A Perfect Birthday Cake for J

My main man had a birthday this past weekend, a holiday weekend here in Canada. For a very fitting cake, i made him one made of popcorn, chocolate candies (M & Ms, not truly vegan i know...), pretzels, and marshmallow. I veganized this recipe. It really is a cake with J's name all over it - he loves all these treats as snacks separated so i knew it was a winner. Of course, we completed it with vanilla ice creem and whipped creem (i won't name the brand here because they still have not perfected their product but oh well, they're trying).

The cake is very easy to make, and while i had to make some changes, it was straight forward enough. As we don't have a microwave and i had no idea how much 'two microwave bags of popcorn is, ' i googled it and found that means 12 cups of popcorn. Twelve! I also had to buy a lot of vegan marshmallows, which if you must know is more expense than the other kind and doesn't melt nearly as quickly or smoothly. But the end product is oh-so-good. My chocolates also melted a bit too fast because of all that vegan marg and mallow. Oh well, more goodness that way i think.
It was also a small task to get out of my pan, even though i sprayed it as recommended. I don't have a bundt pan so hoped the rose cake pan i had would work. Luckily, it cooperated! Proves just about anything can be veganized. If only souffles and macaroons (French not coconut) can be too....

J said this was a perfect cake for him indeed and a good summer cake - no baking and fun to eat with your hands!

Easter Feast

If you're ever in a jam about hosting a holiday dinner for non-vegans and especially non-vegan parents, you can find a lot of great recipes on-line and in the great selection of vegan cookbooks these days. We really had fun prepping this meal - our first time hosting my parents for a holiday meal. I went all out, but it was a fun adventure from thinking up the menu to eating it! Here's what we can up with - it can work with both Easter and Christmas or other days that are important to you.

Let me just highlight the Tofu Roast. It was really fun to make and while the look wasn't as perfect as Ying Ying's Tofu Roast, it is pretty tasty and made from scratch by yours truly. The only thing i couldn't do was make my perfect stuffing as i had run out of sage without knowing. What's stuffing without it? Though i have to say i kept stealing mouthfuls of the leftovers (cold and in the fridge no less) of the next few days.....

On the Menu for Good Friday:

Tofu Roast by La Dolce Vegan - notices the three stages of it in the photos above.
Mapled Brussel Sprouts from The Vegetable Dishes I can't Live Without
Hedgehog Potatoes from Super Natural Cooking
Miso Gravy by Juice for Life (Fresh restaurant's first book)

Carrots
Orzo Salad
Roasted Garlic Bread from Ace Bakery
Peanut Butter Chocolate Cheesecake by Novel Eats
Oh, and this added bonus by Bunners, our local vegan gluten-free bakery! Vegan Creme Egg (the white stuff on the side is just cream of coconut milk i had extra of). It was pretty yummy and a sweet (pun intended) treat, but as it's the same size as the 'real' egg i don't think it was worth the $4.50. I ate it too fast for that price!

Our Sunday Morning - Meeting a New Friend

We welcomed a new friend into the world this week, and i ran over to deliver some freshly made Pumpkin Spice Muffins (from The Joy of Vegan Baking) and this cute Owl Cozy Bag. A perfect way to get cozy when you're born in February, i think!

Raw Ra Chocolate Mousse Pie

I got to sample this pie after my partner brought leftovers of it home. I devoured it and was in shock that there is even was leftovers! So, i cannot official claim the credit for this amazing recipe, but i can share it with you! I did modify it a bit to suit my needs, though. It's a raw chocolate vegan pie that is so easy to make. And, it will be a great treat for those non-vegans in your life, as they can't deny it's decadence and richness.

After getting the recipe for it close to a year ago, i had a perfect opportunity to try it out recently - at a cottage. I didn't have to bake it and i could bring all the ingredients already measured out. I love simple recipes like this! It will also make a great pudding, and i hate to admit it but knowing how easy it is, i think i'll be making it more than i should!

Raw Ra Chocolate Mousse Pie
(my name for it)
1 pie crust (ready made or you can make one - Keebler Pie Crusts work)
2 1/2 cups dark chocolate chips, melted
1/4 almond butter
1 package of silken tofu (or use almond dessert tofu as the original recipe calls for)
2 tbsp almond milk
1 ripe banana (or 1/2 if you don't want it to be too banana-y)

1) After melted chips in a double boiler, mash banana with fork and add all other ingredients into same bowl. Combine will.
2) Pour into pie shell and refridgerate for at least 4 hours.

Thanks Marnie for the recipe!

Some New Kinda Baking

I fell in love with the Babycakes bakery in NYC when i was there last year, so was so happy that they created a cookbook to go with it. All things vegan, gluten free and (mostly) sugar-free. Wow, what a specialty! Good thing they are still going strong too. Here`s a preggers me enjoying our finds.
So, i was even happier that my local public library had copies of the book. The wait was LONG but well worth it. Seems like we`re not the only ones that like such good baking. I finally got a copy of Babycakes cookbook from the library recently (the link is to their site and has great photos of the book so you can see it for yourself). And, since i had 3 weeks to enjoy it, we planned to make good use of it, so whipped up quite a few recipes! We enjoyed it so much that we`ve decided it`s something to buy. There were some hiccups though, but in the end each of the baked goods we made tasted yummy. For one, we had to buy a bunch of items that we`ve never used but now stand firmly in our pantry. Like potato starch, coconut flour, and garbanzo bean+fava bean flour. I do appreciate that it`s all to make gluten free goods, but it sure is a lot to have on hand. Also, since i`m in the process of reading The Omnivore`s Dilemma i am floored about the overuse of corn products in everything. Included xantham gum, which is a stable item in gluten free baking. Not sure how to avoid it though, as vegan baking can be so tricky and un-fluffy at times.
That said, there are some amazing, yummy, and creative recipes in this book. Plus, the book is so beautiful to look at - a true porn cookbook! The photos were lovely, and there are so great write-ups of things. There is some name-dropping as well by celebs, but i love them all so i guess it`s okay!...We tried the Johnny Cakes, Fat Pants Cake, Strawberry Rhubarb Pie, and coconut icing for the cake. I`ll just share a couple of thoughts with you here for the cakes.

In all, the cake was my favourite even though i had a panic that it wouldn`t turn out. I made it for J`s birthday and had to bake the cakes (3 layer cake and all) MUCH longer than the recipe called for. Also had a nervous moment transferring each onto the serving plate as they were so fragile. The icing was lumpy as the coconut oil seemed to solidify after it was combined with the other ingredients. And, it just didn`t seem sweet enough - i know it didn`t call for `real` sugar but still icing should be sweet. In the end, i just added it into the middle layers and had another vanilla buttercream icing for the outer layer. And, with chocolate chip cookies PLUS chocolate chips and cocoa in the cake already, it was pretty decadent. Once done, the cake was so good, i kept stealing pieces of it and was so glad that there were leftovers after the party.

J made me the Johnny Cakes for Mothers Day. They were lovely. Baked pancakes with cornmeal (forget the comment i made above re: corn!). Nice and fluffy, even though they were dense. I also love the way our maple syrup made this cool spiral pattern instead of just falling off the cakes. A great alternative to standard pancakes, they are very filling!

Now, if only the book had a recipe for the amazing cinnamon buns we had. I guess they have to leave some things out, so that we keep going back to the store!

My Sweet Goodness I love Dessert!

I have been lucky enough to do some baking lately and have scored some amazing dessert recipe finds. Even more, each are pretty easy to make and require no baking so the time to enjoy them is even closer at hand! I just love when baking is therapeutic both when making it as well as eating it!

I live for chocolate and have missed good chocolate mousse cake. Miss it no more thanks to Hannah at My Sweet Vegan who has made an amazing Silken Chocolate Mousse Cake. I found a good excuse to make it recently - friends from out of town came for a visit - but really i don't need a reason except i want some. I kept going past the fridge and thinking 'hmmm..there's chocolate mousse in there' and treating myself to a spoonful. I even tricked my mom into trying some and my dad had seconds - both of whom are not vegan eaters! The texture and density was perfect and the flavour was decadent. I can do without the ground almond and cocoa base too as nothing can compete with the mousse part. Wonderful.
I also got to try another recipe of Hannah's as my partner got me VegNews as a gift for the year. At a friend's cottage this week, i made her Orange Creamsicle Semifreddo from the March-April 2010 issue. I got to use a whole Navel orange including the peel and that added a whole other level of flavour! Instead of using vanilla extract, i decided to use a vanilla pod and that added both a nice touch of flavour as well as specks of colour. The dish tasted fresh and summery - a perfect way to bring in Spring. Having raw cashews in there also made me feel like it was a healthy dish, even with all the sugar!

Unfortunately, my mommy brain (good excuse for my lack of memory these days) has inhibited me to remember to take a picture let alone remember where i got the recipe for a tasty Lemon Pie with Almond Meal Crust. The pie tasted just like its non-vegan sister and know if i can only remember where i got the recipe, i can make it at home. In my search, i did find this recipe and link to vegan meringue mix! Wow, what a great find that was! I better find it again as i was planning to make it whenever i wanted lemon squares.

Edited to add: I found the lemon pie recipe! Yea! It's in Everyday Vegan. Thank goodness

Make Whoopie for Whoopie Pies!

I know i've been posting a lot about baby lately, but since all the crafts i'm making are for le bebe, i guess that fits!

So, here's a post all about food. I was hungry for something sweet on the weekend, and didn't want to buy something that wasn't entirely good for me/us. So, after some time with a red raspberry leaf tea and my various cookbooks, i realized i had the goods for the Whoopie Pie in My Sweet Vegan.

As a Canadian, i don't really know the 'real' cookie she talks about, but i do know Jos. Louis from my childhood. Wow, these did my sweet tooth and healthy focus service! They were moist, sweet, and the icing was lovely. Let's just say i'm happy i had lots of that left over - i spread it on my morning toast, on more cookies....i think i'll leave it at that!

Good stuff indeed.

An Evening of Enjoyment with Friends

We recently had friends over. Now, that happens a lot as we love hosting, but these friends were visiting all the way from Colombia, so this was a special visit for sure. Since they were here, we invited other mutual friends over for an evening get-together.
As i cannot pass an opportunity to make tasty vegan treats and play good hostess, i made cupcakes. Of course, right? I've been really wanting to try the Jelly Donut Cupcakes from Veganomicon and thought this was a perfect chance. My little 4-year old namesake also thought so!

Our friends treated us to this lovely bouquet of flowers - so vibrant and alive amidst the cold winter weather. The bouquet made me reminisce about spring flowers and grass under foot. Having fresh cut flowers like this surely helps live through winter!

Also, thanks everyone for your wonderful well wishes about my previous post. It was really lovely to see your support and comments. I can't wait to keep you posted!

a crafty vegan's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 5

Cupcakes and Chocolate

Nothing says holiday quite like chocolate and sweets for me, and this year is no exception. Here are some recent baked goods i made for various pot luck parties - Hazelnut Mousse Cupcakes, Chocolate Mint Cupcakes (both from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World), and a lovely chocolate layered cake from Get it Ripe - i think it's called The New Classic Chocoate Cake. Really good, and i think the best cake we've made that you really can't tell it's vegan. Not that that is a concern for me, but it's a winner at potucks with non-vegan friends. Moist, rich, creamy, and decadent!

a crafty vegan's 12 Days of Christmas - Day 3

Cookies and Icing

We had a holiday party a week ago, where we met with our close group of friends for our monthly pizza dinner night. Since we wanted to make it festive, i also made some Vegan Sugar Cookies. Now, there are oodles of recipes on-line and in your various cookbooks, but i really wanted ones this year that were crisp, and the icing was able to harden - not always the case with me. Here is one such recipe for cookies, and i customized the various simple icing recipes to make my very own. Here it is:

Egg Nog Icing

• 4 tablespoons vegan margarine
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground nutmeg
  
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
  
• 2 cups powdered sugar
• dash of salt
  
• 2 tbsp of vegan eggnog, or enough to combine

1. Beat ingredients until fluffy. If too runny, add more sugar, and if too dry, add more eggnog.
2. Spread on cookies, once cookies are nice and cooled. As icing is starting to harden, add sprinkles of your choice. I also stacked smaller cookies on top of bigger ones, for added flair!
3. Enjoy

Good Eats

I've made some yummy dishes lately and here's a wee photo spread of them: veggie calzones, vegan club sandwiches, and pumpkin pie...the calzone dough recipe is from Garden of Vegan and is a lovely soft and bubbly dough. The club is made with vegan salami and chicken (i called it vi-ken instead because it feels too weird to refer to these items as meat) and it was my first time having home-made club sandwiches. The pie recipe is from Get it Ripe and we also made the Cashew Creme to go with it. Lovely - dense and rich.

When Bad Things Happen to Good Cake

Don't you just hate it when your bundt cake pan doesn't cooperate and you just have a couple of hours before needing to leave for a party with a dessert? Especially when that said pan has been working fine for years, without even the slightest boo-boo?

Well, a few weeks ago, when going to a friend's birthday party i ran into more than a little boo-boo making a Vanilla Spice Swirl Cake from Get it Ripe. Not sure what happened inside while baking, and it could have been because i 'swirled' the batter too much, but my poor cake did not fall out of the pan happily.So, instead of just throwing it out and trying to make something else from scratch, i figured 'well, the cake tastes good and is cooked, so why toss it?' So, i recalled a recipe for a triffle i did, from My Sweet Vegan, and my quick thinking turned into this - a pudding cake! Almost as good as what i first planned it to be. With a few chocolate shavings and sprinkles of cinnamon on top, i even fooled myself.