Cherry Carob Cookies January 11, 2008

I started my cooking adventures mainly by making Martha Stewart’s cookie recipes.  Most of them are easy and super delicious.

My favorite cookie by far are these Cherry Carob Cookies… they’re an adapted version of Martha’s Torie’s Cherry Chocolate Chunk Cookies.  I have made these cookies, the original recipe and the new adapted version, to give as gifts for Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, Xmas, and even Birthdays.  I always get requests for them.  This time around I made them for my dear friend Choy, who makes the most awesome vegetarian egg-less cheesecake. 

Hope you enjoy them as much as we all do…

 

CHERRY CAROB COOKIES

2 1/4 cup organic whole wheat pastry flour

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

2 sticks of unsalted butter

1 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons vanilla powder

equivalent of 2 eggs from egg replacer

1 cup carob chips

1 cup dried cherries

1 cup toffee chips

1. Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
2. In a bowl whisk together the flour and baking soda.  Set aside.
3. In another bowl, beat together the butter and the sugar with an electric mixer on medium speed, until light and fluffy.
4. Mix in the salt, vanilla and egg replacer. 
5. Add flour mixture in 3-4 batches.  Mix until just combined.
6. Stir in the carob chips, cherries and toffee chips.
7. Drop heaping tablespoon-size balls of dough 2 inches apart in a cookie sheet lined with a silplat or unbleached parchment paper.
8. Bake until golden around the edges. about 10 -12 minutes.
9. Remove from oven and let them cool on the baking sheet.  After a few minutes, transfer warm cookies to a cooling rack to  cool completely.
10. Store cookies in the fridge for up to 1 week in a tightly sealed container.

But don’t worry, they will not last long.  They are eaten best with a tall cold glass of milk. 

Egg-less Frittatas December 25, 2007

 This recipe has many ingredients, but it’s easy to assemble and TASTY!!!!

I took them as an addition to a non-vegetarian party and they were all gone in about 10 minutes… my best friend and her mom almost did not get a chance to try them.  If non-vegetarians were devouring them at a Christmas party, image how good they taste.

EGG-LESS FRITTATAS

1 package of firm silken tofu, drained of water

1/2 cup of soy milk

4 tablespoons of cornstarch

2 oz goat cheese - I used half of a small log

1/2 cup sour cream

squirt of Dijon mustard - about 1 teaspoon

1/4 teaspoon turmeric

1 cup of frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained of as much water as possible

1/2 cup sun-dried tomatoes, without sulphur dioxide

1/2 cup of chopped grape tomatoes

4 green onion stalks, chopped

2 garlic cloves, minced

2 tablespoons flat leaf parsley, chopped

1/4 teaspoon garlic and herb seasoning

Salt and Pepper to taste

Canola oil spray

1. Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees F. 
2. Place the first 7 ingredients in a blender.  Process until completely smooth and silky.
3. Place tofu mixture in a large bowl and add the spinach, sun-dried tomatoes, grape tomatoes, garlic, parsley, seasoning, green onions, salt and pepper.
4. Lightly spray 2 muffin tins with canola oil spray.  Spoon mixture into muffin pans using a 1/4 cup measure.
5. Bake in oven for about 30 minutes until they’re set and a bit golden on top.  Check that a knife or wooden skewer comes out cleanly before removing from oven.
6. When they’re done, remove from oven and let cool for about 20 minutes.  When they’re cooler, they’ll come out from the pan neater and nicer.

They’re light…  you can serve them as a party appetizer, you can also serve them as a nice brunch entree with a nice green salad.  I guess you could also bake it in a baking dish and cut it into pieces instead of doing individual servings… I just have not tried it like that yet… so I am not sure if we’ll need to make adjustments to to baking time.

This recipe yielded me 20 individual fritattas.

  

 ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

 This is my last post of the year.  I will take a few days off from cooking and blogging.  This has been a wonderful few months… I promise to come back in the new year with new added inspiration to cook and share with you all.

May the New Year 2008 bring only the best…  until then.

Madelyn.

Carob Granola December 23, 2007

This is a take on Nigella Lawson’s Chocolate and Peanut Granola.  I gave the recipe to my mom this year and she gave them away as presents to her friends at the yoga center.  She wanted to make something that was good, but easy to do as well.

It turned out really good. And because she does not eat chocolate anymore, she added carob powder instead of the cocoa powder.

 

CAROB GRANOLA

1/4 cup carob powder
4 1/2 cups rolled oats
1 cup sunflower seeds, shelled
3/4 cup sesame seeds
3/4 cup applesauce
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/3 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 cup honey
3/4 cup light brown sugar
2 cups raw peanuts or raw almonds
1 teaspoon kosher salt
2 tablespoons canola oil

1. Preheat oven to 310 degrees F.

2. Mix everything together very well in a large mixing bowl.
3. Spread the mixture evenly in 2 baking pans and bake for about 1 hour, turning over half-way through baking. Allow to cool and store in an airtight container.

Sangría December 20, 2007

When I host parties, I try to offer a variety of refreshments for people to choose. My Sangría is always the hit of the party… I even stopped buying other stuff because this is what people drink the whole night.

I do not drink alcohol much now that I am vegetarian, so I will give you the basic recipe and you can adapt it to your preference either using real wine or a non-alcoholic wine, such as Welch’s or Martinelli’s Sparkling Apple Cider.

SANGRIA

1 bottle of red wine or Welch’s Sparkling Grape Wine
1/2 bottle of Lime flavored Perrier
3 cups orange juice, freshly squeezed preferably, but Tropicana works fine
the juice of 3 limes
1 Granny Smith apple - cored and sliced
1 Valencia orange - sliced
1 lime - sliced
ice cubes

1. In a large pitcher throw in the fruit slices.
2. Mix in the wine, sparkling water, orange juice and lime juice. Add ice.

Salud!!!

Brown Rice Krispies Treats December 19, 2007

This is my Xmas present to all my vegetarian friends.

I’ve always been a fan of Rice Krispies Treats but they’re made with marshmallows, which are made with egg whites. This version is a mixture of a bunch of recipes I found on the Internet. And I even made a few adaptations of my own.

I hope you and the rest of my friends enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making them.

 

BROWN RICE KRISPIES TREATS

1 cup light corn syrup with brown sugar (Karo brand)
1 cup almond butter
1/2 cup brown sugar
6 cups brown puffed rice krispies
1 cup carob chips

1. In a large saucepan over medium heat, mix together the sugar, corn syrup and almond butter until their all pretty warm, mixed together and syrupy.
2. Remove from heat and pour in the puffed rice cereal. Stir well until all the cereal is covered in the sticky mixture. This is where going to the gym will some in handy…
3. After all the mixture is combined, stir in the carob chips. They’ll melt a bit, but that’s part of the charm, in my humble opinion.
4. Pour mixture into a greased 9 x 13 glass dish. I greased using my Canola Oil Spray.
5. Spray your hands with the Canola Oil Spray too and press flat.
6. Let cool for 1 hour before cutting into squares. Don’t put in the refrigerator, it gets rock hard there. I had a tough time cutting it.

Makes 18 nicely sized squares.

Creamy Cranberry Dip December 16, 2007

Using my Cranberry Preserves recipe, I decided to try it in a dip. People flipped when they tried it.

It looks like frozen yogurt, but it’s only my Cranberry Preserves recipe and mixed it with cream cheese.  That’s it.  Tastes sweet and looks like the holidays.  Enjoy!

 

CREAMY CRANBERRY DIP

1/4 cup of Cranberry Preserves recipe

4oz cream cheese, you can use the 1/3 less fat kind

1. Mix Cranberry Preserves jelly with the cream cheese in a food processor.
2. Garnish with a bit of the cranberry preserves jelly on top… so people know what’s in it.

Serve with your favorite cracker.

Coquito - The Perfect Holiday Drink December 14, 2007

Coquito is the Puerto Rican ultimate holiday drink.

It’s served in a small glass, like a shot glass or jigger, but it’s sipped slowly. It’s never meant to be a shot. This is the Puerto Rican version of an eggnog. There are many versions out there - with raw eggs, with rum, with “cañita rum”, however, my version is the Vegetarian way - the spice and warmth comes from the ginger, anise seeds, star anise and cinnamon. The only way to know this does not contain alcohol is because you’ll not get drunk… because it still has a nice kick. And the nice thing, you don’t need to do a kiddie version.

 

COQUITO

1 can condensed milk
1 carton evaporated milk
1 can coconut milk
3 cups of water
4 inch piece of fresh ginger
5 sticks of cinnamon
4 tablespoons anise seeds
4 tablespoons star anise
2 tablespoons whole cloves

2 tablespoons ground nutmeg
1 vanilla pod
1/2 teaspoon vanilla powder or alcohol-free vanilla extract

ground cinnamon to taste

1. In a medium saucepan create a “spiced tea” - pour the 3 cups of water, ginger, cinnamon sticks, anise seeds, star anise, nutmeg and cloves. Scrape the seeds inside the vanilla pod and add to “tea water”. Throw in the vanilla pod too.

2. 

3. Steep for about 15-20 minutes to create a strong spiced tea. This will give the coquito most of its spiciness. Let cool a bit.
4. In a blender, mix together all the milks with 2 ”cans-worth” of the “spiced tea” and the vanilla powder.
5. Pour into a clean bottle and chill in the refrigerator.
6. Serve chilled in small shot glasses.  Sprinkle with ground cinnamon.

Salud, Dinero y Amor!!!!!

I try to avoid buying anything canned, but unfortunately condensed milk is something that ONLY comes in a can. The same happens with coconut milk. If you can make your own coconut milk, I highly recommend it. But, I am a working vegetarian woman and I do not have the time to do it.