by : Reiko Dessert, Reviews, St. Paul, Vegan, Vegetarian

Local Vegan Sweets
ヴィーガンスイーツ

When we found Vegan East who makes vegan cakes, we (I (lol)) thought it would be perfect to order one for my birthday, and Terry kindly ordered for me.

I was so happy that they offer Matcha cake as one of their options.

The cake was delicious!

It has the perfect sweetness (many cakes in the U.S. are too sweet for me).

The owner was very accommodating and she patiently listened to how we would like it to be decorated.

The cake was so elegant, just the way I wanted, or better!

This weekend turned out to be a very sweet one for us.

When we found out Totally Baked Donuts was having a pop up shop at Eureka Compass, I thought it would be the perfect opportunity to try it.

We got the following six flavors: OMG! Chocolate; Maple with Sea Salt & Cashews; Pumpkin; Gingerbread Ma’am; Lemon Hempseed; Jalapeno Cheese.

All were good, but our favorites were OMG! Chocolate, Maple with Sea Salt & Cashews, and Lemon Hempseed.

I am so excited to see vegan sweets are becoming more and more available in the Twin Cities!

by : Reiko Breakfast, Dessert, Vegan, Vegetarian

Breakfast Super Cookies
ざくざく朝食クッキー

Now I’m an adult, I can basically eat anything I want.

Even cookies for breakfast, right?!

I just put in all my favorite nuts and dry fruits, etc., to the batter, spread the dough on the pan, and baked it.

Tasty!

I’ve been bombarded with catalogs the past few weeks, and I’m sure it is likely to continue until Christmas.

I usually don’t buy things just because it’s that season, but last night I stopped at a store just to browse, and ended up finding and buying an awesome pair of jeans that was 40% off because of their early Black Friday sale.

I’ve been looking for non-skinny jeans for a while, and I’m so happy I finally found one; do you know how hard it’s been to find jeans that are NOT skinny?!

Have a great weekend everyone!

Breakfast Cookies ; these cookies are extremely easy to crumble.

150g all purpose flour
100g whole wheat flour
two pinches salt
80g maple syrup
60g plus about 1/3 cup canola oil
1/2~1 cup oats
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/4 cup golden raisins
1/4 cup almond slices
1/4 cup chopped walnuts
1/4 cup Super Seed & Ancient Grain Blend (from Trader Joe’s): sprouted buckwheat, sprouted millet, chia seed golden flax seed, red quinoa, shelled hemp seed, and amaranth

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix all the ingredients well. Spread the dough on a sheet lined with parchment paper. Cut into bite sized cookies with a knife.
3. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until baked through.

by : Reiko Dessert, Vegan, Vegetarian

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Tops
パンプキンスパイスマフィントップ

This was my first time to make muffin tops, but it was so much fun!

Elaine is so right about muffin tops (lol).

They are the best.

The flavor?

Pumpkin spice, of course.

I didn’t follow any specific recipe, so I was a bit worried, but they turned out great!

The texture is just like those muffin tops.

They can go into these cool treat bags, too, if you feel generous enough to share (lol).

But wait!

How about drizzling spice mocha icing over them.

Delicious!!

Crunchy at the bottom and soft and moist inside.

Did somebody say “Halloween”?

I’m not very organized or prepared when it comes to events, but as a food blogger I feel I can’t miss this one.

The decoration is minimum this year (well, the bats were hand-crafted a few years ago), but it’s still fun to participate in this event even in a small way.

Pumpkin Spice Muffin Tops with Spice Mocha Icing

muffin tops
– 1 tablespoon flax seed meal
– 2.5 tablespoons water
– 1/4 cup soy milk
– 1 cups all-purpose flour
– 1 teaspoon baking powder
– 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
– 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
– 1/4 teaspoon salt
– 1/4 cup refined coconut oil
– a little over 1/2 cup sugar
– 1/2 cup cooked and pureed pumpkin (I used red kuri squash)
– 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

spice mocha icing
– 1/2 cup powdered sugar
– soy milk
– coffee granule (dissolved in a small amount of boiling water)
– cinnamon
– ground ginger

chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 420F.
2. Combine all the ingredients.
3. Use a small ice cream scoop and drop scoops (makes about 18 muffin tops) on a parchment lined baking sheet.
4. Bake for about 10~12 minutes until baked through.
5. Make icing. Add soy milk and coffee slowly until it achieves the preferred consistency. Add spices. Mix well.
6. Drizzle icing over muffin tops. Sprinkle walnuts.

2 Comments
by : Reiko Dessert, Vegan, Vegetarian

Biscotti: Orange Cranberry Pistachio / Chocolate Walnut
ビスコッティ二種：オレンジクランベリーピスタチオ＆胡桃チョコレート

Yesterday we had company at our house for lunch, and I didn’t forget about dessert.

My initial plan was making something different whose main ingredient was avocado.

I did get avocados a few days before, but they were not ripe enough at the time I needed to make the dessert.

Avocados are difficult in that way.

It takes time for them to ripe and when they are ripe, they don’t stay long at their best condition.

I could almost hear them saying “I’m not ready, not yet, not yet, not yet, not yet…. Now I’m ready! Now!”.

So the plan was changed, and I decided to make biscotti instead.

Don’t ask me why.

I guess I was simply in the mood for it.

I baked two versions.

One was Orange Cranberry Pistachio, and the other one was Chocolate Walnut.

They turned out great.

This was my first time making biscotti vegan, but I don’t think anyone noticed any difference.

Terry and I liked them, and our guests seemed to enjoy them, too.

The biscotti is crunchy, and very different from the typical American cookies, but it’s nice to have something different once in a while.

This biscotti has little fat and not much sugar, which I liked, too.

I’ve had this cup for many years, and I no longer remember where I bought it, but it’s still one of my favorite cups.

I think it’s elegant and whimsical at the same time.

The biscotti is a nice after-meal dessert or it can be an anytime snack.

Vegan Biscotti – adopted from this recipe

260g all-purpose flour
50g almond flour
2 tbsp flax seed meal
180g soy milk
90g sugar
20g coconut oil, melted
1 tsp baking powder

Orange Cranberry Pistachio version: 8~10 dashes orange bitter; dried cranberries; pistachio nuts
Chocolate Walnut version: semi-sweet chocolate chips; walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350F. Combine all the ingredients well.
2. Make two rectangular-shaped flat logs.
3. Bake for 20 minutes.
4. Remove from the oven. Let them cool for 5 minutes or so.
5. Slice the dough into about 1/2 inch thick slices. Place them with the sliced side up.
6. Bake for 20 minutes.
7. Flip the biscotti over and bake for another 10 minutes or so until they are crunchy.

We went to the farmers market to get some fresh flowers yesterday morning.

The excuse was that we should make the house look good for the guests, but I always love having fresh flowers in the house.

by : Reiko Bread, Breakfast, Dessert, Mushroom, Vegan, Vegetarian

Stuffed Corn Cakes: Mushroom and Apple
コーンお焼き：きのこ＆りんご

Since I liked these corn cakes so much that I decided to make more.

These corn cakes are so versatile, and you can’t go wrong with any filling, but this time I made two versions: mushroom and apple.

I also made two different apple versions.

One was (↑）a combination of apples, dried cranberries, and cinnamon.

The other is a combination of apples, golden raisins, walnuts, and cinnamon.

When you stuff them, you won’t be able to distinguish which was which, so I stamped with “A” for apple/cranberry, and “AW” for apple/raisin/walnuts.

They turned out great!!

This time I used corn meal as well as corn flour, which created a little more interesting texture.

I like this one a bit better, but Terry said he liked the previous one (corn flour only) better because they were a bit more moist inside.

So I guess it’s a personal preference.

These are just wonderful for any time of the day.

They freeze well, and I make extra and keep them in the freezer; they are my perfect to-go breakfast.

I bet you want to see what it looks like inside.

This is the mushroom version.

I try to stuff the filling as much as I can.

Can you see “A”?

And this one is “AW”.

I’m so glad I stamped them because we found out that I preferred “AW” and Terry preferred “A”.

I eat one of these when I want something sweet, and it’s satisfying.

These are a healthier choice when compared to other “dessert” type food, like cakes, pies, and cookies.

Stuffed Corn Cakes: Mushroom and Apple – makes about 5 each

filling
-mushroom version (chopped garlic and mushrooms were sauteed in olive oil. Chopped parsley was added at the end. Salt and pepper)
-apple version (A: apples (chopped and cooked with a little sugar), dry cranberries, cinnamon; AW: apples (chopped and cooked with a little sugar), golden raisins, walnuts, cinnamon)
cake
– 2 cups Maseca corn flour
– 2 cups corn meal
– salt
– water
canola oil for flying

1. Prepare filling.
2. Make corn cakes. Preheat oven to 400F. Combine corn flour, corn meal, and salt. Add water slowly while mixing well, until the dough achieves your preferred consistency.
4. Divide the dough into 200. Make balls and then flatten them to make a disk. On 10 disks place the filling, and then cover them with another disk.
5. Fry both sides in a pan until golden brown.
6. Finish cooking them in the oven for 15 minutes or so until cooked through.

Bon Appetit!

by : Reiko Dessert, Vegan, Vegetarian

Vanilla Pudding with Banana and Brownie Crumbles
バナナブラウニープディング

Pudding is not a fancy dessert but I probably like it because of that.

It’s kind of a comfort dessert for me.

And when I found this vegan brownie, this idea of sprinkling brownie crumbles on top of pudding overwhelmingly came over to me.

These Kerr’s jars were the perfect size for my pudding.

It was kind of fun to open the jar like thins because this brings excitement like when you open your present.

In this vanilla pudding you’ll find banana slices and brownie crumbles, and this was tasty!!

I don’t have the recipe for this one, unfortunately (because I’m really not sure of the measurement of each ingredient), but here is a quick note for myself and for others who would like to know what’s in it…

Vanilla Pudding with Banana and Brownie Crumbles

vanilla pudding
– cashew nuts, soaked, and pureed with hand blender until very smooth
– soy milk
– sugar
– corn starch
– salt
– vanilla
banana slices
brownie crumbles