Monthly Archives: February 2011

Triple Chocolate Pancakes

As I sit and type this post bright and early in the morning , I can honestly say that I have no desire to eat these pancakes for breakfast. Ever. Nothing at all against this recipe–in fact–I believe it to be a very good one. But these pancakes… are much more like “cakes” than your typical flapjack. The chocolate chips and ganache may or may not exaggerate this inherent quality.

Stacked up, they actually make a pretty decadent chocolate cake. With a moist and tender crumb, dark chocolate bits strewn throughout, and covered in thick silky ganache… it is definitely my kinda flapjack.

But, fair warning: eat these for dessert, not first thing in the morning. Unless you are some sort of hardcore chocolate devotee (in which I enthusiastiacally applaud you), you won’t find these very appealing with a glass of OJ. A tall glass of chilled almond milk, on the other hand, washes them down perfectly.

Oh! I almost forgot to mention that today is the last day of Pancake Week (thanks Marly!)… did you know? Kind of a bummer that I was only able to catch the tailend of the celebration, but it’s a good thing the internet is around to preserve the past week’s pancake contributions indefinitely. I intend on spending the day engaged in some serious pancake appreciation.

Cheers!

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Yeasted Mocha Muffins

These baked morsels are somewhat difficult to classify. On one hand they taste like a muffin, and on another, a sweet yeasted bread–yet they are so versatile, that by adding some mix-ins and a frosting, you could even get away with calling them a cupcake.

I personally think they taste like bread. My son voted cupcake. My daughter said “cookie” (okay, her 2 year old vocabulary isn’t very extensive and she calls anything sweet a cookie). I am positive my husband will think they taste just like a normal muffin.

I actually intended on doing something else, something more bready with this dough… but my plan was foiled since I didn’t have the ingredients handy to make what I originally intended.  One of those last minute “oh no!” moments.

So these muffins were born!

I decided to make them slightly mocha flavored (because I am a coffee fiend), but some fresh berries, nuts, or even chocolate chips would fare well in these. Heck, you could even halve the sugar, leave off any toppings and have a basic dinner roll!

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Spicy Cilantro Crackers

Crackers are great little gems to have tucked away for the random occasion when you need something quick, savory and snappy. They shine in celebratory times where they make there subtle, but necessary, appearance on party trays. They come to the rescue during more dismal times–acting as the only food some folks can stomach when feeling under the weather. They also work well as a simple and delicious snack, for no good reason at all.

Store bought gf crackers can be quite costly, though. I’ve seen small (teeny) bags of them in my grocery store selling for seven dollars. Seven! Now, I appreciate a good snack that won’t compromise my health just as much as the next gal–but seven dollars? That’s just silly. And a darn good reason to make your own crackers from scratch. This particular recipe reminds me of a goldfish cracker with more sophistication, an extra dose of crunch, and a subtle touch of curry.

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Bulgogi Steak(less) Sandwich

The Bulgogi Steak Sandwich: Veganized and De-glutenized.

The original version of this concoction comes from KoJa–a popular foodtruck in Philadelphia–and was featured on Huffington Post’s America’s Top Ten New Sandwiches.

The soft (and slightly chewy) hoagie roll is stuffed with tofu bulgogi, chili garlic sauce, oozy Daiya and a crapload of sauteed peppers and onions.

This is what my dreams are made of.

Check out the full recipe here.

Bulgogi Style Tofu

One thing I love so dearly about the blogging community is the sharing of ideas… and the creative endeavors that I may not have found myself pursuing had it not been for the collaboration with other bloggers. I was recently contacted by Marly, of Namely Marly, inviting me to participate in this great idea she had to veganize a list of America’s Top Ten New Sandwiches named by the Huffington Post. Isn’t that a great idea?!

If you all know anything about me, it’s that I love veganizing omni eats… so I was already intrigued when I first heard Marly’s idea. But once I saw the details–and that there was a bulgogi Philly Cheesesteak involved–I got more than excited. I was elated. And then I quickly became on a mission to bring back a food that I used to eat at least twice a week: bulgogi.

You see, even though I may reside in the middle of Ohio (land of corn), I have been surrounded by a fairly large Korean community since I was wee little. Heck, even my son has Korean roots. And from the exposure to such a great culture, I have eaten my fair share of bulgogi, kalbi, kimchi, kimbap, bibimbap, mandu, loads of banchan and many more traditional Korean dishes.

Bulgogi was always around, as my son’s Korean grandmother religiously kept a giant vat of bulgogi marinade tucked away in her fridge. And, even though I used to love the stuff back in the day, bulgogi hasn’t crossed my mind in years since shunning meat.

But man, am I ever happy to have it back in my life! This tofu rendition tastes amazing. I really do think it tastes better than the traditional stuff. Seriously, try it. I was even snacking on it uncooked… yum!

Keep your eyes peeled here tomorrow, where I will show you how to use this bulgogi in a recipe for a Korean inspired Philly cheesesteak. For now, this stuff is deeee-lish served over rice.

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Thin Mintz

Recently I have been hearing mentions of it being “girl scout cookie time”, and although now I obviously abstain, I still get a little nostalgic thinking about my short lived years peddling those things. I was a girl scout for just five years… but in that time, I easily ate hundreds (no thousands) of girl scout cookies. I mean, I had to spend my allowance on something, right?  The flavor I loved the most was thin mints… by a long shot. I could crush an entire packet of those things in one sitting, without a single complaint from my belly. That’s like 30 cookies at once. We had a very serious relationship, thin mints and I.

Happily, I found my love re-kindled with a homemade version of the classic cookie. When I was making the ice cream sandwiches last week, I was thinking that the dough would make an excellent crunchy wafer if baked a little longer. Then I thought about how I could easily slip some minty flavor in there, dip it in chocolate and re-create my childhood cookie love. The rest is history.

These babies taste pretty damn good and authentic, if I do say so myself. No hydrogenated oils, gluten, or animal products needed.

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