Thursday, July 31, 2014

Shhh - The Brownies Have a Secret



This may look like an ordinary luscious, rich, chocolate-y brownie bite. And, I have to say, it absolutely IS a luscious, rich, chocolate-y brownie bite! But it's anything but ordinary.

It's vegan.

Yup - no butter, no eggs, no milk, no nothin' that came from an animal.

A vegan brownie.

And it's really, really good ... :)


Vegan Brownie Bites

1-1/2 cups flour
1-1/2 cups sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 teaspoon aluminum-free baking powder
pinch of kosher salt
3/4 cup vanilla soy milk
1 cup light vegetable oil
1/4 cup silken tofu
1 tablespoon flavoring (coffee, brandy, fresh orange juice, etc.)
dairy-free mini chocolate chips, for garnish

Preheat oven to 350F. Line a 12-cup mini muffin tin with paper liners.

In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, and salt.

In a large measuring cup, whisk together soy milk, oil, tofu, and flavoring. Pour wet ingredients over dry ingredients and whisk until smooth.

Fill each muffin cup 3/4 full of batter, and sprinkle a few chocolate chips on top. Bake for 15 minutes until a tester comes out clean, then remove from oven; let rest 5 minutes to set, then remove to a rack to cool. Repeat with remaining batter.

Makes about 3 dozen brownie bites.

Note: To make standard-sized brownie "muffins," bake for 20-25 minutes.


Friday, July 25, 2014

Nutella Quesadillas



Too easy to even warrant a recipe, these are such a lovely treat in the morning!

Schmear just a light layer of cream cheese over the entire tortilla, to cut the sweetness. Half jam of choice (I used raspberry in one, fig in the other), half Nutella. Fold. Grill 'til golden and gooey.




That's it! Breakfast, dessert, snack, "just 'cause" ... whatever the occasion, just try them ... :)

Friday, July 18, 2014

If It's July, It's Cherry Season

If you read this week's column, you'll learn that I had a HUGELY difficult time trying to find my beloved tart cherries here in Toledo. But, after all the mishigas, there was success! A lovely woman named Bonnie read my saga, told me of a farm market not too far away, even called the market to reserve two quarts of cherries for me (people are astoundingly nice here!), and thus ... before and after.









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