Whole Wheat Brownies

So these aren't really anything special. In fact I almost didn't post about these as I haven't been all that into the whole blogging thing this week (I've had to force myself so I don't get behind and have tons of recipes and pictures waiting to be posted about), and as I said, these really aren't anything to write home about. But they are really good and they have been, by far, Brett's favorite baked good I've made during my recently kaput baking project. That combined with my having a little time at work means I have decided to post the recipe for anyone interested.

These are just plain whole wheat chocolate brownies, but the texture is far better than the fudgy brownie recipe I have been using for the past year or two. They also aren't as sweet, and Brett and I have a problem with finding sweets that aren't too sweet.















(Sorry about the picture, this was the best one I had taken.)

The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Wheat Brownies
Modified from this recipe.

1/2 cup Earth Balance, melted
1 cup raw organic sugar
2 eggs (or replacer) +
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract + (not local)
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray an 8x8 pan with oil.

Combine Earth Balance, sugar, eggs, and vanilla well in a large bowl.

Slowly add the dry ingredients. Don't over stir.

Spread batter evenly into pan.

Bake for 25 minutes or until knife inserted in the middle comes clean.

Sorry for the lackluster post, I haven't really felt like doing much this week, I'm not sick or anything, but certain things, such as Sharon's predictions for 2009, the lameness that is my job (and my insecurity and fear to try to do something different with my life), and my inability to save the world all by myself - :-) - have been wearing on me lately.

Have a happy Friday everyone, and as always...

'Til next time.

Whole Grain Spelt Pumpkin Bars with Maple-Walnut Frosting

For my second (and quite successful) baking adventure last weekend, I wanted to make something that was a spiced cake with some sort of frosting that was at least reminiscent of a cream cheese frosting. I was originally thinking along the carrot cake line, but when I got in the freezer to take out some pumpkin puree to make Pumpkin-Walnut bread for our annual work holiday party earlier this week, I pulled another container down and decided to go with a pumpkin bar. (On a side note, I am now out of all that pumpkin puree I froze, we've gotten two more small pie pumpkins and will be picking up a few more over the coming days to store with the rest of our winter squash.)

When thinking about the frosting, I decided to go with a maple flavored frosting as I thought it would complement the spiced pumpkin bars really well (it does!). Then I decided to add chopped walnuts and that created a super tasty (albeit very sweet) frosting that did slightly remind me of a cream cheese based frosting - score!

Now, I personally do not like super sweet baked goods. I am one of those freaks who prefer cakes and cupcakes unfrosted, so these were much too rich for me. They were really good, so I tried a couple of times to go back and have more (trying smaller pieces each time), but every time I tried, I just gave myself a tooth or tummy ache. I guess it might not be a super bad thing that I can no longer eat those really rich treats, but these were good, and I wanted to eat more than I could!

The bad thing about this baking experiment is that I found out that these will not work for our gift baskets. They were super tasty, and even had the flavor I was looking for, but they do not last long, and being frosted, don't take to being wrapped up and traveling very well. So in the end, it looks like our chocolate-caffeine sensitive relative is going to be getting a TON of peanut butter and oatmeal raisin cookies.

















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Grain Spelt Pumpkin Bars with Maple-Walnut Frosting

Pumpkin Bars:
1/2 cup Earth Balance
1 cup packed brown sugar
2 eggs (or replacer) +
1 cup pumpkin puree +
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1 cup whole grain spelt flour
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground ginger
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350.

Using an electric mixer, combine Earth Balance, sugar, eggs, pumpkin puree, and vanilla.

Slowly add in the dry ingredients.

Spray a 9x13 pan with oil.

Spread the batter in the pan.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle of the cake.

Maple-Walnut Frosting:
1/3 cup Earth Balance
4 tbsp pure maple syrup
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 cup chopped walnuts +
1 tsp arrowroot

Using an electric mixer, combine Earth Balance and maple syrup.

Slowly add in the sugar, making sure to beat out all the clumps.

Add the arrowroot and combine well.

Stir in the walnuts.

Refrigerate for about an hour.

Spread on completely cooled cake.

So rich, but very yummy. Unfrosted, these would be amazing with green tea for breakfast. They would probably still be good with tea frosted, even for breakfast I suppose, if you can eat something that rich early in the morning.

Well, I'll be back tomorrow with the Weekly Local Booty update (I got me a trip to The Root Cellar planned for after work). Have a great weekend everyone!

'Til next time!

Plain 'ol Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies

Promises, promises. I said I would post about last weekend's baking successes this week, and the next thing I know it is Friday, and I have yet to do it! Things at work have been pretty busy; I have been loafing around at home - just reading and playing Hot Shots Golf on the PS3. It's been fun, and I've really needed a break. My weekends have been so busy that I work all weekend before I go back to work, and then I also want to try a few new meals here and there. There just hasn't been the time for it! So on Wednesday, I took a much needed half day from work, didn't do anything important at all (that was the point!), and we've even been munching on Amy's California burgers (bought from the Peace Nook, also using local pickles) and fried potatoes (local), and steamed spinach (local). They have made for a couple of nights of easy meals, and I have gotten to relax! Normally I would prefer making my own "burgers" of course, but I didn't have any frozen and making burgers from scratch takes away from that much needed relaxation time. Anywho, this is one of the two successes I had last weekend; I will double-post today to get them both up.

A note: I still have lots of baking to do this weekend, so I am making simple tried and true meals. I am going to try my hand at making homemade gnocchi again tonight (as I won't be baking after work), I will be making soup tomorrow (for soup and bread night), and after that, I have planned a menu of things I have already posted about, chosen for their tastiness, but also the ease in preparation. We will be having Leng's Veggie Fried Rice, Bean Burritos (using 'Traditional' Refried Beans), Super Easy Tasty Taco Salad, Fajita Burritos, and perhaps a frozen Amy's pizza somewhere if needed. You will notice that most of these meals rely on refried beans. Brett will make up a huge batch and we will have the basic "element" for most of the week's meals already prepared. This will mean that I will (hopefully) have some relaxation time this weekend and during the week, but that also means that most of the posts you will see in the coming week or two will be baked good related. Please bear with me, the regular food will return after the holidays.

Back to the cookies! Geez I can get off on a tangent, can't I? I needed to come up with something that I could make for a family member that is allergic to chocolate and caffeine. I had Brett pry a little bit and we found out he likes peanut butter, oatmeal cookies, and cheese cake. Well the first two I can work with, the cheese cake - well that is a problem. I don't eat dairy and Brett despises cheese cake, so there would be nobody to test it. And somehow I imagine he wouldn't want a Tofutti cheese cake, and I am not about to taste Tofutti cream cheese - the thought just kind of grosses me out. So I chose to try out peanut butter cookies, and something I hoped would be at least reminiscent of cream cheese (see the next post).

These cookies aren't really anything special, other than being whole grain, super tasty, and loaded with Missouri-produced peanut butter (and eggs!). Mine didn't come out as pretty as I would have liked it to have. I guess I'm just not all that good at shaping things.

I've yammered enough; let's get to the picture and recipe!















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Plain 'ol Whole Wheat Peanut Butter Cookies
Recipe modified from here.

1/2 cup raw organic sugar
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cub Earth Balance, at room temperature
1/2 cup smooth organic peanut butter +
1 egg +
1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt

Using an electric mixer, blend Earth Balance for a minute or two. Add the sugars and blend for another minute or two.

Add the peanut butter and egg and combine well.

Slowly stir in the dry ingredients using a large spoon.

Form into a ball, cover, and refrigerate for about three hours.

Preheat oven to 300.

Form dough into large balls (about 2 inches). Place 3 inches apart on a cookie sheet. Flatten a little.

Using a fork, press in the "usual" crisscross pattern if desired.

Bake for 15 minutes or until golden brown.

These were really yummy. And we didn't need anyone to help us polish these suckers off - we did just fine by ourselves. :-)

I'll be back sometime later today to post about my other baking success.

Happy Friday everyone!

'Til next time.

Whole Grain Spelt Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

When determining what type of cookies I wanted to make, I decided that they shouldn't all be chocolate based cookies. I get stuck in a rut at times, as most people love chocolate, so that always seems the way to go. This is weird because my favorite cookie has always been oatmeal raisin cookies - not a chocolate variety (though I am a fan). Not to mention, not everyone can have chocolate (sad!), and not everyone likes chocolate (I can't even understand this!), so I branched out and made some non-chocolate cookies as well.

I love oatmeal raisin cookies, so any spin on them is a good sign in my book. I found some local walnuts at The Root Cellar over the weekend - some of them I used for pumpkin-walnut bread for Thanksgiving - but I wanted to highlight them in something else. I must say, these are excellent. From what I could gather, they were also the favorite at work as well. The walnuts were so flavorful, soft, and provided a creamy and buttery flavor that complemented the sweet and tart dried cranberries really well. These go wonderfully with tea and make a pretty dang good breakfast too, if I might say.

I modified this recipe from here.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Grain Spelt Cranberry Walnut Oatmeal Cookies

Makes 16 cookies

6 tbsp Earth Balance
6 tbsp organic raw sugar
6 tbsp packed brown sugar
1 egg or egg replacer ++
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup whole grain spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp salt
1 cup + 6 tbsp regular rolled oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped +

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine Earth Balance, sugar, egg, and vanilla with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the remaining ingredients except cranberries and walnuts.

Once well combined, stir in cranberries and walnuts.

Drop by rounded tablespoons a few inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool about 5 minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Yummy!

'Til next time!

Whole Grain Spelt Pumpkin-Pecan Cookies with Cinnamon-Sugar Frosting

I am really growing to like pumpkin. When I was looking at recipes for cookie ideas, I also had a local pumpkin roasting in the oven, so when I came across a few pumpkin cookie recipes, it seemed like a good thing to try.

(A side note about pumpkins (and winter squash in general): I am glad they are so forgiving. I got this pumpkin from The Root Cellar a few weeks ago and just got around to roasting it, I'm lucky they are longer keepers!)

This is one of the more difficult recipes I've tried. I am no good at glazing, icing, or decorating things, so I tend to skip recipes that call for any of the above. But I am trying to improve my skill and shirking off a challenge seems to be antithetical to my goal. I must admit though, I made a mess because I didn't really think the process through. It didn't occur me to put parchment paper under the wire rack while glazing the cookies until after I had made a mess, followed by my moving the cookies to a (parchment lined) surface, and cleaning up a big mess of glaze off the table and floor. And I have a college degree, in a "scientific" area no less... ;-)

Messes aside, these were really good cookies. They were mild, and yet another excellent cookie to pair with tea. I think these would make a great breakfast too - though I would prefer it without the glaze for that purpose. I don't like anything too sweet in the morning.

Recipe modified from here.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Grain Spelt Pumpkin-Pecan Cookies with Cinnamon-Sugar Glaze
Makes 18 cookies

Cookies:
1/2 + 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/4 cup safflower oil
1/2 cup pumpkin puree +
1 egg or egg replacer ++
1 cup + 8 tbsp whole grain spelt flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 350.

Bean sugar, Earth Balance, oil, egg (or replacer), and pumpkin with an electric mixer. Slowly add all the dry ingredients (except the pecans).

Stir in the pecans.

Drop by rounded tablespoons a few inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool 5 minutes. Transfer to a wire cooling rack and let cool completely before frosting.

Frosting:
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 tbsp Earth Balance, melted
1/4 tsp cinnamon
4 tbsp plain rice milk

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl. Use a fork if needed to work out the clumps of sugar.

Using a regular spoon, drizzle over cooled cookies and let sit for about an hour before storing in an air tight container.

These made our apartment smell really good. Oh and they taste pretty awesome too. :-)

'Til next time.

Super Yummy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies

We have been using what both Brett and I consider a fairly subpar chocolate cookie recipe for awhile. It wasn't that they didn't taste good - they did - it's just they were thin and crispy, when we both wanted a thicker and chewier cookie. I'm just pretty lazy and not really the biggest baker, so it took me a long time to get around to it. I wanted to find something that was whole grain, but still tasted decadent and, well, like a chocolate chip cookie is supposed to taste. I found a recipe that sounded promising, made a few modifications (such as making it whole grain and dairy free), and can now happily say we have a much, much better chocolate chip cookie recipe.

These were so yummy. Brett wouldn't let me take any to work, and they were gone the day after I made them. Even I found myself eating 2 or 3 in one sitting, they are addictive! I think I should have doubled the batch, I will make sure to do that next time. ;-)

This recipe was modified from here.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms


Super Yummy Whole Wheat Chocolate Chip Cookies
Makes 16 cookies

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/8 tsp salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup organic raw sugar
1/2 Earth Balance
1 egg or egg replacer ++ (local)
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2-1 cup vegan chocolate chips (I used Tropical Source. Neither Brett or I like lots of chocolate chips in our cookies, I put half a cup in our batch, but I know others might like more than this, so I suggested a range.)

Preheat oven to 300.

Combine flour, baking soda, and salt in a small bowl.

Using an electric mixer, combine the sugar, Earth Balance, egg (or replacer), and vanilla.

Slowly add the flour to the wet mixture.

Stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop by rounded tablespoons a few inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cook for 5 minutes and transfer to a wire cooling rack.

Maybe I'm just out there, but these were some of the best chocolate chip cookies we've ever had. If you get a craving for some, try these out.

'Til next time.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies

As I mentioned in an earlier post, I did a lot of baking over the weekend for a project that I am working on. I've gotten a few spiced bread recipes down (nothing special, just basic pumpkin and zucchini bread recipes, I just used whole grain spelt flour), have worked on brownies and blondies (they need a little work before I blog about them), so over the weekend, I focused on cookies. And who doesn't like cookies?

These are really good - but really, really rich. I was only able to eat one and I was more than satisfied. I love dark chocolate and this is a great way to highlight an excellent, high quality bar of the dark stuff. I took some of these, and the other cookies I will be posting about over the coming days, to my coworkers. They seem to be enjoying them so far!

This recipe was modified from here. I made the recipe dairy free and whole grain - oh, and I halved it because I was making tons of other cookies too.















The local booty legend (aka revealing my sources):
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = local produce from The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook (will denote whether product is local or just from the Nook)
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Wheat Chocolate Chocolate Cherry Pecan Cookies

Makes about 12 large cookies

6 tbsp Earth Balance
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 packed brown sugar
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
1 egg or egg replacer ++
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp whole wheat pastry flour
6 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder
1/4 +1/8 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
2 ounces 71% cacao fair trade organic chocolate (I used 3/4 of a 3.5 oz bar), chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries
1/2 cup pecans, chopped

Preheat oven to 375.

Combine Earth Balance, vanilla, sugar, and egg (or replacer) with an electric mixer.

Slowly add the remaining ingredients except the chocolate, cherries, and pecans.

Once dough well blended, stir in chocolate, cherries, and pecans.

Drop by rounded tablespoons a few inches apart on a cookie sheet.

Bake for 12-14 minutes.

Brett also had a great idea on how to "up" these cookies' visual appeal. He thought it would be neat to make the cookies a lot smaller, and rather than mixing the cherries in the batter, putting one in the center of each cookie like a thumbprint cookie. I think we might have to try that.

I will leave you with this...

J's Playlist of the Day (the best songs I heard from our music collection today)
"Out of Love" Aberfeldy
"One with the Freaks" The Notwist
"Original Spies" Karate
"Drenched" Calexico
"How We Breathe" Pinback
"Back on the Chain Gang" The Pretenders
"Blackbird" The Beatles
"Subdivisions" Rush
"Don't Ask Me Why" Billy Joel
"Green River" Creedence Clearwater Revival (CCR)
"Sultans of Swing" Dire Straits
"Goin' Mobile" The Who
"Strange Brew" Cream

'Til next time.

Whole Grain Spelt Lamington's

Baking, admittedly, is one of my weaker cooking skills and something I have been trying to remedy. Now, I am not the biggest fan of baked goods, I enjoy them yes, but there is always too much, and I am truly satisfied with a simple piece of fresh fruit. However, I enjoy the act of baking, and since Brett and my co-workers happily eat the goods I make, I continue on trying.

This weekend I made Lamington's. I had never had a Lamington until making them over the weekend. These little cakes covered in chocolate and rolled in coconut originate in either Australia or New Zealand; apparently there is some contention between the two nations as to where the Lamington is "indigenous" to. After making them, I can understand why they would want to fight over the bragging rights to these delicious cakes. I decided to make them as I thought trying my hand at coating a cake with frosting would be a good way to improve my skill, I had some organic shredded coconut still hanging around from the rice crispy treats I made over last winter, and Brett is a chocolate fanatic - up to this point I have been mostly working with spiced breads and pumpkin - so chocolate seemed the way to go.

I modified this recipe from Joy of Baking to make it whole grain, dairy free, and more to our tastes, so I might have taken away from the authenticity of the Lamington's, but we thought they were super good. The original recipe yielded 16 Lamington's, but after cutting my cake into 16 pieces, I realized that Lamington's were a lot bigger than I thought they would be. I was imagining little bite-sized treats, but after cutting them into 16 squares, I realized I was going to have something more on par with the size of a Little Debbie Snack Cake. So I decided to cut the pieces smaller, which I also believe made the chocolate dipping and coconut rolling easier than it would have been with the larger cakes. Not to mention they are more of a finger food this way.

These would be great to take to a holiday potluck or family gathering, or even on a Sunday when you have folks over for football. Who doesn't like bite-sized treats?

Note: The assembly process is a lot easier if you have two people working on it. I enlisted the help of Brett for this part, and I must say, he did a far better job of dunking the cake pieces in to the chocolate than I did. I would have made quite the mess had I done this all on my own. Also, using my method of making bite-sized Lamington's you will yield far more than 16. I cannot even count how many Lamington's this made - tons - so make sure you have plenty of willing mouths to feed these too - these being cake covered in chocolate, I doubt that will be too difficult.

















The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
++ = The Peace Nook
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

Whole Grain Spelt Lamington's

Cake:

2 cups whole grain spelt flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup Earth Balance
1/4 cup safflower oil
2 eggs (or egg replacer) *
1 tbsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 cup plain rice milk

Chocolate Frosting:

4 cups confectioners' sugar
2/3 cup Dutch-processed cocoa powder
3 tbsp Earth Balance
1/2 cup plain Hempmilk ++ (not local, but from a local store)

Coating:

2 cups organic shredded coconut

For the cake:

Preheat oven to 350.

Spray an 8x8 pan with oil spray.

Stir together dry ingredients in a large bowl.

Using an electric mixer, slowly add in the wet ingredients.

Spread into prepared pan and bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown and toothpick or knife comes out clean when inserted into the middle.

Allow to cool completely.

Transfer to a cutting board. Cut into large squares.

Cut each square in half, then in half again length-wise, then in half on more time.

Put in the fridge to cool for a few hours, this will make coating them easier.

For the frosting:

Prepare a pan of boiling water.

Get a smaller, stove safe bowl and mix together sugar and cocoa powder.

Add the Earth Balance and milk. Stir well.

Place in the pan of boiling water, carefully stirring until well blended.

For the coating:

Spread the coconut out on a plate.

To assemble:

(Brett and I did this together, it might be a slightly difficult one person project, but I think it can be done.)

We started an "assembly line" to do this part. We had our cold cake bits, chocolate, and coconut spread out, with a wire cooling rack at the end of our counter.

Using a toothpick, grab a piece of cake and carefully dunk it into the chocolate.

Trasfer to plate of coconut and roll on all four sides. Move to the wire rack to cool completely.

Once completely cooled, place in airtight containers between layers of parchment paper.

Did I mention these are whole grain? While this isn't health food by any stretch of the imagination, you can at least rest knowing that you are getting some good fiber into your system while enjoying a tasty snack cake!

'Til next time!

Whole Grain Spelt Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins

I have wanted to try pumpkin again for awhile, but I've been a little tentative. Both Brett and I hate pie - pumpkin pie especially. I do not like anything about pie crust - I just don't, and thankfully, Brett doesn't either. Pumpkin pie filling also isn't really my cup of tea - it is something about the texture of the filling. Anyways, with my love of all other winter squash, and the fact that I now love many things that I hated in my pre-vegetarian days, I wanted to give it another shot.

I can now say that, at least in certain applications, both my and Brett's feelings about pumpkin has changed. We really like it! I don't think I will ever like pie, but pumpkin and I could become quite good friends. I went out in search of recipes for pumpkin, and then crossed my fingers that I would be able to find an edible pumpkin at the farmer's market. A little interesting aside about that - there were, oh, 4 stands that were selling pumpkin at the market last weekend, and only one of them sold pumpkins that were actually edible. I understand that Jack-o-lantern's are popular around this time of year, but Brett and I noted that with the sheer amount of non-edible pumpkins grown in our area alone, there has to be a lot of waste.

I found this recipe on the Joy of Baking website. I veganized it and also made it whole grain. These muffins are not overly sweet and they go fantastically with a cup of tea. I took these into work and they were eaten up in no time. I forgot to tell people they were vegan - but that usually turns people off to trying things for some reason. But at least you guys and I will know. :-)

This recipe wasn't the only pumpkin recipe we tried out this weekend either. We also made pumpkin bread! I followed this recipe - simply substituting whole grain spelt flour for the all-purpose and using safflower oil instead of olive. I have to say, we LOVE pumpkin bread, we devoured that loaf of bread!

Does anyone have any ideas (beyond pumpkin soup) as to how to use pumpkin in main dishes?

The local booty legend:
no asterisk = grocery store
+ = The Root Cellar
* = farmer's market
** = CSA
*** = Container or Community Garden
**** = the non-profit buying club, Blue Planet or Purcell Mountain Farms

















How to make pumpkin puree from fresh pumpkin:

Heat oven to 350.

Split pumpkin in half and remove seeds and stringy parts.

Place cut halve side facing down in a baking dish. Add 2 cups of water.

Bake pumpkin for about 60-90 minutes or until really soft.

Let the pumpkin cool.

Scoop out flesh and transfer to a food processor.

Blend until smooth.

Whole Grain Spelt Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins
Makes about 12.
Adapted from a Joy of Baking recipe found here.

1 1/2 cups whole grain spelt flour
1/2 cup organic raw sugar
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup plain hempmilk
1/2 cup pumpkin puree *
1/4 cup Earth Balance, melted
1 Ener-G, flax, or other egg substitute
1 cup organic, fair-trade chocolate chip (we used 65% cacao)

Mix dry ingredients together in a large bowl.

Slowly add in the wet ingredients, blending well.

Fill a greased (I sprayed mine with safflower oil in a mister) muffin pan 2/3 of the way full with batter.

Bake for 20 minutes or until a toothpick or knife comes clean after inserting it into the middle of the muffin.

Yummy! I wish these weren't gone. Thankfully though, I still have 2 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree in our freezer. We are also hoping to pick up another "pie pumpkin" this weekend.

'Til next time!

Homemade Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits with Apple Butter

So what do you think I did with the rest of the apples Vern gave us? Well, I made a recipe that I enjoyed from my Nanny when I was younger - apple butter! Brett had never had apple butter, so I knew this was a treat he needed to experience, and what better way to try it than with Vernalicious apples?

As some of you know, I'm also quite intimidated by bread making of any kind. I don't know why, as I know it isn't as difficult as I make it out to be in my head, but I always imagine myself with cramped hands, covered in flour, sitting in front of a limp ball of dough that won't do what it is supposed to. As you can see, I've really psyched myself out about it. The thing is though, you can't just eat apple butter by itself - I knew I wanted some sort of bread, but I wasn't sure what kind. Eventually I decided to try my hand at making biscuits - I am damn tired of buying those icky tubes of biscuits that source their ingredients from who knows where and contain all sorts of less-than-pleasant ingredients. I also thought this would be a good way to get my "toes wet" in the bread making department. The end result? Bread making is not that hard and it is actually quite enjoyable. I liked getting my hands in the dough! While I might not be baking up a bread storm, as Brett and I don't often eat sandwiches, or many "flour oriented goods" beyond tortillas really, I will now make my own biscuits. I also have a wild hair up my ass to make my own pita next time it is called for. And yes, I will eventually try my hand at making tortillas. I think this weekend I am going to work on our pizza dough recipe some more. I'm taking Courtney's advice and using whole grain spelt flour. We found some in the bulk bin at the grocery store the other day (sadly not local), and we picked up a few pounds of it to work with.

Enough of the flour related tirade. Onto the food!















Such a yummy brunch! We enjoyed these bad boys while watching some pigskin on the tube.















We have a whole pint of this stuff to enjoy!

A quick note: The recipe for the apple butter came from the Ball Blue Book of Preserving, so for fear of copyright infringement, I cannot reprint the recipe here. If you would like it, please just drop me an email and I would be happy to send it to you.

Also, I halved the recipe for the apple butter so that we would get only one pint or so (it is always a little off for some reason). We didn't go through the whole boiling water bath canner process as we aren't putting this away for winter - we are eating, and very much enjoying it now.

Cinnamon-Raisin Biscuits
Recipe adapted from here.

Makes 10 mini-biscuits or 5-6 regular sized ones.

1 1/4 cup flour (I used all-purpose white flour as we are still trying to finish off this lingering bag)
1 tbsp baking powder
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp organic raw sugar
1-2 tsp ground cinnamon
3-4 tbsp raisins
4 tbsp Earth Balance
6 tbsp rice milk (or other milk)
1 Ener-G egg (or other egg replacer)

Preheat oven to 400.

Mix dry ingredients in a medium bowl.

Using a fork, work in the Earth Balance. The batter should be fairly dry and crumbly.

Add the milk and egg replacer and knead with your hands until well combined.

Lightly flour a counter or some other work surface, as well as a rolling pin.

Place your ball of dough on the floured surface and roll out until 1/2 an inch thick.

Form your biscuit using a cookie cutter.

Bake on a parchment lined baking sheet for 10-15 minutes or until golden brown.

You can also stick a toothpick in the biscuits to make sure they are done.

I think I may make more biscuits tonight or tomorrow so we can enjoy more of the apple butter. It is so good. Now I know what I will do if I ever go apple picking. I really like apple butter, and it, with a couple of homemade biscuits, make quite the tasty breakfast or brunch.

'Til next time.

Dr. Kathy's Cupcakes and J's Perfect Lunch

So this should come as no surprise but I hate the dentist. To a fault. You see, I have a tendency to avoid going to the dentist until the problem gets really bad, and I have no excuse (though I will try to come up with many). Case in point, about 6 months ago, I noticed that I was getting a cavity in one of my back teeth. Well, I decided I would just ignore it, pretty much. Let's just say, that over the past few months it has really started to bother me, so I finally decided to set up an appointment. Over the weekend, my tooth decided it was going to start really giving me trouble. The pain was off and on until Sunday, then it was pretty much on all the time. It was so bad that I couldn't sleep last night, so I ended up staying home from work in hopes of getting some sleep and maybe getting in to see the dentist sooner. I got some sleep, but the dentist situation isn't looking very good. What I can say though, is Brett (so sweetly) got up around 4 in the morning with me, when my pain was really intense, and put a cold pack in the freezer. Thanks to that, I am experiencing a reprieve from the pain, and I was able to sleep. I think I'm also going to get some Advil or something, I hate taking medicine, but I think I'll just deal with it at this point.

Anyways, woe is me, right? Well, don't feel too bad for me, I've known this was an issue for awhile, I have dental insurance, I've had the money to pay for it, I have sick time and an understanding employer, I just put it off because going to the dentist sucks and it's always painful.

You know what I don't understand either? It doesn't hurt when I eat, or anything like that, it's just an aching in my jaw. Argh! Dumb teeth!

Anywho, enough of my complaining. A positive aspect of this is that I can catch up on my blogging! I got a bit behind this weekend, as I was busy in the garden and such.

I'll start with the baked goods. A dear friend and co-worker of mine, Kathy, recently successfully defended her dissertation and is now officially Dr. Kathy! (Congrats again Kathy, I am so proud of you!) Well, of course I had to do what any good vegan does: bake for her! I decided to make chocolate cupcakes with chocolate frosting. Who doesn't like chocolate on chocolate?

A couple of notes: these are not healthy. I generally use less or no oil in my recipes, but find that when I feed vegan goodies to omni's I like to make things really decadent, it makes us look better. :-) So this is an oil laden recipe, but I did use whole wheat pastry flour.

I also attempted to make my own chocolate frosting. It must be an art, it seemed like all was going well, and the next thing I know I have something resembling a marshmallow. So I took Bianca's tip and got store bought 'accidently vegan' (but really unhealthy) chocolate frosting. Thanks Bianca!

This picture is obviously sans frosting.

Dr. Kathy's Chocolate Cupcakes

3 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 cups organic raw sugar

6 heaping tbsp unsweetened organic cocoa powder (I used Green & Black's)

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

3/4 cup vegetable oil (eeek!)

2 tbsp white distilled vinegar

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 cups cold water

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.

Slowly add in the oil, vinegar, vanilla and water and stir until smooth.

Fill muffin cups (or an oiled muffin tin) 2/3 of the way full.

Bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean when cupcakes pierced in the middle.

They turned out really good, and I had to leave some at home for Brett, but apparently what I left him wasn't enough as I had to make another batch this weekend. Brett is weird with chocolate, I think he and Katie (the Chocolate Covered Vegan) would get along just fine.

Next we have what is a very common 'Jen Lunch' over the summer. Hummus, veggies, pita, etc. The type of hummus and veggies change but the general idea is the same. What is pictured below is my lunch packed into my Zojirushi lunch jar. I really like that thing.

It's classic hummus (with extra cayenne pepper on top), pitted organic kalamata olives, pickled hot peppers :-), organic 'baby' carrots, sliced organic red bell peppers and organic broccoli, and whole wheat organic pita bread (called 'Bible Bread'). This makes for an awesome lunch.

J&B's Classic Hummus

Makes about 4 cups of hummus.

4 cups of garbanzo beans cooked

1 clove garlic, minced

juice of one lemon

1-2 tablespoons tahini

1 tablespoon olive oil

cumin to taste

cayenne pepper to taste

salt to taste

water for consistency (bean cooking water if possible)

In a food processor combine ingredients until desired flavor and consistency.

Well, I've got one more post and then I'll be caught up!

Chocolate Espresso Orange Cookies (and a grocery store wrap up)

I was in the baking mood today, and I had an idea, so I decided to try it out. I made Chocolate Espresso Orange Cookies. This recipe only makes 10 cookies, as I was just trying to see how they would turn out, but they are fantastic! They are rich, soft and cakey, with a subtle espresso and mild orange flavor.

Chocolate Espresso Orange Cookies

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1/3 cup cocoa powder

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp ground flax seeds

2/3 cup organic vegan sugar

1/3 cup plain hemp or rice milk

1/3 cup applesauce

1 tsp pure vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract

2 tsp orange zest (I used one small organic orange)

1 tbsp instant espresso coffee

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, salt and flax seeds in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients.

Stir into the dry mixture in batches, using a fork if necessary.

Drop by heaping tablespoons onto a cookie sheet (non-stick or parchment lined). Leave about 1 1/2 inches between cookies. Bake for 10-12 minutes.

Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

So, as I'm sure most of you who have read this blog for any significant period of time know (or those who have looked at the recipe index), I like Mexican food. A lot. It's just my thing. If you don't like Mexican food, this blog is probably not for you. :-) Anyways, I have been working on veganizing authentic, traditional Mexican cusine, trying to keep the integrity of the dish (accenting the herb, spice, pepper, etc. the original recipe does), as well as working on creating recipes for more 'fusion' style dishes. I really like this kind of food so it's fun, we'll see how these recipes turn out. I plan on trying a few of the more 'fusion' style ones this week.

I thought I'd end this post with a little 'grocery store wrap up', maybe it'll give you an idea of what's going to be on the menu. The only things not pictured here are corn tortillas and canned black olives. We're pretty stocked up on dried beans and rice.

Let's see, we've got serrano peppers, 2 organic oranges, a tomato, 2 avocados, jalapenos, a lime, a red bell pepper, about 1lb. of tomatillos, organic mixed baby greens, a red onion, 2 organic jewel yams, garlic, a yellow squash, 2 zucchini, a bunch of organic cilantro. 4 organic Pink Lady apples, 2 organic kiwi, and some habanero peppers.

'Til next time!

Enchilada Sauce, Soft Vegan Ginger Cookies, and A Sad Observance

I thought I’d start this entry with that last little bit in my title, the ‘sad observance’, ‘cause, well, I don’t want to end the post on a depressing note. Yesterday, here in Columbia, many got out to observe the 5th anniversary of our invasion and occupation of Iraq. The actual anniversary is this Wednesday, March 19th, but weekdays aren’t the best for large gatherings. There was an anti-war rally and march through downtown Columbia, culminated by some very moving speeches and music. I don’t generally go to demonstrations as I feel that they, at least in the case of anti-war demonstrations, are pretty useless and sometimes just stand to perpetuate stereotypes. But there are times, such as the anniversary of this sad calamity, that I feel the need to get out with like minded people, and tell my fellow citizens and the rest of the world that not everything can be done in my name. I am sorry to the rest of the world – especially Iraq and Afghanistan (and also a lot of Central and South America, Mexico, Africa, East Timor, Chagos Islanders, and so on), I am sorry for what we do to you out of ignorance, incompetence, greed and arrogance. It’s times like these when I know I’m not alone in my sadness and anger.

There was a very good turnout to the event as well, over 1,000 people. That might not seem like a lot to some, but Columbia is not a huge town, and this is Missouri, a very conservative state. We had a wonderful speaker from the local chapter of the NAACP, a local representative, an Iraqi transplanted to the US, and a conscientious objector from the US military. His being there was a true act of bravery - he is putting himself at great risk, what he is doing for his principles, some might call it ‘deserting his country’, I call it ‘not wanting to kill people for their ‘freedom’’. It also reminds us that we cannot turn our backs on the veterans who return from this tragedy, it is not their fault that they are being used as a weapon of hate and greed, many enlisted only did so because they felt like they had no other opportunity in life, we must care for them with respect and treat them with dignity.

With that, I will share a few pictures, then move on to the much less depressing matter of food (including a recipe for yummy cookies!).

Students from the University of Missouri - Columbia holding banners.

Brett (who really needs a haircut and thus really fit the 'hippie' stereotype at the anti-war rally) signing the banner, and some guy who appears to be wearing a top hat.

Part of the crowd.

More crowd (I like that world flag).

The Iraqi speaker.

So anyways, thanks as always for listening to my crazy rambling, and now I'll get on to the food.

I made roasted veggie enchiladas again the other night, they are so good, but I get tired of using premade enchilada sauce. I started to wonder how difficult it would be to make my own and found out it wasn't too hard at all. I had an extra can of tomato sauce on hand, so I thought I'd give it a whirl, and if all else failed, I still had the premade sauce. Well, let's just say, I tossed a few spices into some tomato sauce, a splash of vinegar, and suddenly, I had excellent enchilada sauce. I doubt I'll ever buy the premade stuff again.

Easy Homemade Enchilada Sauce

15 oz. can tomato sauce

1 tsp white vinegar

chili powder

cumin

garlic powder

onion powder

Mexican oregano

cayenne

Season sauce as you like it. Add a tablespoon or two of water if you like a thinner sauce. Heat thoroughly and enjoy!

I'm not sure about the rest of you, but one of my favorite things to do, cooking wise, is to successfully veganize a recipe. Well, I found a recipe for very non-vegan, and also very non-healthy soft ginger cookies. Now, in my opinion, cookies shouldn't be healthy, they are cookies dammit, indulge yourself once in awhile, don't make them all the time, and leave some of the fat in so they are still enjoyable!!!! Enough of the tirade. I 'healthified' these to an extent, I switched the flours, sugars, cut down the amount of margarine use, and I also didn't have a couple of the ingredients, so I subbed in what I had. This is what I came up with and they were delish! I ate four last night, and Brett ate a bunch as welll. Four might not seem like too many cookies, but these bad boys are big!

Soft and Chewy Vegan Ginger Cookies

2 1/4 cups whole wheat pastry flour

2 tsp ground ginger

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp allspice

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 cup Earth Balance, softened

1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce

1 cup raw vegan sugar

replacement for one egg (I used Ener-G)

1 tbsp water

1/4 cup molasses

2 tbsp raw vegan sugar

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large bowl mix flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, allspice and salt.

In a small bowl stir together the sugar, Earth Balance, and applesauce until well combined. Stir in the 'egg', water and molasses. Mix well.

Add sugar mixture to flour mixture in small batches.

Drop by heaping spoonfuls on a cookie sheet.

Flatten slightly and sprinkle vegan sugar on top.

Bake for 8-10 minutes.

Allow to cool on sheet for a few minutes before transferring to a wire cooling rack.

Makes 20 large cookies.

And finally, Cookiemouse, from the blog bearing the same name, so kindly asked me to write a guest blogging piece for his blog. I wrote about the environmental argument for vegetarianism and veganism. If anyone wants to check it out (our just check out his blog), you can find the entry here. Thanks again for asking me to do this Cookiemouse, I really enjoyed it.

Whew! This is a long post! Well, I took the day off of work today to give myself a three day weekend, so I'm off to enjoy it!

'Til next time!

Muffins and Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

Yesterday, I made Happy Herbivore’s Apple Crisp Muffins. I was originally planning on making her Sweet Potato & Maple Muffins earlier this week, but the yam I baked was eaten before I got home from work the next day (Brett didn’t know they were for the muffins). Anyways, I pretty much always have apples around, so it all worked out. These are fantastic! They really do taste like an apple crisp. I’ve already had three since I made them yesterday! Now my pictures aren’t as pretty as HH's, I overfilled the muffin cups, so they kind of spewed out a bit, but they are still oh so tasty!

Now, the only thing I don’t like about muffins is my pan. You see, muffins stick to it like nothing else, so you either use muffin cups or grease the hell out of the tin (which is still no guarantee), I don’t like either of these options, but as of late have chosen to avoid greasing the pan, but feel bad about all the muffin cup papers that I have to use. I am thinking of not making muffins anymore, and just making breads, since my bread pan is glass and doesn’t have a sticking problem and doesn’t require me to waste lots of paper. Anyone know if you could make a loaf out of this recipe? I’m wondering if it can be done to other muffin recipes or if the proportions would be off…

Anyways, for dinner I made Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Roasted Acorn Squash. This meal was hearty, healthy and super tasty. I have been mulling over other things to stuff acorn squash with since the last time I made it as most of the recipes you find are sweet and acorn squashes are much more versatile than that. No one should be surprised that I ended up with a Mexican inspired idea, and that yams, hot peppers, and guacamole make their way in to the meal. I will make a guacamole tag as well, I make it at least once a week, it’s one of my favorite foods, and so simple too. Anasazi beans are really good; they are a traditional Native American bean that is used in Native American (of course) or Mexican dishes. Pinto would work just as well in here though. We had chips and guacamole with this, but ended up not eating the chips and just putting the guacamole on the squash.

Here's a picture of the Anasazi beans before the were soaked and cooked, they are lovely beans dry, but really don't look like anything special once cooked. Brett said they reminded him of cows dry, it almost made me feel bad for eating them. :-(

Spicy Anasazi Bean and Quinoa Stuffed Acorn Squash

1 roasted acorn squash

Stuffing:

1 cup quinoa

2 cups water

2 cups anasazi (or pinto) beans cooked

1 small can of black olives, drained

1 can of diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained

1 yam/sweet potato, cubed and roasted

1-2 roasted jalapenos, sliced

1/2 roasted red bell pepper, sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

chili powder

cumin

Mexican oregano

chipotle chili powder

salt

cayenne (optional)

splash veggie broth

simple guacamole

blue corn chips (optional)

Rise quinoa in a wire mesh strainer.

Bring water to a boil, add quinoa and reduce heat, simmering for 15-20 minutes or until all liquid abosrbed.

In a large skillet, heat a tablespoon or so of water and cook garlic until soft.

Add the rest of the ingredients until heated through.

Stuff into roasted acorn squash halves. Top with guacamole.

'Til next time.

What an Omni Requests for Birthday Food

So yesterday was Brett’s 29th birthday, and I took the day off of work so that we could spend it together. I had gotten him a birthday present, but had already given it to him. You see, I was trying to be sneaky (which I have never been very good at), so I listened carefully over the year, trying to infer something I could get him for his birthday, without having to come right out and ask. Well he loves video games (is this something all men love regardless of age?), and his wireless controller for his Playstation broke. Now I knew what to get him.

I ordered a nice controller off of Amazon, and had it shipped to my office, sneaky right? Well the thing came and it was in a giant box. I mean this little controller was in this huge box. I was trying to figure out a way to get it home and hidden without Brett knowing, since he’s usually home when I get home. So I decided to just take it out of the box and put the controller in my book bag and get it home that way. Well wouldn’t you know that Amazon decided to glue a giant piece of cardboard to the back of the controller box, not really alleviating the size issue, and creating another, the fact that when I put it in my book bag, well, it was noticeable. It gave my book bag a rather triangular shape. In order to get the packaging for the controller separated from the cardboard would have required me to pretty much rip the whole thing apart, which I didn’t want to do in case he didn’t like it. Long story short, when I got home, I just gave it to Brett, ‘cause, well he could tell there was something up with my book bag. But he really liked it, so all was well in the end.

For breakfast I made Brett the Chocolate-Chocolate Chip Pancakes from Vegan with a Vengeance and my modified version of the strawberry sauce recipe in the book. We prefer our fruit sauces, at least for use in this type of situation, to be pretty pulverized and thick, so, as usual, I had to go a different way with this. I just noticed that I was still in keeping with my pink pancake motif, so I guess I really do have a thing for pink breakfast foods. :-)

And you know, he was sweet enough to play guitar for me while I cooked, on his birthday. I know he enjoys it, but I think I enjoy it more. I even snapped a couple of pics of him jamming.

Back to the food.

You know, I like these plates more now that I have this blog. I think I am finally starting to appreciate the full breadth of their ugliness and novelty. :-)

J’s VwaV Inspired Strawberry Sauce
½ bag frozen strawberries
1 tsp. pure maple syrup
¼ tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/8-1/4 cup organic sugar
¼ cup water
1-2 tsp. arrowroot starch/flour mixed with a tbsp or so water

In a sauce pan mix all ingredients and warm at medium heat. Once fruit mixture has gotten warm, use the side of a kitchen utensil or potato smasher to pulverize the fruit. Bring to a boil and add the arrowroot mixture, stirring frequently until desired consistency.

These pancakes are good. I mean they are chocolate and more chocolate and if you like that – well, I think you’d be in love. These are also VERY sweet, so I would recommend this as more of a dessert unless you can handle really sweet food in the morning. Both of us tend to prefer nothing really much sweeter than a granola bar, so we’ll save these for dessert next time.

When I had asked Brett what he wanted me to make him for his birthday food wise, he said he wanted the Vegan Chocolate Chip Fudgy Brownies I make as well as a Black Bean Quesadilla, he didn’t really care about breakfast. So thats what he got.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Fudgy Brownies
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I use Green & Black's Organic Cocoa Powder)
2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups organic sugar
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds (optional)
3/4 cup unsweetened applesauce (or 1 cup canola oil for higher fat baking, or 1/2 cup canola oil and 1/2 cup applesauce for somewhere in the middle)
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup water
1 cup dairy-free chocolate chips (we like Tropical Source)(optional)
confectioner's sugar (optional)

Preheat the oven to 350.

Combine the dry ingredients in a mixing bowl. Stir in the wet ingredients. If desired, add chocolate chips.

Pour mixture into a greased 9"- x 13"-inch baking pan, and bake for 20 to 30 minutes.

Sprinkle with confectioner's sugar when it comes out of the oven.

Let the brownies cool slightly before serving.

Brett and I ended up with slightly different things for dinner as quesadillas and burritos can be very ‘mix-and-match’ and I had some pinto beans in the fridge that needed to be eaten, so I made a burrito for myself and a Black Bean Quesadilla for Brett. We usually use plain old Spanish rice in this recipe, but both of us thought it would be good to try subbing in Veganomicon’s Mexican Millet to see how that worked. Well of course, when I looked at the recipe, there were things I didn’t have or we don’t like and things I had that I usually add to my Spanish Rice that I thought would make good additions, so I ended up doing it a bit differently. I left the fresh tomato and cilantro out, and I didn’t have any tomato paste. So instead of using 2 cups of veggie broth, I used a cup and a half of veggie broth and a half cup of tomato juice. I also cut down on the onion called for and added sautéed red bell pepper. It was so good! Brett said he thought our Mexican food might be better with millet than rice. This stuff is really good so we highly recommend it to anyone who loves Mexican food like we do.

If you were curious here is a rough run-down of what went in Brett’s Quesadilla: Lots of black beans tossed with a bit of Simply Organics Southwest Taco Seasoning, some sweet corn, our variation of Mexican Millet, and cheese, real cheese, but it was his birthday, and this is what he wanted. It was topped with guacamole, tofu sour cream and salsa (not pictured here).

For my burrito I layered some Mexican Millet, and took a mixture of black and pinto beans, tossed them with a bit of the Southwest Taco Seasoning, then added a bit of sweet corn and some Follow Your Heart vegan Monterey Jack. I also topped mine with guacamole, tofu sour cream and salsa (again, not pictured). I had a bit of Mexican Millet on the side as my burrito ‘seemed’ small, but I didn’t end up eating it. The burrito was too filling.

You know, I don’t think I’ve had enough spicy food and guacamole yet :-), so I think I will concoct a breakfast around that. (Maybe I should turn off the Spanish guitar music.) Tonight I am also planning on making a more ‘Jen-Style’ meal, meaning more veggies, far more veggies than the types of things Brett picks out, but I think I have ways of dressing them up that will be pleasing even to the omni.

‘Til next time.