The Colonel can keep his chicken

Remember chicken nuggets?

Remember how crispy and tender they tasted before you found out they were made of the amalgamation of various smashed up parts from various smashed up chickens? If only I could capture that youthful ignorance for just one moment...

Ha! Forget that! I'm moving on, Colonel Sanders! This week, in an attempt to use the bushel of collard greens my roommate harvested from our community garden plot, I stumbled upon the recipe for my fried chicken rebirth. Thank you, Stephanie, over at Wasabimon blog! Her recipe was perfectly adapted from Laurie Colwin's recipe in Gourmet. The only changes I made were to use almond milk, a 4-part flour mix of chickpea, brown rice, sorghum, and corn starch, and no sesame oil. I do not love the taste of chickpea flour so I mixed it up. Next time I would experiment with more spices, and maybe try the sesame oil. I ended up using her collard green recipe too (sans carrots and with homemade chicken broth instead of veggie). And instead of the typical KFC mash potato side, I cooked up some whole grain quinoa with pesto. So tastey! I have been dreaming of this meal ever since.

Growing on Garden St

May

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May

June

May

Cupcakes Make the Party

Ah, the beautiful marriage of blueberries and lemon! This week my siblings and I threw a very belated birthday party for my brother's girlfriend. When I asked her what kind of cake she wanted, she replied, "Anything, but chocolate." No chocolate! Gasp! So I hit the cookbooks looking for a party-worthy, non-chocolate birthday cake, and since I now have the stand on which to set them,  I decided it must be in cupcake form. In the past week or so, I have been lustily gazing at the recipes in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. So many cupcakes to choose from! This book is amazing! I finally decided on the Blueberry Lemon Creme Cupcakes simply because my house still has so many bags of frozen blueberries from last summer. And although the Vegan Girls have a gluten-free yellow cake recipe, I ended up using a cake recipe (not vegan) from the book Gluten-Free Baking Classics. I added a dollop of lemon curd (recipe also from Gluten-Free Baking Classics) at the center and covered it with the vegan blueberry compote and vegan lemon buttercream icing. The cupcakes were a success and the birthday girl was very pleased.

And don't those cupcakes look so handsome on their little pedestal?

Who says you have to live without?

Yes, that is cheesecake. And yes, it has whipped cream on it. And guess what!?! It is totally gluten and dairy free [insert angel choir and glorious beam of light]! I never thought this day would come, but the good people at Living Without have made my non-dairy cheesecake dreams come true. I made the chocolate version sans ganache. It can be made vegan, but I put the egg in there. The only complaint I have is that their gluten-free brownie crust was a little excessive; I would prefer a little less crust and a little more crunch. I'd cut the recipe in half or I might go with a cookie crust next time. And there will be a next time!

Now all I need is a beautiful cake stand on which to rest my glorious cake... The cake gods have heard my cries again! Today I was just selected as the lucky winner of the Dahlhaus Cupcake Stand Give-a-way! I can no longer claim to be one of those people who never wins raffles. I am so excited to get this beautiful little stand from this talented ceramic artist. What a great day! I think I'll celebrate with a delicious slice of cheesecake.

Nutbutter Truffles

Oh, the glory that is the truffle! So I'm a bit obsessed at the moment, but when you find such an amazing gluten-free/dairy-free treat, you don't let go of it that easily. I decided to expand my truffle repertoire with other nutbutters: cashew and peanut butter. I busted these out for Easter with the help of my trusty sidekick (Note: four hands are better than two sticky, chocolate-covered hands all alone). The results were a smashing success. I was glad to help the Easter Bunny out with the food allergy crowd.

Coconut Cashew Butter Truffle
*gluten-free, dairy-free, vegan

1 cup cashew butter
1/2 cup agave syrup (or honey)
1/2 cup shredded coconut, unsweetened
1/4 cup creamed coconut
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp sesame seed
1 tsp vanilla
4-6 oz semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips
optional:
shredded coconut
or chopped nuts for topping

Mash all the ingredients except chocolate chips together. Chill mixture for about an hour so it is easier to work with. Once chilled, roll the cashew mixture into teaspoon-sized balls (or bigger depending on whether you like bit-sized or larger) and place on parchment. Place balls in the freezer until cold and hard. If you try to roll them in the chocolate unfrozen, they will fall apart.

Covering the truffles:
Melt chocolate chips in the microwave, 30 seconds at a time until smooth. Set out clean parchment and any additional toppings. Remove balls from the freezer. One at a time, dip cashew balls in the chocolate and roll them between your palms. It gets really messy, but the more chocolate on your palms, the more even the coverage. You can then roll the truffles in shredded coconut or chopped nuts or whatever you desire (this is where it is helpful to have a truffle-making partner). They are also delicious plain and simple. Place truffles on parchment and let the chocolate solidify. Keep in refrigerator until you're ready to eat. Best eaten at room temp.

Makes about 40+ small truffles

Alternative Flavor:
Chocolate Peanut Butter Truffle

1 cup natural peanut butter, salted
1/2 cup honey (or agave syrup)
1/2 cup peanut or almond meal
1/4 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp flax meal
1 Tbsp sesame seeds
1 tsp vanilla
4-6 oz semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips

Follow directions above. The peanut butter mixture ends up a little more dry than the cashew one; no need to freeze.