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 :-)

Chocolate Chip Sunflower Butter Bites

Sticky dough in the food processor.

I've been a little obsessed with my new food processor, using it for everything. Even cookies. Yup. Cookie dough in the food processor. These aren't your typical cookies though, these are vegan and gluten free, yet still delicious! The recipe this is inspired from was based with peanut butter. With the prevalence of people with peanut allergies (including my son), there are plenty of substitutes that are almost as good. Almost. The best I've come across so far is sunflower butter. I attempted to grow sunflowers this year to harvest seeds so I could make my own butter, but the chickens are enjoying the leaves too much. Only two plants have survived their plucking, and one of them is only a couple feet tall. It looks like out of all the seeds I planted, I may get one blossoming flower.

While these cookies aren't as rich and satisfying as my vegan chocolate chip cookies, they're a close second and a great gluten free option. Did I mention they don't have processed sugar either? They get their sweetness from honey. And who doesn't like honey?

Oh and don't get turned off by the chickpeas. I know it sounds weird to add chickpeas to cookies, but it's more for texture and substance. You won't taste them at all. Promise.

Chocolate Chip Sunflower Butter Bites

Makes 30 bites

• 1 can chick peas
• 1/4 cup honey
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 3/4 cup sunflower butter
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup vegan chocolate chips

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Blend all ingredients except the chocolate chips in a blender or food processor until a sticky dough forms.
3. Add the chips and pulse until just combined.
4. With wet hands (this is important, otherwise the dough will stick to you), roll the dough into one inch balls and place on greased cookie sheets.
5. You can fit up to 15 bites per sheet, since these won't spread when baked.
6. Bake for 10 minutes.

Dairy Free Nutella

Eating it right off the spoon.

Have you ever met anyone who doesn't like nutella? Me neither. But I have met someone who can't eat it. I rarely think Logan is missing out on anything because of his dairy allergy, but not being able to have nutella is cruel. Luckily, I came up with a way to make a creamy, hazelnut chocolate spread so that he doesn't miss out. He loves the stuff so much, that while I'm making it he brings me his spoon saying "more"!

Nutella

• 2 cups hazelnuts
• 1 cup confectioners sugar
• 1/4 + 1/8 cups cocoa powder
• < 1/8 cup safflower oil

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. Spread the hazelnuts over a baking sheet and roast for 20 minutes, or until the skins begin to blister.
3. Remove the skins by wrapping the hot hazelnuts in a dish towel and rubbing the towel until the skins rub off. Not all of the skins will come off. No biggie. I usually only manage to get about 70% of the skins off.
4. Blend the hazelnuts in a blender or food processor until a paste forms.
5. Add the cocoa and sugar and blend again until well mixed.
6. Drizzle in the oil, adding no more than an 1/8 of a cup, until the desired consistency is reached.

Roasted nuts.

Removing the skins.

Hazelnuts blended to a paste.

The final product!

Strawberry Nachos and Other Strawberry Delights

Strawberry season is in full swing on Long Island! I had been looking forward to strawberry picking for weeks as the weather warmed up. Logan joined me this year and had a blast. I think he ate more than he actually picked!

He's been enjoying the strawberries we have growing in containers at home, too. 

Father's Day always coincides with strawberry season, so I usually make strawberry themed desserts. This year featured chocolate covered strawberries (a given), and strawberry nachos. Yes, strawberry nachos. I roughly followed a recipe from pinterest to come up with this delicious dish. The baked tortillas tasted just like cinnamon toast crunch and were tasty in their own, even before I topped them with strawberries and homemade chocolate!

Strawberry Nachos

• 4 tortilla wraps
• 4 Tbsp. butter substitute, melted
• Cinnamon
• Sugar
• 1 cup diced strawberries
• 1 Tbsp. liquid sweetener
• Chocolate

1. Preheat the oven to 350º.
2. Brush the tortillas with the butter substitute (I used Best Life), and sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar.
3. Bake for 12 minutes, or until the edges begin to brown.
4. When cooled to room temperature, cut the tortillas into bite size chips.
5. Combine the strawberries with the liquid sweetener, and pour over the chips.
6. Drizzle chocolate over the top, and serve immediately.

Andrew and I made chocolate covered strawberry mojitos with the leftover strawberries from strawberry picking and chocolate mint growing right outside the backdoor. I couldn't stay up late enough to finish mine (I know, lame), but the few sips I had were wonderful!

I dehydrated the last handful of strawberries and mixed them into loose green tea. 

The Quest to Find the Perfect Vegan Brownie- Part 3

Ok I've almost got this down. I've been searching for the perfect vegan brownie recipe. I've had a couple near successes so far, with one recipe producing cake like brownies, and another one that was more moist, but not as fudgy as I'm looking for. After a failed attempt or two, I finally came up with these. They're moist, fudgy and rich. A little too rich though, since they're incredibly sweet. It's not too often that I say something is too sweet, but I could only have a few small bites of these before my sweet tooth objected. They really hit the spot when you have a craving for sweets, that's for sure. I have a couple ideas on how to perfect this one, so stay tuned for part 4!

Example of a failed attempt. Not sure what happened here..

Logan is having a great time on this "quest",
especially since he's my official taste tester. The
Christmas decorations in the background are an
indicator of how long I've been at this.

Sweet Brownies!

• 1/2 cup apple purée or applesauce
• 2 bananas, mashed
• 1/2 cup coconut oil, melted
• 2 cups sugar
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

1. Preheat the oven to 350.
2. In a large bowl, combine the banana with the apple purée.
3. Stir in the coconut oil.
4. Add the rest of the ingredients and stir until combined.
5. Pour the batter in a greased 8 x 8 pan and bake for 40 minutes, or until a knife comes out clean.

Raw Vegan Chocolate Bars

I love food. If I'm not eating it, I'm thinking about it, writing about it, talking about it, or creating it. A couple weeks ago while thinking about it, I had the thought to make my own chocolate bars. As I've probably already mentioned, chocolate is part of my daily life. I don't mean that I eat a whole cake every day, but at least a square with a glass of wine, which I indulge in more than I care to admit. I'm on the hunt for a good organic red wine. Every one that I've tried so far tastes like sludge. I'm led to believe that wine needs added sulfites to be palatable. If anyone has any suggestions though, send them my way!

Anyways, while browsing pinterest one day, I found this recipe for chocolate bars. Already having the ingredients in my cabinet, I got to work.. and was pretty disappointed. It came out more like fudge, and was way too sweet. I prefer a dark chocolate (72% cocoa to be exact!) that's more bitter, so I made it my mission to perfect this recipe. I came up with 3 different recipes of various cocoa contents (the original recipe is about 50% cocoa). These don't have lecithin, which reduces the viscosity of chocolate, so they're a little on the soft side. They're best kept in the freezer, but they taste almost as good as a vegan Endangered Species bar!

Have fun with these. Make them your own! I've made them using dehydrated raspberries and strawberries, the latter of which is almost as good paired with chocolate as wine is! I've crushed up pretzels and made a chocolate pretzel bark, and I have homemade mint extract sitting in the cabinet, waiting to be ready to be added to one of these chocolate confections. My coworker made a delicious bar by adding ginger and curry powder. Anything goes!

Dehydrated Raspberries

Dehydrated Strawberries

Our garden strawberries, ready for picking!

The first bar has a mild cocoa content, so it's still pretty sweet. It's a little on the soft side, but it's good for people who don't like a dark, bitter chocolate.

Chocolate Bar #1

62% cocoa

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 2 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

This next one is probably my favorite. It was delicious mixed with crushed pretzels!

Chocolate Bar #2

67% cocoa content

• 3 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup + 1 Tbsp. cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

This last bar has the highest cocoa content and is the most bitter. It's also the most solid, so it most resembles a store bought bar.

Chocolate Bar #3

70% cocoa

• 2 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• 1 Tbsp. agave

1. Mix all ingredients and pour into a mold, such as a plastic container. 
2. Freeze until ready to eat.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Waffles

Waffles make me happy. They remind me of chilly fall weekend mornings growing up, before hitting the tennis court or going to watch my brother's soccer games. My parents could whip up a pretty good breakfast starring waffles made with my mom's ancient waffle maker. Seriously, it's been around probably as long as I have. It's still kicking! Waffles also make me think of sleepovers with friends, when we would quote Donkey from the Shrek series.. "and in the morning, I'm making waffles"! I know you know what I'm talking about.

Anyways, it's a tradition I hope to carry on with Logan. I've been using this recipe that I wrote down from somewhere for awhile now, and it's never failed me. I substitute almond milk in place of traditional milk, and it's still just as good. Last time I made it I even squeezed fresh orange juice to go with it. I must have had energy that morning, not to mention an abundance of oranges!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Waffles

Makes about 5 large waffles

• 1 cup of unbleached flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. salt
• 1 cup of almond milk
• 1/2 cup of apple purée (that's 4 cubes if you use the ice cube tray method) apple sauce would work here, too.
• Vegan chocolate chips, or a chopped up chocolate bar

Do I need to write instructions on how to make waffles on a waffle maker? Didn't think so. Enjoy your breakfast!

Waffles make him happy, too!

Raw Thin Mints

I was sent a recipe for One Green Planet's thin mint recipe from my friend Bri. After hearing her rave about them I had to try it, even though it called for stevia. I just can't stomach the stuff. I figured it couldn't be so bad since a batch only needed 1/2 a teaspoon, so I borrowed the sweetener from my mom and got to work. Bleh! I could taste the stevia in every bite. I ended up tossing the whole thing. I have no idea why I hate that stuff so much. Maybe it's one of those polarizing foods like cilantro, some people love it, other people say it tastes like soap. I was determined to make these work though, so I tried again using a couple substitutions. Since I used up all my protein powder in the first batch, I used homemade almond flour the second time. You can probably buy it in the store, but here's how I make my own: after I make almond milk in the juicer, I dehydrate the pulp, then grind it into a fine powder using the baby bullet. Since there was no way I was using stevia again, I replaced it with agave. I also added a few crushed leaves from an organic chocolate mint plant I picked up over the weekend. It was perfect for these cookies! While the end result wasn't exactly like the girl scout version, these were still delicious and much healthier. Logan and I couldn't get enough of them, and I can't wait until I have more almond flour so I can make them again!

Raw Thin Mints

Makes about 15

The mixture should be about this consistency when you
roll them on the cookie sheet.

• 3/4 cup of almond flour
• 1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp. of cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 tsp. peppermint extra
• 1 tsp. agave
• 6 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
• A few chocolate mint leaves, crushed very fine (optional)

1. Mix all the ingredients in a large bowl.
2. Let the bowl sit on the counter for a few minutes until the mixture has just started to solidify.
3. Using a melon baller (a spoon would work too, but I have a thing for the melon baller), scoop out small portions of the batter.
4. Place the scoops of batter on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper, and mold them into the desired shape.
5. Chill the cookie sheet in the fridge for about an hour.
6. Store covered in the fridge or freezer.

Ready to be chilled

Done!

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

I was trying to make a chocolate pudding, but ended up with mousse instead. I may have whipped the coconut too much, or maybe it was due to the addition of cooled chocolate, but instead of a creamy dessert I came up with a light, fluffy one. I'm ok with that! I've already concocted a delicious vegan chocolate pudding anyways.

This mousse requires only two ingredients. Coconut milk and a vegan chocolate bar. I used Ghiradelli Intense Dark chocolate. It has a 72% cacao content, which to me is perfect! I could eat that chocolate everyday (and I do). Be careful when selecting Ghiradelli chocolate though if you're avoiding animal ingredients, most of their other bars contain milk products.

After scooping the solid part from the can.

Before you start, you have to refrigerate a 15 oz can of coconut milk overnight. I always have a can in the fridge for times like this! Don't use the light stuff, you need the fat of the coconut milk to solidify. When you open the can, the liquid will have separated and will be at the bottom of the can. Using a spatula, scoop out the solid layer into a bowl. Whip it with an electric mixer until it becomes light and airy. What you have now is coconut whipped cream that is excellent on fruit! Whip in the chocolate and voila! Chocolate mousse.

I finally found a use for the whisk attachment to my electric mixer.

I wish I could make this look prettier, but it tastes better than it looks!

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Makes 4 servings

Melt the chocolate in a double broiler
or in the microwave. Cool it slightly,
but make sure it's still smooth.

• 1 15 oz can of coconut milk, chilled overnight in the fridge.
• 1 3.5 oz bar of vegan chocolate, melted and cooled, but still liquid.

1. Scoop the solidified coconut milk into a bowl, avoiding the liquid at the bottom of the can.
2. Whip with an electric mixer until light and airy.
3. Add the chocolate while still mixing, and mix until you've reached the desired fluffy consistency.
4. Enjoy right away, or keep in the fridge until serving (you might need to rewhip it, depending on how long it stayed in the fridge for).