February Secret Recipe Club - Graham Cracker Candy

I am happy to say I am back! It has been a crazy 6 months. Everyone always tells you how much having a baby changes your life - but you don't really understand until you have your own. We also made a big move in December across the country.

We are now in Calgary waiting to take possession of our new house. (So sorry about the photo's I don't have my camera or my regular set up. These are camera phone pics)

And how fitting that my first post back be for the Secret Recipe Club. I got a bit worried when I saw the name of the blog I had been assigned. Steak N Potatoes Kinda Gurl. Yikes. Because I am mostly vegan and not a steak N potatoes anything. But then I checked out the fabulous Desi's blog and was relieved because she has a ton of awesome recipes. Everything from drinks, dips and appetizers to desserts and even a whole bunch of restaurant reviews. I had so much fun looking through your blog Desi - thanks! I was trying to decide between a couple of things. These drinks look delicious as does this bean dip but in the end I decided on this graham cracker candy.

My advice - Do not make this recipe. Because if you make this recipe you will have to try a slice. And then just to be sure you will have to try another slice, and another, and another and then suddenly you will realize you have eaten a whole pan of graham crackers, butter, sugar and nuts. And that you were suppose to bring a dessert to brunch and now you have nothing except an empty pan and a lot of guilt. So save yourself the trouble and don't make this recipe. If you do decide to make this and eat the whole pan please blame Desi and not me! I also think these dipped in dark chocolate with a little sea salt on top would be delicious.


Vegan Graham Cracker Candy
Via SteakNPotatoesKindaGurl

1 Cup plus 3 Tbsp Earth Balance
1 Cup Brown Sugar
1/2 Cup Sliced Pecans
Vegan Graham Crackers

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with aluminum foil so that it hangs over the edges of the pan and spray with nonstick baking spray or coat with a bit of olive oil. Do not skip this step or your candy will be stuck to the pan.

Arrange graham crackers to fit the entire baking sheet.

In a large saucepan, melt the Earth Balance on medium-high heat and add the brown sugar. Stir and bring to a boil. Continue stirring until the sugar dissolves and the consistency turns into caramel. You don't need to worry about using a candy themomoter or anything as it will cook in the oven. Just be sure the sugar is dissolved and the mixture has had a chance to boil for a few minutes.

Lower the heat to medium-low, stir in sliced pecans, and cook for a minute stirring constantly. Turn off heat and evenly spread the mixture onto the graham crackers. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before breaking apart.

Store in an air tight container. (or eat directly from pan until nothing remains. Ugh.)

Vegan Pineapple Sorbet & Blueberry Curd - Secret Recipe Club

This month for the Secret Recipe Club I was assigned a lovely blog called Manu's Menu written by the Italian born Manuela. This blog has it all going on. The recipes are varied, the pictures are lovely, and there are a ton of regional dishes from Italy, Australia and India!

Manuela is Italian, married to an Indian, living in Australia so her culinary background is pretty diverse. You should definitely check out her blog as there are a lot of yummy looking recipes.

There were a number of dishes that I wanted to try and veganize from Manu's Menu, including this yummy looking yogurt cake and this dish of cannelloni. However it has been extremely hot here in Montreal pretty much this whole month. Hot enough that the idea of turning on the oven makes me feel queasy. Plus being 8 months pregnant does not really add any motivation to bake anything. So in the end I decided to go with something cool and refreshing Pineapple Sorbet and Blueberry Curd.

For the sorbet I decided to add some fresh mint that is growing on our balcony and man did it add a nice flavour to the dish. Isn't it a pretty colour?

I also veganized the original blueberry curd recipe by cutting out the eggs and replacing with a bit of corn starch. Thank Manu for the tasty recipes.

Pineapple Sorbet with Fresh Mint
Adapted from Manu's Menu 

2 cups pineapple, chopped
8 Tbsp sugar
1/2 water
2 sprigs of fresh mint

In a blender blend pineapple, sugar, and water until smooth. Chill mixture for an hour. Once chilled, add mixture to your ice cream maker and follow the manufactuer's directions. Meanwhile, julienne the mint leaves and add them to the ice cream maker in the last 2 minutes.

Transfer to a container and freeze for at least 3 hours before serving.

Vegan Blueberry Curd
Adapted from Manu's Menu

1 pint of blueberries (Fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup of water
6 Tbsp unsalted vegan margarine
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp corn starch
pinch of salt

In a medium pot cook blueberries and water over medium heat for about 5 minutes or until blueberries burst open.

Using a fine mesh sieve starin the mixture. Be sure to press the blueberries with a spoon to make sure you get as much of the liquid and pulp out of them. Discard the skins and put the liquid/pulp aside.

Using the same pot, whisk together the sugar and margarine. Add the cornstarch, the blueberry liquid, and the salt.

Whisk over medium heat. Allow the mixture to simmer but not boil for 5 - 7 minutes. The mixture should coat the back of a spoon and will thicken more as it cools.

Pour into a glass jar and store in the fridge. Serve over ice cream, on toast or with cake! Yum.

Vegan Banana Bread

I have to say this banana bread turned out to be one of the best banana breads I have tried. Sometimes I really feel like banana bread but I don't have super ripe bananas (you know the ones with all the brown spots) but I usually go ahead and make the recipe anyway and it is never banana-y enough. This time though my bananas were very ripe and I love the way the recipe turned out. Go figure.

Vegan Banana Bread
Adapted from the Post Punk Kitchen

Ingredients
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup Earth Balance, room temp
3 very ripe bananas, mashed well
2 cups flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup soy milk, mixed with 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F. Prepare a 8×4 bread pan with non stick cooking spray, or if you have a mini loaf tray prepare this instead.

Sift together flour, baking soda, salt and spices.

Cream together the Earth Balance and sugar. Add bananas, soy milk mixture and vanilla.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry. Mix well. Pour batter into pan. Bake for an hour to an hour 10 minutes or if using mini loaf pans bake for 35 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Secret Recipe Club - Vegan Blueberry Buttermilk Cake

Another month and and another Secret Recipe Club post. (Each month members are assigned another person's blog which they must look through, choose and make a recipe and then blog about it).

This month I was lucky enough to be assigned the awesome Wifes with Knifes blog written by Cathy. Cathy actual sells homemade granola, trail mix and roasted nuts at a local farmer's market (What an awesome job!) and she has a ton of really great recipes on her blog. The photo's are lovely and the recipes look just scrumptious. I had a hard time choosing the recipe I would use this month - These granola cookies really stood out along with this banana cake and snickerdoodle bread (See a lot to choose from). In the end though I had a pint of blueberries in the fridge and thought that this blueberry buttermilk cake would be tasty.

I made a few subsitiutions to make the cake vegan and it seriously turned out so good. I think this might be one of the best cakes I have made when starting with a non vegan recipe. The texture was perfect very much like a coffee cake - so all you vegans out there take note - use this as a base recipe and add whatever fruit or flavour you like to change it up. Thanks Cathy for the great addition to my kitchen.

Oh and I don't think I have mentioned it yet but P and I are pregnant! The baby is due in mid August and here is a photo of my belly.

Vegan Blueberry Buttermilk Cake
Adapted from Wifes with Knifes

1 cup non-dairy milk
1 Tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 Tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 3 Tbsp water
1/2 cup vegan margarine, room temperature
2 teaspoons lemon zest
7/8 cup sugar (or 3/4 plus 2 Tbsp)
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 cups fresh blueberries
1 Tbsp sugar for topping

Instructions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9 inch square cake pan.

Make "buttermilk" by mixing non-dairy milk with the apple cider vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.

Cream margarine with lemon zest and 7/8 cup of sugar until light and fluffy. Add the flaxseed mixture and vanilla and beat until combined.

Meanwhile toss the blueberries with 1/4 cup of flour, then whisk together the remaining flour, baking powder and salt.

Add the flour mixture to the batter a little at a time, alternating with the buttermilk. Then fold in the blueberries.

Spread batter into pan (the batter will be very thick). Sprinkle with remaining tablespoon of sugar. Bake for 35-40 minutes. Check with a toothpick for doneness. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting. Enjoy!

Vegan Cranberry & Lemon Bread

This month's Secret Recipe Club assignment was awesome. I was given Christina's blog Mele Cotte (Baked Apple in Italian). Christina blogs about a lot of desserts which is right up my alley and her pictures really show off all the beautiful things she makes. I highly suggest you head over to her blog to check out all her awesome stuff. Plus if you want to learn a little Italian she give you all the recipe titles in Italian as well!

I was really excited to cook something from Mele Cotte and after much debate I decided to try this cranberry bread but with my own twist. Christina uses orange and walnuts in her bread but I had a whole bag of Meyer lemons in the fridge and no walnuts. So this became a vegan Cranberry and Lemon bread. It was very delicious and not to sweet. Good alternative to banana bread.

Vegan Cranberry & Lemon Bread
Adapted from Mele Cotte

2 cups all-purpose flour
½ cup sugar
1 Tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp ground ginger
½ tsp. salt
Zest of one lemon
1/2 cup lemon juice (about 4 lemons)
2 Tbsp ground flaxseed mixed with 6 Tbsp of water
½ cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup soy milk
1 ½ cup fresh/frozen cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F. Prepare a 9 x 5 x 3 inch loaf pan.

In a large bowl whisk the flour with the sugar, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, salt, and zest. Form a well in the center of the flour mixture and add juice, flax seed mixture, oil, and milk . Mix only until combined, being careful not to over mix.

With a wooden spoon, stir in cranberries. Transfer into the prepared pan. Bake for about an hour or until an inserted toothpick comes out almost clean. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes before removing the bread from the pan. Allow to cool completely on the wire rack.

Vegan Lemon Curd

I came across this Vegan Lemon Curd recipe on the blog Lunch Box Bunch.  It came together really quickly and was super tasty. P could not stop talking about it and we ate it on some home made bread, on pancakes and just out of the jar. I think mine was a bit firmer and next time I would cook for less time but other than that it turned out great.

Vegan Lemon Curd
Via Lunch Box Bunch
makes 1 1/4 cups

1/2 cup soy milk, plain
1/4 cup water
1 Tbsp corn starch
6 Tbsp sugar
6 Tbsp fresh lemon juice
1 tsp lemon zest
5 Tbsp vegan buttery spread
pinch of salt
optional: 1/8 tsp lemon extract

Directions:
In a soup pan, dissolve the corn starch in the cold soy milk and water.

Turn heat to medium-high and continuously stir the mixture. Add in the buttery spread, lemon juice and sugar and continue to stir until mixture starts to bubble and thicken.

Reduce heat to low and beat with a hand-held beater for about 90 seconds.

Transfer mixture to serving dish and refrigerate until chilled. Store in fridge and eat within 2-3 days.

Vegan Peppermint Brownies

Pretty easy vegan brownie recipe I found here on allrecipes.com. I decided to add some peppermint extract - because why not? I really liked the taste of these. Although they fell apart quite easily they were still dense and pretty gooey.

Vegan Peppermint Brownies
Adapted from allrecipes.com

2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups organic sugar
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 cup water
1 cup vegetable oil
1 1/2 tsp peppermint extract

In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt. Pour in water, vegetable oil and peppermint and mix until well blended. Spread evenly into a prepared 9x13 inch baking pan. 

Bake in a 350 degree oven for 25 to 30 minutes until the top is no longer shiny. Let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting into squares.

Vegan Sea Salt & Caramel Popcorn

I made this caramel popcorn as a treat to bring into work. I couldn't believe how easy it was to make and how absolutely delicious it turned out. Seriously give this a go if you like salty sweet things. Seems like a lot of work and will definitely impress people.

The recipe below might look like it has a lot of steps. It really is not complicated but you need to read the recipe BEFORE trying to make it. It is easy to do but you need to be quick about it so read first then make.

Vegan Sea Salt & Caramel Popcorn
6 - 8 cups of freshly popped popcorn (1/2 cup un-popped kernels)
1 1/4 cup sugar (I used organic)
3 Tbsp Earth Balance (or other margarine)
1 tsp sea salt

Firstly pop your popcorn. Personally I make my popcorn on the stove in a Whirly Pop (This contraption makes sure your popcorn doesn't burn) But it is super easy to do in a large soup pot. Once you make it on the stove you won't go back to microwave popcorn. It honestly takes the same amount of time and is so much tastier.

Once your popcorn is ready put it into a very large bowl and set aside. At the same time put a sheet pan out and cover with parchment paper.

Now it is time to make the caramel. I don't have a candy thermometer (I know a Whirly Pop but no candy thermometer!) so I put a glass of ice water and spoon beside the stove so I can test the caramel and make sure it gets to hard candy stage.

In a small pot put the sugar and margarine in. Place on medium low heat and eventually the margarine will melt and mix with the sugar. Stir frequently with a wooden spoon.

Whatever you do - DO NOT LEAVE THE STOVE. You need to stand there and watch the caramel very carefully so don't answer the phone or put a few dishes away or anything. Just stand there and stir frequently.

After about 5 - 7 minutes the sugar will be getting a deep rich brown colour. Now take your little spoon and grab a little caramel and dunk it into the ice water for 15 - 20 seconds. If the caramel has reached hard candy stage it will completely harden on the spoon. This is what you are looking for. If the caramel is still soft in the ice water keep cooking it and test it again in a few minutes.

DO NOT TOUCH THE CARAMEL - It will seem very tempting and look delicious and you will want to stick your finger in the pot or grab the spoon and put some in your mouth but trust me the caramel is about 5 million degrees and will then stick to your hand or mouth while burning you intensely. Just be patient.

Add the sea salt to the caramel and stir. It will fizz and crackle so be careful. Now quickly pour the caramel over the popcorn and stir the popcorn so the caramel coats it. You will need to move quickly as the caramel will harden fast.

Now pour the popcorn onto the sheet pan and spread out. You may want to break up some of the larger pieces. Let the popcorn cool on the sheet pan and then store in an airtight container for up to a week.

Vegan Black Bean Brownies

I think these black bean brownies have been popular for long enough that I do not need to justify putting beans into a dessert. But just in case you are sceptical all I will say is you can not taste the black beans at all. They just add to the gorgeous texture of these brownies.

Recipe from Happy Herbivore
Vegan Black Bean Brownies
15 ounces black beans, drained and rinsed
2 whole bananas
⅓ cup agave nectar
¼ cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla extract
¼ cup raw sugar (optional)
¼ cup instant oats

Instructions: Preheat oven to 350 F. Grease an 8x8" pan and set aside. Combine all ingredients, except oats, in a food processor or blender and blend until smooth, scrapping sides as needed. Stir in the oats and pour batter into the pan. Bake approximately 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool before slicing.

Vegan Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes With Raspberry Jam Glaze

One of our best friends was in town for the weekend to celebrate her birthday. I asked her what kind of cake she would would most like and she said "I love lemon and raspberry anything".

Lemon and raspberry are flavours I often do not bake with so I went searching for a cupcake recipe. I like the way this one turned out but I wish it would have had a stronger lemon kick. P and I are also trying to get away from using refined sugar which always leaves me stumped for good non-chocolate icing ideas. This time I thought why not use raspberry jam as a glaze. I think the glaze was my favourite part about these cupcakes it was so yummy.

Raspberry Lemon Cupcakes - Yields 18 cupcakes

½ cup vegan margarine, softened
1 cup sugar
½ teaspoon vanilla
⅔ cup soy milk
3 tablespoons lemon juice
Zest from 2 lemons
1¾ cups flour
1½ teaspoons baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
¾ cup diced raspberries, fresh or frozen

Preheat oven to 350°F and grease or line a cupcake tin.

Beat together the margarine and sugar until light and fluffy, then add vanilla, soy milk, lemon juice, and zest.


In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Combine flour mixtures with wet ingredients just until mixed. Do not overmix. Gently fold in diced raspberries.

Fill cupcakes about ⅔ full with batter and bake immediately for 16–18 minutes or until done.

Raspberry Glaze

1 cup raspberry jam (I used a no sugar added type)
2 Tbsp lemon juice

In a small pot heat jam and lemon juice until it is liquid. Set aside to cool slightly. When cupcakes are baked and cooled spread glaze over each cupcake. The glaze will cool and stiffen. Serve cupcakes with a little lemon zest as garnish.

Vegan Rice Pudding

Sorry for the long delay in blogging. It's been a busy month. But I am back with a  very yummy recipe.

 

This is my first month participating in the Secret Recipe Club and my assignement was to make something from Apron Strings Blog. There was a lot of yummy stuff and I was having trouble deciding what to make. But then I saw this rice pudding recipe and I was set. I didn't have pistachios to garnish so I used sesame seeds, acia berries and cashews. I found the recipe a bit on the sweet side so next time I would reduce the sugar.


CARDAMOM RICE PUDDING

2/3 cup basmati rice
3 cups water
2 cans (12 ounces each) coconut milk
Pinch of salt
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/2 cup sugar (I would reduce the sugar)
1 teaspoon vanilla
Diced pistachios for garnish

In a heavy bottomed saucepan, bring to a boil the rice, water (or milk), coconut milk and salt. Reduce heat to simmer the mixture very slowly. Simmer for 30 to 40 minutes, stirring occasionally, until mixture is thickened to the consistency of oatmeal.

Remove from heat and stir in remaining ingredients. Serve chilled or at room temperature with garnish of your choice.

Peach and Cherry Tart

 

This tart is absolutely delicious and so simple to make. (Unless you attempt your own puff pastry!). Only four ingredients make up this tart so make sure your fruit is ripe and yummy.

Vegan Peach and Cherry Tart
1/2 package of puff pastry, thawed
3 peaches, sliced
3/4 cup cherries, pitted and halved
2 Tbsp of sugar

Mix sliced peaches and cherries in a bowl and set aside.

Roll out puff pastry and cut into 6 pieces. With a knife score the puff pasty to create a smaller rectangle about half an inch from the edge. (This will allow your edges to puff up and the centre where you place the filling to stay flat).

Place puff pastry on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and sprinkle sugar on pasrty. Top with the peach and cherrie slices and bake in a 400 degree oven for 20 - 25 minutes or until edges are golden and fruit is soften.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

These cookies are really yummy. I like to use super dark chocolate for some bitterness. I brought these to a work event and they were devoured. The recipe was adapted from Sarah Kramer's Vegan a Go-Go. Make a double batch!

Chocolate Chip Coconut Cookies

Egg replacer to equal one egg
1/2 cup vegan margarine
3/4 cup sucanat (or use regular sugar)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
3/4 cup vegan dark chocolate cut into squares


In a food processor or large bowl, blend or mix together the egg replacer, margarine, sugar, and vanilla until smooth and set aside.

In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, coconut and chocolate chips. Add the margarine mixture and stir until well incorporated. Roll dough into balls, lay on cookie sheet and bake for 10 to 12 minutes in a 350 degree oven. Let cookies cool 5 minutes before removing from sheet.

Vegan Sugar Cookie Ice Cream Sandwiches

P's 13 year old cousin came to visit us for the weekend which was awesome. We had a great time playing games, going to the amusement park and of course eating ice cream sandwiches. My last batch of ice cream sandwiches went over pretty well so I decided to do it again.

Cookies waiting for ice cream

First make the cookies. I added an extra 1/4 of flour and rolled them out and cut out circles with a cookie cutter for more even shapes.

Perfect Vegan Snickerdoodles
Recipe by Kreeli

1 cup margarine
1 1/2 cups granulated white sugar
1 tsp vanilla
4 tbsp soy milk whipped with 2 tbsp cornstarch
3 cups unbleached white flour  (Plus an extra 1/4 cup if you want to roll them out)
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp tapioca starch or cornstarch

Preheat your oven to 300 F.

In a large bowl, cream the margarine and sugar together until smooth. Add the vanilla, and the cornstarch/soymilk mixture, and beat until well-mixed.

In a smaller bowl combine the flour, baking powder, salt, and tapioca/corn starch. Stir this into the wet ingredients and combine well.

Begin rolling the cookie dough into balls of about 3 tbsp each and place on an ungreased baking sheet. Using the bottom of a glass, press down on each ball until they are about an inch thick. (Or do it like me and roll your dough out and cut with cookie cutters) Bake for 12 - 14 minutes, and no more. The cookies should still seem very soft when you remove them from the oven. Let cool on the pans for about 10 minutes, and then transfer to a wire baking rack and let cool completely.

To Assemble

This time I let the ice cream soften and spread it into an even layer about an inch think in a pie plate. Then I put it back into the freezer to set while I made the cookies. 

I used the most delicious ice cream to fill the sandwiches -  Luna and Larry's Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge and Cappuccino flavour.

Once the cookies are cool take your ice cream out of the freezer and using the same size cookie cutter, cut circles out of the ice cream. Lift them out using a small spatula and place the ice cream circle between two cookies. Press down slightly and put into an air tight container in the freezer. Continue until all cookies and ice cream are used.

I found this method to be less messy than just spooning the ice cream between two cookies.