Chocolate Chip Espresso Cookies

I'm totally on a chocolate and espresso kick. There's some magic shit involved with the combo. Plus, I have a whole jar of espresso powder...what the hell else am I supposed to do with it except bake?

These cookies sort of taste like some killer brownies...but in cookie form. So brownies, but better. I'm thinking you could probably sprinkle some finishing salt on the tops when they finish baking or add some toasted nuts to the batter. I'm pretty sure that no matter what you do, it wouldn't be wrong. These cookies are magic. Think: unicorns majestically soaring over a rainbow.

Where have I been? I had fallen off the food sharing wagon for a while when I got completely burned out. I was always worried about creating recipes and documenting it all for this little food blog, and it felt more like work than fun. So I abandoned my site. I wanted to just enjoy food again, so I had to get back to my roots of cooking for fun and from the heart. I definitely learned a lot about my cooking and myself and I'm ready to share my food with you all again.

Okay, enough sappiness. Let's get to the cookies.

Makes 1 dozen

What you need:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup cocoa powder
• 1 slightly heaped TB of espresso powder.
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 3/4 cup brown (or dark brown) sugar
• 1/2 cup vegan butter, softened
• 1 flax egg (or preferred egg subsitute)
• 3/4 tsp vanilla
• 3/4 cup (or more) chocolate chips

What you do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a baking sheet with either parchment or a silicone baking mat.
2. In a large mixing bowl, sift together flour, cocoa, espresso powder, salt, and baking soda. 
3. Add the sugar, butter, egg, and vanilla. Beat until just combined. Then toss in the chocolate chips and beat for 3-5 seconds. Just until they are integrated.
4. I used a cookie dough scoop and schlepped my dough onto the sheet about 1.5 inches apart. If you want thin cookies, press the dough down on the sheet. Otherwise, leave them how they are.
5. Bake 15 minutes, until the edges are firm and the middle is still soft. I left them on the baking sheet for about 8 minutes and then put them on a cooling rack to finish. Fill up a big glass of cold almond milk and dig the fuck in. 

Chickpea Curry & Coconut Rice

I really burned myself out on curries for a while but I'm back, baby! I didn't know what sounded good, so I just kept adding shit until it tasted exactly how I wanted. It's a mishmash of all my favorite things, and damn was it tasty as hell!

I read somewhere recently about cooking rice in coconut milk for some good flavor. I love coconut milk and I love rice, so there was no way I couldn't fall passionately in obsession with it. I highly recommend making the coconut rice to go with the curry. Recipe: 1 cup uncooked rice to 1 can of lite coconut milk. You won't regret it.

Makes 4 large portions.

What you need:

• 1 can full fat coconut milk
• 1 can chickpeas, drained
• 2 cups cauliflower florets (I steamed mine to cut cooking time down)
• 1 cup diced onion
• 2 carrots, shredded
• 1 slightly heaped cup roasted cashews, but raw is great too
• 4 large button mushrooms cut into wedges
• 1 very large handful baby spinach, shredded or chopped
• 1-2 TB grapeseed oil
• curry powder, a few TB
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4-1/2 tsp smoked paprika
• salt to taste

 

What you do:

1. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Once it's shimmering, add chickpeas, cauliflower, cashews, onion, carrot, and mushroom. Stir well and cook about 5 minutes. 
2. When the veggies are softened, add the spices and 3/4 of the coconut milk. Let simmer until it thickens somewhat, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Feel free to add more coconut milk or spices. It's your dinner, not mine. When you're pretty much satisfied, turn off the heat and stir in the spinach to wilt. It'll only take about 2 minutes.
3. Serve up over some badass coconut rice.

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes

Chocolate Espresso Cupcakes!? How could anyone NOT want to devour them all?

Do I really need to type up some snarky shit about how cupcakes are so 5 years ago and how the trend is to make deconstructed hipster desserts? Nah. Fuck that. Everyone loves cupcakes and always will. Deal with it.

I normally make my own frosting, but I was in a crunch and snagged some "accidentally vegan" frosting from the market. You can be a fancy pants and make your own...I won't judge. I'm a busy chickpea and just didn't have time. That's life.

On with the show.

This recipe makes 1 dozen cupcakes.

What you need:

• 1 cup nondairy milk
• 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1/8-1/4 tsp almond extract (optional)
• 1/4 cup grapeseed oil (you can probably use canola, but I don't love the taste of it)
• 2 TB espresso powder (more if you're a sassy one)
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/3ish cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar of your choice
• 1 & 1/4 cups flour
• chocolate frosting of your choice.

 What you do:

1.  Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line your cupcake pan with paper liners. I buy the IF YOU CARE brand baking cups that are unbleached and all that jazz.They just seem to work the best for me and never, ever stick to my cuppies.
2. Mix your frosting with about 1 TB of the espresso powder...add more until it tastes how you want it to. Set aside. You could do this last or whenever. Your choice. Lucky you.
3. In a bowl or a large measuring cup, whisk together the other TB espresso powder with the milk, oil, and extract(s). Set aside.
4. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together salt, baking power, baking soda, cocoa, and flour.
5. Whisk your liquid into the dry mix until just combined. If you mix too much, that shit gets tough as it bakes. No one wants your shitty, tough cuppies.
6. Scoop your batter into the baking cups until theyre about 2/3-3/4 of the way full. 
7. Put on the middle rack of your oven and bake about 23 minutes. Yours might be longer or less, just keep a close eye. Mine was exactly 23 minutes. How do you know they're done? Insert a dry toothpick into the center of a few of the cupcakes. If they come out cleanly, those dudes are done. 
8. Let your cuppies cool completely and then slather some killer chocolate espresso frosting on top. Dig in, dudes!

I Made It! Week 1 of Vegan MOFO (#6)

In celebration of making it through my first week of Vegan MOFO 2010, I decided I'd skip posting a new recipe and go out to breakfast with my momma instead.  We love the Flint Farmer's Market so so so much, and they have a fabulous  little family-owned diner upstairs called Steady Eddy's.  Well, Steady Eddy's is one of the very few restaurants in this area that offers not only vegetarian, but vegan dishes, although they are not strictly a vegetarian diner.  And hallelujah for a not having to explain what veganism is!  They're only open when the Farmer's Market is open, and the wait is sometimes kind of long, but I swear to you, it is absolutely worth the wait.  In the summer, they have their patio open, so you can eat outside and look down on the Market shoppers.  It's lovely, especially when all of the vendors are selling flowers during the summer months.

Anywhooo... I decided to order the tofu scramble, which is seasoned tofu mixed with brown rice with a side of toast and a bit of fresh fruit (orange, pear, banana, pineapple, and some grapes).  It was divine.  No joke.  I already posted the before shot above, and here's the after:

So, tomorrow I'll maybe try a new cookie recipe or some such sweet treat since I've only blogged about relatively healthy vegan dishes.  It's time to indulge in a bit of vegan dessert.  Any ideas what I should try?

Rigatoni with Squash and Zucchini

I have had several friends asking for this recipe lately, so I thought I'd post it here for everyone.  I made it last week and it was melt-in-your-mouth goodness.  I got the original recipe from Gordon Ramsay's cookbook called Healthy Appetite, and adapted it to my tastes, as I love garlic and onion in pretty much any dish I make.  It is an extremely easy and fast recipe to make.  I thought for sure that my husband wouldn't really like it, but here it is over a week later and he still mentions it and asks when I'm going to make it again.  To make it a more filling meal, I steamed some veg (carrot, peapods, broccoli) and made some fresh garlic toast with some bakery-made Italian bread.  I hope you like it as much as we do.

Here's My Recipe:
Click Here to Print This Recipe
Ingredients:

• 8 oz. Rigatoni
• 2-3 Small zucchini
• 2-3 Small summer squash
• 3 medium cloves of garlic, minced
• 3 TB olive oil 
• Small handful of basil leaves, chopped or torn
• 1/4-1/2 cup onion sliced or diced
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Optional: Freshly grated parmesan to taste (close to a 1/2 cup)

 Method:

1. Halve the zucchini and squash lengthwise, then cut into half-moon slices
   
2. Boil rigatoni in salted water to al dente, or your preferred softness.
3. Meanwhile, heat a large skillet on med-high and add the oil. 
4. Add the garlic and cook less than 1 minute.
5. Add the onion, zucchini and squash to the oil. Stir to occasionally to keep them cooking evenly, about 4-5 minutes, or until the zucchini and squash are tender.
6. Toss the veg, drained pasta, and basil leaves together in the skillet.
   
7. Add the salt, pepper, and parmesan until it tastes good to you.  

It's a simple dish that fills you up very inexpensively.  And, it truly isn't bad for you.  I'm thinking that next time I make it, I'm going to add in some fresh peas and broccoli for added nutrients.  If you like pine nuts, you may want to toast them in a dry pan and add them in at the end.  The possibilities with this dish are virtually endless.

Try it out and let me know it it turns out!