Category: pie

2010 Year in review

Posted by miss alix – 3 Jan ’11

I’m so very happy that it’s 2011. There are so many wonderful things to come this year.

I thought it would be nice to take a look back at some of the highlights of the past year over here at Cute and Delicious.

vegan cupcakes

In January I made lots of cupcakes for some bake sales, including the Homemade for Haiti fundraiser.

bookcase after

In February, I did lots of crafts, including reworking our book case, knitting a heart for Shawn and making coffee cozies.

vegan shamrock cupcakes

In March, we celebrated St. Patrick’s day with holiday foods and I veganized my mom’s fudge recipe.

vegan crumpet

In April, I experimented with different recipes including vegan crumpets and raw sauerkraut. I also made some pies!

grass

May was quiet, but we visited the amazing Rose Bowl Flea Market (and I made the best cherry pie, I’ve ever eaten).

Portland Day 02

In June, we went to Portland and got engaged. Biggest, best surprise of my life.

I highly suggest you read Shawn’s recap of the day as it is sweet and wonderful.

gluten free waffles

In July, I raved about Portland more and made a lot of waffles.

fresh figs

In August, I cooked with figs and made Star Wars cookies.

thank you cakes

In September, I made Thank You cakes for friends and we took romantic photos in Griffith Park.

astronaut

October was a busy month. We had the first screening of Brainwashed Love. We introduced our families at our engagement party. I also made lots of Halloween treats including a spiderweb cake.

tofu benny

November was also packed to brim with food and fun. I made savory things like tofu benedict, green bean casserole, carrot souffle and hot pockets.  We celebrated with a birthday cake party and Harry Potter cupcakes. On the sweet side, I made a peanut butter coconut cream pie and Dia de los Muertos cookies. We also made our save the dates with vintage postcards and photos. That’s not even the half of it! Busy month to say the least.

molasses sandwich cookies

In December, I made many many cookies from Martha Stewart’s recipes, except vegan of course. The most exciting was seeing what my wedding dress is going to look like and sharing a few details with you.

It was a crazy wonderful year. I think I did pretty good on my last minute year end to do list. Can’t wait to share everything with you all in the new year.

Thanksgiving leftover hot pockets

Posted by miss alix – 30 Nov ’10

It may seem like I’m a little obsessed with leftovers. It’s true. But Thanksgiving always leaves you with so many of them. Even though we didn’t cook this year, we still ended up with a few nights worth of holiday food. I wanted to spice things up a little bit, just so we weren’t having exactly the same meal over and over. Hence the creation of the Thanksgiving leftover hot pocket.

thanksgiving leftover hot pockets

All you have to do to make these is make some pastry crust (I used the flakey pie crust recipe from The Joy of Vegan Baking) and assemble as if you were making ravioli. You could easily use puff pastry if you didn’t feel like making a crust.

Start by preheating your oven to 425° F. Roll out your crust (or one sheet of  puff pastry) and set aside one half. Put a few tablespoons of stuffing or tofurky or whatever leftover you want in a grid on the dough, leaving about an inch between each filling. The next part is really important, you must drizzle a little bit of gravy over your filling. Make sure the filling isn’t piled too high or your crust may crack.

Carefully lay the other half of the crust over the prepared fillings. Press the spaces between each filling together with your fingers, starting in the center and working your way out. It’s ok if a little bit of gravy or whatever leaks out the side, but try to seal it best you can around the edges. Using a pizza cutter or a pastry cutter, cut the hot pockets into individual pies. Slice a few diagonal slits in the top of each. Transfer to a baking sheet and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until golden brown.

thanksgiving leftover hot pockets

These would also be great with your holiday meal, they’re not just good for leftovers. Let’s face it, everything is better in a pie crust. We had ours with some celebration field roast, more stuffing and some kale.

The bottom line is that pretty much anything is good in these. Get creative. If you want them filled with sweet potatoes and dandies, I’m sure they’d be extra awesome. Feel free to keep them simple or get crazy.

Peanut Butter Cream Pie

Posted by miss alix – 18 Nov ’10

I’m super excited  that my recipe for this wonderful Peanut Butter Cream Pie was featured on PETA’s Vegetarian Living Blog. I’m so happy to be able to share with so many people who are looking to know more about veganism.

I’m reproducing the recipe here for posterity, and of course to not leave out my dear readers who definitely need to know how to make this super sweet pie.

This peanut butter cream pie is a lovely balance of a flaky crust, a sweet peanut-butter filling, and a fluffy coconut-cream topping.

It takes a bit of advanced preparation but nothing more than putting a few cans of coconut milk in the fridge the night before. You’ll want to make sure that you use the full-fat coconut milk, as this is what makes the dense coconut cream topping. It’s my favorite. In fact, you can use it as a topping on just about any cake, ice cream, or pie. Trust me when I say that you’ll want to.

pie crust

Let’s start with the crust, shall we? This is a versatile crust that you can use for any sort of pie, either savory or sweet.

Vegan Pastry Crust
1 1/4 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 cup nondairy butter
2-3 Tbsp. ice water

  • Mix the flour and the salt together. Cut together the flour mixture with the nondairy butter using a fork, two knives, or a pastry cutter. Combine until the mixture resembles crumbs. Slowly incorporate the ice water until the dough just starts to hold together when pressed between your fingers.
  • Shape the dough into a disk and wrap in plastic wrap. Refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.
  • Preheat the oven to 425°F.
  • Lightly dust your work surface and rolling pin with flour. Roll out the pie crust until the dough is about 1/4 inch thick. Roll from the center out so that it’s even.
  • Drape the dough over your rolling pin and transfer to a pie dish. Press the dough into the corners and trim off any excess hanging over the dish. Using a fork, poke a few holes in the bottom of the crust to prevent air bubbles.
  • Bake for 15 minutes, or until the edges are golden brown.
  • Set aside to cool. Make sure it cools completely before you assemble the pie.

peanut butter cream pie mixins

Next, we’ll put together the filling. It is essentially two layers, but we start with the coconut cream, as it is the base for the whole thing. Ideally, it should be made in a stand mixer, if you have one, as this allows the cream to become extra fluffy. If you don’t have a stand mixer, you can still make it with an electric hand mixer; just be sure to at least double the beating time. You want to incorporate as much air as possible into the mix. Also, I recommend using a metal bowl if possible.

As for the peanut butter, choose whichever type you like best. I like a creamy pie, so I go with creamy peanut butter. If you like crunchy, though, I bet that would be great. Just be sure to skim off any excess oil at the top of your jar. You can always add it back into your peanut butter jar later or use it for cooking up some stir-fry. If you use an unsalted peanut butter, add an additional 1/4 teaspoonful of salt to the mixture if you like.

OK, now let’s get to that pie-making!

peanut butter cream pie

Pie Filling
3 cans coconut milk
1 1/2 cups powdered sugar
3 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup peanut butter

  • The night before you are planning to make this pie, place the coconut milk in the fridge.
  • Open the cans of coconut milk, skim off the thick cream at the top of each jar, and put into the bowl of your stand mixer. (I’m sure there is a great use for the clear liquid at the bottom, although I haven’t figured one out yet.)
  • Beat on high until the mixture is fluffy and thick.
  • Add in 1 cup of the powdered sugar and mix until all the sugar is incorporated, scraping down the sides as necessary. Beat until fully combined. Add the vanilla extract and beat for 3 to 5 more minutes.
  • Set about 2/3 of the mixture aside in a cool place. This will be the topping.
  • Add 1/2 cup of the peanut butter to the mixer and beat until fluffy. Add the remaining 1/2 cup powdered sugar and beat until combined. Finally, beat in the last 1/2 cup of peanut butter until creamy.
  • Spread the peanut butter mixture over the bottom of your cooled pie crust. Gently spoon the remaining whipped coconut cream onto the peanut butter layer. Refrigerate for at least an hour before serving.

Enjoy!

tempeh pot pie

Posted by miss alix – 10 Oct ’10

I accomplished a major goal this past week, I managed to completely fill my dutch oven with food.  I’ve made recipes that I thought would be huge but only filled the dish half way. This time, it was overflowing. I made a double batch of the tempeh shepherdess pie from Veganomicon. I knew it would be a lot, but the 6 pounds of potatoes really took it over the top.

It lasted us about two days, shared between Shawn, his brother and myself for lunch and dinner. It was hearty and filling and satisfying. The recipe was filled with good stuff but I think next time I’d like the seasonings to be a little more intense.

innards of a shepherds pie

With cooler weather coming (hopefully soon) I hope to make more casseroles. I loved the corn in this, and would maybe like to try something spicier, maybe with chipotle peppers. Yeah, that sounds good.

vegan shepherds pie

Do you have a favorite casserole?

Hello September (and a giveaway!)

Posted by miss alix – 8 Sep ’10

Today was a beautiful grey day here in Los Angeles. While we didn’t have much of a summer, I’m ecstatic about the arrival of fall. Why? Because fall is the best. The best time to get baking away. And of course Halloween is just around the corner. I can’t contain my excitement. On top of that, I’m happy to be hosting a giveaway for a $70 gift card!

With Labor day off, I wanted to spend some time in the kitchen. I made the Cauliflower and Mushroom Pot Pie from Veganomicon. This is the perfect recipe for the transition from summer to fall.

making of a pot pie

This pot pie is  full of fresh fragrant vegetables with a good dose of spices. While the pot pie is leaning towards the heartiness of fall, the vegetables still have a hint of summer.

pot pie

Check out all that cauliflower. This pie is packed with it. It cooks down to a soft and insanely delicious treat. It meshes greatly with the mushroom and other veggies.

cauliflower and mushroom pot pie

The pie is topped with a biscuit like olive crust. The savory crust is salty and crunchy and a nice contrast to the soft veggies; all in all, wonderfully balanced. While this pot pie is fairly large, Shawn and I were able to finish it off in one sitting. It’s that good, and not overly filling.

Ok, now back to that giveaway. I couldn’t have made this pot pie without the help of my Dutch oven. Well I guess I could have but it wouldn’t have been nearly as simple. But let’s not kid around, these guys aren’t cheap. Cookware.com has offered to give a $70 gift card to one lucky reader (which doesn’t quite pay for a dutch oven, but would definitely make one affordable).  The great thing is that you can buy anything on their site…or any of their affiliated sites, like AllModern.com or 200 other sites. That’s a lot of options.

All you have to do is comment on this post before midnight on September 13th. If you want another chance to win, follow me on twitter (and make sure to mention it in your comment). I’ll pick a winner at random when the giveaway closes. Good luck!

Update

And we have a winner! Congratulations to Meghan! She’s gonna get to go on a fancy shopping spree. Yay!

Portland vegan desserts

Posted by miss alix – 28 Jun ’10

In the four days Shawn and I spent in Portland, I ate more food than I ever thought possible. With so many vegan restaurants, it’s not even possible to try everything, but we were on a mission to test as much as we could. One of the highlights was being able to visit some completely vegan bakeries which Los Angeles is sorely missing. The most amazing treat that we tried, I believe was the raspberry coconut cream pie from Back to Eden. I don’t even like coconut, but oh my god, this pie was heavenly. Fluffy and sweet with the perfect crust.

Back to Eden was basically the last place we went before we headed for the airport. After getting numerous recommendations, we had to go there before we left. I tried a chocolate marionberry cupcake and also snagged some marionberry bread for the plane. I don’t even know what marionberry is but it is damn good. The fruity frosting on the cupcake was rich and amazing. The marionberry bread was moist with just the right amount of sweetness.

They had a case full of delicious treats including whoopie pies, tartlettes, chocolates and other savory items like quiches. The whole place is adorable. Oh yeah, and they have soft serve.

Of course we visited Sweetpea Baking Company. Actually we visited quite a few times.  Everything we tried was super good. I loved the cute little zucchini cake. We also had cookies and donuts and…

Loved how cute these pride cupcakes were. They were completely sold out on our second visit. We really tried to make it for their Sunday brunch but couldn’t get there in time. Not to mention, the idea of eating a huge brunch was a little terrifying considering all the food we had the day before.

We stopped in Saint Cupcake Deluxe just to check out the selection and were happy to find a handful of vegan flavors. This shop was super sweet and not only had cupcakes, but also had a lot of sweet cupcakes supplies. It was also attached to Noun, a shop where I wanted to buy basically everything.

It’s not a trip to Portland without Voodoo donuts. Do I really have to say anything about these guys? So good. While I usually prefer risen donuts to cake donuts, the chick-o-stick donut is a must have. It may have been my favorite. I’ll probably have to try them again to see.

Wow, that’s a lot of dessert. That’s not even everything. I drank a lot of coffee to counteract the sweetness. That makes sense, right? This soy latte from Stumptown was one of the best I’ve ever had. I mean, Intelligentsia good. Damn I want one now.

pie oh my

Posted by miss alix – 25 Apr ’10

So I made some pie. Two in fact. Two pies. In one day. For no occasion. There is possibly something wrong with me.

I’m also going to give away an apron. It’s really cute. You could win it.

Back to the pies though. One is a caramel peanut butter pie inspired entirely by this caramel pudding.  The other, is a raspberry rhubarb pie kind of sort of from the lovely Babycakes cookbook.

I started the caramel peanut butter pie with a cookie crust. This is probably the easiest crust you’ll ever make. All you have to do is mix 2 cups of cookie crumbs (that’s about 18 sandwich cookies) with 5 Tbsp of melted Earth Balance. Press this mixture into a greased 9″ pie pan. Put the whole thing in the fridge. Ok, done with that part.

Next is the peanut butter. Also, easy as hell. Using an electric mixer, beat together 1/2 cup creamy peanut butter, 1/4 cup powdered sugar and 1 tsp vanilla extract until all combined. Then press this into the prepared cookie crust. It should cover just the bottom.

So that bit is a breeze. Tell yourself making the caramel pudding will be as well. It will be! Just be patient. When you literally have to watch sugar boil for ten minutes, just imagine the wonderful pie you will have at the end and don’t even think about stirring. Or you can scrub your oven top. That’s what I did.

Anyway, yes, just be patient, it will all come together even if it takes awhile. Even if it seems like it’s going wrong. Just be careful not to stab* or burn yourself with the caramelized sugar. But seriously, you’ll be fine.

As I mentioned, the caramel pudding recipe can be found here written out for you by the lovely Joy the Baker. To make it vegan, I just subbed the 4 cups of whole milk with 3 cups of mimicreme mixed with 1 cup soy milk. Then, after letting the pudding cool slightly, pour into the pie crust that has been hanging out in the fridge. Let cool completely in the fridge for a few hours (just enough time to make another pie) and you’ll have one decadent and amazing caramel peanut butter pie.

See? Looks tasty and oh it is. You may want to put some whipped topping on here, but that’s really your call. Really, this pie is damn good.

But don’t forget, there is another pie too. I decided to finally try my hand at an almost gluten free and sugar free recipe from Babycakes. Ok so it’s not exactly the most complicated of low gluten experiments, but it’s a start…next time I’ll go full gluten free, just wait.

So the crust is a spelt crust, remember I said it wasn’t entirely gluten free. Now let’s not kid around here, this is some damn good crust. I may have eaten a few pieces before putting it into the oven. I could possibly use this crust always. Possibly.

This is the part where I tell you that I didn’t exactly follow the rest of the recipe for the pie. Mainly because where in the hell do you get dried rhubarb? Is this a common ingredient? Who knows. I used frozen. I should have defrosted it. I didn’t. I also used raspberries instead of strawberries. Whatever.

Also, when I got to part where you have to roll out the crust, I discovered my rolling pin had gone missing. (Hey mom, did I leave my rolling pin at your house?) That made it a bit difficult to do everything. So my crust was not rolled out as thin as it should have been and other things. It still tasted good.

Despite me making some pretty major pie recipe sins this still tasted lovely. I ended up cooking it for about 10 minutes more though, and it was a bit, um, soupy. Like I said, should have thawed the rhubarb. Seriously though, I think I’m about to be a big fan of this agave sweetened business.

So there you have it ladies and gentleman, pies for dinner this lovely sunday night.

Oh yeah, and the apron. Do you remember back during the holidays I made some aprons for Christmas presents? Well I am a jerk and never gave one to it’s intended recipient. It’s nearly the end of April and it’s just been sitting in my closet. I think it needs a home. I will just give my friend a cooler present next year. Now it can be yours! Think this apron is cute? Just leave a comment on this post telling me your favorite kind of pie and I’ll randomly pick a winner by May 1st. Then you can make pie in a cute apron.

*yes I have done this. it hurts.

Update: And the winner is…Monica. Congratulations!

Thanksgiving 2009

Posted by miss alix – 27 Nov ’09

I’m going to keep the chatting to a minimum and just show you a photo tour of our Thanksgiving this year. Enjoy!

It all started with a donut from Madeline Bistro.

The phillet no phish sandwich, Thanksgiving sandwich (which is pretty much all you could ever want from Thanksgiving), mashed potatoes and gravy.

Vanishing meal. Also consumed: biscuits & gravy, crepes filled with fruit. All amazing.

Visiting turkeys from Animal Acres. Luckily these guys will live long happy lives instead of being abused and murdered this Thanksgiving. Yeah, I said that.

Homemade pumpkin soy nog. My mom made this! I think that’s pretty awesome.

When making a pie, it is absolutely necessary to make a mess. It makes it taste better, I promise.

Best way to work up an appetite before Thanksgiving dinner. Okay so it was a rather leisurely ride to the beach. We were rewarded with a gorgeous sunset.

Brussels sprouts with capers. Oh how I love brussels sprouts.

Perfectly fluffy and wonderful mashed potatoes whipped up by Shawn. He also made fabulous gravy to go on top.

There’s that apple pie! All baked up with the infamous crumbly top. This is the last thing I stuffed in my face today.

Happy Thanksgiving! (p.s. Shawn does not like to smile in photos. He really is having a good time, don’t let the serious face fool you.)

Yummy pot pies

Posted by miss alix – 19 May ’09

Just a quick little update with a recipe for these amazing individual pot pies. They’re so yummy, so easy and darn cute too. I could probably eat them for every meal  (I totally had one for lunch and one for dinner today). This is the sort of thing where you could add pretty much any vegetable your heart desired and they would still come out well. This version is the clean out the freezer edition.

These pies are savory and rewarding. They’re not too big so it would be great to serve with some greens or fresh bread. They have a full flavor without being too heavy. I used a lot of corn and carrots so it was fairly sweet but was offset by the saltiness of the seitan. Also, just for the record, this was my most successful batch of homemade seitan of record.

Seitan Pot Pie

makes 4 servings


1/2 onion, chopped

1 1/2 Tbsp Safflower oil

2 cups mixed vegetables frozen or fresh (corn, peas, edamame, carrots etc.)

1 1/2 cups chopped seitan

2 cups vegetable broth

2 Tbsp flour

1 package vegan puff pastry

First and foremost, take your puff pastry out of the freezer to defrost. It can take up to 40 minutes, so be patient. It does not need to be completely soft, but rather just pliable enough to unfold and cut. For me this is the hardest part, even though technically it is the easiest because you literally just have to do nothing. I’ve found a number of vegan puff pastries, both generic and healthy, so just make sure you check the label.

Next, heat the oil in a medium sauce pan and add the onions. Sautee on medium until they are soft and lightly browned.

Preheat the oven to 400°

At this point, add your vegetables. If you are using frozen ones, it’s fine if they aren’t defrosted. Pour in the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. Let simmer for about 10 minutes at which point the vegetable should be tender.

Add in the seitan and flour and stir thoroughly. Continue to stir for a few more minutes to let thicken. Spoon the filling into individual pie dishes.

Now, assuming your puff pastry has defrosted, it’s now time to cut out the tops. Unfold the pastry onto a flat surface and cut out circles slightly smaller than your pie dishes. Simply lay the circle on top of the filling. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown.

Let cool just enough to eat and serve.

While I made individual servings, you can easily make one single pie, the small ones are just a bit more fun.

Onion pie and vegan cat food

Posted by miss alix – 23 Jan ’09


Let me start off by saying that I don’t like onions. I understand that they provide a good deal of flavor to certain dishes but if given the option, I would more often than not go without them. I really wanted to make a savory pie though and even though this was nothing like the recipe I envisioned, I came across this recipe and decided to try it.

The end result was delicious. It was something like eating sweet onions on a cheezy biscuit crust. I even had seconds. It’s not necessarily something you would want to have for dinner all the time and could probably have used some greens to go along with it but was insanely good. Check out the recipe below.

Onion Pie
Recipe adapted from How to be a Domestic Goddess.

topping:
2 very large yellow onions
1 Tbsp olive oil
1 Tbsp Earth Balance
1/2 tsp dried thyme
2 oz soy cheddar cheeze, finely shredded
salt and pepper to taste

crust:
1 1/3 cup flour
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tsp baking powder
1 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp egg replacer
2 Tbsp water
1/2 cup soy milk including 1 tsp apple cider vinegar, left to curdle
1 tsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp Earth Balance, melted
1/2 cup soy cheddar cheeze, finely shredded

For topping: Cut onions into large pieces. Heat olive oil and Earth Balance over medium heat. Add onions and saute for about 30 minutes, covered and stirring occasionally. When the onions being to soften, add the salt, pepper and thyme. Continue to cook until the onions are quite soft and browned on the edges.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9″ pie dish with Earth Balance.

Put the onions into the pie dish, sprinkle with soy cheeze and set aside.

For the crust: Mix the soy cheese, flour, baking powder, nutritional yeast and salt in a bowl. In a separate dish, beat the egg replacer and water together until frothy. Combine the soymilk/vinegar mixture, egg replacer, melted Earth Balance and mustard. Pour into the dry ingredients and stir. The dough will be fairly sticky. Remove from the bowl and stretch out as if you were making a pizza crust about the size of the pie, being careful not to tear holes in it. Lay on top of onions in pie dish and seal edges.

Bake for 15 mins then turn down heat to 350 degrees and bake for another 10 mins or until the crust is golden brown. Let sit for a few minutes after removing from oven then place a large plate on top and flip the pie upside down. Slice and enjoy!

And on to the cats…When I decided to adopt cats, one of the big concerns in our household was what to feed them. Being vegan, it didn’t seem right to feed them non-vegan food, but being that they are naturally carnivores, it was important to give them proper nutrition. So far their diet is a bit of an experiment and a combination of vegan and non-vegan cat foods.

The vegan option that seemed the most promising was some supplements made by Hoana that you make into your own cat food. It comes with a bunch of recipes from kibble to rice and tofu mix. I went with the recipe for seitan as seen below.

kittie seitan

It may not be the prettiest meal, but isn’t that far from something that I would eat myself. I made some very simple seitan, by just boiling some chunks of vital wheat gluten mixed with nutritional yeast in water with a bit of soy sauce for an hour. If I had a vegetable stock without onions or garlic in it I would have probably used that. In the future, if I have more time, it would be possible to make the stock and would make the seitan itself more flavorful.

I tore up about 3 cups of the seitan into even smaller pieces and mixed them a sauce made of 4 tsp VegeKit, 1/3 cup nutritional yeast, 1 Tbsp olive oil and a bit of soy sauce.


The verdict? They really like the stuff! I was surprised after hearing quite a few people say their cats wouldn’t eat vegan cat food. I can understand where this general misconception would come from since a lot of people wouldn’t take the time to make food for their cats. For example, they really don’t like the canned vegan cat food I ordered and won’t eat it unless it’s mixed with something they do like.

Since the seitan chunks are a bit more chewy than just plain cat food, Mochi (the grey one) has taken to batting them around on the floor while she eats. Personally I’m fine with this. If a cat were going to eat a live mouse, they would probably play with their food just the same. Meeme on the other hand likes to lick most of the ‘sauce’ off the seitan before she eats it. Every time I have fed them this, it is all gone by the morning. I’ll definitely have to try some of the other recipes but this is a total success.