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Monday, February 28, 2011

Kelsey Grammer wedding in NYC included vegan menu at the Plaza - New York City Buzz | Examiner.com

Kelsey Grammer wedding in NYC included vegan menu at the Plaza - New York City Buzz | Examiner.com

Sunday, February 27, 2011

Coconut Tres Leches -- muy delicioso

Considering I've never tried a non-vegan version, or any version, of a  coconut tres leches cake I can only judge this cake on it own.  And it was good.  I'm not sure if I would call it my favorite dessert.  But I did go back for seconds.

And what exactly is it you ask?  Well, its a basic white cake that is then soaked in a sugar/coconut milk syrup and topped with a tofu, coconut cream topping.  Its not really a frosting.  And you top it with flaked coconut. The "tres leches" comes from the fact that there is coconut milk, soy milk and almond milk. 

"The cake would be good on its own," said Megan.  "I liked that it wasn't too sweet."  The cake was VERY labor intensive.  But overall, a good venture.

My new favorite thing: coconut cream

When you refrigerate a can of coconut milk (must be the full fat kind) it the rich fatty cream separates from the liquid.  You can then open the can and scoop out the cream which tastes light and fluffy like whipped cream with a slight coconut flavor.  I'm already dreaming up ways to use it.  I'm thinking if you whip it up with sugar and some vanilla extract it can be used just like whipped cream on strawberries, ice cream, cake etc.  I discovered this while making the coconut tres leche cake from Viva Vegan!  More to come on that cake later.  But for now, let me know if you've ever used coconut cream and how.

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Chocolate Brownies and Peanut Butter Cookies

I am pretty loyal to the brownie recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking.  However, the brownie's  from that book, while very yummy, are a little too moist and fudgie because they are made with applesauce instead of oil.  The best part about brownies, in my opinion, is the crunchy sandy exterior sandwiching a fudgie interior.  Enter the recipe for Vegan Banana Chip brownies from VegNews magazine.  I didn't have banana chips or pecans...or chocolate chips. But I did have everything else so I decided to go for it.  And these brownies are much more my style (Sorry Colleen).  Made with cocoa powder, they have a much more bittersweet chocolate flavor. AND they have that little crunch that puts brownies over the edge.  My only complaint is that they were a little too thin.  So next time I will double the recipe and include the banana chips and pecan.  I'm sure they will be even better!

This week I also decided to be a cookie godmother and bring in peanut butter cookies for my co-workers.  The polished off all 2-dozen of them, so I think it was a success!  I used the peanut butter cookie recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking which never disappoints!


Sunday, February 6, 2011

Chili Cookoff!

When it comes to cooking, sometimes a recipe is a jumping off point.  Notice I said cooking and NOT baking. Baking, you'd better stick to that recipe like glue.  But with cooking, I often use recipes as a general outline to organize my thoughts and my fridge and come up with something yummy.  Such was the case with dinner tonight.  What could be better than chili on a cold Superbowl night.  I used this recipe from Vegetarian Times with a few changes.  My recipe is as follows:



1/3 recipe of steamed red seitan (from Viva Vegan!), chopped,
1 1/2 c (about) cooked black eyed peas,
1/2 c cooked kidney beans,
1 onion chopped,
1/2 jalapeno diced,
2 carrots, chopped
3 tbsp tomato paste
2 chipotle peppers in adobo sauce, minced
3-5 cloves of garlic, minced,
2 tsp paprika,
1 1/2 tsp chili powder,
2 tsp oregano,
3 cups, vegetable broth,
3 tbsp soy sauce,
1/2 lemon,

First saute the onion and jalapeno is about 2 tbsp canola oil until soft (about 7-10 minutes).  Add chipotles, garlic, seitan, tomato paste and spices.  Saute for about 3 minutes.  Add carrots, beans and broth.  Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer. Let simmer for 1 hour.  Right before serving finish with the juice of 1/2 lemon and perhaps a bit more salt.  Serve with tortilla chips.




Friday, February 4, 2011

Tale of two truffles

On the left you have the champion --  Decadent Chocolate Truffles from The Vegan Table by (my hero) Colleen Patrick-Goudreau.  On the right, the challenger -- Pecan truffles from VegNews adapted by moi.  We'll call them my almost raw truffles because I swapped peanut butter for raw almond butter because raw almond butter is like $10 a jar and PB is a mere $3. 

Why mess with perfection you ask? Well, I've read Kris Carr's Crazy Sexy Diet and taken some of her advice to heart.  I'm trying to kick my coffee habit and decrease my sugar consumption.  The raw truffles are 1 cup of medjool dates, 2 cups of pecans soaked, 1/4 c peanut butter and 1 tsp cinnamon. That's it. You blend it all up in a food processor until it's a mushy clump and then form balls and roll them in coconut flakes.  Let's just say they're not as sweet as Colleen's chocolate cream cheese truffles which involve blending powdered sugar, tofutti cream cheese and melted chocolate, chilling and rolling in cocoa powder.  
Frankly, I think next time I will just eat the dates straight up rather than turning them into truffles.  But for now, I have coffee withdrawals to tend to and truffles to eat!