Can You Say Sugar Rush???

Miniature Jelly Doughnuts

I was never  a big doughnut enthusiast back when I wasn’t vegan. I love bread and I like sweets but it was just never my thing. Somehow when I went vegan I all of a sudden longed for things that I never really ate. I’ve had some of those pre-packaged vegan donut holes that you can pick up at the store but they are just alright. I know that vegan doughnuts are very popular in other parts of the country but here in Los Angeles there just isn’t a credible source for truly vegan donuts. So when I received a copy of the September Vegetarian Times with recipes for vegan doughnuts I was excited because now I could try my hand at making my own. And OH MY GOD, am I glad I did! A fresh, warm, miniature jelly filled donut is like, well… let’s just say that I had enough to get a really nice sugar rush!

Doughnuts!

These little jems are truly addictive! They taste the best right after assembly while still warm but they are delicious the next day too! The whole process takes a few hours but it is sooo totally worth it!

Jelly Close Up

It was relatively easy to fill them with rasberry jam once I got the hang of it and some really ballooned up once I realized that I could really squeeze it in there! I used a 2″ biscuit cutter and they ended up looking almost like doughnut holes – so fun. I think that might be the problem – they are so small and cute and delicious that I just keep popping them in my mouth until I realize that I have a ton of “energy” – ha!

Oh I almost forgot, would you like the recipe? You can find it here!

Now go make some vegan doughnuts!

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Happy VeganMoFo!

Snickerdoodles

Today marks the beginning of VeganMoFo 2009! The challenge is to blog about all things vegan food related daily for the whole month of October and I can’t think of a better way to start than vegan snickerdoodles! The recipe is from Vegetarian Times and can be found here. These are super easy and taste oh so yummy!

For more info about VeganMoFo head over to Kittee’s blog  for all of the details.

I had been neglecting the blog a bit because it was just too darn hot here in Los Angeles and I was feeling uninspired. Now that the weather is starting to cooperate I am totally excited for VeganMoFo and for the beginning of fall foods! While going through my photos today I found this pancake shot from a while back that I never posted. Pancakes with whole berry sauce from Vegan Brunch!

Pancakes!

 

I am still testing for Terry Hope Romero’s Vegan Latina cookbook and the latest recipe I tried was Sweet & Salty Seitan and Potato Empanadas. These empanadas are so damn good – the dough is to die for and the filling is the perfect balance between sweet and spicy.

 

Empanadas

These are some of the best empanadas I have had! If I haven’t said it enough, this book is gonna rock the vegan world by storm! Here is a close-up of the inside:

Empanada Close-Up

The pictures don’t even do these justice because they are that good!

Well I guess that will do it for the 1st installment of VeganMoFo for me. Stay tuned for many more to come…heck, by the end of the month you might even be sick of me…

I Like Pie!

So when I was I college I took this music appreciation class and sat next to an international student from China. She was very timid and sweet and we just kind of smiled at each other at the beginning of class. Little by little we started talking to each other but it was difficult at times because of the language barrier. One thing I do remember about our talks was that she really liked pie – her face would light up when she would tell me about the pies she had tried! Well, this week I have had that same excitement over pies and so the title of the post is my friend’s famous line “I Like Pie!”

Cranberry Cherry Pie

First up, a cranberry cherry lattice pie! This pie is sweet and tart and oh so wonderful for breakfast! The recipe is from here. Here’s a close-up:

Pie Close-Up

When making a lattice top, I always end up with extra crust so I made these two mini-pies:

Mini Apple Pie

This one is filled with 2 fuji apples and a little bit of brown sugar and cinnamon.

Mini Strawberry!

Fresh strawberries from the farmer’s market sprinkled with a little bit of sugar.

For the grand finale I made a peach pie with a crumble topping:

Peach Pie!

This is about 3 lbs. of fresh peaches tossed with a cup of brown sugar, 1 tablespoon of cornstarch, and some cinnamon. The topping is 1/2 cup of oats, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, 4 tbs. of EB vegan butter, and cinnamon.

Peach Pie Slice!

This one turned out absolutely delicious! Nothing beats making your own pies with fresh, ripe fruit – totally worth the time and energy!

The crust on all of these pies is one that I found on Vegetarian Times several years ago and it never fails me!

Pie Crust:

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tbs. sugar

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup Earth Balance vegan margarine, cut up

1/4 cup cold water

In  food processor combine first 3 ingredients. Add margarine and process for a few seconds. Add water and process until dough starts to form. Make a ball and wrap it in plastic wrap and put in fridge until ready to use.

At this point you can either roll it out on a lightly floured surface or just press it into a pie plate. It really does work both ways!

I hope you like pie as much as I do and that this post has inspired you to make your own!

Til next time…

Asparagus Cashew Cheese Struedel

I’ve never made anything with phillo dough but am always amazed at the things people do with them. Well, after much contemplation, today was my day to create something with it. I decided that I wanted to use the pepper crusted cashew goat cheese that I’ve made before (recipe from VT) and some grilled veggies. I settled on grilled asparagus, and a mixture of onions, garlic, crimini mushrooms, and sundried tomatoes seasoned with some fresh rosemary and thyme.

Asparagus Cashew Cheese Struedel

Phillo dough is pretty simple to work with as long as you’re delicate with the sheets. Of course I ripped some but the end product still came out pretty because you just keep layering the sheets. I used a whole box from the Fillo Factory that  I found in the freezer section of Whole Foods.

Asparagus Struedel

I sprinked a mixture of poppy, sesame, and  caraway seeds, and coarse salt and pepper on the top.

Struedel

After assembly I popped it in the oven at 350 for about 55 minutes. The flavors melded beautifully and overall I was very happy with the results! I wanted to do one of those posts where I take pictures of the process but once I got going, I totally forgot! I did get this kind of interesting shot of the grilled asparagus:

Grilled Asparagus

Til next time…

Vegan Cheese!

Pepper Crusted Cashew Goat Cheese

So as my tag line says, I love cheese and that has been my biggest challenge going vegan. I know there are many vegan “cheese” alternatives but all leave much to be desired. Much to my surprise and delight,  the April issue of Vegetarian Times  has several vegan cheese recipes and I jumped at the chance to try them. The one thing I can tell you about making nut cheeses is patience. They are not labor intensive but you need to have the patience to soak the nuts overnight, let it sit for 12 hours… Well, I can assure you the patience pays off! This cheese really does have the consistency of a soft spreadable cheese and has all the qualities I always enjoyed from cheese!

Cashew Nut Cheese

I joked around with the gf and told her when she came home tonight she might find me passed out, comatose, with an empty cracker box and a butter knife on my lap, this might indeed be the case…

If you like cheese and are vegan, I highly recommend you seach out this issue of VT and make some nut cheese!