Playing Catch-Up: Christmas Food!

WOW. I just realized I haven't posted in two whole months! That's slightly embarrassing, and just a bummer because I love blogging! I've been super busy with the holidays, traveling, and working, but my resolution for the new year is to blog regularly again! And that means taking pictures of my food again, too! I finally got my camera working, so that will be easier than just using my phone! Now I've just got to get back into the discipline of blogging. I'm making lots of good food....I'll just have to prove it now!

To get things rolling, I'll show you my Christmas dinner...it was super traditional, which is how I usually like my holiday meals, and it was fantastic!!

The usual suspects (at least in the vegan world!): Tofurkey Roast, with roasted veggies, mashed potatoes and mushroom gravy, garlic-roasted Brussels sprouts, citrus cranberry sauce, and olive bread. Duh. And for dessert, Christmas cookies out the wazoo!

Clockwise from the left: Almond Crescents (adapted from Martha Stewart's recipe), Rocky Road Cookies (from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar) with the modification of subtracting white chocolate chips and adding Dandies vegan marshmallows!!, Vegan Caramel Delight Cookies--made with shredded sweet potatoes, my recipe here, and Chai Chocolate Chip Shortbread from VCIYCJ. I loved them all so much, I think I ate a dozen cookies on Christmas day. It had to be done!! If I had to pick a favorite....well, I just can't! Hope all your holidays were wonderful, too! Now it's back to normal life--and back to blogging for me!

Cookbook Recommendation: Babycakes NYC Cookbook!

First order of business: it' Vegan MoFo again! For you non blog nerds, that stands for the Vegan Month of Food, in which vegan bloggers get really jazzed on blogging and try to blog as much as they possibly can within the month of November. It technically started yesterday, but I was out of town (lame excuse, I know!) but I'm back and ready to blog!

For this year's MoFo, I am going to try to do a few cookbook recommendations per week since I love/collect/readthemliketheyareactualbooks vegan cookbooks. For the first selection, I want to talk about the Babycakes NYC Cookbook, written by Erin McKenna, the owner of the Babycakes NYC bakery. Last time I was in New York, I went there at least once a day for a whole week. This place is serious about vegan baked goods, and it is a huge blessing that Erin was kind enough to give us some of her secrets in this cute and fun-to-read cookbook. Babycakes is totally vegan, but that's not even the best part (well, it really is I guess)...they are extremely health-conscious, too! Babycakes is almost exclusively gluten-free, except a few recipes that use spelt flour; they also use mostly agave nectar to sweeten they're treats, with only a few desserts that have organic evaporated cane juice used; and...yes, there is more....they bake with coconut oil as their oil of choice, instead of refined oils. Could this get any better? Well, yes, they have frosting shots at the bakery...but we're talking about the book here! :)I have made a few of the recipes from the book so far, and they've all turned out great! The ingredients are more expensive, but oh so worth it when you taste the baked goods and when you think about how much better they are for you! And they people you share them with (yeah, right)!

Here's the Cornbread..... And the Spelt Biscuits (coconut oil makes them all buttery and stuff. mmm.)....

I have also made a modified version of the Pumpkin Muffins, turned into Pumpkin Bread, which I blogged about in my previous post.

All in all, I would say anyone who is vegan, health-conscious or gluten intolerant, or who loves to bake should get this book! Bonus, there is a picture and a little blurb about the adorable Jason Schwartzman in the book! He's vegan! And a hottie!

Healthy Pumpkin Bread!

Fall in Missouri is beautiful...changing leaves, clear blue skies, crisp breezes....and that means it's definitely that time of year again: time for pumpkin-y baked goods!! I modified this recipe from a Babycakes NYC recipe for banana bread, since I wanted to make a pumpkin bread that was free of refined sugars, refined oils, and refined flours. I think I succeeded--it tastes amazing! Especially slathered with homemade apple butter and/or almond butter!

I processed my own pumpkin that I got at the farmers' market (see how to do it yourself here!) but you can use canned pumpkin if you like...try to get organic if possible, though!Super Healthy Vegan Pumpkin Bread (gluten-free, soy-free, sugar-free)
Modified from Babycakes NYC recipe

2 1/2 cups gluten free all-purpose flour (or whole wheat pastry flour if you like)
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp sea salt
1 tsp xantham gum (use tapioca or arrowroot if unavailable)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/2 c coconut oil, melted
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbs ground flaxseed + 2 Tbs warm water
1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly oil a loaf pan.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients (flour through cloves). Create a well in the center of the bowl and add in the wet ingredients. Whisk the wet ingredients together and incorporate into the dry ingredients, until completely mixed. Fold in the walnuts.
Pour into the oiled loaf pan; the batter is thick, so use a spoon to press the batter all the way down into the pan and ensure all air bubbles are pushed out. Smooth the top and sprinkle with extra cinnamon and walnuts if desired.
Bake for 30 minutes, rotate pan 180 degrees in the oven, and bake 20 more minutes, until an inserted toothpick comes out clean and the bread springs back slightly when touched.
Let cool in the pan at least 30 minutes before removing.

Maple Apple Scones

I went apple picking this week and thought scones would be the perfect outlet for my abundance of sweet and juicy apples! These are lovely for an autumn afternoon with tea, slathered with plenty of Earth Balance, of course. They would probably lend themselves well to a nice helping of homemade apple butter as well! I wanted to make a scone recipe that was sweetened only with maple syrup, and it is made with whole grain flour, so they're pretty good for you, too! Maple Apple Scones (makes 12 scones)
5 cups whole spelt flour (or gluten free baking flour)
1 tsp sea salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice

1/2 cup vegan margarine, cold
1/2 cup vegan non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, cold

3 cups apples, diced small

1 cup soymilk + whisked with 1/4 cup cornstarch or arrowroot powder
1/2 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp maple extract
1 tsp apple cider vinegar

1 Tbs oil or melted margarine

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, and allspice.
Cut in the margarine and shortening with a strong fork or pastry cutter until the mixture is crumbly and the margarine/shortening are in tiny pieces.
Fold in the diced apples, stirring to coat with the flour.
Add in the soymilk-cornstarch mixture, maple syrup, extracts, and vinegar. Stir until just combined, being careful to not overmix.
Turn dough out onto a floured work surface. Form dough into 2 separate rounds, about 2 inches tall and 6 inches across. Slice each round into 6 wedges. Place wedges onto prepared sheet pans, allowing for about 1" between scones. Using a pastry brush, brush tops of scones with oil or margarine. Place in the oven and bake for 30 minutes, checking halfway through to ensure they are rising properly and not burning, etc.
Remove from oven when tops are golden and scones are firm to the touch. Allow to cool on the baking sheets for 10 minutes, and then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling, or serve warm. Store uneaten scones in an airtight container until ready to use.
*If you don't necessarily want to keep these sugar-free, feel free to sprinkle each scone top with some turbinado (or other unrefined) sugar after brushing with oil, before baking.

Summer Projects and Such

So I haven't blogged in a while. A long while! I decided to kinda take the summer off of blogging (I think I posted, like, twice!) and just cook stuff and eat stuff and relax and whatnot. Ha. But now summer has turned into fall and I'm ready to start blogging again! I'm excited to get back into the groove of blogging and updating and taking pictures and all that jazz!

A lot of my cooking over the summer was done for cookbook testing, for Carla (of The Vegan Year blog) for her upcoming One Dish Vegan cookbook, and for Bianca (Vegan Crunk blog) for her Cookin' Crunk cookbook.

Here's some pics!

First, from Cookin' Crunk (I only remembered to take pics of one thing! boo!):

PB Oatmeal Cream Pies

Then, from One Dish Vegan:

Banana Spelt WafflesRaspberry Balsamic Glazed Seitan, Cabbage and Pistachio Rice
Peanut Potato Salad, Mango Orange Tempeh with Ginger

Gringa's Tacu Tacu

Fennel and Rosemary Polenta

Tofu with Olives and Basil

Mojito-Inspired Tofu

Roasted Red Pepper and White Bean Hummus

Lemon Sour Cream Dressing, on greensCorn Slaw

Sweet Chipotle Tempeh with Berry Glaze

Ok, cool! Now I'm all ready to go for the awesomeness of fall food blogging! See you on the flipside!

Lemony Lima Bean Spread and Zucchini Sandwich. Heavenly.

First off, sorry for the long absence!! My camera has been broken, so I have a lot of blogging to make up for!

If you're like most people around this time in the summer, you have zucchini basically coming out of your ears by now. I know I do, and I won't complain one little bit! Especially when there is this sandwich to be made. I dreamt of making this sandwich for a while, and I am so so so glad it finally came to fruition! One, because sandwiches are the best. Two, because zucchini just screams summer to me, and I scream back, I love you!!Lima Bean Spread and Zucchini Sandwich
Lemony Lima Bean Spread (below)
Toasted whole grain bread
Grilled or sauteed zucchini, in half moon slices
Thinly sliced red onion
Greens (arugula or spinach would work nicely)
Garlic-Dill Aioli (below)

This sandwich is best served open-faced, because there are so many goodies on it, they are likely to fall out if eaten all together! So start off by slathering the lima bean spread on one side of each slice of bread. Lay down the greens, then the grilled/sauteed zucchini, and then the red onion slices. Drizzle with the dill aioli and serve.

Lemony Lima Bean Spread (makes about 4 cups)
3 cups baby lima beans, fresh or frozen (if frozen, thaw to room temperature)
Zest and juice of 2 lemons
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup tahini
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 tsp white pepper
2 scallions, sliced
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped
2 Tbs water, or more as needed

Place all ingredients in a food processor or blender. Pulse to break up large pieces, and then puree until smooth, adding more water as needed 1 Tbs at a time. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.

Garlic-Dill Aioli (makes about 2 cups)
1 block soft silken tofu
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup dijon mustard
2 Tbs olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs agave nectar
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 Tbs dill seeds
1/2 cup fresh dill, chopped

Place all ingredients together in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth, scraping down the sides of the blender as needed. Cover and refrigerate until ready to use.


A tasty summertime meal deserves to be ended with a tasty summertime treat: Local Blackberry-Peach Pie!! I didn't really use any recipe, but it turned out great...what a delightful combination!

Holy Muffuletta!

How in the world had I never made and/or eaten a muffuletta sandwich before???? Sandwiches are my favorite food ever! Well, I'm glad I finally did it, whatever the hold up was. I made the Muffuletta Sandwich recipe from the Veganomicon cookbook, but modified it by adding Tofurkey brand Italian Deli Slices and subbed some herb-marinated tempeh for the eggplant, since it's not yet available at the farmers' market. When it is, I'll be sure to make it again!!! Olives are just wonderful, and a showstopping sandwich like this is a perfect way to let them shine! This awesome recipe was made even better by using a delicious locally-baked crusty bread, from KC-based Farm to Market bread company. Yum City, USA!! ps this went perfectly with a side of tasty vegan potato salad! duh!