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Cookie Christmas

holiday baking = great christmas gifts for family & friends

Too many days of work plus endless bottles of Proseco from Trader Joe's and I start to think I'm a baker.

almond cookies from Veganomicon



sugar cookies with peppermint frosting
oatmeal raisin cookies
hazelnut chocolate truffles

Chocolate truffles are so much fun to make! All you need is vegan chocolate chips, earth balance and your favorite liquor or flavored Italian syrup. I used hazelnut syrup this time around but next time I'm using rum... Melt the chocolate in a double boiler then blend in earth balance and liquor. I used 1/3 cup but might experiment with more next time. Let cool in fridge - when it's firm enough to work with start rolling in balls. Your hands will be covered in chocolate! I rolled mine in chopped almonds and cocoa powder. It might also be fun to roll them in shaved coconut...

posted by: chickpea

'How to be a vegan' videos

I just ran across a whole slew of videos being produced by Robert Cheeke from VeganBodyBuilding.com.  These are all short little videos covering various topics.  The one below is the 'Why people are vegan video.'  But check out all 17 videos here.

Posted by: The String Bean

Risotto Balls

What the hell do you do with leftover risotto? We had some leftover wild mushroom risotto the other day and decided to make these little risotto balls also known as Arancini or Supplì. This was my first time making these and didn't follow any recipe. I ended up using matzo meal to coat them before I fried them in oil. Next time I'll probably make a nice bread crumb mixture. Also, these weren't stuffed - perhaps next time I'd stuff them with a vegan mozzarella... Anyway. They are delicious dipped in marinara sauce!

posted by: chickpea

Pasta Puttanesca

I got the idea to make pasta puttanesca from Where's the Revolution. I had never made it before - this is a very easy and flavorful pasta sauce. I sauteed oil cured black olives, capers, an onion, garlic, basil, oregano and chili pepper flakes. I deglazed the pan with a little bit of red wine before adding a can of crushed tomatoes and then let it simmer for about 10 minutes.

posted by: chickpea