As much as I love to bake, I just don’t have the energy to do it lately unless it’s for an order.  Cooking in general, as well as walking, standing, breathing…  they’re all much harder these days as my belly continues to grow.

When we were doing our Sunday shopping at Trader Joe’s I saw this Pumpkin Bread and Muffin mix and thought I’d give it a spin.  Even thought it’s still pretty hot here, we’ve had just enough cool weather to feel like fall and get me in the mood for some pumpkin.

This was so much easier to make than pumpkin bread or muffins from scratch, and the clean up was easier too.  I used Ener-G egg replacer instead of the eggs, and I didn’t miss them at all.

This bread wasn’t too sweet, and the flavor was more pumpkin pie-ish than my normal from-scratch pumpkin bread, which I liked.  And if you have left-overs, the flavors only get better overnight.  I’ll definitely make this one again – maybe for my Thanksgiving Pumpkin Butterscotch Trifle?

As promised, here’s the new dip I made for Ryan’s birthday get-together this past weekend.  It was my first time making the classic bread bowl spinach dip.  To be honest, I used to not really like this kind of dip at all.  After tasting this one though, I have to change my tune.  I’ll definitely be putting it into the regular rotation.

I have another spinach dip that I usually make, but it’s more work and a little bit richer.  This was SO easy to make, and people went crazy for it.  I’d bookmarked this recipe a while ago, and found it again as I frantically searched for something to make that would be tasty, but not take too much effort.

The leek soup packet called for in the original recipe contained whey, so I went with the veggie soup packet instead (which actually has a similar spinach dip recipe on that back.)  I only made a couple of other modifications, and of course I used vegan versions of the non-vegan ingredients.

The only thing I’ll do differently next time I make this is buy some extra bread to serve it with.  There wasn’t enough from the bread bowl itself.  I also put out some pretzels, but this dip is really tasty with bread cubes.

Spinach Dip

1 cup Vegenaise (or other vegan mayo)
1 (12 ounce) container Tofutti Sour Supreme
1 (1.8 ounce) package Knorr vegetable soup mix
1 (8 ounce) can sliced water chestnuts, drained and chopped
1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained (squeeze well to really get all the water out)
1 (1 pound) loaf round sourdough bread

Mix all the ingredients (except the bread) together in a large bowl.  Cut the top and middle out of the bread, and fill with the dip.  Cube the section of bread you removed for serving alongside the dip.  Enjoy!

We had some friends over for dinner this past weekend, and I thought it would be fun to make breakfast for dinner.  Fortunately, they were totally up for it, and not even knowing that we were planning on making mimosas, they brought me some non-alcoholic champagne!  Needless to say, I was very happy about that.  Thanks, Kevin and Denise!

I made Mom’s Morning Casserole from “Vegan Brunch.”  I’ve had my eye on that recipe for a while now, and I was happy to have an excuse to finally try it out.  I opted to make the cheezy sauce instead of using vegan cheese for the topping.  The sauce didn’t really thicken up (and that was after cooking it for way longer than what was called for), but it still tasted really yummy.  Fortunately the consistency wasn’t a huge deal since you pour it over the top anyway.  The casserole was surprisingly easy to make, and it was really tasty – the perfect savory breakfast flavor.

On the side I served toasted homemade bread with an assortment of jams.  Making the bread was actually MUCH easier than I thought it would be, and having fresh bread is pretty fantastic.  Is it wrong that the toast was my favorite part?  I used this recipe (thanks, Alix!).  I actually made the dough last weekend and had some left-over in the fridge, so all I had to do was let it rest and bake it off.  I know most people are already hip to that recipe and ones like it, but it was new to me, and dare I say, kind of life changing?

Dessert was coffee cake that I made from a Trader Joe’s mix and some teeccino.  I reduced the amount of margarine in the crumb topping for the cake, and I thought it turned out better than the last time I’d made it.  And yes, I totally cheated by using a mix, but I just don’t have the stamina I used to!  I’ll gladly take the help where I can get it.

Our friends aren’t vegan, but they really enjoyed the food.  It was fun to make something different than your standard dinner fare, and I’ll definitely be making that casserole again – for breakfast or dinner.

Ryan and I were invited to a birthday potluck over the weekend, and since I had to work on Saturday, I wanted to make something that wouldn’t be too complicated, but that would still be really tasty.  I’ve been wanting to try this recipe for a while, and it turned out to be the perfect thing: easy to make, seasonal, and no oven required (although I did broil the slices of bread, but that only took a minute or two).

I’m so glad I finally tried this recipe.  It was so tasty, and it’s definitely a perfect summer dish.  I look forward to making it with really juicy heirloom tomatoes – the ones I was able to get weren’t quite as ripe as I would have liked.  I also love that you can use whatever kind of bread and herbs you like, and you can customize the vinaigrette to your taste as well.

I followed the recipe as it was written, but I look forward to experimenting with this dish.  I have a feeling this one will be in the regular rotation!  What are you favorite no-cook summer recipes?

Let’s start with some vegan Irish sausages, soda bread and colcannon that I made for St. Patrick’s day a couple years ago.  It was my first time making homemade vegan sausages and soda bread, and both were actually much easier to make than I’d anticipated.  The sausages might seem complicated, but don’t be intimidated – they’re definitely worth the effort!

Colcannon is something I make pretty often – it’s one of my favorite dishes and one that I don’t just reserve for St. Paddy’s day.  It’s also a great way to get vege-phobes to eat some greens, because mashed potatoes make everything taste great!

Last year I made this Irish “Steak” and Stout Stew, and I’ve made it many times since last St. Patrick’s day.  I’ve served it to meat eaters on more than one occasion, to rave reviews.  It’s a really tasty all-purpose “beef” stew.  You could serve this with soda bread, in puff pastry (as shown) or with a nice loaf of crusty bread.

This Irish Whiskey Cake may look plain, but it’s deceptively delicious.  Just seeing the picture makes me salivate…  I really need to make this more often!

I’m more of a cake than frosting girl, so I like this one as is, but you could get fancy and layer this with some vanilla or Irish Creme-flavored frosting.  It’s also perfect with a simple dusting of powdered sugar, and it couldn’t be easier to make.

What’s on your St. Patrick’s Day menu this year?

Keeping with my theme of featuring foods with aphrodisiac qualities, this bread pudding packs in three of them – banana, chocolate and nutmeg.  The rum sauce doesn’t hurt either.  I don’t know that alcohol is technically considered an aphrodisiac, but it seems to do the job!

This recipe is from the book Veganomicon, and since bread pudding is one of my favorites, I’ve had my eye on this one since I got the book.  I’m glad I finally got around to making it, because this is such a fantastic dessert.  It’s not too sweet, it’s easy to make, and it’s incredibly delicious and totally comforting.  Everyone who tried this raved about it, and they couldn’t believe that it was vegan.

You could serve this with some vanilla ice cream or whipped coconut cream, but I think the rum sauce is what puts it over the top.   I’ve tried different recipes for rum sauces in the past, but I think I’ll stick with this one from now on.

Rum Sauce

1 ounce non-dairy margarine
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup soy creamer
2/3 cup soy milk
1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
2 1/2 tablespoons dark rum

Melt butter in a small saucepan over medium heat. Mix together the sugar and cornstarch, and stir into the butter. Pour in milk, and cook stirring frequently until the mixture begins to boil. Continue cooking until thick, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in rum. Serve warm.

Notes: You can make the sauce ahead of time, but put some plastic wrap directly touching the surface to prevent a skin from forming.  Refrigerate, and reheat before serving.  If you don’t have soy creamer, just use 1 cup of non-dairy milk.

When you’re cooking for a crowd, you can’t go wrong with a casserole, and this Mexican-Style Casserole is really tasty.  It’s like a cross between a burrito and lasagna, and it’ll serve a lot of people without a lot of work, which is always an added bonus!

Fantastic Picnic Submarines are another easy way to feed a crowd since you can just use a large loaf of bread and slice as needed.  These non-vegan approved (many times over) sandwiches are also a snap to make, and you can customize them with your favorite ingredients and sandwich spreads.

If you’d rather let people make their own sandwiches you can put out a couple trays with some vege deli slices, lettuce, tomatoes and all the other fixin’s alongside some sliced bread.  This Chickpea Salad is a great substitute for tuna, and it makes an incredibly tasty sandwich spread.

I guess these Cresent-Wrapped Vege Dogs could also fall under the snack category, but I’ve made a meal out of them on more than one occasion, so I’m including them with the rest of the meals here.  What can I say?  Easy and tasty.  And they look pretty cute too.

And finally, one of the foods closest to my heart (and I’m not ashamed to say it) – Fried “Chicken” Fingers!  Guys, these are the best.  A little more work than the other recipes, but they couldn’t be more worth it.  I’m contemplating soaking my next batch of these in some buffalo sauce, just for fun.

See you guys tomorrow for my final Super Bowl post!

I told you I’ve been on a comfort food kick, and here’s even more proof!  Between the coffee cake, cocoa and a few other test recipes I’ve been playing around with, I definitely need to up my workouts if I want to keep fitting into my clothes!  I don’t know what I’m thinking having these temptations around, especially because I’m a sugar junkie who usually can’t stop myself.  Bread pudding is by far one of my favorite desserts, and this one was definitely worth the extra calories.

This is another recipe from the fabulous PETA site.  I printed this one up years ago and am so glad I finally got around to making it.  Going through the many binders of recipes that I’ve collected over the years has yielded some yummy treats as of late, and I’m kicking myself for not making some of these recipes sooner.

Now, I should warn you that there were a couple things that I found confusing about this recipe, but I’ll be working on them the next time I make this.  And I will definitely be making it again!  I know the photo below might look a little scary (those dark spots aren’t burns, just areas where the chocolate pudding mixture had bubbled up around the bread), but this was really, really delicious and actually pretty easy to make.

The main problem I found was that the rum sauce is more of a frosting than a sauce.  And when I say “frosting”, I mean butter bomb.  (Vegan butter, of course.)  I reduced the amount from the original recipe because it seemed like an awful lot to me at first glance, but even with that change this was less of a sauce that I would have liked it to be.

Rather than put all of it on top of the pudding, as the recipe indicates, I spooned some of it over portions that I’d scooped into bowls (see the top photo).  That way I could at least control how much I was using as the recipe makes way more of the “sauce” than I think you actually need.  The top of the pudding dries a bit as it bakes, but the inside is super moist and flavorful, so a little of the sauce goes a long way.

The topping did melt down once it was spooned over the hot pudding, and it tasted incredible, but I know there has to be a way to make a version that isn’t going to pack the pounds the way this one will.  I just found it to be way, way too buttery.

All that being said, I think that a bit of tweaking could make this a pretty killer recipe, and I’m more than happy to volunteer myself to keep making it until it’s just right.  It’s a tough job, but some one’s gotta do it.  Until I get around to tweaking this one, why not try this semi-tweaked version?  You can just do some jumping jacks or something like that after you eat it.

Chocolate Bread Pudding with Rum Sauce
Makes 6 servings

For the Pudding

5 tablespoons cocoa powder
1 tablespoon hot water
2 cups soy milk
1 tablespoon Ener-G Egg Replacer mixed with 1/4 cup warm water (2 eggs worth)
1/2 cup sugar (try Florida Crystals brand)
Dash salt
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 to 3 cups stale bread, torn into small pieces [I used a large loaf of white french bread]

For the Rum Sauce

3/4 cup margarine, softened (try Earth Balance brand)
1 cup confectioner’s sugar
1/4 cup dark rum
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and oil a casserole or loaf pan.

In a large bowl, combine the cocoa with the hot water until smooth. Add more water as needed.  [I added about 1/4 cup total]  Add the soy milk, egg replacer, sugar, salt, and vanilla, and whisk to combine.  Mix in the stale bread, transfer the mixture to your prepared pan, and bake 1 hour.  [I rotated the pan after 30 minutes]

To make the “sauce”, beat the margarine until light and fluffy.  Sift the confectioner’s sugar into the butter, and mix again.  Add the rum, vanilla, and nutmeg.  [As I re-type this I realize I left the nutmeg out!  Not sure it needs it...] Beat on high speed for 5 minutes, and pour over the pudding.

Serve warm.  (You can keep leftovers in the fridge for about a day – just reheat them before serving).

With Thanksgiving just a few days away, I thought I’d feature recipes this week that would work for the holiday, starting with these incredibly simple mini radish tartines.

Before designing a menu for afternoon tea, I’d never had a radish sandwich before.  I knew that radishes served with butter were a classic french treat, and also a common tea sandwich, but I had no idea that these simple ingredients could be so tasty until I tried that first sandwich.

Over the weekend I was browsing some Thanksgiving recipes on the blog Healthy Happy Life, and I came across this post for a radish and butter snack.  I loved the idea of serving these open-faced so that you can see the beautiful color of the radish (which is a bit hidden in the tea sandwiches), and I also loved her adorable pea shoot garnish.

I chose to use a baguette instead of crackers, but you could use whichever you like best.  This is so simple that you don’t really need a recipe – just spread some Earth Balance margarine on your baguette, arrange thinly sliced radishes on top, sprinkle with a touch of Maldon sea salt and a bit of pepper if you like, and top with a pea shoot.  (I’ll be honest, I think the pea shoots look great, but I ended up eating my pieces without them.)

These tartines are perfect little bites to serve before your Thanksgiving meal.  They’re nice and light (as long as you don’t slather on too much margarine, but I won’t tell anyone if you do), and they’re a nice change from the standard holiday appetizers.  To make things even easier on yourself you can slice the radishes the night before, and just assemble them when you’re ready to serve.  Voilà!

UPDATE: The winner of the pumpkin loaf give-away is Michelle, whose favorite things about fall are…

Sweaters, cool mornings and not wanting to get out of bed, pumpkins, squash and all the great fall veggies. I already like on FB and I’m not on twitter.

Congratulations, Michelle!  Thanks again to everyone who entered, and stay tuned for upcoming give-aways!

Growing up in Chicago, fall was always a great time of year.  The cooler weather brought relief from the hot and humid days of summer, Halloween meant getting to dress up and lots of candy, and we still had some time before winter descended.  The other great thing about fall is the change in seasonal produce, and the return of one of my favorite ingredients – PUMPKIN!!  I love pumpkin so much that I bake with it all year long, but it just tastes better this time of year.

With that in mind, C’est La V Bakeshop is featuring our pumpkin cupcakes with cream cheese frosting this month, and to celebrate pumpkin even more, I’m also doing a give-away!  One lucky reader will win a C’est La V pumpkin loaf that I’ll ship right to your front door.

To enter the give-away just leave a comment below telling me your favorite thing about fall.  You can increase your chances of winning by following C’est La Vegan on twitter and “liking” our facebook page.  Just mention that you did both in your comment.  The contest will close at midnight (Pacific time) on Thursday, October 14th.  Unfortunately, the give-away is only open to shipping addresses within the continental United States.  Good luck!