vegan mofo: last minute Halloween ideas!

I don’t have any exciting food to share with you today. But since tomorrow is Halloween I thought I would share some ideas in case anyone is looking for last minute things to make to celebrate. The husband and I are staying in and handing out candy (yeah, I’m the lame house that is giving out raisins and these other fruit snack things…but the kids get enough sugar on Halloween already!).

To celebrate, I thought I would try my hand at decorating some spooktacular (okay that’s just lame) cupcakes a la the Wilton idea website. If you’ve never checked that place out you should. A lot of it is selling their products, but you can get some neat ideas there: Wilton Idea Finder. I mean really, how can you beat something as cool looking as this?

What are YOU doing for Halloween?

vegan mofo: Halloween cookies!

When I moved here to start graduate school 5 years ago (yikes, where has time gone??) I left behind two very wonderful friends. Unfortunately I only see them about twice a year now, but thanks to the wonder that is the internet, we still keep in touch. In fact, they were my bridesmaids in my wedding this past summer. I wanted to make them a special treat for Halloween and I thought that cutely decorated cookies were just the ticket.

We have bats:
Cute little ghosts:

And tombstones:

Not pictured are cats and witches. Clearly my piping skills need a little work but ah well.

vegan mofo: trying out my new cookbooks

Last week I mentioned that I had received The Vegan Table, Urban Vegan, and Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food. Well, of course I had to try all three out ASAP.

First up, Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food. I had some spinach that had to be used up so I elected to make the spinach and cheeze scramble. I added about double the spinach called for, but it cooks down so small that it hardly seemed like I was eating such a huge amount of spinach. I really liked the seasoning in this recipe. I made it a wee bit more spicy, but other than followed the recipe.

I had just bought some TVP, so the sloppy joes in Urban Vegan called my named. I omitted the oil as well as the sugar. I feel like I really can’t judge the recipe because the TVP I bought, while cheaper than my regular brand, is so gross. It smells bad, it has a weird taste, it’s just ick. I learned my lesson, back to my old brand I go. From what I could tell, the sauce recipe was really good…even though I omitted the sugar it was still plenty sweet for me. But then again I don’t like overly sweet sloppy joe recipes. I didn’t have any buns, so I served it on a sprouted tortilla.

Finally, The Vegan Table. I made the eggplant and carmelized onion “lasagna.” I had my doubts about this recipe….olives and raisins together? Are you mad? But I went with it and was pleasantly surprised…it was actually really good! The taste is so complex, there are so many different taste sensations going on…but they harmonize. This would probably be fabulous in the summer with fresh tomatoes, eggplant, and basil, but ah well. We do what we can here in the north.

vegan mofo: yet another new cookbook

I have a new cookbook as of today! But my credit card will be happy to know that I didn’t buy this one. The very talented Tami of Vegan Appetite had a giveaway awhile ago and I actually won! My prize was Raw for Dessert by Jennifer Cornbleet.

I haven’t ventured that far into raw ‘cooking’ (for lack of a better word). I had a look through this book and oh my gosh, everything sounds wonderful! I can’t wait to try out a few treats. Thank-you so much Tami!

vegan mofo: simple and quick tostada

So here is another thing I like to make for dinner when I have zero time: refried bean tostadas! It’s pretty simple…I spray a corn tortilla (there is usually a package in my freezer) with cooking spray and heat it up each side over medium heat in a skillet. When that’s done I spread it with some refried beans (usually out of a can) and then top with whatever veggies I have on hand. This week it was red bell pepper, onion, and romaine. Oh, and usually I like to douse it with salsa and hot sauce too. And there you have it, a delicious dinner ready in about 15 min.

vegan mofo: my very first PPK swap!

The fine folks over at the PPK organized a swap for vegan mofo. The way it works is you register with your name and address and you are matched up with a partner. You put together a care package for your partner with vegan goodies and send it to him or her, and they do the same for you. For some reason or another I always miss out on the various swaps that go on, but this time I was finally able to participate!

I was matched up with the lovely Celia of On Cardamom and Cast Iron. She sent me Peanut Butter & Co White Chocolate Peanut Butter (oh my gosh is it good!), Tings, some local strawberry preserves, MimicCreme, and Dandies (!!!!)….all stuff I am unable to get here. I am so grateful, thank you so much Celia!

vegan mofo: hurrah! new cookbooks!

When Urban Vegan was recently released I knew I had to have it. I had been good and hadn’t bought myself a new cookbook in awhile (I mean, how many barely used cookbooks does one person need?). Of course Amazon always suckers me in with their offer of free shipping IF you spend at least $36 (well, this is how Amazon Canada works anyway). And so I added The Vegan Table to my cart as well….I love Joy of Vegan Baking and I had heard good things about this book. Oh wait, that left me still $3 short of free shipping. *sigh* And so I crumbled and added Quick & Easy Vegan Comfort Food. Amazon…you are pure evil.

I haven’t had much of a chance to look through the books yet, but if there are any recipes you’d recommend let me know!

vegan mofo: blueberry pancakes that actually look as good as they taste

I love pancakes. I think if I had to enter an eating contest it would most definitely be a pancake contest. I try not to make them very often and instead have them as an occasional treat. As great as I think starting off each morning with a plate of warm carbs smothered in Earth Balance and maple syrup would be, I know they’re not the greatest thing for me (yes I’ve tried the low fat whole wheat varieties, but they’re not the same).

Sunday I had a 2 hour kayak class in the afternoon and so I thought that I would treat myself to some delicious blueberry pancakes as I would be sure to burn them off whilst learning to paddle around. Blueberry pancakes have always presented a challenge to me….while they taste great, the batter often gets that unappealing green/blue/grey tinge that is just plain icky looking. I read somewhere on the internet that coating frozen blueberries in a bit of flour would prevent this, so I thought I would try it out.

Behold! Blueberry pancakes that are actually the color pancakes are supposed to be. Yum!

I used the recipe for basic pancakes from Vegan Brunch and just added in some frozen blueberries.

vegan mofo: first paid baking gig!

So today I baked things for my first real paid baking job! I was asked to make an Oreo cake (based on the cookies and cream cupcake recipe from VCTOTW), cinnamon buns (from Vegan Brunch) and chocolate truffles (Eat, Drink & Be Vegan). Unfortunately I didn’t get pics of the truffles, but here is the cake with ganache dripping down the sides:

And here are the cinnnamon buns, freshly glazed:

vegan mofo: chocolate mousse torte!

This is what I made for dessert for Thanksgiving last weekend….a chocolate mousse torte. You know how every cafe/bakery/restaurant has a dessert that they call “death by chocolate?” This is that dessert. So chocolatey. So decadent. So rich.

Chocolate Mousse Torte

Brownie Crust:
1 1/2 c. sugar
1/4 c. canola oil
2 tbsp water
2 tsp ground flax
1/2 c. water
2 tsp vanilla
1 1/3 c. flour
3/4 c. cocoa
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Chocolate Mousse Filling:
1/2 c. soy milk
9 oz. vegan chocolate chips
12 oz. extra-firm silken tofu
1/4 c. coffee
1/4 tsp vanilla

Ganache Topping:
8 oz. vegan chocolate chips
1 c. soy milk

Crust:
Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease 11″ springform pan. Mix together sugar, oil, and 2 tbsp water. In separate bowl, mix flax and 1/2 c. water. Add to oil mixture along with vanilla. In a third bowl, combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt. Add to oil mixture. Stir to combine. Pour into pan and bake 26 min. (or until toothpick inserted into middle comes out clean). Cool completely.

Mousse:
Bring soy milk to gentle simmer. Remove from heat. Melt chocolate chips in double boiler. Remove from heat. Combine chocolate, soy milk, and tofu in food processor. Process until smooth. Add coffee and vanilla. Process some more. Spread filling evenly over brownie crust.

Topping:
Bring soy milk to gentle simmer. Remove from heat and pour over chocolate chips. Mix until smooth. Spread this evenly over mousse.

Chill for at least 2 hours.