VEGAN CHOUX DE BRUXELLES À LA CRÈME

[Brussels Sprouts chopped and simmered in cream]

...I chose this chopped recipe because I thought these Brussels Sprouts were rather large...and would be better chopped or shredded...

...so first you have to follow the instructions for VEGAN CHOUX DE BRUXELLES BLANCHIS...the preliminary cooking...

...where you make the little X in the ends of all the Brussels Sprouts...

...and then you just pop them into a pot...

...and boil them lightly for about 5 minutes...

...then you get some Earth Balance (or other vegan butter) sizzling in a pan...

...chop the blanched Brussels Sprouts...

...and shake them over moderately high heat without browning them...I actually thought they might be better slightly browned...but I didn't...as I guess this is meant to focus on 'creamy'...

...so I poured in some homemade Almond Cream...

...and let that cook gently...covered...

...until almost all of the cream was absorbed...

...transferred to a warmed vegetable dish...

...not the prettiest side dish I've ever made...but it is really very tasty...

...and finally top it with some more Earth Balance...and you're supposed to add chopped parsley...but I'm not a fan of parsley...so I hardly ever do that...

Substitutions

Almond milk/cream for the cream...I used homemade...recipe here...
Earth Balance (or other vegan butter) for the butter...
Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 453 - 454

VEGAN TARTE NORMANDE AUX POMMES

[Custard Apple Tart - to be served hot]

...Julia just says that while it can be served cold...it's best eaten hot...and that it can be reheated...

...lots of steps...but none too difficult...

...start with some apples...of course...these are organic gala apples...Julia doesn't specify a type...just cooking or eating apples...and that they should be crisp...

...peeled...

...cored and quartered...

...thinly sliced...

...add some sugar...

...and cinnamon...so pretty much like your basic American Apple Pie...

...and then arrange them in a pre-baked Vegan Pâte Brisée Sucrée...for this one...I used a combination of whole wheat pastry flour and oat flour...because I thought it would go well with this apple custard pie...

...and it was so...so good...it turned out like a crispy oatmeal cookie crust...so good...

...and this is a photo of the apples 'dumped' into the crust...and I did arrange them...but apparently I didn't photograph that part...sorry...

...so while the apples are baking until they start to colour and are lightly tender...on to the custard...I used Vegan Egg for the egg...

...mixed in the sugar...

...and beat until a ribbon forms...

...then sift in some flour...

...and cashew cream...

...and some spirits...Julia recommends Calvados...which is an apple brandy...but I didn't have any...I did however have some Spiced Rum...so I added that instead...

...then you just pour the custard mixture over the cooled par-baked apples...there you can see the arranged apples in this photo...

...Julia says the mixture should come almost to the top of the pastry shell...I added some little shields to keep the crust from getting two brown...

...then you return it to the oven to bake and set the custard...

...it's done with the top is lightly browned and a knife inserted in the custard comes out clean...

...then you sprinkle it with some powdered sugar...as if it wasn't sweet enough already...

...pretty...

...ready to serve...hot...

...with some tea...it really does make a perfect winter dessert...

...creamy and delicious...

Substitutions

all the subs from the Vegan Pâte Brisée Sucrée
Vegan Egg for the egg
cashew cream for the cream
Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking pp. 637 - 638

Vegan Choux Bruxelles aux Marrons

[Brussels Sprouts Braised with Chestnuts]

...Julia says this recipe goes particularly well with turkey, goose and duck...so it was a perfect side dish with our Christmas dinner...

...and it's really just two other recipes combined into one...

The master recipe for VEGAN CHOUX DE BRUXELLES ÉTUVÉES AU BEURRE [Brussels Sprouts Braised in Butter] which requires the preliminary recipe for blanching them first...VEGAN CHOUX DE BRUXELLES BLANCHIS [Blanched Brussels Sprouts - Preliminary Cooking]

...and the VEGAN MARRONS BRAISÉS [Whole Braised Chestnuts]

...first...generously grease a casserole with Earth Balance...

...so after executing the preliminary recipes...you just add the chestnuts and Brussels sprouts to your casserole buttered with Earth Balance...

...pour over some melted Earth Balance...

...and then bake until the sprouts and chestnuts are tender...about a half hour baked with other things at 350° F...

...these were really delicious together...Scout said that the chestnuts tasted exactly like kidney beans...he said that if you gave him one with his eyes closed that's what he would have guessed that it was...it's a good pairing of flavors...

Substitutions

Earth Balance for the butter

Recipe here: Mastering the Art of French Cooking p. 452