Veganized Bo-Berry Biscuits

Here in the South there is a fast food restaurant called Bojangles.

They are known for fried chicken and biscuits.

Nothing on their menu is for me for many reasons :)

However one thing they have is a Bo-Berry biscuit.

The put blueberries in a buttermilk biscuit and top it with a glaze.

Ok they might be onto something here...but I think my way is a wee bit better than their calorie heavy animal product laden biscuits.

Start out with my vegan buttermilk biscuit (originally posted here):

2 C flour (I used white wheat from Trader Joe's)

6 Tbsp Earth Balance (cubed)
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 Tbsp baking powder
1 tsp sea salt
1 C buttermilk
1/2 C blueberries (I used frozen)
cinnamon and sugar to roll dough in

To make buttermilk, if you don't have any on hand, just take a cup of milk (I used regular almond milk, NOT the vanilla) and added 1 Tbsp of white vinegar.  Let the two sit in a bowl for about 5 minutes before adding to recipe.

In a food processor add your flour, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Pulse for about 10 seconds to get everything incorporated.

Next add in your Earth Balance and pulse until a crumb mix is formed.

Add in your buttermilk and allow to process until a dough ball forms (takes about 30-45 seconds).

Gently fold in blueberries.

So take about a tablespoon of dough and roll it in your cinnamon and sugar mix and place each ball in a pan (I choose a spring form pan, but any cake or bundt pan will do).

Bake at 450 degrees for 10-15 minutes (depending on the closeness of the biscuits you may need to cook a little longer...you don't want a doughy middle).

All baked and ready for the finishing touches!

Once the biscuits have cooled for a few minutes put a dollop of glaze  on each biscuit.

Glaze:

1 C powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
almond milk

Put all ingredients into a bowl and mix (you only need enough almond milk to make the desired consistency...in this case thicker is better).

When you are finished this what you end up with:

Oooey sticky goodness!

Do you have any restaurant foods that you would like to see made over?  Or have you made over some foods you found in a restaurant?

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Blueberry Lemon Cheesecake

Last night I looked at my ingredients and was inspired to make a dessert.

I had fresh blueberries from the farmer's market and vegan cream cheese (compliments of Follow Your Heart).

I decided vegan blueberry cheesecake was in order and I thought "Hey let's throw in some lemon."

I felt I needed some inspiration and had to look no further than Inspired Taste.  Adam's fantastic photography and Joanne's delicious recipes are enough to make your mouth water. 

I searched around their site and found this recipe.

I made some modifications.

For the crust:

6 Lucy's Ginger Snap cookies
1 Tbsp sugar
1/8 C Earth Balance melted

Crush the cookies, my favorite method is in a ziploc bag and then smash the hell out of it with a meat tenderizer. 

Mix with sugar and Earth Balance then press into your dish.

Bake at 325 degrees for 10 minutes.

I have a sidebar here to illustrate just how much fun it is to have kids.

While the crust is cooking I hear a phrase I don't ever want to hear again "Mommy I have a kernel up my nose."

Seriously?  Who thinks it is a good idea to put a popcorn kernel UP your nose?  Well apparently Caroline did.  However after several attempts to get it out (q-tip, tweezers, bulb suringe, and pepper) it fell out due to her nose being a little lubed up from crying.

It was a harrowing 25 minutes and luckily I was able to get my crust out without burning it and allowed it to cool before I moved on to the next step.

Continuing with the recipe...

For the cheesecake

8 oz vegan cream cheese (I recommend Follow Your Heart)
zest of 1 lemon
juice of 1 lemon
1 "egg" (I used ener-g egg replacer)
1/4 C sugar

I put all of the ingredients in a food processor and whipped it together in no time.

OH MY GOODNESS!

It was good enough to eat straight out of the food processor as a dip (and since it was vegan there was no fear of food issues like salmonella)...I know because me and the boys tried it (several times).

Place the lemon cream mixture in your cooled crust them top with fresh blueberries.

I baked it for 40 minutes at 325 degrees (with a convection oven).  It will take a little longer if you use a conventional oven.

The cheesecake came out a little thin, but the flavor is PHENOMENAL.

The vegan cream cheese reacts and turns out just as regular cream cheese would, and this for me is a big plus, as I am a big cheesecake fan.  Now I can enjoy it vegan and take another step towards less dependance on dairy products.

Next time I make it I will double the recipe so that it will be typical cheesecake size.

I hope you all have a fantastic Tuesday and as a public service announcement "be aware of popcorn kernels you never know what trouble lurks."

If you have kids have they ever put anything up their noses?  Or as a child did you ever?

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Blueberry Muffins Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge

Hello my friends!

I realize that it is Saturday and that typically I would not be posting, but I have to.

See today is the reveal day for Mom's Crazy Cooking Challenge hosted by the fantastic Tina.

This month we were tasked with scouring the blog world in search of a blueberry muffin recipe.

Easy you say?

HA!

Blueberry muffin recipes are pretty bountiful.

However I think I located the perfect one.

I went to Bundles of Hugs written by Heidi and found this gem:

I made only a few alterations to the recipe and that was to make them vegan.

Substitutions:

Instead of milk I used vanilla unsweetened almond milk
Instead of an egg I used a flax egg (1 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water)
I topped the muffins with a sprinkling of turbinado sugar for a little pizzaz

My children declared these to be the best blueberry muffins they have ever had. 

High praise from a 9, 4, and 2 year old (plus they all agreed and that is a pretty rare thing).

Heidi calls these her "go to" muffins and I can see why.

They are just absolutely delectable.

Be sure to stop by Heidi's blog and check out her other recipes and of course adorable pictures of her young son :)

Also check out my fellow participants in this months challenge and see what other blueberry muffins people have been making.

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Veganized Cobbler...don't be scared

To say that dessert in my house is important would be an understatement.

My children LOVE dessert. 

It is often the motivation they need to finish up dinner or complete a chore.

You can't argue with cleaning your room when you can smell something delicious cooking in the oven.

Last night as a treat, and not motivation, I baked peach and blueberry cobbler for the family and as the resident vegetarian member of my family I decided to "veganize" it.

Ingredients for the fruit filling:

5 peaches (sliced)
1 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/2 C sugar
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cinnamon
juice from 1 lemon

Ingredients for the cobbler:

1 C all purpose unbleached flour
1 Tbsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3 Tbsp Earth Balance
1/2 C almond milk (unsweetened)

*as a preference I use all organic ingredients

To prepare the fruit filling combine, in a skillet, your sugar, cornstarch, cinnamon, and lemon juice. 

Stir to combine and then top with peaches and blueberries.

Stir the mixture frequently until it boils and the sauce begins to thicken.

While the sauce is thickening prepare your cobbler dough.

In a bowl combine your flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt.  Cut in your Earth Balance.  Then add your milk to form a dough.

By this point your sauce and fruit mixture should be thickened and ready to spoon into an ungreased baking dish.

Man does that fruit look GOOD! 

I contemplated stopping here and just consuming the fruit with some ice cream (non-dairy), but I thought the kids might enjoy the cobbler/biscuit so I proceeded on.

Top the fruit with your cobbler dough.  I found it easiest to make small hand formed biscuit rounds and place those on top of the fruit.

Bake in the over for 25-30 minutes on 400 degrees.

Et voila:

Or if you prefer:

This was fantastic, as witnessed by my exclusive taste test panel

Yep Andrew is wearing a "robe" he was the king last night and of course all kings should have royal vestments.

However I cannot deny that the proof is in the pudding..errr cobbler

We licked our bowls clean.

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