Easy Maple Wheat Bread Recipe
I used to work as a baker, so I know how to make a good yeast bread from a sourdough starter that takes days and days. But I'm also a person who stays busy, so I will never tire of baking a good yeast bread that only takes, say, three hours.
This Easy Maple Wheat Bread Recipe is my go-to bread recipe for the autumn months; it's easy enough to make while I'm doing other things, and it doesn't take up room in my refrigerator or on my counter for days and days. With strong scents of maple, this is a bread that makes your whole home smell wonderful as it bakes and that's lightly sweet for all palates.
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Wordless Wednesday
Vegan Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies Recipe
To me, every month should be National Peanut Butter Lover's Month, but apparently (and fortunately!), it has been decided by the powers that be that National Peanut Butter Month falls in November. So, arbitrary as it might be, I thought I'd celebrate with a fun recipe that is most definitely for peanut butter lovers only: Vegan Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies. A creamy peanut butter filling is sandwiched between two rich chocolate cakes and then, perhaps also arbitrarily, deemed a pie.
What else is nice about these so-called pies? They're vegan, which is perfect for a day like today, World Vegan Day!
So, whether you're in the mood to celebrate the month of November, your favorite dairy-free sandwich spread, or veganism, here are a few more vegan peanut butter recipes to celebrate all three:
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Olive Oil Crackers Recipe
Happy Halloween, everyone! Instead of sharing a traditional pumpkin recipe for this Halloween, I thought I'd share one that's a little off-the-beaten-path but still so much fun: Olive Oil Crackers. I know what you're thinking--Olive oil crackers? For Halloween?--but the reason I like to serve these olive oil crackers for Halloween parties is all about the toppings, Hawaiian sea salt and black sesame seeds. The combination of coarse, orangish salt and dark yet playful sesame seeds atop light, crisp crackers is a great festive accompaniment to dairy-free dips and spreads at parties for kids or adults.
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Vegan Roasted Carrot Dip Recipe
I love hummus, don't get me wrong. But usually after a summer of potlucks, picnics and parties, to which every vegan I know probably brought some form of the stuff, I'm over it. When discussing with a friend the menu for a dinner party I was having this weekend, I mentioned that I still hadn't landed on what I wanted to do for my hors d'oeuvres, and when she suggested hummus, I felt myself visibly make a face and even flinch a little.
No more hummus right now, please.
I knew instead that I wanted to make something that might be similar to hummus but that would be more like a pate, and I knew that I wanted to use something that reminds me of fall that isn't pumpkin (I've been making and enjoying pumpkin dishes a little too much lately, too). In the end, the simplest things came together to make something truly memorable in this Roasted Carrot Dip that I know I will definitely be making again, partly because it's a recipe that I can make from what I have in the fridge--a bag of baby carrots with some onions, garlic, herbs, and some cashews. Baby carrots are roasted with parsley, Herbes de Provence, garlic, lemon juice and olive oil, then pureed until creamy with finely ground cashews, nutritional yeast and dairy-free sour cream (I used Tofutti's Sour Supreme), and served cold with dairy-free crackers. It's a rich dip that's bright and full of flavor, and for anyone whose looking for a healthy dip that's not hummus, it's perfect.
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Wordless Wednesday
Dairy-Free Chai Tea Latte
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Vegan Molasses Chip Cookies Recipe
I've often been asked what kind of dairy-free margarine is my favorite, and although I stand by my "stick" varieties, today I used Earth Balance's Original Whipped because it's what I had in the fridge, and it worked wonderfully! (And, it's slightly lower in fat than most margarine varieties, too!)
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.
Wordless Wednesday
Homemade Cherry Granola Recipe
If you've never made granola yourself, you should: there's nothing quite so inviting as the welcoming smell of cinnamon, toasted oats and nuts on an autumn day, and there's nothing easier to make; just mix it in a big bowl, toss it on a baking sheet, and you're done.
Here are two more of my favorite dairy-free granola recipes that are perfect for fall:
Photo © 2009 Ashley Skabar, licensed to About.com, Inc.