It's been really cold here, so I've been craving warm and yummy comfort foods. This month's Vegetarian Times issue featured one of those 5-ingredient recipes for Creamy Broccoli Soup, and it just so happened that this one was vegan! So on Thursday night, I cooked up a sliced onion, added some garlic, then poured in veggie stock, broccoli and sliced mushrooms. Once cooked, I then puréed it (the mushrooms were supposed to contribute to the 'creaminess'), but it was REALLY watery. Once you added a pile of salt, it had more flavour, but I think I'll stick to my potato- and soy-based creamy broccoli soups for next time.
Kyle also informed me that at work on Friday, it was his bi-weekly Fried Egg Friday event. A bunch of guys at his work all bring in meaty and eggy dishes - a whole pile of buffet-style foods for feasting. Obviously I don't cook up any of those things, but I like to help make yummy vegan stuff! I think Kyle likes to tell them how vegan food can be tasty and healthy! This week, we made brownies, simply because we were at the grocery store, didn't look at any recipes before we left the house, and I often always have ingredients on hand to make brownies. I remember seeing Bunnyfoot's blog about Fran Costigan's recipe, and considering I had purchased both of Fran's Great Good Desserts Naturally Books, I figured I should give it a try.
Instead of making prune purée, I just used prune baby food. I also used Sucanat instead of brown sugar. But the big modification was the freakin' time! The recipe said that you cook 17-18 minutes. When I read that, I thought that was pretty quick, considering most of the stuff I cook in a glass 8x8 pan takes about 30 minutes. We tested at 5-minute intervals after the initial 17 minutes, and it took more like 30-35 minutes to bake. They were really good, and don't need any frosting if you use the chocolate chips (since Kyle was eating these, you can bet that we sure used them!). Only thing was that these were more like a cakey brownie, whereas I'm used to the flatter, more dense variety.
While the guys at Kyle's work were impressed, I think next time, I'm going to make cupcakes and really knock their meaty socks off!
2 comments:
Hi Sisters,
Fran Costigan here. Hi! BTW, my daughter's name is Tracy. here and I wanted to say I am glad you made the brownies in my book. I use baby food prunes (labeled plums in u.s.!), or apples and prunes,. dark cane is succhant-rapadura sugar and I do not use brown sugar so we are on same page. Thing is, the short bake time is what you do to get fudgy, not cakey brownies. The soft batter firms when it cools and is chilled. Have a great day and bake vegan. now for Thanksgiving.
Hi Fran,
Thanks for checking out our blog! And I appreciate the comment around the baking time! We were waiting for the toothpick to come out clean, so it's good to know that we can take them out at the recommended time and let them 'cook' in the pan - this is very helpful!
I wish I could clarify any recipe questions with every author, so this is great that you provided me with this tip!
Sarah
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