VeganMoFo - Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

Happy Vegan MoFo!!

To celebrate, I made you a delicious beverage!

Pumpkin Spice Smoothie

• 1 frozen banana
• 2 tablespoons pumpkin butter
• 1/2 cup soy milk

Blend! Drink!

I swear this smoothie is my genius brain child. I had this jar of pumpkin butter sitting around foreverrrrrr. Finally I used a tiny bit of it, but soon realized that I just wasn't going to finish it up in time and was afraid it would go bad. So I stuck it in the freezer. I forgot about it in there for a long time. A few days ago I was craving a different kind of smoothie, and with fall looming about, pumpkins must have been on my mind. I peered into the freezer and there was my answer. After defrosting in the fridge I knew this pumpkin butter was the key to my smoothie woes. Damn was I right!

Pumpkin butter is so perfect for a smoothie because it is spiced up nicely with all the right fall flavors and as an added bonus, mine did not contain any sugar. If you want your smoothie sans added sugar be sure to check the label (if using pre-made).

Try it out guys! What do you think? How about apple or pear butter?? Homemade peach jam? The possibilities are endless!

VeganMoFo 2011...

Hey ya'll, just a quick update here.

As you may have guessed by now, I am participating in VeganMoFo this year. VeganMoFo (Month of Food) is when vegan bloggers all over the world join forces and blog about delicious *vegan* food every single day of the month. Well... at least 5 days out of the week. You can read more about VeganMoFo and check out which of your favorite bloggers are participating by visiting VeganMoFo.

I've been thinking about VeganMoFo for a lonnnng time now, and I've been trying to figure out if I want to  follow a theme or if I want to just wing it. Frankly, I still don't know what I want to do, sooo stay tuned and see what I manage to squeeze into the blog on a daily basis. If you're interested, some theme ideas I've been toying with are...

• Apples and/or Pumpkins
• "Vegan Food" Around the Neighborhood 

Apples and pumpkins are pretty self explanatory (I hope) being, uh well, October. My idea for finding "vegan food" around the 'hood was to kind of showcase the fact that vegan food is just food and that you can find it anywhere you go! This would be posted Tumblr style using mostly just photos and perhaps a word or two (i.e what it is and where I saw it.)

If you have any ideas for me, or if there is anything that you are just dying to see on the blog, please do let me know! You can share your thoughts and ideas with me by commenting orr you can email me at... 

aveganfoodsnob {AT} gmail {DOT} com

Earth Balance Coconut Spread

At Vida Vegan Con I had the absolute pleasure of sampling Earth Balance's brand new margarine type spread, Organic Coconut Spread. As soon as I got home I knew this was going to be the first product I'd purchase. Not to mention the fabulous people at Earth Balance gave us a coupon for a free tub of the stuff in our swag bag. (Free coupon aside, I would pay mucho dinero for this product.)

Seriously, Earth Balance, could I love you anymore? It's no secret that I want to run away and have a secret Las Vegas wedding with this company. Their soy milk is my go to beverage, I devour both their peanut butter and almond butter right from the tub and my fridge is always stocked with not only a margarine tub, but also margarine sticks. A peek in my fridge and you'd swear I work there or something. (Disclaimer: aside from the coupon I did not receive any monetary compensation from the company for this review, nor am I under any obligation to do this review. I just genuinely enjoy the products put out by this company and do use them in my everyday life.)

Also no secret that I'm coo-coo for coconuts.

I've tried this spread in several ways. The first being simply on a piece of bread. For me this is the ultimate "bread and butter" snack (also my most favorite guilty pleasure). The spread melts as it hits your tongue with the creamy taste of butter and just a hint of coconut. So good. I could eat this stuff with a spoon. (Which I realize is not healthy, both nutritionally and for my mental health.) Clearly, I am not afraid of any fats in my diet!

Secondly, I was eager to use this spread in my baking. I made a batch of mini apple pies and used the Coconut Spread in place of the margarine and shortening in a basic pie crust. The result? A perfectly flakey, creamy, smooth texture with a slightly sweet and salty coconut flavor. I can see this spread baking up beautiful cookies, perfect pie crusts, and to die for cakes & cupcakes.

I want to be clear that the taste of coconut is not overwhelming, but you do gets notes of it in the background. I'm going to go out on a limb here and suggest that even people who do not like strong coconut flavor will actually enjoy this product.

I have yet to saute or stir fry with it, but that is surely to come.

Now for a few details. Earth Balance Coconut Spread is organic, non-GMO and (get ready, food sensitive friends) gluten and soy-free.

In conclusion, this is the closest tasting thing to "real" butter that I have found. Even in a side by side taste test of the Coconut Spread vs. the Organic Whipped EB margarine, I still think the coconut tastes more like the buttery flavor that I remember.

Taco Salad

This is a simple and speedy way to use up those nagging kitchen staples and create a yummy meal all at the same time!

What you are looking at here is 2 small bunches of shredded romaine, 1 package (1 1/2 lbs. prepared) of soy curls, 1 can of black olives, 3 ears worth of corn (roasted), 1/2 of a red onion, blue corn chips and Queso.

Not only is this super quick and super easy but it's also customizable. Don't like black black olives? No problem! Want to add avocado? Go ahead! Soy curls not your thing? This is the perfect time to use any veg. protein of your choice. 

My soy curls were prepared very simply. First soaked for 10 minutes in warm water. Then cooked in a skillet with a blend of chili powder, cumin, paprika, garlic powder, coriander and the juice of 1 lime. About 10 minutes in the pan and they were done.  

The fun part is getting to arrange your salad...

I roasted up some fresh corn for this bodacious buffet and even that was super quick! Here's how you roast up corn at home in a flash. 

Roasted Corn

• 3-5 ear of corn

Preheat your oven to 475º F.

Cut the kernals off of the cobs and arrange in a single layer on a baking sheet. Cook for 5 minutes, remove from oven and scrape up the corn. You basically want to just move the corn around so that it cooks evenly. I run a metal spatula down the sheet in rows, turn the corn and flatten it again. There's no real scientific method to moving corn so just do whatever works for you at that moment. Into the oven for another 5 minutes, and you are done! Serve warm. I highly recommend you do roast up some corn at home, if for nothing but the incredible sweet smell that will fill your kitchen. You can even freeze the roasted corn and save it for a later use.

*Quick and Easy* Fall Vegan Picnic

If summer and I were soul mates, then fall would be my secret affair. Anyone who knows me knows I love the sweltering temperatures of a hot summer day, but when the cool fall air begins to creep in I can't help but secretly get all giddy on the inside.

 For me, fall is the perfect time for picnicking. Yesterday we enjoyed our first picnic of the season, complete with a bike ride around Manhattan.

Tired bikes, resting up.

On the menu was a brown, wild rice salad with slivered almonds, sun-dried tomatoes, cranberries and a sprinkle of arame. This came together in a snap. I had a ziplock bag's worth of the rice already cooked and in the freezer. All I had to do was quickly warm up the rice (I popped it in the microwave for about 5 minutes). Toss in the cranberries, sun-dried tomatoes and almonds (all pantry staples around here) and there's a complete meal. All of the ingredients really complement each other well. You get the creamy earthiness from the rice, a burst of sweetness from the cranberries, a salty bite from the tomatoes and a little crunch with the almonds. This is especially perfect picnic food since you can enjoy the rice warm or cold.

Blue corn chips and Queso were perfect for snacking along with 2 macoun apples to round it all out. The last of the coffee cakes for dessert and 2 sample size Larabars as an extra treat/boost of energy. Have a look...

All packed up!

Queso... yummm!

So good, and soo filling!

It's not a picnic without a red blanket...

good company...

and a nice view makes it complete!

Kitchen Blunders & Mishaps

In the last two days I have managed make many small(ish) mistakes in the kitchen. It all started yesterday when I left the oil out of my little coffee cakes...

Today I was extra vigilant to make sure I didn't make any silly mistakes. Hah! (At least I can laugh at myself, right?)

My day started off with a pie crust. I first added the flour and salt and then proceeded to add 1 1/2 cups of sugar. What?! With 1 cup of sugar already in the processor I thought, "Gee, that seems like too much." So I went back to check and realized in my hurry to scribble amounts on my paper I wrote "c" instead of "t". Welllllll damn it.
I did manage to save some of the sugar and some of the flour. I dumped the rest and started over.

Ok, the pies were saved, but not before I dropped the dough on the floor. Luckily most of it was covered in plastic wrap. Then finally (and after I forgot to sugar the tops, oops!) they were safe and sound in the oven. Leave it to me at the end to set the timer for 5 hours instead of the 5 extra minutes they needed. Sheesh.

All while the pies were being tortured I managed to not only squirt lemon juice in my eye, but also Dr. Bronner's lemon citrus soap, in the same eye!

Later in the day I forgot to turn off the slow cooker and over cooked my chickpeas to oblivion, at the same time I was pouring tofu water all over the stove while (attempting to) make a tofu scramble.

Ok, clearly I'm just ranting... and venting... and run-on sentencing. But after all these kitchen shenanigans I got to wondering, and I want to know: What are your kitchen blunders, mistakes and mishaps? Really, I'm curious. Have you had one day where everything just went wrong? Or do you have just one knock down, drag out kitchen blunder of all time? Lay 'em on me people!

As for me... perhaps keep me away from breakable things and sharp objects. I think it'll be take-out this weekend until I get my sea legs back.

Coffee Cake Nostalgia

Do you remember Drake's Coffee Cakes?
I've been thinking about... dreaming about them, for at least the last week or so. I can imagine opening that package and out slide 2 perfectly round cakes, just for me! Cinnamon wafting in my nose, and taking that first soft and crumbly bite. Crumbs would roll everywhere of course, but I barely even notice, stuffing my face with the second cake before I knew it.

If I don't get some coffee cake now, heads will roll.

My first thought was to thumb through my cookbooks. Surely I had seen a coffee cake in one of them before, hadn't I? There in Vegan Brunch (one of my most used books) was a coffee cake staring back at me. But no. This wasn't it. I needed more crumbs, more cinnamon, more something. Then it hit me! I rushed to VeganYumYum where I knew the perfect crumb cake recipe was waiting for me.

As much as I loved the little individual coffee cakes, eating a slice of coffee (or crumb) cake was never quite as enjoyable for me. Here is what I did to fulfill my coffee cake nostalgia craving.

Prepare this recipe for Crumb Cake. Scoop 1/4 cup of the cake batter into a greased jumbo muffin tin. Top with the crumb topping. Bake approximately 40 minutes at 350º F.

As soon as I placed the muffin tin in the oven and closed the door, I realized that I forgot the oil! I don't know how, it was literally sitting right in front of me. It was too late to do anything about it, so I just set the oven timer and hoped for the best.

Results?

The look and flavor were spot on. However, the lack of oil left my cakes dense and slightly rubbery. If it were not for my mistake they would have been perfect.

Tips: I would suggest to make your crumb mixture more sand-like rather than big clumps. The post for the recipe shows big huge crumbs, but I found the bigger crumbs were a little too crunchy for my end product. Also, I baked the cakes for a total of 50 minutes which I think was a little too long. Next time I'll take them out at 40 minutes. Just be sure to test and see what amount of time works best for your oven.