Vegan MoFo – Kitchen Witch

Are you a clean as you go cook?  I’m not…and I could never understand the smug looks that come over some people when they claim that little piece of infamy as their own.  My internal response is, “So?”; my polite, do not hurt feelings, or crush someone’s feelings of accomplishment voice says, “Oh, that’s nice, I’m not”.  So what is it about cleaning up as you go that makes this method so much better than my flour covered kitchen, sink filled with dirty dishes, and boxes, jars, canisters, cans of ingredients all over the place method?  What in the world do you do while your sweeties bake?  Cure cancer, that would be a good thing; walk the dog, what if the house burns down because you forget those sweeties in the oven and stop to have a glass of wine or two with the neighbor who’s out watering his lawn when you walk by with said pooch?  What about that??  With my method, you act like you’re on Cupcake Wars or Chopped shouting things out as you toss them in the oven; a veritable whirling dervish of flour and sugar.  Then you pop whatever it is you’re making in the oven and while the judges deliberate the genius of your creation you clean up.  There you go, a clean kitchen and your house is still standing and you won’t have a hangover from your neighbors cheap boxed wine.  I know, I know…we still need the cure for cancer, maybe next week.

From this…

To this…

To this – – Pumpkin Scones

Vegan MoFo – The Best Pumpkin Muffins (Reposted)

I baked up a batch of the Best Pumpkin Muffins from VWAV.  I brought a plate over to my daughter’s for her and my son-in-law.  He’s always wary of my baking, when he hears the word VEGAN it scares him.  I fooled him once with a chocolate ganche pie that I made from The 30-Minute Vegan.  I gave him a slice to try out before I made it for a 4th of July potluck.  He practically inhaled it and was just licking the crumbs from the plate when I told him the main ingredient was tofu, SURPRISE!  Needless to say, my daughter and I just leave well enough alone now.  He knows they have a steady supply of baked goods in their house, he just pretends he doesn’t  know where they came from.  Funny though, he always eats them!

So here is my muffin pictorial:

All mixed up and ready to pour.

Filled cups ready for the oven.  I’ve put a muffin scoop on my Christmas wish list, one can always wish.  It’s one of those things that would come in handy but not something I’m going to buy for myself.   I love baking muffins…so.  It’s funny, I have a nice new silicone muffin pan but I always go back to my beat up tin pan that I’ve had for the past 25 years.

Plated and ready for delivery.

Close-Up!  YUM!

Salty and Sweet

I’ve been known to eat popcorn for dinner; occasionally I’ve eaten ice cream for dinner and sometimes I’ve eaten popcorn and ice cream for dinner.  Together, yes, for dinner, yes.  Something about the sweet and salty, you know?  I think I’ve found an alternative to this…one with a little more protein and a lot less fat.  Introducing Pumpkin Spice Roasted Chick Peas, from yes, you guessed it, Peas and Thank You.  All right, you’re never going to pass off a bowl of these as ice cream, or popcorn for that matter; but they still satisfy that salty, sweet, snacky (alliterate much?) craving.  And if you serve them up in a pretty bowl, who knows someone might be fooled.

Vegan MoFo #9 – Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies

I’ve been having pumpkin smoothies every morning this week.  And let me tell you, freezing the canned pumpkin in ice-cube trays and then dropping a handful in my morning drink before blending sure upped the creaminess factor by 100%.  I’ve been using 1 cup of soy milk, 1 scoop of Vanilla Chai Vega for the protein and the spices, and 4 pumpkin cubes.  Very frosty, pumkinny and delicious.  But there was a chill in the air today and I wanted something more along the pumpkin comfort food lines (this was in the afternoon after my frozen pumpkin breakfast).  I ran across Pumpkin Oatmeal Cookies in Vegan with a Vengeance and decided they were definitely what I was looking for.  Easy to put together and so spicy and pumkinny, like pumpkin oatmeal baked up into a cookie…Doh!  Brought a plateful to the neighbors and have half a dozen bagged up for D. tonight while we watch Survivor at his place.  A nice little pumpkin surprise.

Pumpkin cubes…the best thing for making fabulous pumpkin smoothies!

 

See, what did I tell you?

Pumpkin Cookies in the making.  I can’t wait until Special K. is old enough to come and bake with me and I can let him sample all the cookie dough he wants!

Batter up!  Looks like breakfast pumpkin oats

To this deliciousness…

All Things Pumpkin

I couldn’t let the season pass without making a pumpkin shake.  I made a healthy version for N’s breakfast this morning and there was enough left for me to have a shot too.  Here’s how I made it:

Pumpkin Shake

1 Cup Pumpkin Spice Silk

2 Scoops So Delicious Creamy Vanilla “Ice Cream”

1 Scoop of Vanilla Chai Vega

A handful of ice cubes

Topped with Soyatoo Soy Whip and a sprinkle of nutmeg

Whip everything together in a blender or Vita Mix

Looks good, huh?  It wasn’t real pumpkin-y but it had a nice subtly spiced flavor.

Pumpkin Soup

I didn’t feel much like cooking tonight, I’m supposed to working on my paper for school and cooking is just a way to avoid this (I call it work avoidance).  Knowing I had a bit of pumpkin leftover from the pumpkin muffin fest I decided to whip up some pumpkin soup.  I sliced up a few of the shittaki I had leftover from Sunday’s hash and stir fried those in a splash of EVOO.  Then I threw in the pumpkin, added a sprinkle of curry, pumpkin pie spice, salt and pepper, and then thinned it all out with some So Delicious Coconut Milk.  It filled my favorite mug and warmed my belly.  Every fall I look forward to the spicy warm flavors of autumn food offerings, but by February I’m ready for fresh fruit and barbeque.  For now though, I’m happy with my little cup of spicy warm pumpkin soup.  Back to the drudge now…one more class and I’m done with my degree (only took me 30 years).