Banana Junkie

So yesterday in my Tylenol with codeine induced haze (I had my wisdom teeth out, I don’t just pop it for fun), I made a delicious discovery.

The discovery of banana bread. No sugar added, oil free, heavenly banana bread.

The recipe can be found over at Eat, Drink and Be Vegan. I swapped the chocolate chips for an ounce of unsweetened baking chocolate all chopped up and used a mixture of all-purpose and wheat flours. This recipe was easy to whip together, popped right out of the pan and tastes like a dream. Dreena is a genius. I’m putting her cookbook on my wish list for Christmas.

In the meantime I will devour this banana bread. And perhaps share with Kyle. =)

Eat your Oats!

Short post today. Supershort.

Let me just say that vegan overnight oat parfaits are perfection.

Oh yes, perfection.

Whether it’s your first attempt (chocolate) and it’s too liquidy..

Or your second attempt and it’s just right..

This Goldielocks is one happy camper!

All thanks to Angela over at Oh She Glows.

Happy Easter, everyone!

Here a Bake, there a Bake..

For the past two weeks I have been obsessed with bakes. It all started over the Edible Perspective with her baked buckwheat post.

If you haven’t stopped by her site yet, I suggest you do. Her bakes have been popping up all over the blogging world, as well as the rest of her fabulous recipes. My breakfasts just haven’t been the same since I started reading oh-so-long ago.

There’s been a few flops before I really got it right here. Then I purchased an Italian made soup crock and started experimenting outside of buckwheat (mostly for fear of running out..).

I’ve had 3 major successes. All have been inspired by Ashley’s original recipe.

The first is a blueberry kamut bake.

Stuffed full of wild blueberries and topped with vanilla bean coconut butter!

Blueberry Kamut Bake
1/4 cup raw kamut, ground finely
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon raw buckwheat groats
1/2 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 banana, mashed
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
1 flax egg (1 tablespoon flax meal + 2 1/2 tablespoons water)
1/4 cup wild blueberries (for filling)

Preheat your oven to 350 and grease your soup crock (or whichever baking vessel you choose to use). Mix up your flax egg and let that sit to the side while you’re working. Mix together your dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl. In a separate bowl, whisk together the banana, pumpkin, milk and vanilla. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well. Add in the egg and mix again.

Spoon half of your mixture into the baking vessel and flatten with a spoon. Arrange the blueberries on top of the batter so there’s a slight border around them. Spoon the rest of your batter on top of the blueberries and flatten. Bake for 30 minutes and top with whatever your heart desires. As is the case with most bakes.

Next up is a Mexican Cocoa Bake.

I used the leftover “filling” from my Blueberry Lime Cheesecake from the other day as a filling for my bake. Can you say YUM?!

Mexican Cocoa Bake
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon raw buckwheat groats
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 flax egg
1/2 banana, mashed
1/4 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons non dairy milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract

Following the same procedure as above, whip those ingredients up and stuff the bake with whatever you choose. Be it leftover “cheesecake”, coconut, berries or even just leaving it unstuffed; all options would be wonderful!

The last (but certainly not the least) bake I have for you today is of the savory variety. I enjoyed the bakes so much I started to wonder why I couldn’t make them for dinner, too! So experiment I did!

In my opinion it turned out extremely well. So well that I think I’ll make a larger version for Kyle and I to share sometime. Comfort food: Indian style!

Stuffed Indian Chickpea Bake
1/4 cup chickpea flour
1 tablespoon lentils
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 tablespoon nutritional yeast (optional)
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/8 – 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
Pinch ground cloves
1 flax egg
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
3 tablespoons non dairy milk
2 cloves garlic, crushed

For the filling:
1 pitted date, diced
1/4 cup chopped frozen spinach
3 mushrooms, sliced
Salt and pepper to taste
Pinch cumin

Saute the date, spinach, mushrooms and spices in a drizzle of olive oil over medium heat. Cook about 5 minutes or until the mushrooms start to brown a bit. Remove from heat, mix up your flax egg and get to mixing up that batter! Layer the ‘shroom mixture into the bake and stick that sucker in the oven!

This guy needs a little more oven time, so bake him for about 35-40 minutes.

I topped this bake with a little savory almond butter and a cranberry/chipotle/strawberry jam I threw together a few mornings ago.

I hope maybe there’s a bake that strikes your fancy in that list! I know I can’t stop with the bakes.

Once you start, you won’t be able to stop either..

I hope to be back tomorrow night for some exciting news!!

Ode to Okra

First off I want to thank Angela for featuring my meat(less)balls in her Recipe Link Love for today! I love that she features vegan recipes from tons of bloggers.. but it makes my recipe pile start to teeter a bit!

My mom still raves about my “really yummy meatballs” whenever she talks about my switch to vegan eating. I think she likes them more than I did!

I’m so glad to have such a proud mama! =)

She would probably like what I whipped up for dinner last night, too. I know I was pretty pleased!

I give you: Spicy Okra Mole!

If you’ve never tried okra, I suggest you give it a whirl. The flavor and the crunch even after it cooks makes the fact that it looks a little sticky while cooking bearable. =)

I’ve been wanting to make the tofu mole out of the Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health cookbook for a while now. I checked the book back out of the library just so I could get the recipe. My only reservation was that I didn’t want to eat tofu. I ate a lot of it over the weekend. I decided that the best substitute for the day was the okra I had hanging out in the freezer!

I’m so glad I made the substitution! Yum!

Here’s my adaption of the recipe from the Moosewood cookbook!

Spicy Okra Mole (adapted from Moosewood Restaurant: Cooking for Health)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, roughly chopped
2 cloves garlic, diced
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon cumin
2 chipotle peppers from a can, diced
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
2 cups sliced okra (I used frozen)
1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes
1/2 can water (using the can from the tomatoes)

In a medium pot, heat the olive oil over medium-high heat. Toss in onions and cook until they start to turn clear. Add in garlic, salt, thyme, cinnamon and cumin. Cook another 2 minutes, then add in okra and chipotle peppers. After about 5 minutes, the okra starts to turn tender. At this point, add in the tomatoes, cocoa powder and water. Bring the mixture to a slow boil, then reduce the heat and simmer for 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally.

I served my mole sauce over some brown rice and topped it with 1/4 of an avocado, sliced and the juice of half a lime. Nomnomnom. Lunch was fantastic, I tell you!

*****

In other news:

I’m finally getting around to posting the awesomely wonderous “Pudgy Cake” my supervisor, Tami, made for a co-worker’s birthday a few weeks ago. She used the recipe she found over at Cookies and Cups to create this 3 layered humongo cake! She switched it up and used a whipped cream frosting instead of a canned frosting.

Unfortunately the cake was not vegan, but Tami was nice enough to bring me in a small package of Oreos so I could have a sugar rush, too!

My co-workers are so sweet. No pun intended. =)

This bad boy was GONE by the end of the day. We were floored. Sweets + office = demolished!

Holy Buckwheat Groats, Batman!

This morning I discovered a new love. A love that might turn out to be stronger than the one I hold for oatmeal.

It makes me sad that I didn’t even pick up a full pound at Whole Foods. I don’t know if the amount I did buy will last the week.

Only time will tell.

See, for months I’ve been drooling over the buckwheat bakes on the Edible Perspective. The one that truly caught my eye was, of course, the pumpkin version. Oooh yes. Pumpkin. And buckwheat.

I stayed true to the recipe, only switching 1 tablespoon of flax meal and 1 tablespoon of quick cooking bulgur wheat for the chia seeds.

I topped my bake with some TJs peanut flour made into “peanut butter” and some unsweetened coconut. I knew I’d found a winner even before the first bite. I will DEFINITELY be making this again tomorrow morning.

Heaven on a plate, I tell you. =)

Oat Fanatic

That’s me.  The oat girl. I can’t get enough.  

Morning oatmeal, overnight oats, granola.  I adore granola.  I rarely make it because I can’t stay away.  Really.  I’ll eat the entire thing if you let me.  Before it’s even cooled.

Since I used my last cup of rolled oats, I had to be sure to save some for breakfast.

Spicy and chewy, yet crunchy with a hint of sweetness from the banana. It was difficult to resist.

Good thing the book I’ve been jonesing for became available at the library! It might keep me occupied for a bit.

Spicy Banana Granola
1 banana
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons flax meal
1 tablespoon oil (I used spicy sesame oil)
1 cup rolled oats
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1/4 cup unsweetened coconut
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon anise seed
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
dash of nutritional yeast (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large bowl, toss together oats, blueberries, coconut, cinnamon, anise seed, cayenne and nutritional yeast. Set aside. Puree banana, water, oil and flax, then add to the dry mixture and combine well. Spread evenly on a cookie sheet (I’m stubborn and didn’t grease it but it might be easier if you did) and stick that sucker in the oven. Using a spatula, I broke up the granola “sheet” into pieces about 15 minutes in, then checked on it every 10 minutes or so until it was crispy to my liking. Cool completely before storing or it won’t have any crisp to it!

Mmmmmuffins!

Today is my mom’s birthday!

Happy Birthday Mom!

I wanted to make her something yummy and surprise her at work. She doesn’t have a thing for really sugary desserts and she’s been trying to eat healthier lately, so I scrounged some websites for an idea. Now I know that its a wee bit past pumpkin season, but I saw these pumpkin muffins over at Hell Yeah Its Vegan and I knew that they would be great! I made a few changes and voila! Perfect sweetness for mom and I without masking the beautiful flavor of the pumpkin.

And you know what?

It sure as hell is vegan! And tasty, too!

Maple Vanilla Pumpkin Muffins
1 3/4 cup pumpkin puree
1/3 cup olive oil
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla bean paste
1 3/4 cup all purpose flour (I might substitute some oats next time)
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Combine wet ingredients and stir well with a wooden spoon. Mix dry ingredients together in a separate bowl. Fold dry ingredients into wet until just combined. Spoon batter into lined muffin tins and bake about 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Because of how moist these cupcakes are you’ll need to eat them fairly soon after they’re baked, within a few days. Or you can freeze those bad boys and make them last forever! Enjoy!

I’m getting closer..

Man it’s been a crazy week/weekend. I spent the holiday in Plainfield with my Aunt Dawn, cousins and her family.

There was turkey to be stuffed and baked

sunsets to be watched

battleships to be sunk (my very first time playing the infamous Battleship, mind you)

You sunk my... itty bitty boat thingie!

turkey to be carved

tables to be set and filled with delicious food (see the cheesy mashed potatoes in the front?? mmmmm)

Tada!

homemade wine to be drunk

mmm.. tasty!

Time for dessert!!  Pies, donuts, ice cream and cookies!  Yum!!

Homemade one egg donuts.. secret family recipe!

My Aunt Dawn’s sister is the US ambassador’s assistant over in London, so we skyped her from the living room so we could still share our holiday.

It was a great night filled with yummy food, remembrance of those who couldn’t be with us and lots of fun, loving family time. I do love Thanksgiving!

So after the feasting of Thanksgiving I decided to attempt to make walnut butter again.  I love, love, LOVE walnuts.  Top two nuts – walnuts and brazil nuts.  Well and roasted chestnuts (I just discovered this a few nights ago.  Yum yum!)

The last time I tried to make walnut butter it was too bitter, not creamy and just not that great.  Oh I still ate it, but I didn’t know how to improve it.  My dad kept saying that my aunt used to add something to make it less bitter but he couldn’t remember what.  So I turned to Ashley of The Edible Perspective. She’s the queen of homemade nut butters and had some terrific ideas on how to cut the bitterness, including adding some cashews to the walnuts. I’m still working on getting the flavorings right, so when I do that I’ll post a recipe. If you’re in serious need of some homemade peanut or almond butters, hop on over to her website and browse around. Such yumminess!

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

My friend Kindra has been going through some stressful times. Its not anything I can help with, so I decided to bake her something yummy. She always loved when I brought in anything I baked because it was something new to try! Now I work at a different branch than she does so we don’t get to see each other often.

I didn’t know what to make her at first. Brownies were too normal and I needed something that would be warm and comforting.

Cinnamon rolls. Perfect!

I remembered a recipe I found over at Love and Olive Oil for pumpkin cinnamon rolls I’ve been meaning to make FOREVER.  I’ve been a bit scared to make cinnamon rolls since the last time I made them was in high school.  At a lock-in.  Like I was paying attention to how to make them..  But it seemed like the perfect recipe to whip up and I’ve been hoarding cans of pumpkin (I’ve got about 7 15-ounce cans and 2 32-ounce cans in the cabinet.. >_>) I had no choice!

I didn’t do much to the recipe except swap out some flours and reduce the sugar and butter in the filling. I also left off the icing. I’m not much for icing on my cinnamon rolls. I’m a bit of a weirdo in that regard.

These are totally my new favorite cinnamon roll. They were just sweet enough and all about the dough and the cinnamon. I gave half away to Kindra and stuck the ones I didn’t eat in the freezer to keep myself from continuing to eat them like candy. Make them. I guarantee you won’t be disappointed.

Nomnomnom

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls from Love and Olive Oil
For the dough:
1/3 cup skim milk
2 tablespoons butter
1/2 cup pumpkin puree
2 tablespoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 package active dry yeast
1 1/2 cups bread flour
1/2 cup rye flour

For the filling:
1/3 cup sugar, scant
1 teaspoon molasses
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 tablespoon melted butter

In a small saucepan, heat milk and 2 tablespoons butter until warm and butter is almost melted. Remove from heat.

In a large mixer bowl, combine pumpkin, sugar and salt. Add milk mixture and beat with a mixer (a stand mixer if you’ve got it) until well combined. Beat in egg and yeast. In a separate bowl, combine flours. Add half the flour mixture to the pumpkin mixture, beating on low speed for about 5 minutes. Add remaining flour and mix thoroughly. The dough will be very soft. Don’t worry. Turn the dough into a lightly greased bowl, turning the dough a bit to grease all sides. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise in a warm place until its doubled, about an hour.

Punch the dough down, turn onto a lightly floured surface and knead until the dough is nice and pliable. Use enough flour to make it easy to work with. Roll the dough into a 12×10 inch rectangle. I’m always horrible at this part. I don’t measure when I roll out, so I ended up with 16 mini cinnamon rolls rather than 12 average sized guys. That’s ok with me, though. =)

In a small bowl, combine the sugar, molasses and cinnamon. Brush the surface of the rolled out dough with melted butter and sprinkle the sugar mixture over the top. Beginning with the long side of the dough (it’ll seem backwards if you’re like me), roll up jelly-roll style. Pinch the seam to seal, then with a sharp knife gently slice the dough into roughly 1 inch slices. Place the rolls into a greased 9 inch square baking pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rise 30-45 more minutes, or until the dough is doubled again.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Bake the rolls about 15-20 minutes or until they’re golden on top. Here she says to remove them from the pan and to wax paper, but I didn’t do that. I actually let them cool in the pan. But I’m lazy. You could remove them from the pan and let them cool on some wax paper on a cooling rack. Or you could just devour them hot like I did. Mmmmm… hot cinnamon rolls…

Ole!

A quick morning dose of chocolate to start off your hump day!

I made up this dough last night because I just needed to make dough.  Do you ever have that problem?  You don’t want to actually bake, you just want to whip up the ingredients leading up to it?  Maybe I’m just odd.  That’s a possibility..  My other reasoning for making the dough last night – my last experiment with dough refrigerated overnight was a raging success.  I wanted to try again with oatmeal cookies!

This recipe was inspired by two separate recipes:  a basic oatmeal chocolate chip cookie one and a mexican chocolate cookie one.  A few weeks ago Amanda and I whipped up and scarfed a recipe for mexican chocolate cookies with a big ol’ bottle of red wine.  Mmm, mmm, mmm… I’ve been craving them ever since!  Why the oatmeal?  Well who doesn’t love oatmeal?  Besides, since the cookies have oatmeal in them you could eat them for breakfast right?

Happy Hump Day everyone!

Mexican Chocolate Oatmeal Cookies
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons canola oil
1 egg
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon half and half (or milk)
1/2 cup dark rye flour
1/2 cup bread flour
2 tablespoons dark cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (heaping)
cayenne pepper, to taste
black pepper, to taste
1 cup oats
1/3 cup chocolate chunks

Using a stand mixer, cream together sugar and oil; add egg, vanilla and milk and cream until smooth. In a separate bowl, combine flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon and peppers. Slowly add dry mixture into wet, mixing well after each addition until smooth. After the flour mixture is completely combined, add in oats and chocolate chunks.

Refrigerate overnight.

The next day preheat your oven to 350. Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper and drop dough by the tablespoon (using your nifty little cookie dough scoop if you’ve got one) about an inch apart and lightly press down on dough. Bake about 15 minutes, remove from the oven and allow to cool for 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before transferring to a cooling rack.