Alert! Babycakes new book!

Amazon.com: BabyCakes: Vegan, Gluten-Free, and (Mostly) Sugar-Free Recipes from New York's Most Talked-About Bakery: Erin McKenna

Probably the high-point of my Manhattan existence, was being able to visit the vegan Babycakes bakery in Lower Manhattan. Part of what makes Babycakes so unique is that they focus on gluten-free cupcakes and other baked goods. All items are dairy free, some made with spelt, but all are delicious and gentle on your tummy, which is why it is probably easy to eat two or three cupcakes in one sitting. When I took my friends, I think each of us ended up with a bakers dozen that lasted a day or two. So hard to resist. Walking into Babycakes is an experience to mention; all the girls are wearing cute fifties-style aprons and the place is a super-chic little 50's bakery. Worth it if you are in town!
Can't make it to their storefront? Now you too, can make Babycakes cupcakes in your own kitchen. Word on the street is they are also opening a Los Angeles location, lucky Californians!
Preorder your babycakes cookbook here.

Looking for a way to incorporate delicious baked goods back into your diet? Well, this might be the book for you. Recommended for families, people with food allergies and...vegans!

Vegan Pot Pie

I love a savory, steaming delicious pot pie. This year, although I've been raw for almost 9 months, I decided to stick with what I know people enjoy and make a vegan pot pie for Christmas Dinner.
I choose to use spelt flour, because it has more nutrients and is easier to digest than wheat flour. I also chose to use tempeh, because it is delicious and unprocessed. You can use tofu, if you prefer.

Vegan Pot Pie:
2 potatoes, diced (1 red, 1 white)
3 tsp extra virgin olive oil
1 C chopped yellow onion
1 C chopped carrots
4 C cubed tempeh * see note
1/2 C frozen peas
1/2 C frozen green beans
1 TBSP fresh parsley, minced

Gravy
1 vegetable bouillon, dissolved in 2 Cups boiling water
2 1/2 TBSP shoyu
1 tsp dried herbs (sage, thyme, oregano)
2 TBSP cornstarch or 4 tbsp arrowroot
1/4 C rice milk
salt and pepper

Crust:
1 C organic spelt flour
1/4 tsp sea salt
1/4 C olive oil
1-2 TBSP ice water *must be iced!

*note: Start by boiling tempeh for 10 minutes, set aside to cool and dice into small bite-sized pieces.
Thaw frozen vegetables during this time.

Boil diced potatoes in salted water until just tender. Drain and set aside.
Saute onions and carrots in heated saucepan until onions are translucent and carrots are tender. Transfer to a casserole dish. I use an 8x8 2 Quart baking dish. Add potatoes, tempeh and parsley.

Make gravy in small saucepan on stove top. Combine veg stock, shoyu, herbs, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer and whisk in cornstarch or arrowroot until sauce begins to thicken. This should take a about 1 minute. Add more thickening agent if mixture doesn't thicken. Slowly whisk in rice milk and take off heat. Pour mixture into casserole dish.

Preparing the crust is simple.
Combine salt and flour in food processor, pulsing until well-mixed. Add oil and process until mixture is crumbly. Slowly add water, with machine running until mixture forms a ball. Roll ball onto lightly floured surface to 1/4 inch thickness or until large enough to cover casserole dish.

Bake for about 45 minutes or until crust becomes slightly browned. Let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Delicious.

This recipe serves 6-8 comfortably and is great for pot-luck dinners or as another side dish for the carnies.

holiday shuffle

It's been a while since I last posted on Musings, but I've been busy over at For the Love of Raw. For delicious tips on the raw stuffed mushrooms from Christmas Eve dinner, see Mushroom Love
The holidays totally wiped me out, between working retail, shopping and preparing a menu for two different dinners with my partners' family, I'm lucky I'm still standing.
After being reminded how much they loved my oatmeal cookies last year, I decided to make a huge batch of cookies for Christmas Eve, along with a delicious vegan pot pie for Christmas Day. December 23rd rolls around and wouldn't you know it, my oven is broken. Hardly a surprise, considering I haven't even turned it on since going raw in April!
The cookies never made it to Christmas Eve, but they did make it into an oven on Christmas.
The recipe is simple and one of my favorites. These cookies are so good, I recommend making at least two batches:

Oatmeal Cookies with Chocolate Chips (or Raisins) (OR both!)
1 C Spelt Flour
1 C organic rolled oats
3/4 C maple syrup
1/2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp cinnamon

1/3 C water
1/4 C safflower oil
1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract or 1 whole vanilla bean, seeds scraped from inside.

3/4 C vegan chocolate chips, or raisins, or combo of both

Preheat oven to 350'. Coat baking sheets with oil.

Mix dry ingredients together in large bowl. Set aside.
Mix wet ingredients in small bowl.
Stir wet mixture gradually into dry ingredients until well mixed. Add chips and/or raisins until well-mixed.

Drop cookies on sheet using two teaspoons to make uniform-sized cookies, about 1 dozen per sheet.
Bake for 15-18 minutes or until cookies are lightly browned.
Let sit on sheet until slightly cool.
Continue until all cookies are baked. Serve warm, they will be a crowd-pleaser!

*note: I especially love this recipe because it contains heart-healthy oatmeal and warming cinnamon. It is surprisingly low in fat, contains no soy products and no refined sugar. No one will ever know they are eating a cookie that might actually be good for them!

See following post for Vegan Pot Pie

adieu!!

The Wandering Cup has officially bid adieu. Originally established as Philadelphia's antithesis of Starbucks, The Wandering Cup was my blog devoted to area cafe's vegan offerings. Sometime in the late summer, possibly after I began working full-time and around the same time I quit drinking coffee, the Wandering Cup took a nose dive, dropped off the radar. I ceased to have the time, plus I was feeling pretty domestic, making stuff like vegan cupcakes, delicious faux-omelets, tofu scrambler, the list goes on. I mean, there's not anywhere convenient where I can go and order one of the above. Sure there's a few vegan restaurants here and there; vegan offerings are plentiful in local cafes, but when I make it I trust it and what it comes down to is quality. Why get it out when you can make it better yourself?

And so, Alors, Alora, The Wandering Cup has departed.

vegan baking exploits

I was pretty busy this weekend, concocting this masterpeice. It is a chocolate layer cake with chocolate fudge and mixed berry filling. Vegan and wheat-free.
ka-ching.