Sweet Cardamom Bread

Cody & I went grocery shopping a few weeks ago. If you know anything about me, you'll know this is one of my favorite things. I make my list, organized by store (because we go to three different stores), grab my adorable reusable bags, and venture out to buy ingredients for tasty treats. I love shopping and I love cooking, so this works out really well for me. One of the items on my list was cardamom, a spice I needed to make Chai Tea Cupcakes. Cody was NOT impressed with the price; for a regular spice-sized bottle it's about $12. I needed it, though, so we got it.

The next day at work I was telling my amazing boss about his reaction to the price. She was telling me how she doesn't really like cardamom, nor does she really like chai tea. She did, however, tell me about this bread that the original owners of the restaurant used to make: Sweet Cardamom Bread. She loved it. (What's that you say? A challenge? Oh, how you know me.) Obviously I had to make this bread.

I searched around on the wonderful world-wide web and found a few recipes that I sort of combined and the end result was, well, beyond perfection.



Sweet Cardamom Bread
Prep time: 30 minutes
Cook time: 30 minutes

1 1/2 tbsp instant yeast
4 cups unbleached flour
1 tsp ground cardamom
1 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp full-fat, unsweetened soy milk
3/4 cup melted butter (Earth Balance)
3/4 cup plus 2 tbsp raw sugar
1 tsp salt


1. Mix flour, yeast, and cardamom in your mixing bowl.

2. Heat soy milk and stir in sugar until dissolved. Add the milk and sugar to the flour mixture. Add 1/2 cup melted butter, too. Mix on low until a nice sticky dough forms.

4. Change out the mixer blade and use a dough hook. Knead for a few minutes and then stop. Let the dough rest for about 20 minutes with a light cover over it. When the twenty minutes is up, begin kneading again and knead in the salt.

5. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured surface and divide it into three equal parts. Let them rise for about 30-45 minutes. Roll the dough balls into ropes and braid them on a greased baking pan. Tuck the ends of the braid under. (You're literally going to braid this like you braid your hair.)

7. Preheat oven 350° F. Brush the braided loaf with remaining soy milk and sprinkle it with remaining sugar. Bake until golden brown, about 30 minutes. Enjoy with a cup of coffee, toasted with butter, a glass of chai tea, or whatever your heart desires.

Now, I'm not one to toot my own horn (I do honk at other drivers, though. I'm a New Englander at heart.), but this bread is probably the best bread ever. Ok, maybe not ever, but it's the best I've ever made. It was gobbled up at work and my boss was even told she now has competition. I don't know about that since she runs one of the most successful restaurants in Albuquerque, but I'll take it as a complement and roll with it. Then braid. Then repeat.

Vegan Cookies Invade YOUR Cookie Jar!

I can't say enough about the people I work for. They're sweet, thoughtful, hard-working, and they've been doing this for a while! They feed us at the end of every shift, so I feel it necessary to feed them right back. (Sometimes I think it's just because I'm like the old lady in The Wedding Singer and I like watching people enjoy the first bite. And the second and third.) Friday night, I even brought cookies in for our super old yet super amazing customer, Buzz (aka Bird Man). I made vegan Samoas (yes, like the Girl Scout cookies!) and they were AH-MAZING.

Now, I would post the recipe for these cookies. I would love to share it with all of you. However, since it doesn't just step on Girl Scout toes (and they're children! I wouldn't dare!), I'm going to do something I've never done before.

A GIVEAWAY!!!

That's right, I'm going to giveaway a copy of Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.



One lucky reader will be announced next Friday, March 5! Here are the rules:

1. Leave a comment on this blog telling me what your favorite cookie is!
2. If I'm not on your blogroll, add me and leave a separate comment telling me that we're friends!
3. Tweet back to this link, telling me you did so in a separate comment.
4. If you have a blog, blog about this awesome giveaway and leave another separate comment telling me you've done so.
5. Have another way to link back to this blog? Facebook, MySpace, MyFace, BookSpace? Let me know you've done so! You guessed it...in a separate comment!!!

So you see, that's FIVE DIFFERENT COMMENTS. I know it sounds like a lot, but I'm going to use Random.org to pick the winner so leaving five comments gives you a better chance of winning! Trust me: you want to win this book!

What are ya waiting for?

5 questions, 5 answers!

My beautiful, talented, marathon-running, inspiring friend, Erin (you should hear me when I'm sucking up! ;)), tagged me in her latest blog entry! Since she inspires me to blog more often, run more, and eat better (I sill can't thank you enough for my signed book, love!), PLUS I love answering questions, I'm going to roll with it! :)

Question 1: Where were you five years ago?

1. In the Marine Corps.
2. Dating my wonderful husband, learning what it meant to really be in love.
3. Working at Greenfield's Restaurant, my all-time favorite!
4. Babysitting my amazing niece & nephew. Miss you, Jacob. <3
5. Almost married. :)

Question 2: What is (was) on your to-do list today?

1. NOT RUNNING! I'm a little injured after yesterday's bosque run, so I'm taking it easy. Plus my feet have put up with almost 45 miles this week.
2. Grocery store...one of my favorite things!
3. Attend a basketball game for my friend's beautiful daughter.
4. Clean house and make dinner.
5. Have wonderful friends over for some Chickpea Cutlets and other tasty treats.

Question 3: What five snacks do you enjoy?

1. Anything chocolate.
2. Chips, pita, or veggies with hummus.
3. Chips & salsa, but only at La Salita!
4. Cuties. Oh, how I love Cuties!
5. Veggie Stix!

Question 4: What five places have you lived?

1. I grew up in New Hampshire...
2. Roamed around Canada for a bit with my bestie...
3. Spent time in the Marine Corps down south (SC, NC, VA)
4. Then off to Okinawa, JP to be with the husband...
5. And now I live in New Mexico!


Question 5: What five things would you do if you were a billionaire?

1. Immediately buy a home...one in NH, for sure.
2. Invest!!!
3. Help my mom and my family with whatever they need.
4. Shop till I can't even walk anymore!
5. Help anyone I know and love who might need it. (That I copied from Erin, who copied it from Miss Melissa. I'd do the exactly the same!)

I love questions. I also love giveaways, so keep your eyes peeled for my next post. ;)

Now for the fun part: getting to tag 5 of my friends! Here goes:

Leslie @ Better Together
The newly Mrs. Kanmuri @ Turning Iwatean
Dawn & Out of Africa
Jaclyn @ Jaclyn's Vegan Yumminess
ABQ Beer Geek @ Albuquerque Beer Scene

Have fun! Happy Saturday!!!

KALE CHIPS!!!

FINALLY!!!

These are long overdue, and if it weren't for my darling friend, Lori, I might have completely forgotten about them (forgotten to blog them, not make them. They're a staple in our house now.) When I try to explain these chips to people, I get the crazy eye. To put in perspective how delicious these are, though, check this: Cody has bought seeds to plant kale in our garden so we can have Kale Chips whenever we want. Bring it! (<---Do people still say that? Really?)


Buffalo Wings & Kale Chips


Hummus Wrap & Kale Chips


Black Bean Burgers & Kale Chips

As you can see, we love these chips. So without further ado...

Kale Chips
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cook time: 10-15 minutes

1 bunch of kale
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
salt

1. Preheat oven to 350° F. I don't even use a baking sheet for this; I just use aluminum foil. Break the kale into large chip-size pieces.

2. Combine the oil and vinegar. Sprinkle over the kale, then season with salt, to taste. Bake for 10-15 minutes or until crispy.

THAT IS IS!!!
You will be absolutely amazed and delighted with the crispy, delicious flavor of these chips. Plus, check THIS out:



Now, as you will when you bake these, you aren't eating all of the oil that remains left on the foil (which is still such a trace amount, you don't have to feel guilty), so there are even less calories than what's above. So go ahead! Eat up!

Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes

I simply cannot believe I haven't blogged about these cupcakes yet. They are the very first vegan item I made...we were still out in Japan and I decided to give them a try. Once I made them and realized how amazing they were, I realized living a vegan lifestyle and still eating delicious food can go together!

These cupcakes are not too sweet, super moist, dense, and topped with a crazy icing. You're probably going to make a face at the list of ingredients, but I promise you, these might just be some of the best cupcakes you've ever had. *I know I say that about all the cupcakes I make, but it's true. Trust me.



Chocolate Avocado Cupcakes
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 25 minutes

Cupcake:
1½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour
¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Special Dark cocoa powder. Yum.)
1 tsp baking powder
¾ tsp baking soda
¾ tsp salt
1 avocado, pitted and peeled
1 cup pure maple syrup
¾ cup plain soymilk
¹⁄3 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:
¼-14 ounce block soft silken tofu, drained and patted dry
3 tbsp pure maple syrup
½ tsp vanilla extract
¹⁄8 tsp salt
4 ounces semisweet vegan chocolate, melted

1. To make Cupcakes: Preheat oven to 350°F. Line 12-cup muffin pan with paper liners. Whisk together flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in bowl. Purée avocado in food processor until smooth. Add maple syrup, soymilk, oil, and vanilla, and blend until creamy. Whisk avocado mixture into flour mixture.

2. Spoon batter into prepared cupcake cups. Bake 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes out with some crumbs attached. Cool.

3. To make Glaze: Blend tofu, maple syrup, vanilla, and salt in food processor until smooth. Add chocolate to tofu mixture and blend until smooth. Transfer to bowl. Dip tops of cupcakes into glaze, pulling straight up from glaze to form peaks.



So I usually don't put up the nutritional value for desserts because they're desserts! It's an indulgence! I'm just going to show you a little somethin-somethin: Here is the same recipe, only using eggs, milk, and frosting made with powdered sugar:



Note the difference here:

Calories +111
Fat +1.9
Saturated Fat +2.4
Cholesterol +42
Sodium +28
Carbohydrates +23.7
Dietary Fiber -1.2
Sugars +27.4

So you can see that almost everything goes up when you add your eggs and milk and sugar...except for your dietary fiber, which isn't a good thing, and although there is more vitamin A in your traditional cupcakes, there is more Calcium, vitamin C, and Iron in the vegan cupcakes. Just thought I would point those things out and give you a little something to ponder.

If you have any ripe avocados around and you're not sure what to do with them, I double-dog dare you to give these cupcakes a try. You will be amazed. Happy Thursday!

Best. Seitan. Ever.

I just recently took my first dabble in seitan. If you don't know what seitan is, here is a fabulous definition from wikipedia.

"Wheat gluten, also called seitan (pronounced /ˈseɪtæn/), wheat meat, Mock Duck, gluten meat, or simply gluten, is a food made from the gluten of wheat. It is made by washing wheat flour dough with water until all the starch dissolves, leaving insoluble gluten as an elastic mass which is then cooked before being eaten."

My first stab at it can be found HERE. Don't get me wrong, that is still a really good recipe for seitan. It's moist, flavorful, and fairly simple. However, this recipe has more flavor, is easier, and has a much meatier texture. I came across it accidentally browsing Yeah, That "Vegan" Shit. She's super funny, so I highly recommend sneaking a peak at her page! Anyway, without further ado, here is the best seitan recipe in history:




Best Seitan Ever
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cook time: 90 minutes

1 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten (Find this at Whole Foods or your local grocery store in the bulk section!)
1/4 cup nutritional yeast (Again, find this in the bulk section!
1 tsp salt
2 tsp paprika
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp cumin
1-2 tsp pepper (I used the full 2 because I like it zippy!)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp allspice (I skipped this!)
3/4 cup cold water
4 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp ketchup (Yes, ketchup.)
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp vegetarian Worcestershire sauce (I used Braggs, but you could easily use soy sauce, too.)
1-3 cloves garlic, crushed well (I just put in 1/4 tsp garlic powder. I didn't want garlic chunks in my wheat meat!)

1. Preheat oven to 325° F. In a large mixing bowl, mix dry ingredients. In a smaller bowl, mix wet ingredients, whisking until well combined.

2. Add the liquid ingredients to the dry ingredients. Mix well, then knead for several minutes. (I'm so lucky I can just throw all of this in my KitchenAid, turn it on, and start washing dishes!)

3. Form into a log (6-8" long), wrap tightly in foil, twisting ends (It should look like a massive piece of candy!). Bake for 90 minutes. When done baking, unwrap and leave out to cool all the way. Then wrap it foil or plastic and refrigerate. Slice to use as desired.





So, I have to admit. I enjoyed a martini whilst making this tasty mock meat (What??? Tuesday is a no-run day. I deserve a martini.). When it came out of the oven, I didn't have the patience to let it cool. I started picking at it immediately. Then I share with Cody. Then half of it was gone. :) Luckily, this is so easy and I always have the ingredients on hand, I'm not worried about it.

If you have contemplated going vegetarian or vegan but hate the price of mock meats, this is for you. If you like to cook and have a few daring bones in your body, this is for you. If you have a gluten allergy, I'm sorry, this is not for you. Please enjoy responsibly. And now I leave you with something a little classy:

Peanut Crusted Tofu

A few weeks ago, Cody & I drove up to Colorado with our "married friends" to see Manchester Orchestra (If you haven't checked them out yet, you really need to get a move on! We JUST found out they're coming to Albuquerque May 9. Yesssss.....). I posted a recipe for some delicious Seitan Buffalo Wings that I recreated from our trip, now I'm going to post another Colorado favorite.

Before the concert, we went to this brewery in downtown Colorado Springs and I can't remember the name of it for the life of me. Cody & I split a salad (yes, we split a salad) and drank a couple of tasty beers. The salad had this amazing ginger sesame dressing, soba noodles, shredded carrot, bean sprouts, a massive fried wonton, and peanut crusted tofu. The tofu was amazing! Since I almost always have tofu in my fridge, I decided to try my hand at this dish.



*The plate looks kinda boring and lacks color. I should've thrown some kale on there or something. How unattractive!

Peanut Crusted Tofu
Prep time: 10 minutes
Cook time: 15 minutes

1 (14 ounce) package extra firm tofu, drained
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup unsweetened soy milk
1 tsp lemon juice
1/4 cup unbleached flour
1/3 cup dry-roasted peanuts
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 teaspoons peanut oil
Cooking spray

1. Cut tofu crosswise into 8 equal pieces. Cut each piece into two triangles. Arrange tofu in a single layer on several layers of heavy-duty paper towels. Cover tofu with additional paper towels. Place a cutting board on top of tofu. Place a few heavy cans of whateveryouhaveinyourcabinet on cutting board. Let stand 20 minutes. Pat tofu dry with paper towels.

2. Combine soy milk and lemon juice in a shallow dish. Let curdle. Place flour in a separate shallow dish (add a little salt and pepper if you're feeling zesty!). Place peanuts in a food processor; process until finely ground. Combine ground peanuts, garlic powder, ginger, red pepper, and salt in a shallow dish.

3. Dredge each side of the tofu triangle in flour. Dip in the soy milk mixture, then dredge in peanut mixture. Heat 1 teaspoon oil in a large nonstick skillet coated with cooking spray over medium heat. Add half of tofu; cook 2 minutes on each side or until browned. (Watch closely to prevent burning.) Repeat procedure with remaining 1 teaspoon oil and tofu.



I paired the tofu with some homemade gyoza. I took the "meat" recipe from HERE and carefully filled some homemade vegan wonton wrappers. I have some gyoza dipping sauce (HOT) in my fridge, so we dipped both the gyoza and the tofu in there. It was a pretty good meal! I'll definitely make it again.

Hope you have a fabulous Monday!