Apple cider muffins

April 6, 2010 | 4 Comments »

As of lately I have been browsing lots of foodie websites. Browsing, drooling, looking for new and interesting recipes to try out. I really want to show my family that delicious food doesn’t come out of a wrapper or box. So when I saw this recipe for Baked Apple Cider Donut Holes I immediately bookmarked it and saved it for a special day. Since Juan had today off I figured today would be perfect.

I didn’t have a mini muffin pan to make the ‘donut holes’ so I used a regular sized muffin pan and made muffins instead. I used Vanilla Silk Live Soy Yogurt in place of the plain Greek yogurt and Ener-G egg replacer in place of the egg. I topped 6 muffins off with chopped walnuts and baked them for about 20 minutes at 375º. Once they were done baking and completely cooled, I brushed the tops of the muffins without walnuts with melted butter and sprinkled some cinnamon and sugar on top. They were so good! Nice and moist. The only thing I would do different next time is add less nutmeg. I think I’ll just use a dash next time around. I like the taste of nutmeg, but it was a little too overpowering for me. I was expecting more apple taste than anything. Of course this recipe wasn’t meant to be made into muffins. Other than that the recipe was wonderful. Even Ethan said “Mommy, I love you recipe.”

Easter 2010

April 5, 2010 | 5 Comments »

This was our first Easter here in Illinois and we acted as if we were still back in Jersey and did what we normally do. Which is wait until the very last minute to decide what we’re going to cook. That means running out to the store at the last minute trying to find everything you need which almost always leaves you stressed beyond belief. I’m not even sure how I made it through this day. Thankfully after all of the running around I was able to sit and enjoy one of my favorite meals. Eggplant parmesan… lasagna style. Three words: totally worth it.

I made this for New Year’s Eve as well. It was so good that I’ve been dying to make it again. All I did was take an eggplant, peel it and THINLY slice it using a mandolin. Next dredge it in flour, dip it into a non-dairy milk/cornstarch mixture and then bread it with seasoned panko breadcrumbs. Fry it until crispy and golden brown. Then layer it in a baking dish as follows… eggplant, tofu ricotta, marinara, Daiya Cheese and continue until you use up all of the ingredients. The very top is layered with marinara and Daiya Cheese. Then bake it for about 20 minutes or so. That’s it. It’s a little time consuming, but totally worth all of the trouble.

Daiya goodness

April 3, 2010 | 11 Comments »

After hearing all about Daiya Cheese being sold in all Whole Foods stores I bugged Juan to take me after he got off work yesterday. Of course that meant an hour long trip which isn’t so bad, but a part of me wondered if it was all an April Fool’s joke. If it was that would have been a good one. Anyway, the first thing I did when I arrived at the store was go straight for the vegan cheese. There it was. In that beautiful white and green bag. I stood there staring at it for a moment. I’m not kidding. I really did. Then I realized there were only a few packages of the mozzarella flavored cheese left so I quickly grabbed a few. It wasn’t an April Fool’s joke. It was real. Oh so real.

Since it was such a nice day I thought it would be cool to go outside and grill my pizza. So I rolled out some whole wheat dough, brushed it with a little olive oil and grilled it on both sides. After I flipped it over I topped it off with a delicious pizza sauce, baby spinach and LOTS of Daiya Cheese. After the cheese melted I took it off the grill and sprinkled some oregano and crushed red pepper on top. I sliced it up and ate it… ALL.

The first thing I noticed about this stuff was that it didn’t smell funky. One thing that has turned me off vegan cheese is the smell. I know that real cheese smells bad too, but I was never a fan of real cheese either. Well, except for mozzarella which doesn’t really smell like anything. But most of the vegan mozzarella cheeses I have tried smelled very bad. Not Daiya. It smelled perfectly fine. The texture was also very similar to the real thing. It wasn’t wet, soggy or waxy. It was exactly like cheese, man! The taste? Oh my God! I was in heaven. It was so melty and gooey and just flat out delicious. My only issue is that it took THIS long to be able to enjoy this stuff. I was totally missing out all this time.

Juan tried a bite and said it was great, but claims he can tell it wasn’t real cheese. He said and I quote “I can taste the soy. Not much of it. Just a little.” Really? Funny. Because it’s SOY FREE! Yeah, that’s right. You heard me. Soy free. One day this man will open his mind and join me on this journey. Until then this cheese is mine. ALL MINE!