Sweets by Lizzy

Moo Shu Vegetables with Chinese Pancakes

2012-04-30T19:41:00.000-07:00

Another amazing recipe from Chloe’s Kitchen cook book. I did make a few changes, which is in this version of the recipe. In her explanation of the recipe she said you could use regular tortillas as the Chinese pancakes but I think it would be a huge shame! They are so easy to make. All you need to do is take the time to make them and they are worth it. I added sriracha to the veggies to give them a little more kick so if you don’t want heat don’t add any. All in all great recipe (with my changes) and even the meat-eating boyfriend loved them!

Moo Shu Vegetables with Homemade Chinese Pancakes

Serves 4-6

Vegetables

· 1 Super-firm tofu cubed, drained and pressed

· 4 Tablespoons canola oil, divided

· 3 Tablespoons soy sauce, divided

· 1 onion, thinly sliced

· 8 ounces bell peppers (I used a mix of yellow and red)

· Kosher salt

· 2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger or 1/8 teaspoon ground ginger

· 2 cloves garlic, minced

· 7 ounces shredded cabbage

· 1 cup shredded carrots

· ½ cup vegetable broth

· 2 scallions, trimmed and thinly sliced

· 1 teaspoon-1 tablespoon sriracha chili sauce

Sauce

· ¼ cup hoisin sauce

· 2 Tablespoons soy sauce

Chinese Pancakes

· 2 cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling

· ½ teaspoon sea salt

· 1 cup boiling water

· Sesame oil, for brushing

To make Chinese Pancakes:

1. In a bowl, whisk together flour and salt. Add boiling water and mix with a wooden spoon until cool enough to handle. Knead for a few minutes on a lightly floured surface then let sit covered for 20 minutes.

2. Roll dough into a 16-inch long log and cut it into 1-inch pieces. Flatten each piece of dough with the palm of your hand and roll out into a thin circle on a lightly floured surface. Each dough circle should be as thin as a tortilla and about 6 inches in diameter.

3. Heat a medium non-stick skillet to medium high heat. Brush each dough circle with sesame oil on both sides. Cook the pancakes, one at a time, in the skillet. Once the pancake begins to bubble and brown on the bottom, flip the pancake with a flat spatula and cook on the other side, about 30 seconds more. Remove from heat and stack cooked pancakes.

To Make the Vegetables:

1. Heat 2 Tablespoons oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium high heat and add tofu. Drizzle 2 Tablespoons soy sauce over tofu. Flip tofu with a spatula, and let them cook until sides are nicely browned. Transfer to a bowl.

2. Ass remaining 2 Tablespoons oil to the skillet and heat over medium high heat. Add onions and bell peppers, and sauté until soft. Season with salt, ginger, sriracha, and garlic, and let cook a few more minutes until fragrant.

3. Add cole slaw mix, carrots, broth, and remaining 1 Tablespoon soy sauce. Let cook, stirring frequently, until most of the liquid evaporates. Add tofu and scallions and adjust seasoning to taste. The flavor should be mild and light. Remove from heat.

To Make Sauce:

1. In a small bowl, whisk together hoisin sauce and soy sauce until combined.

To serve:

Places vegetables, pancakes, and sauce in separate dishes. Assemble by topping pancakes with vegetables and sauce.

ENJOY

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage Butter

2012-04-13T15:14:00.000-07:00

I recently purchased Chloe’s Kitchen, a cookbook by vegan chef Chloe Coscarelli mostly known for winning cupcake wars. It truly is a great cookbook to have, no matter what type of food you eat because everything I’ve made from it has been amazing. I had a few sweet potatoes in my pantry that were on their last legs unless I cooked them today. So I started searching through my things for a recipe to use for them. Low and behold this is the one I found. In Chloe’s original recipe she had it sweet with nutmeg in them, but I love my sweet potatoes savory so I added chipotle and garlic instead. I definitely recommend starting up your own herb garden because there is something great about going to your back yard for ingredients in your food. Don’t be intimidated by the sage either when its cooked in the butter sauce it becomes crunchy and even more flavorful. This is probably one of my favorite recipes I’ve made in a while and will be going in my regular arsenal of recipes. This makes almost 60 pillows of gnocchi I only cooked 20 and froze the rest. They should last about a month in the freezer and 3-4 days in the fridge.

Sweet Potato Gnocchi with Sage Butter

Serves 4

Ingredients:

· 2 large red- skinned sweet potatoes (2 pounds worth)

· 1 teaspoon kosher salt

· 1 teaspoon garlic powder

· ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper (plus extra for serving)

· ¼ teaspoon Chipotle ground red (or cayenne)

· 2 ½ to 3 ½ cups all-purpose flour, plus extra for rolling (I ended up using 3 cups)

· ½ cup or 1 stick vegan butter (I used earth balance)

· ½ cup Fresh Sage leaves

Procedure:

1. Preheat oven to 425°

2. Pierce sweet potatoes with a fork, place on a baking pan with a wire rack, and bake for 50-60 minutes. Remove from oven and let sit until cool enough to handle.

3. Using a sharp knife cut the potatoes in half lengthwise. Using a large spoon, scoop the flesh out of each sweet potato into a medium bowl. Thoroughly mash the sweet potatoes while they are still warm, then set aside or refrigerate to cool completely.

4. Add salt, pepper, garlic, and chipotle to the sweet potatoes. Add flour ½ cup at a time mixing well with a spoon to combine. (I place my dough in a kitchen aid mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, but by hand is just fine too) Once a soft, slightly sticky, dough has formed, divide it into six equal portions (I used a scale just to get them as uniform as possible). Generously flour the work surface and your hands. Roll each portion of dough into ropes about ½ inch in diameter. Each rope will be 7 to 9 inches long. Dip a knife in four and cut each rope into 1-inch long pillows. If desired, roll each pillow with a fork to make decorative ridges.

5. Fill a medium saucepan with heavily salted water and bring it to a boil. In the meantime, heat the butter and sage in a large non-stick skillet until the butter begins to bubble.

6. When the water is boiling, reduce the heat to a gentle simmer and gently drop in the gnocchi about 20 at a time. The gnocchi will float to the surface in about 4 minutes. Continue to cool about 30 seconds more. Using a slotted spoon, immediately transfer the gnocchi to the skillet or butter sauce. Let look turning frequently, for 1 to 2 minutes. You have to do this in several batched, until the gnocchi is all cooked. Serve immediately, topped with the addition ground black pepper.

Enjoy

Ginger-Molasses Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate

2012-04-12T16:39:00.000-07:00

These wonderful cookies are crisp on the outside and moist and chewy in the center. They are sweet and spicy with a bold molasses flavor and to add to all that I dipped it in chocolate. Yum! For the flour you can use all all-purpose flour or all whole-wheat flour depending on what you prefer. Vietnamese Cinnamon is the highest quality and strongest available in America today. If you can’t find it locally go online to http://www.penzeys.com/cgi-bin/penzeys/shophome.html and buy a small bottle to try out, but any cinnamon will work just fine. If your not vegan you can just use regular butter and it will come out just the same. As for the Chocolate, dark, milk, or white would all go amazingly with this cookie. My last tip is if your impatient to eat your cookies like I am, you can place the cookies on a tray and put them in the freezer for a few minutes and the chocolate will harden up real quick.

Ginger-Molasses Cookies Dipped in Dark Chocolate

Makes about 20

Ingredients

· 1-½ cups unbleached all-purpose flour

· ½ cup whole-wheat pastry flour

· 1/2 cup organic sugar (plus some for rolling)

· 1 ½ Tablespoons ground ginger

· 3/4 teaspoon salt

· 1/2 teaspoon Vietnamese cinnamon (or any cinnamon you have on hand)

· 1/8 teaspoon ground clove

· 1/2 teaspoon baking soda

· 2 teaspoon baking powder

· 1/3 cup vegan butter (I used earth balance)

· ¼ cup water

· 1/3 cup molasses

· 2 teaspoon vanilla extract

· 1 to 1 ½ cups dark chocolate

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 375°

2. Melt butter in a medium saucepan. Set aside to cool.

3. In the meantime, in a large bowl mix together the flours, sugar, ginger, salt, cinnamon, clove, baking soda, baking powder.

4. Add the vanilla extract, molasses, and water to the melted butter. Mix well.

5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and fold till a soft dough forms.

6. Form dough into one-inch balls and then roll in sugar, place on baking sheet and press down slightly with the bottom of a glass.

7. Bake in the oven for 8 minutes turning sheet around halfway through to get even cooking. Let cool on pan for 2 minutes then place on a cooling rack, cooling 30 minutes before serving.

8. Chop dark chocolate into small pieces and place in a microwavable safe bowl. In 10-second intervals melt chocolate until smooth.

9. Dip half of the ginger-molasses cookie in the chocolate. Allow the chocolate to dip a moment and place on parchment paper to harden.

ENJOY

Marinated Pan Fried Tofu and Vegetable Bake

2012-04-10T11:59:00.000-07:00

My boyfriend and I started renting a house in mid-town in November and fell in love with the house. It’s a house from the forties that was updated recently and is the cutest house on the block by far. However, Easter morning while we were still in bed we heard a huge crash. Once I went down stairs I saw that the entire ceiling had collapsed in our dinning room. Fast forward a couple of meltdowns and freak-outs from me, we find out we have a leak from our upstairs bathroom. Being Easter, the Plummer couldn’t fix anything until yesterday and today the contractors from the rental company came and is yet another day I have to sit at home listening to banging and clashing. Yesterday was my vegan brownie experiment and today I decided to make dinner for lunch. I mean what else can I do! So I made a marinated pan fried tofu and a vegetable bake. Both were amazing and I thought I’d share my recipe for everyone else to try.

Marinated Pan Fried Tofu and Vegetable Bake

Marinated fried Tofu

· Organic Extra-Firm Tofu pressed and drained. Don’t know how look at http://www.veggiebelly.com/2011/04/how-to-press-tofu.html

· Marinade of choice (I used Soy Vay’s Veri veri teriyaki sauce and marinade)

· 1 tablespoon oil of choice per tofu slice (I used olive oil)

Vegetable Bake

· 1 large zucchini, cut into large pieces

· 2 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into cubes

· 1 medium sized onion, chopped

· 1 medium red bell pepper, seeded and chopped

· 1 medium yellow bell pepper, seeded and chopped

· 1 table spoon chopped garlic

· ½ cup Italian bread crumbs

· 1/3 cup olive oil

· Salt, pepper, paprika, and cayenne to taste

Procedure:

1. Slice drained tofu into 3 large slices and place in a large dish. Cover with marinade and set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 400° F

3. In a 9 X 13 baking dish, mix together zucchini, potatoes, onions, bell peppers, garlic, breadcrumbs, olive oil, and seasonings.

4. Bake for 1 hour, stirring dish every 20 minutes until vegetables are browned and tender.

5. Place cooked veggies aside to cool slightly in the mean time heat oil in a skillet on medium high heat

6. Place the sliced marinated tofu in the skillet and cook for two minutes on each side or until golden brown on each side.

ENJOY

Pecan and Chocolate Chip Brownies

2012-04-09T14:03:00.000-07:00

Sorry for the hiatus but Easter or “Zombie Day” :D and my mother’s birthday kept me pretty busy this past week. But I’m back and making some delicious vegan brownies. I started today really wanting to make a healthy brownie (if their can ever be such a thing), but ran into some problems. My first try I used apple sauce instead of oil and agave nectar for half the sugar and was hoping for the best. The result was edible but a little chewy and just not what I want in a brownie! So the second try and this recipe I used oil only cutting a little out and a full thing of regular sugar. You can add any nut you’d like but I would recommend either pecans or walnuts. The coffee adds a great flavor to the brownies and really intensifies the chocolaty taste. These taste great all on their own but if you want to make them look really great cut into equal size squares, sprinkle with organic powdered sugar and place in paper cupcake tins. If you have any questions, tips, or suggestions just make a comment and I’ll answer it for you. Enjoy the recipe!

Pecan and Chocolate Chip Brownies

Ingredients

· 1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

· 1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

· 2 cups sugar (I used an organic sugar)

· ¾ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

· 1 teaspoon baking powder

· 1 teaspoon salt

· 1 cup strong extra bold coffee

· ¼ cup applesauce (I used unsweetened)

· ¾ cup vegetable oil

· 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

· ½ cup dark chocolate chips (I used a extra dark chocolate 70% cocoa)

· ½ pecan pieces

Procedure

1. Preheat the oven to 350° F.

2. In a large bowl, stir together all-purpose flour, whole-wheat flour, white organic sugar, cocoa powder, and salt.

3. Pour in vegetable oil, applesauce, vanilla extract, and bold strong coffee. Fold in pecans and chocolate.

4. Spread evenly into 9X13 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

If you don’t have whole-wheat pastry flour just use another cup of all-purpose flour. If you don’t have organic sugar that’s fine to, you can just use regular sugar but it might not be vegetarian then. For the 1-cup coffee you can use just 1 cup of water but it just wont be as flavorful. I used 1/4 cup of applesauce to lower the fat content just a little so If you don’t have applesauce just add ¼ cup of oil.

New Breakfast Idea

2012-04-02T18:59:00.000-07:00

Being a huge fan a breakfast and all the delicious foods that go with it, sometimes I get tired of the same thing. I really wanted a new way to eat some of my favorites. This recipe is a fun and filling twist on a regular bagel with cream cheese.

Bagel with Cream Cheese, Bell peppers and an Over Easy Egg

Serves 1

Ingredients:

· 1 Half of a Bagel (I used a plain bagel but an everything or onion bagel would be great too!)

· Cream Cheese (I used 1/3 fat)

· 1 half of a yellow bell pepper, chopped

· 1 half of a red bell pepper, chopped

· 1 egg (I used organic cage-free :) <3)

· 2 Tablespoons olive oil

· Pam or butter

· Salt and pepper to taste

Procedure:

1. Heat a small sauté pan with the olive oil over medium high heat. Add both the yellow and red bell peppers. Cook until tender, about 5 minutes. Place in small bowl set aside.

2. Using the thin layer of olive oil left over from the peppers toast the bagel half in the pan. About 2-3 minutes.

3. In the meantime heat another sauté pan to medium heat. Spray with Pam or melt the better and cook the egg either over easy or sunny side up.

4. To assemble spread the cream cheese on the bagel then topped with the cooked peppers and a finish with the cooked egg.

5. Sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Enjoy

Happy Spring Cupcakes

2012-03-27T15:10:00.000-07:00

I recently became vegetarian not only for the benefit of animals but also because of the wonderful health benefits of cutting back animal protein from your diet. I also have really been enjoying practicing yoga. Being I’m at the yoga studio a lot I’ve made a few friends and all of them are vegan. Growing up and even now as an adult I’ve always enjoyed making things for my family, friends, and even a select few of my teachers. All of the baking I did for my degree all involved dairy, so I was a little lost at how they could eat any delicious baked goods. This brought up a challenge for me one that I was pretty excited about trying. Using ground flax seed instead of eggs in cookies and it coming out great amazed me! Using a banana instead of an egg in cakes and them still rising shocked me! And the list goes on and on.

So in light of it being spring I thought I would do a dairy free vanilla cupcake with a lot of tastes of spring! And whether your carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore this is a flavorful, moist, and fluffy cupcake for anyone!

Happy Spring Filled Cupcakes

Makes 12 cupcakes

Cupcake

· 1 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened)

· 1 teaspoon white or apple cider vinegar

· 1 ¼ cups flour

· 2 Tablespoons cornstarch

· ¾ teaspoons baking powder

· ½ teaspoon baking soda

· ¼ teaspoon salt

· ½ cup vegan butter (I used earth balance vegan buttery sticks)

· ¾ cup sugar

· 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

· ½ teaspoon almond extract

Procedure

1. Preheat oven to 350 and line muffin pan with liners

2. Whisk the almond milk and the vinegar together and let sit a few minutes to curdle.

3. Sift together the flour, cornstarch, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

4. In a separate with a hand mixer or in the bowl of a stand mixer with a paddle attachment at medium speed cream the butter and sugar for 2 minutes or until light and fluffy.

5. Beat in the vanilla and almond extract and scrape down the bowl.

6. Alternate adding the almond milk mixture and the flour mixture scraping down the bowl after each addition.

7. Fill the cupcake tin two-thirds of the way or about three tablespoons and bake for 18-20 minutes or until bounces back when touched.

8. Transfer to a cooling rack to cool completely.

Dairy free pastry cream:

· ½ cups flour

· 2 cups almond milk (I used unsweetened)

· 1/3 cups sugar

· 1/8 teaspoon salt

· ¼ cup lemon juice

· 2 teaspoons grated lemon zest

· 1 teaspoon vanilla

Procedure

1. In a small bowl, place the flour and whisk in ½ cups of almond milk and set aside.

2. In a small saucepan, place the remaining almond milk, sugar and salt and whisk to combine.

3. Add the flour mixture to the liquid ingredients and whisk well to combine.

4. Cook the mixture over medium high heat for 5-6 minutes or until thickened.

5. Add the remaining ingredients, and whisk well to combine.

6. Cook the mixture a minute longer and remove saucepan from the heat and transfer to a large glass bowl or baking dish.

7. Place a piece of plastic wrap directly on top of the pastry cream to prevent a skin forming on the top.

8. Place the pastry cream in the fridge for several hours to cool.

Fluffy “butter” cream

· ½ cup shortening

· ½ cup vegan butter (I used earth balance buttery sticks)

· 3 ½ cups powdered sugar, sifted

· 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

· ¼ cups almond milk (I used unsweetened)

Procedure

1. Beat the shortening and butter together until light and fluffy.

2. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 minutes.

3. Add the vanilla and the almond milk and beat for about five minutes or until fluffy.

Assembly

1. Place the butter cream in a pastry bag with a large tip then place the pastry cream in a pastry bag with a medium size tip. Set aside.

2. Using a cupcake corer or a knife create a hole. Then use the pastry cream to fill the middle of the cupcake.

3. Next you will take your butter cream and make round mounds on top of the cupcakes.

4. For decorations either add colored sprinkles or die shredded coconut with a drop of food coloring.

ENJOY

Roasted Veggie Pizza!

2012-03-26T19:01:00.001-07:00

I was determined to fine a recipe that had no meat or dairy that my boyfriend would eat and not say after eating it “it was good but need chicken”. This led to my search on the Internet for that certain recipe. That’s when I found this recipe sans a few changes and additions I made. When he ate the pizza he was silent which had me worried. Once he finally spoke he said he loved it and wasn’t missing meat. SUCCESS!! It takes a little bit of time to make up but the outcome is well worth it! Once its made your whole house will smell amazing and your tummy will be smiling!!

Roasted Veggie Pizza

Ingredients

Pizza Dough

1 package active dry yeast
1 cup warm water (110 degrees F)
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
1 tablespoon olive oil, plus extra for brushing
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon blue agave maple syrup

Bean Puree

1 (15-ounce) can cannellini rinsed and drained
¼ cup olive oil
2 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
¼ teaspoon dried thyme
¾ teaspoon sea salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Pizza Topping

4 tablespoons olive oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
2 cups (½ -inch) cubes peeled butternut squash
1 cup baby spinach
Artichoke hearts chopped
1 large gala apple, peeled and thinly sliced

Procedure

Pizza Dough:

1. In a small bowls, dissolve yeast in warm water. Let stand until bubbles form, 10 minutes.

2. In a separate large bowl, combine flour, oil, salt, sugar, and the yeast mixture.

3. Using floured hands or an electric mixer fitted with dough hook; mix until stiff dough has formed. (If the dough is too sticky, add flour 1 teaspoon at a time as needed.)

4. Place the dough in a large oiled bowl making sure it has a thin coating all on it.

5. Cover with a kitchen towel and place in a warm part of the kitchen until it has doubled in volume or 1-½ hours.

6. Place dough on a lightly floured work surface, shape into a disc, and knead for five minutes.

Use dough immediately or cover tightly in plastic wrap and refrigerate or freeze for a later use. Thaw to room temperature before using.

Garlic White Bean Puree:

1. Blend all ingredients in a food processor until smooth.

Store in a bowl and place to the side. Can be made up to three days ahead of time.

To make the pizza topping and assemble the pizza:

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.

2. In a large skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat and sauté onions until soft and lightly caramelized, 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

3. Next toss the remaining 2 tablespoons oil with squash and season with salt and pepper.

4. Transfer to a baking sheet lined with aluminum foil and roast for 30 minutes or until squash is fork tender, turning twice with a spatula.

5. Remove from oven and set aside.

6. Turn heat up to 450 degrees F.

7. Brush a 9 X13 rectangle baking sheet with oil. (You can use a circle pan a well)

8. Stretch pizza dough into a rectangle and fit it into the prepared baking sheet.

9. Spread a layer of the Bean Puree evenly over the rolled-out Pizza Dough. (I only use half to 3/4^th of the bean puree on the dough)

10. On top of the dough, arrange the spinach, caramelized onions, roasted butternut squash, artichokes and apple slices.

11. Season with salt and pepper, and brush the edges of the crust with olive oil.

12. Bake for about 17 minutes, rotating midway, until the crust is slightly browned or golden.

ENJOY

Avocado Pesto on Whole Wheat Pasta

2012-03-25T19:39:00.000-07:00

Summer is just around the corner and all of my herbs in my garden are just itching to be cooked! Whether you have a garden and want to use what you’ve worked hard for or just buying the fresh basil from the store this recipe is a hearty vegan recipe that will keep you full! If you’re not willing to have a meal with out meat and dairy both grilled chicken and Parmesan cheese are great additions for the animal protein lovers.

Avocado Pesto

Ingredients

1 pound or package of whole wheat spaghetti noodles
1 bunch fresh basil, reserve some leaves for garnish
½ cup pine nuts
2 avocados, pitted and peeled
2 tablespoons lemon juice
3 cloves garlic
½ cup olive oil
Sea salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 cup julienned sun-dried tomatoes
1 can artichoke hearts chopped

Procedure

1. For the pesto combine basil, pine nuts, avocados, lemon juice, garlic, and oil in a food processor.

2. Process until smooth. Season with salt, pepper, and cayenne.

3. Place in bowl, cover, and set aside.

4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. Add pasta and cook according to package directions. Drain and allow to cool for a couple of minutes.

5. Toss pasta with pesto and chopped artichoke hearts.

6. Divide pasta among serving bowls and place sundried tomatoes on top of the pasta.

7. If desired garnish each serving with a few basil leaves.

8. ENJOY

My new found love of coconut water

2012-03-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Here in Mobile, Al the Mardi Gras season is more popular than Christmas. From the first parade (about three weeks before Ash Wednesday), until till the end of Fat Tuesday the celebration is extravagant and abundant. That being said there is a lot of dancing, eating, and late nights drinking. Which also means a mean hangover in the morning. I lucky had a friend from New York visiting and she recommended I try coconut water. I was timid at first but I gave it a try and woe and behold I loved it! After I drank the surprisingly tasty beverage I started feeling a lot better and hydrated again. Now that Mardi Gras has come and gone it had me thinking about how much that little drink made me feel so much better and decided to do a little research on how healthy coconut water really is.

The first thing that caught my attention is that coconut water is natures natural sports drink. It has five essential electrolytes potassium, phosphate, magnesium, calcium and sodium. These are really great for keeping you hydrated and healthy during a work out. Coconut water has more potassium than the leading sports drinks and even has more potassium than a banana! If your worrying about the sugar in this water think again there are only 5 mg of natural sugar in coconut water which is a lot better than the 10- 15 mg of refined sugars found in the average sports drink. Now I did read in my research that for very high impact activity coconut water doesn’t have enough sodium to keep those athletes hydrated. However I don’t think too many people are professional athletes or climbing Everest. So for the average person doing a hard workout coconut water will help hydrate and is a far better option to the sugary sports drink.

Here’s a list of more benefits coconut water has:

· Low in carbohydrates and 99% fat free

· It helps hydrate and keep your body at the proper temperature

· Raises your metabolism and helps aid in weight loss.

· Helps detoxify the body and helps fight off viruses

· Helps eliminate kidney stones and boosts poor circulation

· Its naturally filtered

· Has less fat and lower calories than both milk and orange juice

· Contains fiber that helps slow down the absorption of sugars

· Aids in regulating and helping the digestive system

· Reduces nausea

· During World War II many wounded soldiers were saved because of using coconut water as an alternative to an IV.

Once I knew the benefits I wanted to go out and stock up immediately which then inlayed a few problems. I first went to Winn Dixie and they only had a Sobe version and it was only 10% coconut water. My second try I went to the Fresh Market and they had a deal on certain type of coconut water for 2 for 7 dollars. That’s a pretty good deal for 2 litters, but when its not on special its almost 6 dollars. For me that’s a little pricy for a sports drink so I kept looking and found the lowest price for just under 5 dollars at Publix.

There are three relatively popular brands Vita Coco, Zico, and O.N.E. My favorite of the three is O.N.E for many reasons first being it tastes the best of the three to me. Second the company funds money to childhood obesity organizations and the education system. Lastly the company only uses recycled products to make the bottles.

These are just a few of the reported benefits of coconut water and I think I found my answer on why this beverage made me feel so much better. Whether you’re a bit hung over, or are catching a cold, or just want a good hydrating drink this is definitely a drink not to many people know about to consider.

Completely Homemade Banana Pudding

2012-03-20T14:24:00.000-07:00

Banana Pudding Recipe

This is not a beginner recipe but feel free to add certain boxed products with some of the scratch made and it will still be delicious. For instance you can use boxed vanilla wafers or even boxed pudding but nothing tastes as good as making it from scratch!

Vanilla Wafers

1. Pre-Heat Oven to 350. Place one rack on upper third and lower third of the oven.

2. 3.5 ounces of sugar (vanilla sugar better), 4 ounces butter (room temp) and 1 large egg. Cream together sugar and butter on medium speed for two minutes scraping down the bowl half way through. Once the mixture is a creamy light yellow add the egg until completely incorporated. Turn your mixer on low.

3. Add 1 tablespoon of milk (whole not skim) and 4 Teaspoons of real vanilla extract Slowing into the mixture. Allow to fully incorporate.

4. 7 Ounces all-purpose flour, ¾ teaspoon baking powder, ½ teaspoon salt. Shift all these dry ingredients together. Slowly add this to the mixer allow to incorporate and scrape down the bowl.

5. Allow to chill in a cold refrigerator for 10 minutes.

6. Line two half-sheet pans with parchment paper and then scoop with a 1 tsp. scoop 5x7 scoops. Use the heel of your hand to slightly smash them down.

7. Then place in oven for 18 minutes flip pan around half way through for even browning.

8. Place on a cooling rack an allow to cool for at least a half an hour.

Vanilla Pudding

1. Combine ¾ cup of sugar and 3 tablespoons of cornstarch and ¼ tsp kosher salt in a pan. Mix until combined.

2. When combine mix in 2 whole eggs and 1 egg yolk whisking constantly for 30 seconds on low heat.

3. Follow the eggs with 2 cups of whole milk slowing whisking constantly.

4. Now bring the heat to medium low and bring the mixture to 172-180 degrees. Then remove from heat.

5. Then add three tablespoons of chilled butter cut into 6 equal pieces one at a time slowing adding the fat into the mix. Then add a ½ tsp. of vanilla extract.

6. Place in dish and cover and refrigerate 2 hours.

Assembly

1. Take 4 oz. of banana liqueur and slowly pour onto 45 vanilla wafers. Allow then to soak for 10 minutes

2. Take 3 bananas and cut into ¼ inch rounds. Toss with 1 tablespoon of freshly squeezed lemon juice.

3. Take one cup of very cold heavy whipping cream along with two tablespoons sugar in a mixing bowl fitted with the whipping attachment. Whip till stiff peaks form.

4. Use a 1.5 quart glass bowl starting with a small layer of pudding as a foundation no more than a third of a cup. Then add vanilla wafers don’t overlap them too much then add the bananas doing the same.

5. Keep building until you have three layers on bananas three layers of cookies four layers of pudding on then topped with whipped cream.

6. Then place in the refrigerator up to 30 minutes.

Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookies

2012-03-20T13:54:00.000-07:00

Super Soft Vegan Snickerdoodle Cookies
Makes about 27 cookies

1-cup (2 sticks) vegan butter
1/2-cup dark brown sugar
1-cup white sugar
2 cups flour

1-cup whole-wheat pastry flour
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon (I used ¼ tsp Vietnamese and ¼ tsp china cinnamon)
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/8-teaspoon ground clove
1-teaspoon baking soda
1/2-teaspoon salt
3 Tablespoons ground flax seed mixed in a separate bowl with 9 tablespoons of warm water.
1-teaspoon vanilla extract

For the cinnamon sugar:
1/4-cup white sugar
1-tablespoon cinnamon
1/4-teaspoon nutmeg

1. Heat the oven to 425°F. Gently melt the vegan butter in a saucepan let it cool while you mix the dry ingredients.

2. Stir together the sugars, flours, spices, baking soda, and salt.

3. Whisk the flax seed water mixture into the cooled butter and add the vanilla.

4. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, stirring just until it comes together.

5. In a separate bowl, mix together the white sugar, cinnamon, and nutmeg.

6. Form small 1 1/2-inch balls of dough and roll them in the cinnamon sugar. Place them on an unlined, ungreased baking sheet and flatten slightly.

7. Bake for 7 minutes then remove and let cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes. Remove to a wire rack.

*** May seem undercooked after the 5 minutes but after 30 its perfect!!

ENJOY