Scraps and Snippets ~ Okay, Not Pretty, But EASY and Pretty Tasty ~ Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

This is one of those almost embarrassing recipes. You know, open a bag, toss in a canned item, apply heat, Bammo!

Vegan Chili Cheese Dogs

1 Package LightLife Smart Dogs (Or other of choice) (8 dogs)

1 16 ounce can of chili spiced beans (I used chili sauced pinto beans)

Approx 1/2 Cup shredded Vegan cheese (I used Daiya's Pepperjack) 

Hot dog buns

Toppings: 

Ketchup

Mustard

chopped onions

dill or sweet pickle relish

Preheat oven to 350. Semi-slice the hot dogs longwise down the middle. Slice only half way through the dog. Open the dog and lay sliced side down and pop in the oven for about 10 minutes. I'd line the pan with parchment paper or grease the pan, as my hot dogs stuck a bit. 

This will heat the hot dog through a bit and give a nice warm surface for the beans and cheese. 

Flip the hot dogs over and spoon beans over the dogs. Sprinkle cheese over them. With vegan cheese, in my opinion, less is better. 

Place the pan back in the oven for 14 minutes. If desired, turn oven to broil until cheese is fully melted. 

Open hot dog buns, slide a chili dog onto each bun and top as desired.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Cheeseburger Enchiladas

Cheeseburger Enchiladas

9 x 13 pan

1 and ½ Cups of crumbled hamburger substitute.

2 TBSP ketchup

1 TBSP classic yellow mustard

2 ½ TBSP finely minced onion (Set ½ TBSP aside and mix with ½ TBSP of dill pickles for the top of the casserole)

2 ½ TBSP finely minced dill pickle (Set ½ TBSP aside and mix with ½ TBSP of onions for the top of the casserole)

2 teaspoons of pickle juice

4 TBSP of chili cheese sauce

Mix all (but the reserved pickles/onions) together in a bowl

Grease the 9 x 13 pan.

Divide the meat mixture between approximately 10 flour tortilla shells and fit them into the pan. Don’t overstuff these. If you are someone who really loves a stuffed pan of enchiladas you might want to double the filling and sauce and add extra baking time.

Chili Cheese Sauce

3 TBSP Flour

3 TBSP Earth Balance

3 Cups unflavored/unsweetened non-dairy milk

1 Cup enchilada sauce or tomato sauce

1/2 TBSP chili powder

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 cup of shredded cheese (Daiya)

1/4 Cup nutritional yeast

Melt Earth Balance in pan, add flour and make a paste. When completely incorporated begin adding milk slowly and stir. Heat until mixture bubbles and thickens, stirring constantly.

When mixture thickens add chili powder, garlic powder and cheese. Stir until cheese is incorporated and melted. Add the tomato sauce and mix well. Pour this over the enchiladas. (Don’t forget to use the 4 TBSP of this for the enchilada stuffing mix.) Sprinkle sesame seeds over top of casserole. Squirt on ketchup and mustard swirls. Add the minced onion and pickles. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes. Check and if the mixture is bubbling and heated through it’s good to go. Serve with a side of french fries.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Snickerdoodle Blondies

Snickerdoodle Blondie

1/2 Cup plus 1 TBSP room temperature coconut oil
2/3 Cup sugar
2/3 Cup brown sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I used an Ener-G DIY recipe)
6 TBSP non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 2/3 Cup flour

Additionally, 1 TBSP brown sugar, 1 TBSP sugar and 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon. 

Cream coconut oil and sugar. Add baking powder, salt, egg replacer, cinnamon and mix well. Add milk and vanilla and stir completely. Pour in flour and stir well. 

Grease a 9 x 13 and press dough/batter into pan. 

Mix the cinnamon and sugar together. Sprinkle the sugar mixture over the dough. 
Bake for 30 minutes. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Smore Surprise Brownie Bites

Smore Surprise Brownie Bites


1 and 1/2 sticks Earth Balance (3/4 Cup or 3/4 Cup coconut oil)
1 1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP egg replacer (I used homemade EnerG)
6 TBSP water or non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon salt
2/3 Cup cocoa
1 2/3 Cup flour
1/3 chocolate chips
Approx 2 vegan friendly graham crackers broken into about 1 inch squares/sections

These aren't the brownies, just wanted to show you what they looked like.
We ate them...oops

Approx 4-5 large Dandies marshmallows cut (scissors worked well) each marshmallow into 6 to 8 pieces.

Cream the sugar, coconut oil, milk and egg replacer. Add baking powder and salt and mix well. Add vanilla and stir. Stir in cocoa and then flour until blended.

Preheat oven to 350. 

Using one of those brownie pans with the dividers, mini cupcake tins or a silicone pan with 20 squares in it, or a large cookie sheet lightly grease which ever item or combination you choose to use. 

I made mine in a 20 count silicone pan and baked them for 14-16 minutes which would be about right for mini-muffin tins. Here's what I did. I pressed a walnut sized piece of dough into my little squares. Then I placed a chunk of graham cracker and marshmallow on top of dough. Another walnut sized section of dough pressed over the top.

If using  a cookie sheet for bake for about 12 minutes. I would roll out a walnut sized ball of dough flat, then top with the graham cracker and marshmallow and fold dough over to cover the amore treats. If using the sectioned brownie pan you might need 30 minutes.

Makes about 3 dozen.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Berry Coconut Cupcakes and Frosting ~ So Delicious

 I'm entering this recipe into the So Delicious Spring Fling Recipe Contest. 

Berry Coconut Cup Cakes (makes 18)

1 egg substitute (1 TBSP ground chia or egg replacer)

1/2 TBSP baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3/4 Cup So Delicious coconut milk (at room temperature)

1/4 Cup jam (I used organic strawberry all fruit)

1/2 Cup of coconut oil (melted)

1 1/4 Cup sugar

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

2 1/4 Cup flour

Put milk and egg replacer powder together in a bowl and set aside. Cream coconut oil and sugar together. Add salt and baking powder, mix until incorporated. Pour half the milk and the extracts in and mix. Pour in half the flour and mix well, add the rest of the milk, stir then the additional flour and mix for two more minutes.

Fill cupcake liners 1/2-2/3 full. 

Bake at 350 for 15-17 minutes or until knife comes out clean. If you want vanilla, use 1 Cup of So Delicious and no jam.

Berry Frosting

3 TBSP berry jam

3 TBSP Earth Balance or coconut oil

1/2 tsp of vanilla

2 Cups powdered sugar

If too thick add just a splash of coconut milk, if still too wet add a little more powdered sugar.

When the cupcakes are cool frost each cupcake.  

Scraps and Snippets ~ Steamed Brocc/Cauliflower w/ Vegan Parm and Review of Trader Joe's Mandarin Chickenless Morsels

I got home from violin and the grocery store right at dinner time, hungry and without planning ahead. 

Trader Joe's Mandarin Chickenless Morsels and fresh organic cauliflower and broccoli to the rescue. Yum. 

Vegan Parmesan

3 TBSP pulverized pecans (I've used almonds before, equally tasty)
4 TBSP nutritional yeast
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1-2 TBSP sesame seeds

Mix well. This makes several servings. It keeps for a decent time. 

I preheated the oven to 425 and got my steamer water going. When the oven was ready I popped the chickenless tenders on the pan and slide them into the oven. 

I chopped the broccoli and cauliflower and tossed them into the steamer basket (just enough for dinner so about a 1/3 of each bunch.) 

I put together the parmesan and kept an eye on the steamer. It took about 12 minutes to hit the tenderness we like. 

I flipped the chickenless tenders and in twenty minutes we had a delicious dinner.  

My Review of Trader Joe's Mandarin Chickenless Morsels: 

I love these little suckers. Granted, they aren't whole food based and glowing with health and all those amazing benefits of something like quinoa and kale. However, there are meals that need to be plates of delicious greens and chockfull of veggie deliciousness and some that require speed and taste. 

I've used these chickenless morsels with omnivores and threw together an asian mandarin chickenless salad and not one eyebrow was raised or one snarky comment made. I honestly don't know that a meat lover could tell the difference. The texture and taste are spot on, even without the sauce. The sauce is perfectly tangy/sweet. And the price is right. 

Two thumbs up. If you are looking for a meat substitute that reminds you of chicken nuggets, or satisfies with minimal work or preparation give these a shot. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Crispy Tofu, Garlic Sprouts and Curry Sweet Potato Fries ~

I usually don't make and serve slabs of tofu. Not my favorite. However, I had a package of sprouted organic tofu that needed to be used. 


I pressed, sliced and marinated it in 2 TSBP soy sauce and 2 teaspoons of sesame oil for an hour or so. 

Then I coated the tofu with a mixture of 1 TBSP sesame seeds, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast, 1 teaspoon garlic powder. (If you don't use soy sauce add 1/2 teaspoon of salt) 

I fried them in a hot pan coated with garlic infused grape seed oil until they were crispy and popped the cooked pieces into a hot oven. (425 since I was roasting brussels sprouts)

I served it with brussels sprouts that I steamed for five minutes on the stove top and then roasted for 35 minutes until the outside was crispy. I chopped a garlic clove and added some grape seed oil to the baking dish and rolled the sprouts around tip they were coated and sprinkled sea salt over the sprouts.  

The curry fries were baked on the low rack while the sprouts were roasting. I sliced a sweet potato into skinny fries. I tossed them into a ziplock and added equal amounts of garlic powder, onion powder and curry (about a teaspoon each) with 1/2 teaspoon of salt. Rob requested I make the tofu again. (major shock) For dessert I made this recipe of Peanut Butter Brownies. I used agave as the sweetener. They aren't super sweet and there is a slight applesauce texture. But the dough is heavenly and baked for 18 minutes and chilled, uh, yum. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Cauli"Chick" Salad

I might be catching the cauliflower puree train late in the game. And, honestly, I may be overusing it. I mean three soups and a sauce and now as a base for a "chicken" salad. Weird. But stinking delicious. Really. Like who knew cauliflower was bigger than as an addition to mashed potatoes and as a base for ranch or cheese sauce??? 

So forgive me if my new discovery, my cruciferous epiphany, is so 1990's. But it's new to me, and it's a wonderful addition to my kitchen repertoire. 

I used the cauliflower puree with a smidgen of mustard in place of mayo in this salad. I smeared it on toasted marble rye, but it would be delicious with whole grain crackers, in a tortilla as a roll-up or wrap or stuffed in a hollowed out pepper or tomato, served with celery... etc.

Cauliflower puree

1 head of cauliflower chunked (use most of the stem as well)

3 medium to large cloves garlic 

1 to 2 teaspoons lemon juice

sea salt to taste (1/2 teaspoon or so) 

Steam cauliflower and garlic cloves until fork tender. (about 15 minutes)
Cool a bit.
Put the steamer contents into a food processor and add salt and lemon juice and puree until a creamy consistency.

To one cup of cauliflower puree. (Put the rest in a fridge for dinner another night).

Add: This is the fun part. 1/4ish cup of each

rotten picture of a side view of the cut sandwich. 

minced fresh celery and/or minced onions
chopped nuts (I used pecans)
dried or fresh fruit (I used dried apples and cranberries) 
chicken substitute of choice. (chickpeas would be great, or chopped, seasoned tempeh).
I added 1 teaspoon of mustard. 

Additional ideas....endless.
Some rolling around in my brain....

buffalo sauce to taste with chickpeas, minced celery and onions and parsley
A few sprinkles of Italian spices with chopped sun dried tomatoes, onions, olives 
Some shakes of lemon pepper with onion, lemon zest, almonds 
A teaspoon or so of curry with chickpeas, onions, chopped kale.

This recipe was shared at Ricki Heller's Wellness Weekend.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Strawberry Cheesecake Bars

Strawberry Cheesecake Dessert...

10 Oreos (whole, including filing) or Trader Joe's Jo-Jos

10 Oreos or Jo Jo cookies (This is 10 whole cookies equaling 20 cookie shells. Scrape the middles into a bowl for the filling).

1 TBSP Earth Balance or coconut oil

In a food processor whir the 10 whole cookies, twenty cookie shells and 1 TBSP of Earth Balance or coconut oil.

Press the mixture into a 7 x 11, 8 x 11, 9 x 11 or 8 x 8 square pan. 

Filling:

Move the bowl of the cookie middles to front and center. Pop the middles into the food processor or mixer bowl. To them add:

8 ounces cream cheese (I used Trader Joe's Not Cream Cheese) 

3 TBSP Strawberry Jam (I used organic) 

1/4 Cup powdered sugar

Whip with mixer or food processor. 

Fold into: 

1 can whipped coconut cream. I use Trader Joe's again. You don't have to let this one chill as long as other brands and it's mostly coconut cream whereas others are almost 1/3 water. To prepare, Scrape the thick cream into a mixing bowl. Add a couple of TBSP of powdered sugar. Beat until the consistency of whipped cream, make sure to scrape the bowl frequently. 

Spoon over crust and refrigerate until ready to serve. I've decided the day before you are going to serve is perfect because everything sets up fabulously. 

This is a not too sweet dessert. Several omnivores scarfed it down at my house recently. My mother-in-law who lives with a cook who makes all sorts of deliciousness commented that I could bring it to her house anytime because it was delicious. 

I loved it because it was stinking easy to make and satisfying. My daughter-in-law who hates/detests/grosses out over coconut ate every bite. The coconut flavor is a subtle undertone. If you wanted it a little more strawberry or sweet you could add one more TBSP jam. Also I intended to make a strawberry chocolate drizzle (melt 2 TBSP chocolate chips in double boiler with 1 TBSP of jam. Place in a ziploc with corner cut off and drizzle over the dessert. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Chickpea Noodle Soup

Chickpea Noodle Soup

7 Cups vegetable broth
1 Can (or 1 1/2 of prepared) garbanzo beans/chickpeas drained and rinsed
1-2 stalks celery (I used one massive one) chopped
1-2 carrots (I used three small ones) chopped 
1 Small onion small dice
2 Cloves garlic minced
1 TBSP miso (I used the darkest one which darkened my soup)
4 ounces noodles (I used Udon) 
1/2 TBSP oil or Earth Balance

Chop the vegetables. In a dutch oven melt the margarine. When heated toss in vegetables and sauté until tender. Add the vegetable broth, chickpeas and miso. Simmer for a half hour or so. Add noodles about 20 minutes before serving. 

Easy and delish.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Bing Balls

 Twin Bing candy bars were my all time favorite before vegan. I don't even know if they are nationwide. They are soft marshmallowy cherry centers covered in a thick chunky peanut chocolate outside layer. 

I even found a recipe to make them in bar format. However, the bars called for cherry chocolate chips that tasted a wee bit like cherry cough syrup and made for a waxier cherry section. I had tweaked it over the years adding marshmallow etc to it to get it closer. 

Then came vegan. That recipe needed to go by the wayside. Too much dairy and they were full of chemical, super processed ingredients. The recipe just drifted away with so many others too involved to veganize. 

Since the first of the year I've been trying to avoid super sugary, super not-so-good-for-anyone stuff. I'm pretty sure I haven't baked any treaty thing since the New Year.  (Uh, pretty sure is as good as it gets, I may have succumbed to something...).

So, Friday, while needing a little sweet fix I stumbled on this treat. Honestly, I'm estimating the measurements because I used my hand and scooped. 

1 Cup dried cherries

1 Cup raisins (I used golden)

1 and 1/2 Cups salted peanuts

1/4 Cup chocolate chips

Toss the peanuts, raisins, cherries in a food processor and whir them until a sticky, mostly uniform concoction starts. You want it to stick together but not be so sticky it won't come off your fingers. If it's too sticky, add a few TBSP of peanuts, if too crumbly more raisins and cherries. When you are happy with the consistency toss in the chocolate chips and whir away breaking them up a bit. 

Then roll the mixture into balls (or press into bars) and refrigerate. Makes about 24 walnut sized balls. Enjoy. These are pretty stinking satisfying. Not Twin Bing clones but the taste and texture is pretty darn close. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Broccoli Caulicheezy Soup

Eww excuse the boiled over water stain. 

We have a local organic  co-op deal that provided a screaming good deal on veggies and a delivery is coming Saturday. So I had to make room. I love broccoli cheese soup. Well, I loved it and miss it on occasion. I just can't bring myself to use vegan cheeze shreds to put the cheeze in the soup. But I had broccoli that was looking a little limp on hand and I have been experimenting with cauliflower based soups with great success. So...

This soup is mostly veggie and completely crazy good.  The weird thing I noticed is that one bowl with a few crackers and a small slice of bread stuck with me all night long. I'm not sure how that's possible, but it did. 

Broccoli Caulicheezy Soup

Serves 4

3 Cups or so of cauliflower florets

1/2 onion or leek (I used a whole leek and it was pretty strong, so I'm cutting back a bit next time)

2 ish Cups of finely chopped broccoli

4 Cups of veggie broth (I used the veggie paste boullion with water including the cauliflower steam water)

8 - 10 garlic cloves

2 teaspoons lemon juice

1 TBSP miso (or soy sauce or liquid aminos)

1/3 Cup nutritional yeast

Steam the cauliflower until tender. Approx 10 minutes.

Toss the leek/onion, garlic, lemon juice, a cup or so of veggie broth and miso into a food processor. Run it until pureed. Add steamed cauliflower and whir until incorporated. 

Transfer the mixture to saucepan, add the additional vegetable broth and broccoli. Simmer for 1/2 an hour or so. Add the nutritional yeast and stir well. Serve. 

Suggested add ins: potato chunks, brown rice, additional veggies of choice, vegan bacon bits. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Wild Rice Caulifredo Soup - Vegan

Wild Rice Caulifredo Soup

Ready for this? The base of the soup is pureed steamed cauliflower and garlic. And it's so creamy. Makes 4 big servings or 8 smaller servings.

10 cloves of garlic

1 head cauliflower (cut the leaves off but leave the white branches. Break into chunks.)

1/2 onion diced

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

4 Cups broth/cauliflower steam water

1 TBSP fat of Earth Balance

3 Cups unsweetened, unflavored non-dairy milk

1 Cup wild rice (rinsed and uncooked, or chopped broccoli)

1 Cup chopped mushrooms (or other item that sounds tasty to you)

Steam cauliflower for about 20 minutes. ( I have a saucepan that has a metal colander that fits on top and a lid. I fill the base of the saucepan with water, drop the chunks of cauliflower into the colander, put the lid on and turn the heat on. The water steams and softens the cauliflower.)

Let the cauliflower cool a bit. In another pan melt half the Earth Balance and add onions and diced garlic, sauté until caramelized and golden. Place cauliflower, salt, lemon juice, onion and garlic in a food processor or super blender. Puree. Add a little cooking liquid to the mixture if it bogs. When pureed add the mixture to the rest of the cooking water and make up the difference with broth. In the same pan you sautéed onions and garlic in add the rest of the Earth Balance and toss in mushrooms. Heat until they change texture and color. Add to the soup pan with the wild rice. Simmer this for approximately an hour until the rice plumps. Add milk to get the consistency you want in the last 15 minutes before serving.

Serve with crusty chunks of bread.  

Scraps and Snippets - Caulfredo Sauce

Caulfredo Sauce

1 head of cauliflower (leaves and tough stump removed and discarded but use stems) (about 3 cups)

2 1/2 Cups unsweetened "milk"(I used soy)

1 to 1 1/2 TBSP "Butter" (I used Earth Balance)
1/2 onion diced

8-10 cloves or garlic diced (I used 8, I’m going to add a little more in the next batch)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp lemon juice

Break up cauliflower and place in a pan with a steamer section and lid. Bring water to boilthen drop to simmer. Steam until tender, about 7 minutes. Let cool. 

Saute garlic and onion in the butter and caramelize.(if desired you could drizzle onion and garlic with a little olive oil and roast instead).

Place the cooled cauliflower, sautéed veggies, salt and lemon juice in a large food processor or super blender. Puree, add milk a cup at a time until you get the consistency you desire. Store in fridge if not using right away. Heat on low, or in low crockpot to warm sauce. (If you don't have a huge food processor, puree 1/2 the cauliflower, onions, garlic and lemon juice and salt. Add some of the milk. Dump into another pan or crock pot. Puree the remaining cauliflower etc in the food processor and do the same. Add to the pot and stir, mix in the rest of the milk until you reach the desired consistency.)

Serve over rice or pasta or vegetables. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Harvest Chicken Salad

Harvest Chicken Salad

3/4 Cup diced chicken replacement (I used Beyond Meat)

1/2 finely chopped medium onion

2 stalks finely chopped celery

1/2 chopped med to large apple (I used a Gala)

1/2 Cup chopped pecans

2 1/2 TBSP vegan cream cheese 

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1 TBSP lemon juice

2 1/2 TBSP tahini (or almond butter) 

salt to taste

Mix together and serve on toast, bread, buns, crackers, stuff in peppers or tomatoes or your mouth. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Meatball Soup and Harmony Valley Vegetarian Hamburger Mix Review...

Why on earth would I make soup on a humid 82 degree October day? Because it seemed easier than coming up with something requiring a bit more creativity. 

I was apparently online shopping while hungry a few months ago. And Spencer's Market (a vegan mecca) was offering free shipping if I spent $50.00. So, being the kind of bargain hunter that I am, when what I really wanted was some of their delicious looking vegan candy, and had emotionally spent $15.00 on candy to share with my honey, I only needed to spend $35.00 more to score free shipping. That's when I found this.  Now, part of me, in my crazed shopping mindset thought that a dehydrated bag of hamburger was going to be somewhat disappointing. But. I bought two and two of their sausage mixes, too. I mean, at $5.00 a bag they would work as expensive dog treats if fails, right? 

Tonight was the night to use one of these bad boys up. And, dang, I think I'm kind of a fan. (On a side note, the dogs were very interested and were completely willing to lick the bowl, clean off my hand and pick up the stray morsels that occasionally hit the floor....so they would be a-okay with this as a dog treat, but that's not happening.) 

It's a textured dry powder. You add a cup and 1/4 (I think) of cold water, stir and let hang out in the fridge for awhile. I preheated the oven to 375 and then, when the burger mix was ready, I rolled it into meatballs and baked them for 23 minutes. Easy Peasy. The raw texture was pretty burger like, almost freakishly so. And they tasted good right out of the oven without any sauce. Not exactly super burgery, but really close,  Of note, I never ate hamburger that wasn't smothered in sauce or mustard when I was a meat eater, so I'm not sure I'm the best judge of that. Also, of note, a vegan meatball that mushes in the mouth is nasty. I want something that bites back a little, that gives some texture. A vegan burger that, when you bite, burger oozes out the bun...ugh, ick. And these meatballs, they had some nice texture. Next time, I will spray the pan a bit because I didn't and they stuck a little.

Here was the acid test for me and the meatball. A soup. Hmmm. Would they disintegrate? 

Meatball Soup (serves 2 to 3 depending on sides and appetites)

6 Cups vegetable broth
1/2 large small dice onion
3 stalks small dice celery
3 medium to large potatoes medium dice
salt and pepper to taste
15-20 vegan meatballs

Seriously. Simple. I put all the veggies in the veggie broth and cooked until the potatoes were almost tender (20 minutes or so) while my meatballs were baking. Then I tossed the meatballs in the soup and finished cooking it for 15 minutes or so until all the veggies were super tender. 

The meatballs did not simmer apart, fully intact meatballs. And the soup tasted really good. Rob even said it was amazing and that he thought he could fool some meat-lovers with it. And he's a pretty tough customer to win over with a meat substitute. So. Even though the hamburger mix is processed and a cheater meal, I'm going to have a few on hand. Because sometimes you don't want to reinvent the wheel and dirty the food processor, sometimes you just want to eat some satisfying simple food. And that's exactly what you get with this one. 

I'll let you know when I make the sausage. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Wacky Cupcakes

End of Vegan Mofo. I would love to tell you I have a four course gourmet spread for you. But. Since I've spent the last few hours engaged in overshared, overdramatized activities below, I'm not cooking for ya. Trader Joe's to my rescue, and a recipe I created a few months ago and promptly forgot about to save the final day of Vegan Mofo. 

My Monday afternoon activities: 

Changing the cat box. Not that this isn't a regular thing. But sometimes I wonder whom owns whom, Feral lets me know in loud protests when he's hungry, when his litter is not conducive to his comfort and when it's time to go to bed. And I basically do as instructed. 

Forgetting and then PAYING for in blood, sweat and tears, my online password to my stupid cell carrier because I want to make a temporary change. Yeah.  Two hours later, with breaks for crashing my head against the wall, I've gotten pretty much nowhere. Now I somehow have two user accounts though. 

Wacky Surprise Cupcakes or Cake - this isn’t an overly sweet cake, more grown up in taste, but as decadent as you want to make it.

Preheat oven to 350

Makes 12 cupcakes or one 8 x 8 pan. Either line the cupcake pan with paper liners or lightly grease the 8 x 8.

In a medium bowl mix the following:

1 ½ Cup flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour which gives whole grain but light texture)

¾ Cup sugar (This is less than other recipes. If you want a sweeter cake increase it to 1 cup.)

⅓ Cup cocoa

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

Mix this all together with a fork or spoon. Then make a well in the middle.

Pour in:

1 Cup warm water

⅓ Cup oil (I used melted coconut oil - you don’t want it solid)

1 TBSP apple cider vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

Stir well.

Pour into the pan or equally into cupcake wrappers, approximately 2/3’s full.

Set the pan aside.

Make filling: (use vegan ingredients)

2 ounces cream cheese

3 TBSP powdered sugar

2 TBSP chocolate chips

Stir sugar and cream cheese together until blended. Add chocolate chips.

Spoon spoonfuls (about a teaspoon each) into the middle of each cupcake or in 12 blobs on top of the cake in the middle of the slices you’ll be cutting.

If you are going to want to frost the cupcakes with cream cheese frosting, keep the cheese and sugar and vanilla out and use the bowl when you are done with the filling.  (When your cupcakes/cake are in the oven mix 4 ounces cream cheese, 1 to 1 ½ cups powdered sugar and a ½ teaspoon of vanilla together until you reach the desired consistency. Put it aside for use when the cupcakes/cake cools. )

Place the cupcakes in  the oven and bake for 20ish minutes. You want a knife poked into the cake to come out clean. If you hit the goo, it won’t look clean. The cake tops also lose the glossy shine.

When the cupcakes/cake are/is cooled you can frost them. Either use a vegan cream cheese frosting. (Above). Or make a lovely chocolate ganache.

Heat:

3 TBSPs of non-dairy milk in a small saucepan. Watch the milk you want it nice and warm, but not scorched. I used vanilla flavored almond milk, so feel free to use flavored milk, or creamer of choice. A mocha ganache would be tasty. When the milk is warm remove it from the heat and add...

¼ cup of vegan chocolate chips

Stir until the heat from the milk completely melts the chocolate and turns it into a velvety delicious chocolate dream.

Spoon the mixture over the cake and spread it with the spoon so the entire cupcake (or most) is covered in glossy chocolate.

If using the cream cheese frosting, spread it over the cupcakes or cake. If you want to go for overkill deliciousness, you can use the cream cheese frosting and make the ganache and drizzle it over the frosting. If you do that place them in the refrigerator so the warmth doesn’t melt the frosting.