Banana Crumble

So, I decided to make this because a dear uncle and a co-worker of my husbands had a birthday, I wanted to make them a yummy treat to share and I know my uncle in law loves banna cream pie. This si so easy to make GF, and DF but can easily be made "normal" for those of you chose choose to eat Gluten and Dairy (which actually includes me, snicker)

Filling:

3-4 bananas cut into rounds

1/4 cup sugar

Topping:

1/2 cup shredded coconut, toasted 

(to toast, layer thinly on a cookie sheet and bake 5 minutes or so at 350*)

1/2 cup Quick Cooking oats

1/2 Flour 

1/2 Cup firmly packed brown sugar

1/2 Butter replacement such as earth balance

nutmeg for dusting

Method:

Layer bananas into a 9" glass pie dish, and top with sugar.

Mix all ingredients for topping and then layer onto bananas. dust with nutmeg and bake about 20min at 350*

I made this again for a neighboorhood Christmas party and got RAVE revieews from all, even those, like me, who aren't crazy about shredded coconut.

This recipe is so easy and certainly delicious

Pumpkin Ice Cream (eggnog too)

Okay, Ice cream is not "diet" friendly, or really healthy, yes I have recipes that are, I plan to try them soon, so if you see this particular recipe listed twice it's cause I made the "vegan" version for our son.

I'm infatuated with pumpkin, 'tis the season anyhow. So enter ice cream, where this really started was last October I had some at my wonderful sisters house (little bit of irony is that while the two of us were eating it, our other sister on the other side of the country was eating it too.). I was SADLY disappointing. Like seriously. So I just had to try it again.

I again used my own baked pumpkin.

I also used an ice cream maker.

1 cup pumpkin puree
1 cup milk
1 cup heavy cream
1/4-1/2 cup sugar
1 tsp vanilla
Now here is the tricky part. I didn't measure seasonings
1 "dash" nutmeg (you know, about a shake but not a real heavy one)
1 "dash cloves"
1 barely there dash, ginger
1 good hard shake cinnamon

Blended it all together in my Vitamix and poured into the ice cream machine.

My hubs and I loved it, my parents (the Friday dinner set) don't like pumpkin pie, and LOVED it!

To make the egg nog variation I used
1 cup eggnog (I'll only use about 1/2 cup next time)
1 cup milk (I'll add about half a cup)
1/2 cup cream
1/4 cup sugar, if even.

The way I made it was SUPER thick and very noggy, it was good, but for best results I'll use less nog next time (or hey maybe even make it from scratch).

Sorry for the lack of photos!

Coffee Cherry Ice Pie

1 pie crust, I used this recipe to make the crust, however you could easily buy a cookie crumb one.
1/2 pint coffee ice cream
Chocolate syrup
1 pint vanilla ice cream
1 cup pitted sliced sweet cherries


Make or buy your pie crust.











Allow the coffee ice cream to warm just slightly and stir until smooth, layer into your crust, drizzle with chocolate sauce and then cover and freeze at least 30 minutes.








Mix vanilla and cherries in a bowl until combined, top over pre frozen coffee layer and freeze about 4 hours.

Top with chocolate sauce or chocolate covered cherries, and eat!
(I forgot to take a picture of the finished product!)

Citrus and Wine infused cake

For mothers day I whipped up this cake, for me the batter listed below made two totally delicious cakes. The moisture was KILLER.









2/3 cup olive oil
1 1/2 cup AP flour (all purpose)
1 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup Muscato wine (or other dessert wine)
1/3 cup fresh OJ
1 tsp grated orange zest
1 tsp grated lemon zest
4 large eggs
1 cup sugar
2 TBS confectioners sugar (I made my own using my vitamix)
berries

Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.

In a separate bowl whisk together oil, wine, OJ and zests.

Beat eggs and sugar with an electric mixer for about 4 minutes or until pale yellow and tripled in volume

add half the dry ingredients and mix on a low speed until incorporated, then add half the wet. Repeat. 

Pour batter into prepared cake pans (brush lightly with Olive oil), and bake in a preheated 350* oven for about 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Cool in the pan ten minutes then remove. Dust with powdered sugar and top with berries.

Definitely a keeper

CocoChoco Mint Ice " cream"

Oh. MY. YUM.

Fast, fabulous and ADDICTING. I came up with this after tasting "So Delicious Chocolate Mint Coconut Milk." It was a hit.

A banana per person, frozen and broken into chunks (I have these portioned out in my freezer all the time, for smoothies, ice cream, munching, you name it)
about 2-3 cups So Delicious Coconut Milk in Mint Chocolate

Drop into the vitamix (or other blender) process until 4 mounds appear in the corners, Place in a bowl in the freezer covered with plastic wrap until ready to eat.

Myself, my husband, my mother and I think me step father all loved it, fast creamy, and oh so satisfying.

Baked Apples

4-5 Apples of your choosing (I used Prince and Jonagold)
Earth Balance
Brown Sugar
Cinnamon
Nutmeg
Apple cider (or juice)

Preheat the oven to 350*F




Peel the top of the apple (my omni requested they be totally peeled next time) and core the top portion, using a peeler or knife. Stuff the "well" with a little bit of butter and brown sugar (about 1 TBS Sugar) sprinkle generously with cinnamon. Place into an 8 inch baking dish. Pour a bit of cider or juice into the bottom, cover with foil and bake about 40 minutes (or until the tenderness you prefer). Dist with nutmeg prior to eating!

*the way we ate them with ice cream and whipping cream was NOT vegan if using dairy, but the recipe itself is*

Apple Cobbler

I was in a hurry to think of a dessert I could make for my parents as they came over for dinner tonight. I have to admit one of the best things about Vegan baking is that I almost always have EVERYTHING on hand to make just about anything in the cook books that I have. Today was no exception.








Preheat the oven to 375*

Peel and slice 4 medium apples (I used "Prince")
Toss in a bowl along with
1/2 cup water
3/4 cup sugar
2 TB Flour
1 Tsp Vanilla
1 Tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp nutmeg
dash of cloves

Then layer into a baking dish (really I mean, pour into a baking dish and spread 'em out)


**********************
In a separate bowl combine
1 1/3 cups Flour
3 TBS sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
5 TBS melted Earth Balance (or other non dairy butter)
1/2 cup soy milk (or other non dairy milk)

Thoroughly blend dry ingredients, then mix in wet to form a sticky dough.

Splat it on top of the apple filling and drizzle with a bit of non dairy milk and sugar (less than 1 TBS of each)
Bake for 35-40 minutes or until golden brown on top.
Serve Warm






Yum YUM YuM!!

I fed it to me, my hubs, my hubs best friend, my mom, my step dad and my hubs "little brother" and we all thought it was SO GOOD!

Super easy (really it whipped up in as fast as you can measure the dry ingredients and prep the apples.)

I plan to try it again using different fillings.

Mississippi Mud Pie

First time ever making a crust too, it was fun

Crust:

1 5/8 cups flour
2 TBS unsweetened Cocoa Powder
5 oz butter or Earth Balance (eek I know)
2 Tbs Sugar
1-2 Tbs Cold water

Sift together flour and coco, then using your fingers rub the butter in until the mixture looks like dry bread crumbs. then add in sugar and water and using your hands form into a soft dough. Form into a ball and wrap in plastic, chill in fridge for 15 minutes.

Roll the dough out on a floured surface, and use it to line a 9" pie pan. Line dough with parchment paper and fill with pie weights or dried beans (I used the later)
Bake in a preheated oven, 375* F, for 15 minutes, remove paper and beans and cook 10 minutes more.

Filling: (more sugary fattness, be prepared)

6 oz butter or Earth Balance
1 3/4 cups packed brown sugar
4 eggs, lightly beaten
4 TBS unsweetened Cocoa Powder
5 1/2 oz semi sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cup light cream (I did 3/4 cup heavy 1/2 cup milk)
1 tsp vanilla

Beat butter and sugar together in a bowl, gradually beat in eggs and cocoa.
Melt the chips and beat that along with the cream and vanilla into the mixture.

REDUCE OVEN TEMP TO 325* F
Pour the mixture into the pie shell and bake 45 minutes or until the filling has gently set (I found I had a bit too much filling)

Let cool completely. Top with whipping cream and chill until ready to serve (we thought it was better after being chilled  over night.

yes my whip cream was a bit runny

Whipping Cream

1 cup cream
2 Tbs powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla

Beat cream until just before firm peaks form (this is where I messed up, I never got to this point)
then beat in sugar and vanilla.

Pumpkin Cinnamon Rolls

More pictures to follow, but here is one loan from my beloved sister.

As some of you know I am currently visiting my sister Sarah. We have been baking up a storm, and she has been treating me to tasty dinners, all of which are gluten free, and only one of which has been omni.

Today, when I was watching the girls we decided to surprise their prego mommy with a craving she has mentioned. CINNAMON ROLLS.

Mind you I have done limited GF baking, and to top it off her eldest and I decided pumpkin cinnamon rolls sounded A-M-A-Z-I-N-G. So we took a recipe from "Whole Life Nutrtion" and customized it.

1/2 cup water (over 90* under110* F)
1 tsp sugar
2 1/4 tsp yeast (1 packet)

1 cup soy milk
1/4 cup honey (to make these vegan use Agave Nectar)
2 Tbs Oil
1/2 cup pureed pumpkin

3 cups GF flour (we used an Almond blend I will have to find online and link up to, it is SO GOOD)
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum
1 tsp salt

Filling:
Earth balance or melted coconut oil about 1/4 cup
cinnamon
sugar

Method:
Proof yeast with water and sugar in a bowl or measuring cup for 5 minutes. If it doesn't foam, start over.

In a small sauce pan heat soy milk, honey, and oil until about 100* F. Stir in yeast mixture.

With an electric mixer combine pureed pumpkin with all other wet ingredients.

In a separate bowl, stir together dry ingredients, then using the mixer combine all ingredients until thoroughly combined.

Turn dough out onto a floured surface, roll into a ball and then flatten into a rectangle.

Grease a few pie plates or glass baking dishes and set aside.

Spread melted EB or oil over dough, sprinkle with sugar and then cinnamon. Roll dough into a log starting at the long end.

Then cut into rolls about 1-2" thick.

Place into grease pans and cover with plastic wrap, allow to rise about 40 minutes.

Then bake in a preheated oven (350* F) for about 40 minutes.

SO SO GOOD! The kids loved them, two of which wanted them even without frosting. Their dad? I hear he is tough to please. He ate two of them right off the bat. I am thinking we had a success!

Oatmeal Cookies

The base of these cookies is Vegan, I kept my portion that way with raisins, but added milk chocolate and butterscotch chips to my husbands (get em out of the house already, lol)

His turned out a bit on the crunchy side, I clearly over cooked them, but they were still good he said, and I thought they were a bit more like a crunchy granola cookie bar. Yum. Mine (of coarse) turned out perfect (go figure)

The trick is to pull them out when the edges are firm, but the centers are still soft.

2 TBS ground flaxseed
6 TBS water
1 cup Earth balance, softened
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, packed
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 cups flour
1/2 cup oat bran
3/4 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/21 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
3 cups rolled oats
1 cup raisins

****the list looks daunting, but the flavor of the cookies is worth it, it also makes  ton!

In a food processor or blender mix water and flaxseed until well blended (almost jelly like). Cream together next 5 ingredients, then add flax mixture and mix to combine.

In a separate bowl combine flour through nutmeg. Add wet to dry and mix JUST TO COMBINE, then stir in rolled oats and raisins.

Using a tablespoon, spoon out dough onto a lined or lightly greased baking sheet, bake at 350 10-15 minutes (see my comment above). Let stand 2 minutes on sheet then remove to a wire rack.

Panda Paws

Vegan, chocolaty and I can't stop eating them!

3 tsp EnerG Egg replacer
4 Tbs water
1/2 cup sugar
2 tsp Vanilla

4 Tbs Almond Milk
1/4 Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread
1/2 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips (non dairy)
1 1/2 cups Flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup sifted Powdered Sugar

In a medium bowl blend flour, salt and baking powder.
In a food processor or with a hand mixer, mix EnerG and water until thick and creamy, then add Almons Milk, sugar and vanilla and blend about 1 minute more.
Melt butter and chocolate chips together, careful not to burn. Once blended mix in EnerG mixture until well blended.
Add wet to dry and mix until JUST combined. Cover with plastic and refrigerate at least an hour.

When you're ready to bake, preheat oven to 325*F
Line 3 cookie sheets with parchment paper.
Sift powdered sugar into a small bowl.
Using your hands, roll chilled dough into round balls about an inch big. Roll in sugar, place onto lined cookie sheets about an inch apart. Bake 10-15 minutes or until edges begin to firm but centers are still soft.
Than keep them away from my *wink*

Lemony Muffins

these were so so delicious, I simply can't stop eating them, I also have a hard time staying out of the batter, lucky for me it's vegan. They may not be "perfect" looking but my tummy sure doesn't mind.

I took two raspberry ones to my mom and her response was "oh man, what a great surprise to my mouth! Mouth-watering wonderful. THANK YOU."
Ha, does it get much better than that?



In Raspberry -
(you'll see my first try here)

Ingredients included:
Raspberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, wheat flour, white flour, soy milk, coconut milk yogurt in raspberry, salt, sugar and baking soda (see link above for measurements)












Blue Berry

Ingredients Included:
Blueberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, wheat flour, white flour, soy milk, coconut milk yogurt in blueberry, salt, sugar and baking soda (see link above for measurements)
















Blackberry

Ingredients Included:
Blackberries, lemon juice, lemon zest, lemon extract, wheat flour, white flour, soy milk, coconut milk yogurt in vanilla, salt, sugar and baking soda (see link above for measurements)








The "Other Omni" tried the blackberry one and was very impressed. I sent all three with my omni to get his perspective tonight, but regardless I know I will be living off of these for some time. YUM

Chocolaty Banana Nut-Cream

 First can I say YUM?

Second I sing the praise of my Vitamix, that said this could be made in any blender or food processor, the procedure would be a bit different.

I served this delectable and dairy free "ice cream" to the two usual omni's and my Father and Step Mom. All the reviews were good, my omni, of coarse, said "It was more like paste than ice-cream" to which my retort was, "well you shouldn't have let it thaw." My omni folks, puts his ice-cream in the microwave, no joke.

So, I recommend  we all ignore that comment and give this a whirl

Ingredients to serve 5

5 medium/small bananas, frozen in chunks

2 TBS Cocoa Powder

1/4 cup Agave (or maple syrup)

2 TBS water

1/2 Cup RAW cashews

Method:

If you have a high power blender toss it all in and viola!

If not, blend cashews, agave, water and cocoa until smooth, then add bananas.

Serve immediatly for soft serve or return to freezer for a more "hard ice cream" texture.

*We will be trying the maple syrup and re-freezing soon.

Chocolate Cake, Beet Style

Look at that color!

Beet Style you ask? Yep fresh beats from the in-laws garden.
Made this cake off a recipe in "The Vegan Table" I LOVE this book seriously

Ingredients include:
Omega 3 Rich Canola Oil, dark brown sugar, cooked beets, chocolate chips (semi sweet not MILK), vanilla, all purpose flour, baking powder, salt... and confectioners sugar and the water from cooking the beets

Angel Cake

Who says you have to be pregnant to have a craving?
Knowing the end of my guiltless gluttony is here (here and gone really) I decided ONE more Angel cake adventure, which turned into two, Here's how we enjoyed it!

Fruit Skewers

So easy, so amazing and MUCH healthier than ice-cream.

Strawberries
Bannas
Chocolate (not milk)

Frozen.

The bananas were PERFECT, I loved the strawberries too but the general consensus from others was they got a bit too hard.

I will definitely be making these often!

*could be raw depending on the chocolate used

Grilled Angel Cake with Drunken Peaches and honey cream

let me start by saying the omni REALLY wants to try this again, but do somethings different.

Now a teaser

Ingredients:
Mini Angel Cakes or slices
About 3 peaches, sliced
2 Tbs Amaretto
2 Tsp butter
Cinnamon
1 1/2 Tbs Honey ( we're lucky and my in-laws have bees to make it!)
1/4 cup sour cream

Method:
Place sliced peaches in foil packets, cover with butter, amaretto and cinnamon to taste. close packets and grill 6-8 minutes.
grill angel cake approx 1-2 minutes per side.
mix honey and cream in a bowl.
Top cakes with peaches and cream, and drizzle with amaretto sauce (from the bottom of the foil packet.

Presentation was an A. Both my omni and our dinner guest approved, that said: as we made them they were "okay" here is what we didn't like, I thought the peaches were bitter, and the cakes tasted a bit like burger.. or grill or something.

Next time I plan to do this:

Coat the peaches with a bit of honey and grill.

Skip grilling the cakes.

Make a whipped cream topping and mix in cinnamon For a cinnamon whip topping.

Both said they wanted to try it again, so there we go, it WAS edible and they clearly saw the light at the end of the .. cake

Baking Fool

Well on top of the KILLER Vegan Raspberry and Lemon muffins I have been baking other goodies.

Kiwi Banana Muffins from "Color me Vegan"
Review- AMAZING flavor, but somehow I ended up with twice the batter called for and they never really cooked up to a perfect muffin consistency. I plan to make these again soon to see if I can't get my mixture right. They are LOADED with potassium so certainly worth trying to get just right.
**Vegan




Vegan chocolate chip cookies that regrettably became "vegetarian." I simply didn't have enough chocolate chips but I did have some white chocolate on hand so they got tossed in as well.  The core of the recipe however was totally vegan.
Review - Well the omni hubby takes four with him every day for lunch, and I ate at least that many myself. LOVED them, and have to admit it feels awesome to eat goodies NOT loaded with all the un-necessary animal products.
**Vegan if you use a semi sweet chocolate chip that does NOT contain milk



My Grandmothers sugar cookies. The ONLY sugar cookies in the world  that this non dessert eater (normally) will always eat too many of. As you can see there is my review I will edit if the Omni has anything to add *grin
** Lacto Ovo Vegetarian (just the way she made it)
I may tweak it some if the future to make it vegan, we'll see.


Ingredients:
1 Cup butter
1 Cup sugar
1 egg
1 TBS orange zest
2 TBS Sour cream
1 Tsp Baking soda
1/2 Tsp baking powder
1/2 Tsp salt
3 Cups sifted flour (Grandma specifies Pillsbury best, but I didn't use it since I couldn't find it non bleached)

Method:

Yes the missing cookie is in my belly already

Cream the butter and sugar together.
Mix in all remaining ingredients except flour
Slowly blend in the flour
Check consistency (I think this was written in for me as a taste test)
Using a teaspoon pull out dough and roll into little balls. Flatten with a cup or cookie press and then sprinkle with sugar.

Bake at 375*F for 10-12 minutes or until edges begin to turn golden brown.

I also for see pumpkin bread and banana bread in the very near future, possibly even tonight.

From the Kitchen we had my Mexican Casserole minus the "beef" and added a can of drained and rinsed black beans, as you can see I don't even follow my OWN recipes very faithfully *wink* totally just as satisfying as with the meatless ground. next time I may add a bit of sauteed mushrooms too!

Raspberry Lemon Muffins

So as I know I posted about I bought Colleen Patrick-Goudreau's latest book "Color Me Vegan" (yes it had been on my birthday list and I did get too impatient, surprise, surprise).
This is the first recipe I have tried out of it. I REALLY urge everyone (meat eaters and non) to pick up a cook book by her. You will NOT be disappointed and I feel that it's not  fair of me to post her recipes for free.

However after tasting the batter (yes the best part of vegan baking is that everyone, pregnant and non, can taste the batter without fear of getting sick!) I decided I simply HAD to post this recipe if for no other reason than to get you to try it yourself and hopefully prompt you to then purchase her book *grin*

*Vegan, Dairy free, Soy free (as long as you use soy free yogurt and milk like I did)

Ingredients:
1 6 oz container non dairy yogurt (I used SO Delicious Coconut Yogurt in Vanilla flavor)
1/2 cup non dairy milk (I used Vanilla Almond Milk)
3 TBS Canola Oil
Juice from 1 lemon (about 2 TBS)
1/2 TSP lemon extract *optional (I didn't use)
1 1/2 cup pastry flour (I used organic white whole wheat)
3/4 Cup Sugar
2 1/2 Tsp Baking Powder
1/2 Tsp Salt
1 Tsp lemon zest
1 Cup fresh or frozen raspberries (I used fresh)

Method:
Preheat oven to 400* F and line 2 6 cup muffin tins with paper cups.
Zest your lemon, then juice. (Best if done at room temp)

In a bowl mix the first 5 ingredients (wet) until blended.

In a large bowl mix all remaining ingredients (except raspberries) until blended, stir in wet ingredients and mix until just combined, gently fold in berries. Spoon into muffin tins and bake 20-25 minutes or until the top bounces back when pushed.

Cool the muffins.

I have to admit that in fear of over cooking and causing the muffins to dry out too much, I think I pulled mine a bit too early, I will have to check again once they have actually cooled, I couldn't, however, wait to eat one, so I pulled it right out of the pan (yes it was ridiculously hot) and scarfed it down.

HEAVEN, literally I am having to hold myself back to keep me from rushing into the kitchen and eating all 11 that remain!

*Did you know if your muffins fall like mine did that you overfilled the pan a bit?

Bran Muffins with Rasins

"The Joy of Vegan Baking" has done it again. Produced a very delicious treat and healthy too! 
I am actually going to post from memory if I can.. I forgot the book on my counter as I am bound to make cookies in the next few days


Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups wheat bran
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup packed brown sugar (light or dark)
1 TSP Salt
2 1/2 TSP baking soda (I think)
6 TSP Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/2 cup water
1 cup non dairy milk
1/2 cup canola oil
                                                      1 cup raisins (none sulfured)



Method:
Preheat oven to 400* F, Layer muffin tins with paper
Mix all dry ingredients except raisins in a large bowl
Whip up egg replacer and egg in a food processor or by hand
Add all liquid ingredients together and mix until blended, stir in raisins
Add wet mixture to dry. Stir until just combined.


Spoon into muffin cups until about 3/4 of the way full (I over filled).
Bake about 15 minutes or until toothpick inserted comes out clean.
let cool in tin for 5 minutes and then move to a wire rack to finish cooling




These are heavenly! They actually taste like they have melty butter inside! Healthy, full of fiber, and just plain so yummy. I imagine I will be making these a lot. Even alternating ground flax seed for the egg replacer.