Rosemary Shortbread

This spring our girls each used some of their spending money to buy herbs. One bought thyme, the other rosemary. All summer long they tended their herbs, watering them and cutting off twigs to use for dinner. Some days they were almost to the point of fighting over which herbs we should use for our meal. Fortunately, herbs can be mixed, and this shortbread recipe would work just as well with thyme (and perhaps some lemon zest) instead.

Vegan rosemary shortbread:
1 cup earth balance
1/2 cup sugar
2 cups flour
2 tbs chopped fresh rosemary
a few squares of dark chocolate, chopped (optional)

Preheat oven to 350°. Cream the earth balance and sugar in a large bowl. Add the flour, rosemary and chocolate and mix to combine. Wrap the dough up and place it in the fridge for 10 minutes to make it easier to handle. Roll the dough out on a floured surface and cut out cookies or use cookie cutters. Transfer to a cookie sheet and bake for 10-12 minutes.

Preparations

It has been snowing and sleeting here all day (why did we leave Sweden again?), so we decided to have a cozy stay at home day, eating french toast, napping on the couch and catching up on some school work. While every look out the window made me look forward to the smell of pine and gingerbread, there's another holiday coming up in a couple of days, that happens to be a favorite around here.

I took advantage of the time and made some preparations for the party to come. I baked shortbread and made a batch of my friend Lynn's delicious vegan cashew pub cheese. Just to make sure there would still be some left on Monday I made a double batch. It's that good!

The kids made these lanterns out of old glass jars and tissue paper.

Chocolate Pumpkin Whoopie Pies

I have been wanting to try to make these for a while now, and finally got around to it. Whoopie pies are supposedly a Pennsylvania Dutch invention, and I believe they are usually filled with a marshmallow cream filling. But with Halloween being right around the corner, how could I resist making a pumpkin cream cheese icing instead?

Cakes:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup oil
1 cup sugar
4 oz silken tofu
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla

Preheat oven to 350°. Sift the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Blend the rest of the ingredients (I use a stick blender), then mix with the flour into a batter. Drop with a tablespoon onto a baking sheet lined with parchment paper, then flatten with your hands. Bake for 8-10 minutes, or until they are just dry. Cool on a wire rack.

Filling:
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
2 tbsp earth balance (or other vegan butter)
2 tbsp pumpkin puree
peel from 1 orange
pinch of salt
2-2 1/2 cups powdered sugar

Cream all ingredients together. Place 1 tbsp icing between 2 cakes and press lightly. The icing is quite sweet, so don't use too much. If it is too soft to handle, just place it in the fridge for a while. Store the pies in an air-tight container in the fridge, but place them in room temperature before eating. Makes 18.

Little Women

In an attempt to feel less like an alien, I am trying to read up on American literature. Right now I am reading Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. My daughter is about to read it, so I thought it would be fun if I read it, too.

I got further inspiration to read the book after we drove by Louisa May Alcott's birthplace the other week. It turns out that she was born just about a mile away from here, in Germantown (which was then a town outside of Philadelphia), though she spent most of her life in New England.

While Little Women may primarily be thought of as a book for young girls, I am really enjoying it. What the book teaches about duty, contentment and frugality would serve as good lessons for most of us in the modern age. I have read only about a quarter of the book so far, so I will save the rest of my judgement for later.

What is your favorite American classic?

An Apple A Day

You can definitely tell it is apple season here. Lately I have been taking my daughters to classes at an environmental education center. Yesterday they learned about Johnny Appleseed, and came home with a bag full of crab-apples, apples and onion-grass. (I love these classes!) While driving home, I listened to an NPR interview (above picture stolen from their website) with Amy Traverso, the author of newly released The Apple Lover's Cookbook. I immediately decided to put it on my wishlist. Later we went to our neighborhood farmer's market and bought - can you guess? - a big bag of gala apples. And a gallon of apple cider.

I really ought to know more about apples. And my taste in apples is embarrassingly unsophisticated. I am a gala-girl. My grandfather used to work as a horticulturist, specializing in apples. He would come to stay with us when the botanical gardens in my home town of Göteborg hosted their yearly apple event. How I wish I had been more interested in apples when I was a teenager!

My Cookies Won!!!

Woohoo!!! Turns out my cookies won Veganmage's vegan Ballerina contest!

The prize is the book All Amercian Vegan, which looks very awesome. I can't wait to read it!

More good news: In some ways, this contest was a win for everyone, as it seems there is now a good possibility Göteborgs Kex may develop a vegan/laktose free version of their popular cookies.

Thank you so much Veganmage, and thanks to those who voted too! :)

You can see all the lovely cookie entries here.

Weekend

The weather was beautiful this weekend! We went on a walk along the Wissahickon, baked cinnamon buns, and watched The Two Towers with the girls. That reminds me I have to get started on their costumes for Halloween. How in the world do you make a Frodo costume?
We also made pizza and went out for the Fall For The Arts Festival in Chestnut Hill. I didn't buy anything, but left with my head full of crafty ideas. I may not get around to doing them any time soon, but that's ok.

Lemon Ginger Granola Bars

These bars are somewhere in between oatmeal cookies and a granola bars. I used white chocolate chips, but they would be just as good with chocolate or dark chocolate instead.

4 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup flour (whole wheat works well)
1/2 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp salt
1 cup oil
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup soy milk
1 tsp vanilla
Grated zest of 1-2 organic lemons
1/2 to 1 cup (depending on your liking) candied ginger, chopped
1 cup chopped walnuts or almonds
1/2 to 1 cup chocolate or white chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325 F, and line a 9x13 pan with parchment paper. Mix the rolled oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a medium size bowl. In a large bowl, mix the oil, brown sugar, soy milk, vanilla and lemon zest. Add the oat mixture and your mix-ins and combine. Press down into the pan and bake for 20-25 minutes. Let cool before cutting with a sharp knife.

Cinnamon Craters

This is a super easy recipe that I learned a long time ago in a home economics class. Probably around 5th grade. I love that it is easy enough for my kids to actually make on their own.

When baking with kids, it really helps to set everything up beforehand: ingredients, bowls, measuring cups, etc. It will not only save time, but also help keep them focused, and most important: keep the mess limited to one place. :)

Cinnamon Craters
1 cup flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 cup sugar
4 tbsp vegan butter
1/2 cup soy milk

filling
2 tbsp vegan butter
2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 425ºF. Mix the flour, baking powder and sugar in a bowl. Add vegan butter and mix until crumbly. Add soy milk and combine. The dough will be sticky. Try not to add too much flour, but rather add some flour to your hands while handling it. Divide into 12 balls, place on baking sheet, and press down the center with finger.

Cream together all the ingredients for the filling, and add a small amount into each "crater."

Bake for 6-8 minutes.

Weekend

Late morning tofu scramble...

...a revolutionary war reenactment in our neighborhood (the Americans lost)...

...and some baking with the kids!

And look! It's cool enough to wear a sweater!