Celebrate Thanksgiving with compassion and GF Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread

It's that time of year again when our kitchens are smelling of cinnamon, nutmeg and pumpkin!
So comforting and warm these smells are.

Yesterday I made an attempt to make a Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread that I added some chocolate chips to.  The end result was fabulous!

Keaton came home from school and had a piece. He said he didn't know it was gluten free.
I must admit that the texture is really light and moist without the any grainy texture that you can
find a lot with gluten free baked goods due to some of the flours used.

Before I post a recipe I'll need to make this again to fine tune the measurements.

Well Thanksgiving is just next week and some of us are still trying to figure out what we are making.
We are going to my in-laws house so it won't be an all vegan meal.  Maybe one day.
Here is a wonderful video by Colleen Patrick-Gourdreau that talks about celebrating a compassionate Thanksgiving.  She has such a way with words. This is a great video to share with family and friends.


Let's make new traditions...ones that do no harm. With this in mind how about serving up some amazing vegan food to share with our family and friends who aren't vegan. What will you be serving?  I think I may be serving up a mushroom stuffed puff pastry along with Roasted Sweet Potatoes with Arugula or roasted root veggies with a rich sauce.  I might make Pumpkin Cheesecake too.   Some other suggestions are Black Bean Sweet Potato Enchiladas or Roasted Root Enchiladas w/Cashew Cream Sauce(this is my favorite).  The list goes on with Butternut Squash Risotto to
Butternut Squash Lasagna(used non dairy milk instead)which I may save this for Christmas.

Have a wonderful day!

Celebrate it's Earth Day! Strawberry Chocolate Scones & Beetballs

Happy Earth Day! 

 Remember to celebrate our earth every day because we only have one.

Beetballs!  Can you get more earthy than this?

These incredible beetballs were found at Fat Free Vegan where you can find the recipe.

You don't have to be a beet lover to like these.  I was hesitant to try this recipe but once I added all of the   spices....I was shocked at how good these were.  I served them up with pasta and marinara. The next day they were added to a wrap.

Strawberry Chocolate Chip Scones.
These are as delicious as they look.
I wish I could take credit for the scone recipe because it is so good but I can't.  I found it last year on line on a blog called Vegan Bicyclinguist.  The scones are moist, unlike most scones, which make these so much better.  It's a great basic scone recipe to use and then you can change up what you would like to add to it.  I used spelt and then I left out the lemon zest for this recipe.

Enjoy the rest of this beautiful day!

GF Double Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies

Happy March to you all!  So I didn't post much last month.  Hey it was a short month. lol!  Really though I got a stomache flu and intestinal something that just got me down.  Yesterday was actually the first day I was able to eat somewhat of a full meal.  Anyways I haven't really been on the computer much.  I'm back now!

It's been so cold here on the California Central Coast/Valley, we are just  not used to it being in the 50's day after day.  Burrrrrrr!

It snowed up on our mountain a week ago so we took a  drive up to enjoy for a bit.  We brought Cleo for her first snow trip.  She loved it! 

I love my camera!

Of course Cleo found water.

This tree just looks cool.

Drive back down the mountain.



GF Double Chocolate Chip Fudge Brownies



My first attempt at making  GF brownies and the result...amazing!!!  They are so so good.  I think I may even go to the extreme and say "perfect".  Seriously that's how yummy these are.  They are a bit crispy-crunchy on the corners and fudgy inside, just the way I like my brownies.  Right now I'm not going to share the recipe because I didn't write it down..hmmm my bad.  I'm pretty sure I have the measurements right in  my  head but I'm going to make these one more time to be sure.  I may even have a giveaway for these.  I'll keep you posted.

Stay warm!

Have a very merry Chirstmas!

Warmest wishes to all of you!  I hope you have a wonderful Christmas spending time with family and friends. 

Our dinner menu has changed.  Dave ordered tamales and I made vegan ones the other night so our  menu now will be tamales, rice, beans, tortillas and a big salad.  For dessert I'm going to make a flan from VCON.  Of course there will be plenty of cookies and caramels to munch on.

Speaking of cookies I can't leave you without a recipe now can I?  If you love ginger, molasses and chocolate than these cookies are for you.  They are so soft and chewy....yum!  Keaton and I love these.  I've been making them for years now.  I found them on the Martha Stewart website years ago and the only ingredient change needed to make them vegan is to sub Earth Balance for the butter.  Cool eh?

Chewy Chocolate gGinger Cookies

by Martha Stewart

Ingredients
Makes 2 dozen



•7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
•1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
•1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
•1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
•1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
•1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon unsweetened Dutch-process cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions

1.Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate

•Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.

•In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.

•In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.

•Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Chewy Ginger Cookies, Rumnog Cookies and Caramels for Keaton's friends  families.
 
 
Merry Christmas!

Chickpea Crepes with Grilled Vegetables, cookies, etc.

Today is the start of another beautiful & warm day out here in California.  We need to enjoy this because cooler temps and rain our coming our way again.   I know we need more rain so I can deal with it, but these warm and sunny days like the ones we've been having are very enticing.  Bring on spring and summer, I'm ready!   Okay enough about the weather. 

Years ago I checked out from the library The Voluptuous Vegan cookbook by Myra Kornfeld  and tried quite a few recipes.  You should really check out that book!  Some have alot of steps but the end results are delicious!!!  This is the inside, obviously, of Chickpea crepes with grilled veggies(asparagus, zucchini, bell pepper and scallions) a layer  tofu cheese and topped with a spinach/basil pesto sauce. 

This is how it looks when it's all rolled up.  I was actually planning on making this for Valentines but hey the next day worked.  It's been so long since I've made this and the boys(husband and son) loved it as much as I did.  The chickpea crepes rock!   

I'm trying to take out as much wheat from Keaton's diet again. He's been complaining of his stomach and I asked him how long it's been hurting.  He said "It's been hurting, I just try to ignore it. "  I told him he shouldn't have to live with pain( he's only 12! but no one should live with constant stomache pain) and we'll just have to get a handle on his food situtation.  Anyways, I saw these gluten free coconut chocolate chip cookies from Jessy at Happyveganface and tried them out.  These are fantastic, both of us loved them.  Thanks Jessy!  Check 'em out on her blog.  The only change I made was replacing the chickpea flour with sorghum.

Have a wonderful day everyone!

Day trip!

The Monday before school started my husband suggested we get out and take a drive up the coast. So we started out from our town of Solvang and drove to San Luis Obispo and had lunch at Big Sky Cafe . This is one of my favorite places to eat, they have many vegan options and are very friendly and accommodating. My son had the Black Bean Vegetarian Chilli and I had the House Salad and a bowl of Black Eyed Pea Soup. Both were really good! My son loves their Vegetarian Vietnamese Bánh Mì Sandwich and their Traditional New Mexican Pozole soup is very tasty as well.

Before we left San Luis Obispo we had to stop at Sweet Earth Chocolates , per the write up on them from Melisser at The Urban Housewife . They have so many vegan chocolates to choose from. The older lady working their was extremely friendly and explained the history of the company. It smells so yummy when you walk in. They use coconut milk in many of the chocolates, very creamy, and the caramel is so light! The turtle(the large one on the left) has bits of hazelnut, rice crispies, caramel and then chocolate, it's so light tasting. Then you have the carmels above with the swirly chocolate drizzled on top and then the truffles, coconut, almond and espresso. Many more to choose from but we couldn't buy them all now could we. These so far are the best gourmet, if you will, vegan chocolates we've tasted. They are also fair trade which is even better!

Next stop was Cambria and we stopped in at Alloco's Italian Bakery . My husband wanted to stop their to meet the owners who he done some business with but had never met. My son and I had the chance of already meeting this couple and trying these great pretzels called Taralli, an Italian pretzel that they make. These pretzels rock! This bakery is the only one out here in the west coast to make them. So anyways a very sweet older couple run this bakery. My husband got to meet them and we just had to pick up a few bags more of the Taralli. These would be great with a dip or bruschetta sauce at a cocktail party or just to snack on, like we do.

As the day continued we stopped at Hearst Castle, San Simeon but we missed the last tour so we just looked around the musuem part and gift shop. We continued on north to check out the Northern Elephant Seals. The track you see here is by one of the males that just made it to the water, it took him about 10 minutes or so.

Aren't they cute! The males have the trunk, like the elephant, the females don't. There were quite a few seals spread out on the sand. The males are HUGE and they make these burping sounds when they raise themselves up and go at it with another male. I'm bummed cuz I took some video with my camera but it's not letting me download to post it. It was so cool to watch these creatures, it's like watching the Discovery Channel but live. I could've brought a chair and hung out for hours.

This little guy was hanging out and turned around for me to take his picture. lol!

All and all, we had a very nice day together as a family, enjoy the beautiful coastline and see some amazing creatures.

S'mores cupcakes

You know what makes me think of summer and camping? Besides the sun, the beach, long days, etc. S'mores! I finally made the S'mores cupcakes from VCON and I can't believe I waited so long. Taking a bite with the chocolate ganache, light buttercream frosting and then the unbelievingly moist cake all at once, OMG! They have just the right amount of sweetness, i'm not a fan of real sweet treats. My advice to you. Go to your kitchen right now and make these.

I can't wait to go have another.

Cupcakes for Cancer!

My son comes home from school on Monday and says "oh mom, I signed you up to make 40 cupcakes for the school bake sale on Thursday". Wow that's alot, I was thinking. Not 12, not 24, but 40? I asked him why he signed me up to make so many and he told me that if they didn't get enough cupcakes baked then they couldn't have the bake sale. (Each classroom has sign-ups for the bakesale on Thursday after school.) The reason he wanted to make sure there was enough cupcakes was that this is just no ordinary school bake sale, it's for kids with Cancer.

It all started with a local girl who had gone through chemo. a couple of years ago. She had heard of a young local boy who was diagnosed with leukemia and it hit home with her because she could relate to the chemo. It is a touching story about this young girl wanting to help raise money for this boy and for other kids as well. She started "Cupcakes for Cancer" and you can read about her, what she is doing and the article on the young boy on the following site http://www.myspace.com/cupcakesforcancer. It's really nice to know that there are alot of young people that do care for others and are doing something about it. I was also touched at knowing that my son cares as well. I guess I'm doing something right as a parent.

So here are my 40 vegan cupcakes I made. One batch was lemon with lemon buttercream(these were awesome), chocolate with mint buttercream and drizzled with chocolate ganache, last but not least, chocolate with chocolate frosting.

Brownies- tried and true

I must tell you that if you love brownies that are a bit crispy on the outside and more gooey on the inside these are it. Perfect everytime! I've tried other recipes but I always go back to this one. This recipe can be found at Vivacious Vegan .

Pecan & Chocolate Chip Biscotti

I love, love, love, biscotti! It's light and crunchy. I love the crunch. It's just a thing I have.

So I took the recipe from V'CON and altered it slightly. I used spelt flour, used 1/2 cup sugar instead of 3/4 cup(I usually use less sugar than is asked for, I think when you start cutting back on eating sugary treats your tastebuds change)I only used vanilla extract and used rice flour instead of arrowroot powder. Oh I used pecans and chocolate chips too, my favorite combo. The cute little mug that is pictured, my friend made that for me.

Birthday cake

This is a chocolate cake with mint chocolate mousse filling and mint icing. I made this for my sons 11th birthday last month. He plays the guitar so I thought I'd make him a cake decorated with the notes to "Happy Birthday" on it. It was fun and everybody loved it! The chocolate mousse recipe is from VCTOTW.