Coconut Cream Pie

I haven't dabbled in pie very much.  This is because I HATE making pie crust.   But give me a good graham cracker crust and it a whole new world of possibilities.

So I'm super excited that my new Sticky Fingers Cookbook has tons of pie recipes that all call for a simple crust of graham crackers, sugar and Earth Balance.

Maria gives it two thumbs up.

Considering coconut cream pie is the only way Robert will eat coconut, it seemed like a natural starting point.  The recipe is very simple. Coconut milk, sugar and cornstarch for the custard, and then coconut whipped cream and toasted coconut on top.  I'm particularly excited about the coconut whipped cream. I know most recipes call for separating the coconut cream by chilling the can overnight.  But I didn't have time so I just whipped the whole coconut milk.  AND IT WORKED.  Truthfully, it was a little too loose for a pie topping but would be fantastic with berries or on top of ice cream.  The pie was good.  Next time I might add about 1/2 recipe more of the custard filling and make the whipped topping stiffer.  But all in all, it was worth the calories.

California to Reno and vegan food on the way!

Me at the James Dean memorial.
It was Robert's  idea.

Last weekend the husband and I took a little road trip to see family in Reno.   Mazel Tov to Gordon and Erin again on their beautiful wedding!


Here are some of the highlights and critiques of all the food we ate along the way...













First stop was dinner in Sacramento, at Cafe Capricho.  On the positive side, the settings is lovely with a nice patio to enjoy the summer evening and a cold brew. The menu is varied with veg and non-veg offerings.  Hence why Robert looks so happy about his burrito.

I had summer squash enchiladas with an almond sauce.  Frankly I found the sauce needed A LOT of salt. They were very bland and lacked a bit of imagination.















For dessert we went to the Sugar Plum Vegan Cafe and Bakery.   Now, these confections were good. Don't get me wrong.  They were like a B+.   The Whoopie pies were a little dry, and the Little Devils could have used more frosting.  But it certainly wasn't terrible.  I think this is an amazing time in vegan baking where we don't have to settle for just B+ baked goods.  That won't cut it anymore.  Plus, I'm a little tired of the cupcake-centric vegan bakeries.  We, as a community need to branch out.  There's a whole world out there of rugelach, biscottie, baklava, just waiting to be veganized.


And now, for the highlight of the whole trip.....

FREEMAN'S NATURAL HOTDOGS

This place almost makes me want to move to Reno.
Tucked away on a very hip and cute street in Reno, Freeman's serves gourmet hotdogs of the vegan and carnivorous persuasion. I had the "Bun Burner" which consists of vegan chorizo, chipotle aioli, and jalapenos on a poppy seed bun.


You can also choose from a plain veggie dog or vegan italian sausage and build your own special creation from their list of toppings.  And yes they have vegan chili and Daiya cheese!

Unfortunately they were out of vegan chili when I was there.  But I will get a second chance in December when Melissa gets married.  Freeman's I love you!!!

Stuffed Crescent Rolls: An Easy Breakfast Treat

 

I'm a big believer in starting the day with a healthy breakfast. Just ask my husband. For all my baking goodies and cooking decadent food, we rarely have a pancake, waffle, french toast or hash brown in this neck of the woods.

HOWEVER

Occasionally,  it is acceptable to start the day with something a little sinful.  This breakfast idea is so simply, its laughable to say this is a real recipe.

Step 1:   Buy a package of ready made crescent rolls.  Pillsbury are vegan but they have hydrogenated oil.  I used Immaculate Baking Company which may contain milk derived "natural flavor."

Step 2:  Open crescent roll container and remove dough.

Step 3:  Spread filling on unrolled crescent rolls.  I did two different types of fillings.  Tofu cream cheese w/ strawberry jam in half of them, and peanut butter with chocolate chips in the other half.  You can use all sorts of combinations.

Step 4:  Bake crescent rolls according to directions.  The filling will leak out a bit, but they are quite yummy.

Hamentaschen? Yum-entaschen!

I have high hopes for Purim.  I feel like it could be the Jewish cross-over holiday.  Like St. Patrick's day, Cinco de Mayo and Mardi Gras.  I think we could take Purim to the next level.

I also had high hopes for these Hamentaschen...and the delivered! I used this recipe from Gale Gand as a starting point, substituted Ener-G for the eggs and added a few extra tablespoons of water to get the dough to come together.  Come together it did.


After about an hour of chilling in the fridge, I rolled the dough out, used a glass as a cookie cutter and made about 12 little cookies, filled with apricot jam.  This was a test run.  I have some poppy seed filling and a recipe for homemade apricot filling waiting for this weekend!

I really didn't need to eat four of them to confirm that they were good.  But, I think the last time I had a Hamentaschen was in pre-school.  So I guess you could say I'm making up for lost time.  Now I know this blog post only glossed over the instructions.

So if you need more advice on how to assemble these little cookies, here's some very sage advice from Shalom Sesame !

Festive Chickpea Tart........Seriously it tastes good.

When searching for a new recipe to use up the chickpeas I had on my shelf I came across this recipe for a chickpea tart.  I sounded so weird that I had to try it.  My first thought was that it would be like a big pie of hummus.

Basically the pie is a mixture of walnuts an chickpeas pureed with onions, celery and garlic.  Then you fold in spinach, chopped parsley, thyme and dried cranberries. Next you place the mixture in a pie crust. I used a frozen whole wheat pie shell just because I had one in the freezer, but you could totally make your own.  Finally, you bake at 400 degrees for 40 minutes.  The critical step is to let the pie set up for about 10 minutes after you take it out of the oven.

Basically, its a take on quiche. And its really good. I served with a light salad, but carmelized pearl onions, roasted potatoes and cranberry sauce would also be awesome on colder nights when you want something heartier.

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

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.