Vegan Fudge

If there is anything that can test my devotion to a vegan diet, it is Rachel Ray's 5 Minute Fudge.  It makes me all googely inside.  Furthermore, it is a Christmas staple in this household, perhaps the very catalyst for this website.
I should not even be attempting to make a vegan version of it.
You'll notice I wrote "vegan" version and not "sugar-free vegan" version.  That's just not possible at this point.  Perhaps by this time next year, I will have learned enough to concoct a sugar-free version.  For now, consider this a bit of a special treat.  It is the holiday season after all.  Enjoy a few bites and then run a mile, go on a salad fast, or just give yourself a little break.  My guess is that if you have been eating a sugar-free diet, a few bites will be plenty.  If it's not, slice it up and give it away.  Quickly!!!
This version might seem a bit labor intensive, but if you prepare ahead of time, it should not be too difficult to whip up.  I tend to cook by the seat of my pants.  My kitchen is small enough that I can continue stirring something in the pot while opening cupboards to extract the next needed ingredient.  On a good day, I can do all this while scrubbing the dishes and teaching my daughter to read.  My kitchen is just THAT small and I am just THAT incredible.
Since this  recipe involves a bit of the confectioner's touch, I didn't want to leave the timing up to chance.  So try and stick with the order I have given you here for a more pleasant culinary experience.  You want the fudge to feel love, not venom.  Venom does very little for fudge.
My Vegan version of Rachel Ray's Fudge
Start by making your sweet cashew cream.  I have adapted the recipe from an Oprah show, which I believe is a recipe that has been circulating in vegan circles for a while.  The recipe below yields about 4 cups.  You only need 2 1/4.  I made extra because tomorrow is Thanksgiving and we will use it to top the vegan, gluten-free pies my husband and son are making at this very moment. If you make the full recipe, it won't go to waste during the holiday season.  It replaces sweetened condensed milk or cream in recipes.
Sweet Cashew Cream
Note: this needs to be started 1 day ahead of time
Yields 4 c.
You will need 2 1/4 c. of the cream for the fudge
4 c. cashews
1/2 c. agave
water to cover
Rinse and just cover the cashews with water.  Cover the bowl and refrigerate over night.  When ready, rinse again.  Put in the blender, add agave and enough water to just cover.  Blend until nice and creamy.  Reserve 2 1/4 c. for your fudge and store the rest in the refrigerator.
Now measure out all the ingredients you will need for the rest of the fudge in separate bowls and place them on the counter near your stove.  Also put a large pot on the stove and get out a candy thermometer, wooden spoon, and spatula.  Next, grease 2 fudge receptacles with vegan spread.  I used an angel food pan and a small casserole dish.
Here is what you will need:
20 oz. Vegan Chocolate Chips (Enjoy Life Brand)
2 1/4 c. sweet cashew cream plus 1/4 c. water to thin
Butterscotch (recipe below -- you need exactly that amount)
1 c. pecans
1 c. dried fruit of choice (we like cranberries)
Now, it is time to start the butterscotch.
Butterscotch
From this website, but converted to 1 1/2 recipes
3 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 c. water
6 T. vegan butter spread
3/2 t. vanilla
In your large pot, over low heat, melt the vegan spread.  Add the brown sugar and stir well.  Add water.  Invite someone interesting to come into the kitchen and have a long conversation with you.  If there are no interesting people around, invite a boring person to come and do the next part while you go chat with the interesting people or read a book.
Increase the heat to medium.  Stir constantly until the brew reaches between 250 and 265 degrees.  You can also put a little on a spoon and submerge it into some ice water.  If it turns slightly hard, it is ready.  It took me about 30 minutes (Thus the interesting conversationalist).
Now then, onto the fudge making portion.
Turn your butterscotch to medium-low.  Add cashew cream and water.  Stir well.  Slowly, while stirring, add the chocolate chips.  Stir until nicely melted and smooth (but thick).  Remove from heat.  Stir in vanilla.  Stir in nuts and fruit.
Pour into your fudge receptacles and let cool completely in refrigerator.  This could take a while.
Go for a run.
Photos to come.

My Happy Norwegian

It's been a long time since my husband's had any.  You can imagine how cranky a man might get having gone that many years without it.  It borders on cruelty and it certainly can't be good for his health - mental or physical.  I won't even attempt to grapple in the spiritual implications of going that long without that which is so vital to a Norwegian man's very identity.
That's right.  The poor man has gone at least five years without so much as a nibble of LEFSE!  The horror!  The shame!  It is a secret we have had to keep from his Minnesota and Wisconsin relatives.  We hide it like the Amish romances I poured over while I was in Haiti awaiting the completion of our kids' adoption (Did I just write that out loud?).  Oh be still.  The Amish are a very romantic people.
Gramma, just before her planned trip out to sew some things for the kids, casually mentioned that she had just made a whole batch of lefse.  It would have been a cruel admission had she not thrown in that she'd be happy to bring along the lefse accouterments so that we could attempt a gluten-free, dairy-free version.  First, she had to pack them under the dark of night, hiding them beneath blankets, lest any of her Minnesota neighbors learn that she might be attempting to alter the lefse recipe in any manner.  I am sure it borders on blasphemy to remove flour and cream, two Minnesota Norwegian staples rivaled only by green Jell-o in their popularity, from the recipe.
But brave Gramma, she who unabashedly consumes spicy food on a regular basis, was ripe for the challenge.  She arrived with grill, lefse roller, lefse rolling board and cloth, and those funky lefse flipping thingys.  We supplied the potatoes.
Together (and, by "together", I mean that I suggested the cashew cream, vegan butter, type of flour and, with the help of some online recipes, she thought of everything else), we came up with an answer to my gluten-free husband's prayers: Gluten-free, dairy-free LEFSE!
Not having eaten lefse in five years, I could not tell the difference between this recipe and the authentic version.  Having eaten lefse just days before, my mother-in-law thought this was a bit different, but still very good.  My husband was in heaven and the kids LOVED it.  We had it with melted Earth Balance and brown sugar.
If you don't eat it all in one sitting, I suggest storing it in sealed containers and microwaving slightly when ready to eat.
I am not going to attempt to explain how to actually cook the lefse.  I am of Irish descent so it would be wrong.  Instead, I'll link you to an authentic web site to show you how to do everything after the initial preparation.  I will also admit that this recipe is largely for those who have made/had lefse in the past (prior to going gluten-free) and are familiar with the original texture and feel.  It's hard to know if you are close to getting it right if you've never done it before.  Trust me on this one.
As they say in Norway, Tar dere kredittkort ?  (which I believe translates to "Do you take credit cards?"  It's the only phrase I could find in a pinch.)
Gluten-free, Dairy-free Lefse
serves between 1 and 20, depending on how much you can eat and how much you are willing to share
5 lbs. of Idaho Russet Potatoes (about 7 cups), riced (that's right, riced -- my mother-in-law had the kids rice it in the meat grinder that was her mother's and was still in the original box with the 1950's housewife on it) or mashed
7 t. xanthan gum (This is vital!  It's what keeps the dough together.  If you find your dough not sticking when you roll it out, sprinkle in more 1/4 t. at a time)
1/2-3/4 c. cashew cream and a little water (refrigerate 1 c. raw whole cashews just covered with water overnight.  Rinse.  Just cover with water again and pour in the blender.  Blend until very very creamy.  Measure out the amount you need.  When making the dough, add about 1/4 c. cream and 1 T. water at a time until you get the right feel)
3 c. white rice flour (roughly)
1/2 c. (plus a little more as needed) melted Earth Balance (we used the Soy-free Vegan version)
2 t. salt.
potato flour for rolling (per MIL, a mixture of white rice flour AND potato four)
A few notes:
You will want to put the potatoes, flour, salt, and xanthan gum all together and mix.  Add your liquids a little at a time and combine with your hands.  You will start to notice it feeling like lefse dough.  You can test a small ball by rolling it out in the potato flour and baking on the griddle.
The griddle works best at 475 degrees.
VERY IMPORTANT: This dough works best after you have let it sit a bit.  At the beginning of the process, we (and by "we", I mean my husband and his mother) had to make very small lefse, lest they break.  After it sat for over an hour, we could roll out large pieces from golf-ball sized pieces of dough.
And now, I take you to a video with a woman who actually knows what she is doing.  Just replace her ingredients with the ones listed above and have at it!!
Lefse Making Tutorial
We enjoyed our lefse with some chips and guacamole on the side, while listening to Haitian music.  We are thinking of adding lefse to our New Year's menu of Haitian Soup Joumou.  If we also add Irish scones, everyone will be covered.

Lefse!

Vegan Haitian Soup Joumou

Meat is not exactly abundant in Haiti.  Typically, if one finds meat in one's meal, one can assume it is a holiday.  So it is with Soup Joumou, the traditional soup of New Year's Day.  This special soup announces the new year with color and spice and offers some gustatory cheer in celebration of Haitian Independence day. January 1st, 1804 was the day that Haiti became the world's first independent black republic by defeating the French.
Soup Joumou is usually made with stewing beef.  In our home, we cannot wait for New Year's Day to partake of this specialty, though we do make it for New Year's Day as well, and we eat it vegetarian style.  I will often times set a bowl of stewed beef on the table for those who desire meat, but it really doesn't need it.  This soup is just a little burst of Caribbean sunshine, a much needed flavor when your parents have ripped you out of the warm Caribbean and plopped you down in the coldest, flattest place on earth.  Cruel.  Just ask my two eldest children, both Haitian, both perpetually cold.  Here kids...have some soup.
In this version, I have left out both meat and potatoes (potatoes to make it a little less heavy).  I have added shredded carrots for a little texture.  I also give two options for spices just in case you'd prefer not to experience too much Haitian heat (Haiti is, after all, the country that adds cayenne pepper to it peanut butter).
Vegan Soup Joumou
serves 10
2 onions, chopped
2 T. olive oil
4 stalks celery, chopped
2 large carrots, shredded
4-8 cloves garlic, minced
1 large can crushed tomatoes
4 c. mashed pumpkin
4 c. vegetarian broth
2 c. water
1 t. sage
1 t. thyme
1 t. parsley
1 whole scotch bonnet pepper or, for the more reserved, a few shakes of cayenne pepper
a couple shakes of cinnamon
the juice of 2 limes
1 c. cashews and enough water to cover
Walk to the well to get some water, which you will carry home on your head.  Start the fire around 3:00 in the afternoon so you will be ready to eat by 10:00 or 11:00 in the evening.  Once you've got your fire to a medium heat, add the oil to your soup pot.  Saute the onions and celery until the onions are translucent.  Add the garlic and saute another minute or so.  Add all the other ingredients EXCEPT the cashews, water for cashews, and limes.  Either include the scotch bonnet pepper OR the cayenne pepper.  If you use the scotch bonnet pepper, omit the cinnamon and just let the SBP float on top of your soup.  You will remove it before adding the cashew cream.  If you add the cayenne pepper, add to your liking and then add a little cinnamon too.  Bring to a boil and let simmer about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, and this is where the Haitian scenario breaks down, put the cashews in a blender.   Cover with water and blend until creamy.  Add this mixture to the soup, stir, and simmer about 10 more minutes (if you used the scotch bonnet pepper, remember to remove it before adding the cream).  Just before serving, stir in the lime juice.
As is true with most soups, soup joumou is even better the second day.

Not a very fancy photo. We were all too hungry to make it pretty.