hot for food

Who doesn’t like PB Cookies? If you don’t, you’re insane! Or allergic to peanuts, I guess. That would be a shame. Luckily I have not developed a peanut allergy. I LOVE peanut butter. The REAL kind… just peanuts. If you eat that other crap you will probably die.

I was inspired to bake with brown rice flour and very few ingredients after discovering some delicious g-free vegan treats at Hibiscus in Kensington. If you have not been here you MUST go! It’s amazing. They serve homemade salads, soups, crepes, ice cream, baked squares and cookies… and it’s ALL gluten free and vegan. All of it! They don’t have a website, so here’s their yelp page (my review is also posted!).

Anyway, I made my first batch of g-free, vegan PB & Chocolate Chip Cookies with only six ingredients. They are delectable! You saw I used brown rice flour to make crepes recently, and now with these cookies turning out perfectly soft and tasty, brown rice flour is my new best friend.

G-free, Vegan Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
2 cups natural peanut butter
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 cup non-dairy, g-free chocolate chips

In a mixing bowl combine peanut butter, maple syrup, and vanilla extract. Add flour and sea salt and mix until combined. Then fold in chocolate chips. Bake on ungreased cookie sheets at 350 F for approx. 11-13 mins depending on cookie size. Makes 1 dozen large cookies or 2 dozen small cookies.

Now, you definitely need a tall glass of “milk” to accompany these babies. I have my favorite soy or almond beverage on hand at all times, but I finally worked up the courage to try rice milk again. I’ve been skeptical of rice milk because the one’s I have tried have all been tasteless, watery, and gross. But YÜ basmati rice beverage is definitely where it’s at.

So if you’re sick of getting bogged down by too much refined flour or wheat, whip up a batch of these cookies next time or go check out the goods at Hibiscus. Your tummy will thank you for it!

I’ve professed my love for quinoa before… it’s my fave! This time around I tried black quinoa. I have made the white and red quinoa before and there’s a huge difference in texture between them. I prefer the white, actually. It has a softer, fluffier feel and I find it absorbs the cooking liquid much better and faster. But I thought black quinoa would just look better in this recipe from Vegetarian Times for Gingery Quinoa Salad with Apples, Peas, and Coconut… and it does! But I would make it again with white for purposes of more pleasurable eating. The red and black quinoa’s are much chewier and make my jaw hurt after a few bites!

This is a great recipe and it happened to be one of those rare moments where I don’t modify anything! There’s a nice creaminess to it being cooked in 100% carrot juice and I like the hint of coconut flavor combined with the sweet peas and apples. If you love quinoa, give it a whirl!

I attempted to make crepes for the first time in my life. What a crappy experience. Well crappy is a little harsh, but I definitely don’t have a natural talent for making crepes. I actually made 2 whole crepes out of an attempt at probably close to 15 or 16 times. These are the only 2, yet beautiful and tasty results.

Vegan Asparagus Mushroom Brown Rice Crepe with Hollandaise

Vegan PB & Apple Cinnamon Buckwheat Crepe with Maple Syrup

The recipes for the crepe batter, asparagus, and vegan hollandaise sauce are from VeganYumYum. I made some modifications, trying brown rice flour and buckwheat flour for the crepe batter. Which also make these g-free as well as vegan! These 2 lonely crepes worked out perfectly and tasted amazing. You can’t even imagine how incredibly close the vegan hollandaise sauce is to the real thing; at least from what I can remember of eating eggs benedict! The buckwheat flour crepe is quite a full bodied flavor – perhaps too nutty for some. You could use only half buckwheat flour with another type. But I thought the flavor of buckwheat was great, especially paired with peanut butter, apples, cinnamon and maple syrup.

The whole crepe creation problem is a combo of having an old non-stick pan, burners that are very sensitive and difficult to regulate temperature on, and the fact that I’ve never done it before. While I even followed the very helpful video tutorial Lolo posted, I think that I kept fiddling with the pan temperature too much. Ultimately, this recipe requires patience… hmph. I’m just glad I didn’t attempt it with a room full of starving brunchers!

hot for food has recently become a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher. Being recognized by this foodie community is very exciting! You may remember when my Carrot Cake Muffins were featured on Foodbuzz.com’s Top 9 back in March. Well, it’s time I try and get myself back in the Top 9 again!

In trying to raise awareness and money for the Ovarian Cancer Research Fund, Foodbuzz is going to donate $50 for every banana split post by a Foodbuzz Featured Publisher. Then this Monday July 19 the Top 9 on Foodbuzz.com will be a Top 9 Takeover  featuring the best photos of scrumptious banana split sundaes! Tasty treats for a good cause are A-OK with me. You can find out more about the cause and how you can get involved too by clicking here.

This is my original Vegan Banana Split…

I’d like to think this is a “healthier” version of a very indulgent treat! Sure, of course it is. The “ice cream” is So Delcicious Coconut Milk non-dairy Vanilla Bean and Chocolate frozen dessert. I made my own non-dairy chocolate fudge, and even attempted to make soy-free whipped cream from Ricki Heller’s recipe. It didn’t quite work out, in that the whipped cream ended up too runny and didn’t stiffen like it should have, but it tastes great!  The banana split is sprinkled with vegan chocolate chips, vegan colored confetti sprinkles and shredded unsweetened coconut. Looks pretty sweet to me!

I’ve never made or eaten a banana split in my life, so this was a fun challenge. Even now, I’ve only had 3 bites. I think that’s enough for me!

Ever since I’ve turned vegan you know I’ve been trying to experiment with versions of mac & cheese. I tried one recipe from VeganYumYum and another from FatFree Vegan Kitchen. One was tofu based and the other blended from raw cashews. They were pretty good… at the time. But now I’ve perfected the recipe and I feel this tastes much better. It’s milder in flavor and quicker to make… which is the whole point of mac & cheese, isn’t it? I feel as though this is a perfect vegan mimic of my fave mac & cheese (made from real cheese) that I USED to eat at The Drake. If you’re not vegan, you must try their dish! If you are vegan, you must try my Easy Pea-sy Mac & Cheeze.

Ingredients:
1 package Rotini noodles
1 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp tahini
1 tbsp each of lemon juice, olive oil, white miso, nutritional yeast, tamari
finely chopped cilantro
1 clove of garlic, minced
black pepper

In a dish mix together the ingredients for the sauce including tahini, lemon juice, olive oil, white miso, nutritional yeast, tamari, cilantro and garlic. Rinse peas under water to defrost. Once pasta is cooked and drained, add in your peas and half the sauce. Mix to coat noodles. You can add more sauce as you like, but you’ll probably find you have extra.

I prefer the texture of rotini noodles (and of course I used brown rice pasta) because macaroni tends to feel worm-ish and slimy. The measurements I outlined make more than enough for 4 servings of pasta. If you want to make more you can just double the recipe. I had left over sauce and I find it also makes a great dip for crackers or veggies!

Ice Cream equals summer, if you ask me. I used to eat ice cream… lots of it… all summer. Problem is, I wanted to die every time. That’s not a fun summer. You know, having to pre-plan my entire ice cream excursion (making sure I could get to a err uhh… bathroom). How ridiculous is that?! Now that I’m a changed woman, I no longer have to worry about such silliness. Though I still can’t have that spontaneous ice cream on a nice summer stroll, I can deal. I just go home and fulfill my cravings with my trusty food processor. No freezing required!

You know I’ve raved about frozen banana ice cream before, but I recently saw a new creation on (never home) maker. Great blog, by the way! If you want to be way jealous of someone’s house, go check out the pics of Ashley and Steven’s, here. Anyway, recently they posted a recipe for a variation of this frozen treat. Check it out…. peanut butter chocolate banana vegan ice cream… awesome!

I used natural peanut butter, so I added a bit of sea salt as well. I bet if you used the “not so good for you” PB it would be a bit tastier, or sweeter. Maybe even add a drizzle of maple syrup. I’m going to try some other versions of this too. Jennifer of sweetonveg pointed me in the direction of this Banana Caramel Pecan version just the other day. That’s next on my list of to eat’s!

Of course, I can always go for a bowl of my favorite Fruity Summer Sorbet. Probably the easiest, healthiest treat one could eat while still feeling indulgent! This is just frozen raspberries, mango and 1/4 of a banana with a drizzle of lemon juice. No added sugar! It’s SO friggin good.

I just want to point out that you don’t have to do this in a food processor. A blender works too, but it might take a bit more fiddling with a spatula to get everything well blended.

Last Sunday I went to S.C.E.N.E in St.Catherines. Fun… yes! Food…no! Tell me St. Catherines, why would you hold a music festival throughout your downtown and keep all the businesses closed?! This is a tourism no, no… isn’t it? With only a Tim Horton’s and a Pita Pit in sight, what’s a vegan to do! I was not a happy scenester after eating a sandwich from said open vendor of lettuce and tomatoes, oh ya, and some yellow mustard… geez! Well here’s where the point of this blog entry comes in. I was elated to see The Niagara Vegan Baking Militia set up in the merch marketplace with a huge spread of yummy vegan treats!

That guy there is Dylan Powell of The Vegan Police. Thanks for saving the day! I love what these guys (and one gal) are doing and since I don’t live anywhere near the Niagara region I NEED to find something like this in Toronto… or perhaps I will have to start my own militia!!

Whoever made that vegan black & white cookie is a genius! And in case you’re wondering… I did not eat all those treats myself. They were shared with the peeps at the S4C tent.