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.

Vegan Springy Brunch Awesomeness, Including Scones!!

Brunch is simply the perfect meal. Usually, it involves more veggies than a typical breakfast, but you still get all the tasty, comforting food you crave in the mornings.

For my supper club this weekend, I made a big brunch that was all about the wonderful bounty of spring!!

For the main course, I made Asparagus, Roasted Garlic and Pine Nut Quiche. This was my very first vegan quiche to eat or make!! It's a tester recipe for Vegan Bakesale (check out www.veganyear.blogspot.com for more info!) and it was absolutely perfect!! The filling is made of tofu (local!) and cashews, so it is incredibly creamy and dense and amazing. Plus, ASPARAGUS is here! Celebrate! Oh, and the pie crust is also a Vegan Bakesale test recipe, for Basic Pastry Crust. So good, so flaky. mmm.
On the side I served Thyme-Roasted Potatoes with Wilted Greens. It is perfect for brunch, and I used local potatoes and local greens, too! Delicious.

Thyme Roasted Potatoes with Wilted Greens (serves 2)
4 small yukon gold potatoes, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbs fresh thyme, chopped
3 Tbs olive oil
1/2 tsp paprika
pinch of salt and black pepper, to taste
2 cups greens, such as chard or kale, chopped

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a sheet pan.
In a large bowl, toss together the potatoes, olive oil, garlic and spices. Spread in a single layer on sheet pan. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, turning halfway through cooking, until golden brown and cooked throughout.

Remove from pan and immediately toss in a large bowl with chopped greens, until they become wilted. Salt and pepper to taste, and serve.

And then, there were the scones. Not just any scones, but Strawberry Basil Scones!!! Doesn't that just scream springytime brunch to you?! I've been working on this recipe for a while, and funny enough, there is a recipe of the same name in the Vegan Bakesale testing roster. I still need to try those and compare them to my own! I really can't get enough scones in my life!!! So, I like my scones really dry and dense. If you don't like yours that way, you may not like this recipe. But you should give it a shot anyway!Strawberry Basil Scones (makes 12 BIG scones)

5 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 Tbs sea salt

2 Tbs baking powder

1 1/2 Tbs baking soda

2 tsp dried basil

1 1/4 cups natural sugar (I used evaporated cane juice)

1 cup cold vegan margarine

1 cup cold non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3/4 Tbs vanilla extract

1 Tbs apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup natural strawberry jam/fruit spread

1/2 lb fresh strawberries, diced

1 cup fresh basil, packed, minced

2 cups soymilk

1 Tbs sugar

Preheat oven to 350 F. Lightly grease 2 cookie sheets.

In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients. Cut in the shortening and margarine using a pastry cutter or strong fork. Fold in the strawberries and fresh basil and toss to coat.

Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until just combined. Fold out dough onto floured surface and fold over itself a few times, to bring dough together and create layers.

Form into 2 round flat circles. Using a sharp knife, slice each circle into 6 wedges.

Sprinkle the dough with sugar and place each wedge onto the greased sheet pans.

Bake for approx. 15 minutes, until firmed and golden.

If desired, add glaze on top after baking.

Vanilla Glaze:

1/2 cup powdered sugar

1/2 Tbs vanilla extract

1-2 Tbs vanilla soy creamer

Whisk together ingredients in a small bowl, until smooth. Drizzle or pour over baked scones. Allow glaze to set and then serve.

Now go to your farmers' market and then get baking!!

Super Awesome Brunch and Belated Excitement...

First the belated excitement part: 5 posts ago was my 200th post! I didn't even realize it! That's a whole lotta blogging and even more cooking...I'm pretty proud if I do say so myself :) Thanks for reading and salivating with me 200 times!! haha

Now for the brunch! The supper club this past Saturday was hopping, and not just because of the arrival of springtime weather...but mostly because of Vegan Monte Cristo Sandwiches!! You can find my recipe here! I added some of my Creole Mayo to the sandwiches, and served some organic blackberry jam on the side for spreading and dipping. It was perfect. Also different this time, I made homemade seitan "ham" and used Teese mozzarella cheeze! I had never used Teese before and it so totally melts you guys!! Delightful! Now if they only carried it around here so I didn't have to order it online. sigh.
Anyhoo, I made the sandwiches with locally-made Farm to Market bread, and served them with a side of Rosemary-Roasted Sweet Potatoes. So good!!Then there were the scones...Orange Thyme Scones, that is! I just love citrus in breakfast-y baked goods. I mean, it just makes sense!! I'll give you my recipe, because you seriously deserve to eat these for breakfast tomorrow. So good with Earth Balance and some jam....mmmmmm..... Orange Thyme Scones (makes 12 big scones)
5 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup dried thyme leaves
1 Tbs sea salt
2 Tbs baking powder
1 1/2 Tbs baking soda
1 cup sugar (I used evaporated cane juice)

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

Zest and juice of 1 medium orange
1/2 Tbs vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
2 cups soymilk

Preheat oven to 375 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, sift together the dry ingredients, flour through sugar. Cut in the margarine and shortening using a pastry cutter or sturdy fork, to get a crumbly texture.
Make a well in the center of the mixture.
Pour in the zest and juice, extracts, and soymilk into the well. Stir until just combined; be careful not to overmix the dough.
Turn out dough onto a floured surface and form into 2 separate circles. Cut each circle into 6 pieces. Set scones at least 1/2" apart on the baking sheet. Bake for 15-20 minutes, until firmed and golden brown on top. Let sit for 10 minutes on the baking sheet to rest, and then transfer scones to a cooling rack. Serve topped with Orange Glaze (below).

Orange Glaze
Zest and juice of 1 orange
1 to 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar (depending on how thick you like your glaze)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp orange extract (optional)

In a medium bowl, whisk together the orange zest, juice, extracts, and powdered sugar until completely smooth. Refrigerate until ready to use.

***The pictures seen on this post were taken by my friend Michael Ryce. They're so good, right?!?! Thanks MJ!!

This Week in Sustainability...

Yesterday's Sustainability Sunday was a HUGE success! Dane and I both had tons of people come out to our supper clubs, and the KC Vegan Crawl made yet another mark on the midwest! Yay!

At my place for lunch, I made everyone's favorite: Brunch!!

My Lemon-Ginger Scones! A big, big hit! The recipe is here...I highly recommend it. I even got the lemons at the Farmers' Market!For the main event, I served up cakes 'n eggs, vegan-style!! Awesome Whole Grain Pancakes, Scrambled Tofu with Local Greens, and Local Homefries, featuring both yukon gold and sweet potatoes.

To mix it up a bit, I gave my guests a choice of different pancake toppings: Plain (Earth Balance and Maple Syrup), Homemade Pumpkin Butter, Cinnamon-Baked Apples, Chocolate Chips, or, for those with a savory tooth, Spicy Seitan Chorizo!

Here's my plate-- I topped mine with both the pumpkin butter and baked apples, being the little glutton I am. Did I mention ALL the produce and tofu used were local? Well, they were! The savory option: Pancakes topped with homemade Spicy Seitan Chorizo Crumbles, drizzled with agave nectar and sprinkled with sea salt. Holy moly this was one tasty plate o' food!!Then, for dinner at Dane's place: Gumbo and Rice! Food for the working folks, for sure!! Tons of okra, Anasazi beans, tomatoes, garlic and more in a delicious, spicy broth, topped with fluffy white rice. I think all the vegan Southerners would be proud!!And there was homemade bread: Whole Grain and French Baguettes!! BREAD!!And, since no meal is complete sans dessert: Depression Cake!! Dane found a recipe for cake from the Depression era, when things like eggs and milk were scarce...so it was already vegan and tasty and cheap to make! Yes!! He jazzed it up a bit with a Cranberry-Orange Glaze, and it was just too good!
Thanks to everyone who has been coming out to the Vegan Crawl!! Hopefully we'll just keep growing and growing! There will be more delish food to come, ya'll!

Vegan MoFo: Lemon Ginger Scones!

It's Vegan MoFo Day 15 and it's time for this week's Vegan Iron Chef Challenge! The ingredients this week were lemon and ginger. I just happen to love both of these things a lot!
As soon as I learned what the secret ingredients would be, I instantly knew what I would make: Lemon Ginger Scones! It just sounded delicious and I adore scone-making. I just winged the recipe and it turned out great! You should definitely try this one on a cloudy afternoon, and it will surely brighten your day. It did for me!

Vegan Lemon Ginger Scones (makes 8 big scones)

4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1 tsp salt

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1 1/2 Tbs baking powder

2 Tbs sugar

1/4 tsp ginger powder

Zest of two lemons

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, such as Earth Balance or Spectrum Spread

1/2 cup soymilk

Juice of two big lemons--approx. 1/2 cup

1/2 cup crystallized ginger, diced small

Lightly grease a cookie sheet. In a mixing cup, whisk together the lemon juice and soymilk, and set aside to let curdle a bit.

In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, sugar, and ginger. Stir to mix well. Cut in the shortening and margarine, until they are in pea-sized pieces or the mixture looks crumbly. Slowly pour in the soymilk mixture and stir until just combined, being sure to not over-mix. Fold in the lemon zest and chopped ginger until fully incorporated.

Chill this mixture for 1 hour in the refrigerator.

While dough is chilling, preheat oven to 375 F. When dough is ready, turn out onto the baking sheet and form it into one large circle. Using a very sharp knife, cut the dough into 8 triangles, as if cutting a pie or pizza. Make sure each scone is separate from one another enough so they won't cook together completely. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven, slice along the already-made cuts, and place back in the oven for 15 more minutes. Scones will be ready when golden brown on top and firm to the touch. These are fairly dense, crunchy scones, so they will continue to firm up after baking. Allow to cool for 10 more minutes on the pan, then transfer to a cooling rack to finish cooling or serve immediately. These are really great slathered with Earth Balance and drizzled with agave nectar!! Even better with a nice cup of Earl Grey tea!

Apple Rosemary Scones

I am kind of on a scone kick lately, so I made another variation of the scone recipe in Vegan Brunch: Apple Rosemary Scones! These have a perfect balance of savory and sweet, and are absolutely divine with a little Earth Balance for breakfast....even better if enjoyed with a hot mug of coffee and the New York Times. Maybe that's just me. Either way, you must try this scone recipe! You will not be sorry!

Vegan Brunch + Local Produce = Amazing Meals!

I am happy to announce that I am a proud owner of Isa's Vegan Brunch!! I received it in the mail on my birthday last week....definitely in the running for best present ever! I was lucky to be able to incorporate some local produce into the brunch meals as well. Yay!
I have read this cookbook cover-to-cover probably ten times already and I keep discovering new and exciting things! It is filled with beautiful pictures, tips, and more to
make anyone an amazing breakfast chef! Here's what I've made so far:

Scones, with the Berry-Lavender VariationThese are very moist and delicious and are perfect any time of day. They did not come out quite as dry and dense as I like my scones, but still wonderful all the same! Isa suggests a Marionberry and Lavender combo for a variation on the basic scone recipe, but I used raspberries, as I couldn't find Marionberries anywhere around here. The flavor combination is great...especially slathered with Earth Balance and organic berry jam!

Basic Scrambled Tofu, with Onions and Local Kale

Banana Flapjacks

Since I am such a breakfast-lover, I made brinner last night for dinner! I made the Banana Flapjacks and served them with the Basic Scrambled Tofu, with onions and local kale scrambled in with it. The flapjacks get nice and browned on the outside from all the banana goodness in the batter, so they get crispy edges while remaining fluffy inside! So good! There was, of course, lots of maple syrup involved with this delightful meal.

Speaking of local veggies, here's a random salad I made for dinner this week, featuring local lettuce and tomatoes (!), as well as homemade seitan, hempseeds, vegan Caesar dressing, and other tasty produce. It was perfect on a hot summer day...thanks, Columbia Farmers' Market!

Thanksgiving Wrap-Up!

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving...I thank you for saving a turkey, and probably lots of other creatures, too! :) My holiday was wonderful! What's not to love?! Lots of food, friends and family, no school, playing board games, and even more food! That's my kind of break!

For breakfast on Thanksgiving morning, I made Pumpkin-Cranberry Scones from Veganomicon:

They were a little softer and cakier than I typically like my scones (just like the book said they would be!), but they were delicious! I love that it calls for fresh instead of dried cranberries...it just adds that little extra zing that I love! Plus I got to use some of the local farmer's market pumpkin that I pureed myself! DIY bonus!

Meal one, for lunch, was at my family's house, where I made all of the food for Steve, my mom, and myself (everyone else had to fend for themselves!! vegan power). I made the following:
--Tofurkey Roast with Mushroom Gravy
--Chili-Maple Glazed Sweet Potaotes and Chestnuts
--Garlic-Roasted Brussel Sprouts
--Double Cranberry Chutney (from Veg Times)
--Uprise Bakery Cranberry Pecan Rolls with my homemade Apple Butter
Yeah, we were STUFFED! I think Tofurkey roasts are my favorite thing about this holiday!!

And I made two desserts:

Pumpkin "Cheezecake" (again with my own pumpkin puree!)

Pecan Pie...with a homemade crust! Both from the Vegan Feast Kitchen Blog!

Thanksgiving two was for dinner at Steven's family's house....

We just did leftovers for the side dishes, but had a Celebration Roast by Field Roast...since we demolished the Tofurkey Roast at lunch! This was our first time trying the Celebration Roast, and I must say that it was great! I liked the butternut squash in the roast, and the spices were tasty. However, I must give my honest opinion that Tofurkey's is better overall...especially in texuture, but I for sure like the wild rice stuffing and the general flavors better, too. But both are delicious and WAAAAY better than cruelty turkeys!!

All in all, a wonderful day! I ate too much and had a bad cold....but I had a lot of fun, too!!

Last Day In Chi-Town

Well I am finally home from Chicago! I will miss all of the great places to eat (and my family, of course), but I am glad to be home and back in real life! Today wasn't all that exciting for MoFo food...can't believe it's day 29!...but I did have some baked goods that were quick treats for traveling!
From Sweet Cakes Bakery, my mom and I got some scones for breakfast: Cherry Lemon Scone and Savory Mushroom Herb Scone. I think scones may be my favorite baked good at the moment...sweet or savory, I just love them so much!!

This mushroom-herb scone is one of the best scones I've ever had!! It was so flavorful and dense and it had a great texture! This is just screaming for Earth Balance! My mom went for the sweet scone: Cherry Lemon Scone. Dried cherries? Yes, please!! Also a fantastic scone, this was sweet but not too sweet, and the fruitiness was really lovely for a morning flavor! I think this scone was screaming for some Cherry or Blueberry Jam....aren't we all, though??

As a post-travel treat, I had a cupcake that I had brought with me from the Bleeding Heart Bakery: Almond Spice Cupcake with Brown Sugar Frosting and Cinnamon Apple Topping! This was so sweet and spice-y, and was perfect for a chilly autumn day. The cupcake itself was perfectly moist and amazing, but the addition of the awesome frosting and apple topping made it even better...like a caked version of a caramel apple! mmmmm! I wish I could eat treats from here every day!

And since I forgot to post this picture last night after dinner, here is a pic of some of the folks who met up at Chicago Diner for dinner...friendly Chicago vegans and some people traveling through town with the Vega company (the guy in the middle is Robert Cheeke of VeganBodyBuilding.com...check it out!) And people say we don't get enough protein! ha!

I am really excited because I was in Barack Obama's hometown for the past week, and now he is coming to my town tomorrow night! We will be going to see him speak in Columbia, MO tomorrow to support him and the campaign...you should support them by voting for them on November 4th! And volunteer if you can! kewl.

Chicago Trip Day 2

Day #25 of Vegan MoFo was again spent in the Windy City of Chicago!! I am really loving it here, especially all the great food! The only thing I don't like is getting lost all the time trying to get to the restaurants....but I am getting there eventually! :)

Lunch had to be pretty quick because I was on a break from my American Dietetics Association conference, so I headed to Whole Foods on the South Loop...probably the best Whole Foods I have ever seen! I got one of their pre-made meals, the Tofu Noodle Bowl: udon noodles, cabbage, carrots, red peppers, cilantro, sesame seeds, baked tofu, and a Thai peanut sauce. It was really good for such a quick meal! Really flavorful and filling and healthy and tasty! I didn't take a picture of dessert, but I will just tell you: I had a Sweet and Sara's Peanut Butter S'more!!! If you haven't had one of these, you should get one, now! They are the best packaged dessert I have ever eaten (and the PB variety is waaaay better than the original! duh.) After a long day at the conference, learning about food, it was time to put it into practice and eat some food! We had dinner at the highly-acclaimed Lake Side Cafe, which has won the award for Chicago's "best vegetarian restaurant" three times! Needless to say, I had high expectations...and I am happy to say that they were met!

Our appetizer: Black-Eyed Pea Croquettes with Red Pepper Sauce. Surprisingly light and tender and really tasty!

My mom's dinner: The Vegan Chicago Dog, with all the fixings! And a Side Salad with Papaya Poppyseed Dressing...although I'm not sure that was a fitting side for a Chicago Dog!! My dinner: Jalapeno-Corn Scone with Smoky Black Beans, Tomato Relish and Toasted Pepitas. This has a wonderful flavor, and the scone was so "buttery" and dense and moist...I have never had a meal centered around a savory scone, but I think I will try to re-create this at home!! Anything with pepitas is a.o.k. in my book!!

And there was dessert, of course! The waiter recommended the Chocolate Cake VERY highly, so I had no choice :) It had a light and fluffy chocolate creme frosting and chocolate "oreo" crumbles on top. YUUUUM! I am glad I listened to the waiter!

I will be back tomorrow with more goodies from Chi-Town....but remember Barack Obama and Joe Biden until I return!! seriously.

(Hemp) Milk and Cookies

First off, a brief product review/comparison of one of my favorite "vegan-y" things: Hemp Milk!
No offense to our dear friend soy, but hemp milk and hemp in general, is such an awesome thing to have in a vegan diet! Great protein, fatty acids, calcium, fiber, etc. etc.
There are two kinds of hemp milk that are really popular out there and I will quickly address them both: one is like heaven in an aseptic package, and the other is, I hate to say, almost vile.

First, Living Harvest Hemp Milk (original flavor)....

This is my favorite thing to put on granola, cereal, in smoothies and ice cream, or just have a huge glass of with cookies or a big, fat PB and J sandwich. It is so thick and creamy and not too sweet, and it has a distinctive flavor, but no bad aftertaste or funk. Pure yum. I'm not sure how they milk a hemp, though :)

Then, there's Manitoba Harvest Hemp Milk (also original flavor)...

I was really excited about this product because it is made with whole hemp seeds and is certified organic and the nutrition is wonderful. Unfortunately, I could barely finish a glass. I was nearly gagging because of the taste. I am NOT picky normally and I can find good things about most foods, but I could not drink this. I feel really bad, because I'm sure this is a wonderful company, and, besides the taste it is a good product. But I must be honest and this is honestly undrinkable.

Now for the good stuff!! I was in a baking mood this week and that copy of My Sweet Vegan keeps staring at me in my apartment, so what else was I to do?!

First, I made a batch of scones to have for breakfast this week before going to classes!

I was inspired by Hannah's use of peanut butter as a butter or shortening substitute in the Chocolate-Glazed Peanut Butter Scone recipe in My Sweet Vegan. But I decided to mix it up a bit and swapped almond butter for the peanut butter and nixxed the chocolate glaze...instead, I added a big handful of dried cherries to create these Cherry-Almond Scones!

These were SO wonderful! They were dense and flaky like a good scone should be, but not bran-muffiny or anything. They are a little sweet, but also have a nice savory quality from the nut butter! Perfect for slathering with Earth Balance or some cherry preserves...and definitely delicious with a big 'ol glass of Hemp Milk (Living Harvest, of course)!!

Cherry-Almond Scones (makes 4)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 Tbs turbinado sugar

2 tsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 T margarine...Earth Balance, baby!!

1/4 cup almond butter

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 tsp almond extract

1/2 cup soymilk

1 cup dried cherries

Preheat oven to 400 F. Line baking sheet with parchment paper, or just spray it with non-stick spray like I did. In a medium bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Cut the margarine into small pieces an use a fork or pastry cutter to cut in the margarine and almond butter into the flour mixture. When the mixture is coarse and crumbly, add in the vanilla. Slowly drizzle in the soymilk, one Tbs at a time until the dough becomes cohesive...but don't overwork it. Work in the dried cherries just a little bit so they are evenly dispersed. Drop the ball of dough onto a floured surface and shape into a circle, about an inch thick or so. Cut into four wedges and space evenly on cookie sheet. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, until lightly browned. Then, let them cool slightly, and slap on some Earth Balance and jam, then enjoy for a guaranteed great morning! (Adapted from Hannah Kaminsky's My Sweet Vegan)

To celebrate the ending of summer and satisfy my sweet tooth, I also made cookie sundaes! The peanut butter-banana-chocolate trifecta is my favorite combination in the world, so I made peanut butter-banana ice cream from A Vegan Ice Cream Paradise. For the sundaes, I put a big scoop of the ice cream.... (here she is in my ice cream maker, gettin all pretty and creamy)

Then, I baked a batch of Chocolate-Chocolate Chip (sans walnuts) Cookies from Veganomicon. I put two yummy cookies in the bowl with the ice cream... (here they are on the cooling rack, lookin all chocolatey and naughty)

And voila! A yummy ice cream-cookie sundae! Perfect for a summer treat, or anytime you want to be happy :) If I had some in my cupboard, I would have topped these with some vegan whipped cream, chopped nuts, or chocolate sprinkles...but I'm broke. And these were still great!

(They were even better because we enjoyed them while watching Sailor Moon on DVD!!)