Gingerbread PIGS

Aren't they CUTE?!?!

Happy Holidays Internet!!

'Tis the season to make vegan Christmas cookies. In the spirit of the holidays I whipped up a batch of vegan gingerbread pigs! They came out adorable and tasted great! (a little spicy though, so if you aren't a fan of GINGER in your gingerbread, watch out!) I didn't frost them because I have issues with vegan frosting coming out runny, aka not good for decorating. These cookies are chewy and crunchy in all the right places.

Gingerbread Cookies (Recipe Courtesy of www.vegnews.com)
Makes 24 Cookies

What You Need:

• 2-3/4 cups pastry flour
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 tablespoon ground ginger
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 3/4 cup molasses
• 1-1/2 cups light brown sugar, packed
• 2 tablespoons soymilk
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

What You Do:

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees and grease a cookie sheet. In a large bowl, combine flour, baking powder, ginger, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. In a large bowl, whisk together margarine, molasses, and brown sugar together until smooth. Add soy milk and vanilla and whisk thoroughly.

2. Add dry ingredients to wet and mix with spatula to form a dough. Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

3. Roll out dough onto a floured board, 1/8- to 1/4-inch thick, depending on desired texture (thinner cookies will be crispier, thicker cookies will be chewier). Cut into shapes with cookie cutters and place on prepared cookie sheet. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes, depending on thickness.

Mexican Stuffed Peppers

I thought the orange peppers were a nice fall touch!

I am usually not a fan of bell peppers- between the waxy texture and the lack of flavor, they just aren't my thing...but these peppers blew me away. They reminded me of a healthy chili rellenos. The cream cheese makes them extra creamy, the bread crumbs are a super buttery crunch and the jalapenos give it just the right amount of kick.

MEXICAN STUFFED PEPPERS (Serves 8)
Ingredients:

• 5 bell peppers, cut in half lengthwise and gutted;
• 1 yellow onion, chopped;
• 1 bunch green onion, chopped (only the green);
  
• 1 box soy "ground beef" crumbles;
• 1/2 cup tofutti sour cream;
• 2 cloves garlic, minced;
• 2 tsp beef boullion (I use this brand- certified vegan, NO ACTUAL BEEF IN IT)
• 1 tsp garlic salt;
• 1 tsp pepper;
• 1 jar salsa ( I used Frontera tomato & garlic)
• Half container (about 1/2 cup) of tofutti cream cheese;
• 1/2 cup brown rice;
• 1/2 cup bread crumbs mixed with 1/4 cup butter and garlic salt, to taste.
• 1/4 cup diced jalapeno peppers (the kind for nachos)

How to Make:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 350 degrees.
   
2. Start your rice first, rice takes way too long to make.
3. While your rice is cooking, saute your onion with the garlic and bouillon and spices until the onion is translucent.
4. Once the onion is done, add the "beef" to the pan along with the sour cream, 1/2 of the jar of salsa, green onion, and the jalapenos (your pan may be getting really full so once everything is warmed you can transfer to a bowl to mix better).
5. If you haven't yet, move everything in the pan into a large mixing bowl and add the rice and cream cheese- mix your filling thoroughly.
6. Pour the remaining salsa in the bottom of a casserole dish and then arrange your pepper shells in the dish.
7. Fill each pepper with the filling to the brim.
8. Top each pepper off with the bread crumb mixture.
9. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20-30 minutes.

And there you have it, a Mexican fiesta in your mouth that you can eat and not feel like you just ate 2000 calories (unless you get carried away and eat all the peppers at once, which I won't judge you if you do.)

1960's Tater Tot Casserole

I used my 1960's camera filter- do you like?

As a vegan, I generally eat pretty healthy. Mostly because a lot of foods that are un-healthy are not vegan. But this recipe is definitely not healthy. Although it is filled with veggies, everything else in it pretty much cancels that fact out.

Tater Tot Casserole:
Modified from Snarky Vegan, see her recipe HERE.

Ingredients:

• 1 bag tater tots;
• 1 bag frozen mixed veggies;
• 2 cups soy milk;
• 1 container soy "ground beef" crumbles;
• 1 onion, diced;
  
• 2 tablespoons of flour;
• 7 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine;
• 1 bag Diaya Cheddar Cheese;
• Salt & Pepper; to taste;
• Garlic Salt to; taste.

How to Make:

1. First, to make the sauce: create a roux with the flour and 3 tablespoons of margarine.
2. Once that is browned, remove from heat and slowly add soy milk.
3. Once the soy milk is all added- place back on medium heat and stir constantly until thickened.
4. In a large casserole dish pour in: frozen veggies, beef crumbles, onion cheddar cheese and spices.
5. Pour your white sauce over the top of the casserole.
6. Then add 4 tablespoons of margarine in each corner of the casserole.
7. Arrange your tots on top to cover the dish.
8. Cook at 375 for one hour.

By the time this beast emerges from the oven you will most likely burn the roof of your mouth off because you can no longer wait to eat it. We doused our casserole in Siracha and ketchup as well.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins

Perfect for a fall brunch!

I usually hate fall and winter but every once and a while you will get a sunny, warm day that feels just like summer with the added bonus of beautiful fall foliage that makes me semi-somewhat-kinda like fall. Those days just call for a fall treat.

Chocolate Pumpkin Muffins:
I adapted this recipe from Isa Chandra-Moskowitz's recipe HERE.

The changes I made included:

• Instead of a loaf pan I used a muffin tin (the kind that makes MEGA size muffins- it made 6)
  
• Instead of: 1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg, 1/4 teaspoon ground ginger and 1/8 teaspoon ground cloves = I just added pumpkin pie spice to the same ratio.
• I added a 1/4 cup more sugar because I like my chocolate SWEET!
• I added a few more chocolate chips because you can never have too many of those!
• I used vegetable oil- not canola or coconut.
  
• The muffins take about 20 minutes- a lot less time than the loaf recipe, so watch the clock!

These muffins are SO MOIST. They literally melt in your mouth. And the semi-melted, gooey chocolate chips are amazing. Don't expect a chocolatey-cupcake type flavor though, the chocolate is much more subdued so you can taste the pumpkin.

The Black and White Cookie

Thank God I gave some of these away or I may have not been able to button my pants on Monday.

Almost every other weekend I make homemade cookies to snack on during the week. This weekend, I was missing my sister in New York so I decided to make Isa Chandra Moskowicz's vegan black and white cookie. This was completely her recipe, so I can't claim it as my own- you will just have to drool over the picture or buy her cookbook: "Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar."

For as fancy as they look though, I will tell you- they are easy to make!

Taco Salad

I know, my avocados could have ripened longer

I am a sucker when it comes to a good taco salad. My co-worker always brought in this amazing looking gluten-free taco salad that I would drool over every day as I ate my measly can of soup, or whatever I dragged out of the cupboard, so I decided I HAD to make for myself. It was amazing. And the best part about it; is that it is good hot or cold so it is perfect for lunches at the office!

Taco Salad
INGREDIENTS: (you can really put whatever you want in your salad, these are just my favorites)

• 1/2 box white quinoa, cooked
• Tofutti Sour Cream
• Avocado
• Taco Sauce (this is like the dressing- could use salsa too)
• Shredded Lettuce
• Black Beans
• Diced Tomato
  
• 1 Small Can of Black Olives
• Approx. 1/2 Bag Frozen Corn
• Fake Meat (I used baked tofu, but ground crumbles or seitan or chik'n work well too!)

DIRECTIONS:

1. After the quinoa is cooked, I spread it on a cookie sheet and either pat it dry (if I am in a rush) or stick it in the oven, to dry it out a bit. I hate when quinoa is mushy and dense with water.
2. Then get a giant casserole dish or tupperware to layer your salad (any order is fine, just make sure the lettuce is at the top so it doesn't get soggy): Quinoa, corn, black beans, tomato, olives, meat, avocado, sour cream & lettuce!
3. You can either eat it now hot or put it in the fridge and eat it as a cold salad the next day!

This recipe is amazing because it is also SUPER protein punch! Between the protein in the beans and quinoa - any vegan is set for the week!

Roasted Chickpeas- A Healthy Alternative to Chips or Popcorn

Chickpeas for all!

Our apartment goes through chips and cookies like its our job. We love snacking, and usually... it is on the unhealthiest things. I needed to find a healthy alternative that still would fuel our craving for something salty and crunchy. Enter: Roasted Chickpeas.

Roasted Chickpeas
INGREDIENTS: (serving size: 4 large snacks)

• 2 cans of garbanzo beans- drained and patted dry;
• Olive oil;
• Salt to taste;
• Any spices you want to flavor your chickpeas with, I used: Cayenne Pepper, Salt, Pepper, Cumin, and lime.

DIRECTIONS:

1. Pre-heat your oven to 420.
2. Scatter your chickpeas on a cookie sheet (or 2) with a little bit of olive oil.
3. Place in oven and bake until they are dried out and crispy (anywhere from 30 minutes to an hour depending on how "done" you want them)

WARNING: Chickpeas like to pop in the oven...If they start to get out of control, or you like to keep your oven sparkling clean, turn down the temp and cook longer on lower heat. You can also cook them in a skillet but then you have to stand there the whole time!

4. Last, take the chickpeas out of the oven, and while they are still warm, toss in a bowl of your favorite spices. Then enjoy with your favorite movie. :)

I loved this recipe because it is ridiculously easy and cheap and also you can switch it up with Mexican spices, Italian, something sweet...whatever your taste that day is!

Very Blueberry Muffins

A very BLUEberry muffin!

This weekend I was trapped at home the better of Saturday morning waiting for the dreaded cable guy to come. To make the best of a bad morning, I whipped up these muffins for breakfast.

VERY BLUEBERRY MUFFINS (servings: 12 muffins)
**This recipe is modified from America's Test Kitchen

LEMON-SUGAR TOPPING:
(I made extra of this because I really wanted a lot of sugar topping on my muffins)

• 1/3 cup sugar
  
• 1 1/2 teaspoons finely grated zest from 1 lemon

1. Stir together sugar and lemon zest in small bowl until combined; set aside.

MUFFINS:

• 2 cups fresh blueberries
• 1 1/8 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
• 2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
• 2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon table salt
• Egg Replacer = 2 large eggs
• 4 tablespoons Earthbalance, melted
• 1/4 cup vegetable oil
• 1 cup "buttermilk" = Soymilk + tbsp of lemon juice or vinegar.
• 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla

INSTRUCTIONS:

1. Pre-heat oven to 425 degrees. Spray muffin tin with nonstick cooking spray.

MAKING JAM:

1. Bring 1 cup blueberries and 1 teaspoon sugar (I added more to my blueberries because they were bland store blueberries) to simmer in small saucepan over medium heat.
2. Cook, mashing berries with spoon several times and stirring frequently, until berries have broken down and mixture is thickened and reduced to ¼ cup, about 6 minutes.
3. Transfer to small bowl and cool to room temperature, 10 to 15 minutes

THE BATTER

1. Whisk flour, baking powder, and salt together in large bowl.
   
2. Whisk remaining 1 1/8 cups sugar and eggs together in medium bowl until thick.
   
3. Slowly whisk in butter and oil until combined.
   
4. Whisk in "buttermilk" and vanilla until combined.
   
5. Fold egg replacer and remaining cup blueberries into flour mixture. (Batter will be very lumpy with few spots of dry flour; do not overmix.)
6. Divide batter equally among muffin cups (batter should completely fill cups and mound slightly). Spoon teaspoon of jam into center of each mound of batter.
   
7. Using chopstick, gently swirl berry filling into batter using figure-eight motion.
   
8. Sprinkle lemon sugar evenly over muffins.
9. Bake 17-19 minutes until muffin tops are golden and firm, rotating muffin tin halfway through baking time.
   
10. Cool muffins in muffin tin for 5 minutes, then transfer to wire rack.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Drops

Peanut Butter Chocolate Drops

About once a month I get an extreme sweet tooth that forces me to bake something over-indulgent that I always regret eating. These "cookies" hit that sweet spot, especially since I am always looking for a vegan peanut-butter chocolate something to replace my past life love affair with Reeses.

The best part was too, that on a hot summer day, these are no bake!

PEANUT BUTTER CHOCOLATE DROPS (Serving: 25 pieces)
I am not going to list the recipe because I copied Chef Priyanka's recipe almost exactly. So go here, make these, and thank me/her later. (Hers came out prettier than mine (it is hard to get the nuts ground up really fine) but regarless of what they look like they still taste AMAZING).

NOTE: When rolling the 'dough' I was really tempted to make giant balls because they look so delicious- who wants such a small serving, right? BUT... these are VERY rich so the small balls are definitely the size you want.

Substitutions/changes I made:

• I could not find Hazelnuts in my grocery store, so I substituted Filberts.
• I used regular (not all natural) peanut butter because I am cheap.
• In the "Nutella" mixture, I added more soy milk and powdered sugar and oil. I made enough of the chocolate to make about 3 more batches of these suckers.