Gimme da Negatives

Mum and my sister Beatrice and the kids stopped by for a visit today, so I thought I'd make dessert. One of the signature cakes at the restaurant where I work is a ricotta cheesecake. It's light and fluffy and not as creamy, smooth, or sweet as a cream cheesecake. My vegan version is more dense, but just as moist and browned beautifully. The almond ricotta worked very well, but I'd like to try a cashew or macadamia ricotta for an even creamier texture. Almond Ricotta Cheesecake Yield: One 9-inch cake Earth Balance buttery spread, softened, for pan 3/4 cup sugar, plus more for pan 3 cups almond ricotta cheese 1/4 cup all-purpose flour 1 tablespoon finely grated lemon or orange zest 1/4 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1 teaspoon Amaretto 3 tablespoons Enger-G Egg Replacer 3/4 cup warm water Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Butter and sugar a 9-inch springform pan. Combine almond ricotta, flour, sugar, lemon zest, vanilla extract, Amaretto, and salt in a la

I gave away all but two jars of my plum and pluot preserves, so when I saw the last pluots and peaches of the season at the farmers' market, I bought a few pounds. Up until now, I've been pretty conservative with my jams, so I decided to experiment a bit this time around. I had some lavender buds I bought at the Spice Station in Silver Lake that I thought would complement the peaches and some pecans left over from a cake I made a couple weeks ago that I threw in with the pluots. Notes:  The other plum preserves I've made have been a bit runny, so   I cooked down the pluots for close to 30 minutes because I wanted a thicker consistency. However, 30 minutes is just too long. This jam was thick, very thick, and doesn't spread easily. Most peach jam recipes ask that you peal the peaches, which requires blanching, but I didn't have the energy to do this. The jam turned out just fine. Pluot Conserve with Pecans Yield: 6 half pints 6 cups (2lbs) pluots, pitted a

This is my mother's recipe and one of my favorite dishes. The number of chiles you use depends on how spicy you like your food. If you like things on the milder side, leave out the soaking liquid from the chiles. Serve alongside refried beans or tofu scramble. Chilaquiles Yields: 2-4 servings 1/2 cup vegan mozzarella Sauce: 6 roma tomatoes 1/2 small onion 1 clove garlic 2-4 chiles de arbol 1-2 chile ancho 1/2 cup water salt to taste Tortilla Chips: 10 stale corn tortillas 1/2 cup canola oil Place chiles in enough water to cover and bring to a boil. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 minutes until softened. Remove seeds and reserve liquid for sauce. Tortilla chips: Stack a couple tortillas together and cut in half. Stack halves together and cut into thirds. Heat oil in pan on medium high heat and place a few tortilla triangles in oil. Fry for 30 seconds on each side until crispy, drain on paper towels or use an old paper shopping bag as I did. Discard oil and u

The selection of vegan cheeses available is expanding, but is still limited to a few overpriced mozzarella and cheddar varieties, which always upset my stomach. The September/October Cheese Issue of VegNews  inspired me to search for cultured nut cheese recipes and I found a couple from Miyoko Schinner's Artisan Vegan Cheese  cookbook. My first attempt was a cashew brie cheese, which was very well received. I brought it to a friend's home movie night and we spread the brie on warm-from-the-oven bread and paired it with some guava butter I made a couple weeks ago and with the lavender peach preserves I made that day. The vegans and non-vegans both loved it. In fact, Gen bought some real cheese for movie night and no one touched it, but my cheese was gone by the end of the night! Some problems I had: I couldn't find unsweetened almond yogurt in stores, so I bought amande plain cultured almondmilk, which is sweetened with fruit juice concentrate. It actually isn't

This jam is sweet, bright, and a very pretty orange-pink color. I halved the pluots so that they would retain more of their shape as the flesh broke down. This resulted in nice big chunks of pluot. Dinosaur Egg Pluot Conserve Yield: about 4 half pints 4 cups (2lbs) pluots, pitted and roughly chopped 2 cups sugar 1/3 cup lemon juice 1/3 cup thinly sliced lemon peel or zest only Combine pluots, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a large saucepot. Slowly bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook rapidly to gelling point, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Skim foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch headspace, adjust two-piece caps, process 15 minutes in a boiling water bath. Boiling pluots, sugar, lemon juice, and lemon zest See those big chunks! For the boiling water bath, I use the tamalera steamer that mum gave me for making tamales; it's the perfect size.

Emerald Beaut Plums and Dinosaur Egg Pluots  from the Silver Lake Farmers' Market The end of summer is quickly approaching, which also means stone fruit season is almost over. My goal is to preserve as much of this summer sweetness as I can. Erin needed strawberries for her first batch of jam, so we met up and went to the Silver Lake Farmers' Market. I bought two pounds each of Emerald Beaut Plums and Dinosaur Egg Pluots to put up in jars. The plums turn a bright yellow as they boil. They also break down quite rapidly; I will chop them into quarters next time so they retain some of their shape. Emerald Beaut Plum Jam Yield: about 5 half pints 5 cups (2 lbs.) coarsely chopped Emerald Beaut Plums 3 cups sugar 3/4 cups water Combine plums, sugar, and water in a large saucepot. Slowly bring to a boil while stirring to dissolve sugar. Cook rapidly to gelling point, stir frequently to prevent sticking. Skim foam. Ladle hot jam into hot jars, leaving 1/4 inch he