Showing posts with label #Vegan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label #Vegan. Show all posts

Thursday, April 10, 2014

Treats with the Bigs

Today for a fun treat I made individual coconut crispy treats with my two big girls (ages 4 & 5) in the microwave! Super easy, super tasty, & super quick! They helped with counting marshmallows, scooping "butter," measuring & stirring in the crispy rice and coconut. We used my silicone egg poaching cups to mold them into mounds of yummy goodness.


INGREDIENTS:
(For each generous portion)
4 marshmallows
1 tsp butter (we used Earth Ballance)
1/2 cup crisp rice cereal

Optional: 1 Tbsp unsweetened shredded coconut

DIRECTIONS:
1) Melt marshmallows and butter in a microwave safe bowl on high for 45 seconds.
2) Stir in crisp rice cereal and coconut if using, until everything is evenly coated.
3) Shape and allow to cool for at least 20 minutes. 


The girls LOVED them and declared it an excellent activity. The great news is that this was easy, child friendly, and did not use the stove! And I'm not faced with the temptation of a whole pan of crispy treats calling out to me everytime I go into the kitchen. The not so good news is that I now know I can have fresh made crispy treats any time I want. I guess I'll have to get better at restraint. Ha!

Sunday, October 13, 2013

Strawberry Cornmeal Pancakes

Today is Sunday and my husband is playing on the worship team at church. He got up at six and left the house long before any of the children were stirring. Normally about now I would be issuing orders to the girls to quickly finish eating their cereal and get dressed so we are not late for the first service. But today the girls are getting over a nasty cold and our youngest is still sleeping. So the Hughes girls will be staying in pajamas this morning, playing with toys, and eating a leisurely pancake breakfast. I created these tasty vegan Strawberry Cornmeal Pancakes using Martha Stewart's basic pancake recipe as a template. I bake all my pancakes in a large casserole dish so we can all eat at once. No more flipping pancakes while everyone else eats! 


INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup corn meal
3 Tbsp brown sugar
3 tsp baking powder
2 cups coconut milk
2 Tbsp flax meal + 6 Tbsp water (or 2 large eggs)
3 Tbsp canola oil
2 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sliced strawberries

Non stick cooking spray or butter 

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a medium sized casserole pan with non stick cooking spray or butter.
2) In a large bowl mix together flour, corn meal, brown sugar, and baking powder. Set aside.
3) In another bowl, mix together coconut milk, flax meal plus water mixture, oil, and vanilla. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and whisk to combine.
4) Pour into prepared baking dish, top with sliced strawberries, and bake for 35 - 40 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes, then slice and serve.


You could easily make substitutions - whole wheat flour for the corn meal, or regular milk for the coconut, or sliced peaches for the strawberries. I happened to be out of eggs, so I subbed in the flax meal and water. Use your imagination and let me know what you think!



Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Not Your Typical Banana Bread

This week in our home school preschool we are studying the letter B. In preparation I bought bananas early in the week last week so that they would be perfect for our cooking segment. I found an unusual vegan coconut maple banana bread recipe over at Honeyed Home that I wanted to try. There is a great shortcut Michelle mentions for ripening bananas if yours are not quite banana bread ready - definately go check out her site.

I tweaked the recipe based on what I had on hand (for example I didn't want to use ALL my bananas, so I added peaches which needed to be used). I also added a maple glaze for extra yumminess. I brought it to share with my bible study ladies, and my kiddos gobbled the remaining leftovers. It was gone so fast, I forgot to get a picture! The girls and I will be making this recipe into muffins in a few days, so I'll update with a pic of those.

Maple Peach Banana Bread

INGREDIENTS:
2 very ripe small bananas
1 cup cooked peaches
2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup almond meal
1/4 cup flax meal
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/2 cup organic coconut oil, melted at room temperature
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Coconut oil spray
GLAZE:
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbsp melted Earth Balance spread

DIRECTIONS:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a loaf pan with coconut oil spray.
2) In a large bowl, whisk all the dry ingredients.
3) In a food processor blend all the wet ingredients.
4) Add wet ingredients the the dry ingredients and fold until just combined. 
5) The batter will be thick like a brownie batter. Dump the batter into your prepared loaf pan and spread with a spatula.
6) Bake for 45 - 50 minutes or until it is golden brown and passes the toothpick test.
7) Once the bread is completely cool, mix all the glaze ingredients and drizzle on the bread.