I've been camping out near UCSD's campus in beautiful La Jolla with my brother and his roommate, two graduate experimental music students. So imagine my surprise when I discovered that they were living on a diet of lentils, peanut butter, coffee and whiskey (ie: no surprise). After making an awesome pumpkin pie (see previous post) and chocolate chip zucchini bread, I had a leftover can of pumpkin, some flour and half a bag of chocolate chips at my disposal. These are what resulted.
Sugar and Spice (and everything nice) Pumpkin Muffins
(Musical accompaniment: Melt Banana, "Blank Page of the Blind"... er, I mean, Fleet Foxes "Helplessness blues" blasting on my headphones to drown out the screechy screechy.)
2 1/4 cups whole wheat flour
2/3 cups sugar
1/2 cup veggie oil
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 can pumpkin puree
1/2 bag vegan chocolate chips
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
2/3 cups almond milk
pinch cinnamon
pinch nutmeg
pinch chili powder
splash vanilla extract.
Preheat oven to 350F
Mix together flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Add in pumpkin puree, oil, almond milk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla and spices
Stir until well blended. If the mixture appears dry, add a splash more oil.
Add in chocolate chips and mix gently.
Fill muffin cups halfway (these babies will rise!)
Bake for 15 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.
Saturday, November 26, 2011
Wednesday, November 23, 2011
Vegan Patriot Pumpkin PIe
This thanksgiving I'm thankful for the U.S. Constitution, particularly the 1st amendment and all those wonderful rowdy citizens who risked and still risk their lives in pursuit of a better America. Y'all make me so damn proud.
In honor of these patriots, and in honor of autumn, I finally got brave and decided to whip up a vegan pumpkin pie. We didn't grab vegan whipped cream, so I fashioned some out of combining coconut milk, powdered sugar, veggie shortening and vanilla extract. I also threw in a bunch of spices and made an all-over icing spread, but it came out a little runny, so I'm going to perfect that recipe before I post it on here.
Vegan Patriot Pumpkin Pie
(musical accompaniment: Graham Parsons, "Wild Horses")
1 9 inch unbaked pie crust (I bought mine)
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 cup coconut milk (you want the full fat stuff, preferably from a can)
8 tablespoons wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup veggie oil
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons ginger
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 tea spoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 F
Combine all ingredients, mixing thoroughly (you can use an electric mixer)
Pour into pie crust
Bake for about 60 minutes
Remove pie from heat, allow to cool for about 1/2 an hour (pie will be slightly jiggly until it cools completely).
In honor of these patriots, and in honor of autumn, I finally got brave and decided to whip up a vegan pumpkin pie. We didn't grab vegan whipped cream, so I fashioned some out of combining coconut milk, powdered sugar, veggie shortening and vanilla extract. I also threw in a bunch of spices and made an all-over icing spread, but it came out a little runny, so I'm going to perfect that recipe before I post it on here.
Vegan Patriot Pumpkin Pie
(musical accompaniment: Graham Parsons, "Wild Horses")
1 9 inch unbaked pie crust (I bought mine)
1 15 oz can of pumpkin puree
1 cup coconut milk (you want the full fat stuff, preferably from a can)
8 tablespoons wheat flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup veggie oil
2 tablespoons cinnamon
2 tablespoons ginger
1 tablespoon nutmeg
1/2 tea spoon salt
Preheat oven to 400 F
Combine all ingredients, mixing thoroughly (you can use an electric mixer)
Pour into pie crust
Bake for about 60 minutes
Remove pie from heat, allow to cool for about 1/2 an hour (pie will be slightly jiggly until it cools completely).
Sunday, September 11, 2011
Garbanzo and Yam Sweet Tagine
with Arugula and Carrots! :)
I first fell in love with tagine cooking when I was in (of course) Morocco. I was engaging in my travel-diet policy at the time-- also known as "whatever you feed me, I will eat, no questions asked." Needless to say, I did not eat very much vegetarian food there. Upon returning home to my normal veggie habits, I began to crave the stewy spicy tenderness of tagine cooked meals, particularly during the change of seasons from summer to autumn. While most of my tagine cooking adventures involve things like harissa (middle eastern style chili paste), tonight I decided to go the sweet route, and it turned out pleasantly fantastic. There is a hint of cayenne and crushed black pepper to give it a zing, but the spice is light enough to leave room for the sweetness of the carrots and yams to shine through.
I served this over buttery couscous (recipe also below)
Garbanzo and Yam Sweet Tagine
Musical Accompaniment: Souad Massi, "Honeysuckle"
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pat of earth balance
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium sized yam, peeled and cubed
2-3 large carrots, peeled and cubed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can of garbanzos
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger (or fresh ginger! 1 inch piece of ginger, grated-- this depends on how much zing you want in your tagine!)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
a handful of arugula, coarsely chopped
a pinch of turmeric, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional) and sea salt to taste.
Heat the oil in a tagine or heavy skillet over medium heat
Stir in ginger and cinnamon
Add earth balance and other spices (except salt and pepper, those come later) to taste
Once the spices become integrated and fragrant, add the yams and carrots, stirring to coat them in the liquid.
Allow yams and carrots to cook for 5 minutes, until yams become a golden brown color, and carrots begin to soften.
Pour in the agave nectar
Carefully pour in the vegetable stock and garbanzo beans.
Bring liquid to a boil, stirring carefully.
Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for 25-45 minutes.
Once the vegetables are tender and the sauce is almost syrupy in consistency, lower the heat significantly. Add the chopped arugula, salt and pepper. Allow the arugula to steam slightly by recovering the tagine for 5 minutes.
Serve over buttery couscous
Buttery couscous recipe
I had always cooked couscous like pasta, until a Moroccan roommate corrected me. He was right! This way is so much better!
1 cup couscous
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Earth Balance (in pieces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 350F
Pour couscous in oven safe dish
Mix salt into warm water, then pour over the couscous
Allow couscous to absorb the water for 10 minutes.
Drizzle the olive oil over couscous, and stir to coat
Top with earth balance
Cook for 10 minutes, until couscous is just lightly toasted.
(tagine)
I first fell in love with tagine cooking when I was in (of course) Morocco. I was engaging in my travel-diet policy at the time-- also known as "whatever you feed me, I will eat, no questions asked." Needless to say, I did not eat very much vegetarian food there. Upon returning home to my normal veggie habits, I began to crave the stewy spicy tenderness of tagine cooked meals, particularly during the change of seasons from summer to autumn. While most of my tagine cooking adventures involve things like harissa (middle eastern style chili paste), tonight I decided to go the sweet route, and it turned out pleasantly fantastic. There is a hint of cayenne and crushed black pepper to give it a zing, but the spice is light enough to leave room for the sweetness of the carrots and yams to shine through.
I served this over buttery couscous (recipe also below)
(dinner!)
Garbanzo and Yam Sweet Tagine
Musical Accompaniment: Souad Massi, "Honeysuckle"
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 pat of earth balance
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium sized yam, peeled and cubed
2-3 large carrots, peeled and cubed
2 cups vegetable broth
1 can of garbanzos
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tablespoon ginger (or fresh ginger! 1 inch piece of ginger, grated-- this depends on how much zing you want in your tagine!)
1 tablespoon agave nectar
a handful of arugula, coarsely chopped
a pinch of turmeric, coriander, black pepper, cayenne pepper (optional) and sea salt to taste.
Heat the oil in a tagine or heavy skillet over medium heat
Stir in ginger and cinnamon
Add earth balance and other spices (except salt and pepper, those come later) to taste
Once the spices become integrated and fragrant, add the yams and carrots, stirring to coat them in the liquid.
Allow yams and carrots to cook for 5 minutes, until yams become a golden brown color, and carrots begin to soften.
Pour in the agave nectar
Carefully pour in the vegetable stock and garbanzo beans.
Bring liquid to a boil, stirring carefully.
Reduce the heat, cover and cook gently for 25-45 minutes.
Once the vegetables are tender and the sauce is almost syrupy in consistency, lower the heat significantly. Add the chopped arugula, salt and pepper. Allow the arugula to steam slightly by recovering the tagine for 5 minutes.
Serve over buttery couscous
Buttery couscous recipe
I had always cooked couscous like pasta, until a Moroccan roommate corrected me. He was right! This way is so much better!
1 cup couscous
1 cup warm water
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 tablespoons Earth Balance (in pieces)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Heat oven to 350F
Pour couscous in oven safe dish
Mix salt into warm water, then pour over the couscous
Allow couscous to absorb the water for 10 minutes.
Drizzle the olive oil over couscous, and stir to coat
Top with earth balance
Cook for 10 minutes, until couscous is just lightly toasted.
Tuesday, September 6, 2011
Raspberry Lemon Muffins
These babies are gluten free, vegan and super tasty. Use fresh berries!
(Musical Accompaniment: Bob Dylan, Freewheelin')
2 1/4 cups Bobs Redmill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup veggie oil (melted earthbalace does the trick too)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 lemon, zested
1 cup raspberries
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Oil a muffin tin or line it with paper liners.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the oil, agave nectar, almond milk, vanilla, and lemon extracts and lemon zest, and stir until there are no clumps remaining. Gently fold in raspberries.
Pour the batter in each prepared cup, almost filling it (but not quite! these muffins will rise!) Bake on the center rack for about 25 minutes, or until the tops are a light golden brown.
(Musical Accompaniment: Bob Dylan, Freewheelin')
2 1/4 cups Bobs Redmill Gluten Free All Purpose Flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup veggie oil (melted earthbalace does the trick too)
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/3 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup almond milk
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon extract
1/2 lemon, zested
1 cup raspberries
Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F. Oil a muffin tin or line it with paper liners.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Add in the oil, agave nectar, almond milk, vanilla, and lemon extracts and lemon zest, and stir until there are no clumps remaining. Gently fold in raspberries.
Pour the batter in each prepared cup, almost filling it (but not quite! these muffins will rise!) Bake on the center rack for about 25 minutes, or until the tops are a light golden brown.
Saturday, June 4, 2011
Baked Kale and mushrooms in Balsamic Glaze
My kale obsession continues.
This recipe was inspired by a lovely group of "dharma potluckers" I hung out with a few nights ago. I made them baked kale spiced with whatever I could find in my friends kitchen.They gobbled it up so quickly, that I couldn't help but wonder what other awesome variations on this standard recipe I could come up with.
Baked Kale and Mushrooms in Balsamic Glaze
Musical Accompaniment: Trampled By Turtles, Duluth (love them).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Mix together 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, a splash of olive oil, garlic salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Set aside.
Wash, dry and coarsely chop kale (I just pull it directly off the stem in little handfulls)
Toss in olive oil until evenly coated
Put in oven for 5 minutes
As the kale is baking, chop some baby bella mushrooms
Sautee them in a pan on medium heat with olive oil, garlic salt, balsamic vinegar and sugar for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked.
Combine kale and mushrooms by carefully picking the mushrooms out of the balsamic vinegar glaze and placing them on the baking dish. Try to avoid putting any liquid from the mushrooms onto the kale (it will take longer to get crispy). Keep the glaze for later
Put kale and mushrooms back in oven for another 8 minutes, or until the kale is bright green and crispy around the edges.
Drizzle the remaining amount of balsamic vinegar over the kale and mushrooms and serve.
This makes a light and crispy side dish, or serve over pasta for a yummy summer pasta entree.
This recipe was inspired by a lovely group of "dharma potluckers" I hung out with a few nights ago. I made them baked kale spiced with whatever I could find in my friends kitchen.They gobbled it up so quickly, that I couldn't help but wonder what other awesome variations on this standard recipe I could come up with.
Baked Kale and Mushrooms in Balsamic Glaze
Musical Accompaniment: Trampled By Turtles, Duluth (love them).
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
Mix together 1/3 cup of balsamic vinegar, 1 teaspoon of sugar, a splash of olive oil, garlic salt, black pepper and garlic powder. Set aside.
Wash, dry and coarsely chop kale (I just pull it directly off the stem in little handfulls)
Toss in olive oil until evenly coated
Put in oven for 5 minutes
As the kale is baking, chop some baby bella mushrooms
Sautee them in a pan on medium heat with olive oil, garlic salt, balsamic vinegar and sugar for about 5 minutes, until the mushrooms are cooked.
Combine kale and mushrooms by carefully picking the mushrooms out of the balsamic vinegar glaze and placing them on the baking dish. Try to avoid putting any liquid from the mushrooms onto the kale (it will take longer to get crispy). Keep the glaze for later
Put kale and mushrooms back in oven for another 8 minutes, or until the kale is bright green and crispy around the edges.
Drizzle the remaining amount of balsamic vinegar over the kale and mushrooms and serve.
Friday, May 13, 2011
OATMEAL CHOCOLATE COOKIES
Yayyy it's officially the end of the semester! Congrats to all my student friends graduating this semester! A secret: The real world is just like college except with bad suits and more coffee. It would suck, except for awesome delicious vegan cookies, like the ones I'm about to share with you.
You're welcome.
Vegan/GF Oatmeal* Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Musical Accompaniment: Alexi Murdoch: "Slow Revolution"
2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
2 cups bob's redmill gluten free oats
3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup agave nectar
3.5 tbs earth balance, melted (or any kind of vegan butter/margarine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tazo chocolate disk (or vegan chocolate chips)
Preheat oven to 350
Spread vegan nonstick spread (i used earth balance) on cookie sheet
put 2 cups of walnuts in food processor and grind until very fine
Mix together the flour, half of the oats, baking soda, cinnamon and brown sugar
Add to food processor and grind for about half a minute
Mix together agave nectar, melted earth balance, applesauce and vanilla extract
Add to food processor and mix until sticky (about 30-45 seconds)
Pour contents into a large bowl. Fold in the other half of oats.
I didn't have chocolate chips handy, so I put 1 bar of tazo chocolate in the food processor and turned it into chocolate chunks. Or you could be a normal person and go buy some vegan chocolate chips. Or add rasins. The possibilities are endless!
Scoop into 1 teaspoon balls and add to cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.
^^Allison inhaling the cookies :)
* Whether or not oatmeal is acceptable for people who avoid gluten is up for debate. Since I was making these cookies for a friend of mine whose partner is strictly gluten free, i wasn't taking any chances. So I bought Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Oats. yes, they make those. :)
You're welcome.
Vegan/GF Oatmeal* Chocolate Chunk Cookies.
Musical Accompaniment: Alexi Murdoch: "Slow Revolution"
2 cups walnuts, finely chopped
2 cups bob's redmill gluten free oats
3/4 cup gluten free all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup applesauce
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup agave nectar
3.5 tbs earth balance, melted (or any kind of vegan butter/margarine)
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tazo chocolate disk (or vegan chocolate chips)
Preheat oven to 350
Spread vegan nonstick spread (i used earth balance) on cookie sheet
put 2 cups of walnuts in food processor and grind until very fine
Mix together the flour, half of the oats, baking soda, cinnamon and brown sugar
Add to food processor and grind for about half a minute
Mix together agave nectar, melted earth balance, applesauce and vanilla extract
Add to food processor and mix until sticky (about 30-45 seconds)
Pour contents into a large bowl. Fold in the other half of oats.
I didn't have chocolate chips handy, so I put 1 bar of tazo chocolate in the food processor and turned it into chocolate chunks. Or you could be a normal person and go buy some vegan chocolate chips. Or add rasins. The possibilities are endless!
Scoop into 1 teaspoon balls and add to cookie sheet. Bake for about 12 minutes or until golden.
^^Allison inhaling the cookies :)
* Whether or not oatmeal is acceptable for people who avoid gluten is up for debate. Since I was making these cookies for a friend of mine whose partner is strictly gluten free, i wasn't taking any chances. So I bought Bob's Redmill Gluten Free Oats. yes, they make those. :)
Sunday, May 8, 2011
Arugula and Black Bean Pasta
Arugula and Black Bean Pasta
Musical Accompaniment: Jeff Buckley, Grace
Ingredients:
1/2 lb of rotini (or any thick pasta)
2 tablespoons of earth balance
1 garlic clove, minced
2 handfuls of washed arugula
1/2 can black beans
Black pepper to taste
Salt to taste
Juice from 1 lemon
Cook pasta as usual.
While pasta is draining, heat the garlic clove in the earth balance on medium heat.
Add black beans and stir until coated.
Add pasta to the garlic/earth balance/bean mixture and stir until well mixed
Put the two handfuls of arugula on top, cover for 1 minute (so the arugula steams, but is not wilted).
Remove from heat.
Add lemon juice and sprinkle with pepper and salt.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)