My vegan Bailey's

I used to love Bailey's before going vegan. And while my love for other 'old times' foods, e.g. cheese, quickly faded away or turned into a 'how could I ever eat that?' feeling, my affection for Bailey's has stayed. Usually I am very much against trying to make vegan substitutes of non-vegan dishes. Why would I ever want to eat something that's supposed to taste like a cow or fish? I'd rather not, really, even if it's 100 percent vegan. But in case of Bailey's I see it differently, the only non-vegan ingredient is cream, which isn't the dominant taste in the drink as such. So I thought I would give it a try and make my own vegan version of it. I had a look at some online ideas, I compared them with my own memories of the taste, and here's what I came up with:

Vegan Bailey's

1 cup creamy coconut milk (I used 'extra creamy coconut milk' from Santa Maria) 

1 cup coffee

1/2 cup Irish whiskey

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3 tbsp. agave syrup (I think brown sugar would also work)

Blend all the ingredients at high speed, pour over ice and serve! Easy, right? ;)

It tastes great! The only difference is the consistency, the original is a bit thicker. I think it this could be achieved with coconut milk creamer, but that's unfortunately very hard to get here. But the taste for sure makes up for this little difference.

Cheers :)

Seitan piccata with white wine and caper sauce

This is my favorite seitan recipe. It is very elegant, perfect for serving for guests, yet it is pretty simple and not very time consuming. It comes from The Candle Café Cookbook.

Seitan piccata with white wine and caper sauce

(serves 4 to 6)

6 seitan cutlets

whole wheat flour, for dredging

1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil

1/2 cup diced shallots

1/2 cup diced onions

1 tsp. chopped garlic (I used more, 4 cloves)

1/4 cup drained capers (I used double the amount)

1 cup dry white wine

1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

1 cup vegetable broth

2 tbsp. unbleached flour (I used whole wheat flour)

4 tbsp. soy margarine (I used 2)

1 cup chopped parsley

1 tsp. salt

freshly ground pepper, to taste

Dredge the seitan cutlets in the flour. Heat up 2 tbsp. of olive oil and fry the seitan, until crisp and golden brown on both sides. Put the seitan aside. Heat up the remaining olive oil in the pan. Add the shallots, onions, garlic and capers, sauté and stir until softened. Add the white wine and cook until reduced by half. Add the lemon juice and cook until the sauce is reduced a bit more. Add the broth and the flour. Bring to boil and then simmer for 1 minute. Stir in the margarine, parsley, salt and pepper. Pour over the seitan cutlets and serve.

I usually prepare the seitan and sauce (without the parsley) earlier and then just add the parsley to the sauce, put the sauce over seitan in a flat baking dish and heat it up in the oven just before serving. This way you can prepare it in advance. Today we had it with oven baked potatoes with fresh rosemary and cucumber-sesame salad. It also tastes great with roasted root vegetables and rice.