Baked Vegan Doughnuts

OK, so I seem to be making some really unhealthy things. But really, they are just distractions for my major seitan post that keeps building and building!

For years now, I've been searching for doughnut baking pans. I checked at Walmart a number of times (I thought that surely they would have them given that they sell fast-foodish stuff and it seemed right up their alley) but to no avail. I had seem them on Amazon.ca, but I didn't feel like paying more for shipping than the price of the item itself. Finally, I made a very rare stop in at Michael's and to my surprise, I found them there! I was so giddy with excitement that I couldn't have cared less that I never bothered to cut out the 40% off-one-item coupon at home. As soon as I got home I washed them up and pulled out Vegan Yum Yum, remembering that a few years ago she was the queen of the vegan doughnut.

I whipped up a batch, subbing rice milk for the soy, canola oil for the marg and salba for the egg replacer. I was careful not to overfill my pan with the really thick batter. What happened? They were edible, but they barely rose. Here they are coated in melted Enjoy Life chocolate chips and vegan sprinklez.

I did not feel defeated, however.

Next, I used cornstarch for the egg replacer instead of the salba and doubled the batch (I had since clued in that I did not in fact have a mini doughnut pan but rather a regular sized one). The batter was alot more fluid and I filled to almost the top. I had a little batter leftover to satisfy Ash, the baking bowl licker. My results were much improved - this time I dipped them in an icing sugar/rice milk glaze. Better!

But I just found that the baked doughnut just didn't have the same yeasty flavour of a regular doughnut (I actually remember this taste, despite my last real doughnut was consumed in the '80s). So I opted to try the recipe again with a different topping - one similar to the stale doughnuts you buy in the grocery store - either with icing sugar or cinnamon sugar. I opted for the latter. Yum! And not stale!

I noticed Vegan Dad has a doughnut recipe that is fried. I'm petrified of frying anything in more than just a couple of tablespoons of oil, so I doubt I'll try this. But I am tempted to lube up the dough and slap it into my doughnut pan to bake. After all, I have to justify this long-awaited purchase! I think it will be a project to work on after Christmas, as I have my work cut out for me when it comes to Xmas baking this year.

Who Cares About the Beef...Where's the Bun???

OK, so I'm giving this whole gluten free thing a little go. Kyson has had three reactions to wheat products and despite not finding anything on the web about ME having to go wheatless since he's still nursing, I'm applying the same logic about nursing moms cutting out dairy in their own diet if their baby is reacting to it. I'm hoping this will help clear up his eczema and help him sleep better at night!

I have to say, I now have empathy for those who find themselves delving into a vegan diet and missing cheese, etc. I am one of those who never liked the taste of cheese in or on anything, creamy mayonnaise and cream cheese dips. So it was a cinch for me to go vegan and couldn't understand why others would 'miss' former foods they once consumed. I'm really finding the whole gluten free thing to be hard, as I'm such a carb-o-holic and while there are a wide number of GF substitutes out there, I still find a certain taste (tapioca starch maybe?) that seems to be prevalent in so many GF baked goods. I tried making a homemade loaf of GF bread and just one bite had me gagging. I also bought some GF crackers and am convinced I chewed up part of my tooth in eating them. So I miss my bread and my crackers.

OK, I'll stop whining.

Anyways, I have made some really tasty GF things. I need my snacks, and these have all been pretty helpful in helping me from pigging out on gluten filled goodness.

From the Allergen-Free Baker's Handbook, Buckwheat Apple Muffins. Fortunately no tapioca starch in this one, as it doesn't use the author's GF flour blend - just buckwheat. Ash devours these.



From the same book, Blueberry Millet Muffins. They look so professional! I actually really like these, despite the mild tapioca taste. They are incredibly fluffy for something gluten free!



Finally, again, from the same book, Banana Flax Muffins. I used Enjoy Life chocolate chips instead of the raisins. My fave!



And now for actual meals...

Caesar Salad from Appetite for Reduction. It actually calls for Eggplant Bacon, which I found a bit of a pain to make. Instead, I added baked tofu (suggested in the recipe) but in my marinade, I added a few dashes of liquid smoke. Thinly sliced, it was a nice smoky addition. I love how this dish has no garlic! It gives my breath a nice break. Pictured with GF pasta with Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Sauce from Vegan Yum Yum.



Brown rice + lentils + cooked veggies (onion, garlic, carrot, spinach) + Hurry Up Alfredo sauce from VYY = tasty little meal.



Give me a scarlet GF letter on my chest - at this weekend's cupcake party, I'm sooo cheating and will be scarfing down non-GF cuppies :( I already feel guilty as I know I'm not giving myself the full 3 weeks to see if this diet change impacts Kyson. *Sigh*

Vegan Yum Yum...Continued

 

Oh how I love quick dinners! A variation on the Hurry Up Alfredo, the Super Quick Tomato Basil Cream Pasta is divine! Again, using my batch of already ground cashews, I blend up the ingredients (and two whole tomatoes just to watch them puree in all it's goodness!). I also don't bother to heat the sauce, shaving off another 5 minutes from the already quick recipe. I just dump it into the hot noodles. Although it doesn't give the sauce a chance to burn off the couple of tbsp of wine, I always hope that it will cause the kids to sleep through the night! Of course it doesn't work.

This time I put it on some Eden Artichoke Pasta Ribbons I picked up from Rainbow Foods. They reminded me of thick egg noodles, so it's been awhile since I've enjoyed a texture like this! I'll be sure to pick up some more since I'm getting a little bored with the whole spaghetti/linguine/macaroni we seem to serve up too frequently.

Vegan Yum Yum...So Good...

I briefly wrote about VYY before, but man, I love this cookbook. I like how clear the instructions are - I need that, my attention span is horrific lately and I find myself re-reading parts of a recipe numerous times since I can't retain anything. The pics are also so nice too.

Anyways, the recipes are what its all about! Here are two faves that I make on a regular basis:

Hurry Up Alfredo - I'm sure every vegan blogger has written about this one. Easy, and awesome! I grind up lots of cashews and keep a bag in the freezer. I then scoop out a necessary amount and use my immersion blender to make the sauce to dump on hot noodles and often include some broccoli or peas (thrown into the last few minutes with the pasta in the pot). I had found in the past that I need to grind the nuts on their own to begin with - trying to grind them with soy milk only resulted in a gritty sauce. I must have a crappy blender or something.


Using a similar sauce, Broccoli Bake (exact title escapes me) - I love how this uses the stalks! The broccoli florets and stalks are ground up with mushrooms - all things Ash will never eat on their own - and mixed with a variation of the alfredo sauce and orzo! So tasty! If only I could find whole wheat orzo. Then again, I haven't spent all that much time looking for it :)


So my few minutes of free time these days are being occupied with thoughts of how I could possibly win the VegFest cupcake contest held during the event on May 1 at the Glebe Community Centre. I'm consumed! I know I have a slim chance, but I've thought of three original cupcakes that could stand a chance (that is, as long as no real professional chefs enter!). I secretly hope that not too many people enter as there may be a preliminary round taking place during a time that is just evil for my little family. I'd have to show up with two over-tired children to this round during 'dinner' (also known as 'chaos time before bed' in our house) and I don't think that would bode well for my chances! I'll be sure to post about a cupcake party I'm hosting for friends and family to help me narrow down the selection. Of course, I won't be able to reveal all too much since I worry that my fierce competition could be reading! ;)

Mediocre Muffin

So I actually followed a recipe to a "T" for the first time! While I will praise the Vegan Yum Yum cookbook for thick cheezy sauce, Hurry Up Alfredo, Broccoli Bake and many more delicious recipes, I can't say that the Cranberry Lemon Muffins (or Lemon Cranberry Muffins - the book isn't in front of me to check the exact title) are the best ever. I do have to say that I've gotten very used to all of my muffins having at least 50% whole wheat flour, whereas this one is all all-purpose.

I also didn't find that pre-soaking the dried cranberries really did all that much. Despite draining them, I found they made the batter extra runny. It was to the point that I was seriously concerned that they would spill over in my oven and cause a kitchen nightmare (just last week I was forced to scrub my double oven since there were spills in both oven causing choking smoke, and I didn't want to do that again anytime soon!).

So while they 'turned out', I actually prefer the ones with oats and other filling ingredients instead.

Vegan Yum Yum and Vcon

I pretty much relied on the aforementioned two books for this week's menu:

Monday - Easy dinner...PC Meatless Breaded Chicken Strips with homemade baked french fries. It was a busy day without much prep time. I often marvel why anyone would buy bagged frozen french fries since they are ridiculously easy to make from scratch at home - slice a few potatoes up, put on a greased cookie sheet, spray with oil and add salt and roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or so.

Tuesday - Hurry Up Alfredo - Delicious! Very easy and speedy. Although I cooked up way too many noodles that there wasn't much sauce :(

Wednesday - Alphabet Soup - so this one was from Nava Atlas' Vegetarian Family Cookbook. I love how easy this is and with using whole wheat alphabet noodles, we can work on spelling with Ash as she gobbles it up. Great for a guaranteed hit if she's eaten like crap all day.

Thursday - Baked Mac 'n' Cheese - another hit from Vegan Yum Yum! Kyle and I held a throwdown as he had invited some non-veg friends over for dinner and I think he was a little uncomfortable in serving them vegan food. So he used Tyler Florence's Ultimate Mac and Cheese recipe while I made this version. It was a friendly competition - neither of us tried to sabotage the other's creation by any means. As for the winner - he said it's a tie, but all I can say is that I had barely any leftover while he had nearly a whole pot left :)

Friday - Leftovers

Saturday - Baked Pumpkin Ziti - wow, I don't know what I was up to when I made this meal plan in advance. Nearly three variations of mac and cheese! I used to love this dish and still do, but for the amount of work it takes, I'd be happy just making the alfredo or other baked mac and cheese recipe from VYY.

Sunday - Chickpea Romesco - I love this recipe! I had forgotten to stock up on roasted red peppers, so I'm glad that we made it out to pick some up so that I could make this! While out, we also bought some vegan white chocolate chips from the kosher section from Loblaws at College Square (thanks Vaalea!). Instead of using canned tomatoes for this recipe, I used up the last of our homemade roasted tomatoes. We bought a pile of tomatoes from the Parkdale Market, cut them in half and placed them cut side down on an oiled cookie sheet, brushed with more olive oil and roasted them for eons in the oven. They turned out great! Much more flavourful than regular tomatoes but not as concentrated as sundried tomatoes.