adventures in vegan baking

a little over a week ago i posted a plea for help regarding all things figgy.  well, sunday morning i finally tracked down some dried figs at good ole' trader joes and figured i would get moving on that recipe i posted as well.

vegan baking is a whole new world for me.  i've dabbled in vegan cooking (soups, appetizers, etc.) but never baking.  baking is one of those things i feel needs to have whole fat and nothing but fat!

alright so back to the raspberry fig bars.  the recipe called for rolled oats, which i didn't have.  so i substituted the rolled oats for good ole fashioned oats.  i also ended up swapping the raspberry for strawberry.  hey you use what you got, right?!  the actual fig/strawberry filling turned out great!  the crust......okay so maybe swapping rolled oats for old fashioned oats wasn't the best idea, but after a little research i've figured out my mistakes.  using the oats that i did is perfectly fine, however they're much larger and denser so less of them is to be used so that the crust mixture comes together in a way to be slightly sticky. 

so i guess that was my only fault with the baking.  even though the crust turned out to be not much of a crust and more of a big mess, they still tasted good.  but now i know exactly what to do the next time less oats and maybe a little bit more sweetener.  in the mean time, i'm left with a nice pan of semi-successful bars.

but atleast they taste good and would be awesome with some frozen yogurt!

**please note this is not a picture of the bars i made - but they look very similar!

gettin' figgy with it

Figs are a huge mystery to me. I'll be the first to admit, I have a deep rooted fondness for Fig Newtons. But lets be honest, they're not the healthiest things I could be putting in my body.

A friend recently returned one of my favorite cookbooks to me. The Garden of Vegan by Tanya Barnard & Sarah Kramer. By no means am I claiming to be Vegan (I love MEAT!). I am, however, a fan of most Vegan delicacies (if made correctly), I just haven't found the willpower to go completely Vegetarian let alone Vegan. For the past week I have found myself flipping through my cookbook, rediscovering recipes that I always wanted to try and some old favorites I still whip up (Vegan Artichoke dip! Nom nom nom - I have been known to adjust this recipe making it not Vegan when I cannot find certain ingredients in my area).

While perusing the Breakfast section I noticed that Figs are used a lot! Unfortunately I am no pro with a Fig. I don't know how to shop, buy, store or even cook with them. I need some help folks!

slightly off topic: I am still on my quest of losing the weight I gained after my momma died. As well as improving the overall health of my family and myself. One thing I've noticed is that I often rush out of the house in the morning without any breakfast. Its a bad habit I need to break, even though I've become used to it by now. I really know I need to stop and make some time in the mornings to sit down and fuel my body after a good nights rest. So over the next week my plan is to force myself out of bed much earlier than I have been (I've been known to roll out of bed at 6:30...my shift at work begins at 7am!) and make a small but hearty breakfast for myself.

So....I really want to try out this recipe for Raspberry Fig Breakfast Bars. This is the Vegan recipe:

1/4 cup dried figs, cut in half
1/2 cup water
1 tbsp dry sweetener
1 cup flour
2 cups rolled oat flakes
1/2 cup dry sweetener (for crust mixture)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup olive oil
2 tbsp water
1/2 cup raspberry jam (another recipe from the book)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
• In a small pot, combine figs, water and sweetener. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to medium low and simmer for 20 minutes or until the figs have softened. Set aside to cool.
• In a large bowl, combine flour, rolled oats, sweetener (1/2 cup for crust), salt, baking powder, baking soda, oil and water. Stir together until well mixed.
• In a blender or food processor, blend the fig mixture and jam until smooth.
• Press half of the crust mixture onto the bottom of a slightly oiled 8x8 baking pan.
• Layer the fig mixture over top - spreading it with the back of a large spoon.
• Press the remaining crust mixture over top.

• Bake 25-30 minutes or until the top is slight browned.
• Set aside to cool. Makes 6-12 bars.
  

Don't lie. I know you're sitting there drooling at the bit. Even to the most carnivorous person, this recipe sounds delicious. Its just the "Vegan" bit that kind of causes most people to go, "Uh yeah, nevermind." If that's what makes you a little hesitant to make these yourself, you could easily adjust the recipe to fit your lifestyle. Honestly the only thing you would need to switch up is the sweetener (not all sugar is vegan! i totally did not know this!) and the Raspberry Jam.

So next weekend, I will be making a batch of these since the little one will be off on a weekend-long adventure. I'll be sure to write about its results.

Do you have a favorite Breakfast staple? Recipe? Comment? Share! I'd love to hear from you!

bacon grease

Today’s work conversation started out as a debate over the use of bacon grease in grits. This caused quite the uproar amongst some of my co-workers. I chose to stay out of this one and observe, take it all in if you will.

Now my background with Grits is…well me and Grits don’t have much of a history. I can count on both hands how many times I’ve actually eaten them. Truth be told, I don’t really care for them. They are the one piece of “Southern Cooking” I could really do without. See, I’m from the Midwest. Minnesota to be exact. Grits isn’t really something I can say is a big part of Midwestern culture. And while I can say Midwesterners love their Bacon (as well as the rest of the Piggy), I can’t say that Bacon grease is used much (if at all). I can’t recall a time growing up when my Mom or Grandma tossed some Bacon grease into anything they were cooking.

I guess I have a lot more to learn about Southern culture and cuisine. I’ve been living in the South since 2003. But you won’t catch me adding Bacon grease to anything anytime soon.

I like my arteries blockage-free and I think I’ll keep them that way, haha.