dessert

Apricot Buckwheat Bites

/ Kelly / 1 Comment

LVV MoFo 2014 mainOne of the best parts of MoFo this year has been discovering new and unexpected nutrition sources. The internet is full of top-ten lists, touting the best ways to get various nutrients on a vegetarian/vegan/paleo/gluten-free/whatever diet. But those lists only take you so far—I’ve found plenty of great protein and iron sources simply by rifling through my pantry. Today’s mostly raw recipe combines a few surprising sources of iron into a super satisfying snack.

Apricot Buckwheat Bites

Apricot Buckwheat Bites
Makes 20 balls about 1.5″ in diameter

  • 1/3 cup raw whole hazelnuts
  • 2/3 cup raw buckwheat groats, divided
  • 8-10 medjool dates, pitted and halved
  • 2/3 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped (measure before chopping)
  • 2 T raw shelled hemp seeds
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • Dash sea salt

Add the hazelnuts and half the buckwheat groats to a food processor and pulse a few times. Add the dates (start with 8), apricots, and vanilla extract and process until all ingredients are combined—the mixture will be a little sticky, but it should hold together. If it’s too dry, add the remaining dates. Add the remaining groats, hemp seeds, and sea salt and pulse a few more times until all new ingredients are incorporated.

Using your hands, roll the mixture into balls about 1.5″ in diameter. Store in the refrigerator for best results.

Note: Vanilla bean seeds would work great here, but I couldn’t find mine… so, vanilla extract it was.

Apricot Buckwheat BitesThese little bites have a satisfying crunch to them thanks to the raw buckwheat groats. If you’ve never used raw buckwheat, do yourself a favor and try it. Just be careful not to buy toasted buckwheat accidentally—that satisfying crunch will be much less satisfying and a little more unpleasant in that case. (Toasted buckwheat is also called kasha, and it makes a nutty replacement for your favorite cooked grain.) Raw buckwheat is—surprise!—a great source of iron, as are the apricots, dates, and hemp seeds. Four of these bites will give you 13% of your daily value of iron, along with 4 grams of protein and 6.4% of your daily value of calcium. Impressive!

Have you tried raw buckwheat groats? How do you like to use them?

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

/ Kelly / 11 Comments

LVV MoFo 2014 main

The keen-eyed among you might be noticing a trend in this week’s round of protein-rich eats: two of the three recipes I’ve featured so far have featured beans. Kidney beans and mung beans, to be precise. Today we’ll focus on another bean, a true mainstay of the vegan diet: the humble black bean. A staple of many cuisines, they’re the workhorse of the legume world. And I do mean workhorse. Because not only are black beans the star of many savory dishes, but they work in sweet ones as well.

Like brownies.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

Black bean brownies took the healthy-eating blogworld by storm a few years ago, but I never really got into them. It wasn’t a purposeful lack of interest; I wasn’t rebelliously bucking a trend and I didn’t have some idealogical opposition to beany brownies. They just weren’t my thing.

Now, though, maybe they will become my thing. Because I really like these brownies. They offer a potent dose of chocolate without a huge sugar rush or that nasty tummy-ache I get from oily desserts. As long as you don’t go into the experience expecting a super rich, sweet, buttery brownie, they’ll probably hit the spot for you too. And, oh yeah—each square will give you 7 grams of protein, 13% of your daily dose of iron, and 9% of your recommended dose of calcium. Thanks, beans!

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies
Makes 9 brownies

  • 2 T coconut oil
  • Heaping 1/4 C chocolate chips
  • 1/4 C + 2 T coconut sugar (brown sugar would likely work as well)
  • 2 T pure maple syrup
  • 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
  • 1 C black beans (if using canned, be sure to rinse well)
  • 1/2 C full-fat coconut milk (another nondairy milk would likely work just fine)
  • 1/2 C unbleached all-purpose flour
  • 1/4 C cocoa powder
  • 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
  • 1/2 tsp salt
  • 1/3 C chocolate chips

Prepare an 8″ x 8″ square baking pan by lining it with parchment paper or oiling it lightly. Preheat the oven to 350˚.

Combine the coconut oil, chocolate chips (the heaping 1/4 cup), coconut sugar, maple syrup, and vanilla extract in a small pot and heat on low until the chocolate and coconut oil have melted. Stir frequently to ensure that nothing burns. Once everything is melted and combined, turn off the stove and remove the pot from the heated burner.

Add the black beans, coconut milk, and the melted chocolate mixture to a blender and blend until the black beans are pureed. It should only take a few minutes.

Pour the wet mixture into a large bowl, then sift in the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt. Mix until all ingredients are combined, then add the remaining chocolate chips.

Transfer batter to the baking pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 15 minutes before cutting.

Fudgy Black Bean Brownies

How do you feel about bean-based desserts? What’s your favorite recipe?

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Granola (and a brief disquisition on protein needs)

/ Kelly / 15 Comments

LVV MoFo 2014 main

Snickering at the “But where do you get your protein?!” question is a bit of a shibboleth in vegan circles. It’s a tired question, one that’s inspired lots of great memes. And it has a pretty simple answer: From nearly everything I eat. This quote from the American Heart Association just about sums it up:

“You don’t need to eat foods from animals to have enough protein in your diet. Plant proteins alone can provide enough of the essential and non-essential amino acids, as long as sources of dietary protein are varied and caloric intake is high enough to meet energy needs.” (1)

Bam.

Still, protein-related myths abound. There’s a notion that plant proteins are inferior to their animal-derived counterparts because they don’t provide all essential amino acids in a single source (and are thus called “incomplete” proteins). There’s a commonly held and oft-mentioned misbelief that you must consume all of your complementary proteins in a single meal to derive the full protein benefit, but that’s been disproven. Instead, as long as you eat a variety of proteins in a single day, your body can take care of combining them. (2)

So—how much protein do you need? Turns out, not as much as lots of people think. Unless you’re very active, 10-35% of your calories should come from protein. The CDC has a basic set of guidelines here, and you can get more tailored recommendations here. I’ve done a few calculations, and I should be getting between 50 and 70 grams per day. What does that mean in real-world food terms? Well, half a block of tofu has around 18 grams, half a cup of tempeh has 15 grams, and half a cup of black beans has 20 grams. And those are just the protein powerhouses! Most of the incidental foods we eat contain at least a little protein, and those grams add up. For example, bagels often contain around 10 grams of protein. A small handful of almonds gives you around 4 grams. And you could get a whole 7 grams just from eating granola. Not just any granola—Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Granola.

This granola.

Peanut butter granola spilling from a mason jar onto a wooden cutting board.

Peanut Butter-Chocolate Chip Granola

Serves 8

  • 2 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1/3 cup creamy unsalted natural peanut butter
  • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup
  • 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 2 cups rolled oats (I like Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats)
  • 1/4 cup ground flax seed
  • Scant 1/2 teaspoon salt
  • 1/4 cup roasted unsalted peanuts
  • 1/4 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325˚ and line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a small saucepan, add the coconut oil, peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Stir to combine, heating over low so that the oil and peanut butter soften. Once all four ingredients are well mixed, turn off the heat and set aside.

In a large mixing bowl, add all the dried ingredients. Pour the peanut butter mixture into the dry ingredients and mix with a large wooden spoon. Once the dry ingredients are coated with the peanut butter mixture, pour the granola onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 20-25 minutes or until the oats are golden, removing from the oven and stirring every ten minutes or so. Remove from the oven and let cool for at least ten minutes before eating.

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Let’s be real—you’re probably going to eat this stuff by the handful, grabbing a clump every time you walk by the cooling baking sheet. But you could also serve it in a bowl with some cold almond milk or a dollop of soy yogurt, adding a couple extra grams of protein to your day. Yum.

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So, bottom line about protein? Stop worrying about it. Eat a varied, healthy diet and you’ll be just fine. And remember, protein lurks in the most unlikely places—even a bowl of sweet, salty, peanutty granola.

Sources cited:

(1) http://www.heart.org/HEARTORG/GettingHealthy/NutritionCenter/Vegetarian-Diets_UCM_306032_Article.jsp 
(2) http://www.cdc.gov/nutrition/everyone/basics/protein.html

Note:

I’m neither a doctor nor a dietitian; please don’t treat my posts as medical advice! Consult a medical practitioner for specific medical or nutritional recommendations.

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through my link, it costs nothing extra for you, but I get a few pennies to help cover hosting costs.

Cappuccino Ice Cream

/ Kelly / 1 Comment

Back in New England, the Hood dairy company is a big thing. Hoodsie Cups were the default low-cost, at-school celebration dessert, and Hood ice cream held a substantial share of supermarket freezer shelves. As a kid, I naturally loved ice cream, and I naturally preferred the chock-full-of-other-sweet-things varieties—peanut butter chocolate swirl was always my favorite. The simpler flavors, like strawberry or vanilla, seemed boring and bland to me. Why waste your time on a single flavor when you could have two? Or three?? And chunks of cookies or chocolate?! And the bottom-of-the-barrel single-flavor ice cream option, in my youthful opinion, was coffee. Ew. Neither of my parents drank coffee, and I did NOT like its flavor. The idea of it infiltrating my ice cream was offensive.

Until I tried Hood coffee ice cream.

I remember it as a transformative moment for my tastebuds, even if I can’t tell you when or where it happened. I remember hesitantly eating a spoonful, ready for the familiar disappointment tinged with disgust, and feeling neither. Instead, I tasted a deep flavor with more to it than just sugary sweetness. I couldn’t tell, at first, whether I actually liked it, but I soon decided I did.

Since then, I’ve had a soft spot for coffee ice cream. It’s not typically my preferred choice—I’m still a sucker for anything with chocolate and peanut butter (old habits die hard). But I appreciate it as a slightly more sophisticated option, and I truly enjoy its flavor now. Or at least I did until I stopped eating dairy—I don’t think I’ve ever purchased a vegan coffee ice cream.

So it was with a certain amount of nostalgic pleasure that I noticed a few coffee-centric recipes as I browsed through my copy of The Vegan Scoop, the cookbook my aunt gave me for Christmas last year. For my second-ever homemade ice cream (and my first-ever from this cookbook), I selected the Cappuccino variety.

 

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This ice cream gets its coffee kick from instant espresso powder, an ingredient I like to have on hand. Unfortunately, my powder sat in storage for a month and a half this summer, so it was more of a melted-then-rehardened glob than a powder. But it dissolved just fine in the hot ice cream mixture.

This ice cream-making experience was notably different from my first one—it took much longer for the ice cream to actually freeze in the machine; I wondered it if was going to stay liquid forever. And the final result was not as firm as the blueberry crumble ice cream. Instead, it’s a soft, melty ice cream that tends to get a little icy around the edges. I wish I could say that the flavor instantly transported me back to that childhood moment when I first realized that coffee ice cream wasn’t all bad, but it didn’t. The recipe called for half a teaspoon of cinnamon, and unfortunately that pungent spice nearly overwhelmed the coffee. It tastes good, don’t get me wrong, but it’s a little sweeter than I’d prefer and it’s definitely not straight-up coffee ice cream.

Back to the drawing board, then! Now that I’ve got the basic mechanics of homemade ice cream figured out, I might have to take matters into my own hands and come up with a coffee-centric recipe of my own.

What’s your favorite coffee ice cream?

P.S. In case you’ve been waiting for the conclusion of my bee-in-the-car saga… I don’t have one. S and I have been car-swapping since Tuesday evening. He reports that the bee has not reappeared, despite a sugar trap he craftily placed in the car. The uncertainty is killing me! What if it’s just waiting for me to get back in the driver’s seat so it can make an appearance?! What if it is too smart to get trapped in the bottle and is instead feasting by night and secluding itself during the day, growing fat on straight sugar water?! What if it decides to hibernate in my car, rather than face the incessant rain that’s been drowning Maryland for the last few days?!?

…these are the irrational thoughts of my phobic brain. Most likely it is dead or it just escaped unseen back on Tuesday, but I fear the worst. SIGH.

Apple Galette!

/ Kelly / 3 Comments


Okay, okay—I know I just said that I was wearying of baked goods. But how could I let this MoFo pass me by without making some sort of apple pie?! It would be a travesty. It would be a golden opportunity lost. It would be downright un-American.

Having conquered a lattice crust last year, I felt little pressure to go all-out for this pie. Instead, I fell prey to the easy and unaffected charm of a galette. To make a galette, you simply prepare a bottom crust and gently tuck it around a version of pie filling that’s less juicy than usual. It’s a great no-fuss option, especially because it’s meant to look rustic and a bit rough around the edges.

 

apple-galette_9829650833_o

I borrowed heavily from this pear galette at RansomCakes, using that recipe for the crust. For the filling, I thinly sliced four Macintosh apples and tossed them with:

  • 2 T vegan sugar (plus a small dash of brown sugar)
  • 2 T spelt flour
  • 1 t lemon juice
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t ginger
  • A few dashes nutmeg

I also borrowed the idea of using extra dough to make shapes on top of the galette. Stars aren’t particularly seasonal, but they’re the smallest cookie cutters I have!

To be honest, I wasn’t in love with this—the crust’s texture was a little off; it just wasn’t at allc crispy (S liked it, describing itc as “almost biscuit-y”). And it made a rather small galette, with just six or so small pieces. (That might’ve been my fault; I probably could’ve rolled the dough a bit thinner.) But it was easy and pretty quick to put together, so I’m not complaining!

What’s your favorite pie-type food to make or eat?

Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream

/ Kelly / 2 Comments

A confession: I had an ulterior motive for making the granola I shared yesterday. I wasn’t lying when I said I’d been dreaming of it for weeks, but there was another incentive: ice cream.

 

blueberry-crumble-ice-cream_9790444706_o

Oh yes.

A couple of weeks ago, I decided to use some of my credit card points to purchase an ice cream maker. I’d been waffling about the purchase for a while, trying to decide whether it would utterly annihilate any aspirations of minimalism I had. I mean, it’s a small appliance with a single purpose! (Fine, three purposes if you count making sorbet and frozen yogurt separately!) It’s another THING I’d own and have to make space for and cart around with me when I move! How could I justify it?!

But then I realized I was trapped myself in a self-imposed definition of minimalism. My minimalism can be whatever I want it to be, as long as it works for me. Maybe it’s a cop-out, but I don’t want to feel restricted by my lifestyle. I also realized that whatever teensy amount of anxiety I might feel about owning another THING would be wholly trumped by the sheer joy I’d experience from being able to make my own delicious vegan ice cream. This freaking ice cream maker is not just going to make ice cream—it’s going to make me happy. It sounds materialistic, but c’mon—doesn’t a sweet frozen treat just make you wanna smile?

So now I own an ice cream maker. :) Its inaugural batch was this Blueberry Crumble Ice Cream recipe I stumbled upon recently. Coincidentally, Shannon over at Killer Bunnies, Inc. also made this ice cream for MoFo! Her theme is straight-up ice cream, so I’ve been getting inspiration for future frozen treat-making from her posts.

Oh, and the ice cream itself? Yeah, it’s about as good as it looks. It’s not terribly creamy, but it compensates with a medley of flavors and textures that make every spoonful taste a little different.

I think I’m gonna like owning an ice cream maker.

 

blueberry-crumble-ice-cream-2_9790445386_o.png

Do you own an ice cream maker or similar one-purpose appliance? How do you feel about it? What’s your favorite vegan ice cream flavor?

Blueberry Pecan Granola

/ Kelly / 6 Comments

You know what’s surprisingly difficult to find at my local grocery stores? Quality vegan granola. They’re all too sugary or use honey or include milk chocolate. And the good ones are damn expensive! Yuck. Happily, it’s pretty easy to work up a batch of homemade, inexpensive granola to your taste; the most challenging part is deciding on which add-ins to include!

I’ve wanted to use my beloved dried wild blueberries in granola since I first conceived of my MoFo theme. This weekend, I finally did it! I created a blueberry granola lightly kissed with maple syrup and cinnamon and full of nutty crunch. It’s absolutely delicious, if I do say so myself. ;)

blueberry-pecan-granola_9765859846_o

Blueberry-Pecan Granola

Makes 2 1/2 cups, give or take

  • 2 C rolled oats (I use Bob’s Red Mill Rolled Oats)
  • 1/4 C ground flaxseed
  • Heaping 1/3 C raw pumpkin seeds
  • 1/4 C chopped pecans
  • 1/2 t cinnamon
  • 1/4 t salt
  • A few dashes nutmeg
  • 1/4 C + 1 T melted coconut oil
  • 1/4 C + 1 T pure maple syrup
  • 1 t vanilla extract
  • Heaping 1/3 C dried wild blueberries

Preheat oven to 350˚ and line a flat baking sheet with parchment paper.

In a large bowl, stir together the oats, flax, pecans, sunflower seeds, and spices. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk the coconut oil, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. (Warning: The resulting liquid will smell like heaven in a bowl. Resist the urge to go at it with a spoon!)

Add the wet mixture to the dry and stir to coat. Pour the granola onto the prepared baking sheet and bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and add the dried blueberries, stirring to combine. Bake for another 10-15 minutes or until the oats are golden. Remove from oven and let cool for at least 10 minutes.

(Full disclosure: I originally made this with just 1/4 C coconut oil, but it didn’t create as many granola clumps as I wanted. So I’m increasing the measurement by an additional tablespoon—if you try it, let me know how it works out!)

uncooked-blueberry-granola_9764935436_o

Check back in tomorrow to see how I used this granola—it’s gonna be good!

What’s your favorite kind of granola? How do you eat it?

Note: This post contains affiliate links. If you purchase something through my link, it costs nothing extra for you, but I get a few pennies to help cover hosting costs.

Easy as Pie: Pumpkin Pudding

/ Kelly / 1 Comment

The hot weather continues here in Maryland. I’m not sure if there’s a more PC term for “Indian summer,” but whatever it is, it’s what’s going on here.* Despite the sweat-inducing temperatures outdoors, my thoughts are rapidly straying to autumn and to all the culinary changes it brings. If you’re familiar with VeganMoFo, then you probably know that the foodie blogworld goes absolutely bonkers for one particular ingredient this time of year:

Top-down view of lots of orange pumpkins.

Perhaps my shopping list from yesterday’s post was a giveaway, but I’ve been jonesin’ for something made with pumpkin lately. But baked goods weren’t exactly at the top of my want-list last night; our apartment was hot, I was sleepy, and we already have lots of leftovers hanging around from my other MoFo experiments. Instead, I settled for probably the easiest dessert ever: pumpkin pudding.

 

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I’d fully intended to come up with my own recipe, but this one from Healthy. Happy. Life. is a dead ringer for the idea I had in my head, so I won’t bother sharing a recipe. The only changes I made were to totally avoid measuring anything (ahem, I said I was sleepy) and to use a bit of brown sugar along with the maple syrup. Oh, and I just dumped some autumnal spices in because I ain’t got no pumpkin pie spice.

Although soy-free puddings certainly appeal to a wider crowd, this silken tofu-based one is just unbeatable in terms of simplicity. Whizz it all up in the blender, let it set, and presto—instant dessert. Even an overheated zombie (who, me?) can’t mess that up.

I’m sure I’ll be baking with pumpkin soon enough, so—what’s your favorite pumpkin recipe? 

*According to Wikipedia, there are actually a boatload of other terms. I think I might like the Chinese one best.

Baked Apples!

/ Kelly / 3 Comments

Ah, September. In these waning days of summer, the leaves are crinkling and dropping at an alarming rate, my precious after-work sunlight time is growing shorter, and there’s an undeniable chill in the air.

Wait, nope, that’s wrong, and I’m definitely denying it. Ain’t no chill round these parts! Yesterday it reached nearly 90˚F here in Maryland, and the rest of the week promises similar heat. Not that I’m complaining; I will happily take any last drop of summer I can get. But the heat did make the autumnal dinner S and I prepared for his mom last night a little… inappropriate? We had a delicious chili S whipped up, cornbread (from Veganomicon), and baked apples for dessert. Totally fall-like, and totally wrong for the hot weather. No matter, though; it was delicious and eminently healthy.

I was especially impressed by the baked apples; I’ve only made them once or twice before, but they’re so easy and so rustically enjoyable! S and I hit up the farmers’ market this weekend, so I used Macintosh apples we picked up there. I simply cored them (anybody have tips for coring apples without a nifty tool?), stuffed them with brown sugar and spices, and set them in a pan filled with a little water. After 40 minutes in the oven and a bit of Earth Balance on top, they were tender, oozy, and ready for devouring; they actually reminded me of the homemade applesauce my mama used to make every fall.

Despite my ringing endorsement of my dessert, it was not particularly photogenic. Plus, we were chatting with S’s mum while eating our apples, and I didn’t want to whip out the camera. So instead of a photo of my baked apples, check out my shopping list from yesterday. It is, unlike the weather, extremely autumnal.

Top-down image of my veiny hand with three words written on it in pen: cinnamon, cornmeal, and pumpkin.Yes, that is an Instagram photo. Yes, my hands are veiny. No, I don’t usually write on my hands (maybe like thrice a year, tops).

What’s on your seasonal shopping list? How do you like your baked apples?

MoFo Monday: Erdbeerboden(ish) from Seitan is My Motor

/ Kelly / 3 Comments

Okay, I know my title is a bit nonsensical—every Monday during MoFo is a MoFo Monday. I’m referring to a new sub-theme I’ve recently (i.e. today) implemented: on Mondays, I will venture into the wider world of MoFo and make a recipe that 1.) still qualifies for my theme of seasonal fruits, but 2.) is another MoFoer’s recipe. There are so many wonderful blogs participating this year, and I’ve been Pinning up a storm as I see recipes that inspire me.

This year, I’ve been absolutely loving Mihl’s theme over at Seitan is My Motor. Mihl’s blog was one of the first ones I started following when I began toying with veganism, and I’ve been a fan ever since. This year, she’s veganizing classic German desserts, and her treats are just so enticing. When I saw her recipe for Erdbeerboden, a strawberry spongecake, I was smitten. I just adored the idea of a light spongecake that lets fruit stand front and center.

Because strawberries aren’t in season around here (sadface!) I swapped in blueberries instead. So this is not a true Erdbeerboden, I suppose! But no matter. It’s still delicious, even though I had to make another last-minute substitute when I realized I was out of agar-agar. Cornstarch saved the day, even though agar would certainly have been a more elegant solution; my cornstarch mixture was a little… thick. On the bright side, I had the perfect pan to make this in, even though I thought I’d gotten rid of it before moving to Maryland. I’m glad my minimalism hasn’t taken full hold yet. ;)

 

Isn’t it pretty? It’s light and just sweet enough. The blueberries made a lovely topping, too—I fully endorse the substitution, and the recipe as a whole. Thanks, Mihl!

What’s your favorite recipe using spongecake?