Saturday, May 8, 2010

5K Fundraiser



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Hi Everyone!

As you may or may not know I have been volunteering with a wonderful therapeutic riding program for the past few months (learn more about Lovelane from the link and video below). By volunteering I have experienced great joy and I now have the great opportunity to give back! On June 13th Tom and I will be running a 5K to benefit Lovelane and the many families they help. It's going to be a really fun day with kids activities, food, and of course running. I'd love it if you could be there to cheer us on with a donation and/or in person.

Love

Lauren and Tom

Watch this video Learn more about Lovelane Here Donate Here

Friday, May 7, 2010

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!

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Derby Day: Chips, Dips, and Big Hats



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I'm not a huge Kentucky Derby fanatic or anything but in my family, any excuse for food and drink is great! My aunt hosted a great party with hats, snacks, a little betting, and lots of family fun! I brought a layered that was pretty popular (we started scarfing it before I got the picture).
It is easy peasy to make:
1. Tofutti cream cheese mixed with 2-3 TBS taco seasoning (Trader Joe's has a spicy one)
2. Amy's re-fried black beans mixed with a little hot sauce
3. Chopped black olives and pickled jalapenos
4. 1/2 cup black beans (make sure to rinse and dry these or they will make the dip wet)
5. Guacamole
6. Fresh salsa
Just layer everything in a nice shallow dish. You can get creative about what you use. Serve with chips and veggies. We also a great dinner with roasted veggies and a rice and bean salad with herbs, spices and veg and LOTS of Gin and Tonics!

Here's a picture of the ladies lookin pretty! My hat is so big I couldn't see!

Friday, April 30, 2010

Quesadillas and Pumpkin Cranberry Muffins



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I was inspired by Vivacious Vegan's post on quesadillas here. You can make them with almost anything, but I used a low carb tortilla with refried black beans, fresh salsa from whole foods, black olives, and jalapenos. I thought about sauteing some spinach but I was soooo hungry. I served it with a simple tomato, cucumber, avocado salad dressed with some lemon juice and zest. Fold in half and toast in a non stick plan-I did not use oil but I guess you could. TIP: if you need to make a lot of quesadillas for a party (see my Superbowl post on sweet potato quesadillas) set the oven to 350. Lightly spray a cookie sheet and place quesadillas on it. Flip after 5 min and cook 5-7 minutes more. Let cool a bit and slice with a pizza cutter.

Tomorrow is the Kentucky Derby and we will be going out to western MA to party hardy with my family. I wanted to bring something yummy but not too sweet for an afternoon garden party. I've made a lot o cookies lately and so I decided to make my favorite muffins. I made these a lot this fall because they are great around the holidays, but I missed them so they are coming out one last time before summer!
Pumpkin Cranberry Orange Muffins
2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ea. cinnamon, allspice, nutmeg
1 cup maple syrup
1 can of pumpkin
1/2 c applesauce
Juice of 1/2 orange and zest of whole orange
1/2 cup orange flavored cranberries (from Trader Joe's or just use regular ones)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
NOTE: You can use pumpkin pie filling and omit spices and 1/2 cup maple syrup

Set oven to 350. Mix wet ingredients, then add dry, fold in nuts and berries, and fill lightly greased muffin cups 1/2 way. Bake 14-17 min.

Monday, April 26, 2010

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"

Monday, April 12, 2010

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.

Wednesday, March 3, 2010

Shepards Pie



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This is something I never actually had when I wasn't a vegan so I have NOOO basis for comparison but I served it to my husband and my friend from England, Craig. They are boys, they ate it, they asked for more so... win!
Filling (use any or all of the following):
Carrots
Celery
Onion
Zucchini
Peppers
Saute veggies until soft and then add 2-3 cloves garlic. Season with 1 tsp fennel seed and some crushed red pepper. Add small can of tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes and one bay leaf. Cook together for 15minutes. Add your favorite TVP or saute gimme lean breakfast sausage in a seperate pan and then add to sauce. I stirred in 2 cups of baby spinach, and 1/2 cup each frozen corn and frozen peas. Cooked until spinach wilted. Transfer to a quiche or pie plate.
Topping:
3 cups small red potatoes
1/2 cup tofutti sour cream or for lighter potatoes add plain soy milk
2 TBS vegan margarine
2tsp garlic powder, salt and lots of black pepper

Spread potatoes on top of filling and bake at 375 until potatoes start to brown (didn't get a picture out of the oven only before it went in). This would be good served with some corn muffins. I had some pumpkin cranberry muffins that the guys like with their dinner! Enjoy this dish before the weather gets warmer (Yay!) Here's a picture of the filling:

Sunday, February 14, 2010

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 =)

Friday, January 22, 2010

Black Bean Tofu Cakes with Pineapple Mango Salsa



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I made these around Christmas as a veggie alternative to my mom's pork roast which was accompanied with the same salsa. They are a little hard to flip and might benefit from some more bread crumbs but they were good.

Saute a combination of diced vegetables. I used mushrooms, zucchini, peppers. Add garlic, cumin and coriander to taste. Meanwhile blend 1/4-1/2 cup bread crumbs and extra firm tofu, salt and pepper in food processor. In a bowl fold together 1 can black beans, tofu, and vegetables. Form into patties and cook in EVOO about 3 minutes on each side. TIP: wait until one side is brown to do the flip. It's hard to do but easier if one side is firm. You can keep these warm in an oven at 200 until ready to serve.

Salsa:
1/2 cup pineapple diced
2 mangoes diced
1 avocado diced
1/2 jalapeno seeded and diced
juice of one lime
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
salt to taste

Sunday, January 3, 2010

Vegan Brunch



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By oldest and bestest was in town this week from L.A. and I thought a ladies brunch would be a great way to celebrate seeing her. It was a great morning with old friends just drinking coffee and soy hot chocolate while the snow came down outside!
Fruit and yogurt parfait-layer vanilla soy yogurt, strawberries, granola, yogurt, slivered almonds and drizzle of agave syrup
Fruit Salad
Salad with pears, walnuts, and cranberries. dressing here.
Sausage-Saute pieces of field roast apple and sage sausage and serve with mustard
Crescent rolls with jam
Roast potatoes with vegetables-Saute onions, peppers, zucchini and broccoli in pan while you roast small potatoes in oven. Mix together and bake before serving. You could also add field roast sausages to this mixture.
Pumpkin pancakes-Pancake recipe here. Substitute pumpkin pie filling for the apple sauce in this recipe. We actually ran out of soy milk and used some soy eggnog as well. The spices in the nog worked out really well.
Bagel Sandwiches-Mini whole wheat bagels, spread with hummus and layered with vegetables

Wednesday, December 16, 2009

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

Saturday, November 28, 2009

Thanksgiving!



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People can't imagine what I eat on this meat-heavy holiday. There are lot's of things I can think of and this year I made corn bread stuffing with apples, celery, carrots, onions and apple sage field roast sausage. Below is the yummy and healthy meal we had at my aunt's house. She of course had a free-range organic turkey but she also made me eggplant Parmesan-vegan style! She baked slices of eggplant that she dredged with plain soy milk and then dipped in plain breadcrumbs. She then sauteed mushrooms and garlic and layered them on top of the eggplant. We made a spicy sauce with onions, hot red pepper, garlic and capers and tomatoes and baked it until heated through. She also served super tasty brown bread with smart balance, steamed green beans, acorn squash puree, roasted baby potatoes with pearl onions! I made cranberry orange sauce which was great with the squash and on the brown bread. Everything was healthy and delicious! We of course had apple pie (made with Pillsbury crusts that are vegan) and a strawberry rhubarb crumble!

Monday, November 23, 2009

Sweet potato chilli and scallion corn cakes



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Chili:
2 sweet potatoes
1 onion
2 red or orange peppers
2-3 cups kale leaves torn into bite size pieces
1 can black beans
2 small cans tomatoes and chillies or fire roasted tomatoes and separate can of mild green chillis. (just use whatever combination you want)
2-3 chipotles in adobo sauce
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chilli powder

Cut potatoes into small squares. saute in EVOO until soft. Add diced onion, peppers until soft. Add chipotles and spices and cook with veggies for a minute. Add canned tomatoes, chillis and beans and cook for 20-30 minutes until thickened. 15 minutes before serving add kale and make corn cakes. Optional Toppings: hot sauce, guacamole, soy sour cream, cilantro, scallions, black olives

I used the veganomicon corn bread recipe here and added a handful of frozen corn and 4 chopped scallions to the batter and then used the batter like pancake batter to make 8 pancakes to go on top of chilli.

Saturday, November 21, 2009

Chickpea Cutlets



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These cutlets are from Veganomicon and are delicious with roasted potatoes and peppers and a light salad. Just wanted to share the recipe and picture:

Friday, November 20, 2009

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!

Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Black Bean Chipotle Soup



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Great soup for cold weather. Uses up leftovers from your fridge and is a nice twist on chilli. Serve with corn bread or good bread for dipping or flax seed tortillas as I did here.

Ingredients:
Box of vegetable stock/broth
1 can black beans
1 small can diced fire roasted tomatoes or diced tomatoes and green chilles
1 red onion
2 ribs of celery
2-3 carrots
1 zucchini
2 cloves garlic
2 chipotle peppers
1 TBS cumin
1 tsp coriander
1tsp chille powder
3-4 cups kale leaves
1 cup frozen corn
2-3 small potatoes cooked (I had some leftover baked potato)
cilantro and scallions for garnish
salt to taste (note about salt: make sure to salt each layer of the dish so it is not over or under salted. ie. salt veggies while cooking, then add liquid, taste, and salt again if needed, cook then taste salt again and so on. I find if you salt components as you cook them you wont need much when liquid is added and remember the more spice and flavor the soup has the less salt you need.)

Saute onion until soft, add diced celery, carrots and zucchini. Add garlic and cook together for 5 min. Add chipotles, salt and spices and cook for an additional minutes. You can do this sauteing in EVOO I like to use just a little and if pan gets dry add some of the canned tomato liquid. When all veggies are soft add broth, tomatoes and beans. Bring to a boil and cook together for 30min. Add cooked potatoes, frozen corn and kale 15 minutes before serving. You could also put pasta in here or really any veggies you have on hand. Spinach, peppers, squash, sweet potato and peas come to mind! Happy fall!

Thursday, October 1, 2009

Italian Flag Pizza



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Obviously named because of it colors, this pizza is satisfyingly tasty and pretty healthy.

1 package pizza dough regular or whole wheat
Spinach pesto (recipe below)
sundried tomatoes
kalamata olives
fresh tomatoes
1/2 cup extra firm tofu crumbled and mixed with garlic powder, dried oregano, salt and fresh ground pepper.

Spinach pesto:
2 cups baby spinach
handful basil leaves
1 clove garlic
1-2 TBS EVOO
salt and pepper to taste
pinch of red chile flakes

Combine in blender or food processor until smooth. Spread on prepared pizza base and add toppings in order listed above. Bake according to package directions ours was 12min at 425.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Grilled Vegetables



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One of the best parts of this summer was grilling lots and lots of local vegetables. While it's still grill weather outside, check out your local farm stand and get grilling! I grilled 2 portobellas, 2 local white eggplants,, 3 local zuchinni, 4 peppers. Spray all veggies with EVOO and salt and pepper and a little balsamic vinegar and grill until tender. Keep in a container and use all week (some ideas below).
Ideas for grilled vegetables:
Mixed with cous cous or quinoa, EVOO, fresh herbs, garlic powder, salt and pepper (pictured)
Chopped up in a stew or chili
in a pita pocket with hummus and tahini or falafel
A topping on veggie burgers
Veggie fajitas with guacamole and salsa
On a salad
Layered in a baguette with meatless meatballs and sauce for a yummy health sub!

Tuesday, September 15, 2009

Peach Molasses Corn Muffins



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Inspired by last weeks brown sugar peach muffins from Vegan Yum Yum, I decided to make a corn bread based version to go with our chili last night. Again, this is based off of Veganomicon's skillet corn bread, but with no oil and molasses added also a little more sweetener!

Ingredients

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
4 TBS maple syrup
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup oil (I filled the cup half with apple sauce and half molasses)
1 large peach chopped into pieces

Set oven to 350. Mix soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle. In another bowl mix dry ingredients. Add maple syrup, molasses, apple sauce (or oil) to soymilk mixture. Mix wet into dry until combined. Fold in peaches and spoon into sprayed muffin tins. Bake for 18-20 min. This recipe made nine muffins.

Chipotle Chilli and Corn Bread



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As the weather starts to get colder here, a lot of people start panicking about the winter ahead but I get super excited for all the warm cozy foods I get to make in the fall and winter! Below is my basic chili kicked up a bit with Field Roast sausage and a yummy, crunchy, slightly sweet corn bread topping. This should get anyone excited about the cold weather!

Chipotle Chilli
1-3 links mexican chipotle field roast sausage (or TVP of your choice)
1 red or sweet onion
4 peppers
2 cloves garlic
1/4 cup beer (optional-drink rest of beer with this meal =))
1-3 chipotle in adobo peppers (use just one if using sausage because they are spicy)
1 TBS cumin, chili powder, garlic powder and 1/2 TBS coriander or use a pre-made spice packet
1 small can diced tomatoes with green chillis (hunts and rotell make this)
1 small can roasted diced tomatoes
1 TBS tomato paste
1/2 small can diced green chillis
1 can red kidney or black beans
1/2 cup frozen or fresh corn
Scallions and cilantro chopped for garnish

You will need one cast iron skillet (or 9in sq baking pan or similar small pan to bake chilli in) and large soup pot or whatever you would make chilli in. In skillet, saute crumbles of sausage until lightly crisp outside and set aside. In large pot saute diced onion until soft (in about a tsp of oil) then add diced peppers. When everything is soft add garlic cloves and spices and cook for another minute. De-glaze pan with beer if using or just add two cans of tomatoes. Add tomato paste, beans, diced chipotles and cook down about 30 min on simmer. While chilli is cooking down, prepare corn bread below.Note: you do not have to use any TVP in this meal and can just add extra veggies (I like squash and zucchini) and use 3 chipotle peppers or chipotle hot sauce for extra chipotle flavor.

Corn Bread This is the Skillet Corn Bread recipe from Veganomicon but I have cut out some of the oil, used maple syrup instead of sugar, and made half the amount to accomodate the chilli in the pan, but feel free to double this recipe and bake it as a side dish in skillet.

1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 cup cornmeal
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
2 TBS maple syrup
1 tsp baking powder
pinch salt
1/3 cup oil (I filled the cup measure with half green chillis and half canola oil)
1/3 cup frozen or fresh corn kernels
1 sliced scallion

Set oven to 350. Mix soy milk and vinegar and set aside to curdle (I know gross, right? but it's not. You're making your own buttermilk-like substance) In another bowl mix dry ingredients. Add maple syrup, chillis and oil to soymilk mixture. Mix wet into dry until combined. Add corn and sliced scallion if using.

Assembly
Add sausage crumbles, frozen/fresh corn and cilantro or scallions to chilli. Spoon chilli into skillet about 1/2way up sides. Pour cornbread mixture over and bake in oven for 35-40 minutes. You will see cracks in cornbread and slightly browned edges. Spoon and enjoy!