CHOCOLATE-CHIPOTLE CHILI
CREAMY CILANTRO-LIME SAUCE
SWEET FRENCH TERRINE
MOROCCAN MILLET TIMBALES
LEMON-SCENTED CARROTS WITH CAPERS AND CORIANDER
VIETNAMESE-INSPIRED TAPIOCA PUDDING
It was a perfect situation for making 'Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins' from The Joy of Vegan Baking.....
We had 4 ripe bananas!
With a little help, this recipe is easy enough for an "almost" 5 year old. Pick your favorite muffin liner design for 12 cups, and use your fine-motor skills to separate them.
Measure the dry ingredients.
We used whole wheat pastry flour instead of all-purpose.
Carefully stir that together. 
Use a potato masher to squash 4 ripe bananas. This requires some muscle!
While that is going on, mom can use a hand-mixer for the sugar & oil.
Sample the semisweet chocolate chips to make sure they're not poison before adding to the flour mixture. I know it's risky, but someone has to do the quality control.
Finally, combine all the ingredients.
Carefully fill the muffin liners, but not too full.
We had enough batter to also make a little heart cake. It turned out perfect.
The girls LOVE, LoVe, love these muffins! I believe they think they're getting one over on me because there are chocolate chips...
When actually, I'm getting one over on them because of the 4 bananas and whole wheat flour! Just think of all that beneficial potassium, vitamins A, B, & C, & fiber! I feel really good about serving these to my kids.
What joy have you baked from this cookbook?
Fall disappeared while we were gone, and this photo was taken before going to CA. It's 'Banana Crumble' from The Joy of Vegan Baking. It's super easy to make and fun to serve in individual dishes. You must eat this dish warm with a scoop of Soy Delicious vanilla. Really, you must!
Thanksgiving was spent in Irvine with the extended family. Art and I brought a Tofurkey, and the relatives thoughtfully made a special portion of dressing without chicken for us. Now that's love!
After the festivities, the G-pa's took the girls and Art and I headed to San Diego. We found a bargain on Craig's List, and this was the view from our windows. There were as many dolphins as surfers out there everyday!
We rented bicycles and left the car parked the entire time. We peddled to Vegan Zone to get food.
We know what we like, and ordered the same thing as always. Art is partial to the 'Pineapple Burger' and I dig the 'High Protein Salad'. This time, we also shared the 'Sate'.
This restaurant is a great beach alternative to the regular junk. I highly recommend it.
We scooped up the girls later in the week and headed back to San Diego for some kid touristy activities.
Don't our little spuds look like So-Cal locals sitting below a palm tree wearing shades?!
We went to SipZ because we were starving after playing all day. This is the best food, ever! For real. As you can see, the ambiance is nothing special, and the service lacks unless Karen is with us. But doesn't matter because they have fabulous food! Check our parade: the person seating us, Art (hand extended in the middle), Liv, Abi, and me following with a camera. Hard to fly under the radar with this procession! :)
We ALWAYS order the 'Sweet & Sour Chicken' and this time, we ordered two more to go. For the chicas, we got a plate of steamed veggies and rice. It was a somewhat peaceful meal because the girls were entertained by the fish swimming beside us.
The girls and I spent a day with Karen, and I plan on sharing some photos next time. Lately, I've been a bit out of it, literally. Some major dental work, and some narcotics to go along. So, not much cooking happening, mostly just maintaining. Hope you're doing well!!
I've been getting my money's worth out of this flour sifter I found at a garage sale.
It's a simple, fun, and helpful task that gets the girls involved.
Following is a look at what's been the result of all that sifting....
'Berry Oat Squares' from La Dolce Vegan!
I used some of my apricot-pineapple jam along with frozen blueberries for the filling, which was a tasty combo.
I guess this looked too healthy for my girls, and they wouldn't even try one, so I ate them all myself! I don't suggest this. Instead, make them when there's others to partake because you just can't stop 'til they're gone.
'Banana Bread' from The Damn tasty Vegan Baking Guide!
I added a handful of chocolate chips because it draws interest from the girls. This was good and we enjoyed it warm from the oven, though it seemed too moist to enjoy later that day. I used a silicone non-stick and perhaps that's the reason? Or maybe it just needed a bit more time to cook? Or, I over-filled the pan? Who knows! :)
'Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins' from The Joy of Vegan Baking.
Can you tell I like this flavor combo? This recipe is perfect for using up ripe bananas, taking four. I had 3 large bananas, and instead of mashing them, I pureed for a consistent texture. These muffins were perfectly delicious, and the whole family enjoyed them. I'll be making these again soon.
'Chocolate and Vanilla Marble Cupcakes' from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World.
These were fun to make, and a bit messy. I'm a competitior, and read the text, "Add both to the cupcake liner at the same time, side by side. Some people may not have the hand-eye coordination to do this (as easy as it sounds)...." to be a challenge! lol! Here is my handywork before clean-up. :)
'Chocolate Mousse Topping' from VCTOTW crowns them.
Silken tofu makes for the most luscious & light topping, along with providing a nice shot of protein from an unsuspected source.
I made them for Art's birthday last month. We both thought they were good enough, but nobody took the last one, and I probably won't make them again unless I need some coordination training. :)
I had a cookie recipe in mind, so first I needed to prepare the cookie sheets.
I like to alternate stacking cookie sheets and parchment paper. The top cookie sheet serves as a guide to trim excess paper, and also weighs down and conforms the papers so they don't slip as easily.
'Oatmeal Raisin Cookies' from The Joy of Vegan Baking are a delectable classic.
I didn't have oat bran, so added more of the rolled oats which worked out well for me. The rest of the recipe was by the book, and I used our favorite golden raisins. It yielded 3 dozen cookies using my medium scoop, and I shared a couple dozen with my neighbors. I enclosed lists of the ingredients, and I wonder if they'll notice there's no dairy?
To tally it up, that's 4 recipes tried, and 4 outstanding successes from this cookbook. With that track record, I feel comfortable trying recipes out on guests! Anybody else experiencing the Joy? :)
This is Vegan YumYum's 'Sour Cream Banana Bundt Cake' with fresh peaches. I had everything except a bundt pan, so I used a jumbo muffin tin, reducing the bake time to about 25 minutes. I had it again the next day with kiwi, and imagine any fruit would be delectable on top it's so good - moist and delicately flavored. I highly recommend this recipe, especially if you have 3 bananas that need to be reincarnated, and you're in the mood for a yum-yummy treat.
Making more of Bryanna's 'Vegan Pork Tenderloin' from the Everyday Dish DVD, because we were out... again. We really dig this roast, and I seriously can't wait for her upcoming seitan e-book.
This time, I added 1/8 tsp ground chipotle chile and 1/4 tsp poultry seasoning, and will probably do the same next time. I have the Romertopf clay cooker #111, which I recommend because it is larger and you can double the recipe, cooking 2 roasts side by side, which is what I'll do next time...
We haven't had an outdoor grill for many years, and on a whim we picked one up. We christened the Smoky Joe with boca burgers, black bean burgers, Yves Dogs, and Vegan Pork Tenderloin. The verdict? The burgers were better than ever, and Art loved the hot dogs dipped in spicy mustard. We were disappointed that the Pork Tenderloin dried out too much. Is it because we didn't put bbq sauce on until the plate (we wanted to keep it clean). Any tips on grilling seitan? We had fun cooking outside, and next time I'm throwing on some veggies.
Going to The Berry Ranch has become a tradition for us. It's a cute farm nearby that grows raspberries, blackberries, sweet corn, pumpkins, and so much more including hanging petunia baskets you see in front of the barn.
This time, we bought a flat of blackberries and a "celebrating 15 years" Berry Ranch mug. Although Art and I haven't been visiting the ranch that many years, we have been married that many coming up next month.
A Yummy Salad: greens, fava beans, beets, fresh cut corn, vegan pork tenderloin seitan sauteed with teriyaki & pomegranate juice, red bell pepper, French cornichons, and tossed with 'Simple Cider Vinaigrette' from Vive.
This is how I prepared the fava beans fresh from the FM: 1. pull open along the seams and remove the beans. 2. drop in boiling, salted water for 30 seconds. Drain & drop in ice water. 3. slice the inner skin of each bean with a fingernail and pop out the beans.
Amey, of Vegan Eats & Treats was in town for a wedding, and we were thrilled to have her and Musty over for breakfast yesterday. I took some photos, and can't wait to share them next time. See you soon!
This 'Banana Carob Almond Coconut Loaf' from ExtraVeganZa (pg. 125) was delicious! I used equal amounts of whole wheat pasty flour and spelt flour, and the recipe is actually for muffins, but I decided to just dump the mix in a loaf pan and it baked through nicely. The recipe also calls for chopped almonds inside the batter, but I knew the girls wouldn't go for it that way, so I put sliced almonds on top, which is easy to remove. Art and I ate several slices, and this is a yummy recipe with several flavors that compliment each other perfectly.
Here is a bread bowl of 'Potato-Asparagus Soup' from Vegan with a Vengeance (p. 99) I had an abundance of potatoes and asparagus to use up, and like magic, I found this recipe. Isa admits to not spicing up this recipe much because asparagus is her favorite vegetable and she wanted its flavor to shine through. It shined a little too much for us, and we added several shakes of chili powder and sea salt, which kicked it up a notch. I'm a huge fan of this cookbook, but this recipe turned out just OK. Look at the fresh lacy dill from my herb barrel! 
For Memorial Day we went to a barbecue at Fred & Wendy's house. She asked me to bring a salad, and my standby is 'Quinoa Spring Salad' from Vive le Vegan! (pg. 71) Art took this photo right before leaving, and the wind blew off, and took away the fresh cilantro garnish! I LOVE this salad, and this is a double recipe. Fred thoughtfully grilled some portobello mushrooms for us on the grill knowing we are veggie. Thanks for a fun party!
There was left-over salad from the party, so Art and I ate cups of salad the next day. Nasturtiums are growing like weeds in my herb barrel, so I dressed them up Hawaiian style!
More cups of salad! This time, I made a 'Simple Slaw' which had shredded cabbage, carrots, and green onion. It's tossed with Brianna's Real French Vinaigrette, which is a light dressing. I also added some sunflower seeds to mine after the photo - I like crunchy food!
Stay cool this summer! Looks like another hot one - we are already breaking records here in Idaho (yesterday was 20 degrees higher than the record!), and our power bill went up 20% because of the lack of moisture over the winter. Is it 2008 yet?
This is the closest thing I've found to a cookie cure. Come on, you know what I'm talking about.... Many bloggers have gone cookie crazy! Myself included, which I mostly blame on Vive le Vegan! Coconut-Lime Cookies, Double Chocolate Almond Explosion Cookies, Homestyle Chocolate Chip Cookies, Peanut 'Better' Cookies --- need I go on? I've heard reports of cookies not making it to lunchboxes because they were all eaten up! And I've even seen a blogger beg if there was some kind of cookie intervention group because her entire family might have a serious cookie addiction! People stack their cookies, others mail them to fellow bloggers.
Help is on the way, people. We found this adorable book at the library, which we've been enjoying during bed-time stories. "No More Cookies!" by Paeony Lewis & illustrated by Brita Granstrom. This book is a delicious and lighthearted treat for little cookie-lovers everywhere! And, it has a cute recipe at the end of the book.... 
MAGIC MONKEY BANANAS
Ingredients For Four:
2 bananas
4 ounces of chocolate (Carob chips work great)
2 tablespoons of multicolored sprinkles
4 popsicle sticks
1 sheet of wax paper (Parchment is perfect)
Melt the carob in a bowl over boiling water. Peel 2 bananas, cut in half, push popsicles sticks in cut end. Dip the bananas in melted chocolate and shake sprinkles on them. Place on paper and put in the freezer at least 1 hour. Clean-up, lick the bowl, and wait.
Then, eat your Magic Monkey Banana! YUM! These are great for sharing with your favorite people. For the most chocolate, just lick in a circle! Oh, and don't forget a hat -- it helps keep fly away hairs out of the way of your mouth!
Mom says, "We don't have to give up cookies in order to have magic monkey bananas." What a relief! :o)
It's been too hot to cook lately. And when it gets this hot, it's hard not to think about the heat, so I ordered Gore's book, and will let you know when it arrives.
In the mean time, we had some overripe bananas, and you know what that means... Vive le Vegan's! 'Banana Oat Bundles'. This time was different though, because I had cardamom and parchment paper on hand, and I added 1/3 C. dried blueberries. Also, the bundles are consistently shaped because of my medium cookie scoop. Yummy, as always! :o)
I was inspired to make these muffins because of this photo at The House of Simon. I had to make a couple modifications based on what was in the kitchen. I used banana soy yogurt instead of vanilla; and I didn't have sliced almonds, so I chopped up whole ones in the food processor. I loved these muffins, but the girls didn't go for it. I'm pretty sure it's because this is the first time they've had nuts on muffins, and it threw them for a loop. Thanks for the inspiration, Carrie!
Liv loves to help in the kitchen, and I'm pleased that she enjoys cooking. My little kitchen helper is especially good at stirring the dry ingredients while I mix the wet. I usually call off the items as I measure and toss in the bowl, and she gets especially excited when I start working with the teaspoons. When I say "teaspoon" she hears "tastespoon" and wants to sample everything with these cute little spoons that must be for tasting. It tickles me so much. Here she is concentrating very hard on keeping the flour, sugar, etc. in the bowl.
Her favorite thing to cook is muffins, and I decided on the 'Carrot-Raisin Muffins' in VwaV. It's a good stand-by recipe because we usually have all the ingredients on hand, and they were good. They aren't the most exciting muffin I've ever tasted, but they were all gone before I cleaned up the kitchen. Sometimes good is better than exciting when you're really hungry.
I had 2 overripe bananas, and like a sleep-walker, I opened up Vive for the 'Banana Oat Bundles', but I glanced at the 'Easy Pleasin' Oat Bars' and decided to toss the sorry bananas and make these instead. Why? Well, I had made the bundles quite a bit, and had never made these. Plus, I think it'd be kinda cool to have made every recipe in Vive before Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan! comes out. It'll be a toughie, because it's hard not to get stuck on one recipe and make it over & over instead of trying a different one. Anyhow, with the Oat Bars, Dreena suggests adding different flavors and textures, so I added Let's Do Organic coconut and chocolate chips. These easily pleased me! They are delicious & nutritious.
