Almond Anise Biscotti

Almond Anise Biscotti

Since today is fathers day I decided to make my father a treat – homemade biscotti. 

My father LOVES biscotti – and I forgot just how much I loved them when I ate one today!  I think the last time I had one was when I lived at home with him. 

He doesn’t even drink coffee anymore- I think he quit before I was old enough to notice, but to this day when I am traveling and wake up to the smell of coffee it feels like home to me…

Anyway- he just eats them alone, which is the same way I enjoy them! 

My husband, however, took one tooth to it this morning and thought it was a joke.  That I am gifting stale bread to my father… silly boy. 

This evening though- he ate one… and then asked for two more!  Aaaha.  Told him they were good!  

So Here We Go.  What You Need:

2 lemons grated lemon rind (about 1-2 tbl)

2/3 cup slivered almonds (one small bag)

¾ cup sugar

2 eggs

2 cups flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 egg white – beaten.

The Fun Part:

Combine first 4 ingredients – beat. 

Add dry ingredients—flour and baking powder. 

Kind of kneed the dough with your hands – inside the bowl to minimize mess. 

Form into two oval-ish loafs – flattened – on a greased cookie sheet

Coat with beatened egg white

Cook at 350 for 25 minutes

Lower temp to 325 for 5 minutes

Slice

Place slices back into oven at 325 for 15 minutes. 

Let cool – coat with chocolate if you wish – or not…

Enjoy! 

Vegan French Toast

Vegan French Toast



Eggless french toast?  Thank you flax seed.  

My husband doesn’t love French toast, he says on days that he wakes up to the smell of French toast he feels like he did something wrong the day before and he’s being punished. 



… silly boy. 



This morning he actually said that they tasted great!  …

.

I will add that later he couldn’t remember saying that, he blamed it on the fact that he was half asleep.

Convienient. 



So let me tell you- These taste great!



So Here We Go.  What You Need:



½ cup almond milk
2 flax eggs (2 tbl flax meal 6 tbl warm water- mix, let sit 2 minutes)
½ tea cinnamon
½ tea nutmeg
4 pieces of toast



The Fun Part:



Mix flax eggs – let sit for 2 minutes
Then add milk, cinnamon, and nutmeg
Dip bread in mixture (both sides)
Place in hot pan with a bit of oil, butter, or pam.
Let cook for a few minutes each side until golden

​

Top with your favorite goodies and



Enjoy!

Fluffy (eggless) Pancakes

Freakin Fluffy Eggless Pancakes

Can you keep a secret? 

Don’t tell my dad…

Pinky promise??

Okay.  I love this pancake recipe more than my dad’s good ‘ol fashion recipe. <yike>

I know.  Shame on me, I have disgraced my entire family.  Seriously though- how can I NOT love it!  It’s vegan, eggless, and uses basic ingredients that I can bet you have in your pantry RIGHT NOW! 

Actually I am going to bet you $500 that you do have them in your pantry, because even if you don’t – this is the internet, and I can make outrageous bets like that and not have to live up to them. 

It’s so simple I’m sure even my husband can make them… though this is not a tested theory – I wouldn’t dare.  As I once said, ‘he doesn’t even know how to stir.’ 

So Here We Go.  What You Need:    This recipe feeds 2 people or 1 hungry person.     

                                                           (about 6/7 pancakes)

1 cup flour

2 tbl baking powder (yes you read that right, tablespoons)

2 tea cinnamon

1 cup almond milk (or non-dairy milk- or heck-cow’s milk if that’s all you’ve got)

2 tbl oil (I use orange juice- you can use coconut, veggie, whatever, earth balance butter,

               pineapple juice, I don’t care.)

The Fun Part

-Mix dry ingredients

-Mix wet ingredients

- Incorporate.  Stir just until combined

-Over medium heat in a non stick pan add a ladle full of batter and let cook until it bubbles all around (a minute or so)

- Flip

- Cook for half a minute or so, and…

Enjoy J

Pop's Pancakes Made Vegan

Two Friends Favorite Pancakes

This could be my most celebrated recipe.  From a young age my friends had certain expectations from me.  1. To be awesome 2. To borrow clothes from and 3. To make amazing pancakes.

Pancakes might be my favorite food ever; and when they’re topped with nutella??  Ohhh forgetaboutit.  Might as well shoot me dead and happy! 

I don’t particularly understand pancakes – it’s unacceptable to eat cake in the early morning, yet pancakes make the cut?  Nonetheless, I’m pleased with this verdict and openly accept the option to make pancakes as often as possible!

It’s probably a heaven sent that my husband doesn’t like pancakes {I know, gasp!}.  But if he did, there is no doubt I would make them every.single.morning. 

Here is the time-tested recipe that got me branded as the friend who cooked…all thanks to my dad, since it is his recipe after all.

When I was little my father would let me help and sprinkle in the cinnamon, when I would finish he would pleasantly whisper “I like cinnamon, lets add a little more” and continue to sprinkle.  Needless to say this family recipe didn't really use certain measurements; more like '4 scoops of this' and 'a spoonfull of that.'  But isn't that how all awesome family recipes truly are?

At any rate, I got the measurements down for you- and Hey! I've even made it vegan!  You're welcome.  Don't worry it wasn't difficult.  

So here we go- What You Need:

1 cup flour (3/4 c white ¼ c wheat) or all white, whatever.

1 cup almond milk (or regular milk if you must.)

1/8 cup sugar

1/8 cup mashed banana – or you can use oil

1 flax egg (1tbl flax 3 tbl water) or you can use a regular egg if you like the suckers)

1 tea baking powder

½ tea baking soda

1 tbl cinnamon

The Fun Part:

-Mix all dry ingredients together in a bowl

-Add wet ingredients to dry and mix until just incorporated

-cook on a pan over med-low heat until bubbles immerge – flip let cook a half –minute to a minute longer – all done! J

Enjoy your short stack (or double stack if that’s how you roll)! 

Coconut Banana Breafast (or dessert) Cake - Vegan

Coconut Banana Breakfast (or dessert) Cake - Vegan

In my venture to make a dent in the pile of bananas in my freezer, I have taken an interest in all things banana- my least favorite fruit. 

That being said, I do LOVE me some banana bread- added to the list of banana-loves is this coconut banana cake!  I also love how it is a ‘breakfast’ cake.  Kind of in the same crowd as pancakes – Why exactly are they suitable for breakfast?  Wait. Don’t answer that.  I don’t care.  It all works for me and my taste buds!

So here we go.  Here’s What You Need:  

1 c white flour

½ tsp cinnamon

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 flax eggs (2 Tbl flax seed +6 Tbl water) (or you can use eggs if you’re not vegan)

1/3 cup sugar (white or brown- whatever you have on hand- I usually use white)

2 tea vanilla extract – or coconut extract if you have it!

1 cup mashed banana (two small bananas)

½ cup coconut milk

The Fun Part:

-          Combine all dry ingredients

-          Combine all wet ingredients

-          Grease/four an 8x8 pan (or you can use a loaf pan, I’m just kind of obsessed with 8x8- but a loaf pan would make this thicker)

-          Pour batter into pan

-          Cook at 350 for 25 minutes (or if using loaf pan do 35)

For the topping I used

-          2 cups powdered sugar

-          2 tbl coconut milk

-          ½ cup shreaded coconut

Mix ingredients together, pour over cake once it’s out of the oven!

Yumm! Enjoy your yummies J

Vegan Nutella

Vegan Nutella

I’m going to be honest with you for a moment here- oh who am I kidding, I’m always blunt.  I am addicted to Nutella.  I am. And If you’re reading this, chances are- so are you, and if you’re not yet, you will be. Mark my words! 

In Venice found this AMAZING jar of nutella.  Yes I had to have it. 

Nutella was ALWAYS a staple in my house growing up- so imagine my shock and dismay when I grew up only to find out that this is not the case in everyone’s home!  I felt so horrible for not exposing as many people I could to it as possible!

I actually had to stop myself from buying some the other day, it was on sale and I found a coupon in the paper- that never happens once in a lifetime year.  (Did you get as confused reading that as I did typing it? Welcome to my brain.)

Like my jar?  I got it when I lived in Italy.  *brag*

It is heaven. 

I’m not kidding.  HEAVEN! 

I was devastated for my husband because he could no longer eat it, since he was allergic to milk.  As luck would have it- I have a vegan nutella recipe that is just as tasty!   Whew. Bullet dodged!

Vegan 'chocolate' chips

This ‘nutella’ taste exactly like nutella!!  I asked my husband what he thought and he said it just taste fresher – that doesn’t seem like much of a problem to me at all!

Straight out of the oven - Mmm I can smell them. 

After rubbing the skins off 

So here we go What You Need:

1 cup hazelnuts

10 oz vegan chocolate

3 tbl powdered sugar

2 tbl coconut oil

1 tbl cocoa powder

The Fun Part:

-Toast the hazelnuts.  I did this in the oven at 350 for 10 minutes.  You can do it on your stovetop as well – low heat and stirring frequently. 

- once toasted, rub skins off with a kitchen towel.

- place in food processor and ground the hazelnuts. 

- melt the chocolate in a double boiler (a pot w/ a bit of water and a glass bowl on top)
- Once melted add the rest of ingredients – powder sugar, oil, and cocoa.

- add everything to the food processer for one more go, and you’re done!

Enjoy the deliciousness! 

Makes enough to fill a 13 oz jar

Energy Smoothie

Energy Fruit Smoothies

Smoothies to me were something that I bought from Orange Julius for seven bucks a pop- lol did I just type ‘seven bucks a pop’? Anyway- I can’t remember when exactly it was that I discovered that making a smoothie was not only easy… but that it is SO sinkin easy!

If you have hands- you have measuring utensils. 

You can seriously make it with ANY type of fruit you have in your fridge or freezer. Honest.

And it’s so good for you it’s ridiculous.  Go look in your fridge/freezer and see what you’ve got and make one now!!

I will say that every time I make one I add a banana.  I’m not too fond of bananas, but I really think it’s the base.  – but the ideas are endless!  I typically use spinish, but I had kale- so that’s what I used and it was supurb!  Have some mangos?  Use em.  Have a pomegranate that you don’t feel like eating? Use it.  Seriously. Anything your heart desires!

What You Need

For this particular smoothie I used;

1 banana

1 handful frozen peaches (or fresh)

2 handfuls frozen strawberries (or fresh, honey badger don’t care)

½ handful of blueberries

2 mega handfuls kale

½ cup almond milk/ coconut milk/ any non-dairy milk… or hey- cow’s milk if that’s all        

                                                                                                 you have – I don’t care!

   *More milk if you want it thinner- less if you want it thicker. 

 The Fun Part

Shove it all in a blender and blend. 

Drink Up J