Greener Pastures

I’m back!

Sorry for the hiatus . . .summer has been in full swing, and frankly, the last thing I want to do is be in front of my computer on a sunny, 80-something degree day.

While I was away . . .

Jon and I went to the Electric Forest - it’s a 4-day music festival in Rothbury, Michigan.

 Besides the music, the highlight of this place is the incredible Sherwood Forest. The forest is lit up every night with lights and they have hammocks hung up everywhere for public use. There are little nature scenes scattered about and lots of shaded seating.

I went here back when it was just Rothbury music festival in 2009 and the experience literally changed my life. The experience made me see what kind of person I always wanted to be, I was just too timid to let it out. After that experience in 2009, my life changed drastically, and I couldn’t be more happy with the path it led me on…it led me to Jon!

This Electric Forest experience, however, was a tad different. That music scene has been changing and getting away from the original “peace, love, and happiness” feel ofthe2009 Rothbury, and moving towards a “party with sluts” attitude (that was literally printed on a T-shirt I saw.) Not my idea of good company.

While Jon and I had some really good moments and saw some good shows, that scene has changed so drastically, it was kind of disappointing…we both agreed.

But, on to greener pastures.

I turned 26 on July 3^rd, and it was a great birthday. My parents got me a juicer and Jon got me passes to Ellicottville’s aerial park! It’s something I’ve always wanted to do….I cannot wait.

I haven’t been cooking much lately because we’ve been gone, but I was asked to make a vegan cake for a birthday celebration at work. I jumped at the chance.

Chocolate cake with peanut butter frosting
For the cake, you'll need:
2 cups + 1 tbsp all-purpose flour
1/2 cup regular cocoa powder
1 tsp baking powder
1.5 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp sea salt
1 & 1/8th cup sugar
2.5 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1 & 3/4 cup water
1/8th cup balsamic vinegar
2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1/4 cup canola oil

To make cake:1. Combine all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl
2. Combine all wet ingredients in smaller mixing bowl
3. Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients slowly using a hand mixer.
4. Mix until smooth
5. Divide batter into 2 greased 8'' round pans
6. Bake at 350' for 33 minutes

For the frosting you'll need:
1 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup non-hydroginated shortening
1 3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup almond milk

To make frosting:
1. Beat together peanut butter and shortening until smooth
2. Add vanilla and mix in
3. Add 1/2 of the powdered sugar and mix until smooth, adding a bit of the almond milk to help smooth out the texture
4. Add the rest of the powdered sugar and almond milk and mix until smooth. Frosting will not be runny, it will be quite firm.

To assemble:
1. Place 1 completely cooled cake on plate and evenly smooth a good spatter of frosting on the top
2. Place other cake ontop of the first and smooth frosting on top and on sides

Good Day, Bad Cake.

My little sister graduated yesterday from The University at Buffalo with a double major in English and Environmental Sciences.

Her graduation was on Mother's Day, just like mine was 4 years ago...from the same place, with the same major! (Well...just English...she went the extra mile and tacked on Environmental Science.)

The ceremony was about 2.5 hours long. There were a lot of kids to get through; and this was only the College of Arts and Sciences!

Their speaker was New York Senator Charles Schumer. He gave a nice, short, sweet speech that I actually think was very similar to the one he gave at my graduation 4 years ago. He talked about growing up, taking risks, reaching higher, and "going for it."

Kay and Me

Our family

Kay and her boyfriend

The graduate!

So, I mentioned in a past post that I bought a Wilton cake decoration kit. I wanted to make a cake to celebrate Kayla's graduation, and I thought this was the perfect opportunity to break it out and give it a go.

I made two 8'' round cakes the night before. I took the recipe from the same book that I used to make my chocolate cake with coffee butter cream frosting, however, the recipe called for all-purpose flour...all I had was Bob's Red Mill stone-ground whole wheat flour.

While I cooked with that flour a few times before, it was mostly for pancakes and biscuit-type cookies - not cake. But, it was all I had and I needed to make the cakes the night before to ensure they had proper time to cool before frosting. So, I used the stone-ground whole wheat flour.

I will never, ever do that again.

I first knew something was wrong when it came out of the oven. The cakes smelled slightly...play dough-y. Yeah...not good. Nonetheless, I let them cool and planned on using them for the cake.

I woke up Sunday morning at 6:30 a.m. to prepare the frosting and the piping tubes. This was my first time playing with frosting tips and bags, so I wanted to be sure I had some wiggle room before I had to start getting ready to head out for the graduation.

I stacked up the two cakes with a layer of frosting in the middle and went to town on the decorating.

I only used two tips (a star tip and a #3) to keep it simple for my first try. I was pretty happy with how it turned out, given it was my very first time. After decorating, I packed up the cake and headed off to watch the ceremony.

When it finally came time to eat the cake, Kayla cut into it and as soon as we removed the first slice, it smelled like fresh...play dough.

We put slices on the plates, took our first bites, and it tasted like fresh...play dough.

Well, shoot.
That didn't work out as well as I hoped it would.

The only good thing about the whole darn cake was the frosting. The stone-ground whole wheat flour was DEFINITELY not made for cakes.

I will never be making that mistake again.

 

Kayla was a champ, though. She pretended to like it.

It's okay, we're getting together next weekend for dinner and I promised I would redeem myself with a TASTY treat.

So, no recipe, but I thought you'd get a kick out of my little story. Hey, you can't win them all.

Have you ever had a baking/cooking disaster and had no choice but to serve it? Did it turn out horrible, or is it something you laugh about today?

Chocolate Cake with Coffee Buttercream Frosting

I know, I know. . . it's been a while. This past week has been busy with work, the Easter holiday, training, and life.

I really would love nothing more than to stay in the kitchen all day and make delicious vegan and vegetarian treats, but work has to be done, duties have to be carried out, and money has to be made. I always have weekends to play. . .

With that said, I really haven't gotten to make anything really spectacular lately, but I did manage to get this together for Jon's mom's Birthday with help from Have Your Cake and vegan too, By Kris Holechek.

Chocolate Cake With Coffee Butter Cream Frosting
You'll need (for the cake)
1 3/4 C flour (I used gluten free flour)
1 1/2 C organic granulated sugar
3/4 C baking cocoa
1 1/2 t baking soda
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/8 t salt
1 1/2 C unsweetened almond milk
1/2 t apple cider vinegar
1/2 C canola oil
2 t vanilla extract
1 C boiling water

To make:
1. Preheat oven to 350'F. Lightly grease 9''x13'' pan.
2. In a medium bowl, combine flour, sugar, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
3. In a large bowl, combine milk and vinegar with an electric mixer. Add oil and vinegar. Combine with mixer.
5. Incorporate half the dry mixture into the wet, blend until smooth. Add remaining dry mixture and, again, blend until smooth.
6. Add the boiling water to the mixture and blend until smooth. Batter will seem watery. Pour into greased cake pan.
7. Bake in oven for  40 minutes (or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center). Let cool completely in pan on wire rack before frosting.

For the frosting, you'll need:
1/2 C Earth Balance Buttery Stick
1/2 - 1 t instant coffee granules (I used 1/2 but next time I'll do more)
1 T unsweetened almond milk
1 3/4 C powdered sugar

To make:
1. Cream Earth Balance in a medium bowl with beaters.
2. Dissolve coffee in almond milk and add to Earth Balance. Mix.
3. Add the powered sugar in 2 parts, mixing to combine. Beat until smooth and creamy.

I was very pleasantly surprised with this cake. It came out much better than I thought it would. The cake was mildly sweet, and the texture was similar to pound cake in that it was very compact, but it was not dense - it was very light and almost spongy.
The frosting was very smooth and the coffee sang through the sugar and combined with the bittersweet chocolate flavor of the cake to harmonize into a lovely Birthday treat!

P.S.: Notice anything a little different about these photos? I used natural sun light and WOW, what a difference!

Easy Vegan Cut Out Cookies (The stoned, the funny, the angry, and the appropriate)

Cut out cookies bring back wonderful childhood memories for me; they were not just synonymous with Christmas, but with almost every holiday - Valentine's day (cut out lips and hearts frosted pink), St. Patrick's Day (shamrocks and leprechauns frosted green), Easter (eggs and ducks frosted yellow and purple).

We'd make a couple dozen and bring them to school to share with friends, make a little cookie tray for the grandparents, and of course keep a few in the house for an after school snack.

The best part of cut out cookies is the decorating. You have a cookie with a general shape, but what you make of it is all up to the imagination!

My sister and I have a lot of fun decorating our family's Christmas cut outs . . .

Bob Marley Christmas Cookie (with dreads, Rastafarian colors, and little doobie)

Business Man Christmas Cookie (complete with cell phone and tie)

And, a Very Angry Christmas Cookie (with red angry eyes and big scary teeth)



Yes, cooking is CREATIVITY!

These cookies, however, are not of the stoned, funny, or angry kind, they're of the cute kind!

I'm going to a baby shower tomorrow and offered to bring a vegan treat. My first instinct was . . .cookies! Of course. After some deliberation, I settled on cut out cookies.

I wanted to do something that tied into the nursery rhyme "...frogs, snails, and puppy dog tails - that's what little boys are made of", but I didn't think bringing frog or snail cut out cookies to a baby shower would go over too well. I could just imagine it: "You think my baby will look like a frog?!?", "My baby is not a slug!" . . . I opted for the safe, socially acceptable baby duck cookie cutter from Anne Clark Ltd.

Easy Vegan Cut Out Cookies

You'll need:

2 C unbleached, sifted flour

3/4 C white sugar

1 t baking powder

1/4 C applesauce

1/2 C canola oil

1 T pure vanilla extract

1/2 t cinnamon

To make:

1. Mix together dry ingredients in large mixing bowl

2. Mix together wet ingredients in a separate, smaller bowl

3. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and hand mix with a fork. Careful not to over mix; this will make the dough tough.

4. Take ball of dough from the bowl and place on floured counter top. With a rolling pin, roll out dough to about 1/2'' thickness.

5. Use your cookie cutters to cut shapes into the dough. Use a spatula to get cookies off counter top and onto parchment-lined cookie pan.

6. Cook cookies at 350 degrees Fahrenheit for 10-12 minutes.

The cookies are not punchy sugar sweet, but more of a mild, shortbread-y flavor. If you really want to give them a sugar smack, frost them with vegan butter cream frosting!

Raw dough

Baked Cut Outs



Frosted and decorated (tastefully) for a baby shower!

Do you ever get silly when cooking/baking? What are some of your favorite cut out cookie shapes?

WhooOOOoo loves you?

Owl always love you!

Happy Valentine's Day!

What a hoot that little guy is, right? So sweet.

He's actually a mini brownie cake with spiced butter cream frosting. But, the brownie is a bit unconventional...and not just 'vegan unconventional'...we're talking special ingredient unconventional.

Basically, I was looking to make a healthy Valentine's Day treat in the shape of a heart so I could transform it into an owl. Owls are such beautiful animals; they're graceful, intelligent, and whoooo doesn't like a good owl joke? :)

I was first on a mission to make sugar cut-out cookies, but most all the recipes required some extra refrigeration time, and extra time was one of the things I just did not have.

Then I remembered the mini heart-shaped novelty baking pans my parents had given to me when I first moved out.

They're 4'' wide and 4'' long and 1'' deep - perfect for personal cakes, treats, and such. I set out to make little owl brownie cakes.

While searching for a recipe outline to follow for vegan brownies, I realized most contained 1/2 - 1 cup of vegetable or canola oil. That was a little too much for me; I prefer to make treats that are a little lower in fat. I switched up the wording in my Google search and stumbled upon this little ditty from Two Steps One Step.

Black Bean Brownies (with spiced butter cream frosting)

You'll need:

1 can black beans, rained and rinsed

2 ripe bananas

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2-4 T sugar (depending on how sweet you like your treats)

1/2 t almond extract

To make:

1. Preheat oven to 325degrees

2. Combine all ingredients into a food processor and process until smoth

3. Pour batter into greased cake pan and let bake for 1hr15min (this is what the recipe calls for. I used my 3 heart-shaped novelty pans and it filled them all).

4. When brownie is cooked, let cool completely. Frost with butter cream frosting and decorate into an owl!

These brownies were very mild in their sweetness. The butter cream frosting really gives these babies a punch of sweet...which is nice because the brownie (in my opinion) could have used a little more sugar.

 

Did you make any special Valentine's Day treats? Do you have any fun/special/chill plans for tonight?

New year, new internet!

Hello friends! 
I'm back...and it's about time, huh? We finally got an internet connection last week, so I'm back in business.
Besides not being able to blog and keep up on my blog roll, the worst part of having no internet was not being able to do online shopping during the holidays! Relying on spotty WiFi from coffee shops to get a good bulk of my shopping finished did not help my holiday spirit. But, the presents were bought, delivered, and Christmas was a success. *Whew*

One thing I did a lot of during my internet black out was catch up on my reading! I forgot how much I missed binge reading :)

I got through:

Into The Wild
By: Jon Krakauer

A young man from a well-to-do family who can't deny his contempt of materialistic society ventures across the country towards Alaska to live off the land and find peace in the most wildest of climates.

Mother Earth, Father Sky
By: Sue Harrison

Young Chagak is thrown cruelly into womanhood and is forced to survive, cope, and overcome her situations in the primitive arctic world.

The Adventures of
Huckelberry Finn

By: Mark Twain

The classic character of Huckleberry Finn narrates his shenanigans and provides a playful view of a boy's childhood adventures.

Kitchen Confidential

By: Anthony Bourdain

A deliciously gritty view of the restaurant business, the people who work in it, and the 'real way' the whole operation works.

Along with reading, there was also much cooking, baking, eating, drinking, visiting family, cheering on our struggling Buffalo Sabres and trying to burn calories at the gym as fast as they were being consumed.

So, as you can imagine, I have a lot of recipes and wines to share, and now, all the internet to do so! Keep your eyes peeled! 

Did you get to do any reading during the holidays? What book(s) are you currently reading?

Brownie Pumpkin Pie with a Crunchy Pecan Topping

This Thanksgiving, I had dessert duty - something I was very glad to be assigned. For some reason, I always found dessert-making less stressful than main/side dish making.
Dessert is the ''fun'' dish...it's the dish you can dress to impress.

I wanted to make a vegan dessert that was easy, included the traditional pumpkin ingredient, but had a bit to that "Ooh" factor.

I paroozed some of my favorite food blogs and stumbled upon this little ditty from Angela of Oh She Glows: Brownie pumpkin pie with a crunchy pecan topping.

Oh, yes...this had traditional pumpkin, but also the little zing of a brownie crust and a crunchy, sugary, pecan topping. This was the winner.

Here's my variation on her recipe:

Brownie Pumpkin Pie with a Crunchy Pecan Topping

You'll need: 

Pumpkin brownie layer

1 cup canned pumpkin
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1/4 cup coconut oil, softened
3/4 cup Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour
1.5 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp cornstarch
1/4 cup organic cocoa powder
1/2 tsp sea salt
1/2 tsp baking soda
Pumpkin pie layer
1 cup canned pumpkin
2 tbsp cornstarch
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup organic cane sugar
3 tbsp almond milk
2 tsp pumpkin pie spic
 Pecan topping
1/4 cup earth balance
1/2 cup organic brown sugar
1/3 cup Bob's Red Mill whole wheat flour
3/4 cup pecans

To make: 

1. Preheat oven to 350F and grease a pie pan. 

2. For brownie layer: Using a hand mixer, mix together the coconut oil, pumpkin, vanilla, and sugar until blended. Sift in the flour, cocoa powder, cornstarch, baking, soda, sea salt and mix until incorporated. Take the entire mixture and place in pie pan; spread evenly.

3. For pumpkin layer: In a large bowl mix together the pumpkin, vanilla, and milk. In a small bowl, mix together the cornstarch, sugar, and pumpkin pie spice. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix well until all clumps are gone. Now add on top of brownie mixture.

4. For Pecan topping: Mix all ingredients until well combined and sprinkle on top of the pie. 

5. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 350F. Remove from oven and cool for 20-30 minutes and then move to the fridge to chill for 1.5 hours.

This recipe produces a dense, moist, savory dish with multiple layers of flavors. You'll taste the cocoa in the crust, the gooey middle of pumpkin and spice, and also the caramelized brown sugar and pecan crunch.  

Do you prefer making dinner or dessert dishes? 

Do you have a go-to dessert recipe for the holdays, or do you like to take a risk with a new dish?

Southern Tier Imperial Pumpking Ale

Southern Tier Imperial Pumpking Ale
 Brewed in Lakewood, NY
8.6%

Taste:
Slightly bitter upfront with a spicy, vanilla-hinted finish. This beer is more spicy (cinnamon, clove, and pumpkin spice) than pumpkin-y. Very smooth, light, and flavorful





Other notes:
-Bottle has story of Celtic folklore creature, Puca.
-The printing is festive with unmistakably Halloween colors
- Contains: 2-row pale malt, Carmel malt, pureed pumpkin, kettle hops: magnum, aroma hops: sterling
-Best served chilled in a goblet at 40`F

 

Gobble!

Happy Thanksgiving! 

( I know I'm a little late, but it was a busy day yesterday!)

 Don't worry, little guy, you will be spared - LIVE! BE FREE!

This was year 2 of no turkey for my family's Thanksgiving; none of us are really big on meat, so we forgo the bird and make other yummy dishes. But aside from the normal food talk, Thanksgiving began with the big race I've been training for, my first race ever...the Turkey Trot!

The 8K spanned through a good portion of Buffalo and reached capacity at 13, 200 runners.

This being my first race, I had no idea what I was doing. Jon helped me pin my race number to the belly of my hoodie, I stuck the Ttag on my shoe, and got into the enormous crowd that was the starting line.

I waited for about 20 minutes in the crowd, doing little stretches and jumping a bit to keep warm (it was overcast and about 45' F). Just when my toes started to hurt a little from the cold, they announced it was time to set our timers and take our mark; it was 9:00 a.m. The gun was shot. I waited...and waited...and stood on my toes to see why the heck nobody was moving.

There were so many people, I didn't even make it to the starting line until 5 minutes had passed after the gun! But, once I was over the start, I ran. It was exciting and fulfilling to be actually running in this 116 year tradition!

Overall, the race went well. Aside from some nasty gusts of icy Lake Erie wind, I kept warmer than I thought I would. I pushed through and didn't walk once; good music helped keep my pace. My goal was to finish the 5 miles in under 45 minutes.

Here's how I did:

3906 Alyssa Rizzo 

Place in sex: F#  753 

Place in age group: 139/1009 

Net race time: 43:29 

Net race pace: 8:45 

I'm pretty happy with those times.

The best thing, though, was having my dad and Jon at the finish line to cheer me through.

The Turkey Trot was a great experience, and I'd definitely do it again.

Races are a great way to set goals, work to achieve them, and then see them through 

when the day comes.

Besides, when else can you do this awesome pose on the streets of Buffalo, NY:

What was your first race? Was it how you expected it to be?

Trottin', down to Buffalo . . .

Silly me, I never updated you on the status of my Buffalo Turkey Trot decision...well, I signed up and I'm running the 8K (5 miles) this upcoming Thanksgiving morning! Woo!

It'll be my very first race, and I am so excited. I've been training in the gym for the past few weeks, going from 3 miles, to 4 miles, to 5 miles, to 5.5 miles (just to push it a little). 

In those past few weeks, I've learned a lot about running: how important it is to stretch pre and post run, how not to think about running while you're running, how you might feel soreness in parts of your legs and back you never knew existed (until you stretch, that is), how a good playlist on your iPod is key when running 5 miles on a treadmill...

I don't think it'll be boring to run this race, though. There are a lot of creative people at these Turkey Trots . . . check out this trotter:

 Needless to say, with all this training, planning for the Thanksgiving holiday, and working in a job when overtime is as common as sneezing, it's left me in a scramble to get dinner on the table lickety-split. Luckily, I have a few tricks up my sleeve!

When I first decided to eat primarily vegan, I didn't want to miss out of ultra savory sauces - like Alfredo. Hey, I am half Italian, after all!
After some snooping around on the internet, I managed to piece together a wonderful vegan Alfredo recipe. It's super thick, creamy, "cheesy", and (most importantly) it's so easy to make.
So, without further ado. . . 

Ultra Creamy Vegan Tomato Alfredo Sauce  
You'll need:
1/4 cup Nutritional yeast
1 tsp sea salt
1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1 cup water
1 1/2 tbs vegan butter (Earth Balance)
1/4 cup tomato paste

To make:
1. Mix dry ingredients in a sauce pan
2. Add water and mix with fork/whisk until smooth
3. Turn heat on stove top to medium-high heat and add vegan butter and tomato paste
4. Stir very frequently (almost consistently), making sure to scrape the bottom of the pot.
5. Alfredo sauce will thicken as it heats. Heat and stir until sauce reaches typical Alfredo texture.
6. Pour on top of pasta, barley, rice...whatever your pleasure!

 What are your favorite go-to, lickety-splt meals?