Monthly Archives: August 2022

Chocolate Shell for Ice Cream

chocolate shell for ice cream
chocolate shell for ice cream

We are nearing the end of Plant Milk Week. I hope you enjoyed the journey from the origins of World Plant Milk Day, to advice for making milk at home, and through to a soup that obtains its creaminess from plant-based milk.

Plant milk is also an important ingredient in vegan ice cream, as I’ve demonstrated in my posts for Coffee Chocolate Chip Ice Cream Sandwiches and Cookies and Cream Vegan Ice Cream. I show how to make ice cream with your homemade plant milk, but to complete this excursion I decided to provide a chocolate shell to dress up the ice cream.

If you are unfamiliar with this ice cream topping, you may have heard it called Magic Shell. Why is it magic? Because the liquid chocolate hardens on ice cream as if by magic. The chocolatey, oily dip gets its “instant-hardening ability from oils like coconut and sunflower that are high in saturated fat. As temperature drops, saturated fats harden, and coconut oil in particular turns firm, almost glassy, when cold,” according to Serious Eats.

So, dish up some vegan ice cream (DIY or store-bought), pour this chocolate shell over it, and have fun cracking the coating so that you can reach the luscious frozen dessert underneath.

Chocolate Shell for Ice Cream

8 ounces vegan bittersweet chocolate, chopped
2 tablespoons refined coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Place the chocolate and oil in a large bowl and set the bowl above water simmering in a pot. (This is the double boiler method for melting chocolate.) Be sure that no water or steam gets into the bowl. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture is smooth. Remove the bowl from the heat and let the contents come to room temperature. Stir in the vanilla. Serve over very cold ice cream. Store leftovers in an airtight container at room temperature.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Curried Sweet Potato Soup

curried sweet potato soup
curried sweet potato soup

Okay, I know that soup isn’t baked, and you may be wondering why I am posting a soup recipe here. Well, my last blog showed how to make homemade plant-milk and I wanted to offer a way to use that milk.

In the post “Chai Spiced Milk and DIY Plant-Milk Tips,” I mention that you can get thicker milk by changing the nuts to water ratio. Denser plant-milks make wonderfully creamy soups, and this soup is a shining example of that.

A local restaurant makes a curry sweet potato soup that I adore so I sought to recreate it. I found a recipe using powdered curry, but I find that the concentrated paste has a more bold flavor. And I like bold flavor.

Curried Sweet Potato Soup adapted from Sweet Potato Coconut Curry Soup

1 cup raw cashews (no need to soak)
1 cup water
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 shallot, rough chopped *
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
4 garlic cloves, rough chopped *
1 large or 2 small sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed *
1/2 cup butternut squash or carrots, peeled and cubed *
2-3 tablespoons green curry paste, depending on the strength of the brand used
1/2 cup vegetable broth
1 14-ounce can coconut milk
1/2 tablespoon Thai basil, chopped (optional)
2 tablespoons pumpkin seeds, lightly toasted, for garnish

Place the cashews and water into a high speed blender and blend until almost smooth. Set aside. (No need to clean the blender yet; you’ll use it again soon).

Warm the oil in a large pot over medium-low heat. Add the shallot and salt and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for another minute, being careful not to burn the garlic. Add the sweet potatoes, squash or carrots, and curry paste. Cook for 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Add the broth and coconut milk. Stir in the cashew milk you set aside.

Cover the pot and bring to a simmer. Add the Thai basil, if using. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes, or until the sweet potatoes are easily pierced with a fork. Carefully transfer the soup to your high speed blender and puree to desired thickness. Put the mixture back in the pot and warm it over a low heat until heated through.

Ladle the soup into bowls and garnish with toasted pumpkin seeds.

* You don’t need to finely chop any of the ingredients as you will be blending the cooked soup.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Chai Spiced Milk and DIY Plant-Milk Tips

Chai Spiced Milk and DIY Plant-Milk Tips
chai spiced milk and DIY plant-milk tips

I’m still celebrating World Plant-Milk Day (or Week, as the case may be). If you’re new to the event, and wondering what I’m talking about, then catch my post from earlier this week. If you’re ready for some advice on making your own plant milk, then read on.

Tips for the best homemade plant-milk:

  • The ratio for making nut or seed milk is 1 part nuts/seeds to 3 parts water. Use less water if you desire a thicker, richer beverage.
  • Soaking the nuts or seeds beforehand makes them easier to digest and softens them for blending.
  • Storing pre-soaked nuts or seeds in the freezer allows you to make milk at a moment’s notice.
  • You can strain your blended nut/seed milk with a nut milk bag. (I’ve heard that paint strainer bags also work but I haven’t tried them). Alternatively, use cashews as your base because they blend in fully and don’t need to be strained out.
  • Homemade plant-milk stored in the fridge between 35 and 41ºF should last up to 5 days (according to VeganMilker).

You can make plant-milk as neutral-tasting as possible so it can be used in sweet or savory dishes. But it’s also fun to add flavorings to the blender for an instant, delicious beverage. Being a huge fan of chai lattes, I like adding chai spices to my milk and either heating it on the stove or adding ice for cool refreshment.

Chai Spiced Milk

3.5 cups water (filtered is best), divided
1 cup raw cashews
4-5 pitted dates
1/8 teaspoon clove powder
1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon powder
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder, optional
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
pinch sea salt

Boil 3 cups of water. Add the cashews to a bowl and cover with 1 cup boiled water. Add the dates to a small bowl and cover with 1 cup boiled water. Add the spice powders to a small bowl and cover with 1 cup boiled water. Let the three bowls sit for at least 30 minutes, or up to 1 hour.

Strain the cashews and add them to the jug of a high-speed blender. Add the dates and their soaking water to the blender. Add the spiced water to the blender. Add the vanilla, salt, and remaining 1/2 cup water to the blender. Blend on high until smooth and frothy.

Serve over ice, or gently heat in a pot on the stove over medium-low heat until warm. Serves 2.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

World Plant Milk Day Celebrated with Easy Plant Milk Recipe

World Plant Milk Day and Easy Plant Milk Recipe
World Plant Milk Day and Easy Plant Milk Recipe

Happy World Plant Milk Day! So, what is World Plant Milk Day?

According to the website National Today, the day is “a worldwide campaign to transition from consuming whole fat milk to plant-based milk. Health experts, environmental activists, and some industry experts campaign and encourage people to learn about plant-based milk and how they won’t be missing out on taste or nutrition (because) plant-based milk is rich in nutrients.”

When the holiday was created in 2017, it was a chance to motivate people to switch from dairy milk to plant-based versions. At that time there were quite a few milks with plant ingredients, which was considerably more than when I ditched dairy in the 1990s.

Currently there is an abundance of plant-based milks to choose from in most markets, so using it instead of animal milk is easy. You will find plant-derived milks made from all manner of nuts and seeds, including hazelnuts and sunflower seeds. Milk alternatives are also based on oats, soy, rice, coconut, hemp, peas, and bananas (yes, I said bananas).

But, you don’t have to go out and buy milk just for today’s celebration. If you have a jar of nut or seed butter in your cupboard then you are on your way to enjoying the easiest milk ever. All it takes is 1 tablespoon of nut (or seed) butter to 1 cup of water. Blend the two ingredients in a high-speed blender for almost a minute until the mixture is creamy and well incorporated.

Some tips: use a creamy (not chunky) nut butter and filtered water for best results. You can also flavor your beverage by adding 1/2 teaspoon of liquid sweetener, a dash of vanilla, and a pinch of salt before blending. If you are daring, or live with a chocoholic like I do, then add 1/2 ounce of cocoa powder and a smidge more sweetener for a chocolate milk with no additives or strange sounding ingredients.

Not only is today, August 22, the opportunity to try plant-based milk. But on World Plant Milk Day’s website they encourage you to switch to plant-based milk for a week with their 7 day dairy-free challenge. So, come back to my blog throughout the week and I’ll offer tips and recipes involving plant-based milk to help make your challenge less challenging.

Until next time, happy non-baking!

Image courtesy of phasinphoto at FreeDigitalPhotos.net