Bagels!
I am obsessed with bagels. I mean generally speaking I’m obsessed with any bread related food item. But this year I’m in love with bagels.
The thing with bagels though is they aren’t as easy to come by as one might think. I mean you can’t just walk into a bagel shop and get a bagel topped with vegan cream cheese. Well, unless you’re in New York. Store bought bagels just won’t do.
This is my second attempt at bagel making. These bagels were made from the recipe in Vegan Brunch. My first round, from another recipe, while tasty, were over-baked and extra crunchy.
This recipe yields a light bagel with a fluffy inside and a crunchy exterior. The vital wheat gluten helps give them a nice touch of elasticity which seemed to help when handling the dough. Overall they were easy to make and easier to eat. I gobbled up at least three.
For breakfast I topped them with some tofutti cream cheese, a sprinkle of nutritional yeast, a fat juicy tomato from a friend’s garden, a touch of paprika and a few leaves of basil. Delicious! They also went extra well with hummus.
I’m going to keep experimenting till I make some super fat round bagels; dense and chewy all at once. And perhaps some homemade cream cheese to go along with them. Oh the obsession continues.
Hello September
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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
Figs!
My experience with figs has been limited almost exclusively to fig newtons. I just wanted to get that out of the way.
Then out of nowhere, I just really wanted to try figs. Perhaps it was because I was being bombarded with yummy fig ideas.
First it was a fig and cheese sandwich I saw at a restaurant (although it wasn’t vegan). Then I came across this recipe. When I passed a box of fresh figs at the market, I had to buy them.
So the sandwich. It’s just a basic grilled cheeze with some sliced figs inside and a bit of spicy mustard just for fun. So good! I may have had a few of these. And by that, I mean I did. Cheesy and delicious with just a hint of sweetness from the figs.
Next up was the fig upside down cake. Part of what excited me about this recipe was making a cake in the cast iron skillet I just recently acquired. I’m a big fan of any multi-use cookware. Not to mention for those of you looking for a little more iron in your diet, cooking in an iron skillet will actually add some iron into your food. See, cake can have health benefits!
The cake was delicious; decadently sweet with a rich brown sugar flavor. I opted to make my own brown sugar by mixing molasses into regular granulated sugar,which definitely gave the cake it’s own distinct flavor (and more iron!). I probably could have let it cool a bit longer so the figs were not so juicy when I flipped it, but it’s not always easy waiting for cake. Topped with coconut whipped cream, this easy cake could be a treat on a night in or a fancy dessert for guests.
Vegan Fig Upside Down Cake
adapted from here
- 1 1/2 pounds fresh figs, stemmed and quartered
- 1 cup granulated sugar
- 4 ounces Earth Balance
- 1 cup granulated sugar mixed with 1 Tbsp molasses
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 2 cups all-purpose flour
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup almond milk
- 1 tsp vinegar
Preheat oven to 350°.
Mix figs and sugar in a bowl and set aside. Melt the Earth Balance in an iron skillet on medium heat. When it is warm, add the figs and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.
Beat the vinegar into the almond milk until frothy and set aside. Mix the oil and sugar until combined. In a separate bowl, mix all the dry ingredients, using a whisk. Combine the sugar, dry ingredients, and soy milk. Mix until there are few lumps.
Pour the batter over the figs in the skillet. Bake for approximately 35-40 minutes.
Remove from oven and let cool for at least 30 minutes. Invert on plate and serve.
I highly recommend adding some whipped coconut cream topping.
Portland vegan desserts
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.
May adventures
Oh dear oh dear it seems that I have almost let an entire month go by without posting at least something on my beloved Cute and Delicious. It’s not for lack of cooking or crafting or baking or photos either. I’ve been a busy girl on all fronts. Some of these things really do deserve to be shared, so I’m going to try and give you all a visual taste of a few things I’ve been up to in the past few weeks. Shall we get started?
For the first time in forever, I was able to go to the famed Pasadena flea market. We walked around for hours and there still wasn’t enough time to see everything. I had forgotten how many beautiful trinkets and quality vintage items they have. I snagged up a few little things, like the owls you see above and a lovely red polka dot dress.
There are just so many things though, it’s nice to just see some of the awesome old stuff people collect. Like all these cameras.
We also saw the cutest dog ever. She was a rescue puppy with only one eye. So sweet, her owner just handed her over to Shawn and she was just like a little stuffed animal. Extra fluffy and calm. I’m kind of obsessed with animals that are missing limbs or eyes. Ok I’m weird. Anyway, just a reminder, there are some amazing animals out there that need homes just waiting to be adopted.
For Mother’s day my mom wanted a cherry pie. So I pitted a lot of fresh cherries. 6 cups of cherries actually.
I’ve never been into cherry pie to be honest. I realized, after making this pie, that it is only because I have not had a quality cherry pie.
It was so good, we couldn’t wait for it to cool completely and ate it when it was still a bit saucy. Oh man I dream of this pie. Sweet sweet cherries and a flaky, crispy crust. Yum.
I also stitched up this little hedgehog from a pattern from Sublime Stitching. He’s so adorable but I can’t quite decide what to do with him yet. Any ideas?
I’ve also been testing tiramisu recipes. I never realized how many different ways there are to make tiramisu, let alone a vegan one. It’s been quite a delicious adventure.
There has been so much more, but perhaps that will be for another post. You can also see a few of the things I’ve tagged along on to over at little vegan planet.
