdered nutmeg, cinnamon, coconut sugar, or agave.

Store in a mason or other glass jar and consume within a few days.

Add to smoothies or to make cereal, to soak oats, or add to all your quinoa and lentils when cooking or to any vegan dishes that require milk. You can also just drink it with a dash of turmeric every morning as an overall body boost and parasite killer.

Make your own nut mylk bag with a light white cotton fabric, cut two pieces into a square, sew up three sides and voila!

Happy Mylking!

Ila