Who Am I?

Just a quick post this morning as I have found myself, yet again, with a bit of time to spare before work (seriously, who am I? This is such a weird feeling). I thought I would show you two yummy eats from recently.

Grilled Oasis garlic sourdough bread with Earth Balance stuffed with Tofutti cheese singles, sliced tomato and red onion. A little bit of comfort. On the side, lettuce and tomato topped with a Costco veggie patty. These things are really good. They are sold in the deli section of Costco and are 100% vegan and delicious.

So, I'm sure you've all heard of peanut flour by now. I'm sure you've probably also heard the rumor that Trader Joe's is discontinuing this incredible product. Of course I discovered it right at the tail end. Se la vie.

My friend Rachel was making some cookies to give to some people at an event and I joined her to help bake (and steal goodies). Rachel does not eat 100% vegan but is very open to vegan food and often makes it on her own. In addition, she eats mostly gluten free which is something I haven't really experimented with much. One of the cookies she made that night were Averie's Vegan GF Peanut Butter Caramel Chocolate Chip Cookies with Peanut Flour.  Name is a mouthful, taste is unbelievable. I went right home (after Trader Joe's) and made a batch of my very own. Seriously, you have to try these. I took them to a family event and everyone raved about them and one person even asked for the recipe. Now if only I can figure out how to grind peanuts into peanut flour without making peanut butter....

Banana Everything Cookies

About a year ago I acquired a most wonderful recipe for a cookie using up over ripe bananas. I need to keep better track of my sources so I could give credit where credit is due, but alas, back then, I did not keep track. I just wrote down recipes, tried them and then kept them or tossed them. This one I kept. When I first made this cookie I added walnuts and raisins to make a sort of trail mix cookie. While I loved them like that, my chocolate loving boyfriend would never touch raisins or nuts and so I began making one batch my way and one batch with chocolate chips. These cookies are serious winners either way, and if you decrease the sugar, I say they aren't that bad for you (no health claims are made here as I am not a dietitian or nutritionist). I have tons of pictures of the process for these cookies as I make them all the time. So, let's begin. You will need:

1 medium ripe banana
1/3 cup canola oil
2/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

3/4 cup flour + 2 tbs if dough is too wet
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
2 cups oats

1 cup mix ins. For example, 1 cup chocolate chips or 1/2 cup chopped walnuts and 1/2 cup raisins but be creative. Anything you have on hand would work. And just about everything goes with chocolate, right?

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Perfectly ripe bananas.

I like to make the wet portion of this recipe in my food processor so that the bananas get really pureed. Some recipes call for hand mashing the bananas so that you have chunks, but I like it nice and smooth.

Banana and sugar

This is a sugar that I cannot remember the name of. I believe it is similar to, if it is not actually, sucanat. 

Add in vanilla and canola oil

And process

Meanwhile, whisk together your dry ingredients. Ooh, I wish I had a picture to show you my two favorite baking tools. If you've read many posts then you know I love my citrus press for cooking. For baking, I could not live without my whisk and my silicone spatula.

Oats

 

Oats & flour

Whisk it all toghether

Add your mix ins

These chocolate chips I used a few months ago were really too large for these cookies. This time I used regular sized and they worked much better. So, let's pretend these are regular sized chocolate chips.

Once everything is good and mixed, add in your wet. Oh, hey, there's my spatula. I love that thing. Can you propose to a spatula?

Gooey

 

And apparently I have no pictures of the after mixed stage or the rolling stage. But here's how it goes down. I use a cookie sheet covered with a silpat (I used to use parchment paper) and I scoop out the dough using a cookies scoop. This works really well and the cookies turn out mostly the same shape and size. You could always use your hands and a spoon though.

Bake for 10 - 12 minutes and then let cool for a minute or two on the cookie sheet before transferring to a wire rack. I have found that the trick to vegan cookies is usually to undercook them. This leaves them moist and chewy. Of course, I am probably biased since that is how I like my cookies. If you prefer a crunchy cookie, this recipe isn't the best place to start. And while I am on the topic of undercooked dough, don't forget to taste the dough as you are rolling out the cookies. It is quite delicious. Though it is not nearly as addicting as my go to chocolate chip cookie dough is. Or the dessert hummus. But the baked version of these cookies is more addicting than the blueberry muffins I made this weekend. But not by much. By the way, I have all of those in my house right now. Dozens of cookies, muffins, dessert hummus and even pancakes. Thank goodness for the salad I had for lunch and the taco I'm about to go make for dinner. I don't really want to see any sugar for the rest of the night. 

Enjoy!

Insane Goal for the Morning

Update:

Ultimate Vegan Oatmeal Raisin Cookie

1/2 dozen baked, 1.5 dozen frozen

Salt Kissed Chunky Peanut Butter Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies



1/2 dozen baked, 1/2 dozen frozen



Pumpkin Pie Banana Chunk Oatmeal Cookies

1 dozen baked, 1.5 dozen frozen

Vegan Dark Chocolate Peppermint Cookies x 3

6 dozen baked, 1/2 dozen frozen

Ultimate Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 dozen baked, 1 dozen frozen

Added bonus:


Pumpkin Ginger Snaps (cause I didn't have enough on my plate)

Chilling in the fridge to be rolled out and frozen. 2 dozen.

Morning success!

Going to a cookie party tomorrow at noon. Bringing 6 dozen of the peppermint cookies but I also wanted to make chocolate chip for my boyfriend. I couldn't decide between the two so I am making both. I have an over ripe banana on hand and some pumpkin thus the pumpkin pie banana chunk and the oatmeal raisin sounded so healthy and yummy to take on my upcoming trip. Thus, 5 types of cookies; 7 batches in total, before noon tomorrow so I still have time to go pick up my CSA. Can I do it? I think so. Luckily I will be freezing a good portion of them without baking so that cuts down on my time. Now if I could just find a sous chef. Or at least a dish washer.


Oh, and my upcoming trip? To the vegan mecca? That's right! Portland, Oregon! I am so excited. I leave on Thursday night and am there through Monday afternoon. Anyone have any tips or suggestions for while I am there?

Thanks!

Just Checking In

Hey Guys! I know I totally spoiled you with 4 days of posting in a row and then totally disappeared on you! What can I say? I've been busy. In fact, this little vegan who is normally in bed around 9:30 or 10 most nights has been up past 11 o'clock four consecutive nights this week. Anybody out there watching the Walking Dead? Do I have any comic book fans as readers? Do I have any readers? My boyfriend and I spend a great deal of thought and time on comics (he is trying to break into the comic writing business) and I highly recommend The Walking Dead as well as Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes. But that's not why you come here, is it? No, I know you. You want food! And I've got it for you!

 

Ok, so I am aware that that is a radio and not food. But I wanted to share with you my day in the kitchen from Saturday before last and no day in the kitchen is complete without my trusty radio. Sometimes I listen to CDs (my favorite are musicals!) but most of the time you'll find me listening to my local public radio station KPBS and the great news and programs they play. Anyone listen to Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me? A Way With Words? This American Life? Wow, I sound like a commercial. Well, now that we are set with something to listen to, here's how my Saturday started.

I have enough food stored away to feed myself for months. I couldn't wait to get into the pumpkin! On the agenda was:

Pumpkin Waffles (from Vegan Without a Vengeance)
Pumpkin Muffins with chocolate chips (also from VwaV)
Chocolate Chip Cookies (I have had this recipe so long I don't remember where I got it)
Pumpkin Granola

Pumpkin waffles were first up since they would be breakfast. I mixed up the batter and started them cooking while I started on the muffins.

I don't know that I will ever get over the fact that I got this thing for $2 at a garage sale!

Another thing I will never get over is how much I love these silicone muffin liners! The muffins/cupcakes just pop right out of them and there is no need for added oil or putting anything into the garbage! Win/Win

While the muffins cooked I ate waffles (plain and eaten with my hand is my favorite way to eat waffles oddly enough). I also mixed up a double batch of chocolate chip cookies. I think I've mentioned it before but my boyfriend is quite the lover of chocolate chip cookies and so I try to always have some in the house baked up and some in the freezer as well.

Here are the muffins and the first batch of cookies. I was going to make a second batch of muffins and try to alter the recipe but I ran out of both oil and sugar! The horror! My intention was going to be to reduce the oil and replace with apple sauce and reduce the sugar slightly and add fresh cranberries and walnuts. Still haven't gotten around to this yet, but I will soon!

Whilst all this was going on, I realized I had just a bit of pumpkin left in the open can and I decided to make my normal granola recipe into pumpkin granola.

Looks delicious, right? Totally is. Mmmm. Granola. Maybe that's what I should have for dessert...Sorry, back to granola.

I think granola is one of the easiest things to make. If you have never tried it you totally should!

While all this was going on, I forgot to mention that I was cooking up a batch of garbanzo beans as well.

Needless, to say, it was a very productive day in the kitchen! Now I'm off to visit my mom where we are going to be purchasing tickets for my first vacation in at least 3.5 years! I am so excited. I haven't been on a plane in about 8 years and it is going to be so nice to do some traveling! Not to mention I am going to the west coast mecha of vegan food! Any guesses as to where?

Chocolate Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies

This weekend I was perusing the interwebs, looking at random Vegan MoFO, when I came across some Chocolate Chocolate Chip Walnut Cookies that someone had made from Veganomicon.  They looked so delicious that, had I not been out of cocoa powder, I would have made them right then and there.  Alas, I had to wait a whole 24 hours to make them!  Let me tell you, these cookies were worth the wait.  After I mixed up the dough, I had decided to make 1/2 of them without nuts for my non nut loving boyfriend.  This was before I had given the dough a taste.  Seriously, I could have eaten the whole thing raw it was so yummy.  In the end, I decided to make only 1/3 without nuts which left the other 2/3 all for me (and to share with a few select people). This is very unusual for me.  Generally I will give up nuts in an effort to compromise or at least take the smaller portion, but these were just too damn good. 

Seriously, if you make these be prepared to have someone to share with.  The recipe makes 3 dozen and I easily find myself eating one or two and then wishing they were healthy enough to eat at least one more.

Nom.