Veganized Bisquick Pancakes

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Meatless Monday Family Dinners, QUICKIES! and tagged with bisquick, breakfast, breakfast for dinner, comfort food, earth balance, Easy, eggless, ener-g egg replacer, Fast, Low Ingredient, meatless mondays, mexican vanilla, pancakes, penzey's, quick, recipe, silk soy creamer, vanilla, Vegan, veganized, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat May 29, 2014

I grew up in the 80’s and I grew up on Bisquick pancakes. When my Dad would go away on business trips my mom would make huge batches of these for dinner with butter and lots of pancake syrup and cold milk. The Aunt Jemima stuff just wasn’t as good and I remember dreading church pancake breakfasts because it was always AJ instead of Bisquick thus making the pancakes grainy and flat for whatever reason and not fluffy. Well I was pleased as pie when I went vegan and found out Bisquick was also vegan! The only problem… ummm… whole milk and eggs are the additional ingredients. For the past few years I have used flax eggs, mashed bananas, and soy milk to sub but this weekend I tested something else out and it came out exactly how I wanted. So please take a look below and get ready for a delicious weekend breakfast because these pancakes are fast and unforgettable!

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Veganized Simple Bisquick Pancakes

2cups Bisquick

1 cup Silk Soy Creamer

1-2 tbsp Vanilla Extract (I use Penzey’s Mexican Vanilla)

2 Energ-G Egg Replacer Eggs

Making the Batter!

Make two Ener-G egg replacer eggs in a mug. Mix all other ingredients together and add egg substitute mixture last. Mixing all in well.

Cooking!

Heat a skillet to medium or medium high heat spraying with cooking spray or buttering with Earth Balance.

Cook until golden on each side.

Serve with Earth Balance and Maple Syrup. Enjoy!

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Food is Love. The Hippie Gypsy.

REBLOG: Chocolate Chip Cheesecake by Lucy’s Friendly Foods

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Guest Contributer Articles, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, QUICKIES! and tagged with cake, cheese, cheesecake, chocolate, chocolate chip cheesecake, cream cheese, dessert, Easy, holiday, Low Ingredient, quick, reblog, recipe, tofutti, vanilla, Vegan, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat March 12, 2014

This is certainly a must to reblog. It looks tasty and beautiful for spring. I would need to make a few alterations due to the change in country but seems easy enough to alter! It also has Tofutti as a main ingredient which is a favorite of mine! I would even consider topping with sliced fruit. Enjoy… Chocolate Chip Cheesecake.

Ooey Gooey Vegan S’mores Cheesecake Trifle

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, Traveling Vegan and tagged with betty crocker, breyer's, brownie, cake, cheese, cheesecake cream, chocolate, chocolate cake, Coconut, coconut milk, Coconut Whipped Cream, cream cheese, dandies, dessert, Easy, Fast, fudge brownies, holiday, hot fudge, kitchen torch, libby's, Low Ingredient, marshamallows, meatless mondays, Party, pastry, Pie, potluck, pumpkin, quick, recipe, smores, tofutti, tofutti better than cream cheese, travel, trifle, vanilla, Vegan, vegan cheesecake, vegan cream cheese whipped cream, vegan graham crackers, vegan hot fudge, vegan marshamallows, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat December 20, 2013

I joined the Wellness Committee at my work a few months back. I thought it was important to have a truly opposite opinion to the mainstream ideas of health in such a group. One that focused not on conventional “healthy” recipes and ways of being “well” but one that is a little more alternative. I am obviously a vegan but I am also a bit of a hippie and very interested in how wellness is also about being mentally well and taking care of the earth to result in healthy food and a healthy planet. This holiday season we had a Christmas/Holiday/Seasonal get together/luncheon at work. The Wellness Group sponsored it and although it was healthi-er I think we have a long way to go. I must say that I did prepare a not so perfectly healthy trifle for the baking contest so I am as much at fault as anyone on the healthiness of this luncheon. To me this recipe is far from healthy but for the group, I think they will find it the healthiest option on the table with all things considered. Take a look and Happy Holidays! (PS I won the contest!)

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S’mores Cheesecake Trifle

Ingredients:

2 packages Vegan Marshmallows
2 containers Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
2 cans of Coconut Milk (refrigerated overnight or longer to separate)
1 cup powdered organic vegan sugar
1 squeeze bottle of Breyer’s Hot Fudge Sauce (vegan and sold at Walmart)
1 box of Fudge Brownie Mix (Betty Crocker is vegan)
2 cans of pureed pumpkin
1 box Chocolate Cake Mix (many vegan varieties are available)
1 package of graham crackers

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Preparation:

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees.
Get out (2) medium mixing bowls.
Get 1 smaller pie pan and 1 regular sized cake pan.
Get out your trifle container.
Spray cake and pie pan with Coconut Oil spray or some Pam-type equivalent of canola oil.
Open cans of coconut milk and slowly remove top layer of coconut milk fat and leave coconut water at the bottom. Try to remove as little wet material as possible. Place in one mixing bowl with cream cheese. Mix until combined well. Sift in powdered sugar with a sieve or squeeze sifter. I use a plastic $1.99 sieve I got at the Chinese grocery store and it works great. No need for anything fancy! Place bowl of cream in refrigerator.
In second bowl prepare brownie mix with one can of pureed pumpkin. Combine the two until smooth. Place in Pie Pan.
In the second bowl (do not wipe) add cake mix and 2nd can of pureed pumpkin. Combine well until smooth and place batter in cake pan.

Cooking:

Place both batters into oven. The cake will take approximately 30 minutes and the brownies will take approximately 50-55 minutes.
Take squeeze fudge and line the bottom of the trifle bowl. The cake will be going in the bottom and tends to be crumbly. This will give the appearance on the exterior glass of a neat chocolate line while also keeping the moisture of the cake in.
Next, cut or tear marshmallows in half. This will allow for them to be stuck to the glass and cake when layering.
When the cake comes out. Take the trifle bowl and press through to the bottom of the pan. This will create a circular indent. Most trifle bowls are smaller on the bottom than the top. That is why you place the cake and not brownie in the bottom. Cake will squish down and together so it will fit despite the slight size difference.
Flip the pan over on a wire rack to unlodge from pan and cool.
Once cool, tear away edges from the circular imprint and press down into the trifle bowl.
The fudge will make up for any imperfections. Feel free to add more fudge in a circle on top to finish the layer. Then place a few dots on top of the cake to prepare for marshmallows.
Press marshmallows up against the glass all around the bowl and then on top of the cake/fudge layer.
Take out a creme brulee style kitchen torch and brown the cake layers. Be careful lot to get too close the the glass. Not all glass is heat friendly.
Fill in holes between marshmallows with some fudge. Then crumble graham crackers on top. I used 1 package from a box. Approximately 8 sheets (you can reserve some for top layer if you want or just use more!).
Next place 1/3 of the cheesecake cream in the center of the crackers but try to avoid bringing the liquid too close to the edges.
Now add the brownie layer once it has been removed from the oven and cooled on a wire rack. You do not need to make a circular cut on this. Simply cut a triangular piece of brownie out of the “pie” and then it will allow for you to fold it into the trifle bowl by almost overlapping the edges where the cut was made. It also allows for you to have a snack 🙂
Next add the rest of the cheesecake cream and decorate with marshmallows, fudge, and crumbled grahams. I like to line the edge again with marshmallows and place a dollop of fudge between for a nice finish on it 🙂
Refrigerate overnight to settle. Serve cold. Enjoy!

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Food is Love.

The Hippie Gypsy

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Check My Recipe Out on Tofutti.com also!

https://twitter.com/tofuttibrand/status/412642439371816960/photo/1

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=698712053479883&set=a.192319737452453.46978.148368278514266&type=1&theater

http://www.pinterest.com/pin/550916966888690463/

http://www.tofutti.com/vegan-smores/

Perfect. Toll-House-Style. Vegan. Chocolate Chip Cookies.

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, QUICKIES!, Traveling Vegan and tagged with chocolate, chocolate chip cookies, cookies, costco, dessert, earth balance, Easy, Fast, flax, flax egg, flour, holiday, kirkland vegan, Low Ingredient, low sodium, maple syrup, meatless mondays, Party, potluck, quick, recipe, salt, sugar, toll house, travel, vanilla, Vegan, vegan chocolate chip cookies, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat November 25, 2013

I love chocolate chip cookies. I love chocolate chip cookie dough even more. And in an honest, yet disgusting unveiling of my inner glutton, I love when you cream the butter, vanilla, and sugar together to make chocolate chip cookies. When I was a kid I used to try to steal dollops of the creamed mixture when my mom wasn’t looking. It was so good. I am glad I didn’t know about salmonella poisoning back then or the fat content of whole butter. Luckily with vegan baking, that salmonella is never a problem so yea… eat all the cookie dough you want! Also my brother is coming for Thanksgiving Dessert with his wife and my first and only nephew Baby Nolan and he (my brother) is a cookie monster, so I wanted to be able to make him chocolate chip cookies that I could also eat and so could any of my dairy intolerant family. My brother loves cookies so much I got him a replica cookie jar from our childhood for Christmas last year and it was not easy to find an owl cookie jar either! This will definitely be an experience thanks to my cookies 🙂

That being said here is my chocolate chip cookie recipe that I have been working on for ages. Every time I start I become uninspired by dry cookie dough (which every vegan can relate to due to the lack of eggs) and of course the ones that crumble or the ones that don’t taste quite right. These are not any of those. They are gooey and crunchy on the edges and melt until they are just thin enough but still soft inside. If you love cookies… you will also love me after you make this recipe.

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Perfect Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup of earth balance organic buttery spread
2-3 tablespoons of maple syrup
3 flax eggs (3 tablespoons of water and 1 tbsp powdered flax per egg)
2 tablespoons of vanilla extract (I use Penzey’s Mexican)
1 and 1/4 cups of vegan sugar (try half brown sugar if you have it for a richer flavor)
2.5 cups of all purpose unbleached flour
1-2 teaspoons of salt (I use kosher)
1 cup of vegan semisweet chocolate chips (I used Kirkland (Costco brand) this time instead of Whole Foods)

*Optional: 1 cup of walnuts or pecans

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MIXING TIME!

Place all dry ingredients (except chocolate) in a medium to small bowl. Mix until well combined.
Cream butter and sugar together in a larger bowl with a mixer. Then place all wet ingredients into the bowl and mix until well combined.
If you have never made a flax egg all you do is place warm water in a bowl and pulverize flaxseeds in a coffee grinder until powdered and stir. It’s that easy.
Slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix until a dough forms. I use my hands but a mixer works well too.
Last toss in chocolate chips and any nuts and knead into the dough. It will be a little oily.

BAKE:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Place a silpat or parchment on your baking sheet. These cookies WILL STICK OTHERWISE! This is very important.
Once the oven is completely preheated, place balls of cookie dough on the silpat or parchment lined cookie sheets.
Bake for 20-22minutes.
Remove let sit for 5-10minutes and then transfer to a cookie cooling rack.
Makes 3 dozen. Enjoy!

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FOOD IS LOVE.

The Hippie Gypsy

Pistachio Vegan Creme Brulee

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts and tagged with agave, allspice, avocado, brulee, cashew, cream, cream cheese, creme brulee, custard, dessert, jar, mason jar dessert, nut, pistachio, soy, soy creamer, sugar, vanilla September 11, 2013

When I was a kid we would go to this little Tavern down the street from my house. It was called the North Pond House back then. It was next to North Pond and boasted karaoke and traditional english pub fare. I ate a lot of fish and chips there and regrettably sang a lot of karaoke as a child (which everyone clapped but I am sure it was funnier than it was actually entertaining). For dessert however they had this ice cream called Spumoni which was an Italian layered slice of heaven as far as I was concerned as a kid (I also think this was an 80s dessert because I never see it anymore). I loved the green layer of pistachio. Pistachio ice cream was a luxury that was not in my fridge at home often. We did popsicles at home. So I loved these visits where I could indulge in my pistachio layer of ice cream. It seemed so fancy back then. So when I was testing creme brulee recipes I remembered my fall visits to the pub with the smell of fireplaces and pumpkins and haystacks in front of the doors of the neighborhood near the pond which was cirlced in orange and red leaves. Pistachio creme brulee would be amazing. I said to myself this weekend “Let’s see if we can make it work”. And I did. Enjoy!

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Pistachio Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

1/2cup raw cashews
1/2cup pistachios
1 avocado (skin and seed removed)
1/4cup raw agave
1/3cup sugar
1 1/2teaspoon agar agar powder (this is vegan gelatin powder found in the asian section of the grocery store)
1teaspoon arrowroot powder/starch (don’t use cornstarch due to the high heat, arrowroot is better)
1 1/4cups Soy Creamer
1 heaping tablespoon of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
Pinch of Salt
1teaspoon allspice
1/4teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (I use Penzey’s) (or use almond extract)

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Preparation

Place all ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor and mix until smooth. This batter will be quite thick. Consider stirring it with a spatula if needed.

If you do not have a high powered mixer soak cashews and pistachios for at least 4 hours or overnight so that the batter will not be grainy. Also, place half the nuts in at first and the second half after most ingredients have liquified.

Cook

Preheat oven to 375degrees.

Fill a casserole dish with water to go halfway the height of the jars you in tend on placing the brulee mixture in. I have used both mason jars and square ramekins before and both come out well. Then sprinkle each jar bottom with extra pistachios. It’s a fun surprise on the bottom. Also remove metal presses from the jars. They will be so redhot it is better to pop them off now.

Pour batter into each jar allowing a little space so that they do not spill over as the casserole dish will be heavy with all the water in it. You need to be careful not to allow water into the jars.

Cook for at least 30 minutes or until the batter is wiggly but not liquidy and slightly firm on top.

Chill

Take jars out of the water with tongs and place on a towel on a drying rack. Let cool 15 minutes and then transfer into the refrigerator for 2-4hours.

Brulee

After the creme is completely firm and chilled through and you are ready to serve. …Take sugar, sprinkle a good layer on each creme top, and brulee with a hand torch until the sugar bubbles, browns, and quickly hardens.

Serve Immediatly.

Serves 6. WW Points 6.

(PS Any of these can be simply custard without the brulee if you do not have a torch)

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

Apple Cheesecake Vegan Creme Brulee

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts and tagged with agar, agar agar, apple, apple cheesecake, apple cinnamon, apple pie spice, arrowroot, autumn, brulee, cake, cashew, cheese, cheesecake, cheesecake creme brulee, cinnamon, cream, cream cheese, creme brulee, dessert, Easy, fall, Fast, holiday, low sodium, macintosh, maple, maple syrup, meatless mondays, Party, quick, recipe, thanksgiving dessert, vanilla, Vegan, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat September 10, 2013

The fall weather has officially started here in Coastal Massachusetts. This weekend I started raking, trimming back trees, turned off the Central Air, and opened up all the windows in my house. The cool air made the sheer window coverings sweep the floors from the wind like a chiffon wedding dress. It was a beautiful weekend. I could smell chocolate chip cookies and ocean air from my deck and I even kicked it off with a trip to the Brimfield Antiques Fair which just screams “Welcome Fall”. Together my mother and I picked up a red rocking horse for my nephew Nolan, a few records for my new record player, a set of silverware that completed a set I had inherited which was just dumb luck!, a buddha painted in reds and blues and gold for my side garden to go just underneath the chimes, and a poster from the 1980’s when a friend of mine ran for office which I will make him sign because it was such a fun find! Who doesn’t love a gigantic yard sale? I would be hard pressed to find anyone who doesn’t have a good time at these events. I then went over to my aunt’s to help her pack up her apartment to move to her dream destination. I am so proud of her. I know she appreciates a good dessert. So this weekend I worked on puddings.

Fall is the time for puddings both warm and cold. There are bread puddings (my mom’s favorite) and the more exciting french puddings like the creme brulee and then there are the puddings I would never eat like black pudding. My favorite has always been a vanilla bean creme brulee with a good crunchy crust and a thick custard filling but not to sweet to offset the brulee. My parents would bring us to brunch on Easter and Mother’s day and I would always run over to make sur ethe hotel had the little ramekins of this dessert. So I tried to replicate it now as a vegan with a few fall fun flavors. This is my first of a series of three I will post this week (all tested and approved by the omnivore husband). They are all easy to prepare (35minutes max) but the cooling process (2hrs min.) causes it to be something you have to make in advance. Since everyone in the office was talking about apple picking on Friday we shall start with apple! Enjoy!

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Apple Cinnamon Cheesecake Creme Brulee

Ingredients:

1/2cup raw cashews
(2) Macintosh Apples Cored, Peeled, Diced
1/4cup maple syrup
1/3cup sugar
1tablespoon agar agar powder (this is vegan gelatin powder found in the asian section of the grocery store)
1tablespoon arrowroot powder/starch (don’t use cornstarch due to the high heat, arrowroot is better)
1 1/4cups Soy Creamer
2 heaping tablespoons of Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese
Pinch of Salt
1teaspoon Cinnamon
1 teaspoon-1tablespoon Apple Pie Spice (depends on your pallet, I use a little more)
1/2teaspoon of Vanilla Extract (I use Penzey’s)

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Preparation

Place all ingredients in a high powered blender or food processor and mix until smooth.

If you do not have a high powered mixer soak cashews for at least 4 hours or overnight so that the batter will not be grainy.

Cook

Preheat oven to 375degrees.

Fill a casserole dish with water to go halfway the height of the ramekins or jars you in tend on placing the brulee mixture in. I have used both mason jars and square ramekins before and both come out well.

Pour batter into each ramekin allowing a little space so that they do not spill over as the casserole dish will be heavy with all the water in it. You need to be careful not to allow water into the ramekins.

Cook for at least 30 minutes or until the batter is wiggly but not liquidy and slightly firm on top.

Chill

Take ramekins out of the water with tongs and place on a towel on a drying rack. Let cool 15 minutes and then transfer into the refrigerator for 2-4hours.

Brulee

Serve Immediatly.

Serves 6. WW Points 6.

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

Lemon Blueberry Breakfast Bundt Cake

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, Traveling Vegan and tagged with allergen free, almond, blueberry, brunch, bundt cake, cake, cupcake, dairy free, dessert, Easy, eggless, extract, gluten free option, holiday, lemon, lemon blueberry, meatless mondays, nut free, Party, pastry, potluck, recipe, travel, vanilla, Vegan, vegan lemon blueberry cake, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat August 23, 2013

I use two cookbooks when making cakes in most cases either Chef Chloe’s cookbook “Chloe’s Kitchen” or the “Joy of Vegan Baking”. The Joy of Vegan Baking has an excellent Lemon Blueberry Loaf Cake Recipe if I remember correctly. For the purposes of this cake we are doctoring up Chef Chloe’s vanilla cake recipe (www.chefchloe.com) and making it a lemon blueberry cake for brunch in honor of my Mother’s birthday this past week.

My family is big on brunch. We do Easter brunch every year and for most informal birthday or family get togethers. We are great at doing brunch and I have been to so many hotel brunches all over the world I feel spoiled by them during my Sunday indulgences. I think that brunch is so much fun for everyone because it encourages good eating through small portions and copious amounts of veggie and fruit options even when they are not always attached to vegan items. There are fruit cups, quiches, and omelettes filled with veggie fillings so I am all about it! However, the pastries and baked goods are always filled with eggs and dairy so I am going to change that today with this travel friendly recipe to bring to your next family soiree. I promise everyone will love it. I have made it for a potluck at work a few years ago and recently for a family get together after the funeral of my grandmother and as the only vegan I always suffer the “this tastes different” criticism. But not with this cake. Even my Dad was found picking at it long after brunch was over!

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Lemon Blueberry Bundt Cake

Ingredients:

1 lemon
1 cup of fresh blueberries (plus 1 cup for garnish)
1 jar lemon marmalade (for garnish)
1 tbsp of Lemon Extract
3 cups all-purpose flour (or gluten-free all-purpose flour plus 1 ½ teaspoon xanthan gum)
2 cups sugar
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 ¾ cups soy milk
1 cup canola oil
¼ cup white or apple cider vinegar (I use ACV not white)
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract (I use Penzey’s Mexican Vanilla Extract)

TIME TO BAKE!

Chef Chloe’s Vanilla Cake Recipe with my additions in bold caps:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease three 8 or 9-inch round cake pans and line the bottoms with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt. In a separate bowl, whisk together nondairy milk (I USE ORGANIC SOYMILK) , oil, vinegar, and vanilla (ALSO ADD THE ZEST OF ONE LEMON RIND AND 1TBSP OF LEMON EXTRACT AND 2 TBSP OF LEMON JUICE.)
Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not over mix. (THEN SPRINKLE 1 CUP OF FRESH BLUEBERRIES LIGHTLY WITH FLOUR AND FOLD INTO BATTER. THE FLOUR HELPS THEM FROM SINKING STRAIGHT TO THE BOTTOM OF THE CAKE PAN.)
Fill each prepared (BUNDT) cake pan evenly with batter. Bake for (20-30) minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of the cake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Rotate the cakes halfway through the baking time. Cool the cakes completely before assembly.
I then flip the cake over on a cake pedestle and sprinkle with powdered sugar and garnish with fresh blueberries in the center. I serve this with lemon marmalade that I buy when it is on sale at Christmas Tree Shops since they are famous for having sales on jars of jellies.

Enjoy!

Serves 12.

WW POINTS: 9pts per serving. (Based on 12 servings)

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

Broiled or Grilled Peaches with Caramel Sauce

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, QUICKIES! and tagged with broiled peaches, cake, caramel sauce, cupcake, dessert, Easy, Fast, grill, grilled peaches, ice cream, Low Ingredient, low sodium, Party, peach, peaches, quick, recipe, sugar, vanilla, vanilla spice cake, Vegan, vegan caramel sauce, vegetarian, what to eat, what vegans eat August 13, 2013

In the summer there are a few fruits that just beg me to eat them. Peaches are definitely one of them. The thing about peaches however is that other than eating them raw, putting them in iced tea, or making a galette I was always afraid to do much else with them. I mean they are soft and super juicy and I feared that any sort of cooking would reduce them to a sticky mess. Well the other night I proved my own fears wrong.

I invited a few of my guy friends over to have a cookout at my home with my husband and I. I made spiced vanilla cupcakes from the box (Organics brand using egg replacer and a dash of Penzey’s Cake spice then finished them off with a vanilla sugar). Then I took fresh peaches from my local Whole Foods in Swampscott and sliced them in half cut out the pit and put the oven on. The grill was off limits since my husband had been grilling steaks on there for the guys and I was not putting my peaches on that mess. Yuck.

The result was a softened warm juicy half peach enrobed in a quick stovetop caramel drizzle next to a slice of delicate vanilla spice cake. It was heaven and it was quick. Even the guys sighed when they ate them.

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Here is how I did it:

3 peaches
Coconut Spray Oil (like Pam but with Coconut Oil, I use Spectra brand)
1 Earth Balance Buttery Stick
1 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup Soy Creamer

Preheat oven at 400degrees.
Wash peaches to slightly de-fuzz them.
Slice peaches in half and remove the pit.
Spray a cookie sheet with Coconut Oil.
Melt 2tbsp of earth balance in a teacup in the microwave and baste the inside and outside of the peaches until well covered.
Place peaches flesh side down on cookie sheet with fuzzy side up.
Bake until they appear to be bubbling juices out about 15-20minutes.
Then turn the broiler on to HI, move the peaches to the top rack, and broil until brown and black spots appear on the top of the peaches about 3minutes. This simulates the grill marks you would get if you grilled them instead. If you were to grill them you would do something similar with keeping them on the top shelf until then were cooked and soft and then bring them down to the lower grill grate to get the grill marks on them.
In a medium sauce pan mix brown sugar, remaining butter, and soy creamer over medium until melted and combined. Be careful it does not burn and stir often.
Once caramel is reduced remove from heat.
Drizzle peaches with caramel and serve with your favorite cakes or ice cream!

SERVES 6.

(WW Points for just Broiled Peach – 3pts for 2 halves)

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Enjoy!

XOXOX, The Hippie Gypsy

Grilled Tropical Fruit Kabobs

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, QUICKIES!, Traveling Vegan and tagged with bamboo skewers, Coconut, dessert, earth balance, Easy, Fast, fruit, fruit kabobs, grill, grilled, grilled fruit, grilled smores, grilling, honeydew, Low Ingredient, low sodium, magic wands, mango, mangoes, marshmallow, melon, Party, pineapple, quick, recipe, salad, skewers, smores, starfruit, strawberries, strawberry, sweet and sara, toasted coconut, tropical, vanilla, Vegan, vegan graham crackers, vegetarian, watermelon, what to eat, what vegans eat, Whole Foods July 22, 2013

When I was just out of college I moved into my first place on my own. I always had roommates or suite-mates prior to that point in my life. After about 2 months I moved out of that apartment because someone had stolen the tires off my car and kicked down my door to rob me in a 30 day time span.

In an effort at safety my parents had me move to a quiet remote spot. My parents helped me find the most magical beachhouse on Point Shirley in Winthrop, MA. I loved this little house more than anything. My parents even bought me my first grill since I had a porch and mini backyard with my beach view. I learned quickly that if you are having people over for a party in which you intend to grill. You should not turn on the grills gas ahead of time without igniting it or else it will all simply seep out and you will not be able to use the grill (I thought I was preheating it like one would an oven). Luckily people were only coming for snacks and dessert so I improvised my grilling techniques and held my grilled fruit kabobs over the open flame of my gas stove. The party was great and no one even noticed my poor cooking abilities and naivety. They did however love my kabobs!

Now that I am older and wiser (and giving recipes to others) I say, be like I was when I was 22. If you can’t complete a step because you don’t have that fancy tool or you live in a place that you can’t grill or what have you, Improvise. It will always work out. Food is nothing to be afraid of. If it looks terrible at least it may still taste good! If it doesn’t, there is always the company to enjoy! You just need to be creative. No one will die or go home hungry. They will just stop at McDonald’s.

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Grilled Tropical Fruit Kabobs

1 container of Sweet and Sara (R) Toasted Coconut Marshmallows

1 box/bag of bamboo skewers (soaked 5-15minutes in warm water)

2cups Cubed Pineapple

2cups Shredded Sweetened Coconut

3 Starfruit sliced thin

2 mangoes cubed

1lb strawberries

1 container of melon balls (honey dew, seedless watermelon, or cantaloupe)

4tbsp melted Earth Balance (R) Butter Sticks (with a basting brush)

Vanilla Sugar (for sprinkling) ( I use Penzey’s)

1/2 bag of SemiSweet Vegan Chocolate Chips (melted in a bowl) (I use 365 brand)

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Prepare your grill or open flame to be of medium heat.
Melt Chocolate in a bowl in the microwave or a fondue pot. Keep a spoon nearby for drizzling the kabobs.
Place shredded coconut on a platter so that you can roll your kabob in it.
Lightly baste all hard fruits that will be directly on the grill with melted Earth Balance.
When stacking your fruit on the skewer, do not do it all at once. Place the thicker fruits like pineapple on first and place on the grill for 2-3 minutes (they need more time and won’t fall through the grate). Then the softer fruits and marshmallows and hold over the open flame like you are at a Camp Fire! this prevents them from falling through the grate or falling apart on the grill. Softer fruits will burn quicker and watery fruits may drip causing spitting flames so holding it over is a safer option.
Once the fruits are dripping just a tad you know that the sugars are extracting and the kabob is ready.
Drizzle the kabob with melted chocolate, sprinkle with vanilla sugar, and roll in coconut. Serve (or Eat) Immediately.

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NOTE: These are always a hit and the kids love to be able to make their own! If you want to prepare some in advance for a kids party, grill some starfruit ahead of time then use all softer fruits and marshmallow along the base (for when they grill their portion) and top with the starfruit for a “magic wand” effect. You can also get graham crackers and make fruit smores as well!

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XOXOX,

The Hippie Gypsy

Four Ingredient Fast Fudge

Posted by LD in Beginner Recipes, Holiday Recipes, Meatless Monday Desserts, QUICKIES!, Traveling Vegan and tagged with creamer, fudge, Low Ingredient, peanut butter, soy creamer, vanilla April 8, 2013

So this was the weekend of leftovers. We have moved into a new house in the past 2 weeks and we have all of this half eaten food moving from our rented townhouse to our shiny new big house. I new I had some plain soy creamer that was about to expire at the middle of this month and I also realized during this move that my husband has a peanut butter issue. By issue I mean he eats 3/4 of a jar and then opens a new one. We had multiple jars of half eaten peanut butter all over the townhouse. So when I cleaned and organized the new kitchen with my mom, I got to work on finding something fast to do with the peanut butter. It was either peanut tofu a recipe from my coworker or this quick 15minute fudge with only 4 ingredients. I had a sweet tooth and a headache so fudge it would be! I didn’t have the patience for overthinking tofu at the time. However I did make a delicious lasagna with it later. Recipe is on the way.

So enjoy this recipe it is like 15minutes and done, which is nice. At the same time it will make a great holiday gift, potluck item, and you can take it with you anywhere. I am a big advocate of bringing my own food places so this is perfect. I can bring it to a picnic, on a roadtrip, or to a party. Also it is omni approved by my husband! Love it! Hope you do too!

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Four Ingredient Peanut Butter Fudge

2 cups Vegan Sugar

1/2 cup Soy Creamer

3/4 cup Peanut Butter

1 tsp Vanilla

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In a medium saucepan of medium low heat bring cream and sugar to a boil stirring constantly. it only needs to boil for a minute or two. Then take off the heat.

Please note if you do not take it off the heat before adding vanilla it will explode a little. I did this. It is a hot sticky mess. Do not repeat my dumb mistake 🙂 .

Moving on, after the saucepan is off the heat add vanilla and peanut butter and stir until it is well combined and melted down completely.

Then pour into a heat safe container while still hot. Do this quickly so it doesnt start to cool and come out grainy. Preferably add parchment to the bowl so that you can pull out the fudge. I placed it in a heat safe glass container and regretted not using parchment later.

Allow to cool on a countertop until solid (about an hour or two). Cut and serve!

xoxox, The Hippie Gypsy

The Hippie Gypsy

Food is Love. Will Travel For Veggies. Will Surf for Peace. Be the Change. Practice Compassion.

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