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Truffle and Herb Butter

So you like Earth Balance, eh? Wait until you try this!!! I’ve been meaning to make my own vegan butter for months now, but it hasn’t been high on my agenda as most recipes call for a few ingredients I didn’t have, mainly soy lecithin. But this recipe?? Well, I had all of those ingredients in my fridge! I know you’re probably tired of hearing about aquafaba by now, but this recipe just proves it can do anything. Don’t forget to check out the Facebook group for other great recipes.

The lovely Nina at Plante Pusherne gave me permission to share this recipe here, but be sure to check out her blog for the original! She gives a lot of helpful tips and information that I’m not including here, especially for some ingredient substitutions.

This truffle herb version is amazing spread on bread or tossed with pasta (how I used it!)

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Tags: aquafaba, butter, coconut oil, herb, plant-based, truffle, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 3 Comments
Categories dips, gluten-free, vegan

Lazy Samoas

27 Jul

A few Christmases ago I received Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and it sat on my shelf for months before I finally opened it up. Once I did, I baked as many of the recipes as I could and sent them off to work with my husband. The consensus thus far is that the caramel pecan bars are the best, but these are a close second. Here’s where to buy it!!

I decided to try using aquafaba instead of flax egg in these and I wasn’t quite sure it would work. To my surprise, it worked perfectly and resulted in a fluffy and chewy cookie, as opposed to the dense flax – egg cookie. If you loved the covered shortbread girl scout cookies by the same name, you will love these, plus they’re way easier to make!

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Tags: aquafaba, chocolate, coconut, cookie, dessert, food, plant-based, recipe, samoas, vegan, Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, vegetarian

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Categories american, desserts, vegan

Vegan Lemon Thyme Macarons

24 Jul

I was really intrigued by the idea of infusing aquafaba with different flavors and I have some beautiful thyme growing in my garden this summer. These macarons combined the savory flavor of thyme with a sweet lemon filling and are a perfect light treat.

Be sure to check out my macaron troubleshooting guide for a step by step with pictures!

As always, a big thanks to Charis at Floral Frosting for the vegan macaron recipe and inspiration! Check out the aquafaba Facebook group for more recipes involving aquafaba!

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Tags: aquafaba, chickpea juice, dairy free, dessert, gluten-free, lemon, macarons, plant-based, recipe, thyme, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Blue Tahini Macarons

14 Jul

Heather at Let’s Go Bake A Cake shared these macarons almost two months ago and I’ve been wanting to try them ever since. I love the idea of tahini filling, as it’s one of my favorite flavors. I thought I’d make them aqua colored and photograph them on top of chickpeas as my little joke on aquafaba. Admit it, it’s pretty funny.

I went back to using the measurements created by Floral Frosting as I’ve had more success with her recipe than any other one.

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, macaron, recipe, sesame, tahini, vegan, vegetarian

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Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Lentil Soup

13 Jul

Some days I really love cooking and I enjoy spending the time chopping and sautéing and preparing something fresh for my family. Other days I really enjoy throwing everything in a pot and watching Netflix. This recipe is for the latter days.

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Tags: dinner, easy, food, lentils, recipe, soup, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 1 Comment
Categories gluten-free, soups, vegan

Vanilla Macaron with Chocolate Whiskey Ganache

5 Jul

I started these macarons with intention of filling then with a rum ganache, but the bottle that I thought was rum was whiskey instead. Definitely a sign of as new parent-I don’t even know what alcohol we have anymore!! I figured whiskey would work just as well as rum and if nothing else they were still chocolate and delicious.

Check out Floral Frosting for more great recipes!

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, food, macaron, recipe, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 2 Comments
Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Aquafaba

1 Jul

After posting so many enticing recipes with aquafaba, I had a few requests to type up a blog post about how I make my aquafaba. To be honest, I’ve only used canned aquafaba once. There’s a lot of great reading about aquafaba at Aquafaba.com, including a FAQ by the creator of the first vegan meringue, Goose Wohlt.

I’ve tried to make my beans from dry since I purchased my Instant Pot 7-in-1 pressure cooker. Here’s my few minute speech about the Instant Pot – I tend to put large kitchen purchases on hold for a few months until I really know that I’m going to use them regularly. I did not do this with the Instant Pot. It was a bit of an impulse purchase, but I knew it would be put to good use in our house. It has a permanent place on my counter (which I try to keep cleared off) because I use it so regularly. I tend to forget about a pot of beans on the stove or yogurt in the oven, but with the Instant Pot, since everything is kept in a sealed environment, I don’t have to worry about my forgetful brain. I use it as a pressure cooker for beans, rice/grain cooker, yogurt incubator, steamer for seitan, and even for entire 1-pot meals.

Basically, this thing is amazing.

Back to aquafaba (bean water.)

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Tags: aquafaba, dessert, diy, homemade, meringue, recipe, vegan

Comments 35 Comments
Categories vegan

Baked Tofu

29 Jun

I’ve already told you guys about how much I hated tofu as a child. As much as I don’t enjoy saying it (my husband can attest to this), I was wrong! Tofu is one of the most scrumptious things in the universe, as long as you drain it well and cover it in delicious flavors. I’ll be honest though, I’ve come to even enjoy eating it plain.

You can definitely use extra firm tofu for this, but firm will work just as fine. Don’t get the stuff in the aseptic package, you want the water filled stuff you have to drain. Don’t forget to save that water to whip into meringues! Black vinegar is the only hard to find ingredient in this recipe, but you can substitute a good balsamic vinegar if you don’t have a well stocked asian store nearby. It won’t have the same flavor profile, so definitely search for black vinegar!

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Tags: dinner, food, recipe, tofu, vegan, vegetarian

Comments 13 Comments
Categories asian, chinese, meat alternative, vegan

Birthday Cake Macarons with Funfetti Filling

25 Jun

Who doesn’t love anything birthday cake flavored?? These are great for birthdays, holidays, or my favorite, breakfast :). My coworkers have requested this flavor multiple times, so I’ve made it at least 3 times now!!

If you have any issues with the recipe, don’t be afraid to comment below, or check out my previous post on troubleshooting .

As always, I have to thank Charis at Floral Frosting for creating the macaron recipe! If you haven’t already watched it, she created this awesome video that illustrates the macaron making process and the crucial step, the macaronagge.
P.S. Check out the aquafaba Facebook group for more great recipes!

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Tags: aquafaba, birthday, dessert, macarons, recipe, vegan

Comments 3 Comments
Categories desserts, gluten-free, vegan

Coconut Macaroons

24 Jun

Weeks before I started attempting macarons, I made this beautiful batch of macaroons. There’s major differences between the two – one is a drop cookie, the other is piped, one has coconut, the other has almond. However, they are both delicious! My little one couldn’t keep her hands out of my macaroons (but she loves macarons now!)

Yet again, this recipe uses the legendary aquafaba, which is now becoming mainstream. If you aren’t already a member, you should definitely join the vegan meringue group on Facebook. I found that these really needed a little more body to hold the cookie together and I already liked the coconut macaroon recipe from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar, so I added aquafaba to the recipe. The aquafaba adds a nice sheen to the cookie and a little more moisture, but the recipe is also great without it. They are best enjoyed with cute babies and a glass of milk!

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