It's Big, It's Huge, It's Vegan MoFo

This year I have decided to join up with tons of other bloggers and participate in the Vegan MoFo.

MoFo you ask?

Vegan Month of Food...get your mind out of the gutter I wasn't talking about THAT kind of mofo.

I am very excited and a little nervous as most bloggers will post every day of the month...YIKES!

To make things more complex I am also doing the October Unprocessed 2012 challege (where I eat food that I either make myself or COULD make myself using whole foods NO processed foods).

I know I can do this.

I know I can talk about all things vegan and unprocessed for one month.

So to start things off I have Hershey's chocolate cake veganized.

It had to be a dessert because the chocolate will calm my nerves as I prep for what lies ahead.

Hershey's "Perfectly Chocolate" Cake

2 C sugar
1 3/4 C all purpose unbleached flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 C almond milk (I chose unflavored)
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 C cocoa powder (I used Ghiradelli)
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
2 ener-G egg replacer eggs
1/2 C vegetable oil
1 C boiling water

Grease two 9-inch round cake pans.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Put all of your dry ingredients in a bowl and mix with a fork.

Add eggs, milk, oil, and vanilla (beat for about 2 minutes).

Add in your boiling water.  This will make your batter very thin...but trust me the result is AWESOME!

Bake the cakes for 30-35 minutes

"Perfectly Chocolate" chocolate frosting

1 stick Earth Balance
2/3 C cocoa
3 C powdered sugar
1/3 C almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

Melt your Earth Balance and then stir in your cocoa. 

Alternate adding powdered sugar and milk.  If you think the frosting is too thick add just  bit more milk.  For mine the 1/3 C milk was perfect.

Add in your vanilla (you should have about 2 cups of frosting) and then spread on your cooled cake.

I added some candles because tomorrow is my birthday.

I encourage you to check out the other bloggers participating in Vegan MoFo maybe it will inspire you to replace some of your conventional foods with vegan friendly options.

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Vegan Chocolate Chocolate Chip Zucchini Cake

No I didn't stutter I just made a delicious cake that happens to have a double dose of chocolate.

Our garden this year decided to produce zucchini the size of my forearm which has meant needing to find many uses for this large squash.

Enter the chocolate chocolate chip zucchini cake.

My children are always fans of cake and adding a little chocolate to it never hurts.

3 flax eggs
1 C vegetable oil
2 C cane sugar
1 Tbsp vanilla extract
3 C grated zucchini
2 C all purpose flour
1 C white wheat flour (King Arthur is what I used)
3 Tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder
1 tsp sea salt (I used pink Himalayan)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 C chocolate chips

Prep the flax eggs first by taking 3 Tbsp ground flax meal and combining with 9 Tbsp water.  Whisk together and allow to sit for a minute or two until thickened.

To the eggs add your vegetable oil, sugar, vanilla extract, and zucchini.  Mix until thoroughly combined.

In a separate bowl combine the remaining ingredients, except for the chocolate chips, and then slowly incorporate with the bowl of wet ingredients.

Once combined pour in your chocolate chips and mix some more.

You can bake this in either 2 loaf pans or a bundt pan (just be sure to grease and flour the pans).

Bake at 325 degrees for 1 hour (about 40 minutes if you are using a convection oven).

Allow to cool for 10 minutes in the pan and then turn it out onto a plate.

I ramped up the dessert aspect of this by adding a glaze.

1 C powdered sugar
2 Tbsp almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract

I poured this over the top and YUM! 

I hope you all have a wonderful Tuesday and be sure to enter my Almond Breeze almond milk giveaway (it ends tomorrow, Wednesday August 8th).

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Almond Breeze

No I am not talking about a new type of tropical breeze at the beach (however I wish I was).

Almond Breeze is a brand of almond milk, and mighty delicious I might add. 

As a member of Mom's Meet I was given the opportunity to sample and review their product.

One of the first things I changed when I moved to a vegetarian lifestyle was cutting out milk from my diet, and from that of my children.

I thought there would be some resistance to this new milk, but they switched over like troopers and now find cow milk a little weird.

Almond milk is smooth in taste and can be used to substitute milk in recipes (just be sure you are using original...not vanilla, I've made that mistake).  Even mashed potatoes taste creamy and delicious when almond milk is substituted.

I have tried a couple of different companies versions of almond milk and continually come back to Almond Breeze as I just prefer their flavor.

Speaking of flavors it comes in a small variety:

Original
Chocolate (seriously delicious and rich)
Vanilla

These flavors also come in the unsweetened variety.

You can buy Almond Breeze in the dairy aisle already chilled OR you can pick it up in tetra pak.

Tetra pak is a shelf stable packaging system that allows you to store your milk outside of the fridge until it is opened.

Something I just learned about tetra paks is that they can be recycled.  Learning this was music to my ears as now I can continue to enjoy the delicious taste, but I can also know that the packaging will be made into something else (like building materials, railway ties, or even flower pots).

My favorite way to enjoy Almond Breeze is either in a smoothie or in my cereal, although my kids thoroughly enjoy a chilled glass with chocolate chip cookies. 

I recommend the use of almond milk to my friends as a great alternative and one that is packed with nutrition.  I recommend it to you my readers as well.

For 3 of you I am going to be sending you a coupon to pick up a tetra pak of almond milk in your preferred flavor.

All I need you to do is leave me a comment below, any will do (for example what did you do for summer vacation or what type of almond milk would you try).  I will announce my winner on Wednesday August 8th.

If you would like to learn more about Almond Breeze feel free to check out their website or Facebook page.

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms MeetSM program, May Media Group LLC, who received it directly from the manufacturer. As a Moms MeetSM blogger, I agreed to use this product and post my opinion on my blog. My opinions do not necessarily reflect the opinions of May Media Group LLC or the manufacturer of the product.

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Pumpkin Bran Muffins and Some Milk

I mentioned on Friday that I was going to attempt making my own almond milk.

From reading the directions it didn't seem difficult, I think I was just more skeptical that I would get it right.

I went to Bonzai Aphrodite for directions and Sayward didn't steer me wrong.

I started by soaking my 1 cup of almonds for 24 hours in water.

The next day I drained off the water and put them in the food processor with 4 cups of water.

Just a quick hint it is best to know how much liquid your food processor can hold before you do this or you will create a royal mess (I speak from experience).

When I was done I added a little vanilla and agave and I had milk.

I was stunned, because it was so easy and because I DID IT YEAH!

Now I also have a recipe I want to share because I am linking up for the first time with Mom's Crazy Cooking. 

Today we are sharing pumpkin recipes.

I would like to share:

Pumpkin Oat Bran Muffins

1/2 C packed brown sugar
1 1/2 C oat bran cereal
1 1/2 C unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 flax eggs
1 C pumpkin puree
4 Tbsp vegetable oil

* for the flax eggs combine 2 Tbsp ground flax meal with 6 Tbsp water and allow to thicken before adding

Combine all of the ingredients in a single bowl.

Distribute between 12 muffin cups and bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes.

For a little added flair I topped the muffins with dried cranberries.

For a special treat may I suggest mixing melted Earth Balance and a teaspoon of brown sugar together and putting that as a schmear in the middle of the muffin.  It just takes it up another notch!!!

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What I Ate and Baked

Here is my second week of "What I Ate Wednesday" hosted by Peas and Crayons

This Saturday I was in a baking mood and everything we consumed was made from scratch. 

It didn't take much extra time and I think everything tasted better.

To start the day of we had  Vegan Chocolate Chip Pancakes

Ingredients

1 C unbleached all purpose flour
1 C almond milk (I prefer Almond Breeze unsweetened vanilla)
1 Tbsp sugar
2 tsp baking powder
2 Tbsp cooking oil
1 flax egg (1 Tbsp ground flax meal and 3 Tbsp water whisked together)

I mix my flax egg first and let it thicken while all of the other ingredients are combined.

Incorporate the flax egg and you are ready to put them in the pan.

I do want to add that we put a handful of chocolate chips in our pancakes to dress things up this weekend.  This makes a yummy addition and eliminates the need for any toppings on the pancakes (which equals less mess...at least with my children).

For lunch I whipped up a stromboli filled with vegetables from my CSA (Community Supported Agriculture)

Chop the veggies you want to include.

For me I used

1 onion
1 zucchini
2 cups of mushrooms (shiitake and oyster)

Saute your veggies in Earth Balance until they are slightly brown (the carmelization adds greatly to the flavor).

While the veggies are cooking you need to roll out your dough (we made ours fresh...recipe below)

I then topped the dough with 3 cups of spinach (use a much or as little as you like)

Sprinkle on grated mozzarella cheese (again to your liking)

The top with sauteed veggies

Place the second half of dough on top and pinch the sides to close

I brushed the top with almond milk and then sprinkled garlic salt and parmesan cheese on top

Place in a 375 degree oven for 20-30 minutes

I cooked mine on a pizza stone, but if you don't use a stone you'll need to grease the pan you use

Fresh from the oven



A yummy delicious slice.  Oozing with fresh veggies and melted cheese.

Dough Recipe

Ingredients
1 C warm water
1 packet active dry yeast
1 tsp sugar
3 C unbleached all purpose flour
1 tsp salt

Mix your water, yeast, and sugar.  Let sit for about 5 minutes while the yeast is activated.

When time is up add your flour and salt.  Don't add the flour all at one time just incorporate in manageable amounts (1/2 to 1 C at a time).

Dough will be sticky.

Place in a greased bowl (I used 1 Tbsp olive oil, but you could use Pam or another cooking spray if you like)

Cover the bowl with plastic wrap and allow the dough to rise for about 1 to 1 1/2 hours in a warm dry place (I put mine out on a table of our backyard deck).

Punch down the dough and split into two halves. 

Roll each half out on a lightly floured surface.  Each half should make a "circle" (mine was rather oval shaped) about 10-12" in diameter.

If you get an opportunity please send me some love at Circle of Moms as I am in the top 25 for the Family Blogs.  I would greatly appreciate any support you could give.

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