The procedure:
Preheat the oven to 250 degrees F. Place the raw walnuts in a shallow pan and roast for 30 minutes, stirring once in a while so the nuts roast evenly. Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn and turn bitter. Once it starts to get fragrant, it’s almost ready. Remove the pan from the oven and let the walnuts cool.

Meanwhile, in a large pan, pan roast the black sesame seeds over medium-low heat, stirring continuously. Roast for about 10 minutes, or until the seeds start to smell fragrant. Turn off the heat immediately and remove the pan to a cool place. Grind the seeds in a spice grinder, coffee grinder or if you have a Vita-Mix/Blendtec, until you have a wonderfully fragrant powder. Make sure to scrape down the sides periodically so that you have a uniform grind.

By the way, grinding the seeds to a powder before making the butter ensures that you have a creamy end product; trying to grind the whole seeds with the walnuts will only result in a grainy, hulled butter. If this is what you prefer, by all means go for it

Once the black sesame powder and walnuts are cooled, place them in the bowl of your food processor along with the sea salt and sugar. Grind until creamy; this should only take about 2 – 3 minutes; it will first ball up, then loosen as the walnuts release their oils. Keep going until your tahini is whipped and smooth.

Scrape into a sterilized glass jar; allow to cool (it will be a bit warm from the processing) before putting on the cap and storing in the refrigerator. I’ll wager it’ll keep for at least two weeks, but keep an eye on it as walnut oils tend to go rancid quite easily.

The procedure:
In a bowl, combine the dried figs and sundried-tomatoes and cover with boiling water; allow to soak for at least one hour prior to starting the jam.

Drain the figs/sundried-tomatoes and put into a small saucepan. Add the rest of the ingredients and enough fresh water to cover the mixture by one inch. Bring to a boil, then lower to a simmer and cover.

Simmer for 30-45 minutes, or until the figs and sundried tomatoes are soft and pulpy and the liquid is reduced. Place the contents into a blender or food processor, and taking care, puree until desired consistency.

If the mixture is still a little too liquidy after pureeing, place the contents back into the saucepan and reduce over low heat, stirring the entire time until your desired consistency is reached. I reduced until it was tacky and slightly sticky.

Spoon the mixture into sterilized glass container, press a piece of plastic wrap over the surface and allow to cool. When cool, place in the refrigerator.

Should keep in the refrigerator for at least a week.

The procedure:

Using a blender, blend the MimicCreme, sugar, vanilla, extract, salt and vodka until smooth. Chill the base thoroughly, at least 4 hours or overnight, preferably.

Churn the ice cream base according to your ice cream maker manufacturer’s directions. During the last minute of churning, add the crushed peppermint oreo cookies.

Pour into container and freeze thoroughly. Scoop and enjoy.

Making the filling:

Steam kuri squash until flesh yields easily when poked with a fork. Let cool slightly, then scoop out the flesh and roughly mash (no need to make it very smooth, you’ll be working the flesh during the sweetening phase).

In a medium saucepan, combine the kuri squash flesh, raw sugar and salt, and over medium heat, stir until sugar is dissolved. Keep cooking the sweetened squash puree (this process helps to dry out the paste, you don’t want soupy squash as a filling for the buns) until it stops looking shiny and pulls away from the sides of the pan. Turn off the heat and let cool completely.

For the bao dough:

Whisk together the whole wheat flour, all purpose flour, yeast, and salt. Add the agave nectar and vegetable oil and water, stir to combine until you get a rough dough.

Turn dough out onto counter and knead until you have a smooth, supple dough. I didn’t use my stand mixer as the amount of dough was small (and sometimes you just want to experience the pleasure of working with bread dough!). Knead until it passes the windowpane test, with a 5 minute rest halfway to allow the dough hydrate and the gluten to relax slightly.

Place in a medium, oiled bowl, cover with plastic wrap and proof until doubled in size. In my cold house, it took about 1.5 hours.

Preheat the oven to 375 F.

Once the dough has doubled, turn it out onto the counter and give it a few kneading strokes, and let it rest for 5 minutes for the gluten to relax. Divide the dough into 5 pieces.

Divide the filling into 5 mounds in preparation for stuffing the bao.

Flatten each piece, and using a small rolling pin, roll out into a 5″ diameter circle, taking care to make the edges thinner than the center (so that when you gather the dough around the filling you don’t end up with a super thick bottom and a super thin top). Place 1 mound of sweetened squash filling in the center and draw up the edges of the dough around the filling; pinching the dough at the top to seal.

Place seam side down on baking sheet, and cover with a kitchen towel while you complete the rest of the bao. After filling all 5 bao, let proof for 20 minutes.

I mixed together a simple slurry of almond milk, cornstarch and a pinch of sugar for a matte-style wash. If you desire a shiny-type of wash, simply beat one egg with some water. Brush the tops of the proofed bao with your wash of choice and sprinkle with some sesame seeds for garnish.

Bake bao for 25 minutes (if they start to brown too fast, you can tent with a piece of foil to avoid overbrowning).

Let cool completely on racks for at least 8 hours (this allows the dough to finish cooking completely, if you were to eat them right away, you might find the dough directly underneath the filling to be slightly raw. After 8 hours, the dough will have finished cooking and the flavor will be better. This is generally true of most breads.)

Enjoy! My favorite way to eat these is to reheat them for 20 seconds in the microwave, then pop into the toaster for a little bit to get them slightly toasty on the outside. The outside becomes slightly crispy and the inside bread stays light and fluffy. Delicious!

Cooking Notes:

• I know that squash comes in various shapes and sizes, and my kuri squash, after halving and deseeded, was about 500g. After steaming and making it into sweetened puree, the yield was about 250g. Basically, you’re aiming for about 50g of sweetened filling per bao. If your squash is abnormally large or small, you can scale up/down the dough component. Or you can just eat the extra filling as is, it’s delicious that way too!
• Any type of squash, pumpkin, sweet potato/yam or even beans can be sweetened in this way; it’s really a universal technique that you can apply to many vegetables/legumes to make sweetened paste for bun/bao fillings, dumplings, etc.
• This dough is pretty versatile, besides using it as a baked bao dough, this dough makes steamed bao quite nicely too. Give it a try!

The procedure:
Preheat oven to 350 F and roast the cashews, stirring every 5 minutes until golden brown and fragrant. Make sure to keep an eye on them as they will go from done to inedible very quickly. Set aside to cool. If using cashews that are already roasted, skip this step.

Increase oven temperature to 375 F.

Roll out dough base to 1/4″ to 1/8″ thick, depending on your preference and press into the base of a lightly-oiled, parchment-lined 8″ square pan. Prick the bottom lightly with a fork to prevent the dough from puffing up, then place the pan in the freezer for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, partially bake the shortbread crust for 20 minutes while you prepare the topping.

Roughly chop the cashews. Combine the honey, brown sugar, and salt in a heavy saucepan, stir to combine and bring to a boil. Let it boil for 2 minutes without stirring, then add the butter and stir, allowing it to continue boiling for one more minute. It”s critical to keep an eye on your caramel to prevent it from burning.

Remove the caramel from the heat and quickly stir in the cashews, coating them with caramel. Pour the filling over the crust (which should still be hot from baking, as this allows the caramel layer to spread out easier), smooth out as best you can and pop it back into the oven. If it’s not completely smooth, don’t worry, as the baking will “liquefy” the caramel once again. It’ll all work out in the end.

Bake for 15 minutes (or until the filling is nicely caramelized and bubbling). Transfer to a cooling rack and wait until cool to slice (careful as it’s like molten lava fresh out of the oven.)

Preheated oven to 400 degrees F. 1/4 cup almond milk and 1 teaspoon white vinegar mixed to make “buttermilk” and set it aside for 5 minutes. Whisked 60 g coarse-ground whole wheat flour and 30 g whole wheat pastry flour, 1/4 teaspoon salt, 1/4 teaspoon baking soda, 1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar, 1 teaspoon raw sugar and a pinch of caraway seeds. Made a well in the center of the dry mixture and poured in all buttermilk at once, mixed quickly with a fork until it just came together, then mounded it in a mini 6.5″ cast iron skillet, scored it into quarters with a serrated knife, into the oven for 25 minutes (tapped on the bottom to make sure it was done).

The procedure:

In a food processor, combine almonds, dates, cocoa powder, Goji berries, and vanilla. Hold down the machine to steady it and plug up your ears because it will be LOUD. With the processor running, slowly add water a little bit at a time until the “dough” becomes a bit sticky and will hold its shape when rolled into a ball.

Place the cinnamon in a shallow bowl. Roll small amounts of the truffle dough in your hands into small balls 1″ wide. Roll the dough in the cinnamon, making sure to coat the entire surface. Enjoy immediately or place in the refrigerator in an airtight container.

The procedure:

Mix the flours together with your hands, make a well in the center. Pour warm water slowly into the flour mixture while mixing with one hand until a rough dough is achieved. Keep kneading (adding water as necessary) until you get a smooth, soft ball of dough.

Lightly oil a piece of plastic wrap, wrap the dough in it and allow to rest for at least 30 mins.

Divide the dough into three walnut-sized balls. Dip each ball into some flour to keep it from sticking to the mat when you’re rolling them out. Roll out each phulka into a 6″ circle.

Heat a griddle over medium-high heat (too hot or too cool of a skillet will result in a dry phulka). Test to see if it’s hot enough by flicking a few drops of water on it; if it sizzles, it’s ready. Turn on another burner on medium heat (for finishing the phulka). Throw a phulka on the griddle, watch until it turns color (should turn a paler color); about 45 secs to 1 minute. Flip the phulka over and cook for another 30 seconds.

Using the tongs, carefully pick up the phulka and place it over the open flame, allowing it to puff up (should take about 5 seconds) and char in some spots. Flip over for another 5 seconds, then wrap in a kitchen towel to prevent it from drying out while making the other ones.

These should really be eaten immediately as they tend to dry out due to the lack of fat or oil. However, if you find yourself with extra, keep them in the kitchen towel and place in a ziplock bag in the refrigerator. I find that steaming them the next day refreshes them to a more pliable state.

The procedure:
Combine the flax meal and hot water in a large bowl and stir to combine. The texture should be slimy and goopy. That’s ok.

Finely chop Fuyu persimmons (a food processor is good for this) and add to the flax meal/water mixture, add kosher salt and agave nectar, stir until thoroughly combined.

Spread the mixture on sheets of parchment paper. Try to get this about 1/8″ thick, any thicker will make them difficult to dehydrate thoroughly.

Dehydrate for 5-6 hours or until dry to the touch. Break into pieces and enjoy. Store leftovers in an airtight container.

The procedure:
Peel persimmons and slice into thin rounds (ideally about 1/16″ to 1/8″ thick, a mandoline would make this easy). Place into dehydrator and dehydrate about 3-4 hours or until dry to the touch. Store in an airtight container.