11.30.2008

give me smlove  

The smlove pie from veganomicon is finally done!
after chilling in the fridge for 3 hours, then sleeping, and making the peanut butter caramel sauce and the chocolate drizzle this morning, it is assembled and ready!
It's perty too.
Takin' it to my down home country bacon food family....and they are going to love it! It said in veganomicon that if Paula Deen made a pie, this would be the pie. So i'm sure they all love paula deen and her butter pumped foods. Here are pictures and the recipe!

SMLOVE PIE. from veganomicon. by isa chandra moskowitz
For the graham cracker crust:

12 graham crackers (or 1 3/4 cups graham cracker crumbs)
1/4 cup canola oil
*I used a premade crust, which I usually don't do, but the graham cracker sticks were expensive! And I was feeling blue.

For the chocolate pie filling:
1 lb silken tofu (NOT the vacuum packed kind), drained
1/4 cup hazelnut liquer, or soymilk (I used soymilk)
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 Tablespoons arrowroot
12 oz bittersweet chocolate, melted (I used a package of Ghiradelli semisweet chocolate chips)

For the caramel peanut butter:
1/3 cup natural peanut butter, smooth or chunky, at room temperature
3 tablespoons pure maple syrup
2 tablespoons brown rice syrup

For the maple candied pecans:
1 cup pecans
2 teaspoons canola oil
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons maple syrup

For the chocolate drizzle:
4 oz bittersweet chocolate, chopped, or 1/4 cup chocolate chips (I used the chips)
1/4 cup soy or rice milk

Preheat oven to 350F.

Prepare the crust by processing the grahams into fine crumbs. Place them in a bowl and drizzle the oil into them. Use your fingertips or a fork to mix the oil in until all crumbs are moistened.

Spray a 10 inch pie plate with cooking spray. Pour the crumbs into the pie plate and firmly press them to the bottom and sides of plate. Set aside.

Prepare the filling:
First melt your chocolate. Crumble the tofu into a blender or food processor. Add the liquer, vanilla and arrowroot and blend until completely smooth. Scrape down the sides to make sure you get everything. Add the chocolate and blend again until completely combined.

Pour the filling into the pie crust and bake for 40 minutes. The center may still be jiggly, but that's fine. Let cool on a counter top for 10 minutes then chill in the fridge for at least 3 hours, the top of the pie should be firm to the touch.

Meanwhile, prepare your candied pecans.

Have ready a large plate, preferably covered in parchment paper. Preheat a heavy cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add the pecans and stir them very frequently for 3 minutes, until they start to brown. Stir constantly for 2 more minutes, until they are a few shades darker and relatively uniformly toasted. (If a few don't look toasted don't worry about it. That's better than having them burn.) Add the oil and salt and stir for another minute. Add the maple syrup and -sizzle sizzle- stir constantly for about a minute. The maple syrup should get bubbly and dry.

Transfer the pecans to the plate and spread them out as much as you can, it's best if they aren't touching. Place in the fridge until ready to use.

Once the pie has been chilling for at least 3 hours, prepare the peanut butter caramel and chocolate drizzle. Have your pie out and ready to be assembled.

To prepare the caramel:
Stir all the ingredients together in a small sauce pan. Gently heat everything over low heat, stirring constantly with a fork, just until smooth and heated through. It should fall from your fork in ribbons. If it seems stiff, turn the heat off immediately and add a little extra brown rice syrup, until it ribbons down.

Pour the peanut butter over the center of the pie, leaving an inch or two at the edges because it spreads. Get your pecans and place them on top of the caramel, pressing them in firmly. You may have to break the pecans apart from each other if they were touching.

Prepare chocolate drizzle:
In a small sauce pan, heat the soy milk to boil. Once boiling, add the chocolate and lower heat. Use a fork to stir it until compeletely combined. Turn the heat off and let cool for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Chill for at least 10 minutes before serving.

11.29.2008

an army of pilgrim hats  

we have a family thanksgiving tomorrow and mom made an army of pilgrim hat cookies!
they are fudge stripe cookies with mini reese cups dipped in yellow icing to place on the top, then a miniature chiclet for the buckle.
they are very cute and very un-vegan.
Mom and I have watched Gilmore Girls ALL DAY LONG and I have layed on the couch sleeping and looking pale like a vampire, according to mom. we are about to go to the store and buy ingredients for the meal tomorrow.
i am making 'smlove pie' from veganomicon. i will post later with pictures!

11.27.2008

Thanksfoddering!  















a lovely occasion shared with family. and luke danes the chocolate turkey. (please watch gilmore girls)
i baked my chocolate - pumpkin pie last night (recipe from the thanksgiving issue of Martha Stewart "triple chocolate pumpkin pie") and my bbq seitan.
daunie arrived with the -free- tofurkey, vegan giblet gravy, roasted red pepper salmon, a loaf of 8 grain-3 seed scholar's bakehouse bread, and a huge bunch of kale with pumpkin seeds.
we then cooked the kale and pumpkin seeds together with vinegar, and it wilted oh so small-lee. there was about a cupful! we rationed.
mom had her real turkey, made some stuffing, had a bloppy can of cranberry sauce, & belgium brussels sprouts. And a splenda brown sugar pumpkin pie for dad.
featured on my plate is.....(clockwise L to R)
a slab of tofurkey with gravy, slice of scholar's bread, my small ration of kale, corn, a basil baking powder biscuit (i baked last night) and a large spoonful of bbq seitan.
next picture is my lovely pie. luscious graham cracker crust, topped with the crumbs on top.
this bottom picture is luke dane's pictured with my chocolate pumpkin pie and a bit o' mom's splenda pumpkin pie and daunie's fork and finger-knee.

Here is a recipe for the basil baking powder biscuits:
2 cups flour, 3 tsp. baking powder, 1 tsp. dried basil, 3/4 tsp. salt, 1/4 c. veg marg, 3/4 c. soymilk, and 1 tsp. apple cider vinegar.
preheat oven to 450f. in large bowl, stir together flour, bp, basil, and salt. cut in veg marg and mix in soymilk and vinegar. cut dough into 6 amounts and drop into oiled muffin tins. bake 12-15 mins.

11.26.2008

thanksgiving plans.......  

tomorrow is thanksgiving!
i am hungry for tofurkey buried in vegan mashed potatoes right now! I have to make my bbq seitan tonight and veganize a martha stewart pie recipe. the chocolate-pumpkin pie from her nov. issue.
I also have "A Charlie Brown Thanksgiving" for us to watch tomorrow!
Here is our vegan menu for tomorrow's ensemble:

  1. B-foods tofurkey
  2. B-foods mashed potatoes
  3. B.B.Q. seitan
  4. cornbread
  5. wilted kale with pumpkin seeds
  6. chocolate-pumpkin pie

11.23.2008

"i love a good gourd."  



daunie and i=sushi date!!!! at our japanese restaurant hangout.
veggie roll, cucumber roll, inari (little tofu pockets that are salty and sweet and stuffed in the butt with rice), and bottomless bowls of sticky steamed rice.
delish and salty and sweet.
THEN
homemade ice cream at home.....coconut milk & peanut butter.
gum gum gum.

11.19.2008

swirled berry scones for TyLea  

I watched "Dark Passage" with Lauren Bacall and Humphrey Bogart. TyLea is still at the library, and missing out on her scones which just emerged from their womb in the oven.
i baked her some berry scones, which i adapted from the Babycakes bakery recipe for their raspberry scones...used brown rice syrup instead of agave nectar, and I had some frozen handpicked black raspberries which Papaw and I picked in July. They smell like caramel & vanilla. I won't give out the recipe since I am writing the recipe in my zine, Cakewalk 2. but here is a picture to entice you, along with my dog Noodles.

11.18.2008

almost christmas-sweets.  


made some nutcracker sweets this morning for work. and finished my collage mask last night!


~Nutcracker Sweets~
8 graham crackers
3 tbsp. veg marg
1/4 cup organic brown sugar
chopped pecans
line an baking pan with aluminum foil. place graham crackers on it and preheat oven to 375. melt marg over low heat and stir in brown sugar. spread on graham crackers and sprinkle each with a covering of nuts. bake 5-7 minutes, until all bubbly. remove and cool.

11.17.2008

farmhouse. spaghetti.  



wow. no pictures but lot's of food! saturday for lunch, adree and her mom and I went out to bean blossom to a little brick house to dine for lunch. It was called the farmhouse:cafe and herb barn. really old and rustic. big yellow cat outside.
we had blackberry tea (amazing!) and I had a salad and homemade bread and they had mushroom soup and sandwiches. it was simply wonderful!
saturday night i was home with mom and i made adree's date night spaghetti and we chowed on it while watching "suspicion", cary grant....alfred hitchcock.
yesterday we shopped and went antiquing. when we got home we watched a ton of gilmore girls and mom had leftover spaghetti and i had leftover sloppy joe! and graham crackers and newman's peanut butter creme chocolate sandwich cookies, perty good!

11.14.2008

slop that joe. bake that mooshy bread.  



made tofu sloppy joes on wednesday night...oh so delishious with curry ketchup! gaaaaaaaaah. real sloppy and falling out of the back of my bread bed i made for it.
then yesterday i baked some banana apple-butter bread (my recipe) i was testing it for the 2nd tyme, with more apple butter and oh man....so moist and fabulous. tylea came over and ate some and we went gallyvanting. we were both off work, so we went and saw her friends at her work and i met them...and we ate at subway and went to hobby lobby for about 3 hours. i got a bonnet pattern! then we went to target and tried on super shiny gold & silver skin tight leggin's.
then got fazoli's to go and went home and watched survivor with mom!

11.11.2008

thoughts on Babycakes NYC bakery........  

I was browsing around last night on here about vegan food...of course...recipes..and I stumbled upon Babycakes nyc bakery again, and they have a new website! And about 4 videos of the baker, Erin, baking her treats on the food network. they look so scrumptious, especially the jumbo blueberry muffins. www.babycakesnyc.com

They also have some cute tshirts that I saw in a picture of their store front. thats where i want to go for my birthday! babycakes bakery!
I'm going to try and bake more like Erin, with coconut oil and agave nectar, I was on it for a long time, then I started using organic turbinado sugar and organic brown sugar. I'd also like to get into using different kinds of flours, especially brown rice flour.
Erin is also coming out with a Babycakes bakery cookbook in april 09!! I am so excited! I can't wait!

11.10.2008

these good cookies  

baked cookies this morning. had to test a zine recipe....granola chocolate chip cookies.
turned out flat and extra chewy. so they were yummy! took them to work and most everyone ate 2 each...yay new zine recipe!

11.09.2008

stripey circus pancakes.  

made pancakes this morning for parents and the special guest, chris. daunie doesn't like pancakes! these are the farm's pancakes.
yum.
they smell like donuts. and i made a kangaroo shaped pancake.
The Farm's pancakes recipe-
sift together:
1-1/4 c 50/50 flour. 2 tbsp. turbinado sugar. 2 tsp. baking powder. 1/2 tsp. salt.
mix together:
2 tbsp. oil. 1-1/4 c. water
make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and add wet. mix until all moistened. lumps are good! then spoon about 2 spoonfuls onto hot cast iron pan and cook on both sides. flip when bubbly.

picture dinner  


din-din with daunie last night... boxed frozen annie's pizza...no cheese. gackamoley and little salad.

11.07.2008

creamy- smeary frost  

i was off yesterday on account-a them making cider at work.
so all i did all day was reading 'The secret life of bees'. i like it a lot. and want some spun honey. (i do eat honey)
so last night myke came over, he needed to do something with the computer and also i needed him to write a few recipes for me in my new cakewalk 2 zine.
i made spaghetti for dinner, plain with olive oil and basil, and my new favorite 4 ingredient dish, mashed tofu that tastes like chicken.

mashy tofu chicken reciept- mash 1 container of extra firm tofu in a large bowel. then add 2 Tbsp. nutritional yeast flakes, 1 Tbsp. olive oyl, and 1 Tbsp. tamari.
Mix all together with a fork until it turns an unappetizing brown color, then top on spaghetti and eat it. I love to eat it plain, cold, and with fork tines. this recipe is from 'the cookbook for people who love animals'.
so then i baked a chocolate cake with chocolate icing, mostly to test it for my zine....i used the chocolate cupcake recipe from vctotw. i just love that recipe. Then I made up my own cocoa frosting recipe, and spread it on the cake.
You will have to buy my new Cake walk 2 zine if you want the frosting recipe!
(on sale next year i think)
yay vegan cake!

11.02.2008

date night spaghetti  


johnathon and adri came over and we made a fancy dinner! adri cooked a meal while i baked a dessert!
adree made up her own spaghetti...it was marvelous...made with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, celery, onions, garlic, lemon juice, apple cider vinegar, a nob of earth balance.....very very tasty. i baked a loaf of banana bread from the farm's cookbook. hippy banana bread!
we put it in my flower bowl and took it outside to have another night picnic. we ate the whole bowl full!
and we came in and watched my favorite movie: some like it hot!!!! and ate banana bread. scrumptious. the top crust tasted like teddy grahams.
i think adree looks like a girl from holland or sweden with that top, and the cute lilac apron!!! and super short shorts, because girls from there are supposed to be sexy.

11.01.2008

chocolate candy molds! halloween events.....  

first post in november! yesterday was halloween and i was busy all day! i went shopping in brown county with dad, no bowler, so sad. we ate in b-ton at laughing planet (oh luscious veggie burger) and went antiquing (spent $30!) yes i use my hard earned money to buy bonnets.
then we went home and papaw arrived and we chatted. i got dressed up like a movie star like woman, with a royal purple slip dress, and a black and white polka dotted bowtie. and my long faux fur coat. dad and i saw Dracula at the artcraft.
we came home and i melted some endangered species milk chocolate and i poured them into metal molds that i bought today and made little chocolate bunnies and calves.
i got the living room ready with blankets and tyLea came over and she warmed up some chili and i ate noodles and we watched "The Birds". Mandy & Kodie stopped by, kodie was the joker!!!! and mandy was a cowgirl. we partied and i put on my pioneer outfit with bonnet. we stayed up until 2 am and we watched the spongebob "scaredy pants" episode and the great pumpkin, charlie brown.
yays. noodle wore his pumpkin bandana. funnn halloweeeeen.
*~drawing from bitterbutton.com

Chocolate molds reciept-

  1. Buy various tiny metal candy molds, wash and dry them.
  2. brush them with a light coating of oil.
  3. buy your favorite bar of chocolate (3 oz.) and melt it in a double boiler.
  4. spoon chocolate into each mold.
  5. shake each mold and tap it on a hard surface, to remove air bubbles and get a uniform chocolate coating.
  6. stick in freezer for a couple hours to set and get hard.
  7. slightly bend the molds back and forth to loosen the edges all around and plop out onto a plate to serve them.
  8. they melt quickly, so any that won't be eaten in a matter of about 10-15 minutes, stick back in freezer!