Dairy-Free Quiche

So Since I had a second pie crust left over from my delicious Vegan Pumpkin Pie last week, I knew I wanted to make some QUICHE! I really love quiche, but it always seems to have meat in it at restaurants, which makes me sad. So I bought some veggie bacon yesterday and decided to get my fix of quiche right here, right now!

Here's the recipe I used!

Click to Enlarge!

 Ok so I did make one tiny mistake, I was overzealous and put the 1 T. olive oil in the quiche itself, so hopefully that doesn't screw it all up! As for veggies, or add-ins, I put in broccoli, kale, potatoes, and veggie bacon. For the broccoli and kale, I microwaved them in a little water to steam them. And for the potatoes, I microwaved them a tad as well. The veggie bacon I just roughly chopped and threw it on in! I'm really excited!


Today's baking soundtrack was Newton Faulkner's Write It On Your Skin, which is his most recent album. Newton is probably one of my favorite musicians, his incredible guitar playing and swoon-worthy voice are hard to beat. I'd really really love to see him play live someday!! He is totally awesome!

Clouds by Newton Faulkner

Back to my Quiche! 

So this came out super delicious! I did have to bake it about 15 minutes longer, but that may just be my oven... And even though I added that 1 T. olive oil, and used sweetened almond milk, it tastes delicious!! I added a bit of tapatío to it and Voilà! C'était parfait! 

I hope you enjoy making any quiche as much as I did, it's the perfect way to start the day! 

Vi Ses!
Holly

Update: My roommates seemed to like this a lot as well, and they aren't even vegetarians!

The Best Vegan Pumpkin Pie Ever!

As I was talking to my sister this week, she told me she was going to give up dairy. Now being the 10 year old sister of a vegetarian, on and off vegan, I was pretty proud of this mature decision! I can see another vegetarian in the making!! Once she older, she'll see the light! Anyway, this inspired me to join her, and lay off the dairy... BUT WAIT! It's fall and that means my favorite dessert is in season, Pumpkin Pie! And let's be honest, Pumpkin Pie cannot be made dairy-free, right? WORNG!! There is a plethora of vegan Pumpkin Pie recipes (heck if you're already omitting dairy, might as well go full force and kick those eggs out too!) out there on the web just waiting to be tested, so I collected my ingredients at the Winco yesterday and here we go!

iPad optional.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie:

3/4 lb. silken (soft) tofu

16 oz. canned pumpkin puree

1 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

3/4 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup oil

1 tsp. vanilla

1 cup brown sugar

1 1/2 tbsp. molasses

1 pre made pie crust (Marie Calendars is usually vegan)

Pre-heat oven to 450.

Blending magic!

Before anything, put the tofu on a stack of paper towels and soak as much moisture up as possible, I seriously used like half a roll of paper towels. You really don't need the extra moisture, it will throw your pie's feng-shui.

Ok so here's the super secret key to a silky pumpkin pie, because if you're like me and you tried to mix it with a whisk, the tofu was all chunky and unappetizing. 

So mix all the ingredients (besides the crust, DUH.) and then....

Use a blender!!

CRAZY! I know. I was like, no way Jose! That's a bit too obscure, even for my liking... But then again this is already a vegan pumpkin pie, which I thought was all myth before I tried, so do it! BLEND AWAY MY LOVLIES!

Before baking, isn't she pretty??

So now pour that silky goodness into the pie crust, and marvel at it's beauty. I'm not kidding, it looks gorgeous!

Put your pie in the 450 degree oven for 10 minutes, and then drop the temperature down to 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes.

After baking!

So I was a bit concerned when I checked it at 1 hour and it was still jiggly, so I kept it in for seriously like 30 more minutes, until finally taking it out for fear of total burning. So now that its chilling, it should solidify, right??? Fingers crossed!!

While we're waiting for the verdict of taste... Rather than watching a TV show or a movie whilst baking today, I jammed out to some Julia Nunes' Settle Down, which I am currently addicted to! Seriously go look her up on Youtube, some of the best 'female singing' music ever (I really don't listen to many female artists, so she must be incredible!) I saw her over the summer in Santa Ana at the Constellation Room, and she was awesome live! So go jam out to her intense ukulele playing. She's a pretty cool chick.

Julia Nunes on Conan.

VERDICT:

Ok, so after letting it cool all day in the refrigerator, I came home to finally taste my creation! And let me tell you, the taste is really incredible! All the spices really come out and it is so pumpkin-y delicious that I could eat the whole thing right here, right now! The only issue I have is that it didn't completely set, boo! But I think that's because I didn't get enough moisture out of the tofu, so it added too much liquidity to the filling... So guess who get to make another delicious pie in the future? This girl!! 

Hope you enjoy this recipe as much as I am going to, it's amazing because it's easy, delicious and somewhat healthy!!

Vi Ses!

Holly

Recipe Source:

http://vegetarian.about.com/od/desertrecipes/r/tofupumpkinpie.htm

Julia Nunes:

http://www.junumusic.com/

Les Photos: Par Moi!!

Banana Bread

As I looked over at my fruit bowl this weekend, I saw the most beautiful sight: browning bananas! You know what that means, BANANA BREAD TIME!

Banana bread is one of those nostalgic foods for me, my grandma seemed to always have some, or some ready to bake, when I would go to her house after school so long ago... Her banana bread is truly the best, but I found a recipe on Food Network's website that seemed pretty straight forward and delicious!

I screenshot the recipe on my iPad, so here's the picture of it, so I don't have to write it all out :)

The changes I made were that I did them in muffins instead of a loaf so I baked them for 25 minutes instead of the suggested 1 hour...

I also added walnuts to half the batch, since my roommate doesn't like nuts I did it half and half! AND I toped them with cinnamon sugar, because who doesn't like a bot more sweetness... Everyone's happy! And for my second round in the oven, I mixed in some oats and mini chocolate chips, just for fun!

 I must say these muffins came out DELICIOUS! Like, no joke. They rock! So don't fret when you see some sad looking 'naners, turn that frown upside down and make some delicious treats!

The TV show of the hour was this weekend's Saturday Night Live with daniel Craig hosting... My verdict? Not too funny, I think Nick Offerman (Ron Swanson from Parks and Recreation) would be perfect! Please, NBC, please!

My classes are all getting really intense, so we'll see how active I am on this, hopefully this weekend I can make something really cool! And soon, I'll have to start my practice runs for my roommate's wedding cake I've been commissioned to make!! We're going to try out Lemon Lavender! YUM! Get Excited!

Vi Ses!
Holly

Biscuit Doughnuts!

So in my Women and Development class today we were told to read an article called, Doughnuts and Western Women, and I honestly have no idea what it's going to be about... BUT it did make me really want some doughnuts, which I really don't eat often and I had just conveniently bought ingredients to make another fun Pinterest recipe, Canned Biscuit Doughnuts! Random? Yes!

So let's experiment in the adventures of the art of doughnuts! (from a can...)

Here's the recipe:

1 can biscuits (I used a generic brand 'buttermilk' flavor)
2 inches of oil in a pan
1 bowl of cinnamon sugar
1 oil resistant stomach

So I used a bottle cap to punch holes in my doughnuts, you could use a cookie cutter, but a cap works just fine! Then heat the oil for a few minutes, and once a drop of water "dances" on the surface (after flicking it of course) put a few dough rings, or holes in and fry your little heart out!!

I flipped them over probably after 1 minute of cooking (mine are very small), so just whenever they are golden brown, flip 'em!

If you're crafty like me, and don't have tongs (ridiculous, I know) get creative and use chopsticks (wood, NOT plastic)!

After they are cooked to perfection, put them on you already prepared paper towel oil absorber (I used a sheet pan covered in 3 layers of paper towel), and let cool for another minute or so. Then roll in the bowl of cinnamon sugar, and VOLIÀ! You can devour your deliciously easy doughnuts!

So onto a more important note, how do they taste?

Overall, these are really delicious, like so good that I probably just cancelled out my hour at the gym earlier! Oh well, take one for the team I guess. But seriously do not make these if you are like me and binge bake, where you pretty much eat the entirety of your product... Oh screw it, bake and eat away my lovlies!


Well now that I've successfully saturated my stomach, you're on your own for now, I need to go run or something (well no, I would risk barfing... No fun.).

Vi Ses!

         

Holly

 Don't let the look of anticipation deceive you, this is like my 4th doughnut... 

All photos taken by me!

Sending a piece of home overseas...

Today is a very special day for two reasons: 1) I'm baking cookies to send to an awesome Marine and 2) in exactly one year from today I will hopefully be starting culinary school! I'm almost ready to send in my application and will be crossing my fingers until I hear if I'm accepted for the Fall term or if I'll have to wait until the winter term... Let's hope I get into the Fall term! :)

Anyway, back to baking...

So over the summer I sent a care package to a young Marine whose mom works with my dad. I randomly remembered that my dad had a co-worker whose son was deployed, so I asked for his address to send a care package. I think I went a little overboard, but he did get it and told his mom to thank me, so hopefully him and others in his company were able to make some use of the contents! His mom said he loves to get baked goods, so of course the nest package must be some cookies! So I'm going to make some Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies (which I know I already kinda did a couple weeks ago) to send to Afghanistan. Maybe it'll inspire you to find a service man or woman to send a little bit of home to while they are serving their country.

So along with the recipe (it's a different one then last time), I'll post how to package cookies so they stay fresh while they journey overseas to the Marines.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies
1 cup butter softened
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup white sugar
2 eggs
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups AP flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
3 cups quick oats
1 cup chocolate chips
Optional: 1 cup chopped walnuts (I'm not adding theses, because I don't want to risk any allergy problems in his company)

325 degrees for 12 minutes. Yield: about 3-4 dozen


Oh! And the movie of the hour is Sherlock Holmes, I just finished the BBC series, Sherlock, so I decided to finish my marathon off with a movie version! After watching all this Sherlock business, I feel like a detective, haha!

Back to cookies!

 So to package these babies, I think I remember how his mom told me how to do it, so lets hope this works...

Let the cookies cool for a few minutes, and then wrap a single layer of cookies in paper towels. Then wrap that in plastic wrap. Then put them in a ziplock baggie and stick a piece of white bread inside and try to get as much air as possible out. And that's about it! Then write a note and go send the finished package to your service man or woman!



I hope you've been inspired to send a little piece of home to anyone serving our country, to let them know much we all appreciate them!

Have a fantastic week!


Vi Ses,

Holly

United States Marine Corps

Recipe source: http://allrecipes.com/recipe/chewy-chocolate-chip-oatmeal-cookies/

Pictures taken by me!

Diet Coke Brownies!!

So I'll admit it, I love Pinterest! I've wasted way too many hours pinning away, and I have a Food & Stuff board where I save all the fun food ideas I see. But who actually goes back to their pins and makes something? Well I've decided to start trying some of the awesome and not so awesome recipes, and sharing them on here! Last week I tried one (that I forgot to document) that were corn muffins with tofu hot dogs inside, like little corn doggies! They were fabulous with a bowl of veggie chili! YUM!
So as I was prowling my Food & Stuff board, I found a very intriguing 'too good to be true' recipe I pinned long ago, Diet Coke Brownies! NO WAY, RIGHT? Well this was just too simple, that I had to try it!

I happened to have a can of Vanilla Coke Zero on me, but I didn't want to screw anything up, so I bought a bottle and measured out 12 ounces (and finished the rest off mahhh-self). I don't have a picture of what it looked like when I mixed it, but boy was it foamy! I was a little concerned, but kept on going! So here's the very complicated recipe (for official sake):

1 can Diet Coke
1 Box Brownie Mix

 Bake at whatever temp, but mine didn't take too long, so I would check about 10 minutes before.

So here's the verdict:

Not too bad. One of my lovely roommates was home to test them with me, and we both decided that we had confused feelings about these little babies. They came out a bit gelatinous and the after taste is a bit strange (but thats probably from the aspartame and other chemicals in the diet coke).

My other roommate's fiancé just tried them as well and said they taste like those TV dinner brownies (the package with the penguin on it) and I totally agree! One of those things where you know it's not going to taste to fantastic, but the novelty makes you want it anyway!

And if you want to know... The blog I got the recipe on said if you cut them into 24 pieces, then they are about 105 calories each and have 0.5 grams of fat...

So I would consider these a minor success! Since they don't taste bad, they are not a total failure! Will I do these again? Maybe, but I may try using a Coke Zero instead, since it doesn't have that much of a chemical taste... But try them out! Fun, creative and new ways to bake and cook are always an adventure and usually have good stories to go along with! Oh and if you were concerned with what I was watching while I baked today, it was a National Geographic documentary called Bear Island, which was all about this relatively secluded area in Alaska that is one of the last places where brown bears live in a large population.

Here's the blog I got the recipe from: http://auntpegsrecipebox.blogspot.com/2011/02/diet-coke-brownies.html#.UGeJKBxeDw4

Pictures were all take by me!

Crepes! (Attempt #1)

So last night I was conflicted on what to make for dinner. Not having done a normal grocery shopping in like 2 weeks, supplies are dangerously lowering. I noticed we had one egg, and naturally I thought, CREPES! Well maybe that wasn't exactly how I thought of making crepes, but it's basically the gist of the situation.

Here's the recipe I used (which I halfed):
(and the movie I was watching while making my crepes, Superstar!)

I really don't remember the site I got this from...

Supa Staaaaar!

I have two fantastic crepe memories, the first is from when I was in high school, and our crazy french teacher would let us have secret "culture days," which were not allowed, due to the school not wanting fires to start in the language department. But we did it anyway (as well as sell black marketed french bon bon candy, but that another story). The other memory that comes to mind is much more recent, one in which, Claire (one of my best friends) and I were in PARIS, FRANCE. Yeah, flippin' France, people! It was awesome! We had nutella crepes, on the Seine, in front of Notre Dame! It really does not get any
better than that.

Anywho, back to living in the redwood forest, I had a yearning for some delicious crepes... which turned out to be kind of a disappointment, compared to the high expectations I had. Maybe its the fact I've only made crepes myself once, or that I guesstimated the ingredient amounts, or I don't know... They just weren't fantastic. Don't get me wrong, they were satisfying, but not out-of-this-world.

YUM?

Like I said, they weren't fantastic, neither was the movie to be honest, but with a little lemon juice and powdered sugar, I gleefully ate my fill! :)

Hopefully I'll make a little something more exciting this weekend, so get pumped!

Vi Ses!

Holly