Vegan Cinnamon Doughnut Holes

Does anyone remember that country song by George Jones and Barbara Mandrell..."I was country, when country wasn't cool"? Well, that's a little like Miss April. She was vegan, when vegan wasn't cool. While being a vegan is so much more mainstream now, she became one 14 years ago. When I asked her how her choice to live a vegan lifestyle emerged, she explained that two things happened: 1) she read a few books that helped convince her to move away from animal based products and 2) she worked at a Health Food Store, so learning about this switch was easy. In general, she feels that our bodies don't need meat to survive; everything we need can come from the Earth, which is why we need to take such good care of it. And, that being vegan is a choice. And, that is how she explains it to the kids, if they ask. I love that. For me, while I could possibly consider being a vegetarian, eggs, cheese and yogurt are regular staples in our home, so, quite frankly, I'm just not ready to be a vegan. I have provided more thoughts about being a vegetarian (and some complimentary recipes) later in the post.

So,  onto the story of the Vegan Cinnamon Doughnut Holes. When I created the Cooking Class curriculum back in the fall, I ran across Miss April's recipe for Vegan cinnamon Doughnut Holes in the St. Clement cookbook and thought it would be a great way to introduce tasting vegan food to the kids. So, if this 2013-2014 school year was your first year at St. Clement, you are probably wondering what in the world the St. Clement cookbook is. Well, the reader's digest version of the story is that before there was a cooking class blog, there was a cookbook. In one edition, the teachers, staff, a few parishioners and parents contributed some of their favorite recipes to share.  I have referred to it a few times this year-- for Miss Nancy's Saints Salsa and I was inspired for a "to-be-announced" summer idea by Miss Dory's Watermelon Salsa.

So, I was excited to introduce this fun vegan recipe to the kids and I was excited to try vegan baking for myself. CONFESSION: I must admit that the first 4 batches of the vegan doughnut holes, to explain mildly, were a work in progress. Thankfully, I had a parent volunteer. 

Here is what I did know: Miss April is a great baker, so I trusted her recipe.
Here is what I didn't know: 1. What it is like to bake with vegan ingredients and
2. That there was a type-o in the vegan doughnut hole recipe from last year's St. Clement cookbook. Oh my.

Here is what actually happened:

1st batch: Amy Porter emerges from the kitchen with a hot baking pan and announces: "Miss Diana, we have cinnamon cookies." Analysis: the doughnut holes were not placed closely together, so they spread apart too much, making them look like cookies. For the next batch, I chose a mini muffin pan--that would surely hold them in place.

2nd batch: Amy Porter emerges from the kitchen with a hot baking pan and announces: "Miss Diana, we have muffins!" Analysis: While they tasted good, we weren't making muffins, we were making doughnuts. So, for the next batch, I chose 2 small baking pans and placed the doughnut holes closer together.

3rd batch: Amy Porter emerges from the kitchen with a hot baking pan and announces: "Miss Diana, we have coffee cake." Analysis: Again, they tasted really good and were a hit with the kids, but still not a doughnut hole. For the next batch, I wanted to use gluten free flour so that Miss April could try them (she is vegan and gluten free), so I substituted coconut flour for white flour. 

4th batch: Amy Porter emerges from the kitchen with a hot pan and announces: "Miss Diana, we have doughnut holes!" Except, she attempts to remove them from the pan and -- does anyone remember the scene in Christmas Vacation when Clark commences to slicing the Christmas turkey prepared by Ellen's cousin, Catherine, and the whole thing disintegrates?-- well, the coconut flour doughnuts were EXACTLY like that. They were round like doughnut holes but just fell apart the second you tried to pick them up. Miss April liked them, which was very gratuitous of her. So, my friends, this is the process of experimentation with gluten free flours. Coconut flour was the only one I had on hand, so I tried it. Obviously, I would not use it again for vegan doughnut holes. I might try my favorite go-to gluten free combination of white rice and tapioca flours. Analysis: Let Miss April watch the preparation so she can advise me on what is happening.

5th batch:  Amy Porter emerges from the kitchen with a hot pan and announces: "Miss Diana, I think we have actual doughnut holes!" As Father John says: "Thanks be to God." Miss April discovered that the recipe in the St. Clement cookbook calls for 1 cup of vanilla soy milk, but we are only supposed to use 1/2 cup. Life made sense once again and I was no longer questioning my baking skills. Shew. That was a close one. 

So, I tell you this story for a few reasons. First, it is funny. And second, it is such a learning experience for the kids to see us try different solutions to our cooking problems. I'd especially like to thank the Red Room for always, always being my experiential group. They are so flexible and so very aware that I am trying something new. Miss April Marie has often mentioned that she likes that her class is the first one for Cooking Class and she continuously uses that as a teaching opportunity. Miss Pilar is wonderfully supportive, no matter what I am trying! Also, the Blue Room was very aware that I persevered through my task and we talked about it on Friday morning during their cooking class.

The first step is to coarsely crush Rice Crispy cereal. We used a small bowl as a tool.

Next we added our dry ingredients.

We gently whisked the dry ingredients together.

Next, we "cut in" the vegan margarine by chopping it with a spatula.

Then, we poured in the soy vanilla milk...stirred...

and...here are the kids in the Red Room enjoying the really sticky, really un-rollable dough. With the correct consistency, they were supposed to roll the dough into a ball, dip it in vegan margarine and sprinkle it with a cinnamon sugar mixture. This did not work so well, but it was a LOT of fun.

Once we adjusted the soy milk to the proper measurement, the kids had a great time making doughnuts.

In addition to being delicious, they really did look like doughnut holes!

Quotes of the day:

A conversation between 4/5 year olds:

Child 1: "This is sea salt."

Child 2: "That comes from the Ocean."

Child 3: "I love the Ocean so much I'm going to marry it."

Child 4: "I'm going to marry the sky."

Teacher: "What does it mean to marry something?"
Child 3: "You give it a big gold ring."

Me telling another teacher about the 1st few batches of doughnut holes: "Those kids had their hands covered in gloppy dough from here to Texas." 

Child standing next to me stirring: "Oh, I've been to Texas!"

"These doughnuts are wonderful." (This was from a Yellow Room child.)

"They taste like my great grandma’s apple fritters.

Child 1: "I have grapes at my home in my refrigerator. Child 2: I have a white refrigerator at my home."

"Miss Diana, I like your earrings!"

"These doughnuts taste like blueberries!"

(My personal favorite): "Thank you, Miss Diana, that was really fun."

Vegan Cinnamon Doughnut Holes

Coating:

1 tsp. ground cinnamon

¼ vegan margarine

½ cup sugar

Doughnuts:

1 1/3 cup flour

1 cup crispy rice cereal, coarsely crushed

¼ cup vegan margarine

2 tbsp sugar

1/2 cup vanilla soy milk

1 tbsp baking powder

½ tsp salt

Preheat oven to 425. In a small pan, melt margarine. Pour into a small bowl. In another bowl stir together cinnamon and sugar; set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cereal, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut in vegan margarine, until the mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Stir in milk until well blended and start rolling dough into 1-inch balls. Dip each ball in the melted butter then coat in the cinnamon-sugar. Place them in a lightly oiled 8 x 8 baking pan so that the balls are toughing one another and bake for 16-18 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool before removing from the pan. Makes 20-24 doughnut holes.

Thank you to Amy Porter for her assistance on Thursday. Look at her in action photographing all the kids! Having an extra "hand", on a day with so much experimentation, was fun, entertaining and she did a great job presenting each hot pan with an enthusiastic new (and very accurate) title! Thanks, Amy!

Also, thank you to Amy for sharing her unbelievably delicious chocolate chip cookies with my family. When I took my first bite, I quickly realized that this was the kind of cookie that should be honored with a glass a milk. Then, after the second bite, I found myself with thoughts of a July 4th picnic, a flag flying in the background, and deep feelings gratitude for living in a free country. I may have even had visions. There is just nothing like a delicious chocolate chip cookie and a cold glass of milk and Amy's chocolate chip cookies are some of the best I have ever had.

Thank you to Nancy Kerr (Hailey's mom, Purple Room) for volunteering on Friday. Hailey was SO excited to have her mom in class and Nancy lent a hand for sure. Thank you so much!

A Delicious Meal that Happens to be Vegan

One day, while my husband was out of town, I stumbled upon this recipe for Roasted Portabella and Chickpea Burritos with Chimichurri Sauce in a blog entitled "Oh My Veggies." The blogger really "sells" this recipe to the reader by explaining that if you make them once, your family will ask for them multiple times, you'll want to give yourself a high five and she solves the problem of the meatless (and sometimes tasteless) burritos with this very recipe. Wouldn't those reasons make you curious to try them for yourself? This recipe also introduces cauliflower rice. It seems to me that everybody but everybody is using vegetables to make "grain-ish" type foods: cauliflower rice, zucchini noodles, carrot rice, spaghetti squash noodles. Well, I got sucked in by the propaganda and made this recipe in its entirety, cauliflower rice included. I happened to have gluten free brown rice tortillas and used those instead of plain while tortillas. And, I decided to solicit a neighbor to see if she would be willing to try my new concoction. She agreed and commented in a text that the flavors were out of this world and that eating the burrito was the highlight of her week. Well. There you go. (Side Note: While I loved her comments, --they actually reminded me of something that I might say and she is a friends, so I know she wouldn't mind my mentioning this, --I just have to add...we moms really need to get out more often.) The next night, to cut down on the carbs, I placed the veggies over a bed of cauliflower rice, then topped with the Chimichurri Sauce. Still so delicious.

This picture is taken from the Oh My Veggies website. Things in my house don't look so neat and tidy.

This Week's Duplantier Family Vegetarian Meal

My husband doesn't usually make requests for dinner, but this week he requested a vegetable lasagna, specifically one with spinach and carrots and a bechamel sauce. Here is the recipe I decided on. Although I would have liked to substitute gluten free ingredients, I didn't (this time) -- trust me --my husband would notice. It was pretty good, I think. But, don't just listen to me...I decided to share it with a neighbor (who is a vegetarian) and her family. Here is what she had to say:

I didn't hear one negative comment from the peanut gallery about it.  The girls are terrible eaters during the week (too many snacks during the day so not hungry at dinnertime..), so truthfully, they didn't eat much, but husband and I cleaned our plates (with husband getting this sad look when I told them we had eaten it all..).  White/cream sauces usually aren't my first choice, but I liked how this one wasn't heavy at all.  Using less cheese would probably bring out the veggies (then of course less chance little people would eat it...).  Pasta was cooked perfectly, veggies tasted good, all in all, I thought it was very good and would definitely put the recipe in our collection.    

It was a few steps (read: a lot of dirty pots) -- saute vegetables, boil noodles, make the bechamel sauce, mix the ricotta and cottage cheeses, then assemble...but delicious.

Am I An Accidental Vegetarian?

So when I was 30 years old, I was single (well, engaged-single; meaning, not yet living with Husband and with no children), I had a lot of disposable income and a lot of free time (didn't we all???) and I decided to see a nutritionist to maximize my well-being. She recommended that I undergo Bioset Allergy Elimination--this recommendation was not because I was allergic to a particular food, but because I was showing sensitivities to some foods. She measured this by utilizing a device that measured frequencies in the body (that is a very, short, uncomplicated explanation, but there is a longer one here and here if you are interested.)  The whole process was simple: eliminate certain foods temporarily from your diet, take some supportive supplements, get an energetic treatment that allows your body to more readily accept these foods, then reintroduce the foods. It was a commitment, but one I was willing to make. 

So, also during this time, Guy and I were recently engaged and although I repeatedly explained that this food elimination diet was temporary, he had a really tough time when I reached the onions, peppers, spices portion of the diet. I am certain that he thought I would never again eat spicy foods, never again make gumbo, never again roast a head of garlic. He must have seen a lifetime of this because he told me a story about a colleague of his who warned him about marriage. His colleague warned Guy that he should make me sign a Veggie Prenup. What is a Veggie Prenup, you ask? Apparently, when this colleague met his wife, they were the couple enjoying a thick juicy hamburger together and drinking a beer. About 2-3 years into their marriage, she became a vegetarian and never offered to make him a steak again. In fact, Guy was always getting asked by this colleague to join him at Ray's Hell Burger for obvious reasons. So, based on the veggie prenup recommendation and my new diet, Guy asked me to sign a Spice Prenup. No kidding. He was so serious. Once again, I lovingly explained that this was temporary and that he had to trust me. So he did and I emerged properly calibrated and ready to make a gumbo.

Fast forward to present day. So, we are not a full on red meat three times a week family or anything like that. I love making burgers on the grill, but we rarely grill steak. I typically use ground turkey for lasagne or meatloaf mix for spaghetti and meatballs. We love to grill fish and chicken and, quite frankly, who doesn't love an occasional slice of bacon? But when my husband travels, for reasons unknown to me, I tend to not make much meat at all. In contrast, because he travels to the Middle East, all he eats is meat and rice. While I could share some really fascinating stories with you based solely on his travels over there, I will limit my discussion to the food. This is a food blog anyway, right?

So, much of the cuisine looks like this: 

These pictures are actual meals that my husband ate while in the Middle East.

He also eats a lot of Chicken Briyani (taken from google images, not my husband's phone). Here is what one food blog called Rasa Malaysia says about Chicken Briyani:

"This dish is particularly known for its many layers of flavors that slowly develop and meld together. So, it’s a multi step process that requires much love in many installments over a long cooking time. Also, those flavors and the aromas from the dish come from a blend of spices that are typically not used in everyday cooking...".

So, the main ingredients of this particular dish are chicken, rice and spices. And, everything is slowly cooked. If you ask me, with the description of this food AND the picture, we can just call this Middle Eastern Jambalaya. Basically, my Cajun husband is in heaven with this food. And, good for him, because there are few things to be excited about in the Middle East. Except of course for the 10-hour layover IN PARIS he will have on an upcoming trip. But, I digress.

So, while he is eating meat at nearly every meal, the irony is that when he is out of town, somehow, I forget to buy meat and cook it. I am usually good for gluten free spaghetti and meatballs, but that is the only the meat laden dish I can think of to report to you. Then, he comes back home, except I am still in the forgetting-to-buy-meat phase of grocery shopping and the week's menu (after on a recent return trip) looked a little like this: asparagus and leek soup, vegetable burritos, vegetable fried rice. This led him to ask a question like this: "So, are we vegetarians now?" Hmmm, I wonder. Are we?

And, of course, what does he bring up in conversation but...the Veggie Pre-Nup. No, no, no, I say. We only discussed a Spice Pre-Nup.  Sorry for your luck. Spice only.

Don't worry, all you char-broiled medium rare fans. Husband did not suffer for long. A few days later, I made pork baby back ribs in the slow cooker with this recipe (so very easy) for the first time in my life...and they were delicious. (Sorry, Miss April.) I ate one rib, then raced off to meet a friend for dinner at Society Fair for carrot soup and marinated olives (and a pilsner). As for me, well, its possible I could become a vegetarian by accident. Until, of course, someone calls me up and says: "Hey, wanna take the kids to Elevation Burger?" But, hey, they do have a vegetarian option there, so all is not lost.

3-2-1 Pancakes

So, PAPAYA!!!  The whole point of making anything with papaya was to let the kids explore this beautiful and delicious fruit through taste, sight and touch. So, when I discovered this recipe for 3-Grain Papaya Pancakes, I immediately knew that it would offer me an opportunity to teach the kids about WAY more than just papaya.

The idea of calling the recipe "3-2-1 Pancakes" popped into my head while I was running; 3 different kinds of grain, papaya 2 different ways, 1 delicious meal. Kids like catchy titles and I love to "hook" them with really fun ones at the beginning of class! First, I love the idea of using more than one type of flour. At home, I do a lot of gluten-free baking and have discovered that a combination of rice and tapioca flours (plus a tiny bit of flax meal, depending on what I am baking) is my favorite. So, I was excited to introduce new flours to the classes. Second, while the original recipe only suggests that papaya is used as a topping/dipping sauce in the form of a puree, I wanted the kids to see the versatility of this food. So, I added chopped papaya to the batter. Third, adding this delicate chopped papaya gave me an idea to teach the difference between stirring, whisking and folding.

The original recipe suggested whole wheat flour, polenta, and buckwheat or spelt. I decided on whole wheat flour (easy to find and hearty), coconut flour (high in fiber and contains a little courseness that you might expect from polenta) and buckwheat in lieu of spelt (only because I could locate it.)

Look at these beautiful papayas. We examined the papayas by slicing them open, scraping the seeds into a bowl and describing how they looked.

We prepared the papaya by slicing it and placing some of it in the food processor. We whirled it all around...

and made a puree...

that was really fun to look at!

Then, we started assembling the wet ingredients. This was such a solid opportunity to talk about whisking. We even talked about the "secret ingredient" that it added to the mixture when you whisk: air! Look at these kids go! The whisk is just a blur in this pictures!

And, on Friday, we thought we were having fun, until THIS GUY showed up...THEN, it was really a party!

Then, we prepared the dry ingredients.

When we had one bowl of each,

we mixed it all together by stirring--a method which is different from whisking.

Then, we discussed the method of folding.

We gently folded some chopped papaya into our batter.

Then, we fired up some really delicious pancakes.

This group from the orange room loved the pancakes AND the dipping sauce. As a whole, most of the kids ate their pancake and many asked for second helpings. Two little girls asked for thirds! And, one of the teachers confessed that she ate three! Whoo-hoo! The surprising thing about this recipe is how light the pancakes are. The next time you plan to make pancakes, try making them with a mixture of different flours; I am sure you will be pleasantly surprised.

Also, despite the fact that we were serving pancakes, not a single child asked for syrup as an alternative to the papaya puree. This was also a great opportunity for me to talk to the kids about putting something other than syrup on their pancakes at home. Here are some suggestions:

1. Any nut or non-nut butter (i.e. nutella, almond butter, sunflower butter)
2. Strawberry Yogurt
3. Powdered sugar + lemon juice
4. Honey
5. Pureed Fruit!!!

Quotes of the Day:

Me: "What do these papaya seeds remind you of?"

Answers: 

1. frog eggs

2. blueberries

3. circles

4. caviar (Miss Linda's answer)

"My dad is a professional pancake maker. He could make these pancakes at home."

"I make cookies with my mom. She's my best friend." 

3-2-1 Pancakes: (3 grains, Papaya 2 Ways, 1 Delicious Meal)

1 papaya, seeded and coarsely chopped + a little finely chopped

1 extra large egg

1 cup rice milk (you will probably need a little more depending on which flours you choose)

2 tbsp sunflower oil

1/3 cup buckwheat flour

¾ cup whole wheat flour

1/3 cup coconut flour

1 ½ tsp baking powder

½ tsp sea salt

Coconut oil

Put the papaya in a blender and blend, adding water 1 tablespoon at a time, until smooth, then transfer to a bowl and set aside. Reserve the finely chopped papaya for the pancake batter!

In a large bowl, lightly beat the egg with a whisk. Add the rice milk and 2 tbsp of the sunflower oil and whisk. In another bowl, mix together the flours, baking powder and salt. Add the flour mixture to the egg mixture and whisk until smooth. Fold in the finely chopped papaya.

Heat a little coconut oil in a large, heavy-bottomed skillet, or heat a griddle pan, over medium-low heat. Working in batching, pour 2 tbsp. of the batter into the skillet to make a pancake and repeat, spacing the pancakes slightly apart. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until the bubbles that appear on the surface pop and the undersides of the pancakes are lightly browned.

Serve hot with the papaya puree. Alternatively, sprinkle with freshly squeezed lemon juice and powdered sugar.

Thank you SO MUCH to Shawn Whitman (Katherine's dad) (aka: Chef-boy-ar-dude) for volunteering on Friday. He took some fabulous pictures and made the kids laugh like crazy. 

I must say, although Shawn calls himself "Chef-boy-ar-dude", with his hat and newly found facial hair, he looks more like Gaston or Pierre to me. 

Some thoughts on entertaining completely unrelated to Papaya Pancakes:

On Saturday night, we invited my husband's cousin (Marcel), his wife (Lorie) and their three kids (Landon, Hunter and Camden) over for dinner. Marcel is an engineer for the Navy and they are moving to California in two weeks. They both also happen to be fabulous cooks. So, I needed an easy, delicious and sort-of homemade dinner on the same day that we had a morning soccer game and an mid-afternoon birthday party. Here is what I came up with:

I went to Fresh Market and found three delicious cheeses (cheddar+blue, swiss, brie), french rounds, thai curried cashews, mixed olives and pickles, spicy hummus with vegetable chips, gluten free pretzels and social crackers.

This salad was to be served as a side dish or a main entree. It included: mixed greens, toasted pine nuts, crumbled blue cheese, sliced red onion, diced cucumbers, shaved carrot, and crispy red peppers. I offered a choice of two dressings: honey mustard (literally plain yellow mustard, honey and cracked black pepper...and so very delicious) and a Greek vinaigrette.

We had a well-stocked refrigerator, complete with a variety of beers and sweet iced tea. Dinner (which was not photographed due to total chaos) was corn on the cob and burgers on the grill. I prepped the corn on the cob (before the mid-afternoon birthday party) by shucking it, then wrapping it in aluminum foil with butter and salt. The ground beef was mixed with a little barbecue sauce, an egg yolk, salt and pepper. We had fresh tomato, a variety of mustard and pickles, ketchup and Vermont cheddar cheese for the burgers.

Look at these adorable cousins. Baby Camden (who is about 2 months old) is hanging out with mom behind the scenes.

Since we missed Landon's birthday party, I decided to have a little cake for him and sing Happy Birthday. I made a simple sheet cake (before the soccer game), iced it and let the kids decorate it. They had a blast throwing jelly beans and colored sugars on the cake. Eventually the sugar just went directly into their mouths, which was the clear indication that it was time to eat the cake, instead of decorate it!

A simple menu. A fun night. A relatively easy clean up.

.