I remembered today that I had some leftover pumpkin filling from the turnovers i made(see previous posting). I really hate things going to waste (and to “waist” too, although i think it’s unavoidable)…

Anyway, with a few extra ingredients i turned the pumpkin filling into cookies, which MIGHT be my favorite ones i’ve eaten in quite some time. Just sweet enough, and the pecans and sprinkle of turbinado sugar on top were a crunchy contrast to their overall fluffiness!

Here is what i added to the filling, to turn it into cookie dough:

flour
a little more sugar
egg replacer
baking soda
PECANS!! mmmm….
rolled oats

my plan is now to give most of them away so that i’m not tempted to eat every last one myself!

<---NY in fall. sigh...

The Texas version of Fall is here. The leaves don’t change too much, but its getting a bit chillier. This is the time of year when i miss the northeast the very most. I LOVE FALL in NY! For the last 4 years I have tried to convince my friends in NY to send me a little box of colored leaves. But alas…no such luck. Anyway… I try to ease the feeling by drinking apple cider, wearing hoodies as much as possible, and baking autumny treats. My awesome roommate Skot has been craving pumpkin pie lately. It is certainly that time of year. However, with Halloween and Thanksgiving right around the corner, I feel like the actual pie baking has to wait a few weeks!

SOOOO… This is my early October homage to the season. Vegan Pumpkin Turnovers. They are delicious! Puff pastry may not be the healthiest thing for you…but doesn’t the pumpkin and silken tofu filling balance that out? hmm…

Skot got home 10 minutes ago and ate one…and just walked by saying,“they’re so good, i had to have another one!”

Success!

My bosses at
The Side Bar (Soo & Trey) just got back from a three week vacation in Italy. While in Asti, they did palates and took a cooking class. Soo wanted to try out her new recipes, so she made a delicious dinner for our bar family. Of course, i offered to make dessert, because…well…i love dessert…and i’ve never really made italian dessert before.

SO, i suspended the vegan baking once again, and decided to make tiramisu. I’d never done this before, and I didn’t have TOO much time, since i had to work all weekend. BUT, it ended up being great…even with store-bought lady fingers.

I also discovered Cream Puffs (again totally UNvegan, loaded with eggs and ahem…cream). They are incredibly easy to make, are super delicious (although i really could only eat one bite of each of these desserts) and people seem to really love them.

Thanks to Soo for an amazing meal (and my discovery of the tastiness that IS
Caponata)
and to all the people who gave me compliments on my desserts!

Viva Italia!

My friend Jamie’s birthday is two days before mine! He runs sound at a couple of clubs in austin, so i thought this cake was only appropriate. Flavors: Vegan chocolate on chocolate! The embellishments on this cake were not vegan, however, because gum paste is made with egg whites. No one would want to eat that anyway. Jamie was really really excited about it, and we were all excited that it tasted good too!

crank it up!

Also, last night I went to
Austin Park and Pizza! If you haven’t been there, you should definitely go! Go-karts, Mini Golf, Bumper boats, Batting cages, Video Games, and if you want it, Beer! seriously, so much fun i wondered why i’d never gone before!

*(apparently so much fun i just used four exclamation points in one paragraph.)

I made more donuts. I also learned something/figured something out. The last time i made them, they didn’t come out so well. I realized this time, that when i had doubled the recipe, i had forgotten to double the margarine in them accordingly. HENCE…too dry donuts. In my defense, however, i WAS on the telephone while i was making them. What i learned was: wait until they are in the oven to chat. What i figured out was: not enough marg makes for a dull donut. clearly.

anyway, this time, i topped some with chopped pecans (the best ones, i thought), some with sprinkles, and some with chocolate shavings. half of them got an orange glaze. they were perty darn good! i like the mini donut holes with orange glaze and sprinkles too! mmmm….

i’m in the process of making a birthday cake for my friend. pictures of that to come!