Peanut Butter Cookies with Chocolate Ganache - Two Ways

I've had a couple of requests for this recipe, so here it is! The first time I made these I used flax "eggs", but found the cookies to be a little dry. However, they came out softer and were my favorite. The second version uses a banana as the egg replacer and imparts a subtle banana flavor. Those came out crispier and a little flatter, but still tasty. These are easy cookies to make vegan even if you don't keep a vegan kitchen because they don't require any special ingredients (except maybe the chocolate ganache).

You'll Need

1 1/4 C AP flour
1/2 t salt
1 t baking powder
1/2 C (1 stick) veg shortening (I use Earth Balance)
1/2 C creamy peanut butter, plus a few teaspoons
1 C brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 t vanilla extract
1 flax egg* or very ripe banana

Method

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Sift together flour, salt and baking powder and set aside. Cream shortening, peanut butter and sugar (and banana if using). Beat in vanilla (and flax egg if using) . Mix in flour mixture, blending well. Shape mixture into 3/4-inch balls and place on parchment-lined baking sheets.

Flatten each cookie with the tines of a fork, sprinkle with coarse sugar or sea salt if desired, and bake for 6 - 8 minutes, or until lightly brown. (The banana version bakes quicker and should be checked after 6 minutes.) Let cookies set for one minute and then transfer to a cooling rack. Once cookies have cooled, finish with drizzle of ganache**.

*Flax egg

(This is a great way to add some of those important omega-3's into your diet!)

1/3 cup of whole flax seeds 1 cup of water

In a food processor or blender, grind the flax seeds until they are a fine flax meal. Slowly add the water until the mixture becomes gooey and gelatinous (like an egg white). 3 tablespoons of flax mixture is equal to 1 egg.

Makes a total of 6 "eggs". Keeps 3-6 days, refrigerated.

**Chocolate Ganache

1 oz (1 square) semi-sweet baking chocolate, broken
1/2 t margarine (I use Earth Balance)
1/2 vanilla
1 - 2 T rice milk

On low setting, heat chocolate, margarine, vanilla and 1 T rice milk. Stir constantly adding more rice milk to reach desired consistency. (You want the chocolate thick enough to coat the spoon, but thin enough to drizzle.) Drizzle over cooled cookies and allow the chocolate to set before serving.

Cucumber Melon Soup with Mint

My best friend and I have a tradition of sharing Easter Breakfast together. This year I made a delightfully refreshing cold soup. I also made sweet potato pancakes (with Field Roast sausage on the side), but those didn't turn out so well. In fact, I was so disappointed with them I didn't even take a picture. And I take a picture of almost all of my food. Thankfully, the soup was great. I have a potluck at work this Friday and I think I'll be bringing this soup - the theme is "Spring".

You will need:

1 1/2 C soygurt (plain or vanilla)
1 medium English cucumber, peeled and rough chopped
2 C ripe honeydew melon, rough chopped
1/4 C fresh mint
pinch of salt

Method:

Combine cucumber, soygurt, mint and pinch of salt in food processor or blender and puree. Pour into a bowl. Puree honeydew melon and add to cucumber puree. Stir to combine. Chill. Serve in individual glasses or bowls and garnish with fresh strawberries. Enjoy!

Vegan in Seattle

Earlier this week I made a short visit to the Emerald City. I return with a full belly and inspired to start soliciting local restaurateurs to better provide for Spokane's vegan community.

And now, some of the delicious food I enjoyed:

Veggie Groundnut Stew from Pan Africa Market

Vegan Cinnamon Roll and Soy Hot Cocoa from Cinnamon Works

Vegan Chowder from Pike Place Chowder

Mighty-O Donuts

Not pictured: the terrifyingly realistic mock meats from Bamboo Garden and vegan pizza from Vic's Pizzeria in Olympia

Hot Quinoa Breakfast Cereal

Here it is again, my favorite grain, quinoa (keen-wa). With eight grams of protein per one cup serving, this is a great way to start the day!

You will need:

1 C uncooked quinoa
1/4 C crystalized ginger, chopped
1/4 C dried currants
nutmeg, to taste
cinnamon, to taste
non dairy milk, to taste (I used rice milk, but soy creamer works well and adds an extra richness)
agave nectar, to taste (optional)
fresh berries (optional)

Method:

Combine quinoa with two cups water and bring to boil. Add ginger and currants, stir to combine, cover with lid and turn off heat. Quinoa is done when all liquid is absorbed and the germ has separated from the grain. Fluff quinoa and transfer to individual serving bowls. Add non-dairy milk to taste and finish with cinnamon, nutmeg and agave nectar. I had some beautiful red raspberries hanging out in the fridge, so I added those as a garnish.

Vegan Pets

Can our companion animals be vegan? Yes. There are many reasons to feed your dog or cat a vegan diet. Most obviously, if you're buying Kibble and Bits for your pup you are supporting the meat industry, but your pets' health is another factor you should consider. Pet food is made of animal byproducts that is considered unsuitable for human consumption. Until just last year SpokAnimal was sending the remains of euthanized animals to a local rendering plant. Horrifyingly enough, byproducts from the rendering process are used not only in livestock feed, but also in pet foods. In 2007 there was also the incident of pet food that was found to be tainted with melamine.

We all choose a vegan lifestyle for various reasons. Whether it's for health or animal welfare reasons, feeding your pets a vegan diet seems like an obvious decision. However, there are some things you need to consider before starting your pets on a vegan diet. Proper nutrition is very important and cats especially need a good source of taurine in their diet. I'm not an expert in this area, but there are some helpful resources online. The Mad Cowboy website has a great list of resources, including shopping and more information on pet food.

I feed my dog, Skippy, Natural Balance Vegetarian Formula from Petco and we haven't had any problems.

My Favorite Tofu

I have always loved tofu. As a kid, my favorite way to eat it was just like this: fresh from the container (pressed just slightly) with some fresh grated ginger and soy sauce. Actually, when I was little it was teriyaki sauce. I was addicted to Kikoman's teriyaki - I even put it on french fries. I don't know if I've ever mentioned it (if not, it should have been implied), but I was a strange kid. When I was in sixth grade I decided I wanted to be a vegetarian. I took this little dish to school for lunch one day. (I should also mention that I used to prefer to mash up or scramble my tofu when I ate it this way.) One of my class mates looked at my lunch suspiciously and then accused me of eating cat food. And that was the last time I brought a vegetarian lunch to school. Of course I still eat my tofu this way, but now I slice it, isn't it pretty? It's very light and refreshing. My son loves his tofu this way too. He's takes after his mom.

Slightly Embarrassing Anecdote About Spinach, And A Salad

I love spinach and always have, even as kid. Embarrassingly enough though, until fairly recently (sometime in my adulthood, < 23) I had the subconscious and illogical idea that spinach is a seaweed. I didn't talk about spinach as a seaweed, or consciously make the connection. It was just a subconscious association I had. I can't explain why - blame Popeye. I know it's something from early childhood (but really, what falsely held beliefs and complexes don't date back that far?). Anyway, thinking of spinach as a seaweed made it more exotic and seemingly tastier. I think that maybe my parents weren't too keen on correcting my misunderstanding because I was actually eating the nutritious leafy green and they didn't want to undo a healthy food obsession. Well, today I know the truth and that is that spinach is a wonderful vegetable rich in iron and calcium and it makes a great salad. Pictured above is one such delicious salad. I made this as a late night snack recently and was quite satisfied. Upon a bed of baby spinach, I sprinkled some fried onions (found on the Asian/ethnic isle of the grocery store - not the French's variety) and on top of that drizzled Annie's Naturals Papaya Poppy Seed Dressing. The salty-savory flavor of the fried onions played well with the sweetness of the dressing and earthiness of the spinach. This is a new favorite salad.