From My Table to Yours: Let's Share Together :D

A long hiatus needs no explanation; or at least, mine doesn't because there is no one particularly good reason for my being MIA... well, there was that fiasco of almost not getting home from Europe (read: canceled flights to London, fighting to get on a train to London, almost not being let into Heathrow, delayed flights, Heathrow closed = a mess), moving to LA, moving to Boston, no internet... but now I'm back. Lots of cooking, recipes, ideas, inspiration to make-up for the lost internet time.

I've taken on two new projects (see more below) and had a great time engaging with... cookbooks! I was never a huge recipe person, preferring to wing it, but that's not always so easy with vegan baking. For Christmas my parents got me my first ever vegan cookbooks and look at the yumm results (get these books! I'll go into more specifics later):

Wedding Cookies
by Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar

Same night, New Years Eve-Eve Potluck Party: hence my frazzled look and burnt nose from making homemade taquitos all day (homemade refried beans, homemade tortillas, homemade potato fillings, etc.) inspired by Vegan Latina

Spelt Biscuits & McEgg Patties
by Babycakes, NYC & Vegan Comfort Food

Pumpkin Spice Cupcakes
by Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Peppermint Walnut Blondies (revisiting some old favs; for Erin's birthday)
by OhSheGlows

Dinner Biscuits with Black Bean Burgers and Cajun Sweet Potato Fries
by The Joy of Vegan Baking & Chef Chloe
(I found the secret to perfectly crisp fries: after baking, quickly broil without burning!)

All of these books and amazingly talented chefs have greatly inspired me and it's been a ton of fun. In essence, what I've solidified in the past few weeks is where my passion of policy, community activism, and food intersect. A few of my distant relatives contacted me through my grandma with an interest in going vegan but without the tools to-do so. They both live out in Denver, have no at-home computer, and little more than a vague understanding of cooking and eating vegan.

Vegan-eating, and healthy-eating, is something that can and is accessible for all; it doesn't have to mean deprivation but is about feeling good. So a series of recipes, including the one below, will focus on quick vegan eats. Things that are familiar, easy to prepare, and usually good to store. Of course, these are also great for the busy student or parent... considering these are some go-to recipes when time is of the essence or comfort food is a must.

Finally, and I'll have to go more in depth into this in my following posts, I have one more project I'm working on that I'm really excited about. It utilizes the involvement of friends, families, and strangers and brings back an vital missing piece in the American food system: community.

Food has become about convenience. Eating on the go, eating in your car, quick, packaged, no-prep needed. And in all of it we've lost something. The family dinner has slowly faded from the social norm. So with this next project I hope to bring the focus of food away from just the individual, but back into sharing with our society, our communities, our friends, bonding over bread with strangers (all of which speak to larger issues of food justice, access, affordability, education).

My question I pose to you now, to help me with this project: What's a dish that reminds you of your childhood? Something unique to your youth, maybe made by an Aunt or something your Mum prepared specially for the holidays? Something that you think is different from other recipes of its kind? I'd really love to hear at length about this if you're willing to share, the memories, anything. You can comment or email me too (missnatalie27@gmail.com; I don't bite... promise!) :) I really appreciate it !

Fool 'Em Margarita Pizza

Ingredients
* 1 can Pillsbury thin crust pizza dough (I know, I know)
* 1 package Grated Rice Mozarella Vegan Cheese (rec: Galaxy Nutritional Foods)
* 3 roma tomatoes, de-seeded and chopped
* 2 garlic cloves, minced
* 1 tablespoon olive oil
* 1/2 teaspoon finely ground sea salt (or salt of choice)
* 1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
* 4-5 basil leaves, finely sliced

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 400F. Open Pillsbury crust and spread it out on a lightly oiled cookie sheet.
2. Lightly spray olive oil over the uncooked crust or drizzle lightly.
3. Place in oven and prebake for 10 minutes. Remove from the oven.
4. Sprinkle desired amount of cheese over the crust, leaving about 1 inch on each side.
5. Place back in oven and cook for 5-10 more minutes, making sure cheese has melted but the crust does not burn.
6. Meanwhile, in a medium bowl mix together chopped tomatoes, garlic, olive oil, salt, and pepper.
6. Once you have removed the pizza from the oven, sprinkle tomato mixture on top. Top with basil. Serve immediately or store for a few days in the fridge. Enjoy!

Peace&Love

Breakfast to LIVE For: Banana Bread Cookies & The Best Coffee EVER

Monmouth Coffee & Warm Banana Bread to fight the cold!

My friend is having a party to raise funds for their annual Christmas party in support of the charity ATD Fourth World. While Toni's doing the DJing for the night, I'm joining the girls in the kitchen: gotta love bake sales! Having just recovered from cake-overload after this weekends trip to Brighton (fantastic vegan haven!), I opted for a more subtle option: banana bread.

Not just any banana bread though, Sweet Potato Banana Bread COOKIES! These little treats are great for breakfast on the go; baked with a sprinkle of sugar on top they satisfy your morning sweet tooth, but are still tame enough to go well with some Earth Balance on top (or better yet, coconut oil!).

One of these warm cookies, paired with a pipping hot Monmouth Coffee (Costa Rican blend), was the perfect breakfast to combat the freezing temperatures outside.

On a quick side note, if you're ever in London Monmouth Coffee is a MUST. Even if you think you don't like coffee, this place may change your mind. The baristas tend to be the best in their field and have been great in assisting me about the differences in their single roast origins beans (all fair-trade & organic). I go for the filter because you can really taste the unique flavors and appreciate the subtleties; unfortunately, I think my standards are a bit too high now for returning to Boston.

Sweet Potato Banana Bread Cookies

Ingredients

• ½ cup, steamed & mashed sweet potato
• ½ cup, mashed banana (or little less)
• ¼ cup, vegan white sugar (or turbinado)
• 1/3 cup, maple syrup
• ½ cup, light brown sugar
• 1 cup, veggie oil
• 1 cornstarch "egg" (mix 2 tablespoon cornstarch + 2 tablespoon water)
• 2 t, vanilla extract
• 1 t, lemon juice
• 2 cups, all-purpose flour
• 2 t, baking powder
• 2 t, ground cinnamon
• 1 t, ground nutmeg
• ½ t, salt
• 1 ¼ t, baking soda
• ¼ cup, pecans, crushed (optional but highly recommended)
• ¼ cup, caramelized orange rinds (optional)
• 2-4 T, turbinado sugar (for sprinkling)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two large baking sheets with parchment paper.
2. In a large bowl combine pumpkin, sugars, maple syrup, vegetable oil, cornstarch "egg", lemon juice, and vanilla extract and mix well. In a separate bowl, stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, ground cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt.
3. Add flour mixture to liquid mixture and mix well. The consistency should be doughy and a bit sticky to work with: it may be easier to lightly oil your hands and “kneed” the dough lightly until combined. Don’t overmix.
4. Add in crushed pecans and orange rinds, mixing well to combine.
5. Using about a tablespoon worth of dough, roll dough into a ball with oiled hands. Place on the prepared baking sheets, spacing the cookies at least two inches apart. Using a lightly oiled fork, flatten the cookies out a bit (as they won’t expand sideways much in cooking). Again, this mixture is a bit sticky, but the end result is so worth it!
6. Sprinkle the cookies with a bit of turbinado sugar and bake approximately10-15 minutes or until just firm. I found it best to take them out just over 10 minutes once the dough is formed and more longer sticky since they continue to cook a bit once out of the oven (and no one likes overcooked bread!). Enjoy!

This is closely adapted from my Pumpkin Cookies recipe, though the result is quite different. Next time, however, I'd like to adapt the recipe using whole wheat flour (we just ran out!): if anyone tries this let me know it goes

Peace&Love