In The Kitchen with... Veggiegirl!

My adoptee has been busy in the kitchen with her vegan creations these past few months, hasn't she?

So, as part of the adopt-a-blogger event, I sported my baking garb and got prepped to make her "S'mores Muffins", since I knew our girls would love them with the little bits of vegan marshmallows tucked inside!

The recipe was a cinch. These muffins came together in about 10-15 minutes (and that's with my 3 yr old part of the scene and us working on a puzzle during the prepping)!

I made 9 muffins from this batch, which took just a little longer than Liz's 15-18 minutes (roughly 19-20 mins)... but then Liz's yield was for 10-12 muffins, so the longer baking time fits just right with the larger muffins!

I followed Liz's recipe pretty much to the letter, but with these slight modifications:
- used w/w pastry flour instead of w/w flour; just for a lighter texture
- used roasted cocoa powder (I wasn't sure if Liz used raw or roasted, but since roasted powder is darker and similar to cocoa powder in color, I chose the roasted)
- used combo of chocolate almond milk and plain soy milk for the 1 cup of non-dairy milk measure (since I had both opened in my fridge)
- used non-dairy chocolate chips instead of carob chips

The only other thing I did was add 1/4 tsp of sea salt to the dry ingredients. Adding a touch of salt to baked goods enhances the flavors of the other ingredients, so I always add about 1/4 tsp to a batch of muffins of this quantity, or a quick bread, or a small batch of cookies, etc.

The muffins baked up nicely and rose well. Though the name might sound like a cupcake, these are definitely muffins and are not at all that sweet. Since there is plenty of sweetness from the added chocolate chips, graham crackers, and marshmallows, Liz was wise not to overdo the amount of unrefined sugar, though I think 1/3 cup would work equally well as 1/4 cup if you wanted a muffin that's just a touch sweeter (I don't care for overly sweet muffins, but I know some of you enjoy them on the sweeter side).

Liz didn't add any oil to her recipe (I think because she often bakes low-fat treats for her family), and used some applesauce as a fat replacer to add moistness to the batter. This worked well, though if I can give Liz, my 'adoptee', one small suggestion from her adopting veg blogger, it would be to include a small amount (1-2 tbsp) of an organic canola, coconut (warm to melt first), or other high-quality vegetable oil to the wet ingredients. It enhances the moistness in baked goods, and also, since fat is a flavor carrier (ex: just think how tasty deep fried foods are), that bit of oil will heighten the other flavors in the batter.

Kudos to you Liz for your vegan culinary interests and achievements - especially as the young and relatively new vegan you are! Keep the recipe testing going, veggiegirl, and we all look forward to what you cook up next!

p.s. as a little 'surprise' to you, Liz as being part of this adopt-a-blogger event, I will be mailing you a copy of the "Everyday Dish" dvd. Since you already have my cookbooks, I thought some vegan cooking on tv might be in order. Hope you enjoy it!

Takin' Care of (food) Business

Need to get caught up on quite a few things with you today, and then I'll get to this foodie pic!
*update*: recipe is now posted!


First, I've posted the pantry list that is referenced in ed&bv. It will remain on this page, along with the ed&bv edits.

Second, the ed&bv reprint is on its way, but the shipment was delayed. To those of you waiting for ed&bv, and that have commented here and through e-mail, etc, wondering about the delivery time... I am so sorry. There is nothing I can do about it, except give you these details that while the shipment was supposed to be in Vancouver last week, the shipper experienced delays, and so now it will not arrive until about Feb. 7th... which means, another 2-3 weeks wait for those of you that have ordered through amazon, etc. If I could ship you a book myself, I would... but I don't even have any stock in my house! So, please, be patient... and I'll try to make up for it with some food posts, and a couple of recipes to keep you going? Okay?! (*note to ed&bv winners Kristina and veganmomma: this also means I haven't mailed your copies yet. If you'd like a copy of Vive instead of ed&bv, just let me know. I do have copies of Vive on hand, and can mail one to you this week.)

Third, congratulations to Dawn Ratcliffe and Joe Espinosa for your leafleting accomplishments with Vegan Outreach last semester (Dawn handed out 16,595 brochures to college students; Joe 27,623!). You have both won a copy of Vive le Vegan!, and it should be arriving within a few days at your doorstep... enjoy!

Next, I've adopted. Not a child. Not an animal. A blogger! You see, I received a request from Kristen at Dine and Dish. She started this 'adopt-a-blogger' event pairing 'veteran' bloggers with newer bloggers. She mentioned there was one vegan request from a new blogger and she hadn't found a veteran match. So, I signed up... and little did I know, I had adopted veggiegirl! Over the next couple of weeks, I will make one of Liz's recipes, and she will make one of mine. Fun idea, huh? (though, I told Liz that I don't think I have too much to guide her through with blogging... she is quite the expert already!)

Now, to the food. What is this picture of vegan sweetness above? It's Maple Banana Loaf from TEV, but I chose to bake it in a larger baking dish (8 x 12; baking for less time, about 26-28 mins), rather than a loaf pan, making it more of a snack cake. I posted about this quick bread before, and it's really an easy recipe that uses only maple syrup as a sweetener, and is also low in fat (if that's something you're looking for in baked goods).

I'll post this recipe (hopefully by this evening) so you can try it, and will also include with some notes about subbing another flour for the portion of kamut flour in the recipe (there is a blend of whole-wheat pastry and kamut flours in the batter). I sprinkled a handful of chocolate chips on half of the batter before baking... just for some fun and variety. What's truly excellent in this loaf, if you're up for it, is mixing chocolate chips and a handful of lightly toasted and chopped pecans or walnuts into the batter before baking. Makes the loaf higher fat, obviously, but boy that banana-chocolate-nut combination is wonderful!

Okay, so check out the recipe, and stay tuned... (hint: Food Network Canada recipes soon to come!)