Berry Mango Vegan Frozen Yogurt: FRO-YO!

Curlytop (age 5) and Snugglebug (age 4)
give their lick of approval!

I don't know about your kids, but mine love frozen dessert treats, above all else. Anything that can be scooped into a dish or a cone rules at my house!

Here's an easy, tasty treat for these hot summer days:

Berry Mango Vegan Fro-Yo
Ingredients:

1 c. vanilla soy yogurt
1/2 c. frozen raspberries
meat of 1 mango, diced
1/4 c. raw sugar
2 T. instant pectin (find this in your supermarket, with the canning supplies)

Directions:
Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor until smooth.

Pour into the bottom of a 9"x13" baking dish. The shallow depth of the yogurt mixture helps it freeze more quickly.

Freeze for an hour and half to two hours,or until scoopable. Yum!

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Recipe: Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls That Don't Suck

If you know me - or have spent any time reading my blog, you know I'm not a health nut. Still, I do like to "health up" recipes my kids will eat, and one way I do that is by replacing some or all of the unbleached flour in recipes with whole wheat.

Substituting whole wheat for white flour is, at times, problematic in that it tends to produce drier, tougher finished products.

For this cinnamon roll recipe, I alleviated the dryness by adding grated apple to the recipe, making the dough less "thirsty," and providing a moist, dense finished roll. The recipe also relies on a bit more oil to keep it moist.

My two favorite baking assistants, Curlytop (age 5) and Snugglebug (age 4) helped.

Snugglebug, "on a roll."

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Rolls That Don't Suck

1 1/4 c. warm water (“baby bath water” warm - not too hot, or you'll kill the yeast)
1 1/2 T. dry yeast
1/4 c. oil
1 heaping cup grated apples (about 2 medium), packed

6 c. whole wheat flour
1 T. salt
1/4 c. evaporated cane juice crystals or vegan sugar

1 T. oil

2 to 4 T. vegan stick margarine, softened

1/4 c. evaporated cane juice crystals or vegan sugar
1 t. ground cinnamon

Glaze:

Blend until smooth or desired consistency:

2 to 3 c. vegan powdered sugar
2 to 3 T. vanilla soy milk
Add more powdered sugar or soy milk if necessary.


Directions for rolls:

Preheat oven to 375 degress.

In a small bowl, sprinkle yeast over water and allow to dissolve.

Add oil and grated apples, mix thoroughly.

In a large bowl, combine and mix flour, salt and sugar. Make a “well” in the middle of the dry mixture, then add liquid mixture. Stir liquid into flour until it’s too stiff to stir with a spoon, then oil your hands and knead the dough.

Add a little more flour or water if necessary to achieve desired consistency. Dough should be slightly sticky, but not totally clinging to hands or bowl. When dough forms easily into a ball, remove from bowl, put a tablespoon of oil into the bottom of the bowl, and roll the ball of dough in the oil to coat it.

Allow to rise until doubled in size – about an hour.

Punch the dough down, divide in half and roll out on a floured board into two large rectangles – about 15” x 9”.

Spread a layer of softened margarine over each rectangle.

Mix sugar and cinnamon, then sprinkle over buttered rectangles.

Starting at the wide end, roll the dough tightly into a long roll.

Slice each roll, using a serrated knife, into 12 sections. Place the sections, cut sides creating the tops and bottoms, into oiled muffin tins and let rise for about 20 minutes.

Bake until edges begin to brown, about 20 to 30 minutes.

Top with glaze while warm.

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Recipe: Creamy Orange Ginger Sauce with Stir-Fry and Rice Noodles

I've been a busy, busy mama. So busy, in fact, I've fallen into the rut of being a lazy mama when it comes to dinner. Pasta. Sauce. Repeat.


Ugh.

Mr. Wright was working late, Pepper and GirlWonder were out of town with Princess, Pockets was with his other parents, and The Dude was at a wrestling tournament, so it was just me, Curlytop and Snugglebug for dinner last night.

I wanted to make something with fresh vegetables, but I wanted something sweet and happy for the little ones, so I threw together this dish, which pleased my girls' palates and got some nutrition into their rapidly-growing bodies.

Sexy Vegan Mama's Creamy Orange Ginger Sauce with Stir-Fry and Rice Noodles

Stir-Fry (You may use your own favorite veggies. I used what I had on-hand.):


1 or 2 carrots, sliced
2 or 3 stalks of celery, sliced
1 medium onion, sliced
1 to 2 c. cut wax beans
1 medium bell pepper, julienned
1 - 15 oz. can garbanzo beans, drained
1 c. fresh or frozen green peas

If you're not experienced at stir-frying, there are some good tips here.

Sauce:


2 T. olive oil
1/8 c. whole wheat flour
1/2 t. garlic powder
1 t. ground ginger
1/8 c. cane juice crystals, raw sugar or other vegan sugar (I use Zulka)
1/2 c. orange juice
1 c. soy milk

Heat oil over medium heat. Add flour, stirring until flour is slightly toasted and no longer raw. Add garlic, ginger and cane juice crystals or sugar, mixing into a paste.

Pour in orange juice and slowly increase heat while stirring, until almost boiling. The sauce should just begin to thicken slightly.

Add soy milk and continue stirring, gently increasing heat until sauce begins to bubble and thicken. Pour immediately over vegetables.


Noodles:

Rice noodles are very quick-cooking. The ones I get (below) are in 16-ounce packages, though even for my brood, I usually only use half a package at a time. Boil your water and add a splash of olive or canola oil, which will help prevent the noodles from sticking. They're very starchy and sticky, those rice noodles. When your water is boiling, toss the noodles in and cook for just a very few minutes until they're tender - three to five.

Don't overcook the noodles! If you do, you'll be left with a soggy mass of starch and you will cry. Yes, you will.

Drain the noodles when they're done.

Assembly:


Serve the stir-fry and sauce over the cooked rice noodles, adding a sprinkling of slivered almonds, if desired.

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Vegan Double Chocolate Chai Cake (Recipe)

I've had many requests for my prized vegan cake recipes from fellow vegans - and from friends who are looking for cholesterol-free desserts. Did you check your calendar today? Because today's the day I'm going to give away my top-secret recipe for my never-fail Vegan Double Chocolate Chai Cake!

This recipe makes one tall, decadent 8-9" round:

1 2/3 c. all-purpose flour
1 c. packed brown sugar or evaporated cane juice crystals
1/4 c. cocoa powder
1 t. baking soda
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. loose chai tea
1 c. water
1/3 c. olive or canola oil
1 t. apple cider vinegar
1 t. vanilla

1/2 c. dairy-free chocolate chips (Did you know Kroger Value Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips are dairy-free and amazingly cheap? I get them at Fred Meyer!)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a large mixing bowl, combine dry ingredients and mix. Add wet ingredients and beat on high with mixer for 2 minutes or beat 150 strokes by hand.

Pour into greased 8-9" round cake pan. (Note: I cut a circle of wax paper and place it in the bottom of the pan to help it come out of the pan easily. I highly recommend you do so, too. This recipe doesn't have any eggs to bind it, so the wax paper helps the bottom of the cake stay together when it's warm.) Sprinkle chocolate chips over top of batter before placing in oven.

Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until the cake begins to pull away from the sides of the pan and a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean.

Let cool in pan for 15 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack. Wait another 15 minutes, then turn right-side up onto a pretty plate.

This sweet cake needs no frosting, but you may dust with powdered sugar, if desired.

Photo: Snugglebug and Curlytop love helping make this cake. They ALMOST get as many chocolate chips on the cake as they do in their mouths!

A Girl and Her Dog... Meat?

In our house, the source of meat is no secret. Mighty, mighty hunter that he is, Mr. Wright is very forthcoming with the kids about what they're eating. Plus, our kids visited the Angus in our freezer, back when it still walked the pastures of Bullet Bob, our friend and proprietor of Gyurkovics Ranch and Wedding Chapel. Bullet Bob married me and Mr. Wright (to each other, of course).

Snugglebug and Curlytop describe meat by the animal it came from. "Daddy, I want some cow," or "I want more deer, please." It's enough to turn a vegan mama's stomach. I used to wonder how the girls would respond when we got to the point in our Native American heritage studies where we discussed whale hunting, but now I just worry about how I will explain it without crying.

Curlytop's speech therapy has paid off in a huge way. We're so proud of her! She's speaking in complete sentences and using vivid, active words to describe what she sees and feels. There are still a few phrases she gets mixed up on, like instead of saying, "I want to show you something," she says, "I want you to show me something." We continue to work hard every day.

This morning, as Mr. Wright cut up a roast to put in the crock pot, Curlytop stood on her toes to see over the counter and asked a question. I was sure I'd either heard her wrong or she had some words confused, so I asked her to repeat herself.

Sure enough, she said again, "Daddy, is that meat of puppies?"

"No, Sweetie. It's cow."

"Oh. Not puppies? I want some cow!"

"Okay, but we have to cook it first, alright?"

Curlytop shrugged. "O...kay," she pouted. Mommy's little barbarian.

I got Curlytop off to school and pulled Snugglebug into my lap while I fired up my computer. When chaotic mornings allow, I find I actually like working with her sitting between my arms while I type. "Mom, I love you," she said as she got comfortable. Awwww... those heartstrings pull to the point of breaking, sometimes!

I should have known she was just buttering me up because she wanted something.

Snugglebug pulled off both of her socks and turned herself so she could put her feet in my face. "I want piggies," she said. Please understand, in my world, This Little Piggy goes a little differently than some of you may remember:

This little piggy went to the farmers' market;
This little piggy stayed home.
This little piggy ate tofu (not "toe food");
This little piggy had naan.
And this little piggy cried, "Wee, wee, weeeee..."
All the way home.

As the girls have grown up a bit, I've begun letting them choose their own piggy adventures. I start the story for each piggy, and let the girls finish. Today's piggies went like this, with my part in italics, and Snugglebug's in bold:

This little piggy went to... the new house!
This little piggy stayed... at the new house!
This little piggy ate... PUPPIES!
This little piggy had... PUPPIES!
And this little piggy cried, "Wee, wee, weeeee..."
All the way home.

Was there a butcher's special on puppy meat? Should I be concerned that piggies are having puppies? Our dogs are beginning to look a little nervous, and Kobi just asked me to double-check his AKC lineage.


Oh, have I mentioned you can pre-order my book now, and save tax and shipping? Do it because you love me.

Photo credit:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/josefnovak33/ / CC BY-NC-SA 2.0

Tokyo Breakfast

I had no problem finding seemingly vegan food at our hotel's breakfast buffet.

Photo (clockwise, from top left): miso soup, fresh pineapple and kiwi, coffee (thank God), roasted potatoes with carrot and squash, rice, an assortment of Japanese pickled things including lotus root

Mr. Wright and I are going to tidy up our room and take a walk. This afternoon we take the bullet train to Kobe.

Oh, I almost forgot! When I put my foot into my shoe this morning, I felt something weird in the toe. I reached in and pulled out one of Curlytop's sponge letters.

Awwwww! My heartstrings definitely got tugged. When Mr. Wright travels without me, I always send something of mine with him so he'll think of me. Before he goes, I ask, "Are you carrying something of mine, besides my heart?"

Turns out, I carried something of Curlytop's to Japan.

Mommy Masochism: Piece of Cake?

What kind of an insomnia-plagued masochist would work through the night, forgoing sleep and the promise of sweet dreams, baking and decorating custom cakes for four children who probably aren’t as interested in the cakes’ appearance as in the cakes’ taste?

A mother; that’s what kind of masochist.

The closure of Beebe Bridge delayed the birthday celebrations for Curlytop, who turned four on August 19th; Pepper, who turned thirteen on September 3rd; and Snugglebug, who turned three on September 13th. After more than three years, the adoptions for Curlytop and Snugglebug finalized on September 22nd, and Pockets turned 15 the day after.

Clearly, a party of epic proportions was in order, once the bridge reopened and all our beloved friends and family were able to reach our home with minimal inconvenience.We decided on a Saturday, so as not to interfere with Pockets’s football games on Fridays. Pepper, of course, wanted a slumber party. How could we deny her? A girl only turns thirteen once, and if she wishes to celebrate by having seventeen girls stay the night, so be it.

I stocked my pantry with flour, sugar, food coloring, sugar, cocoa powder, and more sugar. My plan was to bake the cakes during the day on Friday, and decorate them Friday night. Of course, my plan failed to allocate time for the appointments I’d scheduled on Friday and the football game that night. As a result, I started baking at around 10:30 p.m.

Curlytop and Snugglebug each needed a birthday cake, of course, as did Pepper and Pockets. What about the adoption? Surely we needed a cake to celebrate the adoption! That’s how I found myself, at 4:00 a.m., baking a fifth cake and mixing up ten pounds or so of vegan “buttercream” frosting.

Curse my vegan principles, which prevent me from using a standard cake mix and canned frosting! After all, why spend all night making cakes I can’t eat?

Deciding on the decoration for Pockets’s cake was a no-brainer: football, of course. I dyed a batch of frosting green, fashioned goal posts out of pipe cleaners, and placed a small toy football in the center. Done!

Pepper plays volleyball, but I had no idea how to draw a volleyball, let alone frost one. In a stroke of brilliance, I mixed two more cakes at 4:15, planning a glorious tower of alternating chocolate and vanilla layers, with strawberry filling and raspberry frosting, with rosebuds creeping from the bottom to the top of the third layer. It took about three hours, and the resulting creation looked not unlike a matrimonial monstrosity.

(Indeed, upon seeing the finished product, one of Pepper’s friends exclaimed, “I want my wedding cake to look just like that!”)

Okay. Maybe I got carried away.

Determined to keep things simple for the “adoption cake,” I brainstormed what I could do with the heart-shaped strawberry cake I’d baked. I mean, a heart is just a heart, right? What can a person do with a heart? Unless…

I turned the cake upside-down, placing the point upward. Two hours later, two chubby-cheeked princesses with pointed hats meeting at the tip of the heart, complete with trailing satin ribbons, resided on top of the cake.

(I have a step-by-step how-to with photos for this cake here)

By 9:30 a.m., the sun was glaring in my kitchen window. The kids were up. Mr. Wright was up. Me? I was on my seventh cup of coffee, covered in flour, with two more cakes to frost and quite a few clumps of frosting in my hair. I covered the two small star-shaped cakes for Curlytop and Snugglebug with pink frosting, piped their names on top, and collapsed into bed.

It’s inevitable that, when I decorate custom cakes for my kids, some party guest will ask me if I’d be willing to make the cake for their kid’s birthday.

Yeah, right.

This special kind of self-torture is something I only perform for my own kids, thank you very much.

By the way, can anyone tell me how long leftover cake can be frozen? Or rent me some freezer space?