Sweet Potato Pie

I havent posted in a while. I meant to post last week because I made Oatmeal Raisin Cookies. They came out totally awsome. Today out of sheer boredom and the fact that I bought way too many sweet potatoes I decided to make a pie. I made this about 3 yrs ago and it didnt go over to well in the UK. My husband loves it but hit parents couldnt get over the fact that these potatoes could be used as a dessert. Oh well, I guess you have to be an American to appreciate certain things.
Ive combined a few recipes, as I usually do to get this finished product. So its difficult to post a recipe to most of the things that I bake because I alter them in some way. This one used a packet of silken tofu to replace the eggs for binding. It set nicely :-)

Baking Out of Boredom

I have been baking quite a bit this week. It could be out of boredom but overall I just love to bake. My husband greatly appreciates it because he can stuff his face on all the goodies I prepare.
This week I made some recipes using Grape-Nuts. I am totally in love with this cereal. I love to eat it plain or even with bananas. I decided to go on their website for any ideas and I came across their muffins and peanut butter bars recipes. They were so delicious!! My husband even brought some of each to work and people really liked them. I did however tweak the peanut butter bars recipe. I did not have any corn syrup so I added about a cup of Weight Watchers Strawberry jam because that was all I had in the house and I figured it would work. So good!! They were reinvented as peanut butter jelly bars. Unfortunately I do not have a picture of them but I do have one of the muffins and the brownies that I just made.

Lime & Ginger 'Cheese'cake

Most people know that my husband is vegan & I have a lactose problem. I have been toying around with the idea of making a vegan cheese cake type dessert. Every time I have tried them in the past I didn't really like them. My husband had a home made one years ago and the person totally massacred it. I've basically followed a recipe but made some parts up per taste and just to experiment. Behold the cheesecake!!

Saag Aloo w/ Roasted Gobi Curry

I have to admit that I am not the biggest fan of Indian food or most food from that genre. Since I've moved to the UK, I can't escape the stuff. These people scoff it up like us Americans eat hamburgers or pizza. I've been to a few Indian restaurants here and let me tell you, my experience was less than pleasurable. 

So, while watching The Great British Food Revival last week this recipe for Saag Aloo w/ Roasted Gobi Curry was being made by the Hairy Bikers. http://www.bbc.co.uk/food/recipes/saag_aloo_with_roasted_95304
It looked amazing and it really appealed to us. We were desperately in need of a new menu option. I ended up making this dish this past Sunday the 13th. I followed the directions to the T and the only alteration was that I could not find the black mustard seeds and I did not cook the whole chillies in the dish, I just chopped  a little up and threw them in. As far as the cauliflower goes, I used the regular white. I could not find that freaky one. voilà!!

Whats not to like about Chocolate Cake??

My husband loves chocolate cake. I like it as well but I'm not as much of a fan of it with chocolate icing. It appeals to me more if it has vanilla frosting on it. We were raised with the Duncan Hines type white from the 'can'. That stuff was so delish! Anywhoo, I made a chocolate cake for my husband the other day and it was great!! It is the same recipe for the black forest cupcakes, minus the cherries of course. I do however need to get a pan that is @ an inch smaller than this one so the pieces were thicker.

Hunger Pains Anyone?

I suppose when starting any new diet, especially Weight Watchers, you eat less food than you normally do which results in you become hungry in the beginning. It's only 4:34pm and I am really hungry. They say to drink more fluids to fill you up but if anyone knows me that means I'll be running to the bathroom every 5 min, I will however have a nicely flushed system.  My husband and I came to an understanding a few weeks ago, because he works until after 8pm Mon-Wed most likely I will not be waiting that late for him to eat. It seems like tonight Im going to eat my dinner sooner than later. I have 10pts out of the 29pts left for today. What to eat.....what to eat....

Weight Watchers Here We Go!!!

Tomorrow will begin my new journey with Weight Watchers. They have yet another new program, Pro Points in US and Points Plus in the UK out and it looks pretty good. Apparently the diets are more balances and healthy so you eat what you are supposed to, not the rationing and omittance as the previous few.

Shall I post my starting weight????

Vegan Pasta Verde w/ roasted Butternut Squash

I don't know about anyone else but my husband and I love...love...love pasta. I try to make it every two or three weeks because I get enough carbs without adding pasta to the mix, while my husband remains the type of person who can eat his weight in the stuff. This is a really easy dish to make and its relatively quick too. 


Ingredients:
Pesto (basil, olive oil, pine nuts, red pepper flakes)
Butternut Squash
Pasts ( in this case I used spaghetti) 


I don't use a recipe for pesto, I always make it by taste. I also put a knob of vegan Cheesley Mozzarella to give it a little more texture and saltiness. 

What is an Asian Pear you say?

Twice a week the fruit and veg market in the town center displays a plethora of fresh produce ripe for the picking. There usually isn't anything overly exciting or exotic to buy, however past few times we have gone the asian pear has caught our eye.
I myself love pears and would just about own any product or perfume that could replicate the sweet smell of a bosc pear, however the asian pear has let me down. Don't get me wrong, the pear is lovely and firm, crunchy, juicy but most of it lacks flavor. I'd rather suck the water out of a washcloth than eat one of these things again, and you all know what I am talking about. I've seen my young nieces and nephew do this as a toddler in the bath, we have all done it. The asian pear might appeal to someone out there, it does to my husband. He is sitting in front of the TV yelling at the Batman character he's playing. For all he knew I could have given him a wad of styrofoam to chew on.

Whats for dinner? Tofu Italiano!!!

Just like any other night in our house, dinner will consist of a vegan meal. Whether or not its from a recipe, 'pre made' or invented, the word vegan is in there...and no not everything has tofu in it but tonight it does. :-)
Scenario - the husband is downstairs drawing for work and I'm searching for something to make for dinner. I just have a bunch of random ingredients around the house tonight and nothing is really clicking. When in doubt make something that can pass for Italian. I have to admit, I was a little skeptical on how this was going to come out but it tasted great!!

Ingredients:
1 pack vegan chorizo (I used The Redwood Co. Chorizo Style Chunks bought from Holland & Barrett)
2 packs tofu pieces (I used Cauldron marinated tofu pieces) I like these because they have more taste are firmer and are not as watery as regular tofu.
1 can chopped tomatoes
garlic powder
dried basil
dried oregano
red pepper flakes
black pepper to taste
brown rice
frozen soy beans

Cook brown rice according to directions. While the rice is cooking......
Fry the chorizo in a pan with a little olive oil over med heat for 5 min.
Add the tofu and continue to cook for a further 5 min then add the can of chopped tomatoes.
Add basil, oregano, garlic powder & red pepper to your taste liking. Cook on low heat until hot and until the rice is done.
Prepare frozen soy beans according to their instructions.
Place rice on plate and then top with the tofu/chorizo mix & decorate with the cooked soy beans.
Enjoy!!

The Nikon D3100 Pinecone

I totally love the Nikon D3100 my husband recently gave me for Graduation/Christmas. I do however get extremely discouraged because I am still learning how to use it. My trusty Sony Cybershot is retired for the time being and it took some great pics, let me tell you. I've always gotten compliments on the pictures I took with it.
Here is a pic of a pinecone taken with the D3100 during Christmas vacation in North Carolina. I'm sure a real photographer could pick out a million things wrong with it but I think it came out well.

Vegan Black Forest Cupcakes!!

Since I love to bake, Valentines Day seemed like the prefect excuse to try out  Black Forest Cupcakes.

I always end up altering recipes somehow, searching for recipes that interest me and combining parts. You end up with a delicious Frankenstein dessert! 


Cupcake Base:
11/2 cups unbleached all purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 tsp salt (I use sea salt)
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (I use Green & Blacks Organic)
11/2 tsp vanilla extract (I use Nielsen-Massey)
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
1 cup cold water


Preheat oven to 350 F/180 C
Thoroughly combine all the dry ingredients.
Create a well in the center on the dry ingredients, and add vanilla, oil, vinegar & water.
Mix until combined. Pour into cupcake pan. I use cupcake papers to line. 
Cook for 20 min. Check with a toothpick, they may need a minute or 2 longer.


Chocolate Frosting:
1/2 cup nondairy butter softened (I used Vitalite, in the US Earth Balance is great!)
3 cups confectioners sugar sifted
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder sifted (I use Green & Blacks Organic)
1 tsp vanilla extract (I use Nielsen-Massey)
3-4 tablespoons nondairy milk (I used 3 of soy)


Cream together butter in a bowl with electric beaters until smooth.
Add sugar and cream for another 2 minutes.
Add cocoa, vanilla & milk and blend further.
*I placed the frosting in a plastic wrap & poked a hole in it to substitute an icing bag because I wanted that effect with the decoration*


Other ingredients:
1 can of cherry pie filling. I used black cherry.


Fill them:

After the cupcakes have cooled for about 10 min, take a knife and cut a circle out of the middle for the pie filling to fit into. It can be as deep or shallow as you like. Place filling in the middle of the cupcakes and replace the top. Decorate with frosting and enjoy!! 

Lets start a blog . . .

Welcome to the first post of my blog! I created this to share my delicious recipes, ideas, opinions and my general experiences with day to day life as an American playing the roll of an English wife. I love to cook(mostly vegan), travel, get tattooed, Boston Terriers, a clean house, photography and many other things which you will find here and hopefully my sense of humor will be conveyed properly through my various posts. There may often be incorrect grammar or spelling, please refrain from correcting that.
As far as the recipes go, I do not post any recipe that I have not made myself, so if its on here it has passed the test. :-) I will try to include photographs of everything that I make so you can see how it will come out. I will warn you in advance, my presentation skills need some work.
Enjoy!!