Vegan Banana Muffins

Another vegan recipe that is sure to please! Muffins can pack in as many as 600 calories each! There are healthier options on the market now: http://caloriecount.about.com/calories-muffins ic1806. I enjoy a nice 100 calorie, chocolate VitaTop on occassion. Though, they are a little pricey and making your own is much more satisfying! I made these prior to going on a road trip. I stopped in to visit with some family on the way and they loved these muffins so much that they were gone before I left the same day! I think they are the perfect muffin, super moist and very easy to make. Try using the same recipe with blueberries, apples or other fillings.

This recipe is from Food.com (http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-banana-muffins-179846)

Ingredients

4 ripe bananas

1/2C brown sugar or 1/2C pure maple syrup (I used brown sugar)

1/2C Vegetable oil

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon cardamon powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

1C whole wheat flour

11/2C white flour

1teaspoon baking powder

1teaspoon baking soda

Directions

-Preheat over to 350F

-Grease or place cups in tin for 12 muffins

-Mash bananas in a bowl (or if the bananas are not very ripe, use a food processor!)

-Add oil, sugar (or maple syrup), salt, cinnamon and cardamon and mix

-Add flours, baking powder and baking soda and mix

-Spoon into muffin tins and bake for 20-25 minutes until muffins are done and slightly browned on top

Nutritional Information 

For your average sized muffin. I made a smaller muffin at about half the calories:

Vegan Banana Muffins

Serving Size: 1 (84 g)

Servings Per Recipe: 12

Amount Per Serving

% Daily Value

Calories 242.2

Calories from Fat 86 (35%)

Total Fat 9.6 g (14%)

Saturated Fat 1.2 g (6%)

Monounsaturated Fat 2.5 g (12%) 

Polyunsaturated Fat 5.1 g (25%)

Trans Fat 0.0 g (0%)

Cholesterol 0.0 mg (0%)

Sodium 284.0 mg (11%)

Potassium 208.8 mg (5%)

Magnesium 29.2 mg (1%)

Total Carbohydrate 37.4 g (12%)

Dietary Fiber 2.6 g (10%)

Sugars 13.7 g (55%)

Protein 3.4 g (6%)

Read more: http://www.food.com/recipe/vegan-banana-muffins-179846#ixzz1TVfnTcHX

Enjoy!

Vegan Coconut Cherry Chocolate Chip Cookies!

I was introduced to Vegan baking when I tried Sophia Cacciola's chocolate chip cookies during a Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library practice session. Yes, we eat cookies and drink tea during practice! Sophia is the best cookie baker I have come across in a while. I couldn't believe how good these cookies tasted. They were actually better than the traditional egg and butter variety! What I really like is the combination of flours used to create a nice texture and maple syrup for extra sweetness! I made the straight up chocolate chip cookie and they were delicious. Then I decided to utilize some cherries in my fridge and use up some of the surplus of shredded coconut I have as a result of ordering a case instead of one bag online! The cooked cherries with chocolate are divine and the coconut... wow! It helps to keep the cookie together and adds more flavor! So, go on and enjoy these cookies without eggs and butter! You will be pleasantly surprised! I also recently made some Vegan banana muffins. Look out for the post coming soon!

Man-Size Chocolate Chip Cookies

This recipe is from Party Vegan by Robin Robertson © John Wiley and Sons, 2010.

3/4 cup Earth Balance, softened

3/4 cup light brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I used vanilla soy milk)

3 tablespoons pure maple syrup

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup semisweet vegan chocolate chips

1/4C cherries, pitted and chopped

1/4C shredded coconut

1. Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment

paper or silicone mats.

2. In a large bowl, cream together the Earth Balance and both sugars

until light and fluffy. Stir in the non-dairy milk, maple syrup, and

vanilla and mix until smooth.

3. In a separate large bowl, combine both flours, baking soda, baking

powder, and salt and mix well. Add the dry ingredients to the wet

ingredients, stirring well to combine. Fold in the chocolate chips, chopped cherries and shredded coconut.

4. Drop the dough by the heaping tablespoonful (or more) about 2

inches apart onto the prepared baking sheets. Bake until slightly

browned around the edges, 15 to 16 minutes. Cool for a few minutes

before transferring to a wire rack to cool. When completely cool,

store in an airtight container.

Makes about 24 large cookies

Enjoy!

Eggplant Parmigiana

Eggplant Parmigiana is one of my all time favorite dishes and has been a staple in my family for generations. I made this eggplant Parmigiana before heading out to San Francisco on one of my many business trips.  The perfect meal before heading away and eating out for 7 days! While in San Francisco I indulge in many different cuisines; 
* Mexican (so many great taquerias!), 
* Thai (homemade by my amazing friend, Sheila Satin of satincrystals), 
* German (suppenkuche), 
* Japanese (kappa), 
* crepes (Honey Honey), 
* sandwiches (rheas) 
to name a few... Look out for photos on the Nomsense Facebook page (Nomsense facebook) and another blog post about my culinary adventures while on the road!  When I returned from this trip, I still wanted eggplant Parmigiana, so I made this recipe again! I also made a nice vegetable parmagiana with zucchini, black beans and portabella mushrooms!

Vegetable Parmigiana

This is the best eggplant parmigiana I have ever made. It even won kudos from my mother who is not a fan of eggplant anything. That is saying a lot! The most important step is to drain the water out of the eggplant by salting and rinsing. It is rather time consuming, but well worth it! This recipe took me about 2hrs. to make. Also, the traditional method is to fry the eggplant slices in oil. To make this recipe healthier, I baked the eggplant and brushed a little olive oil on the slices while they were baking. I think it added to the flavor.

Ingredients:

1 med-lrge eggplant

1-2 eggs

approx. 2C flour

1/4tsp grlic salt

1/4tsp pepper

Favorite tomato sauce

Part-skim mozzarella cheese

Grated Parmeggiano-Reggiano cheese

9X9 Baking pan

Olive oil (use sparingly)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350F.

Peel eggplant & cut into ¼” slices.

In your strainer, add layers of eggplant, salt and paper towels. You can also layer the slices on top of cooling racks over a bowl or something that will catch the water droplets.

Let sit for approx 30min. Gently rinse each slice under the faucet on very low pressure. Pat each slice dry with paper towel and set aside. 

Draining the Water Out of the Eggplant Slices

Beat egg(s) and add about 1-2 tbsp of water to loosen up the egg. Prepare flour by adding garlic salt and pepper. Dip each eggplant slice in egg/water mixture followed by flour mixture and place on lightly oiled cookie sheet (1" apart) and in oven. Brush a little olive oil on each slice about 5min. into baking or until they look dry. Bake until slices look golden brown flipping once (re-oil after flipping).

Golden Eggplant Slices

Once all of the slices are done baking, apply a thin layer of sauce (Note: I make a simple sauce with one 28oz can of crushed tomatoes, 1 8oz can of contadina sauce, 1/2 can of tomato paste, approx. 1/4tsp of garlic salt (or 1 minced garlic clove), chopped basil (or dried) and salt and pepper to taste) on the bottom of the 9X9 baking pan followed by a layer of eggplant slices and a layer of mozz cheese. Continue with layering until you have used up all of the eggplant slices. End with a layer of sauce and mozz cheese topped with Parmeggiano-Reggiano and a sprinkle of olive oil.

Layering

delish!

If you make this recipe and it is not the best eggplant parmigiana that you have ever eaten, I want to know about it!!

Enjoy!!

Roots: Mashed Carrots and Parsnips

Ahh, root vegetables, how I love thee...
It was an evening similar to many when I often find myself working late and can not really put much of an effort into cooking. I was hungry and craving a burger or some other kind of fattening brain food. I decided to order a fancy burger for delivery from one of the many steakhouses in the Boston area. After waiting 45min., Foodler called and informed me that they were not able to reach the restaurant! This has never happened to me before. My stomach was in an uproar! I decided to call a restaurant across the street and order a pasta dish. A friendly voice answered the phone and when I said that I was calling to place an order for take-out, she put me on hold. I hung on for what seemed like an eternity and finally hung up in frustration. I decided to take another look in my fridge and what did I find?! Carrots and parsnips, oh my! Parsnips are one of my all time favorite vegetables! I just had some dental work done, so I could not eat anything hard or chewy. What to do...ha, I will boil them and mash them up silly! 

                                                              Look how pretty!




Ingredients
1lb. of carrots 
2 Parsnips
2Tbls butter
Spices: cinnamon, cardamom, nutmeg to taste


Directions
Peel and cut carrots and parsnips into thirds. Drop them into a pot and fill with water until just covered. Add some salt and boil until you can cut thru the roots easily with a butter knife. Next, drain the water and add the roots back into the pot. Add 2Tbls of butter, pepper, some cinnamon (maybe 1/4Tsp.), a sprinkle of nutmeg and a little cardamom. Mash them up! Note: You will start to notice that I put cardamom in almost everything. I love the spice! Remind me to write a post about my finnish coffee bread recipe passed down from my Finnish relatives... 
I sprinkled a little parsley on top once the mashed roots were in a bowl. I usually am not a fan of using parsley or garnishing a dish, but this time it somehow made sense. I think the parsley compliments the root veggies.
** For an extra treat, peel, core and chop up some apple. Place in the microwave for a min. or two on high and add to the mashed roots. You may have to drain a little water from the apples prior to adding them. 


This would make a great side dish for anything really or just eat as a meal like I did! 


The moral of this recipe is that you might be able to utilize the ingredients you have in your fridge before spending money on some take-out that might make you feel awful and you just might come up with a simple, healthy & delicious recipe like this one! Enjoy your roots! :)

Shortbread Cookies

Shortbread cookies are classic. I have made them dipped in milk chocolate in the past and they are always a hit! I decided to try out a couple of new ideas for a family gathering I recently attended. The first idea came from South End Formaggio where there is always something new to try. I spotted some shortbread cookies with rosemary while shopping around for cheese a couple of weeks ago. Next idea came from a catering event I attended while helping a friend promote his business. It was a very fun and delicious event. I tried some shortbread cookies with white chocolate and pistachios while I was there. They were so good that I had to make them!

The basic recipe is very simple.

Source: Betty Crocker's Cookbook, Page 157

yield: ~ 2 dozen

Ingredients

1 Stick of butter, softened.

1/4 C Sugar

2C Flour (not the rising kind)

Preheat oven to 350 º F. Mix sugar and butter together in large bowl. Add flour. If dough is too crumbly, add in 1-2Tbsp of additional butter. I added 1 more Tbsp and the dough was perfect. Divide dough and add in 1Tbsp of chopped rosemary to one half. I also added in some lemon zest to another piece of dough to try it out. Looks pretty, but I only used about 1/2tsp. and could not really taste it.

Roll out the dough to about 1/2" thickness and cut out cookies to desired shape using a knife or cookie cutter. 

Bake until the edges are golden brown. Approx. 10min. The recipe says to bake up to 20min. or until set. I think it depends on how thin your cookies are. I would keep an eye on them! 

Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. I placed them on a plate and they were fine.

If you are like me in the kitchen, keep an ice pack handy..two fingers fell victim to a hot cookie sheet this time!

Next, prepare your toppings. Here we have some Valrohna Ivoire Feves 35% Cocoa White Chocolate from Whole Foods. I'm not a big white chocolate fan, but this was very good! They came in the shape of small ovals which was good for melting. The milk chocolate was from Trader Joe's. I bought a package of their Milk Chocolate Minis. I would probably go with a better milk chocolate or a darker chocolate next time. 

The milk chocolate became mixed in with the white creating a nice marble pattern on some of the cookies!

The final products:

All were a hit, especially the rosemary

Rosemary

White Chocolate with Pistachio 

Milk and White Chocolate Dipped

Note: I chilled the chocolate covered cookies in the freezer until the chocolate was set. Store in sealed container in the fridge or serve immediately.

There is so much you can do with this recipe. 

Here are some other ideas:

-Add in some toasted, chopped nuts, cardamom, and or cinnamon to the dough mixture

-Add some lemon or lime zest to the white chocolate before dipping

-Use some melted butterscotch morsels for dipping

-Put some chocolate mousse between two cookies for a mousse sandwich

-Create a little shortbread cookie house! ;)

Have fun with it and be creative with your shortbread!

Foolproof Cheese Quiche

I recently made my all time favorite quiche for my first Women Rock Brunch get-together with some women from the local rock scene here in Boston. I'm new to the scene, so, I dug up my foolproof quiche recipe which is always a crowd pleaser!
For those of you who may not know, I play the kalimba http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kalimba for a band called The Michael J. Epstein Memorial Library. This Saturday we are playing a SOLD OUT concert for our debut album, Volume One at The Middle East in Cambridge, MA! I really enjoy playing in this band and my bandmates are a fun, amazing group of talented women fronted by the one and only Michael J. Epstein himself! Check out our website and "like" us on Facebook. Here is a taste of our music for you to enjoy before, during and after you have made this delicious quiche!

http://music.michaeljepstein.com/album/volume-one

Source: Epicurious.com
By: Susan Herrmann Loomis

Madame Quiche's Quiche Au Fromage

Tips:

** Be sure to let the pastry rest. I buy a pre-made, frozen pie crust most of the time and it never fails me.** Don't stint on freezing the pastry- cold pastry that goes into a hot oven becomes flaky and delicious** Be sure to fully pre-bake the pastry as well, which guarantees crisp pastry on the bottom.** They say that whole milk makes a difference, but I always use whatever I have in the fridge. 

Ingredients

One recipe for basic pastry or frozen pre-made pastry for pie

6 eggs

2/3 cup heavy cream or creme fraiche (both work well!)

1 cup milk

8 ounces grated gruyere, emmenthal, or other Swiss-type cheese (I use a mixture of gruyere and emmenthal)

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg - optional (I always add in the nutmeg!)

Preparation

If making the pastry from scratch: Roll out pastry to fit a 10-1/2 inch glass or metal pie plate (not removable bottom). Note: I use a ceramic quiche pan. Crimp edges, poke the bottom with a fork or the tip of a sharp knife, and place pastry in the freezer for 30min.

Preheat oven to 425F.

Line pastry with aluminum foil and pastry weights and bake in the bottom third of the oven until the pastry is golden at the edges, about 15min. Remove from the oven and remove foil and pastry weights. 

Note - I do not use the pastry weights with the pre-made pastry and it is not necessary to bake the pastry on the bottom rack. I've used the middle and it comes out perfect. Ovens might vary.

Return the pastry to the oven to bake until the bottom is golden, an additional 5 min. Remove from the oven and set aside.

Next, in a medium-sized bowl, whisk together the eggs, cream, and the milk until thoroughly blended. Season with salt and pepper, then add the cheese and stir until it is blended. Note: Place the pre-baked pastry on a cookie sheet. This will help with spillage as the quiche is baking! I learned the hard way... Turn the mixture into the pre-baked pastry, and spread out the cheese evenly over the bottom of the pastry. Sprinkle the top with nutmeg and bake in the center of the oven until the filling is golden and puffed (see above picture), and is completely baked through, about 30min. To test for doneness, shake the quiche - if it is solid without a pool of uncooked filling in the center, it is done. You may also stick a sharp knife blade into the center of the filling and if it comes out clean, the quiche is baked through. If the edges of the pie start to look too brown, place tin foil along the edges or cover the whole quiche with one piece of foil while baking.

You will love this quiche!

I'm happy to say that there were no leftovers at the Women Rock Brunch get-together and I met some fabulously talented women! :)

Hmm.. what was in that cheese?

Nosh This

If you read my first blog post, Chocolate Chip Cookies with Bits of Bacon you would have read about how I became addicted to a sweet treat called Bacon Crack made by Nosh This while I was in San Francisco.

I sent out a mass e-mail to all of my friends and family telling them about my blog. It was a happy accident when the e-mail also ended up going to Nosh This! I received an e-mail straight away from Kai Kronfield, the creator extraordinaire of Nosh This! He apologized profusely for missing the e-mail I sent back in November and wrote  "I would love to get you some crack". I was overjoyed (and salivating) at the thought of  being reunited with some Bacon Crack.  Kai also mentioned that he had a new creation (!!) called Chocolate-Dipped Black Pepper Salted Caramels which Kai described as "freakin' delicious"! How could I not try them! I ordered some Bacon Crack, Peppery Caramels and some Rocky Road.  

A priority box arrived two days later. The chocolates were perfectly preserved from the cold, Boston weather. I quickly opened the box and tried the Bacon Crack. It was just as I had remembered it. Sweet, salty, crunchy, chocolaty goodness! Then the real surprise came when I opened the caramels. Words cannot describe how perfect these caramels are.  There is a delightful kick of pepper along with the sweet, buttery saltiness you typically taste with a really good caramel. The perfect ratio of chocolate and caramel. A nice zing to the taste buds and a brilliant concoction! I then dug into the 'Mile High' Rocky Road as I like to call it! The puffiness of the marshmallow is nice with the walnuts and dark chocolate. Simple and not too sweet. Kai makes his own marshmallow without eggs. He said that he just starting to make marshmallow with bourbon. Looks like I'll be ordering more from Nosh This in the not-so-distant future! Bourbon. Mmmmm. Kai also makes Mint Juleps on a Stick which I am looking forward to trying.

Thank you, Kai! Just in time for Valentines Day.
Please check out the website Nosh This and order something for yourself or for someone special.

Happy Noshing!