"Pepperoni" Pizza Scones with Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce

So I finally got around to making the vegan pizza scones that I mentioned a few weeks ago. And boy let me tell you: these did NOT disappoint. The final recipe is truly a hodge-podge of various scone recipes adapted and bastardized into this lovely form:


I have never baked my own scones before and I have to say that they are a lot easier than I had anticipated. I will admit that time is a factor when making these but the rewards are completely worth it. Yum!

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Vegan Pepperoni Pizza Scones with Spicy Tomato dipping sauce:
Yields 8 large slices

3 cups of all purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tbsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 cup chilled nondairy butter, cubed
1 1/2 cups shredded nondairy cheese (I used Daiya mozzarella)
4 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup vegan pepperoni, diced
3/4 cup Vegan Buttermilk + 1/4 cup (recipe below)
Vegan Egg-wash (recipe below)

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

In a large bowl sift together the flour, salt, pepper, Italian seasoning and garlic powder. Gradually add the cold butter and mix until the texture starts to feel crumbly.

Add the pepperoni, onions and 3/4 cup of buttermilk. Mix the dough by hand while adding a as much of the extra buttermilk as needed 1 tablespoon at a time or until the dough is pliable. Be careful not to overwork the dough as it will become light and tender when you bake it.

Place the dough onto a floured surface and pat into a ball. Roll the dough into an 8 inch circle that is about 1/2 inch thick. Using a pizza cutter, slice the dough into 8 sections.

Place the slices onto on ungreased baking sheet and lightly brush the tops of each with the egg wash mixture.

Bake for 20 minutes or until the edges become brown and the center is no longer wet. Remove from the oven and let the scones cool for 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack.

Serve immediately with Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce.

Vegan Buttermilk

1 tbs lemon juice
1 cup nondairy milk (I used almond milk)

In a small bowl whisk together the ingredients. It should curdle just slightly. Allow mixture to sit for 10 minutes before using.

Vegan Egg-wash

1/2 tsp cornstarch
water

In a small microwaveable bowl, mix the cornstarch with a small amount of water until it thickens. Add 1/2 cup water and whisk briefly.

Place bowl in the microwave for roughly 1 minute.

Spicy Tomato Dipping Sauce

15 oz Organic Tomato Sauce (or 1 can)
1 tbsp Basil Olive Oil (regular olive oil works too, but I *heart* the flavor of Basil Olive Oil)
1/2 tsp Italian Seasoning
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
1/4 cup vegan pepperoni, diced

In a small saucepan, briefly heat the tomato sauce and olive oil while gradually incorporating the spices.

Add the pepperoni just before you remove the sauce from the heat.

Serve immediately.

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I just love how scones are so totally portable! They are a grab and go lunch and the possibilities for both savory and sweet scones are boundless. I will definitely be trying my hand at some other variations in the near future. Any suggestions?

Tofu Spring Rolls

Tofu Spring Rolls

I love spring rolls! They are such a light but filling treat. The idea for spring rolls had manifested in my mind weeks ago. And the other night, I was sitting at home doing homework when I was suddenly overcome by the sudden urge to cook. (SHOCKER!) Knowing that I had ample supplies with which to work from (I had just gone shopping), I immediately set up my workspace in the kitchen to whip up a few of these babies.

My workspace included: A large, shallow bowl for dipping the rice paper rolls into, a pot of water for the rice noodles, and a pan for sauteing the tofu block that I had already pressed. The rice noodles take only minutes to prepare. They only cook for about 6 minutes in the boiling water and then you can just drain the water out and set them aside until you're ready to use them. Next up: the tofu: Into the pan went a marinade mixture of soy sauce, toasted sesame seed oil, a pinch of ground ginger and a splash of EVOO. The tofu, which I had already sliced into long, thin strips, was next in the pot. A few minutes on each side and then into a dish with a paper towel to drain off the excess liquid.

As for the rice paper rolls, all you need to do is make sure you have a dish that is large enough to hold whatever size your wrappers are. I happened to use a glass pie dish with about a 1/4 inch of water. The sheets of rice paper only need to sit in the water for about 45 seconds to a minute. Careful though: If they sit too long they will become mush! After you soak the wrapper, you should remove it from the water and lay it onto a flat surface. Now you're ready to add the stuffing and roll it up.

The insides of a spring roll are entirely up to the chef making them and also whatever happens to be at his or her disposal. In my case, I happened to have a bag of shredded broccoli, red cabbage and carrots, as well as a small head of lettuce. Into the spring roll it went with a few strips of the marinated tofu, a small handful of the rice noodles and a few pieces of lettuce. I rolled it all up and that was it! SUPER simple!

As for a dipping sauce, I simply seasoned some Hoisin sauce with some chili oil until it was just spicy enough and I was good to go. Seriously it was THAT easy.

Alright folks, that's all I have for you for now. Stay tuned...more vegan goodies to come!

Walnut Chocolate Fudge

Today I made fudge! I have never made my own fudge but I had the sudden urge to try it today and I am quite pleased with the results:


Yum! It was SO easy! In fact the hardest part was probably being patient since the cooling time takes a couple of hours. Other than that, it's a snap!

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Recipe:

Yields 2 to 3 dozen fudge squares

12 oz nondairy semisweet chocolate chips
6 tablespoons of non-dairy butter plus 1/2 tbsp for greasing the pan
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 non-dairy milk
1 cup chopped walnuts or any other nut that you prefer

Lightly grease an 8-inch square baking pan with nondairy butter.

Mix the first 6 ingredients together in a double boiler. (If you do not have a double boiler, you can easily create your own by placing a small saucepan inside a larger pot that's filled with a small amount of water.)

Heat the mixture on medium heat. Stir constantly so that you do not to burn the chocolate. Keep heating until the mixture becomes smooth. Add the nuts and briefly stir once more.

Pour the hot mixture into the prepared pan, cover with plastic wrap and chill thoroughly for several hours in the refrigerator.

After thoroughly chilled, remove the pan from the fridge, cut the fudge into small squares and enjoy with friends!

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This recipe was very simple. It definitely made me think about other fudge variations that I could try. Perhaps something with coconut or peanut butter? Hmm... What are some of your favorite fudge flavors?