More Pumpkin fun times - Vegan MoFo 2012

Like a lot of folks, I am on pinterest pinning foods that I want to try one day.  Over on portuguesegirlcooks.com, there was a gorgeous post about pumpkin scones with a spice glaze.  All I needed to do was substitute the one egg and some milk to make it vegan. These babies didn't take long to throw together.  I made them while making my kids breakfast and getting them out the door to school.  The recipe makes eight large scones, take it from me, double the recipe!  I took some to Lily's preschool and I'm forcing myself to save one for my son for after-school.  I've already promised a friend that I will make more for when I see her on Tuesday.  It didn't take her long to convince me.

Pumpkin - Vegan MoFo 2012

My daughter's preschool teacher asked me to do a cooking activity with the class.  Had to be pumpkin somewhere in the end product.  Lily wanted pumpkin muffins but I wanted to try a new recipe.  So I cracked open Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.  Low and behold there was a simple pumpkin chocolate chip cupcake with a cinnamon icing.  These are our new favorite cupcakes.  We had them without the icing and with, do yourself a big favor and make the icing.  Not that they HAVE to have the icing, they are good either way, but the icing is so delicious!!!  

These photos are from our practice run.  Two days later we made them with her class and all went perfect.  Kids and teachers all loved them.  Asking for second and third servings of cinnamon icing to their cupcakes.  I have the leftover icing in my fridge, waiting to find another use for it.  I might just have to use it on a spoon straight into my mouth!

Berry Oat Bars - Vegan MoFo 2012

 Berry Oat Bars from Color Me Vegan by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau. 

I haven't cooked much from this cookbook but I liked how it was divided up by colors.  A reminder to eat a wide variety of colors on our plates to get our vitamins.  Maybe my CSA box will encourage me to dive into this cookbook for more than just berry oat bars. 

The berries that my daughter and I picked at the farm the other week were put to use for this plate of yumminess!  I've made these a few times and love them every time.  I held back a little on the sugar to feel less guilty that this was breakfast today.  If the kids wouldn't have been here, I would have kept the sugar at the regular amount, but trying to be a good role model and all.... Still delicious!  I have two pieces left, but not for long.  Have a nice weekend folks!

CSA goodies - Vegan MoFo 2012

Sunday was our CSA pick up day.  As you can see, I got a lot.  This is the family sized box for 35 dollars.  I'm mixed on whether I should keep doing it since I've been laid off.  This box is going to be the deciding factor.  I like having all of these freshly picked goodies forced upon me but some things I just wouldn't buy.  Like what???  Eggplant.  My family doesn't eat eggplant.  And I've been getting beets every box since we signed up.  I like beets, don't get me wrong.  But I could use a break from lovely beets.  The celery root....I've never used celery root before.  Maybe a salad...or cook with potatoes... we shall see.  We have gone through the grapes, dandelion greens, jalapeno peppers, and the tomatoes already.  Most of the plums are gone.  I need to cook up the summer squash, anaheim chiles, and the other mixed greens.

So help me out here folks, what would you do with the celery root?  Or how about those beets?  I need to find another way to eat the beets besides roasting them.

Garlic Knots - Vegan MoFo 2012

Everytime I get a new cookbook, I browse through it and then I browse through it again with my kids.
Asking if anything catches their eye.  Usually the sweets grab their attention.  No surprise there.  But when we got Chloe Coscarelli's book Chloe's Kitchen: 125 Easy, Delicious Recipes for Making the Food You Love the Vegan Way, the kids both wanted the garlic knots.

The garlic knots take awhile to make due to the dough.  It has to rise, you have to roll it out, and then twist the dough bits into these cute little knots.  Brush with olive oil and stick them in the oven.  While these are baking, mince a lot of garlic and parsley and put in a bowl with olive oil.  Once the knots come out of the oven, dump them into the bowl with the garlic oil.  Put on a plate and watch them disappear!

Garbanzo bean snack - Vegan MoFo 2012

On Saturday it was errands day.  Clean house, bake scones for my son's Dungeons and Dragons group, do laundry, and lots and lots of dishes!  During the middle of the day I realized we needed a snack.  Grabbed a can of garbanzo beans, rinsed them, dumped onto a cookie sheet.  Pour a little olive oil, some salt, and nutritional yeast.  Move beans around so everything is covered and pop into the oven.  I put the oven at 400 or so.  Every few minutes give the sheet a shake and put them back into the oven.  When the beans start to get browned, but not dried out, take them out.  Let cool a little bit and enjoy!!

Treats for teacher - Vegan MoFo 2012

My daughter goes to preschool.  There are a total of six teachers in the two classrooms.  Every so often, when I find the time, I make extra treats for Lily to take with her to school.  One teacher has gotten so comfortable with us,  that she is making requests.  Which I am totally okay with.  I'm glad she enjoys our treats.  So the recent request was something with lemon.  Lemon is her favorite flavor in desserts.  Challenge accepted.  Game on!  

Two weeks earlier I had bought meyer lemons at Costco.  They were just sitting there, daring me to find the right recipe to use them in.  Now Teacher Ranie was too.  I pulled out Veganomicon by Isa  Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romero.  Opened up the book to an old favorite,  Coconut Lemon Bundt Cake recipe.  SO moist!  I didn't want to make an entire cake for the teachers, I knew I would want some of this yummy goodness for us too, so I made cupcakes.  

Once again my fantastic kitchen helper put on her apron and got to work.  Turning this bundt cake into cupcakes gives you 22-24 cupcakes.  I put them in the oven for about  20 minutes at 375 or so,  and rotated them halfway thru the cooking time.  Leave them in the muffin pans for about 10 minutes so they don't fall apart and then let them cool completely on a cooling rack.

You could leave them as they are.  They taste fantastic on their own.  I did whip up a lemon glaze by adding some lemon juice to a cup of powdered sugar.  Then just drizzled it across the top.  (no photo of that, sorry)  You could also gently dip the cupcakes into the lemon glaze bowl.  Just covering the top.  So yummy.

Teacher Ranie and the rest of the teachers loved these beauties.  And I received my  next challenge/request....  lemon bars.  Once again I'll be pulling out a book by the Moskowitz and Romero to meet that challenge.