Vegetarian Rice Crispies

So this week I decided to do a vegetarian take on a popular dessert/snack...the rice crispy treats. Now a lot of people don't realize that one of the staple ingredients needed (marshmallows) are not vegetarian. Why? Because they have something called gelatin that is ground up animal bone. Not very vegetarian/vegan friendly. My friend Alma sent me this recipe and has been bugging me for weeks to make it, so this week I decided to since I knew they would be both easy and quick. Now I did make some alterations from the original recipe, purely because I thought it would taste better and be easier to cook. Here you go!

Ingredients:

1/3 Cup Creamy Almond Butter
1/3 Brown Rice Syrup (or Maple Syrup, though honestly stick with the brown rice syrup, it's thicker and will make the treats stick together easier)
1 tsp. Real Vanilla Extract
3 Cups Rice Crispy cereal
7 oz. Good Quality Dark Chocolate  (it calls for dark but I used milk because I prefer it)
1 Tbsp. Unsalted Butter

Directions:
1) Using a double broiler method, set a glass bowl over a small pot of simmering water, making sure that the bowl is not touching the water.
2) Put the almond butter, brown rice syrup and vanilla extract in the bowl and stir until everything is evenly incorporated. Remove from the heat to cool a minute.

3) Put the crisped rice in a large bowl and pour the almond butter mixture on top, mix thoroughly.

4) Coat the bottom and sides of a 8×8 glass pan with a light coat of desired neutral tasting oil like coconut, canola, grapeseed (First off I used a metal pan, secondly I used vegetable oil and thirdly I apply the oil using a paper towel since it's easier that way)

5) Pour the rice mix in and push it down with the back of a spoon. Put it in the fridge while you make the chocolate layer.

Use a metal spoon as opposed to a wooden one since the mixture is less likely to stick to it)

6) Clean the bowl from the almond butter mix, and set up the double broiler again. Add the pieces of chocolate and the butter to melt slowly, stirring occasionally.

Now I added some soy milk to the mixture to keep the chocolate smooth

7) Pour the chocolate on top of the rice crisps and quickly spread it across the top with an offset spatula or back of a spoon in an even layer

8) Cover with foil and place back in the fridge for at least 1.5 hours

9) Once done, enjoy!

Tips and tricks:

*Like I stated during each step, I made some changes to the original recipe. Most important of them all is the adding of milk to the chocolate. DO IT. From multiple past experiences, trust me when I say it is needed. It will keep the chocolate smooth instead of bunching up and getting grainy

*Don't use your hands to mix the rice crispy cereal with the syrup blend. It may seem easier than using a spoon but it's not. And it's way messy.

*Don't let your treat sit for longer than 2 days according to the recipe...ignore that. If you seal them right when putting them away, you'll be fine.

*I did double my mix because the original will only make one 8x8 pan. (The ingredients list is the original sizes)

*ENJOY!!!

Asparagus Risotto

Last Friday I went to a dinner party, and because I am a vegetarian my friend needed a dish without meat. Now I love risotto, but after eating it ALL THE TIME while in Europe, I was hesitant to dive in so quickly again. However, where there is butter, there is me. The dish was surprisingly easy to make, despite the daunting directions. Plus, it requires some wine in the mix, so honestly I failed to see any down-side with at least trying it! Without further ado...the recipe!

Ingredients:

1 pound asparagus
3 Tbsp plus 1 teaspoon butter

1/2 cup chopped shallots

1 cup rice

1/2 cup dry white wine (or 1 Tbsp lemon juice and 1/4 cup water)

About 3 1/2 cups vegetable stock (can substitute some of the asparagus cooking water for stock)

1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Salt and pepper

(usually this would be a picture of the ingredients, but I forgot to take one)

Directions:

1)  Prepare the asparagus by breaking off discarding the tough ends (about the last inch of the spear). Cut into 1 to 1 1/2-inch pieces (tips longer, base shorter). If your asparagus are especially large, cut into even smaller (bite-size) pieces.

2) Bring a saucepan with a quart of water to a boil. Blanch the asparagus pieces for 2 minutes. At the end of two minutes, use a slotted spoon to remove the asparagus pieces to an ice water bath to shock the asparagus into a vibrant green color and to stop the cooking. Drain from the ice water bath and set aside.

3) Peel and cut the shallots into as small of pieces as you like (I usually do about 3cm)

4) In a 3 or 4 quart saucepan, heat 3 Tbsp butter on medium heat. Add the shallots and cook for a few minutes until translucent. (While the shallots are cooking, bring the stock to a simmer in a saucepan.)

5) Add the rice and cook for 2 minutes more, stirring until nicely coated.

6) Add the wine (or lemon water). Slowly stir, allowing the rice to absorb the wine. Once the wine is almost completely absorbed, add 1/2 cup of stock to the rice. Continue to stir until the liquid is almost completely absorbed, adding more stock in 1/2 cup increments. Stir often to prevent the rice from sticking to the bottom of the pan. Cook time is about 15 to 20 minutes. Remove from heat.

(The stock may seem too much for the rice to absorb, but trust me that it will)

7) Stir in the Parmesan cheese, the remaining 1 teaspoon butter, and the asparagus. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve immediately.

8) Enjoy!

Tips and Experiences:
*I didn't have vegetable broth and therefore used the asparagus water and it worked great :) I would actually suggest it instead since it is easier and the water won't go to waste.
*I also didn't have the wine since it had not arrived yet and so I used the lemon juice and water and again it worked out just fine
**However while we were eating, I knocked my friend's wine into the risotto dish and it definitely increased the tastiness of the food! Plus the alcohol didn't get cooked out since it happened at the table and not the stove so that was fun too.
* This dish claims to feed four, but risotto is filling so it can feed more than that.
*The dish does take about an hour total to cook, so be aware
*Lastly, this is now one of my favorite dishes, so I highly recommend it!

Sour Cream Rspberry Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

So this week I decided to do a dessert for two reasons. 1) It had the highest votes in my poll and 2) a friend of mine asked me to do these cupcakes since she wanted some. Now for me, I have never really been a fan of fruity desserts, so I figured I would just make them and then give them all away...boy was I wrong. The whole idea of sour cream and cream cheese on a cupcake didn't sound appealing in anyway, but with the tartness of the raspberries, it worked out great. So without further ado, here is the recipe.

Ingredients:

Cupcakes-
1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 stick of butter
3/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup sour cream
1 1/2 cups raspberries

Frosting-
4 oz. room temp. cream cheese
1/2 stick of butter
1/2 pound of sugar (I used about 2 cups)
1/2 tsp vanilla

Directions:
1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In one bowl mix flour, baking soda and salt.

2) In a separate bowl mix sour cream and butter until fluffy (It's easier if you melt the butter a little before starting)

3) Add in the vanilla and egg

4) Add the flour mixture to the egg one and add raspberries

5) Mix well. It's totally normal for most of the raspberries to break apart (smash) as they are stirred

6) Scoop the mixture into your cupcake papers. I used a small spoon for ease.

7) Bake for about 20 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center of the cupcakes.

8) While the cakes are baking, time to make the frosting! Mix all of the ingredients together in a bowl by hand

9) Once blended, use an electric mixer. If you are like me and don't have one, get ready to use some arm muscles to make your frosting fluffy

10) Stir until the frosting is at the consistency you like (or your arm is hurting).

11) Once the cupcakes are done, set them out to cool (about 30 minutes) before you add the frosting

12) Once ready, add your frosting as well as some leftover raspberries. I added a dark chocolate chip to give some texture to mine.

13) Enjoy! And save some for yourself because they are addicting!

Tips and experiences:
*If you can, invest in an electric mixer, it will save your arms later.
* Use fresh raspberries instead of frozen, they taste better and will mix easier
*Be aware this recipe makes only 15 cupcakes on average
*These make a great, fresh addition to any meal or party now that we are hitting warmer weather and want something light to eat.

A week off

This week I decided to take off due to last week's incident resulting in a burned arm. Instead of cooking anything, I choose to give my body and my wallet a rest in making a new dish and instead thought I would share my musings of why I decided on a cooking blog. Like I believe I said in one of my first posts, I have about ten vegetarian cookbooks that I have acquired over the eight years I have been a vegetarian and so once I heard I needed to do a blog for class, I figured cooking would be the way to go. There were two obvious reasons why I made this choice for myself: I wanted to actually use the cookbooks that I have and I also love to cook. It helps me relax after a stressful day to bake some cookies, it's nice to create a meal for myself and my boyfriend or friends that everyone will enjoy. Now I'm no Martha Stewart or Julia Child but I have been able to hold my own in the kitchen for years without an issue until last week. I think being burned was a knock on the head so to speak in terms of some higher food-being saying "Hey Kendall, you're not invincible in the kitchen. If you lose focus, you can get hurt." And honestly, it was a wake-up call (a very painful one). So this week instead I am reflecting on my kitchen experiences and hopefully learning from them before I head back into the land of ovens and whisks, herbs and spices. So here is I guess what I have learned so far...cooking is great, but don't get cocky or you will get burned, literally.

French Fry Fail

So last week I attempted to make french fries off a recipe that my friend sent me. I figured why not? Everyone loves french fries and they require little money for the ingredients and are relatively simple to make. I should have known that morning that my plan was doomed to fail. I had made waffles for breakfast and apparently unplugged the wrong appliance before leaving for a meeting. Imagine my surprise when I came home two hours later to find my waffle iron still on! After unplugging it (this time) I lifted it up to move and burned my fingers accidentally. Sign number one. A little bit later I went to the store to buy everything I would need to make the fries and when I got home, realized I had bought a sweet potato instead of a russet one. Sign number two. Lastly my friend who was supposed to come and help me had to cancel at the last minute. Sign number three. Intent on still creating delicious (sweet) potato fries, I got to work. Here was my experience.....

Ingredients:

1 large russet potato

1 cup olive oil

1 cup flour

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Directions:

1) Skin the (sweet) potato. Now I found an easier way to do this and it as follows: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4W0qIPJmoo <--watch this to see how

2) Once the (sweet) potato is peeled, slice into wedges

3) Place the wedges into cold water to keep them from turning brown while you cut the rest

4) Next set a skillet or pot to medium/high with your olive oil. I used a skillet to start but switched to a pot instead due to ease.

5) While the oil is heating up, mix your salts, paprika and flour together to create the batter.

(slowly add water to the mixture as you stir in order to create the texture you want to dip your fries into. I like my a little thicker so I used about 1 cup of water.)

6) using tongs, dip your fries into the batter one at a time and drop them into the oil

7) keep them in until they are a light brown and then allow to drain in the sink to rid of any excess oil

Tips and experiences:
****DO NOT TAKE YOUR ATTENTION AWAY FROM WHAT YOU ARE DOING. You are using hot oil that can flame up at a moments notice. If a fire does occur, DO NOT attempt to put out with water, it will cause an explosion. The best thing to do is turn off the heat and cover the pot or skillet with a damp towel or metal lid/tray. If you feel the need to move the pot into the sink, make sure nothing in it has water sitting inside. Because if water hits hot oil, you will burn yourself as I did thanks to stupid dishes in the sink having water in them.

* In case of a burn, immediantly submerge the injured area in room temp. water for at least five minutes. Do not use cold water or ice right away because it can send the person into shock. Ice may be used later to reduce swelling. If you are unsure about your burn, go to a hospital right away.

*Also, these french fries were not very flavorful, therefore I say:
FRENCH FRY FAIL