Chocolate Banana Milkshake

Sometimes I just really need a milkshake. Actually, I need one every day. I've been making these for breakfast daily for at least two weeks now and have yet to tire of them. They're really simple and quick and taste like heaven. Whether you need a milkshake for some 420 cravings or just for a delicious snack, this recipe is definitely worth making. It's so smooth and creamy and is perfect for those times when you miss going to the Burger King drive-through and getting some disgusting thing reminiscent of a milkshake (not that I ever miss that or anything). You can also add in some ground flaxseeds or chia seeds or hemp seeds or any sort of healthy addition that makes you feel happy, but it won't necessarily be as creamy; some nut butter could be good too, but I haven't tried that yet! 

Chocolate Banana Milkshake

• 1 medium banana
• 2 tablespoons cocoa powder
• sweetener of choice (2 dates, 1 TBL syrup, 1 TBL sugar, or 1 packet of stevia powder)
• 1/2 cup nondairy milk
• 1 to 2 cups ice, depending on how thick you want it (I usually use as much as possible because I like thick smoothies!)
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract, optional (you can also try adding coffee extract ((to taste)) for a mocha flavor!)

Blend all ingredients in a food processor or blender for several minutes until completely combined and no ice chunks remain.

Makes 1 big serving or two smaller servings (the yield amount really depends on how much ice you add though)

Hummus Crackers & Ginger Lemon Tart

I only have about 20 minutes of battery life left on my computer, so this has to be quick. I don't have any recipes of my own to post, but I wanted to post the links to some fantastic recipes I've made recently.

First is hummus crackers. Yes, crackers that are essentially hummus. I found the recipe for these delicious little pieces of heaven while perusing the hummus tag on Tumblr. I actually ate these with hummus, and it was like hummus-ception. These were pretty simple to make, and they tasted incredible. They're gluten-free too, if that's the sort of thing you like. The recipe is here.

Second is a lemon tart in a ginger cookie crumb crust. This is probably one of the most fantastic desserts I've eaten in a long time. It took essentially no effort to make, so I really would suggest you try it. The flavor is ridiculously good and the texture is perfect. Assuming you use gluten-free ginger snaps, it's gluten-free (there's a recipe link for the gf cookies with the tart recipe), plus it's refined sugar-free and SCD-friendly. Recipe here.

Christmas 2012

I hope everyone had a lovely Christmas! I had such a nice day.

On Christmas Eve, after church, we drove through the neighborhood to look at the luminaries. I went on a walk later to take some pictures. My neighborhood is the only one in my town that has luminaries, and it's always been one of my favorite things about this holiday. Ever since I was little, the first thing I'd do when I woke up on Christmas morning was look out the window to see the dim lights of the remaining luminaries (of course, I couldn't do that this year because it snowed overnight, but that's okay because snow is even prettier).

Christmas at my house is always very relaxed. Basically, we get up whenever we feel like it (9:30 this year!), and start the morning off with coffee, cinnamon rolls, and opening stockings. We didn't have stockings this year, since we now have cats who I'm sure would have loved to have pulled them down from the mantel. But we did have what may be the greatest cinnamon rolls! I used this recipe, and really, it was great. There's only a few changes I'd suggest. Don't use nearly as much margarine as it calls for in the filling and the pan sauce, because that's really disgusting and it doesn't need it at all. When you roll out the dough, it's going to be pretty huge (I don't have the measurements), but don't worry that you did something wrong. Roll it up so that's it's long, not short (I can't think of a better way to explain what I'm trying to say…..), and cut it into what looks like mini rolls. They will expand plenty once they rise and bake, and you should be able to get about 14 decent sized rolls from it.  I'd also really recommend baking them in a springform pan, if you have one, because that way you can pop the sides off and drizzle on the icing and have a very nice arrangement.

We got a Christmas present for our cats - a shelf for the window. Needless to say, they spent the entire day there, birdwatching.

After we ate our breakfasts, we spent most of our day sitting in front of the fire, opening presents, and eating snack food. We always keep out tray of crackers and cheese (and Daiya cheese), dips, and veggies, plus a pot of soup with some bread, to snack on all day, and I really like it so much more than planning a huge meal. It's such a relaxing day! We used this recipe for a spinach artichoke dip, and it was way better than I had expected it to be; even my brother (an omnivore) liked it! We also made a potato soup that was pretty fantastic.

I don't normally like to brag about what I got for Christmas, but I am going to mention that with a couple new vegan cookbooks plus a brand new food processor (!!!), you can expect some fabulous recipes in the near future.

Anyway, I hope you had a wonderful holiday, and that 2013 is a great year for you! :-)

Cinnamon Roll Recipe

Spinach Artichoke Dip Recipe

Vegan Assorted Chocolates

This is my first time making chocolates, or even just candies of any sort. Basically, I was just experimenting with different flavors. I filled mine with peanut butter, coconut, brown rice syrup, and raspberry jam; the jam one was definitely my favorite. Candy molds can be found at craft stores and possibly even some grocery stores, and they're very inexpensive. Look for deeper molds if you're going to make filled chocolates. I used two 5 oz trays, which was about 24 pieces. 

This is hardly a "recipe", but I'm labeling it as one anyway.

Vegan Assorted Chocolates

• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1 tablespoon coconut oil
• fillings of choice (vegan caramel, peanut butter, brown rice syrup, marzipan, jam, coconut mixed with a bit of syrup, melted [or not] vegan marshmallows, etc.)

1) In a double boiler or a microwave, melt together chocolate chips and coconut oil, and stir until combined.

2) Using a paintbrush, coat the bottoms and sides of the molds with a thick layer of the melted chocolate. Put molds in freezer for several minutes, until the chocolate is hard.

3) Remove from the freezer and fill each candy about 3/4 full with whichever fillings you choose. 

4) Gently spoon more chocolate on top of each candy and smooth using your finger or the paintbrush. Return to freezer.

5) Check back in several more minutes and, when the chocolates are solid, remove from freezer, pop out of molds, and eat them all! Or, I mean, save them and share them willingly with friends and family.. Do be sure to keep them refrigerated when they're not being eaten though.

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