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!

Vegan Hushpuppies!!

You read it right: Vegan Hushpuppies! One of those foods I never thought I would eat again after going vegan...thank goodness I was wrong! I kind of just winged this recipe, and it turned out awesome; it is very similar to a cornbread batter, but with slight differences for frying. They are dense yet light, chewy yet crispy, sweet yet savory and salty. Pretty much the perfect food! They go really well with tartar sauce or ketchup, too! Vegan Hushpuppies (makes ~25 puppies)
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1/2 cup warm water
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups soymilk, unsweetened
1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs sugar
2 cups cornmeal
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 Tbs baking powder
1 Tbs cornstarch
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp paprika
1 cup corn kernels (from about 2 ears fresh corn)
Optional add-ins: 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper, hot sauce to taste, 1 minced jalapeno, or 1/4 cup diced bell pepper

Heat oil in deep fryer or on stove top in a heavy-bottomed pan. Heat to approx. 350 F.
Whisk together flaxseed and water in a large bowl. Whisk in the rest of the wet ingredients, stirring vigorously to combine. Gently add in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in the corn kernels and other optional add-ins.
After testing oil for temperature, drop batter by 1 Tablespoon amounts into heated oil. Cook for 2-3 minutes, flip and cook 2-3 more minutes, until crisped and golden brown. Set on paper towel or newspaper to absorb excess oil, and serve hot. Be careful not to overcrowd the fryer to prevent improper cooking; try to only fry 2 or 3 at a time for best results.

*haha you can also use a Corn Baller machine to make these, too :)

Pure Comfort: Vegan Country "Ham" and Beans

Nothing says comfort on a chilly, rainy night like a big bowl of this Vegan Country "Ham" and Beans. Tender white beans, chewy seitan ham, veggies, and a creamy sauce all poured over fluffy cornbread...mmmm, I feel all warm and cozy already
For the "ham," I used a homemade seitan ham, but plain seitan, smoked tofu, or even tempeh chunks would work as well! Vegan Country"Ham" and Beans (serves 6-8)
1 lb dried white beans, soaked at least 8 hours
1 qt water
1 bay leaf

1/2 cup celery, small diced
1 cup carrots, small diced
2 cups white onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced

3 cups seitan "ham" or plain seitan
2 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbs olive oil
2 tsp dry sage
1/2 tsp cumin
1/4 tsp mustard powder
1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp sea salt

1 cup soymilk
2 Tbs whole wheat flour

In a large pot, bring soaked beans, water, and bay leaf to a boil. Cook for approx. 1 hour, until the beans are tender and softened. Drain and set aside.
While the beans are cooking, heat olive oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Saute the celery, carrots, onion, and garlic for about 8-10 minutes, until softened and beginning to caramelize. Add in the spices, except for the salt, and saute for 2 more minutes. Add the diced ham, vegetables, and broth to the cooked beans. Cook for 20 minutes over low heat. In a small bowl, whisk together the soymilk and flour to make a slurry. Add into bean pot and stir well. Stir in the salt. Allow to cook and thicken for 5 more minutes, until smooth and creamy.
Salt and pepper to taste.
Serve over cornbread or biscuits, and enjoy!!

Vegan MoFo: Chili on a Chilly Day

It's Day 12 of Vegan MoFo! It has been cloudy, blustery, chilly for the past few days...perfect weather for a steaming bowl of chili. Since it was Sunday, I had my restaurant going at my house, chili just had to be on the menu! And, since I can't eat chili without cornbread, as it is a mortal sin, there was jalapeno cornbread, too! While I was at the farmers' market getting produce on Saturday, I came across what are probably some of the last squash blossoms of the season. I hadn't worked with squash blossoms yet, so I figured this was my last chance! So, they also came into play for my Sunday meal. It was fantastic! A big bowl of beany, seitan-y chili, topped with a fried squash blossom and served with a side of jalapeno cornbread

The chili: black, red, and pinto beans with local green peppers, onions, garlic, tomatoes, spices, and my ground homemade seitan....sooo delicious.
Whole grain cornbread, with locally-grown jalapenos

The beautiful squash blossoms, pre-stuffing

The squash blossoms are stuffed with a mixture of vegan cream cheese, toasted pecans, chopped kale, dried cranberries, paprika, sage, thyme, lemon juice, and agave. The batter was made of beer, soymilk, brown rice flour, garbanzo bean flour, and spices. These were an INSANE amount of good!! I'm pretty sure these were the peoples' favorite!

The stuffed blossoms, resting up for the big show!

The perfect place for a stuffed, fried squash blossom? Atop some kickin' chili, of course!

And the only dessert that goes with chili: Cinnamon Rolls! I made RRF's Cinnamon Rolls, available on the blog http://bjorkedoff.blogspot.com/. Some of the best cinnamon rolls I've ever had. period.Naked. Iced.

Served.

As the second leg of the KC Vegan Crawl, Dane made another awesome meal last night, too!! He has a fire pit, and this chilly weather was great for cooking over the open fire.

Kebabs, with my homemade seitan that Dane marinated, and all-local veggies!

Smore's roasting on the fire, getting all melty and gooooood. The marshmallows were Sweet and Sara's Vanilla Vegan Marshmallows, which are perfection!

Keeping it on the DL...KC Vegan Crawl!!

This past Sunday commemorated something very special and pretty DL...I started an underground restaurant out of my apartment!! I still need a name, but it is every Sunday from 11 am to 8 pm, and I will be serving one big meal and an awesome dessert, all for under $8! I have been working on the concept and details for about 3 months or more, and it was wonderful to see my hard work come to fruition last weekend. It was crazy to open VegNews this month and there was an article about the exact thing I had been planning for months! Vegans be workin' so harrrrrd! Turnout was pretty small, but I am hoping it will get bigger every week. This all relies on word of mouth, people! If you are in Kansas City or the Missouri/Kansas area, come by! Send me a message and I can give you the details.

For the first week, I made one of my absolute FAVORITE meals: BBQ seitan with all the fixin's. BBQ Seitan (with homemade seitan and homemade bbq sauce), Organic Baked Beans, Whole Grain Cornbread, and Sauteed Local Greens with Garlic (and Hot Sauce!). Soooo comforting and delicious!! Everyone loved it, of course!


And for dessert, I made Oatmeal Butterscotch Pecan Cookies! I made a modified version of my recipe I posted a few months ago....and they were even better than I remembered! Perfection.And just to show you how awesome and veg-friendly Kansas City is...my friend, Dane, is also doing a vegan dinner out of his house every Sunday night, currently called "Sustainability Sundays"! His starts after mine, so it is all friendly between us :) His angle is sustainability in growing, purchasing, and preparing foods, all with vegan ethics in mind. So great! I just had to use this blog to give him vegan props!

This week, he made Local Fruit Pasta with Tomato-Peach Marinara, with local Ciabatta Bread. Not pictured was a Spinach and Berry Salad and Strawberry-Apricot Oatmeal Cookies. He uses basically 99% local ingredients, except stuff like some spices and oil, which is just fantastic! Dane even distributes some literature on sustainable living each week! yay!

So last weekend was the first KC Vegan Crawl, with my place open 11-8 and Dane's 8-11. How could you beat that?! So cheap, so local, so vegan, so good! GO KC!!

A Crunk Feast

Last night, I had myself a crunk-inspired Southern feast for dinner with all the fixin's...

My jalapeno cornbread (I am still perfecting the recipe, but it's close!): Vegan Crunk Bianca's tester recipe for Fried Squash, for her in-the-works Cookin' Crunk cookbook, made with some tasty local summer squash:

Another Cookin' Crunk tester recipe, Boozy Baked Beans, made with PBR, of course:

And all the feast together....it was so delicious!!! Sweet tea was the only thing missing, I'm pretty sure!

Yumbo Gumbo!

I am really pumped because I have been wanting to make gumbo for a while...I heart okra...and I finally made it for dinner tonight! I wanted to wait until Steven got back from his climbing trip to Texas to make it for him, so I just got my chance tonight. I kinda winged this recipe based on what I've had before and what I knew about creole-style cooking. Luckily, it turned out great!! The andouille sausage to which I refer in the recipe is another work-in-progress that I finally got to turn out wonderfully--I will post that recipe tomorrow, as I don't want to make this too long of a post with the long gumbo recipe and all. So here it is! I hope you try AND like it!"Andouille" Okra Gumbo (serves 4 hungry vegans)
1 yellow onion, diced
1 red or green bell pepper, diced
4 stalks celery, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
1 small jalapeno, minced
1 lb okra, sliced
1 can yellow or white hominy, drained and rinsed (corn will work if you can’t find hominy)
1 can diced tomatoes
1 can red kidney beans, drained and rinsed
2 vegan Andouille sausages, sliced into thin rounds
1 Tbs olive oil
1 Tbs apple cider vinegar
2 Tbs maple syrup
1 Tbs Louisiana-style hot sauce (Frank’s, etc. But really, Frank's is the bomb!!!)
2 Tbs paprika
1 heaping Tbs gumbo filé powder
1 tsp thyme
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp mild chili powder
1 tsp cayenne pepper (or less if you want less heat)
¼ tsp crushed red pepper
½ tsp salt
½ tsp black pepper
½ cup vegetable broth or water

In a large, heavy-bottomed pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When oil is hot, add the diced onion, bell pepper, and celery to the pan. Sauté for 5-8 minutes until onions are softened and translucent. Add in the minced garlic and jalapeno, and sauté for another 2 minutes. Add the broth, vinegar, hot sauce, and maple syrup to the vegetables and stir. Allow to cook for 2-3 minutes until slightly reduced. Stir in the sliced “sausages,” beans, hominy, and canned tomatoes. Stir in all of the spices and cover. Reduce heat to medium-low and allow to cook for 15 minutes, stirring every so often to prevent sticking. Add in the okra and cook for another 5 minutes, until the okra is fully cooked. Add extra salt and/or pepper to taste and serve immediately.
I recommend serving this hot with a thick slice of cornbread or over a bed of brown rice!

The cool thing about this recipe is that you can add your own twists and variations to it, and it will probably still turn out tasty! You can modify the cayenne and other peppers if you want more or less heat. I still threw a few dashes of hot sauce on mine once I plated it up, but that's because I like it pretty spicy. If you opt not to make the homemade andouille "sausages" (that I will post tomorrow), you can use any vegan link-style sausage, sliced seitan, or even cubed tempeh. But, seriously, you WILL want to make these fauxsages. For real.

Happy New Year!!

Hey, this is my first post of 2009! Party! First off, I'll tell you about my New Year's Eve. My mom and I just stayed in, watched movies, and vegged until midnight! It was great!
We sipped on Silk Nog...my nog of choice! It totally beats the Rice Dream version, both in creaminess and taste, and is even more perfect topped with a little sprinkle of nutmeg! Mom got a new popcorn air-popper for Christmas, so she brought it down when she came to visit me! She even brought some organic popping corn...score! We snacked on some nooch-y organic popcorn and drank Kombucha to celebrate. Kombucha is my version of champagne, I guess!

Then, to start the New Year's Day off right, we went out for an amazing breakfast at Cafe Berlin! It is by far the best breakfast in Columbia. We got their Apples and "Sausage" (tempeh), which is served with roasted potatoes and toast! So good! We even got some homemade sweet potato butter for the local wheat toast. Could it be any better?Now onto the essential New Year's meal: Black Eyed Peas! For our awesome Southern meal, I made my Hoppin' John and served it with the Southern-Style Cornbread from the Angelica Kitchen Cookbook (but I made it with blue cornmeal!) and sauteed dandelion greens. We will be lucky in 2009 for sure! Hoppin' John (serves 4-6)

1 lb dried black-eyed peas

2 qts water

2 bay leaves

1 tsp olive oil

1 large yellow onion, diced

1 red bell pepper, diced

1 green bell pepper, diced

4 stalks celery, diced

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 jalapeno, minced

1 medium tomato, diced

2 Tbs tomato paste or ketchup

1 Tbs soy sauce or Bragg's

1 Tbs paprika

1 tsp chili powder

1 tsp thyme

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp black pepper

juice of 1 lemon

First, prepare the black-eyed peas: In the morning, combine the black-eyed peas, water, and bay leaves in a crock pot and turn on high. Let cook all day, about 6 to 8 hours. Drain the cooked peas, then return to the crock pot. Turn to low and prepare the vegetable mix.

Then, prepare the veggie mix: In a large skillet, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. When the pan is hot, add in the onion, peppers, and celery. Saute for 5-6 minutes, until the onion becomes mostly translucent. Add the jalapeno and garlic and saute for 1 more minute. Pour in the soy sauce and tomato paste and let simmer for 2 minutes. Turn to low and add in the spices. Mix well and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the vegetable mixture and lemon juice to the cooked black-eyed peas in the crock pot. Allow to cook for 10 minutes together, remove the bay leaves and serve!

I recommend dousing this in plenty of hot sauce and serving with cornbread and greeeeeens!

And now for something completely different! I had to share this new delicious gift I got: Maui Banana Butter!!! My dad and step-mom went to Hawaii last month and brought me back some banana butter from Maui. It is so great! Think apple butter, but with a tropical and super-sweet twist. It is perfect on a sandwich with the Cashew and Macadamia Nut Butter I got at Trader Joe's! Now I think I need to make my own sometime!

Have an awesome 2009 everybody!

Craving Some Soul Food

Some things are just good for your soul. For example, my soul was absolutely ecstatic on Tuesday night when Barack Obama became our next president!!!! Perhaps it was due to his awesome-ness, his amazing staff's work, or my cooking?! I did make those lucky black-eyed peas, you know! I also made these Barack Obama Cupcakes!! As good as these were, I guess he deserved his win from his own merit....

These are the Pumpkin-Chocolate Chip Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, topped with a Maple-Cinnamon Buttercream that I whipped up...and they are blessed with little Obama cupcake toppers, courtesy of Natalie at Bake and Destroy!! These were a perfect way to celebrate a victory! Oh, and the pumpkin puree used in these was some I made myself from a locally-grown pumpkin courtesy of the Columbia Farmer's Market and Steven! yay DIY! These not only tasted amazing, they were life-CHANGING! :)

Another thing that is good for your soul: SOLE food! This is a culinary ideology and, more recently, a trend where consumers are beginning to desire foods to eat/purchase that are: Sustainable, Organic, Local, and Ethical. I hope this is not just a hip trend for eaters, but that it becomes a way of life for people everywhere. Here are a few meals we had this week that were both in the area of soul foods and SOLE foods!

Seitan Chorizo-Stuffed Acorn Squash with Angelica Kitchen Cookbook's Cornbread

V-Con's Cornmeal-Crusted Tofu, Dirrrrrty Brown Rice, Roasted Root Veggies

BBQ Soycurls, Angelica Kitchen Cookbook's Cornbread, Garlic Barack-oli

(we had this on election night, I had to go there....)

This week has been so crazy, but I am so glad the election is over and I can think about other things! Thanks to everyone who worked for the Obama or their state/local campaigns! It really is important...I promise :)

Good Luck Dinner...

Even though I am a city girl now, I grew up in rural anti-city parts of Missouri. Because of that upbringing, I really love comforting and hearty soul food. Part of that tradition in my family is to eat black-eyed peas on New Year's Eve to bring you good luck for the rest of the year....Tonight, I felt compelled to make black-eyed peas to bring us all good luck for the election tomorrow!! I know, this is an old wive's tale and probably won't have any effect, but I'm just doing whatever I can to make sure Barack is elected tomorrow and food is what I do....so it just makes sense! I made Black-Eyed Peas with Onions and Garlic and a dash of Liquid Smoke, Sauteed Greens, and Cornbread from the Angelica Kitchen Cookbook (I added jalapenos!)...This meal was nice and homey, and hit the spot after a long day! It seemed pretty lucky to me!!

VOTE! Go early so you can get away with waiting in long lines...and bring a snack so you don't get too famished :)

Chili and Cornbread--and other stuff, too!

Today being a rainy, dreary day put me in the perfect mood for making one of my favorite comfort meals: chili and cornbread! I love the combination of the sweetness from the cornbread and the spiciness of the chili. it's perfect.Tempeh Chili (with some Tofutti Sour Supreme)

Tempeh Chili (serves 8-ish hungry peeps)

2 T canola oil

2 yellow onions, minced

1 green pepper, minced (reds work here, too!)

4 cloves garlic, finely minced

2 jalapenos, minced

2 cans diced tomatoes

1 cup tomato paste

1 can red kidney beans

1 can pinto beans

2-8oz. packages tempeh

1 T hot sauce

1/4 cup Bragg's or tamari

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1/4 cup chili powder

2 T cumin

1 T paprika

2 tsp cayenne

2 tsp chipotle powder

1/2 cup cocoa powder

In a large pot, heat 2 T canola oil over medium-high heat. Saute the onions and peppers until softened, then add the garlic, jalapeno, and spices, then reduce heat to low. Saute for 10 minutes. Add in the crumbled tempeh, return heat to medium, and saute for 5 more minutes. Stir in the cans of tomatoes, tomato paste, beans, Bragg's, hot sauce, and cocoa powder. Bring this all to a boil, then reduce heat to low and simmer for 30 minutes. Serve piping hot with a dollop of vegan sour cream and a chunk of cornbread!

A slice of cornbread with Earth Balance and agave...

Whole Grain Cornbread (serves 8 to 12)

1 1/2 cups cornmeal

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 Tbs baking powder

1 tsp sea salt

1/4 cup nutritional yeast

2 Tbs sugar

1/2 cup canola oil

1 cup applesauce

2 cups soymilk

1/2 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1/2 cup water (to rinse out blender left-overs)

1 cup corn

1 jalapeno, minced (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13 pan. Sift dry ingredients into a large bowl. Fold in the corn and jalapeno. Blend the wet ingredients, except the water, together in a blender. Pour in the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Pour water in blender and swirl around to get all the leftover batter, then add to bowl. Combine everything until just mixed, but do not over mix! Bake for 2o to 25 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Serve warm, slathered with lots of Earth Balance and agave nectar!!

My slice of whole grain cornbread, served with some roasted local squash and breadcrumbs!

A few days ago, I made my favorite Thai Peanut Noodles for dinner, and it was really pretty...but I forgot to post about it! I used mugwort soba noodles, baked tofu, and a saute of garlic, ginger, onions, cabbage, carrots, and broccoli, then topped with my creamy, spicy peanut sauce that I have posted about before. If you've never had a good peanut sauce, give this one a try! For reals.

Thai Peanut Noodles

I have also made some delish desserts this week. I think frosting may be the most important part of a good treat, I must confess! Earlier in the week, I made the Toasted Coconut Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. Holy Moses I loved these! I even made my own chocolate-covered espresso beans for the garnish...I was proud :) These are wonderfully paired with a nice mug of Tahitian Vanilla Hazelnut Yogi Tea with some Silk creamer and agave!!

Toasted Coconut Cupcakes with Coffee Buttercream Frosting and Chocolate-Covered Coffee Beans

Thursday night, I made an AMAZING batch of Banana Brownies with Peanut Buttercream Frosting, based off of a recipe that I like to make at work. Probably the best brownies I have ever made. The peanut butter-chocolate-banana combination is HEAVEN. Yay for over-ripe bananas! And frosting!!

Banana-Chocolate Chip Brownies with Peanut Buttercream Frosting

Banana Brownies (makes 12)

2 large bananas

1 1/2 cups turbinado sugar

2 tsp vanilla extract

1/2 c canola oil

1 cup soy milk

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup cocoa powder

1 tsp sea salt

2 tsp baking soda

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly oil a 9 by 13 pan. Blend bananas, sugar, vanilla, oil, and soymilk in blender. Pour into a large bowl. Sift in the dry ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold in chocolate chips. Pour batter into oiled pan and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, until inserted toothpick comes out clean. Let cool completely, then frost with PB frosting!

Peanut Buttercream Frosting

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening

1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine

1 cup peanut butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 T soy milk

2 cups powdered sugar

Cream the shortening and margarine together until well combined. Add in the peanut butter and combine some more. Sift in the powdered sugar, 1 cup at a time, adding in the soymilk between batches. After mixing the second cup of powdered sugar, add in the vanilla and whip for about 5 minutes, until smooth and creamy. Refrigerate until ready to use, then spread on cooled banana brownies.

Steve's hand, getting ready to put his brownie into his hungry belly...