Stop what you’re doing and go make these now! Seriously. Okay, maybe finish reading the recipe and THEN go make these. I couldn’t even let the last batch cool completely before I had to jump on the computer and post this recipe so that you would not have to suffer another day without these cookies, dear readers. What better way to spend a Friday evening at home? You, these cookies, maybe a little television…Heaven! I’ve been experimenting with vegan shortbread recipes for a few months now. It took a bunch of tries, but I’ve finally got the recipe worked out. These cookies are delicate, sweet, with a hint of vanilla and fruit, and practically bite-sized. Maybe I’m over-reacting because I’m all hopped up on shortbread cookies (I ate at least half a dozen as soon as they came out of the oven), or maybe because I’m so delighted that I finally figured out a vegan shortbread… But, these cookies are lovely. And so easy to make–no weird/unusual ingredients required.
The Recipe
Makes about 2 dozen cookies
1 cup vegan shortening (Earth Balance will do)
3/4 cup vegan powdered sugar (Wholesome Sweeteners is a great brand)
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
~ 1/2 cup jam (raspberry or apricot, or both)
Preheat oven to 350 F. Cream the butter and powdered sugar with electric mixer (or very well by hand). If the powdered sugar is clumpy, it helps to sift it first. Cream until smooth. Add vanilla and mix. Add flour and salt. Mix until it forms a uniform, soft dough. Roll 3/4 inch balls of dough in your hands and place on a greased or parchment-lined baking sheet.
Using your thumb, carefully press an indent into the top of the balls, simultaneously helping to flatten the balls into more of cookie shape. Like so:
Use a spoon to fill each indentation with jam/preserves (I made half of them raspberry and half apricot).
Bake for 10-12 minutes. Cool on rack for as long as you can stand it. Try not to eat them all at once.
Happy Friday! Any fun weekend plans? We happen to be hosting a baby shower for about 50 people this weekend. Where they are all going to fit in our little house, I have no idea! I’ve got a fun baby shower post planned for next week complete with tea cookies, tea sandwiches, and champagne punch.
It’s that time again! That’s right, the Sidecar for Pigs Peace bake sale. This time, the bake sale coincides with the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale. If you’re in Seattle this weekend, stop by Sidecar to get some delicious vegan baked goods to support Pigs Peace Sanctuary. The details:
What: Sidecar for Pigs Peace Vegan Bake Sale When: Saturday April 21st at Noon – 8pm and Sunday April 22nd at 10am – 7pm. Where: Sidecar For Pigs Peace 5270 B University Way NE
Seattle, WA 98105
If you’re not in Seattle, never fear!! The World Wide Vegan bake sale might be in your town. Check to see if there’s one near you. And if there isn’t a vegan bake sale happening near you, just grab some chocolate, flour, and a few other ingredients and whip up these very easy vegan double chocolate chip cookies! I am making these for Sidecar’s bake sale this weekend, along with a new recipe I’m working on for vegan shortbread thumbprint cookies with raspberry or apricot filling. Stay tuned for that recipe!
This post is long overdue. When I was in New York in February, we rode the train up to New Haven, CT to visit our friend Gwen…I’m sure you remember Gwen–of Hardly Alice. We stayed over night with Gwen in her lovely apartment and went out for a yummy vegan sushi dinner. Gwen has spent her free time (while teaching philosophy at Yale) decorating her apartment. Maybe it’s the voyeur in me, but I LOVE seeing how people choose to decorate their spaces. Gwen agreed that I could share some photos of her apartment with you.
The apartment is a large loft with beautiful wood floors and open rooms. The light in the morning was divine.
Yes, that’s a bust of Beethoven on the table at the right of the living room. Gwen’s had Beethoven for as long as I’ve known her.
I love her large drafting table desk right by the windows.
Her bedroom is elevated and open to the main hallway, but it makes a cozy little alcove.
Gwen has covered several of the walls in the apartment with fabric. This is a wall in the bedroom and best shot I got of one of the fabric covered walls. What a cool idea, huh?
Unfortunately, I didn’t get any good shots of the kitchen, but here is the bathroom, which I loved.
A short tour of Gwen’s lovely apartment. Any cool decorating ideas you’ve seen recently? On another note, I kind of like these large sized pictures. Perhaps I should start posting the food photos in this size?
A while back, I wrote a post on Nondairy Milks for the Pantry Basics series. I mentioned that I had purchased a carton of SoL sunflower milk, but that I hadn’t tried it yet. And I promised to report back. Shortly after that post, I was contacted by the company and they kindly agreed to participate in a giveaway of their products (see below). Thanks, Sunrich Naturals! SoL Sunflower Milk from Sunrich Naturals is made from sunflower kernels and comes in unsweetened, original, and vanilla flavors. It is vegan and gluten-free. Sunflower seeds have natural antioxidant properties and are high in important vitamins and minerals. SoL’s website says that sunflower milk is great for a variety of uses, so I put that to the test and I’m going to give you my honest review.
I tried the unsweetened sunflower milk, which is my standard for all nondairy milks. I try to avoid the added sweeteners that are generally in original and vanilla nondairy milks. Plus, I feel like the unsweetened is a good clean way to assess what the milk actually tastes like on its own. The sunflower milk actually tastes a bit like sunflower seeds. It’s nutty and rich and the consistency is good. The color is a bit greyish, which is slightly off-putting at first, but sunflower seed kernels are grey, so I actually would prefer the milk be slightly greyish than a pure, creepy white.
As they suggest on their website, I tried it in a variety of uses and here’s my verdict. I like the sunflower milk for baking, smoothies, and over cold cereal. I did not like it as an additive to tea or coffee because I tend to like a more neutrally flavored nondairy milk in my hot beverages. I don’t generally drink glasses of nondairy milk plain, but I tried a small glass of the sunflower milk plain, just to give it a try. I like flavor of it on its own. I also like how remarkably low in calories the sunflower milk is. The unsweetened variety has only 45 calories in 1 cup and the vanilla flavor has 90 calories in 1 cup. This is one of the lowest calorie nondairy milks I’ve seen.
In short, I like the sunflower milk for most uses, but I would want to keep a more neutral nondairy milk on hand for coffee and tea. I would buy the sunflower milk again and I might even like to try the vanilla sunflower milk in some chia pudding sometime soon, but it would not replace my all-purpose usage of rice milk. Have any of you tried sunflower milk? What did you think?
And now, for the….
***GIVEAWAY***
Sunrich kindly sent me a nice stack of coupons for *one FREE Sunrich product*. I have quite a few coupons and I would love to send them out to all of you lovely readers who would like to try one free sunflower milk product. All you have to do is make a comment below telling me that you would like to try the products. Then shoot me an email at serenityinthestorm@gmail.com with your NAME & ADDRESS so I can mail you a coupon for a free product. I’ll give them all away until they run out.
Sorry for the silence yesterday. I woke up feeling under the weather–some weird sinus/sore throat combo. Yesterday was the day I had designated to write my next review for Our Hen House and I didn’t have the stamina to be at the computer long enough to do that, get my work for the journal done (a.k.a. my job), and do a post… So something had to give. Luckily, I got my work done and I got the review off to the lovely ladies at Our Hen House and then took a nap, went for a walk with Maizy and did a little calling around for my dissertation research. Today, I’m not feeling much better, but I’m trying to power through it with the help of this delicious cold remedy drink. I use one of two variations of this drink when I’m feeling under the weather. If I’m just feeling like I have a cold, often I’ll just make a lemon, ginger, cayenne shot. If my throat hurts, or I just feel like sipping a warm drink, I’ll make a hot drink version like I did today.
The Recipe
Serves 1
FOR THE SHOT:
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbls ginger juice, or finely grated ginger
sprinkle of cayenne
Put ingredients in a shot glass. Stir. Knock it back if you’re feeling brave!
FOR THE HOT DRINK:
juice of 1 lemon
1 Tbls ginger juice, or finely grated ginger
sprinkle of cayenne
1 tsp agave or other sweetener (or to taste)
1 cup or less of boiling water
Add lemon, ginger, agave and cayenne to a mug. Heat water and fill the mug the rest of the way with hot water. Stir well. Sip.
Do you have any home cold/sinus remedies that make you feel better? Any suggestions would be fantastic! Happy Friday!
It’s a greyish, dark kind of morning at the moment and I’m sitting here in the almost-dark at my computer. The glow of the screen is the brightest thing in the room. Thank goodness on this dark, dreary morning (perfect for going back to bed) we have another guest recipe post from Passover that is anything but dark and dreary. This quinoa is gorgeous and the flavors are bright, complex, and downright delicious. Eric’s cousin, Juliann, has been vegan for many years and always brings some delicious vegan recipe to the family gatherings. This recipe is really good and looks like it is quick and easy to make. It is a variation on the Curried Couscous Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing from Main Course Vegetarian Pleasures. Juliann has put her own spin on the recipe with some changes to the ingredients and cooking process and, most of all, with her use of quinoa instead of couscous. She recommends the tricolored quinoa for an extra colorful look, but any quinoa will do. Thanks, Juliann, for sharing this delightful dish with us!
The Recipe: Curried Quinoa Salad with Ginger-Lime Dressing
Serves 4-6
1 1/2 cups quinoa
2 tsp curry powder
1/2 cup golden or purple raisins
3 cups water
1/2 cup coarsely chopped roasted (unsalted) cashews (almonds or chickpeas can be used instead)
1 1/2 cups frozen peas, thawed
1 red bell pepper, cut into small dice
2 Tablespoons finely chopped fresh mint or cilantro
1/2 cup chopped dried apricots (optional)
1/3 cup slivered red onion or chopped scallions (optional)
The Dressing:
1/3 cup fresh lime juice (3 limes)
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon salt
generous seasoning of freshly ground pepper
1/3 cup olive oil
1) Cook quinoa as normal, adding the curry powder and raisins (and apricot if using) while the water is heating up. See ‘Pantry Basics: Grains and Legumes’ for quinoa cooking instructions. When quinoa is cooked, move to a large mixing bowl and fluff with fork.
2) Stir in the cashews, peas, red pepper, onion, and mint/cilantro.
3)Combine all the dressing ingredients in a screw-top jar. Shake vigorously, pour onto the couscous, and toss.
4) Let the salad sit at least 30 minutes, or cover and chill up to 24 hours. Bring to room temperature before serving, then taste to correct the seasoning.
Yesterday, in the Passover Seder 2012 recap, I promised to post a recipe from Ruth (Eric’s mom) for Passover today. This dish is called tzimmes and it’s a traditional Jewish dish often eaten at Passover and Rosh Hashanah. It is usually composed of root vegetables and dried fruit with orange juice and spices. This version is entirely vegan and gluten-free and is a lovely complement to a meal of more savory items. This would also be a great dish to serve instead of yams at Thanksgiving or any harvest feast. Easy to cook ahead and be ready whenever it is time for the meal. Thanks, Ruth, for sharing this delicious recipe with us!
The Recipe
12 carrots chunked
2-3 Russet potatoes chunked
3 yams chunked
½ cup maple syrup
1 large clove garlic finely diced
1 large chopped onion
Olive oil
20 prunes (pitted)
2 cups orange juice (have some extra handy as needed)
1 -1/2 Tbs. cinnamon (to taste)
Salt & pepper (to taste)
Place onions and garlic with olive oil in heavy pot on stove, sauté until onions are soft and yellow. Add remaining ingredients, bring to boil. Cover with lid. Simmer for 1 hour then place in 325 degree oven for 2 hours covered. Stir from time to time when on stove top and in oven. Check to make sure there is liquid as cooking. Add additional orange juice as needed.
Good morning, Monday! This weekend, we had two treats–(1) it was Passover and we went to Eric’s mom’s cousin’s house for seder, and (2) our dear friend Theresa came to visit from Spokane, which was awesome. Theresa was my first friend when I moved to Seattle in 2004. She and I worked at a coffee shop in the Pike Place Market. She moved to Spokane with her family a couple of years ago and I’ve missed her so much!
I was not raised Jewish and so I’ve only been to a handful of Passover seders with Eric’s family. Passover is a Jewish holiday lasting about a week (usually in April). The seder (pronounced say-der) is the ritual feast that marks the beginning of Passover. The seder involves a ritual storytelling of the liberation of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The Haggadah is the book that tells this story and there have been countless versions of the Haggadah, from ancient versions, to handwritten family versions, to our very own “New Seattle Mashup Haggadah”, which the ‘Haggadah committee’ in Eric’s family has put together and reworked each year.
The thing I love most about seder, I think, is that it is a story of liberation. And while it’s specifically a story of liberation for Jews, it is also a story of liberation for all. It’s an opportunity to remember all those who are oppressed–humans and animals–and reflect on our role in their oppression and liberation. It’s a beautiful practice and one that I hope to try to think about a little every day. Liberation for all is an ongoing project and Passover reminds us to be mindful of that.
This year’s Haggadah included an excerpt from The New American Haggadah, which is edited by Jonathan Safran Foer (author of Eating Animals). I really liked this new Preface and I’ve bolded the parts I liked best:
Here we are. Here we are, gathered to celebrate the oldest continually practices ritual in the Western world, to retell what is arguably the best known of all stories, to take part in the most widely practiced Jewish holiday. Here we are as we were last year, and as we hope to be next year. Here we are, as night descends over all of the Jews of the world, with a book in front of us.
Jews have a special relationship to books, and the Haggadah has been translated more widely, and reprinted more often, than any other Jewish book. It is not a work of history of philosophy, not a prayer book, user’s manual, timeline, poem, or palimpsest–and yet it is all of these things. The Torah is the foundational text for Jewish law, but the Haggadah is our book of living memory. We are not merely telling a story here. We are being called to a radical act of empathy. Here we are embarking on an ancient, perennial attempt to give human life–our lives–dignity […]
Here we are: Individuals remembering a shared past and in pursuit of a shared desitiny. The seder is a protest against despair. The universe might appear deaf to our fears and hopes, but we are not–so we gather, and share them, and pass them down. We have been waiting for this moment for thousands of years–more than one hundred generations of Jews have been here as we are–and we will contnue to wait for it. And we will not wait idly.
As you read these words–as our people’s ink-stained fingers turn its wine-stained pages–new Haggadahs are being written. And as future Jews at future tables read those Haggadahs, other Haggadahs will be written. New Haggadahs will be written until there are no more Jews to write them. Or until our destiny has been fulfilled, and there is no more need to say “Next year in Jerusalem”.
And at the end of this Preface page of this year’s Haggadah:
We want all who sit at our table to be comfortable. It doesn’t matter if you are a believer, an agnostic, or an atheist. Nor does it matter if you are a Jew or a non-Jew. The story of Passover transcends these differences.
I won’t go into the whole story here, but the meal involves lots of symbolism, storytelling, singing in English and Hebrew, and the drinking of four glasses of wine:
Theresa with the first glass of wine
One other bit I liked especially from this year’s Haggadah:
Rabbi Akiva’s disciples asked him: “Master, which principle is chief among these two: compassion for all living creatures or the value of humankind made in the image of God?” “Compassion for all living creatures,” he said, “for when we neglect this we are no longer in the image of God.”
And now, about the food. This year’s seder had many vegan options. One of my favorite foods at Passover is the ‘hillel sandwich’. It’s part of the ritual and it’s matzoh with horseradish and charoset (a salad of apples, nuts, cinnamon, dates, etc). The sweet fruit with the horseradish is a little bit of heaven. Unfortunately, I was far too hungry at that point to remember to take a picture.
For dinner, we had a kick-ass quinoa salad from Eric’s cousin, tzimmes (a delicious sweet, cinnamony root vegetable dish from Eric’s mom), some steamed broccoli, and a yummy kale salad with almonds and other things:
dinner!
Stay tuned tomorrow for a guest recipe post from Eric’s mom, Ruth, for tzimmes. It’s sweet and warming and some real comfort food.
We brought two desserts that we made from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s and Terry Hope Romero’s new Vegan Pie in the Sky cookbook. The first was the Strawberry Kiwi Creme Tart:
fruit tart
And Lagusta’s Raspberry Chocolate tart (without the raspberries):
chocolate tart
I made substantial tweaks to both recipes to make them Passover-friendly–for instance, I made the Shortbread Tart Crusts (one plain and one chocolate) and used almond meal instead of flour. And the chocolate tart was radically different from the recipe in the book. I’ve always wanted to try making one of those fruit tarts and it was so fun! Decorating the top was the best part. That, and eating the leftover strawberries and kiwis that wouldn’t fit on top.
Did you all celebrate Passover or Easter this weekend? Were there ways that you helped make your celebrations vegan-friendly? Do you each have ways to remind ourselves to mindful of struggles for liberation each day?
Okay, I know. Three recipes in a row. Crazy! And they’re a bit all over the place–vegetable pot pie one day, roasted beet and orange salad the next, and now waffles…It’s like breakfast, lunch and dinner in reverse order. These waffles are inspired by the cornmeal waffles at Cafe Flora’s brunch. Cafe Flora tops them with different delicious fruit compotes and sometimes vegan creamy toppings. They are always divine. You can top these with whatever you like. I decided to cook up some frozen peaches with cinnamon and a little sugar. Add nuts, pumpkin seeds, fruit, or any awesome topping you can think up. I love these waffles in particular because most pancakes and waffles do not end up sustaining me for very long. There’s something about the cornmeal content in these that makes them heartier, more filling, and lasting than normal waffles or pancakes. A note about waffle irons (or lack thereof): If you don’t have a waffle iron, don’t be discouraged! I think these would work fine cooked as dense, hearty pancakes. You would get the same flavors and they would be beautiful, I imagine. If you try out a pancake version, let me know if it works!
The Recipe
Makes 4 full-size waffles with topping
FOR WAFFLES:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup corn flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup safflower/vegetable oil
1 1/2-2 cups rice milk (or other nondairy milk)
2 Tbls agave or 3 Tbls sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 Tbls ground flax, mixed with 6 Tbls water
FOR TOPPING:
3 cups frozen peaches
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
1 Tbls sugar or agave
splash of water (if needed)
FOR THE TOPPING:
In a small saucepan, add all topping ingredients. You may not need water, since the peaches are frozen and will release water when they thaw. On low heat, cook peaches until soft and stewy, stirring occasionally. While peaches are cooking, prepare waffle batter.
FOR THE WAFFLES:
Mix the flax ‘eggs’ in a small separate bowl and set aside. In a large mixing bowl, mix all dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, mix wet ingredients and add flax ‘eggs’ and mix well. Hint: start with 1 1/2 cups of milk and add more if necessary later. Stir wet ingredients into dry. Don’t overmix. If too thick/dry, add more nondairy milk.
Cook waffles in waffle iron and top with peaches, a sprinkle of cinnamon and some maple syrup if desired. Slivered almonds or pumpkin seeds would be delicious on this for a lovely crunch
I’m glad the vegetable pot pie provoked mouth-watering responses from the Pittsburgh crowd. Today, I’ve got another recipe for you. Though not what I would consider comfort food per se, this roasted beet salad has gorgeous coloring and a sweet citrus and earthy flavor. When I was in NY, I attended a board meeting for the geography journal I work for at a swanky mid-town Italian restaurant. The only easily-veganized item on the menu was a roasted beet salad. Normally, I would ask a restaurant to veganize an entree or make a vegan entree for me, but I was trying to fly under the radar and chose to order the easy menu item. I’ve never been a huge fan of beets, but I’m really trying to like them. And you know what? They’re growing on me. I did the same thing with olives and capers–kept eating them until I liked them. And now I love them. The same thing is happening with beets. The salad at the restaurant was lovely–a combination of red and golden beets with slices of mandarin orange, a sweet light vinaigrette and some micro-greens on top. If you happen to be fancy and have some micro=greens (or even sprouts) lying around, I’d recommend adding some to the top of this salad for a nice fresh crunch.
The Recipe:
Serves 2-3
1 medium golden beet
1 medium red beet
olive oil drizzle for roasting
1 mandarin orange or clementine, peeled and segmented
1 Tbls orange juice
1/2 Tbls apple cider vinegar (or other light vinegar)
1 Tbls flax oil or olive oil
salt and pepper to taste
micro-greens to top (optional)
Preheat oven to 400 F. Drizzle the whole beets (washed and tops removed) with olive oil and wrap each color of beet in a piece of aluminum foil (keep the beets whole). Roast in oven for 1-1.5 hours, or until the beets are soft when pierced with a fork. While the beets are cooking, you can peel the orange and divide it in segments. I went one step further and peeled the membrane off of each segment, but it’s up to you whether or not you do this step. Let the beets cool and peel them with a knife or your fingers. Rinse the beets and cut into large cubes. Add the beet cubes to a medium sized mixing bowl. Drizzle the flax/olive oil, vinegar and orange juice over the top. Toss to combine. Add the mandarin slices and toss. Add salt and pepper to taste. Top with micro-greens or sprouts, if you have them and enjoy!
Do you all have any favorite salads that incorporate roasted beets?
Follow
