For Kimmi's birthday, she wanted vanilla cupcakes with caramel frosting. I made the vanilla cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World (always an excellent choice!) and for the first round, made the raspberry buttercream but used caramel syrup instead of raspberry, to try to make a caramel frosting. It was delicious, but not caramelly at all! It just tasted like a rich vanilla. I actually liked it better than the vanilla buttercream in the book, so it wasn't a total loss!

Then, I remembered that in Papa Tofu there is a recipe for penuche! (The reason I didn't use the caramel frosting in VCTOTW is because I cannot find powdered soymilk anywhere!) So we made another batch of vanilla cupcakes and the frosting, and it was DELICIOUS. DO IT. Papa Tofu is by Kittee and you can buy it and some other nifty vegan things on her shop! There's a link next to her blog.

Also, yesterday I picked up a copy of Dessert Techniques by various people who tech at Le Cordon Bleu Academy. It's so awesome! Obviously there aren't any vegan recipes but some are easily veganized and it was worth the price for the technique lessons alone! I had no idea tempering chocolate could be so easy, for example. And making chocolate cups and spun sugar is super easy too! It's a little pricey but I had a coupon and even if I didn't, I think it is well worth the cost. Now my bakery will have pretties as well as tasties! =D

No Tiger Cakes yet because of the cupcakes, but those are next on my baking list! I need white chocolate first anyway ...I didn't realize we were out when I posted last. =P

So, recently Vegan Dad has been baking through The Bread Baker's Apprentice by Peter Reinhart. I had a Borders coupon so I picked up a copy a few days ago to try the same thing, using his vegan substitutions. I'm especially excited about brioche and challah!

Also, I think I may not actually be allergic to cloves after all, and it must be another ingredient in chai. The reason I say this is because Dharma Garden (an awesome and very veg-friendly Thai restaurant) has a lot of dishes with curry that I have eaten since I developed the allergy without really thinking about ingredients, and I realized the other day that curry usually has cloves in it. So maybe it's cardamom I'm allergic to, because ginger, cinnamon, black tea and soymilk are definitely fine. Hmm.

Nothing else really is new right now. I'm going to try making some almond cakes today or tomorrow. I won't be posting a recipe (this is one I want to sell at my bakery when it opens) but if it works out I'll post pictures!

Yesterday for dinner I made an enchilada casserole using FatfreeVegan's recipe as a guide. I didn't use black beans and I only had a green bell pepper so I used that. I also made the enchilada sauce recipe from Veganomnicon because I could not find premade vegan enchilada sauce anywhere, and because I didn't use salsa or tomatoes, I only blended two-thirds of the sauce so it was a little chunky. I made the refried beans by my recipe. It was really tasty and way simpler than making regular enchiladas.

So, do it! It's easy and yummy. It would be even easier if you used canned enchilada sauce and refried beans (but probably not as tasty as homemade).

I haven't made the nama yatsuhashi yet, but I did make matcha daifuku with tsubu-an using this recipe as a guide. I don't own a microwave so I followed a commenter's way of doing it on the stovetop. If you have a microwave I suggest doing it that way (much easier and less messy), but I'm putting the stovetop method here for those who don't have one or for some reason don't want to or can't use one.

Note: Make sure you use mochiko! There is another type of glutenous rice flour called shiratama-ko that is sometimes used to make daifuku but it uses a slightly different recipe and will make a slightly different daifuku. Mochiko is usually easier to find anyway (they carry it at most well stocked grocery stores in the Asian section), unless you're lucky like me and have a Japanese market you can buy ingredients from.

What you need:
1 cup mochiko
1 tbs matcha (sweetened or unsweetened will both work)
1/4 cup sugar
2/3 cup water
cornstarch or potato starch, for dusting (potato starch is traditional)

About a half cup tsubu-an

Another note: If you make the tsubu-an recipe I linked to you will have more than enough. You could probably make five or six batches with it and have leftovers still. If you don't have the time to make it from scratch, the daifuku link at Veganyumyum has a recipe using canned azuki. I wasn't aware they were even available canned until now (but then I also didn't know you could buy canned mushrooms or potatoes, either, until I saw them in the store yesterday).

Equipment:
A small pot
A wooden spoon or silicone spatula
A large, heatproof bowl (if it's dishwasher safe you should be good to go)
A cutting board (I suggest plastic for easier cleanup, but wood is okay too)

Yet another note: If your bowl is made from glass, make sure it's warm! If you pour boiling water into a glass bowl that's too cool it could crack or even explode.

What you do:

Measure out the mochiko and matcha into the heatproof bowl.

Bring the sugar and water to a full, rolling boil. Turn the heat off and while it's still boiling, pour it over the mochiko mixture while stirring. Stir constantly for about two minutes, until the dough is all worked together and smooth. It will be very very sticky. This is normal!

Turn it out onto a cutting board that is well dusted with potato starch. If you aren't sure, use more! If you don't have enough you'll have a huge, disastrous mess, and the starch won't effect the flavor of your dough. Pat some more starch on top and cover your hands with it, and pat the dough out flat. Cut it in half, then cut both pieces in half, then cut the four pieces in half again. They will be unevenly shaped, but that's okay because the dough is very pliable. There's a video on Veganyumyum if you're unsure of what to do.

Take a piece of dough and put about a teaspoon of filling in the center. Fold the dough around it until it's completely covered. Repeat with the remaining pieces of dough.

The daifuku will be much smaller than the ones you can buy at Japanese markets or festivals. They're two-bite size. That's normal too, so don't worry. Like Veganyumyum says, the best way to store them is to wrap them individually in plastic wrap, put them in a zip bag or container, and keep them in the fridge. Each batch is very small so if you're having a party, double or even triple or quadruple it! Make the dough one batch at a time, though, to keep it manageable. One batch was the perfect size for me and Kimmi though!

Itadakimasu! (Let's eat!)

I ended up not making the yatsuhashi today because I got home later than I was expecting to and the tsubu-an took a very long time. Like, five hours. The end result was really delicious and totally worth it, though, and it was very easy since the only work I had to do was occasionally stir and add a little more water. I used 1 cup of sugar because Kimmi wanted it a little sweeter. I could seriously eat that stuff with a spoon! Tomorrow I am going to use it to make the nama yatsuhashi and also daifuku, because it made a ton!

I just finished eating Swedish Meetballs from Cozy Inside.

OMG. I DON'T CARE IF YOU'RE A FREAKING CARNIVORE, SUCK IT UP FOR A NIGHT AND FREAKING EAT THIS RIGHT NOW.

/excessive caps

Holy shit. It is fucking delicious. Truly, I think it's even better than the (non vegan) ones my mom made when I was a kid. Sorry mom! But this is seriously SO GOOD.

I used not beef broth (from a bullion cube) instead of regular veggie broth, and I don't know if that's what made it, but I really just think the lady who wrote this recipe is a genius, as simple as that. I also left the pepper out because I just can't stand pepper, even in minute amounts. I know it's crazy, but it's just so disgusting to me it makes my stomach churn.

ANYWAY!

Unfortunately some of the balls didn't stick together (tee hee) and ended up crumbling, but it was still really tasty. I think next time I make them I'll stick the mix in the fridge for a half hour or so to firm up. Maybe then they won't crumble as easily. It works with falafel anyway!

If you were to ask me, "Xander, what did your dinner taste like?" I'd have a hard time giving you specifics about how the flavors mingle and all that. The ingredients are so simple and basic (every ingredient is something I always have in my kitchen) that it's hard to believe a mix of things so humble could come together and make such a delicious final product. When I ate the first bite, I actually said out loud, "Holy fuck, this is delicious!"

So make it!

The unthinkable has happened.

I am bored with food.

This is not okay. Food and cooking are pretty much my PASSION. I refuse let myself get bored, complacent, and fall into a slump. I am not going to be one of those people who makes the same ten recipes over and over again.

For the rest of the month -- at least! -- I am going to make at least one recipe a day that I have never made before. Two or three if possible. I will post here with what I think of them, what books they're from, or links if they're from a website. Wish me luck! <3

For next week:

Tonight's dinner: Sweedish Meetballs with Mushroom Gravy and Fettuccine

Tomorrow: Enchilada Casserole, unless Alex is coming over (she can't eat anything spicy), in which case I will make Yatsuhashi filled with azuki tsubu-an

Tuesday: Enchilada casserole (if not made tomorrow) or baked beans

Wednesday: Peanut Butter Blondies from Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and Lentil Soup (with homemade veggie broth) from Veganomicon

Thursday: Vegan Pot au Feu with a recipe I found online and printed a million years ago but never got around to trying

Friday: Herb scalloped potatoes and baked BBQ tofu from Veganomicon

Saturday: Tamales! I will probably make some kind of seitan filling. I haven't eaten one since I was a child and have never made them from scratch, so I'm pretty excited about this one even though the holidays are over. (My family would often eat tamales around Christmas when I was young)

I'll get back to you at the end of each day!

Sorry for yelling at you in all caps, but I needed to get your attention.

At the beginning of January (so less than two weeks ago, keep this in mind) Kimmi and I went to Target to get some stuff for around the house with some gift cards we got for the holidays. We bought some basic kitchen things like a new garlic press and measuring spoons, and we also got a set of two glass Anchor brand casserole dishes. Now, we are responsible consumers and we research purchases like appliances and electronics, but a dish is a dish and it's pretty hard to screw up a dish, right?

Well, we used the small one once to make a pot pie. It baked in the oven at 375 for 45 minutes. I used it again two days ago to roast some onions in the oven. Now, I have put glass dishes in the oven for years, and have made this recipe with glass dishes dozens of times (because our metal ones are two small to fit three onions). The dishes read on them: oven, dishwasher, and microwave safe. I figured it would be fine.

Not so.

About twenty minutes in, with the oven at 400 degrees, I heard a super loud crash. I thought that one of the kitchen shelves had fallen off the wall, because I didn't recognize the sound exactly and that was the only thing I could think of that would make such a loud noise. I went into the kitchen and everything was still in place.

"Oh, shit," I said aloud. "The oven." I turned the oven and stove off (as I was cooking lentils and rice on the stove), stood to the side of the oven, and very slowly opened the door and peeked inside.

The dish had exploded. Not shattered. EXPLODED. There were onions, oil, and glass EVERYWHERE. It was a disaster. And to think, right as it exploded I was standing up to go check on it. Ten seconds later and I could have ended up in the hospital, or even killed if the force behind the glass had been strong enough! Luckily I didn't and I'm fine, and the door stayed closed so the mess was contained in the oven.

Apparently this is not a new thing. A little google-fu showed me that there have been over 7,000 complaints of this happening in Canada alone. I feel kind of stupid for not researching and finding this out earlier, but then again, who researches a casserole dish? I guess I will from now on.

I am not going to be using the second dish, because if it happens again, one of us could get hurt really badly. I no longer have the receipt and the gift card we bought it with has been thrown away because it was empty. I'm not sure if we will be able to get a refund, but I wanted to warn everyone I can! Don't buy Anchor brand glassware! From now on we will be buying our glassware at the thrift store, as all of my other second hand glassware is extremely sturdy and has never given me a problem.

Boca spicy "chicken" patties are no longer vegan! There are egg whites in them now. =(

We bought two boxes without reading the label because we eat them all the time. Last night I went to make myself one and felt like reading the label randomly, and it's a good job I did! We're taking them back to Whole Foods today. They've always been really good to us about stuff like that.

So vegans, DON'T EAT THEM ANYMORE. =( This is a public service announcement to occasionally read labels, even if it's been vegan before.

Just a very short post to say one thing:

I cannot believe how big a difference using vanilla bean instead of extract makes. And I use the really good extract. Wow.

Vanilla bean is expensive, but it's totally worth it for special occasions! The flavor is phenomenal. I didn't even use an actual vanilla bean itself, I used tea with almond bits and vanilla bean bits in it and steeped it in the soymilk before I used it to make pastry creme! The next time you are making something super special for a special occasion (anniversary, graduation, retirement, super important birthday, whatever) and it gives you the option to use extract or the bean, splurge a little and use the bean. I know it's much too expensive for everyday use (unfortunately, or I'd use it all the time!) but AWESOME every now and then.