Birthdays and Birthday Cakes!

January 31st, 2010 at 15:51

Yesterday was my mom’s birthday, so Ty and I made the trip down Whidbey Island to Langley, where we all got together at my mom’s house to celebrate. My grandma had offered to make my mom a cake (not like she had any energy to do it), and I knew that if she did, I would likely not be able to eat it. Or rather, I shouldn’t eat it. I could, but I wouldn’t have felt good about it.

So, I made a cake! I’ve had my eye on this Chocolate-Orange Cake recipe for quite a while, and figured now was as good a time as any to try it. (It wouldn’t have been a good time, had it been a flop, but I had trust that it would turn out well.)

The cake was incredibly tasty, even though my icing was way too runny and pooled all around the cake. It made for delicious stuff to dip your finger in, though. It was also quite rich, and I’d like to explore how it would taste without the orange tones, and as just a simple chocolate cake. It could be good with raspberry incorporated into it, as well. Mmm! I might have to try that for Ty’s birthday, which is coming up in a few weeks.

Other foodstuff that made an appearance at my mom’s birthday dinner included some dinner rolls, a red and white quinoa blend which was mixed with fresh basil and spinach pesto (care of my brother), some roasted brussel sprouts with toasted garlic (care of Vegan with a Vengeance), some chicken that my mom cooked (which I obviously didn’t touch), and orange slices which were left over from making the cake.

All in all, it was a very successful, very delicious dinner, and everybody ate everything and enjoyed it. Except Ty, who just ate the chicken and a couple of rolls, which he claimed to be fine with. I’d planned on heating up some peas for him, but forgot to verify with my mom that she had some. Oh well. Still, a very fun day!

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Brownie Cookies!

January 18th, 2010 at 10:47

Okay, so I’m having a complete blast trying out recipes from my new cookbook, Veganomicon. My first try from the book was the “Chewy Chocolate-Raspberry Cookies” recipe. I call them brownie cookies, for good reason … ’cause they taste like brownies!

I made three modifications to the recipe, which ended up leading to a fourth modification. The recipe calls for raspberry preserves, which we don’t have. So I substituted strawberry. I have a feeling the cookies would have turned out more rich, with the raspberry. As it is, you really don’t notice the strawberry.

I also didn’t have almond extract, so that didn’t go in. I’m not big on almonds, but I do like the overall flavor, so I think I may pick some up the next time I go to the co-op. The next batch will have it for sure.

My third modification was subbing agave syrup for half of the sugar. This turned out well, as far as sweetness went. However, it meant that my cookie dough was much more wet, leading to the fourth modification: using a lot more flour. I added in whole wheat flour in small increments until I felt like the dough was about right, and then floured my hands while rolling the balls of dough.

These cookies are simple enough (and inoffensive enough) to bring to people’s houses just because, or for a company potluck. And let me tell you, I’m going to have a lot of fun cooking things and sharing them with the unsuspecting. This isn’t to force vegan food on them, but to show, hey, we can make totally awesome food, too! And there’s nothing weird or abnormal (or unhealthy, for the most part) about it!

My first experiment was on my co-workers, and I made these Skinny Figgy Bars, from FatFree Vegan. They were a huge hit, and later that afternoon I visited with Ty’s cousin and her little girls, and they devoured most of what was left of the bars. Ty even tried one eventually, stating that it wasn’t “too bad.” This is progress!

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