Vegan muffins

Muffins and cupcakes are some of my favorite things to make. They're easy, tasty, and you can vary them a million different ways. But during my vegan month, I was a little skeptical that vegan baked goods could be that great (without perhaps using way too much oil). Well, I'm happy to say that there's no reason to be afraid of vegan butter and egg substitutes! I used Red Mill All Natural Egg Replacer for this recipe, which is made of whole soy flour, wheat gluten (but there are gluten-free egg replacers too!), corn syrup solids, and algin. It contains NO trans or saturated fats, and has a measly 30 calories and 1 gram of fat per "egg" equivalent.

I found this "easy vegan baking batter" recipe through the Lunch Box Bunch/Healthy Happy Life, a great vegan site. I decided to try it as a base for a few different types of muffins- lemon poppy seed and banana cinnamon.

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups flour
• 1/2 cup agave syrup
• 1/3 cup maple syrup
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1/2 cup soy milk - (I used unsweetened vanilla almond milk)
  
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 5 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1/4 tsp vanilla extract
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 2-3 Tbsp Egg Replacer + water to activate as per instructions on package
• 1 mashed banana (optional)

• For flavors I used you will also need: lemon for zest, poppy seeds, and for the second muffin, banana and cinnamon. I also sprinkled the tops with some clear sparkling sugar.
  

I opted to make the low-fat version, using 1/4 cup of oil and 3/4 cup of the almond milk, which I don't think sacrificed much flavor. I also substituted whole wheat flour for about half of the total flour, which I wouldn't really recommend doing unless you are making a heartier muffin- such as maybe something with oats or raisins in it.

They were very tasty! Especially right out of the oven.


There aren't instructions on the site, but here's what I did:
Steps:

1. Mix together the flour, baking soda, powder and salt.
2. Mix 2 Tbsp egg replacer with the instructed amount of water on the package, and add to dry ingredients.
3. Mix in the rest of the ingredients. (The banana is optional -it makes the muffins really nicely moist, but does give a strong banana flavor. Without it, the muffins are still spongy and moist).
4. Place in mini or full-sized lined or greased muffin pans and bake at 350 until a toothpick comes out clean. (About 12-15 minutes for mini ones).
   

After mixing all the ingredients, I actually split the batter in half (something I do fairly often when I'm baking! I like variety). With half of the batter, I added a very small ripe banana and mashed it into the batter, and then added some cinnamon and just a sprinkle of nutmeg and cloves (don't go overboard with those spices!). With the other half, I added some lemon zest and poppy seeds.

Front row: vegan lemon-poppy seed mini muffins
Back row: vegan banana cinnamon mini muffins

The batter can also be used for pancakes, waffles, and coffee cakes too! Happy vegan baking!

Vegan Summer "Pasta"

I found this recipe for vegan raw spring pasta through Finding Vegan (my new favorite site! the pics are awesome and always inspire me to try new dishes). The picture made my mouth water - it just looked so deliciously creamy! But, surprise, that's not pasta- it's spiralized zucchini!

I had never used - or for that matter heard of- a spiralizer before, but I have to say, I got pretty excited about using it for the first time. I can make noodles out of vegetables??!! No way!!!

The epic virgin spiralizer experience:

I can't wait to try out other things, too - like sweet potato fries and homemade veggie chips. But back to the "pasta" dish. The recipe comes from Vegan Culinary Crusade, so I can't take any credit. But I'm glad I found it! Here are the ingredients and steps, copied from VCC:

Pasta ingredients:

• 1 large zucchini, peeled or spiralized into noodles
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup frozen peas
• 1/2 cup asparagus
  

Sauce

• 1 avocado
• 6 TBSP water
• 1 TBSP lemon juice
• zest of 1 lemon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp ground pepper
• 1 TBSP fresh thyme

Steps:

1. Wash & cut fresh asparagus into bite-sized pieces and place in the freezer. Keep the peas in the freezer as well until you are ready to use them.
   
2. Peel & spiralize the zucchini (it's easy!) and mix in the salt & pepper. Set aside.
   
3. Put all the ingredients for the sauce in a blender or processor and blend until creamy.
   
4. Boil a pot of water. Remove the asparagus & peas from the freezer and place in a large bowl. Once the water has reached a boil, pour it over the asparagus & peas so that they are completely covered. Let stand for ~ 2 minutes.
   
5. Drain the water from the asparagus & peas and mix in with the zucchini noodles.
6. Add the sauce & toss!
   

Notes:
Just a little bit of a warning: raw veggies can be a little harder on the digestive system (sometimes they make you... bloated), so moderate your portion sizes.

This dish looks creamy and rich, just like an alfredo pasta. But looks can be deceiving! The avocado does give the sauce a nice creaminess, but obviously it doesn't taste like a cream sauce. But, the dish is summery and refreshing with the lemon and thyme. This would be a good accompaniment to a summer meal, but I'm not sure I'm sold on raw zucchini.

Bon appetite!

Chloe's cupcake!

I love cupcakes. I've been making mini ones the center of parties for a while, and so I was pretty excited to try my first batch of vegan cupcakes during my "vegan month". But how to pick a recipe? If I'm committing to making a full batch of cupcakes and bringing them to a party, I want to make sure they are really delicious. What better vegan cupcake to pick, in that case, than the one that beat them all in Cupcake Wars? I decided to make the beautiful Chef Chloe's equally beautiful vegan Tiramisu cupcake.

To sum things up, this is an 100% vegan cupcake with a vanilla cake base, hollowed out a bit in the center and filled with a soaking liquid of amaretto and espresso and raspberry sauce, and topped off with a buttercream frosting that's hinted with amaretto & espresso. Is your mouth watering yet? The result is a very sweet, grown-up cupcake, reminiscent of Tiramisu but not overpowering.

Despite having no egg, and almond milk rather than regular milk, these cupcakes came out perfectly... they have a hint of vanilla flavor and are incredibly moist and just a little spongy. A great base cupcake.

I'll defer to Chef Chloe's site for the recipes/instructions for all these components, and just list the ingredients in case a link changes at some point!

Ingredients I used in the cupcakes: 1 ½ cup all-purpose flour, 1 cup sugar, 1 teaspoon baking soda, ½ teaspoon salt, ¾ cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk (T.Joe's brand), ½ cup canola oil, 2 teaspoons vanilla extract, 2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Next came the raspberry filling. At first I thought I had made it too thin (I used agave syrup rather than sugar, as the recipe calls for either), but after letting it cool in the fridge, the consistency was perfect for a filling. (OR, I'm thinking this would make a great topping to icecream- vegan or not). There's a hint of citrus and cinnamon in the raspberry filling that makes it just awesome.

Ingredients I used in the raspberry sauce: 1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen), a little less than ½ cup agave syrup, 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, 1 teaspoon lemon juice, 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon, dash of salt

I pretty much followed the recipe to a T, other than I only made 6 regular sized cupcakes- with the rest of the batter, I made 24 mini cupcakes, since people at parties tend to be scared off of committing to a full-sized cupcake (even though they will eat 2 or 3 minis!)

The results:

These are the mini ones only:


Soaking liquid ingredients: 1/3 cup amaretto and 1 Tablespoon instant espresso

Frosting ingredients: 1 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, 3 cups powdered sugar, 2 tablespoons water, 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. Add to taste: 2 tablespoons instant espresso powders mixed wiht 2 tablespoons amaretto.

Some notes:
-Definitely take Chloe's advice and don't add all the espresso mixture to the frosting at once. I might have used about half of it in total to get the right consistency and flavor.
-The frosting is REALLY sweet. I'm wondering if some of the sugar could be cut back...
-Overall, a really delicious, sophisticated cupcake. They do take a bit longer than your average cupcake to make, but the result is worth it!
-I just might have eaten the scooped out parts of the cupcakes that Chloe says to 'discard'.... hey, you have to make sure they taste ok, right? ;-)

Big Salads!

Often, I actually prefer my salads to those I can get at restaurants. It's not because I make any kind of amazing dressings or extra-special ingredients. It's because I like "salads with lots of stuff in them!"

My ideas of the anti-salad: soggy salads (ie- salads so overdressed you might as well be sipping dressing), "the wedge" (really! Who had the awful idea of chopping a head of iceberg in half and slathering some creamy dressing all over it and calling that a salad?!), or even worse- those iceberg lettuce salads from steakhouses of the 80s with 3 wedges of boring tomatoes and a few thickly sliced cucumbers. Yawn. What a waste of a vegiportunity! I like my salads to SING with vegetables.

What I love about salads is they can be made QUICKLY. And, when done properly, they are healthy, filling, and delicious. Here are my tips for making a good salad:

• Variety- Not just in the 'toppings' but in the lettuces. My favorite salads usually have at least 2 different kinds of lettuce (although a good kale or spinach salad doesn't have to- but if you're using something basic like romaine, or -God forbid- iceberg- definitely mix it up a bit. There are some good baby lettuce mixes you can buy pre-packaged, but make sure they are fresh). Adding some fresh herbs, like dill or basil, can also be a nice flavor addition.
  
• Color- this is another way to test the above- if you have a colorful, beautiful salad, chances are you've got some good variety in there (as well as different nutrients you need!)
  
• More veggies! I often like having chopped fresh steamed asparagus, zucchini or squash, sauteed mushrooms, beets, chic peas, jicama (for a nice crunch!), or sprouts in my salads.
• Nuts, fruits, & seeds- (what my husband calls twigs & berries) -Adding some dried or fresh fruit, healthy nuts, or seeds can go a long way to spicing up your salad. My new favorite is pomegranate seeds, which also pack a high punch of antioxidants. Trader Joes has some really good dried fruit options. Here are some ideas: raisins, cranberries, apricots, chopped figs or dates; mandarin oranges, grapefruit, strawberries, blueberries, apples, avocado; walnuts, almonds, cashews, or sunflower seeds.
  
• Proteins(s) - Since I'm veggie, I like using beans, edamame, tofu, or tempeh. Adding some protein to your salad ensures it will keep you full, and takes it from a side to a meal. Items with healthy fats also go a long way towards keeping you full (like avocados and nuts), in addition to just making the salad really yummy!
  
• Freshness- Using fresh ingredients should always be a rule of thumb! The only real exception to this is some frozen veggies *can* be acceptable in a salad - corn is often ok, or peas, and sometimes artichoke hearts.
• Keep the dressing light! Don't drown your salads!!! Dressing shouldn't be the highlight of the salad, or the only thing you taste when you take a bite.
  

Some "Big Salad" meal ideas:

• Mandarin oranges, fresh dill, avocado, green apple, atop baby greens with a light dressing
  
• Middle-Eastern: hummus or chic peas, olives, feta, cannellini beans, sauteed zucchini, asparagus, atop fresh baby spinach with a balsamic dressing
  
• "Salsa salad": Black beans, sour cream, shredded cheese, tomatoes, avocado, jicama, atop shredded mixed iceberg and romaine lettuces, with salsa as the dressing
• Summer salad: strawberries, blueberries, edamame, sprouts, orange grape tomatoes, sunflower seeds, atop baby arugula with a citrus or honey-mustard dressing

The salad pictured above has avocado, tempeh, pomegranate seeds, carrots, tomatoes, snow peas, edamame, and baby arugula blend. I used Brianna's dijon honey mustard dressing, which is awesome!!

Speaking of salad dressing, I usually look for low-fat dressings that will complement my salads rather than over-power them. Some of my favorite store-bought dressings:

• Brianna's Honey Mustard
• Newman's Own Light Balsamic Vinaigrette
  

While I do like making my own salads, these places have some of my favorite salads in the Bay Area (which, I might add, is a pretty darn good area to be in if you're a vegetarian or vegan who loves big salads with fresh ingredients!):

• Blue Barn Gourmet in San Francisco's Marina/Cow Hollow (Yelp)
• The Plant Cafe Organic in San Francisco - Embarcadero and Marina/Cow Hollow (Yelp)
• Paisan in Berkeley (Yelp)
• Crepevine - multiple locations in the Bay Area (Yelp)