The petals aren't my favorite, but it's my first! and I love it!
12.19.2009
CREAM CHEESE COOKIES!!!
Alas.
Now, one of my favorite people in the entire world, Kristen, is gluten intolerant so I made mine gluten free. They are really yummy, but definitely not the cream cheese cookies I grew up on. I'm pretty sure most yellow cake mixes are vegan. Besides not having vegan sugar, I didn't see any animal products in the Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. It just depends how "healthy" you want these to be. If you don't mind partially hydrogenated oils for special occasions, go for it. I get my yellow cake mix at whole foods.
Because I used a gluten-free vanilla cake mix, my cookies didn't come out yellow. But yours will. Not only will these be THE favorite at your holiday parties, they will probably be the easiest cookie to make. This will most likely be the only time I'll do this, but these are so good, that I'm going to put the non-vegan option here as well (in red). Ok enough talking!!!
Ingredients
1⁄4 Cup margarine, room temp
1 1⁄2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer (1 egg yolk)
8 oz cream cheese, room temp (tofutti is the best)
1 box yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)
1⁄4 tsp vanilla
1⁄2 Tbsp almond milk (no milk if using the egg yolk)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and cream cheese. Blend in egg replacer and milk (or just the egg yolk) and vanilla. Add cake mix, 1⁄3 at a time. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Or overnight. This will make them soft and gooey.
2. Spoon onto a greased baking sheet. They don't have to be as far apart as mine, they don't spread too much.
(couldn't decide which picture I like better)
3. Bake for 6-8 minutes. They will look uncooked, but when you take them out of the oven, they will still cook on the cookie sheet for another minute or two. Don't over-cook (like I did with my first batch..oops!)!! Let cool on the baking sheet. Good luck keeping them around for too long.
Enjoy!!
Now, one of my favorite people in the entire world, Kristen, is gluten intolerant so I made mine gluten free. They are really yummy, but definitely not the cream cheese cookies I grew up on. I'm pretty sure most yellow cake mixes are vegan. Besides not having vegan sugar, I didn't see any animal products in the Duncan Hines yellow cake mix. It just depends how "healthy" you want these to be. If you don't mind partially hydrogenated oils for special occasions, go for it. I get my yellow cake mix at whole foods.
Because I used a gluten-free vanilla cake mix, my cookies didn't come out yellow. But yours will. Not only will these be THE favorite at your holiday parties, they will probably be the easiest cookie to make. This will most likely be the only time I'll do this, but these are so good, that I'm going to put the non-vegan option here as well (in red). Ok enough talking!!!
Ingredients
1⁄4 Cup margarine, room temp
1 1⁄2 tsp Ener-G egg replacer (1 egg yolk)
8 oz cream cheese, room temp (tofutti is the best)
1 box yellow cake mix (18.25 oz)
1⁄4 tsp vanilla
1⁄2 Tbsp almond milk (no milk if using the egg yolk)
Directions
1. Preheat oven to 375°F. Cream butter and cream cheese. Blend in egg replacer and milk (or just the egg yolk) and vanilla. Add cake mix, 1⁄3 at a time. Chill for at least 30 minutes. Or overnight. This will make them soft and gooey.
2. Spoon onto a greased baking sheet. They don't have to be as far apart as mine, they don't spread too much.
(couldn't decide which picture I like better)3. Bake for 6-8 minutes. They will look uncooked, but when you take them out of the oven, they will still cook on the cookie sheet for another minute or two. Don't over-cook (like I did with my first batch..oops!)!! Let cool on the baking sheet. Good luck keeping them around for too long.
Enjoy!!
Chipotle Pizza with Portobellos, Spinach and Smoked Apple "Sausage" ...yeah
"You want some pizza?"
I know. And it's even yummier than it sounds if that's possible. It requires some love, but I think just the name is motivation enough. This was inspired by my twin sister, Kate, who enjoys dipping her crust in Ranch. Brilliant, Kate, brillant.12.17.2009
Puppy Mills
Two years ago, I founded a rescue for puppy mill dogs. I took a few trips to the Midwest, and attended auctions where commercial breeders (puppy millers) buy and sell dogs and puppies to be breeding dogs. How did I end up getting involved in that? Three years ago I wanted a dog. I researched breeds and decided I wanted a Havanese. I searched petfinder for months to try to rescue a Havanese, but didn't have any luck. All of the rescues I found were in the Midwest. So one day I checked the LA times just to see what I would find. Sure enough, I found an add for Havanese puppies. I knew they weren't rescues, but I really really wanted a Havanese. So I went to visit this woman to see the pups. I pull up to a shopping center to what looked like a doggy day care. There was a little fence at the open front door to keep the puppies inside, and the entire store was just an open floor with a couple of benches. The woman greeted me, and had me wait on a bench while she went next door to get the puppy. It was really weird, but I was blinded by love. I had been looking at cute little puppies for months, and as soon as she brought this guy out, I knew he was the one - I even hated little white dogs and I LOVED this little man (If only I knew what a little sh*t he'd turn out to be....no, I love him. I do.). I asked her all about puppy mills and she ASSURED me he wasn't from one. She then went on to agree with me about how horrible puppy mills are. She said she knew the breeder personally, and the only reason she has to call her place a pet shop is because of some legal jargon I didn't understand. She was the best bullshitter I've ever met. Well, the dog was a TON of money, and Michael and I had none, so I knew it was out of the question. I came home, crushed and crying and told Michael all about the puppy. Long story short, I come home from work the next day, and Michael comes home about 10 minutes after me with Oscar, the cute, expensive, white puppy from the "non-pet store." It was magical. I had a my first dog. The paper work that came along with him was suspicious, and we came to find out that he IS from a puppy mill. And a year later, when I was much more knowledgeable, I found out he's from the biggest puppy mill broker in the country...go figure. So I did some research on puppy mills, and decided I needed to help out in some way. When I offered to help a Havanese puppy mill rescue in the Midwest, they said there was really nothing for me to do. So I started my own. I like to make my life as difficult as possible.
So, over email, I met this girl who also rescued from auctions, and I arranged to meet her at one in Oklahoma. It was one of the most traumatizing experiences of my life. Michael and I drove from California to Oklahoma straight through without stopping. We're exhausted when we got there. We started Friday morning and got there Saturday morning. We pull up to the building where it's held, and the first thing you hear is hysterical barking. Then next thing you experience is the smell. I can't describe it, and I'll never forget it. ok I'll try to describe it....It's the smell of urine and feces-infested dog fur and throw up and wet dog and fear all rolled in to one overwhelming package. We go to sign in, and everyone is super duper friendly and happy. It's a really fun day for them. They're a little suspicious as to what such a young couple with full mouths of teeth (sorry that was mean) is doing purchasing dogs at an auction. But I tell them I'm just getting started and I hear this auction is the best - and they believe me - all they see is dollar signs. We get our number, meet up with my friend, Brooke, who is equally as relaxed as everyone else - she's been to a lot of these, and I can hardly speak I'm beside myself with sadness and fear that we'll be found out. Oh by the way, you don't want to give away that you're a rescue or they'll kick you out and lord knows what else.
We're allowed to go to the back room where the dogs are being kept to take a look at which ones we're interested in. The cages are filthy. It's freezing cold. The puppies can't even sit - they're so crammed in, and the chain tags around their necks are so tight. Some of the really young puppies are happy to see me, and some (mostly the older ones) seem so terrified and confused. It's difficult not to cry. I get to the Havanese cages, and put my hand in to pretend I'm looking at their numbers like I saw a couple of men doing when really I'm sneaking some belly rubs. I couldn't resist.
The auction begins, and the first 8 or so dogs are brought out from the back room onto the table in front of the auctioneer by a bunch of kids - ages 8ish-16ish. These kids could care less about the "annoying" squirmy dogs they're trying to keep still. It's a weird atmosphere. 70% of the couple hundred people in the audience are regulars and all know each other. Some older women have a little dog on their lap - their pets. Some go up to the table and pick the terrified pups up and turn them over to check their goods. There are a few Amish men standing in a corner with a clip board and a stack of papers. All they care about is if these dogs will make a lot of babies. Here's a little bit of a catalog from an auction last week:
S D Kennels Dispersal Sale
Decemeber 12th 2009
Shih Tzu
NO# Sex NAME REGISTRATION # D.O.B. SELLER # MICROCHIP #
189 FE Snowflake Dixon G06-AZ-AC-36419T 9/6/03 #6 Potts 075*852*853
Comments: APRI, ACA Reg. Color: Gold, White - New to the sellers kennel. She is a sweet dog but the seller has not bred her yet.
Males
192 MA Etta's Acres Tucker MO-ABA-0638916-001 9/10/04 #1 Swearingen
Comments: ACA Reg. Color: Gold & White, Black Markings - He is a proven aggressive breeder.
194 MA H&P Alexander The Great 1130167-3 9/2/07 #6 Potts
Comments: CKC Reg. Color: Gold, White - Missing a tail. He has not been used yet and was raised from a pup.
Shih Tzu
182 FE Maggie Dou Wan TR40334405 5/21/05 #6 Potts 074*783*815
Comments: AKC, APRI Reg. Color: Black, White - LLW 11/14/08 - 5 pups, excellent mother, will adopt, nervous around strangers.
183 FE Shes A Doozy TR36501402 4/1/05 #6 Potts
Comments: AKC Reg. Color: Blue, White - LLW 12/12/08 - 8 pups, excellent mother and will adopt. Throws silvers.
184 FE Hawkins Polly Of Hollister OK-ABA-0501269-006 11/14/04 #6 Potts
Comments: ACA Reg. Color: White, With Gold Tips - LLW 8/14/09 - 4 pups. Excellent mother and will adopt. **"will adopt" means a mother will take on other puppies who's mother is too nervous, young, high strung or sick to raise her own puppies.
186 FE Cutie PY Ming Shu TR24335003 4/18/04 #6 Potts 075*808*787
Comments: AKC, APRI Reg. Color: Black, White - LLW 6/27/09 - 6 pups, a good mother. She is a afraid of strangers. Need to talk gentle to her.
Comments: APRI Reg. Color: Black & White -She is a good mom, only reason for selling she likes to climb.
Yorkshire Terrier
136 FE Sha-Shai TN99698003 2/8/00 #1 Henson 131212191A
Comments:AKC Reg. Color:Black & Tan-She has had a broken leg, but doesn't have any problems with it now, she will jump out of cage when door is open, very sweet, dam of Chewy in the sale.
A few hours into it, I start to notice this whole other world happening. Brooke keeps coming and going, and there are a couple other women who are frequently coming and going. We come to find out that there is this whole rescue operation happening, and that there are about 3 other organizations there. After the auction, we only managed to get 2 Havanese puppies (and paid way too much for them). Btw my rescue started out as a Havanese rescue.
At the end of the auction, we go to the back room, and there are a few men who you give your receipt to, and they go get your dog. There were a couple of Amish men getting their dogs while we were getting ours. They must have purchased over 50 dogs, and they were just picking them up by the scruff, and shoving as many as they could into a few crates as possible. The dogs were yelping and growling, and screaming, and barking, and you could hear a few get into fights. It was so so stressful.
Then, Michael and I are handed these two little black and white puppies, and we both start crying. They were so precious and they both instantly found their way to our necks and conked out. We were taking them to our car when we see this entire truck full of dogs. We find out it's one of the rescues, Mill Dog Rescue, and it turns out they have a couple of trucks that are packed full, and there are 2 that they absolutely have no room for. They drive down from Colorado and go around to the actual puppy mills to rescue dogs. They have made a deal with a lot of the commercial breeders to let the rescue know when they are going to kill a bunch of dogs and the rescue will come pick them up. The rescue also gets the dogs at the end of the auctions who have not been sold and are going to be taken to the back to be killed. Of course we find this out AFTER we've purchased the dogs. After that, I never spent more than $20 on a dog. I even bought a dog for $1 once. I have a hard time purchasing them because I feel like I'm just contributing to the industry. It's a weird balance that a lot of puppy mill rescues have a hard time with. It's seems easy and obvious to say to yourself, "don't buy them, you're just supporting the industry" when you're not face to face with a 9 year old maltese with one eye and hardly any fur left being auctioned off to try to squeeze a few more pups out of her. When you ARE faced with that horrific reality, however, that ideal gets harder to hold on to. It's a huge struggle for me with this type of rescue. We say goodbye to Brooke, and start the journey home with 4 very smelly dogs in the back of my little Yaris.
Since that day, I've been to Oklahoma 3 more times. I have to be picky with the dogs I rescue. I want to rescue the really needy ones (even though they're all needy) but they can't be too sick because I don't have the resources to nurse them back to health for a few months. Brooke, on the other hand, works at a shelter and has plenty of boarding, and resources to nurse sick dogs back to health. Therefore, she rescues the most needy dogs. There was an old female shih tzu she rescued - honestly, if this dog had been sleeping when I met her, I would have thought she was not only dead, but decaying - she looked a lot like the dog at the top of the post but she was gray and more bald. And she was at an auction to be sold to breed more puppies.
I haven't rescued in about a year now, but I'm committed to getting it back up and running this coming year. The reason I'm writing this post is that a lot of families get puppies for the holidays. When you buy a dog from a pet store, there is a 99.9% chance that this puppy is from a mill. The rest are from backyard breeders. Next time you go into a pet store, ask where the puppy is from. If it's somewhere in the Midwest or Ohio, it's from a puppy mill. If you ask the employees if the dogs come from puppy mills, they will always say no. Then ask if they are just told to say that. They will most likely say yes - if they don't, they're lying. There are THOUSANDS of dogs and cute little puppies in shelters and rescue groups that need a home. If you're stuck on a purebred like I was, there is a rescue group for every breed on the planet. Google it. There are also numerous rescue sites to help you find the perfect dog.
Petfinder.com
Petharbor.com
Those are two of my favorites. You can find a list of local shelters at Petharbor. If you still can't find the dog of your dreams, call me and I'll find it. It might take a little longer if you're looking for a puppy of a specific breed, but it is so so so very worth it.
Here are a couple videos of auctions. They give you a good idea of what I attended. Unfortunately, I've seen worse conditions. The second one is long, but it's worth it to watch the whole thing.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vEt1rkq0Gw4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kG7bXi0xylY
And here are some of the cutey petuties in shelters that need a home!
If you live in California, the pet store I went to is called Puppy Playhouse in La Crescenta. If you know anyone looking to purchase a dog, please direct them to this post. Thanks guys!
12.13.2009
Bologna (The town. Not the sausage.)
I recently found out, via facebook, that I actually have some followers! Thanks friends! I've been too busy to cook a lot - and if I do, I'm in a rush and don't have time to document and take pictures. But excuses excuses....with the holidays here, I'm committed to sharing some great holiday recipes! Starting tomorrow. haha.
But for now, here's a little blast from the past. This picture was taken in Bologna, Italy. It's my all time favorite picture in the whole world! I was studying in London, and took my "spring break" in Italy where Michael came to meet me for the week! We were a couple of days into our trip when we realized our funds were very very very very low. So, we did what a lot of other young travelers did and spent the night in the McDonalds next to the train station. ....had to hold my pee all night because the restroom was infested with flies....just because it's Italy, doesn't mean it's charming......... The McDonalds closed at 4 am, and our train wasn't until 5 am, so we spent the other hour with all of our luggage sitting on the side of the road where we witnessed a bike theft. So fun. We finally get to our hotel in Bologna and had to wait for them to get the room ready - it could've been 5 minutes, coulda been an hour for all we could tell - we were delirious. So I'm guessing this was taken around 6 or 7am. We slept in until 2 pm, and missed half of our one day we had planned in Bologna - which happened to be my favorite town. So this is our self portrait from that magical time in Bologna. I'm so glad we have this night documented. It's one I'll never ever forget!
But for now, here's a little blast from the past. This picture was taken in Bologna, Italy. It's my all time favorite picture in the whole world! I was studying in London, and took my "spring break" in Italy where Michael came to meet me for the week! We were a couple of days into our trip when we realized our funds were very very very very low. So, we did what a lot of other young travelers did and spent the night in the McDonalds next to the train station. ....had to hold my pee all night because the restroom was infested with flies....just because it's Italy, doesn't mean it's charming......... The McDonalds closed at 4 am, and our train wasn't until 5 am, so we spent the other hour with all of our luggage sitting on the side of the road where we witnessed a bike theft. So fun. We finally get to our hotel in Bologna and had to wait for them to get the room ready - it could've been 5 minutes, coulda been an hour for all we could tell - we were delirious. So I'm guessing this was taken around 6 or 7am. We slept in until 2 pm, and missed half of our one day we had planned in Bologna - which happened to be my favorite town. So this is our self portrait from that magical time in Bologna. I'm so glad we have this night documented. It's one I'll never ever forget!
11.20.2009
Apple pie in the sky!!!
This is the yummiest apple pie in the world! Pretty sure I say that about all my recipes :) The crust is not light and flaky. I don't really like my crust like that because to me, it always seems dry. This is thick and doughy! yum! I found the recipe in My Sweet Vegan by Hannah Kaminsky. GREAT book - highly recommended. Here we go!
Ingredients
Sweet Maple Crust
2 1⁄2 cups all purpose flour
1⁄2 cup Whole Wheat pastry flour
1⁄2 tsp salt
3⁄4 cup margarine, well chilled
1⁄4 cup Maple syrup
3-5 Tbsp plain soy creamer (I needed about 7 Tbsp, and I used vanilla rice milk - so start with 3 and go from there..)
Filling
7-9 apples (I used 7 Braeburn but next time I'll use at least one more)
1 tsp. lemon juice
1⁄2 cup granulated sugar
1⁄2 cup Dark Brown Sugar
1⁄4 cup corn starch
1⁄4 tsp. salt
1⁄4 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. (or more if you like) cinnamon
2 Tbsp margarine
Directions
1. Toss the flours, salt, and margarine into a medium bowl, and combine them with a fork or pastry cutter (or you could do it in a food processor). Continue blending until coarse crumbs develop and small pieces of margarine are left intact. Mix in the maple syrup, and add the soy creamer one Tbsp at a time, using just enough to bring the dough together into a cohesive ball. You will have to use your hands to make the cohesive ball - it won't happen with a pastry cutter or a fork. Divide the dough into two even pieces, smooth them into round disks, and wrap each tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate the dough for two hours.
Preheat your oven to 400°F.
2. Meanwhile, peel, core, and slice the apples to desired thickness. Put in a large bowl, and mix in the lemon juice. Add all of the remaining ingredients EXCEPT the margarine. Just the sugar, brown sugar, cornstarch, salt, nutmeg, cinnamon. Stir gently and coat the apples evenly with the dry ingredients. Set aside.
3. Remove the dough from the refrigerator and place dough ball on a lightly floured surface. If you don't have a rolling pin, use a full bottle of wine. If using wine bottle, cover the top of the dough with wax paper. Roll dough out to 1⁄4 inch thickness. Place in lightly greased pie dish. *For an easy transfer, fold the dough in half and then move it to the pie dish - but this dough was pretty sturdy.
4. Roll out the second ball of dough, just like the first, making sure it is big enough to spill over the sides of the pie dish.
5. Pour the apple mixture into the pie dish on top of the first crust. Cut the margarine into little pieces and scatter atop your filling.
6. Place the second flattened round of dough on top of the filling, and cut off the excess dough around the dish. Press the top and bottom crusts together with your fingers.
7. If you feel so inspired to cut out shapes for your pie, form the excess dough into a ball and roll out again. Use a cookie cutter to cut desired shapes! Get creative!
8. Bake for 10 minutes. Then lower the oven to 350°F without removing the pie. Bake for an additional 25-30 minutes until the crust turns golden brown. Let cool for 45 minutes before serving to allow the ingredients to set and get ooey gooey!
Enjoy!
11.13.2009
Pumpkin Yogurt Snack
Ingredients:
Vanilla yogurt (I used "So Delicious" coconut based yogurt from Whole Foods)
Walnuts
A banana
and...
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter! I added 2 tsp. Yum!
There is sugar in it, but not too much - so it's pretty healthy!
Add some veggies and hummus on the side to make it a complete lunch!
Vanilla yogurt (I used "So Delicious" coconut based yogurt from Whole Foods)
Walnuts
A banana
and...
Trader Joe's Pumpkin Butter! I added 2 tsp. Yum!
There is sugar in it, but not too much - so it's pretty healthy!
Add some veggies and hummus on the side to make it a complete lunch!
Italian-ish Quinoa with Tofu
Another creation of mine! Quinoa is an ancient grain that is high in protein and low in calories. It has tons of nutritional benefits and is super duper healthy. It cooks like rice (2 parts liquid to 1 part grain), and can replace rice in any recipe for a fun little change. Click here to learn all about it!
Quinoa is virtually flavorless, but almost to a fault. In order for it to absorb flavor, you have to sauté it with the other ingredients in the recipe before you cook it in the broth. *if you don't have vegetable broth, use water and a low sodium bouillon cube.
This shouldn't take more than 40 minutes - probably less than that. This recipe serves four.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic (if you're a garlic lover like me), minced
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp-ish dried thyme
1 tsp-ish dried oregano
1⁄2 cup white wine
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 block super firm tofu
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Add onion and cook until soft.
2. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add Quinoa, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for about 4 minutes on medium-high
4. Add wine and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
5. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes - read package directions.
6. In the meantime, drain and cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes. Heat olive oil in a pan, add tofu, a little salt, and pepper until tofu is browned on all sides.
7. When Quinoa is done, it should be fluffy with a teeny tiny crunch to it. Add the tofu, and cook on low, uncovered for about 3-5 minutes (just to get some flavor into the tofu). Mix in lemon juice and serve.
I served this with Sautéed Spinach:
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 tsp. butter
dash of lemon juice
salt, pepper to taste
1 bag of baby spinach
Cook garlic in oil. Add spinach and butter, salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice when cooked - don't over cook!
Your mouth and heart will thank you.
Gluten Free!
Quinoa is virtually flavorless, but almost to a fault. In order for it to absorb flavor, you have to sauté it with the other ingredients in the recipe before you cook it in the broth. *if you don't have vegetable broth, use water and a low sodium bouillon cube.
This shouldn't take more than 40 minutes - probably less than that. This recipe serves four.
Ingredients:
1 onion, chopped
6 cloves garlic (if you're a garlic lover like me), minced
1 Tbsp butter
1 tsp-ish dried thyme
1 tsp-ish dried oregano
1⁄2 cup white wine
1 cup Quinoa
2 cups vegetable broth
1 block super firm tofu
1 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
Directions:
1. Melt butter in a large sauce pan. Add onion and cook until soft.
2. Add garlic and cook 2 minutes more.
3. Add Quinoa, thyme, oregano, salt and pepper and cook for about 4 minutes on medium-high
4. Add wine and cook until all the liquid is absorbed.
5. Pour in broth and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce to a simmer and cook for about 15 minutes - read package directions.
6. In the meantime, drain and cut the tofu into bite-sized cubes. Heat olive oil in a pan, add tofu, a little salt, and pepper until tofu is browned on all sides.
7. When Quinoa is done, it should be fluffy with a teeny tiny crunch to it. Add the tofu, and cook on low, uncovered for about 3-5 minutes (just to get some flavor into the tofu). Mix in lemon juice and serve.
I served this with Sautéed Spinach:
3 cloves garlic
olive oil
1 tsp. butter
dash of lemon juice
salt, pepper to taste
1 bag of baby spinach
Cook garlic in oil. Add spinach and butter, salt and pepper. Squeeze lemon juice when cooked - don't over cook!
Your mouth and heart will thank you.
Gluten Free!
Best Pumpkin Muffins in the Whole World (seriously)
These are the most amazing baked good I've ever made. I found the base of this recipe on the post punk kitchen website, which has awesome vegan recipes. I modified this a lot to lower the fat, add some fiber, and omit the molasses. So I'm definitely calling this my own recipe. If you like molasses, add a tablespoon or two. We had these in the morning, so I wanted a lighter flavor. But I'm glad we omitted it because they are packed with plenty of flavor. You'll have no idea these are vegan.
Ingredients:
1 3⁄4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1⁄4 cups sugar (I use raw turbinado sugar)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1⁄4 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp. nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger
1⁄4 tsp. allspice
1⁄8 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 cup pureed pumpkin
2 Tbsp yogurt (I used vanilla coconut based yogurt - but use whatever)
3⁄4 cup almond milk (or soy or rice...)
1⁄2 cup applesauce
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin tins (I used a 6-jumbo muffin pan) with vegetable oil or spray oil.
1. Sift together dry ingredients (flour through flax).
2. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (pumpkin through vanilla).
3. Pour wet into dry and combine.
4. Fill tins 2⁄3 of the way and bake for 27-30 min. (mine were done, but still ooey gooey inside at 28 minutes). If you're using smaller muffin tins reduce the cooking time to 15-20 minutes.
5. Bake until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. My knife didn't come out completely clean, but I like my muffins a little gooey in the middle. So whichever you like!
6. Smother in butter and eat warm.
*Since there are only two of us, I usually cook 2-4 muffins at a time and save the rest of the batter in the refrigerator. That way we can bake them fresh the next day or a couple days later.
Ingredients:
1 3⁄4 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 1⁄4 cups sugar (I use raw turbinado sugar)
1 Tbsp baking powder
1⁄4 tsp salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1⁄2 tsp. nutmeg
1⁄2 tsp. ground ginger
1⁄4 tsp. allspice
1⁄8 tsp. ground cloves
1 Tbsp ground flax seed
1 cup pureed pumpkin
2 Tbsp yogurt (I used vanilla coconut based yogurt - but use whatever)
3⁄4 cup almond milk (or soy or rice...)
1⁄2 cup applesauce
1⁄4 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp. vanilla
Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F. Grease muffin tins (I used a 6-jumbo muffin pan) with vegetable oil or spray oil.
1. Sift together dry ingredients (flour through flax).
2. In a separate smaller bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients (pumpkin through vanilla).
3. Pour wet into dry and combine.
4. Fill tins 2⁄3 of the way and bake for 27-30 min. (mine were done, but still ooey gooey inside at 28 minutes). If you're using smaller muffin tins reduce the cooking time to 15-20 minutes.
5. Bake until a toothpick or knife comes out clean. My knife didn't come out completely clean, but I like my muffins a little gooey in the middle. So whichever you like!
6. Smother in butter and eat warm.
*Since there are only two of us, I usually cook 2-4 muffins at a time and save the rest of the batter in the refrigerator. That way we can bake them fresh the next day or a couple days later.
11.10.2009
Yummy treat alert
If you don't already know about Trader Joe's Cherry Chocolate Chip Soy Ice Cream, now you do and go get it! It's a staple in this house.
I just discovered another treat that I LOVE. Instant chocolate pudding from Trader Joe's - in the red box. Hint: it's pretty thin if you use the full 2 cups of milk. If you like it really thick start at 1 1⁄2 Cups and go from there. And it does set in 5 minutes - but I'd give it 10 :)
It seems pretty easy to make on your own, but the boxed stuff is so cheap, it might not be worth it.
I just discovered another treat that I LOVE. Instant chocolate pudding from Trader Joe's - in the red box. Hint: it's pretty thin if you use the full 2 cups of milk. If you like it really thick start at 1 1⁄2 Cups and go from there. And it does set in 5 minutes - but I'd give it 10 :)
It seems pretty easy to make on your own, but the boxed stuff is so cheap, it might not be worth it.
11.08.2009
French Toast with Blackberry Cream Cheese
This is an easy recipe adapted from Vegan with a Vengeance. The recipe seems like it wouldn't taste good at all, and I wouldn't recommend licking the batter off your fingers, but the finished product is DE-lish! Use whatever bread you want. Cinnamon-Raisin bread would be amazing.
The cream cheese is a lil somethin somethin I whip up for this recipe as well as crepes. It's soooo easy and you can have any flavor your heart desires!
Cream Cheese
1⁄2 cup Toffuti cream cheese (softened for easier mixing)
3 Tbsp Blackberry Jam*
1 Tbsp sugar
*use whatever jam you like, and add more if you want it to have a stronger berry flavor. Or less - whatever floats your boat. This part is pretty much to taste.
Just mix together it together with a spoon!
French Toast
makes about 10 pieces of toast
Ingredients:
1 cup milk (soy or almond or rice..etc..)
2 Tbsp corn starch
1⁄4 cup Garbanzo bean (aka Chickpea) flour - trust me on this!
3 healthy Tbsp sugar
vegetable or canola oil
Bread of choice
Directions:
Mix well in a shallow bowl.
Heat a healthy amount of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. The recipe in the book calls for them to be somewhat shallow fried - and they're definitely amazing that way. So I choose a happy medium and put more oil than if I were making pancakes, but not enough oil to fry them. Although I did shallow fry them once for Michael's birthday and they were ridiculous.
Dip both sides of the bread in the batter and cook until browned on both sides.
The cream cheese is a lil somethin somethin I whip up for this recipe as well as crepes. It's soooo easy and you can have any flavor your heart desires!
Cream Cheese
1⁄2 cup Toffuti cream cheese (softened for easier mixing)
3 Tbsp Blackberry Jam*
1 Tbsp sugar
*use whatever jam you like, and add more if you want it to have a stronger berry flavor. Or less - whatever floats your boat. This part is pretty much to taste.
Just mix together it together with a spoon!
makes about 10 pieces of toast
Ingredients:
1 cup milk (soy or almond or rice..etc..)
2 Tbsp corn starch
1⁄4 cup Garbanzo bean (aka Chickpea) flour - trust me on this!
3 healthy Tbsp sugar
vegetable or canola oil
Bread of choice
Directions:
Mix well in a shallow bowl.
Heat a healthy amount of oil in a pan over medium-high heat. The recipe in the book calls for them to be somewhat shallow fried - and they're definitely amazing that way. So I choose a happy medium and put more oil than if I were making pancakes, but not enough oil to fry them. Although I did shallow fry them once for Michael's birthday and they were ridiculous.
Dip both sides of the bread in the batter and cook until browned on both sides.
Top with the cream cheese and a little powdered sugar and enjoy! You probably won't even need syrup. To make the recipe sound fancier and make "Stuffed French Toast with Blackberry Cream Cheese," just make it a sandwich with 2 pieces of bread.
I got so excited to eat it that I forgot to take a picture - so here's a nice pic of my half eaten breakfast - I hope it still looks appetizing!
11.02.2009
love these people
Kristen (one of my most favorite people on this planet and beyond), and I were taking some headshots yesterday - and here are some fun pics we got at the end :)
The greatest picture of all time ^
The greatest picture of all time ^
Caramel Apples
This requires a little love - but how often do we treat ourselves to vegan caramel apples?!
Recipe courtesy of suite101.com
*If you can find vegan condensed milk, let me know where. If not, see recipe below.
Ingredients:
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
1 cup ightly packed brown sugar
1⁄3 cup corn syrup
1 cup vegan sweetened condensed milk (we couldn't find it in the store so we made it. See recipe below
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt margarine
2. Stir in sugar and corn syrup.
3. Bring to the boil and stir in condensed milk, if using.
4. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until boiled.
5. Turn to low heat until thickened.
This makes double the amount of condensed milk you need, but we didn't play around with halving it and sometimes when you halve recipes, they don't always work out. But feel free to give it a try. Or just double the caramel sauce recipe.
2 cups soy milk
1 3⁄4 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch
1. Measure the corn starch into a small glass or measuring cup.
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp of the soy milk and whisk with a small whisk or fork until smooth.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining soy milk and brown sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch-soy milk mixture.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thick.
Assembly:
We dipped them right in the sauce pan and spooned extra sauce over them. Add chopped nuts or chocolate sauce or chocolate chips or whatever tickles your tummy. As you can see, we forgot to buy popsicle sticks so we improvised with chopsticks.
Recipe courtesy of suite101.com*If you can find vegan condensed milk, let me know where. If not, see recipe below.
Vegan Caramel Sauce
To make a thinner, saucier caramel sauce, reduce the condensed milk to ¼ cup or omit altogether.Ingredients:
2 Tbsp vegan margarine
1 cup ightly packed brown sugar
1⁄3 cup corn syrup
1 cup vegan sweetened condensed milk (we couldn't find it in the store so we made it. See recipe below
1. In a small saucepan over low heat, melt margarine
2. Stir in sugar and corn syrup.
3. Bring to the boil and stir in condensed milk, if using.
4. Stirring constantly, cook over medium heat until boiled.
5. Turn to low heat until thickened.
Vegan Sweetened Condensed Milk
Ingredients:This makes double the amount of condensed milk you need, but we didn't play around with halving it and sometimes when you halve recipes, they don't always work out. But feel free to give it a try. Or just double the caramel sauce recipe.
2 cups soy milk
1 3⁄4 cups brown sugar
2 Tbsp corn starch
1. Measure the corn starch into a small glass or measuring cup.
2. Add 2-3 Tbsp of the soy milk and whisk with a small whisk or fork until smooth.
3. In a small saucepan, heat the remaining soy milk and brown sugar. Whisk in the cornstarch-soy milk mixture.
4. Bring to the boil, stirring constantly until thick.
Assembly:
We dipped them right in the sauce pan and spooned extra sauce over them. Add chopped nuts or chocolate sauce or chocolate chips or whatever tickles your tummy. As you can see, we forgot to buy popsicle sticks so we improvised with chopsticks.
Bakon, Eg, and Cheeze...whaaaaat?!
*Read how to make the bakon and the eg first. You'll want to have them prepped in order to cook them simultaneously. So while the bacon is marinating, start your eg. Or prep both and cook at the same time.
Country Bumpkins
Howdy Y'all!
We went to get pumpkins a couple weekends ago and for two fresh-squeezed-lemonade-and-funnel-cake-filled hours we were transported to Anywhere, OK. There was actually a corn field in the middle of Los Angeles!! Ok, not right in the middle, but close enough :) These are a couple of my favorite pics from the day.
If you're in the area here's the info:
Halloween Harvest Festival/Rob & Cathy's Christmas Trees - pumpkin patch- already gathered from the field, train rides, corn maze, haunted corn maze, tractor-pulled hay rides, , prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, pony rides, petting zoo, farm animals, birthday parties, weddings and wedding parties, school tours
20800 Victory Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. Phone: 818 999-6300. Fax: 818 700-9720. Email: info@HalloweenHarvestFestival.com. Directions: From 118, exit at DeSoto, Head South on DeSoto for about 6 miles, Turn left at Victory Blvd, Turn Right immediately after your turn into the Halloween Harvest Festival. From 101, exist at DeSoto, Head North on DeSoto for about 2 miles, Turn Right at Victory Blvd, Turn Right immediately after your turn into the Halloween Harvest Festival. And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in October, November, December. Open: Fall: October 1 to October 31, Sunday through Thursday 10am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to Midnight Christmas Trees: Day after Thanksgiving through December 24, Sunday through Saturday 10am to 10pm. Payment: Cash, Visa/MasterCard, Discover. Nordman Christmas Trees also available. We offer delivery of your Christmas Tree. We offer custom flocking of your Christmas Tree.
Can't wait to get my christmas tree there!
We went to get pumpkins a couple weekends ago and for two fresh-squeezed-lemonade-and-funnel-cake-filled hours we were transported to Anywhere, OK. There was actually a corn field in the middle of Los Angeles!! Ok, not right in the middle, but close enough :) These are a couple of my favorite pics from the day.
ignorance is bliss^
If you're in the area here's the info:
Halloween Harvest Festival/Rob & Cathy's Christmas Trees - pumpkin patch- already gathered from the field, train rides, corn maze, haunted corn maze, tractor-pulled hay rides, , prepicked produce, snacks and refreshment stand, restrooms, picnic area, pony rides, petting zoo, farm animals, birthday parties, weddings and wedding parties, school tours
20800 Victory Blvd, Woodland Hills, CA 91367. Phone: 818 999-6300. Fax: 818 700-9720. Email: info@HalloweenHarvestFestival.com. Directions: From 118, exit at DeSoto, Head South on DeSoto for about 6 miles, Turn left at Victory Blvd, Turn Right immediately after your turn into the Halloween Harvest Festival. From 101, exist at DeSoto, Head North on DeSoto for about 2 miles, Turn Right at Victory Blvd, Turn Right immediately after your turn into the Halloween Harvest Festival. And for a map to our farm, click here. Crops are usually available in October, November, December. Open: Fall: October 1 to October 31, Sunday through Thursday 10am to 10pm, Saturday and Sunday 10am to Midnight Christmas Trees: Day after Thanksgiving through December 24, Sunday through Saturday 10am to 10pm. Payment: Cash, Visa/MasterCard, Discover. Nordman Christmas Trees also available. We offer delivery of your Christmas Tree. We offer custom flocking of your Christmas Tree.
Can't wait to get my christmas tree there!
Cute Critters
I'm LOVING this new camera. It's a Canon 5D Mark II
Dudley (aka Dudley Shmudly)
Cagney (aka Caganeezy Sneezy)
Bogart (aka Boogsie Shoogsie or Booger)
Dudley (aka Dudley Shmudly)
Cagney (aka Caganeezy Sneezy)
Bogart (aka Boogsie Shoogsie or Booger)
The Conquering of the Vegan Doughnut!
I finally got around to making the doughnuts from Vegetarian Times. Boy do I wish I made these sooner! I even remembered to take pictures this time. Although I made them at midnight and didn't have the best light...but you get the idea! You're gonna need time for these, so make them on a lazy Saturday when you have lots of love to give em! I did not modify these at all so before you go thinking I'm a doughnut goddess (although you can if you want), remember that this is not my recipe...but I did execute it well!!
Cha Cha Lu Lu
A year and a half ago, I started a dog rescue. We go to the Midwest and rescue dogs from puppy mills. If you don't know what a puppy mill is - go to youtube and plenty will come up - but make sure you're not eating when you do. It's really difficult to rescue animals - financially, emotionally and logistically. Especially when one has no idea what one's doing (which is how I started out). I took a break from rescuing for the past year, and to be honest have been thinking about giving it up altogether. But I just received an email a few days ago with an update from one of the families who adopted from me. They send updates fairly often, but this one in particular absolutely touched, moved, and inspired me. When I rescued Garbo (now ChaCha LuLu...a much more suitable name), she was a mess. She was tiny, matted, skinny, scared, SO smelly, had fleas, and ...let's just say... stomach difficulties. We got her fixed up, she recovered to a point, but was still skiddish and afraid to look at some people. She was bouncy and playful as Havanese are, but you could tell there was sadness and uncertainty behind those adorable black eyes. This family is absolutely amazing. They took her in, and before they even came to meet her, she was part of the family. I don't consider myself too successful with this as I've only rescued 11 dogs, but when I got this update, it made me realize that if I had not started this rescue and saved this little pup, she would either be dead, or really sick with lots of litters of puppies already under her (2-year-old) belt. And now she is with this family and it has not only transformed her life, it has transformed theirs. And the reason I'm sharing this is to acknowledge and give a lot of credit to everyone who has done something kind or generous whether it be big or small. Because even the littlest things; like rescuing one little puppy, can transform so many peoples' lives.
Ok it's 4 in the morning and I might be a little emotional right now...
Here is the picture we took of ChaCha the day we rescued her in Oklahoma. The hair around her eyes was long and matted, and she didn't pick her head up for two days. She was so terrified, it was like she was playing dead and felt like a ragdoll in your arms. This is a picture from the day we rescued her:
And this is the update they just sent me:
pink bows and all!
Ok it's 4 in the morning and I might be a little emotional right now...
Here is the picture we took of ChaCha the day we rescued her in Oklahoma. The hair around her eyes was long and matted, and she didn't pick her head up for two days. She was so terrified, it was like she was playing dead and felt like a ragdoll in your arms. This is a picture from the day we rescued her:
And this is the update they just sent me:
pink bows and all!
my cholesterol
Hi all!
I had some blood work done because I've been feeling somewhat fatigued lately. I'm on medication that we suspected might be causing it, but before we changed the dosage, we wanted to rule out everything else. Everything came back great, except my hemoglobins are a little on the low side. So I just need to adjust my iron intake by eating more leafy greens, tofu, tempeh, oats, dried fruit..etc -good sources of iron. But I wanted to share with you my cholesterol level. The doctor looked at it and was shocked. She said she had never seen anyone's cholesterol so low!!! I'm at a whopping 127 mg/dL. The average American cholesterol level is 215 mg/dL (says Lipid Research Clinics Program Epidemiology Committee as found in The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II). I'm on board with the Chinese who average around a 127! An excerpt from The China Study reads:
" At the outset of the China Study, no one could or would have predicted that there would be a relationship between cholesterol and any of the disease rates. What a surprise we got! As blood cholesterol levels decreased from 170 mg/dL to 90 mg/dL, cancers of the liver, rectum, colon, male lung, female lung, breast, childhood leukemia, adult leukemia, childhood brain, adult brain, stomach and esophagus (throat) decreased. As you can see, this is a sizable list. Most Americans know that if you have high cholesterol, you should worry about your heart, but they don't know that you might want to worry about cancer as well."
Dr. Campbell goes on for a few pages about this. I'm writing this to inform you just how important your blood cholesterol levels are and to give some inspiration for those of you thinking of becoming vegetarian or vegan or just want to incorporate more veggies into your diet. So you should really be aware of what your cholesterol is.
How can you decrease your cholesterol level? By eating more plant-based foods such as legumes, light colored vegetables, fruit, carrots, potatoes, etc... and less or no meat, milk, eggs, fish, fat, and animal protein - well you knew that was coming :)
Definitely get The China Study. It's a fascinating book and I'm not exaggerating when I say it may save your life.
I had some blood work done because I've been feeling somewhat fatigued lately. I'm on medication that we suspected might be causing it, but before we changed the dosage, we wanted to rule out everything else. Everything came back great, except my hemoglobins are a little on the low side. So I just need to adjust my iron intake by eating more leafy greens, tofu, tempeh, oats, dried fruit..etc -good sources of iron. But I wanted to share with you my cholesterol level. The doctor looked at it and was shocked. She said she had never seen anyone's cholesterol so low!!! I'm at a whopping 127 mg/dL. The average American cholesterol level is 215 mg/dL (says Lipid Research Clinics Program Epidemiology Committee as found in The China Study by T. Colin Campbell, PhD and Thomas M. Campbell II). I'm on board with the Chinese who average around a 127! An excerpt from The China Study reads:
" At the outset of the China Study, no one could or would have predicted that there would be a relationship between cholesterol and any of the disease rates. What a surprise we got! As blood cholesterol levels decreased from 170 mg/dL to 90 mg/dL, cancers of the liver, rectum, colon, male lung, female lung, breast, childhood leukemia, adult leukemia, childhood brain, adult brain, stomach and esophagus (throat) decreased. As you can see, this is a sizable list. Most Americans know that if you have high cholesterol, you should worry about your heart, but they don't know that you might want to worry about cancer as well."
Dr. Campbell goes on for a few pages about this. I'm writing this to inform you just how important your blood cholesterol levels are and to give some inspiration for those of you thinking of becoming vegetarian or vegan or just want to incorporate more veggies into your diet. So you should really be aware of what your cholesterol is.
How can you decrease your cholesterol level? By eating more plant-based foods such as legumes, light colored vegetables, fruit, carrots, potatoes, etc... and less or no meat, milk, eggs, fish, fat, and animal protein - well you knew that was coming :)
Definitely get The China Study. It's a fascinating book and I'm not exaggerating when I say it may save your life.
Burgers Baby!
We had the yummiest dinner EVER tonight! And it was super duper easy.
- Veggie Burgers
- Broccolini
- Sweet Potato Fries
*First things first: get the oven pre-heated and the burgers in the pan.
Burgers
We were shopping at whole foods to get the stuff Trader Joe's doesn't carry, and we were starving. So we spent about 8 minutes in front of the frozen veggie burgers drooling over all of the selections we had no idea they had! We came across the new Bahama Rice Burger. These are gluten free, vegan, no soy (for those of us who are a wee bit sensitive to it), cholesterol free, high in fiber - they're amazing. We went with the Jerkin' Spicy. These were mushy when they warmed in the pan, so throw them on first thing, and let them cook until crispy and browned.
- Veggie Burgers
- Broccolini
- Sweet Potato Fries
*First things first: get the oven pre-heated and the burgers in the pan.
Burgers
We were shopping at whole foods to get the stuff Trader Joe's doesn't carry, and we were starving. So we spent about 8 minutes in front of the frozen veggie burgers drooling over all of the selections we had no idea they had! We came across the new Bahama Rice Burger. These are gluten free, vegan, no soy (for those of us who are a wee bit sensitive to it), cholesterol free, high in fiber - they're amazing. We went with the Jerkin' Spicy. These were mushy when they warmed in the pan, so throw them on first thing, and let them cook until crispy and browned.
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