You're probably wondering what this is. When I was a younger, my mom and aunt were always throwing parties. If my memory serves me well, then these are exactly (or very close to) what they made quite often. It's a sugar cookie crust with a toffee spread. It's then topped with sliced Granny Smiths, chocolate and nuts. It's really simple but the taste is really complex--especially the spread.

The first thing you want to do is prepare a sugar cookie crust. I used NoWhey Katie's sugar cookie recipe. It's perfect for this. I didn't have Ener-G egg replacer so I used 1/4 c soy yogurt. Worked like a charm! Once you have your cookie dough ready, simply roll it out on your baking stone or dish.

Blind Bake the cookie crust for 15 minutes at 300 F. While it's baking, prepare your spread.

SPREAD INGREDIENTS

• 1 8-ounce package of Tofutti soy cream cheese
• 1/2 Cup packed Brown Sugar
• 1/4 Cup Creamy Peanut Butter
• 1 1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract

OTHER INGREDIENTS

• 2 Granny Smith Apples peeled, cored and sliced
• Chocolate/Caramel topping OR Chocolate Ganache
• 1/4  Cup Chopped Nuts (peanuts or pecans)

SPREAD DIRECTONS

1. With a fork, cream together all of the spread ingredients.
2. Spread on top of cooled cookie crust with a spatula.

When the sugar cookie crust is ready to be removed from the oven, make sure you allow it some time to cool down. This is a great time to prepare the 2 Granny Smith apples. You'll want to peel them, core them and slice them. One the crust is cooled, top with spread. Place the apple slices on top of the spread.

From here, you'll want to top the apples with either a caramel or chocolate topping. We had some vegan chocolate drizzle on hand; but if you don't have any, just make some simple ganache. You can make a simple ganache by boiling about 1 cup of soymilk. Once boiling, remove from heat and add in some vegan bittersweet chocolate chips. To thin out mixture, you can add maple syrup.

Don't forget to top it all off with some peanuts or pecans.

We ate ours with a scoop of vegan Praline Pecan ice cream. Chris says, "I expected this to taste very simple, however it was anything but simple. Every ingredient compliments the others well and this is just really awesome. Everyone should try it." Oh yeah, and it's really easy to make and doesn't dirty too many dishes. It's perfect for a weeknight. In less than 25 minutes, this is completely ready to be eaten.

Yesterday, it seemed like everyone was talking about pizza all day. Well, my stomach definitely has ears. With that said, guess what we had for dinner...

Now, we really wanted to make our own crust this time instead of the usual one we buy from Whole Foods. The only problem with that is we didn't have a baking stone for maximum pizza crust enjoyability. It must have been "in the stars" because when we contacted our local Pampered Chef representative, not only did she have a pizza stone but she had a model that hasn't even been released yet! She delivered it to our place that night. We were so happy since we didn't have to go to Williams-Sonoma. We love it but HATE the mall.

I also have to mention that we had to make 40 cupcakes last night, so we wanted something easy. The moment we got home, we tossed the pizza dough ingredients in the breadmaker, set it on the "dough" setting, and let it do its thing. We then made cupcakes and went to the store for ingredients. We still had to stop by Whole Foods for some vegan cheese. We usually buy Follow Your Heart soy cheese because of it's meltability (no, we haven't ordered Teese yet) and even at that, it doesn't really ever melt...without broiling. However, they were out of FYH cheese! We had to buy our old friend VeganRella. We set our expectations low for meltability and went on our way.

After we pulled the pizza out of the oven, we were shocked because after only 15 minutes on 375 F the VeganRella was melted.  I'm not sure if they improved their soy cheese or the stone is just that good, but we were pleased. This pizza dough is the only one that's really worked for us so I'm sharing it. It's unconventional but it tastes like a hand-tossed pizza. More thick than thin and very addicting - even for people who pass on the crust. Add more spices, if you like. I always do something different.

Here's the dough rolled out after kneading and rising twice (I was buying time). This is a 15" stone, by the way.

PIZZA DOUGH INGREDIENTS

• 1 teaspoon Brown Sugar
• 1 teaspoon Salt
• 1 1/2 cups Hot Water
• 3 1/2 cups Flour
• 2 tablespoons Olive Oil
• 1 1/2 teaspoons Oregano
• 1 teaspoon Garlic Powder
• 1 teaspoon Crushed Red Pepper
• 2 1/4 teaspoons Fast Rising Yeast
• 1/4 cups extra Flour

BREADMAKER DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve sugar and salt in hot water.
2. Add flour, olive oil and spices to water mixture.
3. Make a well in the flour and add yeast.
4. Start on "Dough" setting.
5. After rising, transfer your dough to a mixing bowl (this is best by turning the dough pan upseide down, as it's very sticky).
6. Add in 1/4 cup flour, mix with hands or spatula.
7. When manageable, roll out onto baking stone or pan.

MANUAL DIRECTIONS

1. Dissolve Sugar and Salt in Hot Water.
2. Add Flour, Olive Oil, Oregano, Garlic Powder, Crushed Red Pepper and Yeast to water mixture.
3. Knead until smooth.
4. Rise for 1 hour minimum (max 1 hour 30 minutes).
5. Add extra Flour and mix/knead until smooth.
6. When manageable, roll out onto a baking stone or pizza.

PREHEAT oven to 375 F and blind bake for 10 minutes.

TOP with ingredients.

BAKE at 375 F for 25 minutes.

After the dough is finished blind baking, you can add whatever toppings you'd like. We topped our crust with the following ingredients:

• Pizza Sauce
• Soy Cheese
• Tomatoes
• Black Olives
• Mushrooms
• Yves "Pepperoni"
• Onion

Straight from the oven.

This pizza fed two hungry vegans for 2 days. Try this dough for your calzones, too.

This basic Japanese curry is a weekly staple at our house. At first, I hesitated to share this "recipe" (I say that because it's very easy), but I decided to go ahead with it when I thought about our vegan/vegetarian friends. Most of them are musicians, some are broke, but they're all always hungry or at least down for some curry. The reason this is the "hungry musician's curry" is because 2 people can eat off of this for 2 or 3 days and it's cheap. When we're feeling pressed for time or cash; we run into the store, grab curry mix, canned vegetables and a fresh onion before rushing back home. It's also a meal you can toss together to impress lots of people, really quickly and on a dime. It smells incredibly inviting. Don't feel embarrased if someone catches you with your face over the simmering curry, inhaling its fragrant fumes. If you're afraid of traditional curry, this is a great place to start. Japanese curry isn't as jarring as some Indian curry can be (though I do love them all). Serve this with steamed rice and soy sauce and you've got quite a meal.  

INGREDIENTS

• 2 pkg Extra Firm Tofu, drained
• Veg Oil, for frying
• 1 large Onion, sliced
• 3 T Veg Oil, for sautéing
• 2 1/2 c Carrots, sliced (or 2 cans)
• 2 1/2 c Potatoes, sliced (or 2 cans)
• 3 c Water
• 1 pkg S&B Golden Curry Sauce Mix (Mild or Medium)
• 2 c Prepared Steamed Rice (or more depending on how many servings you'll need)

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Fry Tofu in Oil on MEDIUM HIGH until golden. Set aside.
2. Sauté Onion in 3 T Oil until translucent. Also, this would be great time to start your rice.
3. Add Potatoes and sauté for 1 min.
4. Add Carrots and Tofu.
5. Add 3 c Water.
6. Increase temperature to HIGH and allow everything to boil.
7. Once water is boiling, add the curry mix and throughly incorporate all ingredients.
8. Once curry mix is dissolved, simmer for 15 min.
9. Set aside for 5 min and serve with steamed rice while hot.

There's a famous ranch in Texas called King Ranch. I've never been but I'm certain (after a bit of research) that this is where this casserole was "born". My mom used to make this when I was in highscool and it was so good. I know I said we wouldn't make Mexican again, but this is purely Texan food. This cassrole is spicy, with a vegan cream of mushroom soup and a vegan cream of chicken soup, made from scratch as its base. It's mixed with seitan, onion, green bell pepper, tomatos, and lots of melty vegan cheese in between layers of crunchy corn tortillas. This is so hearty. Don't even try this if you can't handle spicy. It's perfectly spicy, if you like spicy. I promise it's not that type of spicy that makes you think "people who eat this don't care about the taste! They are torturing themselves!" I always think this whenever something is unnecesarily spicy. This casserole is not.

INGREDIENTS

Cream of Mushroom Soup: (taken from fat free vegan's base for green bean casserole, slightly varied)

• 8 ounces of Mushrooms
• 3 cloves or 1 1/2 teaspoons Minced Garlic
• Pinch of Cayenne
• Salt to Taste
• 3 T Flour
• 3/4 C vegetable broth
• 3/4 C soy creamer

Cream of (not) Chicken Soup:

• 3/4 C water
• 1 Not Chik'n Bouillon (any vegan chicken bouillon will do)
• 3 Tablespoons Flour
• 1/4 C Soy Creamer

Casserole:

• 1 Onion, chopped
• 1 Green Bell Pepper, chopped
• Vegetable Oil to saute vegetables
• 1 cream of mushroom soup recipe
• 1 cream of (not) chicken soup recipe
• 10 ounce can of Rotel (or any other tomatos and green chiles)
• 1/2 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/4 Teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/3 teaspoon of Black Pepper
• 6-8 Corn tortillas
• 2 Cups shredded Follow Your Heart vegan Gourmet cheddar Style (soy) Cheese
• 1 box of White Wave chicken style seitan

Directions:

Prepare cream of mushroom soup:

1. Lightly oil a pan and saute mushrooms. Add in garlic, cayenne, salt and pepper.
2. Whisk flour into vegetable broth and add to mushrooms.
3. Simmer stirring until thicker. Add creamer and simmer 5-10 minutes.

Prepare cream of (not) chicken soup:

1.  Boil water. Add in bouillon. When dissolved, add in soy creamer. Whisk for a few minutes and add in flour.
2. Simmer for 5 minutes or until thick.

For the casserole:

1. Preheat to 350 F
2. Saute onion and bell pepper in canola oil.
3. Add cream of mushroom and cream of not chicken soup to the mushroom mixture.
4. Add rotel, chili powder, salt, garlic powder and pepper.
5. Allow the mix to simmer on low heat.
6. Add in whitewave chicken style seitan.
7. Line the bottom of a casserole dish with torn tortilla strips.
8. Top with seitan/soup mixture.
9. Top with a layer of cheese.
10. Repeat above 3 steps.
11. Bake at 350 for 35 minutes.

There are lots of names for these (Doushabao), but we just call these "Sweet Buns". They are the sweet version of the other savory baozi. Here they are after steaming:

If you've ever been to Veggie heaven and had theirs, this tastes exactly the same. I had to have a recipe because every time Chris and I would go there, we'd have to share one. One Saturday morning, I surprised him with these at home. This is my recipe which is pretty much a mix several Chinese recipes/methods:

For those of you who have never had this sweet red bean filling:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Azuki_bean

And for those who want to know more about bao:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baozi

You'll be pleased to know that this recipe is very easy.

It's easier if you can find red bean paste at your asian market. It's even easier if you have a bread machine. I've made this with my hands many times with the same result, so no worries if you find yourself without a bread maker.

These need to be steamed. If you don't have a traditional steamer like me, you can use your pasta boiler pot with just enough water on high.

If you have any problems or questions, feel free to email me or leave them in the comments section.

This makes 12 medium sized or 6 large buns.

INGREDIENTS

Inside:

• 3 c Prepared Red Bean Paste/Filling
• 12 (or 6) parchment paper squares

Dough:

• 4 c Flour
• 1 t Instant Yeast
• 1/2 c Vegan Sugar
• 1 1/4 c Water

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Mix flour and yeast in a bowl.
2. In a separate bowl, dissolve sugar in water.
3. Mix contents of both bowls (at least 10 minutes)
4. Once is doesn't stick to the bowl or your hands, separate into 12 or 6 equal lumps. **note: If it keeps sticking, add a bit of flour. This is 50/50, here. It happens.**
5. Get 12 or 6 pieces of parchment paper squares prepared.
6. Take each lump, roll them into balls, flatten them on work surface.**I usually cover my cutting board with parchment for this**
7. Drop 1 Tablespoon of sweet red bean filling on to the center of each dough circle.
8. Bring up the sides of the dough around the filling, and seal. I usually just roll around in my hand after sealing to make a smooth ball again.
9. Place the ball on a parchment paper square.
10. Repeat steps 7-9 until you've finished all of the dough.
11. Cover and let double in size for atleast 1 hour.
12. Steam on high for 15 minutes, and enjoy.

IF YOU HAVE A BREAD MAKER

This is a bit easier on you and you don't fill until the end. Either method will result in the exact sweet buns. I do it this way normally, because I can put all ingredients in the bread maker on the "dough" setting and go on to other things knowing that it will mix and rise in the machine.

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Put all DOUGH ingredients in the machine.
2. Select "dough" setting.
3. After the dough has risen, follow above steps 4-9.
4. Steam on HIGH for 15 minutes.

TO MAKE FILLING/PASTE FROM SCRATCH

Below is a recipe for sweetened red bean paste, if you want to make it from scratch. This is not my recipe (and I haven't tried it myself) so use it at your own risk. It's easy enough to find the sweet bean paste at a local Asian Market. I'd recommend buying it over making it from scratch for your first time with these sweet buns. It can be tricky.

INGREDIENTS

• 2/3 cup Red beans
• Water
• 1/4 cup Maple syrup
• 1/3 cup vegan sugar
• 1/4cup canola oil for frying

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Rinse and drain your beans
2. Soak overnight
3. Boil your beans in water and simmer for 2 hours or until soft.
4. Drain your beans.
5. Puree your beans in a blender.
6. Press them through a sieve or cheese cloth to remove any water
7. Add in maple syrup and sugar
8. Heat up oil in pan
9. Fry beans on low and stir until the mixture is a very thick paste
10. Keep stirring to prevent sticking
11. Cool and store in a fridge until needed.