Post-Valentine's Day Crepes with Nutella

 

I had meant to post this on February 15th, when I made these crepes, but I never got around to it. I'm not much of a Valentine's Day person. I neither love nor hate it; for me, it really just seems like any other day, only with a better excuse for eating large quantities of chocolate (shout out to my lovely mother for buying me a chocolate bar on Thursday!). My Valentine's Day consisted of chocolate, a seitan roast, and a Lost marathon. Not too bad in my opinion! 

 

But the next day, I decided to make something sort of Valentine's-ish, and made some crepes. Actually, these crepes are really Ployes, which are a type of pancake. It comes as a pancake flour mix (the only ingredients are buckwheat flour, wheat flour, baking powder, and salt), sort of like much healthier version of Bisquick. To make the pancakes, all you do is mix in some water (no eggs or milk required!), and cook in a pan for a minute or two. It's almost ridiculous how simple they are to make. You don't even need to flip them while cooking! They're surprisingly low in calories, with three 5" pancakes equaling only 95 calores. Ployes are fantastic, not just for dessert, but for dinner too. I often serve them with curry dishes, as they soak up the flavors so well.  Anyway, to make the crepes, I added just a tiny bit of sugar to the batter, cooked them, and served them with raspberry jelly and some vegan Nutella, which I made using this delicious recipe by Chocolate Covered Katie (actually, I used a mix of pecans and cashews because, let's be honest, no one just happens to have hazelnuts on hand). Ployes are made by a local company and probably can't be found outside of New England, but if you ever happen to come across some, I'd really recommend buying a bag (or order it online here).

Almond Butter

I suppose I should make up some excuses as to why I haven't made a post in almost two weeks - I've been busy with school, I've had an awful ear infection, I've been making meals out of my new cookbooks I got for Christmas rather than making up my own recipes to post, I've had a food blogger's version of writer's block, I'm actually just incredibly lazy, etc. I really have been cooking even more than usual lately, thanks to my newfound love, Veganomicon. I adore that cookbook and I have no idea what I used to do without it! There are so many fantastic recipes, with so many helpful tips and tools (the sections on how to cook grains and beans has saved me from much Google searching). Almost every recipe includes good ideas as to what would be good served with the specific meal you're cooking; there's even a menu section in the back with pre-planned meal ideas, with entrees, sides, soups, salads, desserts, and everything. This is definitely my favorite cookbook, and everything I've made so far has been great.

I've also been enjoying using my new food processor, and I use it at least once a day for something. Such as: 

Almond Butter

• 4 to 6 ounces/1 to 2 cups (really as much as you want) raw or roasted almonds

So this is what I did: In my food processor, I ground up the nuts on a high speed until it turned into a sort of powder. I changed it to a medium speed and let it go for 10 to 15 minutes — it will thicken, then turn into a ball, and, eventually, right when you're about to give up because you think you did something wrong, it will magically transform into a smooth butter. Store in a jar in the refrigerator.

This is a pretty versatile recipe, and you can use most other types of nuts. You can also add salt (or just use salted nuts) or some syrup. 

Had I known I was going to post this recipe, I would have taken photos of each step in the process, but I didn't. Thankfully, someone else already did.

I won't be taking another long break for a while! I already have several chocolate recipes ready in time for Valentines Day. :) 

an update + a fabulous granola recipe

Well I am very disappointed that it's been so long since I've posted a recipe here, and that I was unable to finish the Vegan Month of Food. I'm actually pretty surprised that I managed to stick with it as long as I did. Hurricane Sandy hit Maine last Monday afternoon, and we lost electricity almost immediately. Obviously I couldn't cook anything until it came back on Wednesday. 

I made these on Tuesday when there was still enough daylight (still had the help of some candles though). Basically I chopped the apple into slices and cut out a chunk on the peel side for a mouth. Then I filled some of the mouths with peanut butter and some with jelly. I added some almond slivers for teeth and raisins for eyes (glued on with a bit of peanut butter). I made these with the general idea of this recipe, only I didn't have internet so I couldn't actually use the post as a reference, so mine turned out much differently (but I'm glad they did because they're much cuter than they are spooky). It was a nice Halloween snack.

On Thursday my parents and I left for a road trip to North Carolina, to go to my cousin's wedding. It was such a good week! The weather was perfect, I got to see all my cousins, and the wedding was absolutely beautiful. I met his bride at the wedding for the first time and she was so sweet, I'm very glad she's now a part of our family.

When I go on long car rides, I tend to get hungrier than usual and bring lots of energy-filled snacks to keep me going. I never travel without Clif Bars, or any energy bar, because you never know when one might come in handy (I'm not even joking though. When I went to Europe last summer I brought like 5 boxes of Clif Bars and my friends made fun of me at first, but eventually they were jealous). I also bring fruit and veggies, peanut butter, granola, and herbal popcorn (or whatever flavor popcorn is currently my favorite). I've found that at hotels, the breakfasts aren't usually vegan-friendly (or whole food-friendly), but if you know what to do, it's more than satisfactory. There's almost always oatmeal you could eat - add a little more water instead of adding milk and stir in some peanut butter (best to use your own since the hotel's PB will be filled with HFCS and other mystery ingredients) or syrup (if it's good syrup). Sometimes I bring a cooler with me with almond milk, which I use with the oatmeal or cereal (which, by the way, you can eat with orange juice if you really want). The hotel will also have toast or bagels, which you can eat with PB or jelly. Another idea is just to slice up an apple or a banana and eat it with peanut butter. I obviously like peanut butter a little too much.

On this trip though, I ate granola with orange juice for breakfast pretty much every day, and it was such a great way to start the day. Now that I'm looking at the ingredients, I realize it's actually pretty loaded with sugar, but oh well, that's probably why it tastes so fantastic. Haha, at least it doesn't have refined sugar! If you're gluten-free, just make sure the oats are too! :)

Energy-Packed Granola

• 2 cups quick-cooking oats
• 1 1/4 cup chopped or sliced nuts (I used 3/4 cup sliced almonds + 1/2 cup chopped walnuts)
• 1/3 cup seeds (I used a mixture of sunflower and sesame seeds)
• 3/4 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup canola oil or other mild tasting oil - or melted coconut oil if you want that flavor
• 3/4 cup liquid sweetener (I used 1/2 cup maple syrup + 1/4 cup agave nectar)
• 1 cup raisins or dried cranberries
• 3/4 cup mini chocolate chips, optional

1) Preheat the oven to 300°. 

2) In a large baking dish or a 9 by 12" baking pan, stir together oats, nuts, seeds, coconut flakes, and salt. Add oil and sweetener and stir until completely combined.

3) Bake for 20 minutes. Remove from oven and stir. Return to oven and bake for another 10 minutes. Again, remove from oven and stir.

4) Add raisins and stir in (the granola will still seem sticky but don't worry, it will get crispy when it cools!). Once the granola is completely cool, you may mix in the chocolate chips, if using.

Makes about 6 cups