Coconut Pancakes

I couldn't make it up to Scranton for Easter this year. My family doesn't do much for the holiday, but I was still pretty bummed I wouldn't get to see everyone. And on top of it, Ken was working a bunch of doubles in a row, and wouldn't be home at all. Though I love my kitty, the thought of spending any holiday alone with my cat had my grumpy-pants all in a bunch. To cheer myself up, I made some cupcakes. Just look at these things. They're too adorable to not make you smile.

Vegan coconut cupcakes with strawberry 'butter'cream and toasted coconut nests. Jelly bean 'eggs' complete the cuteness.

 Then, late Saturday night, Ken called to say he didn't have to work Sunday morning. He was coming home! Joy of Joys! An Easter miracle. My sour-puss was replaced with a big ol' smile.

Since I anticipated spending the day alone, I hadn't planned much of a menu. Sunday morning I decided to make a nice holiday breakfast for us with whatever we had around the house. I think I did a pretty good job pulling it together.

As a baker, at any given time I probably have the ingredients to make you whatever kind of sweet breakfast you want. Except waffles, because I don't have a waffle iron (hint, hint...). Ken and I are also the kind of people to have things like mangoes, toasted coconut, mango butter, and coconut extract lying around. It makes throwing together a holiday breakfast a little easier.

Sunday's menu: Coconut pancakes with mango butter, fresh mango, and strawberries. Vegan sausage links. Mango Lemonade. Coffee. Boo-Love.

This is a nice basic vegan pancake recipe that works best as thin, almost crepe-like pancakes. Ken loved them. You've probably got all the necessary ingredients right now, and can make them yours with whatever happens to be in your fridge/pantry. Next time you want to make an impromptu breakfast for someone special, this recipe will be your best friend.

Vegan Coconut Pancakes
adapted from Vegan Yum Yum

1 1/2 cup almond milk
1/4 cup sugar
2 tbsp canola oil
1 1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp coconut extract
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup toasted coconut

Preheat oven to warm, 200 degrees, or the lowest temp your oven will allow. To keep pancakes warm while you make them, you'll stack them on an oven-safe plate inside the oven.

Pour milk into blender. Add all other ingredients except toasted coconut. Pulse a few times. Scrape down sides, and pulse a few more times, but don't over blend. You can place this in the fridge overnight, or use immediately. If using the next day, you may need to thin the batter with a tablespoon or so of water. (*note: I use a blender because I like being able to pour the batter, and also it keeps the dishes at a minimum. A bowl and a whisk would work just as well)

Heat a non-stick skillet or griddle over medium heat for a few minutes. Pour batter into center of pan. I like to make my pancakes about 4-5 inches across, and swirl the pan slightly to spread the batter and make a thin pancake. Sprinkle coconut on top. After a few minutes, the top will bubble, and the batter will change color from white to a dull yellow. This is when you should flip. If the other side of your pancake is not brown yet, you may need to turn your heat up slightly. If it's over-browned, turn down the heat. Allow to cook for another few minutes, until brown. Place on plate in oven, and continue to stack as you make them.

We served these with mango butter from Trader Joe's and fresh fruit. I'm sure they would have been lovely with a coconut syrup too. Also, making them coconut pancakes was a last minute decision, when I remembered I had the leftover toasted coconut from the cupcakes. Had I planned in advance, I would have probably substituted some or all of the almond milk for coconut milk.

If coconut's not your thing, you can use another extract and add any other filling: bananas, blueberries, chocolate chips, etc. And then come back here and tell me all about it!

Merry Christmas to You!

Whatever you celebrate this time of year, I hope the season finds you safe, warm, and surrounded by those you love. And preferrably, with a bellyfull of sweet vegan goodies.

Happy Holidays, my lovely readers!

Accomplishments!

I've been busy. Perfecting a vegan Pumpkin roll. Put it at the top of my list of accomplishments for 2010.

I made a few of these for Thanksgiving. About 15. They all went to good homes.

I made some Apple Pear and Ginger pies too. Only 10. They did not all go in my belly. Pinky swear.

Of course now that Thanksgiving is over, I can focus on things like gingerbread and peppermint. More on that soon...

I Survived Muffinpalooza!

Happy Independence Day to all! And welcome, scooter rally peeps! Let's talk muffins.

Ok, so I've been talking about these damn muffins for weeks now. I'm sure you're sick of it. But fear not gentle reader, because today was the big day!

A couple of months ago a friend of a friend contacted me about making muffins for the Hostile City Scooter Club's Philadelphia Independence Day Scooter Rally. She was responsible for breakfast, and thought my blackberry corn muffins looked tasty. I believe my response was something to the effect of "OMG Hell yes! and Thankyouverymuch!"

12 dozen muffins, 4 different varieties, all to be dropped off the morning of the 4th of July. Slightly daunting, but mostly exciting! My first big order! Exclamation points!

The varieties?

Strawberry Rhubarb, also dubbed the Summer Love Muffins. Share one with your sweetie in the morning. (wink, wink.)

Blueberry, which I'm calling the Midnight Murder Muffins. Seriously, the way those berries burst, they look like they didn't make it out of an 80's slasher flick.

Banana Nut, also known as the Nutty Monkey Muffins. Too cute? Probably. Deal with it.

And last but not least, a savory corn muffin with sundried tomatoes and chives. I didn't come up with a cute name for it. Feel free to suggest one.

Scooter enthusiasts, I hope you liked them. I hope you loved them. I hope you NOM NOM NOM'd them all and didn't leave a crumb. Feel free to leave some comments below and let me know just what you thought. Inquiring minds want to know. Also, don't hesitate to follow me on the Facebook or the Twitter. Social Media, ho!

And of course I need to give a big shout out to Ms. Poliana who set it all up. Girl, you rock my face off! Thanks again!

Pies in July!

"I'm gonna make a pie today!" That's what I said when I woke up Thursday morning. I said this out loud. The only one around to hear was my kitty Gracie, and she seemed unimpressed. I didn't let it deter me though. 

Why pie? My decision had more to do with the cool breeze running through the apartment than anything else, but the fruit stands over-flowing with summer's bounty might have planted the seed as well. An unseasonally cool day in July when berries abound is a gift that must not be squandered. And so pie was made. 

Pies must be in the collective unconscious this week. Deb at Smitten Kitchen's been making lots of pies lately, and Joy the Baker just whipped up a berry pie the other day. And we all know I'm on team pie.

Pies are truly wonderful. Anyone can throw together a cupcake, but if someone bakes you a pie, that's real love. 

With all this in mind, I've decided July will be pie month. If the heat wave comes back I can't promise anyone I'll actually be making pies, but I will (finally!) be giving that pie crust tutorial I've been talking about, and discussing tools, and giving some recipes. I hope you're all as excited about pies as I am!

Pies are pretty great for impressing boys, even if they don't have a sweet tooth. Trust me on this one. It also works really well on friends, bosses, and parents. Come to think of it, a homemade pie impresses just about any one. This is why you must do it. 

This pie in particular is what made my boyfriend fall in love with me. I can't guarantee you'll have the same success. On a related note, be careful who you share it with. 

I meant to tell you about this pie yesterday so that you'd have time to make it for your weekend barbecues. But I got distracted by all those muffins I have to bake. If you don't have enough time to make it before your Independence Day party, don't let it stop you from making it later this week. This pie is just as good for parties as it is for Wednesday morning breakfast. But please, make it while the berries are still plentiful, plump and DELICIOUS. 

I promise promise, PINKY SWEAR that I've got a pie crust tutorial in the works. Until then, for this recipe, I'm going to assume that you've got either A) got a crust recipe that you swear by or B) buy your crusts pre-made. Either way, I'm not judging you. Whatever you do, you'll need to completely pre-bake your crust before you make the filling. 

The Best Blueberry Pie You'll Ever Try

(I've been making this so long and adapted it so much, I don't know where it came from originally)

4 cups fresh blueberries, rinsed and dried

1/2 cup of water

1/2 cup sugar

2 tbsp of cornstarch + 2 tbsp of water

1 tsp lemon juice

pinch of salt

1 9inch pie crust, pre-baked

Pre-bake your pie crust, and allow to cool before you start making the filling. 

Rinse blueberries and lay them out to dry. Place one cup of berries in a medium sauce pan with 1/2 cup of water. Cover, and bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat and let simmer for about 3 minutes, or until berries burst. 

Meanwhile, whisk together cornstarch and water, set aside. Once berries have burst, add cornstarch mixture, lemon juice, sugar and salt, and stir. Continue to cook for several minutes until syrup becomes thick and translucent. Remove from heat, add remaining berries, and stir gently to coat with syrup. 

Pour mixture into pre-baked pie crust. Allow to firm up for at least 2 hours at room temperature before moving to fridge. I've never seen this pie last longer than 2 days, and cannot account for freshness after that point. 

*Note*- The reason this pie knocks people out and makes boys fall in love with you is because you don't smother the berries in sugar and bake them to death. Instead, it's mostly whole, plump berries slightly sweetened and held together with homemade jam. Because of this, the pie will only be as good as your blueberries, and frozen berries are not recommended unless you froze them yourself. 

Mental Health Day... I can has?

I'd love to say that I'm not posting a real post this weekend because I'm at the shore. I'd love to say that I'm just too busy having an awesome time enjoying this gorgeous weekend with my sweetie and friends. I'd love to say that I'm having a long, relaxing holiday weekend to help pull myself together, and get out of the funk that I've been in all week. But it's not true. I'm stuck working my retail job all weekend. RETAIL! ALL HOLIDAY WEEKEND!! I really hope you guys are having a much better weekend than me, so that I can live vicariously through you. 

So while I'm desperately waiting for my day off on Wednesday, a new channel is launching this weekend: The Cooking Channel. I've seen the ads on Food Network, and I've gotta say, I'm pretty excited about it. (Listen, I know I'm a foodie dork, so you can stop judging me now.)  They've got the line up for the launch on their site.

Things that excite me about this: 

1. It appears they have a baking show. 

2. From the little research I've done, it looks like they're vegetarian and vegan friendly, and are working on getting a vegan show.

3. There's whole shows dedicated to ethnic foods, and booze. 

4. There's a picture of Julia Child in that promo. Reruns of the French Chef? YES PLEASE!

Now, I watch a lot of food network, but I've been saying for awhile that there's some things that seem to be missing from their line-up, and it appears the Cooking Channel will be filling all those gaps and then some (see numbers 1-3). 

Also, Cooking Channel, if you're looking for someone to host a vegan baking show, I'm ready, willing, and available. I'm also adorable, well-spoken, and have a background in theater. Just sayin...

Opening Day Easter Weekend-stravaganza!

Dudes and dudettes, I feel like I'm failing you today. I was getting better at posting regularly and was trying to make Mondays a posting day. Cuz, y'know, mondays can be rough. But pretty cakes and sexy food porn can help you get through those tough times. And I do this for you, for the huddled masses who stare at computer screens all day and like to take breaks by staring at delicious pictures.

But I have none of those for you today. Because I'm still in Scranton, and though I was smart enough to bring my computer home, I was not smart enough to bring the power cord for the laptop, or the USB connector for my camera. And so I'm stuck using the family computer. That has no pretty pictures of the pies and cupcakes I made. I'm sorry. Please find it in your heart to forgive me.

However, I am not sorry that I came to Scranton for the holiday and had the best extended weekend EVER. Sunshine. Lots of Sunshine. And peanut butter eggs. And cuddly puppies sleeping in the crook of my arm. And leaning towers of lemon cake. And crazy, loud, adorably loving adopted italian families. And barbequing with real family. And Grandmas complimenting cupcakes (the Casbah cupcakes are officially Grandma-approved!). And karaoke every night (this is not hyperbole. 3 nights in a row of karaoke). And water ice with the kids. And of course, baseball.

BASEBALL.

BAAAAAAAAASEBAAAAAAAAALLLLL.

Opening Day. And an 11-1 Phillies win. And watching the Phillies win on a sunny Opening Day with my awesome Scranton friends. And talking about baseball with my 95-year-old great grandpa. Seriously, a really great weekend. How could it get better?

I'll tell you how. VEGAN FOOD. From Eden, in downtown Scranton. I'm extending my trip to Tuesday just so I can get some yummy yummy food from there before I hit the turnpike and head back to Philly tomorrow. Because their food is that good. I dream about their coleslaw sometimes. NO LIE.

I really hope your holiday weekend was just as wonderful. What was the best part of the weekend for you?

And because I feel terrible not posting any pictures, here's a little something from the most excellent blog, 'I want to go the the Zoo with Roy Halladay', which is probably my favorite new way to waste time.

Cranberry Sauce, I put that s#*t on everything.

OK, so I’m really new to this whole blogging thing, and consequently, I’m pretty bad at keeping up with it. Which I really have no excuses for other than my amazing ability to always seem busy without ever actually accomplishing anything. To be fair, I have been baking a lot over the last few months, just not documenting any of it. So expect some catching up over the next few postings.

It seems cliché to say it, but I really love the holidays. The urges I have to bake most of the year get kicked into to overdrive, and I just can’t seem to make enough sweet treats. Thanksgiving found me extra busy with creating and crafting desserts not only for my apartment and for my family, but for my boyfriend Ken’s family as well (whom I had just met recently, and which is an entirely different tale). Ken’s birthday happened to fall a week before Turkey day, which meant birthday treats on top of everything else. Over the course of that week, I baked so much I thought my little one-rack oven might pull a Septa-esque strike and leave me stranded like an old lady trying to get to her doctor’s appointment. Thankfully, we all made it through without a hitch.

The list of goods baked between November 18 and November 26:

-pistachio cardamom birthday cake

-dairy free chocolate cupcakes with peanut butter frosting (also for birthday celebrations, and unfortunately devoured before pictures)

-Pumpkin nut loaf

-The best cranberry sauce you’ve ever tasted (see below)

-Sweet potato pecan pie (several attempts, first one pictured)

-Pumpkin brownies with pumpkin caramel frosting (picture is pre-frosting)

Many of those were re-imaginings of other recipes or straight up winging it, and not all of the recipes are solid. For now let me detail the one recipe that needs no messing with:

The Best Cranberry Sauce You’ve EVER Tasted

• 1 bag of fresh cranberries (approximately 1.5 cups)
• 1 cup cranberry juice
• 1 cup maple syrup
• orange zest (to taste. I do about half of a medium sized orange.)

Dump everything into a medium sized sauce pan, and bring to boil.

Let berries boil until they start to burst, then turn down the heat and let simmer for about 15 minutes, or until berries continue to burst and sauce thickens, stirring occasionally.

Let cool before storing. Pour that shit on everything.

Some notes: I recommend splurging on real dark amber maple syrup. If you’re going to use that cheap hi-fructose crap, you’re better off using regular sugar. Also, do yourself a favor and go for the better cranberry juice too. I like ocean spray no sugar added, or any similar no-sugar juice.

This sauce has a beautiful deep ruby shade, and it’s mildly sweet with a tart after-bite. Depending on how much orange zest you use, it will have a layer of citrus flavor as well. I literally pour this sauce all over my thanksgiving dinner: turkey and stuffing. It’s yummy over ice cream or as a sauce for a cheesecake too (not that I would know, but I hear rumors). It’s also particularly good on thanksgiving sandwiches (try shredded turkey mixed with cranberry sauce and sweet potatoes, spread on toasted roll). Or you can just eat it by the spoonful. Mmmmm…