Things are Cookin'

Not only have things been cooking in my kitchen, as you'll see below, but things have been cooking in my mind. I'm dreaming and scheming and things are beginning to come together in amazing ways! Sometimes you want something so much, but you feel it's not yet time, but then life shows you otherwise, and starts lining everything up so simply. That probably sounds mysterious and ambiguous, but trust me, I'll tell you everything soon.

For now, let's talk more about the actual baking. I've been honing my gluten-free vegan baking skills, and coming up with some delicious results.

Remember rice crispy squares? Oh yeah.

Crispy, chewy, sticky. Perfect after school snack. 

I gave them a makeover, put them through the vegan machine, and here they are in all their glory! No animal hoof marshmallows, no cow's milk butter. Just happy healthy animal-free goodness. And gluten-free to boot. 

Delicious. And you know what else is delicious? But decidedly less wholesome and more indulgent....

Brownies. 

Fudgy inside, slightly crisp outside, perfectly dense and chocolaty. 

With more chocolate on top, of course. 

And completely gluten-free and vegan! 

I made these for a friend's birthday. She likes chocolate, but doesn't like anything too sweet. So these are filled to the brim with chocolate, and the sugar is not overpowering. I believe it could be scaled back even more, if that's what you prefer. They turned out perfect, a rich birthday treat for a wonderful woman whose friendship has added much richness in my own life. 

Wholesome Vegan Rice Crispy Squares

8 cups crispy rice cereal (I use Erewhon Crispy Brown Rice Cereal)

1/4 cup ground flax seed

1 cup brown rice syrup

2/3 cup almond butter

1 tsp vanilla

Lightly grease a 9x13 pan. Set aside. 

Place rice cereal and ground flaxseed in a huge bowl and stir together. Set aside. 

In a medium sauce pan combine rice syrup and almond butter. Cook over medium heat, stirring, for five minutes. Take off the heat and stir in vanilla. Pour over the rice crisp mixture and stir to coat. 

Press into the greased pan. I buttered my hands with some Earth Balance to even it out and press. You'll want to press firmly and make sure it's all evened out. Then cover it with foil and allow to sit in the fridge for one hour before cutting. 

I recommend cutting the squares with a long serrated knife, and keeping the ones you don't scarf down immediately in the fridge in the pan. The recipe makes about 12 squares depending on how you slice 'em. They keep in the fridge at least 3 days, probably longer but I didn't get to find out, as they quickly disappeared. 

Gluten-free Vegan Rich & Fudgy Brownies

1/4 cup + 2 Tbs oil 

1/4 cup + 3 Tbs water

1 1/2 cup sugar 

1 1/2 Tbs ground flax seed 

1 1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract

3/4 cup cocoa powder

1 1/2 cup gluten-free flour mix (store-bought or homemade)

3/4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt 

1/4 to 1/2 cup nondairy chocolate chips (save for after baking)

Preheat oven to 350 and line an 8 in square pan with parchment. 

In a medium bowl whisk oil, water, sugar, flax, and vanilla for one minute and set aside.

In a separate, large bowl add cocoa powder and mash with a fork to remove lumps. Add flour, baking powder and salt and stir to combine. 

Stir the liquid mixture once more then pour into the dry mixture. Stir to combine. 

Pour into pan (if you've baked gluten-free before you'll know this step is more like "plop into pan") and spread evenly. I use the back of a silicon spatula to spread it out, and if needed I grease my hands to get it in all the corners and get the top smooth. 

Bake for 28-30 minutes. The sides will look done, the middle will not be jiggly but may look a touch underdone. That is fine. It will continue to cook in the pan once you take it out. 

As soon as you take them out of the oven, sprinkle the chocolate chips on top of the brownies. Then let them cool in the pan for 15 minutes before taking out and cooling another 30 minutes. Cut and enjoy! 

This recipe made 9 good sized brownies, and the very middle one went to the birthday girl, who likes the inside pieces. I don't know how long they keep as I believe they were gone by the end of the day. 

Orange Coconut Pancakes. Vegan.

Last night I baked a coconut cake and a batch of coconut cupcakes for a friend's birthday. This morning I woke up with coconut still on my mind. Then my kids requested pancakes. And these babies were born.

Sweet, tangy, and completely comforting. 

Coconut milk, orange zest, and shredded coconut make these pancakes extra yummy. 

Coconut Orange Vegan Pancakes 

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat flour 

2 Tbs organic cane sugar

zest from half an orange 

2 Tbs baking powder

1/4 tsp salt 

1 cup of full-fat canned coconut milk

1 cup water

2 tsp pure vanilla extract

2 Tbs melted coconut oil, or other oil 

1/4 cup shredded coconut (I used sweetened because its what I had, but unsweetened would also be fine) 

In a large bowl add the sugar and the zest. Using your fingers, rub the zest into the sugar until it's incorporated and becomes fragrant. Add the flours, baking powder, and salt. Whisk together. 

Add the coconut milk, water, oil, and vanilla and mix just until everything is incorporated and there are no huge lumps. Small lumps are okay, you don't want to over mix. 

Fold in the shredded coconut and let the batter sit for 5-10 minutes while your pan warms. 

Pour by 1/3 cup onto a medium-hot non-stick pan. I used a pure canola oil spray before each batch because my pan is getting old, but yours may not need it. Cook until the edges look firm and small bubbles pop up all over the pancake, then flip and cook a couple more minutes. 

Serve hot, with pure maple syrup, chopped oranges, and more coconut. Enjoy! 

The savings!

I went to Aldi today. 

I haven't been to Aldi for over a year and a half, simply because once we moved to Atlanta I didn't know where to find one, and then because I knew where one was, but it was "too far away". Since I live inside the perimeter "too far away" has to go in quotation marks because it's not really that far, just seems that way to my urbanized brain. It's less than 10 miles from me, and the ease in which I can get in and get my shopping done and get out should count for a lot. 

Oh, and the savings. The savings! Here's my haul, which I got for under $35. 

A bag of raw almonds, celery, carrots, two bunches of bananas, bag of organic potatoes, a cantaloupe, two avocados, strawberries, broccoli, corn on the cob, cauliflower, unsweetened applesauce, frozen peas, frozen corn, frozen strawberries, and frozen mixed berries. 

Not pictured: baby portabella mushrooms and organic spinach. 

I'm glad that the Aldi here is getting in some organic produce. Not much, but it's a good start. My kids were so excited to pick out their own treat - Finn chose the cantaloupe and Evelyn chose the strawberries. The kids also love frozen corn, they like to eat it frozen. Don't ask, I don't know. 

For me the best part is how quickly I can shop. It is not crowded there, and because I buy little to no processed foods, we can zoom straight to produce and then get out quickly. The other best part (they're tied) is the savings. This would have cost me so much more somewhere else. 

This reintroduction to Aldi comes at a perfect time, as I have just been wondering how to cut our grocery bill down, but maximize our fresh food. We eat a lot of fruits and vegetables in this house, but there's always room to improve. If I do my produce shopping at Aldi I think it will be very easy to meet budget, and maybe have a little extra for a sweet treat - they do carry dark chocolate bars there. ; ) 

How do you keep within your grocery budget, if you have one? Do you have a place you like to go to save money? 

Change for the Better

I just celebrated a birthday! I'm happy to say I'm now in the last year of my twenties. I am ready to be done with this decade, and move onto the next. My birthday was on Friday the 18th, and as a gift my mother in law took the kids to spend the night at her house last night. So I am sitting in my house this morning, on my couch, sipping coffee in complete silence. I believe this is the first time this has happened at all in the past four years. I am enjoying it tremendously.

Now that the new year hubbub has died down a bit, how are you feeling about the new year? It is arbitrary, I know, but I like that January first signifies to us a starting-over point, which everyone needs once in a while. I like that it puts me in a reflective mode, and I mull over the past year and come up with directions I want to see my life heading, and I can make conscious steps to put myself on the right path.

I think one key word for this year will be gentleness. I want to live in a way that is gentle on the earth - gentle on the environment and all the earth's inhabitants. I want to be gentle in my interactions with friends, family, my kids, and complete strangers. And I want to be gentle with myself. When I say gentle what I'm getting at is a return to presence of mind, because it certainly takes presence for me to be gentle. I am seeking that quietness inside that instinctively knows how to react in all situations. I believe there is ancient wisdom inside me, if I am willing to tune in and listen for it.

Another sticking point for me is my health. I'm finding that what I do with my body, and what I put into my body greatly affects how I feel - emotionally, spiritually, physically, mentally. So why not treat my body like the temple it is and take great care in keeping myself healthy? For the past month I have been exercising almost every single morning. I struggle with depression, but doing consistent exercise has proven to be a preventative method to keep the depression at bay. I have had only one or two days in the past month where I felt the old familiar despair seeping in, and those days were related to my menstrual cycle, so they weren't out of place. This is a big victory for me! I think the way I eat has played into this as well, because I have focused on plant strong nutrition for the past six months and have felt great, and my headaches are gone.

Overall I feel that I'm on a path to whole body/mind wellness. Sure there are times when I indulge too much, or skip an exercise, but I notice a change in how I feel when those things happen, and it doesn't feel good, so I don't do it often. Tuning in has done wonders, as my body and mind will guide me if I let them. I'm excited to see how this year will unfold, and in what ways my life will continue to change for the better.

Are you finding any words, phrases, or concepts that you think will carry you through this new year? 

Holidays and the New Year

Well, I obviously took a little break (read: 4 months) from the blog, but I'm back!

How were your holidays?
Mine were great, besides the deluge of toys that came from well meaning relatives for the kids. Other than that, I ate well and had a wonderful time with my families - in-laws, immediate, and extended. When I went vegan back in June, I worried about the holidays. I was nervous that I would be put on the spot, having to explain myself and my eating choices. Turns out, no one really cares all that much. Many of my family members knew beforehand that I am now vegan, and some even altered their recipes so that they would be animal-free. I was surprised and so thankful that they were willing to change things a little for me! Added bonus - healthier food.

I made several vegan desserts, because I am a baker by nature, such as gingerbread cookies, peanut butter cookies, chocolate crinkle cookies, apple pie and cherry pie. We had three Christmas celebrations to attend, so there was plenty of baking going on in my kitchen. As gifts for some friends I made caramel popcorn and it was fantastic. I got that recipe as well as the cookie recipes from The Joy of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. I can't say enough good things about that book - it is just incredible!

Since I don't have any pictures for this post I'll keep it short. I'm happy to be back, I've been doing tons of cooking and baking and wanting to share it here. I may be the one person in North America without an iPhone (I use my husband's for my instagram account) so I'll be keeping my old school digital camera in the kitchen, full of batteries, so I can have some photos to share next time.

If I don't get back before then, I wish you a happy new year!

And I wonder - what's inspiring you? Where do you hope your life will lead you? How do you intend to deepen your life this year? 

Clean Sinks and Fresh Figs

soy yogurt with oats and fruit, black coffee

It's been hectic around here, and I've been taking refuge in the small things.

Like wholesome breakfasts and well-swept floors. We are moving soon. We are in the process of buying a house (!) and finding new tenants for the house we currently rent. I put an ad on craigslist and had close to 15 emails within the following week, asking for more photos and asking to come see the house. What that means in real terms is that I've been sweeping my floors every day, at least once, and scrubbing the toilets and emptying the trash cans much more than usual. I have spot-mopped my floors and polished the kitchen sink twice in the past week, and that's saying a lot for me. Those are usually things I consider to be twice a month jobs. I'm not saying my house isn't usually clean, because I do maintain a certain standard of tidiness, but it's just not usually sparkling clean.

Let me tell you something, though, those gleaming sinks might change my habits. It turns out there's nothing as instantly calming for my mind than scrubbing the basins to a shine, wiping the grime off the handles and spout, and having sunlight bounce off my newly clean sink. I heave a great, big sigh of satisfaction when I see that. It's like wiping the mental slate clean for me.

Another thing I've been loving lately, besides clean sinks, is figs. I believe that heaven, for me, is a bowl of ripe figs. When they are soft and sweet and perfect, they make my heart soar.

Aren't they lovely? I kept thinking I would do something with them, something fabulous like Kathy's fresh fig bars. But then I just kept sneaking them, one at a time, between meals. Lucky for me, the kids don't care for them and neither does my husband. That means they are mine, all mine. 

What fresh fruits do you delight in? Does cleanliness equal mental clarity for you, too?

Big Things are Happening

It's been a big day! 

We are currently house-hunting, and we've found a house, and we're under contract. That all was much easier than anticipated. What's hard is finding a house in our price range that doesn't need a boat load of work done. So we finally found something, we think. We had our inspection done today, and we've got our fingers crossed that when we see the report and talk to our agent, the wise man that he is, we will all come to the agreement that it's totally worth it, and buy the house. 

Here's to hoping. 

And here's to my big night. 

(Thanks, Trader Joe's.) 

By the way, that's the same glass, not a second one. Don't judge. ; ) 

The house inspection is why my day was big. The reason my night is big is twofold. 

First, I'm editing a newsletter for a friend who is involved in an amazing project called MASS. I love this friend dearly and I believe in his project with my whole heart, so I am more than honored to be able to volunteer some time and talent (hopefully) in getting his project off the ground. 

Second, I'm making something so drool-worthy. I'm attending a little get together with some lady friends tomorrow night, a porch night as we like to call it, and I want to bring some goodies. The host is gluten-free and I am vegan, so finding a baked treat we both can enjoy can be a challenge. But the last time I saw her I gave her a big plate of these babies, and they were a huge success. So I'm trusting Angela again at Oh She Glows to pick a winner of a recipe. 

And guess what? Because I ate my veggies for dinner... 

I'm definitely going to enjoy my share of brownies tomorrow! 

What's going on for you this evening? Anything big happening in your life right now?