do not try this at home

Raise you hand if you want it all.

Ok, now it's going to become difficult for me to type with one hand...
Because we always want it all.  It's been my lifelong quest to find a way to have my cake and eat it too, figuratively and literally.  So one month into my new (slightly deviant) vegan lifestyle I decided to try my hand at low-fat vegan brownies.

She was afraid of that.

Are low-fat vegan brownies too good to be true?
Yes.  They are.
In reality they're awful.

The recipe I found (in which each brownie was only 70 calories!) called for a lot of things I already had in the house--bananas, cocoa powder, agave nectar, pastry flour, black beans...wait black beans?

Basically you toss everything in a blender until smooth, pour into a greased 8x8 and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.  The batter looks almost like it should, it tasted ok, not like a traditional brownie, but like it would get the job done.  Once baked however it looks like, well, bean dip except it was almost flavorless and had a consistency like mushy graham crackers.  It kind of smelled like chocolate, I guess.

But I know there's got to be a way.  Low fat vegan brownies are my new unicorn.

easy like sunday morning

Some people dream about the past , some people dream and live out fantasies, my roommate Shannon dreams about waffles.  Well, she dreams about me making her waffles.  

Picture courtesy of Shannon McGarvey

Ingredients

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon salt

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 tablespoons white sugar

2 eggs

1 1/2 cups warm milk (I used almond milk)

1/3 cup butter, melted

Preheat waffle iron. In a large bowl, mix together flour, salt, baking powder and sugar,  set aside. 

In a separate bowl, beat the eggs with a wire whisk. Stir in the milk and the melted butter . Pour the milk mixture into the flour mixture, beat until blended.

With a 1/4 cup measure cup or a ladle (or anything else you want to use) portion the batter into a preheated waffle iron. Cook the waffles until golden and crisp. Serve immediately with brown sugar syrup (see below). Makes enough for about 3 hungry grown-ups.  Be prepared to make them weekly, Hello Kitty waffle iron not included.  

Brown Sugar Syrup

1/2 cup of butter

1/2 cup of brown sugar (light or dark)

1/4 cup heavy cream, or regular milk if you don't have heavy cream

1 tablespoon dark corn syrup 

2 teaspoons cinnamon

Combine all ingredients in a small saucepan over very low heat stirring regularly with a wire whisk.   When butter is completely melted and syrup starts to bubble remove from heat and let it stand for about 5 minutes, it will thicken.  Spoon over pancakes, waffles, etc.  You can store it in the fridge in an airtight container, like a repurposed jelly jar) for a week or two but it probably won't last that long.  

this sh!t is bananas

Literally, it's made with bananas.  

Ingredients

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

3/4 cup walnuts, toasted, chopped

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1 cup sugar

2 large eggs

3-4 overly ripe bananas

3 tablespoons almond milk (or any old milk will do) 

(I also threw in a handful of semi-sweet chocolate chips) 

Preheat oven to 350°F. Butter a medium sized metal loaf pan.  While oven is preheating, you can toast the walnuts on a cookie sheet, about 3-5 minutes.  Burnt walnut smell is the most horrid thing ever so be mindful of how long they've been in there.  Whisk first 4 ingredients in medium bowl to blend. 

Beat butter in large bowl until fluffy with electric hand mixer on medium speed. Gradually add sugar, beating until well blended. Beat in eggs 1 at a time. Beat in mashed bananas. Beat in flour mixture and almond milk. Fold in walnuts (and chocolate chips.)  Scrape batter into the pan, it will be pretty thick.  

Bake bread until tester inserted into center comes out clean, about 1 hour 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and cool.

I like to have this with my morning tea and pretend it breakfast.   It's also best to share it with friends/roommates/co-workers so you don't eat the entire loaf in a day.  It's that good.  Enjoy

destitute diet

I've gotten really good at making something out of nothing. Case in point, last week's improptu dinner with Ella.
Whole wheat pasta tossed with a can of chopped tomato, assorted seasonings found in the cabinet, a little feta. We literally had a jar of capers and a bottle of vueve in the fridge. Such is life...young, broke, and fabulous.

these strange days

I have fallen off the wagon.

I have fallen off the wagon in every possible capacity. I'm out of focus. I'm not writing about the things I should be writing about; the string of awkward dates, my mastery of gingerbread making, how excited I am about everyone wearing capes instead of coats (I totally have one) and how I met a marvelous boy last week who managed to snatch my attention from the things that need it and focus it on him, like sunlight through a magnifying glass. Sometimes I feel as if I might burst into flames. I feel too much - I feel too much and it's absolutely terrifying. Broody eyes and crooked dimples are bringing me to my knees. He cups my chin and I'm melting into his palm.

She falls, she's fallen, she fell.

I spent the last 3 days playing victim to the blizzard, making cups of darjeeling, roasting salmon in tinfoil, and sauntering around wearing little.

It was the first time he'd ever seen snow. That kind of enthusiasm is contagious and I've never seen Clinton St look so lovely. I did finally go home to my apartment today, bittersweetly. Tonight is the second night we've slept apart. I met him 10 days ago.

well they say can't please everyone

but i'm stuck on a winning streak

well today's there's clarity

and tonight i see tomorrow

all at one the winter's here

all the lochs are frozen over

-the walkmen--while i shovel the snow

So what does a girl do to pass the day away? When life gives you lemons what do you do with them? Gossip, hum along to Madeleine Peyroux, bake.

I spent the day making little Russian Tea Cakes, Hermes wrapped around my head, video chatting with my bookend. I tweaked the ratios causing them literally melt on your tongue. You're left with a little mouthful of buttery sugar and the scent of almonds. Tiny luxuries, like tiny victories, are the the biggest joys.

Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup unsalted butter, room temp

1/3 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup toasted and ground almonds (or hazelnuts, whatev)

1/2 cup confectioners' sugar

Preheat oven 325, if you have parchment paper laying around, line your pan with it. If you don't, it's not a big deal, butter your pan just a little.

Combine butter and granulted sugar in a large bowl and beat on medium speed with an electric mixer for 1-2 minutes. Add almonds and mix on low speed until blended. Add the dry ingredients and beat until the dough forms crumbly looking little clumps. Don't worry if it doesn't look like normal cookie dough, it's not supposed to.

To form each cookie, roll a tablespoon's worth of crumbly dough between your palms into a 1 inch ball. It will sort of melt together and take shape. Set them down on your pan firmly so the bottom flatten a bit.

Bake for 20-25 minutes until the bottoms are lightly browned and the tops are barely colored. Let them cool on the pan for about 5 minutes before transferring to a wire rack to cook completely.

Once cool, gently roll the cookies in confectioner's sugar to coat them. If you do this while they are still too warm, the sugar will melt and form a hard glaze instead of a powedery jacket. (I've done this) They keep for about 4 days in an airtight container, though they are usually long gone by them. Enjoy.

pancake success

I'm 4 days into a 30 day personal ban on refined carbs which means no white flour and no white sugar. I'm actually trying to shun all sugars in general with the exception of a few low sugar fruits and of course the natural sugars found in dairy. I've got a vacation coming up, and who wants to look doughy in a bikini? Not this girl.

Cutting out sugar has been easier than I anticipated given that most of my daily calories probably come from sweet things but cutting out white flour has taken some improvisation. Switching to whole wheat flour (which I would NOT recommend for pastry)has been challenging. It's contains far more nutritional value than tradition white flour however it creates a much denser product. Maybe all those vitamins and minerals make it heavy? It also requires more liquid ingredients to achieve the same outcome as a white flour recipe. Be prepared for a dry, sticky dough.

Yesterday morning I made whole wheat apple cinnamon pancakes, with no sugar! I microwaved the apples for about 3 minutes to soften them before I folded them into the batter, used light buttermilk instead of my usual fat-free variety and topped them with just a little unsalted butter. They were just sweet enough to satisfy my craving and the buttermilk kept them from tasting like Triskets. Who says you can't have your pancakes and eat them too?

Ingredients

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 apple (or blueberries, banana, etc)

1 tablespoon brown sugar

1 cup buttermilk

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 egg

Whisk together dry ingredients, except for the brown sugar, in a bowl and, using a whisk or an egg beater, mix the brown sugar, buttermilk, oil, and egg in another bowl.

Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients, and mix gently. Fold in fruit. It's okay if you have lumps when you're done, if you over mix the batter you’ll have tough, chewy pancakes.

Let the batter sit for a few minutes. Heat a skillet over medium high heat until it’s hot enough to make a drop of water sizzle. If your skillet is nonstick, you probably won’t need to grease it, but if it’s a traditional pan or cast iron like mine, you’ll want to butter that baby up before you make the pancakes. Drop 1/2 cup dollops of batter into the hot skillet and cook the pancakes until bubbles form on top, flip and cook another 2-3 minutes. Graciously accept compliments, applause and possible marriage proposals. Enjoy.