Desserts!

Well, my friends, I am not allowed to upload any more pictures.  Quel horreur, mes amis!  So, I think until I have the time+energy to mess around with that stuff, I'll be linking you to my Tumblr (which you should visit anyway ;) ) for my pictures, and posting the recipes here.
Oh, gosh, I'm writing this at 4:41 in the morning.  I will be leaving at 7 for my traditional Thanksgiving Day race (I'm so excited), and I guess I was just too anxious to sleep... (?)  So, thus, I am typing this, in order to stall on doing my french homework...

I give you desserts!

Up first is CCK's crustless pumpkin pie, which I gave a crust, and topped with some raw whipped cream.  I made two servings, and divided that recipe into two ramkins.  For the crust I mixed together 3 tbsp oatmeal, 1 tbsp whole wheat flour, and 1 tbsp applesauce, and baked it for about 12 minutes at 350, until firm.  Then I added the pie (doubling pretty much all of the seasonings), and using baking blend stevia. 

These babies were a chocolateglobofgoodness :D  I used PB2, and sugar free maple syrup for the agave, but no changes other than that.  Woooowww...

I wasn't too big on the texture of these blondies, but it may have just been my flour.  However, the flavour was excellent.  I used applesauce for the oil, and skipped the frosting since it doesn't freeze too well.

WHOLLYFREAKINGBANANAS This cake was excellent.  Seriously.  Good.  Gooooood.  I essentially fifthed the recipe, so I used 2 dates, 1/5 banana, and 3 tbsp of pretty much everything else.  The only actual changed were to use applesauce for the oil, and instant coffee powder + water for the coffee.  Topped with more of the raw whipped cream from above.

Oatmeal ATTTTAAAAAAAACK!

So, here's what I did... made a quadruple batch of Bottomless Oatmeal, and just reheated the stuff every day, with a different flavour each day!  It worked out great, and oatmeal tasted normal.  Saved sooo much time too!  I also added a splash of almond milk when reheating, to loosen it up a bit.

 

#1: Pina Colada.
Pineapple, cinnamon, stevia, reduced fat shredded coconut, sunflower seeds

#2: Mocha
Instant coffee powder, cocoa powder, banana (roughly mashed), vanilla extract, low fat shredded coconut

#3: Loaded PB and J
Granola (actually leftover oatmeal cookie crumbs!), frozen banana, frozen strawberry, peanut butter, vanilla extract, cinnamon, sugar free strawberry jelly, peanuts

#4: Banana Split
Frozen banana, frozen strawberry, fresh pinapple, cinnamon, stevia, dark cocoa powder, vanilla extract

#5: Peach Pie
Cinnamon, nutmeg, frozen peach, mashed banana, cinnamon, walnuts, sugar free maply syrup, butter extract

#6: Banana Peanut butter
Banana, peanut butter, vanilla extract, dark cocoa powder, stevia

#7: Chai
Instant coffee powder, mashed banana, cardamom, cinnamon, vanilla extract, cloves, nutmeg, cinnamon

#8: Orange
Chopped glow orange, walnuts, maple syrup, vanilla extract

#9: Sweet Potato and Cranberry
Mashed sweet potato, dried cranberries, nutmeg, cinnamon, sugar free maple syrup

#10: PB and J
Strawberries, banana, peanut butter, sugar free maple syrup, vanilla extract

#11: Blueberry and Chia
Frozen blueberries, chia seeds, walnuts, cinnamon, flax seeds, dried goji berries, sugar free maple syrup

Sweets and Treats!

I hope you are ready to be bombarded... ;)

 

 

First up - pumpkin frappachino!  Adapted from Minimalist Baker.  Couldn't be easier.. blend 1 cup ice cubes, 1 cup non-dairy milk, 1/4 cup canned pumpkin, stevia to taste, and 1-2 tbsp instant coffee powder.

 

 

Continuing with the pumkin theme, pumkpin scones, adapted from Iowa Girl Eats.  Used whole wheat flour, applesauce for butter, added 1 tbsp pumpkin pie spice, used stevia for the sugar.  You might want to add more liquid as well.  Yay pumpkin!

 

Yoga cookies... from Keepin it Kind.  These got rave reviews from my friends.  And I must say, they are tastey!  Only change was to use 1/2 cup PB2, and 1/2 cup almond meal for the peanutbutter.

 

Banana Maple bread pudding from the Misfit Baker... made a mini pizzert (1/2 serving), and topped that with the mixture, approximated for a single serving, using sugar free maple syrup.  Good with whipped cream on top...

 

Peach sticky buns!  They aren't so pretty, but they sure were tastey.. adapted from That's So Vegan.  Subbed 1/4 cup water + rum extract for the rum, stevia + molasses for the brown sugar, stevia for the sugar, 2.5 cup whole wheat flour and 1/2 cup white flour, and applesauce for the butter.

 

Single-serving caramelized banana pie type thing..  yes, this was very good.  Adapted from The First Mess.  Made the crust with applesauce.  The ice cream was baked bananas drizzled with sugar free maple syrup, frozen soymilk, vanilla extract, and stevia. Topped with cookie dough..

 

And this beauty from Oh My Veggies.  Guess what you do.. blend frozen banana with frozen peaches.  That's it.  Ice cream, and slightly lower calorie that banana ice cream!

Saturday Dessert Plate #3

Allllright... newcomers would include failed fudge.  Obviously, I won't be posting THAT recipe..

(the white blobs are the cookie dough.  Sorry about that, I was just too tired to fiddle with it.)

But non-fail pb-oatmeal cookies from Chocolawty!  Dang, I LOVE that women.  She's amazing at creating healthy desserts.  And you really can't go wrong with peanutbutter and oatmeal!  Changes:

made a half batch

used corn starch

subbed applesauce for the coconut oil

used PB2

used half baking stevia and half stevia extract in place of the erythritol

Saturday Dessert Plate #2

I think I'll start posting this every Sunday.  Some things remain the same, and some change!
See last time's plate here.

Newcomers and updates:

The candied almonds were completely frozen this time, and the texture was much better.  The taste is still somewhat off, but that *might* be remedied next week... stay tuned!
Made some orange cardamom mousse!  It's not that hard... really.  Chuck into a vitamix: 1 small peeled orange, ~8 oz tofu (I used half silken and half firm because that's what was readily available), 1/2 tsp cardamom powder, a small splash of almond milk, ~1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, ~3 tbsp stevia (might want to add more, it could have been sweeter), and 3 tbsp cocoa powder.  Blend until smooth - and further.  The texture of this was great, with the help of Mr. V!  Just slightly puffy....  Recipe adapted from Oh My Veggies.
No-bake chocolate-PB balls!  The texture was a bit odd - still needs some work.  But the flavour was all there.  Mix together 2 tbsp brown rice flour (might go with oat flour, or straight up oatmeal, next time), 2 tbsp almond meal, 1  scant tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp stevia  (would add more next time), a heaping tbsp PB2, and enough sugar free maple syrup to make a dough-like substance.  Chill until firm.  Recipe adapted from Chocolawty.

Dessert Plate

Yes, I really did eat all of this.  No, I'm not fat ;)

So, I suppose you want to know what was on my plate of decadence!  (BTW: I work out for 2 hours every Saturday, so I eat dessert.  It all comes out a wash, you know?)

Going from left to right, top to bottom:

1) A PB pretzel bar

2) Single serving pb cookies from Foodie Fiasco (using PB2, and baking - I think microwaved things taste funny)

3) Home made candied almonds.  A work in progress, definately, but here's what I did (adapted from VegWeb).  In a small pot over medium heat, combine 2/3 cup water, 3/4 cup stevia, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, 1/2 tsp cinnamon, and 1 tsp guar gum.  Bring to a boil-ish and add ~1/2 cup almonds.  Keep stirring, and the mixture will caramelize/reduce, and become more of a coating for the almonds.  At this point I stopped, dumped the almonds onto wax paper coated with nonstick spray, and cooled them.  Next time I will try baking them and see if the coating hardens up.

4) (next row) Lemon pistachio rice crispie bar from Chocolawty!  Woooooooowwwwwwwwwwwww!  These babies are amazing!  The lemon and pistachio is such a genious combination.  Changes: halved the recipe, used lemon zest in place of lemon extract, used sugar free maple syrup in place of rice syrup, pulverized pistachios in my Vitamix for the pistachio butter, used powdered stevia in place of stevia extract, skipped the protein powder (I might have used another flour in it's place, but I can't remember), subbed stevia + soy milk for the honey, used shredded coconut in place of the coconut oil, and skipped the jam (forgot it, actually).

Wow, that was a LOT! ;)

5) Cookie dough from Chocolawty!  This stuff is made with chickpeas.  I FINALLY got up my courage to make a dessert with chickpeas... and I won't lie, you can kind of tell it's not your normal flour and butter.  But that does NOT mean it tastes bad - it's just different.  I will totally be having more chickpea desserts in the future - they're good, in their own right.  Surprisingly good, really.  Changes: halved recipe, stevia + molasses for the brown sugar, used straight up almonds in place of almond butter, and used more stevia in place of the stevia extract.

6) PB pretzel nuggets, store bought goodness.  I REALLY can't get enough of these things.

7) Home made chocolate covered almonds.  You melt chocolate chips in the microwave and dip your almonds in there.  Hm... sounds hard! ;)  Hey, it just struck me, I should do double dipped almonds next time... they WERE a bit skimpy on the chocolate!

AAAAAAAANNNNNND...

8) Whew!  Ok, so I have redesigned these Chocolate PB Pretzel Sandwiches.  You mix PB2, stevia, and soy milk to form a paste, sandwich that between pretzels, and smother it in melted chocolate.  MUCH healthier, and I can now make just the right amount for me! 

What's Up Wednesday #3

Hm... first time making almond cheese!  I made a lightened up version by Healthy Hipster (using lemon juice instead of lime, Italian seasoning in place of curry powder, and sweet potato), and put it on this pizza!  It was pretty good - obviously, not EXACTLY like cheese, but it had an excellent flavour.  I was highly pleased.

Made a single serving chocolate cake from CCK for my b-day!  It was alright, but I think I'm not a HUGE fan of baking in the microwave.  Things just don't turn out as well.  But I made her Reeses Pieces frosting (using sugar free syrup, and PB2), and that was super yum - I ended up just dipping my cake in it.  You have NO idea how long it's been since I had cake with frosting - it was such a treat!

Speaking of my birthday, lookie at what M got me.

I AM NOW THE PROUD OWNER OF A VITAMIX!

That's right... be jealous.  I can't wait to play with my new toy! Squee!!

And oatmeal continues to pour out of my kitchen.  Not literally.  But I did make bottomless oats again, this time Banana Bread flavoured (using maple syrup instead of molasses, and using 1/3 of a banana).  I have found that the oats are best simmered really low with the lid on the pot for about 1 1/2 hours - then they get nice and thick, and no liquid is gone - hence, more food ;) !

(lots of pictures!)

And, I made Chai Oatmeal with the bottomless oats - nixing the fennel, and adding maple syrup, using pre-ground spices, and Foodie Fiasco's low cal cookie butter

Kind-or Sort-of PB Chocolate Pudding

Mmmmm... smatterings of chocolate.

 And peanut butter.

Adapted from Oh She Glows and Chocolate Covered Katie

First up, spray a large ramkin with nonstick spray.  In a small bowl, mix 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 2 tbsp mashed banana, a small pinch of salt, 2 tbsp almond meal, and 2 tbsp shredded coconut.  Freeze for a few minutes.
Blend together 1/3 cup silken tofu, 2 tbsp PB2, 2-3 tbsp stevia, 1/2 tsp vanilla extract, and a few tbsp soy milk, to hold things together.  It should be pudding like.  Spread on top of the chocolate layer. 
Melt a handful of vegan chocolate chips, and spread over the tofu layer.  Freeze until solid, and top with cookie dough balls - just shape these into balls, and replace all oil with banana/applesauce.

PB Rice Crispy Bars

So, peanut butter rice crispy - oatmeal bars, anyone?  It makes about 6 bars, each clocking in at less than 50 calories!

Adapted from Chocolate Covered Katie and Foodie Fiasco

Part I: mix together 1 cup rice crispies, 1/2 cup oatmeal, and 1/4 tsp salt in a small bowl.  In a larger, freezer-safe bowl (I just used a plastic container) mix 1 tsp vanilla extract, 1/4 cup sugar free maple syrup, 2 tbsp PB2, a splash of soy milk, and 1 tbsp agave.  Pour the dry mix into the wet, and mix well.  Press down HARD until very compact, using wax paper.
Part II: Mix together 1 tbsp PB2, a big splash of soy milk, 1 tsp coconut flour, and 1 tbsp shredded coconut.  Mix well, and pour over bars, spreading until even.  Top with pretzels, freeze, and enjoy!

Sweets: Cookies, Pudding, and Pizzert!

Yum!  I have been doing a lot of sweet cooking/baking recently, as well as normal cooking.  I don't really have any recipes, but I'll just post a list of links.

First up, the Pizzert.  Can I say HOW AMMAZINNNGGGGGG this is?  It's FABULOUS.  Like, I think I will be having this for breakfast for the next few weeks.  Yeah.  It's good.  By Chocolate Covered Katie, the genius for sweets.  Each pizzert will come out to ~250 calories, toppings added in.  It's a lot of food for 250 calories ;)
So far I have made cinnamon + banana + chocolate chips ; cinnamon + banana + pepita;

Secondly, I made Chocolate Covered Katie's Cookie Dough Balls, which were gooood as well.  I followed the recipe to a t, only adding stevia and omiting the sprinkles (the only ones I saw had partially hydrogenated oils... boo hoo)

Lastly, I made HHL's Peanut Butter Banana Pudding.  Yes, it's tofu based.  Yes, it tastes awesome.  No, you can't taste the tofu.  At all.  Seriously.  I made a half batch, used PB2, sugar free maple syrup, and a splash of soy milk.  Blend it all together, and mmm mmmmm.  Yum, high protein puddin'!

Loong Recipe List

This was a school project.  We had to do a 'self portrait'.  I was like "I can't draw/paint"... so I asked my teacher if I could cook something, and she said that was fine.  So here are the fruits of my labour! (Apologies for the funky formatting... I copied and pasted from Word, so that usually messes things up)

Adapted from (in order)
Chocolate Covered Katie
Chocolate Covered Katie
HHL
Notes from the Vegan Feast Kitchen

Minted Brownies

Mix together ¼ cup mint cocoa powder, ½ cup whole wheat flour, ¼ tsp baking powder, ¼ tsp salt, and ½ cup sugar.  Add in 3 tbsp blended silken tofu, 1/3 cup applesauce, 1 tbsp oil, and 2 tbsp soymilk.  Stir well, and pour into a loaf pan.  Bake for about 20 minutes at 325, until firm.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Mix together 5 tbsp whole wheat flour, ¾ tsp soda, ¼ cup sugar, and 2 tbsp brown sugar.  Mix in ½ cup peanut butter and 2 tbsp applesauce.   Refrigerate overnight.  Shape into small balls, and bake at 350 for 12 minutes, until firm.

Vegan Cobb Salad

Base: lettuce.  Toppings: mandarin oranges, black olives, broccoli, kidney beans, cheese, and tofu bacon.

Tofu Bacon

Press tofu for 30 minutes in a towel between two plates to get out extra moisture.  Slice.  Marinade in ½ cup soy sauce, 2 tbsp nutritional yeast, 2 tbsp brown sugar, 2 tbsp ketchup, and 1 tsp liquid smoke overnight.  Grill on a Panini press until completely flat.

Cheese Sandwiches

Spread white bread with tofu mayo and add soy cheese slices.  Cut into squares and serve.

Roasted Red Bell Pepper and Cream Cheese Wraps

Preheat the oven to 375.  Chop a red bell pepper in half, and then knock out most of the seeds, and take off the stem.  Place the pepper, skin up, on a baking sheet, and bake for 45 minutes – 1 hour, until the skin is blackened.  Set aside to cool, then peel the skin off, and cut into strips.

Spread a thin layer of Tofutti herbed cream cheese on a wrap, and add bell pepper strips, and fresh basil.  Cut into slices and serve.

Pesto Tofu Tower

This was QUITE good.  It was so nice to have pesto!  Can't wait for other recipes that use pesto as well... as soon as my basil plant recovers...  Inspired by EatingWell.

So, tofu was cut into large, thick bricks of varying sizes, lightly coated with italian flavoured bread crumbs, sprinkled with FYH mozzarella cheese, and baked for 45 minutes and 375.  In the last 15 minutes of baking, I threw in some asparagus spears as well, to get some veggies in the plate.
The pesto was a mixture of fresh basil, mirin, garlic powder, peanuts, and cashews.
That's it... easy, right?

Simple Coconut Stir Fry

Sorry, my camera ran out of batteries, so no pictures tonight. (Updated with picture, now, obviously...)   Which is reallllllly annoying because the stir fry was so pretty.  And coconut-y...  Adapted from HHL.

Brown rice was cooked with a bay leaf, garlic powder, and dried ginger.
Tofu was cut into slabs, marinated with maple syrup and liquid smoke, and grilled on the panini press.
Veggies were broccoli, onion, carrots, and mini-potatoes; sauce was 50/50 low fat coconut milk and maple syrup, with a smidge of Perfect Pinch sweet and smokey flavouring, thickened with corn starch.
Plated: rice, veggies, tofu, shredded coconut, and peanuts.  Eat with chopsticks.

Stir Fry

Again.  Yeah, I know.  But it was yummy!...

Two slabs of tofu were pressed and marinated in 2/3 cup orange juice, then cooked on the panini press. 
The leftover marinade was mixed with cornstarch, a bit of soy sauce, a bit of garlic powder, 1/4 cup chopped cilantro, vegetarian chicken bullion, and chili powder.  The veggies were onion, broccoli, grated ginger, and bell pepper.  Served over brown rice and topped with peanuts.

The key here is to allow the sauce to thicken for a few minutes after adding it...

Chocolate Covered Peanut Butter Pretzel Sandwiches

Yeah, yeah.  I know, these are a DESSERT... they aren't healthy at all.  I will be the first to admit that.  but one needs to eat dessert once a week... at least, I do ;).  I have a large bowl of vegan ice cream smothered in toppings, so sometimes it seems like I really have two desserts - ice cream, and vegan chocolates.  Anyhoo, I made these thingies last night and put a few on my ice cream.  And they are A-mazing.  A-mazing!   A nice combination of pretzel, chocolate, and peanut flavour - plus they're pretty sweet.

I apologize for adding another dessert to the giant realm of vegan desserts... But, seeing as this has been the first sweet thing I have made in years, and it was super yummy, I figured I might as well post it.

Just sayin', these take about 45 minutes - 1 hour of actual work, and then they dry for about 1 - 2 hours... they actually dried while I ate dinner, so I can't say to be precise.  Then I bagged them up and froze them for later.  And, although I made about 50 sandwiches, I wouldn't be surprised if they only last a few weeks - M has a weakness for that type of thing...

Adapted from 17 And Baking.

So, first you mix together 1 cup peanut butter (crunchy or creamy... I used crunchy because that's what we had, but all the recipes that I saw called for creamy... *shrugs*), a scant 2/3 cup powdered sugar, a scant 3/4 cup brown sugar, a smidgen of coconut extract (all the recipes I saw called for vanilla extract, but I don't have any so I was like "well, coconut works too"), and about 1 tbsp soy milk.  Then ball up about 1 - 2 tsp of this mixture and sandwich it between two pretzels.  The pretzels can be the traditional twists, or the checkerboard ones - I used the checkerboard, but all the recipes I saw used twists.  After you finish making the sandwiches, melt 1 - 1 1/2 cups vegan chocolate chips in the microwave - the key here is to go low and slow.  Note: most dark chocolate = vegan chocolate.  Just check the ingredients.  After the chocolate is melted, dunk the pretzels in, lay them on wax paper, and let them solidify. 

And then eat them... but sparingly, my friends.  Do not overindulge - these are NOT healthy by any means.

Coconut Udon Tofu Stir Fry

This stir fry is amazing.  I wasn't feeling all that great today- my stomach had been hurting and I have this aweful taste in my mouth.  So I didn't eat very much for my lunch, and by dinner I was so hungry that I didn't really care how much my stomach hurt, I was eating a lot.  So I made this stir fry, which turned out to be just the thing that I have been craving for a long time.  It's been ages since I have made udon noodles, and these seemed to turn out really well.  I thought it was just slightly sauce heavy, and M agreed, so go a bit heavier on the veggies if you want.  And I always love the tofu, as usual...

A Noodle Dish

Adapted from Eat Air

Serves 4

12 oz fried tofu, cut into bite-sized pieces
1 heat broccoli, cut into florets
5-7 green onions, white parts thinly sliced, green parts chopped into 1 inch pieces

4 small carrots, cut on the diagonal

1 red bell pepper

2/3 cup edammame
1 tsp ginger, grated
2/3 cup reduced fat coconut milk
3 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp basil

1 tsp curry paste

1 tbsp brown sugar
1 tbsp vegetarian oyster sauce
2 tbsp corn starch
Udon noodles, cooked, to serve

Peanuts, to serve

Mix together the coconut milk through the corn starch in a bowl and set aside.

Heat a wok over medium high heat with a bit of water. Add the carrot and sauté for a couple minutes and then add the broccoli and ginger. Cook for 3 more minutes and add in the bell pepper and green onion. After another minute add the edammame, and then stir fry another couple seconds. Add in the sauce and cook for another minute. Add in the tofu, heat through, and serve over udon noodles topped with peanuts.