Vegan Blueberry Muffins (during a mandatory evacuation: crochet a mandala, knit a sweater)

I began baking like a fiend this week. Remarkably, everything I've cooked/baked or attempted to do in lieu of checking myself into some place for a "respite" has turned out to be exactly what I needed to function just one minute longer, one hour longer, then an afternoon and finally an evening longer. Because that's how I'm operating here: in moments--with really good food. I stumbled across this recipe for blueberry muffins in a mad search for a morning treat for the workers in the yard and DH and me (because who doesn't love blueberry muffins?). I have dozens of amazing blueberry muffin recipes throughout my collection. But the need to seek and find just the right recipe was urgent and a nice Google distraction. Trusty King Arthur Flour was the answer to my prayers. I landed on the Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffin recipe. If you've got five minutes, cupcake liners and blueberries (frozen are fine), I highly recommend you give these a shot. Mine were made with a flax egg and vegan butter--that's all the substitution needed to re-create the recipe. I know I'll be making these again, possibly adding lemon zest next time, and subbing some whole wheat flour in the mix as well--making a gluten free version would work well, too. It's quite a forgiving recipe: so simple, plain and lovely. If you'd like a taller muffin, you can always up the baking powder by a 1/8-1/4 teaspoon. My kitchen once again became my sanctuary. 

Vegan Blueberry Muffins 

*Adapted from Famous Department Store Blueberry Muffin Recipe by King Arthur 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 1/4 t. baking power

1/4 t. salt (I adjusted down the amt. with salted vegan butter)

1/2 cup vegan butter

1 cup sugar

4 t. ground flax seed with 4 T. water and 2 t. EVOO (flax egg subbing for 2 eggs)

1 t. vanilla extract

1/2 cup almond milk

2 cups frozen blueberries 

*a little sugar for sprinkling on top of muffins before baking

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare muffin tin lined with cupcake wrappers, spray wrappers with nonstick spray. Measure out flour, salt and baking soda in bowl and sift together. Set aside. In medium bowl, mix butter for about two minutes. Add sugar, mixing until light and fluffy--about a minute longer. Add vanilla and flax egg, then mix a bit more. Then add flour and milk alternately mixing lightly after each addition--just until the dry flour is mixed in. Then fold in the blueberries. Fill cupcake liners about 3/4 full with batter, then sprinkle about a 1/2 teaspoon of sugar on top. Bake for 30-40 minutes. *I found baking for a little longer yielded a nice golden brown top. I used a toothpick to test if batter was baked through.  

So why all this baking urgency, kitchen therapy? Well, last week this happened: continued treatment for winter poison ivy outbreak, major demolition of yard, my sister scheduled for surgery in a week...oh and there was the mandatory evacuation of our home IMMEDIATELY owing to our gas line being hit during yard excavation--(not owing to our crew, rather something to do with "marking" of line). With barely enough time to spare to grab my purse, phone and two Great Pyrenees--knocking on neighbor's doors to warn them of potential doom--again with TWO seventy pound white Thunder Wolves on my wrists--it's a miracle I've made it to Sunday. ALL this while DH went about calmly managing the entire surreal afternoon as the fire department, gas, water and line inspectors arrived. (Wonder how I held up? Picture exactly what I've described here, sprinkle in screaming, crying, blaming and more crying. Okay, so I'm not exactly Mother Teresa during a crisis.) It's all I could do to keep my heart from simply stopping in my chest. Alas, the crisis was averted, things repaired and life returned to somewhat normal conditions.

Above--as the demolition began. Below, the calm after the "evacuate" storm: Dr. Thyme checking on the progress with the workers. I was inside at this point--rocking back in forth in a chair chanting some illegible crap about "There's no place like home...there's no place like home."

So yes, there be baking happening. All through this, I'm trying to remain calm. Lending positive affirmations to my sister who is about to face a really tough trial (as if she hasn't faced enough already). 

It's been one thing after another. 

Luckily I have friends (dear, dear friends) who've received texts with probably too-long-while-also-trying-not-to-be-overly-dramatic explanations of all that's transpired. Then there's been two- and three-hour phone conversations with these women and my sister as well. Truthfully, everyone I know has A LOT happening, but I don't know what I'd do without them. I guess we've hit the age in life where the proverbial sh*t hits the fan fairly regularly. But honestly, enough already. "Pass the muffins, please!"

Helping along the way are my needlework projects--working with my hands while my mind tries to make order out of chaos. 

Projects I've found incredibly blissful.

The Sunny Spread blanket. Using my stash yarn for this. It's a mandala with a square finish. Such a calm one-mandala-at-a-time escape. I'll need to make about 25 of these to create a nice throw. 

Oh boy do I have a long way to go, but my Great Love Cardigan will be SO lovely when it's finished. I can't wait. I've been working on this while listening to an audiobook: Where the Crawdads Sing by Delia Owens. 

This is the Adirondack Wrap crochet project. It's very relaxing to work on. Three triangles sewn together for final assembly. I just love it in my Mandala yarn. 

Vegan Pasta e Fagioli Soup (and my gardener's lament: winter poison ivy!)

Dear Soup, Thank you for always reminding me there are better days ahead. Soups are mainstays around here, especially with snow on the ground and temps hovering in low twenties to single digits tonight, plus more cold on the horizon this week. And poison ivy. (Yup.) I've probably made six batches of this already this winter. It involves a food processor and a soup pot. That's it. Comes together in approximately five minutes and is satisfying, warm and delicious. Here's my take on this soup, which was originally inspired by this.

Here's how I made my Vegan Pasta e Fagioli:

4 carrots

1 leek

6 cloves garlic

1 celery stalk

1/2 onion sliced thin

2 bay leaves

1/2 head of cabbage

1 can of cannellini beans (drained, rinsed)

1 can diced tomatoes

1/3 cup ditalini pasta (cooked in separate pot, then added to soup just before serving)

2 T. nutritional yeast

1 qt. veggie stock

olive oil

thyme

oregano

red pepper flakes

salt & pepper to taste

Add chopped veggies--carrots, leeks, garlic to food processor, pulse about ten times. Prep the soup pot with the olive oil over medium heat, add chopped veg. Cook till just tender. Add remaining ingredients and broth and seasonings, salt and pepper. Cover and let simmer two hours over low heat. Serve with a side of your best homemade bread. (Mine is Jim Lahey's --I made the ciabatta version).

After a visit with the folks at Urgent Care yesterday for a infernal outbreak of poison ivy, I am now awaiting an agonizing three weeks for this painful mess to clear up. Or longer. Why does Mother Earth require such an evil, toxic plant? What purpose does it serve? I've been struck by this havoc on only a handful of times in my life because I am so gawdawful afraid. Sounds impossible. But trust me when I tell you: only to me, the Master Gardener, and in winter no less. And above is the culprit. 

Our home is undergoing a transformation of sorts in a few weeks which will finally rid us of these old railroad timbers and be replaced with a more substantial wall of stone. (That will hopefully outlive us and beyond.) 

So I found myself outside on a warm-ish day earlier last week in a bit of a snit over the demise of some cherished plants I couldn't bear to lose. I've spent fifteen years tending and planting, so obviously there are plants I want to keep. Out with the shovel and buckets and pots. Everything's dormant, ground was soft, sun was out: perfect. Until later that night when I woke with what I imagined to be some sort of bug bite. Then to the next afternoon when my arm reached up to scratch my wrist (pulling the long sleeve back and discovering to my horror what really had happened). OMG. WTH? Could this be? . . . is this? Noooooo! 

And then began the seven stages of grief: shock, denial, guilt, anger and bargaining, depression and loneliness to reconstruction (the UC visit) and finally acceptance. Yes, I accept that I have the rash of the spring and summertime, of gardeners, campers, hikers and landscapers, the poisonous fury of: Leaves of Three Let it Be! Ah, but what about the roots? 

I had come in contact with said dormant plant--through the roots. I had oh-so carefully lifted plants and divided, setting each clump aside. Gloves and long sleeves. I have replayed this moment back through my mind a hundred times: as I reached under one of my plants, I, on an exposed part of my wrist must have come in contact with the worst plant root on the planet, unbeknownst to me. 

I am more allergic than most and so, this lovely little visitor and its prescribed remedy dosed out (the horrid steroid treatment) is, well. . . It's hell. The rash has traveled from my left wrist, up my right arm, to my abdomen, and leg. There's a perfect dot-to-dot landscape you can follow if you wanted. I can see the entry at every point. It's like an incredibly cruel irony and one I will face with tears, determination, agitation and regret. As for the remainder of the plants. They'll be destined for demolition. 

The Chocolate Chip Cookie I Can't Stop Baking (it's been around awhile, sorta like this blog)

This is the chocolate chip cookie for which no other chocolate chip cookie can be measured. It's Alison Roman's chocolate chip cookie recipe. Yes, this is 'that' cookie--the Instagram darling from ages ago. I'm late to the party again. But I've made over a hundred of these by now. During the holidays, I'd gone off them for a bit--baking the Greatest Hits from the archive which appear every December. Then three weeks ago, during cookie craving mania, the recipe appeared on the top of my pile of recipes and here we are, on our third batch. I halve the recipe (which is very easy to do) because I take great joy in re-making this cookie. Takes five minutes to mix, roll into a log, then chill. I prep in the morning usually because it requires a two hour chill. The halved recipe makes for a perfect 12-16 or so cookie batch. That's enough cookies to last us a week. A shortbread texture, chocolate chunks and a pinch of salt. Before slicing, Alison't recipe indicates a roll of cookie log in egg and then sugar. I brush mine with soy milk and then roll in sugar and bake. Seemed to work fine. 

I've spent ten years sharing food and life stuff here. During these last few years, a little less so. I told someone recently I "had" a blog as we discussed recipes. I said it had gone dormant, almost with a sense of shame. But truthfully, I'm not ashamed at all. Life moves on, new voices arise and new stories are told. 

I've simplified, pared down. This is a hard thing to do in a that-was-news-five-minutes-ago world. I think it's why I felt compelled to share this cookie even though its five minutes of fame was last year.  

If you've read this far, I might as well add a few highlights/accomplishments/humble-brag moments of life--just so we're all caught up. Things haven't changed much.

There's the knitting. My steady companion for over fifteen years now. 

Ramblin' Woman by Caitlin Hunter. Here's mine on Ravelry here.

The Weekender by Andrea Mowry pullover. Here's mine on Ravelry here. 

The 1898 Hat by Kristine Byrnes. Here's mine on Ravelry here.

(Btw, DH loves this hat. I was so thrilled!)

Us. My steady companion for over twenty-two years.

The furbabies. Always.

My sister and her Dear Husband: the newlyweds as of last summer! 

A Lesson in Artisan Bread Baking with Flea Market Find: Pyrex Bowls

I had a spur-of-the moment notion yesterday driven by the need to get my hands on some old kitchen ware needed for a bread recipe. I asked dear husband if he'd like to accompany me to a flea market (third weekends of every month in Belleville, Illinois--in case you find yourself in the same predicament). I hadn't shared with him my motive just yet, but he was game. Out the door in fifteen and there we were were at the flea market on Sunday. My goal: Pyrex.

Before I launch into the whole Hunt for Pyrex Sunday, let me tell you why it happened.

I've tinkered with bread baking for over ten years now. There isn't a lot I haven't tried. Okay, maybe no croissants. But still. I even went the GF route for a bit. I'm lucky enough to still be able to tolerate bread and all its gluten glory. But not too much.  

I came across Bread Toast Crumbs by Alexandra Stafford this weekend and began reading through both book and blog. I discovered that all last year this was the IT bread recipe and bread book on FB and social media. (You can find the recipe for the basic bread on her blog.) I had no idea. How had I missed this? I worked around books all day! I was out of the loop on all things bread and it broke my heart a little to be honest. 

Alexandra's no-knead method of baking same day bread reminded me of my Jim Lahey no-knead obsession. Only with her mother's recipe (acquired after many years of asking--she goes into this in her book), the task of bread baking occurs same day with similar results. One quaint difference in baking these marvelous little miracles was her use of pint and a half sized Pyrex bowls my mother used to have. . . EVERYWHERE! Immediately I looked through all of the many bowls I had on hand to find that just perfect Pyrex dish. I had three. None in the size I wanted for the recipe for an artisan boule. 

I began my bread mixing at 3:30 in the afternoon. I wanted to try the flax seed and quinoa loaf, made with a bit of olive oil and the requisite instant yeast. The loaves surpassed my expectation. The addition of the flax and quinoa made for a healthier tasting dinner bread vs a plain AP flour loaf. The golden crust and wonderful light, moist crumb along with a good rise were delicious. The bread sliced up perfectly after a good twenty minute rest after baking. We ate half a loaf with dinner, then I sliced up the rest for toast this morning and froze the other loaf. 

So now for the the Hunt for Pyrex Sunday antique expedition. At the flea market scanning over the hundreds of tables of everything you can imagine (we're big fans of American Pickers), we channeled our inner Mike, Frank and Danielle. DH and I split up. Me on a Pyrex mission, him on a wood working/tool mission. I hadn't traveled more than one aisle and I spotted them: my mother's Pyrex. (Well, not exactly, but yes. . . exactly!) I had to contain my thrill or I'd be paying out the waazoo. I looked at the bottoms and rims of the nest of one set and of a single of the 1.5 pint sized bowl sold separately because apparently it is from the "Pyrex Friendship" collection. Who knew? I wanted the set AND the single bowl because I needed two of the pint-sized for my bread. I wasn't paying the tagged price of course because: I'd watched Pickers! And yes, I researched asking prices online, which I must say shocked me to my core. Honestly, where have I been? These things are like gold apparently. I must have seemed a little too eager because I was hugging the entire set against my body as other shoppers lurked around this vendor's table. I said, "You have a very good eye." Trying to butter her up. I added, "I remember this set. . . what would you take for these, plus the little one?" She went high. I went no. I said another number. She stuck to her price (which was still lower than ticket--so at least I felt somewhat satisfied on price wrangling). Then I spotted another Pyrex piece, a measuring cup--asked to "bundle"--what price might I get? I wasn't t bluffing anyone here. She flexed a bit more, but not too much. However, I added before I handed over my cash, I'd not be back if I found a better deal elsewhere. She said, Good luck, you won't. Hmm. Okay then: deal. 

DH found a rock breaking tool for a song on his journey. We toured the rest of the flea market and the vendor I bought my Pyrex from was right--the other sets were not nearly as good in price nor in appearance than the one I found. She and I talked a bit more. I explained the whole bread thing, Pyrex baking. She seemed to not have heard about this, but was definitely interested in learning more, asking me again what the name of the cookbook was. I was happy to share. In her booth was another awesome bread baking find in cast iron cookware. I had it already but made sure to tell her that she would have no problem selling it if another bread baker came along seeking the perfect no-knead bread vessel.  

I'll tell you one thing, I love my set. I love them so much. I have a hunch why. These were the food vessels of my youth. They have my mother etched all over them. Every dinner we had, there was trusty old Pyrex. They're now a part of the dinner table again and I couldn't be happier.

Vegan Peanut Butter Sandies

This cookie isn't your typical peanut butter cookie--no fork tine and crosshatched business required. Which is good, because having to maneuver a fork over balls of dough poses challenges for me right now. Simple baking only. One handed baking and cooking only. It's okay. These peanut butter cookies surprised me. They have a light, crumbly texture--even with the addition of my natural chunky style peanut butter. By my own insistence that I get back to baking, I stumbled upon this recipe in the New York Times for cookie inspiration. Julia Moskin was on a mission to recreate this cookie from City Bakery in New York. There are seventy-five comments regarding the cookie making attempts. I read them all (because why not). To make vegan, I simply used flax egg--with so few ingredients, it's really a very easy cookie to make/adapt. (I will admit that though I love a peanut butter cookie, just the thought of the measuring cup after sort of makes me not pursue it as regularly as I'd like.) What an insane concern. As a fan of peanut butter of all stripes, these have been worth the effort. I made them using my small cookie baking scoop. You will thank yourself later when you can't resist having another one.  

Took a little tumble a few weeks ago, and like THAT, I was in a cast. Broke my wrist, needed surgery, blah, blah, blah. The whole thing has been an awakening for me. My fifties so far have proven to be, well. . . I'm ready to skip into my sixties and forget this decade is all I'm saying. I'm not sugar-coating here nor do I need be reminded of how much worse it could have been. Were it not for my sister, my dear friends and my oh-so-patient husband, this ordeal may have been my undoing. We were on a hike, on a beautiful fall afternoon--the crispest, coolest Saturday we've had all year, then. . . DH saw me go down. Wrist was in a bit of a twisted and unnatural state at the end of my arm as I struggled to stand up, then came OMG! I broke my wrist! (and other choice words). Luckily I: 1) did not break my dominant hand 2) have an amazing orthopedic surgeon who saw to it that I was tended to per his direction in the ER and then subsequently operated on said fracture, and 3) had both a wonderful urgent care and hospital staff who utterly and completely took excellent care of me despite my cries, screams and moments of near passing out--and then made sure I was passed out to properly tend to the break: thank you!    

Other knitters/crocheters and bakers and people in general have had similar wrist break experiences. I know because I have read about them ALL. My first thought was: WHAT ABOUT KNITTING AND CROCHET: OMG! By my second week, there were fewer tears and woe is me-ing, and I finally picked up my needles and held them in my hand for the first time. 

Knitting Shoulder Cozy by Churchmouse Yarns.

Using Lion Brand Shawl in a Ball.

The Puppy. . .The Runt--a fitting term of endearment as we have realized: we definitely have a runt. She weighs in at under forty pounds and. . .we are past our six month mark. Her sister weighed almost sixty by this point. She is just adorable and smart and loves, loves, loves her very big sissy. Though I think there are times when she wonders: when will I get that big? Actually, she's perfect just the way she is.

Vegan Peanut Butter Sandies

*adapted from NYT / Julia Moskin

makes appx. 24 cookies with small 1" cookie scoop

1/2 cup vegan butter

1/4 cup plus 2 T. brown sugar

1/4 cup plus 2 T. granulated sugar

1/2 t. fine sea salt

1 cup chunky natural peanut butter (I used Smuckers)

2 T. ground flaxseed + 4 T. water + 1 T. olive oil whisked (to replace egg)

1 cup all purpose flour

*extra sugar and salt for dusting

Preheat oven to 350. Get your cookie sheet ready with parchment paper. In medium bowl, cream together the sugar and vegan butter--then add peanut butter and flax egg--mix well. Then add salt and flour and mix until just combined--don't over mix. Scoop out in small 1' cookie mounds. They won't spread so no worries on crowding. Then sift together 2 T. sugar and 1 t. sea salt or flake salt in a small bowl and lightly sprinkle over each cookie before baking. Bake for 15 minutes--you want them to brown a bit around edges.   

Vegan Chocolate Dipped Eclipse Shortbread Cookies

We're in the 'path of totality' so I thought I'd bake some cookies. Who needs an eclipse to be inspired to bake? Not me, but the idea of something coated in chocolate to munch on while the sun disappears tomorrow is where I was going. (Apparently this is kinda a big deal and maybe the first and last one I'll witness in my fifty-some years of living on this planet! So we'll call it a BIG DEAL!)

The dough will come together in under fifteen minutes or so. It requires about two hours of chilling (and I will tell you the dough is quite solid after this chill)--you'll need a sharp knife to cut into the quarter-inch thick sliced miracles. There's a bit of cinnamon in the mix to add a little zing to the flavor with all the chocolate happening. Also, there's coffee for good measure and then, THEN, the chocolate dipping thing happens. These are so crunchy and melt-in-your-mouth, you'll love 'em. (We had to taste-test before the eclipse!)  

See you after the eclipse St. Louis!

Vegan Chocolate Dipped Eclipse Shortbread Cookies

(makes about 20 cookies--double recipe if you'd like more)

1 cup unbleached all-purpose flour

1/2 t. ground cinnamon

pinch of salt

1/4 cup vegan butter, room temperature

1/4 cup vegan shortening

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup sugar

2 t. coffee granules

2 t. warm water (to mix in with the coffee)

1/2 t. vanilla extract

2 t. ground flaxseed plus 2 T. water AND 1 t. light flavored olive oil (egg replacement)

1/8 cup chocolate chips melted

For dipping sauce:

1/2 cup chocolate chips

1 1/2 T. shortening

In a medium bowl, sift dry ingredients together. In another bowl, mix together the butter, shortening and sugars until light and fluffy. Add the flax egg, melted chocolate chips, vanilla extract and coffee mix, blend until well mixed. Then add the dry ingredients and mix until a soft dough forms. (Your dough will be a little sticky, but just flour the counter before you roll it into a log--about six inches long.) Wrap in plastic and place in fridge for about 2 hours until firm. 

Preheat oven to 350. Remove the dough and slice into 1/4" slices and place about an inch apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10-12 minutes--until the cookies are just getting a little color around the edges. 

Allow to cool completely. While cookies cool, prepare the dipping sauce. (I used the "20 seconds at a time in microwave" to melt the chocolate/shortening for dipping.)

Dip cookies and place on parchment. Enjoy! Store in the fridge for best results once the dipping edge has solidified. 

Oh My Vegan Blueberry Pie with Perfect Double Crust Dough (and eight paws!)

In baking, like everything else in life, weather, moods and trips to the store dictate whether pie is in order. I'm that person who sees pies in grocery store cases and thinks: what a shame, why don't people bake their own pies anymore? Then crave pie all the way home. It's been humid and unbearable one day, dry and breezy the next so far this summer with very little rain. 

Hot days of summer or not--I was baking a pie this week. 

I don't know why I've always felt baking a pie is an all day affair. It never is. Pie memories I have are of a pastry cutter and my mother with a large bowl of flour and clumps of butter rolling about in pieces, seeping through the thin wires of the cutter, and of me asking for raw bits of dough to nibble on while she continues to roll through the process of butter, dough, shortening. Then her with a large wooden rolling pin (the same one I still use today), shaping a circle out onto the kitchen counter with a few flings of flour tossed over and under the dough before being carefully flattened into the vintage Corning Ware blue cornflower pie plate (the exact same pie plate I use to today). Then she'd take gobs of whatever fresh fruit was available at the store for filling and copious amounts of sugar. Peach pies more often than not, but for me--berries always in summer. It never seemed to be a big deal for her to just magically throw together a pie. 

The pies were always scrumptious. 

There are a few schools of thought out there as to whether pie crust is a butter only affair or a shortening AND butter affair. I am of the latter in terms of preference.

Nothing fancy. Use whatever design you'd like to vent the pie during baking.

Giving into my craving for pie the entire pie process comes together and bakes in about an hour and a half. The "half hour" set aside for mandatory cooling period for the dough. Eating of said pie commences after a good hour or two of cooling with a dallop of vegan vanilla ice cream: a la mode. Or saved for the next morning. . . for breakfast. (The best way to eat pie if you ask me.)  

This is actually my second berry pie I've baked in two days. 

And aside from pies: here's the newest member of the family. 

This is our last addition to the family what with all the aging we have left in front of us . . we are now two dogs, two humans and four hearts. She is a little under weight and has much growing to go. She is super smart. Her sister loves her, but is a bit too big to have "full access" for play time (because her paw literally covers the little one's head entirely). Supervised play only for the time being. 

She fell asleep on the exam table at her first vet appointment while getting her booster shots. 

Awww. 

The first day we ALL met her! Smallest. Sweetest. Big Sissy loves her, too. 

Now.

Yup. It's a whole new world around here.

Vegan Blueberry Pie

Perfect Double Crust Pie Dough

2 1/2 cups all purpose flour (10 1/2 ounces by weight)

7 T. cold vegan butter 

1/4 cup cold vegetable shortening

1 teaspoon fine sea salt

8 T. ice cold water

In a large bowl, sift together the flour and salt. Then cube the ice cold butter and shortening and using a pastry blender, work the dough until the butter and shortening are in small pieces--some larger pieces are okay--actually are fine! Then begin adding the water one tablespoon at a time, tossing the dough around with a spoon to incorporate the water. Begin to work the dough into a ball carefully with your hand--but don't "over handle" the dough--you want to be able to form a ball. Then divide the ball in half. Flatten each half into a disc, then wrap in plastic and place in fridge for 30-45 minutes. 

Meanwhile, make the filling:

6-7 cups frozen blueberries (*I only had four cups of blueberries on hand, so added frozen black and red raspberries to offset the amount--it works out fine--but I did buy more blueberries for next time)

1/4 t. ground cinnamon

2 T. corn starch

2 T. all purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

juice of whole lemon

Preheat oven to 425. Prepare a 9" pie plate for baking. Toss all filling ingredients together in a bowl. Roll out pie dough on well-floured surface to a 10" in diameter circle--or wide enough to cover the base of the pie plate with a bit of overhang. Place dough in pie plate, pressing it in to fit bottom and come up the sides. *You don't want the crust too thin--about a 1/4" works well. Add the filling. Repeat with other half of dough and then place on top of filling. Fold the dough around the edges under and using your finger and thumb, pinch the crust closed. For the top of the pie, use whatever "venting" system you'd like. I just used a knife and cut out my own decorations, well. . . triangles. 

Bake for 20 minutes at 425. Then turn oven down to 350 and bake for an additional 40 minutes or until crust begins to brown. 

Allow to pie to cool for at least an hour before slicing. Store in fridge. 

Vegan Curry with Sweet Potatoes, Chickpeas and Eggplant

I steered toward cozy, comfort food last night. My kitchen provides a respite for the chaotic world outside the door, and in our own personal lives. With my Spice Tiffin and my mother's vintage copper bottom pot at hand, I was able to whip up a wonderful, aromatic, flavorful, smooth not too-spicy-but-just-right curry. I added a touch of coconut milk to the dish just before serving. There's something magical about the addition of coconut milk to curries. I can't quite put my finger on it, but it's a fine balance of how the flavors meld together before and after--the after being much, much better. This dish took me about 30 minutes give or take. I used my new favorite cookbook for inspiration: America's Test Kitchen Vegan for Everybody. 

The first step in any cooking direction I take when it comes to making curry is to add spices to warm oil. I always include brown mustard seeds. They impart a tart component that, once cooked down, evolve into a creaminess. Well, to my mind they do. Then you add a bit of this and that from the spices you see here. My general ratio is more of the Sweet Curry spice to the rest (I get mine at Penzey's)--and I add based upon my preferred tastes for the evening. I wanted a garam masala boost to this dish: warm cinnamon and cloves permeate this on the front end, but once I added in my second favorite curry seasoning: The Now Curry (again, from Penzeys), it came together very nicely. My motto in curry is: More is Better. I keep tasting until I find the right heat, flavor combo. Taste. Taste. Taste.

I only needed half an eggplant for this. I find I dislike the taste of eggplant heavy flavor. I bet that's why I love the addition of coconut milk to this curry.

The flavor boosters go in next: minced fresh ginger, garlic and onion (diced, not minced). Then the other veggies I have on hand: eggplant, sweet potato, some green pepper, a handful of green beans. It then is up to you as to whether or not you want to add a can of diced tomatoes. I usually do. I had a splash of veggie broth left over from the other night, and about a half cup of it was added, plus a little water. Then I added about a third of a cup of coconut milk and that's when the flavors really did their thing. 

We are experiencing our second flood in our community in fifteen months. I look at the map of the rest of the country and it's as if there is the vortex here in the middle that keeps circling around our state just daring us to keep dry. The photos above were taken on our single sunny day we had on Tuesday as the waters on the Meramec River began rising. 

She hates this weather. 

Meantime, I baked more vegan chocolate chip cookies. My End of World plan for survival. 

Vegan Curry with Sweet Potatoes, Chickpeas and Eggplant

3 T. olive oil

1 T. vegan butter

1" minced fresh ginger

3 garlic cloves minced

1 onion diced

1 t. brown mustard seeds

2-3 t. curry powder

1/2 t. tumuric powder

2 t. garam masala

salt and pepper to taste

1 medium sweet potato cut into half moons

1 green pepper chopped

1/2 medium eggplant chopped into 1/2" pieces

1 can chickpeas

1/2 cup green beans

1/2 cup or more veggie broth

1 can diced tomatoes

1/3 cup lite coconut milk

Over medium heat, add oil and spices. When mustard seeds begin to pop, add the rest of the veggies. Simmer for about five minutes. Add remaining ingredients and allow to simmer together about 20 minutes. Taste as you develop the flavor. If mixture becomes too thick, add more broth or coconut milk. Serve over rice.  

Little Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies (Gluten Free!)

Named so for their little bite-sized appeal, these cookies are a powerful reminder that even if it's an unbearable 90 degrees in St. Louis (and has been so since like May!), fall is really just around the corner.

The fact that my oven has been on the fritz since about the same time means my kitchen magic has, too. Thank god for husbands who will stay home while one works to answer the door when oven repairmen appear, to steadfastly refuse to let said person leave unless it has been undeniably tested beyond a reasonable doubt that said oven is FULLY functional because, godforbid, should said WIFE come home and even for one minute NOT be able to work her oven because we had that happen already and to say life was pretty miserable for awhile without the oven is an understatement, well. . . it was. 

I am happy to report, things are MUCH better here now.  

Little Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Spice Cookies (GF)
*makes 12 cookies

3/4 cup plus 2 T. gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1)
1/4 C sugar
3 T. brown sugar
4 T. vegan butter
1 1/2 t. ground flax seed plus 2 T. water with 1 T. olive oil (for the egg)
2 T. pumpkin puree
2 T. pecan pieces
1/3 C chocolate chips
1/2 t. vanilla extract
1/2 t. ground cinnamon
1/2 t. ground nutmeg
1/2 t. ground ginger
1/4 t. ground allspice
1/4 t. fine sea salt
1/4 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder

Sift all dry ingredients (including spices) together in a medium bowl. Set aside. Then mix your vegan egg (flax seed mixture) in a small bowl and set aside. Put butter, sugars, pumpkin puree, vanilla extract in a medium bowl and mix well until smooth and creamy. Add the flax seed mixture to this. Slowly add the dry ingredient mixture to the wet mixture while also adding the pecans and chocolate chips--mix just until all dough is wet. Place the dough in the fridge for about 30 minutes. Preheat oven to 400. Using a cookie scoop, place cookie dough about 2" apart on cookie sheet. Bake for 10 minutes. Remove from oven, allow to cool. Enjoy!

Vegan Flag Cake (Gluten Free. . .Born in the U.S.A.)

All this cake needs is Bruce Springsteen and a sparkler and you'd be set. 

I became Flag Cake obsessed this morning while catching up on some reading. More specifically this article on Food52. It showed up in my Twitter feed as I was scrolling through the "what you might like" links. Wow. They REALLY know me. The article is about the history of the (wait for it): Flag Cake.

I read the entire history of this cake from Betty Crocker to Ina Garten and Taylor Swift til now. I always assumed Flag Cake was something our mom did to the store-bought angel food cakes to make us feel less poor. Turns out, we were poor, but this cake was not our mother's invention. (Let me give credit where credit is due, she did splurge on some sparklers and a few of those awful stick things where giant plumes of color flames flew out right there in our HANDs!) 

I thought my cake making days were behind me. I mean, it's been years since I've made a cake. But being the OCD person that I am, I could not stop thinking about Flag Cakes. All morning. Until finally I announced we'd be having Flag Cake (while hiding in our home with two terrified dogs and Netflix streaming at its highest volume, fans running in every bedroom to drown out the noise. . . until this godforsaken holiday passes). 

This cake typically gets made in a 9 x 13" pan. I opted to make mine a 9" square cake pan. There is nothing fancy about this cake. It's a basic vegan yellow cake (made with Bob's Red Mill Gluten Free Flour--the 1-to-1 kind), and your basic vegan buttercream frosting. I've made a hundred cakes just like this. What you want to keep in mind is that it is not going to have that airy, super crumbly texture you'd get were you using eggs and making it GF. You'll get a denser cake, which is fine because just look at the amount of berries you'll use. The cake weighs a ton, too. But serve it with a side of vanilla coconut ice cream and be ready to cry with happiness.  

Couple things on the cake making front, you'll notice I've used Ener-G egg replacer in my cake AND a flax egg. Why? The original larger cake calls for SIX eggs! So as I was parsing out how to adjust for not only it being a no egg cake, but also how the GF flour would react to all this deviation and I figured it'd be best to err on the side of caution and did the more is better thinking here. It worked!

Vegan Flag Cake (Gluten Free)

1 1/4 cup gluten free flour (I used Bob's Red Mill 1:1)

1/4 cup cornstarch (or arrowroot)

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

1 cup turbinado sugar

4 tablespoons vegan butter

3/4 teaspoon fine sea salt

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/2 teaspoon almond extract

3 teaspoons Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 6 tablespoons water

1 teaspoon ground flax with 2 tablespoons water plus 1 tablespoon olive oil

2 pints red raspberries

1 pint blueberries

Buttercream Frosting

4 tablespoons vegan butter

4 tablespoons vegan shortening

1/2 teaspoon clear vanilla extract

2 tablespoons vegan creamer

3 cups powdered sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare a 9" square cake pan with a smear of butter and a dusting of flour to make it nonstick. Then line the bottom with parchment paper. Place all dry ingredients in a medium bowl and sift together. In another bowl, add the vegan butter and sugar, vanilla and almond extract and mix until light and fluffy. Prepare the vegan flax egg and egg replacer--then whisk them together. That's right, prepare them separately, then combine. Add this to the butter/sugar mixture. Mix well until fully incorporated. Add a third of the dry ingredients to the butter/sugar/egg mixture, and then add a third of the almond milk and mix well. Continue adding the flour, then milk until finished. Mix the batter until it is a smooth consistency. Pour into the prepared pan. Bake for 30-35 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool completely before frosting. 

Prepare the buttercream frosting by adding the shortening and butter cream and extract to a medium bowl and mixing well until smooth. Then slowly add in the powdered sugar. Add more if the consistency seems too thin, and add less if the frosting seems too thick. Frost the cooled cake. Take a moment to outline with a toothpick or tip of a knife where you'd like the blueberries vs. raspberries to go. Chill in the fridge for an hour before serving. Serving the cake cooled yields a delicious cake. Trust me. 

Reading Between the Lines

I opened the door to walk out and get the paper in this godforsaken heat at seven in the morning, and this fellow was staring at me. First of all, it must have taken him all day to get up the gigantic hill in our back yard to our FRONT door. Omg. Poor creature. 

Then, working in the book biz continues (to my utter shock and dismay). At times, my intermittent dealing with the public slowly erodes my faith in the future of humanity. Not that all book lovers are dealing a blow to my sensibility of our plight, but let's say if I have one more seventy year old woman ask me to look up five erotic-romance titles for her while she steadies herself on her walker, well, I think I might just leave the whole entire job behind with utterances of "WTF?!" I cannot make this up. I wish I could. But nope. When I come home and share these stories with DH, he laughs hysterically, shaking his head in disbelief.