One Long Cookie Night! Part one: The not so healthy

It seems like it has been forever since I made a recipe for the angry-vegan. I have been craving cookies for a while. I have also been promising an awesome post on cookies for a while... So... Here it is! Welcome to what was once cookie day, but now it is cookie night! I dedicate this to all the night owls out there... looking for something to do while the rest of the world sleeps.

One of my favourite things to do at night is cook. Weird? Maybe, but I find that as soon as I start something that requires me to stay awake, I start to want to sleep. It is a weird little mind-game that I play.

Tonight is no different. I planned to take this day for myself. Stay home and get a few things done while baking a few dozen cookies. Somehow day turned to night and here I am, nowhere near ready to sleep and needing something to do.

Part of my cookie challenge was to find a different egg replacer for each recipe. Egg replacers are very new to me. I have been avoiding them because I don't understand them. After a bit of research I learned not only do I use egg replacers all the time, but they are insanely easy to work with. Here are some egg replacers I have discovered:

• Apple sauce
• Banana
• Flax egg
• Chia egg
• potato water
• mashed potato
• commercial egg replacer
• soy milk and vinegar
• Silken tofu

With all these choices out there, why even bother buying eggs?? If you know anyone trying to cut down on cholesterol, then urge them to try one of these. An easy way to cut back. Lucky for me, vegan diets are essentially cholesterol free. I used to think eggs were a magic food. You can do so much with them and nothing can replace them. I will admit for the first time... I was so wrong!

OK. Let's get down to business here... the cookies.

Cookie # 1: Rum-Nog Cookies *Cornstarch egg substitute
Recipe from Vegonomicon
- 1/3 cup canola oil
- 1/4 cup soy or rice milk
- 1 cup + 2 Tbsp granulated sugar
- 1 Tbsp molasses
- 2 Tbsp dark rum**
- 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract
- 1 1/2 cups flour
- 1/4 corn starch
- 1 1/2 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/2 tsp grated nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 chopped pecan

Frosting:
- 2 Tbsp vegan margarine, soften
- 2 Tbsp soy milk
- 2 dark rum
- 1/4 tsp vanilla
- 2 cups confectioners' sugar

Preheat the oven to 350 F and grease two cookie sheets

In a big bowl, combine the oil, soy milk, sugar, molasses,rum, and vanilla. Beat until slightly foamy. Mix the dry ingredients together then put dry into the wet and mix until a dough forms.

Roll the dough into balls (about a Tbsp of dough), then roll the balls in the chopped pecans and place on the baking sheets. Bake for 10 - 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and let cook on the sheet for 5 min then place on a rack.


Frosting: Use electric mixer and cream the margarine. Add the confectioners sugar and stir with a fork until it is crumbly. Beat in the milk, rum** and vanilla. It should look like a butter cream frosting.

**Note: I made these in two styles. One alcoholic and one non. For the the non-alcoholic version, in the cookies I substituted apple juice for the rum and in the frosting, I just took it out.

If you like rum, you will like these cookies. If you don't substitute because they are still seriously good.

Old School Chocolate Chip Cookies * Flax Egg Substitute
Adapted from Crisco's recipe
- 3/4 cup Crisco vegetable shortening
- 1 1/4 cup brown sugar
- 1 flax egg (1 tsp ground flax and 2 Tbsp water)
- 2 tbsp soy milk
- 1 tsp vanilla
- 1 1/2 cup flour
- 1 tsp salt
- 1 tsp baking soda
- 1 cup of chocolate chips
- 1/2 pecans

Easy recipe. Preheat the oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, whisk the flax and water together and let sit for 2 minutes. whisk again until it has an eggy texture.

Mix together the shortening and brown sugar with an electric mixer until creamy. Add the milk, flax egg, and vanilla and mix again for 1-2 minutes.

In a separate bowl mix the dry ingredients together. Pour the dry into the wet (I do this in three batches) and mix until absorbed. Stir in the chocolate chips and chopped pecans (optional).

Spoon Tbsp size dough balls on to the cookies sheets and bake for 8 - 10 minutes. Let cool on the sheet for about 5 minutes and then transfer to plate.

If you want to make these a bit more adult, add in 1-2 tsp of instant espresso. Adds a lovely addictive quality. =)

Alright I think this is enough for one post. Coming next will be more cookies, but a little more healthy. Oatmeal raisin and Lemon sugar.

Green Monsters Approaching!

Today was a pretty good day. See Magazine in Edmonton did a feature on vegans in the city and I got interviewed for it. Very cool to see a feature on vegans in Edmonton. Thanks to See and Angela for posting my recipe and blog! Click the link to view the article See Magazine - The Joy of Cooking Vegan

I cannot believe I have not done a post on green smoothies yet! I think I have mentioned them in passing once or twice, but never devoted a post to them. I started making green smoothies after reading Oh She Glows. I have always loved smoothies and this looked like a really easy way to get a few servings of veggies before 8:00 am.

The basic recipe:
- 1/2 to 1 banana
- 1 cup milk (any kind)
- 1 cup spinach, or kale
- Tbsp flax or chia seed
- ice

Throw it in a blender and blend until smooth. Add more milk if it's too thick.

Angela Liddon who created oh she glows has started a site devoted to the green monster: http://greenmonstermovement.com/. Check it out, there are lots of variations.

I usually put something with some vitamin c in it.. Apple sauce, lime juice, orange juice. Whatever is on hand.  If I use kale, I steam it first. Otherwise Kale can give a green smoothie a gritty texture. Nothing wrong with it, but some people may find it off-putting.

My favourite way to make a green smoothie right now, take the basic green smoothie recipe above and add:
- 1/2 avocado
- 2 Tbsp of cocoa powder
- 1 tsp sweetener (I use maple sugar)
- replace 1/2 of the milk with coconut milk
- 1.2 tsp vanilla

Warning: Adding cocoa or fruit can make a green smoothie look kind of... icky.. Pay no attention to this. Just because red or brown doesn't make a nice colour when mixed with green; doesn't mean the flavours won't work!

I now have green smoothies at least three times a week. They are easy, portable, tasty and good for. How often does that happen? Since starting them, I notice I can focus a bit better, and my energy levels are up.

Try them once, and I bet you'll be hooked. To prove my point - Even babies like them :)

Ben enjoying the euphoric green smoothie hangover



Eating out... Part II - Banff

I know I said I would get back on track with meal planning last week, but this did not happen. Not even close!


I was working out in Banff for five days, so I was able to re-test the creativity of hotels in this area. Those that know me are fully aware of my issues eating in hotels. I find that even when I let them know ahead of time that I am vegan, there is little to no thought put into what is served. Most meals are just meals with the sauce and meat removed or my favourite, roasted vegetables on grains.


I actually love roasted vegetables, but eat it for eight meals in a row and then see if you still love it!


I was staying at the Banff Springs Hotel and I was pleasantly surprised in the restaurant. I let my server know I was vegan and they had a whole printed menu available called the Life Style Menu. There were only a few options I could eat, but I can't tell you how welcoming it felt to walk in and not have to modify the menu or explain what vegan is.


They had a raw dish that was vegan, two vegan ones and a couple others that could have sauces swapped to make vegan. I heard there was a vegan cake on the menu too, but sadly I did not get to sample it. I guess I will have to go back!


Another thing that was very cool about the hotel is that if you join the president's club, you can add dietary requests to your account. This way when you go to the hotel, they are already aware and hopefully will plan accordingly. I was able to have soy milk in my room and at the meeting a planned for no extra charge.


OK enough about the Springs. All in all, it was much better than previous trips to the mountains meal-wise.


I also went and ate at The Eddie Burger + Bar. They have a make your own burger menu and it includes a pretty tasty veggie burger. I made my burger southwest style with avocado, salsa, red onions, lettuce and tomato. The burger was one of the messiest meals I have had in a while, but it was good. I am not sure if that was a homemade paddy or not, but it looked like one and had potato in it, which I really liked.



Eddie Burger Bar - Photo Credit: Urban Spoon


Another night I went out to Chaya and got some tasty udon noodle and umeboshi rice balls. It was a long day and this honestly was serious comfort food. Carbs, salt, warm. Yum. This restaurant is really affordable and also had some decent veggie sushi choices. I did not get to try even though the avocado rolls looked amazing!


Photo Courtesy of Urban Spoon

I got a great comment on a previous blog about writing on grocery shopping. Thanks Laura! That is what is coming next and maybe a new recipe. I have not forgotten that I need to make some cookies!


I love to hear other suggestions for post, email or send me a comment with ideas.