A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Cucidatis

For our California Christmases, one tradition stands above all others- the sugar bomb known as the cucidati. A staple of our childhood ever since the St. Joseph's altars of our Catholic school days, these fig cookies joyously came back into our lives several years ago in one amazing holiday season that saw at least 3 batches being made and promptly enjoyed.

This year, we had the added challenge of transitioning our favorite diabetic coma in convenient handheld form into a gluten-free treat. Would the cucidati successfully make this leap in desserty evolution, or would Christmas be ruined?

Cucidatis
Adapted from Food.com
Previously seen here in gluteny form
Servings: 12-16 thumbprint cookies
Time: 90 minutes (inactive for 45 of that)

2 cups gluten-free all-purpose flour
3/4 tbsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup vegan veggie shortening
1/2 large egg substitute (Ener-G)
1/2 tbsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy milk + more for icing
Fig Jam
Powdered sugar
Almond extract
Colored sprinkles

What they normally look like without thumbprint intervention.

1. Sift the flour, baking powder and salt together in a bowl.
2. Stir in the sugar.
3. Cut in the shortening with a pastry blender or cut it into small pieces and mash into the flour mixture by hand until it resembles corn meal.
4. Beat the egg substitute, vanilla and soy milk together in a separate bowl.
5. Add the egg mixture to the flour in a stand mixer and mix for about 3 minutes until a soft dough forms.
6. Divide into two pieces and refrigerate in plastic wrap for 45 minutes.
7. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
8. Roll one piece of dough out at a time into 12" squares on a floured surface.
9. Get increasingly angry as the dough continually breaks apart.
10. Have your sister save Christmas by forming them into thumbprint cookies instead (make a small round cookie and press down on the center with your thumb).
11. Fill the thump print in with fig jam.
12. Place on a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes or until they begin to golden.
13. Let cool on a wire rack.
14. Mix soy milk with copious amounts of powdered sugar and ~1 tsp of almond extract (or really however much you want that almond finish. Just be careful. A little goes a long way). The end result should be smooth and fairly thick.
15. Ice the tops of each cucidati cookie and sprinkle with fun colors. Be sure to sprinkle them quickly before the icing dries and magnificently repels the sprinkles off.
16. Enjoy a minimum of 4 at a time and then curse the terrible sugar crash.

Literally everyone wanted to get their hands on them.

Initially, all hope seemed lost. Two attempts at making cucidatis proved unsuccessful, and our bodies were shaking with the need for sugar. Then, my sister got a truly inspired idea. These cucidatis didn't have to look like cucidatis, they simply had to taste like them! (I'm pretty sure we saw a light bulb magically appear.) By turning these into thumbprint cookies, we were able to stuff our mouths jam-packed with all the sugar our inner child ever desired. Now, I have just under a year to perfect these as a gluten-free dessert. My current thought is that the dough just isn't as well formed with the gluten-free all-purpose flour and other alternative flours need to be explored (with almond flour being the suspected savior). Unfortunately, this means I have batches upon batches of cucidatis to consume. I just hope I'm up to the challenge...

Lowercase "q" enjoys his first Christmas and his awesome new balcony yard

Our Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas surpassed all my initially skeptical expectations. We had several amazing days of fine meals, family, and Christmas classics (like The X-Files). Do we really have to wait all year for it to come again?

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Butterscotch Budino

Now that our bellies were properly stuffed with holiday cheer (and by that I mean Okra Gumbo and Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes), it was time to move on to the true meaning of Christmas- Desserts! In proper old soulness, butterscotch has always been a favorite pudding (and hard candy) flavor for my sister and me. The chance to combine that with chunks of salt and cookies proved to be too much to resist (how happy must doctors be that we now like putting large chunks of salt with our already terrible desserts?). It was time to get cooking with some Christmas spirits (see what I did there!??!).

Butterscotch Budino
Adapted from Olives for Dinner
Servings: 6-8
Time: 20 minutes (plus cooling)

1/2 cup Earth Balance
3 tsp Ener-G
3 tbsp cornstarch
1 1/2 cups unsweetened soymilk, divided
1 cup soy creamer (So Delicious Coconut Creamer recommended)
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed
1 tbsp whiskey (Jameson's claims to be gluten-free)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
Coarse Sea Salt, for serving
Gluten-free cookies

1. Melt the Earth Balance over low heat in a medium saucepan.
2. Mix 1 cup of the soymilk with the cornstarch and Ener-G in a separate bowl. Whisk well until all lumps are removed.
3. Add the milk mixture to the melted butter and whisk until well incorporated. Increase to medium-low heat.
4. In a separate bowl (or your same just used one), combine the remaining 1/2 cup soymilk, creamer and sugars until smooth. 
5. Add this to the saucepan, whisking frequently. Let the mixture come to a light boil then remove it from heat.
6. Stir in the whiskey and vanilla extract. Cover and cool in the fridge until ready to serve (I recommend at least 2 hours).
7. Debate what to do with the remaining bottle of whiskey while you wait for the for the budino to cool and set. It's a long 2 hours.
8. Serve with a cookie and a sprinkling of coarse sea salt distributed nicely throughout.

The budino was incredibly rich and creamy. Whiskey and vanilla are always a winning combination for desserty goodness, which was only bolstered further by the always enjoyable surprise bursts from the salt crystals. Our store bought gluten-free cookie added some welcome and necessary texture to the dessert, but they definitely lagged behind in the flavor department (fortunately, we had previously made much more successful chocolate chip and brownie cookies). Our pudding course turned out to be incredibly successful (aside from some minor lumps that really only affected aesthetics) and the ultimate way to push ourselves that final inch into a proper holiday food coma. Like a good Christmas miracle, my mom even found a creative use for it the next morning at breakfast.

Our Christmas breakfast of waffles with apple compote, tofu scramble and rosemary roasted potatoes, or, as my mother saw it, the perfect vessel for the leftover budino (don't worry, she just put it on the waffles, but I fear what she'd have done had we not been there to judge).

Coming up, the final and most important entry in a Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas- our annual Cucidatis! Can they hold up in this harsh new gluten-free world?

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Okra Gumbo

I call this the faux-hawk plate

With our Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes already delighting our bellies, we needed a proper dinner chock-ful of nostalgia to round out our Christmas Eve feast. For me, there is one dish that epitomizes home cooking with the power to send you back to your childhood and cure all of your woes- my grandmother's okra gumbo.

Maw Maw's okra gumbo transcends all other gumbos (and all other cooking from anyone's grandmother for that matter). It was more of a stew of greatness than a gumbo. The extremely thick okra base was perfect for anything from putting on top of rice, to making a sandwich in a buttery roll, to even dipping french fries in. Really, the only thing you should probably avoid doing is putting it on ice cream, but I wouldn't be surprised if that was also amazing (Now if you'll excuse me, I'm busy thinking about frying ice cream and smothering it in okra gumbo...). While I don't have her actual recipe, my mom and I have made a few gumbos in our day, and we were going to try our best to reach those seemingly unobtainable cajun heights.

Okra Gumbo
Adapted from motherly and sonly wisdom
Servings: 8-10
Time: Approximately 3-4 hours

Chop, chop, chop!

6 tbsp vegetable oil
6-8 tbsp gluten-free all-purpose flour
1 1/2 yellow onions, diced
2 green bell peppers, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
3-4 lb bags of frozen okra
6 cups water
3 Not Chick'n bouillon cubes
Cajun seasoning to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste
Tabasco to taste
Extra-long grain rice

It's always important to remember to get lots of shadows in your foodie pics.

1. Make your roux. Mix the flour and oil over medium heat, stirring frequently until it starts to smell nutty and becomes caramel colored. (The preferable holiday procedure is to have your mom who has hundreds of rouxs worth of experience make it while you dice the produce.)
2. Coat the onions, bell peppers and garlic in the roux. Let cook over medium-low heat for 7-10 minutes until the onions become translucent. Be careful not to burn the garlic.
3. Transfer to a large pot. Add the water and bring it to a boil. Stir frequently to avoid sticking to the bottom and burning.
4. Stir in the bouillon cubes and okra (the more you put, the thicker the final product will be) and return to a boil.
5. Lower the temp to a healthy simmer and let cook for at least two hours (you want the okra to start breaking down a little).
6. Season with cajun seasoning and cayenne pepper while cooking (and tabasco once in a bowl).
7. Serve with extra-long grain rice.
8. Relive awesome childhood food moments from grandmother's house.

Proper gumbo plating- smothered

We managed to come surprisingly close to the taste and joy of Maw Maw's famous okra gumbo. The three bags of okra gave it a great thickness and heartiness, but four probably would have been the proper number for true gumbo magic. Seconds were not an option for this gumbo, rather they were a demand of our stomaches, which were now suffering from a condition that can only be explained as "gumbo-lust". In the true gumbo spirit, it was even better the next day after it had more time to thicken up and the flavors had more time to come together. For more tasty fun with your gumbo, sprinkle in some gluten-free panko crumbs for a little crunch.

Now I have to admit that we partially cheated on the gluten-freeness here (hey, Christmas is a time of forgiveness). We added some Field Roast Italian"sausage" to up the protein content (may the gluten-free gods have mercy on our souls). This proved to be the weakest part of the gumbo, though, so it can easily be skipped for the full gluten-free experience.

Stay tuned for the most important part of any proper Christmas celebration- the desserts!

A Very Vegan Gluten-Free Christmas: Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes

Today's appetizers brought to you by the letter "N"!

This Christmas, I returned to the kitchen where it all started. As always, my sister refused to let me become complacent in my cooking skills. Following the "Very Vegan" Christmas challenge of 2011, my sister added a gluten-free constraint to this year's festivities. Initially my response was "God, you're the worst," but I was ready to take it head (or, more specifically, mouth) on (with only mild cheating).

Would I be able to overcome these culinary constraints and my adorable nephew who was hellbent on stealing my glasses and trapping us in the kitchen with his walker, or would I be found trying to drown my sorrows in the bottom of a glass of soy seasonal nog?


Heart of Palm "Crab" Cakes
Adapted from Olives for Dinner
Servings: 8-10 cakes
Time: 90 minutes (inactive for 60 of that)

Gluten-free sriracha and panko options

Crab Cakes
14 oz. can hearts of palm (whole)
1 tsp Cajun Seasoning (or Old Bay plus salt)
1/2 cup gluten-free panko crumbs
1/4+ cup chopped scallions
1/4+ cup frozen corn kernels
1/8+ cup minced roasted red peppers (gently squeezed dry)
Corn flour
Oil for pan frying

Sauce
Sriracha
Vegenaise
Cajun Seasoning

Seriously, the resemblance to actual crab cakes is uncanny. It even looks more real than the fake crab stuff they put in California rolls.

1. Pulse the heart of palm in a food processor ~ 3 times or mash it with a fork. Don't overdo it. You still want some chunks. 
2. Coat the heart of palm well with your cajun seasoning. Then mix in the panko crumbs, chopped scallions, frozen corn and minced roasted red pepper.
3. Sit in awe of how much this looks like crab.
4. Cover and let sit in the fridge for at least an hour.
5. Preheat your oven to 200-250 F.
6. Heat up oil (enough to cover the bottom of a pan) over medium heat (test with flour to see when it is ready).
7. Separate the mixture into equally sized round balls and gently flatten down with your palm.
8. Coat the entire cake in corn flour, making sure to remove any excess. Be careful because these will be very fragile.
9. Pan fry the crab cakes until golden (about 2-3 minutes per side).
10. Transfer finished cakes to a plate covered with paper towels to drain off excess oil.
11. Place drained crab cakes on a baking sheet and cover with aluminum foil in the oven to keep warm.
12. Mix the sauce by combining ~equal portions of sriracha and vegenaise with cajun seasoning to taste until smooth. 
13. Sit in awe of how awesome these taste.

Naked, freshly formed crab cakes (this one then fell apart 10 times on the way to frying).

Once I saw how awesome the crab cakes looked, I started to get excited, and biting into them only reinforced this. These tasted just like the real thing. The heart of palm gave it the perfect texture, while the cajun seasoning gave it just the right amount of kick and salt. Not to be forgotten, the corn, scallions and red pepper really helped round things out. These were fried to a nice crispness that wasn't overwhelmingly battered and really let us enjoy the tasty heart of palm center. 

The sauce reminded me of a spicier Cane's sauce, which means I reached one of my life's goals!

These delightful faux seafood discs (trademark pending) would've been fantastic on their own, but the sauce really helped bring things to another level. The vegenaise provided a nice, smooth and slightly thick sauce, while the sriracha and cajun seasoning added just the right amount of fiery excitement to the mix. It really managed to compliment the crab cakes without overpowering them.

And then it struck me. This would definitely look way fancier with a random "N" drizzled on it!

We were off to a surprisingly great start to our vegan gluten-free adventure. Our crab cakes were the perfect compliment to our main Louisiana course of okra gumbo, and lowercase "q" had only managed to steal my glasses once!

Stay tuned for more delicious holiday adventures that we can pretend are 100% healthy because they don't contain gluten or animal products! That totally cancels out frying. Totally...

The Occasional (Very Lazy) Vegan: Carrot Spice Muffins

You may call it cheating that I've discovered muffins are an easy way to sneak in my self-imposed need for vegan cooking, but I call it smart breakfast eating (seriously these muffins have just 135 calories and 1 g of fat each, or so the site I got the recipe from claims). This carrot cake-like morning coffee companion seemed like the perfect healthy option to balance out my pistachio ice cream sandwiches and complete my Sunday of baking.

Vegan Carrot Spice Muffins
Adapted from FatFree Vegan Kitchen
Servings: 24 muffins
Time: 30 minutes (plus however fast you can shred carrots)

3 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
2 tbsp flax meal or ground flax seed
2 tsp baking powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
1 1/2 tsp ginger
1/4 tsp cloves
1/4 tsp salt
2/3 cup agave nectar
2/3 cup unsweetened apple sauce
1 cup soy yogurt
1/4 cup water
1 tbsp vanilla
2 1/2 cups shredded carrots
2/3-1 cup golden raisins

Yeah, that batter doesn't look like baby food gone wrong at all. 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Whisk the flour, granulated sugar, flax meal, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger, cloves and salt together in a large bowl.
3. Mix the agave nectar, apple sauce, soy yogurt, water and vanilla together in a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment at medium speed.
4. Add in the dry ingredients and mix at low speed until just incorporated. 
5. Stir in the shredded carrots and golden raisins with a rubber spatula.
6. Fill up lined muffin tins 2/3 of the way with batter.
7. Bake for 15-20 minutes. Let cool on wire racks.

My army of loyal muffin minions are ready to take over the world (or at least breakfast).

These were a welcome addition to my ever-growing muffin stable. For something so healthy (and proper muffin looking) these tasted great. An abundance of raisins (I upped the amount considerably) mixing with all those fresh carrots highlighted these muffins and helped me forget all about carrot cakes usually being smothered in cream cheese. They probably could have used a little more spices for added kick and perhaps soy milk in the place of water to reach greater levels of tasty veganity. Minor quibbles aside, these were still a delightful way to start off your morning. 

The Occasional (Very Lazy) Vegan: Lemon Blueberry Muffins

Several weeks ago I had the shocking discovery that the glorious baking pans I make so many tasty cupcakes in are actually called "muffin tins". How did the muffin earn such notoriety that it could displace the world's most perfect dessert from its rightful place in culinary equipment nomenclature? Intrigued, I set about making the healthier cousin of my beloved cupcakes and discovered the many joys of a week's worth of fresh, non-super processed breakfasts. My affair with muffins (or breakfast cupcakes) continued with a vegan take on the classic lemon blueberry muffin that became an essential part of my daily routine.

Vegan Lemon Blueberry Muffins
Adapted from Eggless Cooking
Servings: 24+ muffins
Time: 45 minutes

4 cups all-purpose flour
1 tbsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
Zest of 6 small lemons
2 cups sugar
2 cups soy milk
2/3 cup canola oil
2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
3 cups fresh blueberries

1. Preheat the oven to 375 F.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest together in a large bowl. Set aside.
3. Mix the sugar, soy milk, oil and vinegar together well in a stand mixer.
4. Add in the dry ingredients in several increments at low speed until just combined.
5. Fold the blueberries into the batter with a rubber spatula.
6. Grease muffin tins well and fill each 2/3 of the way with batter.
7. Bake for 16-22 minutes or until the toothpick test comes back clean.
8. Let cool in the muffin tins for 5 minutes then move to wire racks.

The poor one in the middle is the equivalent of a bald muffin. He was teased mercilessly by the other muffins but managed to find a good, loving home in my stomach.

The muffin itself was incredibly moist and fluffy, but the abundance of fresh blueberries and lemon flavor truly stole the show. The tart blueberries and sour lemon somehow balance each other out (as previously seen in the Blueberry Lemon Crepe) to complete a light yet fulfilling breakfast. If you desire a slightly more crunchy breakfast experience, sprinkling some brown sugar on top prior to baking could enhance your muffin top quite nicely (much like cupcakes enhance your natural muffin top).

The proper blueberry to muffin ratio expertly hand-modeled by Nancy.

The Occasional (Very Lazy) Vegan: Banana Oatmeal Muffins

The blurriness was likely a result of me eating something actually healthy and not loaded with sugar (perhaps I should consult a doctor)

An interesting thought occurred to me during my last Sunday bakeathon; I realized I might want to present a healthy option to go along with my cookies and cupcakes (although this would most certainly slow down my plan of getting promoted at work by giving everyone else health problems). As a result, I decided some vegan muffins would be the way to go. Would my coworkers embrace these healthy yet delicious breakfast treats, or would they stone me with them for my nutritious transgression?


Banana Oatmeal Muffins
Adapted from Food.com
Servings: 12-15 muffins
Time: 30 minutes

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup rolled oats
1/2 cup brown sugar, unpacked
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
7/8 cup soy milk
1/3 cup applesauce
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 cup mashed banana

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Mix the flour, oats, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a bowl.
3. Combine the milk, applesauce and vanilla in a separate bowl.
4. Add the mashed banana to the wet ingredients until thoroughly incorporated.
5. Stir the dry ingredients in with the wet ingredients until just combined.
6. Fill lined cupcake tins 2/3 full with batter and bake for 20 minutes.
7. Resist the urge to cover them with butter and sugar packed frosting despite the mixed signals the cupcake liners are sending you.

Can you see the cupcakes calling to me in the top left corner? Fortunately, I kept a calm head and ate muffins for breakfast all week.

These muffins certainly did the trick in my search for a healthy breakfast. They tasted a lot like banana bread with the occasional oat coming through. My only real complaint is that I wished the tops had been just a tiny bit crispier (but that's a central failing of most banana based things thanks to their inherent mushiness). Also, I might consider adding a little cinnamon to have these pack some extra punch, but as they stood they went perfectly with my sugar-laden morning coffee to get my day started properly. In the end, these flew out of the work kitchen just as quickly as the lemon curd cookies and black and white cupcakes (stay tuned) I made, so I might just have to keep up the nutritious option tradition.

Alex happily prepares to eat a muffin that's devoid of her lifelong enemy- eggs. (Meanwhile, the boxes present behind her show how great my house is at moving. Only been 3 months!)

The Weekly Vegan: Potato Gnocchi with Vodka Sauce

Family meal night at the townhouse continued with yet another attempt to go around the world in 80 dishes. Following our delightful forays into Indian and Vietnamese food, we set off on a journey to Italy (and the mythical land of veganism). Would we be able to recreate one of my favorite dishes ever in a vegan friendly manner, or would Dennis' strange fascination with beets blow up our dinner plans?


Potato Gnocchi
Adapted from Branny Boils Over and Vegan With a Vengeance
Servings: 6
Time: 90 minutes

2 lbs russet potatoes, washed and scrubbed
1 tsp salt
2 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Potato dough

1. Poke holes in the potatoes and bake them. Either bake them in an oven at 400 F for 45 minutes until tender or wrap in a paper towel and microwave for about 5-7 minutes per potato.
2. Remove the skins and weigh out the necessary amount. Laugh while your roommate burns his hands trying to peel them.
3. Add olive oil and salt and mash well.
4. Incorporate about one cup of the flour then knead the dough on a lightly floured surface. Continue kneading in the remaining dough until you have a smooth, non-sticky and dry dough.
5. Roll the dough into 1/2 inch thick ropes then slice into 3/4 inch long pieces.
6. Use your thumb to press the gnocchi against the back of a fork to get both a notched and dimpled side.
7. Bring water to a boil and add additional salt. 
8. Drop in the gnocchi and let them rise to the surface. Continue cooking for about one minute once they rise.
9. Drain well.

Put your dexterity to the test by hand forming the gnocchi. (Yet another time it's handy to have 2 roommates.)

First one to float wins. The same does not work for an underwater breath holding contest.

Cropped out: the super ugly gnocchi (yes, there were uglier ones).

Making gnocchi by hand is quite the undertaking, but the feeling of accomplishment you get when you finally bite into these delicious morsels can't be beat. Despite not having the egg or parmesan cheese typical of gnocchi dough, these potato dumplings had an incredibly smooth texture and awesomely spuddy taste. Just make sure you don't skimp on the salt.

Vegan Vodka Sauce

Sent to me by Courtney

Servings: Enough for 4 times the gnocchi

Time: 45 minutes

Olive oil

2-28 oz cans whole tomatoes

4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced

1 carrot, grated

1/2 + 2 tsp red pepper flakes

2 tbsp dried oregano

2 tbsp dried basil

1 block silken tofu, not drained

1 cup soy milk

3/4 cup vodka

Salt and pepper to taste

Carrots in marinara sauce? The Gods must be crazy!

Vegan Cream

1. Sauté the garlic in some olive oil over medium-low heat until aromatic but not browned (about 60 seconds).
2. Remove from heat and add tomatoes and their juices. Smash the tomatoes with a wooden spoon.
3. Add the carrot, 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes and herbs. 
4. Simmer for about 20 minutes to reduce.
5. While it's simmering, make the vegan cream by blending the tofu and soy milk together.
6. Pour in the vegan cream, vodka, salt, pepper and remaining red pepper flakes then let simmer for another 10 minutes. 
7. If the consistency is not to your liking, puree it in a blender until smooth. (It's important that you remember that the sauce is scolding hot at this point, so don't overfill the blender. This may have been my second attempt at the dish with the first ending with second degree burns that are still on my arm over a month later.).

After much pureeing, you'll have one mighty fine looking sauce.

Vodka sauce is by far the greatest of all alcoholic sauces (narrowly edging out beer spilled on potato chips). This veganfied version brings all the necessary flavor to the table and some newfound wonderful kick (compliments of the red pepper flakes). What's incredibly is that it manages to be both light and creamy tasting thanks to the vegan cream replacing the super fatty heavy cream.

I've been experimenting with slightly slanted "Batman Villain" angles for pictures.

Despite the great success that was the vegan gnocchi with vodka sauce, the true highlight of family meal night number 3 has yet to be explored. Dennis busted out some mad beets to create an incredibly delicious side that we won't soon forget (and not just because of the beet juice staining our clothes). The brilliance that was the beet side dish was more than deserving of its own guest post, so prepare yourselves for Dennis taking over the blog (may God help us all).

Bears, Beets, Battlestar Galactica. Stay tuned for Dennis' Beet Tutorial (Prepare to get schooled, Dr. Dre.)

The Paula Deen Vegan Challenge!: Glazed "Bacon"-Wrapped "Chicken" with Cheesy Asparagus & Rosemary Potatoes

As punishment for not posting a Weekly Vegan entry last week, I presented myself with the ultimate challenge. I had to turn Paula Deen recipes into tasty vegan dishes. The queen of butter and bacon was not gonna make this easy, but I was ready for her. Undeterred, I grabbed my trusty veganizing ray and set about on my mission, not sure if I'd ever return.

Whatever you do, don't look into the beast's eyes!

Glazed Tempeh Bacon Wrapped Gardein
Veganized from Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible
Servings: 4
Time: 2 and a half hours (2 hours inactive)

1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup orange juice
1 tbsp tabasco
1 1/2 tbsp minced garlic
4 gardein patties, thawed
4 slices tempeh bacon
1/2 cup light brown sugar

So you're supposed to cover two kinds of meat with sugar. Yeah, that sounds about right.

1. Combine the soy sauce, orange juice, tabasco and garlic in a plastic bag. Add the gardein patties and coat well. Refrigerate for 2 hours.
2. Preheat the oven to 375 F. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and place a wire rack on top.
3. Free the gardein from its marinade grave and wrap with a slice or two of tempeh bacon. Use a toothpick to keep it secured.
4. Dip the gardein in the brown sugar and coat evenly. Place the chicken on the wire rack and cook for 15 minutes, turning once.

The glazed gardein was somewhat of a mixed-bag. It turned out a little dry since I cooked everything at once at 400 F (so you should probably reduce the time and temp). Evenly coating the gardein patties was also a little tricky, so some bites had nice flavor and some were sadly lacking. These pieces were quickly remedied by the glorious tempeh bacon, which cooked perfectly in the oven. The tempeh was truly the highlight of the meal and went magnificently with the two sides.

Cheesy Asparagus

Veganized from Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible

Servings: 3

Time: 15 minutes

1 lb asparagus, woody ends snapped

1 tbsp olive oil

Salt to taste

Pepper to taste

Daiya cheddar cheese

Breaking off the ends of asparagus is oddly therapeutic. 

1. Preheat the oven to 400 F.
2. Toss the asparagus in the olive oil, salt and pepper on a baking sheet.
3. Sprinkle on Daiya cheddar and bake for 10 to 12 minutes until the faux cheese melts.

The Daiya cheese had some issues with sticking to the asparagus.

Cheese covered asparagus brought me back to the unhealthy introduction to veggies we all have as children. The Daiya cheddar is a great imitation of the real thing (with an interesting and somewhat powdery taste). The only issue I had with this side was that the cheese mostly stayed on the baking sheet, forcing me to scrape it out. The extra work was worth it, though, and would also come in handy with the rosemary potatoes. 

Roasted Rosemary Potatoes

Veganized from Paula Deen's Southern Cooking Bible

Servings: 4

Time: 40 minutes

3/4 lb Yukon gold potatoes, cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks

3/4 lb red potatoes, cut into 1 1/4 inch chunks

2 tbsp olive oil

4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

2 sprigs fresh rosemary

Salt to taste

Black pepper to taste

2 strips tempeh bacon

1. Preheat the oven to 425 F. 
2. Toss the potatoes and tempeh bacon in the oil, garlic, rosemary, salt and pepper.
3. Roast, turning occasionally until golden and tender or about 30 minutes.

Cropped so you don't see the burnt potato!

Rosemary potatoes are a killer weapon to have in your culinary arsenal. They can add the perfect starchy finish to any dinner or breakfast (see: A Very Vegan Christmas). Opening up your oven to that roasted rosemary smell just might be one of the most perfect experiences you can have in a kitchen. I noticed Paula Deen's recipe wasn't Deenified enough, so I upped the unnecessary quotient by adding some tempeh bacon to the equation. This proved to be a brilliant idea as the potatoes, tempeh bacon and cheese from the asparagus enabled occasional side quests to the land of the baked potato.

Battered and bruised, I emerged victorious from my assault on Paula Deen's cuisine (rhyming is fun). This was a great break from the wild baking tangent I went on (My first actual meal post in almost a month!) and a welcome addition to The Weekly Vegan. Also, now that I live much closer to a Whole Foods (and may have stocked up on enough vegan supplies for the upcoming apocalypse), I'm ready to continue fighting the good fight in my crusade against the ultimate Southern cook.

The Weekly Vegan: Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies

I had one of the most profound realizations of my life today. My grand epiphany shined light on the fact that The Weekly Vegan doesn't just have to be meals; it can also involve baking (perhaps I should have realized this given all the baking I did with my sister)! While suffering from a serious case of the baking DTs (It had been 4 whole days), I developed a craving for peanut butter, bananas and chocolate (Fortunately, I didn't also crave pickles, or I'd have to worry that I was pregnant).  The only cure for this would be to make some ridiculous cookies. Luckily, I found a recipe to get me started on a health site called Fat Secret (Google takes you to the darndest places). I knew it was the one based on the fact it had a 2 star rating due to it not being particularly diety.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Cookies
Modified heavily from FatSecret.com
Servings: 15 cookies
Time: 30 minutes (plus cooling)

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
2-3 bananas
3/4 cup light brown sugar, packed
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 tbsp vanilla extract
1 cup chunky peanut butter
16 oz dark chocolate (better quality should be milk free)

Luckily I only had room for 12 cookies leaving plenty of amazing batter.

3 straight tries without seizing!

1. Preheat oven to 375 F.
2. Whisk the flour, baking soda and salt together in a bowl and set aside.
3. Mash the bananas then mix with the sugars and vanilla extract in a stand mixer with the paddle attachment .
4. Slowly stir in the flour mixture until incorporated.
5. Add the peanut butter and mix well.
6. Drop tablespoon sized amounts of batter on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper.
7. Bake for 10-14 minutes or until golden brown.
8. Let cool on wire racks.
9. Melt the dark chocolate using a double boiler or in the microwave on medium power in one minute bursts.
10. Dip half of each cookie into the melted chocolate then place on a new baking sheet lined with parchment paper in the fridge until the chocolate hardens.
11. Serve with lots of soy milk and enjoy.

Surely, I couldn't stop at just a normal dessert.

Let's start with the cookie itself. I'm always a little disappointed with the consistency of banana cookies because they turn out too muffiny (the mushy banana in the batter really changes things). I figured it would probably happen again this time, so I cut back on the flour to counteract this a little. This still gave me one muffin-like cookie, but it worked really well with the flavors. The crunch peanut butter gave a fabulous roasted peanut taste that was smoothly finished by the banana backend.

Waiting for the chocolate to harden might be the toughest part.

What really made this cookie special was the dark chocolate shell. The hard coating provided a beautiful contrast to the cookie, and we all know chocolate and peanut butter are among the world's greatest combinations (somehow giving jelly a run for its money). All together, the three key components of this super cookie provide for one uber satisfying triple layered experience.

It's like two desserts in one. But seriously, you'll probably want to dip the whole thing.

Make sure you have a healthy supply of soy milk to go with these cookies to complete the ultimate in vegany desserts. Now, I need to make sure I still focus on vegan meals for the weekly vegan and don't just feed my love of baking (since I do want to keep this segment somewhat on the healthy side).

The killer line-up