Sunday is a baking day

Hey guys!
Just wanted to post some pics of what I baked last weekend.
To me, a perfect Sunday afternoon means getting together with friends and baking while listening to all styles of music.

We listened to metal while baking these absolutely divine Maple Pecan Shortbread Squares...

...And to hits from the 80's while baking these totally scrumptious vanilla cupcakes.

Oh, and by the way, one of the friends I was baking with owns this totally awesome baking blog. Please check it out (warning: her food is very tempting):

Don't you just love baking?

African Chickpea Coconut Curried Stew

I've got some good news for you.

You don't have to spend hours searching for what you're going to serve your friends. You've got your answer right here.

This African Chickpea Coconut Curried Stew will blow. your. mind. It has all the qualities you expect from a winter dish: it's comforting, flavorful, soupy, stewy, carby, and spicy.

It's perfect over rice or wheat.

Oh, and it's vegan.

I got this recipe from a friend about two years ago. Since then I've made it what, ten times? And you should know this about me: no matter how good a recipe is, I usually use it only once or twice because there are just too many recipes out there and not enough time to try them all.

Okay. Enough blabbering. Here's the recipe:

AFRICAN CHICKPEA COCONUT CURRIED STEW

Ingredients:

• 2 tablespoons canola or olive oil
• 1 medium onion (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 medium red bell pepper (about 6 ounces), chopped
• 1 jalapeño chili, seeded and finely chopped
• 2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 2 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
• 1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• 1 cup chopped tomatoes, seeded and peeled, fresh or canned 
• 1 teaspoon mild curry powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
• Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
• 1 (14-ounce) can light coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro or parsley

•  On the side, prepare a pot of rice or wheat to serve the stew over.

Directions:

• In a medium stockpot, heat oil over medium heat. 
• Add the bell pepper, onion, and chili. Cook, stirring, until softened, for about 5 minutes. 
• Add the garlic and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute. Add broth, chickpeas, tomatoes, curry powder, salt, and black pepper. Bring to a boil over high heat. 
• Reduce heat and simmer gently, uncovered, stirring occasionally for about 10 minutes. 
• Add the remaining ingredients and cook, again stirring occasionally, until heated through, for about 5 minutes. 
• Serve warm over rice or wheat and enjoy!

This will change your life. I'm not kidding. Best Speech You Will Ever Hear - Gary Yourofsky.

Guys.
GUYS.
I want you to stop what you're doing and watch this speech. RIGHT. NOW.

I present to you Gary Yourofsky, an amazing and brave animal rights activist who changed the lives of many, many animals... AND people.

This guy is RADICAL. He has has given 2,495 lectures to more than 60,000 people at 180 schools in 30 different states AND in several Israeli cities and schools. The lecture below has been translated into more than 30 languages and has received over 7 million hits on YouTube. He has been legally (and unjustly) punished for random acts of kindness and compassion. He's been banned from entering several countries because of trying to serve justice towards animals. For example, in 1997, in Ontario, Canada, he liberated 1, 542 minks from being slaughtered on a fur farm... which led to him being kicked out of Canada.

This speech will completely change your beliefs about meat consumption.
Yes, it's one hour long, but I can assure you that it's totally worth it. This guy is a pure GENIUS. I promise that this will be a good use of your time. It's not just a good use of your time, it's an IMPORTANT, LIFE-OR-DEATH implied use of your time. Please watch it. It's all I ask of you.

So go on, click on play.

How do you feel after watching this? Did you know about Gary Yourofsky before?

Fancy some Pork Lard?

So the other day I was munching on some cookies.
Plaza del Sol Cinnamon Hearts imported from Spain, for the record.
After eating 3 or 4 of these small cookies, my eyes wandered over to the list of ingredients on the box.
And what is listed as third ingredient ? Pork Lard.
In a panic, I looked up "pork lard", and although I already could have told you what it is if I weren't in a state of shock, to my horror I read that it's... pig fat. Right off the pig. "Lard can be obtained from any part of the pig as long as there is a high concentration of fatty tissue", Wikipedia says.
I was munching on pig fat.
I WAS MUNCHING ON PIG FAT!!!

It's like if you cut off the fat from your body and cooked it up into your food. You're eating the fat from a creature's body. And in your cookies.
How SICK is this?! Why mix PIG FAT into innocent little cookies?! 

I felt like throwing up. I felt like the world had tricked me!

Now doesn't this just look DELICIOUS? Is your mouth watering at the sight of these blobby lumps of FAT? YUM!

I was quite shocked and traumatized from this whole experience, as you can probably tell.
And I'll definitely be checking the ingredients in my cookies from now on.

THE BEST Sugar Cookies

What is more perfect at Christmas than a beautiful tray of homemade sugar cookies?
Not much, my friends, not much.
The recipe below is the one I use every year. The dough is easy to assemble, the cookies smell absolutely wonderful while baking, AND, the fact that they're an uncomplicated and simple (and addictive) cookie means you can't go wrong. Because everybody loves them.
One warning, though: this recipe makes many cookies... and I assure you that, unless you have incredible self-control, it is very hard to only eat one, as, like I said earlier, they are ADDICTIVE.

Of course, these don't have to be for Christmas. They can be for Easter, St. Patrick's day...

The frosting can be a little tricky, true. But if you want to go for an uncomplicated cookie decor, I will give you a few tips. Just keep reading.

THE BEST SUGAR COOKIES

Ingredients:

3 3/4 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups white sugar

1 cup margarine or butter, softened

2 eggs

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Sift flour, salt, and baking powder, then set aside. In a large bowl, cream together the margarine (or butter) and sugar until light and fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in vanilla. Gradually blend in the sifted ingredients until fully absorbed. Cover dough and chill for 2 hours.
2. Preheat oven to 200 °C (400 °F). Prepare and grease cookie sheets. On a clean floured surface, roll out small portions of the chilled dough to about 1/4 inch thickness (although I never measure). Cut out shapes with your cookie cutters.
3. Bake cookies in the preheated oven for 6 to 8 minutes or until the edges are barely brown. Remove from cookie sheets to cool on wire racks.
4. Decorate! Or leave them plain and enjoy right away.

For the icing, I used Martha Stewart's recipe. If you click on the sentence you just read you'll be redirected towards it.

Now, all of those who have made sugar cookies before remember their first try at decorating. 

When you start decorating, you have something like this in mind:

But then they end up looking like this:

 

So if you're a beginner and you're looking for an easy way to decorate your cookies, I suggest you spread white icing on your cookie and sprinkle colored sugar all over it, like I did on this Christmas tree:

Otherwise, for Christmas, if you make round cookies, you can draw these adorable little reindeer using an icing pen or one of those little cake decorator tubes you can buy at the supermarket. And if you want, you can use m&m's for the noses. Most of mine are little Rudolphs!

And again, if it's Christmas, you can follow this year's trend and make melting snowmen. I've seen melting snowmen cakes, cookies, cupcakes... a little sadistic, right? The good news is, they're really easy to make! And c'mon, they are just so cute.

I used a soft mint for the head, because the original idea was to use a marshmallow but since they have gelatin I searched the candy aisle and found these instead: 

It was a great idea because it really looks like snow... and to me it looks more realistic than those made with marshmallows!

I hope these tips were helpful to you! Enjoy :)

Chocolate Crinkle Cookies- oh my!

If you read my last post, you saw that I linked to several cookie recipes.
WELL, last weekend, I decided to make some. So I made the...
Chocolate Crinkle Cookies!
How were they?
They were good. 

That's a lie. They weren't just good, they were REALLY, REALLY good.  If you're looking for something chocolatey, chewy, soft AND fudgy, you've found your recipe!
I got it from Warm Vanilla Sugar.

I KNOW I should have posted this earlier, I'm sorry... But this week was crazy! 
You can forgive me though, because the MINUTE Christmas break started, when I got home from school this afternoon, I sat down to write this post. I'm not kidding. That's how much I love you.

YEAH!!! I'M ON VACATION!!! 
My plans are to relaaaaax, bake (more) cookies and hang around with friends. Ahhhhh.

CHOCOLATE CRINKLE COOKIES

Ingredients:

1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
2 cups white sugar
1/2 cup vegetable oil
4 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

In a medium bowl, mix together cocoa, white sugar, and vegetable oil. Beat in eggs one at a time, then stir in the vanilla.

Combine the flour, baking powder, and salt; stir into the cocoa mixture. Cover dough, and chill for at least 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line cookie sheets with parchment paper.

Roll dough into one inch balls with lightly oiled palms (you can use a cookie scoop to portion the dough, a tablespoon or a rounded teaspoon depending on what size you like).

Coat each ball in confectioners’ sugar before placing onto prepared cookie sheets.

Bake in preheated oven for 10 to 12 minutes.

Let stand on the cookie sheet for a minute before transferring to wire racks to cool.

THE Cinnamon Roll Cake

Here's a riddle: What tastes like a cinnamon roll, is less time consuming to prepare and totally knock-your-socks -off delicious?
A cinnamon roll cake!

This weekend, we had old friends from Paris visiting. On Sunday, a request was made for an "American breakfast". My mom and I took charge. Along with pancakes, an omelette, and toast, we were thinking "what is another special thing we could serve?"
What came to mind was the classic and scrumptious cinnamon roll... the problem was, cinnamon rolls take a long time to make and bake.
I dashed to Pinterest and found this recipe. It is definitely a keeper!


This cake was sooooooo yummy... incredibly, fantabulously moist and buttery.
It smelled WONDERFUL while baking and, oh, it just has one of the gooey-est cinnamon swirls. My God, THE CINNAMON SWIRLS!
And the glaze, the glaze... YUM. That's all you need to know.
We cut the glaze measurements in half, because we didn't have the appropriate cake pan (ours was less wide), and there was less surface to cover with the glaze.

CINNAMON ROLL CAKE

Ingredients:

For the cake:
3 c all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp salt
1 c granulated sugar
4 tsp baking powder
1 and 1/2 c milk
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 c (1 stick) unsalted butter

For the cinnamon filling:
1 c (2 sticks) unsalted butter
1 c packed light brown sugar
2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

For the glaze:
2 c powdered sugar
5 Tbsp milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Instructions:

To make the cake:
1. Grease a 9"x13" cake pan Set aside.
2. Preheat the oven to 180 °C  (350 °F).
3. In a large mixing bowl, whisk together sugar, salt, flour, and baking powder.
4. Add milk, eggs and vanilla and whisk until smooth.
5. Slowly add the melted butter and whisk until everything is smooth.
6. Spread the batter in the prepared pan. Set aside.

 

To make the filling:
1. In a medium mixing bowl, beat butter with electric mixer until creamy.
2. Add sugar, flour and cinnamon and beat until fluffy, about 2 minutes. (It will look crumbly at first but keep beating, it will come together.)
3. Spread the filling over the cake batter, leaving at least 1 inch of space from the edge of the pan. Swirl gently with a off-set icing spatula or a rubber spatula.
4. Bake the cake for 28 to 32 minutes or until the toothpick inserted in the cake part comes out clean.
5. Cool the cake for 15 minutes. Pour the glaze over the cake and spread evenly.

 

To make the glaze:
1. Sift the powdered sugar over a medium mixing bowl.
2. Add vanilla and milk and whisk together until smooth and drizzling consistency. Spread over still warm cake.
3. Keeps covered in room temperature for up to 3 days.
4. Enjoy!

My Vegetarian Thanksgiving

This Saturday, we had a slightly early Thanksgiving with our friends.
It was a much anticipated afternoon... Thanksgiving is very special to me, because in spite of living in France where very few people celebrate it, WE do, which reaffirms my identity as an American all the more!

It was an afternoon of good food, good conversation and good people, as Thanksgiving should be.
Interestingly enough, my mom and I only made one of the dishes from my Thanksgiving Meal Ideas post... every recipe we used was new to us. But I am NOT exaggerating when I say that every single thing we ate was absolutely delicious.
Not even one dish was in the slightest way mediocre.


Have you ever wondered what a vegetarian eats at Thanksgiving? Well here's your answer.
(Links to the recipes are at the bottom of this post)

Pear and Fennel Salad

Squash, Spinach and Onion tart

Yummy Mashed Potatoes...

... and Vegetarian Wild Mushroom Gravy to pour over it!

Rosemary Roasted Carrots

 Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts

"The Best Vegetarian Stuffing Ever" (The title of this recipe is not misleading: it really is the best I've ever had! Too bad I didn't take a picture of it from the inside. )

For dessert, we served Paradise Pumpkin Pie (a three layer pumpkin pie! Oh my!)!

 This is my bro and I before our feast started :P

Somewhere in this wild world we call the internet, I found this cute and free downloadable banner to print... It went perfectly on our wall! 

Now if you're interested in making any of these recipes, here's where you'll find them:

Pear and Fennel Salad
Mixed Baby Greens, Delicata Squash, and Caramelized Onion Tart
Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy
Rosemary Roasted Carrots
Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts
The Best Vegetarian Stuffing Ever
Paradise Pumpkin Pie


What are you going to make this Thanksgiving?

Thanksgiving Meal Ideas and Inspiration

Next Saturday, my family is having our American friends over for Thanksgiving Lunch. And my mom and I will be making all the food! This is a big thrill for me, and I've been dreaming of what we're going to make.
I am totally into keeping traditions, so I definitely want to make classics or modified versions of the classics, MINUS the turkey of course.

First off, I wanted to share this recipe for "Stuffed Potimarron" (potimarron is type of pumpkin found in France) from my friend Meg Bortin (The Every Day French Chef). This recipe sounds so fun and festive and I totally trust that it's fabulous because Meg's food always tastes so good.


The following recipes are what appealed to me most on Pinterest... If you like my selection you can go to the Thanksgiving pinterest board I created to find all the other recipes I pinned!


I'd like to make this Vegetarian Mushroom Gravy from Martha Stewart. I need my gravy this Thanksgiving!


I thought this Healthy Potato Gratin from Food and Wine is beautifully arranged.









This Vegan Tofu and Vegetable Pot Pie from The Kitchn sounds like the perfect comfort food to me.

These are Lentil Mushroom Walnut Balls from Oh She Glows. YUM! They'd be a great side to the Thanksgiving meal.

Last but not least, I will DEFINITELY be making these Balsamic Roasted Brussels Sprouts From The Live-In Kitchen. I tried something similar to this in a Lebanese restaurant in the States. I've been craving some ever since!


OH! And if you're looking for a scrumptious traditional desert, make the Pumpkin Pecan Pie I posted last year. It's truly wonderful.



Or if you're more in the mood for muffins, make my Vegan Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Muffins. You'll impress everybody!





What will you be making this Thanksgiving?

Swiss Green Bean Salad

I KNOW that it's Halloween and I KNOW that essentially, it means stuffing your face with as much candy possible... BUT, in the hope that some of us, tonight, will be sensible and eat at least a LITTLE of something healthy, on the same tone as my last post, I'd like to share with you a recipe from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest that I really enjoyed.
This salad is such a delight: the flavors of the herbs blend beautifully with the lemon juice and you can make each bite as crunchy or soft as you wish, depending on how you cook the beans (I like my beans crunchy).
The olives add a nice salty punch to so you don't need to worry about the salt in this recipe.
All in all, this is a very refreshing salad.

And if you want this to be vegan, no problemo! Just don't use cheese.

SWISS GREEN BEAN SALAD

Ingredients:

1 1/2 pounds fresh whole green beans (slender as possible), cleaned and trimmed
2 large cloves garlic, minced
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1 tablespoon minced fresh dill
1/2 teaspoon salt (or more, to taste)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
2 teaspoons Dijon mustard
1/2 cup minced fresh parsley
1/3 pound swiss cheese, in thin strips (I used emmental)
1/2 cup chopped ripe olives (or whole tine ones, like Niçoise)
1 small green bell pepper, sliced thin
1 small red bell pepper, sliced thin
3 to 4 tablespoons fresh lemon juice (to taste)
1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
1/2 cup chopped, toasted almonds (optional)

Directions:

1. Steam the green beans until just tender. Remove from heat and immediately rinse under very cold running water. Drain completely.
2. Combine everything else-except the lemon juice, vinegar, and almonds--in a large bowl, and mix well.
3. Add the drained beans to the bowl. Use tongs to turn the beans until everything is well distributed.
4. Stir in the lemon juice and vinegar. Serve cold or at room temperature, topped with almonds, if desired.

Enjoy!

Last week's recipe: Swedish Cabbage Soup

Swedish Cabbage Soup

Before you load up on unhealthy halloween candy (oops, too late)...
make this super yummyhealthywarmingcomfortingveggieful Swedish cabbage soup!

It's got dill, onions, potatoes, cabbage, and a dollop of sour cream to top it off for that extra mmmmm.

This is Mollie Katzen's recipe, from The New Enchanted Broccoli Forest cookbook. It's my auntie Deanna (my favorite non-blood-related auntie!) who gave it to me as a present and I am ABSOLUTELY obsessed with this cookbook.  What I've made from it so far has turned out delicious and I plan on posting more of her recipes!

This recipe is not vegan but could easily be veganized.

SWEDISH CABBAGE SOUP

Ingredients:

2 medium-sized potatoes
7 cups vegetable broth or water
2 to 3 tablespoons butter
3 cups chopped onion
2 teaspoons caraway seeds
2 teaspoons salt (less if using vegetable broth and it is salted)
8 cups shredded green cabbage (1 medium head)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

 

OPTIONAL TOPPINGS:
Sour cream
Fresh dill

Directions:

1. Scrub the potatoes and cut them into small dice. Place them in a large saucepan with the broth or water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, and simmer, partially covered for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and set aside.
2. Melt the butter in a soup pot or a Dutch oven. Add the onion, caraway seeds, and 1/2 teaspoon salt, and cook over low heat, stirring occasionally, until the onion is quite soft (about 10 minutes).
3. Add the cabbage (as much as will fit) to the onion. Also add another 1/2 teaspoon salt. Stir, cover, and cook over medium heat until there is room in the pot for the rest of the cabbage.
4. Add the remaining cabbage and the potatoes with all their cooking liquid. Cover and simmer for about 15 more minutes, or until all the cabbage is tender. Correct the salt, add black pepper to taste, and serve hot, topped with a little sour cream and/or yogurt and some fresh dill.

 Hope you like it and tell me what you think!

And then you wonder why there's war

I saw this on Pinterest, and thought it was awesome.

 

This could be my next answer to anybody who asks me why I'm vegetarian.

What do you think?