Bejeezus 12 Tease: Spooktacular Pumpkin Roll

So, the theme of 12 is "Ghosts". My PacMan Ghost Iced Sugar Cookie is coming soon, but for now you are left with the Spooktacular Pumpkin Roll (adding a make-believe adjective qualifies this sweet treat for the ghost category, right)? I'd like to give you the recipe, but you sorta need to just buy Bejeezus 12 when it hits the stands. And you know I'll let you know when it hits the stands!




This particular roll is not vegan, but the vegan version of this recipe will be posted soon. Since I am not including the vegan recipe in Bejeezus 12, I feel no obligation to hold it back. I just need a little time to perfect it. Hold those horses!

Bejeezus 11 Tease

Hey hey, so here are a couple of pictures of the recipes that will be featured in Bejeezus 11. I've decided not to post the recipes because you need to buy Bejeezus 11 (and by buy, I mean purchase...not get a copy from a friend who works on the zine)! Trying to keep a zine going in this weird world can be quite daunting so it would be awesome if you could just support some hardworking, enthusiastic people with your five dollar bill. Keep the dream alive!


Cold Watermelon Soup:



Zucchini Banana Loaf:


I'm pretty psyched about these two because they accidentally feed alternative lifestyle eaters. This is the Zucchini Banana Loaf I've been making for years and it happens to be vegan. And it's not vegan because I use some alternative butter or egg supplement, it's vegan because it needs nothing of the sort. No butter, no dairy and no eggs. Bananas are magical and can do terrific things when called on. And I just realized that the Cold Watermelon Soup is not only vegan, but raw. Yep, absolutely no cooking was done in this process. Simply a lot of chopping and mixing. Bejeezus 11 should be out by the end of the summer. The issue is themed Second Hand. I'll let you know when its off the press.

Homemade Cookies 'N Cream Ice Cream

J, my radd husband, just turned 31 and he wanted some Cookies 'N Cream Ice Cream made by his lovely. So, I attempted home made ice cream. I had made Raspberry Sorbet this past summer with much success so I thought Ice Cream would be a breeze. Honestly, this stuff is super easy (if you have an electric ice cream maker)! The best thing about making this delicious stuff at home is that it is softer than store bought ice cream and it is completely perfect to share.

Recipe:
1 cup organic heavy cream
3/4 cup vegan cane sugar sugar
1/8 tsp. salt
1 vanilla bean (sliced lengthwise and scrape those beans into pan)

Simmer above ingredients until sugar melts into mixture. Stir it out while simmering. Add above mixture to bowl with:

2 cups organic heavy cream
1 cup organic whole milk
(and throw the skin of the vanilla bean in the bowl)

Refrigerate overnight (or until cold). Pour mixture into electric ice cream maker. Let it get to the consistency of a Frosty and add as many crushed Newman O's to the mix as you can! At this point my ice cream maker overflowed (too many cookies) so I had to run down the street with the over flowing ice cream and share with friends. Next I'm going to try Strawberry Sorbet and Chocolate Ice Cream.

Egg and Potato Salad with Sweet Relish

My first authentic pregnancy craving was egg salad and sweet pickles. So, I boiled some eggs and potatoes and diced 'em up. Added the dill, mustard and mayo. Sliced up the Blue Dog Cereal loaf. Threw on some mache rosettes and topped it off with lots of sweet sweet pickle relish.

And I think I might do it again right now.

Vegan Beet Burgers

Let me preface this post by admitting that I'm not a fan of the beet. In fact, before a few weeks ago I was known to have ran to the bathroom to spit out the last beet to touch my tongue.

And then Alicia called. I was home alone and they were cookin' so I was a polite guest and ate what was prepared for me...a delicious beet burger! It was Alicia's first attempt at a beet burger and we both agreed that the recipe needed to be mastered and tried again. So, last night the four of us mastered the beet burger. (Erin, only thing not vegan is that cheese on top).



Recipe:
2 beets boiled, skinned and cubed itty bitty (like egg salad cubed)
1 can black beans, drained
1 1/2 cups short grain brown rice, cooked
1 cup (about) panko bread crumbs
1/2 red onion, diced and sauteed
3 cloves garlic, diced and sauteed
1/2 red pepper, diced and sauteed
6 tbsp. ketchup
2 tbsp. spicy mustard
Salt and Pepper to Taste

Saute onion, garlic and red pepper with 3 tbsp of ketchup, salt and pepper. In large bowl, add saute mix, beet cubes, black beans, rice, bread crumbs, mustard and remaining ketchup. Mix it with your hands and get all dirty. (Note: right after the photo below was taken I ran on the porch yelling to my neighbor Shannon that "I'm having my baby". I thought it was hilarious and she lost her appetite.)



Patty them up and grill 'em or pannini press 'em. They are fucking delicious. We ate them with spinach salad and sweet potatoes. Yummmmmmmm.

Blueberry Nectarine Muffins, Finally!

Recipe:
2 sticks organic, unsalted butter (softened at room temperature)
1 cup organic, unbleached granulated sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp organic, pure vanilla extract
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt (i use kosher)
1 pint of organic blueberries
2 cups organic, unbleached flour (whole wheat flour is even better)
1/2 cup soy milk or dairy milk (i use vanilla soy b/c that is what we always have in the fridge)
1 nectarine, cubed into 1/4 cubes
1/4 teaspoon of cinnamon
1 tablespoon sugar in the raw

Preheat oven to 375. In a mixer with a paddle attachment (or handmixer) cream the butter until smooth. Add sugar and mix. Add eggs, vanilla, baking powder, salt and mix just until blended. Smoosh 1/2 the blueberries with in your fists and add to the batter. With mixer running at a low speed add half the flour and half the milk, and mix until just blended. Don't overmix or your muffins will be dense like a loaf...and that's no fun. Repeat with the remaining milk and flour. Add the remaining blueberries and the nectarine. Mix by hand with wooden spoon or spatula.




Butter your muffin pan or line the pan with muffin liners. I prefer to use a pan that makes a larger than traditional muffin, but it only makes 6 muffins. Spoon the batter to fill the cups 3/4 full. Mix the cinnamon with the sugar in the raw and sprinkle over the batter in the cups. Bake about 25-30 minutes. Check them first after 20 minutes. Let the muffins cool in the pan for atleast 30 minutes before turning them out.

Egg Strada and The Bread Fairy

So, we have a bread fairy ! She strikes about two times a week and leaves us wonderful Levains, Cereals, Puglieses, Baguettes and more. So with all this wonderfuI Blue Dog Bakery bread laying around, I make strada a lot. It is super simple and it is a good use of leftover bread. Basically, strada is a savory bread pudding. I usually put whatever is in my fridge in this breakfast delight. I think my favorite combo is grape tomatoes, red pepper, green onion, sweet corn, jalepeno jack, monterey jack and cilantro (seen below).



Before Oven Insertion.


After 3/4 is eaten.

Eggplant Parmesan

So, Alicia and I love to cook together. We would surely open a busniess together if we could settle on an idea/won the lottery. But until that happens (cause it will), we will cook and bake and drink wine while dreaming about it.

This is the second time we have labored at Eggplant Parmesan. It's a pain in the ass to make and the recipe is a pain in the ass to recreate. So, here is what was left of our lovely dinner. It was delicious.


We all love making these eggplant chips.




And dipping the chips in our tasty sauce. Yum.

Black Bean Burgers

Although this isn't the best photo of these tasty burgers, I guarantee you it was the best batch of these babies I have ever made. I started experimenting with black bean burger recipes last summer and I don't think I've made any batch the same as the last. They hold up well on a bun, but I prefer to smear then with sweet relish and hot mustard and fork 'em in. Unfortunately, because I change it up so much I don't have a fool free recipe. So, here are some ingredients and some estimates. Enjoy!

Recipe:
1/2 red pepper
1/2 onion
clove garlic
2 tbsp cumin
1 1/2 tbsp red pepper flakes
can black beans (drained)
1/2 cup + salsa or catsup
1 1/2 - 2 cups whole wheat bread crumbs
hot sauce to taste

Saute pepper, onion and garlic with spices. Add catsup/salsa. Pour mixture into food processor with can of black beans. Puree until ingredients look like refried beans. Scrape out of processor into mixing bowl. Add bread crumbs and hot sauce (and corn if you want). Mix by hand. Make little patties and you're ready to go. Griddle them, fry them or pannini machine cook them. They don't' hold up on a grill. Enjoy!