Happy Memorial Day!

May 28, 2012 by claudia

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes with Fresh Berries

1 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 c. water

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. vegetable or canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. non-dairy sour cream (I’ve also tried this recipe with 1/2 c. silken tofu and both are very similar in creating a moist cake)

 

Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.  Using an electric mixer, beat the sugar, water, oil and vanilla for about 2 minutes.  Mix in the sour cream or silken tofu until no white streaks remain.  Then add in the flour mixture until the batter is smooth.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 28 minutes.

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Cookie Friday!

Mar 23, 2012 by claudia

My dad was trained as a pastry chef.  If you’re not vegan, check out baumkuchen usa.  I grew up eating butter.  Both of my parents still bake and I LOVE baked goods.  I can eat fresh and healthy food all day long, but if a plate of homemade cookies shows up, my willpower is quickly lost.  The idea of baking without butter and eggs is totally foreign to me.  But this is the second recipe I have tried substituting coconut oil for butter and water/flaxseed for egg, and they are darn tasty!

1 c. whole wheat flour

1/4 tsp. salt

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/2 c. coconut oil

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

1/4 c. sugar

1 T. water mixed with 1 1/2 tsp. ground flax seed

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 T. almond milk

1 1/4 c. old fashioned oats

1 c. vegan chocolate chips (I used the 365 brand from Whole Foods but I’m sure there are others)

1/4 c. chopped dried cherries

 

Combine flour, baking soda and salt in a small bowl.  Beat brown sugar, sugar, coconut oil in a large mixing bowl until creamy.  Beat in flaxseed, water, almond milk and vanilla extract.  Gradually add in the flour mixture.  Stir in oats, chocolate chips and dried cherries.  Drop by rounded teaspoon onto an ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for about 8-10 minutes.  This recipe makes about 2 dozen cookies.

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Cookie Friday!

Jan 20, 2012 by claudia

When Elliot started kindergarten this year, he was a little reluctant to go.  He knew it was “all day” and he was worried we wouldn’t have any special time together.  So once a week after school we have a playdate with just the two of us and do something special – whether it’s a museum or painting pottery or building with legos.  The other tradition I started this year is Cookie Friday – at pick-up he knows there is a cookie waiting for him.  As with most things, I started out really strong:  1st week – tollhouse cookies, 2nd week – homemade madeleines, but then it turned into lemon knots from Whole Foods, oreos, or a quick bakery stop.  It was crazy to think I would bake cookies every Friday, but as long as a cookie shows up Friday afternoon, all is right with the world.  Except for Bryon, who comes home from work and can’t eat any of the cookies because they were made with butter and eggs.  Wah, wah wah.  So to be extra nice to my other sweetie, I’ve been toying around with coconut oil as a butter substitute.  Yes, it is saturated fat.  But if you aren’t eating butter (also saturated fat), this gives cookies that very buttery taste vs. a greasy mouthfeel that comes with vegetable shortening.  There is also a lot of hype that coconut oil is good for you because even though it is saturated fat, since it is a plant fat, its composition and the way your body processes it are different than animal fats.  Not sure what I think about that, but I do think these are pretty tasty.

3/4 c. sugar

1/2 c. coconut oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 tsp. ground flax seed, mixed with 3 T. water

2 c. all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. cream of tartar

Cinnamon sugar blend, adjusted to taste (I used 60% sugar, 40% cinnamon)

Cream the sugar and coconut oil together.  Add in the vanilla extract, ground flax seed and water mixture.  In a separate bowl, blend together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda.  Mix the dry ingredients into the sugar/coconut oil mixture.  If the dough is not coming together, add 1 tsp. of water, but you want it to be a little flaky, not too doughy.  Roll the dough into balls about 1″ around and roll them in the cinnamon sugar mixture.  Place on a cookie sheet.  Chill the balls in the fridge for an hour or so.  Preheat the oven to 365 degrees.  Bake the dough balls for about 5 minutes and then take a fork and mash them down a bit.  If you do this before you put them in the oven, they will make a crumbly mess.  Not sure why.  But if you wait 5 minutes, flatten them out with a fork, and then let them bake for another 6-8 minutes, you will be rewarded with some tasty cookies.  This recipe yields about 24 cookies.

 

 

 

 

 

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The Splurge.

Jan 1, 2012 by claudia

Welcome to 2012!  So today is the first day.  The fresh start.  The day the gym is crowded, the produce department is crowded, yet people are more patient and kind.  I, for one, am happy to put 2011 to bed, and am hoping 2012 is the year we don’t max out our deductible.  Now twelve weeks in, I feel comfortable in saying that eating a whole food plant-based diet is not so much a resolution as a way of life.  Yes, it’s time consuming, and not necessarily less expensive, but many things that are worthwhile are challenging.  We need to be challenged, that’s how we grow.  But because I’m an “everything in moderation” kind of gal, I do think you need to throw caution to the wind once in awhile and splurge on something.  So I was happy when Bryon had a slice of my dad’s baumkuchen last week.  He loves the cake – made with butter, eggs and more butter.  Just to have one piece was restrained enough.  Have a great 2012 – eat more vegetables, exercise more, be kind, and splurge once in awhile!

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A Mini NYE

Dec 31, 2011 by claudia

Today is Bryon’s birthday!  To celebrate, we are having a couple of friends over and having a mini celebration, culminating in watching the fireworks from the rooftop at 8pm.  Yes, that’s right – the early show!  And I’m making a mini, vegan-friendly menu: Kim Barnounin’s beet and arugula salad and her lentil tacos; mushrooms stuffed with sage pesto; shiitake mushroom, arugula, and yellow squash focaccia, carmelized onion & blue cheese poppers; watermelon, cucumber and mint skewers; cherry tomato, mozzerella, & basil skewers; salmon toasts with cream cheese and dill.  Ok, that last one is not so veg-friendly, but it’s festive and I’m pretty sure our guests will like it (me too).  And for dessert, a vegan variation of Bryon’s favorite: mini pineapple upside-down cakes!

Brown Sugar Topping

3 T. unsalted Earth Balance*

1 T. light corn syrup

1/2 c. packed brown sugar

6 pineapple slices, finely chopped (although it is perfectly fine to use canned pineapple, I don’t, because fresh pineapple tastes so much better and I don’t have to worry about BPA-lined cans)

Make the brown sugar sauce by combining all of the above ingredients and stirring over medium heat.  The very strange thing that happened is the Earth Balance did not really combine well with the brown sugar ( I can hear my dad saying “A-ha!”) and I ended up pouring the melted earth balance layer off and just using the melted brown sugar/corn syrup mixture.  Let it cool a bit.

While that’s cooling, grease a large muffin tin (the kind that makes 6 instead of 12) and put greased wax paper circles in the bottom of each cup.  Spoon the brown sugar topping evenly between the 6 cups, then add a generous amount of chopped pineapple.  Put aside.

Yellow Cupcake Batter

1 1/4 c. unbleached all purpose flour

1/2 tsp. baking powder

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

1 c. sugar

1/2 c. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 c. water

1/2 c. silken tofu

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Sift the dry ingredients together and set aside.  In a mixer, combine the sugar, oil, vanilla, water and silken tofu.  When that is well blended, add the dry ingredients and mix until just blended.  Spoon batter over each muffin cup until it is about 1/2″ from the top of the pan.  Put the muffin pan on top of a cookie sheet and place on the middle rack.  (If you don’t put the cookie sheet under the pan, you may find yourself swearing like a truckdriver as the brown sugar bubbles over and smokes in the bottom of your oven.  Trust me.)  The cakes are done after about 30-35 minutes when a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cake comes out clean.  Cool the cakes for 5 minutes in the pan on a wire rack.  Then flip the pan over and empty the cakes onto the wire rack and let them cool completely.  This recipe makes 6 mini cakes; recipe is easily doubled.  Happy New Year!

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Let him eat cake.

Dec 26, 2011 by claudia

The holidays are tough for dieting.  I’m not proud of the fact that I believe I ate at least two dozen cookies while visiting my parents.  To make it a little easier on Bryon, I baked these vegan brownies.  I’m happy to report that over the course of 4 days, Bryon did not eat any of the cookies that tempted at every corner, and that these brownies were a hit with the non-vegans as well.

2 c. all purpose white flour

2 c. sugar

3/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

1/2 c. silken tofu

1 c. water

1 c. canola oil

1 tsp. vanilla extract

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.   Coat with vegetable oil and flour a 10″ springform pan.  (Alternatively you could use a standard 9×13 rectangle pan for brownies, but I thought this might be a bit more festive.)  Mix the dry ingredients together, then add the tofu, water, canola oil and vanilla.  Bake for 45-50 minutes, until a toothpick poked in the center comes out just slightly gooey.

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