vegan fruit medley quick bread

some vegan quick bread

recipe inspiration here.

i made my own muesli in the cuisinart from oats, wheat bran, walnuts, almonds, flax seeds, chia seeds, figs and cranberry. almond meal from making almond milk would be a good addition. just look in your own pantry. 

mixed it with whole wheat flour, sea salt, a touch of baking powder. 

added almond milk and some olive oil. 

baked it and ate it. 

easy and yum. 

vegan raw chocolate coconut almond truffles

melted some pure chocolate (the less processed and raw the better) in a cup in some hot water. 

added shredded dried coconut, almond meal from making almond milk, and honey. then some vanilla extract. then i mixed it all together. i ate a lot of it by this point. 

making vegan raw chocolate coconut almond truffles 

here’s the mix. then i rolled it into balls. then i popped it in the fridge. 

easy. 

you can add whatever your heart desires and you see in your pantry. 

ripe banannas and dried fruit is great. if you put it in the blender or food processor you might get a creamier consisitency depending on how much of what you add and you could make a mouse instead of truffles. 

the possibilities are endless. 

enjoy. 

vegan lavenderdoodle tea cookies

these cookies are delicious. simple lemon sugar cookie, rolled in lavender sugar like a snickerdoodle. they come out so light and fluffy. original recipe here. my version is slightly different, since i don’t use white sugar. i like to reference that recipe for measurements, but i don’t measure out anything. i just go with what feels right. 

ingredients

flour

baking soda

salt

juice and zest of 1 meyer lemon (they’re more sweet)

honey

vanilla

jelled flax seeds

coconut oil/butter

lemon zest, juice, jelled flax seeds, earth balance coconut butter, honey, vanilla

honey, jelled flax, lemon zest, lemon juice, coconut butter, and vanilla. whipped up as much as possible. the jelled flax works as an egg replacer. 

added the flour, salt, baking soda

added the wet mixture to flour, salt, and baking soda. added enough to easily form balls, but not too much so the cookies are fluffy. form the dough into balls and stick em in the fridge.

brown sugar, lavender, and mortar and pestle

brown sugar, mortar and pestle, and lavender for making the lavender sugar. i don’t use white sugar, so i used brown stuff. wish i had pure crystalized sugar cane. 

grinding the lavender sugar

lavender and brown sugar 

rolling the lavender sugar

rolling the cookie dough in lavender sugar

lavenderdoodles

baked in 375 degrees for about ten minutes. and then eaten directly off the tray. 

so so so yummy and fluffy. love the lemon/lavender flavors. 

it’s summer. fuck yes. I love all the seasons when I’m in them, but I must say the FOOD in summer just makes me happy. especially stone fruit. and…STRAWBERRIES. 

so. go to the farmer’s market and get 2 lb (about 2 baskets) of some real, sweet-smelling, non-methyl iodide, local, organic strawberries. talk to the farmer. and bring back your baskets, for pete’s sake. you will also need:

juice of half a lemon

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 cup brown rice syrup

pinch of sea salt

2 cups raw almonds

1 3/4 cups pitted dates

now, slice your strawberries. either really thin or small chunks. mix with syrup, lemon, vanilla and salt. 

pulse almonds in food processor/blender till they look like bread crumbs. dump em on your pie pan. 

pulse dates with a splash of water till well chopped. clumpy is normal. 

combine with almonds until everything is evenly spread out. press down evenly and form a crust. pour berries on top, discarding any extra liquid. 

refrigerate 2 hours. then DIG IN.

I am grateful for fresh strawberry sorbet. If this was on the menu at gratitude cafe, it would be called “I am harmonious” because the lemon and natural sugar compliment each other so beautifully.  here’s what you do:  freeze screaming red, about-to-be-too-ripe, non-methyl iodide, farmer’s market strawberies. I didn’t take the tops off and found that you can scrape just the leaves off like a breeze once frozen and you don’t lose any strawberry top.   place in food processor.  squeeze the juice of half a room-temp lemon on top.  pulse.  add a little water to blend smoothly. if your strawberries are not sweet enough for you pleasure, add some honey, rice syrup, agave nectar, or the like.  place in sealed container in freezer. wait. scoop and enjoy! recipe from @ediblesf’s instagram. 
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I am grateful for fresh strawberry sorbet.

If this was on the menu at gratitude cafe, it would be called “I am harmonious” because the lemon and natural sugar compliment each other so beautifully. 

here’s what you do: 

freeze screaming red, about-to-be-too-ripe, non-methyl iodide, farmer’s market strawberies. I didn’t take the tops off and found that you can scrape just the leaves off like a breeze once frozen and you don’t lose any strawberry top.  

place in food processor. 

squeeze the juice of half a room-temp lemon on top. 

pulse. 

add a little water to blend smoothly.

if your strawberries are not sweet enough for you pleasure, add some honey, rice syrup, agave nectar, or the like. 

place in sealed container in freezer. wait.

scoop and enjoy!

recipe from @ediblesf’s instagram. 

GRANOLA BARS, YUM from the Green Market Baking Book 1/4 cup ground flax (i used flax seeds and some flour, but my bars are crumbly. use ground flax if you have it) 1/4 cup water 2 cups rolled oats 1/4 cup whole grain spelt flour (this is a flour with less gluten and more absorbency. if you don’t have it, you could use normal flour and take out some liquid in the recipe) 1 3/4 cups total of chopped dried apples, cranberries, cherries, chocolate chips, coconut, etc 1/4 chopped almonds, walnuts, etc pinch of sea salt 1/4 cup EVOO 3/4 cup brown rice syrup (I used maple syrup—DELISH) 1. preheat oven to 350 degrees 2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ground flax and water to form a paste. set aside. 3. in a separate bowl, thoroughly mix together the dry ingredients. 4. In a third bowl (or just a measuring cup) mix together the olive oil and brown rice (maple) syrup. add the flax paste. 5. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and incorporate well. 6. Pour the batter into and 11x7 1/2 inch baking pan, pressing the mixture down firmly. bake for abut 25 minutes, or until edges are golden. 7. Let rest about 10 minutes until slightly cool, then cut.  enjoy—you are now free from processed cardboard crap bars from the store. 
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GRANOLA BARS,

YUM

from the Green Market Baking Book

1/4 cup ground flax (i used flax seeds and some flour, but my bars are crumbly. use ground flax if you have it)

1/4 cup water

2 cups rolled oats

1/4 cup whole grain spelt flour (this is a flour with less gluten and more absorbency. if you don’t have it, you could use normal flour and take out some liquid in the recipe)

1 3/4 cups total of chopped dried apples, cranberries, cherries, chocolate chips, coconut, etc

1/4 chopped almonds, walnuts, etc

pinch of sea salt

1/4 cup EVOO

3/4 cup brown rice syrup (I used maple syrup—DELISH)

1. preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. In a small mixing bowl, combine the ground flax and water to form a paste. set aside.

3. in a separate bowl, thoroughly mix together the dry ingredients.

4. In a third bowl (or just a measuring cup) mix together the olive oil and brown rice (maple) syrup. add the flax paste.

5. Add the wet mixture to the dry ingredients and incorporate well.

6. Pour the batter into and 11x7 1/2 inch baking pan, pressing the mixture down firmly. bake for abut 25 minutes, or until edges are golden.

7. Let rest about 10 minutes until slightly cool, then cut. 

enjoy—you are now free from processed cardboard crap bars from the store. 

It’s been a while since I’ve posted a recipe. been cooking up a storm lately, so I’ll share with you.  

From my Green Market Baking Book comes CHOCOLATE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES. except I changed the recipe a lot and now they are CHOCOLATE ALMOND BUTTER COOKIES. nom.

1/3 cup earth balance butter substitute (I used olive oil- when substituting oil for butter, use about 25% less)

1/2 cup brown rice syrup (I used maple syrup for a delicious sweetness) (you can use any natural sweetener like agave, barley malt syrup, honey etc, or dry sugar, but you have to add some liquid (oil) back into the recipe)

1/3 cup unsweetened crunchy peanut butter (I used raw almond butter from rainbow bulk…I’ve noticed my baked goods come out much fluffier with this stuff, I think because it’s silky smooth, aka more oily)

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract (I use vanilla bean)

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 cup quick rolled oats (I added an extra handfull to stretch the recipe, and added a little more oil)

pinch of sea salt

pinch of ground cinnamon (optional) (but tasty!)

1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk, or as needed (I used rice milk)

1 cup non-dairy, grain sweetened chocolate chips (ADD SLOWLY, YOU DO NOT NEED THIS MUCH. It was nearly impossible to form the cookies because it was like 1/2 chocolate chips)

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. grease two baking sheets.

2. combine butter/oil, syrup, peanut/almond butter in bowl, or small sauce pan if you are using the butter in order to melt it (if using butter, stir for 3 minutes until smooth, then cool). stir until silky smooth. add vanilla.

3. mix flour, oats, salt, and cinnamon. mix the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients to form a spoonable batter.  if it is too think or too dry, add some unsweetened almond milk (I needed to). fold in the chocolate chips (a little at a time) until they are incorporated. 

4. with wet hands, roll tablespoons of the dough into balls and place them on the baking sheets. press a fork into each cookie crosswise to create a crosshatch pattern.

5. bake for 12-15 minutes, then allow to cool (or not) before eating or dunking in rice milk! 


This morning I saw some Irish Soda Bread my friend made on facebook.  I instantly got off the sofa and made it. Took no time at all. And I substituted some stuff so it’s all natural sugar. 

Vegan Irish soda bread

2-1/2 cups all-purpose flour (I substituted a 1/2 cup spelt flour to absorb some of the added moisture from the natural sugar)
1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons white sugar (I used honey)
1/2 cup vegan butter, cut into pieces (I used olive oil)
1 cup raisins (I used a combo of raisins, chopped dried apricots, and cranberries)
1/2 cup currants (I was out)
2 teaspoons caraway seed, optional (I used cumin and cardamom)
3/4 cup vegan milk
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. and grease two baking sheets (or one large one) (or you may use silicone baking sheets in place of greasing).

Stir or whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and sugar in a large bowl until evenly blended.

Cut in the butter using a pastry blender or your hands until the mixture resembles coarse cornmeal. (I did not do this). 

Stir in the raisins, currants (if using), and caraway seeds (also if using).

Make a well in the center of your mixture and pour in the milk and vinegar. Stir with a spoon until the dry ingredients are moistened. (I just kept adding everything to the same bowl. I hate dishes).

Turn the dough out onto a well floured work surface, and knead gently 8 to 10 times.

Divide the dough into two balls, and place onto the prepared baking sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 15 minutes, then reduce the oven’s heat to 375 degrees F., and bake until the top of the bread is golden brown, about 15 minutes more. You will bake your soda bread for a total of about 30 minutes, however you may need an extra 5-10 minutes (I should have baked mine for another five minutes at least as it was still a little doughy in the center). Allow the bread to cool before cutting or storing.

With my changes, it came out super moist. Not like normal dry, flavorless soda bread. Didn’t need any butter or jam.  I did have to cook it for longer than the recipe states. 

Happy St. Pattys! 

Vegan Fruit Crisp!

I craved crisp for quite some time. And I had a bag of frozen rhubarb from Stahlbush Island Farms, which is this awesome sustainable farm in Oregon that distributes to Rainbow Grocery Coop in San Francisco.  Plus, I had a bunch of apples and pears from the Heart of the City Civic Center farmer’s market.  So, it was time.

I found a fantastic recipe for “Fabulous Fruit Crisp” in my Green Market Baking Book (which is the best).  It calls for some things I don’t have, such as fruit juice and kuzu or arrowroot (does anyone know what this is?), so I just omitted them and drizzled honey over the fruit before I added the crisp topping. Much easier. 

The recipe also mentions many different fruits the author remembers eating in the crisp, depending on what was in season, including blackberries, blueberries, raspberries, peaches and apples.  Both varieties of pears I tried (Bosc and Bartlett) turned into a melty heaven.  I bet dried fruit would be great too. And pomegranate seeds. Oh, the possibilities…

Here is the recipe, modified from the Green Market Baking Book. 

Topping

2 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup spelt flour (wheat variety, very absorbant for the natural sweeteners)

1/2 cup cornmeal

1 cup walnuts, chopped

1/2 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 cup safflower oil (I used olive oil)

1/2 cup brown rice syrup or maple syrup (tried both, I like brown rice taste, but the maple was crunchier. Gonna do half and half next time)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract (vanilla bean)

Filling

4-6 apples, pears, whateveryouwant

1 pint (or more, or less) raspberries, blueberries, rhubarb, pomegranate

honey for drizzling 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2. To make the topping, in a skillet over medium heat, stir together the oats, flour, and cornmeal.  Dry-roast the mixture for 5 minutes. (I did this the first time. Burnt the flour a little. Tasted really crispy, a little too much for my liking. I omitted the dry-roasting the second time. Turned out great).

3. Place roasted ingredients in a mixing bowl (or directly in a mixing bowl). Add the nuts and salt. Add the oil, syrup, and vanilla. Mix well. 

4. (If you are using frozen berries/rhubarb, start defrosting now). To make the filling, slice your fruit. Make thin slices. I have a particular way of doing this (when I don’t have a food processor with a slice blade available). Cut apple in half, along the core. Cut in half again, flat side down, still along the core. Then, with the flat side down still, cut at a 45 degree angle to get the core out.  Now you have a small, flat surface to face down while you slice your fruit. Seriously. This is the quickest and easiest way to slice fruit.  

5.  Get your baking dish. Put your sliced fruit on the bottom.  Add the berries/rhubarb/whatever.  Then, drizzle honey over the top (the recipe calls for heating 1-2 cups fruit juice with 1 heaping TBS of kuzu or arrowroot, diluted in 2 TBS cold water, in a sauce pan until syrupy, then adding 1 TBS brown rice syrup or maple syrup. This is too much work for me. Drizzling honey is my substitute).

6. Top with topping. Bake for about 30 minutes. EAT WHILE PIPING HOT IT TASTES SO GOOD! Don’t forget to invite your friends over :)  

It’s time for tacos! and i’m not talking about grease ball tacos that stain your pants with drippings. I’m talking about local, organic and fresh tacos, with homemade tortillas. 

for the tortillas, you need a press and corn flour. you can buy tortilla presses for around $15, but I just use two books covered in saran wrap and it works like a charm. for corn flour, you can find this lots of places. I found mine at a chinese market. you should try to find organic corn flour, or if not find one that says non GMO in the ingredients. Idk where you get this, but it must exist. once you procure corn flour, follow the directions on the back for mixing. my recipe to make 16 (12, really) calls for 2 cups flour and 1 1/4 cups water. and some salt. but it doesn’t need that. mix it all up and make little dough balls. then, press the balls one at a time on your press and transfer to a hot ungreased skillet. flip after about a minute and let it fry for another minute. transfer to a tortilla warmer or a plate with a napkin over it. 

For my taco filling, I used carrots, cilantro, green onion and hot peppers from the Civic Center Farmer’s market. This cost me about 3 dollars, and I’m being generous. I also used a bunch of rainbow chard from Haight Street Market which cost 2 dollars. And I used half a jar of Jalfrezi sauce to sauté the veggies in from Seeds of Change which amounts to about 2 bucks. So seven dollars to feed two or three people with healthy food! Not bad. 

You can use whatever greens or veggies you have, some onion, bell pepper, collard greens, kale, beets, leeks or beans maybe. And make up a sauce, buy one, or just eat em sautéed in olive oil and garlic. super simple and quick.

fill tortillas with veggies and enjoy! kombucha washes it down nicely. 

Pizza making is hella addictive. It’s simple, easy, creative, and tasty as hell. It takes me under two hours from start to finished eating to make a pizza. And there is lots of waiting time, so you get to prep for the next step, clean your kitchen and take a smoke break. win win win. and you get pizza. 4 way win. 

To get started, take a packet of yeast (about 2.5 TBS) (I use rapid rise, you could probably use the active kind and just wait longer) and dump it into a cup of warm/tepid water. Let sit ten minutes. 

Then mix 2 cups flour, 1 tsp salt, 2 tsp sugar, and 2 TBS olive oil. I always add more flour after I mix the water in because the dough is too sticky for me to work with. Then cover it and let sit for 30 minutes, at least. The longer you let it sit the more it develops so it’s easier to stretch out to a nice even thinness, and the more likely it will bubble! I usually just wait 30 minutes because I’m impatient, though. Then turn on the oven! HOT! like 400 or more. I’m really not sure. And make sure one rack is on the very bottom. 

While the dough is doing it’s thing, you get to make up the toppings! Typically, you need a sauce, the “meat” and then cheese. For a sauce, don’t use canned tomato from metal cans. Tomatoes are acidic and when they sit in metal they erode at it and you end up eating it. look it up. If it’s summer, you can make a fresh tomato sauce. If you didn’t think ahead and can your own tomatoes last summer (like me), you can buy marinara sauce in a jar, or, if you are cheap and don’t like to use packaging whenever possible (like me), you can make a white onion sauce. Just sauté onions until they caramelize, and you can add cream, milk, butter, parm, or nothing. I’ve recently started to be more vegan, so I just caramelize the onions in evoo. This is a great place to add your herbs too. Whatever herbs you like—oregano, rosemary, sage, thyme, marjoram, dill—whatever! Pesto sauce—even pesto you made from chickweed or nasturtium you foraged in the park—is delish as a sauce too. 

Then prep your “meat.” Kale, spinach, collards, mushrooms, sweet potato fries, yam fries, garlic, more onions, pear, pineapple, olives, pumpkin, broccoli, peas, leeks, fennel..put it in the pizza!!  Just make sure it’s local and seasonal! Or you didn’t have to pay for it yourself. That’s my rule. I don’t really care what I’m eating if I didn’t pay for it (or, at least I care wayyy less). 

Then grate your cheese. I started using this vegan cheese and it actually tastes amazing on pizza, in my opinion. And it’s GMO and soy free. The mozzarella has a really nutty flavor. And it comes shredded. win win win. If you’re using real cheese, I found out that raw cheddar and smoked mozzarella is blissful together. experiment! talk to your cheese counter person!

And now I bet you have time to clean your kitchen and relax while the dough rises. When it’s done, plop it on to a really really well floured surface. You should watch a video on rolling out pizza dough if you’re having trouble. I’m still not that great at it. When your pizza is decently shaped, make sure you put cornmeal on your pan/pizza stone! seriously. do not forget. you will be scraping your pizza out of the pan. not fun.  Then you slather your sauce. Then add the meat, then cheese. Make sure if you’re using greens you get cheese on top of them (especially especially kale) so they don’t burn. They still will a little, but it will be more like kale chips if you do it right.

okay. OVEN TIME!! Place your masterpiece on the bottom rack. this is very important to form a nice crust. Now, wait! I’ve never timed it, but it doesn’t take that long. Your nose will tell you when it starts to get close. Then I keep tapping the crust until I think it’s crunchy enough. 

YAY CONGRATS YOU MADE A PIZZA! Best paired with beer and friends. 

The best stuffing you’ll ever stuff down your gullet.  Every year, along with the cranberry, my mom and I make this Cornbread sausage dried fruit stuffing from the same November 1997 Sunset magazine.  We use some tasty Aidells sausage like artichoke and garlic.  This year we used chopped dried mango-delish.  And one time I added fennel root-genius! This is seriously, undoubtedly, the thing that you will run out of first on your after-holiday microwave leftover dish unless you prepare accordingly.  
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The best stuffing you’ll ever stuff down your gullet. 

Every year, along with the cranberry, my mom and I make this Cornbread sausage dried fruit stuffing from the same November 1997 Sunset magazine.  We use some tasty Aidells sausage like artichoke and garlic.  This year we used chopped dried mango-delish.  And one time I added fennel root-genius! This is seriously, undoubtedly, the thing that you will run out of first on your after-holiday microwave leftover dish unless you prepare accordingly.  

Cranberry sauce is a big freaking deal.  I cried one year when there was no cranberry at Thanksgiving until someone found a jar in the pantry.  Over the years, my taste has developed from devouring a can of jellied cranberry, to eating whole canned, to I’ll-only-eat-it-if-it’s-homemade. I love this brandied cranberry sauce from Sunset 1997, which my mom saved all these years. You bake it in the oven with brandy.  I used satsumas and added the whole slices of about two.  I made a non-alch version on the stovetop (pictured) from a random recipie I googled that called for 2 bags cranberries (16 oz I believe), 2 cups sugar, and 2 cups water.  You boil it, add the satsuma peel and satusma, then let it cook for 10-20 mins. You can add whatever you want—walnuts, ginger, etc, but I just stick with classic brandy and orange.  Make sure all your Turkey or veggies are covered in cranberry.  Don’t leave a chance for crying children at Christmas dinner!
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Cranberry sauce is a big freaking deal.  I cried one year when there was no cranberry at Thanksgiving until someone found a jar in the pantry.  Over the years, my taste has developed from devouring a can of jellied cranberry, to eating whole canned, to I’ll-only-eat-it-if-it’s-homemade. I love this brandied cranberry sauce from Sunset 1997, which my mom saved all these years. You bake it in the oven with brandy.  I used satsumas and added the whole slices of about two.

 I made a non-alch version on the stovetop (pictured) from a random recipie I googled that called for 2 bags cranberries (16 oz I believe), 2 cups sugar, and 2 cups water.  You boil it, add the satsuma peel and satusma, then let it cook for 10-20 mins. You can add whatever you want—walnuts, ginger, etc, but I just stick with classic brandy and orange. 

Make sure all your Turkey or veggies are covered in cranberry.  Don’t leave a chance for crying children at Christmas dinner!