Vegan Diner (28 page)

1 cup fresh orange juice

1 cup cranberry juice cocktail

1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar

1 teaspoon agar powder

In a saucepan, whisk together the orange juice, cranberry juice, sugar, and agar powder, until everything is well mixed. Let the mixture sit for a full 5 minutes so that the agar can soften.

Place the saucepan over medium heat and bring to a simmer, whisking occasionally. Let simmer for a full 2 minutes to completely dissolve the agar, whisking periodically. Remove from the heat. Pour the hot juice mixture into small glass cups, bowls, or parfait cups. Let cool for 20 minutes and then refrigerate for several hours, or until completely firm, before serving.

Variation:
If you want fruit in your gel, once the juice mixture is halfway thickened, stir in fresh grapes or canned Mandarin oranges.

This recipe comes
out best when it's made with a sweetened cranberry juice cocktail. Look for agar powder in Asian markets and online. Agar flakes will not work here.

When my kids were young, I used to make them rice pudding
for breakfast. They both had a hard time with their “r's” when they spoke, so instead of calling it rice pudding, they would call it “wice pubbin.” Many years later, we still refer to it as wice pubbin.

MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS

1 cup medium-grain sushi rice (such as calrose)

½
cup raisins, optional

1
½
to 2 cups soymilk or almond milk (plain or vanilla), or as needed

½
cup granulated sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Freshly ground cinnamon

In a large saucepan over medium heat, combine 2 cups water, rice, and raisins (if using), and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes. Remove saucepan from heat and let sit, covered, for 5 minutes. Remove the cover.

Add 1 cup of the soymilk and the sugar to the cooked rice, stirring until combined. Return the saucepan to stove. Cook over medium heat, stirring often. Continue adding more milk as the pudding cooks and thickens, stirring as needed. Cook for 15 to 20 minutes, or until the pudding is very thick and creamy. If the pudding is too thick, stir in a little more soymilk as needed to thin slightly. Remove the saucepan from the heat and stir in the vanilla. Scoop the pudding into serving dishes and sprinkle with ground cinnamon. Refrigerate pudding until ready to serve.

Variation:
Rice pudding naturally lends itself to many different flavor combinations. Although the traditional diner-style is vanilla with cinnamon, try playing around with different variations. Here are some of my favorites: A sprinkle of freshly ground nutmeg adds a sweet eggnog flavor, a dash of almond extract (and a garnish of toasted almonds) gives the pudding a lovely almond flavor, dried cherries instead of the raisins gives it a more modern edge, and chopped candied ginger adds some zing.

Although not everyone wants to make their pie crusts
from scratch, there is nothing quite like homemade. This recipe is from my book
The Complete Book of Pies
(Robert Rose, 2008), and is super easy to make. I like to use the food processor, which makes it go together quickly.

MAKES ONE 9-INCH SINGLE CRUST

1
½
cups all-purpose flour

1 tablespoon confectioners' sugar

¼
teaspoon fine sea salt

½
cup very cold vegetable shortening, cut into pieces or small chunks

3 to 5 tablespoons ice cold water

In a food processor, combine the flour, sugar, and salt, pulsing until mixed. Add the shortening, pulsing again until the mixture resembles coarse meal.

Add 3 tablespoons of the ice water to the flour mixture, pulsing until moist clumps start to form. Stop to test the dough by pressing together with your fingertips to see if it's moist enough to hold together. You don't want it too wet. If the dough is too dry, add 1 to 2 tablespoons more ice water as needed. Remove the blade and gather the dough together into a ball, flattening it into a disc. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 20 to 30 minutes.

On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough into a circle large enough to fit your pie plate (plus an extra inch or so), lightly dusting the work surface and dough as necessary to keep the dough from sticking. You can also roll the dough out on a silicone baking or rolling mat or between 2 pieces of parchment paper. Press the dough into a lightly greased pie plate, trimming the dough evenly along the edge, leaving about a ½-inch overhang. Pinch the overhang to form a decorative edge. Prick the crust in several places with a fork. Place the pie plate in the freezer for 1 hour or until it's cold and firm.

To partially bake the crust:
preheat the oven to 375°F.

Line the chilled crust with parchment paper or foil (fold in half, then shape into a bowl shape) and a layer of dried beans or pie weights to weigh it down. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the shell is golden brown and
the bottom is no longer moist. Keep an eye on your shell as it's baking (preferably without opening the oven too much) and look for visual signs of doneness. If you use a glass pie plate, you can look at the bottom to check that all of the moisture has baked out of the crust.

To fully bake the crust:
preheat the oven to 375°F.

Line the chilled crust with parchment paper or foil (fold it in half, then shape into a bowl shape) and a layer of dried beans or pie weights to weigh it down. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until the shell is golden brown and the bottom is no longer moist. If you use a glass pie plate, you can look at the bottom to check that all of the moisture has baked out of the crust. Carefully remove the paper and weights. Return the crust to the oven and bake for 5 minutes more or just until lightly browned.

Tip:
For a very tender crust, make sure not to over-blend the dough in the food processor. I also like to keep little baggies with pre-measured shortening in my freezer (labeled, of course), so that I can make pie crust at a moment's notice.

What could be more American than apple pie?
Being a pie fanatic myself, I just had to share one of my favorite apple pie recipes. Try serving the pie à la mode with a scoop of homemade vanilla ice cream (see
page 152
). Don't worry if you don't have time to make a pie crust from scratch. A good-quality frozen crust is perfectly acceptable.

MAKES ONE 9-INCH PIE

Filling

5 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored and thinly sliced