homemade oreos

Okay, so they don't taste exactly like oreos (and oreos are already vegan, but whatever), but these cookies got thumbs up from my carnivorous family. In truth, these were probably the most complicated cookie I have assembled thus far; that being said, they were pretty easy. I don't make a lot of complicated cookies.

You need:

-3/4 c. shortening (non-hydrogenated)
-1 c. sugar
-2 t. vanilla extract
-1/2 c. soymilk
-1 1/2 c. flour
-1/2 c. cocoa
-2 t. cornstarch
-1/2 t. salt
-1/4 t. baking soda

First, cream together the shortening and sugar with a 

hand mixer (my new best friend) for about a minute.

Next, add the remaining ingredients and continue mixing.

You should get a squishy, oily lump of dough. Yumm.

Take two pieces of parchment (not wax) paper and sandwich

the dough. Roll out with a rolling pin so it's about 

a 1/4 in. thick.

(action shot)

Using some sort of cookie-cutting device, 

cut circles in the dough. You can choose to skip

this and just bake the large flat piece of dough,

breaking it into bars as soon as it's done cooking. 

That is much easier.

Bake at 350° for 12 minutes, then let cool.

While it is baking, make the frosting.

Yes! YUM. Highly recommend skipping the whole cutting-into-circles thing. Unless you wanted them to look like oreos. In that case, knock yourself out. I also made a bit of mint icing to go along with the cookies. Highly recommend that as well.

prethanksgiving contemplations

Well, I've been a bit busy lately (doing what, I don't know) but have been cooking up a vegan cookie STORM. Since I have the rest of the week off, catching up with blogs is high up on my list. But not today.

I am EXTREMELY skeptical about Tofurkey. Soy products molded to taste/look like stuffed turkey...doesn't sound much better than the real deal.

Since I'm working on Thursday night, I am looking forward to packing a portable feast of sweet potato casserole (sans marshmallows, sniff...), homemade whole wheat bread, maybe a vegetable stew...but DEFINITELY some pumpkin pie brownies.

fluffy vanilla icing

YES YES YES! I FINALLY figured out how to make my icing fluffy. This is a really big deal. Drumroll, please. The key to fluffy icing is...



...a handmixer.



I know! It's so simple. And legit bakers (and everyone else) is probably rolling their eyes at me. But whatever, okay? I figured it out by myself.


You need:

-1/4 c. shortening (non-hydrogenated)
-1/4 c. margarine (Earth Balance is yummy)
-2 c. powdered sugar
-1 t. vanilla extract
-1/8 c. soymilk

First, cream the shortening and margarine with a HANDMIXER (!)

Next, add the sugar and beat for about two minutes or so.

It may get chunky.

Add the soymilk and vanilla and beat until smooth and 

fluffy, about five minutes.

Voila! It's fluffy, its wonderful, it makes me cry.

You can add anything to this base, such as 

peanut butter

fruit puree

cocoa

vegan cream cheese

citrus zest

legos

anything.

Now ice something.

These are homemade Oreos from the book

Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar. 

I will post the my experience as soon as I

muster enough energy to go upstairs and get the recipe.

the best part of a wedding

Food, right? I absolutely loved my wedding food and the people who prepared it. The Wild Whisk in Ft. Madison, IA, was truly a needle in a supersmall haystack. For those who do not know, I got married in Nauvoo, IL, a town of about 1,000 people. After spending hours upon hours searching for a caterer that would provide good, vegan-friendly wedding food, I found the Wild Whisk just as I was about to throw in the town. They were seriously the most helpful and accommodating people I have ever worked with, AND their food was super delicious. I don't know how they ended up in Ft. Madison, IA, but I'm sure glad they did. If you are ever in the Nauvoo area, I highly recommend stopping in their adorable bistro.

MENU

Organic Spinach Salad 

with a homemade berry vinaigrette

cucumbers, red onions, dried cranberries

and apricots, and pistachios

Assorted Artisan Breads

Mediterranean Herb Butter and Lemon-Dried Apricot Butter 

(they even made some garlic pepper olive oil for me to dip my bread in)

Oven-Roasted Garlic & Rosemary Crusted Pork Loin

or 

Whole Wheat Penne with Vegan Basil Pesto,

Mushrooms, Tomatoes, and Pine nuts

Side Items:

Autumn-Spiced Roasted Potatoes and Sweet Potatoes

Herbs de Provence Roasted Vegetables

The desserts were not vegan, but I heard they were quite delicious. They were from the Ivy Bake Shoppe in Ft. Madison, IA. That's about all I can say about that.

Mexican Wedding Bells

Lemon Curd Tarts

Pumpkin Chiffon Tarts

Raspberry Fruit Tart

Apple Pie Tart

Our cupcakes were made by Celeste Johnson (The Cutest Cakes) who is so nice and accommodating and made the cake topper and a couple cupcakes vegan. She packed them up in bins for us to transport from Evansville to Nauvoo. 

Apple Cake with Caramel Filling and Caramel Icing

(Jeffrey's favorite)

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Icing

Chocolate Cake with Dreamy Icing 

Check out my other blog for more wedding photos.

chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookies

HELLO my new favorite cookbook. Against my better judgement, I checked out Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar from the library and read the entire thing during my art history class.

I feel like if I wrote a cookbook about vegan cookies, it would be this book. The authors are very real people, and unlike most vegan cookbook authors, don't expect you to drop tonz of moolah on some crazy ingredients that you'll most likely never use again. 

The weirdest ingredient used is ground flaxseed, but if you're a vegan who cooks a lot, you probably already have it. And if you don't have it, you should get it, because it's used in almost all of the recipes.

Without further ado, the delicious chewy chocolate chip oatmeal cookie recipe. Note: this is not my recipe, and if you want more delicious recipes, check the book out from the library. 

You'll need:

-1/3 c. soy milk

-2 T. ground flax seeds

-2/3 c. brown sugar

-1/3 c. oil

-1 t. vanilla extract

-3/4 c. flour

-1/2 t. cinnamon

-1/8 t. nutmeg

-1/4 t. baking soda

-1/4 t. salt

-1 1/2 c. oats

-1/2 c. raisins (or chocolate chips)

First, whisk together the flax seeds and soy milk.

Next, add sugar and oil (I recommend canola, but we were 

out, so I had to use my precious coconut oil...sniff) and 

mix about two minutes until it resembles caramel.

Mix in the vanilla and sift in the flour, spices, 

baking soda, and salt.

Fold in the oats and raisins (we were out so I had to use vegan 

chocolate chips...oh darn).

Drop the dough onto a cookie sheet.

Bake for 10 minutes (longer if you like 'em crispy)

at 350°.

Let them cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes.

Transfer to a wire rack to let them fully cool.

YAY! Trust me, this is NOT the last time I will use this book

to make more delicious cookies. So far, I highly recommend it.

jamaica, mon

Jeffrey and I have recently returned from our honeymoon in Jamaica, and I realized that the majority of the pictures taken were of...food. Hmm.

Jeffrey even tried cantaloupe for the first time, so it was a successful trip.

Today, I put together my top nine vegan Jamaican dishes. These are in no particular order.

 1. Fruit

 Yes, I know it's not the most fascinating thing.

But it was really good. 

2. Curried tofu

3. Market veggies

4. Spring roll with ginger and chef's sauce

 I'm pretty sure that 'chef's sauce' means 'sweet and sour sauce' in Jamaican.

5. Teriyaki rice noodles and vegetables

6. Curried pea stew with bammies

 WHAT is a bammie? I ate them and I still don't know.

7. Rosemary olive oil, black olive chutney, and pepper relish

The pepper relish is actually my number one favorite thing in Jamaica. 

Working on a recipe.

8. Tomato soup

 So delicious, even Jeffrey tried it.

9. Spaghetti with basil olive oil

NOTABLE MENTION: this lovely mini-key lime pie. 

Dedicated to Kiki, my mini-key lime pie.

Check out my new personal blog for wedding stuff (pictures by next week?), moving updates, and crafty things.