Chocolate Chip Scones

Often on Sundays I like to bake something for breakfast.  We usually sleep late and it ends up being brunch, but it is a break from the usual weekday breakfast of a protein smoothie or peanut butter on toast.

Last Sunday I made chocolate chip scones.  I took a plain scone recipe from an old 1992 Company's Coming cookbook and modified it to be vegan, adjusted some of the ingredients and added chocolate chips.  This is the result.

CHOCOLATE CHIP SCONES

INGREDIENTS:
2 cups All Purpose Flour (I use half whole wheat flour)
1/2 cup Turbinado or Raw Sugar
1 Tbsp Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp ground Cinnamon
1/2 cup Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks
1-1/2 tsp Ener-G Egg Replacer
2 Tbsp warm water (for egg replacer)
2/3 cup Unsweetened Soy Milk
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 to 3/4 cup Semi Sweet Chocolate Chips (most are vegan, but not all)
      **  Soy milk for brushing tops and extra sugar for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 425˚F (218˚C).

2.  Mix flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and salt in large mixing bowl.  Cut in buttery sticks until crumbly.  I use a pastry blender to do this.  Add chocolate chips.

(Your mixture should resemble this)

3.  Mix the egg replacer with water and set aside.  In small bowl, mix the soy milk and vanilla and add the egg replacer mixture.  Beat slightly.  Add to dry mixture and stir with fork to make a soft dough.  You may need to turn it out onto the counter and knead it a few times to incorporate all of the flour mixture. Form into a ball and divide in half.

(Form into a ball and divide in two)

4.  On a floured surface pat each half into a round approximately 3/4 to 1 inch thick.  Brush with soy milk and sprinkle with sugar and cut into wedges.

(I cut each round into 4 for a total of 8 scones)

5.  Place the wedges on a greased cookie sheet and bake at 425˚F for 15 minutes until risen and golden brown.

(Scones just put in the oven)

6.  Remove from oven and cool on a wire rack.  They are particularly good while still a little warm so the chocolate is gooey.

(Mmmmm scones)

- Bon Appetit

" Chocolate is the perfect food, as wholesome as it is delicious, a beneficent restorer of exhausted power....it is the best friend of those engaged in literary pursuits." - Justus Liebig
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Gnocchi, Brussels Sprouts and Mushrooms, oh my!

A year or two ago I found this recipe on the Vegetarian Times website, printed it out and thought I'd make it one day.  From the first taste, it has been a favorite of both mine and Troubadour's. Here is a link to the original recipe although it does look like there are errors in it now. ----> LINK

I haven't changed too many things with it except to eliminate the cheese and make it vegan.  Sometimes I'll add sliced onions to the brussels sprout mix and most often I will put in a drop or two of liquid smoke while cooking the brussels sprouts to mimic a bit of bacon taste.

I use vacuum packed gnocchi found in the pasta aisle.  I cannot find the frozen kind here.  I have read some tips that they turn out crispier when used from frozen, but they work fine thawed. I have made homemade potato gnocchi, which tasted fine but the texture wasn't quite right.

NOTE - Not all gnocchi is vegan, check for dairy ingredients.

 GNOCCHI WITH BRUSSELS SPROUTS & MUSHROOMS

INGREDIENTS:

1-16 oz pkg Gnocchi
4-5 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 lb Crimini mushrooms, quartered (I prefer brown mushrooms)
1 lb Brussels Sprouts, ends cut off, outer leaves removed and sliced thin
2 cloves Garlic, minced
2 drops Liquid Smoke
fresh ground black pepper to taste
     Optional - 1 Onion, sliced thin

DIRECTIONS:

1. Add a tablespoon or two of olive oil to a large pan on medium high heat.  Add gnocchi and fry until crispy then set aside.

(Gnocchi frying in the pan)

2.  Add another tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pan.  Add mushrooms and saute.  If the pan gets a bit dry, do not hesitate to add a little water to prevent sticking and burning, it will evaporate.  When desired doneness, set aside.  I prefer them a little al dente.

(Mushrooms sauteing in the pan)

3.  Add the remaining tablespoon or two of olive oil to the pan and then add the brussels sprouts and onions if using.  Saute stirring often.  If using liquid smoke and garlic add them now and cook for 1-2 minutes longer.

(Brussels sprouts sauteing in pan)

4.  Brussels sprouts taste better when not overcooked.  Al dente is best.  When cooked to desired doneness add cooked gnocchi and mushrooms back to the pan.  Toss to mix and warm ingredients.

(All ingredients back in pan)

5.  Place in bowl or platter for serving.  Sprinkle with fresh ground pepper.

(A plate of yumminess)

- Bon Appetit

"  We kids feared many things in those days - werewolves, dentists, North Koreans, Sunday School - but they all paled in comparison with brussels sprouts." - Dave Barry, Comedian
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Cajun Tofu Skillet

This recipe was inspired by one found on fatfreevegan.com that she called Tofu Jambalaya.   I have changed the cooking method and some of the ingredients and made it my own.  I don't find it really resembled jambalaya though so I changed the name too.

 CAJUN TOFU SKILLET

INGREDIENTS:

1 cup Jasmine Rice and enough water to cook rice according to package directions
1 tsp vegan No-Chicken Bouillon mixed with water to cook rice
1 lb extra firm Tofu
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 large Onion, chopped
1 large Green Bell Pepper
1 Jalapeno, deseeded and minced
1 cup Celery, chopped
1 cup Okra, chopped
4-5 cloves Garlic, minced
1 - 28oz can Diced Tomatoes
3 tsp Chili Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Liquid Smoke
1/2 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Hot Pepper Sauce

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Start rice cooking according to package directions adding the bouillon to the water.

2.  Pat/squeeze moisture out of tofu and cube into 1/2 - 1 inch cubes and set aside.

3.  Drizzle olive oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add in onion, celery, green pepper, jalapeno and saute until soft. Add garlic and saute another minute.

4.  Add tomatoes, okra, chili powder, salt, liquid smoke, cayenne pepper, hot sauce and tofu.

5.  Cover and cook on low for 20 minutes.  When rice is cooked, add rice to skillet and stir so that it is incorporated into the tomato mixture.  Serve.

I have made this dish several times, but it has actually been a while since I've cooked rice because we have been eating quinoa instead for it's nutritional value.  I am thinking that this dish might be better with quinoa as I found the rice to be a little mushy.  It could be because I used jasmine rice instead of a more substantial variety.  Next time I am trying it with quinoa though.

- Au Revoir

"We fry everything - if we could stick a bike tire in the right kind of batter, we'd eat it." - Gas Station Attendant, Port Fouchon
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Date Ball Cookies

For the last few days I have had a craving for Date Balls.  A recipe I remember my mom making when I was little.  Something she always made during the holidays.  I still have her recipe, although I don't know where she originally found it, it is at least 40 years old.  It is one more of those I copied down on a card before leaving the nest.

Yesterday afternoon I was off work a little early and decided to make a vegan version.  It was easy to do since this recipe doesn't call for eggs and I always have sticks of vegan margarine in the fridge.

I hope you enjoy this simple, but tasty cookie.

DATE BALL COOKIES

INGREDIENTS:
1/2 Cup vegan Margarine
1/3 Cup Powdered Sugar (and extra for coating)
1 Tbsp water
1 Tsp Vanilla
1-1/4 Cup All Purpose Flour
dash Salt
2/3 Cup pitted Dates, chopped
1/2 Cup Walnuts, chopped

DIRECTIONS:  I use my big KitchenAid mixer as it is a stiff dough.

1.  Heat oven to 300˚F.

2.  Cream margarine and powdered sugar.

(Creamed margarine and powdered sugar)

3.  Mix in water and vanilla

4.  Add flour and salt and mix well.  

5.  Mix in pitted dates and nuts and combine well.  Dough will be stiff and shouldn't stick to your hands if you make it into a ball.

(Dough ready for forming)

6.  Roll into 1 inch balls and place on greased cookie sheet.  They do not spread so you can put them fairly close together.

(Ready for the oven)

7.  Bake at 300˚F for 20 minutes.  While warm, roll in powdered sugar.  This makes approximately 30 cookies.

(Ready for eating)

Bon Appetit! I also think these might be good with dried cranberries in place of the dates.  I just might have to try that next time.

- Au Revoir

"Baking cookies is comforting, and cookies are the sweetest little bit of comfort food.  They are very bite-sized and personal." - Sandra Lee (Semi-Homemade)

Black Bean Avocado Salad

I found this recipe online almost three years ago on the Vegetarian Times website. Whenever I find a recipe online I print it out and it goes into a basket to try at a later date.  This one got buried so I didn't try it until last summer.  It was so simple and we enjoyed the taste so much that I've tried to make it at least once a month since then, even more often in the warm summer months.  It makes a nice light salad served with tortilla chips for scooping, but would also be tasty (and lower calorie) served over a bed of mixed greens or crunchy kale.

As always I've modified the recipe just a little.  In this case just increasing the quantities of veggies of beans.  The original recipe can be found by clicking this ---->LINK.  If you are not a fan of black beans I am sure you could be adventurous and substitute white cannellini beans, kidney beans or even chick peas.  And as long as your mustard of choice is gluten free, this recipe is gluten free.

BLACK BEAN AVOCADO SALAD

INGREDIENTS:

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

1 Tbsp whole-grain Mustard

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

1 Can whole Black Beans, rinsed and drained

1 Cup frozen whole Corn, thawed

1 large Avocado, peeled, pitted and diced

1 Sweet Red Pepper, diced

1/2 Cup chopped Celery

1/2 Cup coarsely chopped Cilantro

4 Green Onions, trimmed and thinly sliced

DIRECTIONS:

1.  In a small bowl whisk lemon juice, mustard and olive oil.  Set aside.

2.  In medium sized serving bowl mix beans, corn, avocado, red pepper, celery, cilantro and green onions.  Drizzle with dressing and toss.  

3.  Season with salt and pepper.  I usually serve this with hot pepper sauce to drizzle on top prior to eating.

**  Please note that the red pepper is missing in the photos above.  I admit I forgot to buy one and it was not worth the effort to go to the grocery store for one pepper. The salad was still good, but I did miss the pepper.

- Au Revoir

" Shipping is a terrible thing to do to vegetables.  They probably get jet-lagged, just like people." Elizabeth Berry
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Simple Apple Crisp

I had a few sad looking apples in the refrigerator and was too lazy to make an apple pie.  I just didn't feel like fiddling with the dough so I thought an apple crisp might be nice.  Easy to mix up and a lot less fat overall.

My favorite recipe for apple crisp is one that I found in a Quaker Oats mini cookbook over 20 year ago. You know those small soft cover theme cookbooks you find in the checkout lines at the grocery store? It was one of those.  I used to love collecting them, but found I never used too many recipes out of them.  My solution was to cut out the recipes I liked, tape them to a sheet of paper then slide those pages into a clear plastic sheet protector which I then placed in a binder. Easy to find the recipe I want without all those little books around.

SIMPLE APPLE CRISP

INGREDIENTS:

1 Cup Oats (quick cooking or old fashioned)
1/2 Cup Walnuts, coarsely chopped
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
1/4 Cup Vegan Margarine, melted
1/2 Tsp ground Cinnamon
6 Cups cored and chopped Apples, I used Galas and left the peels on
1/4 Cup Water
1/4 Cup Brown Sugar, firmly packed
2 Tbsp All Purpose Flour
1/2 to 1 Tsp ground Cinnamon

DIRECTIONS:

1.  Preheat oven to 350˚F.

2.  Combine oats, walnuts, 1/4 cup brown sugar, melted margarine and 1/2 tsp cinnamon and mix well.  Set aside.

3.  In a large bowl combine the cored and chopped apples and 1/4 cup water.  Add remaining brown sugar, flour and cinnamon to taste tossing to coat.

4.  Spoon apple mixture into an 8x8 square glass baking dish.  Top evenly with reserved oat mixture.

5.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until the apples are tender.

6.  Serve warm with vegan ice cream.

(Ready for the oven)

(Ready for my belly)

- Au Revoir

" Our bodies run on the fresh green fuel of the land." - Terri Guillemets
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