Delish Pantry

I'm struggling to find vegan recipes that I'll really enjoy for breakfast given the inability to use eggs, but I thought I'd try out a Banana Muffin recipe since it could double for something in the kids lunchboxes this coming week.  Adapted from a recipe I found on AllRecipes , I think these turned out pretty great.  The kids and hubby enjoyed them too.  The key to the hubby was the crunchy top, be sure to bake them long enough to achieve that consistency. Vegan Banana Muffins (Vegan) Ingredients: Dry ingredients: 3 cups all purpose flour 1 cup superfine (bakers) sugar 1/2 cup light brown sugar 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 teaspoon kosher salt 2 teaspoons ground cinnamon 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg (or 1 teaspoon pre-ground nutmeg) Wet ingredients: 2 cups mashed ripe bananas (approximately 4 bananas) 1 cup rice milk 1 cup grapeseed oil confectioners sugar to serve Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit / 175 degrees...

Saturday: what to do with some figs.  The figs I'd picked up from Whole Foods on Thursday we're beginning to wrinkle, but still tasted gorgeous.  We'd picked up some early season apples from the Boulder Farmers Market and I still had some Creme Fraiche left in the fridge to use up before we start our Vegan Adventure tomorrow.  Taking inspiration from Donna Hay's Apple and Fig Salad with Goat's Curd Dressing , I made the following variation: Apple and Fig Salad with Creme Fraiche Cream (Vegetarian) Ingredients: 3 apples 12 figs cabbage sprouts 5 basil leaves 1/4 cup pine nuts 1/2 cup creme fraiche 1 lemon sea salt + pepper Lightly toast the pine nuts and set aside to cool.  In a small bowl mix the creme fraiche with the juice from one lemon, then season with sea salt and freshly ground pepper to taste, mixing together into a creamy dressing consistency.  Thinly slice the apples and spread them out on your serving plates. Top with halved or...

We've spent the last several weeks trying to eat up the remaining meat, fish and dairy in our fridge, freezer and pantry, which has left things looking rather barren.  In an attempt to get prepared and excited for our upcoming food adventure I spent some time on a few sites recommended by Joel McFaddon (author of Six Seasons  cookbook), and stocked up on some staples. I always feel like kid in a candy store when a package arrives on my doorstep full of gorgeous goodies for my cooking adventures. Beans from Rancho Gordo : Flour and Grains from Bluebird Grain Farms : Vinegar and Oil from Katz Farm : Can't wait to try some of these goodies!

Well, actually, its " What the Health ".  While this food documentary is undoubtedly representing a one-sided view point, there's plenty of scientific evidence to support the benefits of at least trying  a vegan diet.  We're not saying we'll stick with it forever, but we do think its worth a shot for a sustained period of time so we can see how we, personally, feel over the duration of the experiment. There are of course a myriad of benefits to eating less or no meat or fish.  From a lighter toll on the environment (producing meat is far more resource intensive than plant-based diets), to animal welfare, to limiting exposure to antibiotics and hormones given to feed animals, to mention but a few. These are all added benefits, and considerations as we explore this food-based journey. I'll be spending the balance of this week using up as much non-plant based items as we can and clearing out the rest from my pantry and fridge.  I have to admit, it's looki...

I REALLY love food.  When I'm not thinking about my family or work, chances are I'm thinking about food.  I garden to grow food to cook with, I own over 150 cookbooks (and that's not including the countless cooking magazines in my pantry), heck, I'm even writing a cookbook for family & friends! Not only do I love food, but I especially love dairy (particularly eggs, cheese and butter, my husband sometimes jokes that I "take a little bit of bread with my butter"), and of course I love fish and meat.   Ooooohhh, meat.  Growing up in Bavaria, Germany, sliced meats and sausages are such an ingrained part of the culture its almost like Beer and Oktoberfest - they are synonymous!  One of my favorite recipes in my cookbook is Rindertartar (beef tatare), yes, raw meat, the way my Oma (Grandma) used to make it. So it seems rather strange, that starting next week, my family is undertaking a two month experiment in Vegan-ism.