New What?

So you know how I had all those hopes and aspirations a few days ago?
Well, its only January 3rd and I'm already having a tough time with them.
First of all, I hate exercise. I know everyone does, but I triple hate it, and it doesn't get any better form the moment I start to the moment I'm done and then have to think about having to it again the next day or the day after that.
Ugh!
And then there's the fact that I'm kinda on edge. After all, I do have two papers to write over this two week break, and this writer is having a hard time with them.
And then there's the fact that I feel bad I can't drive or do something that would actually help my family get things done right now, aside from feeding them.
Which is exactly what I've been doing today. With some family matters to take care of, the end of my vacation is quickly going down hill, so I exhausted myself with chocolate tweed angel food cake, rich chocolate cheesecake that, even though it's not vegan, I couldn't help but take a tiny taste- yum! And then some surprisingly delicious non-meat loaf and broccoli mac and cheese (I knew that would be good, thanks to this recipe on Vegan D.a.d.).
How did I manage to do all this, work out, and write 2 pages of a boring economics paper and a very jumbled page of vegan history?
I'm not sure. Though I did have a good breakfast!
Coconut Raspberry Bran muffins.

That's right. Bran muffins. But these aren't your ordinary, dense, diet-food muffins. These have no Raisin Bran or any boxed cereal. These have coarse, mealy bran, oatmeal, tons of sweet, nutty, toasted coconut, and a handful of frozen raspberries to freshen things up.

And they're mini. So I can pop 3 or 4 of them without a speck of guilt.

Good thing, too, cause there are still not-so-petite petit fours in the drawer and a plethora of ideas to feed my sweet tooth tomorrow. Gotta have something healthy.

Mix some up for yourself- they're a cinch. The hardest part is dissolving the agar. Yes, I said agar. Thanks to Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I learned that agar makes a more tender, unified crumb in cake-like baked goods (well, or so I assumed; what applies to a cupcake should apply to a soft, billowy muffin). Anyway, after that, all you have to do it mix everything together, pop them in the oven, and you'll have fresh-baked muffins in a matter of minutes.

Tropical Blush Bran Muffins

1/2 cup sweetened shredded coconut

1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes or shreds

539 g. coconut milk or your favorite non-dairy milk
2 tbsp. agar flakes
1/2 cup Miller's Bran
1/2 cup oatmeal

2 tbsp. flax seed meal

200 g. raw sugar

150 g. oil

1/2 fresh grated ginger (ground is okay in a pinch)

1 tsp. vanilla

1 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
130 g. all purpose flour
130 g. whole wheat pastry flour
1 cup frozen raspberries

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Toast both kinds of coconut while the oven is preheating, until all coconut is golden.
2. Line muffin tins with paper liners. The recipe makes about 30 mini muffins, or 10-12 regular size muffins.
3. In a saucepan, combine coconut milk and agar flakes. Bring to a boil, then simmer for 10 minutes, or until agar dissolves. Remove from heat and add bran and oatmeal.
4. Cool oat mixture to room temperature, then add flax seed meal, sugar, oil, ginger and vanilla. Mix well to emulsify oil.
5. Combine all dry ingredients. Fold into the oat mixture.
6. Fold in the raspberries, being as gentle as possible so as to not squish the berries.
7. Scoop into prepared muffin tins, filling 3/4 of the way full. Bake in preheated oven until set and golden. For mini muffins, this will take about 11-13 minutes. For regular size, it will probably tkae 20-25 minutes.
8. Cool completely, then store in an airtight container or serve.

Having these in the house is a reason to go to bed- just to wake up and have a delicious breakfast! That, and the fact that these words are blurring before my sleepy eyes ;)

Tarts, Tests, and Tantrums

Ah finals. Hate them!

Reasons why I hate finals:

Stress.

Long weekends that only serve to make you stress more.

Knowing that you really don't have anything to worry about but you do anyway

A professor who thinks his study guide is a gift, but really just confuses you more

Buses that don't seem to care about being on time

Scantrons that should never have been invented

Teachers who don't seem to remember why you can't use Scantrons.

An overwhelming desire to scarf down every sweet thing in site in hopes of relieving your stress.

Oh yes, finals. Three times per year is three times too many.

But the one thing that might make finals a little better is knowing that a nice long breaks lies just 24 hours in the future. And even better, this break involves one great holiday- Thanksgiving.

So, in honor of Thanksgiving, and in need of emptying out the refrigerator of all my farmers' market finds, I decided to combine a few classic fall flavors into one great holiday pie. Of course, it's not even seven days away yet and, three days after making this delicious dessert, it's nearly gone. That's stress and a lack of breakfast eats for you!

Now go get ready and make this pie / tart / dessert / whatever you want to call it!

Pickin’ Pie

Note: I think next time I will caramelize or partially cook the apples before putting them on top of the squash filling (and will bake the filling for 30-40 minutes instead of 20 so that it doens't over-bake). The way I did it this first time, the apples came out kinda chewy.

Crust

132 g. sugar

18 g. molasses

120 g. flour

1/4 tsp. baking soda

1/4 tsp. salt

2 tsp. vanilla

60 g. rolled oats

76 g. Earth Balance stick margarine, cut into cubes

2-4 tbsp. apple cider

1. Combine sugar, molasses, flour, baking soda, slat, vanilla and oats. 
2. Cut in margarine with your hands, rubbing it until you get small, pea-like pieces of fat.
3. Add enough cider to bring the dough together into a workable dough.
4. Form dough into a disk, wrap and chill for 1 hour or overnight.
5. When ready to bake, preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 9” pie plate with high sides or a 9” cake pan.
6. Roll dough out to about a 10” disk (easiest way is between plastic wrap). Transfer to the greased pie plate. Dough should come about 1/2 to 1” up sides.
7. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until browned and firm to the touch. Meanwhile, prepare squash filling.

Squash Filling

2 cups butternut squash puree (from about half a small, roasted squash)

2 cups apple cider, cooked over medium heat until reduced to 1 cup

1 tbsp. molasses

1 tsp. cinnamon

1/2 tsp. ginger

1/2 tsp. nutmeg

1/8 tsp. cayenne pepper

5 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 tbsp. coconut oil or shortening

8 . Combine all filling ingredients in a blender, pureeing until completely smooth and evenly distributed.

9.Pour into baked crust. Bake at 350 degrees for about 20 minutes. Meanwhile prepare apples.

Apples

3 medium, semi-tart, firm apples (ex. Empire), peeled, quartered, and thinly sliced

3 tbsp. brown sugar

the juice of half a lemon

3 tbsp. tapioca starch

1 tsp. fresh grated ginger

10. Toss apples with all other ingredients. Let sit for at least 10 minutes (can do ahead of time and keep in fridge)

11. When filling is starting to set, remove pan from oven and arrange apples in a single layer on top. I arranged mine in sort of a rose pattern, overlapping apples slightly in rings, but you can do it however you like it best.


12. Bake for 15-20 minutes, or until apples have begun to brown.


13. Remove from oven and cool completely. Serve immediately or store in the fridge.

Great with banana "ice cream" (especially pumpkin-flavored)! Get the basic recipe here! Also great for breakfast!!!!

Oh and by the way: If you like all the great, creative treats I've shared on my blog, please check out my Etsy page! Thank you!