Good for you ice cream

Quick tip

Lots of overripe bananas, how about a sweet healthy snack ? Mash bananas, and freeze in ice cream maker( follow manufacturers directions ). If its still too soft you can put it in the freezer for an extra 2 hours. Your kids will think it's ice cream, but you'll know the truth :)

Pumpkin Spice!!!

Silk soy milk now has holiday flavors, my favorite being Pumpkin Spice. I am really excited to use it in m my baking.The question is what should I use it in? Here is where I need you guys, comment on this post with your ideas, and i'll pick one to make. Can't wait to hear what you got!

Tip for today: Many products offer coupons on their websites. Some you can just print, and sometimes you need to sign up, either way always check their pages out before you head to the store.

Here is a coupon for Silk ( you will need to sign up to get it), just click the link, the click get coupon, and follow instructions :) http://silksoymilk.com/?gclid=COCV99-U2asCFQru7QodGUcRQg

Snickerdoodle, need I say more!

I have had a lot going on lately and had no time to bake or blog. The good news is i'm back, and with one of my favorite sweet treats ever. I'll  give you a hint it's a kind of cookie with a funny name , but tastes seriously delicious. Yup you guessed it snickerdoodle.Rolled in cinnamon and  sugar it's like a perfectly sweet sugar cookie, but with a little spice to it, kind of like me. I'm just saying , lol. Well enough about me, lets get back to the star of the show. Not only does this cookie taste great , but your house will smell amazing. Looks like we have another cookie for the cookbook :)

P.s. One of the best things about vegan cookies is you can eat the dough, and don't have to worry about getting sick from raw eggs BONUS!

Tip of the day: Why buy cinnamon sugar when you can make it yourself. Just add 1/2 tsp of cinnamon to every one tbsp of sugar.

Today Key lime pie, tomorrow the world!

When I became vegan I came to terms with the fact of never having certain food again. One of those foods was key lime pie. While Talking with my friend Chanda online the other day she informed me she had made key lime pie. Needless to say I was jealous. I could almost picture The creamy filling in my mouth ,and the texture of the crunchy graham cracker crust, and that tang that hits you in the back of your tongue . So did I cheat on my vegan diet, and just have some pie.... No way I made a vegan version of course.  I wasn't sure it would turn out, but to my surprise not only did it turn out, but tasted great. I almost couldn't tell the difference.

Tip for today: Cornstarch is a great thickener . Make sure that you blend the cornstarch  well with cold liquid, before adding to a hot pot or hot ingredients. This will keep lumps from forming. You will need to bring everything to a boil for the cornstarch to work.

My Favorie Mistake

So, I have good news and I have bad news. The good news is that Jello vanilla instant pudding mix is vegan when used with non dairy milk. The bad news is Jello vanilla instant pudding mix will not set up when used with soymilk, oops! So I decided that when life gave me runny pudding, I would create a cookie recipe for it. So, I call these cookies My favorite mistake ( nothing to do with the Sheryl Crow song) chocolate chip cookies. The pudding made the dough  a little more sticky then normal, so I rolled them in sugar before baking. Yummmy! The sugar made these cookies crispy on the outside, and the pudding made them soft and chewy on the inside. Then the semisweet chocolate chips tie it all together. I gave one to my husband  (Ididn't tell him they were vegan), and he loved them. These will definetly make it to the cookbook!

Tip for the day: When life gives you lemons make lemonade! Just because something doesn't turn out how you planned, doesn't mean you can't turn it into something even better!

Hey there Pumpkin!

I was in the store today, and was lured in by a can of pumpkin. I swear I heard it whispering "make me into muffins". No I'm not crazy , I just haven't had pumpkin since Thanksgiving, and am feeling a little deprived. Fast forward to 7:00 tonight. My two year old and I made the yummiest pumpkin strusel muffins. I measured and she mixed, it only got a little messy. They are sweet from the maple syrup and brown sugar, spicy from the cinnamon and pumpkin pie spice, and have a slight hint of orange from the orange extract. We topped them with a Cinnamon orange strusel, and ate them warm out of the oven. Yummmmmmmmm!

Tip for today: Muffins should be mixed  by hand, just until all ingredients are combined. Sift all you dry ingredients together first, and then combine with wet. Minimal mixing will equal a more tender muffin.

Descisions, descions.

I'm sitting here trying to decide what I should bake this weekend. Maybe I'll make some yummy cookies, or how about muffins, scones perhaps, or maybe a new flavor of cupcakes. I would love some input. your wish is my command.

Tip of the day: When baking always preheat your oven completely or  your product probably won't turn out right :0)

You can't be sweet all the time!

Even a baker has to eat dinner, and sometimes this baker is way to busy to cook everything from scratch. So here's my favorite quick dinner. In a pot over medium heat cook1 can of seasoned black beans (vegan), 1 can tomatoes and chills( juice drained) and mix in some of your favorite spices, I like Cumin, garlic powder, and onion powder. Bring to a simmer. 5 minutes before beans are done cooking add the juice of 1 lime and 2 tbsp fresh cilantro. I like to garnish this with chopped pickled jalepenos, a sprig of cilantro, and a wedge of lime. This meal not only tastes great, but your whole house will smell amazing. No one has to know it only took 10 minutes to make. I usually cook brown rice with this, but tonight I had a craving for Israeli couscous. Well, time to go eat I'm starving.   

Tip for today: To spruce up couscous, first saute some chopped onions in olive oil. Once the onions start to get translucent add spices and the couscous to pot and toast the couscous. Then add reqired amount of water. This will give your couscous a nice toasted and nutty flavor.

MMmmmmmm Coconut!

It took me alot of trials of really bad cupcakes to finally come up with these babies. These toasted coconut cupcakes are proof that if you keep trying great things with come of it. This moist coconut cake, is filled with with a toasted coconut pudding, topped with a creamy vanilla frosting, and rolled in yummy toasted coconut.If you like coconut, you'll absolutely love these.

Tip of the day: Toasted coconut has such an amazing flavor, and it takes so little effort to make it. Spread coconut on a parchment lined baking sheet ( to prevent sticking). Put into a preheated 350 degree oven, and bake for 6- 10 minutes. Stir once during baking. Make sure you keep an eye on your coconut, you want it to toast not burn.

You put a baby in a crib with an apple and a rabbit.  If it eats the rabbit and plays with the apple, I'll buy you a new car.  ~Harvey Diamond

Orange spice banana bread!!

Right now my house smells like, banana bread, freshly squeezed orange juice, and Thanksgiving.I can almost see the cartoon scent waves picking me up and carrying me to the oven. The question is do I eat it in it's warm goodness without any extra bells and whistles, or with some sweet and tangy orange marmalade. Hmmmmmmmmm maybe ill have both.
P.s . Photography is not my strong suit, so please forgive my pictures.

* Tip for today: When using any kind of citrus zest in a baking recipe, rub it together with the sugar. This will release all the natural oils, and give you the most flavor.

Starting out.

I've always loved to bake which is probably why with 2 kids, and a part time job I  felt the need to go to pastry school. School was everything I thought it would be and more. Very soon after I finished school, I became very interested in the vegan lifestyle. The problem was being a vegan forced me to stop using my three favorite ingredients butter, milk, and eggs. This blog is about my journey to becoming a vegan pastry chef, and the trials of becoming a vegan in general. It's about learning whole new ways to create delicious treats, without harming any living creatures in the process. My goal is to make vegan food so delicious, that no one will need to eat the other stuff, wishful thinking I know :) So here's to eating delicious food, and saving animals one recipe at a time!!!!