Jager Bomb Cupcakes

I have never actually had a Jager Bomb. I'm more of a Bombay Sapphire gin and ginger ale type of gal. But I hear they're all the rage with the kids nowadays. No matter, a friend just sent me this link and I thought it was so awesome, I had to share. If anyone makes these, let me know how they turn out!

From Om Nom Nom...

http://www.ommnomnom.com/2008/vegan-jager-bomb-cupcakes-round-two/

Spaghetti & Beanballs

Yes, more from Veganomicon. Isa and Terry have brainwashed me, I think. It's the most delicious brainwashing ever, though, so I don't really mind I must say. I have been wanting to try making the Spaghetti and Beanballs recipe for ages. I'm not sure why it took me so long to do it. The recipe makes a ton of these cute little things, so really I think I could get away with either only making half next time or freezing half since it's just me that I'm cooking for.

If you're not familiar with this recipe, it's basiscally like a meatball, but made with mashed up kidney beans instead of meat.

See... I had fun mashing up the beans. It's a good way to get out some agression, that's for sure. So you add a bunch of other stuff to the beans like bread crumbs and wheat gluten and herbs and such and you form them into these cute little balls.

There is an option to either fry them or bake them. I remember reading some threads on the PPK forums and some blog postings about these. Most people seemed to prefer the frying pan method of cooking, so I decided to go with that.

These suckers will absorb insane amounts of oil, so be careful how much you're putting in the pan and definitely use olive oil and not some other not as good for you oil. They also sorta start falling apart about halfway through cooking. I managed to keep a few of them whole, but I had to be really careful about it. To be honest, I actually prefered the smaller broken up pieces because then I had more crispy bits when I put it on top of my spaghetti.

This is definitely yummy and definitely something I'll make again. It was quick and easy, too. If you have kids, I'll betcha they'd had fun helping you mix the stuff together and forming the little balls. It's always fun to play with your food just a little bit. :)

Potato Salad to Rule the Universe

We all want things to eat in the summer that are light and filling and that don't require us to do much cooking. Turning on that oven when it's already an inferno in your place is not fun. I've been doing a lot of experimenting with summer salads lately. I have a bit of an aversion to mayonnaise, as I think I've mentioned before, so let me tell you - I was so excited for this potato salad. It's pretty much a tweaked version of a recipe I saw on Jamie Oliver's show. I was a little skeptical at first for some reason. But really... you shouldn't be. It's amazing. I loved this so much that I just ate a bowl of it for lunch one day instead of just using it as an accompaniment to something else. Yes, it's that good.

The original recipe called for creme fraiche. Interestingly enough I find that most commercial vegan sour creams kinda taste like creme fraiche, so it works out nicely. If you have something that you think might work better to replicate that flavor, then by all means, use that instead. Just steer away from using anything that has that sour tang to it.

Potato Salad to Rule the Universe

12 or so small yellow potatoes
3 Tablespoons capers
1 lemon (for juice and zest)
2 Tablespoons olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
a handfull of fresh dill, chopped
a few dollops of vegan sour cream

Boil the potatoes in salted water just until they're tender. You don't want them to fall apart. A good test is to stab one or two with a fork until the potato gives easily. Depending on the size of your potatoes, it could be anywhere between 10 and 20 minutes, so do check them every 5 minutes or so. Once the potatoes are cooked, drain them and add them to a large bowl.

To the potatoes, add the capers, juice and zest of your lemon, salt and pepper and olive oil while the potatoes are still hot. Stir it up until the potatoes are well coated and then let the bowl sit on the counter until the potatoes are room temperature. Don't put it in the fridge to cool it in a hurry, though. Part of what you want to happen right here is for the flavors to meld together and seep into the potatoes while it's cooling down. Putting this in the cold of the fridge will stop that from happening as well. Be patient, it won't take too long.

Once everything is room temperature, add the dill and the vegan sour cream and stir it up. How much of the sour cream you add is up to you, I think I used about two-thirds of a container and that seemed to work out nicely. Maybe you want more, maybe you want less. It's your potato salad. :)

Eat and enjoy the awesomeness.

Asian Pear & Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing

So you're saying to yourself "Self, it's damn hot today. I want something awesome to eat but I don't want to cook." Well, you're in luck. Go get yourself an asian pear, some tempeh, peas and wasabi powder and then make this. You will become a believer.

I love tempeh. I'm always trying to find new ways to eat it. As it turns out I was bored and flipping through Veganomicon one day and realized I'd somehow missed this recipe. I had all of the ingredients already, having bought some asian pears just that morning at the market. I don't typically like mayonnaise or anything made with it. I'm getting a little better about it as long as I don't add too much. When I make things like this I'm extra glad that I make the effort. I guess I could have made the Silken Mayo Dressing that's also in the book, but I was feeling like instant gratification and didn't feel like fooling with making a second thing. What can I say, it was hot and I was hungry.

I didn't add nearly as much mayo as the recipe calls for. My advice - just add a tiny bit, stir it up and add more to get it to the way you like things. DO make sure to take a tiny taste to make sure you have enough wasabi powder added. The kind I bought wasn't extremely hot and I didn't think to taste the dressing to check. I just sort of had a hint of wasabi flavor which made me wish I had added way more.

I bought some rice crackers and just scooped this up on those to eat it. That seemed better than using Wasa like I normally do for this sort of thing. The flavors are fantastic and go very well together. This tastes fresh and light, but the tempeh will still make it filling without making you feel heavy. A perfect summer lunch recipe. Maybe even good for a picnic or something!

Creamy Asian Pear and Tempeh Salad with Wasabi Dressing from Veganomicon

1 8oz package tempeh, diced
½ cup small, sweet fresh or frozen green peas
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 scallion, sliced very thinly
1 asian pear or other firm, crisp pear, pitted and cut into ½-inch dice (about 2 cups)
1 cup Silken Mayo Dressing (from Veganomicon) or ⅔ cup commercially prepared vegan mayo (like Veganaise) I didn't use nearly this much. Just a few tablespoons was fine for me.
1½-2 teaspoons wasabi powder
2 teaspoons lime juice

In a steamer basket, steam the tempeh for 10 minutes. Add the peas and steam for another 3 to 4 minutes, until the peas are bright green and tender. Remove from the steamer, sprinkle with soy sauce, and toss into a large bowl with the scallion. Allow to cool for a few minutes. Crush the cubes of tempeh a little with your hands and toss in the diced pear.

In a small bowl, whisk together the Silken Mayo Dressing or the mayonnaise, wasabi powder, and lime juice. Taste and adjust the spice level with more wasabi if necessary.

Pour the dressing over the tempeh mixture, stir to combine everything and place in an airtight container. Chill for at least 30 minutes or overnight to allow the flavors to blend.

Makes 4 servings.

Cherry-Almond Pie

I am obsessed with cherries lately. It happens every year at this time. The markets are just overflowing with fresh cherries, sometimes there are even a few different kinds to choose from. I'm actually kind of surprised that my skin isn't taking on a bit of a scarlet hue with as many cherries as I've eaten in the last month or so. It occurred to me that maybe I should actually make something out of them if I could resist the urge to eat them all.

I've never made a cherry pie before, so I wasn't really sure how this would turn out. I decided almond would be a nice accent flavor to the cherries, and really.... wow. This turned out amazingly. If you're thinking this seems like way too many cherries to pit, don't worry, you can buy a little cherry pitter for just a few dollars. It'll make fast work of it. Just be sure that you wear an apron or a shirt you don't care about because the cherries will splatter a little when you pit them. Better safe than sorry.


Cherry Almond Pie

Crust:
2 ½ cups flour
1 teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon baking powder
1 cup cold, non-hydrogenated shortening (like Earth Balance or Spectrum)
1 Tablespoon soy milk
1 teaspoon vinegar
cold water to make ½ cup liquid

Filling:
¾ cup sugar
4 Tablespoon cornstarch
¾ cup apple juice (cherry or pomegranate juice would also be good!)
1 Tablespoon non-hydrogenated margarine
½ teaspoon almond extract
3-4 cups cherries, pitted and cut in half if they're large (I bought 2 bags of cherries and that was perfect)

Topping:
2 Tablespoons soymilk
2 Tablespoons sugar
¼ cup sliced almonds


To make the crust, sift together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Cut the shortening into smallish pieces and cut into the flour mixture until it resembles course crumbs about the size of peas. Stir together the wet ingredients and add a few tablespoons at a time, mixing with a fork until all of the liquid has been incorporated. Give the dough a quick knead or three, you just want to make sure all the flour has been mixed in, you don't want to actually knead it much.

Divide the dough in half and flatten into discs. Place them in the fridge for 45 minutes to an hour.

Preheat the oven to 400° F.

Once the dough is cold, take one of the discs and roll it out until it's large enough to fit into the bottom of your pie dish. I used a 9" dish, but you can use whatever size you want. Make sure there is a little bit of dough overlapping the edges of the dish so you can make a nice edge after you put the top bits on.

Meanwhile, start making the filling. Stir together the sugar and cornstarch in a large pot. Whisk in the juice and bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. If you don't keep stirring while it's heating, you'll get lumps and you don't want that. Boil for 1 minute, remove from heat and then whisk in the margarine and almond extract. You can also add a little bit of red food coloring if you want to make the pie look a bit more exciting. No one has to know. ;) Now fold in the cherries. Pour the filling into the pie dish.

I made a lattice crust for the top. Don't be intimidated if you've never done that before. It's actually super easy. You can always make a flat top crust, but if you do, it's very, very important that you cut holes for steam to escape or you might get a little bit of a cherry explosion in the oven. And that's not good.

Now for the crust topping. Smash up the slivered almonds a little bit. Either by squeezing the bag they come in with your hand or use the back of a spoon after you've put them into a bowl. Mix the soymilk, sugar and almonds in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring constantly. Boil for about 2 minutes and then immediately brush it onto the top crust of the pie. If you have one of those silicone brush thingies, this is an excellent use for it. The regular pastry brushes don't work as well since the sugar gets very thick. I just used a spoon to spread it around on mine. Just make sure you work fast because the sugar is going to harden quickly as it cools and then you won't be able to spread it any longer.

Bake for 40-45 minutes. Let the pie cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta Sandwiches

I suck. I know it. I'm trying to get better. I think about blogging every single day, it's just finding the time or energy to actually do it... I do have lots of pictures, though, so hopefully I can get back into the swing of things.

Stupid weather again. It was so cold here for so long. I felt tortured! It seems like every single other person I know was saying that it's one of the hottest summers in years and Vancouver still had the heat on... in June. I know... it's ridiculous. Now it's hot as all get out. Most of us are doing our best to spend a ton of time outside to enjoy the warmth. And living in a city where most apartments don't have air conditioning... not exactly making you want to turn on the oven. I did make some cupcakes last night and even though I waited until later to make them, it still made my already hot apartment into something just short of hellfire. Looks like it's salads and quick meals for me for a while.

I'm trying to throw together some ideas for vegan picnic foods. Any ideas? The idea is to have stuff that omnis will like as well, so nothing with too much nooch. I'd also like to steer clear of things that need forks and spoons just to make the eating easier and so I don't have to realize we can't eat because I've forgotten utensils. That would be very like me to do.

One thing that would be great is the Roasted Eggplant and Spinach Muffuletta Sandwich from Veganomicon. I've made these to take to work a few times and let me just say - yum! The recipe says to let the sandwiches sit overnight, but don't do that. You'll end up with soggy bread and then you'll be all grossed out and not want to eat it. The second time I made these I made all of the stuff for the sandwich the night before and just stuck it in the fridge. Then I made the sandwiches in the morning before I left for work. I think it was around 6 hours or so for the flavors to meld together. That was a perfect amount of time. Nothing was soggy and everything was delicious.

Also, that'll make a ton of tapenade so you have some left for dipping crackers or veggies in. I think it would also be a great appetizer type thing for a party. Well, for people that like olives, that is. And for the people that don't... well, more for me. :)

I used garlic stuff olives when I made it instead of buying green olives and pickled garlic. It was easier and faster and I discovered that not only do garlic stuffed olives give you very bad breath, they're quite yummy. I suggest you convince your signifigant other to like them too or else you're going to need to stock up on some mints.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

I know I promised these a good while ago. I've been really distracted by the weather lately. First it was so beautiful it was a crime not to be outside at all times and then as fickle as the weather can be, it changed to yucky. It's been raining for a solid week. Not the normal little spits of rain we usually get in Vancouver, but yucky, hard rain. All day, every day, with not even a tiny break of just sorta cloudy. Well, until yesterday evening. The sun came out, but it was still cold. Dang it. And it's grey and cold again this morning. Sounds like a good weekend to make a pot of soup and hibernate. That's what I plan to do at least.

If it's sunny where you are, or even if you're trying to pretend it is like I am, take advantage of some fresh strawberries and make these cupcakes. You won't be sorry. The actual cupcake isn't as light and fluffy as some. And that's not a bad thing! It's more like something you want to put strawberries and whipped cream on. :) I have a few ideas for ways to jazz these up a bit more, but didn't think of them until after I made them. You could spread a thin layer of strawberry jam on the cupcakes before you frost them. You could even pipe some jam or pureed strawberries into the center of the cupcakes like a filling. Yum. You could also add a bit of lemon or orange zest to the batter. That would really accentuate the sweetness of the strawberries.

I used the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World cooked frosting recipe for these. It's not only my favorite frosting, but it's not really sweet and a bit reminiscent of whipped cream. A perfect topping for these summery yummies.

I pretty much just grabbed a handful of strawberries and cut them up to put into the batter. I can't remember exactly how much I used, so just use as many or as little as you want. I had quite a bit. Don't forget that this will also increase your cupcake yield, so you'll get more than 12.

Strawberry Shortcake Cupcakes

1 cup soymilk (minus 1 Tbsp to counteract the juiciness of your berries)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened (like Earth Balance)
3/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 tsp lemon or orange extract
about 1 cup strawberries chopped into smallish pieces

Preheat your oven to 350F. Do your muffin liner thing or grease your muffin pan. Whisk the soy milk and apple cider vinegar in a small bowl and set aside 5-10 minutes to curdle.

Sift the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt into a large bowl. Stir it up to combine. In a separate large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar for about 2 minutes until light and fluffy. Beat in the vanilla and lemon extract. Now beat in the soymilk mixture and dry mixture in alternate separate batches just until combined. Don't over-beat or your cupcakes will get tough. You just want it to be combined.

Fold in the chopped strawberries. Fill your cupcake pan cups about 2/3 full. Bake 20 to 22 minutes. Set aside to cool on a wire rack. Make sure they're cool before you frost them!


Old-Fashioned Velvet Icing (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World)

2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup soy milk
1/4 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/4 cup margarine
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup superfine, castor or powdered sugar

In a small saucepan over medium heat, whisk together the flour and soy milk. Stir constantly until the mixture starts to thicken and has a pudding-like consistency, about 3 to 4 minutes. Remove from heat and allow to cool 2 minutes. Transfer to a large bowl and press plastic wrap onto the top of custard to prevent a skin from forming. Allow mixture to cool completely before the next step. (This is very important, as warm pudding will melt the shortening and margarine.) If you're impatient like me, stick the bowl into the freezer for 10-15 minutes to cool it off.

Cream together the shortening, margarine, vanilla and sugar then beat in cold custard. Beat with an electric mixer for 4 to 6 minutes; frosting should become lighter in color and have a very creamy texture, similar to very thick whipped cream.

Frost on cooled cupcakes and place sliced strawberries on top.