Wednesday, March 14, 2012

30 Days of Pinterest-Day 19: Vegan Banana-Nut Pancakes




I pinned this recipe for banana-nut waffles and realized that I actually had the cookbook it came from.  It is the Banana-Nut Waffles from Veganomicon, an awesome vegan cookbook, page 75.

I'm being lazy and not typing out the recipe, but it is in the first link.  I made these as pancakes instead of waffles. They turned out really good. You want to make sure and chop your nuts very fine unless you want large chunks in your pancakes.  I am going to freeze a batch of these because they're perfect to grab and send with Lucy for breakfast at daycare.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

30 Days of Pinterest-Day 18: Some funnies

One of my favorite sections on Pinterest is the humor section. I love the funny pictures and ecards.

Here are a few of my favorites, hope you get a giggle out of them!

How stinking true.

so true

If only....

Hahaha this would describe our boxer.

lol

LOL

Monday, March 12, 2012

30 Days of Pinterest- Day 17: Peanut Butter Cookie Dough Cookies

Here's the original site I pinned. My camera is acting up so no pics, but these are great.  They're more like little peanut buttery energy bites than actual cookies.  I couldn't even get Lucy to try one, but Rich and I loved them.

They're super easy, and I found that storing in the fridge helped them keep their shape better. You

You need:

a food processor
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/4 cup plus 3 Tbs raisins
2 Tbs roasted, unsalted peanuts
dash of vanilla extract
pinch of salt (unless you used roasted salted peanuts, then omit the salt)

Throw it all in the food processor and process until smooth. Scrape into a bowl, then roll into balls. Flatten slightly and eat!

You could try different variations of this, like using hazelnut butter or maple almond butter, or dried blueberries or Craisins.



Sunday, March 11, 2012

30 Days of Pinterest-Day 17: Guinness Cake (vegan version)

This Chocolate Guinness Cake from Taste of Home was what I originally pinned.  Rich is trying to cut out all dairy, and Lucy and I already are mostly dairy-free so I decided to search for a vegan version.

Here's the Taste of home version:

Chocolate Guinness Cake Recipe


And my much less photogenic vegan cake, with the frosting dyed green in honor of upcoming St. Patty's Day.


It may not look very pretty, but it was good!


Here's the recipe (I can honestly say it's the first time I've ever used both beer and tofu in a recipe together).

  • 1 cup stout (such as Guinness)
  • 1 cup oil (either just canola, or half olive) (note: should try using earth balance!)
  • 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (preferably Dutch-process)
  • 2 cups all-purpose flour
  • 2 cups sugar
  • 1.5 t baking soda
  • 3/4 t salt
  • 2 replaced eggs (En-Er-G Egg Replacer is perfect here)
  • 2/3 C silken tofu, blended with ~1 T lemon juice
Preheat oven to 350°F. Oil & flour a 9-inch round cake pan with high sides (springform is perfect).
Bring stout and oil to simmer in heavy large saucepan over medium heat. Add cocoa powder and whisk until mixture is smooth. Cool slightly.
Whisk flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt in large bowl to blend.
Blend the tofu and lemon juice together, and then add the egg replacer powder and water.
Add tofu mixture to the stout-chocolate mixture pan, and beat just to combine.
Add chocolate mixture to flour mixture, and stir/fold batter until completely combined. Put into pan. Bake until tester inserted into center of cake comes out clean, about 45 minutes. Transfer cake to rack and cool slightly. Turn cake out onto rack and cool completely.
Makes 1 good-sized cake.


I used this Vegan Cream Cheese frosting recipe.

Saturday, March 10, 2012

30 Days of Pinterest-Day 16: Bang Bang Cauliflower

Rich and I love the Bang Bang Shrimp at Bonefish Grill, so I was excited to try this vegetarian variation: Bang Bang Cauliflower.

I didn't get a picture of this one because we ate it before I realized I didn't have a pic.  It was pretty good, but kind of a pain to make with the breading and frying of individual florets.  I doubt I'll make this again honestly, but if you like cauliflower it is certainly worth a shot.


Recipe:

1/2 cup Panko bread crumbs
2 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 cup egg whites (or egg substitute if making vegan)
1 head cauliflower
Salt & pepper
1 tablespoon garlic powder
Green onion
1/4 cup coconut oil

Sauce
1/4 cup lite mayo
1/4 cup chili sauce or siracha, or to taste 
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons sugar

1. Cut cauliflower into medium sized florets.  Mix salt, pepper and garlic powder into your Panko breadcrumbs in a shallow dish. 

2. Set separate bowls aside with egg whites and cornstarch. Dip your florets one by one into the cornstarch, and shake off excess. Then dip into egg whites, and then coat with Panko mixture. 

3. After coating all of your florets, warm up your coconut oil in a large frying pan and place all florets in hot oil. Turn with tongs making sure all sides are browned. Set on top of paper towels to remove excess oil. Top with more salt.

4. In a small bowl mix all of your sauce ingredients. Coat your breaded and pan fried florets with sauce, top with sprinkles of green onion and serve right away.

Monday, March 5, 2012

30 Days of Pinterest-Day 15: The Oil Cleansing Method




The Oil Cleansing Method is a way of washing your face, but using oils instead of soap.  It sounds counter intuitive, but if you remember back to the like-dissolves-like principal from chemistry, it makes a bit more sense.

This was what I originally pinned, and it has a more in depth explanation about the various oils you can use.  I started with a basic mix of 1/3 Castor Oil to 2/3 Olive Oil.  I've been using this for about 5 or 6 days and so far I really like it.  My skin feels soft after, and I haven't been using moisturizer. The Castor oil can be drying, while the olive oil is more moisturizing, so you may need to tweak your formula depending on your skin type.