Thanksgiving Recap And Some Other Stuff

Happy Belated Thanksgiving!  For some reason I really love Thanksgiving.  However, it is not because I am uber crazy about the food, nor is it particular family members I enjoy seeing nor is it watching the parade on TV--I'm not really crazy about any of that.  It's not either that I am steeped in tradition.  I'm open to doing new things each year, branching out with foods, eating at a different place, etc.

That all said, I was doing some reflecting and trying to figure out why I like Thanksgiving so much.  I think it's a couple of things.  I like bonding with my mom, as we bake together in the kitchen.  I like that the weather outside is cold and crisp.  I like that this holiday is the kick-off to the Christmas season.  I like its gentle reminder that a new year is not far away.

This year it was just me and my mom and she asked if I might be open to going to the Holly Hotel for Thanksgiving dinner instead of making a traditional meal at home.  I responded with an immediate, yes!

I had never been to Holly Hotel but it is a historic hotel, which no longer serves as a hotel but as a banquet hall/restaurant/comedy club/etc.  It maintains its historic-ness, though, despite its many faces.  The space is relatively small (for a hotel).  There are antique photographs covering the walls from floor to ceiling.  There is a bar with a stained glass backsplash of Poppy flowers (although I think Holly flowers would have been more suiting) and the words "Holly Hotel."  The windows along the first floor of the hotel boast similarly lovely stained glass windows.

The dining rooms were just barely illuminated by delicate-looking and very simply designed light sconces, which appeared to be original hotel features.  For the Thanksgiving holiday, and I'm sure Christmas too, the Holly Hotel had decorated trees and boughs of Evergreen with lights woven through.

 A diner offered to take a photo of me and my mom while we were waiting for our table.

I took some shots of me and my mom while waiting for our table.

Shot number two!

A lovely photo of my mom.

 I took this photo of my mom while waiting for our table.  I really like it of her--I think she's beautiful.

Even though she made reservations, we still had to wait close to an hour for our table--it was that busy!  Neither of us minded and it gave us time to people watch, explore the hotel a bit and develop an even greater appetite for dinner!

 Me seated in the Holly Hotel!

 My mom said it looked like the flowers were growing out of her head!

The menu for the day was soup, salad, choice of entree and dessert.  Drinks were not included in the blanket price of the meal but there was an extensive list of wine, champagne and other alcohol.

A thin, broth-y, gingersnap-y butternut squash soup was the first course offered, followed by a salad of mixed greens, candied nuts and chipped Derby (which I learned was a form of cheddar cheese) in an apple cider-honey vinaigrette.  The dinner options were the usual turkey, pork, salmon or a butternut squash vegetarian option.  The dessert options were pumpkin pie or apple crisp.

Like I said, I'm not sure what all was in this but it was good!  There was one questionable ingredient--not in terms of its being vegan but in terms of its identity--that I picked out.  Usually my palate is very discerning but even I did not know what it was.

Obviously, many of the options were not vegan but many were, and those that were not were veganized!!  The soup, minus the croutons, was vegan-friendly.  The salad was almost entirely non-vegan, which is unusual for a salad, so the chef stripped it bare and added cucumbers, cherry tomatoes and a different dressing.  I had a modified version of the vegetarian squash entree and skipped dessert altogether, which was okay with me, since I was full and since I had made my own vegan and gluten-free pies earlier in the day.

Angela Liddon's Vegan Pumpkin Pie with Gluten-Free Oat-Pecan Crust from Oh She Glows.

My own Vegan/Gluten-Free Single Crust Apple Pie.  This was delicious but I liked the pumpkin better ;)  I am more of a pumpkin pie type of gal, though!

I didn't get many pictures of my food because the lighting in the hotel, while cozy, was otherwise abysmal for photographing food.  I did manage one of my entree, which turned out okay, and a couple of my mom and me.  I also got some of my pies, with hopefully more to come later!  I often struggle with photographing my food because all I want to do is eat it!

Though I posted some Instagram pie photos above, here are some more of my pumpkin pie, before it's about to go in the oven!  I'll likely be posting more pie photos in the coming days ;)

Switching gears: the "Some Other Stuff" part of today's post heading refers to the fact that I've started running!  I always branded myself as a non runner--someone who does not like it.  I always got that gross phlegm in my throat when I ran, my shins hurt and I ran out of breath in, like, two minutes.

My friend, Megan, who teaches yoga at the studio where I work, runs and kept inviting me to run with her.  I accepted a couple of times and then backed out each of those times.  I finally went with her though and actually really enjoyed it, to my surprise!  Not only did I enjoy it, but I was, surprisingly, in shape!  I'm not fast, by any means, but I was able to keep her pace and did not feel out of breath or feel a need to stop and walk!  My legs and breath are strong from my dedicated yoga practice.  I am in greater shape than I was years ago when I first branded myself a non runner.

So in the past week, I've run three times!  And good distances too, like, 3-4 miles/time.  I cannot express how proud of myself I am!  While I did have my iPod, on my run I thought of so many things, like a moving mediation of sorts.  I thought a lot of Scott Jurek, too, having read his P-H-E-N-O-M-E-N-A-L book, Eat and Run.  He is a vegan who runs ultramarathons.  He's very bad ass.  I read his book this past summer and remembered thinking, I wish I liked running.  Now I do!

Blogger might delete this photo down the road but for now I'm posting it!

I will close here.  I apologize that this post is so long.  Typically I do not like such long posts but hopefully the pictures will help to offset some of the length.  These posts, too, are for me, and they help me to express myself and reflect on things.  I do not mean this in a selfish way but sometimes there is just a lot I need to get out, be it something major or unbelievably inconsequential!

Have a great weekend everybody!

Two-For!

Per the request of Sarah, aka xvavaveganx, I am including a recipe for the pumpkin roll I made the other day.  However, I am also dedicating this post to my current obsession:

Salads!

Leafy kale with sunflower shoots, fuji apples, dried apricots and toasted hulled pistachios with my favorite spicy mustard-maple vinaigrette.

And I don't just mean iceberg with discs of cucumber, julienned carrots and shredded cabbage in some Italian vinaigrette, I mean salads--greens with an array of complementary vegetables, nuts and/or seeds and *perfect* dressings.

The particular salad I've been obsessed with lately consists of arugala topped with dehydrated BBQ-marinated portobello mushrooms, avocado, and red pepper flake and rosemary-roasted butternut squash.  I drizzle my very own spicy mustard-maple vinaigrette on top and then crack some fresh black pepper on the whole thing.  Perfection!

The vinaigrette I make is my absolute favorite, go-to dressing for salads (especially this time of year) because it complements the flavors of fall so well!  Other salads I've made and love include spinach topped with with roasted beets, cinnamon-roasted carrots and toasted pecans; roasted squash, baked apples and toasted walnuts over spinach--basically I love any salad that includes a leaf--spinach, arugala, romaine, kale--with some combination of roasted veggie, be it squash, beet, apple, carrot, etc.

That's not to say I don't like other salad combinations as well...

Baby spinach with Dijon mustard-baked tempeh with julienned carrots, avocado and hemp hearts with my fave dressing.

Baby spinach with roasted butternut squash, baked Honeycrisp apples and freshly cracked black pepper.  I put the warm squash and apples directly on the spinach, drizzled the leftover apple juices over the everything, and loosely placed a sheet of foil on top to allow the spinach to wilt and soften only slightly.

Baby spinach with Honeycrisp apples, carrots and raisins with my us' dressing.  In the background is my homemade butternut squash and sun-dried tomato bisque!

Baby arugala with sun-dried tomatoes, green beans and freshly cracked black pepper with my fave dressing....nectarine for good measure ;)

Leafy kale with toasted hulled pistachios, julienned carrots and sesame seeds.  I actually do not remember what dressing I used for this salad!

Baby Arugala with roasted beets, cinnamon and cayenne-roasted carrots and toasted pecans in my fave dressing.

Romaine and arugala salad with avocado, edamame and toasted pistachios with Garlic Expressions.

I have so many more photos but Blogger says I've used up too much space so these will have to suffice!

And now, the recipe!

Vegan, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll

Ingredients:

Pumpkin Roll
-  3 Ener-G eggs
-  1 c. cane sugar
-  2/3 c. pumpkin puree, heaping
-  1 tsp. lemon juice
-  3/4 c. gluten-free flour blend (I use Bob's Red Mill but you can make your own!)
-  1/2 tsp. xanthan gum
-  2 tsp. cinnamon
-  1 tsp. nutmeg
-  1 tsp. ginger
-  1 tsp. baking powder
-  1/2 tsp. sea salt
-  1 c. finely chopped walnuts

Filling
-  1 1/4 c. organic powdered sugar, sifted, plus extra for dusting
-  8 oz. vegan cream cheese
-  2 T. non-dairy spread (Earth Balance, vegan margarine, etc.)
-  1 tsp. vanilla
-  Dash salt

Directions:
1.  Preheat oven to 350' F.  Line a lipped cookie sheet with parchment paper (making sure the paper extends up the sides of the sheet.  Grease and flour paper.  Set aside.  Generously dust a linen kitchen towel with powdered sugar.  Set aside.
2.  In a stand mixer, beat Ener-G 'eggs' and cane sugar together for five minutes.  Fold in pumpkin and lemon juice.
3.  In a separate bowl, mix flour, spices, baking powder and salt.  Fold dry ingredient mixture into wet and mix until ingredients are incorporated.
4.  Pour mixture into prepared cookie sheet, making sure to spread the batter out evenly.  Sprinkle chopped nuts on top and allow roll to bake for 11-13 minutes, or until firm to the touch.
5.  Once roll has finished baking, remove from oven and immediately invert on powdered sugar-covered towel, making sure the nut side is the side making contact with the powdered sugar.  Roll up roll, dusting with more powdered sugar as you roll, and allow roll to cool completely on a wire rack.
6.  While roll is cooling, make filling by combining ingredients in a stand mixture.  Please filling in fridge for 30 minutes or so to allow it to firm up
7.  Once roll has finished cool, carefully unroll roll from linen towel and spread the cream cheese filling on the roll, taking care to leave a 3/4" margin or so around the edges so that the filling doesn't ooze out too much.
8.  Wrap entire roll in cling wrap so that the whole thing really firms up and place in freezer.
9.  When ready to cut, remove roll from freezer and use a butter knife to cut 1/2" or 1" slices--whatever your preference is!
10.  Enjoy
Note:  This roll freezes really well.  If you package it well (leave it whole and slice as you go to preserve greater freshness), it can last two months or so...assuming you have that kind of willpower!  Also, this roll is best eaten at room temperature so when you do go to eat it, take it out of the freezer, cut your slice and allow it to come to room temperature.  Not gonna lie--there have been many times when I cannot wait for it to thaw so I eat it cold : /  

...and it's still yummy!

Recipe for Truffle-Stuffed Oreo Chunk Cookies (And Pictures of my Vegan, Gluten-Free Pumpkin Roll!)

Well, the iced pumpkin chai latte cookies I brought in to work the other day are all gone, so I had to bring in more treats tonight so as not to disappoint my loyal customer base :))

I have so many ideas of what I want to make that deciding what to make is often very difficult!  Very rarely am I hard up for ideas (although it does happen) and today I had a hard time deciding between mocha layer brownies, cinnamon bun-esque scones, pumpkin cookies with cream cheese icing or truffle stuffed Oreo (Newman-O) chunk cookies.  I settled on the last choice because I had all the necessary ingredients already on hand :)

Holy moly did the cookies turn out good.  They're a little rustic and imperfect looking--some of the chocolate oozed out of a couple--but I like that!  I hope these cookies are well received and that they go quickly because Thursday I will be bringing something else in for the special Thanksgiving day morning yoga class.

Every year, the yoga studio I work at holds a donation-based yoga class on Thanksgiving, with all the donations going to Camp Mak-A-Dream.  This year, the teacher teaching the class commissioned me to make a treat of my choice to include in each of the goodie bags she's assembling for people who come to the class.  I decided to make pumpkin brownies :))

Anyway, enough of that...here's the recipe for the cookies!

Truffle-Stuffed Oreo Chunk Cookies

Yield apx. 36 cookies

Ingredients:
-  1/2 c. + 2 T. Earth Balance, softened (or other vegan spread/margarine)
-  1/2 c. muscovado sugar
-  1/2 c. light brown sugar
-  1/2 c. cane sugar
-  Scant 1/2 c. vanilla almond milk (or other non-dairy milk)
-  2 T. tapioca starch
-  1 T. pure vanilla extract
-  2 1/2 c. all-purpose flour
-  1 tsp. baking soda
-  1 tsp. sea salt
-  1/4 tsp. cinnamon
-  12 creme-filled cookies, coarsely chopped (Oreos, Newman-Os, etc.)
-  36 truffles or other chocolate fillings of your preference :)

Directions:
1.  Cream together Earth Balance and sugars for 5 to 7 minutes, until very light and fluffy.  In a small bowl or cup, whisk together almond milk and tapioca starch and gradually add to butter-sugar mixture.  Add vanilla.
2.  In a separate bowl combine flour, baking soda, salt and cinnamon.  Add dry mixture to wet and mix until combined.  Fold in chopped cookies.  Cover and refrigerate dough for at least two hours.
3.  After dough has chilled, preheat oven to 325 degrees Fahrenheit.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper and set aside.
4.  Use a 1.5-inch silicon cookie release to scoop out balls of dough.  Press down center of dough, place in truffle or other type of chocolate and add a little more dough to the top.  Roll dough into a ball, making sure there are no gaps, and place on prepared baking sheet.  Repeat prcess with remainig dough.

5.  Allow cookies to bake for 5 1/2 minutes at 325 degrees, after which time, increase the oven temperature to 350 degrees, turn the baking tray around in the oven, and allow cookies to bake for an additional 5 1/2 minutes.  Cookies are done when the are beautifully cracked and slightly golden.

 6.  Let cookies cool on baking sheets for five minutes before transferring to wire racks to cool completely.
7.  Enjoy!

Okay, and now for my vegan AND gluten-free pumpkin roll.  I am also so, so proud of this.  For something that's gluten-free, the texture was AWESOME!!!  And the flavor??  Well, let's just say I ate three little slices before packaging the roll up and shoving it in my freezer to resist further temptation...for now...

Recipe maybe to follow :)

Recipe And A New Tattoo!

It's getting to be super busy baking season for me--goodies are disappearing faster than I can keep up at work;  I'm receiving a lot of custom orders, I'm making edible take-aways (I was thinking cookies...but maybe I'll do a bar??) to include in gift bags for attendees of my yoga studio's annual Thanksgiving day fundraiser;  I'm participating in a holiday show on November 30th and have to create a sampler platter for the show;  I need to create a sample basket to showcase at the desk at work for people interested in purchasing treats for the holidays AND I might start selling my treats at a local Beyond Juice.

Phew!

Just typing all this is making me exhausted : /  It is exciting stuff, though, don't get me wrong--it just seems like a lot!  Fortunately, I love baking and right now, the more I get to do it, the happier I am!

The past few days I have been working on perfecting some pumpkin cookies, either to sell at work or to save for the Thanksgiving day fundraiser next week.  I think I'm going to sell them at the desk for two reasons:

1.  There is only one left of the lemon-raspberry scones I brought in the other day, and once that goes there will be nothing at the desk.

2.  If I decide to bake these cookies for the Thanksgiving day fundraiser I'll probably have to make like three or four batches because each batch only makes about 18 cookies and the preparation required for making the cookies is not, necessarily, something I want to do four times.

The cookies really did turn out great, though.  They burst with flavors of fall and warmth and spices.  They have a slight crispiness on the outside (enhanced by the sugar) and a moist center.  For those of you looking for a vegan pumpkin cookie recipe that does not produce a puffy, cake-like cookie, then this is the recipe for you!


Vegan Crispy Pumpkin Chai Latte Cookies

Yields apx. 20 cookies

Ingredients:
Cookies
- 3/4 c. non-dairy spread (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
- 1 c. cane sugar
- 1/2 c. packed brown sugar *see note
- 1 can pumpkin puree *see note
- 1 'egg' (I use a 1.5 t. Ener-G and 2 T. water combination)
- 2 T. instant coffee
- 1.5 T. pure vanilla extract
- 2 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
- 2 t. cinnamon, heaping
- 1/2 t. nutmeg
- 1/2 t. ginger
- 1/4 t. cloves
- 1 t. baking powder
- 1 t. baking soda
- 1 t. sea salt
- Extra coarse sugar
*Note:  Combine pumpkin with brown sugar in a small saucepan on the stove and cook down for 45 minutes to one hour to get rid of much of the pumpkin's natural water content.

Chai Icing
- 2 cups organic powdered sugar, sifted
- 2 T. non-dairy spread (I use Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Sticks)
- 1/4 c. + 2 T. vanilla non-dairy milk
- 2 chai tea bags
- Dash sea salt

Ingredients:

1.  Preheat oven to 350' Fahrenheit.  Line two baking trays with parchment paper.  Set aside.  Pour some coarse sugar onto a plate and set that aside as well

2.  Start by preparing 'egg.'  Set aside.  Next, dissolve instant coffee in vanilla.  Mixture will thicken, achieving a syrup-like consistency.

3.  Beat the non-dairy spread and cane sugar together in a blender for 3-5 minutes, until light and fluffy.  Slowly add in 'egg,' followed by coffee-vanilla extract mixture.  Beat for an additional 30 seconds or so then add the prepared pumpkin and continue to beat for another minute or so.

4.  In a separate bowl combine dry ingredients and gradually add to wet mixture until just combined.

5.  Use a large silicon cookie release to scoop even amounts of dough out.  Press into coarse sugar that you set aside earlier, flattening the dough, and place on prepared baking sheets.

6.  Bake cookies for 12-14 minutes, rotating baking sheets halfway through baking time to ensure even baking.  Cookies are done when edges are golden and tops of cookies are slightly firm to the touch.  Allow cookies to cool for 3 or so minutes on baking sheets before moving to wire racks to finish cooling.

7.  While cookies are baking, make frosting.  Melt butter and combine with non-dairy milk.  Allow tea bags to steep in butter-milk mixture for 7 minutes.  Remove bags after the 7 minutes is up and squeeze bags to release extra liquid.  Mix tea mixture with sifted powdered sugar until it achieves icing consistency.  Add more non-dairy milk as needed.

8.  Drizzle icing over cooled cookies or dip cookies in icing.  Allow cookies to cool for at least 30 minutes in the refrigerator before packaging so that icing doesn't smudge.

9.  Enjoy!

Now--and this is totally unrelated to my recent baking endeavor--my tattoo!

It's part one of three.  Part one was the basic outline and part two will be the shading!  It's going to be bright and bold!  Part three will be final touches ;)

Custom Orders

I've been doing a lot of custom orders lately, which I am absolutely THRILLED about.  While I love bringing treats in to work to sell, I love even more doing custom orders for events.  I feel I am able to be more creative and I don't have to worry about making something that's package-able.

This post will be short and sweet (haha--no pun intended).  I just wanted to share a couple photos of what I've made over the past few weeks.  Hopefully there will be more orders to come!

A woman who practices at the yoga studio where I work wanted me to put together a "tasting platter" for herself and some colleagues to celebrate a fellow colleague's retirement.  She let me choose what I wanted to bake so I chose treats that would showcase my versatility: cookies 'n cream brownies, peanut butter oatmeal cookies and mini apple pies.

 This platter was for a recent massage workshop, held at the yoga studio where I work.  The massage therapist who ordered the platter requested some type of bar and I suggested salted chocolate chunk bars.  The solid chocolate heart in the middle of the tray was my own creative addition because the workshop was a "Hands to Heart" couples massage workshop.

This sampler platter was for the sister of a woman with whom I work.  The sister requested bite-size treats to pair with wine for her and her husband's anniversary party.  From right to left: mini peanut butter brownie cupcakes, mini cookies 'n cream brownie cupcakes, lemon sugar cookies, carrot cake bites, plain and chocolate-dipped macaroons, mini apple pies.

RECIPE: Raw Vegan 'Oat'meal

Yay!  I have held up my commitment to blogging for day number two!

Today I decided to share a recipe.  I have been enjoying raw 'oat'meal for breakfast the past few days.  The 'oat'meal is tasty, full of different textures, satisfying and nutritious!  Not to mention, it's incredibly easy to make and can be modified to suit different taste preferences.

Ingredients:
-  3 T. flaxseed
-  1/2 c. almond or other non-dairy milk (you can use more/less to give your 'oat'meal a thinner/thicker consistency)
-  1 banana (again, you could alter this by blending 2 bananas for a thicker texture and more banana-y taste, or chop up a second banana to have another layer of texture in your oatmeal!)
-  2 tsp. pure maple syrup, or to taste
-  1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon, or to taste
-  Sea salt, to taste
-  2 T. toasted pecans or other nut of choice (I realize toasting the nuts makes them not authentically "raw" but the pecans simply MUST be toasted for maximum flavor!!!--NOT optional!)

Directions:
Scoop flaxseed into a bowl and pour milk over.  Cover and refrigerate overnight.  This will allow the mixture to get thick and goopy (I know this sounds a little gross but it will allow for an amazing oatmeal-y texture).  The following morning, blend the rest of your ingredients (except for the pecans) and garnish with toasted pecans.  Enjoy!

Baking Frenzy and Gluten-Free

Alright, I made a decision tonight that I need to resume my regular blogging.  Frankly, I miss it and...I certainly have the time, not to mention things to share!

Since my last post I've baked, cooked and prepared soooooo many things.  To name a few I've made peanut butter oatmeal cookies, Butterfinger candy bars, chocolate-dipped macaroons, cookies 'n cream cheesecake bars,  peanut butter brownies, cranberry-orange scones with citrus glaze, red currant-filled lemon scones with lemon icing, an assortment platter of cookies 'n cream brownies, said peanut butter oatmeal cookies and mini apple pies.  I've made stuffed grape leaves, quiche-type things, butternut squash and sun-dried tomato bisque, raw buckwheat "toast," roasted carrot and avocado salad, stuffed acorn squash, a cold garlic and cumin beet salad...the list goes on.

I've also taken up a gluten-free diet for over the past week to see if it helps with some digestive issues I've been experiencing, and in this little amount of time I HAVE noticed a difference!  If I do give up gluten forever, though, or at least long term, I'm going to have to start doing a lot of research!

It's been a pretty easy switch so far because I wasn't consuming a whole lot of gluten to begin with but I can foresee it being a little trickier down the road when I go out to eat with friends or things of that nature.

I will sincerely do my best to keep my blog updated on my G-F progress and baking endeavors!