Monday, February 25, 2013

Snickerdoodle Cookies

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We've had some fun weather here in Colorado over the past week... I'm looking at almost a foot of snow out of my window right now. Even though we really need the moisture, I'm still not a fan of the snow at all and have no desire to go out and do anything in it. My solution to my snowed in day was (of course) to start baking! I realized I had not yet attempted to bake the fun and classic snickerdoodle cookies, so I set out to change that.

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Snickerdoodle Cookies
makes about 2 dozen small cookies

1/2 C vegan butter
3/4 C sugar
1/4 C almond milk
1 tsp vanilla
1 3/4 C flour
1/4 C cornstarch
1 tsp baking powder 
topping:
1/4 C sugar
1 1/2 Tbsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 350. Soften vegan butter and with an electric mixer beat it with the sugar. Add in almond milk and vanilla and mix again. Whisk the flour, cornstarch, and baking powder together in a separate bowl, then add to the wet ingredients and mix well.

Combine the sugar and cinnamon on a plate and stir. Roll the cookie dough into balls and then roll through the cinnamon sugar mixture to coat. Place on a greased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10-12 minutes then let cool.

Note: My cookies didn't really expand that much, so if you want larger cookies you can make the dough ball bigger.

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I was actually happy that these didn't spread out too much in the oven, because they ended up being cute little round bite size cookies. Simple and tasty with a cinnamon sugar coating, these cookies are perfect for any occasion. I hope you enjoy!

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Thanks for stopping by!


Friday, February 22, 2013

Friday Flashback


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I finally made it to Linger in Denver! We went for lunch and the food was amazing. The building used to be a mortuary (see the sign above) and even though the inside was completely re-done and looks awesome, they have kept some of that theme in the restaurant which is kind of funny. We ordered the sweet potato fries to share, and then my choice was the pad thai which was delicious! It had tofu, butternut squash and papaya in it. Yeah. I know. Crazy good. We then ventured over to Sweet Action to get some chocolate ice cream for dessert!

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Here are a few other random recent photos:
1. Vegetable sushi roll and sweet potato avocado roll at Sweet Ginger in Cherry Creek.
2. French bread pizza with bell peppers and vegan pepperoni
3. BLAT with tempeh bacon
4. Have you tried this ricemellow creme? It's insane!
5. Minestrone soup for a snowy day

Have a great weekend!

Thursday, February 21, 2013

Spinach Artichoke Pasta

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I've been feeling quite unmotivated when it comes to dinners lately. I was looking for something that was quick and easy, but also a little different than the standard spaghetti with tomato sauce. I had some artichokes that I was bookmarking for Kristy's yummy looking soup, but we decided we were really in more of a pasta mood and this dish was born!

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Basically all I did was make this delicious spinach and artichoke dip from Oh She Glows, and then stir it into some pasta and top it with some bread crumbs - but I was pleasantly surprised with how it came out. Since I'm not the biggest fan of the vegan cheeses out there, I'm glad this recipe doesn't use it but instead has a helping of beans hiding in the sauce.

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Spinach Artichoke Pasta

1 recipe of Spinach Artichoke Dip from Oh She Glows
1 lb penne pasta
1/3 C almond milk
1/3 C mushrooms, chopped
panko crumbs

Make the spinach artichoke dip, and bake according to the directions. Meanwhile, boil your pasta and saute your mushrooms. (You could add the mushrooms into the dip before baking too, but I forgot!). Drain your pasta and once your dip is done baking, scoop it onto the pasta. Add in the mushrooms and almond milk, and stir to combine. If you want the pasta creamier you can add more almond milk as needed. Top the pasta with panko crumbs to serve.

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This was a great and easy weeknight dinner, which is right up my alley. I hope you enjoy it!
I also wanted to share a photo of the great new stack of cookbooks that I got as birthday gifts - I'm so excited to check out of all these!

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Thanks for stopping by!

Thursday, February 14, 2013

Frosted Heart Sugar Cookies

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Happy Valentines Day to all my fabulous readers! I wanted to share these fun heart shaped cookies with you today in honor of the holiday of love.

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I got it in my head that I wanted to make heart cookies and so I made it my weekend mission to find a heart-shaped cookie cutter and get down to business. My original plan was to make simple sugar cookies and use them to top my vanilla cupcakes with chocolate buttercream frosting, but once I had my cupcakes done I realized I didn't want to smoosh the pretty frosting down with a cookie. I also had some frosting leftover from the cupcakes so I decided to frost and sprinkle the cookies too! It turned out to be a pretty good plan, I think.

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Frosted Heart Sugar Cookies
makes about 2 dozen small to medium cookies
 
1 C flour
1/2 C sugar
1/2 C vegan butter
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
optional: chocolate frosting recipe here, sprinkles


Preheat oven to 350 F. With an electric mixer, cream the butter and sugar together. Add the vanilla and mix. Sift the flour and baking powder then mix into the butter mixture until a dough if formed. Place in plastic wrap and refrigerate for 1 hour.
Roll the dough out and cut with the cookie cutters of your choice.
Bake for 12-15 minutes and let cool before topping with frosting and sprinkles.

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These cookies might not be the neatest or prettiest things I've ever made, but as long as they taste good I don't mind! Are you a fan of frosted cookies or do you prefer them plain? Personally I think sprinkles make everything a little more fun.

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As always, thanks for stopping by. I hope you are spending the day with those you love! 

Monday, February 11, 2013

Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

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Happy Valentines Week! I've always loved valentines day, maybe because it happens to also be my birthday so I had two reasons to party and eat cake. People ask me if I disliked my birthday falling on a holiday when I was a kid, but I didn't mind - everyone was swapping cards and eating candy, so it just made it feel like everyone was celebrating!

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I enjoy experimenting and trying new flavor combinations in my desserts, but I still have a soft spot for the classics. These vanilla cupcakes with chocolate frosting is perfect to bring to parties or make for any special occasion. I topped them off with some pink sprinkles in honor of valentines day.

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Vanilla Cupcakes with Chocolate Buttercream Frosting
makes 12 cupcakes
adapted from vegan cupcakes take over the world

For the cupcakes:

1 C almond milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 C canola oil
3/4 C granulated sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 C all purpose flour
1/4 C coconut flour (or all purpose flour)
2 Tbsp cornstarch
3/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt


Preheat the oven to 350 and line your muffin pan with cupcake liners.
Whisk together the milk and the apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few minutes so it will curdle.

Beat the milk mixture, oil, sugar, and vanilla together in a large bowl.
Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda and salt.

Mix everything together until smooth.
Fill cupcake liners 2/3 way full, and bake for 20-22 minutes Let cool completely before frosting.

For the frosting:
1/4 C vegetable shortening
1/4 C vegan butter, softened
1 1/3 C powdered sugar
1/3 C cocoa powder
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
3 Tbsp almond or soy milk


Cream the shortening and butter together with an electric mixer. Slowly add the powdered sugar, mixing well each time. Add in the cocoa powder, vanilla and almond milk and mix again. Spread onto your cupcakes or use a frosting piping bag.
Optional: top with sprinkles!


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I also figured out the secret ingredient to getting that perfect fluffy frosting. I had made a chocolate buttercream before and it tasted great, but it really wasn't fluffy. This time I added in vegetable shortening, and that did the trick.

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I also made these heart shaped frosted sugar cookies. Check back later this week for the recipe! 
I thought I'd include this last photo so you all could see what happens when you run out of the fun pink cupcake papers and all you have left are Halloween themed ones...

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Happy Valentine's Day!


Thursday, February 7, 2013

Pesto Risotto and Caramelized Cauliflower from the Horizons Cookbook

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A few weeks ago, my friend from Philadelphia came to visit me and she brought me a great present - the Horizons: New Vegan Cuisine cookbook by Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby. These chefs used to have a restaurant called Horizons in Philadelphia, but now can be found at the amazing Vedge, so I knew that the recipes in this cookbook had to be incredible. We selected two recipes to try while my friend was here: the Basmati Risotto with Pesto, Peas and Tomatoes, and the Caramelized Cauliflower in Spanish Green Garlic Sauce.

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We made a few slight changes to the risotto by adding in a few things we had on hand such as the mushrooms, and using arborio rice instead of the basmati, but we followed their directions for making the basil pesto sauce which was delicious! I had never had a pesto risotto before but I can say now I am a fan.

The caramelized cauliflower was also really amazing. We mixed our cauliflower with some brussels sprouts and roasted both together, and then topped it with their parsely and garlic sauce and I LOVED it. We definitely ate well that evening.

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The rest of this book is filled with some really interesting and tasty sounding recipes including appetizers, soups, salads and desserts. I can't wait to try out more.

You can get a copy of the Horizons Cookbook here, and also check out their new cookbook Vedge which is coming out later this year. It looks promising!

Thanks for stopping by!

Monday, February 4, 2013

Spinach Vegetable Lasagna

Spinach Vegetable Lasagna | Vegan Fling


The other night I was trying to decide what to have for dinner, and I mentioned to my husband that I had everything to make baked spagetti. When he suggested I add in some spinach, I was immediately reminded of the amazing spinach lasagna I used to eat growing up. I realized I had not attempted to make a lasagna since I began eating vegan, and the time had come to change that!

Spinach Vegetable Lasagna | Vegan Fling


This lasagna came out so much better than I hoped! The cannellini beans hidden in the spinach mixture give it the perfect texture. I did not miss any cheese in this at all. I added in some onion, peppers, and mushrooms because that is what I had on hand, but this would be great with all types of vegetables added in.

Spinach Vegetable Lasagna | Vegan Fling




Spinach Vegetable Lasagna
makes a 9 by 13 pan
adapted from vegan american princess


12 lasagna noodles
6 C marinara sauce (about 1.5 jars)
2 cans cannellini beans (drained and rinsed)
2 oz basil leaves
1 C raw cashews
3 cloves garlic
1/4 C nutritional yeast
1/4 C lemon juice
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
1 Tbsp olive oil
2 lbs. frozen spinach (thawed drained and squeezed)
1/2 onion, finely diced
1 bell pepper, diced
1 C mushrooms (sliced)
panko crumbs

In a food processor add the beans, basil, cashews, garlic, nutritional yeast, lemon juice, pepper flakes and olive oil and puree until smooth. Add the spinach and puree again. Add in a small amount of water if the mixture is still too dry. Puree until smooth and set aside.

Boil water and cook the lasagna noodles, drain and set aside.

In a large saute pan, saute the onions and bell pepper in a small amount of oil until softened. Add in the mushrooms and cook until lightly browned.

Pour 2 cups of marinara sauce in the bottom of a 9 by 13 dish. I used a sauce from a jar to save some prep time, but feel free to use your favorite kind.
Place 4 lasagna noodles in a layer on top of the sauce.
Next spread a layer of the spinach mixture on top of the noodles.
Top with 1/2 of the onion, pepper and mushroom mixture.
Repeat these layers another time: sauce, noodles, spinach, veggies.
End with the last layer of the noodles and top with marinara sauce.
Sprinkle the top generously with panko crumbs.

Bake for 50-60 minutes at 375, let cool for 10 minutes and then serve.


Spinach Vegetable Lasagna | Vegan Fling


Spinach Vegetable Lasagna | Vegan Fling


My husband is a great sport and always tries my cooking creations, and I was so happy when he said this was one of his favorite things I've made yet. If he doesn't miss the meat and cheese in this vegan lasagna, I'm sure that you won't either! I hope you'll enjoy it as much as we did.

Spinach Vegetable Lasagna | Vegan Fling


Thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, February 2, 2013

Vegan Food Swap: January 2013

The Vegan Food Swap is back and it's time for the January reveal! We took a few months off for the holidays but I'm excited to be getting these fun packages in the mail once again.

The vegan food swap is organized by The Verdant Life and is an awesome idea! You get matched up with another person and send them a box full of your favorite vegan foods. It's a great chance to try new things and meet other bloggers! I always get so excited when a new box of vegan treats shows up at my door.

This month I sent a box to Cobi over at Veggietorials. You can see her post on it here!

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I received my food swap box from Livvy at 86 Lemons. She was paired up to send me a package a few months ago, but it was so awesome that I knew another food swap box from her would be a treat! I wasn't wrong - check out what she sent me below.

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* Fantastic World Foods vegetarian taco filling
* Organic Quinoa Flour (can't wait to try this!)
* India Spice rice blend

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* earnest eats power grains granola bars
* gnu foods cinnamon raisin bars
* eden organic udon pasta

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I've already dug into the granola bars and they are really tasty!

Thank you so much for the great vegan swap box, Livvy!
If you want to join in on the vegan food swap fun, you can sign up right here.
You don't even have to have a blog to participate - come on, you know you want to. :)

Friday, February 1, 2013

Friday Flashback

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Last weekend my best friend came into town and we did all sorts of fun activities and tried out a couple of Denver restaurants I've been meaning to get to, including Denver's vegan food truck!

1. Delicious brunch at Root Down - tofu scramble and home fries
2. The Vegan Van!
3. Minnie looking adorable.
4. The menu at the Vegan Van. Too many fun options.
5. My selection - the Ludacris: IPA waffle with Denver Seitan Company Chickenesque. Yum!


Thanks for stopping by!

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