Cake Day 2009

Cake Day. A friend of mine wanted to bake and eat a lot of cake. Naturally, she invited friends over to bake, frost, and sprinkle all day/night.

There was one vegan cake among the 20 or so which decorated the table, counters, and even china cabinet. It was delicious; chocolate with peanut butter smeared on top and topped with raisins lined in a pattern that resembled a collared shirt.
The array of frosting colors and cake creativity could have made Ebenezer Scrooge himself crack a smile and grab a fork.
If you're feeling blue, don't just make a cake, make a cake day.

Enjoy.

Product Review: Daiya Vegan Cheese

Ladies and gentlemen,
Buckle your seat belts.
I've got some ground shattering, car tipping, roller coaster dropping news!

We've all been there. Perusing the dairy aisle, looking for the infamous faux cheese products. The same players every time ... Vegan Gourmet, Rice Slices (pepper jack is pretty decent), Tofutti Slices, Almond, Soy, Sheese blandness ... and to top it off half of them have casein in them, so really what's the point? I know many vegans who don't even mess with faux cheese because its a lose lose situation.
Well, like I said, Buckle your seat belts because this is gonna rock your world!
It's a vegan cheese that is good! It melts! It tastes like cheese! It looks like cheese! It acts like cheese! It even talks like cheese ...

Daiya baby, Daiya. Its the best I've come across. And the cherry on top, it doesn't contain not only dairy, but no soy or gluten or rice or nuts! S-s-s-say wwhhaat? So what is in Daiya cheese alternative some may ask.... lets take a gander ...

Purified water, tapioca and/or arrowroot flours, non-GMO expeller pressed canola and/or non-GMO expeller pressed safflower oil, coconut oil pea protein, salt, inactive yeast, vegetable glycerin, natural flavors (derived from plants), xanthan gum, sunflower lecithin, vegan enzymes (no animal rennet or animal enzymes), vegan bacterial cultures, citric acid (for flavor), annatto.

I mean, that's not bad. But it's wonderful. Currently they are working on a retail launch strategy but haven't made the debut yet and are only selling to food services ... however, Wholefoods at Callowhill uses it to make delicious vegan cheesy dishes (such as cheesy broccoli and cauliflower and quesadillas) but ALSO sells it for 8.99/lb. in the prepared foods department! It comes shredded and I've been eating it by the handfulls. The roommates don't think its that great, but they also frequent di bruno bros ... so ... we can't compare apples and oranges now can we?

Last night I had a beautiful red pepper quesadilla, and for lunch today ... Mac N' Daiya!

If you're in the area and get a craving for cheesy nacho's you know what to do.

Buckeyes are a Beautiful thing

Buckeyes. When I mentioned these treats in front of my roommate he looked at me quizzically and repeated .."buckeyes?". Yes. B-u-c-k-e-y-e-s. Georgia, my loving and wonderfully gifted chef/baker mother, use to make these every year around the holidays. Since I can remember, buckeyes = warm house, cold weather, and endless sledding. Well, living in philly Im definitely not going to get my sledding fix, but the buckeyes are hear to serve at least some of my seasonal craving. I just adapted my moms recipe to a vegan recipe. Extremely easy to do; earth balance in place of butter and vegan chocolate in place of chocolate morsels. Wham, Bam thank you mam.

Perusing the web, I found that not all buckeye recipes are the same and they vary across the board. I'm not saying their's aren't great ... but I've already eaten three of these and I think Im going to skip dinner and go for more! They are dangerously good! I think my recipe might just be better.... the secret ingredient ... rice krispies. Who knew?


Georgia's Buckeyes (yields about 2 dozen)
-1 18 oz. jar chunky peanut butter
-1 stick earth balance
-3 cups powder sugar
-2 1/2 cups rice krispies
-10 oz vegan chocolate morsels

Combine all ingredients together except the chocolate until well blended. Make into balls and set aside. In a double boiler melt the chocolate. Dip the balls in the chocolate and set on wax paper. Cool and store in fridge. EJNOY!

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars

This recipe has been in my book since 2004. I got it from a woman I was babysitting for whose son was allergic to eggs. While babysitting she asked me to make treats for his soccer game that night. As I was paging through books and eyeing what they had in the cupboard, this one checked out. Pumpkin ... check. Flour .... check. Sugar ... check. It is an insanely easy recipe and the result is awesome!! I immediately copied it down and when I got home jotted it in my "cooking, cooking, baking, baking" book, I suggest you do the same.

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bars
- 2 cups sugar
-1 cup earth balance
-1 (15 1/2 ounce) pumpkin
-2 tsp. vanilla
-4 cups flour
-2 tsp baking soda
-2 tsp ground cinnamon
-12 ounces vegan or carob chips

Preheat oven to 375.
Cream the sugar, e.b., pumpkin and vanilla. Mix until light and well combined.
Mix the flour, baking soda, and ground cinnamon. Stir the flour mix into the creamed mixture. Mix until well combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.
Now, you can make cookies or bars. This is the time to decide. It you want to go for the cookies (it yields A LOT) drop by teaspoon onto ungreased baking sheet. Bake for about 12-15 minutes. Cool on rack. If you're going to opt for the bars - pour batter (which is going to be pretty stiff) into 9 x 13 baking dish. Bake for about 25 minutes.
Enjoy!

Creamy Tomato Soup

When I say creamy, I mean creamy. This coming from an ex-cream lover herself. This soup is a miracle. As the days are getting shorter and while the darkness and cold start creeping in, this soup could serve as your best friend. Its dairy, soy, and gluten free (so it can be everybody's best friend) only takes 45 minutes to make, and is low in fat! Can I get a "what, what".  This comes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero's book Veganomicon, and when they say it's the "ultimate vegan cookbook" they mean it's the ultimate vegan cookbook.  A creamy tomato soup is the comfort of all comfort foods. Here's one for the ages... 


Creamy Tomato Soup 
-2 tbsp. olive oil
-1 medium onion, chopped coarsely
-3 cloves garlic, chopped
-1/2 teaspoon dried rosemary (crushed between your fingers)
-1/2 tsp. dried thyme
-1/2 tsp. dried oregano
-1 tsp. salt
Lots of freshly ground black pepper 
-1 lb. waxy potatoes (2-4 average-size potatoes) peeled and cut into 1 inch chunks
-1 cup sun-dried tomatoes (not the ones packed in oil, the straight up sun-dried tomatoes)
-6 cups water or vegetables broth
-1 (28-ounce) can crushed tomatoes (the fire-roasted are especially worth it here)
juice of 1/2 lemon, or to taste


Preheat a large soup pot over medium heat. Saute the onions until translucent, 5 -7 minutes. Add the garlic, herbs, salt, and pepper. Saute for 1 more minute, until the garlic is fragrant. Add the potatoes and sun-dried tomatoes. Pour in the water. Cover and bring to a boil. Once the soup is boiling, lower the heat to medium, cover, and let simmer for about 20 minutes, until the potatoes are tender and the sun-dried tomatoes are soft. 
Add the crushed tomatoes and heat through. If you have an immersion blender, use it! If not the good ole' fashion way works as well. 
Heat again, throw some lemon zest (I didn't bother) and bam!
Instead of the lemon zest I topped mine with a nice pesto dollop and bread crumbs. 

Restaurant Review : NYC's HanGawi

I am fortunate enough to have a boyfriend who's parents try their best to cater to our vegan selves. JT Howell is one who aims to please, and did just that when he picked this restaurant in NYC for a Sunday family lunch.
HanGawi  located at 12 East 32nd Street, between 5th and Madison Avenue calls itself "a vegetarian shrine in another place and time". They got it spot on. Walking into the zen atmosphere you must take off your shoes before stepping up into the dining room. The tables are 2 feet above the ground with decorative silk quilted pillows as your seat. Silver chopsticks and a floral engraved spoon are then placed in front of you. I wasn't sure if I should start meditating or to look over the menu. The peaceful servers walk around in traditional korean slippers and robes as they graciously wait to take your order and answer any questions you may have about the menu. All the dishes are vegan, some raw, and they offer organic dishes and an organic/non drink selection.
The drinks range from traditional rice wine cocktails, to sake, to fresh squeezed juice and of coarse a beautiful array of tea. John went for the carrot ginger juice and I choose the rose green tea. Both excellent.
Each choosing a mouth watering appetizer to share our selection ended with: stuffed shiitake mushrooms, vegetable steamed dumplings, kabocha pumpkin pancakes with mung beans, avocado salad with carrot ginger dressing and a combination roll plate -  some were like mini fresh rolls wrapped in a variety of rice papers, while others reached the decadence of sushi.

For our main dish, I got bean curd with kimchi and spicy vegetables. The sauce was a light slightly thickish sesame-soy-gingerish  sauce with the perfect spice on top of onions, ginger, mushrooms, and spinach. Topped with spicy kimchi (YUM!) while the bean curd was separated, each topped with a different flavor accent: sesame seeds, poppy seeds, carrots, scallions, and red peppers.

John got the spicy chili mushrooms. Similar to mine, sans the kimchi and bean curd. Instead a plethora of different mushrooms tossed in a beautifully thick spicy sauce, side of parsley, with a carrot rose, and decorative oranges.

The other main courses at our table included: crispy mushrooms in a sweet and sour sauce, kabocha pumpkin stone bowl rice, and my absolute favorite : grilled todok - mountain root strips in a ginger soy sauce. The grilled todok had a simple taste, similar to a sweet potato, but a perfect almost meaty stringy texture. Served on a stone plate that was still sizzling as it was brought to our table.

Unfortunately our time restrain didn't allow for dessert, however, I was very full from the slice of heaven I had just ingested.
If you're in the NYC area, and looking for not only a wonderful meal, but an all around wonderful experience, I would definitely suggest HanGawi, it has been by far the best vegan restaurant I have been to this year.

Yam Fries with Yogurt Dill Sauce

What is the difference between a sweet potato and a yam? I always thought they were the same. Some other people, including my dad, always said that it was a regional dialect, in the north sweet potatoes and in the south they called them yams. I bought this, thinking they call all "pop" cola in the south, so why wouldn't the exchange convert to vegetables.
However, I am wrong, my dad is wrong, and all the others who thought/think they are the same thing. There's all sorts of information on the good ole' reliable world wide web about the difference of these two vegetables. Region does play a part, the yam coming from latin America, the sweet potato is found more north. The yam has more natural sugars in it and can grow up to 7 feet in length!! At About.com: Home Cooking there is some great information along with links that compares the difference between the two.
Well, sweet potato fries and yam fries .... apparently there's a difference.
I picked up some yams. And they really make some delicious fries. A yogurt dill dipping sauce is the perfect accent. This 'pie will yield a giant plate of fries (more than enough for four people) and same goes for the sauce.

Yam Fries 
-2 medium sized yams - sliced into thin strips
-1 tbsp olive oil
-dash of salt
-dash of cayenne

Preheat the oven to 450. Layout the cut, sliced yams on a cookie sheet and drizzle oil over them, toss them so it gets on both sides. Sprinkle salt and cayenne over yam fries. Place in oven and bake for about 10 minutes, flip them over and bake for another 10 -15 minutes until they turn golden. If you like crispier fries, lay-off on the olive oil and bake a bit longer.

Yogurt Dill Sauce
-1 cup soy yogurt - I use the silk brand
-juice from 1 lemon
-2 teaspoon dried dill
-dash of salt

Mix all together in a bowl. Serve on the side with fries. ENJOY!