Wednesday 30 April 2014

Creamy Mushroom Soup

After a butt kickingly AMAZING yoga class tonight, it was back to the kitchen to really relax. And by relax, in my crazy world I mean cook. Or bake. But my waistline begged me to take a baking break (at least until the bake sale!). 

So, after scouring the fridge I realized that I had a pound of fresh mushrooms that needed to be used ASAP. I also had cashews soaking that were ready to transform into something creamy and delicious. 

I don't know about you all, but when I grocery shop my FAVE thing is to buy the reduced produce/products. There's the obvious factor of saving money, but I also like that it forces you to get creative. (And if you have a mental block you can always google "XYZ + recipe"!)

Anyhow, no google needed tonight- creamy cashew + mushrooms? Soup was in the cards! 

Ingredients:
1 lb of fresh mushrooms, sliced
1 lb yellow onions, diced
1.5 tsp garlic powder
1.5 tsp rosemary
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp smoked paprika
2-3 tbsp earth balance
1.5 cups cashews, soaked
4 cups vegan 'chicken' broth 

In a sauce pan melt the earth balance. Add in the onions and when about half done add the mushrooms. Sprinkle with all of the spices, cover and let simmer until mushrooms are soft and onions are cooked through. 

In a blender, blend the cashews with equal parts stock. Pour into the pot, and top with the remaining broth. Stir well and cook for another 3-5 minutes on low heat. 

I like my soup with a rich base and good sized "chunks" of vegetable. I used an immersion blender to break up most of the mushroom and onion while still leaving pea sized pieces. You could blend it completely, to your taste.

I had a small taste bowl- divine! 

Sadly, I didn't take any pictures of the soup in any sort of appealing presentation. I did get a picture of it cooling in a storage jar. 

Good enough? It'll have to be, folks! This hot mess is tired! 

Cheers! 





Monday 28 April 2014

Chocolate Mudpies

I've been really slacking on posting recipes and blog posts lately. It's so much easier to point and click the iPhone before chowing down than it is to type out recipes! #firstworldproblems! 

Tonight I decided to try the 6 ingredient Chocolate Mudpies that I saw on Finding Vegan! Boy am I glad I did!!!

This is raw, vegan, GF and gluttonous!

Crust:
cup pitted dates, soaked
1.5 cups walnuts
3/4 cup cacao powder

Mudpie Filling:
1 package silken tofu
1.5 cups melted vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup of coconut milk

First pulse the walnuts and cacao in the food processor until finely ground. Then remove into a bowl and drain and pulse the dates. Fold the nut mixture back in and blend.

I lined muffin tins with Saran Wrap and equally portioned balls of the mix into each one, then pressed into the bottom evenly. In the freezer she goes!

Now, clean the food processor and et ready for the filling. Add the tofu and coconut milk into th food processor.  In a double boiler (or microwave) heat the chocolate chips. Add the melted chocolate chips into the food processor and while they're still warm turn on high until it's consistency is fluffy! 

Remove the muffin tin from the freezer and add two to three dollops of the filling onto each crust. Place back in the freezer for at least 30 minutes and Voila! Amazing chocolate mud pies!!



Sunday 13 April 2014

Whoopie Pies!!

I have this bake sale coming up, and to be honest I'm freaking out a little. I flip flop between "oh god, what if no one comes" and "oh god, what if no one likes the food". A little ridiculous, I know. 

The biggest feedback I got about my baking was really that I needed more gluten free options. But the problem is that gluten free food sucks!! Ok, that was harsh. But honestly, so much of it is really bland with dry or unappealing textures. I do have my gluten free macaroon, which is damn good but I wanted something else to sell on May 3rd. So I asked the land of Facebook and lots of suggestions came. 

I made a chocolate quinoa cupcake with whipped buttercream frosting that was pretty good. The people who ate my test batch loved them, but when a recipe calls for 6 eggs the egg replacer falls a little flat, in my opinion. 


Those are the quinoa cupcakes above.

Tonight I thought I'd try another recipe went to me. It only called for one egg and was a one bowl dessert which is my fave. It's actually all made in a food processor which is even better. I doubled the recipe to make 10 joe louis sized whoopie pies. Because I'm gluttonous like that.

The ingredients:

2 cups of black beans
6 tbsp cacao powder
2 "eggs" (I used Ener-G GF replacer)
3 tbsp coconut oil, melted
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup of agave nectar
3 tsp baking soda 

Here's where it gets easy. Preheat oven to 350. Throw all ingredients into a food processor and process until smoothe. 

Spoon about 1.5 of batter at a time onto cookie sheet and leave room for spreading. Bake for 20 minutes and voila!!

While they're cooling, make the icing. 

1/2 cup vegetable shortening
1/2 cup earth balance
3.5 cups powdered sugar
2 tbsp cacao (if you want chocolate)
1 tsp vanilla 
1/4 cup almond milk

Mix the earth balance and shortening together, add the remaining ingredients and stir well. Then use electric beater and whip into a beautiful sugary dream.

When cookies are cool, pipe onto one side of a cookie and press together. BAM! Whoopie pies straight from heaven!!





Monday 7 April 2014

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale!!

I am very excited about an upcoming event that Veganhotmess is hosting! It brings my heart great joy to partner with Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary and raise funds for the animals. Have a look at the poster, mark your calendars and come ready to stuff your face with all kinds of delicious vegan treats!