Thursday, March 27, 2008

In my last post I mentioned having found a new ingredient - and 'tah-dah' Agar Agar has managed to make its way into my kitchen and my tummy.

I was filled with trepidation, uncertainty and even a bit of skepticism. The web is full of cooks/chefs and adventure seekers who have used agar and ended with a soggy mess. I understand, I sympathize, I have been there (see comment to Jennifer about Falafel Soup on Veg*n Musings), and I was completely willing to believe that this seaweed-turn-magic-powder would be added to the list of ingredients that left this vegancowgirl in the dust.

With hands shaking, and K 's head spinning with incessant questions from this insecure agar-agar wrangler, I started in on my Strawberry-Coconut-Jelly.

It was surprisingly easy, and the Chocolate Sauce that I added to the top was whipped up in a couple of minutes (but took two tries, due to a poor move made when I added my new vegan cream cheese to the sauce).

The texture of the jelly was fun and wriggly in my mouth, and the strawberries were a light flavour that I had the delight of discovering over and over again as I worked my way through my decadent desert.

I seriously recommend this little experiment - it was pretty low-cal, low-fat (I added a bit of coconut milk, but you could omit), and it was easy as pie (or parfait should I say?).

2 comments:

Alicia said...

Good to know agar agar works so good, because the price makes you think twice about buying it. I know the amount needed every time is small, but the can is so tiny too... I've often left it on the shelf.
Your experiment looks soo good you got my mouth watering :-)

Alicia said...

I tried it! I bought it in an asian store as strings and cut them up with scissors to cook the V-con Lemon Bars. It came out really good, and agar agar was so easy to work with! Who would've said it!?