Rosemary Biscuits with Plum Compote

This past weekend I bought my backpack for my trip. It could probably hold all three of my fat cats plus a pair of shoes. I mean, that's all I'll really need in Europe, right?

I have the itinerary for this year basically planned, but I left some wiggle room for spontaneity's sake. Here's how it will go:

September-November: 3 month internship in London
Paris in December
January- all over Spain
February- Morocco (to get outside of Europe for a bit)
In March: Italy, visiting the several friends I have studying abroad there
and April and May will consist of traveling to Cyprus for a bit, then back to the UK area until I fly out of London in late May.

Gah.

Can you even believe this is real? I can't.

It will be nice to begin by settling in a place where everyone still speaks English. Whenever I picture people in London, I picture them eating biscuits and jam during tea time- yes I realize it's probably a silly stereotype, but the more I thought about biscuits and jam the more I felt the burning need to make some of my own. 

These biscuits are amazingly flakey, especially for vegan biscuits, and the sweet & savory thing that happens with the rosemary and plums is truly delicious. 

Rosemary Biscuits with Plum Compote

Biscuits (adapted form Holy Cow! Vegan Recipes):

1 cup almond or soy milk
1 tsp white vinegar
1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tbsp crushed dried rosemary
1 tbsp sugar
5 tbsp cold vegan margarine

Compote:

3-4 plums, cored and sliced
1/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla

1. Make the compote by mixing together all of the ingredients in a saucepan over medium-high heat. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat down low and continue to cook until the plums are very mushy and the compote begins to thicken. Remove from heat and store in the fridge until use.
2. To make the biscuits, combine the milk and vinegar in a measuring cup and let sit for a few minutes or until it curdles. Meanwhile, mix together all of the remaining ingredients except for the margarine in a large bowl. 
3. Add the margarine by cutting it into the dry ingredients with a fork until it becomes coarse and crumbly. Quickly stir in the milk and form the dough into a ball. Wrap it in plastic wrap and refrigerate for about 15-20 minutes.
4. Preheat your oven to 450º and line a 9x13" pan with parchment paper. Place the dough in the pan and press it into a large rectangle, not quite touching the sides of the pan. Cut it into 12 pieces and slightly separate them, so that once they are baked they can be easily pulled apart. 
5. Bake for about 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Let the biscuits cool, then pull apart and serve with plum compote and a cup of tea. Pinkies up!

Caramel Peach Sticky Buns

Sometimes I like to tell you about my life. 

But other times, the food is just so much better than anything I could possibly ramble about. So let's just get right to it, shall we? No foreplay. All buns. 

Caramel Peach Sticky Buns

makes 8 buns

filling:

2 cups chopped fresh peaches

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup rum

1/2 tsp cinnamon

2 tbsp water

2 tbsp cornstarch

dough (adapted from here):

1 cup non-dairy milk, warmed

1 0. 25 oz. package active dry yeast

1 1/4 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1 tbsp baking powder

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp granulated sugar

1/4 cup applesauce

First, grab some beautiful, ripe peaches and chop 'em up. I thought about skinning them too, but that's just so much work and the skin really just ends up cooking into the sauce.

Once your peaches are nice and diced, grab a saucepan and toss in the peaches, cinnamon and brown sugar. Salute Captain Jack and add that splash of rum. Heat over medium low heat, stirring constantly until the peaches are nice and mushy. Combine the water and cornstarch in a separate bowl and add into the peach sauce. Stir until thick and remove from heat.

Now onto the hard part: yeasted dough. If I can do it you can.

Sprinkle the yeast over the warmed soy milk and let sit for about 10 minutes or until frothy. Meanwhile, stir together the dry ingredients in a large bowl. Once the yeast mixture is ready, add the applesauce and whisk until combined. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and fold together.

Turn your dough out onto a floured surface and knead for about 2-3 minutes or until smooth (add some flour if it's too sticky). Let it rest for 5 minutes, then roll it out into a 9x12" rectangle.

Spread the peach filling all over the dough, leaving a 1" border. Begin to roll the whole thing up, jelly-roll style, taking care that the filling doesn't squeeze out the edges.

Slice the log into 8 equal pieces and place in a 9" round pan. Cover with a dish towel and the buns let rise in a warm place for about an hour. 

Turn on some music and dance around while you clean up a bit :)

Preheat your oven to 350º. After the buns have worked their magic and doubled in size, stick them in the oven for about 25-30 minutes or until they turn a lovely shade of golden brown. Let them cool for about 15 minutes. But wait, you can't eat them yet.

While the buns bake or cool, whip up a batch of caramel sauce. I used this recipe, but used almond milk instead of coconut milk. Just make sure you are paying attention the whole time, otherwise it will boil too much and turn back into granulated sugar!

See these buns? I know they look good...

But let's kick it up a notch.

Ooooh baby, pour that caramel sauce.

Now we're talkin'.

Pull apart and enjoy the best summer breakfast ever. 

Happy Friday!

Mango Lime Muffins

I'm not quite sure how it happened, but I suddenly got incredibly busy this summer. I've been working almost every night at a Thai restaurant, running errands, making appointments, trying to see old friends, and planning for my huge scary exciting Europe trip. 

Yeah, that's the big one.

I officially bought my plane ticket the other day, so suddenly this whole thing has become a lot more real. 
September 5th. 9pm. London here I come. Then on to Paris, Spain, Italy and Greece, with a little wiggle room in between so that I can do some spontaneous traveling. I can barely even contain my excitement!

Anyway, needless to say, this trip has been taking up a lot of my brain space. I have had a lot of people ask me if I will keep blogging while I'm away and the answer is yes! That's So Vegan will temporarily become a travel blog, still centered around food, but with many more life experiences thrown in the mix.

For now, however, the brutal heat in Minneapolis has cooled down and I can finally get back to baking. I tried a couple of no-bake recipes during the 100º weather, but those really don't do it for me as much as watching something magically transform in the oven.

These muffins are lovely for summer mornings. They are light, sweet, and citrus-y and will start your day off right alongside a tall glass of iced tea. 

Mango Lime Muffins

makes 1 dozen muffins

1 1/2 cup flour
1/3-1/2 cup sugar (depending on your sweet tooth)

2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

zest of 1 lime

juice from 1 lime

1/4 cup canola oil

3/4 cup almond milk

1 cup diced mango, fresh or frozen

2 tbsp flaked coconut 

1 tbsp sugar

1. Preheat your oven to 375º and line a muffin tin. 

2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and lime zest. Whisk together the lime juice, oil and almond milk in a smaller bowl, then add the wet ingredients into the dry. Stir until just combined and fold in the mango pieces. 

3. Pour the batter into the muffin liners, filling each about 3/4 of the way full. Mix the coconut with the tablespoon of sugar and sprinkle a bit on the top of each muffin. Bake for about 25-30 minutes, or until the coconut begins to toast and a toothpick comes out clean.

Chamomile Cloud Muffins

Let me tell you a little bit about my dad. 

Throughout his life, he has been a sculptor, painter, composer, musician and novel writer. He only does something if he loves it and he is always adaptable to change. This has been the most inspiring thing to me as I have grown up. Not only do I have someone who tells me "follow your heart, do what you love," but I have a role model who shows me that this is truly possible. Thank you, Dad, for always surrounding me with art, music and love my whole life.

Happy fathers day! To my dad and all great fathers.

Oh and one more thing about my dad? 

Here's an abridged list of things he can't eat because of his sensitive stomach:

-onions

-garlic

-peppers

-tomato sauce (yet he can eat whole tomatoes...)

-too much oil or butter

-too much sugar

-too much salt

-dairy

This often makes it hard for me to cook or bake things that he can stomach. But you know what he can eat? These muffins. He says they are one of his favorite things that I have baked while at home. The chamomile flavor really comes through and goes perfectly with the subtle, sweet coconut. They are some of the lightest, fluffiest muffins I have ever made!

Chamomile Cloud Muffins with Vanilla Coconut Glaze(loosely adapted from this recipe by the Sweet Life)

makes about 16-18 muffins

1/2 cup earth balance
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2/3 cup agave
3 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 cup dried chamomile leaves (from tea bags)
1 cup non-dairy milk
3 tsp ener-g egg replacer 
1/2 cup water
2 tsp vanilla extract

Glaze:

1/2 cup coconut cream*
1 tbsp agave
1/3 cup powdered sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*Chill a can of full-fat coconut milk for at least an hour. Once it's ready, scoop up the thick cream from the top of the can and if it's not quite 1/2 a cup, add a little extra coconut milk.

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.
2. In a large bowl, cream together the earth balance, flour, agave, baking powder and soda, salt and chamomile. Mix until crumbly. In a separate small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and water.
3. Add the milk, egg replacer and vanilla to the large bowl and stir until just combined. Pour batter into the liners, about 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. Meanwhile, make your glaze by whisking together the ingredients in a small bowl until smooth and creamy. Once the muffins have cooled for about 15 minutes, drizzle them with glaze and enjoy with a cup of tea!

French Toast for Two

On the whole, I used to hate breakfast food.

I know, right? I think I was a little bit insane. In the past year or so something flipped and now breakfast is my favorite meal of the day. Especially when it involves fruit.

And a lot of syrup.

And a big cup of coffee.

I had tried making vegan French toast before and it always just turned into a pile of soggy bready mush. Thanks to my favorite handy dandy cookbook, Big Vegan, I will (hopefully) never have that problem again. The secret, my friends, is a combination of nutritional yeast to make it have that slightly savory egg-y flavor and cornstarch to keep the milk mixture from dribbling everywhere. Voila! The perfect vegan French toast. My brother (the carnivore) said he couldn’t even tell the difference.

This recipe makes just enough for you and someone special to share a lovely summer breakfast together…

Or enough for you to stuff your face and be full and happy for the rest of the entire day. Your choice. No judgment.

French Toast for Two with Blueberry Syrup (adapted from Big Vegan by Robin Asbell)

4 thick slices sourdough bread (or other kind of hearty, crusty bread)

1/2 cup maple syrup
1/3 cup blueberries (fresh or frozen)
1/4 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup almond or flax milk
2 tbsp nutritional yeast
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon

1. In a small saucepan, combine the syrup, blueberries and cinnamon over medium-low heat. Cook, stirring occasionally, for about 3-5 minutes or until the flavors have blended and the syrup is blue-ish. Set aside.
2. Mix together the milk, nutritional yeast, cornstarch, vanilla and cinnamon in a wide and shallow dish. Whisk until thoroughly combined. 
3. Preheat a large skillet or griddle and grease with a little bit of canola oil or earth balance. One by one, dip each piece of bread in the milk mixture, really soaking it up with both sides. Once the skillet or griddle is hot, cook the bread on one side until it turns golden brown (about 2-3 minutes) and flip, letting the other side brown. Repeat until all the bread is used up. Serve with a generous amount of blueberry syrup and enjoy!

Cherry & Almond Biscotti

My mom and I are both earlybirds. Ever since I can remember, whenever I wake up and come downstairs, she is always sitting and reading with a cup of coffee at our kitchen table. She makes me a cup, I sit with her and we chat and enjoy the morning together. This is probably the thing I miss most when I'm away in school- sharing lovely mornings with my mom.

Me, my mom, and her mom.

Happy Mother's Day! To my own amazing mother and all mothers out there. 

In her honor, I made these cherry & almond biscotti to enjoy with her morning cup of coffee. Biscotti is one of her favorite treats and the tart cherries and nutty almonds make the perfect flavor combination! So mom, I love you and these are for you.

Along with this song :)

Cherry & Almond Biscotti (loosely adapted from Susan's recipe)

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tbsp ener-g egg replacer
6 tbsp water
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp vanilla 
optional: 1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 cup almonds, slivered or chopped
1/2 cup dried cherries, roughly chopped

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and lightly oil a baking sheet.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flours, sugar, baking powder and salt. Whisk together the egg replacer and water in a measuring cup until it begins to thicken, then add it to the flour mixture along with the maple syrup and vanilla. Fold in the cherries and almonds. If the dough is too dry to form it into a ball, add water, one tablespoon at a time (I had to add 2).
3. Form the dough into two logs, about 2 inches wide and flatten them onto your baking sheet. Bake for 30 minutes.

4. Cool the logs for about 10 minutes, then using a sharp knife, very carefully cut the biscotti into 1/2" wide slices on a diagonal. Arrange the slices on the sheet face up and put back in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove, flip the biscotti, and bake more 10 more minutes. Let cool for at least 15 minutes. Enjoy dunked in your morning coffee!

What is your favorite thing to do with you mom?

And now it's crunch time.

Yes, I am talking both about my finals and biscotti. Double crunch.

Monkey Bars

Thanks to my wonderful friends, family and your lovely comments, I ended up having a great twentieth birthday! Let me recap the highlight of the night for you...

A group of friends and I went to this mexican restaurant for dinner. My best friend Melissa decked me out in obnoxiously glittery necklaces saying "happy birthday" and a birthday goblet. When the servers of the place noticed this, one of them came over and said "It's your birthday? I make you something." 
About 20 minutes later, out came this huge plate of deep-fried something covered in whipped cream with a trail of servers following. They put a sombrero on my head, sang me happy birthday and tried to spoon feed me whipped cream and couldn't understand why I wouldn't just eat it. I'm pretty sure I was bright red the entire time. 

Lesson learned? Birthdays are really just excuses for your friends to embarrass the hell out of you :)

Anyway, the day after my birthday I had a huge sugar crash, so I decided I had to bake some other treat to have around. I called them monkey bars because of the super yummy banana and coconut combo- monkeys eat those things, right?

These really don't have too much sugar in them and with oats and whole wheat flour I decided I could justify eating one for breakfast! Although they are so delicious, it's really hard to eat just one.  I pawned a couple off on my friends and they absolutely loved them. 

Friend tested, friend approved. 

Monkey Bars

makes 9 bars

1/4 cup canola oil
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp agave 
1/2 tsp vanilla
2 ripe bananas
1 1/2 tsp energ-G egg replacer mixed with 2 tbsp water or 1/4 cup applesauce
3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 cup shredded unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup chocolate chips

Topping:

1 tbsp agave
2 tbsp oats
1 tbsp brown sugar
2 tbsp shredded unsweetened coconut

1. Preheat your oven to 350º and lightly oil an 8x8" pan.
2. Mash the bananas in a large bowl. Whisk in the oil, brown sugar, agave, vanilla and egg-replacer. Stir until smooth.
3. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, oats and baking powder. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. Fold in the coconut and chocolate chips and pour the batter into your prepared pan.

4. Make the topping by placing all of the ingredients in a small bowl and crumbing them together with your fingers. Sprinkle evenly over the batter and bake the bars for about 35 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool at least 15 minutes before cutting, then dig in and enjoy!

Chewy, crumbly, chocolate-y, with a hint of toasted coconut. Does it get any better?

Strawberry Muffins

Some girls daydream about being on the beach.

Some girls daydream about their weddings.

Some girls daydream about their future careers...

and I daydream about food. Not even eating it, just making it.

Lately these daydreams have been filled with lemon and citrus, avocados, always chocolate, vegan caramel, and strawberries. I decided to make the last fantasy a reality. A delicious, delicious reality. That's right, these are double-delicious.

Strawberry Muffins

makes a dozen muffins

1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp soy milk
1/2 cup soy yogurt (could also substitute applesauce)
2 tbsp canola oil
1/4 cup agave
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 cup chopped strawberries

1. Preheat your oven to 375º and line a muffin tin.
2. In a large bowl, whisk together the soy milk, yogurt, oil, agave and vanilla. Stir in the flour and baking powder until just combined. Fold in the strawberries.
3. Divide the batter evenly into 12 muffins. Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool for about 10 minutes and enjoy!

Side note: If you haven't seen yet, I have updated my list of favorite blogs to the ones I've been following more recently. There are some beauties on there, check it out!

What do you tend to daydream about?

Grapefruit & Yogurt Scones

Here is what I have discovered: spring makes me restless. 

I guess they don't have the saying "spring fever" for nothing, but I've never noticed it so clearly before! I'm just so sick of my old routine- it's time to do new things, go new places, create, get inspired... 

But I still have four weeks of school.

Not that I can't do any of those things in college- that's what college is for, isn't it? It is just a tiny bit harder when you have exams and paper deadlines and such. I guess I have to cure my spring fever in little ways. When my feet get restless: go get a studio and dance. When my mind gets restless: focus on a good book (I just started this one!). 

When my hands get restless: bake scones and make them delicious.

Done and Done.

Grapefruit & Yogurt Scones (loosely adapted from Joy the Baker)

makes 6 scones

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/4 cup maple syrup
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
6 tbsp margarine
1 grapefruit, zested and cut in half
1/2 cup soy yogurt (plain or vanilla)

1. Preheat your oven to 425º and line a baking sheet with parchment paper. 
2. Whisk together the flour, baking powder, grapefruit zest and salt in a large bowl. Add in the margarine and using your fingers, crumble it into the flour mixture until combined. 
3. Mix in the maple syrup and yogurt. Cut out each segment of the halved grapefruit, as if you were eating it out of a bowl, and fold them into the batter. 
4. Place the dough onto the cookie sheet and form it into a circle with an 8 inch diameter. Sprinkle the top with sugar, if you like, and cut the circle into 6 pieces. Bake for about 20 minutes, or until the tops and edges begin to brown. Serve warm with a cup of tea!

These use such simple ingredients and are the perfect mix of sweet and tart. They are a little moister than most scones because of the grapefruit juices, but still have that wonderful flakey and crumble-y texture.

Do you get spring fever?