Cooking with Abandon

From How It All Vegan!

This is a new favorite of mine even though I smelled like garlic for literally four days. I can't really speak for Brett, but I think he likes it as well.

Spicy Garlic Toss for Noodles
4-6 cloves garlic, minced or crushed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/4 cup water
2 tsp Braggs or soy sauce
1/2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp dried basil
1/2 dried thyme
1/4 dried pepper
1/4 tsp salt
dash of cayenne pepper

In a small saucepan, sauté garlic in one (1) tablespoon of oil on medium-low heat until garlic is translucent, taking care not to burn. Add the water, remaining oil, Braggs/soy sauce, basil, thyme, pepper, salt, and cayenne pepper and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 8-15 minutes. Toss with noodles of your choosing and serve with veggies & tofu, by themselves, or whatever you like.

Makes 2-4 servings.

Modifications

I added about 1/2 teaspoon more of extra virgin olive oil, used fresh ground pepper, and added more basil and thyme just because I like a hearty flavor. I also used chili powder in place of cayenne pepper since that's all I had on hand.

Brett and I picked up some Chinese style noodles from the produce section in the grocery store. Definitely worth the find because that really made the meal.

We also got some egg roll wrappers, a pre-prepared cabbage mix, and some duck sauce and fried our own veggie egg rolls.

Boy am I glad we got that spice rack (and other kitchen gadgets) as a wedding gift! It makes cooking so much more enjoyable and tons easier.

When baking vegan, you don't have any of the usual binders like eggs and dairy to make your baked goods light and fluffy.

Here are some tips to make baking vegan a happy experience (thanks to the ladies of How It All Vegan!):

SIFT
Using a sifter (FYI, I LOVE our sifter!!!) or a whisk to mix together all the dry ingredients helps keep things light. Always mix dry ingredients together first before adding anything wet.

DON'T OVERMIX
I have a problem with overmixing. When you do, your baked goods end up flat and heavy. Mixing with a wooden spoon or your hands until just mixed or blended is the way to go.

KEEP IT MOIST
Put a small pan of cold water in the oven while baking. I thought it was kooky at first, but it really works!!

DON'T EXPECT STORE-BOUGHT BAKED GOODS
Baking vegan is definitely an interesting experience with less-than-perfect results, but isn't that true about all baking? That being said, even though it doesn't look pretty, it doesn't mean it doesn't taste delicious.

Seriously. Best tip is the one above. There have been many times when I've made something and it looked gross and not pretty at all, but at the same time was one of the best tasting things I've ever made.

from How It All Vegan! by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer

Charming Chocolate Cupcakes
1 cup molasses
1 cup soy milk (I used 1/2 cup plain, 1/2 chocolate)
2 cups chocolate or carob chips (use more if you like a really chocolatey cupcake)
6 Tbsp vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract (since I have a deep love of vanilla, I usually use twice the called for amount)
4 Tbsp cornstarch
2 cups flour
1 tsp baking soda
cupcake liners

Directions: Preheat oven to 375˚F. In a small saucepan, whisk together the molasses, 1/2 cup of the milk, and the chips. Cook on medium heat until chips have melted, stirring constantly with a spoon. Add the oil, vanilla, cornstarch, and stir until well mixed. Remove from heat and set aside. In a medium bowl, sift the flour and baking soda together. Add the remaining milk and the chocolate mixture and stir. Spoon into cupcake paper liners and bake for 15-20 minutes (for me, it was closer to 15 minutes than 20, so start checking at 15 mins). Test with a knife to see if done. Cool and frost.

Other bits o' stuff: The original recipe says it makes 6 cupcakes, but it definitely made more like 20 for me. I'm pretty sure I followed the recipe perfectly except for the vanilla. If I had to, and probably will, do it again, I would definitely add more molasses and more chocolate chips (maybe even some cocoa powder). I'd also reduce cooking time since I burned half of them from cooking them 17 mins.

Now onto the frosting!

Nut Butter Icing (doubled)
6 Tbsp margarine
1 cup dry sweetener (I used sugar in a food processor to make powdered sugar. Sugar is a vegan no-no because it's filtered with animal carbon. I didn't have any other choice though since sugar was all we had. Boo.)
2/3 cup peanut butter or other nut butter
4 Tbsp soy milk
2/3 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Mix together the margarine, sweetener, and nut butter. Add milk and mix well. Stir in nuts last, if using.

I used the whipping blade on my stand mixer to make it all nice and fluffy. And I usually have to play with the sweetener/milk combination a lot to get it the consistency and flavor that I like.

Final thoughts: I wanted to see how my father-in-law reacted to the cupcakes since he's already stated that he's not into vegan foods. So I didn't tell him they were vegan and let him help himself to the cupcakes. After he took a big ole bite and said that he thought they were really tasty, I said, "They're vegan! Woo!" He was surprised. Later he came downstairs and said, "You sneaked me that vegan stuff. It was pretty good though."

p.s. I'll add a pic of the cupcakes when the camera battery isn't dead! :(