Spiderweb Pancakes

Hurricane Sandy is in full force today! If you remember, this day last year also saw extreme weather. A freak snowstorm came out of nowhere and blanketed the northeast with snow. Parts of Long Island were hit pretty hard, but not as hard as some sections of New Jersey. Family members who live there actually had a snow day on Halloween. Can you imagine that? October 29th is shaping up to be a day for extreme weather. It's also my grandpa's birthday. Mother Nature really knows how to throw him a party! As is tradition, the family gathered for dinner, cake and pumpkin carving. Here are our creations. Happy 82nd Old Gramps!

We ran the 3rd annual Owl Prowl for a second year in a row, joined this year by Megan, who took a picture of the "pumpkin patch" in our homemade shirts. This 5K is sponsored by the Seatuck Environmental Organization, and benefits the wildlife of Long Island. Last year we ran the day after a blizzard, this year the day before I hurricane. Let's see what next year throws at us!

So far the storm surges and downed trees make last years Hurricane Irene look like a breeze. While at my parents house on the north shore yesterday I went down to my summer spot, Big Rock Beach. I was astounded to see such active waves and water surges.. and it was only low tide! The waves looked like ocean waves, something I've never seen before in the Long Island Sound, which so far has surges up to 12 feet. The big rock was getting pounded by waves, which was such a surreal sight. I could have watched that all day.

Now you see it..

..now you don't.

I've been seeing pictures and videos of the beach today, and I can't believe how high the water is rising.

We haven't lost power, but the storm isn't over yet! If the power does go out, I'll at least be able to use the gas stove top. I'm prepared to make pancakes for breakfast, lunch and dinner then, but decided I couldn't wait for the power to go out to make them. We had these this morning before we made last minute hurricane preparations.

I made these using my recipe for vegan whole wheat pumpkin pancakes, but I left out the pumpkin. I modeled these off of a pattern I made with cookie icing once. To create the spiderweb effect, pour batter by the 1/2 cup onto a hot griddle. Using a chocolate sauce, make a spiral pattern in the pancakes as shown below.

Using a toothpick, make lines from the center of the pancake out to the edges. 

Flip the over and cook for another minute or so until cooked through. And there you have it, Halloween themed spiderweb pancakes :-)

Peach Vanilla Spread

There were a few peaches left over after making peach cobbler. I consider it a crime to let perfectly ripe peaches go to waste, so I adapted this absolutely delicious spread from a recipe I found on pinterest. The authentic vanilla taste blended with fresh, local peaches is wonderful and unique. I used a crockpot, but I imagine it would work just as well on the stove, with less cooking time. This spread is perfect over warm english muffins on these chilly mornings we've been having!

Peach Vanilla Spread

Makes about 2 cups

• 4 yellow peaches, peeled and chopped
• 1 vanilla bean, sliced down the middle and scraped.
• 2 Tbsp. organic sugar 

1. Add all the ingredients to a crockpot and cook on low for 4 hours.
2. Remove the vanilla bean, and add the contents of the crockpot to a blender.
3. Blend until smooth.
4. Return to the crockpot and cook on low for an additional hour, with the lid propped open to allow some of the moisture out.

Using a sharp knife, slice open one side of the vanilla bean.
Run the tip of the knife inside the cut you just made to loosen the seeds.
The more you scrape, the stronger the vanilla flavor.

All the ingredients in the crockpot.

It's important to prop open the lid so steam can escape
and the spread can thicken.

Store in a jar in the fridge, or in the freezer if you won;t be eating it for awhile.
I doubt you'll need the freezer though.
Something this tasty won't last long!

Citrus Zucchini Bread

I know I start almost every post saying the same thing, but I really need to dedicate more time to blogging my recipes. A big reason this blog exists is to have something to look back on. Food plays a big part in almost all social gatherings, and it certainly is a factor of daily life. This blog, while mainly about food, will also serve as a reminder of all the fun, joyful things happening in my life, and will even be an indicator of my daily life. So I really need to keep up on writing, not only for the readers sake, but for my memories as well.

That said, I've been so busy lately that I haven't had much time to create new recipes. Working full time and spending as much time as I can with Logan doesn't allow me much kitchen time. I'm ok with that though, every day with him is something new. He learned to "swim" yesterday. Equipped with water wings, he headed right into the Long Island Sound until his feet no longer touched the bottom. He kicked his legs around and looked adorable while trying to keep his mouth out of the water. A couple times he became completely submerged, and came back to the surface laughing. I'm so lucky to have a baby that absolutely loves the water! He must get that from me.

I'm straying way too far from food here. Back to the recipe. My garden has been extremely productive, especially the squash bed. I ended up with a large harvest of zucchini last week, and my first thought was zucchini bread. I waited longer than I would have liked to pick a couple of the zucchinis, so some of them grew into monsters. One of them shredded into 8 cups, so I doubled this recipe to use 4 cups and froze the rest of the shreds. These are so delicious, I can't wait to make more!

Citrus Zucchini Bread

Makes two 9 x 5 loaves, or about 72 mini muffins

• 1 lemon
• 1 cup coconut milk (or other non dairy milk)
• 4 cups flour
• 1 1/3 cups of organic sugar
• 4 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup apple purée or applesauce
• 1 cup safflower oil
• 2 cups shredded zucchini

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Juice and zest the lemon. Keep in mind that it's easier to zest a lemon before it has been juiced.
3. Put one tablespoon of the lemon juice in a measuring cup. Fill the measuring cup to the one cup line with the non dairy milk. You've just made vegan "buttermilk"! Reserve the rest of the lemon juice.
4. In a large bowl, mix the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and salt together.
5. Add the apple purée, oil, reserved lemon juice and "buttermilk", and stir until combined.
6. Fold in the lemon zest and zucchini.
7. Bake mini muffins for about 15 minutes, and bread loaves for about 45.





I covered the mini muffins with an orange glaze,
made by mixing confectioners sugar and fresh squeezed orange juice.

Cantaloupe Bread

I adapted this bread from a recipe sent to me by my creative culinary coworker, Terra. She saw cantaloupes ripening past their prime one day and made bread with them. Genius! The second she told me about them I knew I had to make a vegan version. Logan loves cantaloupe!

Cantaloupe Bread

Makes 2 loaves

• 2 cups cantaloupe, mashed
• 1 cup organic sugar
• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar
• 1/2 cup safflower oil
• 3 cups unbleached flour
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1tsp. cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ginger
• 1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
• Egg replacer (replaces 3 eggs):
• 9 Tbsp. water
• 6 Tbsp. unbleached flour
• 1 Tbsp. baking powder
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.   40 minutes
2. Combine all ingredients except the egg replacer in a large bowl and mix until combined.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer until thick and foamy.
4. Add the egg replacer to the rest of the ingredients and stir until incorporated.
5. Pour into two greased 9 x 5 bread pans, and bake for 40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

Lilac Muffins

Spring has never been more delicious!

Lilacs are my absolute, hands down favorite flower. The smell, the delicate purple color, the tiny blossoms, I love it all. My favorite time of year is when the lilacs bloom in May (or April as it was this year). Andrew knows how much I love them, so he bought me a bush on my first birthday that I celebrated with him, and planted it in my parents yard. I told him I would love him as long as lilacs bloom in spring. I know, I'm so romantic. Well the bush hasn't bloomed since that first year, but I still love him! (Does anyone have any idea why a lilac bush wouldn't bloom btw? It's growing fine, it just doesn't flower). We have a small bush outside of our bedroom window now, and even though I avoid opening that window because of my allergies, I make an exception when the bush is in bloom. I hate how short the blooming season is though. The blooms are on their way out, so get on this recipe right away! I never thought to bake with lilacs. It didn't ever cross my mind that they could be edible until I came across the recipe that I adapted this from. I switched out eggs, milk and butter for healthier, vegan ingredients, and topped the muffins with a thinned out version of my vegan buttercream icing and candied lilac blossoms. If you're looking for something unique, pretty and delicious to make for Mother's Day, look no further. This recipe is perfect.

The lilac blossoms on their own are pretty bitter. I thought the muffins would take on that taste, so I iced them to add some sweetness. It turns out they're not so bitter once they're baked, so the muffins tasted fine on their own. Feel free to skip the icing and candied lilacs, but they do make for a nice presentation. And candying the lilacs makes them "taste exactly like they smell", according to my brother Jesse.

Lilac Muffins

Makes 6 muffins

• 1/4 cup of coconut oil, melted
• 1/8 cup of apple puree or sauce (or 1 cube if you freeze the puree in ice cube trays)
• 1/4 cup of Turbinado sugar
• 1/2 cup of almond milk
• 1 cup of unbleached flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. of baking powder
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1/2 cup of lilac blossoms, stems removed

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Hand mix all the ingredients besides the blossoms in a mixing bowl until well blended.
3. Fold in the lilacs.
4. Spoon the mixture into 6 greased muffin tins.
5. Bake for 20 minutes.
6. When cooled, top with icing and candied blossoms (recipe below).

Vegan "Buttercream" Icing

Ices 6 muffins

• 1/4 cup of vegetable shortening
• 1 cup of powdered sugar, divided
• 1 tsp. of vanilla extract
• 2 tsp. water (this is the thinned out version, to make the original, use only 1 tsp. of water)

1. Cream the shortening and 1/2 of the sugar with an electric mixer.
2. Add the rest of the sugar, vanilla and water and cream until smooth.

Candied Lilac Blossoms

Makes about 1/2 cup of simple syrup.. which will candy a lot of blossoms

• 1/4 cup of water
• 1/2 cup of granulated sugar, plus extra for dusting (I tried to use organic for dusting, but the blossoms came out kind of brown and rotten looking, so this might be the only time I say this, but skip the organic version. This also makes it non-vegan, since it's bone char that whitens the sugar). 
• Lilac blossoms, stems removed

1. Heat the water and 1/2 cup of sugar in a sauce pan over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the sugar is completely dissolved to create the simple syrup.
2. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
3. Once cool, dip blossoms in the simple syrup using (clean!) tweezers.
4. Blot off the excess syrup on the handle of the wooden spoon, and dip in sugar.
5. Place on a sheet of wax paper to harden.

Vegan Irish Soda Bread

St. Patrick's Day isn't complete without Irish soda bread. Growing up, it was a staple in our house every year when March rolled around. My mom uses a recipe that I think she received from her Irish grandmother. The "holiday season" started on Sunday for us when we went to the first parade of the year. Parades are all over Long Island in March, but the Rocky Point one is my favorite. My parents have been taking me since I was a baby. I've kept the tradition alive with Logan, bringing him for the second time this year. He's really into fire trucks, tractors, and anything else that makes noise, so he loved every second of it. The bagpipers and drummers, even the zombies (yes, there were zombies!) had his full attention. Taking the tradition even further, Logan wore a sweater that I wore to the same parade when I was his age. My grandmother bought it in Ireland, and my mom has kept it all these years.

All the festivities put me in the mood for Irish soda bread. I wanted Logan to be able to have some too, so I made some changes to my Grandma Bull's original recipe. Two eggs were substituted with apple purée, since that works in every recipe I've done. Part of what makes Irish soda bread so great is the buttery taste and texture. A typical oil substitution wasn't going to cut it this time, so I bought a "buttery spread" made with oils. I'm usually wary of vegan substitute products, but this stuff is amazing! It tastes even better than butter, and the 400 lb. fat kid that lives inside me LOVES butter. It took all my willpower not to stick my finger in the tub and eat it in fistfuls. Gross, I know. (Unfortunately, Bestlife may not be 100% vegan. The source of the vitamin D-3 varies and can come from animal product, so it's not deserving of the vegan seal. Bummer.) Anyways, the buttermilk was more challenging to substitute. I thought I would have to scrap this recipe, then I remembered how my mom makes buttermilk. She mixes one tablespoon of lemon juice with a cup of milk, and let's it sit for a few minutes before adding it to the recipe. I decided to give it a try with soy milk. It worked, but it gave the bread a sweet taste, even though the soy milk was unsweetened. Next time I'll try it with homemade almond milk, since I prefer Irish soda bread with a more rustic taste. *Check out the update at the end of the page.*

Add 1 1/2 Tbsp. of lemon juice to a measuring cup.

Pour soy milk on top of the lemon juice until the 1 1/2 cup mark.
Instant "buttermilk".

This recipe is almost as good as my moms, and it's not bad at all for a vegan bread. My mom makes it in a cast iron pan. I don't have any of those (but I have a birthday coming up, hint hint!), so I made it in an 8 x 8 pan. Now that I think about it I could have made it in a casserole or pie dish to give it a circular shape. I'm sure I'll be making this bread again before the month is up, so when I make it again with the almond milk and in a pie dish I'll post an update. I also usually add raisins, but since I'm the only one who likes them I left them out this time.

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Irish Soda Bread

Makes 1 loaf

• 1 1/2 Tbsp. lemon juice
• < 1 1/2 cups of almond/soy milk 
• 4 cups of flour 
• 1 tsp. baking soda 
• 2 tsp. baking powder 
• 1 tsp. salt 
• 4 Tbsp. butter substitute (I used Bestlife buttery spread), softened 
• 1 cup of sugar 
• 1/2 cup apple purée (store bought applesauce would work, too) 
•  1 cup of raisins (optional) 

Ready for the oven.

1.  Preheat oven to 350. 
2.  Put the lemon juice in a 2 cup measuring cup, and add the milk until you reach the 1 1/2 up mark. Let it sit for at least 5 minutes before adding it to the rest of the recipe. 
3.  Mix the flour, soda, powder, salt and sugar in a large bowl. 
4.  Stir in the apple, buttermilk, and butter substitute. Mix until combined. The butter substitute may not blend perfectly, but that's ok. 
5.  Fold in the raisins if using. 
6.  Place the mixture in a greased 10" cast iron skillet (or a pie pan or casserole dish). Make an "X" across the top of the bread (you can make a shamrock shape to be festive). 
7.  Bake for 50 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean. Keep an eye on the bread, as cooking times may vary with the type of pan used. 

 "May the road rise up to meet you. 

 May the wind be always at your back. 

 May the sun shine warm upon your face; 

the rains fall soft upon your fields. 

 And until we meet again, 

may God hold you in the palm of His hand." 

Irish Blessing

Done!

Update 3/15/12:

*I made the Irish soda bread again tonight using almond milk and regular, unbleached flour (in the previous recipe I used whole wheat flour).  I also baked it in a glass casserole dish for 70 minutes. This was much more authentic and similar to the original recipe!

Gone Bananas

The first place I go when I walk into Stop and Shop is the cart of produce "seconds". It's a cart they put out full of produce that needs to be sold and consumed ASAP. I often find large bunches of organic bananas for 50 cents on there, and go, well.. bananas. I buy just about every single package on there. Bananas are easy to mash and freeze, I have plenty of recipes for them, and Logan eats at least 2 or 3 a day. They're by far his favorite food.

I've been meaning to make a vegan banana bread for awhile now. I have a recipe from my mom that was passed down from her grandma. It's an instant favorite and is always requested at family gatherings. Making it vegan was very simple. I substituted oil for butter and apple puree for eggs. Mom usually adds chocolate chips, which is the icing on the cake. Everything tastes better with chocolate! I used half of an Endangered Species Chocolate bar, to keep it animal product free. The bread came out amazing. It tastes just like the original. The only difference is the color, which is a few shades paler than the non vegan version. I only made one loaf, but I wished I made more. Logan keeps going up to the counter and saying "cake". I'm glad to have his approval!

Banana Bread

Makes one loaf

• 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 1/4 cup safflower oil (you could use vegetable oil too)
• 1/2 cup apple puree
• 1 cup of mashed banana (about 2 1/2 small bananas)
• 2 cups flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. baking soda
• 1.5 oz of vegan chocolate, chopped

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Mix the sugar, oil, apple and banana in a large bowl.
3. Add the flour, powder, salt and soda. Mix well.
4. Fold in the chocolate.
5. Grease a 9 x 5 loaf pan, and fill with the batter.
6. Bake for 45 - 50 minutes, until a knife or toothpick comes out clean.

I still had a lot of bananas leftover, so I pulled out the dehydrator and made banana chips. I sliced 5 bananas very thin (about 1/8 of an inch), dipped them on a plate sprinkled with cinnamon, and placed them on the dehydrator trays. They took forever to dry, about 10 hours.

I put some of the dried bananas in a jar to have on hand for a snack. The rest I crushed up and added to some organic green tea. I buy loose tea from a cute little tea shop called You, Me and Tea in Port Jeff. It gave the tea a very subtle banana flavor, but it was hardly noticeable. I can't wait to try the same thing with strawberries this spring!

Valentine's Day Brunch

I hope everyone felt the love yesterday! I definitely did. I got so many kisses from Logan, got to see one of my best friends, and had a wonderful day with Andrew. I don't care how many people call it a "hallmark holiday" or complain about it for whatever reason.. Scrooges. I like any excuse to get dressed up, go on a date, get flowers and feel extra loved. We skipped hallmark this year anyways and made our own cards, much more sustainable and less wasteful than those commercial cards that usually get tossed in the garbage. I got an idea from pinterest (where I seem to be getting all my ideas these days), and made cards out of Logan's drawings.


Megan, who I've been friends with since forever (we can never figure out how long we've known each other for), came for a vegan brunch in the morning, since she was taking Logan on a date as her valentine. I made heart shaped pumpkin pancakes by scooping batter out with a 1/4 cup measuring cup and pouring it in a "V" shape on the griddle. They came out much better than I thought! With more "pinspiration" I made a couple creative fruit platters, along with a vegan whipped cream using only two ingredients.

Coconut whipped cream

• 1 can coconut milk (not the lite stuff)
• Cinnamon, to taste

1. Refrigerate the can of coconut milk overnight. The liquid will separate, and you will be left with a semi solid chunk of coconut.
2. Remove the solid portion with a spatula and/or fork and transfer to a bowl.
3. Whip the coconut into a cream using a whisk.
4. Add cinnamon, starting with 1/2 a tsp and adjust according to your taste.

Don't throw out the liquid after removing the solid.
Add it to a smoothie or drink it straight.

While not as flavorful as whipped cream, it's still pretty good, and it's definitely healthier. I forget where I was reading this article, but a British chef was saying how Americans have lost their taste for the "subtle". It's true. It seems that unless it's packed with flavor, it's not considered tasty. I hope to break that stereotype and train my palette to appreciate everything along the flavor spectrum. 

Meditazione, meaning "meditate" in Italian.

Andrew and I took our date all the way east to Bridgehampton. Around Christmastime I heard about a new type of wine. It's actually not all that new, but it's something that's recently come back to modern day vineyards. It's not a white, nor a red nor a rose, but it's an orange wine. It's only being fermented in a few places in the world, and we're lucky enough to live about an hour away from Channing's Daughters, one of it's producers. The drive was totally worth it, I've never tasted a wine like that in my life! It tasted like a white, but with characteristics of a red, and it had a unique orange color. We sampled two different types, Envelope and Meditazione. The latter was so delicious that we bought a bottle to bring home. This is a must try for anyone who appreciates wine!

I'm so glad my forsythias were in bloom for Vday.
I took branches from a tree at my moms and placed them in
water. It took 2 weeks, but they're worth the wait!
Photo cred Meg_Shut. Find her on Instagram.