Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pie Brownies

It's fall!  You know what that means...pumpkin season!  I've been slightly obsessed with finding ways to use pumpkin in absolutely everything: pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin chai, pumpkin bisque, pasta with pumpkin alfredo, and now?  I think the easiest way to turn someone on vegan food is through vegan baked goods.  

So I have three words for you.  Pumpkin.  Pie.  Brownies.   And they're so little, you can eat them in one bite.  A rich, fudgey chocolate brownie topped with a lightly spiced pumpkin pie layer just like grandma used to make (sans milk, eggs, or any other nonsense).  What's not to love?  

With and without chocolate chippers.

Mini Vegan Pumpkin Pie Brownies
makes 48 bébé brownies

Brownie Layer:
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup coconut palm sugar
2 large flax eggs (2 tbsp flaxseed + 6 Tbsp water)
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

Glamour shot.

Sift your dry ingredients together in a large bowl.  In a small bowl, make your flax eggs.  Set aside.  Cream together your coconut oil with the coconut sugar and applesauce.  Add the vanilla and flax eggs, whisk.  Combine your wet and dry ingredients until no clumps remain.

Pumpkin Pie Layer:
1 cup pumpkin puree 
2 tbsp cornstarch 
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup coconut palm sugar
3 tbsp non-dairy milk (I used homemade almond-cashew milk)
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or 1 tsp cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ginger, 1/4 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp allspice)

Whisk together the cornstarch and non-dairy milk.  Add your pumpkin.  Add the remaining ingredients and whisk till smooth and the sugar is pretty much dissolved (about one minute).

Time to assemble these lil' dudes!  Drop the brownie batter by the tablespoon into your mini muffin tin (lined with mini-muffin liners!)  Now, do the exact same thing with your pumpkin pie batter.  It's easy to get really excited and overfill the little tins, but control the urge--these rise, and you'll run out of batter!  You can sprinkle mini chocolate chips or additional cinnamon on top before you bake these bite-sized delights at 350 for 20 minutes.  Enjoy the mingling smells of cinnamon and cocoa goodness.  Allow them to cool (or chill in the fridge) before serving alongside a hot mug of your favorite chai or some ice cold almond milk.  Till next time!

Vegan Eggy In A Basket

Happy Summer, everyone! 

In addition to being super busy, I've been perfecting a vegan version of my favorite pre-vegan breakfast: Eggy in a Basket! If you've watched "V for Vendetta" lately, you may have experienced a craving for the classic recipe.  Typically, you crack an egg in the center of a piece of bread in a frying pan, and voilà! After some experimenting, I've developed a tastier, cholesterol/cruelty free version using tofu :)  Enjoy the recipe!

Vegan Eggy In A Basket

serves two

1/2 block organic extra-firm tofu
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tsp olive oil

2 tbsp water + 1 tbsp cornstarch

4 slices organic multigrain bread
1 tsp vegan margarine or more olive oil

avocado slices for serving (optional)

Heat your olive oil in a large pan on medium heat.  In a medium sized bowl, mash the tofu, nutritional yeast and spices together until well combined.  Sauté in your pan for about five minutes, or until golden brown.  Whisk together the water and cornstarch in a small bowl-add to the tofu and cook for 30 seconds longer, or until everything starts to stick together a little.  Transfer back to the bowl.  

With a wineglass/mug/whatever you have on hand, punch out the centers of your bread slices.  Add a little more oil (or vegan margarine) to your pan.  Add your bread (along with their centers!) to the pan.  Take a large spoonful of your tofu mixture and press it into the center of each slice of bread.  Cook for about one minute on each side, or until golden brown.  All done!  The bread centers are great with sliced avocado, jam, or anything you would put on toast :)  Enjoy!

Vegan Creamy Cashew Alfredo and Spaghetti Squash with Sautéed Mushrooms and Broccoli

Hi world!

I thought I would share a super-simple, super-tasty recipe that I came up with "on the fly" yesterday.  I picked up a spaghetti squash at the grocery with no idea how to cook it or use it in a recipe.  After a quick Google search, I learned that, when baked, the flesh of this squash resembles very thin pasta.  So I decided to use it as such!  The creamy cashew alfredo is a staple recipe of mine: all you need to whip it up is a blender and a little patience.  Once you work out the basics of that recipe, you can use it on everything!  Try normal pasta, pizzas, steamed veggies, anything.

Vegan Creamy Cashew Alfredo and Spaghetti Squash with Sautéed Mushrooms and Broccoli

1 medium spaghetti squash, cut in half lengthwise (remove seeds and pulp)

1/2 cup raw cashews, soaked for at least 3 hours (or overnight)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced (or 1-2 tsp garlic powder)
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp each thyme, rosemary, oregano, and basil (or try 2 tsp of your favorite herb blend)
2 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup vegetable stock (or white wine)

1/2 cup thinly sliced mushrooms (any sort will do!)
1/2 cup broccoli florets
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
1 tsp olive oil or vegan margarine

Preheat your oven to 375.  Line a baking sheet (or dish) with aluminum foil.  Place the squash halves face down on the sheet (grease lightly with olive oil first, if desired).  Bake for 45 minutes, or until the squash is tender (a fork should easily pierce the flesh).  Set aside to cool.

Drain the water from your cashews.  In your blender/food processor, combine the cashews and olive oil.  Here's where the patience kicks in-you want the mixture to become as creamy and smooth as possible, so depending on the power of your blender, it can take anywhere from 2-10 minutes.  Periodically scrape down the sides of the blender or food processor bowl-add a few tablespoons of water if necessary.  When the mixture looks smooth, add your garlic, vegetable stock (or white wine) and spices.  Adjust the liquid based on the consistency you like.  Transfer the mixture to a saucepan and heat on medium heat until it begins to bubble and thicken slightly.  Lower heat and keep warm.

In a skillet, heat your oil or vegan margarine on medium heat.  Add the mushrooms and sauté until tender (about 5 minutes).  Add the broccoli and continue to sauté for about 5 minutes.  Deglaze the pan with balsamic vinegar and cover.  Let the vegetables steam for a few minutes, or until the broccoli is tender.

Now it's time to assemble everything!  With a fork, remove the strands from your cooked spaghetti squash.

Top with a healthy heap of cashew alfredo and veggies.  Enjoy hot!

Vegan Chocolate Buckeye Cupcakes

It's Spring Break!!!

I couldn't be happier to be home with my family (and two adorable dogs).  Because of my school schedule, I missed both my mom's and my stepdad's birthdays...so of course I had to make it up to them.

Thus commenced Project Cupcake.

Both my mom and my stepdad are huge OSU football fans.  A lot of my childhood was spent watching the games, and celebrating touchdowns by eating a buckeye.  Buckeyes are a candy version of the native Ohio buckeye nut (made of peanut butter and chocolate).  So, what better way to celebrate these two birthdays than with a chocolate buckeye cupcake?  The recipe I created is a chocolate cupcake with fluffy chocolate "buttercream" frosting, topped with miniature buckeyes.  Feel free to customize and experiment with new flavors!

Vegan Chocolate Buckeye Cupcakes

makes 12 large cupcakes (or 24 mini cupcakes)

1 cup non-dairy milk
1 tsp vinegar (white or apple cider)
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup coconut sugar + 1/3 cup evaporated cane juice (or use all coconut sugar!)
1/3 cup melted vegan margarine or cooking oil of choice (try applesauce if you want a lower-fat version)
1/2 cup all-purpose flour + 1/2 cup whole wheat flour (or try white whole wheat flour)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder

for the Mini Buckeyes 
2 tbsp cold peanut butter
1 tbsp cold vegan margarine
2 tbsp powdered sugar
4 oz. vegan chocolate, melted + 1 tsp coconut oil

for the Fluffy Chocolate "Buttercream" frosting
1/4 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa powder
2 cups powdered sugar
1-2 tsp non-dairy milk

Let's get started!  First, preheat the oven to 350 and line your muffin tin with muffin cups (duh!).  Then, in a large bowl, whisk together the non-dairy milk and vinegar.  Leave to curdle for about five minutes (the mixture will thicken).  In a separate medium-sized bowl, combine all the dry ingredients.  Set aside.  Add sugars, vanilla, and melted margarine to the non-dairy milk mixture. Whisk until emulsified and foamy (about a minute).  Add the dry ingredients in three batches, folding in gently until no large lumps remain.  Fill your muffin cups about three-quarters full (they will rise!).  Bake for 16-18 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Set aside to cool.

While the cupcakes are baking, assemble the buckeyes!  Mix the peanut butter and margarine in a small bowl.  When well combined, add the powdered sugar.  The texture should be a little crumbly but should clump together with gentle pressure.  Roll your mixture into 24 tiny balls; the easiest method I found was to roll 12 small balls and pull them in half.  If desired, you can put a toothpick in each ball to make the dipping process easier later.  Place on parchment paper and freeze for 10 minutes.  Meanwhile, melt the chocolate on the stove and add the coconut oil.  Allow to cool.  Now, for the fun part!  Dip your little peanut butter balls in chocolate one-by-one, leaving a small circle of peanut butter visible on the top.  When you're all done, pop them back in the freezer for another ten minutes.

While your cupcakes are cooling (and your buckeyes are chilling), whip up the frosting!  Mix the vegan margarine and coconut oil with a hand mixer until smooth and well-combined.  Add the vanilla and cocoa powder, beating till smooth.  Then, slowly add the powdered sugar, increasing the hand mixer's speed until the frosting becomes fluffy and magical.  If it looks too creamy, add a little bit of powdered sugar.  If your mixture is crumbly, add a little bit of non-dairy milk.  Voilà!  

To assemble your cupcakes, hand-frost or pipe your cupcakes.  Top each sucker with one or two mini buckeyes.  All done!  Enjoy.

Super-Moist Vegan Banana Bread

I've had a super-busy and productive few days!  I originally started this blog to try to document my attempts to help "veganize" our college's dining options.  The most consistent options thus far have been found over at the salad bar.  In happy news, I have a meeting next week with dining services at BW to test out some of my recipes and further the push for more healthy and vegan options!  Stay tuned for more.

In other exciting news: bananas!  They're a staple food of mine; walk into my dorm room and you will undoubtedly see a bunch perched atop my mini fridge.  Bananas are perfect: packed with potassium, mood stabilizing, and great for your digestion.  I was so busy that I neglected this week's bunch, and before I knew it my bananas had gone brown.  So what better to do than bake banana bread?  John is blessed this semester with a fully functional kitchen, so I high-tailed it over there to make some banana magic.  Pretty quickly, the room was filled with the homey smell of baking bread.  Aside from having a comforting scent, this quick-bread is, dare I say...moist.  I hate that word too, so let's just agree not to repeat it aloud, capiche?

Super-Moist Vegan Banana Bread

makes 1 loaf

2 c whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of salt
2 tbsp ground flaxseed + 6 tbsp water
1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
1/3 cup coconut sugar
1/4 cup agave nectar
3-4 medium, very ripe bananas

Lightly grease a loaf pan with vegan margarine.  Preheat the oven to 350.  In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients.

In a small bowl (or cup), whisk together the flaxseed and water.  The flaxseed will soak up the water and become gelatinous--don't be scared!  Flaxseeds take on the role of eggs as a binding agent, and they pack a nutritional punch with a healthy dose of Omega-3 fatty acids, antioxidants, and fiber!

While the seeds soak, mash the bananas in a small bowl with a fork until pretty smooth.  Cream together the coconut sugar, agave, and vegan margarine.

Now, add everything to the dry ingredients and mix for about a minute.  The batter will be a little lumpy, but it should be evenly mixed (no clumpy dry bits!).  Pour the batter into your loaf pan, scraping the bowl for all that banana-goodness.  And because there are no eggs, no salmonella!  So have at that bowl with your fingers, a spoon, whatever.

Bake your banana bread for 45-50 minutes, or till golden brown.  Let the bread cool, then gently shake it out of the pan, wrap it, and store overnight before slicing.  But heck, if you aren't afraid of some crumbs, eat it straight out of the oven!  I won't stop you.


Love,
Candice

Breakfast Obsession: Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes

Internet, I owe you an apology. 

Not only do I go months between posts, but I am about to share another breakfast recipe.  I realized that almost all of the recipes I've shared so far have been breakfast related.  Now, breakfast is awesome, but I cook much more than just breakfast, and I could be sharing that with you, too!  So, I've made a resolution: I will share at least one recipe a week from my vegan-y arsenal, as well as musings about staying well-fed as a busy college student. 

And now...pancakes!

John and I spent this weekend at his house in Cuyahoga Falls--because of the crazy amount of snow we got yesterday, we've spent most of our days hanging out inside with his family.  We weren't able to go out to the grocery to get some of the staples that he and I usually depend on for our meals at his house.  Our usual pancake recipe contains Earth Balance, a magical vegan "buttery spread" that winds up in a lot of what we eat.  My new year's resolution was to vary up my diet by eating less soy, cutting out additives like soy lecithin, soy protein isolate, and soybean oil.  Luckily, I'm able to use the soy-free Earth Balance; but as we weren't able to get any this time, we had to get creative!  John suggested using a banana instead of oil, and it worked wonders!  The fluffy texture of our usual recipe remained, with an extra boost of potassium and fiber.  Thus, Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes were born. 

Vegan Chocolate Chip Banana Pancakes

makes 8-10 medium sized pancakes

1 cup white whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1-2 tbsp agave/coconut sugar/sugar/etc. (whatever you like to use!)
pinch of salt (optional-to bring out the sweetness)
1 cup almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1 ripe banana, mashed
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips (try Enjoy Life brand)
coconut (or other) oil for fryin'
maple syrup/agave syrup/peanut butter/etc. (for topping)

Heat a skillet on medium heat, grease lightly with oil of your choice.  This recipe doesn't take much oil, so use it sparingly! 

In a medium-sized bowl, mash the banana till it's, well, mashed.  Whisk in the non-dairy milk.  In a large bowl, mix together all the dry ingredients (except the chocolate chips).   Add the wet ingredients to the dry, whisking just till mixed.  The batter should start to bubble slightly as the baking powder reacts with the liquid.  This makes for super-fluffy pancakes!  Add chocolate chips and stir just till combined.  Drop batter by the spoonful onto the hot skillet, cooking for about two minutes on each side (till small bubbles start to rise on the uncooked side's surface).  The pancakes should be a light golden color.  Eat 'em quick, while they're hot! I like to drizzle agave on my pancakes, while John prefers good ol' peanut butter and regular syrup. 

Until next time!

The Perfect Tofu Scramble

It's safe to say that tofu is the king of the vegan food pyramid--and rightly so!  I've loved tofu ever since I first became a vegetarian at 13.  When I made the transition from vegetarianism to veganism at age 16, I was worried I would miss eggs, especially scrambled eggs at breakfast time.  I obsessed over perfecting my tofu scramble to satisfy my craving.  Now, four years down the road, I think I may have finally done it--simplicity of spices is the key here, so if you're going to get fancy, make sure you have a good flavor going first!  This recipe is great for breakfast, but it's also versatile enough to serve at lunch or dinner time.

The Perfect Tofu Scramble

1 block organic tofu (extra firm-non GMO!)
1 tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (a.k.a. "nooch")
1 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp pepper (use white pepper if you have it)
1/4 tsp coriander
1/4 tsp allspice (trust me.)
a pinch of salt (use black salt if you can get your hands on it--its mildly sulfurous odor compliments the "eggy" flavor)
(optional: herbs like thyme or rosemary, sautéed mushrooms, fresh spinach, diced tomatoes, etc.)

First thing's first--drain your tofu!  If you're a tofu novice, here are the steps:  cut open the package and tip the water into the sink.  Place your block between two plates with something heavy (like a phone book, if those still exist) on top.  Leave your tofu to press for 15-20 minutes and tip the water into the sink.  Bam!  You're ready to make some scramble!

Heat the olive oil in a skillet on medium.  Crumble your tofu with your fingers and drop it into the pan.  Add half of the nutritional yeast and all of your spices (except salt)--sauté for 5-10 minutes, until it's starting to get golden.  It should develop a little bit of a spice coating--if you'd prefer it to be a little more "saucy", you can turn down the heat and add a couple tablespoons of water.  Add the rest of the nutritional yeast and the salt.  Cook for another two minutes or so.  Add your "optionals" if you're using, and serve hot!