Posts in i make food

a cookie or three

today i have for you a very special guest: my friend julianna. she's going to share the recipe we adapted when i was over at her place in los angeles last weekend. enjoy.

*photographs by julianna y.

hello, my name is julianna and i run a little lifestyle + fashion blog called bursts of beauty. izzy and i have known each other for a very long time, so when she visited los angeles, it was only appropiate to share a day together. we dined at gracias madre, a wonderful vegan mexican restaurant in west hollywood and sipped on some iced lattes and green juice at alfred coffee. there, i proposed the idea of baking together. when we got back, we did some research and found a great recipe for oatmeal + chocolate cookies and made a few twists.

flourless almond butter cookies

2 tbsp flax seeds

5 tbsp water

2/3 cup rolled oats

1 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

1/2 cup almond butter

1/2 cup peanut butter

2/3 cup turbinado/brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup almond milk

2/3 cup dark chocolate chips

1/3 cup dried cherries

1/ preheat oven to 350F

2/ whisk together flax seeds and water (this makes 2 vegan eggs)

3/ line a baking sheet w/ parchment paper or non-stick spray of your choice

4/ in medium bowl, combine oats, baking soda, and salt

5/ in another bowl, combine almond butter, peanut butter, sugar, almond milk, vanilla extract, and vegan "eggs". use a handmixer to mix until smooth

6/ pour wet with dry and stir until the mixture becomes like a cookie dough. if too wet, add more oats. if too dry, add more almond milk

7/ stir in chocolate chips + cherries

8/ roll a small amount of dough into a ball shape and place in a row of three on the baking sheet. spread the cookie dough balls out so they won't combine when baked in the oven

9/ bake for 9-11 minutes. let cookies cool before removing from the baking sheet

10/ enjoy!

i make foodizzy raelMarch 26, 2015cookies, dessert, chocolate, almond butter, vegan Comment

pi(e)

yesterday was both my friend's birthday (happy birthday lil) and pi day. hoorah!

it was inevitable that i made a pie (with my friend julia). a vegan blueberry pie.

the one thing about pi day is that you can celebrate by joining math and baking together. (not like they're related or anything...)

although pie is one of my favorite winter/spring desserts, i've never actually made one without the assistance of an older individual... most likely because a) pies seem so difficult because of the butter-freezing and the dough-freezing and the crust-forming and rolling. b) the cooked-crust-consistency that varies from the bottom of the pie to the top. c) there's social stigma about pies.

but today was the perfect excuse to do all of these things. making a pie for pi day is also a perfect reminder that i actually have time to do stuff now because i'm on spring break. FINALLY.

so i present to you a simple, vegan, blueberry pie because blueberries are really great.

the crust

2.5 cups white-whole wheat flour

1 cup vegan butter, cut into small cubes + frozen

7-8 tablespoons ice water

pinch of salt

the filling

2 pints of fresh blueberries

3/4 cup turbinado sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

juice of 1/2 lemon

zest of the lemon

3 tablespoons corn starch

the topping

turbinado sugar

coconut / canola oil

01/ preheat oven to 420-425˚F

02/ in the freezer, chill large mixing bowl and pastry cutter

03/ sift flour and salt and mix together. using the pastry cutter, combine butter and flour mixture until thoroughly combined.

04/ once combined, slowly incorporate ice water (tablespoon by tablespoon) until dough begins to form. (do not overwork or else the dough will not be flakey when baked.)

05/ with water-coated hands, split the dough into two even pieces. roll into a ball and flatten out into a disc. cover with plastic wrap and place in the freezer for at least 30 minutes.

06/ in the meantime, combine all of the ingredients for the filling. taste test if necessary, (always). refrigerate until the dough is ready to be rolled out.

07/ when chilled, take out one disc of dough. flour the surface and rolling pin. from the middle towards the edges, roll out the disc until it's about 1/4" thick. (*note: the dough will most definitely fall apart. just keep smushing it back together until there are no holes.)

08/ spray your pie pan with canola oil. roll the dough onto the rolling pin and transfer it to the pan. roll out into the pan and begin to push dough into the creases and edges of the tin. pour filling into the tin and place in freezer.

09/ repeat step [07] with the second disc.

10/ use a pizza cutter or knife to cut dough into 8 strips, each about 1" long. 11/when done, take out your unfinished pie. create a design of your own or make a lattice crust on top.

11/ freeze one last time for about 10 minutes. take out. brush with oil and sprinkle turbinado sugar on top. cover edges with aluminum foil to prevent them from burning.

12/ bake for 45 minutes, taking off the foil after 20 minutes. let cool before cutting and eating. it will be very hot.

i make foodizzy raelMarch 15, 2015pie, food, dessert, blueberries Comments

when in doubt... pancakes.

life has been good. i've been successful at my new school and i've been been continuing my project with vsco in my spare time. however, spring break is approaching, and with that comes exams. i don't know if i can handle thinking about it on top of all of the work i have already. i just want to let out the biggest sigh.

also, you know what's the most terrifying moment? when you realize that a quiz/test is tomorrow rather than the day after and you have 30 words from Macbeth to memorize. yeah, that's tough.

moving on...

i realized i haven't posted a recipe in awhile... so i'm going to change that. today i share with you my favorite pancakes recipe. and, it's vegan. woooooop woop!

i mean, look at that syrup pour (thanks caoimhe). these pancakes are SO INCREDIBLY FLUFFY that i cannot fathom it.

#ThanksAlexForHoldingTheBackdrop / #ThanksCaoimheForPouringTheSyrup

ingredients

1/2 cup white whole wheat flour

1/2 cup + 2 tablespoons almond milk

1 tablespoon white vinegar

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon baking power

a pinch of baking soda

01/ measure milk + whisk with vinegar until foamy (to imitate buttermilk). set aside.

02/ whisk together dry ingredients in a medium bowl

03/ after 5 minutes, gently stir in "buttermilk"

04/ if too thin, add another tablespoon of flour. if too thick, add another tablespoon of milk or maple syrup.

05/ heat a large pan on medium with canola spray or butter (if not vegan, obviously.)

06/ use a tablespoon or a small ice cream scoop (like me!) to pour the batter onto the pan

07/ feel free to add bananas, blueberries, chocolate chips, cacao nibs, the WORKS!!! it all works.

08/ eat with more maple syrup of course

i make foodizzy raelFebruary 10, 2015pancakes, breakfast, gifs Comments