Greta Garbanzo and The Secret of Vegan Marshmallows. Fast, Simple, and Above All Easy!

 
   I've never been a big lover of marshmallows. When I was a kid we toasted them on sticks at CYO camp, as a girl scout we learned to make S'mores, and of course all those Thanksgiving and Easter dinners when someone would serve me a casserole of sweet potatoes dotted with baked marshmallows. So marshmallows haven't been on my mind in a long long time.
  
   For a year or so, I've been working on the gluten free menu for the new CocoaPlanet Chocolate Factory and Tasting Room here in Sonoma. This is a totally gluten-free establishment as the owners, the McKibbens are themselves gluten-free. They got me involved because even though I am not gluten intolerant a lot of my friends are, and I have a long history of cooking and baking gluten-free food using my own flour blends . So in between my regular work as a screenwriter, I've been turning out and testing recipes for cakes and cookies, scones and pies, and donuts. all to be used in CocoaPlanet's certified gluten free menu.
   
   One of the best things about CocoaPlanet is their great hot chocolate, and the other day Anne McKibben, the owner, asked me if I could come up with some marshmallows  that could be made without corn syrup and to serve on top. So after a few failed experiments I came back with these. They're easy, this recipe makes a ton of them, and you can make them in any shape you desire. Also, they're vegan and ready for your cocoa or sweet potato casserole in less than an hour. A few simple easy to find ingredients and you're golden.

   These marshmallows use Aquafaba, (aka bean water) which I have been working with over the past year. I first heard about it from my friend Sanjana who runs a killer vegetarian website over in the UK. When At first my reaction was ...Uh NO!  Bean water? You gotta be kidding me. No way. But as I was curious I decided to give it a whirl and boy howdy! What a great idea! This stuff doubles for egg whites in nearly everything, requires far less sugar to prepare, tastes delicious and you can use the beans for hummus. So after a year plus working with this Aquafaba stuff I have developed a whole bunch of dessert recipes and am thinking of writing a book. So without further ado, just in time for cold weather...marshmallows!

Marshmallows

Here's What You Need:
The liquid from one 16 oz can of no added salt garbanzo beans
1/2 cup plus !/8 cup of caster (bakers) sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp xanthan gum (available at most markets )
a pinch of salt
1 cup of cornstarch
1 cup of powdered sugar

Here's What To Do:
Drain the liquid from the can of garbanzos.

You should have about 3/4 of a cup. Save the beans for another use.
Pour the liquid into the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a balloon whisk.

Beat on medium speed for four minutes.

It will start to get nice and foamy.
Kick the speed up to the highest setting and add in the other ingredients gently, and one at a time
xanthan gum...

...sugar...

...vanilla...

...and salt.
Beat  everything for about 10 minutes. It will turn glossy and stiffen up.

After 10 minutes turn the mixer off. This is what you'll have.

Now there are many ways to take this from here...different shapes, sizes etc..but since these are destined to go floating on top of hot chocolate I thought I'd pipe them into shapes that look like whipped cream.

Next step:

Set your oven to 200 degrees and cover a cookie sheet(s) with a silpat or parchment paper.
Place the marshmallow fluff (yes if you want you can make Fluffernutter sandwiches with this right now. Since I'm not late stage Elvis and my mission was marshmallows I got out my piping device. I don't do well with bags ( I've used them and it's not pretty) so a few years back I purchased this device which can be run thought the dishwasher and has many piping heads.
Fill whatever device you like to use with the marshmallow fluff...

...and start piping away.

You will get a lot of marshmallows...A LOT!

When the oven is up to speed, pop them in.

Bake them for 20 minutes and then remove them.

Whoops one fell over!
Sift the cup of cornstarch together with the cup of powdered sugar.
When the marshmallows are cool enough to handle, (they cool down really fast) dust them with the sugar cornstarch mixture.

Let them a dry for a minute or two, and then store them in an airtight container. Hey Presto! Marshmallows!

   I must warn you that if you make small ones like these, you will get a lot of marshmallows, but you can make them bigger and fatter and then toast them on a stick. So, next on the colors of Indian cooking, I give a new zester a test run, and something sweet for Thanksgiving. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Go Coconutty For Goan Coconut Rice

Long time no post, and it's good to be back here. We'll be kicking off something special in the next couple of days so there's that. It's also been crazy around here since I haven't been able to post a lot of what I've been cooking. There are two reasons for that.  One, we've been working the the CocoaPlanet people helping to develop the entirely #glutenfree menu for their new CocoaPlanet Factory and Cafe which will be opening here in Sonoma very soon.

Also, there has been this:

Which has definitely slowed down my cooking... however, I am now back and it's with a recipe that calls for minimal wrist usage, Goan Coconut Rice.

I'm always looking for the best quality stuff to put into what I cook. I grow a lot of it myself but hey, I can't grow everything, especially rice. Awhile back I received  a sample of Himalayan Basmati Rice from Authentic Royal Basmati.

There are few scents I like more than the lovely perfume that comes from a newly opened bag of Basmati Rice, and the Authentic Royal Basmatii did not let me down in that department. From the moment I opened the package I knew I had a winning rice in hand. So, now what to do with it that involves minimal wrist stress, I decided  that Goan Rice would do the trick.

Goa, is a state in Southwestern India known for it's lovely beaches and tropical beauty. One thing they grow a lot of in Goa is rice. Another major Goan crop is coconut so why not put the two of them together? Instead of cooking my rice in a mixture of coconut milk and water I figured I'd go old school and make the dish traditionally using nothing but coconut milk. The combination was fragrant, delicious, and was on the table in less than 30 minutes, which makes it a great dish for a weekday meal. 

Goan Coconut Rice

Here's What You Need:
1 and 1/4 cups of Authentic Royal Basmati Rice
6 green cardamom pods
5 whole cloves
1 onion finely chopped
2 Tbs coconut or other vegetable oil
1 Tbs grated dried unsweetened coconut
3 Tbs chopped fresh cilantro
1 tsp of salt
1 cup of coconut milk
1 and 3/4 cups of water...(or you can make this rice as I did using all coconut milk)
1 cinnamon stick

Here's What To Do:
Chop the onion finely and set it aside.
In a small skillet dry roast the dried coconut until it's fragrant and toasty.

This only takes a couple of minutes.

Mix the garam masala into the toasted coconut  and set it aside.

Crack the cardamom pods slightly and set them aside.

Heat 2 Tbs of coconut or other vegetable oil in a pot.

When the oil is hot add in the cinnamon stick, cloves and cracked cardamom pods.

Let them sizzle for a couple of minutes. When they swell a bit and get aromatic add in the chopped onion.

Stir the onion around and saute it until it turns translucent, this takes about 5 minutes or so.
Now add in the rice...

...salt...

...and coconut milk, or coconut milk and water.

 Bring everything to a boil, then slap a tight lid on the pot, turn the heat to low and let look for about 15 minutes. Do NOT take the lid off while cooking.
After about 15 minutes, turn the heat off and let the unopened pot stand for another 5 minutes.
now take the lid off.
Place the rice into a serving bowl.

Sprinkle the coconut garam masala powder over the whole thing.

Top with chopped fresh cilantro.

And you are done!
Give it a good stir to mix everything together before putting it on the plate.

There it is, rice that is sweet coconutty and delicious with the amazing aroma one can only get from Indian grown Authentic Royal Basmati Rice

My thanks to Authentic Royal Basmati for letting me try their rice and now I have another item to add to my shopping list! Coming up soon, more Indian vegetarian delights! Follow along on Twitter @kathygori

Show Me The Sumac! Oven Baked Sweet Potato Sumac Fries With Chickpea and Spinach Hummus Dip, Perfect For Meatless Monday.

          
   It's been pretty crazy around here lately, perhaps a bit crazier than usual and there have been times when I've found myself with a whip and a chair in the center ring of the Crazy Circus. As I mentioned last post, I'm doing a mild chemo mixed with a targeted biologic to turn off my mutant gene which means I'll not be joining the rest of the X Men on their latest adventure. I am however back writing, running, and cooking Indian food. My schedule is pretty busy as I get my gene therapy once a week for the next 12 weeks so I'm busy looking for easy, fast, and healthy stuff I can throw at everybody. I also get bored eating the same old stuff which is one of the reasons I started cooking Indian food 25 years ago. This is one cuisine that never seems to come to an end. It's constantly growing and evolving and there's always something new to try. Of course what's new to me isn't always new to everybody else, and I learned that this week about Sumac. It seems I was behind the door when they handed out the sumac info, but I'm catching up and fast thanks to Whole Foods who contacted me last week and invited me to explore some of their new products and see what I could make of them, related to Indian food.
 
   I must confess that I cover most of our household food needs between the Organic Farmers Market we have here once a week in Sonoma, Whole Foods, and various farm and ranch stands. We're lucky to live here so close to good, fresh, organically grown stuff and boy I'm grateful for that. The Indian and Cambodian markets I shop at are a 50 mile round trip so that doesn't happen too often which is why I've put in the 7 raised growing beds at the new house. It makes getting my mitts on bitter melon, Chinese long beans and bottle gourd a lot easier. But, there's more to life than bitter melon and when I found out the sort of stuff I was going to be able to experiment with I was in! So, on Friday I was delighted to find a box of goodies from Whole Foods on my doorstep full of new stuff to play with. One of the first things that intrigued me was Sumac.

Now if you click on that link above, you'll see the origins of this lemony spice and read about how it's a staple of Middle Eastern cuisine. Sumac seems to be the little spice that can, it's a rub, it's a juice, it's versatile and delicious. It's lemony salty flavor makes it an excellent substitute for those ingredients in dishes, and in the Indian kitchen I'd compare it to tamarind.
  
   So I got some sumac.....now what? Friday was a busy day, running around, doing errands etc. What could I whip up fast as a snack to keep everybody happy? One "go to" thing around here are fries. Actually sweet potato fries. And to be more accurate not actually fried either but baked in the oven. So healthier fries. Anybody who comes into our kitchen gives me grief about all the potatoes and sweet potatoes and yams I've got. I guess I'm a bit of a collector but hell everybody should have a hobby!

   So I'd heard that sumac sprinkled on potatoes rock, so why not try that? But what to serve with those sweet potatoes to round things out? A dip, a sauce, a hummus???? Actually I settled on a blend of chickpeas (chola) and spinach (saag) from Manjula Jain 

 

This chickpea and spinach blend was light, easy to prepare, and delicious. All you need are some basic ingredients and a food processor or blender. It also worked like gangbusters with the sweet potato fries.

Oven Fried Sweet Potatoes With Sumac and Chickpea Spinach Hummus

Here's What You Need:
2 large sweet potatoes
2 Tbs vegetable oil or oliove oil
Salt to taste
 2 or 3 pinches of sumac
1 can of garbanzo beans (chickpeas)  If you don't have time to soak and cook your own beans this is fast fast fast.
2 Tbs olive oil
1 cup of fresh spinach
2 Tbs toasted sesame seeds
1 and 1/2 tsp salt
1 or 2 chopped serrano chilies (depends how hot you want this stuff)
2 Tbs lemon juice.

Here's What To Do:
Peel and cut your sweet potatoes into long strips (french fry or steak fry cut).
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.
toss the potato strips in a bowl with the vegetable or olive oil and salt.

When they're coated, put them on a baking sheet and pop them into the oven for 15 minutes.

Have your sumac ready.

Turn the potatoes after 15 minutes and bake them another 15 minutes or until they're crispy and browned.

Meanwhile make your hummus.
Place the sesame seeds into a pan and dry toast them on top of the stove.

When they're lightly browned, they're done. Set them aside.
Rinse and drain a can of garbanzo beans.

Make sure the beans are well rinsed with cool water.
Drain them.

Place the beans in a food processor.

Add in the spinach...

...toasted sesame seeds...

...chopped serrano chilies...

...lemon juice...

...and salt.

Blend it all together.
Then add in the olive oil.

Blend it again to mix it well, and you're done.

When the fries are ready, take them out of the oven and sprinkle them with several pinches of sumac.

Serve them up.

Dip and enjoy.

There you go! That was totally easy, and good for everybody. Sumac is also a great spice to use on cooked, meats, fish you name it, but as this is Meatless Monday, what could be better than sweet potatoes?

   I'm going to be announcing the winner of the GitaDini idili molds in a couple of days so if you want in on that, just leave a comment here. Meanwhile, more new tastes are coming courtesy of Whole Foods and a few interesting take on Indian cooking. Follow along on Twitter @kathygori