Blog Archives
VeganMoFo – Creepy Cocktails!
[updated 10/30; 1:16pm]
This week, SnarkyVegan sent a handful of bloggers two martini recipes to customize. The other bloggers include:
SnarkyVegan (of course)
Little Things Big Things (check out her MummyDogs below the martini recipe!)
Pumpkin Spice-tini:
pumpkin mash:
2T pumpkin pure
1T thick plant milk or creamer (I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Beverage)
1T agave
1tsp pumpkin pie spice
Mix in shaker (filled with ice) with -
1 1/4 ounces (shots) vanilla vodka
1/4ounce rum
1/4 ounce buttershots (butterscotch schnapps)
Rim martini glass with crushed graham crackers (blend graham cracker crumbs with pumpkin pie spice and sugar)
Decorate with creepy eyeballs, graham crackers, or ginger cookies.
Graveyard Martini:
Line the rim of a martini glass with crushed chocolate cookies – to get the cookies to stick, dip the glass on a plate covered with Kahlua (use what’s left on the plate in your martini, if you don’t want to waste).
Drizzle a bit of chocolate syrup inside the glass, let it run down a bit.
In a shaker, mix:
1 1/2 ounce Chocolate Liquer
1 1/2 ounce Vanilla Vodka
1 ounce Kahlua
splash of thick plant milk (I used Trader Joe’s Coconut Beverage – it’s thicker than So Delicious Coconut milk, but not as thick as plant based creamers)
Shake well. Top with spooky marshmallow ghost and some crushed chocolate cookies.
I made the ghost out of my last two Sweet and Sara plain marshmallows – I just cut them with a knife to give them a ghostly shape (they were stuck together).
VeganMoFo – Slow Cooked Pumpkin Latte
I promise I haven’t given up on VeganMoFo or the slow cooker. I just needed a break.
This morning, I made myself a pumpkin latte. The original recipe was from my friend K, who got it from the Crock Pot Girls on Facebook.
Ingredients:
3T instant espresso
6C plant milk
7T pureed pumpkin
2 1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
Sugar – to taste. (My milk was unsweetened, and I used oat milk, which I’m not a huge fan of, so I used a bit more sugar than I would have if I had used sweetened)
3T vanilla (less if your milk is vanilla)
Whipped topping – I still have some Rich’s leftover, but if you can find Soyatoo & like it, use it! (If you can find a place to get Rich’s and you’re not a restaurant – please let me know!)
Mix all of these in the crock pot. Cook on high for twoish hours. Top with whipped topping and a sprinkle of cinnamon
VeganMoFo Iron Chef Challenge #3
This weekend’s secret ingredient – coconut.
I think coconut is my favourite ingredient. If I see a recipe that includes it, or a (vegan) product that includes it, I can’t say no.
Today, I made coconut brittle (or, German Chocolate Cake Brittle). It was terrible. I’m pretty sure I know exactly what went wrong, and I will be re-making it. Unfortunately, I used up the last of my coconut shreds when making it, so, it’s going to have to wait until I make it to the grocery store (an hour away) to buy more.
So, I’m going to try the coconut challenge one more time today with a coconut cream pie (with meringue topping — Many, many thanks to Hannah Kaminsky for showing that meringue can actually be done vegan!)
I promise to update this by the end of the day with gorgeous (well, you know, standard) pictures, a delicious recipe, and lots of love for coconut.
8:02pm – Update
I made it tiny, because I’m a sucker for tiny food.
I used my favourite pie crust for this recipe.
Then, make tiny pie crusts in a large muffin pan (large muffins, not large pan ^_^). Bake at 415 for about 20 minutes. Set aside.
I also changed up my go-to pudding recipe.
You’ll need:
1/3 Cup Sugar
3T cornstarch
a shake of salt
1 can light coconut milk
a splash of vanilla
about 1/2C shredded coconut (mine was sweetened, but, generally, I avoid sweetened dried fruit)
Combine sugar, cornstarch, and salt in a smallish pot. Slowly whisk in coconut milk (add it too fast and you’ll have lumpy pudding – sick). Add vanilla. Heat on low until thickened. Stir in coconut.
Pour into your tiny pie crusts. Top with whipped topping (I had some Rich’s, but you can use Soyatoo if you can get it). I didn’t top it with meringue because I got lazy. I may top the remaining 11 with it tomorrow. I promise to let you know!
VeganMoFo – Slow Cooked Yeast Bread
You read right. Slow cooked bread. Like, the kind of bread I can make delicious sandwiches with.
When I read about making bread in a crock pot, I was a little dubious, but had to try it. I decided that, instead of experimenting with a new bread recipe cooked in a new way, I’d use my favourite, tried-and-true, never-fail bread recipe. It’s the Outrageously Easy BIG Bread from VegWeb.
I use this recipe for everything from cinnamon pull-apart bread to dinner rolls (perfect for Thanksgiving!).
Anyway, I didn’t make any changes to it this time. I just threw it in the slow-cooker and let it rise (first rise) for about an hour, then punched it down, and turned the slow-cooker on low – it rose the second time while the crock pot was warming up.
The bread was a little more dense than it is when you cook it in the oven. I may let it rise a little longer the second time when I make it again? I have no idea if that would actually make it less dense. Either way, I’m not super concerned – it was awesome.
VeganMoFo – IRON CHEF CHALLENGE!
It’s the weekend, and it’s VeganMoFo, which means, it’s IRON CHEF WEEKEND! I missed the last one because I was camping, but, this is my favourite VeganMoFo event. I love a good food challenge.
This weekend’s ingredients – coffee and bananas.
My dish – Mocha Banana Bread Pudding
Happily, this dish has enough coffee in it to please coffee lovers, but not so much that it’ll scare away coffee haters. If you want it to taste more like coffee, it’ll taste great with more added.
Ingredients:
1Loaf Sweet French bread
2 cups of your favourite vegan creamer (I actually used some Rich’s vegan whipped topping, un-whipped. If you like Soyatoo or can get your hands on Rich’s use it)
2 of your favourite plant milk
1C sugar
1/4C Earth Balance, melted
2T EnerG + 1/2C water (mixed)
3tsp instant espresso, dissolved in 1/2C water
2 bananas, sliced into coins
1 scant cup of vegan chocolate chips
Cut french bread into cubes. Put them into a bowl and keep overnight to get a bit stale.
The next day – put bread into 6qt crock pot.
In a separate bowl, mix creamer, milk, sugar, Earth Balance, EnerG mix, and espresso. Pour over bread and let sit for about 15 minutes. Gently mix in bananas and chocolate chips.
Cook on high for 2-3 hours. Low for 4-6.
Try not to sneak too much of the bread while it cooks. 
VeganMoFo: Slow Cooked Coconutty Brussels Sprouts
Tonight’s recipe combines my two favourite things – Brussels sprouts and coconut.
Ingredients:
1lb frozen Brussels sprouts (of course, you can use fresh, but if you do, I’d add probably 1/4C liquid – water or broth)
2T Earth Balance Coconut Spread
a few T dried coconut flakes (unsweetened!)
a splash of soy sauce
Throw all the ingredients into 2qt slow-cooker. Cook on low for about 2 hours.
I served mine with leftover spicy orange black beans and brown rice.
Vegan MoFo: Slow-cooked Spicy Orange Black Beans
I’ve been terrible with my VeganMoFo posts! I went camping last weekend (hooray, vegan camping!), and haven’t caught up.
Today, to make up for it, I made some rockin’ black beans, and ate them with squash on corn tortillas.
A note about my crock pot(s) – they cook really hot, so, my cooking times may be less than what you need. As your cooking time comes to an end, check to make sure your meal is cooking properly.
Ingredients:
1C dry black beans
3C water
2 smallish fresh sage leaves
1 bay leaf
about a tsp oregano
salt (to taste)
1/4 red onion, chopped (mine was a leftover from dinner the other night – it was oven-roasted)
2 garlic cloves, minced, or crushed
1 jalepeno, roughly chopped (use less if you don’t like things super spicy – mine are from the garden and some are super spicy, others aren’t so much)
chipotle powder (to taste. I used about 2tsp)
Tapatio, to taste (again, I used about 2tsp)
cumin, to taste
4T orange juice, divided (I use simply orange, I think if you’ve got a sugary orange juice in the fridge, you probably want to use fresh-squeezed, if possible)
1T lime juice
In a 2qt crockpot, combine beans, water, sage, bay leaf, oregano, and salt. Cook on low until beans are tender (about 3 hours), but not quite thoroughly cooked. Sautee vegetables until onion is translucent, add to beans. By now, there should be very little water above the beans, maybe 1/4 inch? If there’s much more, dump some of the water. Add chipotle, Tapatio, cumin, and 2T orange juice. Cook on low for about another hour.
Just before serving, add 2T orange juice and 1T lime juice.
I served mine on corn tortillas with roasted delicata squash (from my garden) and sauteed bell peppers (mine were mini bells from the garden)
VeganMoFo Day 2 – Slow-cooked Eggplant Curry
Curries might be my favourite way to enjoy my slow cooker. The long cooking time is perfect for letting the flavours combine. This curry is unbelievably simple.
Ingredients:
1 can chickpeas, rinsed well
1 can coconut milk
1 can petite diced tomatoes (and juice)
1/2 yellow onion, diced
1 chopped eggplant
1tsp curry powder
1 tiny can tomato paste
1 tiny can peeled, chopped green chilies
crushed red chilies to taste
Throw everything in your slow-cooker. Cook 4-6 hours. Eat over rice, quinoa, cous-cous, or, do what I did, and eat it over a baked potato (first smothered in Earth Balance Coconut Spread)
