Vegan Spicy Cheesy Potato Patties

On Sunday I made lasagna for lunch and also a full dinner, including mashed potatoes.  Hubbs always takes the leftovers from dinner with him to work for his lunch the next day.  But since he had two choices, he of course chose lasagna (who wouldn't?).  I convinced myself that I would eat the potatoes over the next couple days, but there they have continued to sit.  We have a rule that we don't eat any cooked food 7 days after being prepared and even though it has been only 4, I knew if I didn't do something with those potatoes soon, they would get thrown out.  Hubbs and I both hate wasting food, so I decided to use them to make something tasty, if a little unusual, for breakfast this morning.  How about potato patties?  I made some when we were in Brooklyn, but with sweet potatoes.  They were amazing!  Of course "regular" potatoes would be just as delicious, so that's what I did.  And they were crazy delicious!  Super simple too since the main component was already prepared.  This came together in like 10 minutes, and was on the table within half an hour - good for the hubby since he had to be to work early.  I think this would be a nice accompaniment to a dinner also.  Super quick and tasty!

 

 

 



Crispy on the outside, creamy on the inside.  Yum!

 

 

 

Spicy Cheesy Potato Patties:

 

2 cups of leftover mashed potatoes

1/4 cup minced red onion

1 jalapeno, minced

1 roma tomato, seeded and minced

handful cilantro leaves, chopped

1 tablespoon ground golden flax seed

2 tablespoons superfine ground rice flour

sea salt and black pepper

unsweetened almond milk, as needed

1/2 cup shredded daiya cheese

 

 

Canola or refined coconut oil to fry

 

To Serve:

Vegan Sour Cream

Sriracha

 

 

1.  Place the potatoes and the remaining ingredients into a large mixing bowl: red onion, jalapeno, tomato, chopped cilantro, flax, brown rice flour, sea salt and black pepper.  Mix well until all the ingredients are combined.  Add enough almond milk so that the mixture is easily moldable, but not too thin.  Season to taste and add the shredded daiya.

2.  Place a layer of refined coconut oil or canola oil in the bottom of a saute pan over medium heat.  Allow the oil to become hot.

3.  In the meantime, portion the the potato mixture into small patties, setting on a clean plate until ready to begin frying.

4.  Once the oil is hot, place 3-4 of the patties carefully into the pan.  Cook for several minutes, or until crispy and browned.  Carefully flip and cook the other side for several more minutes.

5.  Remove the cooked patties from the pan and place on a paper towel lined plate. 

6.  To serve, place a spoonful of vegan sour cream on top and drizzle with sriracha. 

7.  Continue with remaining patties. 

 

 

Enjoy!

 

Koko

Some Things I've Been Baking Lately

Here are lots of vegan baked goods I have been baking over the past several months. When I was compiling this collage of photos and took a step back to look at them, I was very proud of myself. I know I have been working hard on all of these goodies, it's just great to really see it all come together. And this is really why I am so obsessed with taking pictures of everything I cook or bake. It is such a great feeling to come back and look at it and say, wow I did a great job! Most of these baked goods were made at my job - a few were made at home. All of them were made with lots of love and excitement! They really make me feel happy and confident that many of them would look great in a display case of my own! Take a few minutes to look at the pictures. Let me know what you think.

 

 

 

 



Maple Syrup Sweetened Chocolate Chip Cookies
Notice one Missing?

 

 



Close-Up of Apple Crisp Cupcakes with
Salted Caramel Frosting, Drizzled with Caramel Sauce



The tray of Baked Apple Crisp Cupcakes



These are so beautiful!



Finished Tray of Cupcakes.  Gorgeous!

 

Toasted Coconut-Almond Cake with Coconut Frosting



Basket of tasty baked goods: Coconut Chocolate Chip
Cookies & GF Coconut Macaroons

 

 



Crispy Double Chocolate Cookie



Nutella Mousse Filled Cupcakes with Chocolate Ganache Topping



Nutella Mousse Cupcakes topped with Toasted Hazelnuts



Snickers Bundt Cake

 

 



Gluten Free Cherry Crumb Bars



A Close-Up of the Delicious Bars!



Mocha Cake with Coffee Frosting



Double Chocolate Mocha Brownies



Vegan Tiramisu Cupcakes



I mean seriously - how beautiful are these guys?



Coconut Chocolate Chip Cookies before baking

 

 



Chocolate Cake, Chocolate Frosting & Raspberry Filling




Chocolate Dipped Strawberries.  So beautiful!



Beet Velvet Cupcakes

 

 



Raw Keylime Pie Mousse Cups



Pumpkin Roll Cake with Vegan
Cream Cheese Frosting



Beautiful swirls made of vegan cream cheese frosting



Pretty, pretty!



Chai Cupcakes with Spiced Frosting

 

 



Almond Joy Bundt Cake

 

 



Gluten Free, Soy Free, Raw Keylime Pie

 

Vegan birthday cake for my dad!  (Carrot Pineapple!)



Vegan Tiramisu Cups



Coconut Lime Cupcakes with Zesty Lime Frosting

 

 



So Zesty!



Gluten Free Chocolate Cookie Dough Truffles made with Chickpeas!



After portioning and freezing.






Smoothing out.



A blurry inside view of the truffle.

 

 



Vanilla Bean Cupcakes with Nutella Frosting



Topped with toasted hazelnuts



Close-up of the yummy cupcake



Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cream Pie in a Cookie Crust

 

 



Mocha Cookies with Coffee Icing

 

 



Kitchen Sink Cookie with Pretzels, Chocolate Chips, Peanut Butter
Chips and Kettle Chips

I hope you enjoyed these pretty pictures of tasty vegan baked goods!


Koko

GF Testing: Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cake

I have been doing quite a bit of testing lately for my future business.  The menu is coming along great.  The only thing I really need to work on is the baked goods  Those always seem to be the most difficult items to test, because they require such expensive ingredients, they get thrown away if they don't work, and is impossible to eat for one family, let alone one couple.  Hubby doesn't always like to take my sample baked goods to his job for his coworkers, because he has the crazy idea that his coworkers are going to get to the point that they expect treats from him whenever they see him and it is such a pain for him whenever people constantly tell him how great the baked goods were.  I definitely get a smile out of each time he tells me when someone compliments the things I make.

Anyway, I decided I needed to test my gf baked goods, and since I just bought a huge tub of organic peanut butter from the coop, I decided this would be the perfect opportunity to make a peanut butter chocolate chip cake.  And it turned out great.  Very fluffy and moist.  Not gritty or strange tasting at all.  My only complaint, as with all gf items I make, is that the shelf life is very small.  Like 3 days,  I would love to figure out something to add the the cake to give it a greater shelf life, beyond freezing that is. 

Beautiful Gluten Free Peanut Butter Cake.

Nice and moist and delicious!

Enjoy!

Koko

Fruit and Greens Smoothie

For the last several months I have been trying to make a fresh juice/smoothie every night for the Hubbs and I.  Most nights I am able to do just that.   It is usually a variation of the recipe below.  I am certainly much better at making tasty smoothies right now than I am at making tasty juices.  I don't know what it is about the juice making process, but I always find myself adding more things than I know I should, or other things simply because they are in the fridge, and I tell myself "yes, I think that should go in there too".  I just can't control myself.  I keep putting in more and more greens until there are collards, kale, dandelion greens, chard, spinach and perhaps some other greens, along with the usual cucumber, celery, lime, ginger and a couple apples.  It always tastes like gross bitter grass.  And I know it's because I put too much stuff in it, but I really can't control myself!  Hubbs and I of course drink it because it is so good for us, but we almost have to plug our noses to do so.  I even told myself I was going to make a juice with orange, lemon, ginger and carrot.  That's it.  And of course in went pear, collards and a few other things and the juice was terrible!  Once I learn a little more self control and can come up with something tasty, I'll post it.  Until then, enjoy this definitely, absolutely delicious and healthy smoothie.  Hubbs and I both guzzle it whenever I make it.  (Well, because of my weirdness, I actually chew the smoothie, which is unnecessary, but I always have since I was a kid!)  Make it and enjoy!

Fruit and Greens Smoothie:



Doesn't all this organic stuff look gorgeous!?



1/2 cup carrot juice

1/2 cup apple juice

2 large handfuls spinach

1/2 bunch dandelion leaves

2 kale leaves

1 tablespoon ground flax seeds

1 large handful frozen blueberries

6 frozen strawberries

1 large or 2 small bananas

1.  Place all ingredients in a blender and blend until the smoothie reaches your desired consistency.  I blend it for a couple minutes so that the kale blends well.  Or, if you have a vitamix (jealous!!), it will only take like 30 seconds! 

That's it!

Enjoy!

Koko

Gluten Free Testing: Yeast Free Baked Donuts!

Remember that baked donut craze that happened a while ago?  Is it still going on?  I am still seeing baked donuts on menus in places here in the city.  Back when that was happening, I was working with a girl that was gluten free and had several allergies on top of that and I came up with this recipe for her, surprising her when she came to work one day.  I haven't made these in a little while, but I remember them being very tasty.  Being the perfectionist that I am, I don't think they are quite perfect yet, so that is why I labeled them "testing".  But that shouldn't deter you from making these tasty little bites.  And being that I made them in a mini baked donut pan, they are one-biters.Yum!  My favorite was the cinnamon sugar ones - always has been.  Make them and let me know what you think.

Vegan, Gluten Free, Yeast Free Baked Mini Donuts



I made coconut glazed, cinnamon sugar tossed and chocolate
glazed.  Can you see she grabbed the chocolate before
I could even snap a picture?  The rest were eaten literally 10
seconds later!!



Yields: 2 dozen mini donuts

1 cup sorghum flour

1/2 cup potato starch

1/4 cup tapioca starch

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 teaspoon xanthan gum

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

3/4 cup organic sugar

2 tablespoons canola oil

1/4 cup flax eggs

1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar

3/4 cup soymilk

Cinnamon Sugar Mix:

1 cup organic sugar

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1.  Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Spray two mini donut pans with spray oil and set aside until ready to use.

2.  In a medium sized mixing bowl, add all of the dry ingredients: the sorghum flour, potato starch, tapioca starch, baking powder and soda, sea salt, xanthan gum and nutmeg.  Whisk well to combine all ingredients.

3.  In a separate medium mixing bowl, add the wet ingredients: the organic sugar, canola oil, flax eggs, cider vinegar and soymilk.  Whisk together until the sugar dissolves and all the ingredients are well combined. 

4.  Add the wet ingredients into the bowl with the dry ingredients.  Whisk together just until combined.

5.  Place several scoops of the batter into a pastry bag fitted with a large circular tip.  Squeeze the batter into the mini donut pan, into each individual donut hole. 

6.  Place into the oven and bake for 8-10 minutes. 

7.  Allow the cooked donuts to cool for a couple minutes, then flip onto a pastry cooling rack to cool until easy to handle. 

8.  If using the cinnamon sugar, do not allow the donut to cool completely.  The sugar sticks better if the donut  is still slightly warm.

9.  Liberally toss the donuts in the sugar.  (Or other desired topping.)

Enjoy!

Koko

Green Smoothie

I love fresh juice as much as the next person.  It's way too expensive for me to purchase outside, so I tend to make it at home.  There are some great things about making your own juices and also some not so great things about juicing at home - namely cleaning the juicer for 20 minutes after 5 minutes of juicing.

I've had several customers at my job lately that have been getting green smoothies - that is whole leafy greens and some kind of fresh juice to make it all blend together.  It's the best of both worlds because you still get the tasty fresh juice, but also the fiber from the leafy greens.  I have been making this quite a bit lately, but I've been making the juice base at work, usually pineapple, purchasing it there and making the smoothies at home.  Tons cheaper to just purchase the whole fruit, juice it at work and make the smoothie with all the beautiful organic ingredients at home.  I pretty much keep the ingredients the same, with a couple variations here and there, depending upon what I have in the fridge and what I feel like.  It's super tasty and super healthy.  Try it - I think you'll be surprised by how good it is and how not "green" it tastes.

Green Smoothie:







Beautifully Vibrantly Green!



Makes 2 hefty Servings

1 1/4 - 1 1/2 cups fresh pineapple juice (or use whatever juice you'd like)

2 ripe bananas, peeled

1" piece ginger, peeled and chopped

1 lime, juiced (helps preserve the color and adds a "brightness" to the smoothie)

3-4 kale leaves, torn into pieces (reserve stems*)

2 large collard leaves, torn into pieces (reserve stems*)

3-4 chard or other green leaves, torn into pieces (reserve stems*)

handful well-washed spinach

1 tablespoon ground flax or chia seeds

1/4 cup frozen strawberries or blueberries (optional but good)

6-8 ice cubes

1.  Place the juice in the base of the blender.  Add the leafy greens, the ginger, lime juice, flax and frozen berries.

2.  Blend on high until all of the leaves have blended smooth  - this may take a couple minutes and several scrapings of the blender pitcher.  If you do not have a vita mix (which I shockingly do not yet), a regular blender will work fine, although will not  be silky smooth.  I think it's great though - you know what you're eating.

3.  Once the smoothie is, well, smooth, add the ice and blend for 30 seconds or so until the juice is chilled.  Sample and if too sour, add a touch more juice. 

4.  Delicious and so healthy!

* If you will be juicing the pineapple or other fruit juice yourself, I recommend saving the green stems and juicing them along with the fruit.  A great way to keep waste to a minimum.  And extra healthy. 

Enjoy!

Koko

Gluten Free Bread Testing

I have been doing a lot of testing lately.  Mostly vegan, and gluten free about half of the time.  My husband and I are in major crunch time testing for our future cafe.  Our main menu is finished and I am mostly working on the no-fun stuff: business plan, recipe costing, etc.  I am still making time to test ideas for our baked goods section of the cafe - there is still a lot to do there.  It's difficult sometimes to really get into the baking at home though because there is only so small of a batch I can accurately make, and then what to do with the rest of it?  It's just Hubbs and I.  We might eat it for a day or two, but then what?  I've been trying to take it to work the last couple times, but riding a bike to work makes that problematic sometimes.  I'll figure something out in the meantime and take what I can to work.

I have also been working on gf breads lately, which have been challenging, rewarding, frustrating, exciting and many other things.  Making them is soooo unlike making conventional breads, they really almost shouldn't even be called breads - it should be called something much more amazing!  I have had many many failures and several successes.  The only thing I really do not like about gf bread is that it is really amazing only the first day it is baked.  After that it gets dry and is still very good when toasted, but you really can't eat it as happily as you did the day it was baked.  Also refrigerating it is a bad idea because it turns crazilly dry and crumbly.  I'm enjoying the experience and who honestly doesn't like bread?  So, that's a great plus too.  I'm not going to share the recipes yet because I still feel like they are not quite there yet, but I will once I'm very happy with them.  Until then, enjoy some pretty pictures of the last couple batches of bread I've been testing.

Mini Loaf - Adorable!  So delicious warm with earth balance!



Mini Loaf Sliced - Next Time I'll Make Mini Tea Sandwiches!



GIANT Loaf Of GF Multigrain Bread: 2x the Recipe




I Was Surprised by how Beautifully & Easily it Sliced!


Enjoy!

Koko