Tacos and Brownies

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Mmmmm tacos and brownies... we are the pictures of health right now. Honestly I cook and eat incredibly healthy but I don't post that stuff because really who wants to see me have hummus and veggies and salads everyday. After a LONG week of running and a marathon rock climbing session today with Tom we decided to make something fun for dinner. I haven't had tacos in forever and Tom loves cream cheese brownies so we went to Whole Foods, got some supplies and settled in on this rainy night to cook and watch movies (Zombieland is awesome!).

Tacos:
Mix one jar of taco sauce with, 1/2 can black beans, 1/2 cup of frozen or fresh corn, and 1/2 package of yves meatless grounds or taco stuffers in a saucepan. Heat until slightly thickened. Serve in taco shells with avacado, shredded lettuce, salsa and guacamole and of course anything else you might want.
Brownies:
Ghiradelli chocolate chip brownie mix
1/3 cup water mixed with 1&1/2 tsp ener-g egg replacer
1/4 cup vanilla soy yogurt
1/3 cup melted smart balance

Cream Cheeze (whisk together):
8oz Tofutti
3 TBS smart balance
1/3 cup sugar
2TBS vanilla soy yogurt
tsp vanilla

Set oven to 325. Mix brownie stuff together and pour 1/2 in 9x9pan. Add cream cheese mixture and the rest of brownie mix. Swirl together and bake 45min. Let cool and cut! TIP: line pan with parchment paper and spray with pam. When cool lift brownies out and chill in fridge 30min before cutting.

Here are some pictures from our deck-Tom and I just moved into the city in October and hadn't had a chance to spend much time on our deck. With all the nice weather we've been spending more time out there and thought we would try our hand at growing some stuff!

Blackberry Thumbprint Cookies

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I made these from the Whole Food website. They are super easy and come together in the food processor. Instead of grinding down the almonds I just pulse the oats and then add almond meal, flour, oil and maple syrup and blend together. I used blackberry jame because it is Tom's favorite. We also made oatmeal raisin cookies from "The Joy of Vegan Baking"

Almond Joy Cupcakes

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These cupcakes are gluten free and taken from a recipe my aunt made last week. The frosting is from Licking the Beaters, a low fat vegan cookbook. You really don't need the frosting because the cakes are moist and delicious and healthy enough to eat for breakfast.

Gluten Free Almond Coconut Cakes:
1 1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup organic unrefined sugar
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

2 TBS canola oil
1 tsp vanilla or almond extract
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 TBS flax seed meal mixed with 3 TBS HOT water (Let sit for 10min before adding to wet ingredients)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients and dry ingredients in separate bowls. Add wet to dry, and mix until combined. Fill lightly sprayed foil muffin liners with a heaping TBS of batter. Bake 20 min. Makes 6-8 muffins.
Note: Using these muffins for breakfast would be great since they are pretty healthy. I would like to try adding some cinnamon and raisins.

Chocolate Almond Butter Frosting: Lickin' The Beaters: Low Fat Vegan Desserts by Sue Moffat
Combine the following ingredients in the bottom of a sauce pan:
3 TBS soy milk
2 TBS almond butter
4 TBS cocoa
6 TBS maple syrup (I used agave nectar because I didn't want the taste of maple)
Whisk together the ingredients until smooth. In a separate bowl mix together 4tsp arrowroot powder and 1/4 soymilk. Pour into chocolate mixture in pan. Heat on medium low and stir occasionally until thickened for 10 minutes. Let cakes and frosting cool before frosting.

Vegan Superbowl II (and the best cupcakes EVER made)

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Geaux Saints!!!

That was a great game and we had some good food, beer and cupcakes!!! We had the standard food: Chips, dip, hummus, trail mix, and chili (I used smart start breakfast sausage in my typical veggie and bean chili. People seemed to like this-just crumble the sausage and crisp it up nicely in a saute pan and add to chili at last minute). The picture below doesn't show one of our treats because frankly by the time they came out of the oven, anyone who cared about taking a picture (me) was two beers and a lot of potato chips in the hole!

Sweet Potato and Spinach Quesadillas:
Makes 18 pieces
2 medium sweet potatoes roasted at 350 for 45min until mushy
2 cloves garlic
1 tsp cumin
2 tsp salt
3 cups baby spinach
1 chipotle pepper in adobo or 2 tsp chipotle hot sauce

Peel sweet potatoes when cool and place flesh in food processor with spices and chipotle. Meanwhile sautee spinach in 1tsp EVOO and crushed garlic until just wilted. Process until smooth. Remove mixture to a bowl and fold in half a can of black beans. Spread filling on half of a tortilla (you can get all different colors/flavors) and fold in half. This should fill 6 tortillas. Spray baking sheet with canola or olive oil spray and bake these for 5-7 min on each side. Remove from oven and let cool 10 minutes. Slice with a pizza cutter into three pieces and serve with guacamole. The smokey sweetness is great with the cold tangy-ness of the guacamole!

For dessert we had the yogurt pineapple cake from Eat Drink and Be Vegan which was very good with fruit and soy whip cream (this stuff tastes just like Redi-whip so I didn't get any complaints!) and I made some special cupcake pictured below. It is a known fact that I could eat peanut butter and banana sandwiches all day but don't (I can't keep peanut butter in the house anymore because I really will eat a jar every 3 days) so this is my all out tribute to peanut butter plus chocolate. How could anyone NOT like these????

Banana Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cupcake with Peanut Butter Chocolate Mouse Frosting:

Cake:
1 Box Duncan Hines chocolate fudge cake or chocolate devil's food
1/2 cup vanilla soy yogurt
2 ripe bananas (brown almost black)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/3 cup water
Ener-g egg replacer equal to one egg mixed into water
1/2-3/4 cup vegan semi sweet or dark chips
Combine ingredients and bake according to package directions (16-18 minutes)

Frosting: This frosting comes from a peanut butter pie recipe HERE. It is damn good as pie or layered in a martini glass with any of the following: banana slices, chocolate sauce, peanut butter, crushed cookies, and topped with soy whip cream for a fancy looking trifle OR eaten straight out of the Tupperware you put the leftovers in (whatever!)

1 12 oz container firm silken tofu (yes it sounds like a contradiction but it is real I got mine at Whole Foods)
1 cup creamy peanut butter (I use the real stuff and always pour off the initial layer of oil before stirring. I like Trader Joe's organic creamy)
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup vegan semi sweet chocolate melted

In food processor process tofu and maple syrup until smooth. Add peanut butter and bleand again, completely scraping down the sides of the bowl until everything is smoothly combined. Then add melted chocolate and process until uniformly creamy and delicious. This makes more than enough to frost the 18 cupcakes I made but weirdly it disappeared by Monday night!

Here's a picture of the peanut butter filling in a pir crust with crushed chocolate covered pretzels. I think it would be prettier topped with soy whip cream and chopped chocolate. I'll make one and update soon =)

Happy Birthday to me!

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I guess I lied when I said no more cupcakes since I had to make some for my birthday last night!

Strawberry Almond Cupcakes:
1 box yellow cake mix (Duncan Hines)
1 container strawberry soy yogurt
1/4 cup softened vegan margarine
2/3 cup water
1 and 1/2 tsp ener-g egg replacer mixed into the water above
2 tsp almond extract
1 cup diced strawberries

Pre heat to 375. Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Fold in strawberries gently. Bake 18 min.

Lemon Cream Cheese Frosting:
1/2 container tofutti cream cheese
1/2 cup confectioners sugar
zest of lemon
1 TBS lemon juice
one drop red food coloring (optional but awesome)
16-18 half strawberries for decorating

Cupcake craziness!

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The month of October should have just been re-named cupcake month in my life. I made 52 cupcakes for my Halloween party and I made cupcakes on at least 3 other occasions! The best part about these cupcakes is that their are a lot of short cuts out there. Below I have listed some cake mixes that are vegan and how to replace the ingredients they tell you to add with vegan ingredients. This makes cupcakes an easy option that everyone loves! Above is the picture I took of the Halloween cupcakes, chocolate, vanilla, and apple spice (I colored those orange to be festive). I am bummed I don't have a frosted picture because they looked very cute decorated with orange, black, green, and purple for Halloween but everyone was too busy eating to take any pictures! I frosted them with Duncan Hines home style vanilla and chocolate fudge frosting which are vegan but in no way healthy for you =)

There are a bunch of mixes that are vegan-PETA's website lists Duncan Hines chocolate devils food, traditional yellow cake, and some other flavors. Just double check the ingredients as some varieties do contain milk ingredients. Cherry Brook Kitchen makes a gluten free mix and a vegan mix, but they cost like $6 a box, I also found an organic mix at whole foods. Based on what the box wants you to add this is what I would do:

Milk=soy milk
Egg=ener-g egg replacer for 1 egg and 1/4 cup soy yogurt additional eggs Ex: Duncan Hines wants 3 eggs replace with one ener-g egg replacer egg and 1/2 cup vanilla or plain soy yogurt
Oil=Oil or applesauce or combo OR melted smart balance
Butter=Smart Balance
Water=obviously you can use water but in the apple spice cupcakes below I replaced this with apple cider-yum!

Apple Spice Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting:
Mix together one box yellow cake mix and add 1 TBS molasses, 1 tsp each ground cloves, cinnamon, and allspice, and two peeled and diced Macintosh apples. Bake according to box directions and frost with cream cheese frosting (1/2 container tofutti cream cheese, 1/4 cup icing sugar, dash vanilla extract)
Chocolate Cupcakes with Peanut Butter Chocolate Frosting:
Mix one box chocolate cake (I like Duncan Hines devil's food) and add 1/3 cup semi sweet chocolate chips into the batter (it would be great to find non dairy peanut butter chips too but I haven't found any yet). Bake according to package directions. For frosting either use Duncan Hines home style fudge frosting (this is horrible for you BUT it's a cupcake so RELAX!) mix about 1/2 the container with 1/4 cup of peanut butter and frost away! OR make some peanut butter frosting with 1/2 cup smooth peanut butter, 1/4 cup icing sugar, and 2 TBS tofutti cream cheese. I'm sure there is a way to add melted chocolate and make a chocolate/peanut butter concoction but I am definitely not a frosting expert-yet! I brought these to my friends birthday party and again I was too busy eating to get a picture but I can say that with soy vanilla ice cream OR fresh from the oven, these bad boys are delicious!

So that was my adventure into the world of cupcakes which I will put on hold for awhile as I try out more pies and cakes for the holiday season. Cupcakes are fun and the combinations seem endless. Post any of your fun cupcake ideas or anything you would like to add to my thoughts here!

Trail Mix Cookies

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This healthy cookie is a great afternoon pick me up or even an on the go breakfast! They taste like trail mix and really spicy oatmeal raisin cookies-yum!

Dry Ingredients:
1 Cup instant/quick cooking oats
2/3 cups white whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp each allspice, cinnamon, nutmeg

Wet Ingredients:
1/3 cup flax meal
1/2 cup maple syrup
3 TBS almond butter (or any nut butter)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 TBS molasses
1 TBS canola oil
1/8 cup unsweetened coconut
3-4 TBS nuts (I used sliced almonds and sunflower seeds so they were small. Roughly chop if you use whole nuts)
1/3 cup mixed dry fruit soaked in rum for an hour or more (I used 1 TBS mango rum and 1 TBS regular and soaked a mixture of raisins, cranberries, and prunes for about 10 hours. I included the soaking rum in the mixture. If you can't or don't want to do this I do not think the recipe would suffer)

Preheat oven to 350. Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Combine wet ingredients in a seperate bowl or stand mixer. Slowly add dry ingredients. Make 10-12 golf ball sized cookies and slightly flatten on lightly sprayed cookie sheet. Bake 12 min. Transfer to plate and let cool.

Brownies

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These brownies are better than a lot of non-vegan versions and seem to be a hit. Below I've included a plain and cream cheese swirl version!
Chocolate Chip Brownies:
1/2 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1/3 cup water
1/3 cup canola oil
1 TBS vanilla extract
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
2/3 cup sugar
1 and 1/3 cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup semi sweet vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350. In mixing bowl beat applesauce, water, oil, vanilla, cocoa and sugar. When smooth sift in four, salt and baking powder and mix until smooth. Spread in a 11x7 pan and sprinkle chocolate chips on top. Bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool and serve!

UPDATE: Thanks to Sarah for making a gluten free version by replacing 1 cup flour with rice flour and the other 1/3 cup flour with almond meal!
Cream Cheese Brownies:
Make the above brownies and before you put it in the oven swirl in the below mixture.
Beat 4 oz tofutti cream cheese, 2 TBS sugar and a splash of vanilla extract. Spread on top of brownie mixture and swirl together. Add chocolate chips and bake as directed above.

Becky's Carrot Cake Cupcakes!

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When I tell you this is the best carrot cake, you need to believe me. They have won over non vegans and even carrot cake haters alike. They hold a special place in my heart because my friend Becky took the time to make up the recipe so I would have a yummy snack at a morning meeting one day! She adapted it from Joy of Cooking and with the addition of bananas it is the moistest most delicious cake I've had since becoming vegan. I added "Cream Cheese" frosting when I made these for Becky's Birthday which was yummy!
Carrot Cake
2 ripe medium bananas
2/3 cup vegetable oil (you can do apple sauce in stead or 1/2 and 1/2)
1 cup sugar
1-1/3 cup all purpose flour (I used whole wheat for the 1/3 cup)
1 and 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp each ground cloves, nutmeg, allspice, and salt (I didn't have cloves)
1 and 1/2- 2 cups shredded carrots

preheat to 350 line muffins tins with baking cups and lightly spray. Combine bananas and oil in bowl or stand mixer with whisk attachment. Add sugar. Sift in dry ingredients and combine. Fold in carrots. Fill muffin 2/3 full and bake 20-25 min (mine were 20) Let cool before frosting. Mine were fine over night.
Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz vegan cream cheese
3/4 confectioners sugar
2 TBS smart balance or other vegan butter
2 TBS soy milk

Combine on stand mixer. Yum! This made enough frosting or twice the cupcakes so I would cut it in half next time.

Breakfast Bars

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These are great for breakfast or a not too sweet dessert or snack.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Bars
2 Cups instant oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup agave syrup
6 TBS smooth peanut butter
1/2 cup-2/3 cups jam any kind- I LOVE raspberry
juice of 1/2 lemon

Pre-heat oven to 425. Coat a 8x11 pan with non-stick spray. Combine first 3 ingredients in a mixing bowl. Add peanut butter and combine into crumbs with fingers. Add agave to coat mixture and combine. Put 2/3rds of mixture in bottom of the pan and press down. Should be about 1/4 in thick (add more if you need it). Mix jam and lemon juice together and spread on top of oat mixture. Sprinkle remaining dry ingredients on top and bake for 18min. Let cool for about an hour and cut into squares. If you cut this into 10 squares each one is 200 calories.
Apple Walnut Bars
2 Cups instant oats
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/3 cup agave syrup + 1TBS
6 TBS almond butter
1 apple shredded
1/2 cup apple sauce
juice of 1/2 lemon
chopped walnuts optional

Make crust the same way as above. Make apple filling by combining apple, lemon, apple sauce and TBS agave. Spread over crust, sprinkle with remaining crumbs and walnuts if using. Bake in the same way as above.
Strawberry Rhubarb Tart
2 cups instant oats
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/3 cup agave
8 TBS raw almond butter

Mix together above ingradients and press into 9x9 pan. Bake @ 400 for 15 minutes. Spread with strawberry rhbarb jam and top with 1-2 cups sliced strawberries when cool. This is a great summer dessert with or without soy ice cream.

Memorial Day: Tofu BBQ and Skinny Bitch cookies

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Tom and I went Kayaking this morning with the idea that if we did something hard in the morning we deserved to drink and eat junk food in the afternoon. Makes sense, right? On the menu this afternoon:

Tofu Dogs with fixins'-we used veggie dogs not bad when topped with mustard, relish, and diced onion (my husband likes ketchup-ick)

Baked lentils -
1 cup dry lentil cooked for 30min in boiling water until tender and drained
1/2 red onion diced
2 garlic cloves
1-2 diced chipotle in adobo depending on heat level
2 TBS balsamic vinegar
1TBS brown sugar
1 TBS molasses
1/4 cup ketchup
1/4 cup dijon mustard
1/2 cup BBQ sauce

Sautee onion until soft, add crushed garlic and diced chipotle and cook for 1-2 min. Add balsamic, sugar, molasses, ketchup, mustard and BBQ sauce. Cook for 5 min on low. Pour over lentils in baking dish and bake at 350 for 45min. You can also do this with navy beans but I like the unusual use for lentils.

Tomato Basil salad-some grape tomatoes, diced red onion, evoo, basil, salt and pepper

Strawberries and "hard" iced tea-Iced green tea with mint leaves, lemon, and a shot of vodka or honey liquor if you are a vegan who eats honey (I know there is much debate over this). Add some agave if you opt for the vodka for sweetness. SOOO good and refreshing. Best served over ice, outside with a bowl of strawberries.

Not a bad or unhealthy meal until... we decided we were hungry and bored by 5pm and decided to make chocolate chip cookies from Skinny Bitch in the Kitch. Let me start by saying I love love LOVE chocolate chip cookies. I think they are the perfect cookie and I have not had a suitable vegan version for almost a year now. These make the cut especially when still warm and chewy. The next day they are more crunchy and crispy but still very good. I will try to adapt the recipe to be a little less oily but the recipe below is as it is in the book. I subbed canola oil for coconut which might be why.

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 tablespoon baking soda
1 teaspoon sea salt
1 1/2 cup evaporated cane sugar
1 1/4 cup coconut oil (i used canola)
1/4 ice water. I put it in the freezer for 20 minutes
1 Tablespoon molasses
1/2 Tablespoon vanilla
1 10 oz package of semi sweet chocolate (i used 1/2 the pack)

Scoop 2 TBS of dough about 2 in apart on a sprayed cookie sheet or one with parchment paper. Bake for 10-12 min at 375. Cool about 20 minutes and enjoy!

Vegan Tappas

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I've talked about my friend Sarah before, she's the one with the awesome guacamole that I never have the patience to make. Sarah moved to Chicago about a year ago and I really miss cooking with her, but she came into town last month and I knew we should throw an awesome party!
Grapefruit Confetti Salad
Use a food processor to grate two raw peeled beets, and three large carrots (or just but the pre-grated carrots like I did). Supreme one large grapefruit and reserve the juice in a bowl and set sections aside. Add 1TBS EVOO to grapefruit juice as well as 1tsp cumin and chopped cilantro. Whisk together and pour over the shredded vegetables. Let sit for a couple hours and then scoop veggies into endive leaves. Place a grapefruit section on top of each one.
Zucchini Fritters and Red Pepper Aioli
Rinse off that food processor and grate two white potatoes, 1 large zucchini, 1 small sweet onion. Place mixture in bowl and coat lightly with cornstarch (a little less than a 1/4 cup), salt and pepper liberally. About 20 min before you want to serve add about 1/4 cup water and 1/4 flour to make a pste/dough consistency. Scoop a couple of TBS of mixture into a hot skillet with evoo. Fry about 4 at a time and drain on a paper bag or paper towels.
Serve with Red Pepper Aioli:
2 Roasted red peppers (from a jar or do it yourself)
1 Clove garlic
3 TBS fresh parsley
1-2 TBS vegan mayonnaise (optional-I've tried it both ways and both are good)
Green Olive Crostini
Combine 1 cup pitted green olives (not in a jar), 1 clove garlic, a large handful of parseley, 1-2 TBS EVOO, and zest of one lemon. Pulse in a food processor and spread on slices of baguette. Bake for 15 min in a 350 oven. Top with half a cherry tomato and serve.
Sweet Potato Quesadillas
These were the hit of that party from what I heard so make A LOT! This recipe was enough for 27 pieces and I'm sure if I had give my friends more they would have eaten them. Bake 3 LARGE sweet potatoes or four regular ones in the oven for 1 hour until they are tender. Peel off skin, and put in food processor ith 1/4 cup cilantro and 2 chipotle peppers in adobo. Blend until smooth and fold in 1 can black beans. Spread mixture on 1 half of a flour tortilla and fold over. Place on a baking sheet sprayed with non stick spray and bake at 350 for 15 min flipping halfway through. Cut each tortilla into 3 pieces and serve with guacamole.
Chocolate Truffles
10oz dark chocolate chopped finely (we used the food processor)
3/4 cup coconut milk (not light)
2 TBS cointreau or vanilla depending on which truffle you want to make

Heat coconut milk until very hot but not boiling. Pour milk over chocolate in a glass or stainless bowl. Stir in the extract or liquor and then let chocolate set and cool in fridge. Scoop with a melon baller then roll into balls with hand. Then roll in topping of your choice. We made a double batch and made three kinds of truffles.

Vanilla rolled in toasted chopped almonds
Vanilla rolled in coconut
Cointreau rolled in cocoa

The party was a great success and we all enjoyed seeing Sarah. She also took these great photos! Thanks Sarah and we miss you!

Funky Monkey Cookies

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These cookies are banana oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, but I wanted to name them something fun!

Ingredients:
2 mashed ripe bananas
1/3 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup soy milk
3/4 cub light brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup whole wheat flour and 1 1/3 cup all purpose flour (or you can do 2 1/3 cups all purpose)
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon each all spice and nutmeg and salt
1 1/2 cups instant or rolled oats
1 1/2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 and lightly spray 2 cookie sheets.
In a bowl combine banana, maple syrup, sot milk, vanilla, and brown sugar. You might want to use a hand mixer or stick blender to get the banana "smoosh" smooth and incorporated. Sift in all dry ingredients except oats. When a dough forms fold in chocolate chips and oats. Form into walnut sized balls and bake 10min. They will be soft and not look done but let them cool (slightly if you can't wait) and they will become chewy and delicious! Enjoy with ice cold non-dairy milk or coffee!

Happy Valentines Day!

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The day before Valentine's Day we had some people over to watch a scary movie because it was Friday the 13th.

We made chocolate covered caramel corn, vegan raspberry brownies, and had kettle corn to snack on, but we needed a really great cocktail to keep everyone happy during the scary movie!
Strawberry Mojito:
Muddle frozen or fresh strawberries with 3 or 4 mint leaves in the bottom of a glass
Pour in one shot white rum
Top with sparkling berry lemonade (from Trader Joe's)
You can use any lemonade but the one from TJ's is pink and has a nice berry and lemon flavor.

After a great night with friends and getting scared out of our minds watching The Descent, we woke up hungry. This was an easy breakfast to make the next morning that showed Tom how much I love him!
Peanut Butter Banana Quesadillas:
2 Whole Wheat tortillas
natural creamy or chunky peanut butter
1 banana cut into rounds
handful semi-sweet chocolate chips

Spray skillet with non-stick spray and heat to medium. Spread 1/2 of each tortilla with peanut butter, lay on 1/2 of the banana slices and sprinkle 1/2 of the chocolate chips on each. Fold each tortilla in half and warm in skillet outside is soft and inside melty. Cut with pizza cutter.

I also cut some Trader Joe's vegan banana waffles into heart shapes with a cookie cutter!

Coco-Pineapple Sundaes

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Another little Vegetarian Times idea. Pineapple+coconut sorbet+mint. The original had mangoes instead of pineapple. I think you could make a tropical sundae with bananas, pineapple and mango, but I loved this flavor combo especially with the chopped mint. Pair with tofu lettuce wraps for a light Asian inspired meal!

Caramel Popcorn Delight

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Ok so its probably no surprise that I love Trader Joe's and one of the many reasons is because they have a whole lot of vegan products and it is easy to find them thanks to the list on their website. I'm sorry if you don't have a TJs by you but don't worry you can usually find everything I use at a regular grocery store. This delicious treat uses TJs fat free caramel corn which is vegan, peanuts, and dark chocolate. This is the only vegan caramel corn that I know of that you can buy so if you are not near a Trader Joe's you will have to make your own caramel corn. I'm not sure you can even call this cooking, but it's awesome and everyone will love you if you bring it to a party!

Spread caramel corn and peanuts (optional) on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper. Melt 1 and 1/2 dark chocolate bars in a pan on low heat and drizzle melted chocolate over the peanut and popcorn mixture. Place in fridge for 45min and then break into chunks. Try not to eat it all.

Pumpkin Cookies

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We all know I'm not a great baker but last week we had a big snow storm and I needed a project and wanted to have cookies for my sister-in-law and husband for the holidays!

ingredients:
1 cup evaporated cane sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 tsp each cinnamon and nutmeg
1/4 tsp all spice or ginger
1 cup all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flower (or 2 cups all purpose whatever)

icing:
3 tbs canned pumpkin
icing sugar

Beat sugar, pumpkin, oil and vanilla.

Mix dry ingredients in separate bowl and add to liquid mixture in 3 or 4 parts. Mix until smooth like a thick mixture.

Bake at 350 for 12-15 minutes (I thought they were better cooked less)

While they cook mix together frosting and frost cookies when cool. I included iced and un-iced cookies although Tom says that iced is the only way to go.

Happy Halloween

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Happy Halloween!

Check out this link for a list of vegan candy: http://www.petakids.com/candy.html

September Entertaining Menu

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Cranberry Pear Salad
Our friends Joanna and Dan came over this weekend for my first entertaining experience since being a vegan. I decided to serve them a three course meal and started with this salad, which turned out to be something that I would eat any day of the week!
This salad is easy but so pretty so the key is getting really great ingredients. I used locally grown red leaf lettuce, organic frisee and red pears. Tear the lettuce and slice the pears as thin as you can. The dressing is a shallot vinaigrette of one part balsamic, two parts EVOO, one sliced shallot and a little agave syrup. The really special part of this salad are the toppings, and although they are simple and easy to find they really make it more impressive. Sprinkle sliced toasted almonds, dried unsweetened cranberries, and fried onion pieces from Trader Joe's. I had never had these before as my family never had this "green bean casserole" I've heard so much about, but they are totally delicious. RELAX about the calories and remember that you're entertaining and it is supposed to be indulgent and remember you're probably eating a small amount.

Lentil Soup
The next course I served was lentil soup. Below is the recipe for the soup and the garlic croutons on top!
2 Tbsp EVOO
1/2 a diced onion
2 Cloves Garlic
1Tsp cumin
1Tsp cayenne
3/4 cups green or brown lentils
1 cup of canned peelled tomatoes and their juice (about three of the tomatoes)
4 cups low sodium organic vegetable broth (I used Trader Joe's)
1/2 head escarole
Cilantro or parseley (optional)

Start by heating the EVOO and sauteeing the onion untill translucent. Add crushed garlic, cumin, cayenne, and brown lentils. Stir untill garlic is fragrant but not browning, then add liquid (tomatoes and broth). Bring to a boil and then turn down to simmer for about 40min. Then add the escarole to cook and finish with cilantro or parseley before serving.
This soup has a lot of room for variation and as long as you keep the ratio of 3/4 cup lentils to 5 cups liquid you could use whatever you like to flavor it. I was thinking next time I might use some leeks instead of onions or add some potato (sweet or otherwise) after adding the liquid. enjoy making the soup anyway you like!

Roasted Garlic Croutons
1/2-3/4 loaf french bread day old or fresh
4 cloves roasted garlic
1/4 cup EVOO
Tbsp Lemon juice
salt to taste

Roast garlic for about 30-45 minutes at 400 degrees or untill cloves are light brown, soft and yummy! Mix EVOO, lemon juice, and garlic into a paste using a fork. Toss to coat bread and lay in one layer on a baking sheet. Toast in oven for 10-15 minutes at 350 tossing every five minutes.

Three Berry Crisp
This dessert is adapted from a rasberry rhubarb crisp in What To Have For Dinner: The Best of Martha Stewart Living it can be done with almost any kind of fruit but I wanted to utilize the last of the summer berries.
3 Cups strawberries
1 pint rasberries
1 pint blackberries
1/3 cup evaporated organic cane sugar*
Zest and juice of 1 lemon
Zest of one orange

1 cup all purpose white or whole wheat flour
1/2 cup dark brown sugar
1/2 Tsp cinnamon
8 Tbs unsalted butter substitute
1/2 cup rolled oats

Preheat oven to 350
Combine strawberries, zest, juice, cane sugar in a bowl. In another bowl combine flour, brown sugar, and cinnamon. Use your fingers to incorporate butter until large crumbs form. Add oats and combine. Pour the strawberry mixture into a baking dish, 1 and 1/2 quart is suggested, and scatter rasberries and blackberries on top. Add crumb mixture evenly and bake for 45 minutes until top is crisp and juices bublling. Let cool for 10minutes before serving with your favorite non-dairy ice cream.

*If using rhubarb or green apples, increase evaporated cane sugar to 2/3 cup

Chocolate-y goodness

Delicious

Ever since I've become a vegan I've been really happy. Along with animal products, I also cut out refined sugar, white flour, and processed foods. This is great for me, but less fun for those around me - especially the ones I work with. I used to bring donuts to meetings, have junk food parties during really stressful parts of the year, and have "ice-cream Fridays" in the summer. Now I eat soup, salad, lentils, veggies, tofu and fruit. So this post is for them. I made something I've heard some people call "monkey munch". I just call it yummy:

I melted two 3.5 once dark chocolate bars. Once it was smooth and creamy, I took it off the heat and stirred in some puffins cereal and slivered almonds. I spread a thick layer on a baking sheet lined with with wax paper and cleared some room in the fridge. Once it hardened, I broke it up and packaged it for my favorite co-workers! Some people make this recipe and add peanut butter during the chocolate-melting stage and put powdered sugar on it once hardened. I like to think that this version is a little healthier and could be good with raisins or cranberries in it. Think of all the anti-oxidants!

Prep time: 10min
Cool time: 45min