pumpkin pie minis

Couldn't wait any longer...it's pumpkin pie time! I had a chunk of pumpkin that needed to be put to use. Just a teaser, recipe to follow soon. Vegan and gluten-free. Don't forget the home made coconut ice cream. 

reykjavík

Sea air and flat light were our first introduction to Iceland, stepping off the plane in the middle of the night. It was damp and smelled like fish, but not too cold, not overly fishy, and not dark. We left a cool rainy France from Lyon airport at 18h, add the flight, time difference, and bus to the city, making it 2:30 before we started the battle against light and noise (from a 10 person hostel bunk) and excitement to sleep. By 07h we couldn't wait any longer to start exploring the city, the only full day we planned to be in Reykjavik.  

We wandered around the quiet morning streets, and settled in for a cozy breakfast and coffee at C is for Cookie. Derek ate ham, eggs, and toast, while I sampled the vegan baked goods and indulged in a huge soy latte.

We stopped in design shops along Laugavegur, paused by the quirky graffiti, and stared over the city from the tall tower of the Hallgrímskirkja Church.

We saw Ragnar Axelsson's photography exhibition Mirror of Life at the Reykjavík Museum of Photography and sat to watch a 90 minute video Last Days of the Arctic - a beautiful film and great way to keep off our feet for at least a little while.

Next stop, Sólfar (Sun Voyager), a sculpture by Icelandic artist Jón Gunnar Árnason before making our way along the shore to the race packet pick-up at the sport center.

After a full day of sight-seeing and walking, we were starving and needed to fuel for Saturday's race. We ate heaping plates of vegan (mostly raw) goodness at Gló plus amazing desserts. Since I am always thinking ahead when it comes to food, we took their veggie wraps along with us for lunch tomorrow, and settled in for one more night at the hostel with our heads spinning from the colorful, comfortable day in the city, and the excitement of making our way to the highlands tomorrow.  

Reykjavik

carrot cake

Today we celebrated three April birthdays with some lovely ladies. By request, I made carrot cake. It was the first time I've made it, and I'll be making it again...YUM. I made individual size cakes topped with a vanilla rum frosting, and my favorite part- little marzipan carrots (I was pretty proud of those little things).  It's a really textural, moist cake, and of course vegan.

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

2 tsp. baking soda

2 tsp. cinnamon

1 tsp. allspice

1 tsp. baking powder

1 tsp. salt

3/4 cup light brown cane sugar

3/4 cup cane sugar

3 egg equivalent in egg substitute

1 tsp. vanilla extract

3/4 cup vegetable oil

2 cups finely grated carrots

3/4 cup applesauce

1 cup shredded coconut

1/2 cup raisins

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees fahrenheit (180 celsius).

Mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, spice, baking powder, and salt.

In another bowl, mix sugar and prepared egg replacer until creamy. Add vanilla and vegetable oil.

Mix wet and dry ingredients together, then add the applesauce.

Add carrots, coconut, and raisins (walnuts would be great too, but I didn't have any).

Spoon into baking papers, tins, or a cake pan.

Bake for 20 minutes (longer for a pan) or until toothpick comes out clean. Let the cake cool before frosting. Original recipe here.

Frosting

I made my usual vegan frosting- powdered sugar, vegan margarine, vanilla, and rum. Mix them together to desired flavor and consistency.

Cute little carrots

Shape marzipan into carrots by rolling in your palms. Use a knife to make shallow lines and lightly rub with cinnamon to add a bit of color. Poke the top with a toothpick and slip a stem of a something green into the hole. I used dill for the carrot tops. Voilà

Happy birthday ladies!

it's christmas!

Coming down the stairs, Derek and I were both a little surprised by the quiet magic of Christmas morning, the first time we are spending the day here in our little house. We started with homemade vegan cinnamon rolls hot from the oven and plenty of coffee and candle light. It was a dreary day outside the window, but comfy and inviting on the couch for a day of stockings and gifts. I love a slow Christmas morning in pajamas, sitting by the tree with good treats! 

We made an early dinner of mashed potatoes, stuffing, brussels sprouts, butternut squash soup, and a bit of turkey for Derek left from a lovely Christmas Eve dinner with friends. For the evening, we settled beside the tree to talk with family and friends at various times in their Christmas day. With some {v}eggnog and hot-buttered rum, we snuggled up for watching It's a Wonderful Life.

I sure hope you are having a warm and cozy day too. Merry Christmas!

chocolate chip cookies

I made a batch of vegan chocolate chip cookies to take along for the weekend - the perfect post-marathon indulgence - if they last that long. I'm already down about half a dozen and can't guarantee any will survive a three hour drive, not to mention the dough that didn't actually make it into the oven. (Taper must be making me hungry). This is a good chewy recipe, even if you're not vegan, but the best part is the egg-less dough - that means it's safe to eat raw by the spoonful and lick the bowl. Recommendation: freeze some small balls of unbaked dough to put in ice cream or eat as a bite size treat.  

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Makes about two dozen, depending on how much raw dough you eat. 

Ingredients

1/2 cup sunflower spread/butter replacement

1/2 cup cane sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp water + a little more as needed while adding flour

1 2/3 cup flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

cinnamon

vegan chocolate chips 

Directions

Preheat your oven to 180˚C. With a fork, mix "butter," sugars and water in a bowl until combined. Mix the dry ingredients and add to the sugar mixture continuing to stir until incorporated (add small amounts of water as needed). Fold in your chocolate chips. Scoop the dough onto a parchment-lined a cookie sheet and bake for 12 minutes or until the edges just start to brown.
*I like to sprinkle a little sea salt on top before baking, yum.

vegan caramel apples

Brisk temperatures and changing clouds today put me in the mood for a fall treat: caramel apples. Slather your apples with a yummy, vegan date caramel (see recipe below), add your favorite topping (pecans, chocolate, a bit of salt), put on a sweatshirt, and bon ap'!

Date Caramel

Ingredients

12-15 pitted dates

2 tbsp melted coconut oil

1tbsp almond cream

1 tsp water

smidgeon maple syrup

cinnamon, salt & a tiny pinch smokey paprika

Directions

Blend all ingredients in a food processor to get a thick, gooey, caramely consistency. 

Spread the date-caramel over 2 -3 apples and add your toppings or eat as dip.