Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones

This morning, I had a hankering for chocolate chip scones.  The only problem with chocolate chip scones (for me) is that they contain butter and cream, to which I am allergic.  I did have some dairy-free chocolate chips on hand (doesn't everyone?  I think they're a staple), so I thought I might be able to figure it out.  I read through a lot of recipes online.  Some of them contained eggs ~ which wouldn't have been a problem for me, since I do use them, except that I happen to be out of eggs at the moment due to Kaia's newfound love of hardboiled eggs ~ and all of them contained butter and cream.  

I decided to fall back on my favourite biscuit recipe (from the Joy of Cooking), with a few adjustments. I've used this recipe before, subbing Earth Balance Vegan Buttery Spread (or sticks) for the butter and almond milk for the milk, so I thought I could make it work.  Although scones aren't exactly biscuits, they are similar.  I added a little sugar and vanilla to achieve the flavour I was going for, and it seems to have worked out nicely.  I think, maybe, they are a touch lighter than the average scone.  In fact, scone purists will probably say they are not so much scones as they are biscuits with chocolate chips.  I'm okay with that.  In fact, I find them quite delicious.

The instructions are a bit tricky when it comes to the cutting, so, next time I make them, I will have a helper so we can photograph the process and come back here and edit in some photos for clarification.  I could also use a better pic of the final product, but at least it gives you and idea of what to expect.  Besides, it shows off my pretty saucer :) Hopefully, I managed to explain it all well enough for it to make sense.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Scones

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

2 1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp. salt

1/2 cup chocolate chips*

5-6 TBS cold margarine**

3/4 cup almond milk

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

*Make sure your chocolate chips (and all other ingredients) are vegan, if want these to be truly vegan.

**I used Earth Balance, which is a great substitute for butter in baking. 

Preheat oven to 400℉.

In a large bowl, mix together flour, sugar, salt and baking powder until well combined.  

Cut in margarine with two knives or a pastry cutter.  I use my hands to mix the butter into the flour mixture.  You want to achieve a texture that is like coarse crumbs.  It is important not to allow the butter/flour mixture to form a paste.  

Add chocolate chips and toss lightly. 

Measure almond milk, then add the vanilla extract to the milk in your measure cup and stir to combine.  Add milk mixture to flour mixture in the bowl and combine with a rubber spatula or wooden spoon in a few gentle strokes, just enough to combine.

Generously flour your work surface.

Place dough on the floured surface, pat it lightly to make sure it hold together, and then gently turn it over.  (You can add more flour if necessary, but be careful.  You want a soft, tender dough ~ do not over work it or make it too dry).  At this point, both sides should have a light coating of flour.

Use you hands to form a rectangle with the dough that is about 3/4" thick.  For the purposes of my cutting instructions, make sure the long sides of the rectangle are the top and bottom, with the short sides on the sides).

Using a very sharp knife, cut your rectangle in half from top to bottom, then cut each half in half again, from top to bottom.  Now, cut the dough in half once from side to side.  You should have 8 small rectangles.  Make a diagonal cut from across each small rectangle to form two triangular shapes.  You now have 16 triangles.  

Place the triangles on ungreased cookie sheets.  

Bake for about 10 minutes, until lightly golden brown.

Transfer to a wire rack to cool (but you'll probably want to eat at least one right away :)

Pizza for a Rainy (or hectic) Day

Had a brainstorm today.  Kaia requested homemade pizza for dinner.  Bought the cheese (pre-shredded, because I'm lazy) and made the sauce.  Then, I made the dough for the crust, using a recipe from The Joy of Cooking.  I decided to sub 2 cups of whole wheat white flour for 2 of the cups of flour called for in the recipe, simply because I have had a bag of the stuff sitting around for a couple of weeks and haven't done a damned thing with it.

As the dough was rising, I realized that the recipe I used made enough dough for two regular sized (it says 12" but I think our pizza pans are slightly bigger and it fills two of them) pizzas.  Shane and I were having our favourite portobello mushroom sandwiches for dinner, so I really only needed enough to make one pizza.  That would be plenty for the kids.  I divided the dough in half, then divided one half into three portions ~ one for each girl ~ so the kids could make their own personal pizzas.

I formed the other half of the dough into a round crust to fit on my pizza pan, dusted the pan with cornmeal, put the crust on it and baked at 425℉ for 4-5 minutes ~ just until it started to look not raw, and slightly puffed.  I removed the pan from the oven, let the crust cool, topped it with sauce and cheese and put it in the freezer.  When it is frozen solid, I will wrap it tightly and, the next time we are having a crazy day and feel like just ordering a pizza, we can pull it out of the freezer and have our own, homemade, (part) whole grain crust, less expensive than carry-out or frozen grocery store pizza.  And I'll bet it will taste better, too.

Here's hoping it works the way I hope it will :)  I promise that, when the day comes that we pull out our frozen pizza and give it a whirl, I'll let you know how it bakes up.  I have a good feeling about it.  I mean, if you can buy frozen pizza at the store, it stands to reason that you can freeze pizza...right?

Peanut Butter Crispie Treats

I just finished making a pan of these, and got to thinking:  This is a really good recipe that has gotten rave review from friends and family (adults and kids alike).  I thought I'd share it.


First, I searched GENH to make sure I hadn't  posted this recipe before because, frankly, I was sure I must have.  Can you believe that I didn't know you could search my blog for a specific recipe?  I am sooooooooooo technologically backward!  Luckily, I manage to find my way around enough to post here.  The importan thing is that I managed to search the blog and discover that I had not, in fact, posted this.  Weird.  You should totally have this recipe.


This is one of my favourite quick, not too un-healthy treats.  I began my quest for a healthier version of the ubiquitous Rice Krispie Treat some years ago.  The problem with Rice Krispie Treats (for me) is that they contain marshmallows (which contain gelatin) and butter (which is a dairy product).  Now, those two problems could be fairly easily solved, I am guessing, by substituting vegan marshmallows (which are expensive, and not always very easy to find) and Earth Balance (or a similar vegan butter substitute).  That might be the best plan for the purists.  However, I saw this as an opportunity to make over the treats into something a bit less junky, something that I could feel good about giving my kids (in moderation, of course).


Now, I have to admit, I have always preferred the peanut butter Krispie Treats to the original.  I'm just not a marshmallow fan.  Peanut butter, or the other hand?  Well, I LOVE peanut butter.  So, with that decision made (peanut butter!  That adds protein, right?), I began with a standard peanut butter Krispie Treat recipe.  The recipes I found contained corn syrup and sugar.  Now, I am not against using sugar, but I thought I could find a more health-conscious option without losing the essence of the snack.  I decided on agave nectar.


We love agave nectar.  It has a lower glycemic index that sugar, is sweeter, so you can use less, and it works well in a variety of recipes.  The only problem is that it is sort of watery, and does not "set" the way that a mixture of sugar and corn syrup will when cooked.  So, I had to find a way to help my treats hold their shape.  I decided to give agar agar a shot.


According to Wikipedia, "Agar or agar-agar is a gelatinous substance derived by boiling^[1] from apolysaccharide in red algae, where it accumulates in the cell walls of agarophyte and serve as the primary structural support for the algae's cell walls."  

So, there you have it.  Sounds appetizing, doesn't it?  But it is cool stuff.  Agar agar can be to fruit juice to make a vegan "jello" type of dessert.  It can also be used for thickening, and I had a feeling it might do the trick in my recipe.  I hadn't worked with agar agar much in the past, so I did some reading up and experimenting to figure out how to make this work.

I also decided to add some ground flaxseeds.  You may notice that I add these to a number of recipes (granola bars and bread, for instance).  Being vegetarian, we don't get a lot of omega-fatty-acid-rich foods, so I like to throw in a little extra wherever I can manage (using eggs rich in omega-3 fatty acids, for instance, or fortified milk)  For more information about the health benefits of flaxseeds, check out this:  http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=foodspice&dbid=81

While I was making over my treats, I decided I might as well use organic brown rice crispies, instead of the regular "Rice Krispie" cereal.  Now, the argument could be made for using the regular cereal, because it is fortified with all sorts of nutrients, so it might be more nutritious in some ways.  I was going for a whole foods approach to the treats, but you can decide what's most important to you.  The recipe works with whatever crisp rice cereal you choose.  (This time, I chose Nature's Path Organic Crispy Rice.)

Finally, after much experimentation and lots of taste-testing, I arrived at a recipe, and have used it ever since.  Now, you can use it, too.  Enjoy!

Version:1.0 StartHTML:0000000246 EndHTML:0000003343 StartFragment:0000002427 EndFragment:0000003307 SourceURL:file://localhost/Users/greenxnm/Desktop/HomSweetHome/Recipes/cookies,%20cakes%20&%20treats/Peanut%20Butter%20Crispie%20Treats

Peanut Butter Crispie Treats

3 cups organic brown rice crisps cereal

1/2 cup organic peanut butter (no sugar)

1/2 cup agave nectar

2 tsp. agar agar flakes

2 TBS ground flax seeds

Grease an 8x8" square pan. Place cereal in a large bowl. In a small saucepan stir together agave nectar and peanut butter over low heat until hot and smooth. Stir in agar agar flakes. Quickly mix peanut butter mixture into cereal, sprinkling in flax seeds as you go and making sure all cereal is evenly coated. Press firmly into greased pan and let cool before cutting into squares or bars.

If you like, you can sprinkle the bottom of your pan with chocolate chips (or M&Ms-type candy) before you press in the cereal/peanut butter mixture.  This will give you a bar that is similar to the popular "Kudos" snack bars.  My kids like them with or without the chocolate, so, frankly, I usually leave it out, to save on added sugar.  

Portobello Mushroom "Cheesesteak"

Having finally recovered from the Couscous Incident (or was it the Billie Joe Armstrong Incident?), I decided to come back and post about an unbelievably good sandwich.  In fact, it is the very sandwich about which I originally planned to post.

See, the day of my ill-fated aloo-gobi, I created a delicious sandwich for lunch.  Shane loved it, I loved it...Hallie made something a little bit like it, which she loved...and Justice and Kaia looked at us like we were all crazy.  Justice has a fear of mushrooms.  She cannot touch them with a 10-foot pole.  So, I knew this wasn't going to be her  cup of tea.  And Kaia?  Well, the list of foods Kaia eats is short, and does not include mushrooms or sandwiches.   I think they had pasta.  But, oh ~ the glorious sandwiches Shane and I had!

I don't remember what inspired me to go looking for a vegetarian take on Philly Cheesesteak, but I found myself zipping around the internet in search of one.  I read through a number of soy and/or seitan  based recipes, but none of them appealed to me.  When I stumbled upon one that featured portobello mushrooms, I thought, "Aha!  That's the ticket!"

Let me preface the rest of this by saying: I KNOW mushrooms are not the same as steak.  I know no one would be fooled into thinking this sandwich contained meat.  That was never a goal for me.  You see, I don't like meat.  I don't miss it, and I don't spend a lot of time trying to recreate it.  What I try very hard to cook is good food that I like ~ and this sandwich (which I have made twice) is at the top of my list.  The mushrooms, if allowed to brown a little before adding the liquid, do have a nice, slightly chewy texture, and the bouillon lends a nice "beefy" flavour.  But they are still mushrooms.  Delicious, perfect, wonderful mushrooms.

Shane and I LOVE portobello mushrooms.  I think we would eat them every day if we could.  The kids?  Not so much.  I think that's why I decided to make these sandwiches for lunch, instead of dinner.  Lunch tends to be more of a catch-as-catch-can around here, as opposed to a communal meal, so I figured I could make something the kids might not necessarily eat.

I read through the recipe once, and promptly lost it.  However, I figured I had the general gist of the thing, so I headed off to the store.  I looked for the perfect rolls, but settled on a 3-pack of bolillo rolls from fresh & easy, because it cost under a dollar.  I also purchased 2 portobello mushrooms, one green pepper, one red pepper, one yellow onion and a package of sliced provolone.  The, I headed home and got to work.

This really is the best sandwich I have ever had.  It builds upon my previous sandwich experiences, and elevates the sandwich to an art form, if I do say so, myself.  Want to make one?  (You know you do.)

Here's what you'll need:

1/2 TBS olive oil
2 large, good-looking portobello mushrooms
1/4-1/2 of a green pepper
1/4-1/2 of a red pepper
1 small (or 1/2 large) yellow onion
steak seasoning blend*, to taste
1 TBS flour (optional)
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp beef-flavoured vegetarian bouillon**
2-4 sandwich rolls (depends on their size, and how much you like to stuff them (we pile ours high)
sliced provolone cheese

Optional toppings, as desired: lettuce, sliced tomatoes, peperoncini, mayonaise, black olives

Here's what you do:

In a large, heavy skillet (I use cast iron), heat olive oil over low-med. heat.
Slice onions very thin.  Add to hot oil, sprinkle lightly with steak seasoning, and stir to coat.  Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions start to soften.  If you like them a bit brown (I do), stir less often.
While onions are cooking, slice peppers into thin strips.  Add peppers to the skillet and stir to coat.
Clean mushrooms and remove stems.  Slice caps into thin strips.  You can remove the gills, if you wish, but they are edible.  The first time I made these, I did not remove the gills.  The second time, the gills fell off while I was slicing the mushrooms.  I noticed no difference int he final product.
Add mushrooms to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until mushrooms are soft and have browned a bit.
Heat oven to 425℉.  Once the mushrooms have started to brown, sprinkle with flour (if using), and toss lightly.  Add water and stir in veggie bouillon.  Turn heat to med-high, and continue cooking, stirring often, until most of the liquid has cooked off.  Taste, and adjust seasonings. Remove mixture from heat.
Split rolls lengthwise and place on a cookie sheet***.  Divide mushroom/pepper/onion mixture between the rolls, piling loosely on both sides of each roll.  Top with provolone cheese (I topped mine with a little Melty Nutritonal Yeast Cheese, from the New Farm Vegetarian cookbook).  Pop the cookie sheet in the oven for about 5 minutes, or until cheese has melted.
Remove pan and let stand 2 minutes before attempting to handle your sandwich.  Add optional toppings as desired (I added lettuce, tomato, peperoncini, olives and mayo, Shane stuck with just lettuce and peperoncini), make sure you let your sandwich cool for a moment before you dig in.

Still not sure if you want one?  You do.  Make it and see.   Here's a picture of Shane's, to inspire you:

(I piled a few mushroom and pepper slices on top of the cheese, to make it pretty)

* If you don't have steak seasoning, season with salt and ground black pepper to taste.  If you like, add a touch of crushed red pepper.

** You can use any vegetarian bouillon (or use vegetable stock in place of the water + bouillon).  I like Better Than Bouillon No Beef Base (which I guess isn't bouillon, but it works, and I like it):  http://www.nutricity.com/better-than-bouillon-vegan-no-beef-base-8-oz-pack-of-6?utm_medium=feed&utm_source=froogle&gclid=CIS_3v2hsLECFUcHRQod7SMASQ

***The first time I made these, I toasted the rolls in the oven before adding the mushroom/pepper/onion filling.  They looked beautiful (see above.  Note the toasty roll), but were so crisp that, once all of the fillings were in, they were kind of hard to smash down enough to take a bite.  You decide.  We liked them un-toasted, too, and found them easier to eat.

Hallie didn't want the mushrooms, so she spread a little "Awesome Sauce" (use your favourite spaghetti or pizza sauce) on each half of her roll, topped with peppers and onions from the mix (yay!  More mushrooms for me!), black olives and sliced provolone to make a vegetable pizza sandwich.  She said it was yummy, and it sure did look it.

And Now For Something Completely Different

Tonight, I made something vaguely like aloo gobi for dinner.  I didn't look at a recipe or anything, just kind of threw it together from memory.  Things were going along swimmingly until, when I went to shake in a little turmeric, the little plastic sprinkle top fell off, allowing roughly 1/2 ton of ground turmeric to plummet into my pot.  uh...okay.

I scooped out as much as I could, then tried to add enough cumin, mustard seed, ginger and coriander to make it taste like...well...something palatable, anyway.

Then, I got distracted by the fact that, on my Pinterest recipes board, a picture of couscous had been replaced by a picture of Billie Joe Armstrong.  Don't get me wrong, I have nothing against pictures of Billie Joe Armstrong.  He's a nice enough looking guy.  He does not, however, in any way resemble couscous...at least, not in any way that I can think of...hmmm...nope.  I do sometimes listen to Green Day whilst I cook ~ sometimes even when I am cooking couscous.  Still, I think it's a bit of a stretch from couscous to Billie Joe Armstrong.  If I was playing that game, in which one attempts to connect one person to another in six associations or fewer (we always called it 6 degrees of Kevin Bacon, for obvious reasons), and I was supposed to connect couscous to Billie Joe Armstrong, I might just fail.  Well...I suppose he's probably eaten it.  Most people have, haven't they?

Oh.  Sorry.  Did I digress?  (that is such a surprise!  Why just yesterday, I was saying to my friend...ooooooh!!!  Sparkly things!!....)

*ahem*

So.

I got distracted.  By the whole weird Pinterest/Billie Joe Armstrong/Couscous thing, and I let my dinner cook too long.  So it was kind of mushy.

In the end, it tasted a lot like the aloo gobi we get from our local Indian Take-Out.  Assuming I get stuck in traffic on the way to pick it up, and it sits in a paper bag on the shelf for an extra 15 minutes or so.  If only it had been colder and greasier, it would have been spot on.

I decided to share this exceedingly weird cooking experience this evening because I thought, you know, maybe other cooks need a little encouragement sometimes.  I think it's nice to hear that things don;t always go the way you plan.  Sometimes, the entire jar of turmeric falls into your aloo gobi, your couscous turns into Billie Joe Armstrong and you overcook everything.  Eh, big deal.  Try again next time.  I mean, you're bound to have to eat again, right?  So, I headed over here to GENH to share my story...and was met with a lovely photo of my friend, Gordon Iversen.  Huh??

Well, It's been a fun evening, kids.  Shane thinks the problem is with Google Chrome, not my computer or my accounts, so that's good.  Often, I leave you with a picture of whatever dish I have prepared.  Today, just for kicks, I thought I would add this lovely picture of couscous:

                            (He looks worried.  Under the circumstances, I understand.)

Maybe, for tomorrow's dinner, I should refer to a recipe.  Perhaps that one on my Pinterest board, for Billie Joe Armstrong.  Oh, wait...that's not right.  Damnit.  I am going to have to get that fixed, or terrible things could happen to my dinner...or Billie Joe Armstrong.

EDIT: I want to add that I have the utmost respect for Billie Joe Armstrong.  He is exceedingly talented, and bears no resemblance whatsoever to couscous.  It might be interesting to note that I accomplished all of the above while clad in my "Green Day/Kiss Me, I'm Punk" t-shirt, which I wore today because I could not find my Flogging Molly t-shirt.  This begs the question: If I had found the other shirt, would I be cooking Dave King?  It boggles the mind.