Whole Wheat Vegan Pancakes

1 c. whole wheat flour
2 tbls. baking powder
dash of salt
¼ c. Brown rice syrup
1 c. soymilk
2 tbls. Vegetable oil

Combine dry ingredients, add wet ingredients and mix just until combined. “Butter” (Earth Balance vegan margarine) a heated skillet and…you can take it from there.

Last weekend I added chocolate chips and sliced bananas, so experiment away.

Vegan Vanilla Cupcake Frosting

Pardon the inexact measurements. This kind of thing is always a "dash of this...a scoop of that" experiment. Experiment a little yourself until you get the right consistency.

1 stick (1/2 cup) vegan butter
2-3 cups of powdered sugar
Splash of vanilla soy milk
Smaller splash of pure vanilla extract

Begin creaming the vegan butter and 1/2 of the powdered sugar in your mixer or using a electric hand mixer. As you get to a thick mixture add the soy milk and vanilla. Continue beating, adding the remainder of the powdered sugar. Keep beating until light and fluffy.

Wah La!

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

This was my first foray into vegan baking and I came out a champion. I'm a sucker for a light, fluffy cupcake and these were the lightest and fluffiest.

1 1/2 cups vanilla soy milk
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
2 cups all purpose flour
1 cup sugar
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup semi sweet vegan chocolate chips
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Mix the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and let sit until the mixture curdles. Melt margarine and chocolate chips, set aside.

In a large bowl mix dry ingredients well. Add soy milk mixture, margarine/chocolate mixture and vanilla and mix with wire whisk until well combined. Pour into prepared cupcake pan (with papers) and bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Let cool before before removing from pan.

Frost with vegan buttercream frosting (recipe coming soon)!

Red Rum Sangria

I love sangria. It's my "usual" order at any tapas restaurant, but the tapas are optional. What's better than red wine, juice, liquor and fruit on a hot summer day/evening/morning (just kidding)? I mixed up this recipe in celebration of the 4th of July - beware, it's strong...





1 bottle (plus a 1/8 or so of a leftover bottle) red wine
1/2 cup to 1 cup dark rum (depends on how boozing you want it and you can always use light rum too)
3/4 cup of sugar
1 cup of peach lemonade (organic Santa Cruz brand, but use any flavor you like)
1/2 cup to 1 cup club soda

Chopped apples and red plums (or any other kind of fruit strikes your fancy)


In a pitcher, mix sugar and rum until sugar dissolves. Add wine, lemonade, club soda and fruit. Chill...

Bangin' Tortilla Soup

Tortilla soup has to be one of my favorite meals ever - so naturally, I needed to find a chicken-free recipe. I've got one! The first time out the game on a vegetarian tortilla soup, I nailed it. This soup definitely gives the carnivorous version a run for it's money.


Soup Base:

1 medium onion
1/2 medium bell pepper (green or red)
2 cloves of garlic
1 poblano pepper (roasted and skinned; using the whole pepper gives the soup a nice kick, so go with less for a milder dish)
1 large can of diced tomatoes (or a few really ripe fresh ones)
1 tsp oregano (dry or fresh)
1 tsp cumin
1 tsp chili powder
4-5 cups vegetable stock
salt and pepper to taste

Coarsely chop the veggies and then puree in the food processor or blender until smooth. Heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a stock pot on medium-high and add puree. Cook for about ten minutes, adding the seasonings as you do. Add the veggie stock and simmer for about 20 minutes.

Soup "Toppings"
Monterey Jack Cheese, cubed
Avocado, cubed
Tortilla strips, fried in veggie oil until crisp


Assemble "toppings" in a bowl and ladle the soup on top...

Eat....

Come back for seconds.


*This soup can easily be made vegan, just substitute the cheese for a vegan variety or leave it our all together.

Thanksgiving Stuff: Sweet Potato Pie

Tomorrow's the big day and after being suckered out of preparing the whole T-day meal, I've been left with the desserts.

So let's start with the Sweet Potato Pie...

For two 10-inch pies:

2 10-inch pie crusts in pie tins (homemade or pre-made, but beware of lard in store-bought crusts)

4 medium-large yams (boiled and peeled)

4 tbls butter

1 1/2 c. brown sugar

1 c. half-and-half

2 eggs

1 1/2 tsp vanilla

1 tsp pumpkin pie spice (or mixture of nutmeg, cloves, allspice, and ginger)

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tbls fresh ginger puree


Filling direction:

In a large bowl add the butter and brown sugar to the sweet potatoes and mix with a stand or hand mixer. Add spices and vanilla and continue mixing until sweet potatoes are well mashed. With the mixture on medium add the half-and-half and then the eggs. Beat on medium for another 30-40 seconds.

Pour filling mixture into pie tins and bake at 350 for 35-45 minutes or until center is firm. Let the pie cool before cutting into it and I'd recommend serving with fresh whipped cream...

Guess what? We're going vegetarian...

Yeah, you heard right...I've given up eating animals.

It's been almost three months since my "vegetarian week" experiment and I'm still happily not eating meat. I like it.

For starters, I feel pretty good. Not only does not eating meat cut out, well...the meat, it also forces you to think harder about what you're eating. This has resulted in me simply eating better things.

One of the reasons I'd never gone vegetarian before is that I love to cook and I felt that a meatless diet would restrict my culinary creativity. However, to the contrary, I've just had to work harder and become more creative with my menus. So, cooking vegetarian has really been a new kitchen challenge and it's kind of fun. Who knew?

All that to say that the recipes I'll post from now are gonna be free of our furry friends.

Wish me luck!

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. ~Albert Einstein