Cookies and Pasta

Since today is Christmas, I thought it only fitting to make some sugar cookies. I veganized a recipe from my mom's old Better Homes and Gardens cookbook and ended up with the following very unhealthy, but delicious, recipe:

Sugar Cookies
2/3 cup vegetable shortening
3/4 cup sugar
1 t vanilla
2 T water
1 tsp orange juice (you can really use whatever kind of liquid you want in place of water and OJ, the original recipe had milk and eggs, but I didn't have any soymilk or applesauce for substitutes)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
sprinkles, small candies, or icing for topping (optional)


Cream the shortening, sugar and vanilla. Add the water and orange juice and beat until combined. There may still be a little liquid that doesn't get absorbed, but this is fine. In a separate bowl, sift together the rest of the ingredients. Blend into the creamed mixture. Divide dough in half and refrigerate for at least an hour. The longer you chill the dough the easier it will be to work with.

On a lightly floured surface roll half the dough to about 1/4" thickness. Leave the other half of the dough in the refrigerator to stay cool. Cut rolled dough into desired shapes with cookie cutters. If you are using sprinkles or other toppings put them on top of the cookies now. Bake at 375°F for 7-10 minutes. Remove cookies from trays to cool. Repeat with the other half of the dough. If you are icing the cookies make sure they are completely cool before icing them.

Makes about 3 dozen cookies.

I'm always taking shortcuts with recipes so my cookies only chilled for about twenty minutes. The dough ended up a little sticky but it was still manageable. I couldn't find any fun cookie cutters so I cut the cookies out with the top of a glass. I didn't feel like rolling out the second half of the dough because it was really sticky so I just shaped the cookies in my hands and they came out fine. The longer these bake the crunchier they will be. I like soft cookies so I only left them in for 7 minutes.

the beauty of a plain sugar cookie (excuse the bad lighting in my kitchen):

Since I ate an embarrassing number of cookies today, I opted to go for a slightly healthier but just as easy dinner.

Pasta with organic kale (which we froze over the summer), bell peppers, diced Chinese eggplant, garlic, frozen peas, and crushed tomatoes. I threw the topping together in a frying pan while the pasta cooked and I was ready to eat in ten minutes.

Tempura Vegetables

I admit it, I've been a delinquent blogger. Contrary to what the state of my blog looks like, I'm still in school and packing lunches most days. I've sort of burned out on the lunch-making front, though, so I've stopped taking pictures since I'm sure nobody wants to see me eat fruit, carrots, and a bagel every day.

I've been pretty busy with end of the year projects and essays, but I've done a little cooking. My most successful experience being tempura vegetables. Despite my aversion to deep frying at home, I had to try these. The recipe was really easy and I'm one of those people who will eat anything deep fried. When I was an omni I would even eat deep-fried candy bars at fairs if I got a chance. If I could get a vegan variety I'd still eat them.

I saw the recipe on the vegan hedonism blog, which is awesome, you should all check it out.

Tempura Vegetables

for the tempura batter, mix the following:

1 c. unbleached white flour
3 tsp. mustard powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. black pepper
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
and about 3/4 c. ice water

note: prepare this batter only immediately before frying the vegetables. the temperature of the batter is crucial to both how it holds to the vegetables, and also to how it cooks once submerged in the hot oil. the consistency should be smooth and just thick enough to stick to the vegetables. (i used canola oil over a high flame. about 2-3 minutes per piece should render them crispy and golden-brown at first, only 1 minute when the oil really gets going. any deep saucepan will work -- just remember to have a pair of tongs at hand!)


Before (this recipe made enough batter for all of the veggies save for a little bit of the broccoli):

After:


In the future, I'd either leave the carrots in the oil longer or not make them at all because they came out pretty crunchy. I also had to make sure to leave the potatoes in a little longer so that they would cook all the way through. Overall, the broccoli and asparagus came out the best. As a dipping sauce I mixed roughly equal parts of soy sauce and white wine vinegar with a few spoonfuls of sugar, but I'm sure you could buy a much better premade sauce or find a better recipe for sauce online.

Rainy day eats

Due to a statewide flood alert and high wind warnings, I managed to get the day off from school today. We aren't suffering any ill-effects from the storm other than a little water in the crawl space, so I'm taking advantage of some much-needed time to just chill.

This morning I took the time off and made some pancakes. They aren't always my favorite morning food, but they make me think back to when I was in elementary school and I would be allowed 7 or 8 friends to sleep over for my birthday. After a long night of truth or dare [can you believe that Susie likes Jimmy!] and terrible kid movies, we would all crash to sleep in sleeping bags on the floor. Ahh, those were the days, but I digress, this was supposed to be about pancakes. When we woke up, my mom would make pancakes for me and all my sleep deprived friends.

This morning I edited Isa's recipe from Vegan with a Vengeance for Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Pancakes to make some Blueberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes. The only problem I've found with Isa's recipes as a whole is that the yields never quite work out for me. According to the book this should have made me about 10 pancakes, it ended up making closer to 20. Maybe I was making them smaller than I thought. On the bright side, pancakes freeze pretty well can are yummy reheated in the toaster oven.


Blueberry Chocolate Chip Pancakes
1 cup + 5 TBS all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp sugar
1/4 cup water
1 cup soymilk
2 TBS canola oil
3 TBS brown rice syrup or maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup chocolate chips
1/3 cup fresh or frozen blueberries
canola oil or cooking spray for pan

In a large mixing bowl sift together dry ingredients. Add in the rest of the ingredients and mix until just combined. Don't overmix.

Oil and preheat a nonstick pan or skillet. Drop batter by 1/4 cupfuls onto the hot pan and cook until small bubbles appear on the surface, flip and cook a minute more or until pancakes are browned on both sides. Repeat until all batter is used. Serve plain or with maple syrup. Makes about 20 pancakes)


For lunch I didn't feel much like cooking so I opened up a package of Trader Joe's Punjabi Eggplant and made some basmati rice. We don't have a Trader Joe's close to where I live, but my dad was passing one by on his way home the other day and he picked this up because he saw that it was vegan. For a product that looked like canned cat food coming out of the box (I'll spare you an actual photograph here), it was surprisingly good. Not restaurant quality but something I would buy again if I got the chance. The spices were well balanced and it wasn't too oily.

As a last plug, I would highly recommend checking out the new and improved VeggieBoards blog. With about 20 bloggers participating, the site is updated almost every day (sometimes more than once per day) and covers a wide variety of veg*n related topics. Bloggers include myself, Michael (the awesome creator of VeggieBoards), and the lovely Marti of the Fairly Odd Tofu Mom blog.

Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins

The recipe I promised:

Apple Pie-Crumb Cake Muffins
adapted from Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Vegan with a Vengeance

For muffins:
1 1/2 cups flour
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp allspice
1/8 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 cup apple cider (if you don't have cider, you can use water instead and increase the total amount of sugar to 1/2 cup)
1/4 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 cup grated apple
1/2 cup chopped apple (1/4-inch pieces)
1/2 cup roughly chopped walnuts or almonds

For Topping:
1/4 cup all purpose flour
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp allspice
1 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup roughly chopped walnuts

In a small bowl, mix the topping ingredients, drizzling on the oil and mixing with your fingers until crumbs form. Set aside. Preheat oven to 375°F and grease twelve-muffin tin.

In a large bowl, sift all the dry muffin ingredients. Stir in the wet ingredients. Fold in the grated and chopped apple and nuts.

Fill each muffin cup two-thirds full and sprinkle the topping over each muffin. Bake for 22 minutes.

Plantains and pretzels

I got off from school today because of the crazy weather so I spent some time cooking. For lunch I made fried plantains, which were just plantains sliced and fried in a little olive oil in a non-stick pan with a little brown sugar.


Later, to make up for my lack of math homework, I made some math oriented pretzels (yea, yea, I'm a big ol' dork) from another easy bread machine recipe. The shapes didn't hold up so well during the whole rising/boiling/baking process, but it was fun anyway.

We've had this recipe for a while. It was photo-copied out of a library book, but I'm not sure which one.

Pretzels
Makes about 8-10 pretzels

2/3 cup water
1 1/4 tablespoons oil
2 teaspoons sugar
1/3 teaspoon salt
2 cups all purpose flour
1-1 1/2 teaspoons yeast

Additionally you will need:
5 cups water
5 teaspoons baking soda
kosher salt or other topping

Add all ingredients from the first ingredient list in order into the bread machine and let it knead and rise in the machine. Turn dough out onto a lightly floured surface. Then divide and shape your pretzels. Cover and allow to rise for 45 minutes in a warm place.

In a non-aluminum pan bring 5 cups of water and 5 teaspoons of baking soda almost to a boil. Gently place the pretzels into the water and allow to cook for about 30 seconds on each side. Try not to let the water come to a full boil. Remove the pretzels with a slotted spoon and place on a greased baking sheet. Sprinkle with kosher salt or other desired toppings. Bake at 475°F for 10-12 minutes or until brown.

Preboiling and baking (note the shapes, from left to right, top to bottom: pi, random circle, delta x, infinity, sigma, integral sign, and another infinity):


After baking:

Pasta salad, French bread

Today was a salad day for sure. I cooked up some ziti, then drained it, and mixed it with diced bell pepper and carrots. Seasoned with basil, garlic powder, onion powder, nutritional yeast, pepper, and a little salt. I also have some organic mixed greens with sprouts and fruit, as usual.


The credit for this bread does not go to me, but to my mom. You can take my word, however, that it is delicious.

From the cookbook Bread Machine Magic:

Authentic French Bread
Makes one 1 1/2 lb loaf (measurements to make a 1 lb loaf in parentheses)

1 (3/4) cup water
1 1/2 (1) tsp salt
3 (2) cups bread flour
2 1/2 (2 1/2) tsp yeast
cornmeal

Add all ingredients except the cornmeal to the bread machine in order. Select dough setting and start machine. When the dough is done rising in the machine, turn it out onto a floured surface.

For a 1 1/2 lb loaf, shape the dough into either one 12-inch oblong loaf, 1 large round loaf, 2 thin 18-inch thin baguettes, or 8 rolls

For a 1 lb loaf, shape the dough into either one 10-inch oblong loaf, one large loaf, one thing 24-inch baguette, or 6 rolls.

Dust the top(s) with a little flour and rub it in. Place on a cookie sheet dusted with cornmeal. With a sharp knife or razor, slash the tops about 1/2 inch deep down the center. On an oblong loaf make 3 slashes, on a round loaf make an "X" or "#". Cover and allow to rise in a warm place for until doubled (around 30-45 minutes).

Place a pan of hot water in the bottom of the oven (this will make the bread have a crispier crust). Preheat the oven to 450°F. Bake the round or oblong loaf about 20 minutes, the baguettes about 15 minutes, and the rolls 10-12 minutes. Remove from oven and serve warm or cool on a rack.

This bread does go stale quickly so it's best made within a few hours of eating.



If you don't have a bread machine I imagine you could add the warm water into a bowl and then proof the yeast for about 5 minutes. Then add the salt and flour and knead for 10 minutes. Allow to rise until doubled and then follow the above directions.

I've never tried this without a bread machine, but I'm relatively certain that it would work