Wednesday, December 19, 2012

honey, i'm nuts 4 u

these honey nut cookie balls are my go-to baked good. they double as a snack AND a dessert -- dense enough to fill ya up, while remaining delicious and addictive.

HONEY* NUT COOKIE BALLS
makes 2 dozen cookies

2 c. rolled oats
1 1/3 c. whole wheat pastry flour (or all-purpose)
1/2 tsp coarse sea salt (coarse salt MAKES these cookies)
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 c. unsweetened shredded coconut
2/3 c. chocolate chips
2/3 c. slivered almonds
2/3 c. pecan pieces
2/3 c. ground flax
2/3 c. honey*
1/3 c. molasses (or more honey)
1/3 c. almond butter
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 c. soft or melted coconut oil

preheat oven to 350F & line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

in a large bowl, mix: oats, flour, salt, cinnamon, coconut, chocolate chips, almonds, and pecans.

in a small bowl, mix: flax, honey, molasses, almond butter, vanilla, and oil until smooth.

pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and stir until you have achieved an even level of moisture throughout the mixture. if it seems a little dry overall, add 1-2 T almond butter.


moisten hands and use a tablespoon to scoop out cookie dough and roll into balls with your hands. drop cookie balls onto the baking sheet. they balls can be close together, as they won't spread out during baking.

bake for 13 minutes, remove from the oven and let cool for 5 minutes on the baking sheet before moving them onto a cooling rack.

*in my version of vegan (everyone has their own!), i do eat honey. get that stuff IN MY BELLY. if you do not share this sentiment, simply replace the honey with an equivalent amount of maple syrup!






Thursday, December 13, 2012

slimy sloppy tofu-eggs

MAGIC HAPPENED.

i am so glad i finally started this blog because now that i accidentally came up with the perfect tofu scramble concoction, i have a place where i can share it with the whole wide world.

being vegan isn't hard for me. sometimes it's annoying at parties when i have to deny cute non-vegan finger foods, but it's a fleeting lament. the one thing i truly miss is a good breakfast of slimy, sloppy eggs. fried eggs, scrambled eggs, eggs benedict, egg salad --- it's all basically perfect in mine eyes. and that is what makes this happy accident so near and dear to my heart.

serves: 1 hungry hungry vegan
this can be easily doubled using a full package of silken tofu, and it can be spread even further by adding mix-ins (veggies, beans, etc).

splash of olive oil
1/2 block firm silken tofu
1 clove garlic, chopped
2 squirts bragg's liquid aminos
a heavy sprinkling of (freshly ground) black pepper
a pinch of red pepper flakes
a shake or two of smoked paprika
1 heaping spoonful of nutritional yeast

heat up a small skillet over medium heat, add oil. crumble tofu into medium-large pieces (it will crumble further as you cook it). add in garlic and mix it up with a wooden spoon. add bragg's,  black pepper, red pepper, and paprika. let cook for 3-4 minutes until the tofu is warm. add in nutritional yeast and mix it up  to coat the tofu. cook for about a minute more, and then serve! delicious with toast.



Monday, December 10, 2012

it's not easy being green

unless, of course, you are a delicious and creamy and filling pumpkin smoothie. in that case, your short sweet life will be perfect.

1/2 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 ripe frozen banana
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tbsp ground flax
1/2 - 1 cup nondairy milk
1 handful of spinach (optional, but essential to be green!)
1/4 cup raw or roasted(!!) walnuts

combine everything except the walnuts in a blender and blend blend blend until combined. i like mine thicker, so i only use ~1/2 cup of soy milk, but i also like to eat it with a spoon so do what your heart tells you. then add in walnuts and pulse a few times. this will leave you with a nice crunchy smoothie. crunchy smoothies are  going to be a thing.