Tasty Chocolate Brownies From New Vegan Cookbook
by Larry Cox on Jan. 06, 2012, under UncategorizedVegan Family Meals: real Food for Everyone by Ann Gentry (Andrews McMeel, $25)
A new cookbook proves that you don’t have to be a vegan to enjoy a plant-based meal. As we begin a new year, it might just be the perfect time to tweak our diets so that we are making healthier choices in our family kitchens.
Ann Gentry, a pioneer in the world of vegan cuisine, founded Real Food Daily, one of Los Angeles’ most popular vegan restaurants. It has become a culinary destination attracting such stars as Ellen DeGeneres, Conan O’Brien, and HBO’s Big Love star Ginnifer Goodwin.
Gentry was raised on a typical American diet laden with fat and red meat and even survived on sweets and cigarettes while working as an aspiring actress in New York City. One day as she waited tables at a vegetarian restaurant in Greenwich Village, she noticed that the place seemed to percolate with energy. Could that energy be the result of the healthier foods being served? For Gentry, it was a life-changing experience and she began rethinking the foods she ate. As she eliminating meat and dairy from her diet, she discovered how easy it was to get the protein she needed from such ingredients as beans, soy products, nuts, and seeds. With variety and a little imagination, she began preparing vegan meals that were both satisfying and energizing. This led to her becoming Hollywood’s go-to vegan chef.
The menu at Real Food Daily (realfood.com) features meals that are delicious, fresh, and simple to prepare. According to Gentry, in preparing food for her family, she has also learned how to work within an affordable budget. Her new collection of more than 100 recipes demystifies vegetarian and vegan cooking. Many of the dishes are also gluten-free and use unique plant-based ingredients in innovative, imaginative ways. This is a fun cookbook that makes this type of cooking accessible for novice cooks as well as seasoned pros.
The recipes are divided into seven main chapters: Breakfasts; Snacks and Sandwiches; Soups; Family-Style Salads; Simple Meals; Grains and Vegetables; and Desserts.
I tested three recipes from this collection. The California-Style Gazpacho was chunky and tasty and featured a low-sodium V-8 juice, red wine vinegar, and fresh corn kernels. My second choice was a rather zingy Southwestern Salad with Chipotle Ranch Dressing and Agave-Chili Tortilla Chips. The kick from the chipotle chiles, chives, and garlic combined with the tanginess of lemon made this a crowd pleaser. Since everyone loves brownies, my dessert pick was Double Chocolate Brownies sweetened partially with agave nectar. All three recipes were successful and fairly easy to prepare.
DOUBLE CHOCOLATE BROWNIES
Makes 12
1 ½ cups unbleached white flour
1 cup maple sugar or 1 ½ cups organic cane sugar
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon fine sea salt
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons neutral cooking oil (I used sunflower oil)
¾ cup of agave nectar
1 Tablespoon vanilla extract
1 1/8 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ cup boiling water
1 ¾ cups semisweet chocolate chips
Preheat oven to 350F. Lightly oil a 9 by 9 by 2-inch square nonstick baking pan or glass baking dish.
Sift the flour, maple sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt into a large bowl, discard any large grains of maple sugar that remain in the strainer. Whisk the oil, agave nectar, vanilla, and vinegar in a medium bowl to blend. Whisk the oil mixture into the flour mixture until well blended. Scrape the sides of the bowl, then continue mixing for 30 seconds. Carefully, whisk in the boiling water. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Transfer the batter to the prepared baking pan, spreading evenly. Bake until a toothpick comes out with moist crumbs attached, about 45 minutes.
Store the brownies in an airtight container at room temperature for up to 2 days.
