Happy Monday, Loves!

Today is my Secret Recipe Club reveal day (woot woot!) and this month's assignment proved to be a bit of a challenge for me..  My assigned blog for December is the super fabulous blog It's Yummy To My Tummy.  There were alot of great recipes to choose from (Italian Orzo Chicken, Damn Good Sandwiches, Oreo Truffle Balls) but one in particular grabbed my attention and it was all I could think of for weeks:  Cheesy Garlic Biscuits, which are noted to be a version of Red Lobster Biscuits. 

Red lobster biscuits were my pretzel bread back in the day. During my undergrad days, I dated a guy named Dave.  Dave was a Red Lobster Biscuit addict and it wasnt long before I too became hooked,  We frequently the joint more often that I will admit but it seemingly was never frequent enough and I soon began to make them at home.  I mastered them quickly and to where they tasted EXACTLY like the restaurant ones.   I was vegetarian at the time, with no intention of going vegan, but recall stating that this was one recipe that should never be veganized.  I may have even vowed to never make them again should I stop eating dairy.  

For two weeks I pondered whether or not to make the biscuits.  Vividly recalling my undergrad stance, but wondering if this was a sign that the world was in need a vegan gluten free red lobster biscuit copy cat recipe on the 'net, I continued to not make a decision and instead cooked up my plan b, which was to make  option the Cookies in a Jar Gift.  I've been meaning to hop on the gifts in jars bandwagon but have yet to actually do it, mainly due to most of the recipes being quart size.  Lovin' the fact that she used a pint size jar, I decided to order the supplies (from Amazon) as I could make them for my agency holiday party if not for this post.  In hindsight I wonder why it never occurred to me to just half the quart recipes, but that's neither here nor there...

So, back in the day I made my crack biscuits, errrrrr I mean Red Lobster copycat Biscuits, with bisquick, whole milk, grated sharp cheddar cheese, and 100% real butter.   Each of those ingredients is easily swapped with a vegan counterpart but I planned to take it step further by also making them gluten free.  For my first attempt, I used Bob's Red Mill Biscuits and Baking Mix and all I have to say about that is NO.  (I blame Bob for that fuckery).  The second time around I went with my tried and true Namaste Biscuits, Pie Crust & More as well as used Soy Free Earth Balance, So Delicious Sugar Free Coconut Milk, and Daiya Cheddar Cheese Shreds.  (Oh how times have changed!) 

Cheddar Garlic Biscuits
Makes 6

For the biscuit:
1 1/4 cups baking mix
2 Tbs super cold butter
1/2 cup grated or shredded cheese of choice
1/3 cup cold milk
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
Pinch of Salt

Brush on top:
1 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

Preheat oven to 400°F and prep a baking sheet by lining it with parchment paper.

Combine baking mix and cold butter, but not too thoroughly (baby pea sized chunks of butter are good).  Add cheese, milk, garlic powder, and salt.   Mix by hand until combined, but again don't over mix.  Bake at 400F until biscuits are firm and starting to turn golden (about 15 - 20 minutes). 

When biscuits are just about done, melt butter to be brushed on top and once melted stir in the parsley and garlic powder.  Brush topping on biscuits using a pastry brush immediately after you take them out of the oven.

The Verdict:  These were good....  DAMN GOOD..... but a Red Lobster Biscuit copycat they were not *chuckles*

That said, it should be noted that it's not the veganizing that did them in, but the gluten free factor (which I have far from mastered).  Funny how I havent had them in years yet vividly recall exactly how they tasted as if I ate them yesterday. 

On a final note, BIG THANKS to It's Yummy To My Tummy for leading me down a delightly trip down memory lane and another BIG THANKS to The Secret Recipe Club for all the recipe swapping fun thus far.  Happy holidays to all of SCR and positive vibes to all for a fantasic week ahead!

My assigned blog for this month was Hezzi-D's Books and Cooks.  The milisecond I got the assignment I clicked the link to see what deliciousness awaiting me and once again it was nothing short of amazing!  My sweet tooth was running amuk that day, so instead of starting at the first recipe link and working my way to the end, I headed straight for the desserts section.  I was approximately 3 pages in when the words CAKE BATTER BITES popped out at me.  I'm not even kidding when I say my heart fluttered and I all but wept when I read the words: "They taste just like Funfetti cake batter covered in chocolate."  Cake batter anything is my heart and it was a dark day for me when my non-dairy, wheat and gluten limiting lifestyle ended my 31 year love affair with the batter.  Come to think of it, I all but wept then too.  Hell, it's been years and I still find myself cycling through the stages of grief when I come into close proximity with cake batter deliciousness!  While I love my milk, butter (and cheese) free life, I can't deny my desire to swim in a vat of Ralph's (Ices) "Cake Shake". ;-b

After I reviewed the recipe, typed a message to Darin declaring Heather Lynne a genius and jotted down the ingredients list and instructions.  Fully prepared to (single handedly) put down an entire batch in one sitting, I made sure to log in extra daily cardio throughout the week.  Drunk with anticipation of my soon to be rekindled cake batter romance, I happily set to work in the kitchen.  I followed the recipe as written in terms of amounts but I made the standard vegan swaps (earth balance vegan buttery spread instead of butter, unsweetened coconut milk instead of cow's milk) and also used gluten free flour in place of regular all purpose flour.   That said, I'm not entirely sure why things went awry but it's safe to say the original recipe did not approve of my substitutions.  My dough was impossibly sticky despite trying every trick for working with gluten free dough in the book (it's notoriously sticky), which made it almost impossible to shape.  Almost....  I eventually wrangled into cute little balls.  I then chilled said balls in the freezer for about 25 - 30 minutes, using that time to make a chocolate ganache as tastebud pleasing vegan white chocolate is seemingly non-existent in my neck of the woods.  In regards to the ganache, I always go with Isa Chandra Moskowitz's recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World because it's knock your socks off delicious yet quick and easy to make.  This tiime was no exception but my cake batter bites did not approve of being dipped and began to flatten out into a disc shape at an alarming pace.  To say I was devestated would be a serious understatement and I couldnt bring myself to take a picture.  Hopefully that putting them back in the freezer would magically fix this culinary disaster, I stuffed them all into a container, placed it on my freezer shelf and went to my room to grieve.  Several days later, I opened the container.  They were nonetheless hideous but I ate one anyways.  In two words:  freakin delicious! As I proceeded to eat half the batch, I vowed to try again over the upcoming weekend.  Attempt #2 - as you can see from the above picture - was a success :-) 

Cake Balls Take 2
Adapted from

2 cups Glutino Old Fashioned Cake and Cookie Mix
2 Tbs melted coconut oil
4 - 5 Tbs unsweetened coconut milk
2 Tbs coconut nectar
1/2 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 packet sprinkles (purchased at Wild by Nature - I dont recall the brand)

 1 recipe Chocolate Ganache from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

Extra Sprinkles for garnish

Line a baking sheet with parchment paper and set aside.  Combine above ingredients in a medium bowl until a dough is formed.  If dough is sticky, place it in fridge for 5 minutes or so as this will make it easier to work with.  Otherwise proceed with shaping your dough into quarter sized balls.  Place the balls onto the parchment lined sheet and freeze for 20 minutes.  

While the dough is chilling, make ganache (or melt chocolate of choice) in a double broiler and allow to cool slightly.  Remove dough balls from the freezer, and either dip in the chocolate ganache, covering each ball completely. (You can also just spoon chocolate over the balls and top with sprinkles if you dont mind the bottoms not being covered)  Top with sprinkles and set tray back in the fridge to harden before devouring - YUM!!  As Heather Lynne said in her original post:  These are addictive!!
   

Shortly after my initial epic fail at making cake batter bites, I phoned Darin to vent my woes and we ended up making dinner plans for later in the week.  I had yet to sample one of my balls and thus stated I needed to cook something that I could post on reveal date.  I directed Darin to the website and he enventually decided on Buffalo Chicken Tenders.  I ended up using real chicken for him, Quorn Chik'n for mine - used Earth Balance instead of butter and Better Batter Gluten Free Flour - but followed Heather Lynne's instructions exactly as writen.  I was a little nervous about cooking the chicken in that I didnt have a thermometer on hand and always worry that I'm going to accidentially posion someone via undercooked meat.  (Highly plausible considering its been 15 years since I ate any kind of meat and overall  have limited experience preparing it!)  Darin however had a total faith and laughed when I asked where he kept his meat therometer.  In hindsight I am not entire sure I've ever eaten Buffalo Chicken but my lack of experience in the field had no impact on the outcome of the recipe.   Darin raved about his and I'm now officially obsessed with Buffalo Chik'n!  (No seriously - after eating it that once, I have since made two Buffalo Chik'n centered meals and it's only been a week and a half - pics foor your viewing pleasure below!)

On a final note, I want to thank Heather Lynne for her delicious recipes and awesome blog!  Positive vibes to all for a fantastic week ahead :-)

(details for both coming soon!)

2 days shy of a month ago today I shared the amazing news of having been accepted in the Secret Recipe Club.  Well kids, today is "reveal day" (yipppppie!!) and I am super stoked to share my October recipe with all of you. 

My assigned blog for this month was This is how we eat (by Laura Rees).  The milisecond I got the notification email I hopped right over to see what was potentially in store for me.  Intrigued by the fact that she does olive oil tasting for fun (and cracking up over this post), I browsed through the recipes, beginning with the healthy choice section, but jumping around from there.  It took me all of two minutes to realize that choosing only one recipe was going to be extremely difficult.    Five minutes after that I realized there was only way I'd be able to make a decision:  over cocktails (and by cocktails I mean, mimosas and sangria).

Returning to my computer, adult beverage in hand, I clicked on "breakfast".  Back in the day I loved breakfast: french toast, waffles, omlettes & hashbrowns...  I was lucky to have two top notch diners close to my house to indulge my taste buds.  Then I went vegan and while I can make vegan and/or raw versions of my lost loves, I feel not need to pretend that it even comes close..... cause it doesn't....  I may eat breakfast on a daily basis but it's by far my least exciting meal of the day (unless of course, your excited by oats, fruits, and the occasional parfait).  As I recollected my last rendevenous with challah french toast, I scrolled down page two and BAM!, I found my recipe:  Crockpot Apple Pear Butter!!!!!

Despite my hatred for temperatures below 80F, my favorite season has always been fall with October being my favorite month.  Pumpkins, apples, foliage, halloween, and my crockpot (don't judge me) top the list as far as fond memories and associations go, which made the apple pear butter recipe perfect and the fact that I've never made anything like this made it that much more exciting.  The recipe is brilliant as is, but unable to leave well enough alone, I decided to go balls-to-the-wall fall with one minor tweak: substitute pumpkin for pear!  The result was mind blowingly delicious :-)  Big thanks to Laura for a truly amazing recipe! 

Live Delicious!
xo

Crockpot Pumpkin Apple Butter
Adapted from This is how we eat. // by Laura Rees 

I 15oz can Organic Pure Pumpkin
3 small green apples, peeled, cored and shredded*
3/4 - 1 cup All Natural Organic Appple Cider
1/4 cup Sucanat
Apple Pie Spice, to taste

Place all ingredients into the crockpot.  Place lid 3/4 of the way on and cook on low approximately 6 hours or on high approximately 4 hours.  Transfer everything to a high speed blender and blend until smooth.  Pour mixture into mason jar and store in refrigerator. 

Note:
Apples can be pureed from the start instead of shredded as seen in Laura's recipe.

Monday Funday?!
Yeah, not likely.  But today isnt any other Monday.  Today is special.

Special?!
Yup Yup!!

In fact, today is best monday ever special because I can finally share the great news:

I WAS ACCEPTED INTO THE SECRET RECIPE CLUB

*does little dance*

I applied a few months ago but hadn't heard back.  After two weeks or so I assumed I didn't make the cut. (It happens).  Then I got the email while shopping at Trader Joes.

*does another little dance*

Yeah, yeah I know - it's kinda silly but whatever.  My acceptance into the club will forever be an epic moment in Delicious Existence history :-b 

Don't hate, participate!

Ok, if you havent clicked any of the above links your likely wondering what the secret recipe club is and you can read all about it by clicking here.  However, the jist of this group is simple:  each month, if you choose to participate, you are  “assigned” another participating members food blog to make a recipe from. You can choose any recipe posted on that food bloggers site but it’s a secret, so don’t tell them you are making something from their blog!

So, who's blog was my first assignment?!

*drum roll*

 Penny Pinching Provisions

I immediately googled the site to view the deliciousness and let me say, there's a lot of great recipes on the site!  I seriously wanted to make EVERYTHING but alas, I'm to choose just one.  Torn between several, I somehow managed to narrow it down to the Jerk Chicken Foccica and the BBQ Chicken Pizza.  For the next 4 days, I went back and forth between the two.  I mean, there was no way I wasn't making the beer batter pizza dough.  But anyone who knows me (or reads this blog) knows how fond I am of Jerk anything (heh).  Two more days passed and finally, it hit me:   Carribean Jerk Pizza!

Excited, I began to devise my recipe, which consists of the following:

1.  Make Beer Batter Pizza Dough
2.  Make Jerk Chik'n/Chicken
3.  Make Caribbean Sauce
4.  Make Pizza

This may seem lengthy but it's not, I promise!  Everything that needs to be accomplished before the actual pizza  is put together can be done while the dough is rising.

That said, let's hop to it!

BEER BATTER PIZZA DOUGH
Adapted from Penny Pinching Provisions

The original recipe states that it makes 2 large or 4 medium pizza's. That's a lot of dough.  I planned on making two 7" pizza's (one with chik'n and one with chicken) so I decided to half the recipe.  This turned out to be a mistake because this was by far THE BEST DOUGH EVER and I ended up making a second batch immediately after (details on that coming soon).

1 cup warm water
1 Tbs coconut nectar
1 Tbs yeast
3.5 - 4 cup bread flour
1 tsp salt
2 Tbs olive oil
6oz beer, room temp (I used New Castle)

Bread machine ~
Load bread machine pan as per manufacturer's instructions.   Select the "dough" cycle.

By hand ~
Mix the yeast with the water and honey in a small mixing bowl. Rest until foamy.

Mix 2 cups of the flour with the salt in a large bowl. Pour yeast mixture into the bowl with the flour mixture. Add the olive oil and beer. Stir to combine.

Add the remaining flour 1/2 cup at a time, stirring until the dough isn’t sticky. Once you’ve reached 4 cups of flour, turn the dough out of the bowl onto the table top and knead for a few minutes until smooth and elastic, sprinkling with flour as needed to keep it from sticking. Once the dough is soft, smooth and elastic.

Place in a deep, greased bowl and let rise 45-60 minutes, or until double in size.  Once risen, it's ready for use!


JERK SEASONING
From Penny Pinching Provisions

1 Tbs onion powder
1 Tbs sugar
1 Tbs salt
1 Tbs garlic powder
1 Tbs thyme
3/4 tsp all spice
3/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp red pepper, ground

Combine above ingredients.  Use to make chik'n, chicken, and caribbean sauce.

JERK CHICKEN & CHIK'N:

With Meat ~
I followed the recipe at Penny Pinching Provision for cooking the chicken, using a small pack of chicken cutlets, which I chopped up after cooking.

Meatless ~
1 cup Quorn Chik'n Chunks*
Jerk seasoning, to taste
Cayenne pepper, optional, to taste

Note: Quorn Chik'n chunks are not vegan as they contain egg whites.
Preheat oven to 400F

In a bowl, thoroughly mix the Jerk seasoning and Cayenne pepper.  Divide into separate portions if cooking both meat eaters and non-meat eaters, then set aside.

Coat chik'n with olive oil (or lightly spray with non-stick olive oil spray) and toss with jerk/cayenne mix.  Spread on baking sheet and bake until hot and golden (about 30 min).


CARIBBEAN SAUCE:
From

1/2 Tbs cold water
1/2 tsp All Purpose Flour
1/2 cup sweet chili sauce* see note
3/4 tsp jerk seasoning

Add water to a mixing bowl.  Slowly sprinkle flour into water while whisking at the same time. Break up any clumps.  Add sweet chili sauce and jerk seasoning to flour mixture. Mix thoroughly.  Add sauce to a non-stick saute pan and cook over high heat for approximately 5 to 6 minutes, stir continuously.  When sauce is thickened transfer to a container and cool to room temperature.

Note: To make your own Sweet Chili Sauce, combine:  1/2 cup tomato sauce, 1/8 cup brown sugar, 1 Tbs vinegar, and 1/8 tsp all spice.  Store in fridge until ready to use.

THE PIZZA:
1 recipe beer batter pizza dough
1 recipe jerk chik'n (or chicken)
1 recipe caribbean sauce

1/3 cup daiya mozzarella
1/2 red peppers, chopped
1/2 yellow pepper, chopped
1/8 cup red onions, chopped
1/8 cup facon (or bacon)

Sprinkling of additional mozzarella
1/4 - 1/2 Tbs chopped green scallions

Preheat oven to 425F.  Have all the topping ingredients assembled before rolling out the crust. If you are using a pizza stone make sure it is also heating in the oven.

Sprinkle a flat surface with flour and gently roll out the dough and place the prepared crust on a pizza paddle sprinkled with cornmeal or a perforated pizza pan.  Bake 5-7 minutes.

Remove from oven and using a spoon, spread caribbean sauce to within an inch of the outer edge of pizza dough. Then layer the following in order listed:  mozzarella, peppers,  onions, facon (or bacon), and finally jerk Chik'n (or chicken).  Sprinkle additional mozzarella over the entire pizza, if desired.

Bake for an additional 15 minutes, or until the edges have browned. Garnish with scallions after cooking.