Black Bean Pico de Gallo

So it's been a little while. I wish I could say I've been off doing something incredibly fabulous, but that would be untrue. I've just been busy with work and school, like always. There's been some exciting cooking in the last month or so, and some not very inspired cooking. Sometimes I photographed the more exciting foods, sometimes I didn't.

But here we are. I had a girls' sleepover with some cousins a few weeks ago. This black bean pico de gallo was one of the finger foods I made. It's so easy and so yummy. And the proportions of ingredients really just depends on how much you want to make, and your tastes. I normally use two cans of beans, so we'll go with that.

You'll need:
- 2 cans 15 oz black beans (or about 6 C dried black beans, soaked and cooked)
- 1/2 red onion, chopped
- 1/2 to 3/4 C corn
- lime juice, to taste
- cilantro, to taste
- sea salt, to taste

Just mix everything together in a bowl.

Your mind is blown, right? So simple. Sometimes if I have leftovers, I eat these in tortilla shells. Equally yummy lunch.

Pumpkin Scones

Pumpkins scones from Oh She Glows! My dough was kind of sticky and wet... may or may not have had something to do with the fact that I didn't have spelt flour and just kind of improvised. It wasn't terrible, but I think the consistency would have been better with the flour called for.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all-purpose flour
• 1 cup whole grain spelt flour
• 1 tbsp. baking powder
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/4 tsp. ground cloves
• 1/4 tsp. ground ginger
• 2-3 tbsp. sugar
• 8 tbsp. Earth Balance butter
• 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
• 3 tbsp. almond milk
• 1 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 1 chia/flax egg (1 tbsp. ground chia/flax + 4 tbsp water)
• Turbinado sugar, to garnish
• Vegan Egg Wash:
• 1 tbsp. cornstarch
• 1/2 tbsp. water
• Spiced Glaze:
• 1 cup powdered sugar
• 1.5-2 tbsp. almond milk
• 1/2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice (or 1/4 tsp. cinnamon and a pinch of ginger and nutmeg)

Instructions

1. Preheat the oven to 425F and line a baking sheet with parchment of a non-stick mat.
2. In a small bowl mix the chia/flax egg. Set aside.
3. In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients (flours, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, ginger).
4. Take the cold Earth Balance butter cut butter into dry ingredients until crumbly.
5. In a medium sized bowl, mix the pumpkin, chia/flax egg, and almond milk.
6. Add wet to dry and mix until a ball forms. I got down and dirty and mixed with my hands!
7. On a flour surface place the ball of dough and kneed a few times with your hands.
8. Shape the dough into a circle and then cut into 8 triangles.
9. Now mix your vegan egg wash by mixing cornstarch and water and heating in microwave for 30 seconds. Stir well.
10. With a pastry brush, brush on the glaze onto each scone.
11. Sprinkle with turbinado sugar generously and bake for 14 minutes.
12. Cool for 10-15 minutes.
13. While cooling, make your spiced glaze by beating 1 cup powdered sugar with milk and spice until smooth.
14. When scones are cool ice the scones and serve with a cup of tea or coffee!

S'more Pops!

The recent drop in temperature is a harsh reminder that summer is over, but instead of dwelling on the fact that it's so cold I feel like my toes might freeze off (see? I'm not just being a wimp), I like to think of my favorite things of fall: Halloween, apples, bonfires. In my mind, "bonfires" is synonymous with "smores," so when I saw this recipe for smore pops in facebook, I knew I had to veganize it. With a few simple substitutions, this is easily made vegan-friendly. And while I made this batch in my kitchen over my gas stove, I couldn't help but think of nights spent with friends, gathered around a fire and hanging out. I hope such a night is in my near future!

To recreate these, you'll need:
marshmallows (I used Dandies)
chocolate (I used Whole Foods vegan chocolate chips)
graham crackers, crushed
lollipop sticks
styrofoam block

The method could not be any easier:
1. Put two (or three, since they're tiny compared to non-vegan marshmallows) marshmallows on each stick.
2. Melt chocolate in bowl.
3. Lay out crushed graham cracker crumbs on plate.
4. Toast marshmallows over stove. Dip in chocolate, roll in graham cracker.
5. Let dry/set in styrofoam block.

I wrapped up mine and brought most of them to work. I didn't want to be responsible for eating all of them. Several of my non-vegan co-workers tried them and agreed that these were super tasty!

Soft Pretzels

During the spring of and the summer following my senior year, I worked at Camden Yards. As a pretzel maker. It was a decent job. Despite the terrible middle management, the sometimes rude customers (no beer after the seventh inning means no beer after the seventh inning. Damn!), and the weird oompa-loompa looking twins, I got to work with my friends, listen to Ol' Blue Eyes on Sundays, and eat all the soft pretzels I wanted.

When I left that job, I never in a million years imagine I'd ever use my superb pretzel-rolling skills again. Then I fell in love with Peas and Thank You, and what to my wondering eyes should appear?

A recipe for soft pretzels!

This process was considerably more involved than that utilized during my Uncle Teddy's days, but it's undoubtedly for the best. I can't imagine pretzels made from questionable, pre-packaged bags of flour, doused in butter and salt can really be that great for one's health...

Little baby dough...

Rolled out after rising.

Boiling.

Mammoth pretzels. 

These were so good! I'd go so far as to say... a homerun. /end cheesy baseball jokes. Soft pretzels have always been one of my favorite snacks, especially at baseball games, carnivals, amusement parks, wherever you might find them! 

What is your favorite baseball game snack?

Spicy Kale Chips

 (Note: This picture is pre-baking. I forgot to take a picture when they came out of the oven... 

and there aren't any chips left to photograph.)

I feel like kale, like most leafy greens, gets neither the recognition nor the respect it deserves. More than once, I've had a cashier at the grocery store ask me, "What's that?" This question kind of blows my mind, because if you can't identify it (and hi, you're working at a grocery store), you probably aren't eating it, either. And you should be!

 I will admit that I haven't always been a fan of kale or its family members. I remember my mom making it for my brother and me a few times, but we weren't having it. After going vegan, though, I realized I'd have to make friends with not just kale, but collard greens and spinach, too. And now, kale and I have moved from friendship to love affair. Especially in the form of kale chips.

Chock full of vitamins and minerals, kale boasts loads of health benefits. Kale has high levels of vitamins A, C, and K; calcium, fiber, and beta-carotene, too, are present in large amounts. You can also find omega-3 fatty acids, folic acid, potassium, and magnesium in kale. Together, these antioxidants strengthen our bones and teeth; protect and maintain heathy eyes and skin; prevent the formation of cancerous cells; promote regular digestion; work as an anti-inflammatory agent in arthritis and asthma; lower blood pressure; promote a healthy immune system. Seriously, there's no reason to not eat it!

So, I bring you one of my favorite ways to eat kale. It's so easy and so yummy, and you'll probably have a hard time not eating them all in one day. Or is that just me?

You'll need:

- 1 lb of fresh kale
- olive oil
- sea salt and red pepper flakes to taste

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Rinse and dry kale. Remove hard stems. Tear or cut leaves into smaller, edible pieces.
2. In a large bowl, toss leaves with 1 tbsp olive oil. You want to just lightly coat the leaves of oil; too much oil will make your leaves limp and greasy. If you need more oil to coat leaves, add oil 1/2 tbsp at a time.
3. Lay leaves on a baking sheet in a single layer. Sprinkle with sea salt and red pepper flakes to taste.
4. Bake 12-13 minutes. Half way through, you can toss them on the sheet for more even baking.

These can burn easily, so keep an eye on them! You can also toss on cayenne pepper for a smoky flavor.

Oatmeal Breakfast Bars

A week or two ago, I decided to start having green smoothies for breakfast every day. The upside to this is that I'm getting in way more raw greens than ever before (and have noticed a positive change in how I feel!); the downside is that I'm usually hungry two hours after I eat. While perusing FatFreeVegan, I came across these oatmeal bars. They sounded like a delicious and perfect mid-morning snack.

This recipe came together quickly and turned out really tasty. They were a little crumbly, but I think this was because I took them out of the oven prematurely. Another minute or two probably would have avoided the crumbly problem. These bars are a nice alternative to muffins in the morning, and also serve as a great snack. A dual purpose food in a single recipe? I'm sold.