Are You Sure That's Vegan?

As long time readers of this blog are aware, I took a bit of a blogging break a little while back.  Since my return, I looked over my email and realized that I was sent an amazing vegan dessert recipe book to review.  I apologized for the delay, and I immediately fired up the stand mixer and preheated the oven.  

Claire Goss's Are You Sure That's Vegan? isn't pretending to be health food, it's straight up comfort food for those of us with a serious sweet tooth.  It's filled with unapologetically sugary treats such as mint chocolate chip cupcakes, pineapple upside down cake, and creme brulee.  These desserts are meant to stand up to all of their non-vegan counterparts, pleasing even the most cynical dairy and egg-lovin' omnivore.  There is a bright color photograph for every dessert in the book, and she even includes a photo guide to the baking tools she uses. 

I decided to start my Are You Sure That's Vegan? experience with Nutty Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies.  Though my usual baking nut of choice is walnuts, this recipe called for pecans, and I'm glad it did.  This sweet combination of oatmeal, pecans, and chocolate did not disappoint.  

Aunt Lena's Oatmeal Shortbread was a real treat with just a hint of nutmeg and a delicate, buttery balance of truly simple ingredients that many of us already have on hand (oats, flour, margarine, brown sugar, vanilla, nutmeg, and baking powder).  

The hands down favorite of the three recipes I've tried so far is definitely Peanutty Chocolate Chippers.  This is the best cookie I've had in a while.  This cookie is so good, that when I'm eating it I'm reminded of every good cookie experience I've ever had with every bite.  It really ranks up there with my favorite cookie experience from Whole Foods in New Orleans and with Cooking at the Pacific Outpost's Consummate Chocolate Chip Cookie.  It has the best combination of sweet and salty, chocolate and peanut butter.  You can bet that I will make these cookies when I really want to impress. 

This book is far more than just cookies, though.  She includes a recipe for funnel cakes, a summertime boardwalk favorite that I look forward to making soon.  I also count Key Lime Pie as one of my favorite desserts ever, so I will be following Claire's very easy Key Lime Cheesecake recipe whenever I need to be reminded of my trip to the Florida Keys.  This is a worthwhile addition to any vegan baker's collection of cookbooks.  Download the e-book or get five free recipes here.  You can also find the actual book version at Amazon.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie, An Unlikey Thanksgiving Tradition

 

In addition to the traditional mashed potatoes, yams, cranberries, stuffing, and tofurky, I like to round out my Thanksgiving meal with some chocolate peanut butter pie.  It's ridiculously easy to make, in fact there's no baking required.  I don't even measure the ingredients!  Here's what you need:

• A block of firm tofu
• A small bag of vegan chocolate chips
• Some peanut butter, preferably smooth but it really doesn't matter
• A teensy splash of vanilla
• A graham cracker crust

Here's what to do:

1.  Chop the tofu up coarsely and put it in a blender.

2.  Add a lot of peanut butter.

3.  Melt the chips is a double boiler.  If you don't have one, do what I do: Put a smaller saucepan with the chips inside a bigger pot filled with boiling water.  Stir the chips until they melt.  You could probably melt them in a microwave too.

4.  Put the melted chips in the blender.

5.  Add a small bit of vanilla.

6.  Blend until smooth.

7.  Pour the mixture into the pre-made pie crust, let it set in the fridge for an hour or so.

Even the non-vegetarians and kids loved this pie, and it couldn't be easier.

To satisfy my love of all things pumpkin, I also make a deliciously traditional spicy pumpkin pie from Lorna Sass' Complete Vegetarian Kitchen.  It's essentially firm tofu, pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, cloves, allspice, nutmeg, and maple syrup blended together and poured in a prepared graham cracker crust.  You do have to bake it for 30 minutes and let it set in the fridge for a few hours, but it's totally worth the wait.

Vegan Things I'm Thankful For This Thanksgiving

In no particular order...

• Vegan MoFo-It has been challenging but fun to try to come up with a blog post every day of the week.
• Are You Sure That's Vegan?-I was sent an e-book to review, and I had a new reason to bake lots of cookies.  Review coming soon!
• Tons of vegan blogs-There are so many amazing vegan blogs that are well written by sincere people, and I'm super thankful for that.
• My vegan running shoes-Surprisingly, lots of running shoes are made out of entirely synthetic materials. 
• Tofurky-A ready made vegan alternative that I'm starting to see everywhere.
• People that leave nice little comments on my blog-I get super happy whenever I get a comment.  Thanks for reading!
• People that read my blog but are too shy to comment-Thank you for reading too!

Happy Thanksgiving everyone!  I can't wait to read about what you cooked, baked, and ate.

Organic Tempeh Goodness

 

I've had a lot of delicious tempeh in my life recently.  First, Spicy Tempeh and Broccoli Rabe from Veganomicon.  This is one of my favorites, and it's on heavy rotation at my house.  I love the spicy fennel garlic tempeh and bitter greens combo.

The other day, I had to go food shopping but didn't feel like it.  So, I whipped up what I had and made this very beige but delicious meal.  While the pasta cooked, I fried some onion and added garlic.  Then I added cubed tempeh and covered it with veggie broth and Braggs in the pan.  I let the liquid boil down and added some dried sage.  Yum!

Last, another one that makes an appearance on the stove top pretty often, this is Peanut Tempeh with Noodles from Vegan Dad.  Tempeh, coconut milk, peanut butter, Braggs, red curry, and coriander?  Yes, please.  I also added some spinach cause spinach is awesome.

Vegan Finds at the Asian Food Market

I happened to be driving near an Asian Food Market today, so naturally I pulled over to check it out.  Once inside, I was immediately drawn to the large refrigerated section of soy products.  The prices were phenomenal, and the selection was somewhat surprising.  That container...oh, let's call it a bucket of tofu, cost less than $2.00!  I also got some "soy puffs" that are essentially puffy fried cubes of tofu, vegan spring rolls, vegan soy chicken, rice noodles, and Chinese restaurant tea that's a mixture of jasmine, green, and oolong.  The timing was right since I'm planning on making two tofu based pies and tofu whip for Thanksgiving.  The bucket will come in handy!