Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies

Two baking posts in a row. Crazy considering I don't bake much. The weather was awful yesterday and I started to get cabin fever and knew doing something in my kitchen would take that feeling away. After surveying my baking cabinet I saw that I had everything to make chocolate chip cookies, and everything is better with nuts, so why not throw those in too. I searched the web for a while looking at different cookie recipes and then figured I would just kind of wing it. I was planning on bringing them to work and letting Matt bring some to his co-workers. The worst that could happen was they wouldn't turn out and I would just have to toss them. It wouldn't be the first time our garbage can was full of inedible baked goods. The dozen muffins and pan of bars that I forgot to add sugar to came to mind but I baked on.
I'm actually very happy with the way they came out. I tend to like crunchy cookies over super soft and these were crunchy but a little soft on the inside. They didn't drop as much as I would have liked so I think I will flatten them down more next time before putting them in the oven.


Chocolate Chip Pecan Cookies
2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup cane sugar
1/2 cup Sucanat
1/2 cup Earth Balance melted & cooled
1 tsp vanilla
1/2-3/4 cup unsweetened almond mil
1/2-3/4 cup vegan chocolate chips
1/2 cup pecans

-Melt Earth Balance and chill in the fridge until it is no longer warm. It works best if it is at room temperature.
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-In one bowl mix together flour, baking soda, & salt. Stir in chips and pecans.
-In another bowl mix the melted EB and sugars together. When thoroughly mixed add the vanilla ans almond milk add stir everything together.
-Pour the wet mix into the dry adding a little more liquid if needed. This will depend on how many chips & pecans you added.
- Spoon onto un-greased cookie sheets and push each cookie down a bit.
-Bake for 9-11 minutes.
*These cookies will crisp up after they come out of the oven so don't cook them too long or they may be too hard/crunchy for your liking
*One trick I learned was to rotate the cookie sheets every 4 minutes. This seems a bit tedious, but makes a huge difference. If your cooking in an older stove or using more than one rack in your oven, your cookies aren't all cooking at the same time.

I hope you like these as much as we did and feel free to be creative. Once you get confident with getting a good cookie/muffin/bar recipe down the hard part is over. These cookies would taste great with any kind of nuts, fancy chocolate chip flavors, peanut butter or some dried fruit. Happy baking!

In and Out of Season Muffins

I havent blogged any of my baked goods, because frankly I really don't like sweets. I do love the decorating part that comes with making cupcakes or a cake, but the eating part doesn't excite me at all. I also tend to enjoy cooking because it's more season as you go, instead of putting something in the oven and biting your nails for 20 minutes until it comes out. I have also had quite a few baking mishaps, which have discouraged me a bit, but haven't entirely kept me away from a set of muffin tins or a piping bag.
I call this blog in and out of season muffins because obviously blueberries aren't in season right now and cranberries are. I want people to keep in mind that frozen berries are not a negative thing to use when baking at all. It's best to add the berries straight out of the freezer instead of letting them thaw, and allow a couple of extra minutes of baking time. I have messed around with muffin recipes for a bit and finally got confident enough to write this one down as to not forget. I may forget to add sugar or baking soda the next time I make them, but that is another story all together.


Blueberry Vanilla Almond Muffins
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup sugar
2/3 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/3 cup orange juice
1/3 cup vegan margarine melted
1 cup blueberries
1 cup raw almond pieces (smash one cup in a a bag with a rolling pin)

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Line muffin trays
-Place dry ingredients (first 4) in a bowl and mix together
-Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and stir together
-Pour wet mix into dry and mix all ingredients together
-Fold in blueberries & almonds
-Fill muffin tins about 1/2-3/4 full, depending on how large you want them
-Bake for 20-24 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffin


Cranberry Orange Oat Muffins
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened vanilla almond milk
2 tsp vanilla extract
3/4 cup orange juice
1/3 + 2tbs cup vegan margarine melted
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup cranberries
1 cup rolled oats

- Preheat oven to 375 degrees
-Line muffin trays
-Place dry ingredients (first 4) in a bowl and mix together
-Combine wet ingredients in a bowl and stir together
-Pour wet mix into dry and mix all ingredients together
-Fold in cranberries & oats
-Fill muffin tins about 1/2-3/4 full, depending on how large you want them
-Bake for 20-24 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the muffin

Happy baking...be brave, experiment, and have fun!

Crockpot Seitan Roast

We got a crockpot for a wedding gift and although I have been using it a lot more this winter, at first I didn't really understand it. I love to cook, so throwing everything in a pot and walking away not only made me nervous, but a little bored when it came to the usual dinner prep/cook time. I had used the crockpot already to cook seitan in a stew with veggies, but I wondered if there was a way to actually make seitan in a slow cooker. After a google search I came across the blog Vegan Planet and realized it had already been done. So I made the roast with the same cooking directions, using my own seitan recipe, and it came out great.


I surrounded the seitan roast with shallots, carrots & red potatoes. I cooked it on low for about 3 hours, then turned it to high for the last hour.


The texture was so perfect on the outside and not at all dried out on the inside. The roast itself didn't have a ton of flavor so I made a brown gravy, seasoning it with worcestershire, soy sauce, a hint of liquid smoke and fresh sage. It brought everything together beautifully. I also roasted asparagus to add a little bit of green to our plate. The seitan not taking on a ton of flavor turned out to be a great thing because I used it for a couple of other dishes that week and it took on completely different flavors magnificently. This may be my new way to make seitan because of it's texture, if I have 4 hours to spare instead of just one.

I know I have talked up Tal Ronnen's book The Conscious Cook before, but seriously every recipe has been out of this world. I made his pine-nut crusted "chicken" and "lobster" Beurre Blanc sauce.


I tend to not be able to follow exact ingredients and/or cooking techniques which is what I did here. Pine nuts are just too expensive so I opted for almonds and used almond milk for the sauce instead of cashew creme. I roasted brussel sprouts and braised kale for our sides.This is a dish I would easily make again and if you don't already have this book, go get it.

White Bean Chili

This is a chili recipe I have been working on for a while. The fire roasted tomatoes and tomatillo salsa bring everything together nicely. You can add Gardein sliced scallopini or any other chicken substitute you want for added protein.


White Bean Chili
1 bunch green onion diced
1/2 red pepper diced
1/2 green pepper diced
1/2 orange pepper diced
1 jalapeno pepper diced
1 15oz can white beans
1 15oz can fire roasted tomatoes
2/3 cup veggie broth
2/3 cup tomatillo salsa
1 tbs lime juice
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tbs cumin
1 tbs chili powder
1 tsp oregano
1/2 bunch cilantro
1 tbs soy sauce
Salt & Pepper -amount of your choice

-Heat olive oil in a stock pot and saute green onion and garlic with 1 tsp cumin & chili powder until soft.
-Add bell & jalapeno peppers and stir for about 4 minutes, tossing in the soy sauce two minutes after the peppers begin to cook
-Pour in veggie stock, tomatillo salsa, tomatoes, white beans, lime juice and spices. Continue cooking at a low heat for ten minutes.
-Remove from heat and stir in cilantro, reserving a bit for garnish if you like things pretty.