Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies

Whenever we have Solaris' extended family over, multiple food allergies must be taken into account for the menus.  We have his mother who is allergic to some type of beans, his older sister and uncle who are gluten intolerant, and then my own lactose intolerance too.  After a few years of this, the menu has become some what of a pattern - there are really only 2-3 different items and they just revolve as each year or so goes by.

Now as you'll probably have guessed by now, neither Solaris nor myself are ones for conformity or complacency. We love the tried-and-true comfort foods, but we also love to experiment and find new favorites. Fortunately for us (and our families), recently we found Emily Mainquist's Sweet Vegan and took this weekend as an opportunity to try out a recipe and see how it went.

The following is a slightly modified version of Emily's dairy-free, vegan brownies. These are NOT gluten free but can be made so with a flour substitution. Try them out - we're serious. They are absolutely gorgeous!

Vegan Peanut Butter Brownies

Serves 9-12

260 grams unbleached plain flour (or rice or spelt flour for Celiac sufferers)
340 grams unrefined cane sugar
25-50 grams cocoa powder (dependent on preference - 25 is a good base and 50 is quite strong)
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
65 grams natural unsweetened peanut butter
90 grams dairy-free and gluten-free chocolate chips (or chopped bakers chocolate)



1. Preheat oven to 180 C/ 350 F and lightly grease a baking tin or line with bakers' parchment.

2. Combine flour, cane sugar, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. (You may need to use a pastry cutter to work the sugar into the flour.) Add the water, oil, and vanilla extract and mix until well combined. Pour into the pre-greased pan.

3. In a double boiler or glass bowl over a warm pan of water, melt the chocolate chips.

4. If you have an all natural, very runny peanut butter, spoon the peanut butter into each corner and the centre of the brownie mix.  If you have a thicker peanut butter, thoroughly mix it with the warm, melted chocolate, and pour it over the brownies.

5. Using a table knife or spatula, swirl the peanut butter into the brownie until the mixture has a marbled appearance. If you have used runnier peanut butter and still have the melted chocolate, drizzle this over the brownie mixture.

6. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out MOSTLY clean. Cool completely before cutting. This is a very moist brownie, so I'm afraid cutting it neatly it easier said than done!

Ground Beef Stroganoff

I am lactose intolerant while Solaris (bless him) is a dairy addict from a family of dairy addicts. Well, actually, I come from a family of dairy addicts too, which can make it difficult to plan mutually acceptable meals.  

More often than not, we'll just avoid the conflict by cooking with dairy alternatives such as Lactaid (USA) or LactoFree (UK), both of which have milk and different forms of lactose-free cheese.  The downside is that while neither of these affect the chemical process of a recipe, they don't always taste exactly the same. Beef Stroganoff is one such recipe. 

The lactose-free dairy products tend to make stroganoff (and other gravies) a bit spicier than milk alone, and it can be so expensive to get the appropriate cuts of beef over here, we decided to develop our own recipe. This can be adapted to each family's level of dairy-capability from dairy-able to dairy-disabled, and you won't be disappointed for flavor either way.  Seeing me eat it was the only way Solaris' family could tell it was lactose-free. And this from some hardcore dairy-addicts!

Ground Beef Stroganoff 

Serving: 5 

1 lb beef mince
1 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp flour
¼ tsp ground pepper
1 batch dairy-free cream of mushroom soup or 1 can ready to eat cream of mushroom soup (for the dairy capable)
8 oz mushrooms, chopped
¼ cup red wine
½ - 1 cup soy yogurt or greek yogurt
1 tbsp soy sauce
Parsley or chives or dill to taste

1. Brown beef with onion and drain fat. 
2. Add soup and remaining ingredients. Simmer uncovered for about 15 minutes, stirring regularly. 
3. Remove from heat and add yogurt and parsley, chives, or dill. Serve immediately over noodles, rice, or crusty bread.

Cooks' note: Because we use homemade yogurt, we're able to make this recipe without having to purchase soy yogurt. However, if you are using store-bought yogurt and you are lactose intolerant, be aware that only some of us can handle greek yogurt. If you're not sure, use soy!