Birthday Boy!

My little man turned 2 yesterday.  He must have had an exciting time at daycare because he was too tired to party when he got home. He briefly played with his presents, ate a pupcake, and then went to sleep.

We had a little celebration on Sunday, so I make Arthur doggy cupcakes (pupcakes).  The recipe made enough "batter" so that Arthur had leftovers that he could bring to daycare the next day to share with his pals.  I modified a recipe that I found on this site.

Here's the recipe for Arthur's mini pupcakes:

Ingredients

• 1 cup of wheat flour
• 1 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 cup of natural peanut butter
• 1/4 cup of a mix of vegetable/flax seed oil
• 1 cup of shredded carrots
• 1/3 cup of pumpkin puree
• 1/4 cup of honey

Directions

Combine flour and baking soda in a mixing bowl then mix in remaining ingredients.  You'll notice that the batter is more like a dough, which is because the original recipe called for egg instead of pumpkin.  You can definitely add more of the wet ingredients to thin out the consistency to have it more like a traditional cake batter but these turned out fine.  You could also skip the pumpkin and use 1 egg.  

Next, fill your mini cupcake wrappers. If you stick with the doughier batter, just roll into balls and pat them into the cups.  I started baking these using a mini cupcake machine but it was just scorching the tops and the bottoms.  When I switched to the oven I baked at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes - check at 8. 

For the icing: I used the lowest fat cream cheese I could find, a tsp of pumpkin puree, a pinch of cinnamon, and a 1/2 tsp of honey.  

I then decorated the tops with dog treats that I cut/ moulded into doggie paw prints -- if the dog was missing a toe.  (I made a bunch with three toes, then realized that I should have four but Dan said the leave them because they were cute).  I also left some of the pupcakes plain and some with a peanut butter glaze, that was just natural peanut butter mixed with a tiny bit of flour...just in case some of the dogs couldn't have lactose. 

I completely forgot to take a photo of the finished pupcake, although you can kind of see it in this photo below (unlike Arthur who is completely oblivious).  I think I need to start writing down my plans for posts to ensure that I take any necessary photos.

Oh, what's this?

Om, nom, nom

Here's Arthur with his new toy

Alex & Arthur

Granola. It's.....GREAT!

Since I haven’t posted a recipe in a while, I figured I share one of my favourite breakfast recipes: Granola!  This recipe is for a coconut granola base and you can add goodies to it after. The recipe is pretty forgiving so you can even change up some of the ingredients in the base.
 

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of old-fashioned rolled oats
• ½ cup of chopped almonds (or another nut of your choosing.  Pecans, walnuts…the choice is yours)
• 1 cup of shredded unsweetened coconut
• ¼ cup of honey
• ¼ cup of packed brown sugar for convenience but I normally use a mixture of molasses and coconut sugar.
• 2 tblsp of coconut oil (you can use a different type if you don’t have coconut.  Vegetable perhaps)
• 2 tblsps of real maple syrup (the last time I made this I didn’t have any so I used agave but you could just use more honey)
• 1 ½ tsps of vanilla extract
• 1 tsp of cinnamon (or to taste – I usually add more)

Directions:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees         

Combine dry ingredients (oats, nuts, and coconut in a bowl).

Combine honey, sugar, oil, maple syrup, and cinnamon in a saucepan and bring to a boil.  Remove from heat and add vanilla extract.  Stir

Combine dry mixture with syrup and mix.

Place your granola on a shallow baking sheet and bake in the oven for 15 to 20 minutes.  You’ll need to stir the mixture occasionally or it’ll burn.  I tried leaving it for 10 minutes without stirring and that’s max.  Try mixing every 7-8 minutes.

Take out of the oven.  Cool and then enjoy.

You can add all sorts of delicious goodies to your granola.  Some of the things I've added (after cooking) are: bran buds, pepitas, sunflower seeds, flax or chia seeds, dried fruit, chocolate chunks, the SKY'S THE LIMIT!

Since I don't have a picture of the granola to share with you, and because my blog has been lacking some Arthur, here's a picture of my handsome fellow perched on my shoulder like a parrot.  He likes to climb all over me when we're in the car.

 

Happy Baking!

Alex & Arthur

New York - Babycakes

When I was in New York I was able to visit the vegan bakery, Babycakes.  We almost didn't get to go because it wasn't close to any of the other places we wanted to visit (had to also fit in Dan's requests as we had both never been to NYC).  The morning before our flight I went on a solo mission to the bakery.  Boy am I ever glad I went -- so delicious.

 I wanted to say "One of everything please!" but I was by myself so there would be no way for me to carry it all.

Well obviously....

I picked up a salted caramel donut for Dan and grabbed myself a chocolate brownie cupcake with mint frosting (it was St. Patrick's Day so I needed something green).  I wish I got a better picture but there was a frosting massacre that occurred during transit.  The cupcake was delicious and they make the best donuts.  If they use the same base for all the different flavours I can confidentially say that whichever one you decide to try, it'll be yummy.

I also picked up a cookbook (I have this one and really like it).  I'm so glad I got this book because as soon as I got home I wanted more treats.  On the back of the dust jacket there's an excerpt of Emily Deschanel going on about how delicious the mini-mounds bars are and I immediately wanted one.  A few days later I was able to make them -- 1) they're extremely easy to make and 2) so delicious!!

This is a terrible picture but trust me, if you like coconut definitely try this recipe out.  It's posted on the Babycakes blog, here.

I'll be posting more of my New York adventures in the future.  It's bittersweet looking at the pictures I took on my phone.  When the end of the trip came around I was happy to be going back home (I really missed Arthur) but now that I'm home I really wish I was back because there were so many things I wish we had time to see.  Excuse to go back!

Alex & Arthur

Recipe - Cauliflower, Potato, and Chickpea Curry

I made this for dinner last night and it was one of those “throw things from your fridge into a pot” types of recipes so the quantities may not be 100% accurate but it’s pretty hard to mess up and even if the quantities varied it would still be yummy. 

Because I made this without much thought, there were definitely things I did that I'd do differently next time. For example, I cooked the potatoes in the mixture which meant it took FOREVER to cook – cooking them separately until they’re tender might help. I'll try to correct the recipe here but all you need to know is that you're making a stew like concoction with Indian inspired spices.  Since the potatoes took so long in my version, I didn't simmer the "curry" enough to thicken the sauce (because I was starving) which is why it looks wetter in the picture.  I finished simmering/reducing last night while I was shoveling the first taste into my face and the leftovers I had today were delicious.

(I call it "curry" because I don't know what else to call it.  Aloo Gobi/Chana Masala perhaps?)

So the ingredients:

• 1 tblsp of olive oil
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 small onion
• 1 tsp tumeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cumin seeds; toasted and crushed
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1 can of chickpeas
• 1 can of crushed tomatoes
• 2 large potatoes, cut into cubes
• 1 head of cauliflower, chopped into florets
• Vegetable stock – I used almost an entire box of Campbell’s Organic Vegetable Stock but that was because I boiled the potatoes in the mixture and kept having to add more.
• I also added red pepper flakes and garam masala to taste.  The measurements I’m giving you are a starting point, please add or use less based on your taste preferences.

Directions:

• Place potato cubes in a saucepan. Cover with cold water. Bring to the boil over high heat.  Cook until tender. Drain
• Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium-high heat.  Cook onion and garlic, stirring until softended.  Add garlic and spices.  Cook until fragrant.
• Add cauliflower florets, tomato and some of the stock.  Bring to boil and then reduce heat to simmer.  Add more stock if needed to cook cauliflower.  Simmer, covered for until the sauce has thickened.  Add potatos and chickpeas and cook until heated through and sauce is covering everything.
• Then eat. Serve with rice - NOM

Again, add or remove spices according to your tastes.  You can't go wrong with a recipe like this.

Alex & Arthur

Cookie Dough Truffle Recipe - FINALLY!

So over two months ago I posted about super delicious Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles that I made (here) and had committed to posting the recipe.  

I picked up this cookie book from one of my favourite stores Labour of Love.   Most of the recipes are pretty easy to make vegan and no baking means no egg required.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup of non-dairy butter

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup light brown sugar, packed

2 tblsp non-dairy milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 mini vegan chocolate chips

You'll also need 8 ounces of dark-chocolate candy coating.  I just used melted chocolate chips.

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, beat the butter and sugars with an electric mixer on medium until light and fluffy  2. Mix in milk, vanilla and then stir in flour and salt and mix on low speed until incorporated 3. Stir in chocolate chips and cover and chill for about 30 minutes.  You're just looking for it to become firm enough to handle -- it'll look like this:

4. Roll into 1-inch balls and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet 5. Place in freezer for 15 minutes  6. While you're waiting, melt candy coating or chocolate.  When the dough balls are ready dip and ensure they're completely covered with chocolate. 

Once the chocolate has hardened, you'll have something that looks like the picture below.  I'm going to warn you, these are super delicious.  I ate so many.

Enjoy!

Alex & Arthur

Pumpkin Doughnuts - Recipe

I made these doughnuts last night and they must have been a hit with Dan because when I woke up there were only a couple left.  I got the recipe by cobbling together a few pumpkin doughnut recipes that I found on the interweb, specifically: this and this.

First step: You need a doughnut pan (pictured below)

Ingredients:
For the Doughnut:

• 1/2 tsp apple cider vinegar
• 6 tbsp non-dairy milk
• 3/4 cup fresh or canned pureed pumpkin
• 1/4 cup lightly packed brown sugar
• 2 tbsp non-dairy butter substitute, melted (I always use Becel for baking)
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 1/4 tsp cinnamon + 1/4 tsp ginger, + 1/2 tsp nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 1/2 cup all purpose flour

For the Glaze:

• 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon maple extract 
• 1 tsp maple syrup
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 2 tablespoons non-dairy milk

Directions:
1. Preheat your oven to 350F and grease your doughnut pan.  2. In a large bowl, whisk together the vinegar, milk, pumpkin, brown sugar, and melted butter substitute.  3. Sift in the dry ingredients and mix until combined (don't over mix).  4. Using a pastry bag (I used a Ziploc with the corner cut off) pipe the batter into your pre-greased pan.  5. Bake for 10-12 minutes.  Cool in the pan for 5 and then transfer them onto a cooling rack. 

To make the glaze simply combine all the ingredients.  I had to use way more than 2 tablespoons of liquid indgredients to make the glaze.  Unfortunately I didn't measure the additions, I just kept adding almond milk and maple syrup until it was glaze consistency.  Wait until doughnuts are cooled before dipping in the glaze.  I think I also may have added some maple extract into the pumpkin doughnut batter.

I still have at least 5 cans of pumpkin puree sitting in my cupboards, so I'll have to try some other pumpkin goodies.

Alex & Arthur

Getting My Rapunzel On

The movie Tangled was playing on the movie networks this weekend so naturally I watched it once...or twice.  

If you’re familiar with the movie, you’ll know that Rapunzel’s favourite food is something called Hazelnut Soup and it most definitely has hazelnuts and parsnips in it.  I love both those things so the thought of them combined into a soup had me intrigued.  I googled Hazelnut Soup once the movie was over and to my delight Disney has a recipe posted on Family.com.  

So for my vegan-ized version you’ll need:

• 1 Butternut Squash, seeded and cut into six sections
• 1 medium to large parsnip (the larger the parsnip the stronger the parsnip taste), peeled and roughly chopped
• 1 green apple, peeled and quartered
• 2 tbsps of olive oil
• 3-4 sprigs of fresh thyme
• 1 medium onion (I used spanish, the recipe calls for brown)
• 1 or 2 cloves of garlic
• 1 box of vegetable stock
• ½ tsp of cumin
• ½ cup of almond milk
• Salt and white pepper to taste
•  
• 1 cup of raw hazelnuts

Step 1: Roasting Hazelnuts

This is a very easy process, however I want to warn you that roasted hazelnuts are extremely delcious.  Once you roast and de-skin them, you may want to hide them somewhere or else ruin your dinner appetite like I did.

Preheat your oven to 275 degrees F.  Place your 1 cup of hazelnuts on a baking sheet that’s been lined with parchment paper.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the hazelnut skins burst

When the hazelnuts are cooled, roll between two paper towels to remove the skins.

Place the skinless hazelnuts in a plastic bag and DESTROY with a rolling pin.  Kidding! Crush the hazelnuts to desired consistency.

Roasting Squash

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.

Place parchment paper at the bottom of a baking dish and drizzle 1 tbsp of olive oil.  Next place the squash (skin side up), parsnips and apples in the dish.  Add ¼ cup of water.  Place 3-4 sprigs of thyme on the top.  You’ll need to bake uncovered in the oven for 45-50 minutes or until a knife slides easily through the skin of the squash.

While your veggies are roasting in the oven, you can saute your onion and garlic.  Cut onion and garlic into thin slices and add to a frying pan with the remaining 1 tbsp of olive oil.  You’re looking for the onions and garlic to become transluscent, not browned.  Once they’re cooked remove from heat and set to the side.

I still had some time to kill while the squash, parsnips and apple finished roasting so I went and hung out with Arthur.  I apologize for the semi-erotic nature of this picture but this is honestly how he was sitting in his favourite chair.

Once the squash is finished, remove from the oven and cool to the touch.    It should look like the picture below.

Remove the skins with a pairing knife and place in a food processor or blender with a touch of vegetable stock.  You’re going to need to use the stock to puree all of the roasted veggies so keep that in mind.  Also remember, when blending hot items make sure not to fill your food processor over the half line.  The pressure from the heat can cause the bottom or top to blow off.

After you've blended the squash, add the apple, parsnip and onion/garlic mixture into your food processor with stock and blend.  Add everything to a large pot

It should look like this:

 

Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce to a simmer.  While the soup is simmering add the cumin, salt and pepper.  If you wish to use more than ½ tsp of cumin please go ahead.  I’m sure I used 1 tsp and a ½, which is probably why my boyfriend thought it tasted “Mexican-y”.

Before you serve your soup, add ½ cup of almond mix.  Ladle the soup until a bowl and top with crushed roasted hazelnuts.  Yum!

This soup was very yummy and creamy!  If you like all of the ingredients listed above this soup is for you.  Although, I don’t think Dan is a huge fan of parsnips and even he enjoyed it.

Have you ever made anything inspired from a movie?

Alex & Arthur

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Lime/Coconut Deliciousness

On Tuesday I saw this posting on Poppytalk for lime coconut chewy cookies and decided that I needed to make them.  I've been craving coconut since Sunday so the timing was perfect.

The cookie recipe was very easy to 'vegan-ize' and it's oh so yummy.  I was full from eating cookie dough before the first batch was out of the oven.

So for the vegan version you'll need:

2 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup unsweetened toasted coconut

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

*1 cup vegan butter (I use Becel Vegan when baking.  I find it easier to work with than Earth Balance)

1 1/2 cups white sugar

*1 egg replacer (for this recipe I used a flax egg.  1 tbsp ground flax meal + 3 tbsps of warm water)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

zest from 1 lime

3 tablespoons of fresh lime juice

Start by toasting some shredded coconut.  The first time I toasted coconut I remember thinking two things.  The first was, 'MAN, that was easy!' and the second was, 'why would I ever eat non-toasted coconut again?'  Just remember to keep the heat on medium and stir constantly.

Next, zest and juice one lime -- and make sure you do it in that order.  I really like juicing citrus so I got really excited and did that first. I just learned that it's very difficult to zest a juiced lime.

Prepare your egg replacer by mixing the ground flax meal and water.

Preheat oven to 350F. Line cookie sheets with parchment.

Mix together flour, toasted coconut, baking soda, baking powder, and salt together in a medium mixing bowl. Set aside. 

In a large bowl, combine the Becel vegan and sugar together. Add in the egg replacer, vanilla, lime juice and zest. Mix in the dry ingredients in two batches until thoroughly combined. 

Roll dough into teaspoon-sized balls and then roll in sugar. Flatten slightly and place on lined cookie sheets two inches apart.

Bake for 10 minutes or until bottoms are lightly browned.  Then enjoy!

I tried a couple with sea salt sprinkled on the top to see if they were margarita-like.  They were pretty good!

Again, I got this delicious recipe over at the Poppytalk blog.  Be sure to check it out....and bake these cookies.  So good!!!!

Thanks for stopping by,

Alex & Arthur

Minty Peach or Peachy Mint

Are peach and mint "hot colours" this season?  I never consciously pay attention to trends but assume that they reach me subliminally.  For some reason I've become obsessed with the colour combo peach and mint and assume that I must be seeing it more and more because this combo is what’s “in” right now. 

It's funny because if you asked me to wear those colours years ago (and someone did), I would have pantomimed puking (and I did).  Back when I was 13 years old my cousin asked me to be a bridesmaid in her wedding party.  Her colours were peach and mint, which at the time I thought was totally pukatronic!  The maid of honour was to wear a peach dress with mint sash and the bridesmaids would be in a mint dress with peach sash.  They were made of satin and had pouffy sleeves.  Thankfully that wedding never happened (also for non fashion related reasons) but I’d most definitely wear the described dress now.

I’ve also been drinking a lot of peach mint iced tea that I make using this recipe:

Ingredients
4 cups of boiling water
1/3-1/2 cup of fresh crushed mint leaves
4 tblsp granulated sugar (or to taste)
2 tblsp fresh lemon juice
4 tea bags
1 – 1 ½ cups of peach nectar (to taste)
mint sprig and peach slices for garnish

Directions
1 – Crush mint leaves with sugar and lemon juice; pour boiling water over mint leaves and tea bags
2- Let steep to desired taste; drain tea bags
3- Mix in peach nectar
4 – Pour over ice in tall glasses and garnish with fresh mint and peach slices

It’s not much to look at but it tastes absolutely delicious!

Are you obsessed with any colour combos at the moment? Have any iced or hot tea recipes I should try?

Thanks for reading

Alex & Arthur

Arthur's Choice

Since Arthur didn't get to participate in my last blog post (he usually is either the subject or sits on my lap as we post together) AND it was his six month birthday yesterday, I thought the only fair thing to do would be to let him pick the topic for today.

So ladies and gentleman, I bring you a blog posting about...

All of his choices are laid out in front of him.

 

Which one will it be?

WE HAVE A WINNER!

I guess I'm doing a blog post about a RECIPE!

I'm going to give you a recipe for a yummy potato and leek soup.  I absolutely love this recipe because it's simple to make and I can serve it with crispy bacon and cheese to appease (rhyming!) my non-vegan guests although it's delicious enough on it's own without adding anything to it!

Click picture to enlarge!

 Make sure you only use the white/light green part of the leek and season with salt and pepper.  I also like to add fresh chopped parsley and sometimes rosemary.  Also I sometimes need to add additional vegetable broth depending on the starchiness of the potatoes.  You'll really just need to keep adding it until you've found your desired soup thickness.

I hope you enjoy this recipe -- it's extremely easy to make and super tasty.  It's one of my staples if I've worked a long day or if the weather is chilly.

Do you have a go to recipe when you want something quick or comforting?

Alex & the recipe master himself, Arthur