Bob and Susan and their daughter, Greer, son-in-law, Nic, and sweet grandbaby, Alfie, will be visiting for a couple of days next week, so I’ve been busy in the kitchen creating vegan, gluten-free food for their brief stay. Though most food will be gluten-free, I’ll sneak in a few focaccias for the non-gluten-free folks in the crowd. They arrive mid-afternoon on Tuesday and leave mid-afternoon Thursday, so they won’t be here long, but will definitely get in a few swims at the lake and a couple of hikes.

Our menu is….

Tuesday:

Snack: olive hummus and plain hummus, tapenade, vegan kimchee boursin, almond feta, tortilla chips, seed crackers, focaccia

Dinner: vegan chick’n enchiladas (with soy curls) lentil tortillas with vegan shredded cheddar, rice with beans, guacamole, salsa

Dessert: vegan-gluten-free pecan pie

Wednesday: 

Breakfast: carrot-cake oatmeal

Lunch: vegan chili, vegan cornbread

Dinner: Creamy-vegan-pesto-and-mushroom-onion spelt flatbread with blue cheez drizzle and arugula, vegan Caesar salad

Dessert: vegan-gluten-free apple crisp

Thursday: 

Breakfast: apple-pie oatmeal

Lunch: Kalamata-olive-and-sweet-potato-soup, Greek salad with vegan feta, focaccia/rice bread

Though an abundance of commercial vegan, gluten-free food now exists, it’s difficult to find where we live. Plus, we prefer to make our own for our guests because homemade usually just tastes better. I did, however, notice that Costco now carries vegan Boursin, so asked James to pick up some on his trip into town. Alas, he just called to indicate that Costco is no longer carrying it! So what could I do but rely on my own vegan boursin recipe.

I thought I’d branch out, however, so decided to make it kimchee flavour. The result is rather amazing!

Vegan Kimchee Boursin

Add to a saucepan:

1 TBS agar agar and 1 cup cold water

Bring to a boil and whisk constantly for five minutes.

Add the activated agar agar to the Vitamix along with…

• 1 cup cashews, soaked and drained
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/2 cup kimchee juice
• 6 TBS nutritional yeast
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 1 TBS apple cider vinegar
• 1 TBS tapioca flour
• 2 tsp vegan chicken broth powder

Run on high until smoooooooooth.

Next, throw in a cup of….

• kimchee, drained

Pulse a couple of times. You want to see small kimchee bits, but you don’t want it completely blended.

Spray a bit of oil into three one-cup ramekins and pour the cheese into the ramekins and let set for at least an hour. Apparently, unlike gelatin, agar agar can set at room temperature, but I always refrigerate anyway–I think it sets quicker in the fridge.

Another meal I’m making is Creamy-vegan-pesto-and-mushroom-onion flatbread with blue cheez drizzle and arugula, most of which is self-explanatory, except for the….

Creamy Vegan Pesto

First, make some cashew cream by blending in the Vitamix until smooth and set aside:

• 1/2 cup cashews, soaked and drained
• 1 cup water
• pinch of salt

Next, toast until fragrant:

• 1/2 cup toasted pine nuts

Add the toasted pinenuts to a food processor along with the following and blend until chunky:

•  TBS nutritional yeast
• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1 small garlic clove
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/4 tsp black pepper
• 2 cups packed basil leaves
• 1/4 cup olive oil

Finally, stir into the pesto:

• cashew cream from first step

This is delicious on fresh pasta and makes a great base for mushroom flatbread, which is how I’m serving it this week!

It looks pretty non-descript alone to be honest, but is very flavourful as the base of a flatbread or pizza!

And our song of the day is Chet Baker’s “I Fall in Love too Easily” because I stayed with Em in Vancouver last weekend and she would play very mellow music in the morning as she woke up and drank her tea. So taking my cue from her, I thought a Chet Baker playlist would make a nice soundtrack for my cooking on this cozy, rainy Denman Sunday morning. As an aside, Em and I went to see a wonderful production of Henry V at Bard on the Beach and also Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, which we saw at the Stanley with Bid and Dana. Em and I also took a few lovely strolls through the West End and along the water to Granville Island–a delightful weekend all around!

Oh, and for good measure, here’s a Carole King song for you too! And let us make it “Tapestry” because whenever James sings it, he not only gives it his usual tragic timbre, but also changes the words to “My life has been a TRAVESTY”…