Risky Cookies

Hey guys!!! I'm surprised you're up so early after all that partying you did last night. I figured I wouldn't see you until at least 2 hehe I went to bed around 1:30. My friend, Desiree, came over and we watched Risky Business. I was completely shocked by this movie- you guys didn't warn me!! It was all centered around sex and prostitution. I'm glad I saw it though. I feel like it's a trashy classic that everyone has to see. The lady at Family Video even told me "There's a really sexy train scene, so look out for that." Ummm, look out for that??? How could anyone with the sense of sight miss that???

Okay. I can already tell that this post is going the wrong way and my mom will read it and gasp.

So let's talk dehydrators. I don't have a fancy one, but it does the job. I got it from Bed, Bath, and Beyond and I am obsessed with it!!! I use it every day and it's been going strong. It has 5 trays, but you can also buy more if you need them. I would definitely recommend getting one if you like dried fruits or want to make more RAW foods. It's so much cheaper to make your own rather than buying a bag of dried mangoes for 5 bux.

To demonstrate all that this dehydrator can do, here's a cookie recipe that I made up a few nights ago. I loved these!! I ate them drizzled (drenched) in agave nectar for dessert. I also ate them plain when I went to the movies yesterday with my dad. We saw an Egyptian movie about mummies at the Carnegie Science Center. Who doesn't love watching the mummification process on big screen?? haha

I've never described a cookie as "smokey" but this one was. They also kept me full because they are filled with nuts. I might add a few dates next time to make them sweeter, but I didn't have any. So as of now, they aren't a sweet cookie- more like an energy cookie.

Egyptian Energy Cookies

1/2 cup raw cashews
1/2 cup raw shelled pistachios
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
2 Tbsp coconut flour
1/2 medium-size banana
1/4 cup goji berries

Directions: Throw all of that in the food processor until it's well-blended. Shape into little balls, flatten them with your palm, and dehydrate for about 3 hours on 105F. These don't have any liquid, so they dehydrate pretty quickly. You can dehydrate for a few hours longer if you like your cookies crunchy. I prefer a soft cookie. They taste good fresh and warm straight from the dehydrator. I made 8 cookies.

Daring Bakers Challenge Numero Uno

Hello everyone!!! I am so excited for this post today. It is officially my first post as a Daring Baker. I have to post the phrase below because it’s part of the rules, fool.

“This month's challenge is brought to us by the adventurous Hilda from Saffron and Blueberry and Marion from Il en Faut Peu Pour Etre Heureux.
They have chosen a French Yule Log by Flore from Florilege Gourmand.”

This yule log was the most delicious dessert I’ve ever had. I mean, EVER. My mouth was in heaven. I am not going to lie- this was the most difficult dish I have ever prepared in my short life. I worked all day at my crappy job, came home, and stayed up late trying to finish it. Obviously, I made the whole damn thing in my bathrobe- we keep it classy here in the Schupp household.

The French Yule Log is so much harder than a regular yule log because it has 6 elements to it. It was also tough because the whole recipe was NOT vegan or gluten-free, so I had to play around with practically every ingredient in order to veganize it. I thought about not making it vegan, but then I came to my senses. I put my happy face on and said “Let’s rock this bitch!”

The first element is the Dacquoise. This is basically a thin almond cake. Naturally, I didn't have parchment paper so foil had to do. The cake got REALLY stuck to the foil, but nobody noticed when it was all assembled.

The second element is the Milk Chocolate Mousse and it is also layered through the entire yule log- thank god. This stuff was so damn good.

The third element is Praline Feuillete, and this includes gavottes. Gavottes are basically crepes and I had to chop them up and pour chocolate over them. Poor little gavottes haha. Luckily, I had a good bit of this leftover so I ate a huge slab of it at the end of my baking adventure.

The fourth element is the Chocolate-Cinnamon Ganache. Dear God. That's all I need to say. How could this ever taste bad???

The fifth element is the Creme Brulee. Now, obviously, I had to cut out all the eggs. I used tofu and it worked like a charm. I forgot to take a picture because I was just shocked it worked.

The sixth element is the Dark Chocolate Icing. I had to use agar flakes, and I had no clue what I was doing. I didn't know about boiling them to make them all "gel-like" so I just softened them in water. Ummm... that didn't work. I just stirred them with the chocolate icing and then poured it on top of the frozen yule log. I put coconut on top to disguise those damn agar flakes.

All in all, I wish I could eat this every day of my life. Everyone at Christmas also agreed. My cousin told me she would pay $80 for this log. I wish I could mass produce it somehow because it just took so long to make!!! It was a fabulous cooking experience though and my mother was so darn proud!!!

Here's some pictures from Christmas!!!
I took a damn big piece of yule log so it's weighing down the plate. ha who cares!!?!?!?!
My sister, Pls, and me. We look so darn cute!!!
All of the cousins in our fam-damily.
My favorite Christmas present of all- my PedEgg!!!! Ahh I laughed hysterically when I opened this, but I just can't stop using it. I decided to demonstrate it for my family and friends. Everyone thought it was disgusting and told me to get out.
It's love.

At least I have 9 left haha

Okay. I am in such a weird mood right now. Lord knows posting on my blog is the LAST thing I need to be doing, but I just can’t help it. The funniest thing just happened to me. I was taking my shoes off and my baby toenail fell off!!!!! Haha I had it coming though. About a month ago, I fell down the steps and slammed into the wall. My baby toe got all black and blue and fugly. I painted my nail red so I wouldn’t have to look at the black nail, but I guess I don’t have to look at any nail now hehe

This definitely isn’t the first time this has happened though. I lose toenails all the time. Well, I should say I break my toes a lot which causes the toenail to fall off. Either way, I just can’t stop laughing about it.

As for finals, I have one at 10:30 am, but would rather be updating this puppy instead of studying that crap. Wish me luck, guys!!! I’ll let you know how it goes (or doesn’t go) tomorrow.

But now, I have food for you. This is a raw cinnamon roll recipe I found on GoneRaw. It’s amazing and pretty time-consuming, but sometimes you’re just in the mood to treat yourself. It looks like a gigantic tootsie roll, but who doesn’t love that? I fooled around in the kitchen (not that kind haha) and made cashew coconut icing for them, but you can eat it with anything, I suppose. I followed the recipe for once in my short life and am so happy I did. Oh wait- I lied. Haha. I just remembered that I added about ¼ cup of water to the dry mixture because it was supposed to be a wet mixture and it wasn’t. That makes sense.

Here’s the recipe:

Cinnamon Rolls

1 1/4 cup almond meal
1 1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 dash cayenne pepper
1 1/2 tablespoon cinnamon
1 pinch sea salt
1 cup soft pitted dates
1/2 cup water
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tbsp olive oil
2 tbsp agave nectar
1/4 cup raisins, plus a little extra
1/4 cup chopped nuts

Preparation: Combine the almond meal, ground flaxseed, dash of cayenne pepper, 1/2 Tbsp. cinnamon and pinch sea salt in a bowl and set aside. In a food processor, process dates, 1/4 cup water, and vanilla into a paste. Remove half of the date paste and add it to the dry ingredients, along with the olive oil and agave. Mix these ingredients with your hands until it forms a dough. You may need to add the extra 1/4 cup of water if the mixture is dry, but don’t let it get too wet.

Spread the dough out on a piece of parchment paper, and flatten/shape it into a 1/4-inch thick square. Add 1/4 cup raisins and 1 Tbsp. of cinnamon to the rest of the date paste left in your food processor or blender. Process until smooth. Then, spread a thin layer of the paste onto the dough square, making sure to cover the whole surface, and top with a sprinkle of extra raisins and the chopped walnuts.

Using the parchment paper to help hold everything together, carefully/tightly roll the square into a log. Chill in the refrigerator, and then slice into about 1-inch thick rounds. I got about 8 cinnamon rolls.


I also just found this great giveaway on Eating Bender!! Check it out!! If you enter, say you heard about it on my blog. Thanks guys!!

A little Neil Diamond for yah

Hello, my friends, hello. It’s good to need you so. It’s good to love you like I do. And to feel this way… when I hear you say… Hello.

Okay. I have no idea why I just wrote that haha. I think I’m in just one of those moods. Anyway, I got my trigonometry test back on Monday night. PAHAHAHAHA yeah. That’s what I did when I looked at my test. All in all, it wasn’t too bad. I got a 72%. I’m not gonna cry about it though. Instead, I’m gonna dance. Tap dance to be specific haha That’s what I did when I got home from school Monday night. And last night, too. I’ve been in this crazy tap-dancing mode. Many of you don’t know that I tap-danced for a while, and I just miss it so much!! So for the hell of it, this is a picture of my best friend, Mitchel. He's wearing my beautiful tap shoes… kind of haha. I didn’t feel like looking for a pic of myself because this one is just better than any one I have of me wearing them. He will probably shit himself when he sees that I posted this, but oh well. As long as I get a kick out of it...

Ok. Enough of being a bad friend. Here’s some food to make up for it haha This was from my cooking video: The Blonde Experiment. I made a recipe for vegan blondies and I’d say they turned out pretty, pretty, pretty, pretty good. Oh I love Larry David!!! But that’s besides the point. Haha I cannot stay focused today!!!

Here’s my recipe:

Maple Macadamia Nut Blondies
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup macadamia nut butter
1/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup pure maple syrup
1/4 cup brown rice syrup
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp maple extract
1/4 tsp xanthan gum + ¼ cup water
1/4 tsp instant yeast
1 cup + scant 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup macadamia nuts, chopped
1/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1/4 cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions: Preheat oven to 350F. Spray an 8x8 in. pan with canola oil cooking spray.
Mix applesauce, nut butter, sugar, maple syrup, and rice syrup together in a stand mixer. Combine xanthan gum and water in a cup and allow it to set for a few minutes. Add the extracts to the sugar mixture. In a separate bowl, combine yeast, flour, and salt and stir together. Add the xanthan gum to the sugar mixture and blend. Add flour mixture to the wet mixture and mix. Fold in macadamia nuts, coconut, and chocolate chips. Pour batter into pan and bake for 22-24 minutes and allow time to cool before cutting.

I Hate Wedgies

Hello everyone. Hope you're all enjoying yourselves on this fine Saturday. I decided to post in the afternoon because I had cycling this morning. Do any of you guys take it at the gym? Because if you do, I have one question for you. How many seconds/minutes after you start peddling does your wedgie appear? haha It's usually about 5 minutes for me, but today, I'd estimate it around 7.7 seconds!!! The whole class was an excruciating experience!!! I had a layer of spandex on under my sweats, so that might have been what caused it. I have no clue. I try to wear spandex all the time because there's a lot of perverts at the gym. One time, these guys told me they were getting a "free show" of my ass even though I was wearing spandex. What idiots! haha At least I saw Tubby after class. It was pouring outside, and I felt bad that my baby had to spend the day in the rain. Oh Tubs, what are we gonna do with you?

As for food, I have been eating random stuff lately, which isn't really different than my usual eating habits haha. Ezekial sprouted english muffins are my new obsession as well as Organic Concord grape juice. I can't get enough of those two. The next two recipes are hardly recipes at all, but they taste so good that I figured I'd post them just because I can. haha

Here's the "recipes"

Poor Woman's Garlic Bread

1 ezekial sprouted grain english muffin, cut in half
2 tsp earth balance buttery spread
2 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp nutritional yeast

Directions: Put english muffin in toaster. Wait til it's done. Spread butter on each side. Top with garlic powder and then nutritional yeast. I can't tell you how many times I've eaten this over the past week. I'm addicted!

Grape Slushy

1/2-3/4 cup concord grape juice
1 cup black seedless grapes

Directions: Pour grape juice into 8x8 pan. Add grapes into pan. Cover will foil and freeze for a few hours. When ready to eat, scrape the mixture with a fork to create a slushy type dessert. I had this as my pre-cycling breakfast. It did not sustain me at all, and I was starving through the class!!! haha But it does taste good.

Yummy Yummy in My Tummy

Good Morning Everyone. Hope you all had a restful sleep. I had this crazy dream about being on a cruise-ship with my friends and family and then it started sinking. My mom, sister, and I didn't get out in time, but we managed to be in a part of the ship that had an air bubble. Somehow, my mom and I climbed out of the ship, but my sister didn't want to come. We went to a secondhand clothes store to get me a new outfit because mine was all wet and dirty. The lady at the store ended up putting me in this crazy 1960's outfit, but I remember liking it haha We then left that store, and got jobs at this food/market-type place. They had me bagging the groceries on my first day and I was terrible at it, so I quit. After that, I woke up. So I've come to find the moral of the story: If you don't want to end up in 60's clothes, don't go on a cruise!!! haha

I don't think I ate anything on the cruise, I know it's hard to believe, but food wasn't in my dream. But before posting a recipe, I have to tell you about these DISGUSTING TOFU NOODLES I tried a week ago. Don't buy them! haha They tasted like rubber. And yeah, there's like 50 calories in the whole bag, but 50 GROSS calories, so stay away from them! haha All right, now that my product review is out of the way, my recipe for today is Celine's No-Bake Black Bean Brownies... or as I like to call them, SEX IN MY MOUTH!! I have never been so in love with a brownie. It was like a secret affair every time I took a bite. They were so good that I felt I had to hide them from the other food in my kitchen. And as usual, I ate them for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until they were gone. haha I love my eating habits. The only changes I made were to add some applesauce because mine were pretty clumpy and to use walnuts + almonds in place of the chestnuts. Chestnuts are hard to come by around me, damnit, but we all have our crosses to bare. haha

Here's the recipe:
No-Bake Black Bean Brownies
1 medium, ripe banana
10 pitted dates (I used medjool, baby)
4 tbsp agave nectar
3/4 cup oat flour
2.5 oz bag of almonds + 1 oz of walnuts (I had no clue how to measure the 1 oz so I just guessed)
1/4 cup carob powder
1/2 cup shredded coconut
14 oz can black beans
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
optional: 1/4 cup unsweetended applesauce (slowly add this if your mix is too clumpy or dry)

Directions: Line an 8 x 8 in pan with parchment paper or plastic wrap. This is ESSENTIAL because they WILL stick to the pan if you don't. Add all the ingredients (except applesauce) to the food processor and blend. This takes a while because there's a heck of a lot of food in there. Just be patient because it will eventually all blend. Add applesauce if needed and blend again. Scoop the brownie batter into the pan and press down with your hands (it might be sticky, but you'll live). Freeze for a few hours and resist the urge to eat it before then.

Goodbye Vegan MOFO

This is so sad!! I can't believe Vegan MOFO is over!!!! I guess if you are vegan, it shouldn't really matter anyway... I mean, posting vegan stuff is natural haha I just loved the October spirit of vegan food. It was so fun and I had a great time making all these bangin' dishes. Oh yea. I forgot to wish everyone a HAPPY HALLOWEEN!!!!! Is everyone going trick or treating? Yea, me either. I wish I was, but I don't have a costume... and I'm 19 (but my age should't stop me).

I am pretty set on cooking/baking all day long. I have to send a package to Iraq tomorrow for the soldiers, so I need to bake some stuff that travels well. If anyone has some great bar/cookie recipes, could you post them in a comment or email? I've been baking for the soldiers for a while now, so I could use some spooky new ones (Halloween ones would be great, too). I also have to send a package to the Marines training camp in North Carolina. My ex boyfriend is a Marine there, and he's been dying to get cookies with candy bars in them. That's all he's been asking for haha I guess you could say that I still miss him and like him, so that's why I'm sending him stuff... I just hate admitting that though! It drives me nuts.

Anyways, here's some recipes for today. There are 2 and they are both RAW. I'm sorry if you guys are annoyed by the RAW recipes, but I make so much raw stuff that's really good. The first one is a Larabar. I've never eaten one before, but everyone talks about how amazing they are. I made one and it was soo good. I didn't go by a recipe, but I'm sure there's a cashew date one running around somewhere. It's so much cheaper to make your own. Even at Trader Joe's, they cost $1.39. I made 6 of them and I don't know the cost, but it wasn't that much. The other recipe is for Sesame Date Truffles. I found the basis of the recipe on Gone Raw, but pretty much did as I pleased with it. I really liked them a lot more after they were frozen, so wait about an 1 before you eat one. They have a strong nutty flavor, but it's addictive.

Here's the recipes: Cashew Date Larabar
1 cup raw cashews
3/4 cup dried dates
1 Tbsp water

Directions: Prepare muffin tin with cupcake liners or cooking spray. Process cashews in food processor until they look like crumbs. Add dates and process. Add water if needed. Scoop into muffin molds and freeze for 30-1 hour. Then, take them out of the freezer and let them sit at room temperature for 1 hour.When you take them out, use a knife to cut around the sides to scoop them up. Makes 6.

Sesame Date Truffles
1/2 cup cup sesame seeds
2 tsp carob powder
1/4 cup dried dates
1/8 tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp sea salt
2 tsp agave nectar
2 tsp tangerine juice
2 tsp water
extra carob for rolling
Directions: Process sesame seeds in food processor until very fine. Add carob powder, dates, cinnamon and salt and mix. Add agave, juice, and water (if needed). Shape into balls (I made 7) and roll into carob powder. Freeze for a few hours and then gobble up!

I'll take it RAW

Alrighty. So yesterday, I saw my best friend, Mitchel!!! He came home from college this week, and I've missed him like crazy. We watched Survivor, CSI, and Eleventh Hour because we are both TV addicts. Survivor is hands up our favorite one. He also brought my birthday presents and i about fainted when i looked in the bag. He got me a life-size poster of Hannah Montana. Many of you don't know that I have a weird obsession with Miley Cyrus, so I couldn't have been happier. The poster is taller than me haha The other stuff he gave me was food... of course. He baked me brownies and got me two character cookies. Character cookies are the most delicious treat in the world and they always make me smile. They are basically two giant chocolate chip cookies covered in icing. These ones are decorated with a spider and a witch.

As for today's recipe, it's a RAW one. I made some raw brownies, and I loved them. Now don't get me wrong, nothing compares to a real, moist, cooked brownie, but these were damn good. They tasted kind of like the Clif Nectar Bar Chocolate version. I like mine better though haha I just threw a bunch of nuts and dried fruit together until it got a doughy consistency. I also used carob because I really like the taste of it. As of now, there are none left. I ate the rest for dinner last night with some warm cherries and Tofutti cream cheese.

Here's the recipe:

Raw Brownies

1/2 cup almonds
1/2 cup cashews
1/2 cup pumpkin seeds
9 pitted dates (this is all i had and they were wimpy dates)
2/3 cup dried cherries
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/3 cup carob powder
1/4 cup + 1 tbsp water

Directions: Process nuts and seeds in food processor until they are ground. Add dried cherries and blend together. Add vanilla extract and carob powder and process. Add water and blend until mixture is sticky. Add more water if your mixture needs more moisture. Pour the mixture into an 8 x 8 pan and press down. Chill for 2 hours in the fridge, or 1 hour in the freezer. Enjoy!!

Sweet Deliciousness

Alrighty. I have practically no voice today. I tried to do pilates at the gym this morning (what was I thinking) and ended up leaving half way through the class because I was burnin up. This fever just won't go away. I thought sweating it out would help, but it just made it worse. I'm just one of those people who hates sitting. Even when I'm sick, I try to clean and work out, but it doesn't do me any good haha And studying, for that matter, is useless when I'm sick. I've noticed that I can't retain any information for tests... such as huge midterms. haha That was a mess yesterday. I did well on Religions of the World, but the Bio test and Lab Exam were just a blur. I had to take my shirt off in Bio (I had a tank top on) because I felt like it was 200 degrees in there. And after the tests, we had a lab of course. The class is from 12:15-4:10- just lovely. We had to extract DNA from split peas and I ended up dropping the DNA extraction. Thankfully, my lab partners are REALLY nice and understood that I wasn't mentally "there." haha

Anyway, last night, I ended up cooking up a storm. I just couldn't sit still anymore. I ended up making Halva. I had seen it on Gone Raw and I don't think my version is raw, but I don't care. I changed the recipe so much that I don't know if it's still considered Halva haha I hope it is. It tastes like nothing I've ever had before so it's hard to relate it to anything else. It has the consistency of a crumble (kind of) and tastes like sweet tahini. Does that make any sense at all? It's a popular dessert in India and I had it for breakfast this morning. I halved the recipe and that was a mistake because I'm gonna have to make more... it's all gone. haha It's really THAT addicting!!

Here's the recipe:
Halva
3 cups almond meal
1/2 cup roasted white sesame seeds
2 tbsp agave nectar
2 tbsp honey (you can use brown rice syrup, too)
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1 vanilla bean, scrape out the vanilla
1/2 cup dried fruit
3 cups of water

Directions: Place the sesame seeds in a blender with 3 cups of water. Blend for about 15-20 seconds. Using a very fine strainer or cheese cloth, separate the sesame seed pulp from the water. Put the sesame seed pulp in a food processor. Add the almond meal, cinnamon, nutmeg, and vanilla bean seeds/remains (not sure what to call them). Pulse those ingredients together and then add the agave nectar and honey. Add the dried fruit and pulse for a few seconds. That's it.

Note: The Trader Joe's Blend of Dried Cherries, Dried Blueberries, and Dried Strawberries is to die for. It tastes so well with the Halva so you just have to go out and get it. I ended up enjoying my halva with some frozen cherries and frozen mangoes that I warmed up in the microwave. It created a sauce that was just amazing. I was just so content while eating it. Our house could've been on fire, but me and my halva would have been in complete harmony. haha

Ok... A Red Sweet Potato?

I went to Trader Joe's yesterday and it was a lot of fun. Getting there was the hard part. There were so many construction signs, blocked off roads, and detours. My mom and I were just so confused. We ended up driving on a bus way and then realizing "Oh. This is a bus way. That's why everyone on the sidewalk is telling us to move... and by telling, I mean yelling." When we finally found a way there, we were so thankful to just be off the road in a parking spot. My favorite part about Trader Joe's is the prices. Their stuff is so cheap and I got ridiculous amounts of nuts and dried fruit... and when I say ridiculous, I mean like 20 different bags haha I was just going "shop happy" because it was my first time in there... you know how that is. We ended up finishing off our shopping at Whole Foods because, let's face it, Whole Foods is god of all grocery stores.

I did go crazy in Whole Foods, though. And for one reason only... I saw a RED sweet potato. Are you kidding me? I thought I had finally understood the difference between yams and sweet potatoes and now they start selling red sweet potatoes.

Red Sweet Potato

The darker-skinned variety (which is most often called "yam" in error) has a thicker, dark orange to reddish skin with a vivid orange, sweet flesh and a moist texture.

Alrighty. I'll quit obsessing over the damn sweet potatoes. haha My recipe for today is for brownies. It's not vegan because I still like to bake things that aren't. I send baked goods to Iraq every month and I put these brownies in the package. My stepdad said they were AMAZING and they were honestly the biggest brownies I have ever seen. I think their hugeness is from the 8x8 pan instead of 9 inch. I was shocked and really wanted one, but I refrained. I also added some Oreos and frozen blondies I had, so they were beyond decadent. And hey, Oreos are vegan haha. I found the recipe on Cookie Madness because Anna is one of the queens of baking.

Here's the recipe:
Fudge Brownies with Golden Syrup

1 cup all purpose or white whole wheat flour (128 grams)
2 tablespoons European Style cocoa powder (30 ml)
1/8 teaspoon salt (pinch)
4 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut up (114 grams) — best
4 ounces unsalted butter, room temperature (1 sticks) – 230 grams
1 cup granulated sugar (198 grams)
1/2 cup light or dark brown sugar, lightly packed (100 grams)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract (5 ml)
1/3 cup golden syrup or corn syrup (80 ml)
3 large eggs
1/2 cup bittersweet chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9 inch square metal pan with foil and spray foil with cooking spray.Sift together flour, cocoa powder and salt. Set aside.Melt chocolate in top of a double boiler or melt in a metal bowl set over (but not touching) a saucepan of barely simmering water.Beat butter and both sugars in a large mixing bowl using high speed of an electric mixer. Beat in vanilla and golden syrup. When creamy, beat in eggs, beating thoroughly after each egg.Beat in the melted chocolate, scraping sides of bowl.Add flour mixture and chocolate chips, stirring until flour is blended in (do not beat).

Pour batter into prepared pan and bake on center rack of oven for 35 minute or until brownies appear set. Cool on a rack for 1 hour or until brownies are cool enough to transfer to the refrigerator. Transfer to the refrigerator and chill for 1 or 2 hours.

Lift brownies from pan by grasping foil. Place on a cookie sheet and cut into squares.

Makes 16 small or 9 large

Since the brownie took the cat's place on her window sill, she sat on the box where the brownie was supposed to go. And I take back the word "sat." She is WAY TOO BIG to sit in a standard flat rate box. haha

So Blonde

My birthday party ended up being so much fun!!! I had all my family there and my cousin, a missionary in Nicaragua, came, too. Everyone was in a wild mood and I don't even think people were drinking that much. I mean, there was the Sangria and wine (I had both and they were so nasty). As for the presents, my grandma gave me a pair of her pearl earrings that my grandma bought her. They are so stunning, and it was really unexpected. Then, my great aunt gave me her pearl necklace so I would have a set. If I ever get married someday, that's what I'm wearing! And of course, there was the food. Oh, the food. Let's just say I was not a vegan or vegetarian yesterday. But hey, you only live once, so eat what you want to eat!!!!!! I just hate putting a label on myself for the kind of food that I eat. So as of now, this is what I am: I am a person who lives on a diet free of meat, dairy, and eggs throughout the week. I eat honey because I like it, but that doesn't mean I hate bees. And if I want a piece of chicken once in a while, I'm gonna have myself a piece of chicken!

Whoo that feels good to get that off my chest. But now for the recipe. I'm doing an experiment for biology where I have to transform traditional blondies into vegan blondies. I made up this recipe using my knowledge of fats, proteins, and all of that other stuff. haha I really, really, really like these and so did everyone at the party. They kind of taste like marzipan (that almond sugar candy) and have the consistency of fudge. They do have a weird glossiness to them, but hey, it was my first experiment. I don't even know if I can consider them blondies, but that's what I'm callin them!

Here's the recipe:

Marzipan Chocolate Chip Blondies

¼ cup unsweetened applesauce

¼ cup canola oil

¼ cup organic cane sugar

¼ cup pure maple syrup

¼ cup brown rice syrup

½ tsp almond extract

1 tbsp Ener-G egg replacer + 3 tbsp water

¼ tsp baking powder

1 cup whole wheat flour

¼ tsp sea salt

¼ cup pecans, chopped

¼ cup unsweetened shredded coconut

¼ cup vegan chocolate chips

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Spray an 8x8 in pan with Canola Oil cooking spray.

Mix applesauce, canola oil, cane sugar, maple syrup, and brown rice syrup in a stand mixer. Beat until smooth. Combine Ener-G egg replacer in a cup with 3 tbsp water. Stir and let sit for 2 minutes. Add Ener-G egg replacer and almond extract to the other mixed ingredients. Blend. Add in baking powder, flour, and sea salt. Stir, not beat, until well-combined. Add pecans, shredded coconut, and chocolate chips and stir.

Pour batter into pan and bake for 25-27 minutes and allow time to cool before cutting.

Wednesdays are amazing

I officially proclaim Wednesdays the best day of the week. No school, no work- I can do whatever the hell I want!!! So pretty much I'll be baking all day and doing a little bit of homework. Taking it easy is key, and I'm a pro. I'm determined to make my own bread today. I've never done this before, but I figure I'll need to know so I can sell it at my bakery someday. It's between chocolate tahini bread and carrot bread... or both. haha It wouldn't be unlikely for me to make the same thing anyways. Either way, it'll be good. And speaking of really gross things (which we weren't), I was doing laundry this morning and I had to pick up a huge crapload of clothes on the floor. I picked up the first half, and a gigantic spider crawled out. I screamed and cried of course. Then, I picked up the second half, and a mountain lion millipede walked out. I was like "wow, how disgusting can our basement get?" haha Can't wait to go take everything out of the washer... I'll probably get attacked by a lizard or something.

Now that all that madness is over (until I go back down there), here's the recipe for today. I didn't feel like cooking last night, so I'm posting a cake recipe that I made a little while ago. It was for my sister's birthday, and it's one of the best cakes I have ever made/eaten. It was vegan of course and every person who tried it really liked it. It's from Dreena Burton's cookbook "Eat, Drink and Be Vegan." - I love her. She is a goddess! I added the raspberry filling because it needed something fruity. Oh the really sexy guy in the picture is my best friend, Mitchel. We cook all the time together when he's home, so birthday cakes are no exception haha. I made him do ALL the sifting and he wanted to murder me.

Here's the recipe:
Coconut Cake with Coconut Dream Frosting and Raspberry Filling

Cake (makes 2 round cake layers):

1 3/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 cup unsweetened shredded coconut
1 cup unrefined sugar
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 1/2 cups plain soy milk
1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/4 tsp coconut extract
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/3 cup canola oil

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a large bowl, combine dry ingredients, including coconut, sifting in flour, baking powder, and baking soda and mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine soy milk, applesauce, vanilla, almond, and coconut extracts, lemon juice, and oil. Add wet mixture to dry and stir until just well combined. Lightly oil 2 round cake pans. Pour batter evenly into cake pans. Bake for 23-26 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Transfer cakes to cooling racks to cool completely before frosting.

Coconut Dream Frosting

1 pkg (12 oz) silken extra-firm tofu
1 pkg (8oz) Tofutti cream cheese
1 1/2 cup organic powdered sugar
1/8 cup macadamia nut butter
1 1/2 tsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/4 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp coconut extract
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
1 1/2 tsp xanthan gum

Directions:

Put tofu with a paper towel to remove excess moisture. In a food processor, puree tofu with cream cheese until smooth, scraping down sides of bowl as needed. Add remaining ingredients and process for 1-2 minutes until very smooth, scraping down sides of bowl. Refrigerate until completely cool before using.

Note: Make the frosting a day or night before icing the cake. It will firm up and thicken. Also, when icing the cake, I iced the first layer, then put raspberry jelly between (about 1/2 cup) that layer. It tasted great with the coconut icing!

Happy Birthday Mama and Michael Jackson!

It's my mom's 50th birthday today, and Michael Jackson's, so we are having a big party at my house. It's not just her birthday we are celebrating though- it's my sister's and 3 cousins, too. So our house is gonna be a complete disaster when everyone leaves. haha I'm really excited because I love parties!! Plus, I don't have to work today!! Thank God. I do have a ton of homework that I've been avoiding all weekend, but I'll get around to it tonight.

I made my mom's birthday cake because homemade is ALWAYS better. She got a gigantic cake for the rest of the birthday people because my sister wanted a Spongebob cake. She's obsessed with Spongebob and yes, she is 17. It's a vegan carrot cake made in a bundt cake pan. I found the recipe on "Live It Up Vegan" and I have been dying to make it. It turned out so beautiful, and I can't wait to try it. It's a fairly healthy cake, so I won't be shy about eating half of it. haha

Here's the recipe:
Carrot Cake

• 1 cup all purpose whole wheat flour
• 1 cup all purpose unbleached white flour
• 3/4 cup fine turbinado sugar
• 2 tsp baking soda
• 1Tbsp baking powder
• 2 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp sea salt
• 1/2 cup sunflower oil
• 1/2 cup water
• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 2 Tbsp white balsamic vinegar
• 3 cups grated organic carrots (not too packed)
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

For Cream Sheese filling:

• about 1 container of Creamy Sheese original (about 250g) (or non-hydrogenated Tofutti Cream Cheese)
• 1/4 cup fine turbinado sugar
• 1 tsp cornstarch mixed with 1 tsp water

1. Preheat oven to 375F and lightly oil a Bundt Cake pan (or a 9-in round cake pan - or even a muffin pan for cupcakes or muffins). Grate the carrots with the food processor and set aside until needed.

2. In a big bowl, sift together the first 7 dry ingredients and set aside.
3. In a medium bowl, whip together the oil, water, applesauce and balsamic vinegar. Set aside.

4. In a small bowl, mix the Creamy Sheese, sugar and cornstarch/water mixture. Set aside.

5. Add the liquid ingredients in the medium bowl to the dry ingredients in the big bowl. Mix to incorporate only (don’t overmix). Add 3 cups of grated carrots and the walnuts. Again, mix to incorporate only.

6. Pour half to 2/3 of the cake batter into the Bundt cake pan. Pour the Cream Sheese mixture on top of the batter. Then delicately spread the rest of the cake batter on top of the Sheese to cover it completely.

7. Bake in the oven between 45 and 55 minutes, depending on your oven or the cake pan you have chosen (it may very well take longer for a regular 9-in pan and a shorter amount of time if you use a muffin pan - generally 20 to 25 minutes for muffins). Verify “doneness” with the blade of a knife or a long skewer, if you have one - I find that toothpicks are too short for this cake when baking in a Bundt pan.

8. Let cool completely then turn over a serving plate and sprinkle with unfiltered icing sugar (Wholefood Sweeteners) before serving.