Cherry Almond Cookies

From Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar!

I just have to say, I have not made a bad recipe YET from this cookbook. (I haven't even made a so-so recipe yet, they have all turned out fabulous!)

I have made this particular cookie recipe twice now, once with dried cranberries (yum), and once with the cherries (thank you, Trader Joe)!  Both times, the cookies have turned out delicately crisp on the edges, and soft and chewy in the center.  I must say, the combination of the slighly tart, cherries with the delicately sweet flavor of the almond cookie is just wonderful! I think I might try toasting the almonds next time, and I might add just a touch of cinnamon to the cookie as well...

Either way, this recipe is definitely in the running for my holiday cookies this year! I think I might try and drizzle them with a bit of powdered sugar icing, just for an extra touch. ^_^

My Basic Hummus Recipe

I was recently given a food processor! Nothing fancy, but it does the job. ^_^

I have now unleashed a monster, and I can't stop making HUMMUS.

  
Please believe me when I tell you how AMAZING home made hummus tastes compared to store bought brands!  Here's the recipe I use:

Basic Hummus Recipe
1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained, liquid reserved
1/4 - 1/3 cup tahini
1/2 lemon, juiced.
2 garlic cloves, crushed
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp chickpea liquid
1/2 tsp salt, corriander and cumin, or to taste

So, why so heavy on the tahini?  My (ONLY) favorite store bought brand of hummus is SABRA.  In an attempt to recreate this silky creamy goodness, I searched the web for a copycat recipe. I did not actually find one, but I read somewhere that the Sabra brand uses more tahini than most other brands, and that could possibly be the reason why I love it so!

So... add the above list of ingredients to your food processor and blend, blend, BLEND... scraping the sides down as you go. If the tahini-ness scares you, feel free to start off with maybe 2 TBSP- 1/4 cup of tahini, and taste as you go. 

Once you get the basic hummus recipe down, you can experiment with all sorts of flavors:

Add one roasted red pepper:  

Roasted Red Pepper Hummus (bad pic)!

OR... add a handful of chopped scallion and cilantro:

   

Scallion & Cilantro Hummus

Or if you like it SPICY, add a little less tahini, one roasted red pepper and 1/2 jalapeno WITH seeds!
  

SPICY - Red Pepper and Jalapeno!

What is your favorite hummus recipe?

Build Your Own Falafel!

Most Friday nights, my friend and I get together to COOK, and although she is a member of the International Chili Society and a die-hard carnivore, she glady comes to my kitchen and we cook VEGAN food!  Each Friday, we usually pick a cuisine such as Mexican, Indian, Italian, BUT our all time, common ground is: THE HUMBLE FALAFEL

If you've never had the honnor of eating one of these delicious Middle Eastern treats, falafels are fried balls or patties of spiced chickpeas, wrapped in a pita pocket or flat bread, and served with a variety of condiments or dipping sauces.  When I make falafel from scratch, I use THIS traditional recipe from Tyler Florence. Unfortunately, you DO need to plan ahead with this one, because it involves soaking dried chickpeas overnight. This week, we decided way too late for that recipe, so I had to resort to the box:

For a box, this stuff is NOT BAD...  I do add a little fresh garlic, chopped scallion and fresh cilantro to spruce it up a bit, but overall, (in a pinch), I like it!

Now for the toppings!  We set ours up like a "make your own" falafel bar:  Romaine lettuce, sliced tomato, thinly sliced red onion, roasted red pepper strips.  Two kinds of homemade hummus:  Garlic and scallion, and then a spicy red pepper and jalapeno (recipes tomorrow)!  For an added cool touch, I mixed some chopped cilantro and scallion into my basic tofu sour cream recipe.  And for the wraps, we had whole wheat pitas and lavash flat bread!

Gardein, or... The Cooking Channel Veganized

If you're going to try Gardein for the first time, you're going to need a recipe that actually uses MEAT. I, however, fall quite short in that department.

I thought "beef stew" was kinda obvious, and shish kabab (which these look like) are rather difficult without a grill, BUT I had a package of the Gardein Beefless Tips in my freezer that I, at least, wanted to TRY.

One day, I had the Cooking channel on in the background, and this adorable Asian chef came on the screen, with a lovely Brittish accent.  Her show was called Chinese Food Made Easy, and her cullinary point of view was to debunk the myth that Chinese food was the greasy, fried, take-away we all see here in American, (and apparently in England too, which is where this show is from). She wanted to teach her viewers that authentic Chinese cuisine is fresh, quick, delicately balanced in flavor, and totally accesible to cooks at home.

So, I looked to tried this:  Spicy Beef Stir-Fry Topped With Scallion and Coriander

Adapted and veganized from Cooking Channel's Chinese Food Made Easy.  I used Gardein frozen beefless tips for this, but I imagine pieces of seitan would work wonderfully here as well. Serve this with wasabi mayo (recipe below) over some warm flatbread or tortillas...DELICIOUS and spicy!!

Cumin is not a spice one might expect to find in a Chinese dish. There is a large population of Muslim Chinese in Beijing. They came from western China and brought with them a unique cuisine that calls for the use of spices such as cumin and fennel, which found their way to China along the Silk route. The spices in the dish are distinct and extremely flavourful, and pair amazingly with the fresh scallion and coriander. Please, if you can, take the time to freshly grind your cumin from the whole seeds. I used a mortar and pestle, and it made ALL the difference!

Ingredients:

For the Wasabi Mayo

1/2 tablespoon wasabi powder
4 teaspoons water
3 tablespoons vegan mayonnaise (I use Veganaise) 

1 pinch powdered sugar

For the Spicy Coating

2 tablespoons cumin, freshly ground
2 tablespoons dried chili pepper flakes
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon sea salt

For the Beefless Stir-fry

8 ounces seitan (I used 8oz package Gardein Beefless Tips)

2 tablespoons peanut oil

1 teaspoon rice wine or 1 teaspoon dry sherry
1 tablespoon light soy sauce
1 cup fresh cilantro, leaves and stalks, roughly chopped
2 spring onions, finely sliced


Directions:

1. To make the mayo: In a small bowl, mix the wasabi powder with 1 teaspoon water to make a paste.
2. Mix the wasabi paste, remaining water and vegan mayonnaise together. Season with some sugar, and set aside.
3. To make the spicy coating: Grind your cumin seeds in a mortal and pestle.
4. Once ground into a powder, add dried chile flakes, black pepper, and salt.
5. Heat a wok or pan over high heat and add the peanut oil.
6. Add the beefless tips or seitan and stir-fry for less than 1 minute.
7. Add spicy mixture and stir to coat pieces in spice and oil.
8. When spices become fragrant, pour in the rice wine or sherry, and season with the soy sauce.
9. Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the cilantro, and spring onions. Serve immediately on warmed bread of choice with wasabi mayo.



Spicy Beefless Stir-Fry with Scallion and Coriander



Butternut Squash & Apple Soup

In honor of the temperature going down to 28 degrees tonight, I thought I'd share a warm and comforting Autumn soup!



This soup is adapted from a recipe I found in Fitness Magazine. The hint of curry, as well as the sweetness of the apples give this soup a really unique and delicious flavor. The addition of the white beans adds some depth and creaminess as well. Perfect for a cool Fall night! This soup is really nice served with some toasted crostini, spread with some fresh roasted garlic. 

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon olive oil

• 2 cups onions, chopped

• 1 teaspoon curry powder

• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

• 6 cups butternut squash, peeled and cubed

• 2 granny smith apples, cored, peeled and cut into bite-size chunks

• 1/2 teaspoon thyme

• 2 (15 ounce) cans white beans, drained and rinsed

• 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)

• 1 tablespoon pure maple syrup (optional)

• 4 cups vegetable broth

• 2 cups water

• freshly ground black pepper, to taste

Directions:

1.  In a soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat.

2.  Add the onion and curry powder and cook 3 minutes.

3.  Add the butternut squash, apples, thyme, white beans, salt and vegetable broth and the 2 cups of water - bring to a boil.

4.  Reduce heat and cook until squash is very tender, about 20 minutes.

5.  Working in batches, puree the soup in a food processor or blender until almost smooth.  (I like to let the soup cool a bit OR work in VERY small batches if soup is still hot).

Mint and Chocolate, the Perfect Pair

So, I went a bit overbaord with the Halloween cupcakes, but hey, Halloween's my birthday, so I should go overboard.

This batch was CHOCOLATE!

Here they are naked, fresh from the oven ^.^ I dripped the batter everywhere!!



As always, I used my "go-to" recipe for vegan chocolate cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.  This recipe is a little different from the golden vanilla in that it uses canola oil for the fat instead of Earth Balance, but believe me, it is equally as yummy.

I did find that many of my friends do not like "chocolate" cupcakes, and much rather prefer the vanilla.  I'm not exactly sure why there's this bias against chocolate cupcakes, but that's ok... more for me!

I thought I'd try something different with the buttercream frosting for these, so I used 1 tsp of vanilla extract and 1/2 tsp of mint:

The result: Chocolate and Minty goodness:





Tomorrow's post will NOT be about cupcakes, I promise! ^_^

Halloween Cupcakes! (Vegan Style)

Trick or Treat!  A few fun sprinkles plus some white and black vegan buttercream make these delicious sweet little treats!

For the cupcakes, I used my go-to recipe from the cookbook: Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  As far as I'm concerned, this is the most wonderfully, perfect vanilla cupcake recipe (vegan or NON).  Recipe can be found here, reprinted with permission. Vegan buttercream frosting is a must as well.  My hints for the frosting: Use Earth Balance brand shortning and buttery sticks, and beat in a Kitchen Aid mixer for the full 3 mintues and then 7 minutes!  It's like a cloud :)  Then, go to town with sprinkles!!

The only one of its kind! White buttercream and shiny orange glitter sprinkles!

Frankenstien Style! (black and green ^_^)

All purpose Halloween-y Colors!

And... my FAVORITE:  Black frosting with BONES!!

I made the full batch of buttercream, left half of it white and then added BLACK food coloring paste to the remaining half until it went from a purple-y grey to a nice dark black.  I think I added about three tiny "scoops" of the black gel until it was dark enough.

Do not, I repeat, DO NOT check to see what this food coloring gel "TASTES" like.  A small miscommunication in the kitchen made L's tongue (and saliva) black for a good three hours!! (no pics, sorry)

And... the inspiration for all the fun:

On sale at A.C. Moore!! (thanks Mom!)