Taquito Time!

I really wanted to make a chorizo/papa frittata but is too hot to use the oven. I know it's November, but this is California so we don't know what that means. Good thing it isn't too hot to stand at the stove and fry up some greasy goodness. I messed up and put too much oil so these are greasier than they should be. If you are careful, yours will come out super tasty and you'll feel less guilty about eating them. I drained them the best I could. This was the first batch on their first pile of napkins. I put down fresh ones and let them drain some more.

I used the chorizo I made from Vegan Brunch to make "Taquitos with Chorizo and Potatoes" from Viva Vegan. There is a chorizo recipe in Terry's book too, but I used Isa's because I already had all the ingredients. I did my chopping/juicing/measuring while the potatoes cooked so I was ready to mix up the filling as soon as they were done. I warmed all my torts and kept them covered in a towel so they would stay soft. I added the filling, some FYH Monterey Jack and did my best to roll them well before dropping them into the pan of (too much) oil. I've never made taquitos before but my family always uses toothpicks to keep them closed. Terry doesn't do that and cooks the seam side first to seal it shut. I was afraid I wouldn't be able to do it, but I had to give it a try. It worked! Only one taquito came undone. Next time I will just gently roll them over instead of trying to pick them up by one end with the tongs and flip them. I'm not the best fryer/flipper of things so it takes me way longer than other people. With time I'll get better and quicker, yay!

These came out great. I had only put about one and a half sausages because I was afraid it would be too much but next time I will add two. I also want to have beans, rice and guacamole to go with it- and I can since I know how to make all my own now after mofo. I had cooked beans on Monday but I didn't have time to do the rice or go to the store to get stuff for guac. I could do it now but there wouldn't be enough taquitos to justify it. Next time I'll do the beans, rice and chorizo ahead and just make the taquitos and guac the day I'm ready to eat it all. It's just too many dishes for one day, both the cooking and washing. It's worth the trouble though. I love home cooked food!

Vegan Mofo VI-Day 29: Guac On The Wild Side

I can eat guacamole by the bowl, but today is the first time I made my own. My co-worker's cousin has an avocado farm and she gave me a few last week. I planned on making guac then, but it got lost in the shuffle and my fruits got a little riper than I would like. Today I bought two new ones, plus the rest of the ingredients for "The Only Guacamole Recipe I Ever Make" from Viva Vegan and I got to work.

I chopped up my onion, cilantro, chile and garlic first. Garlic was not on the list but I added it anyway, shhhhh.  Next I juiced my lime and I had exactly 2 T. Yay! I put the first four ingredients in the bowl and started smashing them up. It was so fun to finally use the mortar and pestle I bought a few months ago. After that I added in the lime juice and avocado.

It was getting late and I was taking forever so my mom suggested I only make half the recipe, great idea. I had only put in half the onion and chile, but I put in all the garlic and cilantro and most of the lime juice. I forgot about halving didn't I? I ended up using my two baby avocados from my friend to try and balance things out. By the time I was done I couldn't wait to scoop this up and eat it so I didn't do the best job on presentation. Making guac is so much fun. I can't wait to do it again tomorrow since I have enough for another round. I can't wait to try salsa.

Vegan Mofo VI-Day 19: Arroz By Any Other Name...

I can't believe this is the first time I've cooked all week. The previous two weeks I was cooking at least once a day, sometimes twice. I am working on my comeback so I can finish on a strong note, but I am glad I haven't missed a day yet.

I had to change my cooking plans for this week due to weather (too hot to use the oven!), but one thing I could still make was the "Cilantro-Lime Rice" from Viva Vegan, yay! There were good prices on cilantro, green onions and limes at the market so that made me even happier that I chose this dish for this week.

I've never had cilantro-lime rice before. They offer it at Chipotle, but I have this issue that whenever I order anything which has beans and rice, I always get way more rice than beans and I feel cheated. So I usually pass on the rice and just ask for a ton of beans instead. Now that I have my own huge pot of beans and my own lil' pot of rice, I can balance it out and enjoy two great things together without wishing I had one more scoop of beans. Also, it's probably much cheaper this way. Now I just have to make my own guac, salsa and grill some veggies for my cheap-otle experience to be complete. I'm actually planning to do this exact thing if I can get my sister's boyfriend to hook up the guac and salsa. Burrito party!

This recipe was really quick and it's quite delicious. I debated doubling it so that I would have almost as much rice as I have beans (cooked another pot today!), but since it's so fast I know I could just make more in a few days when I run out. I only used two of the eight limes I bought so I definitely have enough for next time. I'm going to see how many I need to make the "Coconut Lime Cupcakes" from VCTOTW. It's supposed to cool down significantly next week and might even rain so that's perfect baking weather.

Vegan Mofo VI- Day 11- I'm On A Roll!

Yesterday I was so excited about how rad my beans turned out that I decided to keep on going with another recipe from Viva Vegan. I made the "Whole Wheat FlourTortillas with Chia" and they are so delicious. If can eat wheat, I highly suggest you get down and make these.

They turned out so much better than the torts I made last week. I love how simple the recipe is and also that you do not have to wait very long for the dough to rest before you can move on with the process. I'm not a very patient person, so the less "inactive" time a recipe has, the better. Luckily, I had some dishes to keep me busy while I waited.

I usually shy away from buying wheat torts at the market because they are either too thin or too stiff, but these were not like that at all. They are super soft and have a lot of elasticity to them, so don't be afraid to give them a try. I love the addition of the chia seeds as well. I will definitely make these again and possibly double the recipe next time since 8 is never enough, especially when we're talking tortillas.

Vegan Mofo VI- Day 10: They're Basically The Bomb!

I love beans and I could eat them every day. Now that I have found a way to make them without forking them up, there is a darn good chance that is what is going to happen. The beans I cooked last week turned out okay, but the ones I cooked today were bomb!

I followed Terry Hope Romero's instructions for "Basic Beans From Scratch" from Viva Vegan. I was nervous about adding salt at the beginning of the cooking process, but apparently that is a myth. I trust anything Isa and Terry tell me to do in the kitchen. They've been my best teachers so far.

I soaked my beans overnight. After I walked the dog, I came home and got started. I rinsed the beans, and threw them back into the pot with fresh water, kombu, bay leaves and salt. After they got to a boil I lowered the flame and set the timer for two hours. I did my "Just Dance" workout, some dishes, flipped through cookbooks and watched La Bamba on cable while I waited. When the timer went off, my beans were done. I couldn't believe it!

In the past when I have checked my beans at the 2 hour mark, they were not done. Sometimes I would have to cook them for an additional hour and they still didn't turn out all that great. I always knew that cooking beans should be easy but I never got it right until today. You have no idea how happy I am.

After the beans were cooked I followed more of Terry's suggestions and made Onion-Flavored beans. I put a bit too much liquid so I just simmered them a bit longer. So good! I am going to have to make these again really soon. I might cook a pot of pintos for my niece tomorrow because she wasn't feelin' the bay leaves in the black beans. Anyhow, my shortening should be at room temp now so I can start another of Terry's recipes, "Whole Wheat Flour Tortillas With Chia." ¡Hasta Mañana!

"I Wanna Dip My Balls In It!"*

My sister decided to have a small get together to share a photo project she worked on throughout March, so she enlisted me to help with the food. She requested the "Smoky Curls" and "Great Smoky Mountain Cheeze" from Vegan Diner and the rest was up to me. I wanted everything to be easy to grab and go but also wanted it to be cute and impossible to resist. I knew for sure I would make Oreo truffles, which set me on a path of small, ball type snacks. I offered to make chocolate dipped macaroons but she said she'd prefer the truffles. 

I wanted one more poppable dessert so I decided to make the "Cookie Dough Scoops" from VCIYCJ.  I have really underused that book so I was excited to try a new recipe. Plus, it gave me a chance to use the new hand mixer I bought myself for Mother's Day. It's so much better than the one I had been using, plus it's my very own which makes it so much more fun to use. I don't have my own kitchen (yet) but at least I have my own equipment.

I am still working on my chocolate dipping "skills". I've gotten better but still have a way to go. I dipped all the oreo truffles while the cookie dough scoops were in the freezer. I think I had about 4 dozen of each so that was a lot of dipping. I originally planned to cover the cookie dough bites completely but ended up just dipping the bottoms in chocolate like the recipe suggests. They're so yummy. I can't wait to mix them up with some ice cream.

I put them in mini cupcake wrappers so they would look fancier on the table. I wanted to bring s'mores bars too, but I just didn't have time to make them on Sunday. I ended up making them yesterday before work so I shared some with my co-worker and brought the rest to my sister's for our slumber party.  Even though I've made and enjoyed all these sweets the last few days I have actually been eating a lot healthier lately. I am working really hard to get my weight down so I can eventually get off of my blood pressure medication. I am going to kick it's asparagus!

*if you don't know, now you know. 

It's Cookie Time!

Girl Scout cookies are everywhere and I really want to support the troops, but since there are two different bakeries, it can be tough to find the vegan cookies in your area. I haven't been hit up by the girls in green as hard as I have the past few years, so when two adorable little girls came into the library with their order forms I couldn't say no. Fortunately for my waistline, they did not have the cookies I could eat, but I still bought some to pawn off on the rest of my family. For a second I wished I had ordered my own five boxes, but then I remembered what little restraint I have when it comes to sweets.

I wanted to make the Lazy Samoas from VCIYCJ for my niece's award ceremony after party on Tuesday but I wasn't able to finish them on time. I had never used coconut oil before and didn't know to try warming/softening it up in my hands before adding it to the mixture so it did not get mixed in as thoroughly as I would have liked but since I was running low on time and patience, I kept going. I barely got them out of the oven and onto racks before it was time to leave. Don't worry, I was already bringing about 4 dozen chocolate chip cookies, 2 dozen chocolate cupcakes and 2 dozen jelly donut cupcakes, so we were not short on treats.

I did the dipping and "drizzling" the next day before work. I know to use a shallower container next time. I got way more chocolate on my hands than on the cookies. I also overdippped the bottoms so there was not as much chocolate left for the drizzling. But, who cares? They came out awesome and I can't wait to make them again. Maybe with some other GS-type cookies since many bloggers have been posting recipes the past few weeks. I can't talk about girls selling cookies without giving a shout out to Troop Beverly Hills!

Did You Say Cookies?

 I've slacked on holiday baking the past few years so I think I made up for it when I made four different kinds of cookies and they were all delicious. I made my most requested chocolate chip cookies from The The Joy of Vegan Baking and the Mexican Wedding Cakes from a tattered piece of paper in my mom's recipe box. There are recipes for both of these in Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar that I should also try since they are probably equally, if not more, amazing. Since I make those two every year, I wanted to add some variety and try at least one cookie that would challenge me. Done and done!

The Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies from VCIYCJ are serious crowd pleasers. Everyone who tried these was in love at first bite, no joke. I tested one while transferring from sheet to rack and immediately texted my sister something like, "these cookies are effin' bomb". I can't do an exact quote because I am smart and deleted all my text messages yesterday. Anyway, these are incredibly rich but without being too much, if that makes sense. You can probably get away with only eating one, but you'll be back in half an hour for another fix. Make these when you want to win someone over or just to hang onto what you've already got. They're that good, promise.

For my "challenging" cookie I wanted to do the Starry Fudge Shortbread, but freaked out that piping cookie dough and making ganache, each for the first time, would be pushing it. So I made the variation with candied cherries instead and they were still good. My piping skills are still under construction so I hope to do much better next time. I really want to try the ganache version soon, but I am almost out of buttery sticks. I think I had five at the beginning of the month and now I only have one, one and half at the most. Maybe I won't feel I have to bake as much in 2012 now!

Gingerbread, Gingerbread, Gingerbread Rocks!

I spent all day Saturday in the kitchen getting ready for my Tia's Tamale Party. She makes so much food for everyone, there is no way I expect her to make something special for a small group of vegans. I usually bring a snack or a dessert but this year I wanted to do both. I made Jackfruit Carnitas from The Vegan Girl's Guide To Life and the Gingerbread Cupcakes with Lemon Buttercream from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. I also had two pots of frijoles cooking, but didn't have time to refry them in time for them to make it to the party. I really tried to fit too much into a day so I had to pack up the icing and ginger pieces to decorate the cupcakes at the party. Nobody minded since they were delicious, but I will remember to pare down the menu if I don't have enough time. I can't believe I thought I could make two desserts, but the strawberry cupcakes I planned for Saturday are in the oven right now and they smell yummy. Cookies are going in next.

There's not much to say about these cupcakes except that they are amazing. Until about a year ago I hardly ate anything with ginger in it. Now I can't get enough of it. The lemon is the perfect compliment, which I would never have figured out on my own, luckily I have Isa and Terry to teach me everything! If you don't already own VCTOTW, I highly recommend you get yourself a copy (or make someone buy it for you!). There are 75 recipes and I've only tried 8 in the three years I've owned the book. I've got a lot of catching up to do, but you can enjoy this book, and the cupcake goodness for many years. I only made two dozen of this recipe, so I might make some again for Christmas if I have time. I would eat these any time of the year, but that's just how I do. Enjoy!

"Anytime Of The Day Is A Good Time For Pie"

 Fabienne couldn't have been more right. When I made these pies sometimes I would have a slice after breakfast, sometimes after dinner and other times when I happened to pass the table and couldn't wait for any better time than the present.

If you're pie-shy, you will have to get a copy of Vegan Pie In the Sky and get over it. Before the book came out, I hadn't attempted pies in about ten years because the few attempts I made ended in failure. Now I am well on my way to becoming a pie professional. What I'm most excited about is that the substitutions for pie are much easier than for cupcakes or cookies, so it's even easier to trick and appease omni's now. My mom is totally sold on vegan pies, which is great because as amazing as they are, the other baked goods were a hard sell. Now I know I don't have to eat a whole pie by myself, even though I could if I had to.

I made "She's My Cherry Pie" and the "Chocolate Mousse Tart". They both turned out lovely. Now that I had the correct pan my tart shell turned out just right. I still have to master pressing it into the pan more evenly, but that will come with time. For the cherry pie, I did get crazy with the cutters, so I know to ease up on that for next time. Also, for the first time, I broke the rules and did not trim my crust before crimping it, so it got too crispy. I flaked it off and still had a decent amount of crust, but I definitely learned my lesson.

I can't wait to make more pies from this book. I am thinking of doing the Strawberry Rhubarb Crumb Pie next, but I haven't seen rhubarb at the stores so I might have to do strawberry hand pies instead. That would be the perfect excuse to use the mini lattice pie mold I found at TJ Maxx a month ago. Save room for pie!

Gobble Gobble Gobble

This Maple Pecan Pie was my first recipe from Vegan Pie In The Sky. I've never had pecan pie but have wanted some since last holiday season when my friend told me how good they are. I was always so content with pumpkin I foolishly did not give any other pies a chance. I think this is going to be the beginning of a life-long affair. In fact, I'm not sure I can wait two more days to try this gorgeous pie. The only thing stopping me is thinking of how tacky I will look showing up to my aunt's with just half a pie, or only a wedge for my grandma. If you don't have enough for sharing, don't bring it, right?

My sister and niece are allergic to nuts so I'll  have other options for them. I'm going to make two rounds of Susan Voisin's Double Layer Pumpkin Cheesecake. It's a favorite and I've made it every year since first discovering it. I want to have my niece help me make some sugar cookies with the harvest cutters I bought (leaf, turkey, pumpkin). I'm cheating with a packaged mix for those. I might to give the VPITS Chocolate Mousse Tart another try tomorrow. I've never done tarts before, but I think the biggest mistake was using a flan tin that had a really light bottom (almond colored). I have a square 9" quiche pan that might work better but I'm not sure it's deep enough, so I might just scrap the whole thing and try again when I get the right pan. I only made the shell and noticed it was uneven and burned in some parts so good thing I didn't waste the mousse ingredients too!

Anyhow, I am really happy with how my pie turned out. It was only my second attempt at pie crust so I know they will get better as time goes on. I can't wait to perfect my crimping skills. I can't believe I've been in the kitchen all day long today. I'm going to have some of the "Lotsa Veggies Lentil Soup" I made last night, walk Penny and take it easy for the rest of the evening. I have a lot to do tomorrow!

Vegan Mofo V Day 22 : Time for Treats

We're having our Friday "Dinner and a Movie" tonight since last night was too hectic. Since my sister is cooking dinner, I decided I would make dessert. We won't have any of the kids next weekend so this is kind of our last Halloween hurrah.

I did chocolate cupcakes with orange-ish buttercream on top, both recipes from VCTOTW of course. Then I put chocolate sprinkles on top of that. I don't have a proper cupcake carrier (yet) so they don't look very pretty in the makeshift rig I've got going right now. I didn't want to do the sprinkles on the table and make a bigger mess than I already had.

When I told my sister the cupcake idea she wasn't too thrilled. I took it the wrong way and got upset for a minute until she reminded me that we had chocolate cupcakes a few weeks ago and again a few days ago from the bakery. It was a good point, but not as good as the argument that you can never really have too many cupcakes of any kind. She suggested cookie sammiches, but I wasn't really in the mood for those. I wanted to practice my piping, which still needs practice (see pics).

Luckily I was able to find a solution. I would do my cupcakes and the cookies, just not cookie sammiches. I made my favorite chocolate chip cookies, probably the only one I will ever use until forever. It's from The Joy of Vegan Baking. I am going to bring six cupcakes and a dozen cookies, so each of us will get one cupcake and two cookies. I'm probably going to bring my own almond milk along too. It's been a while since I switched from soy to almond milk but the other day I had my first sip of vanilla Silk in ages. It was so sweet I couldn't believe it. I love my o.g. almond breeze but am going to try the unsweetened one since it's probably just as good, if not a million times better. What is your go to beverage for washing down desserts?

Beethoven's Favorite Fruit

What do you do when you have too many bananas? Make Banana Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding from Veganomicon. Well, that's what I do. You can also make banana pancakes/waffles/bread, and add them to smoothies (I did-there were still too many).

I know it is foolish to bake in the summer, especially as warm as it has been lately, but a gal's gotta have her sweets and homemade ones are slightly less terrible than store bought. They're also cheaper which is important when you are a brokie. Though I could eat this all by myself, I timed it for an occasion when I knew I would have two others to help me gobble it up. I put more bananas than I normally would, forgetting that my niece doesn't particularly care for them. My sister and I put a good dent in it, but there was still some left for the next day, and a tiny bit more for the day after that.

This is a fun treat for when you are casually entertaining and don't care about dishing things out neatly, or at all. We scooped portions into bowls this time, but in the past we each grab a fork and just go for it. You could probably make individual portions in ramekins too. I'm not sure how much this resembles traditional bread pudding since I never ate one. They grossed me out, but I assure you this has to be the polar opposite of squishy squashy chocolaty awesomeness.

p.s. The title comes from a joke I first learned on the ppk, something like,
Q: What's Beethoven's favorite fruit?
A:  Ba-Na-Na-Naahhhhh

Happy Ssert-Day To Me!

Today is my birthday. I had planned on going out tomorrow night but no one seemed interested so I scrapped that a week ago. Then I decided I would rather do something constructive and go for a hike tomorrow morning. I haven't hit the trail in over a month since my partner is out of commission, and I know my sister would love it. I thought this was going to be my "no one showed up to Il Cantinori for my dinner and I had to buy my own cake birthday", but I double checked and that isn't until CB's 35th birthday and I plan on it being much different for KG's 35th. I have a whole year to plan it!

Anyway, I decided I wanted a variety of desserts so I spent most of yesterday and today working toward that goal. I should have had someone else do it for me, but I like to bake and I have a ton of time on my hands these days. Plus it is fun to pretend that I burned a small fraction of the calories I would consume in advance. I mixed two cupcake batters, three icings, and another cookie type mix today. I lost count of how many dishes were washed and how many hours I was standing. I do know I finished a disc of "Arrested Development" .

I made Crimson Velveteen Cupcakes, stuffed them with Fluffy Vegan Buttercream and frosted them with Cream Cheese Frosting, all from VCTOTW. I also made the Coconut Heaven Cupcakes from VWAV, stuffed them with buttercream and topped with icing and chocolate drizzle. I also attempted a vegan version of these s'mores cookie bars. Mine didn't look too much like the photo but they are a gooey sticky delicious mess, so I am okay with it.

I'm enjoy the rest of my day by relaxing, reading and enjoying the gorgeous roses my sister and niece surprised me with this morning. This is going to be my last year of "rounding down" so I have to make the most of it, starting tomorrow.

Truffle Shuffle

As a single gal, I am a reliable, and yet slightly boring Valentine. Every year I buy my sister and niece the same box of Sjaak's truffles. I buy one for myself too, because I love me, and I might as well get the most out of the shipping charges. We had our traditional V-day dinner last night and ate way too much food. I wasn't even going to break out the purchased treats, since we have homemade ones that will expire much sooner.

By request, or rather, pushy demand, I made cookie sammiches. These have been a favorite since the first time I made them. They're also the reason I load up on EB sticks and shortening whenever we make a run to the "nearest" veg friendly store. I hope to be able to remove the quotation marks one day but I think we'll move closer to a major area  
before they bring any goodness out our way.
For a surprise, I decided to finally make the Oreo Truffles I printed out ages ago. I feel bad I do not remember where I got it from and can't link to it or give credit. I know it is all over the internets though, so seek and ye shall find. I'm still trying to figure out if my food processor sucks because it is too small or because it shares a motor with a blender, or because I just put too much stuff in it at once. I seriously thought I killed it when I added in the cream cheese but I pushed a few other buttons and it worked just fine. I will read the instructions before I use it again, don't worry.

The rest of it was easy, kill time while the "filling" refrigerates, melt chocolate in your makeshift double boiler and dunk the little balls of yum into the melted chocolate. Of the two of us, my sister is the one who makes chocolate covered sweets so I was not as adept at fishing the truffles out and nicely laying them on the wax paper. I know if we were racing side by side she would have totally kicked my butt because I take way too long, trying to make sure each one is sufficiently coated. Meanwhile the chocolate starts to solidify and there is not nearly enough left to finish since I don't get it right until halfway through the process. Luckily I had more chocolate to melt and learned to be less picky about how they turned out. They're incredibly rich and remind me of brownies, which is fine by me since I love brownies but have yet to make them just right.

Next year I'll remember to either make or buy treats but not to do both. It's far too much of a good thing. If I really get a good thing going maybe someone will be treating me by then.