Happy Birthday to Meee

It was my birthday a few weeks ago and I made cupcakes!
I turned 26 this year and birthdays for me are really not the same as when I was a kid.  It's kind of upsetting to have the magic of a birthday fade away because I have very fond memories of balloons, presents and even booze in the later years.
I just don't seem to care anymore though. I do enjoy aging because I find with each year that passes I discover a whole new set of frustrations and realizations. I think I'm coming closer to figuring it all out...

I do have a confession to make, I am going to shunned by the vegans, but I did break vegan over my birthday. BUT WAIT hear me out a bit. I've been feeling like absolute crap for the past few weeks. I feel sluggish and my digestion is off. I have learned a valuable lesson and I have no regrets. It's a life long learning process and I wish the vegans would just loosen up a bit. We all do what we can and I do believe every little bit counts. So I am dusting off my pants, picking myself back up again and starting over!
Luckily for my loyal vegan readers these yummy Chloe cupcakes ARE vegan and as decadent and delicious as a non-vegan cupcake.

Mint Cookies 'n' Cream Cupcakes

Chocolate cake topped with a creamy mint vanilla icing with chocolate cookie crunches.

Ease of recipe: 4/5 

Taste: 5/5

Friends/Family thoughts: 4/5

Likely hood to remake recipe: 5/5
I think I may enter these cupcakes in a baking competition, first place for sure.

Overall Cooking Experience: 4/5
The icing calls for vegetable shortening. I have never worked with it before and it is GREASY. It took forever to wash out of the bowls and sink after but it gave the icing a dense and creamier texture. 

Bonus Casey Points: 1/1
Casey licked the icing off my fingers... she didn't mind the grease ;)


Final: 23/25

I made half the icing with the mint extract and the other half without because I have some picky people in my life (you know who you are) but overall this was a very successful cupcake recipe. They're not too sweet and full of flavour. Another Chloe must make :)

xo tash

Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon

It's turning into a common theme for me to write "I've been a bad little blogger...." but it's oh so true AGAIN.  I have been busy over the past few weeks with various things. I haven't really been baking because I have been caught up in my rollar coaster emotions.  I have been taking some much needed time for myself by setting some personal goals.  I've been trying to work out consistently by jogging a few times a week, lifting weights and going to hot yoga. I've come to enjoy working out, I really like how I feel after a nice long run.
The other day I was wasting time on Facebook and I came across a post from the Toronto Vegetarian Association asking people to join their team for the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront Marathon. I thought this was a great opportunity to support a local organization and also set a fitness goal. The marathon has a 5k, half marathon and full marathon category. In order to challenge myself I have chosen to run the half marathon. I have started training and so far I can run around 6k. A half marathon is around 21k so I still have a bit more training but I am well on my way. I am raising money for The Toronto Vegetarian Association and I would be honoured if my Podkat fans would support me.

Here is a link to my page where you can sponsor me.
http://my.e2rm.com/personalPage.aspx?registrationID=1958408

xox tash

The Smaller The Cupcake, The More You Can Eat

I have been one bad little blogger lately. My cat Casey has been sick so all of my time and energy have been put into her. I have been cooking a lot but I haven't had the motivation to take pictures and write about my food.
I find every time I make the switch to vegan I develop an intense sweet tooth. I'm pretty certain I eat dark chocolate everyday and you can definitely find me in Bulk Barn at least once a week.
Today is my frist day off in awhile and I should really be running errands but my craving for chocolate took over... I dusted off the powdered sugar from my Chloe's Vegan Desserts book and found the perfect recipe.
I had most of the ingredients on hand and the recipe said it's low in calories, so Chloe's Yoga Cupcakes seemed a perfect fit for my chocolate fix.
I did not have enough white sugar so I used brown instead. I also did not have any canola oil so I melted Earth Balance.  The recipe made way more than expected so I decided to get creative with some add ins. Some additional ingredients I used in some individual cupcakes are crunchy peanut butter, chopped pecans, chopped strawberries and shredded coconut. The shredded coconut I used in a mini cake because I had some extra batter left over but no extra cupcake tins. I also did not have any raspberries for the garnish.
The successful add in ingredients were the strawberries because they added moisture to the finished cupcake.  The pecans added a nice crunch to the cupcake. I was really excited to try the peanut butter cupcakes because it's my favourite flavour combination but unfortunately it did not enhance the flavour at all. It just made the texture weird.  The real success was the mini cake. It tasted better than the cupcakes and had more flavour. I think this has to do with the length of time in the oven. Do not over bake these cupcakes because they lose their moisture quickly. After the mini cake cooled I cut it in half and put a thin layer of chocolate ganache in the middle. Then I put it back together and iced the top of the cake.
I cut a mini piece of cake and devoured in 10 seconds.  The moisture level is outstanding, I have a funny feeling my mini cake will disappear by the end of the day.  In addition to the slice, I probably ate about 5 mini cupcakes... you know, for testing purposes.
So much for low calories.

The Yoga Cupcake 

Chocolate cake with a dark chocolate ganache 

Ease of recipe: 5/5 

Taste: 5/5

Friends/Family thoughts: 5/5

Likely hood to remake recipe: 5/5
I would make it in mini cake form with coconut and a middle layer of the ganache icing.

Overall Cooking Experience: 5/5

Bonus Casey Points: 0/1
Although Casey and I had fun taking photos with the Yoga Cupcakes she was not interested in smelling/ tasting these cupcakes!


Final: 25/25

I am amazed with this recipe, it's a must make!! But make sure you add the Natasha twist and sprinkle some unsweetened coconut onto the top of the uncooked cake/cupcake before baking. Also add the extra layer of ganache in the middle, you can thank me later ;)

me me me

Today I had a ME a day. I slept in and watched Mad Men until 11am, forced myself to go for a run and then I went on a sorbet mission. It was a mission because I walked for 45 minutes to an ice cream place, only to find out they just sell ice cream.  All was not lost, I found a Starbucks and ordered an iced americano and then walked another 45 minutes (up hill) to get home.  By the time I got home I was starving so I made the most delicious feast.  While my sweet potatoes were cooking, I discovered dark chocolate and strawberries in my house. I decided chocolate covered strawberries would make up for the lack of sorbet... I've never actually made chocolate covered anything but how hard could it be? I melted down the chocolate in the microwave with some Earth Balance, dipped a few strawberries in it and then let them chill in the fridge. Since is was so beautiful outside, the cats and I had a lovely dinner on the patio.
What a fun day :)

This is half a cucumber chopped and seasoned with salt, pepper and vinegar. The sweet potatoes were steamed in tinfoil with garlic, olive oil, salt, pepper and ginger. I grilled an Amy's California burger and served it with salsa and chopped avocado.

This is Buttons, she ran inside after this photo was taken.

This is Casey, of course.

Mmmm the chocolate covered strawberries 

I thought it was funny how my name turned out "Nafusha", haven't heard that one before....

Natasha Fraycat's Vegan Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Today I did something I've never done before, I baked without a recipe. I've been getting more comfortable cooking free style but baking is more complicated. This morning was different. I woke up feeling inspired.
I figured it would be best to start simple so I wrote down the basic make up of a chocolate chip cookie. After some research on the purpose of eggs and figuring out the difference between baking powder and baking soda, I came up with my perfect chocolate chip cookie !
I'm so proud of my litte ol' self :) I'm finally taking my knowledge and applying it to my own creations, how exciting! The baking possibilities are endless now.

Ingredients
Spelt Flour- 1 cup
Cinnamon- 1/2 tsp
Salt- 1/4 tsp
Nutmeg- 1/4 tsp
Baking Powder- 1/2 tsp
White Sugar- 1/4 cup
Brown Sugar- 1/3 cup
Earth Balance vegan butter- 1/2 cup
Ener-G egg replacer- 1 "egg"
Vanilla- 1/2 tsp + a dash more
Almond Milk- 1 tbsp
Rolled Oats- 1/2 cup
Vegan Dark Chocolate chips- 1/2 cup
Unsweetened Coconut shreds- 2 tbsp

Heat oven to 350 degrees F.

Mix together flour, cinnamon, salt, nutmeg, and baking powder in a separate bowl and put aside.

Mix on a low speed white sugar, brown sugar and butter for about 45 seconds.

Add the "egg" and mix for another 30 seconds.

Add the vanilla and almond milk and mix for another 30 seconds.

Add the dry mixture to the wet and mix on low until a dough forms, about 1 minute.

Fold in rolled oats until evenly mixed.

Fold in chocolate chips until evenly mixed.

Fold in the coconut shreds.

Line a baking pan with parchment paper and divide batter into small (golf ball) sized balls.  Make sure there is a distance of about 1 1/2 inches in between the balls of batter. Press the batter down with a fork. Put in the top rack of the oven and bake for 10-12 minutes depending on your oven or until edges of the cookies turn brown. Cool on a baking rack and enjoy :)


 (These cookies are not suitable for cats, Casey just likes smelling them)

Gluten Free Vegan Lemon Tart

Lately I've been busy making my own creations in the kitchen that I haven't been baking anything from my vegan cookbook. My family came over for Mother's Day so I took that opportunity to bake something for everyone. I really enjoy baking but I feel like I need to bake for some event, otherwise I end up with an overwhelming amount of dessert. I have been trying healthier alternatives to traditional dessert ingredients such as using agave nectar instead of refined sugar and using gluten free flours.

For mothers day I had a few dietary restrictions to keep in mind for my dessert. My dessert had to be vegan, gluten free and as low in sugar as possible. The dessert I decided to make was a vegan gluten free lemon tart. I was hesitant to make this tart because I really dislike lemon flavoured desserts, I figured since I was baking it, I could control the amount of lemon.  The lemon topping for the dessert was very much like a custard which turned out to be very easy to make as long as you followed the baking instructions. The recipe has yellow food colouring as an optional ingredient, I was trying to keep things natural, so I left out the food dye. My tart filling was a whitish colour that I found distracting because normally our over processed lemon desserts are bright yellow. There was a definite brain and visual confusion that quickly went away after the first bite.

Let's face it, I need to work on my food photography, cat photos I'm amazing, food not so much.  This photo was taken by my wonderful (cough not) cousin Christopher. 

This recipe was taken from Chloe's Vegan Cookbook. 

I made the gluten free alternative pie crust.

Ease of recipe: 4/5 

I found it very easy to make. I think the custard part of the dish could be a challenge to a new baker. 

Taste: 5/5

The dessert is light, low in calories and tasty. 

Friends/Family thoughts: 5/5

My picky family seemed to really enjoy it and they're vocal about taste ! 

Likely hood to remake recipe: 5/5
I would most definitely make the recipe again but next time I'd change the flavour of the custard to banana, raspberry or maybe even chocolate. 

Overall Cooking Experience: 5/5

I really enjoyed baking gluten free. I also liked making the custard because I've never made it before and I enjoy the challenge.

Bonus Casey Points: 0/1
Casey was not around to judge this recipe :(.


Final: 24/25

Awesome dessert. A must make!!!

Basil and Sun Dried Tomato Hummus

Summer is coming and that means barbecue season. For a vegan/vegetarian backyard get togethers with meat eaters can be difficult if you don't arrive prepared.  I recently had my first barbecue of 2013 and it was a great success. My meat eating friends prepared barbecue chicken and I made a tofu scramble on the stove. Together we prepared a variety of fresh veggies wrapped in tinfoil and marinated in salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic.  We put the veggies packed in tinfoil on the grill until they were cooked but still crunchy. I am always surprised how such simple ingredients can taste so delicious.
Recently I've been going through a sun dried tomato and fresh basil obsession, I've literally been adding them into everything, so it only made sense that I add it to my hummus. I've been making fresh hummus for years now and I feel like it surpasses the store bought kinds in taste and freshness. I never add oil to my hummus because the tahini is oily enough and I don't feel like you can even taste the olive oil.  After making this hummus I actually licked the food processor bowl... so needless to say this recipe is a success.

Chickpeas                   1 can
Chickpea water           1/2 can
Lemon Juice                2 lemons
Tahini                         1/3 cup
Fresh Basil                  8 leaves or to taste
Sun dried tomatoes     10
Garlic                          2 cloves chopped or to taste (I work with people so I can't put as mush in)
Salt                            1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Pepper                        1/2 teaspoon or to taste
Crushed Chili Peppers  (optional) 1/2 teaspoon or to taste

Drain out half the liquid in a can of chickpeas and add the chickpea water and chickpeas to a food processor or blender, blend until mixture is creamy. Add in the tahini and lemon juice and allow to mix for about 15 seconds. Add in fresh basil, sun dried tomatoes and chopped garlic and allow to mix for 15 seconds. Add in salt, pepper and chilis. Mix until smooth about 45 seconds. Taste test the hummus and add more of the "to taste" ingredients if necessary.
Allow to chill in the fridge for a few hours before serving. Garnish with chopped fresh basil and serve with chips or veggies.