Cup-Cones

Ok, coming up with a cute name for these has proved impossible, but they are damn awesome even without a name. I got this idea from Vegan Yum Yum and they came out even better then I could have expected, for the most part. This weekend I went up to Boston for Unrestrained show, as part of their bike tour to raise awareness for OXFAM. The show was a ton of fun and I was really impressed with Unrestrained. I decided I wanted to make some sort of after show treat for hanging out and these came to mind.

For the recipes, I used the basic chocolate cupcake out of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World and the vegan buttercream icing. I filled the cones almost all the way full, as you can tell from the photo. Next time, I will fill them a little less so the icing sits a little closer to the cone. The rest is pretty self explanatory, bake normal, pipe icing however you desire and decorate how you choose.

Mishaps:
I had a ton of trouble with the icing. I am really realizing how important using the proper vegan margarine is. My icing started to melt so fast, I didn't even bring them with me to Boston because they were a mess. I popped them in the fridge to attempt to harden them, and as soon as I would take them out they started to melt again. This is something I am going to have to work on. I also have to figure out how to transport these babies without toppling them over. I think it is going to involve creating some sort of cardboard container and getting crafty. Overall, even with the shortcomings, I would recommend making these.

Soundtrack for baking:

The Loved Ones- Build And Burn

Ghostlimb- Bearing and Distance

Tom Petty- Greatest Hits

Vegan French Toast!

I know, I've disappeared. Call it frustration, or bad weather or whatever you want but I just didn't feel like blogging. I also was too broke to buy food. But! I am back and ready to go! Tonight I made french toast for dinner. French toast takes me back to my childhood big time, my dad would always make it for me and, most importantly, cut it for me. I shouldn't admit this, but he cut it for me until I went vegan and I can assure you I was way too old for my father to be cutting my food for me. Every time I see french toast on a vegan menu I have to get it, its one of the treats I miss the most. Making vegan french toast at home is a lot easier then you might think though, and I really should do it more often. Here is a great recipe thats simple and easy. 

Vegan French Toast Recipe
You Will Need:
1 cup soy milk
2 tbsp flour
1 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tsp cinnamon
*optional - a drop or two of vanilla. if you use vanilla soy milk you don't need it
Bread of your choice- The thicker and crustier works best. Even leaving bread over night tends to work best, makes it more solid.
1. Mix all ingredients in a bowl
2. Coat each side of bread into mixture and onto pan over medium heat
Recipe makes about 5-7 pieces of toast

Where Do Eggs Come From?

In my blog searching I was directed to an awesome post at Brooklyn Feed. Melissa discusses the debate if eating eggs raised by your own chickens is humane. She is a brooklyn based chicken farmer who has an excellent set up for her very spoiled chickens. This is a debate I have actually been pondering for a while, concluding that I'd rather just not eat any eggs until I make up my mind. I guess I feel like it is a slippery slope as well. If I make exceptions for one part of my beliefs, it won't be long before I am making mass exceptions and eating pizza, right? Well, maybe it is not that extreme, but I'd rather just not go there.
You can find the blog entry here

She also discusses a new documentary that came out recently. Fowl Play discusses the harsh realities of factory egg farming, and is supposedly extremely disturbing. I really want to see it, even though I assume I will probably cry my way through most of it.
Fowl Play

I made more vegan alfredo for dinner tonight, its so damn good! As mentioned before, I totally feel like I am cheating. Daiya cheese man!

Vegan Mac n' Cheese Recipe

Mac n' cheese is one of those amazing comfort foods that I have missed terribly. Not necessarily because it is tasty, more because I ate it in hoards as a kid. It takes me back to those kraft macaroni and cheese boxes, so tasty, and one of the first things I learned to cook. This is a recipe for a cheese sauce that can be easily be used for macaroni and cheese, or on top of veggies, or as nacho cheese. Endless possibilities!

Vegan Cheese Sauce:
You Need:
3 tablespoons margarine
3 tablespoons flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 and 1/2 cups soy milk
1 cup vegan (daiya) cheese
1/2 teaspoon dijon mustard

To Make:
1. In small saucepan on medium melt the butter.
2. Take the saucepan off the burner and whisk in flour, salt and pepper until smooth. Put back on the burner.
3. Add 1/2 cup of milk, and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick. Add the rest of the milk 1/2 cup at a time, whisking constantly and letting it get thick before adding more. You should end up with a thick white sauce.
4. Add the cheese a handful at a time to the white sauce, letting the cheese you add melt fully before adding more, whisking constantly.
5. Add the dijon mustard.
6. Pour over macaroni (or veggies, or whatever your hearts desires).

You can use any vegan cheese for this, but I used daiya and seriously it was one of the best things I have eaten in a long long time.

Vegan Fettuccine Alfredo Recipe

Vegan alfredo is something I have been experimenting with for ages. Every recipe I have tried uses tofu. The cream cheese works so much better as a base then tofu its nuts! This is a pretty basic recipe you can change any way you want depending on what you like. Roasted pine nuts are always awesome to add if you want a roasted taste, more or less onion changes the taste, the amount of nutritional yeast, etc. I could not believe the difference adding melted daiya cheese in made! I seriously feel like I am cheating. Its not traditional alfredo, but it is the closest thing I have made to alfredo yet. 

Vegan Fettuccini Alfredo

You Need:
1 ¾ Cup Soymilk (If you want it extra creamy use coconut milk)
1/2 or so of a small onion sliced
Garlic to taste (this really depends on how much garlic you like, I use a couple cloves) minced
1 tablespoon vegan butter
½ teaspoon black pepper
½ teaspoon salt (more or less depending on what you like)
¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes
half a container vegan cream cheese
half a bag of shredded daiya cheese (again, this can be to taste on how “cheesy” it is)
A box of fettuccini pasta

Directions:
1.Cook the fettuccini according to the package directions

2.In a medium pot sauté the onion and garlic in the vegan butter until the onions are clear

3.Lower the heat and add the vegan cream cheese to the pot, so it melts but doesn’t burn

4.In a blender blend the soymilk, salt, black pepper, nutritional yeast flakes and the onion, garlic and cream cheese from your pot.

5.Put back in pot, heat. Make sure the mixture is hot enough to melt the cheese, but the heat is not so high you will burn the sauce.

6.Add the daiya cheese a handful at a time, making sure it melts before you add more.

7.Pour over fettuccini! Top with fake chicken, broccoli, peas, etc. etc.


Also, why does alfredo show as being spelled wrong? It is a real thing, whats word thinking? 

Vegan Ice Cream Recipe

Prior to going vegan I was totally an ice creamoholic. It was one of my favorite meals (yes MEAL). I went through a slight depression after going vegan, missing ice cream and annoyed at how expensive vegan ice cream was. One day I went over to a friends and the most amazing shiny hot pink appliance was sitting in the kitchen- an ice cream maker. We made ice cream and my mind was blown, it was better then most vegan ice cream on the market and a whole lot cheaper. I immediately went home and ordered one for myself. I have never looked back. Most of my treat making focuses on not having to get a ton of fancy vegan ingredients, I try to keep it to things you normally buy/are fairly cheap to get. There are a few vegan ice cream recipe books on the market, but I have yet to be impressed by any of them and they love to add unnecessary ingredients. For ice cream I usually substitute soy milk for the soy creamer, but that’s just because I won’t spend the money on creamer. It comes out just as yummy, just not as thick.

My favorite type of ice cream to make is peanut butter! Rich and creamy, it is super easy and super cheap. The vanilla recipe is a good base with a ton of possibilities. You can easily subtract 1 cup of the soy “creamer” and add a cup of fruit. Make sure to use soy milk as well, I tried rice milk for the first time in these photos and it was way too watery.  

Basic Vanilla Vegan Ice Cream

4 oz. egg substitute (2 “eggs”)

1 cup sugar

1 cup soy milk

2 cups soy “creamer”

1 ½ tsp. vanilla

To Make:

1.Combine egg substitute, sugar, and vanilla in a blender.

2.Add soy creamer and milk.

3.Blend well, chill thoroughly.

4.follow standard instructions for your ice cream maker.

Vegan Peanut Butter Ice Cream

1 Cup soy “creamer”

1 cup soy milk

1 cup sugar

1 ½ teaspoon vanilla

1 cup peanut butter
4 oz. egg substitute (2 "eggs")

To Make:

1.Combine sugar, peanut butter and “eggs” in a blender.

2.Blend in soy creamer, soymilk and vanilla.

3.Blend well and chill thoroughly.

4. Follow standard instructions for your ice cream maker.

I got extra fancy tonight and made vegan cookie ice cream sandwiches. I used my chocolate chip cookie recipe, then sandwiched my ice cream. The ice cream was vanilla with raw cookie dough swirled in. As I have told all my friends, I have no idea why I am not 300 pounds. 

Vegan Donuts X2

I made vegan donuts about a week ago and was not too impressed. This time though I had the proper donut pan and actually glazed them and wow! While they might not be straight from dunkin donuts, I am pretty happy with how they came out. Maybe next week I will try to make chocolate ones. 
This recipe comes from Vegan Yum Yum

Vegan Donuts:

You need:

1 Cup Flour

½ Cup Sugar

1 ½ tsp Baking Powder

¼ tsp Salt

¼ tsp Nutmeg (a shake or two)

A shake of cinnamon

½ cup soymilk or rice milk

½ tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

½ tsp Vanilla Extract

1 Egg (egg replacer, I use ener-g)

4 Tbs Earth Balance

To Make:

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2.Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon in a large bowl.

3.Combine soymilk, apple cider vinegar, vanilla extract, egg replacer and earth balance in a small pot on low heat on the stove.

4.Mix until earth balance is melted, the mixture should be warm, not hot. You should be able to dip your finger in it.

5.Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients. I folded it in, the dough does not require a ton of mixing. Vegan Yum Yum has a youtube video of what your dough should look like.

6.Using a tablespoon measure, scoop out dough into each of the mini donuts in the pan. The dough should sit just below the rim, or else they will come out like mine, a little bit of a muffin top.

7.Bake for about 12 minutes, it shouldn’t get brown. You should be able to remove a tester clean.

8. Glaze, cover with sprinkles, dip in chocolate, powder sugar, or cinnamon.

 Glaze:

½ Cup Powder Sugar

1 Tablespoon soymilk or rice milk

1 Teaspoon Vanilla Extract

Whisk together ingredients and dip donuts in it. Then top with sprinkles if you so choose. Plop the donuts on some parchment paper so any excess glaze (or chocolate) drips off but your donut won’t stick to anything.

You can also melt your favorite chocolate and dip the donuts into that for hostess like chocolate covered donuts.

Notes: The recipe on Vegan Yum Yum says to use soymilk. I did not have any, so I decided to try rice milk. The donuts are a little softer and fluffier. Either one works well, you can play with it and see what your preference is.