I'm Thankful for Pie!

Ok, I know Thanksgiving was forever ago. But things were so busy at the time that didn't have time to share all the fun stuff I made.

If you missed it, check out my last blog about the scrumptious vegan green bean casserole I made.

Now for the dessert! What's more Thanksgiving than pumpkin pie? I made two - one for each of our family parties, and everyone loved them.

Surprise! Healthy Veggie Muffins

What a crazy few months it has been! I've been training for a half marathon (which is this Sunday!), I turned 35, we celebrated our one-year wedding anniversary, we finally upgraded our living room and bedroom furniture and work has been super duper busy.

All of this hasn't left a ton of time for cooking, but I have managed to have a few kitchen adventures since my last blog post.

One of the fun things I tried to make was veggie muffins. I got the idea from the recipe book that came with the juicer I bought (and since returned.) It was a sucky juicer that shot most of the fruit and veggies straight through. So, they had several recipes for what to do with the pulp.

Crunchy, Yummy Homemade Granola Bars

I've been reading lots of labels lately - looking for snacks without dairy (and tons of sugar) and they're hard to find. I even discovered that my favorite Kashi bars have whey protein powder - boooo!

I've wanted to make granola bars ever since I saw Alton Brown make them on "Good Eats." He made it look pretty easy - and it was! I used his recipe with a few substitutions and they came out crunchy, yummy and delicious.

New Cookie Baking Technique?



Lady Gwenivere, my cooking buddy



Last night I decided to warm up the house with the oven. My friend Kate had sent me a recipe for vegan chocolate chip cookies that I wanted to try, but xanthum gum is not an ingredient I usually keep on hand. I'm not even sure what it is...

So, after a quick web search, I found a simple recipe on Vegweb.com that I could make with what I did have in the cupboard.

 The only thing that sounded different from regular chocolate chip cookies was it said to put them in the oven for five minutes and then flip and cook for five more minutes. Different, but okay fine - whatever you gotta do.

I figured maybe that was the only way they could cook evenly without eggs and butter. 

The flipped cookies... :)



So, after five minutes, I tried to flip the half-baked cookies over, and as they slipped and smooshed all over the cookie sheet and the melted chocolate smeared all over the spatula, I started to think maybe I was doing something wrong.

 

I looked at the recipe again. It said, "Bake for five minutes and then flip and rotate the sheets."
  

Oh - flip the sheets, not the cookies... Oops!

So, half of the cookies ended up looking pretty funky, but they were all yummy!





Super crunchy and delicious!



Stale sourdough = salad star
I also endeavored to make my first batch of croutons. I had a loaf of fresh sourdough wheat bread from Whole Foods that turned into a brick in the fridge.

So, I chopped it up, drizzled it with olive oil and minced garlic, and baked it in the oven. It was super easy and they turned out fantastic - better than anything you could buy in the store!

Next time your bread gets stale, give it a try!


Have you ever misread a recipe? Make me feel better and share your story below!