20 Days and Counting

Well whether we are ready for it or not Christmas will be here in 20 days, for those who celebrate Hanukkah you only have 11 days.

Not that I am trying to induce any stress.

This year we've taken a pretty laid back approach to Christmas and the shopping that goes with it.  Having three kids we decided there are a plethora of toys in our house already so we should come up with about 3 meaningful gifts for each of them and then focus the remainder of the day on hanging out with family and enjoying a meal together...OF course there will be focus on food (I love the stuff).

So let me share with you a delicious treat and something that might distract you from any stress you might be under.

• 1 1/2 C all purpose unbleached flour
• 1 C spelt flour
• 1 1/3 C sugar
• 3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 Earth Balance, melted
• 3 ener-G egg replacers
• 3 Tbsp almond milk
• 2 tsp vanilla extract

• Place flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Mix together with a fork and set aside.
• In a separate bowl mix together your Earth Balance, vanilla, almond milk, and egg replacers.
• Gradually add in your dry mixture and beat until fully incorporated.
• With damp hands form two loaves (12" x 3") from the dough and place on a greased baking sheet.
• Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.
• Allow the loaves to cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet.
• Remove from the sheet and slice the loaves (you should get at least 12 slices from each loaf).
• Place the sliced cookies back on the baking sheet, cut side up, and bake at 325 degrees for an additional 20 minutes.
• Allow them to cool before dipping (or eat them as is...I promise they are delicious just like this).

These might not make you all zen

But hopefully they will give you a nice little break.  Pair these (yes you should have at least two) with a cup of hot tea, chocolate, or coffee (whatever your please is).

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Emmy's Macaroons

I was lucky enough to be allowed to sample Emmy's Organics delicious/raw/vegan macaroons.

The most difficult part of this assignment?

Deciding which flavor to try first.

I was given six delicious flavors:

Coconut Vanilla, Choco Chili, Dark Cacao

Lemon Ginger, Mint Chip, and Choco Orange

I surprised myself and started with Coconut Vanilla (I thought for sure I would tear into the chocolate).

I was kind enough to share these with my kids.  My daughter thought they tasted like vanilla ice cream...just not cold.

I have to agree with her the vanilla had a nice light and pleasing flavor.  A completely fantastic way to end a meal.

The only flavor I did not try was the Choco Chili...I don't like the two mixed together.  So I gifted them to a friend of mine, and he thought they were wonderful.

So I mentioned that they are delicious but they are also made with a short list of ingredients (always a plus sign in my book).

The coconut vanilla are made up of seven things (all of which I can pronounce and more than likely probably have in my pantry):

• organic raw shredded coconut
• organic raw agave nectar
• non-gmo almond flour
• organic raw coconut oil
• fair trade vanilla flavor (alcohol-free)
• raw vanilla bean
• himalayan crystal salt.

Not only does Emmy's make a delicious and well thought out product but they carry that through to their packaging.  The macaroon packages can be composted.  How cool is that?

I love getting behind companies that subscribe to the same types of ideals that I do.

I am happy to say I would recommend these to everyone...you just need to like coconut!

You can find Emmy's on Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.

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Weekend Wrap Up

This post is a day late, I apologize...I like to get the Wrap Up's up on Monday.

Anyway this past weekend was a long one (I love a 3 day weekend) and it included some fun activities.

On Saturday I ran in the Color Me Rad 5k.



There were about 8000 runners, which I thought was a lot of people, taking part in this fun run (it was not timed).

It was so much fun to run through the cornstarch paint and to come home looking like a tye-dyed shirt.

My oldest didn't mind giving me a hug

But my daughter didn't even want me to give her a kiss.

In fact this was as close as she was willing to get to me:

They have already announced that the race is coming back to town next year...so I will be ready when it is time to sign up.  Hopefully I can convince some friends to join me.

Sunday was Easter.  

We have started to not give gifts to the kids.

By that I mean they have no need of toys (we have way more than 3 children can play with). 

So they woke up on Sunday to no Easter baskets but they did have some cards from family members and they each got a small bag of jelly beans.

You know what?  

They were perfectly happy.

People get caught up in consume, consume, consume, and in the end you don't need everything your purchased.

Now I don't mean to go far off track here, but the reason we don't want them to be gifted with tons of stuff is so they realize they can enjoy what they have and we can make sure quality items are purchased (quite often you end up with chintzy plastic stuff that breaks so quickly).

I'll get off my soap box and show you what I did make for the kids:

These are chocolate Easter eggs filled with vegan buttercream.

My paternal grandmother made these every year and they were the highlight of the holiday (now mind you she also put a little bit of money wrapped in plastic in the middle) but they were oh so delicious.

I have such fond memories of these that I wanted to pass this love on to my kids.

Hopefully they will appreciate them.

So that was my weekend in a nutshell, I hope you all had a wonderful weekend what sort of things did you get into?

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Weekend Wrap Up

Well this weekend wrapped up No Impact Week here in Greensboro.

To commemorate the week I finished by reading No Impact Man by Colin Beavan.

A good book indeed and it gave more in-depth information than could obviously be included in the movie.

I do have to say, and I in no way receive any sort of compensation for doing so, that the book is well done and the real jewel of the book is the list of resources in the back.  You can get website information about how to volunteer with a local environmental group or how to find a clothing swap in your area.  There are also numerous book suggestions (many of which have gone on my list to pick up at my local library).

To further apply our no impact philosophy, and to do something useful with a plastic item, my son Andrew and I made a watering can from a large white vinegar bottle.

To make it was super simple.  He drilled (yes he got a little power tool exposure) one hole in the cap and then several holes in the bottom of the bottle.

To make it work

• Fill a bucket with water (preferably with water from your rain barrel).
• Push the bottle down in the water so that it can fill up (keep your thumb off the top hole)
• Put your thumb over the hole on the cap and lift from bucket

The water is trapped and you can just remove your thumb from the hole once you are at the flower bed.

I was really impressed with how easy this was and that it worked.

Once the recycling project was finished we were on to another project...chocolate making.

I am so very lucky to have a friend like Sharon, Bit of the Good Stuff.  She sent me this fantastic raw chocolate making kit.

I put my fear aside and got out the kitchen scale.

I put WAY to much thought into how hard this was going to be...because in the end it was SO easy.

It took all of about 10 minutes (and then another 90 while I waited for it to set up in the fridge).

My result...well take a look for yourself:

They are in a four leaf clover pattern for St. Patrick's Day

I put a goji berry on each one and waited.  I didn't want to get too fancy or stray from the original recipe as I wanted to make sure I got it just right.

My kids will tell you they love them, but are mad that I didn't let them eat more than one a piece.

They are indeed delicious and I highly recommend raw chocolate making to anyone who can do a little measuring.

Other than that that was about it for my weekend...OH well there was a little matter of Georges St Pierre retaining his welterweight title (in a fantastic fight against Nick Diaz).  

Yeah for GSP!

I hope you all enjoyed your weekend and are ready to kick off a fantastic Monday.

Remember today is the last day to enter my Plastic Free by Beth Terry giveaway (check it out here).

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January Vegan Food Swap

Well due to a few technical difficulties (mostly operator error) I am a day late in posting what I received as part of the Vegan Food Swap.

First things first though.  The swap is coordinated by Cat over at The Verdant Life.  You are asked to spend up to $20 on your recipient and include a hand written note (a lost art for sure).

This month I was paired up with Shannon of Gingery Snips and Snaps.

I opened my box and was stunned.  Look at all the goodies:

Journey Bars

vegan candy bars

Vega and chocolate chip cookies

Primal strips

Vega is my go to protein powder, so I am always glad to get some of that.  As for the rest of the items I have never tried them before.

I was very excited to get the Primal strips.  I look at them every time I am in Whole Foods, but just haven't brought myself to try them.  Shannon gifted me with teriyaki and hot & spicy.

The chocolate chip cookies were made from Mama Pea's recipe in Peas and Thank You.

I have never heard of Journey bars but I am excited to try them...just not sure if I should go with barbeque or   pizza.  What are your thoughts on it?

The 3 that I will save till the end are the candy bars (Jokerz, Mahalo, and Angell).  When I feel like I need a treat I will break into one of these.

Shannon thank you so very much for an awesome box, it was jam packed with things I have really been wanting to try.

So after seeing this awesome box do you want to be part of the action?

There is still time to sign up for February's swap (deadline is Tuesday the 5th).

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Improv Challenge Review for December

It has been such a long time but I am back in the groove and participating in the Improv Challenge again, which is graciously hosted by Kristen of Frugal Antics of a Harried Homemaker.

The challenge this month was chocolate and marshmallows.

I knew instantly that I would have a s'mores theme to my recipe but I wanted it to be a little different.

I started out by making my own marshmallows.

They weren't photo worthy, but they were easy (when you follow Anna's instructions here).

From there I went on to make s'mores cheesecake...yes it is as good as it sounds.

Start by making your crust:

1 1/2 C crushed graham crackers (I used cinnamon but the choice is yours)
3 Tbsp Earth Balance melted

Combine the two in a bowl and then press into the bottom of a spring form pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 7-10  minutes.

Once your crust is out of the oven place a layer of marshmallow on top.

For the filling:

16 oz cream cheese (regular or vegan)
1/2 C sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
2 ener-G egg replacers
3/4 C chocolate (I used semi-sweet squares chopped)

You will want your cream cheese to be at room temperature before you start working with it, it makes mixing much easier.

In a bowl combine your cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla (a stand mixer gets this job done quickly).  Once they are incorporated add your egg replacers.

With a spatula fold in your chocolate and then pour the mixture on your crust/marshmallow.

Bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes (or until the center of the cake is set).

Allow the cheesecake to cool and then refrigerate for 3-4 hours (it just tastes better this way).

Be sure to check out the other great tasty submissions, I think you will be impressed with how creative some bloggers can be.

Happy Thursday to you all.

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Brownie Biscotti with Peppermint

Hopefully none of my kids teachers are reading this post...but I will just take the risk.

For teachers gifts this year I made brownie biscotti dipped in chocolate and peppermint, they were accompanied by a jar of homemade hot cocoa mix.

I know teacher's get tons of gifts and I always try to make the gifts something they will enjoy and something that will not clutter their houses.

The biscotti themselves are vegan, but I dipped half in white chocolate (which does contain milk) and then the other half in semi-sweet chocolate, which was free of dairy...so it was vegan.

Ingredients:

1 1/2 C all purpose unbleached flour
1 C spelt flour
1 1/3 C sugar
3/4 C unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 Earth Balance, melted
3 ener-G egg replacers
3 Tbsp almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract

Place flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Mix together with a fork and set aside.

In a separate bowl mix together your Earth Balance, vanilla, almond milk, and egg replacers.

Gradually add in your dry mixture and beat until fully incorporated.

With damp hands form two loaves (12" x 3") from the dough and place on a greased baking sheet.

Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Allow the loaves to cool for 10-15 minutes on the baking sheet.

Remove from the sheet and slice the loaves (you should get at least 12 slices from each loaf).

Place the sliced cookies back on the baking sheet, cut side up, and bake at 325 degrees for an additional 20 minutes.

Allow them to cool before dipping (or eat them as is...I promise they are delicious just like this).

The ones dipped in semi-sweet chocolate and candy cane tasted just like a thin mint cookie from the Girl Scouts.  I happen to like those cookies A LOT so it is fortunate I've given these away and they don't have to add any inches to my waist line.

I hope you all are ready for Christmas...it is only 7 days away (not that I want that to frighten you).

What sort of gifts do you give your children's teachers?

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How do you spelt goodness?

My title is my attempt at being funny...

How it is working?

When purchasing ingredients sometimes companies are kind enough to put recipes on the packaging to give you some ideas.

For example we are all probably VERY familiar with Toll House and their cookie recipe.

Today I want to share something that I found on the back of my Arrowhead Mills Spelt flour bag (hence the spelt joke).

Spelt Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 C Earth Balance, softened
3/4 C turbinado sugar
1 Ener-g "egg"
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 3/4 C spelt flour
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 C vegan chocolate chips

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl.

Take a tablespoon scoop and place about 2 in. apart on a greased cookie sheet.  They will need to be patted down if you want a flatter cookie (I found that these didn't spread as they cooked like a traditional all purpose flour cookie will).

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-12 minutes.

This recipe made 30 cookies.

They were completely delicious, of course you can't really go wrong with a chocolate chip cookie.

I really enjoy the "nuttier" flavor of the spelt flour and I think it gives it another layer of taste which just ramps up the yum factor for the cookie.

I hope you all have a wonderful weekend.  I have decorating and cookie baking to do?  What is on your to do list?

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Vegan Palm Sugar Cupcakes

On Friday I had a bit of a panic when I realized I was supposed to bring in 4 dozen cupcakes for a quarterly birthday celebration in my 10 year old's classroom.

Have no fear!

With a copious amount of baking ingredients on hand I was very pleasantly surprised to turn out these beauties:

Palm Sugar Cupcakes (vegan)

2 1/2 C all purpose unbleached flour

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp sea salt

2/3 C Earth Balance (softened)

1 3/4 C palm sugar

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

2 egg substitutes (I used ener-G egg replacers)

1 1/4 C almond milk

Combine everything in a bowl and mix until combined.

Pour into cupcake liners and bake at 375 degrees for 18-20 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted into the center).

This should make about 30 cupcakes (just make sure you use about a tablespoon of batter per liner).

Now these are delicious on their own but they taste EVEN better when topped with vegan chocolate buttercream.

The cake is moist and light.  

The palm sugar gives the cake a toasted flavor to it which really gives it another layer to put it a step ABOVE just a regular cupcake.

I had to have a bite....I just couldn't help myself.

How palm sugar is made is pretty cool.  Take a moment and head over to Wholesome Sweeteners and check out their process.

What flavors of cupcakes do you enjoy?

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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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Kashi Chocolate Squares giveaway

Today is giveaway #3!

First things first congratulations to Anna (Crunchy Creamy Sweet) for winning the Fiber One gift pack I post about on Monday.

Remember there is still time to win the Progresso Soup giveaway I posted yesterday (see here).

On to today's post Kashi Chocolate Squares.

As a member of Mom's Meet I was given the opportunity to sample these squares with my family.

What particularly intrigued me about the product when I was asked to sample it was that it contained the normal 7 whole grains that Kashi is famous for however the "hidden" ingredients were sweet potatoes, black beans, and agave for sweetener.

I was totally sold when black beans were thrown in the mix, I love them in brownies.

The texture of the squares is chewy and moist, but my kids were less than thrilled with flavor.

I think they were wanting something MORE chocolaty, like dessert, instead of a snack bar.

I think they have just the right amount of sweetness, and for other adults I think this is true.

However if you heat a bar up in the microwave and put a small scoop of your favorite vanilla ice cream on top you indeed have one superb dessert/treat.

Guess what?

I have a giveaway from Kashi to share with you all.

What will you win?

Kashi lunch bag and 2 coupons for free Kashi products.

The coupons are good for these bars or for any of Kashi's other fabulous snacks or cereals.

How do you win? 

Fill out the rafflecopter below.

The winner will be announced Friday the 28th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

I received this product for free from the sponsor of the Moms Meet

SM 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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WIAW The Scratch Edition

Welcome to the weekly party that is What I Ate Wednesday hosted by the lovely Jenn from Peas and Crayons.

The theme this month is "fall"ing into good habits.



Last week I announced that I have gone vegan and guess what?

I still am vegan.

I am loving the daily joy of figuring out how to eat (I know eventually it will become second nature).

I must say that I haven't enjoyed food this much in quite a while.

Now that it isn't 100 degrees outside (I mean who wants to bake in that heat) I have cranked out a few yummies:

Breakfast vegan buttermilk biscuits with baked apples and caramel:

Lunch (I didn't eat it but the hubs did) quick dough stromboli (recipe will be posted tomorrow):

Dinner wasn't terribly exciting so let's skip to the dessert...OOH this is just the best dessert.

Ultimate Chocolate Fudge Pie from Chocolate Covered Katie topped with Coconut Whipped Cream from Oh She Glows:

Holy Cow this pie took the cake for the weekend of scratch made items.

The pie is rich and creamy and bursting with chocolate flavor yet not heavy on the calories (I think Katie worked it out to 143 for 1/8 of the pie).

The coconut whipped cream was so much fun to make.  As soon as I saw the post from Angela I KNEW I had to make it.  It was so simple and delicious (and follow Angela's advice and be sure to put in the vanilla).

Both of these ladies are indeed rock stars and that is why they are both writing books to be published in the near future.

So have you eaten anything this week that just knocked your socks off?

Be sure to head over to Peas and Crayons and check out the other delicious eats from my fellow blogging buddies.

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Friday Pinterest Cravings

Today is Friday...WOOHOO!

I have had some delicious vegan food this week, and I really haven't had much in the way of dessert.

I have a serious craving today for chocolate.

I know you get it too.

To help sate that feeling I pinned several vegan delights via Pinterest and wanted to share them with you today:

Source: premieremoisson.com via Mags on Pinterest

Source: askannamoseley.com via Amanda on Pinterest

Source: chocolatecoveredkatie.com via Michaela on Pinterest

Source: chocolatecoveredkatie.com via Jumana on Pinterest

I now sufficiently have a tooth ache and feel a bit of sugar overload...but sometimes it is worth it.

I hope you all have a lovely weekend.  I am looking forward to heading to the farmers market to see what great finds I can come upon.

What are you cooking/baking this weekend?

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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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Triple Threat Brownies

For Father's Day this weekend my husband had one request "to sleep in."

Well he got his wish, but I really couldn't just leave it at that. 

The least I could do was bake him a delicious dessert to go with dinner.

The tough part was deciding what type of dessert to make.

I always go for cake right off the bat, but he doesn't like that so much.  He is more of a cookie and brownie kind of guy.

So I decided to make him brownies and fill them with three different kinds of chips (chocolate, peanut butter, and white chocolate).

Triple Threat Brownies

1 2/3 C sugar
3/4 C butter (melted)
2 Tbsp water
2 large eggs
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 1/3 C all purpose flour
3/4 C baking cocoa
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 C chocolate chips
1/4 C peanut butter chips
1/4 C white chocolate chips

Combine your sugar, butter, and water.

Stir in your eggs and vanilla extract.

Combine flour, cocoa, baking powder, and salt.  Then add to wet mixture.

Mix in your chocolate chips.

Spread into a greased 9x13 pan and top with peanut butter and white chocolate chips.

Bake at 350 degrees for 18 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean).

As you can see I didn't go the healthy route I went completely BAD...but hey it is only Father's Day once a year.

Substitutions could easily be made to make this vegan, but my husband SOMETIMES gets tired of my substitutions and just craves treats made the old fashioned way (with fat and animal products)...who am I not to oblige, after all he helped me create three of the most precious children ever.

(sometimes it is hard to get a shot of them all happy at once)

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Vegan Chocolate Chip Sourdough Muffins

That is quite a mouthful for a title, but once you have the muffin in your mouth all you will want to say is "mmmmmm."

I am still loving sourdough and trying to find new ways to incorporate it into our daily foods.

Since my children didn't like the loaf of sourdough that I made (even though I loved it toasted with a little Earth Balance) I thought add chocolate they are sure to like that.

I was right!

Sourdough Chocolate Chip Muffins

1 flax egg (1 Tbsp flax meal mixed with 3 Tbsp water)
1/4 tsp sea salt
1 C sourdough starter
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 C chocolate chips
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 C oil
1 C flour (I used half whole wheat and half white)
1/4 C sugar

I am not one of your more refined bakers so I just put everything in one bowl and mixed until everything was incorporated.

I am careful not to over mix, but I am not one of for keeping the dry and wet ingredients separate (I know I am such a rebel).

Scoop into your greased muffin tin, muffin wrappers, or silicone molds (my favorite eco-friendly option).

Bake at 425 degrees for 20 minutes.  I have a convection oven so I cooked these at 400 degrees for 18 minutes.

This makes 9 muffins.

I just wish I had made these in time to have for Easter morning...oh well there is always next year.

What do you make with your sourdough?  Do you have a recipe you would like to link to or share?  Please do I am looking for plenty of ideas and inspiration.

I hope you all have a wonderful day!

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Vegan Brownie Pie

This past weekend my kids and I wanted to celebrate my husband's birthday (a little early).

I think it is because they wanted some cake love him so.

I asked him what kind of treat he would like...which I knew would be like pulling teeth.

See Kyle isn't one for sweets and really he only had one request...he wanted oreos in it.

Well of course I could accomodate him.

I decided I would create for him a brownie pie with oreo crust.

The chocolate all blended together so that you couldn't see the crust, but I promise the overload of sweet does hit you.

For Crust
20 organic chocolate sandwich cookies
1 Tbsp Earth Balance, melted

Take the cookies and smash the hell out of crush them in a gallon ziploc bag with a rolling pin.

Add your Earth Balance and then press into a spring form pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 10 minutes.

Brownie filling was from Colleen Patrick Goudreau's The Joy of Vegan Baking (which as a side note is just a wonderful book for some very delicious desserts).

Pour the prepared brownie on top of the crust and bake for an additional 40 minutes.

The result was pure joy from my house...mainly because Caroline was so very excited to sing "Happy Birthday."

What is your favorite cake to have for your birthday?

I hope you all have a wonderful Thursday.

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