The 3 C Curry - Vegan MoFo #17

It's nearly impossible to get a good photo of curry. This will have to suffice.

What is a 3 C curry you ask? Cauliflower, Coconut & Chickpea curry. And, it's one of the best curries I've ever had. Serve it over some rice and you've got an awesomely heatlhy and tasty dinner.

This morning, at my farmer's market, I got a MASSIVE head of cauliflower for $2.00! I had to have it. Then, after my impulse purchase, I had to figure out what to do with it. Some people buy handbags or candy on impulse, I buy veggies. Don't judge me! Well, I hadn't made curry in quite a while, so I decided that that's what I needed. I got the basis for this here, but I definitely changed it up quite a bit. I served mine over brown rice, and it made enough for 4 meals, no problem.  Enough chatter, on to the recipe!

What you need:

• 1/2 head large cauliflower cut into florets
• 1 cup diced carrot
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 1 can rotel or other diced tomatoes with chilis (I drained mine a bit)
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 small red onion diced (or half a large one)
• 1 1/2 TB curry powder- Mine's exceptionally strong muchi curry powder, so you may need more.
• 1 tsp coriander powder
• salt and pepper
• 3-4 TB unsweetened coconut flakes
• 2 dashes ginger
• 2 small jalapenos, seeded and minced (completely optional)
• 1 1/2 TB coconut oil

What you do:

1. Heat coconut oil in a large skillet (with a lid) over medium heat. Once hot, add the onions and carrots and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions are somewhat translucent. Then add the curry powder and stir. 
2. Now add the cauliflower, chickpeas, coconut flakes, jalapeno, rotel, and almond milk and stir well. Bring to a boil, then turn heat to medium-low and cover with lid. This will help the cauliflower and the carrots steam and soften. Just stir it once or twice to make sure it isn't all sticking to the bottom of the pan. I think I cooked mine like this about 15 minutes, until the cauli and carrots were softened to my liking.
3. Then remove the lid and let the liquid cook down some. Maybe 5 minutes or so. Then, you're done. Easy. This is why I love curries. The hardest part is waiting for it to get done.

A year ago today, I shared my version of Chickpea Tu-Not Sandwiches! Mmmm. You should try them :)

Crazy Cowboy Cookies - Vegan MoFo #4

I am a fucking vegan Martha Stewart. I think I made her cookies better than she ever could. You should know my ego is ridiculously large when it comes to my baked goods. And with good reason, there are never, ever leftovers when I take them to non-vegan functions. Folks chow my goodies and beg for more. This is not an exaggeration. And, while I shouldn't take all the credit for this recipe, I am anyway. Martha is fantastically rich, she'll live. Or, maybe, she'll send her goon squad after me. Whatever. I'll die with a tummy full of cookies.

The back story: I looked in my cupboards last night and found that I had coconut, chocolate chips and pecans, but I couldn't decide what to do with them, so I went to the trusted internetz and found Martha's Cowboy Cookies here. They sounded sinful and perfect, so this morning I set about veganizing her recipe. I shall warn you in advance, if you are counting calories, these are not the cookies for you. They use a lot of butter and sugar. And this is exactly what makes them wickedly perfect. They're nice and crispy around the edge and nice and soft/chewy in the center. Basically, they are the perfect cookie.

When I was first reading the recipe, I shuddered at the amount of butter called for. Then I got over it and made them anyway. I made a half batch that resulted in about 20 3-inch diameter cookies. My veganized version below is for the same sized batch.

What you need:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/4 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 8 TB vegan butter, softened but not melted
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB sugar
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB brown sugar
• 1 flax egg (1 TB ground flax plus 2 1/2 TB hot water mixed, then let set 3 minutes)
• 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
• 3/4 cup old-fashion oats (also called rolled oats)
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (I only use Ghirardelli semi-sweet chips. They're accidentally vegan.)
• 1/3 cup plus 1 TB chopped pecans. I forgot to toast them first, but they were lovely anyway.
• 1/4 cup sweetened shredded coconut

What you do with it:

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees F. Line 2 baking sheets with silicone mats or parchment (if using parchment, give it a quick spritz of cooking spray.
2. In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking powder and baking soda.
3. In a medium mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugars till it looks smooth and such. Then add in the vanilla and flax egg and beat until perfectly combined.
4. Using a hand mixer, blend in the flour in several batches. I used mine on the low setting. If you over-beat the dough, the cookie texture will suck. So, only beat until you see no dry spots.
5. All at once, pour in the coconut, oats, pecan and chocolate chips. Run your hand mixer around about 3-4 times. Then stop. Remember, no overmixing.
   
   
   
6. I used a 1 1/2-inch dough scooper to plop them onto the cookie sheets. Be sure to put the dough balls 2 inches apart because they will spread. You can thank the butter for that. No, really, thank the butter! It makes them delectable.
   
   
   
7. Put the cookies on the 2 racks of your oven. After 6 minutes, switch them around so the bottom goes on top, etc. It helps them cook evenly this way. Cook another 5 minutes, or until the edges are just golden. Remove from the oven and let sit on the pan for 5 minutes. Then transfer to a cooling rack.

Mwaaahaaahaaaaaaaaaa! I dare you not to start munching them while they're still steaming hot. Enjoy. They go perfectly with an ice-cold glass of almond milk.

Kickass Coconut Cupcakes

The time has come for me to blow your minds with my mad cupcake skillz. Be prepared to experience a mouthgasm. I guarantee you will come crawling back, begging for more like some damn junky. To be honest, I'm really only sharing my recipe because I'm tired of beating back the cuppie junkies with my broom everyday. Get off my lawn! *shaking my fist*

So, here's the deal: I don't put a ton of coconut in the cupcake itself otherwise you have trouble disconnecting the cuppie from the wrapper, which I find infinitely annoying. Maybe you don't. So, if that's your thing, feel free to add more coconut to your batter. In the meantime, I will be here mocking your inability to peel your paper cups from your cuppies. I just add more coconut to the frosting to make up for it. Take that.

I have one more hint for this recipe. The frosting can be as runny or as stiff (ha) as you want it to be. Just add more powdered sugar as needed to stiffen it up. I like it pretty stiff (that's what she said), so I just keep adding powdered sugar by the 1/4th cup as needed. If you didn't know, 1/4 cup is the same as 4 TB. See, you've not only gained access to my wonderful recipe, you've learned something useful. For once.

My recipe is for 12 cupcakes, so you will need to engage in mathematical equations if you're wanting less. I originally wrote it for just 6, but then I realized that most folks would find that odd, so I have done you a favor by doing the math and making it so you don't have to. See, I can be nice sometimes! Now back off and leave me to the recipe-sharing.

Cupcake Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup Earth Balance, room temp
• 1 cup sugar
• 2 egg replacements (as usual, I use Ener-G brand)
• 2 tsp plus a few extra drops vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 2./3 plus 1/4 cup milk of your choice (I used coconut milk this time, but usually use almond)
• 2/3 cup sweetened coconut shreds

Frosting Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance, room temp
• 2-3 cups powdered sugar
• 3 TB milk of your choice (again, I used coconut)
• 1/2 to 1 tsp vanilla extract depending on your tastes
• 1 1/2 cups sweetened coconut shreds
• Optional: you can also add a few TB of vegan cream cheese to the frosting, which I sometimes do, but not today. Make up your own mind. 

 Cupcake Method:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line your muffin pan with 12 paper liners. I use the kind from the health food store that have no dyes or wax or any of that. I'm elitist that way.
2. Cream together the Earth Balance and sugar. Don't worry. It will be a little grainy.
3. Whisk in your egg replacement and vanilla extract.
4. Whisk in flour, baking powder, salt and milk. This should be mostly smooth, maybe a few tiny lumps.
5. Gently fold in the coconut.
6. I use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to scoop the better out and fill the paper liners 2/3 full. If you fill beyond that point, do not blame me...I warned you.
7. Bake on middle rack 20-23 minutes. You want a bit of a golden hue around the edges. But, to be sure, do the toothpick test. 
8. Remove from the pan and let cool on a rack at least 30-45 minutes before frosting. 

Frosting Method:

1. Whip your Earth Balance (and cream cheese if you chose to add that) until nice and fluffy.
2. Mix in the vanilla and milk until just combined.
3. Slowly blend in the powdered sugar about 1/2 cup at a time so it doesn't make a giant poof of sugar all over you. I've done it. You look stupid and feel like an idiot. Anyway, I add about 2 cups total here. 
4. Mix in the coconut. After that, I almost always add more powdered sugar because I like a good stiff frosting (similar to how I like my cocktails).
5. Refrigerate frosting while the cookies are cooling. I do recommend waiting until your cupcakes are cool to the touch before frosting otherwise your frosting melts and it makes a terrible mess and people will mock your cuppies.  You can always put the cuppies in the fridge to cool if you're in a time crunch. 

So, you're welcome. Or whatever.

Coconut Bacon BLT!

WHOA! My most favorite meaty dish ever was the BLT (Bacon, Lettuce, Tomato), which I have not had in a billion eons.  So, recently, I tried tempeh bacon in Boston (which was quite lovely), but, I decided today to try a recipe I've seen bandied about a lot recently on the internet: Coconut Bacon.  Who would've ever thought that coconut could be a suitable bacon substitute?  I sure as hell hadn't thought it.  But, my friend on Twitter, @VeganGoodThings wrote this killer recipe for coconut bacon.  So, being the BLT lover that I am, I tried it out.  And I love it.  I like the crispiness and the slight maple flavor. 

I made 3 small changes to the original recipe:

• slightly less maple syrup
• instead of tamari, I used Braggs Liquid Aminos because that's what I had handy
• I sprinkled mine with a bit of salt before baking

It was shockingly good and made my house smell super yummy for hours afterward.  So, it is official, I'm a coconut bacon convert.  Though my favorite is still the tempeh bacon, the coconut bacon is simple and tastes lovely.  I think it would be good sprinkled in other dishes, like pastas or salads, or maybe even in some couscous dish.  Whatever you do with it, enjoy it.