Chips and Sammich

Last night I used the banana chip recipe from Garden of Vegan.. this is how they turned out. They're hard on the outside but still a little chewy.. I have to figure out how to make them crunchier.. more chip-like, if you will. But I like them!
And tonight I made dinner for my family! These were supposed to be tempeh reubens, but I only had some wheat bread and mozzarella soy cheese (as opposed to uh.. rye/pumpernickel and swiss cheese) so they're not exact, but pretty close. I based it off the recipe from VWaV.
My family just thought they were so-so, but my (newly vegetarian) sister loved it! I think she now likes tempeh the best.. she hasn't really developed a taste for seitan or tofu yet.. or maybe I just haven't prepared them right..

Presents!

Merry Christmas! Three sweet new things:


I hope everybody else got neat stuff!

Party Foods!

Last night me and my sister threw a martini party!
Here's the Christmas shot.. apple and pomegranate martinis!

We made the Brooklyn vs. Boston Cream Pie Cakes from VCTOtW.
Except the cream sort of absorbed into the cupcakes..
Nobody even knew it was there :-( We'll have to use more next time.

And also the Cookies 'N Cream Cupcakes..
Except I used the golden vanilla cupcake batter instead of chocolate.
They turned out really good, everybody liked these more.

We also made some pita chips, and the spinach artichoke dip
I found on Vegan-licious' blog.
It was excellent! The first thing to go.

Cookie Time!

Well, today was Christmas cookie day! Here's the spread:

Candy canes
Chocolate crinkles
Chocolate-peppermint pinwheels (courtesy of Alton Brown)
Finnish ribbon
*Gingerbread men (from LDV)
*Oatmeal-raisin (from LDV)
Peanut butter kisses
*Pecan sandies (adapted from Martha Stewart)

* = vegan

The happy bakers.. sister and me!

I really like the gingerbread men from La Dolce Vegan! I've made them before.. they're pretty awesome. The oatmeal-raisin cookies, on the other hand, were sort of a disappointment. I guess I was in bake mode and just did what the recipe said.. not realizing they have no spices! So I just mixed some cinnamon and nutmeg with a little sugar and sprinkled it on before putting them in the oven, and they actually turned out well!

I don't think it would have been hard to veganize the other cookies, but my family didn't see why we should.. these are for gift plates.. and I didn't really plan on eating them so.. it doesn't matter. But it was a fun day!

Oh yeah.. in other news.. my sister decided to go veg(etarian!) And my older brother (her twin, coincidentally) is also considering it! :-P

Graham Cracker Houses!

Well, they aren't completely vegan, but it was a funnnn Sunday activity nonetheless!

My first house..

Chris' first house..

Takin' a break.. house building is hard work!

See?

The whole village!

Peach Bars

I just made these.. there's a crust on the bottom (flour, sugar, margarine) and then some peaches that my Mom canned.. I found them in the back of my food drawer! Hehe. I just added a little cornstarch and sugar and put it on the stove 'til it thickened up. The topping stuff is a little more flour and sugar with a little oil. In conclusion.. they are delicious!

Peach Bars

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies!

From VWaV! I have no more extras for my baked goods (nuts, dried fruits, chocolate chips, oats, peanut butter!) I only had the basics.. plus some strawberry preserves so I made these!

Chocolate Thumbprint Cookies

I don't usually eat my baked goods (I don't know if you noticed.. but I bake so much that if I ate everything I made.. I'd be huge!) But I did try these.. they're excellent! I made them yesterday.. and then another batch today! But I ran out of soymilk so I used water for these ones. They turned out a little chewier.. I like the soymilk ones better.