Who Wants Dessert?

The Elvis and Magic Bars

My daughter loves to read my cookbooks. She loves cupcakes and cookies. She inherited my sweet tooth. Last year when I first turned over this vegan leaf I was relieved that I wouldn't be tempted by desserts anymore. Then I discovered Isa Chandra Moskowitz and her books Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World and Vegan Cookies Invade your Cookie Jar.  There goes that plan.

If you have a sweet tooth, I'd recommend both of these books. She hasn't steered me wrong yet.

The first one is the Elvis. My daughter picked this one out by herself. I was a little skeptical. Wasn't Elvis's favorite food a peanut butter sandwich with bananas and bacon?  Ick.

But whatever, if she wanted to try it I'd go for it. The cupcake part tastes just like banana bread. Very light with a fine crumb. Top it off with peanut butter icing (not my favorite) and garnish with chopped peanuts, chocolate chips and a banana slice.  The combination was actually quite delicious.  If you are really brave, try sticking a piece of facon bacon on it to be really authentic. I couldn't bring myself to do that.

Secondly, she wanted to make magic bars. Now, these I was really game for. Kinda like a 7 layer bar with coconut, nuts and chocolate chips. It was fun to do with her too she could help with all parts of the assemble since no loud machinery like a mixer was involved.  She stirred the base and put it in the pan, I poured the caramel sauce then her favorte part: making the layers. Which actually turned out to be more like mountains of each ingredient in the middle of the pan, but we were able to get them spread out.

Refrigerated overnight and voila! Bribes!

Magic Kale Salad

I'm trying to eat more kale. I hear its supposed to be good for you - like spinach only better. I tried it once last summer - it wasn't the greatest. I used a recipe from my favorite vegan chef Moskowitz (some enchilada recipe out of Veganomicon). It was okay. I had an issue with the texture - very tough. And the curly bits on the ends got stuck in my craw. But I'm going to give it the old college try and really get into it this time.

Now, I'm not as big of a fan of Momma Pea as Kerri is.  I think her recipes are hit or miss. But she's a great writer and fun to read so I keep up with her as my schedule allows.  Lately I haven't been doing much cooking at all. Moving half way across the country takes its toll. I gave Shannon most of the ingredients out of my pantry and fridge before we left (can't take it with you on the truck), and restocking has been painfully slow. It would be one thing if I didn't care what I put in my fridge, but I really try to buy organic, wholesome foods and that is expensive. Additionally my children seem to have hollow legs - my 3 and 4 year olds are eating me out of house and home. I'm having to go restock basic fruits and veggies every 2 days. Plus, with unpacking and organizing the house, trying to get to know a new community blah, blah, blah . . . .  you know how slow things can go.

But I digress. I've been hanging onto this one for a while now.  My mom grew some kale in her garden and brought me some. This recipe was super simple and a very good basic salad. I wouldn't give it 5 stars, but I would make it again if I had to throw something together in a pinch. I used walnuts instead of pistachios because thats what I had. It was fine.

http://peasandthankyou.com/2012/02/23/magic-kale-salad-with-pistachios-and-apples/

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

Okay, so its not vegan, but at least its vegetarian. I have express permission from Kerri to post this - its a good one. I wanted to use our beets from our CSA box and I think this recipe is hugely successful. I always thought beets tasted like dirt, but mixed with the goat cheese and candied walnuts, I thought they were very palatable. And I thought the ones we got in our CSA box were sweet and very tender, quite unlike my beet experiences in the past.

I strongly suggest making a special trip to Split Creek Farm and getting their goat cheese for this recipe. Their product is worth the trip. Although the recipe calls for crumbles, which Split Creek does not have, I just warmed a couple slices off the goat cheese log in a 350 degree oven for about 10 minutes with a little olive oil. Warming it makes the cheese very creamy. But you could also use it the salad cold. Serve it with a baguette - makes a terrific meal.

Beet Salad with Goat Cheese

4 medium beets - scrubbed, trimmed and cut in half
1/3 cup chopped walnuts (I've used pecans with success)
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1 (10 ounce) package mixed baby salad greens
1/2 cup frozen orange juice concentrate
1/4 cup balsamic vinegar
1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil
2 ounces goat cheese

Place beets into a saucepan, and fill with enough water to cover. Bring to a boil, then cook for 20 to 30 minutes, until tender. Drain and cool, then cut in to cubes.

While the beets are cooking, place the walnuts in a skillet over medium-low heat. Heat until warm and starting to toast, then stir in the maple syrup. Cook and stir until evenly coated, then remove from the heat and set aside to cool.

In a small bowl, whisk together the orange juice concentrate, balsamic vinegar and olive oil to make the dressing.

Place a large helping of baby greens onto each of four salad plates, divide candied walnuts equally and sprinkle over the greens. Place equal amounts of beets over the greens, and top with dabs of goat cheese. Drizzle each plate with some of the dressing.

Amy's Granola

Doh! Kerri beat me to it. Oh well, there's lots of great granola recipes out there. This is the one we use in our house. Just be aware, its not sweet. But that's because it uses Brown Rice Syrup instead of honey and brown sugar. Its a very forgiving recipe, so you can vary it as much as you like. My kids like it with coconut flakes and chocolate chips. Its an easy recipe to make with your kids too - lots of dumping stuff into the bowl. And best of all, no cooking involved. Just bakes for 30 mins.

Find Brown Rice Syrup in the Gluten-Free section at Bloom or at Whole Foods. Lundgren Farms is the only brand I've seen.

4 C oats (I use old fashioned)
1/2 C wheat germ
1 C chopped nuts
1 C sunflower seeds
1/2 C brown rice syrup
3/4 C veggie oil
1 T vanilla
1 T cinnamon
1/2 t salt
1 C raisins or other dried fruit

Combine all ingredients except raisins. Mix well and spread on a shallow baking sheet (a large jelly roll pan is perfect). Bake at 300 for 30 minutes, gently flipping the granola every 10 minutes. Add the dried fruit when the mixture is done baking and allow to cool in the pan.

Once cool, use a flipper to transfer the granola to a large storage bowl, being careful not to break it up too much. You want large chunks. It should keep for about 2 weeks.

Variations:
1) Add 1 C sweetened coconut and 1 C chocolate chips (omit the raisins)
2) Use walnuts, pumpkin seeds and chopped dates
3) Add flax seeds, pecans or slivered almonds and dried chopped dried apricots.