Guest Post: Vegan Chocolate Frosting

I have the pleasure of introducing you all to Jakob, a writer for Hometalk.com. He's here today to share his delicious vegan chocolate frosting recipe with us. Believe me, you will.not.miss the dairy in this. It only takes about 20 minutes to make this (15 minutes of the 20 minutes is how long it takes to cool) and it's so much healthier for you... If you are going to make something that you could eat by the spoonful, why not make it healthy (as you possibly can!)?

Thanks Jakob for your wonderful, gooey contribution!!

Read on:

Vegan Chocolate Frosting

As an avid DIYer I can tell you it’s good to take breaks and clear the mind for a few minutes before getting back to work. I could even recommend a whole bunch of healthy snacks but my favorite, which is great with a cup ofcoffee or tea, is a piece of one of my wife’s cakes with her special vegan chocolate frosting. Yes, you heard me correctly: vegan chocolate frosting.

For a few years now my wife and I have been moving towards a more vegetarian lifestyle and occasionally dab in the world of truly vegan recipes.

We’ve done some renovations to our kitchen to make it more user-friendly and picked up a few kitchen accessories along the way to make our lives a little easier such as a cuisinart, which works wonders when making raw food, and a good set of knives.

We also replaced our chemical based non-stick pans with healthier ones and installed a kitchen ceiling rack.

Then, at a certain point my wife got into baking and experimenting with various vegan dishes which is when one of her friends told her about the vegan chocolate frosting.

The frosting can go on just about any cake so if you like to mix it up a bit the sky’s the limit. Jus tnote that my wife usually makes this recipe in one of her eight inch springform pans so if you don’t have one you may want to do some adjusting.

Ok, now here’s what to do:

Have a small saucepan ready for boiling and prepare the following:

Take two-thirds cup of your favorite non-dairy milk and put it in the saucepan. My wife likes to use rice milk though almond milk would be just as great.

Put aside eight ounces of chocolate chips or a big bar of your favorite chocolate


Have three tablespoons of pure maple syrup available. My wife sometimes uses honey-but that would only make the cake good for vegetarians and not vegans.

Bring the milk to a boil in the saucepan and then simmer.

Stir in the chocolate and maple syrup.

Turn off the heat and keep mixing until thoroughly melted.

Let it cool for 15 minutes.

Now, assuming you have a cake ready to be frosted and you’re not going to simply drink the chocolaty gooey potion, pour it over the cake tilting the pan from side to side a bit so it fills in everywhere. Then place the cake in the fridge so the frosting can solidify.

If the frosting leaks outof the bottom of the springform pan it means the pan wasn’t connected tightly.

This happened to us a couple of times until we discovered it was bent out of shape from being in an awkward position in an overstuffed kitchen cabinet. Aside from having to purchase a new one I decided to remodel our cabinets so everything would be more organized.

Meanwhile, if you want to take the vegan chocolate frosting to a whole new level try spreading something like raspberry preserves across the top of the cake before pouring on th efrosting.

If that doesn’t make you plead for mercy I don’t know what will!

Jakob Barry is a Hometalk writer. Read more articles like this one or get help with your home projects on Hometalk.com.

{imaged courtesy of Google.com}

Chocolate Mousse-y Pudding

Right now, we are at the height of avocado season in California....and that means I need creative ways to use these guys up!!! Fortunately, avocados during this time of year come out of the peel like butter and dissolve on my tongue like butter. I eat them raw, put them sliced on salads, cube them for soup topping and tacos, and sometimes, I just have avocados with a little sea salt on toast or rye crackers for breakfast - really, I love them. And, in moderation (lol!), they are sooo good for you - filled with good-for-you fats and lots of compounds that, when eaten on a regular basis, give your skin a great glow!! Another plus, is that they are very filling and you can flavor them!!! This recipe is a great example. This pudding comes out with a mousse-like airy-ness while still being rich and delicious.

Chocolate Mousse-y Pudding

• 1 avocado, pitted and cut into large cubes, with skin removed
• 8 mejdool dates, pitted (be sure to remove "stem" part too)
• 2 Tbs agave nectar
• 4 Tbs cocoa powder
• 3/4 - 1 cup water

Put all ingredients (except water) into a high powered blender and begin blender on low speed. Add water through pour spout, as needed (you should need at least 3/4 cup). Continue blending (you will have to push ingredients back down towards blades - after pausing the blender - two or three times during the blending process). Taste to make sure sweetness is as desired. If you need the pudding to be sweeter, add more dates (2 - 3) or more agave nectar (1/2 Tbs at a time) until it gets to where you need it to be.

This comes out so creamy and delicious - Mr. No-No couldn't believe I hadn't added milk or tofu to it - I really didn't!
You won't believe that this can be: 1. healthy, 2. good for you, 3. filling, and 4. vegan and raw!
If you end up not wanting to share this, I can TOTALLY understand! ;)

What's YOUR favorite dessert?

You know I love to share this kind of stuff at these kinds of parties!!

More later!! :)

Averie's No Bake Cookie Balls

I just discovered this wonderful website called Love Veggies & Yoga. The girl who runs it, Averie, makes all kinds of delicious things. While looking for a little sweat treat on the web, I checked into her site and found these amazing No Bake Oatmeal and Carrot Cake Bites. They are made with carrots and oats and are quick, easy, and (best of all!) delicious.

I wasn't sure if I could copy the recipe directly to my own blog page, so I just had to give you guys the link and the picture of my finished product!

Miss No-No helped me make these so you could easily make it a "family" project and revel in the fact that from start to finish the whole thing has seriously minimal clean up time!

What do you make that is quick and easy like this - - but tastes DELICIOUS?

Thanks for all the comments to my Roasted Mushroom Tacos recipe. It really is fast and easy and you should check it out if you need inspiration for what to make for dinner (and you have mushrooms in the fridge!).

Also - - Sarah from Shaklee and I are co-hosting a wonderful giveaway for natural home and beauty projects. Please stop by and enter - our entries are low, but the gift of a clean environmentally-(and family) friendly home or clean natural makeup is priceless.

More later! :)

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Mint Banana Ice Cream

We have finally started to get some hot weather! Yay! That may sound funny considering that April just ended, but it's been cold and rainy a lot so far this year. In light of the new weather, and some free time, we decided to whip up some soft-serve style banana mint chip ice cream! :)

Side note: Put your bananas in the freezer NOW so that you can make this in a couple of hours, or tomorrow.

Banana Mint Chip Soft-Serve (Vegan)

3 Bananas, frozen and broken into chunks

2 Tbs Agave Nectar

3 Tbs Soy Milk (adding more, if needed)

1 Tsp Mint Flavoring

2 Tbs Cocoa Nibs

Freeze bananas in zip lock bags the night before (we keep some in the freezer for whenever we are ready to make this). Remove bananas from the freezer and break into whatever size chunks you can. Put banana chunks into the blender, add agave nectar and soy milk on top; blend well until it's the consistency of soft-serve or frozen yogurt.**

Add in mint flavoring, food coloring (if desired), and cocoa nibs; mix well.

Freeze for about 4 hours for a firmer consistency.



Note: cocoa nibs are rough if you don't know what to expect and they are not VERY chocolate-ly at all, they don't melt, and they don't get soft... just FYI... you may choose to use chocolate chips or chocolate pieces (broken up) to make this more chocolate-ly.

This is the mint extract that I use, but any kind would do well. This is not extremely mint-y, so you may have to add a little more than you think you would need.

**you can stop here, which I usually do, and have banana soft serve - which is excellent. If the mixture is too runny, freeze for a few hours. I try to make mine thicker so that I can just eat it out of the blender when the desire strikes.

Someone got caught attempting to get into the freezer to get a little extra!!! :) I told you...it's delicious!

What is your favorite quick recipe for hot weather?

What is your favorite quick dessert recipe?

Thanks to everyone who commented on my Carrot and Red Pepper Soup post. Clayton Thomas stopped by and metioned that his SIL is vegan and thought she would love this recipe (she will!), and Censtation Saver said that her favorite quick soup is Corn and Potato Chowder because it's an easy comfort food. Mindy mentioned that she had already made a carrot soup that week and Frugal in WV has already seen this soup recipe and made it before (<~ that's a first here at Mrs. No-No's!!! but Frugal and I cook somewhat similarly, so it's no great surprise!!).

  

More later! :)

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I Was Featured!!

I am so pleased to have been featured at the King's Court IV the week before last! This weekly "forum" is like a blog hop for food and recipes and I love being a part of it every week. I submitted my recipe for Rosemary Apple Turnovers. If you missed my previous post, please check it out and see how easy this recipe is. Clairity made these and said that they smelled like heaven in her kitchen (lol) and that not only did she get "two thumbs up" from her two kids, but she also was planning to make them again the next day....I'm not kidding, they really are that fast and easy!! Good enough for company, but super quick to make!!

Additionally, I was also featured on the Hungry Cook Daily the following day (because of the King's Court IV post).

Very Cool!!!
More later! :)

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Rosemary Apple Turnovers

It was finally warm this weekend - - we were up to over 80 degrees on Friday - - whoo hoo hoo. Miss No-No and I hot-footed it down to the beach while we still could. We collected shells, found a purple star fish, and got splashed by the waves. I'm glad we got that time in because it's supposed to only be in the high-60s for the whole coming week.

Mr. No-No, Miss No-No, some family and friends and I recently went for brunch at this great restaurant awhile back. Of course, this place had the most awesome dessert bar... I mean maybe 30 feet of desserts. Everything was chocolate and cheesecake and overly sweet - - and too much for 11 am, but Mr. No-No discovered these wonderful rosemary apple turnovers. They were sweet enough to "technically" be called dessert, but not so sweet that you would kill yourself just having some.

After some searching on the net, I found this recipe from The Kitchn that replicated them beautifully (of course, and as usual, I modified the recipe slightly to fit my own needs!)...and, I must say, they were so incredibly easy, I will be making them often as a sweet treat. Mr. No-No was quite pleased with the results, too!
These are good enough to serve to company - - and you won't have to slave in the kitchen because they just take a minute to throw together and the rest is just cooking time....ahhh! My kind of recipe!

Rosemary Apple Turnovers

makes 8

1 sheet puff pastry, thawed
1 large apple, peeled, cored & cut into 1/4-inch dice
2 tablespoons agave nectar
1/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon minced fresh rosemary
1/8 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
pinch salt
egg replacer equal to one egg

Preheat oven to 375° F.
In a bowl, combine the apple, agave nectar, vanilla, rosemary, nutmeg, flour, and salt. Set aside.
On a lightly floured surface, unfold puff pastry sheet sheet. Cut the sheet into eight 4- x 4-inch pieces.
Place a generous spoonful of the apple mixture in the center of each square, leaving at least 3/4-inches around all sides. Using a finger or a pastry brush, gently apply a coat of the egg replacer mix to the exposed border of the pastry (This will be the glue that helps seal it shut).
Fold one corner of the rectangle piece up (to meet the opposite corner) to form a triangle. Seal the edges with the tines of a fork, or pinch with two fingers. Brush the tops of the turnovers with more of the egg (replacer) wash. Slice a few small slits in the top of the turnovers to allow steam to escape.
Place the turnovers on a lined baking sheet and bake for 25-30 minutes, or until the tops are golden brown.

More later!!! :)



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Vegan Chocolate Pudding

I got the distinct pleasure a couple of months ago of getting to help Lindsay Wolf (of www.kissmyvegan.com) write a cookbook review. The review was for Vegan Chocolate Pudding that was coming out in a new cookbook.

Actually, I don't know Lindsay personally, but I follow her on Twitter and have been a fan of hers for quite some time - ever since I read her book Kiss Me, I'm Vegan. I love cookbooks because I get - first and foremost - a lot of good meals from them, but also a lot of inspiration and ideas from them, and I (generally!) learn some new tricks or methods that I haven't seen or heard of before.

She put out a tweet one day asking for volunteers to make, taste, and review this recipe for Sharon Valencik's new book Sweet Utopia.

I was so happy to be one of the reviewers! My review and pictures from her blog are here. Her blog post for that day also has recipies for PB & Jelly Thumbprint Cookies and Spiced Pumpkin and Cranberry Muffins.

Let me tell you there are some things that I miss being vegan - and this chocolate pudding was a-mazing; it was unbelievably chocolate-y and creamy - and it took me back to my pre-vegan days. Mr. NoNo couldn't believe that this was vegan - and I am thinking that all of her recipes are the same style!! Yum, Yum, Nom, Nom.... I can't wait to get a copy of Sharon's book so that I can try out more of these great desserts!

Since I was "testing", I didn't modify this recipe at all.

Divine Chocolate Pudding

1/4 c. unsweetened cocoa powder

1/3 c. granulated vegan sugar

2 tbsp. cornstarch

1/4 tsp. salt

2 c. vanilla soymilk

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp almond extract or additional vanilla extract

1/3 non-dairy chocolate chips.

Sift the cocoa powder into a medium saucepan. Mix in the sugar, cornstarch, and slat until there are no lumps. Place on low to medium heat and slowly whisk in the soymilk until the mixture is smooth. Cook on medium heat, whisking constantly, for about 10 minutes, or until thickened (it should be the consistency of cake batter). Do not let the mixture come to a boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the extracts. Then stir in the chocolate chips and continue stirring until they are completely melted.

Pour evenly into six-6 oz. ramekins or a large bowl. Cool, cover tightly with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for 4-8 hours before serving, or until thoroughly chilled. Store leftover pudding tightly covered in the refrigerator.

 

More later!! :)