Irish potatoes

These little “potatoes” were a favorite growing up in our Irish home.  I really just remember having them around this time of year.  
I don’t think my Mama Celeste ever made em, rather we’d get them from a little shop not too far from the grandparents house.  Good times.  
I must say, making these vegan was very easy, but I wondered, could I make them taste like they did when I was a kid…well, the answer is yes!  These brought back incredible memories for me and I will surely be making it a tradition from now on.

Irish Potatoes:

1/4 cup of soy free Earth Balance, softened
4 oz of tofutti cream cheese softened
1 teaspoon vanilla
4 cups confectioners sugar
2 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut, chopped and toasted
1 tbsp cinnamon
1tbsp cocoa powder

In a large mixing bowl, cream the Earth Balance and tofutti together until smooth, on a low/medium setting slowly beat in the confectioners sugar.
Add the vanilla and mix a bit more.  Now place the mixture in the fridge to chill a bit, while you toast the coconut.

In a dry pan on medium/low heat, and your chopped coconut and WATCH IT!  The coconut toasts pretty quickly and you don’t want it to burn, you’re just looking for a bit of deep golden color.  Once toasted, allow to cool.
Next, gently stir the toasted coconut into the mixture to combine.

Now send the mixture to the fridge for about 10 minutes, they’ll get really soft and sticky when you roll them otherwise.
In a medium sized bowl, whisk together the cinnamon and cocoa powder.

Now, with some Earth Balance slathered on your clean hands, take about a 1/2 tbsp or so of the mixture and roll it into and imperfect ball, repeat this until there is no more mixture…obviously.  You don’t want them much bigger because they are very sweet and rich, and we don’t want you going into sugar shock, now do we?
Place them on a parchment lined cookie sheet and put it back in the fridge for another 10 minutes. 

Now we’re ready to roll!  Ugh..I know, big dork…
Anyhow, take your chilled taters and roll them gently in the cinnamon/cocoa mix.  Once coated, shake off the excess by free rolling it in your palm…make sense?
Aren’t they cute?  Now, place the coated potatoes back on the cookies sheet and back in the fridge just for one last chill!

They are officially ready to share, so go do that!

These little things are so sweet and good and have awesome texture because of the toasted coconut.  One word of warning, don’t do like me and eat them for breakfast…it’s not as fun as it sounds.

Until we eat again, enjoy!

~ape (The Vegan Crush)

Very excited to be posting this…tonight in less than an hour, The Food Network will be airing an all vegan Cupcake Wars!!! Very exciting! I know I promised a new recipe but because of this special episode I’m bringing back what might have been my fave cupcake ever!

A not too oldie but such a goodie:

Until we eat again, enjoy!

~ape

LOVE!!!

So, I’m back!  I have to apologize for my long hiatus, but travels, holidays, sickness, work and performing had halted all blogging…but no more will I go this long again!

Firstly, there’s this…

Because love is in the air and whatnot, todays song/video is a pretty special one.  This is my and hubs “song” like, THE one.  Its a classic, its beautiful and it is very special to us.

Stand By Me, Ben E. King

Now, onto business.  This entry is not what you are used to from The Vegan Crush.  I have no recipe to share today, rather experiences, excitement and love for what I am going to officially call my favorite restaurant!  I said it!  I won’t take it back!

I am so excited to tell you that hubs and I finally got around to making reservations last week (something we never do) for Valentines Day dinner (another thing we never do) but I just could not miss out on what I am sure will be a beautiful, well thought out and delicious meal.  The only reason we are going out is to have the V-day special at Shojin.

Now, this entry is not really about V-day dinner, but the past dinners and experiences that we have had here.  The food at Shojin is really unbelievably good, but what puts them over the top is the way they treat you from the moment you step in to this beautifully warm restaurant. They honestly, every single time make us feel like part of their family…its a wonderful thing.  They’ve even at times just randomly knew that we would show up, so they had “our table” ready and waiting!  I can’t tell you how amazing that feels!

Now, onto the food, because I know that’s what you all come here for!

You’ll have to excuse the dark and blurred photos…I’m not fancy enough for an Iphone so these are all you’re gettin!

Our first favorite that we always, always order,

Pirates of the Crunchy

So much flavor and texture…I really don’t know how they do what they do!

Spicy Tuna on Crispy Rice Cracker

Again, I’m a big fan of textures and this has crisp, crunch and smooth velvety texture all at the same time with just a bit of heat!

Goodness…these are just the beginning of what they have to offer!  These items are the ones we order every single time without fail…usually with something new and different each time!

Anyhow, I will certainly have more to post about after our beautiful dinner at Shojin tomorrow evening.  Please do yourself a favor and also all of your skeptical friends who don’t understand how sushi can be vegan and head to Shojin…NOW!

Shojin

333 S. Alameda St. Suite 310
(Little Tokyo Shopping Center 3F)
Los Angeles, CA 90013
Tel: 213-617-0305

www.theshojin.com

Until we eat again, enjoy!

~ape

This post has been a long time coming.  Not only because for the last couple of day the internet/computer/camera have all been giving me issues, but also because Red Velvet Cupcakes have been  a challenge for me to create.  I strived always for that perfect bouncy, light and airy texture and rich chocolate flavor, yet it did allude me quite often.  So, finally I can give you the perfect, light, chocolaty, bouncy beautiful slightly red beauty that is the Red Velvet Cupcake…only…I am calling her a Red Velour Cupcake.  I want you to remember these, they will stand out in flavor and texture yes, but also, now the name will stand out as well!

Now, onto music.  If you at all follow The Vegan Crush, then you know how I love the 80′s, be it the music, the movies…yes, even some of the fashion…so, I’ve decided to add this video, which is…I’m gonna say, my favorite movie, probably of all time!  Goodness, I’m loony @_@

What a feeling, Irene Cara, from, you guessed it…Flashdance!

One of my minis!

Ingredients:

2 1/2 cups cake flour

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp salt

2 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tbsp red food coloring

1/2 cup Earth Balance, room temp

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 replacers

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup buttermilk substitute, (recipe to follow)

1 tsp white vinegar

1 tsp baking soda

Buttermilk substitute:

1 cup hemp milk, room temp

1 tbsp lemon juice

In a small bowl, mix together the hemp milk and lemon juice and let stand for 5 minutes.  That’s all!

Recipe:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line 2 muffin tins with cupcake liners.  I did half regular and half mini.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, and salt.  In a smaller bowl, mix food coloring and cocoa powder into a smooth paste and set aside.

Using a hand mixer on medium, in a large bowl, cream the Earth Balance and sugar together until light and fluffy.  Add in the egg replacers, one at a time, beating as you go.  Then beat in the vanilla and red cocoa paste.  Now add 1/3 of the flour mixture to the EarthBalance mixture, beat well, then beat in 1/2 of the buttermilk substitute. Beat in another 1/3 of flour mixture, then second half of buttermilk substitute. End with the last 1/3 of the flour mixture being added, beat until well combined,  remembering to scrape down the sides of bowl with a spatula to incorporate everything.

In a small bowl, mix vinegar and baking soda, being careful as it will fizz up a bit.  Now add the vinegar mixture to the cake batter and stir well to combine.

letting them cool

Using a 1 1/2 inch ice cream scoop, fill the cups just about 3/4 full.  Bake for approximately 20-25 minutes, rotating pans halfway through.  Insert a toothpick into the center, if it come out clean, they’re done, they’ll also have a good bounce back when they’re ready!

Let them cool in the cupcakes tin for about 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and allow to cool completely before frosting.

I know that a lot of people use a cream cheese frosting, but I was really in love with with my vanilla buttercream from the Poundcake Cupcake recipe a couple days ago, so I decided to use that!

different sizes!

Until we eat again!  Enjoy!

~ape

I know these are a day late, I’ve been having internet issues…not a good thing when you’re trying to post a daily blog.

Anyway, these are probably the simplest cupcakes so far.  Minimal ingredients, quick prep and cook time and the topping is just a simple powdered sugar dusting!  Love it!

The photos unfortunately are going to have to wait until tomorrow  also because of the  computer and the internet issues.

Also, I know it may seem a bit redundant to make another chocolate cupcake this week, but come on…molten chocolate?  How could I not @_@

Song today…I was late in making these the other night because of my Parkour class!  Here is a favorite that my instructor plays in class,  Diam’s is the band and “1980″ is the song:

Here goes!

Ingredients:

4 tbsp Earth Balance, room temp

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg replacer

1/2 cup flour

1 tbsp cocoa

1/4 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips

powdered sugar

Recipe:

This makes 6 cupcakes.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees, and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, with a hand mixer on medium, cream the Earth Balance, sugar, egg replacer, flour and cocoa until combined and smooth.  Now scoop half of the batter into the bottom of the liners and drop in your chocolate chips.  I used about 6 chips in each.  Next, you’re going to spoon the rest of the batter over the top of the chocolate chips, covering them completely.

Now bake for 20-25 minutes, until the tops bounce back.

Let cool for 5 minutes in the tin, transfer to a wire rack and gently sift the powdered sugar over the top.  Thats all.  Don’t wait til they cool completely silly, you just made molten cupcakes, now act like it!

Until we eat again.

Enjoy!

ape

Day 4 and I’m slowly going into sugar shock!  Thank goodness I have a lot of coworkers who just happen to love my cupcakes, because hubs and I can’t handle this load on our own!

These, obviously are inspired by pound cake!  This is a rich, more dense cupcake than our previous light and airy ones.

Be warned…these bitches are SWEET!!!

So, hubs really helped me a lot with these ones, so, todays song is for him!

Poundcake Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Ingredients:

Cupcakes:

1 (8oz) package Tofutti Cream Cheese

1 1/2 cups Earth Balance, room temp

3 cups granulated sugar

6 egg replacers

1 tsp vanilla

3 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

Vanilla Buttercream Frosting:

1 cup Earth Balance, room temp

3 1/4 cups confectioner (powdered) sugar

1/4 tsp salt

1 tsp vanilla

2 tbsp hemp milk

With a hand mixer on medium, cream the Earth Balance until smooth.  Lower the speed and add the sugar slowly.  Once incorporated increase the speed and add the vanilla, salt and hemp milk and beat until smooth.

Recipe:

Makes about 24 regular sized cupcakes.
Preheat oven to 375 degrees and line a muffin tin with cupcake liners.

With a hand mixer on medium, in a large bowl, cream the Earth Balance and tofutti until smooth.  Add the sugar gradually and beat until fluffy.  Add the egg replacer a 1/4 at a time, beating well with each addition.  Now add the vanilla and mix until fully incorporated.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt and add this to the wet ingredients a 1/3 at a time.

As usual, using your trusty 1 1/2 inch ice cream scooper, spoon the batter into the cupcake liners and bake for 25-27 minutes, until a toothpick poked through the center comes out clean!

Let them cool in the pan for a few minutes and then place them on a wire rack to cool completely.

Poundcake Cupcakes with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting!

Once cooled, fill a sandwich baggy with the corner tip cut off with the buttercream and “pipe” the frosting onto the cupcakes…or if you’re not feelin fancy, just slap it on with a butter knife and call it a day!  Its gonna taste the same I guarantee!

Stay tuned for tomorrows cupcake!  Its gonna be a doozy!

yums!

Enjoy!

~ape