Cinnamon Bread

Cinnamon bread! Not to be confused with cinnamon buns, this bread is perfect for toasting and serving with a little Earth Balance or go the extra mile and make some French Toast with this stuff. So much better than using plain white or whole wheat bread. This recipe requires very little work but a lot of time, due to it needing to be proofed twice. But trust me, it is definitively worth all that extra time because you cannot even compare how this tastes to that store bought stuff.

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Makes 1 loaf

Ingredients

* 1 cup non-dairy milk

* 6 Tb vegan margarine ( I used Earth Balance )

* 1 packet dry active yeast or 2 1/2 tsp

* 2 Tb grounded flax seeds, dissolved in 6 Tb water

* 1/3 cup sugar

* 3 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

* 1 tsp salt

* 1/3 cup sugar

* 2 Tb cinnamon

* 1 Tb vegan margarine, for brushing

* about 2 Tb vegan margarine, for greasing the loaf pan

Directions

1. In a small saucepan, melt the margarine with the milk until warm but not boiling. It should be at about 115 F. Sprinkle yeast over the top, gently stir and allow to sit for about 10 minutes.

2. In a small bowl, sift together the flour and salt.

3. In the bowl of an electric mixer, using the paddle attachment, mix together the sugar with the flax seeds until well combined. Pour the milk/margarine/yeast mixture and stir to combine. Add half the flour mixture and beat until combined. Add the rest of the flour and beat to combine.

4. Switch to the dough hook and allow it to knead for about 10 minutes. If the dough is still too sticky, add another 1/4 cup of flour and knead for another 5 minutes.

5. Drizzle a little canola oil in a medium sized mixing bowl, then toss the dough in the oil to coat. Cover the bowl with a damp towel and set in a warm place for at least 2 hours.

6. Turn the dough onto a work surface and roll it out to a rectangle no wider than the loaf pan and about 18 inches long. Smear 2 Tb of melted margarine. Mix the cinnamon and sugar together, then sprinkle evenly over the buttered dough.

7. Starting at one end, roll the dough toward you, keeping it neat and tight. Pinch the seam to seal.

8. Smear your loaf pan with butter. Place dough, seam side down, in the pan. Cover with a damp towel and allow it to rise for another 2 hours in a warm place.

9. Preheat oven to 350F. Brush the top of the loaf with 1 Tb of melted margarine and bake for 40 minutes.

10. Remove from oven and allow to cool. Slice and serve!

Cinnamon Buns

I've been wanting to make my own cinnamon buns for awhile but for some reason I thought they were really difficult to make. I came across VeganYumYum's recipe and after watching her video, I felt a little more confident in attempting to make these. There's really not much work required for these, just a lot of waiting..a little over 2 hours of waiting for the dough to proof. But trust me, these babies are well worth the wait!

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Recipe from VeganYumYum

Makes 12 buns

Ingredients

Yeast Mixture

* 4 tsp Active Dry Yeast ( a little less than 2 packets )

* 1 tsp sugar

* 1 cup warm water

Dough

* 1 cup soymilk

* 2/3 cup sugar

* 2/3 cup vegan margarine ( such as Earth Balance )

* 2 tsp salt

* 2 Ener-g Egg Replacer Eggs, prepared

* Yeast mixture, from above

* 6 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading

Dough Filling

1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted

* 1 1/2 cups sugar

* 3 Tb cinnamon

Pan Sauce

* 1/2 cup vegan margarine, melted

* 1/3 cup sugar

Cream Cheese Frosting

* 1/4 cup vegan margarine

* 1/3 cup vegan cream cheese, such as Tofutti Better than Cream Cheese

* 1 tsp vanilla extract

* 1 cup powdered sugar

Directions

1. Combine yeast mixture, stir gently and set aside for about 10 minutes or until nice and foamy.

2. From the dough ingredients, combine the soymilk, sugar, margarine, salt and ener-g eggs in a small saucepan. Heat until margarine is melted and all ingredients are well combined. Do not let the mixture get too hot. You should still be able to touch it without burning yourself.

3. By now the yeast should be ready. Combine it with the warmed liquid in the saucepan. Again, make sure it is not too hot or it will kill your yeast.

4. Place 4 cups of all-purpose flour in a large bowl. Add the warmed wet ingredients.

5. Beat the batter well with a wooden spoon. The dough will be very wet.

6. Add 2 more cups of flour and mix in partially.

7. Turn out the dough onto a lightly floured a large kneading surface. Begin kneading. It should take about 8 minutes to get the dough where it needs to be. Add more flour if the dough begins to get too sticky.

8. Once the dough is ready, place it in a lightly oiled bowl, cover with a damp towel and allow to rise for 90 minutes in a warm spot.

9. When the dough has risen completely, turn the dough out onto a well floured surface and press it down or roll it out onto a 15 x 20 inch rectangle.

10. Pour the 1/2 cup melted margarine onto the dough. Brush it on so the dough is covered completely.

11. Mix together the cinnamon and sugar and sprinkle it evenly over the dough.

12. Prepare a large baking sheet, by pouring the melted margarine from the pan sauce ingredients above.

13. Add the sugar, spreading evenly over the bottom of the pan.

14. Roll the dough up gently, starting from one of the short sides. Let it rest on the seem once its rolled up completely.

15. Cut 12 rolls with sewing thread. Place the rolls in the pan.

16. Cover the buns and let rise for 45 minutes if you will be baking these immediately. If baking the next day, cover and let rise in the refrigerator overnight. Bake in the morning, with no need for extra rising. If making for a date in the future, freeze immediately. The day before you are ready to use them, defrost in the refrigerator overnight. Then let warm up on the counter the next morning for an hour.

17. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown and bubbly. Let cool for a few minutes.

18. Stir together the frosting ingredients, stir until there are no lumps.

19. Serve the buns warm with frosting.

Banana Nut Bread

After not having a real oven for a little more than two years, I finally purchased one today! I can't tell you how happy this makes me. An oven really is necessary for so many recipes, desserts and main. I always thought that I would have to buy a full stove/oven set and never knew the possibilities with toaster ovens until Kelly posted about her wonderful new convection toaster oven. I started saving up and researching and I ended up buying Breville's Smart Oven. It does everything a traditional oven would do but does not heat up the room. It's great for me because I mostly only cook for my boyfriend and myself.

So getting this today, the first thing I did was rush to the kitchen and start baking. I chose to do banana nut bread because I have never had a vegan version before. I really couldn't taste the difference between this and one that would contain eggs. It was really moist and so yummy! I really enjoy eating this for breakfast with a hot cup of peppermint tea.


P.S. Taffy says hi : ]

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Ingredients
* 1 3/4 Cups All Purpose Flour
* 2 tsp Baking Powder
* 1/4 tsp Baking Soda
* 1/2 tsp Salt
* 3/4 Cup non-processed white or brown sugar
* 1/2 Cup Chopped Pecans or Walnuts
* Equivalent of 2 Eggs Using Egg Replacer
* 2-3 Ripe Bananas Mashed
* 1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
* 1 tsp Vanilla Extract

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350°F.

2. Sift together dry ingredients. Stir in nuts, egg replacer, bananas, oil and vanilla. Mix well.

3. Pour into greased loaf pan and bake for 45-60 mins (until knife comes out clean).

4. Cool for 5 mins before removing from pan. Cool on wire rack.

Apple Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

My boyfriend loves oatmeal and usually eats it at least once a day but always buys the packaged instant kind. He did attempt to make it once but it turned out horribly. Trying to get rid of all pre-made, boxed foods, I finally went out and bought some steel-cut oats. I am so glad that I did because this turned out really well, much better than I thought. I might have to start making some for myself too and play around with different types of fruit to add. I think peaches or even pears would go great in this oatmeal as well.





On another note, as I was typing up the recipe on here, I looked over to my left to see my cat Taffy staring at me through the glass door, holding a bird in his mouth! My boy is very crossed-eyed and usually never catches anything but the occasional grasshopper. I had to do a double take, thinking maybe it was just his little catnip mouse but no, it was for sure a bird. I ran over to him and he dropped it and the poor little bird's feet were moving. I had no idea what to do...he grabbed the bird again and took it outside. I managed to take a couple pictures and then, just like that the bird got up and flew away! The bird wasn't injured but instead just playing dead. Poor Taffy looked at me, like "where did my toy go?" I am so glad that I taught him well to know never to hurt another animal : ]

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Serves 1 hearty breakfast portion or two petite portions

Ingredients
* 2 tsp non-hydrogenated vegan margarine
* 1/2 cup steel cut oats
* 1 1/2 cups hot water
* 1/4 tsp cinnamon
* 1 pinch of salt
* 1/2 cooking apple, diced
* 1/4 cup soy, oat, or nut milk
* 1-2 tsp brown sugar ( or regular sugar with a small drizzle of molasses )
* 1 tiny pinch nutmeg, optional

Directions
1. Heat margarine in a small sauce pot that has a tight fitting lid. Add oats and toast them for 1-2 minutes, until fragrant. Add cinnamon and salt, stir well. Stir in hot water and bring to a brisk boil. Cover and turn down heat. After 15 minutes, add apple, milk, and sugar and stir. Cook for another 5 minutes uncovered, stirring occasionally.

2. If after 5 minutes you'd prefer your oatmeal to be thicker, cover and turn off heat and let sit for an additional 5-10 minutes. This gives the oats a chance to absorb more liquid without running the risk of burning the oatmeal. Also, the oatmeal at this point is approximately the temperature of magma, so you might as well let it cool down a bit before you dig in.

3. If you feel like dressing up your oatmeal, drizzle it with a small amount of molasses and a pinch of nutmeg, or sprinkle it with additional brown sugar, or add a fresh apple slice or two to the top.

Strawberry Parfait

This recipe was inspired by Harald Walker's post on Flickr. I didn't have raspberries on hand, so I went with strawberries. Any berry would actually work with this parfait, so don't hesitate to switch it up.

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Serving Size 4

Ingredients
* 1 container (about 1&1/2 cups) plain or vanilla soy yogurt
* 1 cup granola

For The Sauce:
* 1 lb strawberries
* splash lemon juice
* 1/2 cup beet sugar or agave nectar
* 2-3 tablespoons water
* 2 teaspoons cornstarch (if you want a thicker sauce)

Directions - For the Sauce
1. Clean the strawberries, cut off the tops and dice them to 4 equal pieces.
2. Put the strawberries into a saucepan, add the sweetener, splash some lemon juice over and a bit of water.
3. Cook the strawberries until soft and there is liquid.
4. Mash lightly until the mixture is soft and just begins to boil.
5. If you want the sauce to be thicker, mix 2 tsp. cornstarch with 2-3 tablespoons of water and add to the raspberry sauce.
6. Return to the stove and boil, stirring, until the sauce thickens and become clear.
Allow to cool before serving.

Directions - For the Parfaits
1. Put 1 tablespoon of strawberry sauce in the bottom of 4 parfait glasses.
2. Put a layer of soy yogurt on top and then another layer of strawberry sauce. Top with granola and enjoy!