Sesame Sriracha Cream Cheese Bacon Scallion Puffs

Because sometimes you just want something that tastes good and takes very little effort. I mean they are called "convenience foods" for a reason, right?

These tasty little bites taste great warm, cold, or at room temperature, which makes them the perfect food to make as an appetizer, bring to a party, or just make up a batch like me and my sister, June, did on my recent visit to Portland.  And since today is her birthday, I thought I would post this in her honor.

Truth is...

I've been eating leftover soup, and cold cereal for the last 2 days. Not very exciting. But you know what is exciting? 500 Vegan Recipes comes out on November 1! That's less than 2 weeks away!

Here's a little teaser to get you as excited as I am:

Seitan en Croûte
A juicy, savory seitan wrapped in a flaky pastry crust… Need we say more?



Inside Shot:


The Recipe:

2 cups (288 g) vital wheat gluten flour
1 cup (120 g) whole wheat flour
1/4 cup (30 g) nutritional yeast
1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes
1 teaspoon paprika
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup (235 ml) beef flavored vegetable broth (or plain veggie broth)
1/2 cup (120 ml) extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup (60 ml) soy sauce or tamari
3 tablespoons (50 g) tomato paste
1 tablespoon (45 g) prepared stone ground mustard
2 teaspoons liquid smoke
2 sheets vegan frozen puff pastry

Preheat oven to 350°F (180°C, or gas mark 4).
Have ready a baking sheet lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat such as Silpat.
In a large mixing bowl, mix together, gluten flour, wheat flour, nutritional yeast, parsley, paprika, garlic powder, and pepper.
In a separate bowl, mix together broth, oil, soy sauce, tomato paste, mustard, and liquid smoke.
Add wet to dry and knead together until well incorporated and until moist dough forms.
Let rest 20 minutes.
Thaw puff pastry according to package instructions.
Form into a loaf (similar to a meat loaf shape) and place in the center of the baking sheet.
Bake, uncovered, for 35 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool slightly.
Increase the oven temperature to 375°F (190°C, or gas mark 5).
Cover the loaf entirely with one of the pastry sheets, tucking the edges underneath the loaf.
Slice the other sheet into 10 even strips for weaving. Weave the strips, on the diagonal across the top of the loaf. Tuck loose ends under the loaf.
Sprinkle a little paprika and parsley on top for color.
Return to the oven and bake an additional 20 to 25 minutes, or until pastry is fluffy and golden brown.

Yield: 1 loaf (about 8 servings)

Garlic Puff Twists

Inspired by Barry's Bakery French Twists (The Original Flavor, which in my opinion is like crack in a tub, I mean, seriously, I could eat them all in one sitting!) we decided to make a savory version of these to go along with dinner tonight.

Start off with a package of frozen puff pastry dough, thawed according to package instructions. Cut the sheet into strips about 1" wide by 4"-5" long.



Line 2 cookie sheets with parchment or Silpat. Twist each strip a time or two and lie onto the sheet. Repeat with the remaining strips.

In a small bowl, melt about 1/4 cup of Earth Balance mixed with some garlic powder, paprika, a little salt and some dried basil. Brush each twist liberally with the melted butter mixture.



Bake at 400 degrees F for about 15-20 minutes until golden and flaky.

Vegetable Curry Pockets

I admit I have been in a bit of a cooking rut lately. I haven't been motivated. The weather has been wierd, and work stressful. I have recently been a big fan of a bowl of rice or pasta for dinner. I told myself, "SNAP OUT OF IT! You've got a pantry, freezer and fridge full of ingredients that you need to use before they go bad!"

So, was born, the Vegetable Curry Pocket.

Frozen puff pastry makes these pockets a snap!

Fill these yummy pockets with any of your favorite veggies!

Vegetable Curry Pockets
A simple pocket of puff pastry, filled with peas, carrots, broccoli and curry sauce. Simple and delicious.

For the filling
1/2 stick nondairy butter or Margarine (I use Earth Balance buttery sticks)
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1/2 cup soy creamer or soy milk (or other nondairy milk)
1 cup vegetable broth
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cup broccoli florets
1 cup sliced carrots
1 cup peas

You will also need
Puff pastry, 10, 6" squares, thawed according to package instructions. You can cut full size sheets into squares, or purchase packages of small sheets which is much easier.
2 baking sheets lined with parchment or a silicone baking mat such as Silpat.
A small dish of water handy to dip your fingers in.
All purpose seasoning, like Spike, optional

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a saucepan, melt butter over medium high heat.
Once butter is melted, whisk in flour until a thick paste is formed, continue to stir as you pour in the creamer.
Continue to cook as the roux will begin to darken quickly. Add in the vegetable broth when the roux is a nice golden yellow.
Deglaze, and continue to stir until a nice thick gravy-like sauce is formed.
Stir in curry powder.
Remove from heat.
Stir in vegetables.
Set aside.
Place one square of puff pastry flat.
Add about 1/3 cup (or 1/10 of the entire mixture) of the curry vegetable filling into the center of the square.
Dip your finger tips in water, and run them along the edges of the dough.
Bring one corner of the dough diagonally across to met the other corner, to form a triangle.
Seal the edges by pressing together with the tines of a fork.
Repeat with remaining squares.
I like to sprinkle my triangles with a little all purpose seasoning, like Spike, before baking.
Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until golden brown and puffy.

Yield: 10 triangles