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! 

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:

1 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!!

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!!

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!

Ethiopian Sweet Potato & Lentil Stew

In our house anything with lots and lots of spice is always a hit, so when I saw a recipe for an Ethiopian dry spice called "Berbere" I knew I had to make it and use it immediately. I suggest you make this in bulk (I quadrupled the recipe) and use it as often as you can. It is amazing.

I cheated and used my NutriBullet to grind up the seeds, flakes and whatnot but if you're insistent you can use the old fashioned mortar and pestle way. When you're done just keep it in a mason jar. 

Berbere Spice Blend:

• 4 1/2 tsp red chilli flakes
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 tsp ground ginger
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 3 Tbsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground allspice
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 1/4 tsp ground clove
• 1 tsp ground black pepper

Now for the stew. I LOVE lentils. Like, really really love them. And I also love a good stew. We volunteer at Cedar Row Farm Sanctuary in Ontario (Canada) and the farm work visits are potluck. There is something about working your butt off and then sitting down to stew that just feels sooooo good. Stew is also a really easy way to feed a lot of people :)

Anyhow, the ingredients for the stew are:

• 2 large onions, finely diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 2 tbsp berbere spice
• 1.5L Broth
• 1 tbsp minced ginger
• 3 tbsp minced garlic
• 1/4 of a cabbage (red or green) finely chopped
• 6 small-medium sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup green lentils (or 1 can)
• 1 can organic tomato paste

• In a large pot, sauté the onions in the olive oil. After a few minutes add the garlic and ginger. Next add the berbere and stir well. Now add the cabbage and cook covered for a minute or two. Now you're ready for the broth and potatoes. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil before lowering heat and simmering for 20-25 minutes. Lastly add the tomato paste to thicken. 

When the potatoes are done and the broth had thickened I like to give it a once over with the immersion blender to make it extra thick and stewy. Enjoy! 

#goodfoodbadpicture haha

PS - my formatting is all off on this post but I can't be bothered to boot up the laptop and fix it. So I have a bulletted paragraph that shouldn't be. If you didn't already notice, now you will. If you did 8 am painfully aware but totally apathetic. Ha! 

Cinn-Aparts Heaven

I saw a post by #planetvegan linked to "Vegan Monkey Bread" and HAD to try it.

I followed the recipe exactly and it turned out pretty delicious. I would, however make a few small tweaks. I would use the following ingredients:

THE DOUGH:
1 c almond milk
1/3 c warm water
2 T vegan margarine, melted (I used Earth Balance)
1/4 c granulated sugar
1 T yeast
3 1/2 c all-purpose flour, plus extra for surface work
2 t salt

THE GOO:
1 c brown sugar, packed
2 t cinnamon
1/2 c vegan margarine, melted

THE GLAZE:
3/4 c powdered sugar
2 T almond milk

I'd suggest going to the website (linked above) for full instructions, as she has laid it all out beautifully with photo steps along the way. In addition to the small tweak on the recipe for the goo, I would also suggest baking them for 30-35 minutes if you don't like them quite as soft and doughy, like me. Although to be fair, there was not a single complaint that it was too soft or doughy as I fed the masses today. (Shout-out to Soo-Jin AGAIN just because it makes her happy!)

Coconut Berry Bundt Cake!

I was really excited this past weekend, though it was bittersweet. We went to the closing sale at The World's Biggest Book Store in Toronto. It was sad to see so many empty shelves. Some of the sections were more picked over than others; art & photography books were scarce, mystery novels on the other hand were plentiful.

Lucky for me there were quite a few cook books left over, and even a handful of vegan ones. I managed to snag this one for a whopping $2.50.

My first project was the coconut berry bundt cake. The only adjustment that I made was adding more fruit, which was a so-so decision. I used fresh raspberries and blueberries, but it did make the cake a little soppy for my liking, though none of my work guinea pigs complained.

This is a pretty easy cake to make, you'll need:

2 1/4 cups flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 cups raw cane sugar
3/4 cups unsweetened coconut
2 cups of almond milk
2/3 cups oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp salt
2 cups mixed berries

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees. As with most baking, mix all dry ingredients in a large bowl and then add in the wet.Stir well and then add the fruit. Pour into a greased bundt cake and bake for 1 hour. I did 7 extra minutes because the extra fruit was throwing off my stick test. Mine kept coming out with stuff on it but it was just the fruit.

When you take it out of the oven let it sit for about 10 minutes before flipping. The cooler it is the better it will retain it's shape, especially if you use extra fruit. Once it's cooled you can flip it onto a cooling rack and let sit for at least 30 minutes to cool. Sprinkle with confectioners sugar to serve and enjoy! This makes a great breakfast cake!