The BEST Frickles!

By Pam Hadder

Frickles, yes, FRICKLES... a good part of my weekend extracurricular activity involved frickles.  Don't have a hot clue what the frick a  frickle is??? Don't sweat it - it seems from my brief survey of friends and acquaintances that people either rave about them,or give you that deer in the head lights look...
For those doe-eyed folks, a frickle is a fried dill pickle and ooooh yesssss they are worth the effort to make.  The ingredients are simple, as is the method - but they are a little time-consuming to make for a big group - for our small dinner get-together, it was manageable.  I have been studying up and comparing recipes and the one that follows is from Rick Browne of PBS TV's "Barbeque America" - I like the beer/mustard coating that precedes the dredging and also love additional crunch of the cornmeal.  The dip recipe is my own concoction.  Hope you will overcome the fear of frying and cook up a batch - enjoy! xox


FRICKLES
Ingredients:
1- 16 ounce jar of dill pickles
1/2 cup yellow cornmeal
1/2 cup all purpose flour
2 Tbsp. of your favourite dry rub spice mix
2 Tbsp. beer
1/4 cup yellow mustard
2-3 cups canola oil
Method:
Drain the pickles in a colander; cut into coins or spears and set aside.  Meanwhile in a shallow dish,combine the flour, cornmeal and dry rub spice. In a small bowl, stir together the beer and mustard.  Dip pickles in the mustard mix; coating evenly.  Dredge the pickles in the flour mix and place on a baking sheet or wax paper covered platter.  Heat the oil in a skillet to 375 degrees (you can also use a deep fryer - just follow the directions for your appliance).  Carefully place small batches of the frickles into the hot oil and cook until the pickles bob to the surface.  Remove with a slotted spoon and drain on paper towels.  Serve with a sauce made from 1/2 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 tsp. coarse black pepper and 1/4 cup ketchup - dill-icious!!!

Cho-Coconut Bliss!

By Pam Hadder
Who doesn't love that magic combo of coconut and chocolate - especially with a fresh, hot cup of coffee?  The following vegan cupcake recipe blends these flavour favourites, and the BEST part is that it is EASY!
The finished cupcakes are moist, light textured with an intense truffle-like flavour.  Toasting the coconut adds a whole other level of deliciousness.  Hope you will try and enjoy - let me know how it goes xo...

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes

Ingredients - for cupcakes
1 cup all purpose flour
1/3 cup Dutch cocoa
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1-1/2 tsp. baking powder
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 cup coconut milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. coconut extract
1 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut (toasted - reserve 1/2 cup for garnish)

Method - for cupcakes:
To toast the coconut, preheat a small non-stick pan over medium heat for about 2-3 minutes.  Add the coconut and stir constantly until golden brown - remove from heat and allow to cool to room temp.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Celsius and line a muffin pan with paper liners (recipe makes
16 medium cupcakes or 12 large).

Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil over low heat (it usually solidifies at room temp - so unless your home is very warm, you will need to melt it a bit - you can also microwave it or immerse the jar in hot tap water).  Blend the cocoa, sugar, salt, baking powder, 1/2 cup of the toasted coconut and flour together in a small bowl.  In a large bowl combine the coconut milk, vanilla and coconut extract; and add the dry mixture to the wet in small batches.  Stir well after each addition  - batter should be smooth.  This is a fairly thick batter, so don't be concerned about that aspect.
Fill lined tins 2/3 full and bake for 24-26 minutes. Allow to cool completely before icing.

Coffee Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients

1/4 cup shortening

1/4 cup margarine

2 cups icing sugar

2 Tbsp. soy milk or coconut milk

1-1/2 tsp coffee extract or coffee flavour liqueur

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup toasted coconut

Method:

Beat together the shortening and margarine until light and fluffy. Mix the extracts in with the milk.  Add milk mixture and sugar alternately, beating well after each addition.  Frost cooled cupcakes generously and dip them in the reserved toasted coconut.  Like to be EXTRA FANCY???? Try garnishing your cupcakes with a couple of chocolate covered espresso beans.  XOX

Spicy Tagine!!!

I must say I am loving trying new vegan recipes, and modifying family staples to suit the veggie preference :) My oldest daughter seems to like sampling my creations, so I have taken to preparing logging camp sized portions of some staples like brown rice!  It just disappears in a couple of days - go figure...


Tonight's dinner consisted of some leftover BBQ tofu, brown rice with peas (see what I mean????) and Spicy Tagine; along with a simple sprout and arugula salad.  


Here is my recipe, adapted from one of my fave vegan recipes sources, Vegan Recipes - the iPhone app.  The beauty of this recipe is that it is full of soluble fibre and protein and that it is quick and easy to prepare.  It also allows for much variation and customization to suit your personal preferences.  I hope you will try this recipe and make it your own - let me know what you think, and if you come up with any more great modifications, please share the good news!  


All I can say is mmmmm magnificent spicy goodness - the aromas in the kitchen are almost as good as enjoying a couple of scoopfuls of this tagine - almost... ;)

Pam's Spicy Tagine

Ingredients:
2 cans of drained and rinsed garbanzo beans (chickpeas)*
3-4 Tbsp. of olive oil
1/2 tsp. paprika
1/2 tsp. ground cumin
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
3 large ripe tomatoes, diced
2/3 cup tomato salsa
1 red onion, coarsely chopped
1 yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped
Dried crushed chili flakes, to taste (I use about 3/4 tsp.)
Optional: chopped cilantro and/or parsley for garnish


Method:
Heat the olive oil in a large non-stick pan; stirring in the spices to heat through.  Add in the remaining ingredients and stir to coat in the spices and oil.  Cover and cook 25 minutes, stirring every 5-7 minutes.  


*you can soak 2 lbs of dry chick peas over night and use them instead of canned - I just find the canned are handy for a quick meal


NOTE: I serve the cilantro and/or parsley on the side, as cilantro tends to be a flavour folks either LOVE or HATE (I am a luvr!) This mixture is great on its own, or over fresh salad greens, in a pita, served over rice etc. YUM