The Veganette for Earth Eats: Vegan Pumpkin Cupcakes

Calling all ghosts, ghouls and goblins! Bring out these sweet cakes at your upcoming Halloween party and celebrate in delicious style! Moist as can be with a sweet maple glaze and dusting of soft cinnamon. Pumpkin is a marvelous egg-relacer, the earth's gift to vegan bakers!

Check out the full recipe on the Earth Eats site and lug home a heavy pumpkin to make your own puree!

Yours in sweetness and spice,
NRG

Watermelon Radish and Avocado Salad with Cilantro Shallot Vinaigrette

There is a lovely stand at the Fort Greene Farmers Market that sells radishes of many varieties! I've had fun comparing the many spicy offerings like Green Meat (my favorite) and Black Spanish and trying their wild green leaves. This Watermelon Radish  is mild and sweet, a perfect compliment to an otherwise dense, potato-and-tempeh heavy brunch. Slice the radish extra thin and layer with slices of ripe avocado. Smother with this bright, limey shallot vinaigrette and enjoy!

1 small shallot (minced finely)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon sugar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1/4 cup olive oil
juice of 1/2 lime
3 Tablespoon cilantro (chopped finely)

In a small bowl, smash the minced shallot with salt until combined. Add the sugar, vinegar, oil, lime, and cilantro and whisk until combined. Add salt or sugar to taste!

Yours bright in the sun,
NRG

P.S. On an unrelated note I also enjoyed this poem by James Tate this morning that is also titled The Radish. 

Donut Party

As promised, we rang in the Veganette's third year with towers of hot donuts enjoyed in the roof's morning sun. Hooray! One pal made some awesome Apple Cider Donuts using a recipe from The Sweet Life, a fabulous vegan blog stuffed with delicious recipes to satisfy your sweetest tooth. I fried up some Pumpkin Spice Donuts from my favorite recipe (originally published last October on Earth Eats) which I'll post again here for your use!  Chilling the dough is quite important, so be sure to allow for at least an hour of resting time.

2 Tbs. ground flaxseed mixed with 6 Tbs. hot water 
1/2 cup almond or soy milk
1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
4 cups flour
4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. ginger
1 cup canned pumpkin
1 cup sugar
4 Tbs. canola oil
2 tsp. vanilla

In a small bowl, mix together the flaxseed meal and hot water. In another small bowl, mix together the almond milk and vinegar. Set these aside.In a large bowl, mix the dry ingredients (flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and spices). In another bowl whisk together the pumpkin, sugar, oil, and vanilla. Mix in the almond milk and flaxseed mixtures. Stir the wet ingredients into the dry. Once ingredients are combined, transfer the bowl to the fridge for one hour. 

Roll the dough onto a floured countertop. You want the dough to be about 1/2 inch thick. Using a round cutter or a wide-mouth mason jar lid, cut the dough into circles. Use a bottlecap to punch the centers out. In a large, high-walled pot, heat 5 inches of canola oil to 375 degrees. Use a candy thermometer to monitor the oil's temperature, making sure to keep the oil between 370 and 380 degrees. Prepare a cooling rack by placing a rack over a baking tray. Carefully drop the donuts into the oil and watch them rise to the surface. Flip once, then transfer to the the rack to cool. Coat with cinnamon sugar and serve warm!

For these plain glazed sprinkle donuts, I used a recipe from Vegan Yum Yum and replaced flaxseed meal and hot water for the egg replacer. I had to use a bit more flour as well since I do not have a donut pan and these went in the hot oil. But fried food is good for you, right? Oy! I'll leave that up to you to decide, but trust that this funky plate of confetti joy did not go to waste.

To fall!
NRG

The Veganette Turns Three!

Oh how quickly the time passes! Today the Veganette turns three. What a wonderful year it has been! I've got a few schemes going for the coming year: a cookbook dream, a site update, and most recently, a collaboration with the very talented Rachelle AM Sartini Garner for Chickpea Magazine (sneak peak above).  

So thankful as always for the kind friends who keep the table filled and kitchen packed and to the readers who have been so faithful over the years. In celebration, I'll be hosting a fall donut party next Saturday morning in my lovely shared Clinton Hill apartment. You are all invited! Email me for directions and details! 

To many more!

NRG

Tempeh Scramble with Red Pepper and Brussels Sprouts

Behold, the breakfast of champions! Tempeh scramble is a protein powerhouse that can make even the bleariest of days soar! Pair with two slices of crunchy toast, a pile of roasted rosemary potatoes, and a generous dollop of plain almond yogurt topped with raspberry jam for a meal that is sure to please (if not transform your physique into that of a vegan body builder). Oh how I wish I could say this was today's breakfast! Instead, this delicious spread was enjoyed on a drizzly day in Milano with friends KM and SM.

olive oil
2 blocks tempeh (cubed and marinated in 2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar, 2 Tbs. tamari, and dash of sesame oil)
1 onion (diced)
1 jalapeno (minced)
1 red pepper (chopped)
3 cloves garlic (minced)
3 cups brussels sprouts (halved)
1 tsp. dried thyme
1 Tbs. nutritional yeast
lemon juice
black pepper

In a large frying pan, heat a few tablespoons of olive oil. Add the tempeh and fry, stirring occasionally, for five minutes or until lightly browned. Add the onion, jalapeno, and red pepper and saute until vegetables have softened slightly. Add the brussels sprouts and garlic and cover to cook, adding a few tablespoons of water if needed. Once sprouts are cooked through add the thyme, nutritional yeast, and pepper. Finish with a big squeeze of lemon juice and serve immediately!

So nice it is to have partners in the kitchen to help counteract the piles of dishes and also to keep the espresso rolling.

Yours from cloudy New York,
NRG

A New Lease on Life

My kind boss greeted me in the jolliest tone this morning -"You look fabulous today!" We've been charting the steadily healing cells on my face after a bicycle accident on Monday morning left me achy and swollen with a gnarly little squiggle of stitches up my right eyebrow and a bust to my right lower ribs. I was on my daily commute up first avenue when a cab swerved into the bike lane and a slick of dirty water grabbed my braking tire and flew me off into the street, face first. Red face red hands yellow taxi racing off into the blue sky. I'm so lucky- things could have been much worse. I feel like I am always re-booting in these years, and Monday was another reminder of how brief the hours we have are- lives rising and falling like hot flames licking at the ever ceasing dusk. A (painful) reminder to be very tender in these days, throw old grudges aside, forgive, to be grateful, and to celebrate the successes and wonders of friends. Joe said it's called getting a new lease on life.

If you are ever in a hit and run/ stop and run accident in New York City, it is important that you follow these steps after the accident to insure that you have an opportunity to recover lost wages or hospital charges from the city. I didn't know about any of this, so hopefully these tips are helpful for you if you are ever in a similar accident.

- File a police report within 24 hours. The city has rules in place in an effort to prevent fraudulent cases and this is one of them. If you wait 26 hours, it will be very hard to bring the case to court.

- File a complaint with the 311 against the Taxi and Limousine Commission-  http://www.nyc.gov/html/tlc/html/passenger/sub_consumer_compl.shtml. Someone will get back to you in 14 days by mail regarding a hearing on your case.

-Find an attorney. Adam White's firm - http://adamwhitelaw.com/ was very helpful in explaining the process to me and I would recommend his counsel. Flanzig & Flanzig, LLP also handles a number of bike-related (and dooring) cases every year http://www.newyorkbikelawyer.com/.

Finally, wear your helmets, folks!

Full hearted,
NRG