Hazelnut Toffee Ice Cream!

So I am pretty convinced that summer=ice cream. After trying to come up with some cool/new/delicious vegan ice cream creation, I finally figured out a flavor combo that is just ridiculously good: Hazelnut Toffee Ice Cream!! I had some hazelnuts and some butterscotch chips, and it just made sense! If you are wanting to give this a whirl and can't find vegan butterscotch chips, try using extra chocolate chips, another type of nut, or even white chocolate chips...go crazy! I hope you try this and like it as much as I did!
Vegan Hazelnut Toffee Ice Cream (makes about 2 qts)
2 cups soy creamer
1 cup soy milk, or non-dairy milk of your choice
1/2 cup organic sugar
2 Tbs arrowroot powder whisked with 1/4 cup cold water
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups chopped and toasted hazelnuts
1 cup vegan butterscotch chips
1 cup chocolate chips

In a medium sauce pan, whisk together the creamer, soy milk, and sugar. Heat over medium flame until just boiling, then remove immediately from heat. Whisk in the arrowroot slurry and stir until slightly thickened. Stir in the salt, vanilla, and almond extract until well mixed.
Pour into your ice cream maker and make according to manufacturer's directions. During the last 5 minutes of stirring, slowly add in the hazelnuts, butterscotch and chocolate chips. Serve immediately or freeze for later service. Either way, make sure you enjoy it! I'm picturing lots of hot fudge on top.... mmmmm.....


Now, just for a little food porn treat, here's a little delight I had at the Uprise Bakery here in Columbia, which has lots of vegan options and occasionally make a vegan baked good! With all the yummy zucchini in season around here, they made Zucchini Walnut Bread with a Chai Tea Glaze! It is so gooooood! Perfect with a cup of tea or coffee for a late night snack attack or a light breakfast. And it is made in a little mini-loaf pan! Who doesn't love an individual loaf of local zucchini bread?? You would have to be crazy! Or allergic to zucchini....that would be sad.

The First Day of School...My Last One!

So everyone be really excited and happy for me because today was my last first day of school ever! I will be graduating in May, with a degree in dietetics, so no more class for me after that! At least not for a long time...

To celebrate this momentous occasion (kind of.) I thought I needed to start the day with a good breakfast! What better place than Columbia's best local bakery, Uprise Bakery! They make a fantastic granola there, and they offer soy milk, so this was perfect. Their Almond Crunch Granola has a really nutty and sweet flavor, but is not too sugary to overpower the wonderful flavors of the almonds and sesame seeds. The perfect combination of salty and sweet, with a lovely hint of vanilla! One of my new favorites!A lovely bowl of Uprise's Almond Crunch Granola with Soymilk

And for a great way to end the day, another tester recipe from Bianca at Vegan Crunk for her upcoming cookbook! Yes! Tonight's Southern treat was Country-Fried Tempeh Steak with "Milk" Gravy. That just sounds too good...AND it tastes that way! This recipe is really true to its country-fried cousin with its triple-breading and salty, savory flavor. Oh, yeah, did I mention gravy? Maybe I forgot to mention this awesome gravy! I love a nice, peppery gravy for a little creamy texture on top of my crunchy. This did the trick! You all are going to love this freakin cookbook if you like down-home cooking at all!! Tester Country-Fried Tempeh Steak with "Milk" Gravy,

served with Homemade Sweet Yeast Rolls and Collard Greens!

What's In My Freezer? What's for Dinner? Why So Many Questions?!

Welcome to Day #23 of Vegan MoFo! First of all, I have to bare a little bit of my self: my freezer! Sassy over at Vegan Coach has tagged me to reveal the inside of my icebox! The Door: Smart Deli Vegan "Pepperoni," Health is Wealth Chicken-less Patties, Vegetable Potstickers, Rising Moon Artichoke-Olive Ravioli, Dairy Free Pesto, A Loaf of Uprise Bread, Earth Balance Shortening, Rolls from Uprise, A Bag of Local Chestnuts, and Baking Soda. Exciting, I know.

The Innards: Leftovers, Sprouted Grain Bagels, A Frozen Banana, Frozen Pumpkin Puree (I made it myself!), Organic Beans, Sunshine Burgers, A Loaf of Uprise Rye Bread, Flaxseeds, Red Raspberries, More Uprise Rolls, A Giant Bag of Seitan, Ezekiel Cinnamon Raisin English Muffins, Artichoke Hearts, Rice Dream Neapolitan Ice Cream...not pictured: frozen corn, hominy, and a carton of my homemade ginger-apple spice-cream. It is packed!

For dinner, I had to make something really delicious for Steven and I because I am leaving tomorrow to go to Chicago for a whole week....I am going to the American Dietetics Association annual national conference, since I am a dietetics student and will be graduating in May...anyway, I figured I had to leave him with a tasty memory of me for the week!
I made BBQ seitan with a homemade barbecue sauce, garlic-mashed organic potatoes, and sauteed greens:

We also had Uprise Bakery rolls with....drumroll....APPLE BUTTER that I made yesterday (yeah crock pot!) from the apples I picked with Steve! I made it with maple syrup, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves...and it was wonderful! I wish fall could last FOREVER.

November 4th: Election. Be there.

Vegan MoFo Day #18: Chik'n Patties

Day 18 of Vegan MoFo was quite lazy as far as my cooking goes. I worked all morning and the rest of my day was a wonderful, relaxed, and uneventful Saturday. So, I was not quite in the mood to cook...luckily, my laziness lead me to try a new product! I got these frozen Chickenless Patties by Health is Wealth brand at the store a while ago (cheap!! yay!), so I gave them a shot. Even though they were a little freezer-burned...yeah, I forgot about them...they were not bad! I heated them up in a skillet and put them on a sprouted grain bun with veganaise and all the fixings, then served them with some leftover coleslaw I had in my fridge. I feel so guilty doing so little work!! Oh well, we can't go all out for every meal, I suppose! :)Dessert, on the other hand, was especially awesome! Steven picked us up War Cakes at Uprise Bakery, one of their 2 or 3 vegan desserts they carry. These are wonderful! They aren't very photogenic, but their taste and texture rock. They are mini-loaves that are very brown sugar and spice-y, packed with plump raisins and walnuts. A really great fall treat!!

Vegan Mofo Day #15: Debate Eats!

Even though it is Vegan MoFo, I did not have the usual time and attention to my meal tonight as I normally would for a MoFo dinner. Why??? Tonight I needed to make something really quick and easy when I got off work, so I could focus on watching the presidential debate!! I just threw us together a Hummus and Veggie Plate of: raw veggies, apples, slices of Uprise Bakery baguette and a dip duet of baba ghanouj and hummus. I really like this meal as something simple to make when you don't want to cook or just don't have time...or in this case, when you have something important to watch on t.v! As a dessert for this meal, we shared this Apple Spice Cake with Maple Cream Cheese Frosting and Crushed Pecans, that I had made at Main Squeeze. I am so glad that it is fall so I can make lots of apple desserts! Yay for yummy local goodies!!
I hope you all watched the debate...if not, go watch it on YouTube or something! Oh, and pleeeeease remember to vote on November 4th. For Obama, of course. :)

Iron Chef Challenge: Chestnut-Pear Bread Pudding

Welcome to this, the 13th day of Vegan MoFo! First up, I gotta share my entry for the second Iron Chef Challenge from Don't Eat Off The Sidewalk: Pears and Nuts. I am slightly obsessed with chestnuts, with their sweet and savory and crunchy and creamy qualities....I knew that this is the nut I had to go with to pair with the pears in my challenge recipe! Luckily, Clover's had a butt-load of LOCAL chestnuts and several varieties of organic pairs. I had some stale bread from our wonderful Uprise Bakery, and fall screams for bread pudding, so there you have it! Chestnut-Pear Bread Pudding! Here she is, all cozy in the pan....And plated up, all gooey and yum. Oh, God, chestnuts rule!! I recommend drinking tea with this!

Chestnut-Pear Bread Pudding (serves 4)

1/2 stale baguette loaf, diced into cubes

1 cup soymilk

1/2 cup water

1 Tbs egg replacer powder

1/4 cup maple syrup

1 Tbs cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp vanilla

2 Tbs almond meal

2 ripe pears, diced

1 cup roasted chestnuts, chopped

1 Tbs canola oil

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly oil a large loaf pan. In a large bowl, whisk together the egg replacer, water, and soymilk. Let sit for 10 minutes to thicken. Whisk again, adding in the maple syrup, sugar, spices, vanilla, and almond meal. Fold in the bread cubes, pears, and chestnuts. Let this sit together for 15 to 20 minutes to get all nice and goo-rific. Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, until golden brown on top. Serve warm...particularly with some vanilla So Delicious :)

Ok, onto dinner (yes, we did eat an actual dinner before going to dessert!)

Kung Pao Seitan! This was friggin delicious! Sweet, spicy, saucy, crunchy, savory, and just plain good. Steven definitely went back for seconds...he probably would have gotten thirds if I had made more!! I modified this from the Kung Pao Tofu recipe from the Whole Foods Cookbook...added some carrots, celery, and broccoli, and obviously swapped out the seitan for tofu. When I was an omni, I loved Kung Pao Chicken from Chinese restaurants, so seitan was more what I wanted for the taste and texture of the old days. Without the cruelty! Yay!

If you don't have this cookbook, check it out from the library, buy it, borrow it from a friend, I don't care what you do--just make this recipe! I served it up with some brown rice tossed with tamari and toasted sesame oil. Dinner is served!

Vegan Mofo Day #12: More Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu!

Today was another wonderful Sunday! A bunch of us enjoyed an amazing Sunday breakfast at Cafe Berlin...my favorite tradition! I had the veganized version of the Yankee Breakfast: Scrambled Tofu (with spinach and lots of spices), tempeh bacon, roasted potatoes, and an English muffin, with lots of organic grape jam. I loooove this breakfast! It has lots of my favorite breakfast-y things, especially the tempeh bacon rocks that my socks so very hard!

Perfect with a giant mug of OFT coffee!! This is a really filling and hearty meal, which was just what I needed to give me some energy before Steven and I went rock climbing all day!

This is Earthquake Hollow, where we went climbing! No picture could capture how pretty it was there today....I love Missouri foliage!!!

Here is Steven, psyched on a beautiful day for climbing!!

After a day of climbing and hiking, we needed a nice, comforting meal to satisfy us! I had just enough Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu from Veganomicon left over for both of us, so I served that up with some mashed local sweet potatoes, garlic-sauteed greens, and a whole grain roll from the wonderful Uprise Bakery here in Columbia. This meal definitely hit the spot!Now I'm off to try and create something fantastic for this week's Iron Chef Challenge...I am so excited! :)