Cookbook Review: Allergy Free Cook Bakes Cakes and Cookies

A while back, I was sent a copy of "The Allergy-Free Cook Bakes Cakes and Cookies" to review. The name of this book is a bit insane, but the recipes seem to be pretty great. All the recipes inside are Gluten-free, Dairy-free, Egg-free, and Soy-free. She also tells you which ones are Nut-free. So there!

I'm not gluten-free, but a lot of people I love are -- including my excellent cousin and a few of my beloved yoga students and friends. So, I like to have some reliable GF recipes on hand so that I can bake for them. Plus, if you think about how rarely people ever bake vegan treats for you, just imagine how the GF folks feel, and especially how the Vegan GF'ers feel. My goodness. Just imagining that sad state of affairs is enough to inspire me to go bake someone a cake.

Of course, it's not like I need to be eating cake all the time, so it took me a little while to get around to writing this review. Recently, though, our excellent friends B&D invited us over for dinner, and B is one of my special GF friends. So, I seized the moment and made - not one, but TWO cakes to bring along! Ha ha!

The first one I made was the Chocolate Orange Bundt Cake. It's a super orangey cake, with chocolate chips inside. Can you even believe how perfect and beautiful it is?? I cooked it a little longer than the recipe called for and still it was just a touch too moist. I would definitely make this again, because it is beautiful and had a CRAZY delish orangey and chocolatey flavor, but next time I'll bake it another 5-10 minutes more.

Here it is all dressed up for the dinner party! This cake has TWO glazes: first a super orangey glaze that you drizzle or brush on, and then a dark chocolate glaze that you drizzle. So yumz! Also, though, the double glazing added a lot of moisture, so I would suggest doing it right before serving -- and that's another reason to bake the cake a little longer.

I also brought along this really interesting Tahinopita cake. We all thought this one was really more like a breakfast cake. Kind of like scones or something. It was so good and tasted very sophisticated. We made coffee after dinner (decaf, of course!) -- and this one paired really nicely with the coffee. The rich, roasted tahini flavor really came through and was lightened by dried fruits, and nuts. Mmm. I really liked this unusual cake.

Then, last weekend I was teaching a weekend-long yoga retreat, and I have a tradition of always bringing along a big batch of cookies so everyone can have a sweetie after lunch. There are usually a few GF folks on the retreat, so I decided to turn to this book again for help. After much consideration, I chose to make the Chocolate Chunk Tahini Cookies. They were great! The only fat in these cookies comes from tahini - how cool is that? Naturally, I used roasted tahini for extra deep flavor goodness! I think I over baked them slightly, but no one seemed to complain - and that was probably my fault for multi-tasking while they were baking. All the same, they really came out well, and I look forward to trying more GF cookie recipes from this book.

Overall:

If you're a vegan GF person, or if you have any GF folks in your life that you enjoying baking sweeties for, I think this is a really good book to have in your collection. There are a wide variety of recipes (cakes, cookies, and bars) -- with an array of flavors, so you're likely to find a number of them appealing. Also, lots of the recipes are really creative (like the Tahinopita cake) - not just the same ol' recipes you've already made loads of times.

Lastly, I really appreciate that for each recipe the author specifies which types of flours to use (tapioca, brown rice, sorghum, etc) - and not just "1 cup gluten free flour mix." That sort of recipe drives me nuts because it seems so unreliable. These recipes are clear and specific.

A Vintage Pyrex Miracle

A True Story.

Last week, I was washing some dishes as I was waiting for my coffee to brew... when tragedy struck. The double risk of wet, slippery hands and pre-coffee-alertness-levels meant that I accidentally dropped  one of my beloved vintage Pyrex bowls. It broke into one hundred million pieces, which woke up Mr. VE&T, and brought all the pets in to investigate - and I had to rush them out before they cut their little feetsies. 

As I was sweeping up all the shattered debris, I thought, "At least this means I can buy another one."

Later that very day, the doorbell rang unexpectedly. Who could it be?? Why! It's my auntie Laura, with a cardboard box tucked under her arm... apparently she had a little surprise for me: TWO VINTAGE PYREX BOWLS! Friends, it was truly a Pyrex miracle.

She'd found these bowls at a yard sale months ago, and knowing my love of V.P. picked them up me (for only $8!!). But, the green bowl didn't have its lid, and the guy said to come back later. She was persistent, and finally found him at a good time, and they tracked it down. I love that green casserole dish so much, and I especially love that it has its matching vintage lid!

vintage Pyrex love!

Also, don't forget to enter my contest to win a free copy of Tami & Celine's newest book :
Whole Grain Vegan Baking
Enter the contest Here

Whole Grain Vegan Baking: Blog Tour (& Giveaway!)

Welcome to the next stop in the 

Whole Grain Vegan Baking Blog Tour!

Celine Steen (Have Cake Will Travel) & Tami Noyes (Vegan Appetite) 

have come out with a wonderful new book : Whole Grain Vegan Baking

Their last book, Vegan Sandwiches Save the Day was probably my favorite vegan cookbook from last year. I love it so much. So, when they asked me to participate in a blog tour for this new book, I jumped at the chance. Their publisher, Fair Winds Press, offered me a copy to review, but - uh - I had already bought myself a copy! So, lucky for you all, I've got a copy to give away.

The first thing I made from WGVB was this Hearty Barley Fruit Bread, based on an old family recipe from Celine. I loved, loved, loved this bread so much. I want to eat it every day for the rest of my life. It truly is hearty, and filled with walnuts, dried figs, candied orange peel, and warming spices. It's dense and totally delicious. I really look forward to making it again soon. 

Bonus: I got to use up some of my homemade candied orange peel. That recipe really made a LOT of candied orange peel!

Next up, I made the Lemony Spelt Scones (notice theme of using my homegrown citrus! - these called for lemon juice and lemon zest!). I really enjoyed these scones, especially since I hardly ever make scones. The texture was just perfect: dry -- but not too dry, dense -- but not too dense. They were perfectly crumbly and went great with my morning cuppa joe.

All of the recipes call for whole grain flours (obviously!), but also un-refined sugars, and generally quite wholesome ingredients. I suppose if you are on a super tight budget, or don't have any good natural foods stores around, this could be a bummer. But, I've been happily surprised to easily find every ingredient I've needed for these recipes in the bulk bins at my local hippy store. These scones, for example, call for Whole Spelt Flour, Brown Rice flour, Sucanat (unrefined sugar), and other more standard ingredients. Nothing too hard to track down!

Finally, I made a beautiful batch of Hidden Treasure Muffins! I love that name. These are super lemony whole-grain muffins with secret jam hidden inside! What fun. I used some apricot jam that a friend gave us. :) I made these for my mom on Mothers' Day. They were so great - a little bit sweet and naughty, but also hearty and wholesome. I'll definitely make these again!

Besides all the great recipes, there are a lot of great things to love about this book:

~ Beautiful layout: glorious pictures (taken by Celine!), one recipe per page, super cute fonts, and even the paper is smooth and matte and super fun to feel. This sort of thing really affects how much I can groove on a cookbook.
~ Recipes give weights AND measures. I really love that.
~ The recipes are totally awesome! I have so many more marked down that I want to make:
Whole Grain Artisan Bread, Lemon Ginger Rolls, Pesto Knots, Garlic Naan, Nectarine Topped Oatmeal Cake... and on and on!

Yes! YOU CAN HAZ A COPY!

Fair Winds Press is offering one copy to a winner (open to U.S. & Canada only, sorry!). Just leave a comment here on this post, and you'll be entered to win. Be sure to leave your blogger contact or email, because I am not going to spend hours hunting you down! I'll pick a winner in one week - next Wednesday, May 22nd.

Chipotle Tofu Sofritas

I hardly ever eat out. Most of the time I feel like I can cook a better vegan meal than I can get in a restaurant. Plus, I'll know what's in it (which won't be 1/4 cup of oil and 2 tablespoons of salt, or whatever). In fact, I almost only ever end up eating out when I am Too Tired To Cook. It happens sometimes that I have noble visions of preparing some promising new recipe that I've never tried, but suddenly it's already 8:30 pm and I feel like I will either pass out or start eating the junk mail if I don't get some food in me pronto.

That's where Chipotle comes in. Chipotle is basically semi-fast food, but you get to watch as they put your food together and you can specify "just a little salsa," or whatever. Plus, they are super vegan friendly. They have brown rice. The guacamole is free when you get a veggie burrito. Friends, for real. And, just recently, they introduced a super awesome new vegan option in Northern California: Tofu Sofritas. It's a spicy crumbled tofu pan-fried with roasted poblano peppers, and it is GOOD. I was so happy when I finally got to try it, and now I think I've already had it 3 times (important note: guacamole is not free with the sofritas option, only with the beans-and-rice option).

I always get the burrito bowl - which is like all the burrito stuff without the tortilla - and I always ask for extra peppers and onions. Plus, if you are counting calories like I am, you can even look up all their nutrient stuff online here. I didn't see the Sofritas info online yet, so I emailed the company and got a response the very same day! What! I was really impressed.

Here's what they sent:
Sofritas Nutritional Info:
(for some reason, protein wasn't included?)
Size - 4oz
calories - 145
cal from fat - 90
total fat (g) 10
sat fat (g) 1.5
trans fat - 0
cholesterol (mg) - 0
Sodium (mg) - 850
carbs (g) - 9.5

Have you ever eaten at a Chipotle? Have you tried the Sofritas? 

What's your I'm A Zombie back-up plan?? 

Quizza

See the toasty goodness?

I've blogged about Ricki's delicious Chickpea Quizza before... but just in case you missed the memo, here I am to blog about it again. I love this recipe so much. It's simple, practically effortless, and full of nutrition. Recently I made a big double batch of quizzas - with zucchini, chard, and sun-dried tomatoes as my veggies. After they were perfectly baked, I cut each one into quarters and froze them.

Along with some fruit and a cuppa joe, they make a really perfect breakfast. Savory, filling, high-protein, and yummy! I just take a slice out of the freezer and warm in my toaster oven for 15-20 minutes, and I'm good to go. I just finished the last slice, so it looks like it's time for me to make some more.

The Great Frangelicake

This year, for his birthday, Mr. Vegan Eats & Treats requested a Frangelicake. In case you are wondering what a Frangelicake is, I was too. Basically, Mr. VE&T wanted a cake made with his new favorite liqueur, Frangelico. And, he decided it would be called a Frangelicake.

I pretty much used my successful cake from my aunt's birthday last year as a reference.

 I used the chocolate cake recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, but this time I decided to make a smaller cake, so I only 1.5'ed the recipe, instead of doubling it. I used my extra special super dark cocoa powder - and don't they look amazing?? Dark as night!

 Also, I used my brand new cake gadget - a level top-remover. I picked it up at the party store for a few bucks recently, because whenever I try to cut the top off the cake with a bread knife it gets all wonky and lopsided. This gadget has a thin serrated wire blade between two "feet" that you can slide along the table. Also, there are litte notches on the side to make sure your blade is level. I needed to make a little slice in the side of the cake with a knife to get the thing going, but after that it worked like a gem...

 ... Look, Ma -- perfectly level!

At the very end, it was starting to tear the cake, so I used a knife again to help it then too. All it all, this gadget was super easy to use and I'm stoked to have it. I don't make cakes all that often, but when I do, I like them to be just so.

 Next I made a Hazelnut Buttercream frosting - based on the Peanut Butter Buttercream from VCTOTW (though without shortening, and with added Frangelico, of course.) This iteration was easier to work with and a bit better than my filling layer from last year's cake for my aunt. I used some 100% hazelnut butter from the health food store and it was super hazelnutty.

 All put together, and ready to get dressed up for a night on the town.

Hm... what to wear? Oh, I know! GANACHE. I should have transferred the cake to the cake board before putting on the ganache, but I guess I just wasn't thinking. Luckily, it was a mini cake, so it was easy to transfer. Also, I love the choco-dribbles on the pot-o-ganache in the background.

 Finally, hazelnuts! I put little strips of parchment paper under the edges of the cake, in order to keep the cake board looking clean and pristine. For the nuts around the edge, I special ordered some roasted hazelnuts from Freddy Guys Hazelnuts. You might think that sounds crazy, but those are seriously the most remarkably glorious roasted hazelnuts ever known to mankind. Worth the shipping fee. Plus, you may as well just buy a bunch of bags while you're there.

 Lookin' good! See how nice it looks after pulling away the parchment strips? 

That way the cake board looks properly spiffy.

For the writing on top, I just mixed some of the leftover hazelnut filling with more powdered sugar and Earth Balance and almond milk, until I got a good consistency for writing. The ziplock bag is my cheap and easy answer to a pastry bag. Put the frosting in, zip it shut, and then use some scissors to cut a tiny little bit off one corner...

 Then it was all ready to go! 

Mr. VE&T wanted to go out for Italian food for dinner, so I called ahead and made sure it would be okay to bring along our own cake. The restaurant was totally cool with that, so I put the whole cake in a cake box and packed it up. The cake box is only 8 inches by 8 inches, so that gives you some sense of this little mini cake's actual size.

The most important question of all: How was it??

Amazeballs!

It was rich and chocolately and hazelnutty! I'm not sure how dominant the Frangelico liqueur was though, so maybe next time it would be even better with some vanilla ice cream and some Frangelico drizzled on top to go with the cake. Luckily, there was some left over to enjoy the next day. Mr. VE&T was a little impatient with me as I was snapping this picture - he was sitting with a fork at the ready, all geared up for more birthday cake!!

Eatin' East

You may have noticed that one of my menu-planning tactics is to just pick up one cookbook, and make a whole bunch of dinners from that book for 3-4 days. It helps give me a little focus. Recently I ordered "30-Minute Vegan: Taste of the East," since I liked their "Taste of Europe" edition so much. I've only made a few things, but so far Taste of the East has been quite a hit!

Cauliflower Chickpea Subji and Tofu in Tomato Cream Sauce (Shahi Paneer)

The book suggested serving these two dishes together, and it was a good idea! They really balanced each other : the chickpea-cauliflower dish was light and fresh and full of herby green flavors, while the Shahi Paneer was rich, creamy, and robust.

I loved them together, but I especially loved the spicy tomato dish. The tofu paneers were lightly marinated and then baked before being included in the stew, and they turned out great. Also, I used unsweetened soy yogurt in place of cashews to cut down on the calories, and the meal was just great. I'll definitely make these dishes again.

 Thai Summer Rolls with Nuoc Cham dipping sauce and Lemongrass Tofu Cutlets

Here's an up-close pic of the tofus, cut up for the spring rolls. This was probably my least favorite of the recipes I've tried so far. The tofus themselves are pretty good, but nothing too dynamite.

 Here's my table laid out with all the fixin's! I was happy to finally use some of my rice paper rolls and rice noodles. They have been in my pantry for far too long. Honestly, apparently I sorta stink at rolling up spring rolls. Mine were all loose and weird and hard to eat. How do people make them so snug and tight? The flavor was pretty good, but not really worth all the work. I did like the tart-spicy Nuoc Cham dipping sauce though... and it was super easy.

The most fun part of this dinner was that Mr VE&T and I each rolled our own Spring Rolls. Mr VE&T harkened back to his college days and his rolls all looked like joints, which was sorta funny. I never explored that scene, so mine looked like little burritos (because, I have explored the burrito scene).

Tofu Vindaloo and Saag Aloo 

This dinner was a bonafide homerun. Mr. VE&T pretty much fell in love with the Tofu Vindaloo. It was a super umami blast of rich, intense flavors. I used the Tempeh Vindaloo recipe, but used tofu instead and roasted the tofus for a longer time, so they were more firm, the way we like them.

The Saag Aloo was a good balance with all of its greeny goodness. I used kale instead of spinach, because that's what I had in the fridge. It was super good. But, like I said, Mr. VE&T loved loved loved this dish, and began quoting Shakespeare:

This actually happened!

Ever since then, he has been asking for Tofu Vindaloo again!