Vegtastic!

I took David Gabbe’s “Go Cheesy Dairy-Free” course on Saturday at South Seattle Community College. David taught us how to make 4 low-fat vegan substitutes for dairy: a quiche, a  “mozzarella,” a smoked “provolone,” and a “cheddar” sauce.

No, I don’t have any of these recipes posted here, as they are not mine or readily available on the internet, though see below for something simple and related.

David has been a pure vegetarian (which sounds a little less threatening than ‘vegan,’ I suppose) for 30 years, and has in that period developed an arsenal of plant-based recipes.

The most remarkable thing about David’s nut- or bean-based cheeses (other than tasting fairly analogous to the real thing) is that they actually slice; the class ooohed when David whipped out a slicer to deftly trim a piece off the top of his provolone– it can be done! Sub out the type of bean or nut and add flavorings to please, and the possibilities are nearly limitless.

Nut and bean cheeses don’t melt; David told us cheese analogues that melt either contain casein (not vegan) or added oil (not healthy). I love you, Daiya and Vegan Gourmet, but sometimes a girl needs to think of her figure.

I duplicated the smoked provolone on my own, and ate it as a Caprese salad with a juicy heirloom tomato, a drizzle of olive oil and balsamic vinegar, a sprinkle of sea salt and fresh pepper, and a few pieces of basil. The result was quite similar to how I remember Caprese tasting, with the soft cheese adding a creamy contrast to the sweet tomato and sharp vinegar.

David also shared the secret to making your own nut milk. I won’t say that I’m never again going to buy a pack of Almond Breeze, but homemade almond milk is much simpler and economical than I had ever imagined.

The recipe really isn’t all that proprietary, so I think I can share it below. It went very well pared with Skydottir’s Epic Cookies, which are local (Ballard-based), gluten-free (but you wouldn’t know it), and freakin’ amazing: soft and chewy, with a rich toffee flavor.

Almond Milk

• 1 cup almonds
• 3-4 cups water
• sweetener, to taste (optional)

1. blend almonds with 1 cup of water; add the remaining water and sweetened, if using, and mix until thoroughly combined.
2. Stain the mixture into a large bowl.

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This entry was posted on Sunday, August 15th, 2010 at 9:32 PM and is filed under dairy analogues. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.