Valentine's Cupcakes!

I made these cupcakes yesterday because I wanted something that would be "pink" to go with the spirit of Valentine's Day! Not only are they insanely easy, but they're insanely delicious as well! So, here's my simple recipe for Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting!

Danielle's Strawberry Cupcakes

2/3 Cup Vegan Granulated Sugar
1/3 Cup Sunflower or Canola Oil
1 Tsp. Vanilla Extract
1-1/2 to 1-3/4 Cup pureed strawberries (I thawed frozen strawberries and threw them in the food processor for a bit)
1/2 Tsp. Salt
2 Tsp. Baking Powder
1-1/2 Cups Flour, double sifted

Preheat oven to 325 and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners. In a food processor, combine sugar, oil, vanilla, and strawberries until mixed well. Sift together the remaining ingredients (salt, baking powder, flour) in a large bowl. Combine the wet and dry ingredients and mix until well-combined, but avoid over-mixing so your cupcakes are light and fluffy. Pour batter into cupcake liners. Put in oven for 22-25 minutes, or until you can insert a toothpick in the middle of the cupcakes and remove it clean.

Set aside and allow to cool while preparing the frosting.

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

3 Cups Vegan Powdered Sugar
1/4 Cup Vanilla Almond Milk
1/2 Cup Soy Free Earth Balance Margarine
1-1/2 Tsp. Vanilla Extract

Cream margarine, vanilla, and milk together with a small handheld mixer. Slowly mix in powdered sugar until frosting reaches proper consistency.

(For the pink, I added just two drops of red coloring while mixing).

Enjoy!

Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

Yes, it's been quite some time since my last post. My mother is still in a very critical state of being, and the kind words of encouragement on this page, my facebook page, and my email have been overwhelming and very meaningful. I've been working on a recipe that is Christmas-y, while incorporating some of my mom's favorite things to make for her this holiday season, and I think I have finally created the "Mom's-favorite-things-Christmas-Dessert"! So without further adieu, I give you my Red Velvet Brownies with White Chocolate Buttercream Frosting!




Brownies
3 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
2 oz red food coloring **sidenote, look for a red food dye that is made with Red #40...this is derived from coal and not insects)
2 tsp pure vanilla extract, divided
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) Earth Balance, at room temperature
1 1/2 cups granulated vegan sugar
2 egg replacements (I use Orgran Gluten-Free No Egg, but a lot of folks like Ener-G egg replacement as well)
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt

Frosting
1/2 cup (8 tbsp) Earth Balance, at room temperature
2 1/2 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 oz vegan white chocolate, melted (I used Vegan Sweets Vegan White Chocolate Chips)
1 – 2 tbsp vanilla almond milk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Spray an 8″x8″ baking pan with non-stick aide.

In a small bowl, slowly stir together the cocoa powder, food coloring, and 1 tsp vanilla into a thick paste, almost like toothpaste. Set aside.

With a hand mixer or bowl mixer beat together the butter and sugar on medium speed until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add egg replacement, then stir in the remaining 1 tsp of vanilla. With the mixer off, add in the cocoa mixture, then turn the mixer to medium and beat the two mixtures together until they are one uniform color. Slowly add in the flour and salt and mix on medium-low speed, just until combined. Do not overmix.

Remove the bowl from the mixer and stir up the batter with a rubber spatula once or twice just to ensure all of the flour has incorporated from the sides of the bowl and there isn’t anything stuck on the bottom of the bowl. You’ll want one uniformly colored (red) batter.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan and bake for 25-30 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center of the brownies. Allow brownies to completely cool in the pan on a baking rack, about 45-60 minutes.

Cream butter until soft and fluffy then beat in the vanilla. With the mixer on low speed, slowly add in powdered sugar 1/2 cup at a time; allow the sugar to mix in before adding the next 1/2 cup. Once all of the sugar has been added, beat on medium speed for 30 seconds and scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add in the melted white chocolate and beat on medium speed until incorporated. With the mixer on low, add in almond milk 1 tbsp at a time and beat at medium speed until the frosting has reached your desired consistency.

Huba-Huba Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Cheesecake

So I've been drooling over an image over at VeganPandaMonium's blog for a while now, and while I had an excellent cheesecake recipe, I couldn't STAND the taste of Toffutti's cream cheese substitute. WELL, my grocery store finally started carrying the NEW cream cheese substitute made by Galaxy Nutritional Foods, so I figured it couldn't possibly be as nasty as Toffutti's, so I finally gave it a chance. Now, the idea for this cheesecake is definitely not original, but I used my cheesecake recipe instead of the one on Veganpandamonium's blog, just because I'm more familiar with the outcome. Just incorporated some of her smooth moves to make it pretty, and I must say this was probably one of the easiest, tastiest desserts ever. Seriously simple, and the Galaxy Cream Cheese substitute is not only amazing, but PERFECT for this recipe!


Huba-Huba Chococlate-Dipped Strawberry Cheesecake

16 ounces, or two tubs of Galaxy Non-Dairy Cream Cheese
1/2 cup agave nectar (or sugar)
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 pie-crust (Danielle got lazy and bought a pre-made vegan one this time!)
Strawberries
Vegan Chocolate Chips

Preheat your oven to 350. Put the "cream cheese", agave nectar, lemon juice and vanilla in a blender and blend on low until smooth. Add in the cornstarch and blend until incorporated. Pour mixture into your piecrust, reserving about 1/4 to 1/3 of the batter. Add the cocoa powder to remaining batter and blend until incorporated. Pour into piecrust, and swirl together with a knife. Bake for 40-50 minutes, depending on your oven time, until the top is a golden color. Let sit for about an hour, then put in the refrigerator for a few hours before eating.



While cooling, melt down some chocolate chips in a double boiler (or, place a heat-resistant bowl over the top of a pan of water on medium heat). Slice the stems off your strawberries diagonally, making the heart-shaped top, then slice lengthwise, to get perfect strawberry hearts. Dip half in your melted chocolate and set on wax paper to cool. Add to your cheesecake as a garnish.

Cupcakes, Cupcakes, and More Cupcakes!

I went to visit my mother in Washington, D.C. this weekend. One of my favorite places to stop when I get there is the vegan bakery/cafe Sticky Fingers, which was actually just featured on the Food Network as they blazed through and won the Cupcake Wars, beating out non-vegan cupcake bakers and leaving them in their cruelty-free tracks! Little did I know that, while I was drooling over their counter deciding which cupcakes I wanted to try, my mother was at home, trying her hand for the first time at baking me vegan cupcakes, too! Needless to say, the house was full of these little treats when I got home!

Now, I have to give my mom props, because, for her first attempt at vegan cupcakes, they were probably the tastiest things she's ever made, and that's saying a lot considering my mom has been paid to make people's wedding cakes and other treats ever since I can remember! Amazing, light, fluffy, and oh so decadent, I felt I had to share the recipe she used here.

While at Sticky fingers, I had to try the cupcakes that won her Cupcake Wars, and those were equally as delicious! So, if you're in D.C., be sure to hit up Sticky Fingers! If you're not, then get in that kitchen and start baking this delicious recipe! I promise you won't be disappointed!!!!



The Strawberry Daquiri Cupcake which helped win Cupcake Wars filled with Kiwi....yum!!




Carmelized Banana, Chocolate Seltzer Cupcake, also a Cupcake Wars contender and equally delicious!!





But nothing beats homemade!!!!

Triple Chocolate Banana Brownies, oh my!

(You won't be able to eat just one!)


Okay, so I saw this recipe on one of my favorite blogs, "Yeah, that "Vegan" Shit", and I knew instantly that I'd have to try them as soon as possible! I tweaked the recipe a bit, used 3 different chocolates instead of just one (equal parts 85% dark cacao, semi-sweet, and mexican), used rice instead of soy milk, and followed the rest of the recipe exactly how it was. After they came out of the oven, I torched the top a bit with a kitchen torch to give the bananas a "creme brulee"-type feel/texture, and boy oh boy, Elvis would be proud of me these are so good!! So hop on over to the recipe here and try them out...right now!!! Seriously, go! These only pack 168 calories per brownie....what's stopping you?!

Restaurant Review - Bloom Bake Shop

My very first Bloom Cupcake...an experience I'll never forget!



I do have a lot of recipes to share with you all, but I am still wanting to give shout outs to all the yummy vegan goodies the man and me found around and about Wisconsin this weekend with his mother. One place that we took her to has been a favorite of ours for a few months now since discovering it. A vegan bakery. Need I say more?? Well, I’m gonna, because this place is unlike any vegan bakery I’ve ever been to.


Now, coming from Los Angeles, I was lucky enough to have many vegan options surrounding me daily. From local bakeries that baked up goodies sold at our Whole Foods out there to bakeries like BabyCakes, Sprinkles, and the like…there was definitely no shortage of vegan goodies in Los Angeles. BUT...although tasty…they all felt like they were missing…something.


A year later, we discovered Bloom Bake Shop…right around the corner from where I work. I was told about this new bakery from a co-worker, excited to tell me that although they had non-vegan items, that there were vegan and gluten free features each day as well. Of course, you say cupcake to me, and I’m there. So, I headed on down, and was greeted with the friendliest staff I have ever come across. My first vegan cupcake experience was one of the most ultimate decadence…a vanilla cupcake filled with orange marmalade…topped with a dark chocolate ganache and an orange buttercream frosting flower. I bit in, and went straight to cupcake heaven! THIS cupcake HAD what all the other ones didn’t…a touch of local love.


Bloom Bake Shop is a local, sustainable, fair trade bakery. Most of her ingredients come from right in this area…from the free range hormone-free eggs in her non-vegan products to the peanut butter used in some of her decadent treats all the way to the wind that powers her light fixtures…and what isn’t local is still fair-trade, pesticide and synthetics-free. Every inch of this little bakery is blooming (pun intended…haha) with love, and you can most certainly taste that love when you bite into these delicious, moist, dense vegan cupcakes.


So head on down to Middleton, just minutes from Madison, and pick up a box of cupcakes to share with your family, friends, co-workers…or keep them all for yourself (don’t worry, I won’t judge!). But definitely give this kind local business a try! You will not be disappointed! And the man's mother was in cupcake heaven, so take your out-of-town guests here too!!


The insanely moist and delicious vegan blondie I had this weekend!


The "Be Campy" vegan s'mores cupcake...I've had this one two or three times, and it's always a winner...and pretty, too!

Pan de Muerto y dia de los Vegans!!!

First off, I want to say HAPPY VEGAN DAY to everyone!!! I hope everyone has a day full of yummy vegan goodies ahead of them! I was a vegan baking machine this weekend, between Halloween and dia de los Muertos and everything else, so I have lots of yummy recipes to share with you this week! But, in honor of my favorite day of the year, el dia de los Muertos, I thought I’d share a recipe that turned out super fantastically amazing!! Now, this is not my recipe for pan de muerto. I must tell you that. I would LOVE to take credit for this recipe, but I gotta give credit where it’s due, ya know?! Anyway, this recipe is from the blog VeganMania and it is incredible!

a dia de los Muertos altar in San Diego I visited a few years back.


Now, I’m sure some of you are asking, what the f*ck is pan de muerto?? Pan de muerto is a Mexican bread that is traditionally served on el dia de los Muertos (Day of the Dead) to celebrate and honor your ancestors who have passed on. It is sweet bread that is typically decorated with pieces that resemble bones, or if you’re really crafty, the bread can be shaped like a skull. It is eaten at the altars that are set up on this day to honor your loved ones. And, it’s just a damn tasty treat, if you ask me!


Vegan pan de Muerto
3/4 cup lukewarm water
4 tsp active dry yeast
1 cup Earth Balance melted and cooled to room temperature
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 lb medium firm tofu, pureed until smooth
1 tbsp orange blossom or rose water
1 tbsp orange or lemon zest
1 tsp salt
up to 2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
up to 2 1/2 cups unbleached flour
1 tbsp soy milk
2 tbsp brown sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Mix the yeast with the warm water and let sit for five minutes. Stir in the melted Earth Balance, the pureed tofu, the sugar, the orange blossom or rose water, the zest, the salt and 1 1/2 cups of each flour. Add the remaining flour, 1/2 cup at a time, alternating between the whole wheat and the unbleached, until the dough forms a sticky ball. Turn this onto a lightly floured board and knead for about 10 minutes, adding more flour as necessary to prevent sticking. Place in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with a clean cloth. Allow to rise in a warm spot until it has doubled in size — about 90 minutes.

Punch the dough down and knead a couple of times. Lightly oil baking sheets (I used two pizza pans), and form the dough into two round loaves. You can break off a bit of dough and roll it into long snakes or strips to form skull shapes or bone shapes to arrange on top of the loaves, if you like. Let these loaves rise for 45 minutes to 1 hour on the pans, preheat your oven to 375 F, then brush the loaves with the 1 tbsp of soy milk and bake for 30-40 minutes.

Remove the loaves from the oven, brush with a little extra melted Earth Balance, and immediately sprinkle with the brown sugar and cinnamon mixture.


I'm not that artistically blessed, so this was my version of "bones" on my bread...don't judge me!


YUMMY FREAKING YUM!!!

Banana Cupcakes with Peanut Butter "Buttercream" Frosting

Last night was by far, the last reminder that I needed to see that summer is over. We had a windstorm that started around 4:00 and we are still under a warning for it until 7:00 tonight and it’s crazy out there! Between the howling winds and the fireplace crackling, I got the urge to bake sweet delicious treats…although for once in my life I had no desire to eat any! I do bake when I’m bored, and baking is a “comfort” thing for me. Half the time, I don’t even try my sweet treats and end up being the office favorite the next day when I bring in a tray of whatever I created the night before. But I did try one of these last night, because it was my first time trying to make a peanut butter frosting, and let me tell you, the super dense but really moist cake with the fluffy peanut butter frosting was enough to make you melt away on such a bitter, blustery Wisconsin night.


Banana Cupcakes with Whipped Peanut Butter Frosting

Cupcake:

Use the cake recipe I posted here, but only bake for 18-20 minutes.

Frosting:

1 cup creamy peanut butter
½ cup vegan margarine, softened
½ teaspoon vanilla
2-4 tablespoons of soymilk (depending on how thick or creamy you want your frosting)
2 cups vegan powdered sugar

Whisk all ingredients together until smooth and fluffy.

I topped these with one of my favorite Halloween candies, which I nearly flew over the moon for when I saw vegan ones at my local Whole Foods! They were a little pricey, and were homemade by a local candy shop, but they are well worth it!

Apple Crisp and Pizza...Sounds Like Perfection to Me!

(This photo isn't mine, but I thought it was beautiful!)

This weekend was packed full of Autumn fun and adventures…from trying new restaurants to carving pumpkins to seeing the beautiful Fall Harvest at the Farmers Market…it was all amazing!

Saturday started with an early morning trip to the Farmers Market, which is my ultimate favorite way to start my Saturdays! Honestly, the fall colors on every table were enough to give me butterflies in my stomach I was so giddy! I got some incredible spaghetti squash and butternut squash. I also got some pie pumpkins and apples that looked like they were Heaven-sent! Obviously, dinner was going to be spaghetti squash, and I just KNEW I had to make an apple-something for dessert!

So, I began perusing The Kind Life forums for a good apple recipe, specifically one that I could make gluten-free, as I’m trying to see if eliminating gluten (or drastically reducing the amount I eat) will help with my thyroid issues, but I digress. I found a really yummy looking recipe posted by Tina Weiss that I had all the ingredients for and just knew I had to try. Needless to say, it was absolutely delicious! So, here is the recipe:

Autumn Harvest Apple Crisp
4 medium apples, peeled, cored, and sliced thin
1/2 cup raisins (optional)
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup flour (to make gluten-free, I used rice flour)
3/4 cup oats (I used Bob’s Red Mill Gluten-Free Oats)
1/3 cup Earth Balance
1/2 cup slivered almonds [(optional) I did not use this as I am allergic, but it was in the original recipe]
3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg or pumpkin pie spice

Heat oven to 375. Spray 8x8 dish with cooking spray.

Spread apples and raisins (if using) in pan.

In a large bowl, mix all dry ingredients.

Add Earth Balance, and mix with hands, rubbing together until Earth Balance is well incorporated. Sprinkle over apples.

Bake 30 minutes or until apples are tender.

I served this piping hot over Rice Dream Vanilla Ice Cream – Perfecto!


Since Sunday was the beginning of World Go Vegan Week, the man and myself decided to try one of the Madison restaurants participating that we had not yet been to, to scope out the vegan options. We went to Roman Candle Pizzeria, of which they have a couple locations in the Madison area. We went to the one in Middleton, as it’s closest to where we live. I must say, for a pizza place, I was HIGHLY impressed! Our server was fabulous, and when we mentioned the Vegan Week specials ($3 off any size vegan pizza) he recommended the “Animal Lovers” pizza with no cheese. We went for it, and added some green olives (seriously, how can you eat pizza without green olives?!) and continued looking through their menu. Seriously, this place had probably near 20 different vegetables to put on a pizza as options!! Definitely not like any other pizza place I’ve been to!

Anyway, our pizza arrived, and it was beautiful!

The big fresh basil leaves, perfectly sliced thin red peppers, broccoli, and lots of other veggies tossed perfectly on a super flavorful sauce and then lightly drizzled with olive oil. The pizza literally disappeared before our eyes! Our server was also very excited to see us order something vegan, and was asking us a lot of questions. He thought our pizza looked really good, even though it didn’t have any cheese on it (he said he never sees that…of course not in Wisconsin!) and said he may try it for his lunch that day! He was also excited to hear we liked it, so he can tell other people about the vegan specials they have this week…holla veganism!! Hahaha…so yes, if you are in the Madison area, I will highly recommend Roman Candle Pizzeria if you are looking for a vegan pizza fix!

World Go Vegan Week!!!

For those of you who don’t know, next week, October 24-30 is World Vegan Week!!! I wanted to give a heads-up, because you should definitely start scoping out your areas for vegan deals! I know that, in Madison, a few bookstores are having sales on vegan cookbooks, and *drumroll* certain restaurants are giving discounts on vegan food!! Some are even donating a portion of the cost of your meal to different vegan-friendly charities and such! So get your butts on out of your house and start supporting!!! The more people that support these movements will give bigger and bigger momentum each year to continue doing these things! When companies realize how many people appreciate these things, they’ll be more apt to put vegan items on their menu or stock more vegan cookbooks, or even begin to educate themselves on the vegan lifestyle. So rock on with your bad-ass vegan self and support World Vegan Week in your area!!!

Now, if you’re in my hood (I’ve been in Madison almost a year now, so I think I can start calling it that…haha), here are some of the restaurants that are offering specials next week:

The Green Owl Café: If you read my blog, you’ll know that I have reviewed this restaurant a handful of times, just because it is absolutely my favorite place to eat in Madison! If you mention “World Go Vegan Week” when you order, you will get 50% off a dessert with a meal purchase here!!! Hell yes! Their desserts seriously make life worth living!

Bunky’s Café: Order a vegan entrée (make sure you mention World Go Vegan Week) and receive a complimentary vegan Mediterranean Appetizer Platter!!! Also, 10% of the cost of your meal will be donated to the Madison chapter of Alliance for Animals.

The Roman Candle Pizzeria: Mention World Go Vegan Week and take $3.00 off the purchase of their “Animal Lovers Pizza” – Any size! Just make sure to ask for it without cheese!

As of now, these are the only places I’ve heard of that are participating in Madison, as well as Borders Bookshop having a large display/sale on vegan cookbooks in the store entrance, but I’ll try and update this weekend if I hear of any other places getting involved! Is there anything going on in YOUR town for World Go Vegan Week?!

For more information, jump over to http://www.worldgoveganweek.org/


You'd be downright silly to pass up half-off on the amazing vegan desserts at the Green Owl!!!

Cookies Will Never Be The Same Again...

I’m going to admit something that many people (Americans, anyway) see as odd, crazy, and just plain weird…I’m not a fan of deep-fried food. Crazy, I know! It’s one thing to lightly pan fry or bread something, but to me, the deep frying has just never been something I’ve enjoyed to the extent that most people do…with the exception of fried pickles, but I digress. Anyway, the man and me saw a show on all things deep-fried on the Travel Channel, and I must admit that we got sucked into watching. Seriously, everything from pizza slices to sticks of butter to hot dogs…nothing was off limits on this show! Well, we saw places deep frying desserts, and one restaurant deep-fried Oreo cookies. My mother loves them, but I just think that it sounds nasty. Anyway, when it was removed from the fryer, it looked kind of like a cookie…and I may not like deep-fried stuff, but I do love my cookies! When they cut into the deep-fried Oreo, it truly resembled an Oreo stuffed inside a nice, yummy cookie…which is where this idea stemmed from.


There are many foods that are “accidentally” vegan, meaning that they just so happen to not have any animal products in them, but please remember that this does not necessarily mean that they are healthy! I mean yes, Oreos and Fritos are vegan, but that doesn’t mean you should eat them three times a day ever day! But, knowing that Oreos were vegan gave me the push I needed to create, in my humble opinion, the most amazing cookie I have ever tasted. Ever. Period. Honestly, an Oreo stuffed inside a chocolate-chip cookie is pure Heaven in your mouth, especially since, when it bakes, the Oreo literally melts to a truffle-like ball of creamy, chocolate-y goodness inside the chocolate chip cookie. Honestly, cookies will never be the same after you try this one!!!

Oreo-Stuffed Chocolate Chip Cookies
5 tablespoons Earth Balance (or dairy-free margarine)
5 tablespoons granulated sugar
5 tablespoons light brown sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 Ener-g egg replacer
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon fine sea salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cream of tartar
oreo-style cookies
2 tablespoons vegan chocolate or carob chips

preheat oven to 350°F. line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Beat margarine and sugars together until creamy. add “egg”, vanilla, beat until smooth.

In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cream of tartar, and salt.

Add flour mix to margarine mix, combine well.
Add chocolate chips and mix well.

Form dough into balls, about 2 tablespoons of dough each. Roll balls flat and place an Oreo in the center. Fold the dough around the Oreo, and seal off, so the Oreo is completely covered in cookie dough.

Place on baking sheet. bake for 10 minutes, or until the edges are brown.
let cool on sheet for a few minutes before attempting to remove. place on cooling rack.

Next time I do this, I'm going to use a banana slice instead of the Oreo in the center of the cookie to see what happens!!

Peanut Butter Mexican Wedding Cakes

One of my favorite treats ever since I was young have been the traditional Mexican Wedding Cakes…even though they are Russian… but if you don’t know what I’m talking about, they are those biscuit-style cookies drowned in powdered sugar….oh so tasty! Well, last weekend, I had a really obnoxious visitor who likes to irritate me about once a month, and the only way I can keep from going postal on her is by drowning myself in sweets…so that is EXACTLY what I did!


I really wanted peanut butter…but I also had a nostalgic craving for these cookies I remember oh so well from Holiday cookie platters. So, I attempted in my best effort, to combine the two, and the results were a pretty freaking awesome twist on the traditional cake cookie!

Peanut Butter Mexican Wedding Cakes
1 1/2 cups flour
1 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup oil
3/4 cups sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Mix all ingredients in a bowl (because of how thick and dry the dough is, it’s easiest to knead it together with your hands). Roll the dough into 2-inch balls, place on an ungreased cookie sheet, and bake at 400°F for 10 to 12 minutes.
Okay seriously, can it get any easier than that?!?!

Now, for half of these, I made my own powdered sugar from some organic and vegan cane sugar by throwing half a cup into the blender and blending until it was powder. I then rolled half the cookie balls in this powdered sugar.

For the other half, because this didn’t make me feel like a big enough cow, I drizzled them in Vanilla Agave Nectar for another new twist on the traditional cookie. These ones turned out to be my favorite, and with how easy they are, they may become a new Holiday staple! Also, in comparison with traditional cookies, they really aren’t all that bad for you, considering there are no eggs, and very little oil, so you don’t have to feel as guilty when you eat, say, ten of them!



On a side note, I’ve been looking into incorporating ads on my blog. Supposedly, each time someone clicks on an ad, it adds up. I’m in no way trying to make money off this blog…it’s all for fun. However, I was thinking that any money I could make off of it, be it a couple bucks or so, I could donate to my local animal charities…make my blog even kinder! So, I’d love some feedback…if I had ads, and you knew that each click meant money for animal rescues, would you click them?? It would essentially be like you’re donating money without having to spend a buck…input?

Rum-Soaked Banana Goodness!!

In follow-up from my last post about vegan booze, I felt it only right to give you a recipe using said booze in one of the most deliciously simple desserts I've ever made. Now, the recipe is not mine; I give full props to Vegan Pandamonium for this most incredible recipe. I served these booze-soaked bananas over Vanilla Rice Dream Vegan Ice Cream sprinkled with pumpkin pie spice, and I cannot even tell you how fast this disappeared between my man and me. So, without further adieu, enjoy the recipe!


Ooey, Gooey Rum Bananers
Ingredients

3 bananas, cut into quarters
2 TBL vegan margarine
2 TBL agave nectar (I used vanilla agave for added sweetness)
1/2 TSP vanilla extract
3 TBL spiced rum
1 1/2 tsp crystallized ginger, minced
1/4 tsp pumpkin pie spice
garnish with shredded coconut (I didn't do this, but if you like coconut, go ahead!)

In a small saute pan, melt margarine over medium heat. Add the agave nectar and turn to high heat so that it begins to bubble, thicken and brown a bit.


Once the color starts changing, turn the heat to low and add bananas.


Add the vanilla extract and stir until the vanilla aroma begins to subside. Next add the rum and let it cook down for a few minutes. Add the crystallized ginger and the pumpkin pie spice and stir up well. Garnish with shredded coconut.

Now if this doesn't get you salivating, then WAKE UP!!! Enjoy!

Weekend Treats!

So I know that it’s already Wednesday, but I had such a goodie-packed weekend that I just wanted to share! Now, don’t judge me, I haven’t had a sweet thing in ages, and my new medication is starting to kick in finally so I’m exercising like a crazy woman, and I thought I deserved a little indulgence this weekend!! Friday night, Julian and I went to our favorite 100% vegetarian/vegan restaurant in Madison, the Green Owl, just for dessert and drinks, since we had already had a nice dinner by the time we craved sweets! We usually try to get different desserts when we go here, so we can try each other’s, but this time, there was one dessert that just really stuck out to both of us, and I’m glad we each had our own piece, otherwise there may have been a fight…haha! We both got the vegan berry tart, which was a vanilla-rosemary shortbread filled with a vanilla custard and topped with fresh strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries! *Heaven* in my mouth!!! We washed this down with a lovely drink made with their own homemade Pineapple Rum…which I think may now be up there in Julian’s all-time-favorite-rums (second only to my mother’s homemade Ginger Rum, of course!)! All in all, another successful experience at the Green Owl!



Saturday, I started off my morning volunteering at a charity fundraiser for the Heartland Farm Sanctuary, which is quickly gaining notoriety in the Southern Wisconsin region! I think that, for the first big fundraiser that the Sanctuary has had, it was definitely a success! It was great seeing how excited kids got being around the farm animals, and the money it brought in for the Sanctuary was obviously great, too! It also got recognized on a few news stations, so that’s great too! I got home, sweaty, stinky, and yucky, and got a big grin from my boy…telling me he STILL had a sweet tooth even after our amazing dessert last night! So, I hopped in the shower, and hopped on Facebook, to see what a local bakery’s specials were that day. Just two short miles from our place is a very new cupcake shop called Bloom Bake Shop. Now, it is not all vegan, but they do always try to have an equal amount of vegan cupcakes each day to their non-vegan counterparts. Not to mention, they are insanely delicious! Well, considering every flavor looked good on the vegan cupcake front, we headed over for a little mid-day treat. I got the vegan vanilla butter cake filled with orange marmalade, topped with a dark chocolate ganash with an orange buttercream flower on top…100% vegan, 100% delicious! Honestly, I don’t know how I didn’t gain 15 pounds this weekend!!

Can you say, insanely delish?!


I must say though, sweets aside, I did keep my diet in check the rest of the weekend…aside from the sweets, we did a raw veggie weekend, and it was great! There are so many delicious veggies in season right now, that our selection definitely wasn’t lacking, and I got to put my brand new eco-friendly knife set to use chopping up all our lovely veggies!! Thanks for the great Prepology knives, mommy!!

Chocoholics-Anonymous Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Like I said in my last post, when it’s someone’s birthday, I can’t help but make massive amounts of baked goods. That kick-ass banana cake was just the tip of the vegan goody iceberg! Once again, this recipe is super super simple, and no crazy ingredients (I don’t think). I know that a lot of people have fears of vegan cooking and baking because they see all these recipes with crazy ingredients that they’ve never heard of or have no idea where to buy such items. I try really hard to keep it simple. I’m very lucky that, even though I live in the Dairyland now, I’m surrounded by stores that carry all that “funky” stuff, but I know that there are people who do not have many of those stores around them, so I try to keep my ingredients as basic and user-friendly as possible. So, here’s another variation on one of my old non-vegan recipes that once again, tastes better veganized!



Chocoholics-Anonymous Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
3/4 cup canola oil
2 cups turbinado sugar or sugar in the raw
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon whole flax seeds
1/2 cup soymilk
2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips


Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grind the flax seeds on high in a blender until they become a powder. Add soymilk and blend for another 30 seconds or so. Set aside.

In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt.

In a separate large bowl, cream together oil and sugar. Add the flax seed/soy milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla.

Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When it starts to get too stiff to mix with a spatula, use your hands until a nice stiff dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and mix with your hands again.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into a disc that's about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart.

Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.