VEGAN POIRES AU GRATIN

...right after I got my Macaroons pulverized...

...I set about the Poires...I greased a dish (2 inches high) with Earth Balance...

...then I peeled...

...quartered and sliced the pears...

...and arranged them in the dish...

...mixed some apricot preserves with some white wine...

...and ran it through a sieve...over the pears...

...then sprinkled the Pulverized Macaroons on top...

...dotted with Earth Balance...

...and baked about 30 minutes...

...Julia says you can serve this hot, cold or warm...ours was warm...and it was very good...I nibbled on the cold leftovers and she's right it's good that way too...

Substitutions: Just Earth Balance for the butter...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 630-631

Vegan Pulverized Macaroons

I needed some Pulverized Macaroons for the Poires au Gratin recipe...and I searched all through Julia's book for a recipe to make the Macaroons...

...she mentions Macaroons several times and there are recipes that require them...but she never tells you how to make them...

...but I made some...and I'll post soon over at Affectioknit...it won't belong here as there is no recipe for the count...HA!...I'll come back and update this post with a link when I do...

Affectioknit's Vegan Coconut Macaroons

...basically...Julia says that Pulverized Macaroons are a good substitute for pralin...

...you just break up your Macaroons into small pieces and bake them at 200° for about an hour...until they are dry and brown...

...then you grind them up with a meat grinder...which I actually own...although I've never ground meat with it...we use it to make my Mom's Chow-Chow recipe...

...so you just load up the hopper...

...and crank the handle...Julia also says you can use a blender or a mortar...

...they smell really good...and the vegan macaroons turned out perfectly in the end...

Substitutions: None really specifically for this recipe...of course there were for the Macaroons themselves...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 583

VEGAN FLAN DES ISLES

[Pineapple Custard, Unmolded - a cold dessert]

...but literally Flan of the Isles...pretty non?...

...you start by draining canned crushed pineapple...this sort of surprised me as Julia rarely uses anything from a can...

...and you boil the pineapple juice for 5 minutes...and then add the pineapple back to it...and boil it some more...

...beat some flour and lemon juice together...I added Flax Seed Goo and almond milk to mine and increased the flour to 2 Tablespoons...

...pour the hot syrup into the flour/lemon/flax seed goo - this isn't really necessary...but I'm following the recipe...

...pour the hot custard into your prepared caramel lined mold...set it into a deep saucepan of water and keep it at a simmer for about an hour and a half...

...the custard is done when it begins to pull away from the sides...refrigerate for 3-4 hours...

...put a plate upside down over the mold...

...and invert...

...the pretty little flan will pop right out...

...Julia suggests serving it with Creme Anglaise and kirsch...but we did not...it was so pretty just as it was...

...it was perfectly molded...

...and it served perfectly...

...and looked just like flan should look...

...doesn't that look just about perfect?...

...and...it was perfectly delicious...

Substitutions: just Flax Seed Goo for the eggs...

...I was surprised that there's no milk or cream in there...so I added a little bit of almond milk to make it extra creamy...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 631-632

Un Moule Caramelisé...Vegan

[A Caramel-lined Mold]

...now that I've practiced making caramel...

...I can make it to line a mold...this is for a molded custard that I'll veganize later...the procedure is the same...

...you just put the sugar and water directly in the mold and boil over moderate heat swirling frequently...

...I had to hold onto the edge of the mold with a set of tongs...so that made it difficult to get a photo...and Julia says if you're using a porcelain mold you'll have to make the caramel in a pan and pour it into the mold...it's kinda convenient to make it right in the mold...and it's very pretty...

Substitutions: none - it's just sugar and water...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 584-585

Vegan Caramel

[Caramel]

...would you believe that I've never made caramel from scratch before...I've made caramel icing but it was made with brown sugar...

...and there's something just a little bit scary about working with molten sugar...but it's really simple...all you do is put some regular sugar (ours is organic beet sugar)...but Julia says you can use crushed sugar lumps for some strange reason...I can't imagine why anyone would do that...and oddly she doesn't explain...

...just swirl over medium high heat until the sugar is dissolved...

...and the liquid is perfectly clear...

...then cover the pan...Julia says the water condensing on the cover will wash the sugar crystals off the sides of the pan...

...keep peeking until the syrup turns a nutty brown...

...then remove from heat immediately... ...this was easier than I thought it would be...and now I know how to make caramel... Substitutions: none - it's just sugar and water...

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

pp. 583-584

VEGAN QUICHE AU ROQUEFORT

[Roquefort Cheese Quiche]

...I made the Vegan Blue Cheese recipe from Melomeals a while ago...and I froze some of it because I knew I'd need it for some of Julia's Roquefort recipes...you can read all about it over at Affectioknit...

...then I made a VEGAN PÂTE BRISÉE...and partially baked it...about 10 minutes...

...I blended up some egg mixture...I used the same recipe I'd used for the VEGAN L'OMELETTE BROUILLÉE...

...then I forced the two cheeses and the vegan 'egg' mixture through a sieve...you know how Julia loves to use a seive...but it was kinda messy...and I'm thinking when I make it again I'll probably just either grate the cheese and mix it in or use the food processor...

...then I mixed in some chives and poured it into my partially based crust...and popped it into the oven...

...when it was nice and brown I topped it with some little leftover pastry hearts...I always make decorations with my leftover dough...do you do that?...

...it sliced perfectly...

...served simply with a nice green salad and some crusty bread...and a nice crisp white wine...

...it was perfect...

...the texture and the flavor were spot on!...I'll definitely be making it again!...

Substitutions:
Vegan Eggs
Vegan Roquefort Cheese - recipe here
Tofutti for the cream cheese
Earth Balance for the butter
Soymilk mixed with powdered soymilk for the cream...of course you can use soy creamer if you have it...I have some but it was vanilla...and that wouldn't do at all...
and other subs from the VEGAN PÂTE BRISÉE

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking

p. 148