Vegan Sweet Treats

You may have noticed that there has been a lack of food related entries as of late here. A few reasons for that. First, I have been testing recipes for some upcoming projects for the lovely Isa Chandra Moskowitz (!!!). This is quite exciting as Isa has always been such a favorite of mine. She's written quite a few cookbooks that are essential to any collection such as Veganomicon, Vegan with a Vengeance, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, Vegan Pie in the Sky, and my favorite, Appetite for Reduction. Right now, I am testing recipes for her contributions to the upcoming Forks Over Knives cookbook (her contribution will be low-fat and low-sugar dessert recipes) as well as meals for her latest cookbook that will focus on easy weeknight meals.

I've also been cooking my way through Blissful Bites, the new cookbook by Christy Morgan. Her publisher contacted me to see if I'd be interested in reviewing her book and I jumped at the chance. Christy's food philosophy is very close to my own - lots of whole foods, veggies, fruits and nothing too complicated. The book is amazing and I'll be posting a full review very soon. I'll also be hosting a giveaway for a copy of Blissful Bites, so keep your eyes peeled!

*** Note that Christy's book tour is underway, so if you're interested in checking her out or attending one of her cooking classes, check here for dates and locations! More about this in my upcoming post, just want to give people a head's up. ***

Anyway, it's been nice not having to be too inventive in the kitchen the past few weeks, but the downside is that I don't have any new recipes to post here! So I thought I'd just share some of my favorite vegan treats that I've been enjoying between mouthfuls of Isa's healthy desserts and Christy's healthy meals. Everything in moderation, right?

On my way home from therapy on Saturdays (yes I go to therapy, I'm a real New Yorker now!) I always walk by this statue at the Polish Consulate's building. He looked so chilly on this day, I kind of felt bad for him. I was tempted to bring him a treat to warm him up. Then I realized why I'm in therapy.

Maple Leaf Sandwich Cookies from Trader Joe's. These are one of those "accidentally vegan" products and hot damn are they ever delicious! They are mapletastic and how they make the "cream" layer without using dairy is beyond me, but it tastes really good. They are very bad for you (like 5g-of-fat-in-each-cookie bad), but for an occasional treat they are perfect. I like mine with black tea and soy milk.

BTW, I use a nifty device called the AeroLatte to froth my soy milk when I'm having tea or coffee at home. It's really neat! You just warm up your milk in the microwave, froth it with the AeroLatte, then add in the tea or coffee. It feels more ceremonious and special than just pouring the milk in.  

Cookie Butter. Cookie butter originated in Europe under the name "Speculoos Spread". The name says it all - this is butter made from blended up Speculoos cookies. This stuff was mythologized by vegans because it contains no animal ingredients and vegans in Europe were always bragging about how good it is. When news hit that Trader Joe's was carrying their own version here in the States... well, let's just say if there was a "Vegans Gone Wild!" video series, the camera guys would be provoking us to show our naughty bits in exchange for a jar of this stuff. I have to say, the best way to enjoy this treat is with a spoon. It tastes just like a buttery cookie full of spices like cinnamon, cloves, and ginger. Delightful! It seems now that the original Speculoos Spread has invaded the U.S. and I've been seeing it in my regular grocery store packaged as Biscoff Spread. Do yourself a favor and try it sometime.

ARGO TEA. Has anyone else experienced this magical place? They are only in select cities for now, like Chicago, NY, St. Louis, and Boston, but I anticipate this place is gonna blow up in the near future. It's like Starbucks, but for tea, and way better. There is one near Johnny's school so he took me in one night. I don't know why I was skeptical (probably because it feels insane to spend $4 on a cup of tea), but I was quickly hooked. So far I've tried the Mojitea (an iced mint tea concoction), the Teapuccino (I got it with black tea, soy milk and vanilla flavoring - cracktastic!), and some sort of sparkling iced tea drink. They have sugar-free options for those watching your sugar intake (as I am obviously failing to do), and they have some yummy looking food including several vegan options.  If you're ever near an Argo Tea you should totally check it out. Oh, and they have coffee, too, but coffee is so passé.

Ritter Sport Dark Chocolate Marzipan Bars. I remember one year for Christmas, my Dad went all out and decided to make a cake that was covered in marzipan. He sculpted it to look like a giant present with a red bow and it took him hours! It was the coolest, yummiest thing ever and I've had a soft-spot for marzipan ever since. So when you fill delicious European dark chocolate with sweet almond paste, you really can't lose. This is one of my very favorite vegan candy bars and the best part is that it's so readily available. If I need a fix, I can always find them at Duane Reade or the grocery store.

Enjoy Life Mini Chips. These little guys are the best chocolate chips I've ever had, vegan or not. Luckily for me, they are dairy-free as well as soy and gluten-free. They are great in cookies and baked goods, but you can also just sneak a few from the bag if you have a sweet tooth. I've also melted some in the microwave with non-dairy milk and blended it with my AeroLatte for a perfect cup of hot chocolate.

So there you have it! I'll be back soon with that book review and giveaway!

Recipe - Vegan Chunky Monkey and Thanksgiving Recap

Hidee-ho! Hope everyone had wonderful Thanksgiving celebrations this year! It was my second year celebrating Thanksgiving as a vegan, but my first one cooking. Last year we went to Connecticut to spend the day with Johnny's brother and his family, so I picked up a few things from Whole Foods. While I am eternally grateful for the convenience and selection that Whole Foods offers, this year I wanted to try my hand at veganizing some of the classics. It is so much cheaper and, generally, tastier to make stuff on your own, don't you agree?

On Tuesday, I began by cooking the cranberry sauce as I knew it would keep well and it was the only component of the meal that was meant to be served cold. I used this recipe from Sunset Magazine as I remembered my sister making a cranberry sauce with Earl Grey tea in years past that I loved. This called for some exotic spices like cardamom pods, star anise, and whole cinnamon sticks so I made my way to Kalustyan's and managed to buy all three for under $10. Man, I love that place! I simmered the spices and tea bags in a water and sugar mixture, then cooked the cranberries in the liquid until they all burst and cooked into a thickened sauce. I was super pleased with the results of that one, it was a positively delicious addition to the meal! I also made up a batch of hummus on Tuesday for an appetizer - we all know how much better hummus tastes after it sits in the fridge for a few days anyway.

Wednesday night I tackled dessert - the Maple Pecan Pie from the new book "Vegan Pie in the Sky" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero. Those ladies have stolen my heart when it comes to vegan baked goods and vegan food in general. Their recipes are so thoroughly tested and well-written that I never have to worry about yielding a less-than-tasty result. The on-line reviews of this pie recipe were split: some had great success and others had a bit of trouble. I, too, ran into some issues when I let my caramel cook a bit too long. It completely hardened and crumbled, so I blended it up in the food processor and hoped for the best. Luckily, it all worked out and it was a delicious pie! Johnny said it was a bit too sweet for his tastes, but I thought it was just right. (Though expensive to make... we paid $8 for the pecans and it used most of my $7 bottle of maple syrup. Yikes!)

I wanted to have as little cooking to do on Thursday as possible. We spent the morning making our way to the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, only to find that we'd missed all but the last two balloons and Santa. EPIC FAIL. Better luck next year. When we got home, I got to work making mashed potatoes (I baked the potatoes, scooped out the innards, and mashed with plenty of soy milk, vegan margarine, and salt and pepper) and sweet potato casserole (I also baked the sweet potatoes, scooped out the innards and mashed with a bit of maple syrup, a couple tablespoons of margarine, some cinnamon and allspice and about a 1/2 cup of toasted walnuts, then I baked it with some vegan Dandies marshmallows on top. YUM!). Johnny made his famous stuffing using margarine, veggie broth, stuffing mix and lots of chopped apples, celery and onions. Then I just had to heat up the rolls and the vegan mushroom gravy. Our guests brought the BEST ROASTED VEGGIES I'VE EVER HAD that included butternut squash, cauliflower, and turnips. Monica says the secret is to roast them at very low heat for a long time, so I'll be utilizing that method in the future.

Everything came out so wonderfully and I had a plate full of vegan goodness upon which to gorge myself. And thanks to leftovers, I continued to gorge myself through the entire weekend! I was so busy trying to keep everything hot that I didn't really snap any good pics though. Bummer. We also saw the new Muppets movie that night and I must say, it was fantastic. A theater full of adults weeping at the sight of a frog puppet? Yes, please. 

In this brief hiatus between Thanksgiving and Christmas, I'm trying to get back to eating a bit healthier so as not to send my system into complete meltdown. I bought a gigantic bunch of bananas at the grocery store while shopping for Thanksgiving and they started to get a bit brown. I knew they would be perfect in a baked good like banana bread. But instead, I chose to freeze them and make banana soft serve! This stuff seems to be all the craze these days and I know why: it's so easy to make and it tastes divine. You can mix-in anything your little heart desires, but when I think of banana ice cream, I automatically think "Chunky Monkey". By far my favorite Ben & Jerry's flavor, it combines banana ice cream with dark chocolate chunks and walnuts. This version gives you all those flavors, but with about 1/10th the fat and calories. Big time WIN!

Johnny ate a bowl of this ice cream, licked the bowl clean, then returned to the freezer to eat the rest. I was so happy he liked it so much! A much healthier way to satisfy an indulgent sweet-tooth. Have you ever made banana soft serve? What are your favorite mix-ins?

Vegan Chunky Monkey

5 frozen bananas

1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate chunks

1/4 cup raw, unsalted walnut pieces

Break up the bananas a bit and add to a food processor. Begin blending, scraping down the sides of the bowl as you go. You will have to blend for awhile, 5 minutes or so, but don't overblend as it will start to melt the ice cream. Once everything is smoothe, transfer to a bowl (a chilled bowl would be great here) and stir in the chocolate and walnuts. You can either place this back into the freezer to harden it up a bit, or serve right away. Sprinkle a few extra chocolate chips over the top and garnish with a mint sprig.

Recipe - Brown Sugar Peach Muffins

Hi guys and gals, Happy Monday! Did you all have nice weekends? We met up with some friends on Friday night, went out for a date on Saturday night, and spent Sunday curled up at home watching the 9/11 ceremony and some movies on TV. A pretty relaxing time overall.

The restaurants we ate at this weekend were magical! On Friday we went to Rice, an adorable little place on Elizabeth Street in Nolita. Our friends introduced us to it awhile back and it's been our standard meeting place ever since. Their food is simple and comforting and you get to choose from about 10 different kinds of rice with your main dish! I got an order of the Spinach Rice Balls: rice and spinach formed into balls, then dipped in breadcrumbs, fried, and covered in a zesty tomato/cumin sauce. If I don't have this dish every so often, I'm liable to have a meltdown, so to say I liked it would be an understatement.  Johnny, who usually gets the Chicken Satay, opted this time for the Chicken Kebabs with Lebanese rice, grilled pita and steamed veggies and he loved it all! Other choices around the table were the Vegetarian Meatballs (I've had these before and they're goooood!), Thai Coconut Curry, Baked Black Beans, etc. I highly recommend Rice, it's perfect for a group of mixed eaters.

Saturday we went to the famed Angelica Kitchen in the East Village. I've heard that celebs frequent this spot a lot, but their menu is what tempted me. Since I've been trying to eat cleaner, healthier food, I love that their ingredients are so fresh and non-processed. They are a vegan restaurant that's been open since 1976 and the server told us that they were originally macrobiotic. Over the years they've phased out some of those principles, but they've kept others (like no soda or ice in their drinks, which Johnny was not too pleased about). The restaurant itself is gorgeous and has lots of character, as does everyone who works there. I was noticing they even have a large communal table where parties of 1 or 2 people can sit and chat with strangers while they eat their meal.

But on to the food...  Oh yes, the food... mmmmm. We started with the Agrarian Salgado appetizer, "Baked rounds of mashed Yukon Gold potatoes and herbed seitan, with a basil-walnut pesto center; topped with dill-tofu sour cream & garnished with piquant marinated kale." Sounds fussy, but it was so tasty! Plus, proceeds of this app go to Friends of the Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement - what more can you ask for?

For my main, I had one of the nightly specials, a casserole of beets, mushrooms, collard greens, onion, etc. topped with puffed pastry and served on a carrot coulis. It was every bit as yummy as it sounds! I am going to try to recreate it at some point, so keep on the lookout for that. On the side was an equally dazzling green lentil salad with walnuts and roasted cherry tomatoes in a light vinaigrette. This is the stuff of my food dreams! So simple and so satisfying.

Johnny took my suggestion and ordered the Tempeh Reuben Sandwich with a side of Mashed Potatoes in Brown Rice Gravy. (Bless him, he's such a sport!) He liked the sandwich okay, but the bread was not toasted or grilled, so it was definitely the healthiest version of a Reuben I've ever seen. However, he inhaled those Mashed Potatoes like he was in some sort of contest! I managed to steal one bite and they were pretty freakin' delicious. We will definitely be back to Angelica, I'm dying to try their daily Norimaki, their Dragon Bowl, and any of their daily specials. One of their dessert specials tonight is an Apple Chamomile Kanten Parfait with Maple Tofu Whip. How spectacular does that sound?! 

Anyway, onto the recipe of the day. I am still making my way through the fruit we picked at the farm last weekend, so I decided to make the Brown Sugar Peach Muffins from the Post Punk Kitchen. I'm so glad I did! These were easily the best muffins I have ever made. They were sweet, but not too sweet, crunchy on top, moist inside and the warm chunks of ripe summer peaches were just... divine. Since the recipe is available on-line, I will re-post it here with the substitutions I made. These originally called for spelt flour which makes them gluten-free, but sadly I only had regular flour on hand. Let me know if you make these with spelt and how they turn out! Oh, and I thought the recipe made way too much batter at first, but you can really load up your muffin tins with the batter as they don't rise too much.

What a cute couple!

Brown Sugar Peach Muffins

(From The Post Punk Kitchen with changes)
Makes 12 muffins

2 1/2 cups spelt flour (I used 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour and 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour)
3/4 cup brown sugar, plus a little extra for sprinkling
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup almond milk (I used So Delicious Coconut Milk [not the canned kind])
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups chopped peaches (I removed the skin, but can leave them on)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Lightly grease a muffin tin or use muffin liners.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and spices. Make a well in the center and add the applesauce, almond milk, vinegar, canola oil and vanilla. Stir with a wooden spoon until mostly combined. Add the peaches and combine until the dry ingredients are just incorporated.

Scoop batter into muffin tins, they will hold their shape a little bit if you use an ice cream scoop. The batter should almost fill the entire tin. Sprinkle one or two teaspoons of brown sugar on top of each. Bake for 28 to 32 minutes, or until a toothpick or butter knife inserted through the center comes out clean (mine took 32 minutes). Let cool for a few minutes in the tin then transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely, or just flip them up in the tin to cool, as shown above.

Vegan Apple Crumb Pie, Twitter, and Contest Reminder!

Lots to talk about today. Let's start with the recipe. So I've been trying to be really healthy and cut out all processed foods, sugar, gluten, etc. And I've been doing a good job and feeling excellent as a result. (Hello, energy! Where have you been all my life?) So, I really failed at life when I made this pie, but we had so many apples from visiting that farm last weekend and can you honestly refrain from making apple pie when you have a bunch of golden/red perfectly ripe Gala apples staring you down? Yeah, I didn't think so. Not to mention Johnny specifically requested an Apple Crumb Pie, and he's been so good about eating all my bean/rice concoctions lately that I had to give him what he wanted just this one time.

Some crates at the farm. I could live in there. 

I'd never really made a pie from scratch before. It seems like more of an East Coast-Yankee thing to do. My family wasn't really so into the whole baking thing, unless you count my Uncle Ernie's baklava which was LEGENDARY. I was a little intimidated to make my own crust and while the crust dough was super crumbly and had to be pressed into the bottom of my pie plate rather than rolled out, it baked up great and held together well. The apple filling is outrageously good - crispy, cinnamon-y and everything an apple pie should be - and the crumb topping... wowza! The hint of nutmeg is reminiscent of egg nog and the crumbs added the perfect crunch. Top it off with some non-dairy vanilla ice cream or vegan whip if you know what's good for you! This pie would be right at home on any Thanksgiving table and I swear your hardcore meat-eating family won't even know the difference!

Johnny was super stoked about this pie and said it was the best pie he's ever had, but that could have been the sugar talking. That's the trick: you feed someone nothing but kale and quinoa for awhile and then anything different you cook will be "the best thing ever!" Tricky.

Guess who finally joined Twitter? That's right, I finally caved in to yet another social media platform. I'm still not entirely sure I understand the point of Twitter, but it can be tough to promote this blog and if it helps me do that, it'll be worth it. Blogs are a labor of love, y'all! Most of us never get paid a cent and do it just for the love of writing/ photography/ oversharing info about our lives. :-)  You can follow me on Twitter @OddCoupleEats.

Just a reminder about the Gardein Giveaway! You only have until Tuesday to enter. If you follow me on Twitter that'll be yet another way to enter to win. Make sure you add a comment to the original contest post letting me know you're following me. Tell your family and friends about it, too, Gardein products really are delicious and getting three for free is an amazing deal! Now, onto the sinful and lip-smacking pie recipe...

A little monochromatic, but you get the idea...

Vegan Apple Crumb Pie

(Based on this recipe by Baked by Rachel)

Serves 8

Crust ingredients:
1 1/4C flour
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp cinnamon
6 tbsp cold Earth Balance
4-6 tbsp ice water

In a food processor blend flour, sugar, salt and Earth Balance. Blend until Earth Balance bits are pea size or smaller. Begin adding 1 tbsp ice water at a time until you reach the consistency you are happy with (mine was pretty crumbly, but this worked out fine). Form dough into a ball, wrap in plastic and chill for at least one hour. *Alternately you can mix everything together by hand with forks or a pastry blender.

Filling ingredients:
5 1/2-6C apples, peeled, cored and sliced (I used 4 Gala Apples)
1/2C brown sugar
2 tbsp flour
1 3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tsp vanilla
1/2-1 tbsp lemon juice

Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Prepare dry ingredients in a large bowl, set aside. Peel and slice apples. Transfer apple slices to a large bowl with dry ingredients. Top off with vanilla and lemon juice. Toss to coat apples well. Set aside for 10-15 minutes while you prep the dough.

Roll out dough accordingly to fit your desired pie dish. If the dough is too crumbly to roll out, transfer it to the pie plate and press into the bottom of the plate and about halfway up the sides. If you can roll out the dough, make it 2-3" larger than your pie plate, transfer it to the plate and press along the bottom and sides, then trim any excess. 

Topping ingredients:
1 1/4C flour
1/2C brown sugar
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp salt
1/2C Earth Balance, melted

In a medium bowl, combine dry ingredients. Pour cooled melted Earth Balance into bowl. Toss and cut until small to medium sized chunks form. Break up large chunks as needed. Using a spoon, sprinkle crumb topping over entire pie.

Cover pie loosely with foil. Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes, then reduce heat to 375 and continue baking for an additional 35 minutes. Cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

He liked it!

The PPK's Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

What better way to follow-up a preachy post about veggies than with a recipe for cookies? Even vegans have unhealthy cravings, what more can I say? It started on Saturday when Johnny and I decided to check out a restaurant in the East Village called Quantum Leap. I was a little bummed when I realized Scott Bakula was not a server, but all was redeemed when I saw that they serve vegan banana pecan pancakes! That with a side order of "soysage" made for one of the more memorable breakfasts in my recent past. Johnny opted for the vegan blueberry waffles with scrambled eggs and soysage links. Yum!

Then Sunday night, I was watching "It's Complicated" (don't judge me, I have a penchant for love stories involving 60-year-olds) and there is a scene where Meryl Streep and Steve Martin are on a date. It's late at night and they've indulged in a bit of... ahem... *smoking* and she takes him to the bakery she owns and tells him she will make him anything he wants. (Basically my dream date.) He wisely chooses a "warm chocolate croissant" and she proceeds to make it from scratch. He nearly dies when he takes his first bite.

That was it, I had to bake something immediately! I settled on these cookies from The Post Punk Kitchen and wowie zowie, I was not disappointed! These suckers fulfilled every chocolate fantasy and I just had to share the recipe. Try not to look at the nutritional info, it'll just harsh your sugar buzz. These actually turn out pretty sweet, so in the future I may only use 1 1/2 cups sugar and unsweetened almond milk... ya know, to make them "healthy"! And Johnny is a fan, though next time I may half the recipe so we don't eat 24 cookies between the two of us. Maybe they'll freeze well?

No these aren't hamburger patties, they're delicious cookies!

Chewy Chocolate Chocolate Chip Cookies

(From The Post Punk Kitchen)

Yields 3 dozen (mine only yielded 2 dozen and they weren't that big)

Ingredients
3/4 cup canola oil
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla

1 tablespoon + 1 teaspoon whole flax seeds (I used ground flax seed)
1/2 cup soymilk (I used vanilla almond milk)

2 cups all purpose flour (I used white whole wheat flour)
3/4 cup dutch processed cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup chocolate chips (make sure they are vegan!)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 F.

Grind the flax seeds on high in a blender until they become a powder. Add soymilk and blend for another 30 seconds or so. Set aside. **Note: Rather than dirty my blender, I just whisked together the ground flax seed with the almond milk for a few minutes and set aside to thicken. This will only work if you are starting with ground flax seed though.**

In a large bowl sift together flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. In a separate large bowl cream together oil and sugar. Add the flax seed/soy milk mixture and mix well. Add the vanilla. Fold in the dry ingredients in batches. When it starts to get too stiff to mix with a spatula, use your hands until a nice stiff dough forms. Add the chocolate chips and mix with your hands again.

Roll dough into 1 inch balls and flatten into a disc that’s about 1 1/2 inches in diameter. Place on an ungreased cookie sheet about an inch apart. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for about 5 minutes, then set them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Nutritional info per cookie (based on a 2 dozen yield and the ingredient swaps I used): Calories 215; Total Fat 10.9g; Saturated Fat 2.8g; Trans Fat 0g; Cholesterol 0mg; Sodium 103mg; Carbohydrate 31.1g; Dietary Fiber 3.5g; Sugars 20g; Protein 2.3g; Vitamin A 0%; Vitamin C 0%; Calcium 2%; Iron 6%