Page 55: Jalapeno-Cheddar Corn Bread

We hosted a chili cook-off to watch the Notre Dame vs. USC game on Saturday (go Irish!), and I took the opportunity to pair this last cornbread recipe with a delicious array of chili cooked by me and my friends.

I'm not generally a fan of vegan cheeses, but I bought a block of Daiya Cheddar just for this recipe.  While entirely unimpressive on it's own, it worked well in the finished product.  The cornbread was sweet yet savory and was a perfect pair with the chili.

I also made this cornbread as directed in a loaf pan instead of in mini muffins like the plain version I attempted.  It caved in the middle a bit but was done through and was really moist.  I definitely like it better in this format!

Stay tuned for dessert: Strawberry Shortcake.  One of the last TWO recipes to go!

Page 128: Strawberry-Rhubarb Pie

Okay, now I really feel like a cheater.  Only when forced to sit down and document my progress did I realize that I've been taking a lot of liberties with the handful of remaining recipes. Let me explain...

I was down to four recipes and it was Thanksgiving - so I thought this pie would be the perfect recipe to knock out in honor of the holiday.

However, rhubarb was nowhere to be found at the three grocery stores I visited last Wednesday. Maybe this is because it's just not rhubarb season, or maybe it's because I live in one of the most remote places in the country. Regardless, it was simply not available.  After several minutes of google research whilst standing in the produce department of grocer number three (what did we do before iPhones?), I learned that cranberries can be substituted for rhubarb in strawberry-rhubarb recipes because they have a similar sour quality. One blogger also advocated the substitution of swiss chard simply because she bought it on accident and couldn't tell the difference (though subsequent google searches strongly advised against this particular substitution).  

It was Thanksgiving after all, and cranberries were so readily available... so I made the switch. I was a woman on a mission with just four recipes to go. So yes, I consider this recipe done.

I cooked the cranberries down with a half cup evaporated cane juice then used them as directed in the recipe.  This addition of sugar probably made the whole thing sweeter, but it turned out pretty good anyway. Besides, since when did extra sugar ruin anything?

I learned my lesson from last year and made the dough only when I was ready to make the pie, and even left it in the fridge for just a smidge under the 20 minutes suggested. It was so much more manageable this time and rolled out easily.  However, the final version still didn't really taste like a pie crust and certainly lacked the flakiness of traditional pie crust.  However, if you have eat gluten free it's probably a pretty good pie considering your options.

While I was at it I made a baby pie in a ramekin so I could sample without cutting into the pie before dinner.

The filling was a tart and sweet combination, and overall I thought it was pretty good.  Not as good as my Mom's pie crust for sure, but considering it doesn't have butter and is made from spelt, I'll take it.

THREE recipes to go!

Page 135: Vanilla Shake

Oops. I really didn't realize this was supposed to be a vanilla shake. I just saw "shake" and that the ingredients contained "one pint vanilla vegan ice cream" and then apparently took some liberties.

Instead of vanilla, I made a chocolate peanut butter shake. However, the last thing I need is an excuse to consume another half-pint of ice cream, so I'm considering this recipe made.

I started with Luna & Larry's dark chocolate ice cream (which is so delicious on it's own by the way) instead of the vanilla.  The rest I did by the book - soy milk, agave nectar, and ice - and then added a heaping spoonful of peanut butter.  Erin McKenna suggests throwing in things like brownies, cookies, and even pie, so I don't think the peanut butter was that far off.  It's really the dark chocolate that made for the biggest deviation.

I know this picture doesn't look all that appealing.  And, honestly, I've made a better vegan shake myself (peanut butter & chocolate chip cookie dough shake anyone?).  But it was ice cream, agave, soy milk, and ice - so of course it was tasty.

Now back to the baking - just FOUR recipes to go!

Page 31: Zucchini Muffins

After being so underwhelmed by the Pumpkin Spice Muffins, I was not exactly excited about to make the zucchini version.  But I had picked up a couple of zucchinis at the farmers market and was banned from the beach the first weekend after LASIK, so I took the plunge.

I was sooo pleasantly surprised! They were sweeter then their pumpkin sibling (although I did learn from that experience and used an extra heavy pour of agave) and so, so, so moist. I think that was really the kicker with these - what sent them over the edge from "meh" to "good" - how crazy moist they were.

Unfortunately, I completely forgot to take photos before dishing them out among my friends.  Fortunately, my friend April loved them so much she texted me a picture of her breakfast the next day - so I am able to document my success!

Not bad. And... done with muffins! We're in the final countdown. Just FIVE recipes to go!