A Better Blueberry Muffin

I have posted a blueberry muffin recipe before, and it was OK, but the new recipe that I have is BY FAR the best I have ever tried, vegan or not.  They are light, fluffy, and delicious!  The recipe originally comes from The Joy Of Vegan Baking by Colleen Patrick Goudreau, but the folks at EgglessCooking.com have tweaked the recipe a little bit.  They used apple cider vinegar instead of white vinegar, which the recipe from the book calls for.  And then I added a twist of my own that I personally think changes the flavor completely.  Instead of lemon extract, I used vanilla extract and left out the lemon zest.  They are wonderful, lemony or not, so give this one a try...everyone will be begging for more.

Blueberry Muffins
You Need:

2 cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour (I used bleached)
1 and 1/2 teaspoons Baking Soda
1/2 teaspoon Salt
2 Lemons For Lemon Zest (optional)
3/4 to 1 cup Sugar
1 cup Milk, any (I used vanilla soy, at www.egglesscooking.com they used Rice Milk)
1/3 cup Canola Oil
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract (I used vanilla instead)
1 tablespoon White Vinegar (or Apple Cider Vinegar)
1 and 1/2 cups Fresh OR Frozen Blueberries
Do This:

Preheat the oven to 375F for 15 minutes. Lightly grease a muffin tin or use papers.
In a medium bowl, combine together flour, baking soda, salt and lemon zest.
In a large bowl, combine the sugar, milk, oil, extract, and vinegar. Mix well.
Add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients, stir until just combined. Don’t over stir.
Gently fold in the berries using a rubber spatula. USE FROZEN BERRIES...I stress this because as the berries cook they get very juicy and toward the end of the baking process they begin to explode and ooze out...this makes a very creepy-looking muffin.  Frozen berries prevents this for the most part, I have found.
Fill the muffin tins about 2/3rds full.
Bake until a wooden skewer inserted into the center comes out clean, about 22 minutes.
Remove from the oven and let it cool for 5 minutes. After that remove the muffins from the tins and cool on a wire rack.

Halloween Treats

We had another super Halloween this year, I always enjoy this holiday because it kicks off the official holiday season for me.  The kids wore some interesting costumes...we had an angel and Darth Vader.  Trick-or-treating can be more of a trick than a treat for parents of vegan children, though.  We have played around with different ideas in the past, but this year was the best so far.  That's why I want to share it with you!  We did the traditional door-to-door candy collecting, but immediately afterward we went to my parents house.  Everyone, including the friend we were trick-or-treating with, dumped out their bags and we sorted candy right away!  My guys gave up ALL their chocolate and other non-vegan things and then traded them for candy they could eat.  This was great, and everybody got plenty of sweets!  Our favorites are Smarties, Nerds, and Jolly Ranchers!  Hope yours was great, too :)

Tis the Season...

Vegan French Toast

Here's a great fall recipe that is perfect for Saturday morning!

Tofu French Toast 1/2 lb. of soft tofu 1/4 cup of soy milk or rice milk 1 tsp. of vanilla 1 tsp. of cinnamon and nutmeg 1/4 cup of water soy margarine Four slices of bread...thick slices of sourdough are DELISH Maple syrup Mix tofu, soy or rice milk, vanilla, cinnamon, and water in a blender until you get the consistency of two beaten eggs. Dip pieces of bread into mixture and place in a treated skillet (with margarine) until golden brown. When all pieces are done, top with fresh fruit and maple syrup.  Great with ground tofu sausage (GimmeLean) and coffee!

Vegan Photography

I recently had some very lovely "vintage" themed family portraits done!  I am very happy with them, they turned out great, if you are in the NOVA area check out Abby Neese Photography.  Having family photos taken is a great way to preserve memories and share your life with other family members and friends who may be far away.  I have gotten into the habit of posting my family photos on FaceBook with the security settings very high so that family and friends can enjoy my photos any time that they want.  If you are considering having your portraits done, keep one thing in mind...be SURE to use a photographer that uses digital photography instead of traditional film!  Abby used a Canon digital that was as big as her entire forearm.  "Who cares?!?!" you may be asking.  Well, one thing that many people do not realize is that photography film is not vegan or even vegetarian for that matter.  No really, no lie.  Gelatin is used to make the film, and gelatin comes from rendered animal parts.  "So wait...you mean Jello isn't vegetarian?" you might be saying while trembling in a state of shock.  That's right, do NOT make room for the Jello!  ANYTHING made from regular gelatin is NOT veg-friendly.  That includes marshmallows, a personal favorite of mine.  It's a good thing that there are several different kinds of vegan marshmallows available.  You can also get vegan Jello, if Jello's your thing.  So hunt down a photographer that uses a great digital camera, and if you are still using a 35mm for your personal camera, this is THE time to make the switch to digital because they are not as expensive as they used to be.  And, for your enjoyment, here is a sample of my recent family portraits, lovely AND vegan!