Ultimate Creamy Vegan Mayo - No Tofu!

One of the things I miss most from the non-vegan food is mayonnaise. Yes, I admit it. I do not miss eggs, milk, fish or meat but mayonnaise is something that it is missing from my vegan sandwiches. I tried Trader Joe's vegan mayo which I didn't like much and I also tried the Veganaise from "Follow Your Heart" brand which I liked a lot...but I wanted to avoid the almost $5 a jar! After researching the Net I ended finding the best recipe on an Italian YouTube channel. I wanted an easy, fast and tofu-free recipe I could prepare whenever I was craving for mayo.

 The recipe is so simple and uses simple ingredients, here is it:
- 1 cup of vegetable oil
- 1/3 cup unsweetened soy milk
- Juice of 1 lemon (I have used half lemon in my recipe)
- pinch of salt
- pinch of turmeric (which I omitted this time)
- 1/2 T of mustard

You just add the ingredients on a tall glass and mix them with an immersion blender, trying to incorporate air going up and down as you mix. I was amazed by how creamy the result was and the flavor blew me away, it tastes just like a good old mayo! I put the mayo in a small jar and stored it in my refrigerator (I believe it lasts about one week). I used part of it for my lunch sandwich with tomato and basil...I didn't feel guilty adding mayo on BOTH sides of my sandwich! 

Creamy Vegan Potato Soup

Another great recipe from one of my favorite vegan blogs/YouTube channels. We had a surprisingly cold middle June so I was craving for some warm and comforting soup and this one hit the spot! 

 

 I always have loved the combination of potatoes and rosemary and this soup well combines the two flavors. I also liked that it was smooth but it still had chunks of potatoes, it made me think of a creamy clam chowder. 

I believe I will be often preparing this soup next Fall and Winter, I look forward to it!

Onion Focaccia with Semolina Flour Dough

I have never used semolina flour for bread or pizza dough before so I wanted to try this pizza dough recipe. I prepared an onion focaccia instead of a pizza and I liked the result a lot, the dough was crispy on the outside and soft inside. Another difference I felt from my usual recipe is that the dough was somewhat translucent after kneading and a little bit after cooking. I used Bob's Red Mill semolina flour which is very fine so it blended well with the white flour.. After flattening the dough on a parchment paper I added pre-cooked white onions. 

I wrote the recipe down on my recipe book because it's a keeper and I look forward to try it for my next pizza.

There was a bakery near Rialto bridge in Venice where I was often stopping by to buy an amazing olive bread, warm and freshly made of course. The bread was crunchy outside and very soft in the inside, it was filled with black and green olives and sometimes toasted sesame seeds or walnuts. 

I was searching for a similar bread to prepare at home and finally I found it! This YouTube video is very well made, the man who made it sounds like an expert in bread making and it shows in the way he meticulously prepares the recipes and explains the process. The result was amazing and it did remind me of that Venetian bread. I added toasted sesame seeds to the dough (which is a no-kneading dough so it gets extra points!) to reproduce the flavor of the bread I loved. This recipe is a definitively a keeper!