Yummy in MY Tummy

Every, ok most, nights I enjoy having my "treats," usually something I bake or make. Lately I have been making different types of cookies like oatmeal raisin with a lot of cinnamon, jam filled, peanut butter, brownies, trail mix, etc. For Christmas my brother gave me a nice collection of new vegan baking cookbooks that I have to start trying out. One cookbook has a recipe for samoas (those girl scout coconut chocolate delicious cookies), oreos, and some other interesting looking things that I cannot wait to make. Having some more time until I find another part time job, I am going to be enjoying myself in the kitchen and probably making myself sick with all the treats!! So I will need some test subjects for those of you willing to give up your stomachs for my newest feats!

I am still trying to prefect a peanut butter cookies. In one of the books, "The Joy of Vegan Baking" by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau, I found a recipe for Raspberry Oatmeal Bars. The recipe was hum, so I tweaked it a little bit by adding peanut butter!! yum, I know. So here is the original recipe:
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup ap flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup oats
1/2 cup nondairy butter, softened
3/4 cup fruit preserves
Basically, combine all the ingredients except the preserves. Press two-thirds of batter in the bottom of an oiled 8 or 9 inch square pan. Spread with preserves. Top with remaining batter, crumble it and press it down lightly into jam. Bake 35 to 40 minutes.

My version: Peanut Butter and Jelly Oat Bars

2/3 cup date sugar
1 cup white whole wheat flour
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 cup oats
1/2 cup peanut butter
1/2 cup applesauce
3/4 cup jam/preserves
1/2 cup carob chips or chocolate chips

Parchment paper line a 8 or 9 inch square pan and preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine all dry ingredients in a medium sized bowl.

Add in the peanut butter and applesauce and using your fingers create a crumbly mixture.

Press two-thirds of the batter into the prepared pan.

Top with jam,

then crumble the remaining batter on top and lightly press into jam. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until lightly browned. Once you take it out sprinkle with carob chips. Let it cool completely and then place in fridge before you cut it to let the carob chips harden a little to make it easier to cut.

This time I made them with grape jelly and peanut butter chips to give it that extra pb and j feel!

Chocolate Fudgey Brownies

1 cup canola oil
3 mashed bananas
1/4 to 1/2 cup maple syrup (depending on how ripe the bananas are)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (I like Hershey's special dark)
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour
1/4 cup flax meal
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon xanthum gum
1 cup chocolate chips (or other chips you would like to add)

Parchment paper line a 8 or 9 inch square pan. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

In a large bowl mix flour, flax meal, baking soda, xanthum gum, and chips.

In a medium sized bowl, mash the bananas.

Add in the maple syrup (if your bananas are really ripe only add in 1/4 cup because your end product will turn out too sweet), salt, oil, vanilla, and cocoa. (I have two special secret ingredients, that I am sorry to say I will not be informing you of because they are my little tweaks on brownies and if I don't keep them secret the whole world, or rather those of you who actually read this, which may not be many-so maybe it is safe to share them haha- will know my secrets and then when I eventually become "famous" I will have people making my food that I will be trying to sell so there you go my secrets!! I will only tell you that they enhance the taste of chocolate and one is a spice.)

Then add the chocolate mix to the flour, the texture of the batter is a little strange but that is because of the xanthum gum.

Add to the pan and spread out.

Bake for 30 to 35 minutes, but I find that you bake it for the first 15 minutes then turn the pan and bake another 15 minutes and it should be done after the 30 minutes.

They are really fudgey and yummy!! I love these, and I know a few of my friends do too.

I added this whole What's For Dinner? segment and really haven't been keeping up on it but that is because I feel like I need to add a recipe with a post, but maybe I will just do some dinners so that I don't have a huge list in one post...

What's For Dinner?
Tuesday, January 11th
I think I had a salad, but I honestly do not remember- opps sorry! I'm thinking it had roasted asparagus, eggplant, yellow peppers, roasted red peppers, and tomatoes with the roasted red pepper dressing. Yes, I am sure that was what it was.

Wednesday, January 12th

Roasted corn and pepper taco with black bean and corn salsa, black olives, 4 cheese Mexican blend, and guacamole.

Thursday, January 13th
Roasted root vegetable parsley salad. It had parsnip, sweet potato, purple sweet potato, Idaho potato, and mushrooms, with roasted cashews.

Friday, January 14th

Salad with mango, and toasted pecans, and the usual veggies.

Saturday, January 15th
I was out in Westfield and I was craving miso soup, so I had that and a green salad.

Sunday, January 16th

Salad with roasted mushrooms and asparagus, yellow peppers, tomatoes, and spinach, with roasted red pepper dressing.

And here are some of my breakfast that I make:

As you can see, and I did not mean to do this, I like black grapes, kiwi and toasted almonds. The top one has persimmons and the bottom has mango. Fruit salad yummy yummy! 

Tomorrow I will be posting my dinner that I am going to make tonight. Something that I am even going to share with my mom and older brother because they enjoy what I am going to make, it is a surprise for them so I can't say what it is just yet because they might read this before I get to make it so no spoilers here! Until tomorrow...

Winter=Soup

Sunday was a soup day for sure. Winter is hitting very hard- as in it's rather cold outside. I love soup- making it, eating it, and all the good stuff that goes along with soup. That warm feeling as you eat it in your belly. Yum! 

I told you that I would be making a soup with some of that roasted corn so I did just that on Sunday- Roasted Red Pepper & Corn Bisque. Next time I make it I think I need to add some more spices to it because it came out good but not as delicious as I would have hoped. I added cayenne pepper and coriander to my soup bowl, so next time I will add them in when I add in the flour.  The soup needed more depth of flavor, I think I will also add some cumin to give it that earthy taste. So here it the recipe:

Roasted Red Pepper & Corn Bisque

2 red peppers

1 shallot, fine dice

1/2 cup roasted corn kernels

1 teaspoon flour

1 tablespoon oil

salt and pepper

1 1/2 cups vegetable broth or stock

1/2 cup soy milk

(cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin- spices I plan to add next time I make it)

3 springs fresh parsley

First, roast the red peppers. 

I do this over the flame on the stove top. 

Some people do it in the oven, but I prefer to see the skin burning to know when it is done. 

Place the charred peppers in a bowl and cover with plastic wrap. This is to make it easier to remove the skin. 

Heat a pot over medium high heat, with oil and then add in the shallots. (I used shallots in this to give the soup a hint of garlic and onion, that is what a shallot is a mix of.) 

Caramelize the shallots to add to the roasted flavor of the soup. 

Remove the skin from the peppers, by peeling off the charred skin. Then open the pepper and take out all of the seeds and white ribs of the peppers. 

Place in the food processor and puree the peppers.  

Add the flour, salt and pepper (also add in spices if using) to the shallots and cook for 1 minute. 

Add the stock to the pot and let it thicken. 

Then add the soy milk and the pepper puree. If it is too thick, add more stock. 

Add in the corn. Bring to a simmer and let cook to develop flavors. 

Before serving, add in some chopped parsley. 

Here are the past couple What's For Dinner?

Wednesday, January 5th

Pear salad with spinach, toasted almonds, jicama, dried cranberries, and honey ginger dressing.

Thursday, January 6th

Sauteed spinach, mushrooms, green beans, and roasted cashews. I added salt, pepper, coriander, and fennel seeds.

Friday, January 7th

Butternut squash platskis with toasted pecans and my crangrape sauce (from Thanksgiving- I froze small amounts of it for occasions such as this) I wasn't crazy about this dinner, I thought it would be a good combo- the sauce and he butternut but the sauce over powered the meal.

Saturday, January 8th

Red quinoa with roasted beets and beet greens. I just found out that qunioa is in the same family as spinach and beets. I never knew why this meal always tasted to good to me, but now I know- thanks Giada. 

Sunday, January 9th

Soup!!

Monday, January 10th

Sweet potato platski's with cinnamon applesauce and toasted hazelnuts. 

I will soon have some more time to cook and create new things due to some free time I will be gaining because I quit my baking job. So more recipes to come...

Roasted Corn is Delicious

If you have never eaten roasted corn, well you are missing out. I came upon roasting corn back at my old job at Cranberry's. One of the cooks roasted it for a soup and that got me thinking, then I roasted it for corn muffins. So I wanted to try it at home. I bought frozen corn kernels and got to work with recipes that contain roasted corn. I did have it once already on a blog with the black bean pasta (Tuesday, December 7th http://debbyeats.blogspot.com/2010/12/whats-for-dinner.html). I really enjoy it with melted cheese, the two make an awesome, yummy combo. Don't ask me why, they just do. I like the texture and taste that roasting the corn gives those little kernels. So the latest batch of frozen corn went into a "hash" that I had for dinner the other day, the rest of them are going to be going into a roasted red pepper and corn bisque that I have to create still, it is in the works in my little head though...soon to come.

For now, I just have a few little things I will like to share. First here is the inside of what jicama looks like:

kind of like the inside of an apple, crisp like one too. The taste is different, but hard to describe. Try it. You must remove the skin, I have found this is easily done by cutting it off, not using a peeler. Then you can cut it to how you prefer to eat it and what use you will be having them in.

Here are some fruit that I am recently addicted to: persimmons (the little orange looking tomatoes) and the other is yummy mango-

the inside of a persimmon:

You can add them to fruit salads, bake with them, eat them, anything. They are really good and remind me of dates, in taste. The mango is a francine grown in Haiti. They have a softer texture then the mangoes we are all use to. They are really yummy. I find all of these fruits in Asian food markets because not only are their produce cheaper then chain stores, but they carry so many different types of fruits and veggies that you cannot find any where else. It is a lot of fun to try new things. I first research how o properly eat them and ask others how to before I do and eat anything that will harm me.  So I hope you join me on my food adventure and try some of these things.

What's For Dinner?
Sunday, January 2nd- I was very lazy and made me a salad with carrots, jicama, cucumbers, and tomatoes over spinach, with my favorite ginger dressing.

Monday, January 3rd

My "hash" with roasted corn (seasoned with only salt-pepper-oil), roasted asparagus (salt-pepper-onion powder-coriander-oregano-oil), roasted red and green peppers (same from Saturday- above with cumin), black eyed peas, black olives, tomatoes, parsley, 4 cheese Mexican blend, and guacamole.

Tuesday, January 4th

Roasted veggie parsley salad- butternut squash, sweet potatoes, purple sweet potatoes, white potatoes, parsnips, and mushrooms.

TTFN- thanks tigger!!

Happy New Year!!

I cannot believe it, 2011 already. It's crazy! Where did 2010 go? I don't feel like I accomplished anything last year, but this year is going to be different! I promised myself this and I am going to work very hard at all my plans for this year. More about all of that at a later date...

I have been bad at updating the What's For Dinner? but this past week has been crazy- from snow to new years to trying to see friends before they go back to their lives. And I haven't been updating it because I really do have a lot of salads for dinner, but hey they make me happy and full, so eat what you enjoy, right?!

Lets see where did I leave off?...

What's For Dinner?
Monday, December 27th

Snow day, I made a salad with my usual veggies and my all time favorite dressing.
Since my brothers where shoveling, they asked me to make them some samiches for lunch and this is what I made for them:

Mikes:

buffalo chicken with a pickle and spicy mustard, green peppers, cucumbers, and cool ranch Doritos's.
Tommy's:

Ham and cheese, with yellow mustard, carrots, and honey BBQ chips.
Nice sister =]

Tuesday, December 28th

Red qunioa with roasted beets and broccoli.

Wednesday, December 29th
I made the salad I had on Christmas, but this time added tomatoes.
Also if you have never seen jicama before here it is:

Thursday, December 29th

Roasted mushroom and spinach sangs with provolone cheese on sun dried tomato wraps.

Friday, December 30th
I had an apple and peanut butter and cinnamon sandwich on cinnamon raisin bread.

Saturday, January 1st

Roasted green and red peppers with my usual spices plus cumin, whole wheat and flax seed wraps with Mexican 4 cheese blend, and black bean and corn salsa.

Yup yup!