Dining In - Chocolate-Covered Crunchy Speculoos Cookie Butter Balls

Crunchy Speculoos Cookie Butter - VegNews

It took me far too long to try cookie butter. I avoided it only because I knew I would fall in love. It is a traditional Dutch and Belgian spiced thin cookie or biscuit that has been turned into a paste known as cookie butter. It is usually available during the holidays at my local Trader Joe's since it has a gingerbread-like flavor. There are no nuts, although the consistency is very similar to peanut butter, and yes it's naturally vegan. Trader Joe's also sells a crunchy version that could work very well in this recipe and now one with mocha mixed in, neither of which I've tried yet. Biscoff is another well known Belgian brand and they also make the original cookies. 

Personally I loved the flavor and subtle sweetness. I could easily eat spoonfuls of this stuff and that's dangerous given the nutrition facts (see photo). I enjoyed it even more when combined with chocolate. Though the original recipe called for dark chocolate I opted for dairy-free milk variety and coated them just as I do the Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Balls.

I first spotted this recipe on the VegNews website as the second place winner in a holiday cookie recipe contest. I was intrigued, but it took me a year to make it. This became a holiday gift for relatives. I made a batch and put them in decorated tins with tissue paper. Luckily I had a few opportunities to steal some and it earned a big thumbs up! Here is the recipe. I also found it on this blog with beautiful photography.

1 11 oz. jar of creamy cookie butter (speculoos) - Found at Trader Joe's
1/4 cup Earth Balance margarine, softened
1 cup powdered sugar
2 cups rice crisp cereal
12 oz. dairy-free chocolate, melted - You can use more if necessary to give an extra coat


Prepare a cookie sheet with parchment paper.

Empty jar of cookie butter into a large bowl and add Earth Balance (or other vegan-friendly margarine). Stir together to combine. 

Add in rice crisp cereal. Use your hands to combine cereal with mixture. It may get sticky so try a light coating of water or oil on your hands and mold the dough into small balls (about 2 tablespoons each). Place on cookie sheet. Freeze for about 20 minutes.

A minute or two before you take them out of the freezer melt your chocolate, either in the microwave in 30-second intervals or using a double boiler. 

With two spoons, dip and roll each ball in the chocolate to evenly coat it. Place back on the pan and repeat until you've gone through the whole batch. 

Freeze again for another 20 minutes. Keep stored in freezer or refrigerator until serving. 

Simple as that! Just don't get addicted :)

Dining Out in Portland - Petunia's Pies & Pastries

Hummingbird Babycake - Petunia's Pies & Pastries

A gluten-free and vegan bakery that serves alcoholic beverages... it's a rare breed, but Portland has one! I stopped in here after another wonderful vegan meal a few blocks away. I was already stuffed, but couldn't resist. It's an adorable bakery with feminine, pastel colors and pretty decor, very much in line with my taste. Apparently the storefront is a new addition this year, previously they were selling their goods at a Farmer's Market. VegNews recognized the bakery a few months ago in their list of "8 Hot New Vegan Restaurants Across the Country" (a list that also included one of my new Boston faves, Root).

Double Chocolate Babycake

with GLITTER Sprinkles
Petunia's Pies & Pastries

I kept apologizing to the staff for how long it was taking me to decide - sensory overload! They sell pies, cakes, cookies, whoopie pies, and cupcakes, as well as savory items like pizza. There were even cupcakes with glitter sprinkled on top - I need to find that for my own baking! They had these enormous, mouthwatering cakes available by the slice that I had to try. The price was a little steep for one slice at $8, but I had to remind myself that gluten-free and vegan means more expensive ingredients. In my opinion it's worth it for a much healthier dessert. I wanted to try everything, though I had my heart set on cake and ordered a slice of Black & White Cake. I also ordered a Hummingbird cupcake or "babycake", as they were so cutely named after reading positive reviews on Yelp. My friend ordered a slice of pie that must have been a special item because I didn't see it on the regular menu. My cake was decadent and rich with a silky chocolate flavor. The frosting was sweet with a hint of vanilla, just as it should be. There was a layer of chocolate ganache spread across the top, that looked beautiful on the full cake and was yummy when I had a bite with it in it. My Hummingbird babycake, which I enjoyed the next day, was similar to a carrot cake cupcake, with cream cheese frosting. It was a tad too sweet, but still had good flavor. 

Coconut Dulce de Leche Cake
Petunia's Pies & Pastries

Black & White Cake - Petunia's Pies & Pastries

 

It's quite a challenge to create delicious and aesthetically pleasing baked goods that are both gluten-free and vegan, but Petunia's is successfully doing just that. I didn't get to try any cocktails with my desserts, but next time I'm in Portland I will be back. If you can't make it to the storefront in downtown Portland they also sell their products at local retailers or you can go place custom orders online, but unfortunately for delivery you would have to be fairly close-by, since there is a fee based on mileage. 

How cute is this to-go bag?!

Petunia's Pies & Pastries

610 SW 12th Avenue

Portland, OR 97205

Petunia's Pies & Pastries Website

Dining In - BLT Baked Spaghetti

BLT Baked Spaghetti - That Was Vegan?

Pinterest delivers another successful vegan meal! I was scrolling through tons of mouth-watering vegan food pictures on Pinterest and found this comfort food recipe for a satisfying pasta dish posted by VegNews. It incorporates tempeh bacon, kale, tomatoes, vegan mozzarella, tomato sauce, and I opted for gluten-free spaghetti. There's something about a baked pasta dish that makes it so much better! Especially topped with melted cheese (the vegan kind works too!). I really enjoyed this dish. The tempeh fills you up fast and the sauce was so creamy from mixing it together with the cheese prior to baking, almost like a vodka sauce. My non-vegan boyfriend gave this a big thumbs up too! Only problem was we both had about 2-3 servings... oops.

You can find the full recipe here on the "That Was Vegan?" website. 

Ingredients for BLT Baked Spaghetti
 Everything is from Trader Joe's! (except the tempeh bacon and pasta)

12 oz. spaghetti (I used gluten-free brown rice spaghetti from Whole Foods)
1 cup kale, blanched
Pinch of garlic powder
8 slices maple tempeh bacon
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 cups red spaghetti sauce
1/4 vegan shredded mozzarella (now available at Trader Joe's)
Oregano, for seasoning
Sea salt, for seasoning
Ground black pepper, for seasoning

Tempeh Smoky Maple Bacon

Cook spaghetti according to package in salted water, stop cooking about 1-2 minutes earlier. Drain and set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

To prepare kale, boil water with a pinch of garlic powder in a small saucepan, add kale and cook for about a minute. Remove from heat. Drain. Rinse with cool water and drain again. Set aside.

Spray a small skillet with cooking spray and heat on medium. Add tempeh slices and cook both sides until golden brown. Remove from pan and slice into bite-sized pieces.

Put spaghetti in casserole dish, add in sauce, kale, tomatoes tempeh, mozzarella, salt, pepper, and a dash of dried oregano. Toss together. Top with vegan mozzarella, as much or as little as you desire. 

Cover dish with tin foil and bake for 20 minutes. Remove tin foil and continue baking for an additional 6-8 minutes so cheese on top melts. Serve and enjoy!

Dining In - Low-Fat Veggie Muffins

Low-Fat Veggie Muffins - VegNews 

Vegan Muffin with Zucchini, Carrots & Apple

I've never been a big fan of muffins. For a breakfast food, they are surprisingly full of empty calories and fat. I would much rather indulge in a cupcake than a muffin. These muffins, on the other hand, sneak in vegetables and are low in fat! Don't expect them to taste like apple strudel, you will be disappointed. The subtle sweetness comes from apples, applesauce, maple syrup and agave, better sources than white sugar. Using flaxseed for an egg substitute, and adding in applesauce give the muffins a very moist dense texture. I ate these for a quick breakfast and a midday snack. If you choose to add walnuts, you'll get the added nutrients and protein. You can find the full recipe here on VegNews. 


1/3 hot water
1/4 ground flaxseed
1/3 cup agave syrup
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup grated zucchini
1 cup grated carrots
1 cup grated apple
1 3/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup walnuts (for topping, if desired)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Prepare a one-dozen muffin pan with liners or lightly grease.

In a liquid measuring cup combine hot water and flaxseed. Set aside and allow to thicken for 5 minutes. 

In a medium bowl combine agave, maple syrup, vanilla, and applesauce. Next add the grated zucchini, carrots, and apple and stir. 

Vegan Low-Fat Veggie Muffins

In a separate medium bowl combine flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and salt. Pour in the wet ingredients and stir until combined. 

Scoop batter into the dozen muffin cups. Sprinkle walnuts on top. Bake for 25-35 minutes.

Dining In - Vegan Meatballs

Vegan Meatballs - VegNews

These filling no-meat-balls are a great addition to a bed of pasta or as an Italian-style sub sandwich. It's not the mock meat approach for the tasty little bites, but rather soy-free with nuts and rice and lots of seasonings instead. I will say that these took a bit longer to prepare than I would have liked, given that the pasta and sauce can be prepped in a few minutes. The longest part of the process is baking them for a half hour at the end, so wait on cooking your pasta. The recipe came from a VegNews article, "Top 12 Vegan Recipes of 2012." I am slowly, but surely making my way through the list! So far my favorite has been the Vegan Potato Pancakes.You can find this recipe here on the VegNews website. 

Note: A large food processor is essential for this recipe. 

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 1/2 cups walnuts, lightly toasted
1 1/2 cups brown rice, cooked
2 teaspoons fresh parsley, chopped
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried sage
1/4 chipotle powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons chickpea (garbanzo bean) flour (I used Bob's Red Mill brand)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Heat olive oil in a large skillet on medium-high, add onions and garlic. Cook until softened, about 10 minutes, while stirring occasionally. 

Cook Onions and Garlic Until Softened

In a large food processor, blend together remaining ingredients: walnuts, rice, parsley, basil, oregano, sage, chipotle powder, salt, and chickpea flour. When smooth add in onions and garlic and continue processing. Try not to overblend as the mixture will get mushy and have less texture.

Roll Mixture into Balls
Place on Parchment-Lined Baking Sheet

Scoop out about a tablespoon or more of mixture and roll into balls. Place on parchment paper and repeat. You will end up with 20-26 "meat"balls. Bake in oven for 30-35 minutes.

Add to bowl of pasta with desired tomato sauce or eat in a sub roll with some melted non-dairy cheese and tomato sauce, or eat plain - it's up to you! 

Vegan Soy-Free Meatballs

Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale

For an update on how the bake sale went, see my other post HERE!

 *Photo Sources: Chefchloe.com, shortbreadbakery.blogspot.com, kblog.lunchboxbunch.com, newyork.seriouseats.com

DETAILS

Join the Facebook Event Page!

Date: Saturday, April 27th, 2013

Time: 11:00am - 4:00pm

Location: MSPCA Boston Adoption Center 

(at the MSPCA-Angell Headquarters in Jamaica Plain)

350 South Huntington Avenue

Boston, MA 02130

Directions: Google Maps

Proceeds: MSPCA - Boston Adoption Center

See the listing here on the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale website

FLYERS:

If you have questions or are interested in helping, please contact me at veega.co@gmail.com!

Background on This Event

Back in January of 2013 I started planning a vegan bake sale in the Boston area, as part of a larger initiative called the Worldwide Vegan Bake Sale. I stumbled upon this website www.veganbakesale.org last year and thought what a great idea! The organization received recognition in the press, too - on VegNews and CNN. Groups from across the world hold charitable vegan bake sales during April 20-28, 2013 in an effort to promote cruelty-free food and raise money for a good cause. I love to bake and vegan baking has now become one of my favorite pastimes. What better reason to do it than to give other people in my community the chance to learn how delicious vegan food can be and benefit a charity of your choice. 

The plans are in motion and I have now set a date, charity, and location for my bake sale! See details above and be sure to join the event on Facebook. 

Hope to see you there!

Dining In - Candied Almonds

Candied Almonds - Oh She Glows

Nuts are my number one snack food. I love them even more when they satisfy my sweet tooth craving, and even more still when that sweetness comes from a natural, unprocessed source. This vegan recipe delivered all of those things. All it takes is five ingredients and a large pot! The recipe comes from a popular and now VegNews award-winning blog, called Oh She Glows (you can read it here). 

Fun Facts:

• I made this during the holidays to serve at a party, hence the Christmas lights bordering the photograph above :)
• Turbinado sugar is raw cane sugar that holds more moisture than white sugar, but with fewer calories. It resembles brown sugar, but with larger crystals.

Ingredients for Candied Almonds

4 cups raw almonds

2 cups Turbinado sugar (available at Trader Joe's)

1 cup water

Sea salt

1 tablespoon Earth Balance margarine

Combine and heat almonds, sugar, water, and margarine in a large pot over medium heat. To ensure the sauce coats the almonds, stir frequently with a large spoon. The sauce will start to thicken, and after about 10-15 minutes the almonds will begin to dry up. Continue cooking on low heat until sauce is fully evaporated. Remove from heat. 

Sprinkle with sea salt. Cool completely before serving or storing so the almonds get that nice crunch. These will last for a while if stored in an airtight container. 

Dining In - Macaroni & Cheese

Vegan Macaroni & Cheese - VegNews

This tops the list as the best vegan macaroni and cheese recipe I've tried to date! It's got a yummy bread topping and creamy "cheese" sauce with a little kick from cayenne pepper. What's even more incredible is that there is no soy cheese or nutritional yeast anywhere to be found in this recipe. How can that be? The potatoes and cashews blend together nicely to create a very creamy thick sauce with a cheese flavor. The carrots give it a subtle orange color. Though it requires a few more ingredients and three kitchen appliances it didn't take too long to prepare. I'll be making this again for sure as my go-to mac 'n' cheese recipe. You can find the full recipe on VegNews, using this link. 


8 oz. elbow macaroni pasta
1 tablespoon sea salt

4 slices bread, torn in large pieces
2 tablespoons & 1/3 cup Earth Balance margarine
2 tablespoons shallots, peeled, chopped
1 cup red potatoes, peeled, cubed
1/4 cup carrots, peeled, chopped
1/3 cup onion, peeled, chopped
1 cup water
1/4 cup raw cashews
2 teaspoons sea salt
1/4 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1/4 teaspoon paprika (for topping)

Cook elbow macaroni in heavily salted water until al dente. Drain and set aside.

In a food processor pulse bread pieces and two tablespoons margarine until crumbly. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 12 x 9 casserole dish.

Combine potatoes, shallots, carrots, onions, and water in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, then reduce to simmer, cover and cook for about 15 minutes, until vegetables are fork tender.

In a blender combine cashews, garlic, salt, mustard, lemon juice, black pepper, cayenne. Add in cooked vegetables with the water. Blend until smooth.

Toss pasta with sauce. Pour into baking dish. Cover with breadcrumbs and sprinkle with paprika.

Bake for 30 minutes until bread topping has browned.

Dining In - Potato Pancakes

Potato Pancakes - VegNews

The holidays are here, why not celebrate them all with vegan cooking! There are a few great Jewish delis in my neighborhood and this inspired me to try a vegan-friendly latke recipe. I found this VegNews recipe from an article called "Top 12 Vegan Recipes of 2012". The results were better than I expected. These little potato pancakes came out moist and flavorful. The hardest part was walking away from the plate... They were even better when served with apple sauce and Tofutti sour cream. Here's the full recipe. 

1 1/2 lbs. russet potatoes, peeled and grated
1 yellow onion, grated
1 tablespoon chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 ground black pepper
Canola oil for frying

Take grated potatoes and place in a large colander over a bowl or the sink. Squeeze to remove excess liquid then place in a large bowl. Mix in onion, parsley, flour, baking powder, salt, pepper until combined. My potatoes started to turn pink, but this goes away when you cook them.

Heat oil over medium heat in a large skillet. Take a scoop of potato mixture, about 2 tablespoons, and flatten into a pancake. Place into oil. Fry until golden brown on both sides, watch carefully to avoid burning. Remove from skillet and place onto plate with paper towels to soak up excess oil. 

Serve immediately or keep warm in oven. 

Dining In - Aurora Borealis

Aurora Borealis - Grilled "Cheese" Sandwich
VegNews' Most Decadent Vegan Recipes Ever

This is one of the best grilled cheese sandwiches I've ever had, and what's incredible is that it's still vegan! I found this gourmet sandwich recipe in a VegNews article "The 13 Most Decadent Vegan Recipes Ever" which I immediately bookmarked :) It fooled the judges and won 3rd place amongst real dairy filled sandwiches at the 10th Annual Grilled Cheese Invitational. Brandy-soaked peaches, vegan cream cheese, Daiya mozzarella - this sweet medley of flavors is sandwiched between two delicious maple-butter soaked slices of bread and topped with a berry reduction. Even the name is awesome, Aurora Borealis! Here is the recipe with some of my added tips. First tip - save enough time before your meal to prep, you'll need it!


2 slices of artisan bread (the recipe called for sourdough, but I used Tuscan Pane, an Italian bread from Trader Joe's instead, labeled vegan!)
2 tablespoons Earth Balance or vegan margarine
2 tablespoons maple syrup
3 tablespoons Daiya mozzarella shreds
3 tablespoons Trader Joe's This is Not a Tub of Cream Cheese
1/2 peach sliced (and soaked in equal parts simple syrup and brandy)
1 lb. of fresh berries (I used 2/3 blackberries, 1/3 raspberries)
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 cup orange juice

Ingredients for Aurora Borealis

 

Berry Reduction: 

In a large bowl, combine berries, sugar, and orange juice. Mash with a fork and let set for at about an hour.

Pour berry mixture into a medium sauce pan, heat on low. Let simmer for 20-30 minutes, until sauce thickens.

Strain out large bits and seeds (I skipped this part). Let cool and refrigerate leftovers in a jar (shelf life is about a week).

Preparation of the Sandwich:

In a large skillet melt 1 tablespoon of Earth Balance and 1 tablespoon of maple syrup over medium-high heat.

Place two slices of bread into pan with melted margarine and syrup, remove after about a minute. Add another tablespoon of margarine and maple syrup to the skillet and place the dry side of the bread slices into the melted mixture. 

Let bread cook until golden brown. Watch closely as the sugar caramelizes quickly and you can easily burn the bread.

Flip the bread and quickly add the 3 tablespoons of Daiya cheese on only one slice of the bread. Smear 3 tablespoons of vegan cream cheese on the other slice of bread.

Add sliced peach onto the cream cheese covered slice.

Flip Daiya covered bread slice on top of the other to create a sandwich. Continue to cook, flipping once, until both sides are crispy and browned.

Remove sandwich from skillet. Cut in half and drizzle with Berry Reduction.


All the time and effort is worth it!

Read more about this recipe on the chef's blog:
The Award-Winning Aurora Borealis