Baking Up a Storm!

Last night my co-ed fraternity had a potluck to wrap up the year, and as always, I volunteered to make dessert. At most potlucks, because there is nothing else for me to eat, I have delicious, sweet treats as a dinner. I don't do it on purpose, I swear. Okay, maybe I do.
This year my brothers actually did an excellent job bringing some vegan-friendly food (I've trained them so well!). There were strawberry salads and fresh potato wedges galore, but I couldn't end the night without some cupcakes and pie!

 

I take my new-found love for carrot-cake as a sign that I'm getting older. As a kid the thought of carrots and cake together seemed absolutely disgusting despite it being served on grandma's birthday every year (yeah, maybe that doesn't help the "only old people like carrot cake" argument"). I'll be sure to give this to my kids straight out of the womb to train them early. The cakes themselves are the perfect sweetness, and the vegan cream cheese frosting is the perfect complement. This recipe comes straight from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over World (I know, I know, buy it already). 

 

This cheesecake was a definite improvement from my first attempt in terms of firmness. The cookie crust was a nice touch, but a bit of warning, this is very rich and filling! I got this recipe from bittersweet and I'd definitely recommend it. 

You're pretty much set for any summer gathering, so get baking! 

Meal Round-Up

Yeeehaw! Here's some random meals I've had lately.

Today I'm in bakerella mode, so just wait, this stuff is golden. You'll be drooling all over your keyboard and may have to replace it. Just sayin'.

 

Fried asparagus! So easy, just use the same method as my jalapeno poppers (without the cream cheese, unless you want to. Hey! That sounds good...). I made a dipping sauce from soy sauce and spicy mustard, and it was a nice complement. I had a basic salad to go with it so my heart didn't stop from all the fried goodness. That's a valid medical fear.

 

Lately I've been on a potato kick. By lately, I mean my entire life. Why are potatoes so gooood? My favorite is to bake them, using howtobakeapotato.com. They seriously always come out perfect when using that method, unless of course I get too impatient. 1.5 hours seems like a lifetime but it's so worth it for that perfect potato. I put a little vegan sour cream, some Daiya pepperjack shreds, and a touch of Lowry's seasoning salt on top. Again, to try and bring the healthy scale back to earth, I ate this with some steamed spinach and mushrooms. This meal is perfect for one of those cold, summer nights. Wait a minute... Is California the only state with seriously weirdo weather right now?

Well, I need to get back to cupcakin' (oh man, ruined one of my baking surprises) and studying (Environmental Control Systems final today at 1pm). 

Enjoy the day!

Kate

German Chocolate Pancakes

 

Paaaancakes. Pre-Vegan Kate didn't like pancakes so much, but since making the plunge I've had an odd craving for them. We always want what we can't have, don't we? Well, too bad that's not a problem anymore! I was feeling ambitious last week and decided to pull out the cookbook (thanks AGAIN, Isa Chandra!) to make some coconut pancakes. I had some fresh coconut to use up before I move out at the end of this week and this seemed like the perfect application. 

However, after taking one bite, I decided to make a little revision. Who says the dish is done once the first bite is taken?!

 And so I give you... 

I suggest picking up a copy of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook right away and making these delightful cakies with a little added powdered sugar and chocolate chips. This blog will be coming to an end soon and then what will you devoted readers eat without my help?! Just joking, I'm sure you're all very capable cooks. ;)

Cheers!

Kate

Asparagus and Mushroom Frittata

Last week I found myself in the predicament of a group brunch with nothing to eat! Temptation can be hard when surrounded with bacon, buttery scones, and scrambled eggs. The solution? Make something so good, there's no need to stray. I only had eyes for this frittata, let me tell you. Also, this stores well if made in a pie tin, so you can make it the day before and heat it up when you want. Fabulous.

This is a slightly adjusted recipe from Isa Chandra's Vegan with a Vengeance cookbook (Asparagus and Sun-dried Tomato Frittata).

 

Ingredients

1 pound extra firm tofu (no need to press, just squeeze over the sink)

1 tablespoon soy sauce

1 teaspoon Dijon mustard

1/4 cup nutritional yeast flakes

2 teaspoons olive oil

1/2 cup onion, diced

Stalks of asparagus (I used about 5, Isa Chandra suggests 3), discard tough ends and cut into bite-sized pieces

1/4 cup sun-dried tomatoes packed in oil, finely chopped

Mushrooms as desired (I used about 12 mushrooms, cut into thirds. Isa Chandra's recipe does not include mushrooms)

2 cloves garlic, minced

1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric

Juice of 1/2 lemon

1/4 cup basil leaves (I used dried, Isa Chandra suggests fresh, cut up)

Preheat the oven to 400 F. Squeeze the tofu through your fingers into a bowl until it resembles ricotta cheese, and then mix in the mustard, soy sauce, and nutritional yeast. Set aside.

In a pan or skillet, saute the onions in olive oil until slightly browned, and then add the tomatoes and mushrooms. After about three minutes, add the asparagus, garlic, and turmeric, saute for another minute. Add the lemon juice and let the mixture simmer until the asparagus looks done and tender. Turn off the heat.

 

Once slightly cooled, mix the skillet mixture into the bowl with the tofu. Fold in basil.

Transfer the mixture into a pie tin and place in the oven for 20 minutes. Switch to the broiler, and let the top brown about 2 minutes. Careful not to let it burn!

Let it cool about 10 minutes, and then it's ready to eat, or store for later. 

Never fear brunch again!

Kate

I'm baaaack! With moody soup!

This blogger has been quite the busy lady the past couple of weeks, but I'm returning with lots of food-spirations, just for you. It's almost dead week around here, which means deadlines are rapidly approaching, but my favorite procrastination techniques always involve food, so I have many a recipe to share with you over the next couple of days. I have photos loaded from as far back as three weeks ago. Oops.

I meant to have this soup post weeks and weeks ago, but completely forgot about it until I stumbled upon my photos. Which I have to admit, I think these are my best moody-food pictures.
Kate, amateur food photographer, specializing in moody soup.
I think it has a little ring!

I managed to have two different bowls of homemade soup in one week, so I thought they were worth sharing. The first one was a sweet potato soup I improvised with my dear friend Kelsey (who loves when I cook for her! A fan! Hooray!). The second is a cauliflower basil soup. While I can't remember or find recipes for these soups, I promise that soups are very easy if you have a blender and some hearty vegetables! I usually start by roasting up whatever vegetable I want as the main ingredient with some oil and seasonings. Put the veggies in a blender with some veggie or mushroom stock and blend! Be creative, and then take your own thought-provoking soup pictures.

 

 

My friends and I have many inside jokes including soup. We're weird. 

But everyone loves soup. 

SOUP,

Kate

Breakfast for Dinner: Johnnycakes

 

Unfortunately, I was informed by tales of me and the husband (check her out, she's hilarious) that blogger crashed yesterday. Which would explain why my post on johnnycakes suddenly was no more! 

Honestly, I'm crazy busy at the moment and don't have time to completely redo the post, but I will tell you Isa Chandra's amazing johnnycakes can be found here, with the only adjustment I made being to use vanilla almond milk instead of regular. On the side, I just fried up some potatoes and some veggie protein sausage and voila, a breakfast for dinner that makes a girl feel a little baaad, in a good way of course. Breaking the laws of breakfast is what I do best.

Until next time,

Kate

CUT THE TOFU, TURN THE PLATE

My best friend Amy sent me this video and I could not stop laughing. It's a little hard to sit through the heavy metal, at least for me, but the instructions are just hilarious and his utensils are beyond awesome.

Proof that the vegan lifestyle is way hardcore.

XX,
Kate