When All Else Fails, Read the Directions!!!

This month's challenge is brought to us by Karen of Bake My Day and Zorra of 1x umruehren bitte aka Kochtopf. They have chosen Tuiles from The Chocolate Book by Angélique Schmeink and Nougatine and Chocolate Tuiles from Michel Roux.

"Traditionally, tuiles are thin, crisp almond cookies that are gently molded over a rolling pin or arched form while they are still warm. Once set, their shape resembles the curved French roofing tiles for which they're named."

I was fascinated by the suggestion that you make a stencil template and then use a spatula to spread the dough over the template.  Kind of like a reverse cookie cutter.  I had nedver done it before...and I have to say, I don't really look forward to doing it again in the near future because I totally suck at it.  For my first attempt, I cut out a palm tree template using a piece of cardboard.  This was no easy feat, there are a lot of tricky angles.

As I peered into the oven to watch them bake, my heart sank....I was horrified to see they had melted into blobs of liquid.  I had never seen cookies do that before.  And then it hit me.  I forgot to add the flour.  I was completely stunned.  I had already tossed my cardboard template in the garbage I had to re-think what shape I was going to do. 

So I thought, okay, my daughter is turning 1 this month, I'll make them shaped like the number 1!!  However, this time around, my batter was so thick it stuck to the template and the dough barely touched the cookie sheet.  By this time I was getting really frustrated at the fact that I must be the only person who can't make these cookies and how could I screw it up not once, but twice.

Attempt number three is far less glorious than my original intention, but it worked.  Simple rectangles left to cool on wooden rolling pin.  At least I had to pair it with something interesting...how about guava-strawberry mousse?

Taco Soup, Omega Crunch, and Dark Chocolate Dreams

I have really wanted to blog for the past couple of weeks but taking care of a very sick little Gordita took precedence.   There were many  meals of store bought soups or cereal & almond milk which didn't seem blogworthy anyway.  Baby girl is on the mend now, so here's a roundup of some of the more interesting things I've been eating lately.  

First up, I made a batch of Nava Atlas' Taco Soup as seen in VegNews Magazine.  I followed the recipe EXACTLY, yet somehow my soup looks nothing like the VegNews photo.  It was good, I loved the spiciness of the cumin and chili powder combined with (my favorite) cilantro but I ended up adding some fresh ground sea salt which wasn't called for in the recipe.  When I think of tacos, I'm thinking salty & spicy.

 

Here's my uber quick breakfast of organic bananas, strawberries and tangerines, with some Omega Crunch roasted maple shelled flax.  Super Yum!

And, saving the best for last - PPK banana bread (I subbed 1/2 cup agave nectar instead of the 1 cup of sugar called for in the recipe) slathered in sinfully delicious chocolate peanut butter!  Yes, Dark Chocolate Dreams from Peanut Butter & Co lives up to its name and does not disappoint.  Ohhhh...I think I'm in love!

Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf and Crispy Tofu with Orange Ginger Sauce.

The snow has turned to torrential rain here and now there's flood warnings because the storm drains are covered in snow banks and there's nowhere for the water to go.  One report is predicting up to 80mm (3.5 inches) of rain between today and tomorrow.  My yoga studio is closed due to flooding.  I hope their lovely hardwood floors are not ruined!

The snow on our roof was so heavy it ripped the gutter off as it slid to the ground and now we can't open our back door because there's a snow bank and a broken gutter blocking it.  Hmm I wonder why summer is my favorite season...

Well, at least the weather isn't affecting my kitchen and I can still cook ;)  Here's something I've make a couple of times in the past week because it's easy and tastes good:  Brown Basmati rice pilaf and crispy tofu with orange ginger sauce.

Brown Basmati Rice Pilaf
1 tbsp olive oil
1 cup brown Basmati rice
1 small or 1/2 medum/large onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
2 cups vegetable broth or water
1 tsp dried dill
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
salt & pepper to taste

In a medium sized pot, saute onion, celery and rice in olive oil until onions become translucent.  Add broth/water and bring to a boil.  Add dill.   Cover with a tight fitting lid and simmer on low for 45 minutes.  Once the rice is finished cooking, stir in nutritional yeast, salt & pepper.

The orange ginger sauce I used came from a bottle.  Not very creative, but like I said, it was easy :)  To make the crispy tofu, slice it into strips and pan fry it in a bit of olive oil and a splash of Braggs (soy sauce) for 5-7 minutes on each side.  Top with orange ginger sauce and enjoy!

A Happy New Year & Polenta Discs

Happy New Year to you!  We've had some ridiculous amounts of snow here in Vancouver, British Columbia, which has made for some cozy nights at home with movies and noochy popcorn.  So far this week I've seen the Incredible Hulk, The Dark Knight, and a foreign film called Mongol.

With the coming of the new year I thought it would be a good time to make some changes to the color scheme of my blog and lighten it up a bit.  I hope you like the new look :)

Recently I bought a tube of organic polenta  and then forgot about it.  Well, actually I thought about it, but since it wasn't where I normally would keep it, I figured I never actually bought it.  That is, until I came across it yesterday when I was looking for something else.  Luckily it was a recent purchase and was nowhere near the expiry date.  It was a nice surprise, and I immediately knew what I wanted to make with it...Polenta Discs!

I sliced the polenta into little discs and then sauteed them in a bit of olive oil for about 5-7 minutes on each side, or when they start to turn golden brown.  Then I topped it with some Guaca-Salsa and accompanied it with marinated tofu.

Yule Love This French Log

It's time to introduce this month's Daring Bakers Challenge!

This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.

They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand. 

This multi-layered frozen dessert features six elements:  Dacquoise Biscuit (Almond Cake), Mousse, Ganache, Praline (Crisp), Creme Brulee, and Icing.  We were given a lot of leeway in terms of flavours this time, and I have to say that my favorite part ended up being the mousse.

I chose to make a maple mousse, which was actually quite simple.  I used one box of mori-nu silken tofu and 1/2 cup maple syrup.  Blend in food processor for 2 minutes.  That's it!  It's so light and full of flavour, I wanted to eat it all on its own without adding it to the yule log but instead I resorted to licking the spatula ;)  It was well worth the wait though, because it is absolutely delightful once it's frozen.  I think this summer I might toss this in the ice cream maker and see how it fares as "ice cream".

 Also, since I've pretty much had enough chocolate over the holidays to last until next year, I went with a vanilla ganache.  My vegan creme brulee was more like a blanc mange (vanilla pudding) but at least I kept with the french theme?!  With all of the vanilla and maple layers it's hard to distinguish one layer from the next other than the almond cake and chocolate praline, but they each have their own flavour that blend harmoniously with the other layers.  It takes a bit of time to put this together but it really is a nice dessert to serve if you have guests over.  

You can find the original (non-vegan) recipe posted at Florilege Gourmand.

Two uses for Vitasoy Holly Nog, and a munchin in a Christmas Tree....

I hope you are all enjoying the holidays.  I haven't had too much time to catch up on everyone else's blogs to see all of the goodies that are being serving up, but I hope to check them out over the next few days.

 

In the meanwhile, how about some Rum and Holly Nog? with a little sprinkle of cinnamon.  This will warm you inside and out!

For Christmas morning breakfast I whipped up some corn bread from La Dolce Vegan and subbed in Holly Nog because, whoops, I forgot to buy my usual almond milk when I went shopping the other day.  Even my friend's dad who is very skeptical of any soy/tofu/alternative food liked it!

Well, it's time for some late snacks and a movie with the girls (and some more rum & Holly Nog!) so I'll catch up with you later!  Merry Christmas :) I'll leave you with one last photo, of our little munchkin.

Holiday Yummies

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, whatever you prefer.  I wish all of you a joyous holiday season and may you be blessed all year with good friends, family and yummy FOOD!

I've had to miss a couple of days of work due to some bad weather.  In fact, my flight to be with my family for Christmas was cancelled, so I'm spending the holiday with friends and hoping that my rescheduled flight on Boxing Day doesn't get cancelled. 

On the bright side, being snowed in and stuck at home leaves lots of time to bake some old favorites for our guests. 

I made a batch of Almost Sugar-Free Peanut Butter Cookies subbing in almond butter...

And I made some of Dreena's Chocolate Mint Melties.  These are soooo good.  If you've never made them, you must find any excuse to do so.

And I also made a carrot cake.  I had an abundance of carrots from my weekly produce bin (Green Earth Organics) so carrot cake was the perfect way to use some of them.  I used a recipe from Martha Stewart's website and made a few substitutions.  You can refer to the original recipe here, but I'll list it with my substitutions below:

  

1/4 cup olive oil

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp ground ginger

1/4 teaspoon salt

4 tbsp ground flax + 6 tbsp water

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/3 cup packed light-brown sugar

1/3 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 cup finely shredded packed (about 2 medium) carrots 

Quick Glaze, or confectioners' sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly oil an 8 inch round baking pan and set aside. In a medium bowl, whisk flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt; set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk flax/water, sugars, almond milk, and oil until smooth. Gently mix wet mixture into dry ingredients until moistened; mix in carrots. Transfer batter to prepared pan.

Bake until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean, 40 to 45 minutes (if browning too quickly, tent cake with aluminum foil). Cool in pan, 15 minutes. Turn out of pan, remove paper, and cool completely on a rack, right side up. Apply glaze, or dust with confectioners’ sugar. 

 Right now I've got a batch of Lavash baking, and I'll be making some lemon-dill hummus to go with it.