Chocolate Fudgy Oatmeal Cookies

There is something magical about a warm cookie. Just because a cookie is vegan doesn't mean it is missing out on that unmatched magical feeling that comes from any other cookie. They are easy and always super good. When it comes to baking vegan, I depend on a few ladies from The Post Punk Kitchen.

The recipe I used here was from their book Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar.
One of my favorites for good reasons. These cookies are amazing and super gooey which is a must have quality for cookies in my opinion.





So here we go.

Dry Ingredients
2 cups quick-cooking oats
1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
2/3 cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon corn starch*

Wet Ingredients
1 1/2 cups sugar
2/3 cup nondairy milk ( I use Silk)
2/3 cup canola oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup chocolate chips

* so side note. The orginal recipe calls for 2 tablespoon ground flax seeds. I can only ever find whole flax seeds! I actually have a package I bought of them from light-years ago just hanging out in my pantry. As I have learned in the cook book, you can substitute half the amount of flax seeds for starch. Their real purpose is to serve as a binder, as an egg would in regular cookies.

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. In a medium sized bowl, stir the dry ingredients together and set aside.

3. In a large bowl beat together wet ingredients. Fold in half of the flour mixture to moisten, then fold in the other half into the wet ingredient mixture.

4. Add the chocolate chips just before mixture is complete.

5. For each cookie, drop 2 generous table spoons of dough onto the cookie sheet, leaving about 2 inches of space between each cookie. ( I rolled mine so they would be a bit more even looking after they baked)

6. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes until cookies are firm and risen. Let cool on baking sheet for 5 minutes then transfer to wire rack.



These cookies turned out to be really gooey and delicious, even though they aren't exactly pretty.

Portobello Fajitas

When I first got into the vegetarian/vegan scene a few years ago, my supportive vegan Uncle Paul bestowed upon me this massive bible of a cookbook entitled Vegan Planet. At the time I didn’t understand what I had just stumbled upon. Thankfully, I have revisted this book and discovered its true brilliance. Not only is it packed with 400 plus delicious world vegan recipes and recipes of the vegan basics such as seitan, it has a ton of information of how to eat vegan and have good health too. I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously interested in learning about a vegan lifestlye.




So while flipping through Vegan Planet I found a really easy recipe for Portobello Fajitas. Portobellos are the quickest way to my heart so natuarally I had to try it out. This recipe also called for a fresh tomato salsa which was in the book as well. And here it is. You would want to make this first because it recommends letting it rest at room tempuranture for about an hour prior to dishing it up. It can also keep in the refridgerator for 3-5 days.

3 large ripe tomatoes, peeled, seeded, and chopped
1 small, fresh red chilie (optional)
4 scallions, minced
1 clove garlic (I used 2 because I looooove garlic)
1 tablespoon lime juice
¼ cup minced fresh cilantro leaves
Salt and fresh cracked pepper to taste
Makes about 2 ½ cups
1. Combine tomatoes, chilie, scallions, and garlic in a large bowl. Mix.
2. Add lime juice, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste. Let sit.

The thought of seeding a tomato terrfied me because I had no idea how to do such a thing and it didn’t help that I didn’t see the seeding part of the recipe until half way into the first tomato. So needless to say I destoryed those beautiful tomatoes trying to remove the seeds. Save yourself the trouble and google it or follow this link. Oh the time I could have saved if I just googled it first.

http://mexicanfood.about.com/od/techniques/ht/seedtomatodice.htm





Now here is my finished salsa! On to the fajita.

2 tablespoons olive oil
1 large red onion (I had to use yellow due my red onion being rotten)
1 large red bell pepper, seeded and thinly sliced
1 large green chilie pepper (This is my addition)
4 large portobello mushrooms, stems removed and caps cut into strips
1 teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon cayenne (optional)
Flour tortiallas, warmed
Fresh tomato salsa from above


1.Heat olive oil in large skillet or wok over medium-high heat.
2.Add onion and bell peppe, cover, and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.
3.Add mushrooms and add spices. Stir to coat the vegetables for about 3-5 minutes. Reduce heat to low to keep warm.
4.Warm tortillas if desired.
5.Dish up the filling on a tortilla, add salsa.

Creamy Tomato Thyme Pasta

A few months ago I discovered the blog Vegan Yum Yum.



I was (and still am) completely obessed with the food, the photogrpaghy, and by how easy the recipes I tried were to follow. I was instally inspired because cooking and vegan/vegetarion food are two of my greatest passions. So, I went out and bought her book. This recipe was the first one I tried.





And it was delicious! I loved this dish for several reasons. For one, it was super easy. Two, it used fresh tomatoes which, I picked up and the local fruit stand. Yummm. And finally, the use of cashews. Vegan food forces you to learn so many different properties of food to capture the right taste you want to achieve. Cashews are a great example of that. To create that creamy-ness, you blend the cashews, and it creates that flavor and I love that!






Here is the recipe. I did tweak it for my own liking but you can find the orginal recipe in the link above.


8 oz. whole wheat spaghetti
2 ripe tomatoes
1/2 raw cashews
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon tomato paste
2 tablespoons olive oil
4 cloves of minced garlic
1 teaspoon garlic salt
3 tablespoons water (if nessecary)
freshly cracked
thyme( to liking)

1. Boil water that has been well seasoned and cook pasta according to box

2. Core tomatoes and roughly chop up. Throw it all into a blender. Add cashews, water, and tomato paste. Blend until it is very smooth.

3. In a large pan, saute garlic on medium heat in olive oil. Careful not to burn. About 30 seconds to a minute.

4. Pour sauce into pan and bring it to a simmer. Add the salt. Cook for 4-5 minutes. Occasionally stirring.

5. Add water to thin out if you please. Let it simmer till pasta is ready.

6. Drain pasta and add it to pan with sauce. Season to taste with pepper and thyme. Serve!