Scraps and Snippets ~ Lemon Chia Bars (Vegan)

Lemon Bars

8 x 11 30 to 35 minutes 350

1 1/2 Cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

3 flax eggs (4 TBSP water, 2 TBSP milk)

1 Cup sugar

2 TBSP EB

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp almond extract

1/3 Cup lemon juice

1 tsp lemon juice

1/2 Cup coconut oil

Zest of one lemon

1 TBSP chia seed

Glaze 

1 Cup powdered sugar

2 TBSP milk

1 teaspoon lemon juice

two drops almond extract

additional chia seeds, 1 tsp or so.

Bake 30 minutes, or until set up. Pour glaze over bars and let cool. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Asian Slaw Salad of Deliciousness....

One of my favorite salads of all time is a tie between Applebees and Panera. Same salad, just different versions. However. It contains meat and dairy, and well, it's a thing of the past. Goodbye Asian Chicken Salad. I do actually miss you. A little. Enough to try to create you Vegan style at home. 

If you've not tried the orange glazed Vegan chicken sub nuggets at Trader Joe's (Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels). Get there and get some. Crazy good. Omnivores accused me of stopping by McD's and picking up a 20 pack of the dreaded mcnuggs...shudder...when they peeked inside my oven.

You bake em, you put glaze on them and then you put a few on top of this beauty. Oh YUM!

This makes a good sized salad. Enough to feed 8.

1 bag broccoli slaw  (standard sized)
1 bag cole slaw  (standard sized) (or shredded cabbage and carrot)
1 larger head of romaine (chopped)
1 bag pea sprouts

Rinse and drain and mix together in a big bowl. 

Add sides of the following for people to doctor their own salads custom style. I put some of the dressing on the salad and mixed well.

Toasted almond slivers. (ten minutes in a 300 degree oven does it.)
Toasted sesame seeds (ditto)
Sesame sticks
chopped green onion
grated fresh ginger
soy sauce
additional things that sound good to you
dressing
Chicken-less Mandarin Orange Morsels

Dressing: 

3 1/2 TBSP rice vinegar or mixture of rice and orange vinegar
1 teaspoon soy sauce
1/2 TBSP sesame oil
2 TBSP orange juice (Juice a fresh orange)
1 TBSP maple syrup or sugar

Mix well.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Vegan Fat and Soy Free Egg Salad

Dinner was an adventure of "What to eat" again. I had two avocados that needed to get used. So I decided to make the amazing avocado sandwich spread that is to die for. But. Problem. I didn't have onion or cilantro or chickpeas. 

White beans, garlic powder, avocados and lime juice worked. But as I was tasting and missing the crunch of the onion and bite of the cilantro it occurred to me that this concoction reminded me of something. 

Tada! Another batch of salad with a few tweaks and I have found the mouthfeel and taste reminiscent of the version of egg salad that I used to love. 

Mind you, the egg salad I used to love was just hard-boiled eggs, mayo, mustard, salt and pepper. I know there are other versions with crunch and other tastes, but that was my mom's version and something about egg salad on white bread just does it for me. I'd make it once or twice a month and it was a real comfort food meal. 

That said. I'm not going to put my sandwich in front of my brothers or parents and try to convince them it's the real deal. But, it's going to work for me. And it's freaky close. 

1 Can white beans (approximately 1 1/2 cups home cooked)
1/4 teaspoon pepper
heavy 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon salt (to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1 and 1/2 TBSP mustard (I used spicy brown)
1 TBSP hot water
pinch turmeric
 
Set aside 1 cup white beans.

Combine everything else together and smash/mix until smoothish. 

Add whole white beans and mix well.

Place on bread of choice. 

 After dinner, while we decorated the Christmas tree, I put together crack bars. I will share that recipe tomorrow.

Scribbles and Scrambles ~ How Vegan - Vegan 101 Part 2

Basic Cooking Trials and Tribulations. Transition from Traditional to Vegan. One step at a time.


Don’t get rid of your regular cookbooks quite yet. You can adapt many of your favorites. This occurred to me about six months into this adventure. I played around with loads of experiments and tried (and served) a lot of “Fail!!!” recipes. Had I simply followed Vegan recipes or veganized my traditionally favorite recipes, one ingredient at a time I probably would've had better results. However, I generally learn a thing or two with a good fail. Let me pass on my lessons.

How to Veganize a Recipe 101 and to Avoid the Processed Vegan Diet ... think whole food and healthy. Honestly, many not so great "food" items are accidentally Vegan. I.E. some puddings. How is that possible? Chemical concoctions. We all want to avoid those nasty test-tube cocktails, right? Unless you are thinking Vegan for animals only, you are seeking an avenue to better health, right? So the more packaged something is the more handled it is, and the further it veers from being food. If you can find organic ingredients that aren't crazy expensive go for it.

Cooking:

Almost all animal products are replaceable. Some are easier than others.


Instead of meat based bouillon and broths, use vegetable. Organic is best. And if you don’t like to spend money on broths, make your own. Stick a gallon sized zipper bag or bowl in your freezer. Dump your veggie peels, odds and ends in the bag (avoid lettuces and rotten bits, do throw in stems from herbs). When it is full, dump the contents in a dutch oven, crock pot or soup pot. Cover it with water and simmer a few hours. Let sit til it cools, strain the liquid and put the liquid in recycled pasta sauce or peanut butter jars. (Leave room for liquid expansion). Freeze til you need them. This is not salted. If you want a salty liquid you can add soy sauce. (I use my seitan (weird word....it's also called wheat meat. It's a stretchy protein that can and does mimic the texture and mouthfeel of some meats. It's made from gluten flour....you can find excellent packaged versions. Trader Joe's and Gardein for example) simmering liquid to cover my scraps as it has flavor in it, too.) I make the seitan, fish it out, throw my frozen veggie bits in, add more water and do big batches of seitan and vegetable broth back to back.

Butter for cooking basics. For sautéing you can use coconut oil (this will give you a slight coconutty flavor/taste unless you buy one that specifically does not flavor) Earth Balance, organic canola oil (buy organic to avoid GMOs). You can use vegetable broth. You can dry sauté using a very hot pan with vegetables that will caramelize like onions, peppers, mushrooms. The key is to get the veggies to immediately sear once they hit the pan. To add flavor in breads and mashed potatoes etc.Earth Balance is the Vegan alternative to butter. It's pretty tasty and has all those same butter properties like melt and taste factor.

Milk might be the easiest ingredient to switch out. Between the options of flax, hemp, rice, soy, almond, coconut, oat and probably a few more, most people should be able to find something that works tastewise. For cooking it won't matter as much as the milk won't be the primary taste. The one thing to be aware of is that some milks work better in some recipes, and any flavored milk (vanilla) is likely to be sweetened. You'll need to look for plain if you are going for savory. Read the ingredients, original does not necessarily mean plain. You can also make your own milks if you have a high speed blender. Basically nuts or oats and water are the ingredients. It won't keep as long as the store bought versions but it's less expensive.

Sour cream, cream cheese, mayonnaise cheese have commercially prepared substitutes. We've tried a few different types of each of these. Cheese, hands down for us is Daiya. Trader Joe's has a cream cheese substitute. Several cookbooks have recipes for homemade vegan sour creams, cream cheese and mayos. There are even recipes for Vegan cheeses and butters on websites. Tofu is often used for these items and so are nuts.  We've been experimenting with cream cheese at our house and the results are pretty amazing.

Eggs. A biggie for me. Eggs in baking can be replaced with commercial egg substitute (or made with tapicoa/potato flour combinations). I use mostly ground flax eggs. 1 TBSP ground flax mixed with 3 TBSPs liquid replaces one egg. This works great. Ground or whole chia 1 TBSP to 3 TBSP liquid is another common egg replacement. You won't miss the eggs in your cakes, cookies, etc.

Next: Meet the Meat Replacements...

Scraps and Snippets ~ Happy Accident Caramel Apple Pecan Shortbread Bars

So I had a Christmas decorating party Sunday night and needed to take a finger food. I whipped through a few cookbooks and found a delicious sounding shortbread bar. A caramel toffee chocolate bar. Win. Win.

I'd give you a review of that recipe but I totally flubbed the caramel. And therefore the recipe.

The shortbread crust went well. And tastes great. 

Crust:
1 Cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1/3 Cup powdered sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

Mix all the ingredients well and press into a greased 8 x 11 inch pan. Bake for 12-15 Minutes. 

Let cool. Then prepare the caramel.

Caramel Topping: (Amended in a panic)

1 Cup packed brown sugar
1/4 Cup coconut oil
4 teaspoons non-dairy milk
3/4 Cup applesauce
3/4 Cup oatmeal
1/2 Cup chopped pecans

Mix brown sugar, coconut, oil and non-dairy milk in a saucepan. Stirring constantly bring to a boil. Boil 1 minutes and remove from heat. Stirring. Add applesauce, oatmeal and pecans and stir well. Pour this over the crust and refrigerate at least 20 minutes. 

Cake. 

Once I fixed the fail. 

My fail was letting the caramel go too long. The first inkling of fear kicked up a notch when the sugar separated from the coconut oil after I left it on the flame. I was attempting to lose the grainy sugar texture and then, the bad just got worse. The caramel disintegrated into sugar again. Yikes. So. & suggested I turn it into a crumble topping. Problem, apple limitations. But I did have applesauce so I dumped it in to the sugar aka what once almost looked like caramel, stirred and was pleased to see things come together. I added chopped pecans and oatmeal and it was all good. Very good. Happy Fail.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Banana Bread French Toast ~ Vegan

Warning. This is involved. First you have to make the banana bread, then the other parts and pieces. It is delicious. So much so that I forgot to take pictures of my plate. One person who ate it decided it was too fusty and she wouldn't go to all the work. I'll hang onto the recipe because every once in awhile you just want a good brunch or breakfast recipe. The banana bread can be made ahead of time, sliced and frozen. The french toast mixture can be made ahead and refrigerated. The syrup as well. (However, you'll want to bring it back to room temperature or reheat it as the coconut oil will firm up in the fridge.) The coconut whip is great made two or three days before you need it as it thickens and gets even creamier as it ages.
This recipe was inspired, veganized and tweaked from one I found here. The French Toast recipe is one I use over and over tweaked slightly from here. 
 
French Toast Banana Bread

Banana Bread

4 Cups flour
1 Cup oatmeal
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 Cup coconut oil
1 1/2 Cups sugar
2 ripe bananas
1/2 Cup non dairy milk
2 TBSP ground flax seed
1 1/2 Cup applesauce
4 teaspoons vanilla
Combine non dairy milk and flax and let gel in a small bowl. Mix coconut oil, sugar, bananas and applesauce together. Add vanilla and stir. Add spices, salt, soda and baking powder and mix well. Stir in flax/milk mixture until all incorporated. Add flour and oatmeal until mixed.

Grease two loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 50 minutes or until knife comes out clean or almost clean.

When the bread cools cut into approximately 1/2 inch slices.

Prepare French Toast Mixture.

2 Cups non-dairy milk
1 TBSP maple syrup
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 Cup of flour

Mix well.

Dip the slices of banana bread into mixture. Cook on greased griddle or pan until golden on each side. Set in warm oven to keep until ready to serve.

Serve with:

Peanut Butter Syrup

1 Cup maple syrup
1/2 Cup peanut butter
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

Coconut Whipped Cream

1 Can full fat coconut milk (chilled for several days to separate cream from water. Scoop out thick white cream into a bowl. Discard or use water for smoothies, Thai recipes, etc.
Whip coconut cream until fluffy.
Add 1 TBSP maple syrup
1/4 Cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip all ingredients together until fluffy and whipped. Return to refrigerator until ready to serve. This will thicken as it chills so feel free to make it a day or two ahead.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Green Rice

Green Rice 

Back a long, tong time ago. Super long, like when I first got married, we visited my grandparents and I returned home with lots of recipes I copied from her file. 

Grandma's recipes are the real deal full of all sorts of dairy. And this is a dish I made often. 

It's a casserole that is full of cheese and eggs and flavor. I'm not going to lie. Sometimes I want this casserole real bad. 

We have three butternut squash waiting for inspiration. I was successful with a butternut mac and cheese and thought I'd take it another step. Spinach would be my first choice, but we had chard that needed to be eaten up. 

4-6 Cups cooked brown rice (I used 4 but I will use more next time.)
1 Cup cashews
1 Clove garlic
1 Small onion diced
2 teaspoons mustard
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2/3 Cup vegetable broth
2 Cups prepared butternut squash
1 teaspoon salt
4 TBSP nutritional yeast
2 Cups chopped chard (uncooked) 

Put cashews, broth, mustard, diced onion, lemon juice garlic in food processor and let sit while you prepare the rice. 

Grease a 9 x 13 pan and preheat oven to 350.

Whir cashew mixture. Add butternut squash and salt and whir. Combine rice, chard and sauce together until well mixed. Pour into 9 x 13 pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Caramel Supreme Fudge Silk Pie ~Vegan MoFo #25

I'm kind of sad. The MoFo is oofo (over) for the year. But I'm also pretty stoked. I conquered my list. It was a challenge for sure and except for a few mistakes and do-overs I'm pleased with what I got done. I'm also pretty dang excited to have a whole lot of recipes to have at my fingertips when I want to prepare something that omnivores and Vegans alike will love. I hope you found some you'd like to try as well. 

Caramel Supreme Fudge Silk Pie 
 (Makes 2 small or one large pie)

Oreo Crust:

24 Oreos
1 TBSP coconut oil

Process into food processor until fine and clumpy. Press into pie pan. Refrigerate.

Caramel Layer:

1/2 Cup maple syrup
1 Cup dates
1 Cup pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1 pinch of salt.

Place dates in food processor. Pour maple syrup over them and let sit for 10 minutes or so. Add vanilla and salt and whir until incorporated. Toss in pecans and whir again, and leave it a little textury  Dollop/dump this into the bottom of the pie shell and place into the fridge.


Cream Layer:

1 Mori Nu firm or extra firm silken tofu
1 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
2/3 Cup non-dairy cream cheese
1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
2 TBSP arrowroot

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until incorporated and creamy. Pour over the caramel layer and place in the refrigerator.


Fudge Silk Layer:

1 Pkge Mori-Nu Firm Tofu
2 TBSP arrowroot powder
2 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP non-dairy milk
2 TBSP agave
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 and 2/3 Cup melted chocolate chips.

Combine all in food processor until smooth and creamy. Pour/spoon over cream layer and refrigerate until firm (at least two hours overnight is the best texture).

Scraps and Snippets Black Forest Cherry Supreme Pie ~ Vegan MoFo #24

Black Forest Cherry Supreme (makes 2 small/tart pan, or one large pie)

Oreo Crust:

24 Oreos
1 TBSP coconut oil

Process into food processor until fine and clumpy. Press into pie pan. Refrigerate.


Cherry Cream Layer:

1 Mori Nu firm or extra firm silken tofu
1 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
2/3 Cup non-dairy cream cheese
1/2 TBSP lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla
3 TBSP arrowroot
2 TBSP cherry jam (you will need an additional 4 TBSP for pie(s)

Combine all ingredients in a food processor until incorporated and creamy. Pour over the fudge layer and place in the refrigerator.


Fudge Silk Layer:

1 Pkge Mori-Nu Firm Tofu
2 TBSP arrowroot powder
2 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP non-dairy milk
2 TBSP agave
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 and 2/3 Cup melted chocolate chips.

Combine all in food processor until smooth and creamy. Then refrigerate until firm (at least an hour).

Coconut Whip Cream ( I used chocolate coconut cream by adding 3 TBSP cocoa to it but I think I'd like the contrast of the plain version better.)

1 Can pre-chilled full fat coconut milk. This needs to be in your fridge for 48 hours at least to cause the milk to separate into layers. You will scoop the thick layer into a bowl and begin whipping. Save the liquid watery milk for another use like smoothies or Thai cooking.
3 TBSP powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Pipe whipped cream around the pie(s). Spoon cherry jam into center. Refrigerate at least two hours. Overnight is better.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Fresh Strawberry Fudge Truffle Pie ~ Vegan MoFo #23

Strawberry Truffle Pie

Oreo Crust:

13 Oreos
1/2 TBSP coconut oil

Process into food processor until fine and clumpy. Press into pie pan. Refrigerate.

 
Strawberry/Fudge Filling:


1 pound fresh strawberries diced. Place the majority of strawberries in pie shell. Keep several to place on top of pie.

1 Can white beans (or 1 3/4 cups home cooked)
3 TBSP cocoa
1/4 tsp almond extract
3 TBSP non-dairy milk
3 TBSP agave, maple syrup or Vegan strawberry jam
1 1/2 Cup dates

Place dates in food processor and cover with milk and agave/jam/syrup and let sit for 10 minutes or so. Add extract, cocoa and drained white beans. Process until smooth. Pour fudge over strawberries in pie pan. Place additional strawberries over fudge. Refrigerate over night.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Quadruple Fudge Make You Cry Torte ~ Vegan MoFo #22

Quadruple Fudge Make You Cry Torte

This sucker is thick, dense and fudgy. The mouth feel is amazing and the rich factor is off the charts. Not too sweet but not bitter either. Perfect with a cup of coffee. The cake layers are dense and fudgy as well and you could use your favorite cake recipe if you'd prefer lighter and fluffier.

Cake:

2 dense/moist rounds

1 1/2 Cup applesauce (room temperature)
1/2 Cup non-dairy milk (room temperature)
2 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 Cup sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 Cup coconut oil (room temperature)
2 teaspoons vanilla
1/4 Cup cocoa
2 1/4 Cups flour

Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour two cake rounds. Pour 1/2 batter into each pan. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove, run knife around edge of pan, refrigerate until cool.

Brownie:

Makes 1 round cake pan

1/4 Cup and 2 TBSP cocoa
1/4 Cup applesauce (room temperature)
1 and 1/2 TBSP ground flax or ground chia seed
1/4 Cup and 1/2 TBSP water
1/4 Cup Coconut oil
1/8 Cup Earth Balance
1 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup flour

Mix flax or chia with water and set aside. If you don't love the subtle flavor of coconut oil you can flip flop the Earth Balance and coconut oil measurements. Cream these with the sugar and add applesauce, cocoa, vanilla and mix well. Add flax or chia mixture and incorporate then add flour. Pour into a greased and floured round cake pan.
Bake for 30 minutes. Remove, run knife around edge of pan, refrigerate until cool.

While cakes/brownies are baking make the Fudge Cream and frosting.

Fudge Cream:

1 Pkge Mori-Nu Firm Tofu
2 TBSP arrowroot powder
3 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP cold coffee
2 TBSP agave
1 tsp vanilla
1 and 2/3 Cup melted chocolate chips.

Combine all in food processor until smooth and creamy. Then refrigerate until firm (at least an hour).
You will likely not use all of this. Have a plan B, friends lined up to like the bowls, or a big spoon.



Coconut Whip Frosting:

1 Can full fat coconut milk that has chilled in fridge for at least 48 hours. Skim the thick, creamy, heavy layer into a mixing bowl. Save the watery liquid for smoothies or other recipes.
3 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP powdered sugar. Whip all together until incorporated and creamy. Pour into a Ziploc bag and refrigerate.
You will likely not use all of this. Have a plan B, friends lined up to like the bowls, or a big spoon.


Frosting:

1 and 1/2 Cup Vegan Shortening
1 and 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 Cup cocoa
2 Cups powdered sugar
1/2 Cup flour

Whip all ingredients together and put 1/2 of this into a pastry bag and chill until ready to put torte together.

You will likely not use all of this. Have a plan B, friends lined up to like the bowls, or a big spoon.


Putting it all together. Get the chilled items out of the refrigerator.

Carefully remove a cake layer from it's pan and place on a serving plate. The layers are thin.

Place a large dollop of Fudge Cream on layer (approx 1/4 of the batch). Smooth over top of layer.

Repeat exactly with the brownie. And again with the second cake layer, including a large dollop of Fudge Cream. You will frost right over it.

Frost the cake. Sloppy is good. Cover the sides as well as top with frosting until you are satisfied.

Then pipe swirls, stars, whatever over the entire surface. Follow with the Coconut Cream Whip.

Cover and refrigerate until ready to serve and any leftovers.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Lemon Raspberry Cheesecake Crepes ~ Vegan MoFo #21

Lemon-Raspberry Cream Crepes

I'll be honest. I think I stink at Crepe making. The best I was able to do was this. I think the plating with the splat of raspberry takes away the whole crepe fail thing. However. After the first crepe fail and the second go around with Isa's Vegan Brunch Crepe study session I did. I think the inspired by Isa's Crepe-tastic wisdom I was able to make a batter that works if you have the skills/tools to be a crepemaking diva. I lack both.

I think I will attempt to do this again. But I may just go ahead and make a crepe stack that I layer with delish cream and raspberry drizzle and cut into wedges. Then the holes and mishapen monstrosities I produced just won't matter. See. Once you saw the raspberry splat you didn't even notice the holey mess of crepes.

I do have to say that these were delicious!!!!! Really.

Lemon Crepes (Makes 10 medium)

3/4 Cup non-dairy milk
3 TBSP water
1/2 Cup lemon juice
1/4 Cup agave or maple syrup
3 TBSP garbanzo bean flour
3/4 Cup whole wheat pastry flour
3 teaspoons arrowroot powder
1/8 tsp salt
three drops (1/2 of an 1/8 tsp measure) almond extract

Hot greased pan. This stuff needs to be a very liquid pancake batter. Thin spatula. Patience. Pour a couple tablespoons into the pan, swirl and try to make an even circle. Watch and wait. The batter will bubble a bit and the edges will begin to cook and pull away. Carefully lift once the discs appear cooked through and flip. (Develop quick plating skills and/or stacking techniques if you fail.)


Raspberry Syrup

1 Cup fresh or frozen raspberries
1/4 Cup maple syrup

Blend well in processor or blender.

Coconut Whip Cream (If desired and to help mask imperfect crepes if needed. I didn't have chilled coconut on hand. )

1 Can pre-chilled full fat coconut milk. This needs to be in your fridge for 48 hours at least to cause the milk to separate into layers. You will scoop the thick layer into a bowl and begin whipping. Save the liquid watery milk for another use like smoothies or Thai cooking.
3 TBSP powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Whip until whipped cream consistency. Place in a ziploc and put in the fridge until you are ready to use it.

Cheesecake

3 TBSP Vegan white chocolate melted
1/3 Cup non-dairy cream cheese
1 1/2 Cup powdered sugar
1 Pkge Mori-Nu Firm silken tofu
1 TBSP arrowroot
2 TBSP coconut oil
1/2 tsp lemon juice
1/2 tsp almond extract

Process all ingredients and place in refrigerator at least two hours prior to being ready to put dessert together. Overnight is the best texture, but two hours will work.

Make crepes.

Fill each crepe with dollops of cheese cake cream. Drizzle raspberry syrup over and roll (or stack. 
 :  )  ). If using whip squirt cream over crepe and drizzle with more raspberry syrup.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Grinding Down to the End Update Vegan MoFo # 19

I was going to post a bonus recipe today. One I happened on while coming up with breakfast ideas. It makes for a tasty dessert. But. After working on "Make You Cry Triple Fudgy Torte" until my eyes got bleary last night I thought I'd give an update instead. 

Lazy? Lame? Hoping it will be worth the wait. All of these. 

This was the dessert menu I posted at the beginning. And here's what's left and the status.  I merged two redundant chocolate fudge concoctions. And I've added the Pumpkin Caramel Pecan Bundt Cake. 
 
Make You Cry Triple Fudgy Torte (Currently, the parts and pieces of this bad boy are in my fridge and chilling, waiting to be all put together.)

Caramel Pecan Fudge Truffle Pie (This is a sad story. I made this over the weekend but forgot one of the layers. So we ate it in it's unfinished glory and didn't take pictures. I'll need to make it again. Hang in there. The missing layer will take it over the top. )

Black Forest Cherry Supreme Pie (Haven't even begun. It's in my head and should be delish. But, my head is not always the best place to hang out.)

Lemon Raspberry Cream Cheesecake Crepes (Another weekend fail. Oh my. The creamy goodness and raspberry syrup, coconut whipped cream combo, oh so good, but the crepes were a major fail. Sad. So. Going to work on it. )

Strawberry Pie (Fresh Strawberry Fudge Pie. Gotta work on the crust. Hang in there.) 

So there you go. Six more recipes coming at you. And while I've been desserting all month I have managed to throw together a couple tasty dinner ideas, too. Those will be appearing in November. 

Scraps and Snippets ~ Margaritaville Mojito Mousse ~ Vegan MoFo #18

I set out to create the equivalent to Applebee's Shooters. 

My final Shooter knock-off....my Vegan version of the Key Lime Shooter. 

I've tweaked it a bit to make it more interesting and hopefully flavorful. 

Introducing the Margaritaville Mojito Mousse Dessert. 

Forgive the pictures. In the flurry of activity I'm afraid this one didn't get adequate pictorial coverage. Picture a layered dessert that looks pale and delicious in rows in a glass loaf pan, trifle bowl or individual glass cups. This will also work as a pie.

Pretzel Crust:

1 1/2 Cups crushed pretzels (about three cups of intact pretzels)
1 and 1/2 TBSP powdered sugar
2 TBSP coconut oil 

Blend all together until it sticks together slightly when pressed.

Place half of the crumbs in the serving dishes/pans you will be using. Reserve half for the next layer. 

Lime Cream :

1 silken firm or extra firm tofu (Mori Nu)
2 TBSP arrowroot powder
3 TBSP lime juice
1 and 3/4 Cup powdered sugar

Combine fully in food processor. 

Layer one half the cream over the pretzel crust. Reserve half for the second layer.

Coconut Mint Cream:

1 Can Coconut Milk (this needs to be refrigerated for two days ahead of time and the thick layer needs to be skimmed off and placed in a mixer bowl. You can save the watery layer for smoothies or cooking etc)
Whip the cream
Add 3 TBSP powdered sugar
and 1 to 3 drops of mint flavoring. Start with one. You want the mint to be just a hint unless you really love mint. 

When it is the taste you want and whipped, place 1/2 of the coconut cream over the lime layer. 

Repeat all three layers. 

Refrigerate at least two hours, overnight is better and even a full 24 hours even better.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Gingerbread Pumpkin Pecan Pie ~ Vegan MoFo #17

This Gingerbread Pumpkin Pecan Pie inspired folks to eat pie for breakfast and even lick plates. Okay. The plate licking was the other pumpkin dessert but I'm pretty sure she licked this platter clean, too. I don't even like pumpkin pie and I must say it was pretty tasty.

You have to make this the day before or at least 6 hours in advance for it to be nice and set up. You also need to plan ahead and soak your cashews at least an hour.

You can grind up other Vegan ginger cookies, but I'm kind of a cheapo and try to do it myself where I can. So. This is what I did. I made my own, let em cool and processed them into crumbs and added a TBSP or two of coconut oil and pressed it in the pie pan.

Ginger Cookie Crust:

350 degrees, 10-12 minutes

1/3 Cup Coconut Oil
1/3 Cup sugar
2 TBSP molasses
1 Cup flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ginger

Mix. oil, sugar, molasses, ginger, cinnamon, salt and almond extract together. When well incorporated add flour. Divide dough into 12 -16 cookie sections, Bake at 350 for 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven. Let cool. When cool place all the cookies in a food processor and whir. Add 1 TBSP coconut oil. Blend together. Press mixture between your finger and thumb. If it holds together it's ready and needs to be pressed into the pie pan. If too crumbly add 1 more TBSP of coconut oil and repeat. Once ready, refrigerate until needed. .

Pecan Pie Layer:

1/4 Cup maple syrup
20 Dates
1 Cup pecans
1 tsp vanilla
1 TBSP coconut oil
1 pinch of salt.

Whir this in a food processor until incorporated. Leave it a little textury  Dollop/dump this into the bottom of the pie shell and replace into the fridge to cool.


Pumpkin Layer:

1 Cup drained soaked cashews
1 12ish ounce package Mori nu silken tofu
3 TBSP coconut oil
10 dates (reg sized if you use Medjool use less)
1/2 Cup brown sugar
2 TBSP cornstarch
3 TBSP powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp salt
1 Cup pureed pumpkin (not pumpkin pie filling)
1/2 tsp ginger
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 tsp cinnamon (this is cinnamony but is balanced by the pecan layer. If you want to cut back on the cinnamon you can) (Vietnamese is so good)

Whir all this in a food processor. Feel free to use the same one with the pecan dregs still within. When it's incorporated and smooth pour it over the pecan layer and return to refrigerator.

Serve with Vegan ice cream or whipped cream. (Coconut whip is amazing...just sayin) This little sucker will be attending Thanksgiving dinner with me.

Scraps and Snippets ~ White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse ~ Vegan MoFo # 16

White Chocolate Raspberry Mousse

Makes a small trifle bowl, 8 x 11 pan, a loaf pan, or individual ramekins.


Raspberry Syrup:
 
2 pints raspberries
1/4 Cup maple syrup

Wash and keep 20 or so for garnish and place the rest in the food processor and add 1/4 cup maple syrup. Blend into a syrup and set aside.

White Chocolate Layer:

1 Mori Nu firm or extra firm silken tofu
1 3/4 Cup powdered sugar
2/3 Cup non-dairy cream cheese
1 TBSP lemon juice
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 Cup plus 1 TBSP Vegan white chocolate chips (reserve a tablespoon for drizzle)

Melt chips, place remaining ingredients into a food processor and blend well. Add melted chocolate and incorporate. Layer one half of white chocolate into serving dish/dishes. Set aside remaining.

Pour 1/2 the raspberry syrup over the white chocolate layer and refrigerate while you prep the whip cream.

Whipped Cream:

I can of coconut cream (full fat milk -- chilled for at least 48 hours).
2 TBSP powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

Place half of the coconut whip on the white chocolate and raspberry layers. Repeat layers. Top with the full raspberries and a drizzle of melted white chocolate.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Maple Pear Galette with Almond Biscotti Crumble ~ Vegan MoFo #15

Maple Pear Galette with Almond Biscotti Crumble 

(This dessert was nick-named "More" by an omnivore friend because that's what she wanted - more.)

First make the Biscotti (or find your favorite Vegan biscotti and crush them to save this step...however, these are tasty.)

Almond Biscotti

Preheat oven 350 makes 16-24 biscotti depending on size etc.

2  Cups flour
1 TBSP baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 Cup sugar
1/2 Cup applesauce
3 TBSP coconut oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract
1 Cup chopped, toasted almonds (chop and then place in 350 oven for approx 10 minutes)

Combine sugar, coconut oil, applesauce, vanilla and almond extract. Add salt, baking powder, mix well. Add flour and incorporate. Add the toasted almonds.

Line cookie sheet with parchment paper. Form two long loafs with the batter (like small bread loaf size). To make it easier (Oh She Glows, thanks for the tip) to cut your biscotti after baking, score the loaves. Cut through the dough every half inch or so.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes. Turn oven down to 300 and cool your biscotti dough for 15 minutes. Slice along the hash marks you cut into the dough and lay the biscotti on their sides. Bake at 300 for 12 minutes. Remove and turn the biscotti. Bake another 12 then shut oven off but leave the cookies in the oven until they cool. Enjoy the batch but save 5-6 smaller biscotti to crush and mix with your remaining crust to top your galette.


Crust:  (This is not a roll out crust, it's a press in the pan one, you can sub out a favorite crust recipe if you'd like).

3/4 cup coconut oil
3 c flour (plus 1 TBSP)
4 Tablespoons coconut milk
1 tsp salt
4 Tablespoons sugar

Mix all dry ingredients, working coconut oil into dry until mixture is uniform. Add liquid then mix with a fork just until it comes together.

Press crust dough into pie pan. (reserve some crust for crumbles on top, 3/4 cup or so.) And sprinkle a TBSP of flour into bottom of crust. Or make 10-12 individual ramekins (depending on their size). 

 Filling:

(Individually/ramekins you will use approximately a heaping half cup of diced pears and 1/3 cup of caramel).

Peel and slice approximately 5-6 pears to get 3-4  cups of fruit (depending on how big your pie plate is and how heapy you like your pies). Place in a bowl and sprinkle just a bit of sugar over them. (I did make another one of these using apples. I don't know if pears are a drier fruit or I had extra juicy apples but my pie turned out a little wet when I used apples. So if you want to make that substitution try really draining the bowl of fruit before adding to the caramel or adding another TBSP of flour over the fruit and under the topping)

Maple Caramel Sauce:

1 Cup brown sugar
1 Cup maple syrup
3/4 Cup coconut oil
1/2 Cup non-dairy milk
2  teaspoons vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

In a saucepan melt coconut oil then add brown sugar and maple syrup. Combine and cook until mixture melts and begins to bubble. Add milk, stirring constantly bring to a low rolling boil. Boil I minute. Remove from heat and add the cinnamon, vanilla and salt. Stir well.

Add the pears to the crust and pour caramel over them. Crumble remaining crust dough mixed with 5 of the biscotti crushed into chunks over the top. Bake in a pre-heated oven at 350 for 45-55 mins. If you are using ramekins 25 minutes or so should do it.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Extreme Fudge Truffle Pie/Mounds Candy Bar Pie ~ Vegan MoFo #14

Extreme Fudge Truffle Pie or Mounds Candy Bar Pie 
(will make two tart pan sized pies or one large) 

This is a simple pie that changes personality completely depending on the crust you choose. I'd lean a bit to the Oreo crust because as much as I like coconut the texture still can overwhelm me. However. A chef who happens to love a good Mounds bar told me to not change a thing. So pick your poison. It goes down nice and smooth and regardless of which crust you choose you will end up with a mouthful of delicious fudgy deliciousness.

The coconut crust is definitely a strong flavor addition to the fudge and makes for a delicious fudgy coconut Mounds experience.

Oreo crust for the pure chocolate lovers is going to get closet to the European Truffle Pie I was hoping to recreate in my kitchen.

Simple Oreo Crust:

24 oreos (or other Vegan chocolate sandwich cookies) (if you use Jo-Jo's skip the coconut oil)
1 TBSP coconut oil
Toss cookies in food processor, with filling intact, powder. Add the coconut oil. Press into a large pie pan or two tart pans. Place in refrigerator.

Mounds Candy Bar Crust:

2 Cups coconut
1 TBSP cocoa powder
16 ounces of pitted dates (less a few reserved because you don't want this to be over sticky, add them if needed)
You want to be able to form the crust into a ball and stick together but not to you.
Press the mixture into the pie or tart pans and place in fridge.

Fudge Filling:

1 and 2/3 cups of melted chocolate chips (use double boiler I bring water to boil in lower pot first, turn off and then pour the chips in the top, dry pan to sit over the hot water. Stirring as needed)
1 Pkge Mori-Nu silken tofu (firm)
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 TBSP agave nectar

In food processor blend tofu, cocoa powder, agave and salt together until fully incorporated. Add melted chocolate.

Scoop this into the pie shells and place back into the fridge.

Ganache:

1 1/3 Cup chocolate chips
1 Cup non-dairy milk (for fun, I used chocolate)

Heat milk over low. Add chocolate when milk is warm. Remove from heat and stir until all the chocolate melts.

Pour a layer of ganache over filling and return to refrigerator.

Chocolate Coconut Cream:

1 Can full fat coconut milk (gotta plan ahead and have this in the fridge for a few days...the longer the better) (I've got at least two in mine all the time now. Trader Joe's sells one that is terrific :  ) Get the full fat not light.)
2 TBSP agave nectar
2 TBSP cocoa

Scrape the thick, creamy coconut into your mixer. (Not the water, I freeze the water for Thai dishes or smoothies etc.) Begin whipping it. Add the agave and cocoa and whip until creamy and incorporated and looking a lot like whipped cream.

Place thick dollops of the chocolate coconut cream over the ganache layer. Then drizzle remaining ganache over the pies.

Refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer it sets up the fudgier and creamier it gets. Refrigerate until a few minutes before you are ready to serve.

Scraps and Snippets - Tropical Supreme Pie - Vegan MoFo #13

Tropical Supreme Pie

 

Pretzel Crust:

3 Cups pretzels
3 TBSP powdered sugar
4 TBSP coconut oil

In food processor, grind pretzels into crumbs. Add sugar, whir. Add coconut oil and combine. Press crust into a large pie pan and refrigerate.

Filling:

1 Banana
2 TBSP coconut oil
8 dates (small to medium)
1/3 Cup non-dairy cream cheese
1 Cup strawberries

Blend or process all ingredients until completely blended. Pour into crust and refrigerate. This is fairly soft and silky. If I wanted to stiffen it up a bit I'd add another TBSP coconut oil, 2 more dates and use 1/2 cup non-dairy cream cheese. I don't think that will mess with the flavor.

Topping:

1 can of full fat coconut milk (pre-chilled)
1/2 Cup crushed and drained/pressed dry canned pineapple
1 TBSP maple syrup


Whipped Cream:  

(Plan ahead on this. One can of full fat coconut milk which needs to be placed in the refrigerator and left for at least 48 hours. I've always got one can in mine, if not two.) When the can is chilled, you open it, and skim off the thick layer of coconut cream (this is not coconut oil, it's about the texture of sour cream or whipped butter and there is a wetter milky layer underneath that you don't want. You want just the thick solid stuff. You can keep the milky stuff for smoothies etc. put in a freezer bag and toss it into the freezer if you don't want to use it right away.) Now, use a mixer, or whisk to whip the coconut cream into a whipped cream texture. Add the pineapple and maple syrup and mix well. Dollop or spread over strawberry layer.

Garnish: Toasted coconut. Spread 1/2 cup coconut out in a pan. Place in a 350 oven for 6 minutes, check and stir, if not golden, place back in the oven for an additional 2-5 minutes.

Additional pineapple and strawberry slices.

Return to the refrigerator and let the pie set up at least for an hour before serving. Overnight is better.

Scraps and Snippets ~ Mocha Tiramusu ~ Vegan MoFo #12

Mocha Tiramisu 

This is my second attempt at tiramisu. The first was a fail. I tried to make ladyfingers and they were doughy and just weren't cutting it. So I tried to come up with something else that might get the whole deliciousness of tiramisu across without trying to remake the classic recipe and find that it failed again. This crust is amazing. Like smash-it-into-balls-and-eat-them-for-the-heck-of-it-good. The texture of the dessert is pudding creamy. I wanted to give lucuma a shot because it's got a caramelly underlying taste. But I don't think it's needed so feel free to sub equal amounts of powdered sugar for the lucuma.  Also, if you want a firmer texture more like traditional tiramisu try adding two more tablespoons of "cream cheese" to the mixture.

Crust:

1 Cup almonds (or hazelnuts)
approx 20 normal sized dates (add more if you need to make the crust stickier)
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground coffee (or 6 or so beans)

Process this until it sticks together but is not gummy. If too crumbly add 2-3  dates and try again. If too sticky add a few more nuts. Press into individual ramekins, 8 x 11 or a 9x13 pan.

Ganache:

1 Cup chocolate chips
7 TBSP brewed coffee
1/3 Cup non-dairy milk of choice

Heat liquid, add chocolate and stir until melted.

Pour a thin layer of ganache over crust. You should have quite a bit left. You will need it. Set it aside and put the pan/pans in the refrigerator while you make the filling.

Filling:

2 TBSP non-dairy cream cheese
1 and 1/2 packages silken tofu
1 and 1/2 Cups powdered sugar
5 TBSP brewed coffee
3 TBSP cocoa powder
3 TBSP of lucuma powder (or additional powdered sugar)
1/2 Cup of the ganache

Blend thoroughly. Spoon this layer into the pan/pans. Drizzle remaining ganache over dessert. Refrigerate at least one hour before serving, overnight is ideal. The longer it sets the better the texture is.