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Cinnamon and Sugar Macarons

Do you remember the brown sugar and cinnamon Poptarts?? (Not sure if that needs a copyright symbol.) These were a middle of the night “I need to remake my cinnamon roll macarons” idea. Despite aiming for cinnamon roll flavor, eating these reminded me of my favorite Poptarts.

If this is your first time here, be sure to check out Charis’s recipes at Floral Frosting, as she is the creator of this recipe. She’s got some beautiful recipes there, her buttercream is one of our favorites! You also should take a look at the Vegan Meringue Facebook group for more amazing recipes. If you have trouble with the directions, try reading my troubleshooting guide for a little more in depth description.

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Tags: aquafaba, cinnamon, dessert, food, macarons, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 1 Comment
Categories aquafaba, desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Roasted Cherry Tomato Sauce

14 Aug

Last year we planted a cherry tomato plant…if only I knew then what I know now. It was a prolific plant that produced more tomatoes than we knew what to do with. In fact, quite a few were lost to the ground in the months while it was growing. Little did we know, those lost tomatoes would sprout with a vengeance this year.

We have a two car garage and the entire area behind the garage is full of tomato plants. I can barely keep up with them – these were picked 3 days after I had picked a similar amount. My husband has been taking them in his lunches and I’ve been snacking on them, but we still had four cups that had gone untouched.

I made this recipe multiple times last year with our abundance of tomatoes. If you want it really red, add tomato paste or red wine, otherwise the sauce will have an orange tinge to it.

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Tags: italian, marinara, plant-based, roasted Cherry tomatoes, sauce, tomatoes, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 1 Comment
Categories Italian, vegan

Vegan Turkey Leg

12 Aug

While on a walk last night, my husband and I were discussing our plans to visit a Renaissance Faire over the weekend. I jokingly lamented the lack of a vegan turkey leg for us to eat there. “I could probably make one,” I said, and my husband replied “Yea, but it would have to be crunchy, like it had a skin.”

Later that night I was laying in bed thinking of how to make this happen. It has been years since either of us has had meat, but the idea of a crunchy, chewy protein on a stick still has its appeal. I’d made the turkey loaf recipe a few times and it had the same texture i wanted for my “turkey” leg. Using the basic technique for the loaf recipe, I played with different measurements and seasonings to better replicate the turkey flavor and create a denser structure. I then made fresh yuba to wrap around the turkey cutlets and give that satisfying crunch. Miyoko Schinner was the inspiration for the yuba as skin in her Unturkey recipe, available here.

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Tags: plant-based, seitan, tofu, vegan, vegetarian, yuba

Comments 3 Comments
Categories meat alternative, vegan

Mapo Tofu-Revisited

11 Aug

Mapo tofu is still one of our favorite meals here – it’s one of my go to dishes when I’m low on time, because it doesn’t require a huge prep time. I’ve improved on my original recipe a lot, specifically by adding the broad bean paste and szechuan pepper. The szechuan pepper adds an almost – citrus flavor that’s perfect for this spicy dish.

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Tags: asian, chinese, dinner, mapo, plant-based, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 6 Comments
Categories asian, chinese, vegan

Strawberry Buttercream and Lemon Curd Dacquoise

8 Aug

One of my favorite macarons I’ve made were strawberry lemonade flavored. Since it’s almost my birthday, I thought it would be really fun to combine those flavors in a dacquoise. This recipe isn’t quite as rich as my last one, but equally as flavorful. It also uses aquafaba in every layer, which I find really exciting!

Be sure to check out the vegan meringue Facebook group for more amazing aquafaba recipes and Aquafaba.com for frequently asked questions.

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Tags: aquafaba, dacquoise, dessert, food, lemon, recipe, strawberry, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 5 Comments
Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Hazelnut Pesto

7 Aug

I grew a successful pot of basil this year, all from seeds. I’ve always purchased basil already started then moaned at how straggly and thin the plants grew throughout the summer. But not this year! I tossed in the seeds and now have a thriving, bushy plant!

I had leftover roasted hazelnuts from making my dacquoise and I figured “hey, throw them in the pesto, can’t hurt.” It’s been quite a while since I had pine nut pesto, but I can tell the hazelnuts have a different complexity to them. If you don’t have hazelnuts on hand, pine nuts or walnuts would work just as well!

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Tags: dinner, food, hazelnut, italian, pesto, plant-based, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 2 Comments
Categories dips, gluten-free, Italian, vegan

Hazelnut Almond Dacquoise with Espresso Buttercream and Chocolate Ganache

5 Aug

I’ve been planning this in my head for almost a full month now. This is my 100th post on my blog, and I’m so thrilled to share it!
I finally got the hazelnuts last night and I was excited I could barely sleep. This is definitely something you should plan ahead for, or have a whole day devoted to cooking. I blanched my nuts and ground them the night before and prepped my buttercream the day before that. I use homemade aquafaba which may be a bit stronger than the canned kind – be sure it’s thick before attempting this. The ganache should be made close to when you start putting it together, but try not to pour it on warm as it will melt the buttercream. This recipe for vegan Italian Meringue Buttercream would be an excellent choice on this if you have the time to make it!

This recipe is highly adapted (read:made easier) from here, which I believe was originally published by America’s Test Kitchen here. Lisa Masaar originally posted her veganized version of the recipe in the Vegan Meringue Facebook group here. I adapted it from there, partially to imitate Sweet Maresa’s beautiful creations

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Tags: almond, aquafaba, cake, chocolate, dacquoise, dessert, food, hazelnut, meringue, recipe, vegan

Comments 31 Comments
Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Potato Carrot Cheese Slices

4 Aug

We loved the potato carrot cheese, but I wanted a firm product to be able to throw on top of burgers and even to snack on plain. I grew up eating American slices from that company with the blue box, so I have fond memories of unwrapping cheese slices.

These are much more breakable than those rubbery squares and require a gentle hand. I would highly recommend the recipe I created for the cheese, specifically the coconut oil because it will firm upon refrigeration.

I even like this cheese in sandwiches, which is usually not true for vegan cheeses (besides Chao.)

Without further ado…

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Tags: agar, cheese, plant-based, potato carrot cheese, recipe, slices, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 1 Comment
Categories american, dips, gluten-free, vegan

Peanut Butter and Jelly Macarons

2 Aug

My home town high school had a breakfast available every morning for the kids who were dropped off early or who rode the bus. My favorite was breakfast pizza (the cafeteria would be full every other Thursday morning.) This is, unfortunately, not a recipe for breakfast pizza macarons. The other popular breakfast there were the Smuckers Uncrustables peanut butter sandwiches, because apparently it was too hard to make real peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. These macarons remind me of the cloying, sweet flavor of those sandwiches in a bite size package.

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, macarons, peanut butter and jelly, plant-based, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 2 Comments
Categories american, desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Cream Cheese

31 Jul

Since making Nina’s vegan butter a few days ago, I couldn’t stop thinking about what would happen if I added cashew cream to the mixture. When I get ideas like this in my head, they tend to stick there until I actually make them. Some might call it “obsessive”, I call it “dedicated.”

I never think to plan ahead to soak my cashews, so I boiled them for 15 minutes to soften them for blending. This recipe will be much easier for you if you have a high powered blender – I only have a Ninja and it worked well.
I also added a few more ingredients to increase the “tang” for the cream cheese. It might seem really tangy originally but it will mellow a bit in the fridge. There isn’t a great substitute for the vegan lactic acid powder, but it’s not that expensive to purchase on Amazon or Modernist Pantry and it will really kick up your vegan mac and cheese! You can try 1 tablespoon of fresh lemon juice for a similar acidic flavor.