chocolate chip donuts, vegan

Hello there, blog readers!

First of all, WHO has been watching Game of Thrones?? I know a lot of people were disappointed with the season finale (like the boyfriend) but I really liked it! Especially the very end. I freaking LOVE Daeynerys and can't believe we have to wait 3/4 of a year for more episodes!!!

(source)

If you're a Game of Thrones lover, pop over to my friend Luke's blog Don't Fear the Fringe. He's read all of the books (which I'm dying to get my hands on!) and his blog is filled with his amusing ramblings on literature, gaming and life.

But back to the chocolate!

I finally got my hands on a doughnut pan. It came in the mail last week and last weekend I had a hankering for something sweet but was too lazy to leave the apartment to buy something. So what do I do? Bake!

I used this recipe from Peas and Thank You, so pop over there for the instructions! The only thing I did differently was I nixed the glaze and folded the chocolate chips INTO the batter. Am. Az. Ing.

Best part about vegan baking? Eating batter/dough without the fear of salmonella ;)

Let the food porn commence...

This recipe made 6 donuts, 7 if you count the amount of batter i consumed ;)

I made these on a Saturday when Matt was in Vegas for Fathers' day and they were gone before he returned on Monday.

Sorry, hun!

Tomorrow is Fridayyy!!! :) Who else is excited??? Any fun weekend plans?

mushrooms, brussels, kale and sundried tomatoes in a wine sauce, vegan

Hi bloggies!

You will probably notice that a lot of my new recipes are vegan. I have been cutting back on a lot of the meat i eat and experimenting with cooking and going out to eat vegan food. This is something I am doing for health, social and environmental reasons that I won't go into in too much detail in this post. In addition, I truly enjoy the challenge of vegan cooking and the satisfaction of knowing what I am eating is nutritionally sound. 

The recipe I want to share with you today is from the cookbook Veganomicon. The recipe was for braised Seitan with brussels, kale and sun-dried tomatoes. Since I don't want to eat "fake meat" seeing as a lot of it is overly processed, I subbed out the Seitan for mushrooms. 

Ingredients:

• 2 tbsp olive oil
• 6 shallots
• 2 cups seitan, sliced on the diagonal into bite sized pieces (I used 1 8oz package of sliced baby portobellos)
• 1/2 brussel sprouts, quartered
• 4 cloves of garlic (I used 4 tbsp crushed garlic)
• 1/2 tsp dried thyme
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1/4 tsp dried tarragon
• 1/2 tsp salt
• several pinches freshly ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, chopped into bite-size pieces
• 2 cups vegetable broth
• 1/4 cup red wine
• 4 cups chopped kale

Directions

I like to measure out my ingredients first for speedy cooking

Preheat a large pan over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots and mushrooms in 2 tablespoons of olive oil for about 7 min, until they have browned.

Add the brussel sprouts and saute for three more minutes, adding more oil if needed. Add the garlic, herbs, salt and pepper and saute for another minute. Mix in sun dried tomatoes. 

Add the broth and wine. Once the liquid is boiling, add the chopped kale. Stir the kale until it is wilted. 

(Sorry for the blurry pic)

Cover the pan, leaving a little room for steam to escape and lower heat. Simmer for 5-7 minutes. Adjust salt and serve immediately. 

I had to adjust the salt and squeeze some lemon over the top to make it truly to my liking but then I thought it was quite delicious! I served over mashed potatoes (made by boiling red potatoes and mashing with garlic, earth balance, almond milk and salt) and enjoyed it while watching last week's Game of Thrones episode. Is anyone else watching the season finale tomorrow???

Leftovers heat up nicely. I like sprucing them up with some Tabasco and hummus. Enjoy!

chocolate coconut cashew butter cups

Hi blog readers! I'm baaaaack!!!

I took quite the leave of absence from this blog thang. But to make up for it, I bring you chocolate coconut cashew butter cups. Holy yum, these were great :)

They were also uber easy to make!

Here's what you'll need:

Ingredients1/2 cup raw cashews1/4 cup unsweetened coconut1/4 cup agave syrupabout half a bag of chocolate chipsMix first three ingredients in a food processor or Vitamix.

Melt chocolate chips in a double broiler or in the microwave for one minute, stir, one more minute or as necessary. Line mini cupcake liners with melted chocolate being sure to coat the sides with the back of a spoon.



Now is the hard part. Allow the chocolate to dry. Patience is a virtue!Once chocolate is fully dry, press a tablespoon of coconut filling into each cup.



Top with the rest of the chocolate.

Once again, let the chocolate cool and dry. I promise it will be worth it when you bite into one of these babies...