Posted in Life on October 31, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Happy Halloween, Wicked Vegan readers! This is my all time favorite holiday and I’m totally pumped today.
Check back in with me this afternoon. I’m hoping to have one more creepy, vegan treat for you to make while handing out candy or entertaining this evening!
Posted in Recipes, tagged butternut squash, cranberry, dinner, lunch, pumpkin, soup on October 30, 2012| 4 Comments »
I got the Taylor Swift CD last week and seriously, I can’t stop. It’s not even funny. I’m plugged in at the grocery store, there was an embarassing moment in an aisle of Target where someone totally caught me dancing to the song “Holy Ground”, and my poor roommates probably know the songs by heart because I’ve been blasting it while cooking, which is pretty much all I do. My friend, Melinda, even tried to stage an intervention by giving me a TON of new CDs and while I’ve given them a quick listen, I make it about 30 minutes before switching back to Taylor Swift.
This is a problem. Halloween in TOMORROW. I should be listening to a halloween playlist. I even have one made up! But nooo…I keep listening to “We are never, ever, ever getting back together” ad nauseam and wondering if Taylor Swift is trying to give me relationship advice through her music.
Seriously…I need help…
BUT, even if my music life is in shambles, I am totally prepped for Halloween, food-wise. I made a huge pot of this pumpkin cranberry soup for lunch this week. Check in tomorrow, too. I may be posting a cupcake recipe that I should have given you today but totally forgot to photograph. Fail…
Pumpkin Cranberry Soup
veganized from The New England Soup Factory Cookbook by Marjorie Druker. (seriously…buy this book)
found on-line at Food.com
* The recipe called for dried cranberries but I couldn’t find them so I used fresh. I didn’t think this gave the recipe a ton of cranberry flavor so next time I will definitely use sauce
** Cashew cream = 1/2 c. raw cashews blended with 1/2 c. water until smooth. I like this because I feel it has a more neutral taste then vegan cream and I always have cashews, as opposed to silken tofu. All these options will work though.
I know a lot of people don’t like blended soup. It sort of has the consistency of baby food so I get it. I love adding seeds and nuts on top of blended soup for some crunch, which helps with the texture thing.
This soup is so warm and comforting. I had a huge bowl of it while I was camped out during Hurricane Sandy and it was perfect. It’s thick and hearty and I love all the Fall flavors.
Also… Halloween mini-sized candies don’t count calories-wise, right? Cause I may have had about a bajillion Monday while camped out on my couch riding out the hurricane and watching Dexter season 6 and 7. Please tell me you have seen this show! I’m so obsessed right now!
Also… download this song so when you see me dancing like a weirdo in Target you can join me and we can be weird together. Awesome!
Posted in Life on October 29, 2012| 2 Comments »
Hey Everyone! Hurricane Sandy is kicking some butt here in Boston but so far I haven’t lost power! Fingers cross is stays like that. So, I’m using my day off to write some blogs and do some Halloween crafts. Stay safe everyone! 
Look who I saw in Salem!
Fall dinner with friends! We made Autumn Pizza with Sage pesto, butternut squash, caramelized onions, vegan sausage and vegan cheese. YUM!
Posted in Recipes, tagged candy, cookie dough, dessert, pumpkin on October 26, 2012| 4 Comments »
First off, I want to give a shout out to anyone who is making there way here from How Sweet Eats. I’m so glad you came back to check out Wicked Vegan! Even though my recipes don’t contain Jessica’s signatures (bacon, cheese, browned butter…), I promise I still have super yummy recipes!
Anyway! T-minus 5 days until Halloween and I am so excited!
Now, if only I could get anything on my Halloween To-Do list done. Currently, I still have to:
You know, all that super fun stuff I love to do but I just haven’t had the time or energy to actually complete. oi! Why isn’t October/Fall longer?! I need like two more week of fall awesomeness before I’m ready for Halloween.
If I could have no work for those two weeks too that would be perfect! In fact, if we could just freeze time tomorrow at noon until I get all my fun stuff done, that would be perfect!
No big deal, right??
Anyway, here is a recipe for you that would be great for your halloween get together or to help keep your sweet tooth vegan on halloween day.
Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie Dough Truffles
a mash up of Loveandoliveoil.com‘s truffles and How Sweet Eats‘ Pumpkin cookies
1 c. butter (2 sticks)
1/2 c. pumpkin butter (or canned pumpkin puree)
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. brown sugar
2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. soy milk
2 1/2 c. flour
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking soda
1 TBSP pumpkin pie spice
1 bag of mini vegan chocolate chips (or regular chocolate chips)
little bit of vegan shortening
In a small bowl, mix together the flour, salt, baking soda and pumpkin pie spice.
In a large bowl, beat butters and sugars with an electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 or 3 minutes. Mix in milk and vanilla. Slowly add in flour mixture and beat on low speed until incorporated. Stir in 1 c. of chocolate chips. Cover and chill dough for 30 minutes or firm enough to handle. If you find that the dough isn’t firming in the fridge, you can put it in the freezer.
Roll dough into 1 inch balls and arrange on a parchment lined baking sheet. Place dough in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. Meanwhile, melt the rest of your chocolate chips and the vegan shortening in a double boiler or the microwave ( I much prefer the double boiler). Dip dough balls in the melted chocolate. Refrigerate in an airtight container. Truffles will keep for about 2 week, if you don’t eat them before then.
These truffles are SUPER delicious but the texture is a little different from the original cookie dough truffles. The pumpkin butter makes the dough very creamy, almost like cheesecake. I liked them best frozen. It keeps them solid. Though, they absolutely do not need to be frozen. If you make them and leave them out at a party, they will be just as delicious.
Now, off to paint some hideously ugly Ugg-like boots into awesome rainbow brite boots!
Posted in Recipes, tagged breakfast, pancakes, pumpkin on October 23, 2012| 1 Comment »
How many of you have picked out your halloween costume??
I HAVE!
How many of you are having a halloween party this weekend?
I AM! I AM!
How many people are not ready at all for said halloween party??
er… that would be me…
There’s decorations and costumes and food to finish and I have this pesky thing called work that’s standing in my way.
BUT, one thing that I do have planned is the morning-after breakfast. Oh yes. After a night of beer pong, keg stands and overall bad decisions, I like to have a good hearty breakfast to soak up the booze in my belly. And these are perfect!
Pumpkin Pancakes
from Food.com
In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and pumpkin pie spice and set aside.
In a separate bowl, combine the soy milk, canned pumpkin, and corn oil and process until well blended. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients, mixing with a few swift strokes until just combined.
Use a skillet to make pancakes as you would with regular pancake batter.
This batter was slightly different from my normal go-to pancake recipe (er…bisquick…) in that it was very thick. I had to pour the better on the pan and then spread it around with a spatula. The resulting pancake was still delicious, though! And SUPER fluffy
Also, I made a big batch of these one Saturday and took the left overs to work. I would toast them in the toaster at work and just eat them straight. Something to consider for the night after your party! Make a batch the day before and store them in the fridge. Then, when you and your guests stumble into the kitchen for breakfast, viola! Fast and mess-less breakfast! Maybe whip up some scrambled tofu or local eggs, too. Yum!
Also, you could make these into halloween shapes by using cookie cutters or a squeeze bottle or add some halloween sprinkles!
Now…if only I could finish my costume…
Posted in Recipes on October 18, 2012| Leave a Comment »
Some days, you get my long, rambly life stories about how I have break downs in Halloween sections of Target.
Some days, you get a short, sweet post because I was up all night thinking 8 bajillion thoughts that I couldn’t stop but, er, none of them were “Erin, you forgot to post your stew recipe”.
This would be the latter.
I made this for dinner a few weeks ago and forgot to take pictures. I hate when I do that. Then I realized yesterday that I have a ton of sweet desserts coming up and no savory dishes for, you know, regular food. So I whipped this recipe up again because it was delicious! Snapped some quick photos and am giving this to you so you don’t think I live off peanut butter cups…which I don’t…not usually.
Red Lentil and Squash Curry Stew
From Oh She Glows
Ingredients:
1. In a large pot, add EVOO and chopped onion and minced garlic. Sautee for about 5 minutes over low-medium heat.
2. Stir in curry powder and cook another couple minutes. Add broth and lentils and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 10 minutes.
3. Stir in cooked butternut squash and greens of choice. Cook over medium heat for about 5-8 minutes. Season with salt, pepper, and add some freshly grated ginger to taste.
So I made this with half butternut squash and half sweet potato because I was starting to become concerned that if I eat anymore butternut squash, I was going to turn into one. If you are what you eat, I’m bordering on a peanut butter cup filled butternut squash. yikes!
Also, this stew is thick, savory and delicious. Perfect for chilly nights. So, go make it!
Posted in Recipes, tagged candy, chocolate, halloween, peanut butter, peanut butter cups on October 17, 2012| 4 Comments »
Last Saturday I went to Target with the sole purpose of buying 1. toothpaste and 2. halloween-themed tupperware.
Does anyone ever leave Target with only what was on their shopping list? If so, please tell me your secret. My wallet would kiss the ground you walk on.
Anyway, in order to find Halloween tupperware, I had to walk into the Halloween section of Target. This was a problem. I. Wanted. Everything. I haven’t bought anything for Halloween yet because I haven’t had a chance to go through the halloween decorations I do have to see what I need. Plus, I didn’t budget for Halloween shopping! BUT I was convinced that if I waited until Friday aka Payday, everything would be gone.
So there I stood, in the middle of the Target’s Halloween section completely paralyzed and teetering on the edge of a panic attack. I couldn’t stay and buy anything but I couldn’t go and leave all the pretty Halloween stuff behind!
Thankfully, a very cute, bearded sales associate, seeing my wide, panic-strictened eyes, came over to me and asked me if I needed help. When I squeaked out Halloween tupperware, he told me they didn’t have any but he led me out of the decoration section…right into the halloween baking section. Dude, seriously? You just told me you didn’t have what I wanted, thus freeing up money I budgeted elsewhere, and then you proceed to lead me to my most favoritest section ever?
Hence, the numerous halloween themed things from the Monday Things post. SO many cute sprinkles (traditional sprinkles or shapes?)…and liners (monsters or pumpkins?)…and spatulas (how can I choose between a big and a small spatula??).
My wallet wept.
BUT I did manage to resist the urge to buy Reeses peanut butter cup pumpkins. Target- 50, Erin- 1. So what’s a girl with a Reese’s peanut butter craving to do?
Um…obviously use this as an excuse to buy a silcone pumpkin candy mold and make her own! Duh! (I found mine at AC Moore)
Peanut Butter Cup Pumpkins
from my early post, Peanut Butter Cups, which is from The Kind Diet by Alicia Silverson
INGREDIENTS
1⁄2 cup Earth Balance butter
3⁄4 cup your favorite peanut butter (I used Teddy’s smooth PB)
3⁄4 cup graham cracker crumbs
1⁄4 cup maple sugar or other granulated sweetener (I used Palm Sugar)
1 bag of vegan friendly chocolate chips
a tiny bit of vegan shortening
Melt half the bag of chocolate chips with a little bit of vegan shortening. Spoon the mixture into the candy molds. You want just enough to cover the bottom of the molds and to line the sides. (I just used a spoon for this. I found it to be the easiest way. I tried measuring spoons to be more precise and a butter knife but the spoon won me over.) Once all the molds have chocolate on the bottoms and sides, place in freezer. Let sit for about 20-30 minutes to solidify.
Once the chocolate is solid, melt the butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the peanut butter, graham cracker crumbs, and sugar and mix well. Remove the mixture from the heat. Spoon the mixture into the candy molds. Fill almost to the top but leave a little room for the top chocolate layer. Place in the freezer to solidify, again, about 20 minutes.
Once the peanut mixture is hard, melt the rest of the chocolate with a tiny bit more shortening, and fill the rest of the molds with chocolate. Stick in the fridge for at least 2 hours for the chocolate to harden and the rest of the cup to not be so frozen solid.
This recipe made about 36 pumpkins. Since I only had 1 tray of molds, I just left the extra chocolate and peanut mixtures in their pots and reheated them when it was time for round two. I didn’t have any problems with this.
I’m 100% in love with this recipe. They are cute. They are delicious. They are shaped like pumpkins! And they should help with those candy cravings when all those kids are ringing your doorbell halloween night. You can be all like “sure, here, have a chemically ridden, refined sugar-filled, made-in a factory candy bar. I have homemade peanut butter pumpkins! ‘ So there!
You could also make these for a party, you know, if you want to share…
Posted in Life, tagged candid photos, Monday things on October 15, 2012| 1 Comment »
um, I realized that the majority of pictures I’ve taken have had a halloween theme. So I’m embracing it!
Don’t mind the out of focus-ness here. I was still playing with my new phone. ‘Oh that green square means its focusing?? Crazy!’
I worked hard this weekend to get some more fall/halloween themed recipes ready for you guys and I can’t wait to share them with you in the upcoming weeks. Stay tuned!!
Posted in Recipes, tagged butternut squash, dinner, Kale, mushrooms, rice bowl, side dish on October 9, 2012| 1 Comment »
Hello everyone! Sorry there was no Weekend Things post for you yesterday. Um, it was my birthday and birthdays = no work. Also…I sorta can’t figure out how to transfer pictures from my fancy new cellphone to my computer soooo you may have a Wednesday Things…or a Thursday Things…or A Whenever-the-hell-I-can-figure-out-my-phone Things.
So until then, you are stuck with my rambling and more fall recipes. Today, I will be rambling about some of my favorite things (be lucky you are on the other side of the computer and can’t hear me singing). 1. Halloween Sprinkles. Seriously…they make everything better! Ice cream, birthday cupcakes (coming soon), peanut butter toast, oatmeal, lattes, you name it! I’m pretty much obsessed!
2. Pumpkin Beer- I have to put the kabosh on this obsession. I’ve been having pumpkin beer every. single. day. and that’s WAY more then I usually drink. Plus, beer isn’t exactly a healthy food to be obsessed with…I mean, neither is sprinkles but at least sprinkles come in fun shapes and colors!
3. Dexter. I’ve watched the show but I decided to tackle the book for Halloween. Last year I read Salem’s Lot around this time because I love me a good vampire story. This year, I thought I’d tackle the serial killer series. So far, I have not been disappointed!
and last but not least, 4. Butternut Squash. I’ve had this at least 5 times a week and when I made up my weekly meal plan, I snuck another recipe in. I can’t help it! I keep having leftovers. This recipe was thought up because I had leftover roasted squash from my Black Bean Butternut Squash Burritos. I promise I’ll try another vegetable…maybe…
Butternut Squash Kale Rice Bowls
servings 1
olive oil
2 cloves of garlic
1 c. cubed butternut squash, roasted
1/2 cup mushrooms, thinly sliced
1 c. Kale, finely sliced ( I used frozen for this recipe)
1/2 c. brown basmati rice
1/4 c. apple cider
pepita seeds (optional)
Butternut squash: Peel your squash and slice into 1″ cubes. Put into a glass pan, lined with tin foil, drizzle with olive oil and toss until squash is coated. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Roast at 400 degrees for 30-40 minutes, or until fork tender.
While the squash is roasting away, prepare the rice. Rince 1/2 c. under water. Place in a medium size pan with 1 cup of water. Bring to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 30 minutes.
Once your squash and rice are ready, heat some olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add the garlic and saute until fragrant, or 3-4 minutes. Add the mushrooms. Saute until golden, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the mushrooms have begun to turn golden, add the squash and the kale. Mix together really well and add 1/2 c. cooked rice and apple cider. Reduce heat to medium low and let the mixture simmer together, stirring occasionally. Simmer until the apple cider has mostly evaporated.
Serve hot in a big bowl, sprinkled with pepita seeds.
I love this recipe because it’s SUPER versatile. I used everything that I already had in my house but you could add sautéed or caramelized onions, serve with quinoa instead of rice or omit the grain and have as a side. All would be delicious.
I had this for dinner almost every night last week and I’m not sick of it at all. In fact, the more butternut squash I have, the more I seem to crave it. This is a problem… especially since we don’t have sharp knives in our kitchen anymore and I risk my fingers every time I try and peel one. It’s so worth it though!
I have not tried this with halloween sprinkles but I’m pretty certain black and purple bat sprinkles would only make it more amazing. Like, 90% certain…
Posted in Recipes, tagged cake, chickpeas, chocolate, dessert, pie, pumpkin on October 4, 2012| 2 Comments »
To the tune of 50 cents- In Da Club
“Go, Go, Go
Go, Go Wicked vegan, it’s your birthday.
We’re gonna party like it’s your birthday.
We’re gonna make vegan cake like it’s your birthday
And you know we don’t give a F**k cause it’s your birthday!
You can find me in the kitchen
Baking cake thats bitchen
Look readers I got the pumpkin
if you wanna autumn snack
So good with no double chin,
you’re gonna think it’s wack
Recipe is below if you into cakes that
don’t blow.”
…sorry… that was unnecessary… but I mean, clearly I missed my calling as a rapper. Clearly!
ANYWAYS. It’s Wicked Vegan’s 1 year birthday! You know… incase you didn’t get that from my rap above. I want to thank everyone who checked out my little blog this year. Every person who visited was SO appreciated. It makes me feel all warm and fuzzy knowing someone read my ramblings.
So to celebrate, I made this delicious autumn cake/cookie to share with you. Enjoy!
Deep Dish Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cookie
from Chocolate Covered Katie
Blend everything (except the chips) very well in a food processor (NOT a blender). Blend until it’s super-smooth. Mix in chips, and pour into a pan. (I used a 10-inch springform pan, but you can use a smaller pan if you want a really deep-dish pie.) Cook at 350F for 35 minutes. Let stand at least 10 minutes before removing from the pan.
This recipe is very similar to the regular deep dish cookie cake , which as I said about 8 million times was delicious! This version is just as delicious but with a a fall twist. And we all know that I LOVE a fall twist!
Plus there is chocolate. And as I said in the last post, chocolate is must when you’re in a funk. mmmm…look how ooey, gooey that is above.
Look at me Eek plate. Isn’t it adorable?
Keep an eye out for my upcoming rap CD. It’s called “White Vegan Girls Shouldn’t Rap”.
wickedvegan.com 