haricots vert avec moutard vinaigrette et vin chaud

<--- purchased at Monoprix, Nice FR


Ever since I went to France last month, I can't stop thinking about yummy haricots verts and the vinaigrette it came with. Here are a few recipes I've found that seem similar to the ingredients I read in the labels.

from francethisway.com



Dijon Mustard Salad Dressing

10 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Dijon mustard
3 tablespoons white wine vinegar
large pinch of salt
pepper

Balsamic vinegar or lemon juice can be used instead of the white wine vinegar - use only 1-2 tablespoons of these instead of the three for vinegar, and increase the amount of olive oil by a couple of extra spoonfuls.

Put it all in a jam jar, put the lid on, and shake enthusiastically. You might want to put it in a posher container before putting on the table.

from allrecipes.com

Ingredients

* 6 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
* 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar (I would use white wine vinegar)
* salt and black pepper to taste
* 2 teaspoons French mustard (Maille Dijon Originale)

Preparation method

1. Start with a little seasoning - add salt and pepper to a glass. Add the oil, followed by the balsamic vinegar. Add the mustard and mix until it has a lovely creamy consistency. That's it!

Cook's note
For a twist - try adding a little dried basil, or use a nut oil instead of olive oil. Always use 3 parts oil to 1 part vinegar - and put the oil in first!



<---- vin chaud, avec canelle, from Cafe Richard's





Aussi, I'd love to recreate vin chaud. Brandi & I had this drink, several times, while in Paris. It's now one of my favorite cold-weather beverages.

I found this recipe, from bellaonline, which seems quite promising:





Vin Chaud - French Mulled Wine Recipe

Mmmmm, this recipe begins by using Beaujolais to create a perfect cold weather treat.

Almost every wine drinking country has its own version of mulled wine. In France is is vin chaud, which features more fruit flavors than other recipes. The addition of cardamom adds a unique taste.

Ingredients

* 2 bottles of Beaujolais
* 1 cup of cassis
* 1 Tbs orange zest
* 1 Tbs lemon zest
* 2 cinnamon sticks
* 5 whole cardamom pods
* 5 whole cloves
* 6 allspice berries (or 1/2 tsp ground allspice)
* 1 tsp nutmeg

Directions

1. Pour the wine and cassis in a large pot.
2. Add the orange zest, lemon zest, and all spices.
3. Heat the wine until it just begins to simmer.
4. Lower the heat and allow to steep with the spices for 20-30 minutes.
5. Serve in punch cups or mugs. You may wish to garnish with lemon slices and cinnamon sticks.



Update:
I found a site, saveurdujour, that carries Amora mustard so I ordered the 3 jar package. With S & H, it came to $31.10 but still a bargain compared to traveling to France. It's pricey to order but I can't go back to any other moutarde after tasting this.

mostly yummy "cheese" cake

I've been craving cheesecake. So far, I've not tried any vegan version until yesterday. I found the recipe on Thursday, at vegweb.com, and my hubby baked it yesterday.

I followed most of the tips that commenters left behind, such as not adding water to the Ener-G Egg Replacer and only using half the juice from a lemon. Unfortunately, the batter was much too thick to blend in the blender & Mark had to add a tablespoon of water. The crust was also a challenge. One, I couldn't find any honey-free graham crackers. Two, the cookies I did choose were hard to spread over the pan. Oh, and we baked the "cheese" cake for the maximum time, at 35 minutes.

Next time, I think I'll try it at 30 minutes and maybe add water to half the "eggs". Oh, and maybe order some truly vegan graham crackers.


Here are the pics:


Mark, pouring the batter into the prepared pie crust.



all ready to go into the oven



fresh out of the oven & golden brown



the finished product, ready to eat.

"twix" bars

One of my twitter buddies posted a link to a recipe for veganized twix bars a few days ago. I've been thinking about them ever since. Today, I attempted to make them, with limited success. At least they taste good. But, I think the effort to make them outweighs the result. This may be the only time I ever make these.


I struggled to get the shortbread to roll out properly.



Though the recipe suggests scoring the dough, I cut the squares into "fun-sized" pieces.



the squares, spread with caramel right before I popped them into the freezer.



the finished result.



after I bit into the bar, you can see the chocolate layer and the caramel underneath.

dinner at a Santa Cruz taqueria

We took our niece to Santa Cruz, for a fun beach outing. As there was nothing too vegan-friendly on the boardwalk, we stopped at this local taqueria and had a very good vegan meal. I ordered a taco plate which was larger than I thought it would be and slathered in creamy guacamole.

pizza pizza!

Mark, my talented hubby, baked these pizzas from scratch (that includes the dough & sauce). The result was delicious. I particularly enjoyed the addition of jalapeno pepper instead of bell pepper. It gave the pizza a nice kick.


a pizza waiting to be baked.



the first result, before I ate half of it.


the last pizza, with slivers of jalapeno pepper.

VF vegan bake swap 3/09

I've been in a funk this year & baking has not been one of the things I've been wanting to do. However, I did sign up to be in the VF bake swap and the deadline was looming. So, I was inspired to bake 3 items for my recipient. These two recipes, from La Dolce Vegan, are ones I had never used before and was happy with the results. The other item was my go-to chocolate chip cookie recipe, which I've posted on here before.


Cinnamon Doughnut Holes, still cooling & before I glazed them.



Wolffie's Chocolate-y Moist Brownies, prior to the drizzling of chocolate ganache.

bakery cupcakes

We had a vegan meetup at the end of February 2009. Martha brought these cupcakes from a bakery in Santa Cruz and we all decided they looked like boobs. I snapped this pic of Joe's hands about to grab some cupcake (it was funny, at the time). The cupcakes were tasty, if a bit dry. I think I'm spoiled by my own baking.

chocolate babka

In my search for a veganized brioche recipe, I found this chocolate babka recipe. Mark baked these and the result was delicious.


babka, in two sizes.

a cruelty-free thanksgiving (2008)

Since it was just Mark & I celebrating the holiday this year, we toned it down and kept just the essentials.




the pecan pie, fresh from the oven.


our simple meal of Field Roast, mashed potatoes, stuffing, gravy, and veggies.



this year, there was no Soyatoo or Hip Whip to be found, so we had our pecan pie with a scoop of vanilla rice cream. It was yummy.

bite-sized cinnamon rolls

Mark likes to tweak this recipe nearly every time he bakes them. This time, he was inspired by a work potluck to make the cinnamon rolls smaller. Now, this is our preferred way to bake them.


proofing the cinnamon rolls, before they go into the oven.



the finished result: with "cream cheese" frosting, caramel, and pecans.

peanut butter chocolate heavencakes

a from VCTOTW, using the Basic Chocolate Cupcake recipe & adding a peanut butter cream and chocolate ganache frosting. I've never made a dessert that required piping the filling in and it showed. Next time, be more aggressive with filling.



filling the cupcake.


topping the cupcake with ganache.