Pumpkin Pie Cookies

These were definately an experiment! I have to say that they turned out a little bit on the "cakey" side, rather than cookie, but sometimes that is okay.. The icing could've been thinner, but this was also an experiment as well as an excuse to use my pumpkin spice soy milk! p.s. regular will work just fine too :)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp ginger
• 1/8 tsp cloves
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar packed
• 1/2 cup vegan margerine
• 1 can pumpkin puree NOT pumpkin pie mix
• 1 tblsp applesauce
• 1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and grease cookie sheets and set aside.

In a medium bowl mix flour, baking soda, baking powder, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves and salt. In a larger bowl, beat together the sugars and margerine.. it won't be creamy, but it just be moist and well blended. Beat in the pumpkin, applesauce and vanilla. Slowly add the flour mix and beat until well incorporated. I use an ice cream scoop, drop onto cookie sheet and bake for about 15 minutes.

For the icing, put 2 cups powdered sugar, 3 tablespoons pumpkin spice soy milk, 1 tblsp margerine, and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Beat until smooth. Once the cookies are cooler, dip just the very top into the icing bowl and put on a wire rack or serve!

Peppermint Bark

This was so easy to make and turned out really yummy! I think it took me about 6 minutes to make! You need about 3-4 cups of chocolate chips, 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and about 12 candy canes.... put the candy canes in a plastic bag and smash with a rolling pin or whatever you have around the house! Don't make into a powder, just crush into really small pieces. Set aside. Line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper and set aside. In a sauce pan, melt the chocolate over medium/low heat.. there is nothing worse than burnt chocolate. Stir constantly, this doesn't take long. Once it is melted, remove from heat and add 1/4 teaspoon peppermint extract and 1/4 cup of the smashed candy canes and stir.. pour into the 9x13 pan with parchment paper and spread as evenly as possible.. sprinkle the remaining candy canes on top and push down any larger pieces so that it stays in the bark. Place in the refridgerator for about an hour and break!

Hot Chocolate

My sister-in-law is the QUEEN of Hot chocolate.. but since she lives a million miles away at the moment and I REALLY wanted hot chocolate, I thought I would take a whack at it.. its not as easy as you would think! Finally, I made one that worked.. so here is the recipe:

• 1 cup original soy milk
• 1 1/2 tablesp cocoa powder
• 1/2 teasp almond extract (can also use vanilla or peppermint instead!)
• 1 1/2 - 2 tablesp of sugar

Bring the soymilk to a simmer in a sauce pan, add the cocoa powder, extract and a pinch of sea salt and whisk until cocoa powder is dissolved... it is going to take a good 8 minutes for this to happen so be patient.. just whisk lightly.. once the powder is dissolved, add the sugar and whisk until you don't see granules anymore.. serve! This is very simple, but when you are craving chocolate NOW, it takes an awful lot of patience! Enjoy....

Foods Around the World

I very very rarely buy packaged food.. but as I was doing some grocery shopping, I went down the "World Foods" isle and decided that I would try something I have never had before.. since I love lots about India and know almost nothing about their food, I thought I would try a packaged version, instead of blindly trying to make it! So I grabbed an Eggplant curry and these "crackers" called puppodums... never heard of them so I thought what the hell! First of all, puppodums are the most amazing things to watch in the world ... They come flat and very thing almost like phyllo dough, and you stick in in the microwave for about 40 seconds and it starts to ooze from the middle and the rest follows and crackles almost like popcorn! When it's done its very puffy and crunchy! Each one turns out different so it never got old watching them form! The curry was really spicy.. I am not sure all Indian food is like that.. but it was still pretty delicious because the spice didn't mask the flavors!

I just wanted to share this because it was something different and I found it very fun and exciting! I think that when my daughter grows to the appropriate age, maybe every once in a while we take a break from the kitchen and pick a country and try things like this out! If they have these products in your grocery store, I strongly suggest trying them out! P.s. I discovered that puppodums are quite delicious with hummus.. I guess thats the American in me.. take a little from every culture!

Pizza!

So I LOVE pizza! My husband hates tomato sauce and so I have always liked the idea of pesto on pizza.. so here is a recipe with a cashew pesto - typically pesto is made with pine nuts, but they were being recalled on the East Coast. Even though I am in the midwest, it made me nervous.. so cashews are nice becuase you just add the same amount, as if you were using pine nuts.

Ingredients:

• 1 - 12 inch- pizza crust (I bought one at my local health food store)
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced
• Vegan mozzarella
• A handful of olives, diced (I liked kalamata and/or black olives)
• 1 cup seeded and diced bell peppers - you pick the colors!

For the pesto, put all of the following ingredients in a food processer:

* 1 1/2 cups tightly packed fresh basil

* A heaping 1/4 cup cashews - raw

* 1/2 cup olive oil

* 2 tablesp lemon juice

* 2-3 cloves of garlic - depending on size

* sea salt to taste - about 1/2 teasp

* black pepper to taste.... a pinch

* 2 teasp nutritional yeast (this is option but if you are vegan this is a GREAT source of B-12)

* a pinch of cayenne

Blend these ingredients until smooth and set aside!

Okay back to the pizza:  Preheat the oven to 400F. Place the pizza crust on a baking sheet and put in the oven for about 5 minutes. Be careful, I found out the hard way that these crusts are VERY fragile before they are cooked. Remove crust from oven and spread the pesto evenly, leaving about an inch from the edges.. or however large you like your crust. Next add the tomatoes and then cheese - I grate "Follow Your Heart" brand of mozzarella.. this is my favorite.. but I do love "Daiya" and this comes already grated-  Sprinkles with olives and bell peppers, and whatever other toppings you decide to add! If I am feeding this to my daughter, I will add what I feel she is lacking - I added spinach one time and it was great - just pan fry it a little with a SMALL amount of olive oil until it shrivles and then put it on the pizza... Return and bake for about 10 more minutes or until the cheese is melted!!! Voila!

The choices for pizza toppings are endless - so make it your own!

Chocolate cures everything!

Okay, I promise I will post an actual meal again, but I have been on a dessert kick.. maybe holiday season?! These chocolate peanut butter cups were the perfect cure to a crazy day! So I will share the recipe.. its super easy and super worth it... enjoy!

* 1 cup chocolate chips
* 1/2 cup vegan margarine
* 3/4 cup crunchy peanut butter
* 1/4 cup turbinado sugar.. only becuase I don't use white, but white works
* 3/4 cups crushed vegan graham crackers.. make them into tiny crumbs!
* 1/4 cup soy milk
* Crushed walnuts.. use your hands.. its a great stress reliever!

Place paper cupcake liners in a cupcake tin - makes 12.
Over medium heat, melt the margarine and stir in the peanut butter, sugar, and graham crackers. Once it is combined, remove from heat. Put about 2 tablespoons roughly into each liner. It JUST fills the bottom. If you have left over you can go back and fill it up a little more.

In another skillet, over medium heat, melt the chocolate chips and milk. Stir constantly .. there is nothing worse than burnt chocolate! Once it is melted, pour so that it JUST covers the peanut butter.. if you have left over you can go back and pour more in each.. there really isn't an exact science.. just make sure you have enough! Take the crushed walnuts and sprinkle over each cup. You can put these in the refridgerator for about 2 hours.. or if you are like me and can't wait 2 hours, put them in the freezer for about 1 hour and 15 minutes... Peace. Love. Chocolate.

Weather

Today while my daughter was taking her nap, I heard the wind rattling on my windows. Just as I looked up, my power went out. For the second that the power was out, I smiled. Do you ever think that maybe the world just wants you to stop and listen? I walked outside and stood there. As the strong wind rushed by me, I watched the trees sway back and forth and the leaves tornado around my feet. This is beauty. What if the wind that pushes against your chest and creates such an inconvenience when trying to open your car door, is breath. What if wind was the final assist for the leaves, as they say good bye and allow the trees to enter the conditions of winter? Listen. It is moving in more ways than the literal term. As I went back into my apartment, I sat and thought about weather. Rain. What if we looked at rain, not as percipitation that makes your hair flat? What if instead of running into the store to get out of the rain, we walked and enjoyed the wetness under our feet and appreciated the water that aids in growth. What if natural disasters were viewed as the earth evolving and not catastophic? It is disappointing when our basement floods because of the rain. It is scary when our cars slip on the icy roads. Its heart-wrenching when thousands of people lose their lives to natural disasters; I am not dismissing this. Just what if? It is amazing to me how the seasons cycle. How fall winds know how to prep for winter. How winter knows how to protect the soil. How spring knows how to birth for the summer. How summer knows how to reward and celebrate before heading into the cycle again. It never needs help, and it never misses a beat. It is incredible to me, that the earth looked so different millions of years ago, and how slowly, the earth continues these changes. Earthquakes are adjustments. Volcanoes, tornadoes... Hurricanes correlating with the moon.  When I view weather like this, I understand the cycle, and I can't help but feel connected.Whether we realize it or not, we too evolve. We are all connected and to me, it is more of a reason to believe that if we just rely on the earth for nourishment and relinquish control over other beings on this earth, we will thrive, appreciate and awaken. We are one, we are all created from the same hands, and if you just stop and listen, you will share this appreciation. Namaste.

Chocolate Chip Rice Crispy Treats!

Vegan desserts are by far the best part of being vegan! The flavors are more apparent and always seem to fill that sweet tooth void in my life! These were really easy and fun to make! Although there are vegan marshmallows.... which are insanely amazing, this recipe teaches you how to make rice crispy treats without them!

• 1 box brown Rice Crisps cereal (I prefer Arrowhead Mills)
• 1 3/4 cups brown rice syrup
• fine sea salt
• 3/4 cup almond butter, or your nut butter of choice
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips!

** Pour the cereal into a large bowl. Heat the syrup and a pinch of sea salt in a sauce pan over low heat. When the syrup liquefies, add the nut butter and stir until well combined. Pour over the cereal and mix well with a wooden spoon. Once thoroughly mixed and cooled to room temperature, add your chocolate chips and stir well. Turn the mixture out into a 9"x13" baking dish. Wet the wooden spoon and press down on the treats until it is flat on top. Let them cool in the refridgerator for 1 hour before cutting into squares! 

Tempeh Enchiladas!

Enchiladas are fun becuase you can basically stuff them with whatever vegetable combination your little heart desires and it is always delicious! Tempeh is a type of vegetable protein that looks like crumbled chicken in this recipe.. except its not so thats even better : )

You will need:

• 2 cups of water
• 1-6oz can of tomato paste
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 teasp chile powder
• 1 1/2 teasp ground cumin
• 1 teasp dried thyme
• 1/2 teasp sea salt
• 1 tablesp agave nectar
• 2 tablesp soy sauce

**Blend all of the sauce ingredients in a food processor/ blender until smooth. Put in a container after it is smooth, big enough to dunk a tortilla in.

• 1 and a half packages of Tempeh- I like garden vegetable
• 1/2 yellow onion diced
• 1 medium-sized green bell pepper seeded and chopped
• 2 cloves of garlic minced
• 2 tablesp soy sauce
• 1/2 teasp black pepper
• 2 tablesp olive oil
• 1/4 cup of the enchilada sauce

* Preheat oven to 400F. Lightly oil an 8x8 casserole dish. In a seperate bowl, use your hands to crumble the tempeh. Add all of the other filling ingredients and mix well!

** To assemble the enchiladas, first warm a couple of the corn tortillas in the microwave for about 8 seconds, otherwise they will not bend and you will want to whip them across your kitchen. After warmed, dunk in the sauce container. Make sure the sauce covers both sides of the tortilla. Add an adequate amount of filling, and spread it across the center. Sprinkle a small amount of grated vegan mozerella cheese ( I love Follow Your Heart), and roll into a tube, and lay in the casserole dish with the seam side down. Repeat with the rest of your tortillas (Should make about 8 or 9.. and yes they will all fit in the casserole dish if you are creative with it!) and place tightly next to each other. Pour the remaining sauce on top and sprinkle with some cheese becuase its delicious! Bake for about 15 minutes, or until the cheese in melted! VOILA!