"Buttering" you up with vegan treats

After enjoying a completely vegan sunset on my vegan rooftop last night, I decided to bake some vegan goodies. Brandt and I are going to DC this weekend to see some family, and since we've asked them to accommodate our vegan lifestyle, I thought a gift of tasty treats was in order.

One of the best parts about most vegan baking is that, since it excludes raw eggs, you can take as many tastes of dough as you'd like. Although, the nutritionist in me is inclined to recommend only 1 or 2 to save room for the finished product, which I always also want to taste.

Vegan Coconut Chocolate Bars were what I decided on. I found them online, but altered the recipe, so thought I should share my version.

Ingredients:
3/4 cup whole wheat flour, sifted (you must sift before measuring!)
1 1/2 cups quick oats
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup unsweetened applesauce (I realized that I accidentally purchased sweetened, so decreased the sugar from this recipe by about 1/8 cup)
1 teaspoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons non-dairy milk (don't really need to measure, just add when the time is right)
1/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chunks
1/4 cup vegan semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (almonds and pecans would be good too!)
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes, divided

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F and spray an 8 x 8 baking dish with non-stick spray.

In a large bowl, combine flour, oats, baking soda and powder, and salt. In a separate bowl, combine applesauce, oil, sugar, and vanilla.

Add wet mixture to dry and mix until combined. Add non-dairy milk a little at a time until it holds together well.

Fold in coconut (reserving about 3 Tablespoons for the top), chocolate chunks, and walnuts. TASTE :) Press into baking dish and sprinkle over remaining coconut.

Bake for 21-23 minutes. Remove from over, let cool for at least 10 minutes before cutting. I cut mine into 25 small pieces. (Then Brandt ate 2).

PeaceFood Cafe

Friends, Sarah and Jo, and I (Suzy) went to Peacefood Cafe last night--an UWS vegan restaurant. Although they offer a strictly vegan menu, PF is (and I can say this having gone prior to this experiment) omnivore-friendly, meaning that it doesn't have that outrageous and unappetizing "health-food store" smell and doesn't leave meat-eaters with a sense that they had a makeshift dinner of side items.

I recommend going with friends like mine, who love to share food, so you can try a little bit of everything--the chickpea fries get my highest rating. Be sure to grab some of the bakery items to go--Brandt benefited from this, and particularly enjoyed the Magic Cookies. While not the "magic" some of you might be envisioning, they were definitely delicious.

Chew on this

I've started to notice greater time spent chewing on this vegan diet--helllloooo fiber. Last night, after feasting on falafel with tahini (delightful), corn on the cob and salad, I decided to venture into my first attempt at baking. While not the muffins you might find in your favorite bakery, they came out as muffins, and certainly a nice treat for us while butter and eggs are not on the menu*. I recommend making the attempt if you have it in you. Or coming to our apartment in the next 24 hours (approximately the time it will take us to devour and gift the delicious dozen). Make sure you plan for enough time to chew it though.  

*Note: This was the first time I've ever baked and not had to slap Brandt's hand away from the batter and newly baked goodies. He made a breakfast of soy ice cream sandwiches instead.