Inspiration and Hunger Pangs

I have often been told by readers of my blog "reading your blog makes me so hungry!" Well recently I have stumbled upon and started reading some blogs that make me just flat out drool. Im absolutely one of those types of people who will buy a cookbook or follow a blog based on pictures alone - and these three blogs certainly pulled me in with their admirable snapping ability but low and behold they furnish us with tasty recipes to boot! Take a look and see what I'm talking about.
(the pictures below are pulled from the blogs I am featuring - permission was granted beforehand and the artists retain all rights)

1. 6bittersweets


I saw this picture a little while back while browsing on flickr and instantly fell in love. And what?! She has a blog to go with these lovely little treats? This self described avid baker is also practically a neighbor! Alright she lives in the neighboring state (VA) but whatever! While bittersweet tends to lean towards the sweeter side of life she also likes to cook - I am anxious to see what veggie fare she will cook up in the future - but for now I will gaze longingly at the mojito cupcakes that currently grace her blog.

2. Bakers Royale is next on the list.



Naomi at Bakers Royale makes my list because this self taught baker makes the cutest treats around. I have absolutely no patience to make my food look adorable or perfect but I have a huge amount of respect for people who do. Her pictures inspire me to wait just a few minutes more before chomping away at my creations to take a second to try to spruce the food up for the camera.

3. I have saved my favorite for last - the talented Celine S over at have cake, will travel. Why is she my favorite? Well just look at her work!



Not only are her images amazing but its all vegan and she even give us the recipe. Well...not always actually. But she has her reasons:

At the moment she is taking photos of burgers for a book she and Joni Newman are working on together. It doesn't come out until next summer but you will want this. Don't believe me? Try this on for size. Celine just posted a picture of a "masa masala burger in sweet potato bun on top of brown basmati rice, green peas and red lentils in tangy tahini dressing." Can't imagine what that looks like (but I bet you are drooling over what it SOUNDS like) take a peak at her flickr and prepare to be hungry!

In the meantime....looking for a new cookbook? I know I always am! Lets get her 500 Vegan Recipes Book!

I hope you all enjoy these blogs as much as I do!

Vegan Pot Pie

Pot Pie...oh pot pie. When you decide to cut out meat and dairy your brain immediacy jumps to all the things you can't have. "Are you serious?! No alfredo? No cheese fries? No cheesesteaks?"

And then a few weeks go by and a month or two and then you realize: Hey, I can still have those things if I really want them! And they still taste great. Want the proof? I took this pot pie over to Pang and Robin's (a pesca-vegetarian and a meat eater) and afterwards Pang said she had "meat pot pie stomach" and Robin took a bite and for a split second she thought I had "tricked" her into eating meat.

There you have it - meat eaters and veggies alike will love this.



Vegan Pot Pie

1 pack of 4 Fieldroast Apple and Sage Wheat sausages, sliced (so good!)
6 cups vegetable stock
1 cup yellow onion, diced
1 cup carrots, peeled and diced
1 can sweet corn, drained and rinced
3/4 tsp thyme, minced
3/4 tsp sage, minced
3/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
1 tbsp nutritional yeast flakes
1 tbsp tamari soy sauce
2-4 tbsp canola oil
3/4 cup flour
3/4 cup vegan margarine (Earth Balance)
1 puff pastry sheet rolled out to by 12x10 inches

1. In a small sautee pan brown the wheat sausages with 1 tablespoon canola oil. Season with salt and pepper. Remove the from pan and set them aside.
2. Next make a roux. To make a roux, melt the vegan margarine in a saute pan over low heat, add flour little by little and whisk constantly until light brown in color and thickened. Set aside to cool. Put the veg stock in a saucepan and bring to a boil.
3. In a 5.5 qt. stock pot, cook the onions in canola oil for 3 minutes then add the carrots, sage, thyme, salt and pepper. Continue to cook for 5 minutes. Add already boiling stock and simmer for 5 minutes. Whisk in nutritional yeast flakes.
Add the roux a bit at a time and continue to cook as sauce begins to thicken. Stir in sausages, tamari and corn. Pour the mixture into a large shallow pan to cool. Preheat the oven to 350 F.
4. Once the mixture is cool, pour into individual ramekins, glass pie pan or small casserole dish. Cover mixture with puff pastry (be sure to leave a small excess of pastry for folding and fluting of the edge) and seal edges. Cut small slits.
Bake for 35 min or until the top is nice and brown and the insides are bubbling though the slits in the crust.

Excuses and Portraits

Sorry I have been MIA on the blog for a while. I just spent the week in Florida with this girl (my old roomie from college and one of the only people who can put up with my moodiness and not get offended!) and this week I head off to Chicago. Look for more posts soon though! I haven't forgotten about you all so don't forget about me.

Spicy Hummus Wontons

Over the past few weeks I have been making these little guys for lunch for Ryan and myself - experimenting with different flavored hummus, different folding of the wonton skins, and different toppings - so now I am ready to share them.



The idea is pretty simple. Put little spoonfuls of hummus onto flat squares of wonton skin, fold, fry, and eat!

Spicy Hummus Wontons

Roasted Red Pepper and Jalapeno Hummus
Wonton skins (they usually come in a pack of 100 so perhaps use a 1/4th at a time and freeze the rest for the future)
Extra virgin olive oil
Cayenne Pepper
Shriracha

1. Using your brand new cast iron skillet (oh wait you don't have one? get one! or use what you have i suppose...) pour enough oil into the skillet so that the bottom is covered with a thin layer. Heat over medium heat.

2. Here is how you make them. Use a cookie sheet or a large cutting board and cover it with wax paper. Lay out as many wontons as you can handle (I usually do 12) and put a small spoonful of hummus on each square.


3. Fill a small bowl with water. Dip your finger into the water and gently trace the outline of half the square.


4. Fold each square in half and fold the top two corners down towards the straight edge. They should look like this.


5. When the oil is hot place as many wontons as will fit in the pan without them touching into the skillet. Cook 2 to 3 minutes on each side or until they are crispy and brown. Remove from the skillet and transfer to a paper towel lined plate. Repeat the process with any remaining wontons.


6. Serve with Shriracha and cayenne pepper and even a little more hummus for dipping.


Enjoy!

Where Can't I Chant - A Collboration

I've been meaning to post about this for a while - I recently started a collaboration with Jeremy Litten called Where Can't I Chant. I just got a new lens (35mm!) so stay tuned for more soon!

Lemon Blueberry Muffins - revisited

For those of you who are regular readers you are probably thinking its time for me to close up shop and move on with my life. Wait...she's doing lemon blueberry muffins again? Didn't she just do those like 2 weeks ago. Yes, but wait! These are different I promise. Here is why. First...




I got this lovely little antique citrus juicer! I used one of these in France and kinda fell in love with it and decided my life would not be complete until I had one of my own.



Another reason these muffins are different is because this time I decided to go vegan. And for those of you who are about to poo poo this - taste testers (ie the boys I live with who don't have a preference between vegan and non-vegan muffins) have confirmed that the vegan ones are better.



The basic base for these muffins came from the book Vegan Yum Yum, but she made Lemon Cranberry Muffins. Which would have been cool too but I had blueberries. This is the first recipe from her book that I have tried (even though I tweaked several thinks) and now I can't wait to try more!


Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins (12 muffins)

1 3/4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp cornstarch
the zest from 1 lemon
1 cup plain soy milk
the juice from 1 lemon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp almond extract
1 small carton blueberries, rinsed and dried
1 tbsp raw sugar



1. Preheat the oven to 400 F and line your muffin tin with paper liners or grease them.
2. In a large bowl mix together your dry ingredients: flour, sugar, baking powder and soda, salt, cornstarch, and lemon zest.
3. In a 2 cup liquid measuring cup mix together the soy milk, vegetable oil, vanilla, almond, and lemon juice.
4. Fold the wet ingredients into the dry until almost combined.
5. Toss the blueberries in a bowl with the raw sugar, then add them to the batter and mix everything together until its just combined.
6. Fill the muffin tins. Bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Using a knife, pop each muffin out of its tin and either place it on a rack to cool or turn the muffins slightly sideways in the tin to prevent soggy bottoms.

Vegan Oreo Cupcakes

So recently I bought myself the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World book...and I love it. These were my first project from the book and I can't wait to try more. I took a cupcake over to my brother who is deathly afraid of the word vegan and even HE loved it. Just a few days later we made a double batch together (its hard to bake with him because he eats them all before they can get frosted!). So...vegans and non vegans alike will love these and I highly recommend the book and I will keep you posted on further experiments!

Vegan Oreo Cupcakes
Makes 12

1 cup soymilk
1 tsp lemon juice or apple cider vinegar (I like lemon juice myself)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup chopped oreos

1. Preheat the oven to 350 and line your muffin pans (I did big ones the first time and minnie the second time)
2. Whisk together the soy milk and lemon (or vinegar) in a big bowl and let it sit for a few minutes. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract and beat until the mixture is foamy. In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and soda, the cocoa powder and the salt. Add in two batches to the wet ingredients and beat until there are no large lumps. Add the oreos.
3. Fill your liners and bake for 18 to 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Move the cupcakes to a wire rack and let them cool completely.

Oreo Frosting
1/4 cup non-hydrog shortening
1/4 cup non-hydrog margarine (Earth Balance is a good one and they come in baking sticks!)
2 1/4 cups confectioners' sugar
3/4 tsp vanilla extract
1/8 cup plain soy milk
1/2 cup crushed oreos

Beat the shortening and margarine together until fluffy. Add the sugar and beat 3 more minutes. Add the vanilla and soymilk and beat 5 more minutes. Add the oreos. Spread!