End of July? Really?

I have so many food posts I want to make and not enough time in my days to do them!

Arg! 

When I looked at my dwindling days left in July and the list of food posts waiting to be shared with the world, I decided you all might like this one. Tasty, sweet, decadent, and ridiculously easy chocolate cupcakes and icing. I can't go wrong, really. Anyone will give these a try. I think. 

Until I mention they're vegan, of course. They might be absolutely amazing and even just a wee bit healthy for you, but dare I say they're vegan.

On our journey through health and happiness over the past... 5 years? 10 years? I'm not sure how you would calculate the journey. I mean, every step of it counts if you figure how we even got to the point of caring about health and happiness. Anyway, what's important here is that we discovered over the years that food is key. It is essential, delicious, and unfortunately, unevenly produced/distributed/packaged/disguised. At any given point, it's actually far too difficult to know exactly what you're eating, where it came from, and how it it plays a role in your body's health.

So, what we learned is that if we truly valued our health and happiness so much, we had to know more about food. And so we learned. We are still learning, and have found a love for a specific kind of food far beyond what we ever would have imagined. And our love has grown to this solely because of our quest for health and happiness. Vegan food.

It's more than just saving animals. But I won't get into that now. That's what makes people tune out and think I'm a nut case. (Which I kind of am, anyway, self-proclaimed) All I gotta tell ya is it's not always easy being a lover of vegan food. It's not always looked at with open minds and open hearts. It's a bit exhausting to be met with such resistance, when honestly, it's from the heart that it all comes from.

If more and more are investing in health and happiness, it means more and more will most likely discover veganism. Which means more people might actually give these delightful chocolate cupcakes a try.  I hope, anyway. 

Give them a try!  You might surprise yourself to enjoy such a simple, dairy/egg-free treat. And the icing - don't even get me started. DATES! Yet another fantabulous way to use them. Sweet! 

Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients: (makes 12-ish)

• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• 3/4 cup coconut sugar
• 1/3 cup extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil (make sure milk is warm!)
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt

What to do:
1. Preheat oven to 350 fahrenheit and put muffin liners in your muffin pan. 
2. Combine milk & vinegar and let sit for 5 minutes.
2. Add sugar & oil, blend until combined and frothy.
3. In another bowl, combine dry ingredients. 
4. Slowly add dry to wet ingredients until no longer lumpy.
5. Scoop batter into muffin liners, about 3/4 way up. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Let cool. 

Date Icing
​Adapted just a wee bit from this excellent site: Wholefully 

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dates, pitted
• 1 cup boiling water
• 1/2 cup cocoa powder
• Pinch salt

What to do:

1. Place the dates in food processor. Pour boiling water over dates and let sit for 10-15 minutes until the dates are very soft.
2. Blend water and dates on high until smooth. Add in the cocoa and salt. Continue blending until well-mixed.
3. Chill the frosting until cool (about 3 hours) before spreading on cupcakes. 

I may post twice today. 

I'm home sick from work and feeling restless. 

I'm so restless I added another way to make hummus to this blog post. It was going to be Hummus 2 Ways, but then I threw in another way at the last minute, alas, the awkward photos. All three don't appear in the same photo....

I'm not sure if anyone has noticed a change in the food on here lately.  Anyone noticing a trend?  You could go hunting now, but no need. I'm gonna tell ya anyway.

I've always had a section on this site for vegetarians and vegans, as I've always had a love for cooking vegan. It's just so damn easy and full of flavour. Serous love for vegan food.

Well, if you haven't figured it out yet, it's been one year now since our household has gone completely meat-free. Myself, vegan, my husband and kiddo vegetarian. Their love for cheese is a strong one. For various reasons, we decided to stop buying meat on the grocery runs. We wanted to see what it did to our grocery bill, bellies, and meal planning. Well, one year down, and I think it's safe to assess the situation now and perhaps be a little more honest with the world. We are sold, folks. This was the easiest 'change' if there ever was one. It actually just made more sense and made our love for food and cooking even stronger.

We are proud to admit to the world that we absolutely have fallen in love with our food, all over again. Lee and I both have noticed only changes for the better in all three areas that interested us - our budget, our bellies, and our meal planning. We eat gorgeous meals, every night. Delicious meals. Meals we go back for seconds, thirds for each night. Easy to prepare, full of taste and flavour, and ridicously healthy meals. We spend less at the grocery store, and more at the local markets and on our own backyard gardens. But best of all, we feel amazing. Full of energy, contentment, and love for all things grown in the ground. It just feels so right, eating things full of nutrients, super healthy for us, and not harming the Earth in the process. Actually, what's best of all, really, is watching our daughter feel the same way, at the young age of 3. Her love for vegetables is heartwarming. She'll gladly try any green thing on her plate and gets excited over a hemp seeds sprinkled over her banana soft serve ice cream. Not sure how long it will last, but we we'll take it while we can. It feels good to see her so pumped about meal times and be so open to trying food. 

So, today's post is a little celebration of our one year meat-free grocery bill. We quietly decided to make the change for our family in hopes of living healthy and happy. It's now a way of being here in our home now. A great way of being. I think I'll go enjoy some hummus now. (Hannah's current favourite food)

Simple Hummus
1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed, skins removed
1 tbsp tahini
half lemon squeeze
vinegar 1-2 tbsp to taste
sea salt sprinkle
1-2 cloves garlic, to taste
cumin
drizzle oil

What to do:
1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend. Blend. Blend. Add a bit of water or vinegar to get it to the consistency you like if it's still too thick. 
2. Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for about a week or so. You'll eat it all up by then anyway. 

Cheezy Hummus
1/2 can chickpeas, rinsed, skins removed
1/4 cup nutritional yeast
1-2 tbsp vinegar
1/2 lemon squeeze
sea salt
1 clove garlic
smoked paprika
drizzle oil

What to do:
1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend. Blend. Blend. Add a bit of water or vinegar to get it to the consistency you like if it's still too thick. 
2. Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for about a week or so. You'll eat it all up by then anyway. 

Bonus! Roasted Red Pepper Hummus
1 can of rinsed chickpeas, skins removed
1 roasted red pepper (in the oven or from a jar of roasted red pepper)
2 tbsp tahini
1/2 lemon squeeze
sea salt
1 large clove garlic
cumin
drizzle oil
drizzle vinegar

​What to do:
1. Add all ingredients to a food processor and blend. Blend. Blend. Add a bit of water or vinegar to get it to the consistency you like if it's still too thick. 
2. Store in the refrigerator in an air tight container for about a week or so. You'll eat it all up by then anyway. 

Okay, this recipe happened by accident, really. And it's not really my recipe.  I didn't steal it or anything, I've just borrowed it and am keeping it as a favourite.  Technically speaking, my name is still attached to it, but it wasn't me who created it or adapted it. It's from one of our school recipes.

And by school, I really mean my co-worker, Alicia. I may have dreamed of a school that held weekly cooking classes for every student, young and old, where students gain life skills, apply academic skill, and become food experts to take care of themselves and the world they grow up in. But, she, really, is the brains behind most of the actual cooking and baking that happens in that kitchen. She adapted it from an online recipe to make it dairy-free, refined-sugar free, and nut-free for our students to bake back in the fall.  It was one of those - 'hey, we have a ton of pumpkin puree, we need to use it up, and all the kids want to make is cookies' recipes. 

I have to say, Alicia is pretty amazing at whipping things like this up, adapting recipes, and cooking on the fly. Really, she's pretty amazing all round. But the kitchen is most definitely her happy place. She has transformed our weekly cooking classes into an amazing curriculum for our students (and teachers!) It makes my heart smile to see a teacher and students loving their time together, creating amazing memories. 

I love my school. You know that, so I'll get back to the cookies. The real reason you're here anyway! These cookies were sweet, savoury, soft, chewy, and paired perfectly with an afternoon or morning tea. Oh, so delicious. I really enjoyed them - more than Alicia may realize! I've made them numerous times since.  I was quite content to eat more than my share. ... :)

They come together quickly and easily, store well, and everyone eats them up. Sweet!  So, here you go! Soft, sweet, chewy, and easy-peasy. 

Pumpkin Snickerdoodles
Total Time: 15-20 minutes!! Seriously! 

Ingredients:
Cookies:
½ cup coconut oil
¾ cup coconut sugar
1 large egg or flax egg
½ cup pumpkin puree
½ tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour of choice
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
½ tsp ground ginger
¾ tsp baking soda
½ tsp sea salt 

Cinnamon Coating:
½ cup coconut sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
¼ tsp nutmeg


Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Combine ingredients for Cinnamon Coating and set aside for later use.
3. Combine flour, salt, baking soda and spices in a medium-sized bowl.
4. If coconut oil is not soft enough to mix easily, melt in a pan over low heat. Place in a bowl.
5. Add coconut sugar and egg (or substitute) to the softened oil. Beat well. Add pumpkin puree and vanilla. Beat well again.
6. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients. Mix thoroughly, but do not over-mix.
7. Roll into balls, drop in cinnamon sugar topping, and roll to coat. 
8. Place on cookie sheet, flattening a bit with your hand.
9. Bake for about 10 minutes, or until slightly golden brown.
10. Cool for approximately 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet to cool on a cooling rack.