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 :-)

Happy Easter

I hope everybunny had a hoppy Easter!

My mom used to make a bunny cake like this every Easter when we were younger. I kept the tradition alive by tripling the recipe for blue moon orange cupcakes (minus the beer this time) and baking for about 35 minutes in two 8 inch round pans, and frosted it using vegan buttercream icing. Yum!

Vegan Sugar Cookies

My cousin Liam decorated his own
cookie. Now that's a cookie!

Any holiday can be celebrated with sugar cookies, and ever since my mom bought me 100 assorted cookie cutters, every holiday has. Making sugar cookies is no fun if your kids can't eat them, so I've been searching for a vegan recipe for awhile. After coming up empty handed I finally found one on animal-friendly eating, a wonderful blog for vegan and raw food. Kelli's recipe uses an egg substitute that you make by whipping together water, flour, baking powder and baking soda. I've never heard of an egg substitute like that, but it works! I can't wait to try it for other recipes.

barf.

I found the picture on this flour 
package to be pretty anti-feminist.
 Is it just me? Regardless, it was still great flour.  

I made my first trip to Trader Joe's last week. I'm normally a loyal Whole Foods customer, but I checked out Trader Joe's since I was told it was cheaper. It is, but their selection isn't that great. After stocking up on organic produce and other basics I still had to go to Whole Foods across the street to complete my shopping. I was looking for Bestlife, but the only butter substitute I could find at Trader Joe's was Earth Balance buttery spread. Has anyone ever tried this? I'd love to hear your thoughts on it, because I thought it was one of the most disgusting things I have ever eaten. A lot of vegan blogs rave about it, but I couldn't stand it! I can't be the only one who feels this way. It left the most awful taste in my mouth, like I just licked a plastic patio chair after someone had been sitting in it in the hot sun and they left a pool of sweat on the seat. Not that I've ever done that, but I imagine that's what it would taste like. I will never, ever eat that stuff again. Since it was the only butter substitute I had (I don't know why I didn't think to use shortening), I used it anyways, hoping that the other ingredients would mask the taste. They didn't. I ended up masking the rancid flavor by adding extra sugar and some almond extract. The end result wasn't bad at all. You couldn't taste the salty, offensive flavor of the Earth Balance, and the cookies came out light, fluffy, and delicious. I've found a new holiday staple!

Vegan Sugar Cookies

Makes about 18 cookies

• 3/4 cup of butter substitute (like Bestlife, but NOT Earth Balance)
• 1 1/2 cups of sugar
• 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 tsp. almond extract
• 2 egg replacers (see below)
• 2 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Egg Replacer

Substitutes 2 eggs

• 6 Tbsp. water
• 4 Tbsp. flour
• 2 tsp. baking powder
• 1 tsp. baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 350º.
2. In a large mixing bowl, cream together butter substitute and sugar with an electric mixer.
3. Blend in the vanilla and almond extract.
4. In a small bowl, whisk together the egg substitute ingredients until thick and foamy.
5. Add this to the mixing bowl and stir with a wooden spoon until incorporated.
6. Add the flour, baking powder and salt, and stir until thoroughly mixed. 
7. Roll batter on a floured surface to somewhere between 1/8" to 1/4" thick.
8. Make shapes using cookie cutters.
9. Place on a grease baking sheet and bake for about 10 minutes, or until the edges start to brown. 

This particular batch was made into shamrocks for St. Patrick's Day!

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!