Tuesday, November 16, 2010

Gingerbread Biscotti

This is the first time I think I've even had biscotti! I've been back for more, let me tell you. Recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar!

1/4 c molasses
2/3 c sugar
2tbs ground flax seeds
1/2 c canola oil
2 tbs soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4c flour (I have used both whole wheat and unbleached white)
2 tsp ground ginger
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 c finely chopped candied ginger

Preaheat oven to 350F. Beat together molasses, sugar, flax, oil, milk and vanilla with a whisk. Sift in flour, spices, baking powder and salt. Use a spatula to form a dough, and knead in ginger. I used my hands. Form a log on a baking sheet covered with parchment. Bake for 28-30 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool for 45 minutes, slice, and place back in oven for 22-24 minutes at 325F.

Once cooled, I drizzled with an icing made with 1 c icing sugar and the juice of a lemon. Yuuum!

bake, bake, bake

I've been busy!

Today I made my own vegan white chocolate! I used the recipe from this website: http://bittersweetblog.wordpress.com/2008/02/18/the-white-stuff/

I have never had vegan white chocolate (haven't been able to find it) so last week I bought some super expensive cacao butter, and today I had a chance to try it out. It turned out pretty good! I used it melted to drizzel over some biscotti that I made, and then I used some hardened stuff to put into some cranberry scones.

Matcha Green Tea Macadami Nut Biscotti (modified from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, originaly recipe calls for walnuts but I had none!)
1/4 c soy milk
4 tsp matcha green tea powder
2 tbs ground flax seeds
1/2 c canola oil
3/4 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1 c flour
1/2 c whole wheat pastry flour
2 tbs cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 1/4 c macadamia nuts (chopped up a bit)

Preheat oven to 350F. Whisk the matcha powder with the milk until there are no lumps, and then add the flax. Add oil, sugar and vanilla. Sift in the dry ingredients, mix, and kneed in the nuts. On a baking sheet covered in parchment, form a log of the dough 10 by 4 inches. Bake for 30 minutes, take out, let cook for 45 mins, and bake again after slicing into 1/2 inch slices for 26 minutes at 325F. I usually try to plan to bake something or use the oven in some way while the biscotti cools, rather than turn off the oven.
Once these were cooled, i drizzelled them with the melted white chocolate!

The other thing I baked today was something of my own creation. Well, kind of. I couldnt find a cranberry white chocolate scone recipe I liked so I used the recipe for "Sweet Biscuits" from How it All Vegan:

2 1/2 c flour (I used one unbleached white flour, 1 1/2 whole wheat)
1/4 sugar
2 tsp baking powder
3/4 c margarine
1 cup soy milk (I also added a splash of apple cider vinegar to thicken the milk)

My additions: 1/2 c dried cranberries
1/2 c vegan white chocolate
1 tsp sugar to sprinkle on top before baking

Preheat the oven to 400F, sift together dry ingredients, cut in margarine, mix in milk, cranberries and white chocolate. I used my hands to mix, form into a ball, flatten, and slice into 6 triangles. Place on baking sheet covered in parchment, sprinkle with sugar, and bake for 16 minutes (give or take a couple minutes!). Some of my chocolate leaked out (the cacoa butter melts a lot I think) but it was still delicious!

Tuesday, September 7, 2010

Macadamia Ginger Crunch Drops

Man these were sooo good!
Taken from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar by Isa Chandra Moskowicz.

Ingredients:

2 cups flour (I used whole wheat and it worked well)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sald
1/4 tsp nutmeg
2/3 c canola oil
2/3 c sugar
3/4 c brown sugar
1/3 c soy milk
1 tbs ground flax seed
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp coconut extract (if you don't have it use more vanilla)
1 1/3 c chopped macadamia nuts (I smashed mine, and lots were in big pieces)
1/2 c chopped candied ginger

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line two baking sheet with parchment paper. In a medium bowl whisk together flour, baking soda, salt and nutmeg. In a large bowl beat together oil, sugar, brown sugar, milk, flax seeds and extracts. Fold in dry mixture and combine just to moisten. Fold in macadamia nuts and ginger.
The recipe calls for 1 tablespoon drops of cookies on the sheet 2 inches apart, but I doubled that. Bake for 14 minutes until edges start to brown. Let cookies rest on baking sheet for 5 minutes and then transfer to wire cooling rack. My way made 15 cookies. I think next time I might add just a handful of carob chips, although that might overwhelm the ginger. Maybe a chocolate or carob drizzle on the top would do. Mmm the possibilities!

Babycakes chocolate and vanilla cupcakes

I am going to post here the basic gluten free recipe from Babycakes by Erin Mckenna that I have used for cupcakes. They are different than any cupcake I have eaten, worth a try for sure!

Chocolate

Ingredients:

1 3/4 c garbanzo-fava bean flour (I used regular bean flour, but I have seen specific type at Farm Boy)
1/2 c potato starch
1 c unsweetened cocoa flour
1/4 c arrowroot
1 tbs plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp salt
1 c coconut oil
1 1/3 c agave nectar
3/4 c applesauce
3 tbs vanilla
1 c hot water or hot coffee (I think coffee worked best for me)
Frosting of your choice! (I have made coconut frosting and peanut butter frosting for these, mmm! I have yet to use the Babycakes recipe for this though)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk together dry ingredients and stir in the wet until smooth. Pour 1/3 cup into each muffin cup. Bake on center rack for 22 minutes, rotating pan after 15 minutes. Let stand in tins for 20 minutes and transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in fridge! These turn out so dense and delicious!

Vanilla

Ingredients:

2 c garbanzo-fava bean flour (again I used bean flour)
1 c potato starch
1/2 c arrowroot
1 tbs plus 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp xanthan gum
2 tsp salt
2/3 coconut oil
1 1/3 c applesauce
3 tsp vanilla
grated zest of one lemon
1 c hot water
Frosting (I used coconut)

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
Whisk together dry ingredients and stir in the wet except the water and combine. Add water and stir until smooth. Pour 1/3 cup into each muffin cup. Bake on center rack for 22 minutes, rotating pan after 15 minutes. Let stand in tins for 20 minutes and transfer to wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store in fridge! The lemon makes these interesting, and they are dense as well.

The ingredients in these may not be in your cupboard. I did most of my stocking up at the Natural Food Pantry! Agave nectar and coconut oil are expensive, but they are really nice to work with.

My favorite zucchini muffins

This recipe is awesome. If you don't have the ingredients, equivalents should be fine. Its from Babycakes by Erin McKenna. Babycakes is a vegan, mostly gluten-free, sugar free cupcake store in New York city. This recipe uses spelt flour which is not gluten free, and if you don't have spelt, whole wheat worked for me (I have used spelt as well, both were perfect). I think that the secret to this recipe is the ground flax seed, which you can get at Loblaws. Its commonly used as an egg replacer in baking, but is good to slip in to just about anything baked and oatmeal etc.

Ingredients:

2 c whole spelt flour
1/2 c flax meal
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tbs ground ginger
1/2 c coconut oil
3/4 c agave nectar
3/4 c soy milk (recipe calls for rice milk, I have always used soy)
1 tbs vanilla
2 cups shredded zucchini (I have shredded it different ways, the smaller the shreds the easier it disappears into the batter when baked)

Preheat over to 325 degrees. Line 12 muffin tins with paper liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk the dry ingredients together. Add the wet (except the zucchini) and stir until smooth. Fold in the zucchini with a spatula.
Pour 1/3 cup batter into each muffin cup. The first time I made these I sprinkled walnut pieces on top, which was nice. Bake in the center rack for 22 minutes, rotating pan 180 degrees after 15 minutes.
Let the muffins stand in tin for 15 minutes then transfer to a wire cooling rack to cool completely. Store at room temperature.

Pumpkin Pancakes

So with the leftover pumpkin from the bread... Pancakes!
Recipe from Vegan Brunch by Isa Chandra Moskowitz.

3/4 c canned pumpkin
2 tbs canola oil
3/4 c soy milk
1/2 c water
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
2 tbs maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 c flour (I used whole wheat)
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp nutmeg
pinch cloves

Whisk together wet ingredients, then stir in the rest until there are very few lumps left but do not over mix. Oh yes, I didn't have nutmeg and cloves so I used cinnamon, ginger and pumpkin pie spice.
Preheat a non-stick pan or better yet griddle (that is what I always use and I am a bit of a pancake master. It's the secret to perfect pancakes I think) to medium. Use cooking spray if you must. Pour half a cup of batter at a time, and let cook until the edges are dry and there are bubbles in the center. Flip once only!
I served with powdered sugar and maple syrup...

Monday, September 6, 2010

Vegetable Sandwich

Since become began I've eaten probably dozens of veggie sandwiches. The recipe I use loosely based on what I have handy is based on the recipe "Parmesan Crusted Veggie Sandwiches" from How it All Vegan by Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer.

This is how I do it.

Ingredients:
(makes two sammiches)

4 slices good, sturdy whole wheat bread
2 tbs olive oil or margarine
1 clove garlic
1 avocado
1 tomato
1/2 red onion
alfalfa sprouts
2 tsp Dijon mustard
2 tsp vegan mayo
salt and pepper to taste

Coat bread with oil or margarine. You can either toast it in the oven ( at 400 degrees) or fry it in a pan (on medium heat). Either way is awesome. Prepare fresh ingredients by cleaning/peeling/ slicing them while the bread it heating. When the bread is done, rub clove of garlic on the sides that will be inside the sandwich. Place avocado on one side, and smush in or just leave it in slices. Next comes the onion. I find the soft avocado keeps the pieces in place. Then comes the sprouts. On the other side of the sandwich, spread dijon and mustard and place the tomatoes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Make a sandwich. I usually cut it on an angle to make it look fancy. I also usually serve with roasted veggies and a salad. Variations include adding roasted zucchini and eggplant, basil, green onions instead of red, adding roasted red peppers... Whatever you want, it always turns out amazing.

Pumpkin cinn-a-zag Bread

This recipe was also taken from Kris Holechek's book The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes. I recomend it highly, it has a good variety of useful and simple recipes.
I like to make a loaf a week lately... They are handy to have around for snacks and breakfast on the run. I use whole wheat flour and choose fruit or veggie based recipes. Last week I made this pumpkin bread because I. Love. Pumpkin.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c flour
3/4 c sugar (organic of course)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbs plus 1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1/2 tsp salt
1 c pumpkin puree (not pie mix)
1/4 c oil
1/4 c apple sauce
1/2 c soy milk
1/4 c brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Spray 9x5 inch loaf pan with oil. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, baking soda, 1 tsp cinnamon, pumpkin pie spice and salt. In a medium bowl whisk together pumpkin, oil apple sauce and milk. Add wet to dry ingredients and stir until just mixed. In a small bowl combine brown sugar and 2 tbs cinnamon and set aside. Pour half of the batter into the pan, and sprinkle sugar mixture on top. Pour remaining batter on top. Use a knife to drag through batter to swirl sugar mixture throughout the batter. Bake for 48 to 52 minutes until toothpick inserted into center comes out clean. Cool 45 minutes in pan. Store at room temperature.

I don't have a picture for this one, but it was nice! If serving for dessert rather than breakfast, a nice vegan cream cheese frosting would be a great topping.

Peanut butter chocolate birthday cake!

Ok! I have a backlog of recipes that I want to post, but I will start with a birthday cake that I recently made.

I used a recipe from The 100 Best Vegan Baking Recipes by Kris Holechek called Blackest Forest cake, only I don't like black forest cake so I used the alternative suggestion of using peanut butter frosting. Here it is:

Batter:

1 3/4 c all-purpose flour, sifted (I actually used cake flour)
1 1/2 c sugar
3/4 c baking cocoa
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 c plus 2 tbs soy yogurt
1 cup soy milk
1/2 c oil (I used canola)
2 tsp vanilla
1 c boiling water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and spray two 9 inch cake pans with cooking spray. In a large bowl combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, baking powder and salt. In a separate bowl, combine the rest excluding the boiling water. Use a hand mixer if you need to but I was too lazy. Add the water. The batter is thin, but it is supposed to be. Divide batter evenly between two pans and cook 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Cool cake before icing.

Middle layer:

peanut butter, less than 1/4 c to spread thin layer
1/2 c chocolate chips (I used carob) melted to spread thin layer (I used leftovers to drizzle on top as well)

Frosting:

1 8-oz container soy cream cheese, room temp
2 tbs margarine (vegan margarine!)
1/4 c peanut butter (or more to taste)
2 to 2 1/2 c sifted powdered sugar

In a large bowl, beat chream cheese, margarine and peanut butter with an electric mixer. Add powdered sugar and blend. When cake is completely cooled, spread peanut butter and melted chocolate between layers. Ice with peanut butter frosting. I also sprinkled some ground peanuts on top.

I had to make this cake several days in advance and I was worried it would be stale when i served it but it was moist and delicious even after being in the fridge from Thursday until Sunday. I just waited to ice it until Sunday morning. I think the batter turned out the best out of all the recipes I have used. It really reminds me of the Hershey cake that my grandma makes, which also uses boiling water. More recipes coming soon!

PS Happy Birthday Randy!
xox

Sunday, September 5, 2010

MadVeganRecipes

Hello!
I recently made the change over to a vegan lifestyle. I have been occasionally bragging in my facebook status box about all the awesome food I have been making and eating. I have had envious friends ask me to send them the recipes, so I decided the easiest thing to do would be to document them here for all to borrow and steal! In the past months I have procured several vegan cookbooks, and have also used random internet recipes as basis for my meals. I will do my best to credit where I got my information, and I'll let you know what variations I used as well.
Please feed free to ask me questions and make suggestions about something you think I should try and or share with others.
Thanks for reading and eating!

Monday, May 31, 2010

art and stuff

heeelllooo
as recently mentioned, the babe is over six months old. im starting to feel the pressure of going back to work in the fall (october) BLAH.
i will be going back part time... so thats good.
the summer is starting, which is also good. hopefully we will get out and enjoy it to the fullest. i hope someday soon someone invents some sort of permanent sun protection, whether it be in a pill, a body wash or an injection.... i think i saw on tv that a teaspoon of tomato paste every day makes your skin less sensitive to the sun. i should look into that. i myself have to keep very covered in sunscreen, but now this summer i have a dependant to worry about. ive been trying hard to keep him out of the sun already this spring, but its so hard!
we stay in the shade but its those pesky quick trips outside that add up!
here are some pictures of us last weekend when it was so beautiful out!

we are taking mabel (our dog) in this week for a teeth cleaning and fixing her eye (shes got cherry eye, not a huge deal but we are getting it fixed while she is under anesthetic). hopefully that all goes ok!
also going to see my sister play rugby for her highschool team. they are in the semi-finals.
swimming lessons tomorrow... only three weeks left, thankfully! getting sick of the hasstle of those! its right at nap time it seems, and its always such a pain.
im getting back into the habit of reading, thanks to a book club i joined a few months ago. its hard to make the time a priority (there are so many things to do, enjoyable and not so enjoyable... how to choose which to do first?), but its worth it! ive also been cooking a lot of yummy stuff, mostly healthy... and some desserts of course.

so i am lucky... my life consists of a lot of baby, family stuff, cooking, painting, reading and getting outside. i definitely cant complain!

Saturday, May 22, 2010

several months later...

wow i have not been a good blogger.

the baby is here... hes over 6 months old now. wyatt eugene. its been awesome.

its still awesome. man i hate my written voice, maybe even more than my regular voice when i hear it after its been recorded. maybe not.

more to update soon!