Tag: Recipe

• Brittany, Party of One…

  Posted at 9:58 AM by Brittany, on August 22, 2013

  …your table is ready! Does anyone else ever feel like it’s easier to slap some bread together or throw some spinach in a tortilla and call it dinner? This may be easy, but where is the fun, where is the inspiration, where is the EXCITEMENT?! Who says elaborate meals have to be enjoyed with other people? I want to start making them for myself..solo style.

  I haven’t been in much of a cooking mood these days, but with a bit of a push I am slowly getting back to making myself some decent meals. Not to say that a PB&J isn’t decent, it’s just not decent to eat every morning, afternoon, and evening. Sure, cooking with others is WICKED fun, but don’t think for one minute solo dining isn’t worthy of a solid meal.

  

  A classic meal is always a good place to start when jumping back onto the cooking bandwagon. Whole wheat spaghetti with roasted Brussels sprouts, sauteed asparagus, raw Swiss chard, and an avocado. Lightly tossed with lemon juice and simple seasonings.

  Even after a long, LONG day, there is something so rewarding about taking the time to prepare a proper meal. No body likes a lazy lass. I look forward to making lots of squash and potatoes in the next few months. Fall is coming, and we’ve already started to decorate.

  

  Sure it’s still August..but you can never be too early for fall, HAHA! Just ask Starbies, they already have the PSL mix (not available to the public yet)!! Sadly it contains milk, perhaps there is a vegan with benefits day in my fall future! Or maybe I should create my own..

  I’m feeling optimistic today, and I have a calm/positive mind. If I could, I would take a leaf blower and send some of my feel good to all of you! Sharing is caring my friends. Next time you feel like you’re lacking motivation to treat your body to a good solo meal, slap your hand and get your fanny to the market to buy some fresh delicious food! You’re welcome.

  

  Food for thought!

  Q: Do you cook for yourself (or your family) everynight? I find it’s easier to consistently cook meals when there are other people involved. Cooking for one is harder for me, but SO much more important. Treat yourself right! 

  

  | 55 Comments Tagged Adventure, Fall, Food, Recipe, Vegan

• A Much Needed Foodie Adventure

  Posted at 1:35 PM by Brittany, on August 16, 2013

  My soul feels rejuvenated after a full day of amazing eats, and even better company. You know your day is going to be great when it starts out with a view like this.

  

  Vegan cupcakes galore at my favorite bakery. I behaved and ate brunch before I got a cupcake, although my meal was more of a snack/treat.

  

  Corn cakes with the most amazing vegan cream sauce and fresh berries. I cannot wait to go back and get a real meal. Any excuse to get more cupcakes…and a ginger molasses cookie.

  After a walk, skip, and a jump it was already time for lunch/another snack before dinner. The last time I had a legit vegan pizza was almost three months ago. Vegan pizza by the slice? YES, sign me up. The only thing missing from this pizza was potatoes.

  

  I don’t think they could have squeezed anything else on there if they tried. This slice gave me just enough energy to partake in some shopping, and some berry picking.

  

  I need pie…now. OK OK, now for my favorite meal of the day..summer is almost over and I had yet to make burgers. Better late than never right!?

  Black Bean Sweet Potato Burgers 

  

  • 15 oz black beans drained and rinsed
  • 1  med/large cooked sweet potato
  • 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
  • 2/3 cup finely chopped onion
  • 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
  • 1/2 cup cooked quinoa
  • 6 tblsp rolled oats
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • black pepper to taste
  • 1 tsp cayenne
  • 1 tblsp olive oil

  

  1. Preheat your oven to 375F, once you finish cooking your quinoa and sweet potato.
  2. Mash half of the beans in a bowl until paste-like.
  3. Add in the rest of the beans and give a very light stir/mash to combine.
  4. In a separate bowl, mash the sweet tater, but you don’t want it creamy.
  5. Stir in the salt, pepper, cayenne, and olive oil, until combined.
  6. Mix in the onion, garlic, corn, black beans, quinoa, and ground oats, until just combined.
  7. Taste, and adjust seasonings to your liking.
  8. Form into balls, between your hands and flatten into 1/2”-3/4” thick patties.  This should make 8 medium/large patties.
  9. Place on a pan lined with parchment paper [or lightly greased pan] and bake on each side for 15min, flipping once, half-way through. Finish and serve!

  I topped mine with tomato, roasted red pepper, avocado, swiss chard, and BBQ sauce. As always I make my burgers and sandwiches so tall I can barely fit my mouth around them.

  

  Bon Appétit!

  Oh and I saved the best for last..somehow I managed to save the cupcake I got at brunch for after dinner. Seven hours after purchase I sunk my teeth into the most gorgeous sight.

  

  Lemon Lavender..swoon.

  Q: What does it take for you to recharge after a long week? Good food, and great company did it for me this week! 

  

  | 45 Comments Tagged Cupcake, Recipe, Summer, Vegan

• Hanging On and Moving Forward

  Posted at 6:54 AM by Brittany, on August 14, 2013

  Last week I ran on my treadmill without wanting to blow up a building full of bunnies. Running inside on that hamster wheel makes me more angry than having to share my cupcakes. Usually I can’t stay on the treadmill for more than 3 miles, but I did and the run was actually very enjoyable. I was able to punch dance to some good music too.

  To celebrate this running success (because I will find a reason to celebrate anything) I decided to bake! I haven’t baked in two months. That’s two months too long. After seeing some bananas in my kitchen that were on their last days of life, I knew what to bake. I had enough bananas to bake TWO variations of banana bread. One to honor summer, and one to move forward into fall..aka the best season..aka pumpkin central..aka I CAN’T WAIT!

  “Hanging Onto Summer” Blueberry Banana Bread

  

  • 3 large overly ripe bananas
  • 2 tblsp lemon juice
  • 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1/2 cup raspberry honey*
    
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 3/4 tsp baking soda
  • 3/4 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1 cup frozen blueberries

  *I use honey in my baking, for a true vegan recipe use agave or molasses.

  

  1. Preheat oven to 350F. Spray or wipe a 9×5-inch loaf pan with oil.
  2. Mix the almond milk with 1 tablespoon of the lemon juice and let sit until it curdles.
  3. In a large bowl, mash the bananas and add the remaining lemon juice, almond milk, and honey. Stir well to combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, soda, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the banana mixture, and stir just until the mixture is well-combined. Fold in the blueberries.
  4. Spread the mixture evenly in the prepared pan and bake until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean, about 50-60 minutes. Allow to cool before cutting and serving.

  

  “Moving Forward to Fall” Pumpkin Cinnamon Banana Bread

  

  • 2 overly ripe bananas
  • 1/3 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup pumpkin puree
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • chia seed “egg” (1 tbsp chia seeds + 1/8 cup water)
  • 2 cups all purpose flour
  • 1/2 cup raw sugar
  • 1 tsp baking soda
  • pinch of salt
  • 1 tblsp cinnamon

  

  1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
  2. Mash banana and then add the melted coconut oil, pumpkin puree, vanilla, chia seed “egg” and mix together.
  3. In a separate bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt.
  4. Add dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and combine. Then add the cinnamon and stir.
  5. Pour into 4 small loaf pans, and then sprinkle cinnamon and nutmeg on top of each loaf. Bake for 50 minutes.

  

  The pumpkin cinnamon loaves made my entire house smell like fall! I will be making this version again very soon. It was hands down my favorite. If I could make some changes I would have baked the blueberry bread in the four loaf pan as well to help minimize chewiness. Overall this was a successful 3.5 hrs in the kitchen.

  Q: What’s your favorite version of banana bread?

  

  | 73 Comments Tagged Baking, Fall, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• Like a Fine Wine

  Posted at 9:03 AM by Brittany, on May 27, 2013

  *Happy Memorial Day! Please take the time to thank a service member/veteran for all that they do today. Sending prayers to the families who have lost their loved ones, and to those missing their spouses and children who are away from home.*

  I’m going to apologize now for the recipe I am about to share with you. I guarantee you will not be able to stop eating this, which means you will need to purchase a new pair of pants to fit your new, larger waistline after you eat the entire pan of these chocolate treats.

  

  Zero Self Control Chocolate Bars 

  Straight up SWIPED from amy-newnostalgia! EXACT recipe. It was perfect just the way it was. The name is mine though, haha. I named it from my experience. 

  • 1 cup peanut butter
  • 2/3 cup honey *
  • 1/2 cup coconut oil (NO substitutions, must use coconut oil)
  • 2 cups oats (NOT instant)
  • 1 1/4 cup semi sweet chocolate chips
  • 3/4 cup dried cranberries

  *I use honey in my diet while most vegans don’t. If you don’t want to use honey, try another sticky sweetener in its place.

  

  In a medium sized saucepan, melt together peanut butter, honey, and coconut oil. Remove from heat and add oats, chocolate chips, and dried cranberries. Stir until combined and chocolate chips are melted.

  Spread into a 9 x 13 pan. Refrigerate until hardened, about an hour or so. Store in refrigerator. 

  

  Oh I’m not done yet. These bars were not eaten alone. Ohhhh no, they had a copilot. I had a can of coconut cream in my fridge for almost a month, and I finally decided to use it.

  

  Coconut Whipped Cream

  • 1 can of coconut cream (14 oz) I used that TJ’s can. 
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons powdered sugar
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons of vanilla

  

  Place your can of coconut cream into the fridge for at least 8 hours, or for a month like I did. After 8 hours open the can UPSIDE down and pour the liquid into a container to use later. Possibly for a smoothie. Take the hardened cream out of the can into a mixing bowl and combine with the powdered sugar using an electric mixer. Add the vanilla and let sit.

  

  Or dig your fork right in.

  NOTE: This whipped cream is like Leonardo DiCaprio, or like a fine wine, it gets better with age. Let this sit for at least a day before you use it for the best results. I found that when I tasted it the first day it was much too fatty and rich for me. The next day it was better, and TWO days after I made this it was perfect. While most recipes use a can of coconut milk, I thought the fatty texture of the coconut cream was divine. Plus this is GOOD fat, we need good fats in our diet! Great with fruit, or with those chocolate bars!

  

  

  I couldn’t stop cutting off pieces of this chocolate stuff and dipping it straight into the cream. I ate all the cream by myself and it’s gone. The pan of chocolate bars are gone too.. both gone in two days. I was addicted. In all actuality the ingredients are not bad in either of these recipes, but I know nothing about moderation. I had ZERO self control with these. Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m late for my Chocoholics Anonymous meeting.

  Q: What tasty treat have you been addicted to lately? 

  

  | 67 Comments Tagged Chocolate, Memorial Day, Recipe, Vegan

• BBQ Tofu Bowl

  Posted at 9:32 AM by Brittany, on May 6, 2013

  Every once in a while I stumble upon a recipe that rocks my world. These masterpieces usually cause my inner foodie to do a mental back flip off of a killer whale. It’s very rare for me to follow a recipe completely, as I usually like to tweak them around to make them my own. I found a recipe online and followed it almost 100%, right down to the food plating. I was that inspired. All pictures in this post are in fact mine.

  

  It’s been two days and I still can’t stop thinking about this meal. It’s the perfect spring/summer meal. I did use different beans, sprouted tofu instead of firm, and I didn’t season my kale. Minor differences that don’t take away from the glory that is this recipe.

  BBQ Tofu Bowl

  Inspired by thesweetlifeonline.com smoky bbq bowl

  • 1 cup brown rice
  • 8 oz sprouted tofu, pressed
  • 4 giant kale leaves
  • 1 cup beans (I used white kidney)
  • 1 cup BBQ sauce (or you can make your own) also enough to cook the beans in.
  • 1 avocado
  • 2 tblsp nutritional yeast

  For the tofu:

  Cut the pressed tofu into cubes and marinate them in a shallow container with 1 cup of your BBQ sauce for about an hour. Once the tofu is done marinating, place on parchment paper or silicone baking mat and bake for 20 minutes with your oven preheated to 400F.

  Save the extra BBQ sauce and mix with the nutritional yeast. After 20 minutes take the tofu out and flip them over. Reapply the saved BBQ sauce and bake for another 10-15 minutes. For extra crispness put on broil for a few minutes, but make sure not to burn it.

  

  To assemble the bowl:

  I used brown rice on the bottom, and then layered the rest of the ingredients on top. I steamed my kale, and warmed my beans on the stove in BBQ sauce. Yes..more BBQ sauce. Assemble and place avocado on top. This recipe serves two. For an extra kick squeeze lemon onto the kale after it’s been steamed, and add S + P to taste.

  

  This meal took hours to prepare, and minutes to destroy.

  

  Please do yourself a favor, and make this for dinner. Vegan or not..this meal is sure to please everyone with a pulse. Oh and as if I could forgot..dessert is always a must. Just like my cupcake for one, I made ONE cookie for dessert. This too needs some tweaking.

  

  It was delicious, but crumbly.

  Q: Have you made any meals lately that channeled your inner foodie?

  

  | 55 Comments Tagged BBQ, Recipe, Vegan

• Sweet Treat

  Posted at 12:31 PM by Brittany, on April 15, 2013

  It’s no secret that I love sugar. Cookies, cakes, chocolate, anything with that sweet kick to the mouth and I’m in heaven. I don’t however, love fake sugar or anything claiming to be a healthier alternative to sugar. Don’t even try to offer me Splenda, Equal, or even Stevia. Stevia tastes just as bad as the dirt it’s grown from. Blech. Nothing beats the real deal as long as it’s raw and pure. Also, it’s all about the balance..sugar doesn’t make you unhealthy if it’s consumed responsibly, so why eat the shit your body doesn’t recognize? Beats me.

  With that said, there is one sugar “alternative” that I was willing to try: Xylitol. Heard of it?? It’s what is used to sweeten your gum and toothpaste and gives that minty cool feeling. Sugar alcohols don’t affect your teeth, but they do have one major side effect: Diarrhea. This could be good and bad…just hear me out. Knowing that if you eat too much and could get diarrhea, this could help to keep your paws out of the cookie jar eating too many cookies. A little help getting rid of waste never hurt anyone right? Kidding..sorta.

  I was asked to do a review of a Canadian company’s Xylitol product. While I still swear by real sugar, I was happy to give this stuff a try.

  

  I do have to disagree with the words at the top, if eating sweets gives you guilt, you’ve got bigger issues than needing fake sugars. BALANCE PEOPLE! If you don’t think you earned the sweet, DON’T EAT IT! No need to feel guilty! This stuff looked like sugar, and tasted sweet with a cooling after taste..in a good way! I also was given some candies, and gum.

  

  No complaints. I loved all of the candies, and I am obsessed with the gum!! This is the kind of gum that you chew so obnoxiously because the flavor is SO good and you just can’t get enough. This might explain why I have no friends..

  Now I just needed to BAKE with the Xylitol to see how it tasted in a cookie.

  Chocolate Chip Cookie 

  

  • 2 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 3/4 cup melted coconut oil
  • 1 cup packed brown sugar
  • 1/2 cup xyla
  • 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
  • 1/2 cup applesauce
  • 1.5 cups semisweet chocolate chips

  Directions

  1. Preheat the oven to 325 degrees F.
  2. Sift together the flour, baking soda and salt; set aside.
  3. In a medium bowl, cream together the melted coconut oil, brown sugar and xyla until well blended. Beat in the vanilla, and applesauce until light and creamy. Mix in the sifted ingredients until just blended. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand using a wooden spoon. Drop cookie dough 1/4 cup at a time onto the prepared cookie sheets. Cookies should be about 3 inches apart.
  4. Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the preheated oven, or until the edges are lightly toasted.

  

  So how did they taste?? Amazing, just as if I used real sugar. The xylitol didn’t alter the flavor of these at all. I can’t say the same for stevia, seriously baking with stevia is like chewing on nails. Horiffic.

  

  If you are interested in using xylitol I would recommend doing your research before using a lot of it. Overall the flavor was good and moderation is key.

  Q: Do you use any fake/alternative sugars? I’m a sucker for the real deal. 

  

  | 44 Comments Tagged Baking, Cookies, Recipe, Review, Vegan

• Speechless

  Posted at 12:09 PM by Brittany, on March 20, 2013

  I thought about incorporating this treat into another post, but then I decided the only way to do justice to this cupcake is to give it a post of it’s own.

  

  I had so many reasons why I needed to make these cupcakes: free time, chocolate craving, experimental bones in my body, a cat that likes peanut butter, and a new Wilton piping set I was given for my birthday!

  

  I don’t know if I should be embarrassed or proud to say these cupcakes left me speechless.

  

  A rich chocolate cake, with cookie dough icing. Oh and have you guessed yet…they’re vegan.

  Chocolate Cookie Dough Cupcakes

  For the cake:

  • 1.5 cups whole wheat flour
  • 1 cup raw sugar
  • 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
  • 1 tablespoon distilled white vinegar
  • 5 tablespoons olive oil
  • 1 cup cold water

  1. Preheat oven to 350F.
  2. The ingredients must be mixed in the right order to achieve the correct texture. First, combine the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda, and cinnamon in a medium bowl and mix well.
  3. When the dry ingredients are mixed, stir in the vanilla, vinegar, and olive oil. Then pour the water into the mix and stir well.

  This should make 15 regular sized cupcakes.

  

  For the icing:

  • 3/4 cup brown sugar
  • 1/4 cup coconut oil
  • 1/4 tsp. vanilla
  • 1/4 cup vanilla almond milk
  • 1 cup whole wheat flour
  • Pinch salt
  • Chocolate chips to top the cupcake with

  Mix these ingredients together in the order they are presented.

  I wasn’t sure how this cookie dough texture would hold up in my piping bag. I’ve never used a nice piping set before, but I am happy to report it was a success!

  

  Just to be safe I didn’t mix any chocolate chips into the dough. I didn’t want the piper to get clogged because I don’t mess around with small chocolate chips. Go big or go home. I added 5-6 chips per cupcake for a nice ending decoration.

  

  Now if you’ll excuse me, I have a cupcake platter calling my name for lunch.

  Q: Cookie dough icing yay or nay? Ohhh yay for sure. Cookie dough anything please! 

  

  | 68 Comments Tagged Chocolate, Cookie Dough, Cupcake, Food, Recipe, Vegan

• Three Way “Cheese” Sauce

  Posted at 9:09 AM by Brittany, on February 22, 2013

  You know something is good when you use it not once, not twice, but three times in less than a week. I have found the most amazing “cheese” sauce recipe for my vegan friends, and those of you that enjoy vegan foods. I did not alter this recipe ONE bit, I left it completely alone..it is perfect. With that said you can find this nacho, movie theater like “cheese” sauce by clicking right here. Using water, cashews, nutritional yeast, red peppers, lemon, corn starch and spices…you get this.

  

  OH my gosh I died. I seriously died. My vegan body died and was reborn, all at the same time. I enjoyed this recipe with chips the first time I ate it. The very next day I made some mac and cheese.

  

  There are greens under these shells, but the shells steal the show.

  
  

  I have no complaints about this sauce. Not a single one. The ingredients are amazing. The third time, I made an enchilada/lasagna like creation. I love Pinterest.

  

  Before making that enchilada/lasagna, I earned my meal by going on my first hike of the year. It was COLD.

  

  Creep

  Despite the cold, the views were gorgeous.

  

  Maybe if we wore pants it wouldn’t have been so cold. Owell, I love my state!

  Q: Have you started hiking yet this year?  

  

  | 37 Comments Tagged Green Mountain, Hiking, Recipe, Vegan, Washington

• Donut Daze

  Posted at 9:43 AM by Brittany, on February 6, 2013

  One of my all time favorite donuts has always been the apple fritter. The cinnamony appley goodness just melts in your mouth and is hard to pass up with a morning cup of coffee.

  

  I was inspired by a recipe that is sure to excite not only your taste buds, but your body will be empowered to go for a run. Seriously..sugar rushes and coffee highs make for great runs (5miles and under.)

  

  Apple Fritters 

  • 1 cup all purpose flour
  • 1/3 cup sugar
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • dash of salt
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1 tsp vanilla
  • 1 tblsp Earth Balance Vegan Butter
  • Equivalent of 1 egg ( I used Ener G egg re-placer.)
  • 1/3 cup vanilla almond milk, plus more if needed
  • 1 cup chopped/diced apple. I used a honeycrisp.
  • For the glaze-1 cup powdered sugar and 1 tblsp almond milk or more. Start with 1tblsp.
  • Coconut oil for frying

  Mix all the dry ingredients together, and then slowly add the wet ingredients MINUS the apples. Mix together until well combined, but not over beaten. Gently fold in the apple pieces. Once the oil is ready (when a test drop of dough floats to the top of the oil, a drop of water sizzles, or a piece of white bread browns in 60 seconds) place 3-4 balls of dough into the oil. Watch for browning and once the underside is browned flip over and fry the other side. Once the golf ball sized ball is completely browned they are done. I used a basic frying pan with enough coconut oil to cover about 1/3 of the dough. Once the donut is dried off, paint or dunk into the glaze.

  

  These are the best donuts I have ever tasted. Partially because they are homemade, and everything tastes better when you make it yourself. You can’t even tell they’re vegan. Make these now. This batch makes about 14 medium sized donut balls, and they were gone in two days. I was in a donut daze.

  

  Q(s):

  • What’s your favorite type of donut? Apple fritters, maple bars, and ANYTHING filled with creamy goodness.
  • Donut or doughnut? Why can’t we just pick one way to spell this word!? 

  

  | 80 Comments Tagged Baking, Cooking, Food, Pinterest, Recipe, Running, Vegan

• The Three Month Project

  Posted at 9:55 AM by Brittany, on January 28, 2013

  I love Pinterest. What kind of jobless woman would I be if I didn’t? Between the gym, walking around the grocery store, and reading blogs..I need something else to occupy the other 20hrs of my day. While I browse more than I actually pin, when I do find something worthy of pinning I attempt to make 80% of the items I pin. Take yesterdays snack for example.

  

  Inspired by a pin, but changed up to fit my standards. Cut up russet potato, brussels sprouts, tossed in olive oil, rosemary, salt/pepper, and garlic. Roasted at 400 for maybe 30 min. It was delicious.

  Pretty simple right? It took me maybe 45 minutes total to buy the ingredients, bake, and eat. BAM. I started another pin creation that didn’t go so quickly. I’m sure most of you saw this pin all over back in early October/November. The perfect fall decoration. I started this pin back in November, and I finally finished it last Friday.

  

  I can only blame pure laziness on not finishing this craft. It should have taken me 3 hours, not three months. Needless to say, it’s complete..and I am obsessed.

  

  Now I just need my own place to start displaying all my creations, my tiny room isn’t going to hold it all!!Completing a project (or meal) I pinned is like successfully giving a cat a bath.

  Q: What has been a Pinterest item you’ve recently made that you are proud of?? My most proud pin would be this one. It got 70 repins and 26 likes. Plus I had a blast making it. 

  
  

  | 57 Comments Tagged Craft, Pinterest, Recipe

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