Raw Vegan Chocolate Pudding

This summer I tried making chocolate pudding with avocados, aka chocomole. I wasn't thrilled on how it turned out, as it lacked the sweetness you expect from chocolate pudding, although it was creamy. I have since been on a quest for a good healthy, homemade vegan chocolate pudding recipe. On my Pinterest food board, I pinned a yummy recipe that uses bananas for sweetness and creaminess for an ice cream recipe. My husband has been going on non-stop about this 30 bananas a day lady ,

and we all of a sudden have like 30 bananas in the house at one time. I actually bought 20 bananas at Fresh and Easy this week and the check-out computer said, "Are you sure?" hahahaha! So, I have indulged in a few bananas lately.
So, what could be better than a raw, vegan healthy chocolate pudding?

Raw Vegan Chocolate Pudding (Makes 2 servings)

2 frozen sliced bananas
3 TBSP cocoa powder
1-2 TBSP organic no-sugar added peanut butter

Add bananas, cocoa powder and peanut butter to a food processor and mix until smooth. Simple. Tasty. Wholesome. This can be frozen to create an ice cream consistency.

Seriously amazing vegan fondue recipes

The Hibbards love vegan fondue!

There is something magical about fondue. Don't you agree? My dreams usually involve cheese and chocolate...and Krispy Creme donuts (find and/or make me vegan ones and I will love you forever). Matt jokes that I try to eat my pillow at night. ha.
The Melting Pot was my only real experience with fondue, but we used to go at least a couple times a year, BV (before vegan). I am saving myself for a Cathrineholm fondue set, but until the day I find one in good condition, I'll just have to use big enamel pots and some old 70s fondue sticks that I found in our junk drawer (probably came from a fondue set my parents gave me).

Trying to find a vegan cheese fondue recipe online was pretty hard, so I took the basic idea from this recipe to create my own. My modified recipe is DIVINE!!! Like, so good that I had it as leftovers for 3 nights! Not the healthiest thing you can eat...but your mouth will love you.

VEGAN CHEESE FONDUE

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup mimiccreme
• 3 tbsp earth balance
• 1 bag vegan shredded Diaya cheese
• 1 tsp tahini
• 2 tbsp nutritional yeast
• 1/2 tsp garlic powder
• dash salt and pepper (to taste)

Preparation:

In a fondue pot (or enamel pot) over medium-low heat, melt the earth balance and diaya cheese. Add tahini and stir until combined. Add remaining ingredients. You may need to add a bit more cheese or mimiccreme to get the consistency that you want.

  You only need 1 bag of Diaya...not 2, as pictured

 Looks just like cheese

 Starts looking like cheese fondue!

Here's where it get's fun! We decided to dip gardein crispy 7 grain tenders, apple slices and 2 varieties of fresh vegan bread.

 Gardein and apple slices

Fresh bread cubes

 After sitting on low heat, the cheese fondue turns a nice shade of 'cheddar'.

 Yum!

 I yuppified Matt's Coleman camping grill, so we could keep the cheese hot! This is where a good fondue set would come in handy.

 Yep, camping in the kitchen.

 Dippin'

 It was sooooo tasty. I honestly think I could taste-test fool some non-vegans into thinking it is real cheese fondue.

The chocolate course. This is somewhat easier to find recipes for, and I used this recipe, but made some modifications. Super duper tasty. And, you can re-heat it, if you have leftovers.

Vegan Chocolate Fondue

Ingredients: 

• 1/4 cup earth balance
• 8 ounces vegan chocolate chips or dark chocolate
• 2 tbsp flour
• 1/2 cup agave nectar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tbsp vanilla soy milk

Preparation:

Melt earth balance, vegan chocolate and soy milk together in saucepan over very low heat, or, use a double-boiler to ensure chocolate doesn't burn. Once melted, remove from heat, add the rest of the ingredients, combine well and transfer to fondue pot to keep warm.

Ingredients

 Everything goes into the pot

 Finished vegan chocolate fondue

 Fun! Let's dip bananas, massive strawberries, vegan bread, vegan chocolate chip cookies and vegan brownies.

 Going in!

 Strawberries and chocolate. Dreamy.

So, looking for something fun to try this weekend?! Try vegan fondue! 

6 Things I Love So Far For Winter 2010

1) This dress....which I will wear without shame, in public, with uggs. I bought my sister one, too, so we can be utterly obnoxious and ridiculously holiday-obsessed with our matching outfits, including our "Get Out Of My Way, I'm Going Christmas Shopping" bags! This was my first purchase from ModCloth.

2) Scarflettes like this one. I found 2 amazing bow tie scarlettes at Cost Plus, of all places. They were $16.99 each in a marbled knit (one in a citron blend and one is a mocha blend). I am in love with these little scarves! Scarves are my necklaces for the winter.

 


3) My new 1960s equestrian blazer purchased for $38 from seller AdrianCompanyVintage on Etsy (I LOVE Etsy).

After seeing a lovely version of a herringbone blazer on EmersonMade for $238, I was just casually searching for a vintage version and came across one on Etsy in my size. It just arrived today and it is lovely!
How cute is this EmersonMade jacket? I think my vintage one is pretty similar, with the exception of the buttons.

4) Leatherette boots in camel $31.95....and they look fab. They have a zipper in the back, but I really like that they are super comfy and actually a a little big in the calf area.

5) Green Mountain Apple Cider for Keurig. Single serve awesomeness....I am in love. Served in a double-walled insulated glass=perfection.

6) Choc Choc dark chocolate mint thins from Fresh And Easy. I have kinda given up on chocolate because most of it contains milk. Well, well, well....pretty packaging caught my eye, ingredients are vegan (70% dark chocolate and no milk) and they are rich and oh-so-coooooool.

More winter, please!!!!!!

Vegan Quinoa Cocoa Cupcakes With Vegan Chocolate Frosting

My goal is to make 1 batch of vegan baked goods every week. This week, I wanted to find a fun unique vegan chocolate cupcake. I knew I would be limited in my choices, due to the ingredients on hand. I had about 2 cups of cooked quinoa in the refrigerator and came across a cupcake recipe made with quinoa.
I had a feeling the recipe would be a disaster, but knew if it was good, it would be really good. From start to finish, this recipe intrigued me. While mixing the ingredients, the batter was so dry that I thought I did something wrong. I decided to add another tablespoon of oil and 3 more tablespoons of water. This was a good choice because I don't think the cupcakes would have turned out, if I didn't. Next time I make this recipe, I may add more liquids to see how it changes the recipe. The batter was really thick, which makes it easy to put into the cupcake liners. While watching the cupcakes baking in the over, I watched them rise up into the top of the cupcake liners and they looked moist.
I let the cupcakes cool and frosted them with a vegan chocolate frosting recipe. I like the stiffer frosting, so I can use a frosting bag. I will use more powdered sugar the next time I make the frosting, so it gets thicker. I halved the recipe, but probably could have quartered it. I have enough frosting leftover to frost another batch of 12 cupcakes.
Matt loved his cupcake, as did I. Enjoy!


Vegan Quinoa Cocoa Cupcake Recipe
 http://www.vegan-food.net/recipe/1493/Quinoa-Cocoa-Cupcakes/


Ingredients

• 3/4 Cup cooked Quinoa
• 1/3 Cup Vegetable Oil
• 2/3 Cup White Sugar
• 1-1/2 Teaspoons Vanilla Extract
• 1 Teaspoon Baking Soda
• 3/4 Teaspoon Baking Powder
• 1/4 Teaspoon Salt
• 1/2 Cup Cocoa Powder
• 1/2 Cup Whole-Wheat Pastry Flour
• 1 Cup White Flour
• 2 Tablespoons Water

METHOD

First, rinse off just over 1/3 cup of dried quinoa. ( It has a bitter coating that must be rinsed off. ) Before baking, pre-cook the quinoa. Place quinoa in a covered pot with about 2 cups of water and a pinch of salt. Bring to a boil, and simmer approximately 25 minutes. Check to ensure quinoa does not boil dry. Allow to cool. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line cupcake tin with paper liners.
In a large bowl, mix all ingredients well.
Bake at 350 degrees for about twenty minutes, or when a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.

Vegan Chocolate Frosting
(You could easily make 1/4 of this recipe and have enough frosting for 1 batch of cupcakes)
http://vegweb.com/index.php?topic=6441.0 


Ingredients

    1 cup vegan margarine
    4 cups powdered sugar (make your own if you want - blend sugar and cornstarch)
    2 tablespoon vanilla
    4 tablespoon soy milk
    1/2 cup cocoa powder (or more)
    dash of salt

Directions:

The vegan margarine should be at room temperature when placed in bowl. Blend until mushy, and then add vegan powdered sugar, salt, vanilla, chocolate and soy milk. You can add in more soy milk to make it a bit smoother but not too much. Spread on cake and enjoy.