Tahini Salad Dressing

I am a huge fan of tahini. (This isn't surprising, as I am a fan of anything sesame based - spinach gomae salads, sesame mochi desserts, the sesame-sugar wafers sold 3/$1 at grocery stores, etc.)  Originally brought into my kitchen for the purpose of making hummus, which I used to do a lot, it has since because a key component of my vegan bechamel sauce, and a handy replacement for peanut or nut butter when I want toast but haven't been to the store in awhile. For a Greek-themed party earlier this year, I even made a gluten-free version of tahinopita (a vegan cake that uses tahini to replace the oil, dairy and eggs).  But over the past couple of years, I have started to obsess over tahini in a new form - as a sauce/salad dressing.

Muffins and Cupcakes

Recently, I have been going to a lot of parties - specifically, brunch parties.  Now, most brunch foods aren't especially portable to begin with (pancakes, French toast and waffles all tend to go soggy), and those that are (e.g. quiche, cinnamon buns) don't tend to work very well with a gluten-free, dairy-free, low-egg diet.  So, I decided it was time to start experimenting with muffins. And once I pulled out the muffin tin (and my mini muffin tin, i.e. my newest kitchen baby), well, there was no stopping me.

The beauty of muffins and cupcakes are that they are portable. The beauty of a mini-muffin tin is the ability to make party-sized muffins (there are lots to go around). And because muffins and cupcakes are baked in the same tins, there is a nice continuum between "healthy muffins" and "totally decadent cupcakes" (banana cupcakes fall somewhere in the middle of this spectrum).

So I thought I would share two of my new favourite recipes. One is a hearty muffin recipe, perfect for breakfast or brunch; the other is a luscious mocha cupcake recipe, perfect for dessert for all parties. Both have the added benefit of being gluten-free and vegan!

The Most Heavenly Soup Ever to Come Out of My Kitchen

So last weekend I was in Victoria, home of some of the best gluten-free and vegan eats in the province (although with places like Bandidas and The Wallflower, Vancouver is still definitely in the race). But anyway, I was at Santé Gluten-Free café (which is on Quadra near Hillside, and I recommend it to anyone gluten-free in Victoria - lots of dairy-free options too!), and I noticed that in their frozen soup section, they had a coconut-kale blended soup.  Well, this sounded like pretty much the greatest thing ever, so I made a mental note to try making it as soon as I had a chance.  I did a bit of googling for recipe suggestions, but mostly put together a soup with what I already had on hand.  The end result was a creamy, rich deliciousness that I haven't experienced since I could have potato-leek soup with real cream.  I am in soup heaven.  (And to think that two years ago I was convinced that I could never make a decent pot of soup.) Plus, in addition to two bunches of kale, the soup is also full of red lentils, for protein and fiber, and sweet potatoes, which have a shockingly high number of nutrients.  So it's delicious AND healthy!  (Except for the coconut cream, anyway...)

Luscious Lemon Cupcakes - the Holy Grail of Gluten-Free, Vegan Party Treats

A year and a half ago, I made the most amazing cupcakes.  They were lemon-vanilla, with a lemon-coconut frosting, and a big hit with everyone that tried them.  I had discovered a perfect recipe, gluten-free, vegan, soy free, and fairly easy to make sugar-free; and as soon as I finished the batch, I resolved that I would make these cupcakes again soon.

One problem: I couldn't find the recipe.  

Recipe Outlines: Potato Salad and Curried Fava Bean Pasta

It's been a long time since I posted.  A very, very long time.  Lots of things have happened since then - among other things, I went to Asia and fell in love with Thai and Cambodian food, then came home and decided the ingredients were just too expensive to bother cooking it myself, and now obsess over trips to Thai House and Banana Leaf.  And I constantly think "oh, remember when I made the amazing ____ (lemon cupcakes, shepherd's pie, etc.)?  I wonder what I put in it" and then dutifully rush to this blog to look it up, because of course I remembered to write down this wonderful recipe for posterity - but then of course I didn't.  And so, because I have gotten so frustrated with myself, over and over, I am going to include some very basic recipes - no measurements, bullet point instructions, no photos - so that in eight months when I think "remember when I made that awesome potato salad?", I can actually figure out what I made!

Two recipes to start today: mayo-free summer picnic potato salad, and curried pasta with caramelized onions, roasted cauliflower, and fava beans.

Banana Goodness

I've been on the quest for a good banana bread for a long time.  Even before the allergies hit, to be honest.  I eat a lot of bananas, but I don't always manage to eat them all in time.  My freezer fills up with bags of banana chunks, or, if I'm especially pressed for time, bunches of whole bananas which have turned black from the cold.  (Which doesn't in any way impact the fruit inside).  I need something to do with these bananas, and banana bread is one of my favourite foods.  My mom used to make a fabulous banana bread when I was growing up, sweetened with honey and pureed dates and made with whole wheat flour instead of white.  It was healthy enough that she let me eat it for breakfast, which was the ultimate treat (cereal can get quite monotonous!)  But it's hard to puree dates without a blender, so I always knew I was going to have to find a new recipe.

Last summer, in my very brief spelt-flour baking stage, and in search of a recipe I could make for a baking-deprived diet-restricted friend, I discovered an absolutely fantastic recipe for banana bread.  It won me great accolades, and because it was vegan, whole-grain, high in flax and had no refined sugar, I deemed it healthy enough to eat at any time of day.  However, it didn't take long after that before my body to remind me that spelt was very definitely not gluten-free.  I spent months searching for a replacement recipe, and made some absolutely horrid banana breads along the way.  (One was flat, burnt, and the middle fell out when I tried to remove it from the pan.  Disaster!)  And then recently, I stumbled upon a wonderful, moist, whole-grain, high-protein, delicious spiced banana muffin recipe.  I'm not picky, I'll take my banana baking in whatever form it comes, and muffins were more than good enough for me.  The recipe claimed to be a cupcake, but I claim it was just banana bread in disguise.

Guest Post: All About Icing

Hey everyone!  I have a guest post up today on GeneGeek, talking all about the science behind icing (yes, the frosting kind), and how to modify icing recipes for hard-to-accommodate diets!  GeneGeek is a blog run by a friend and mentor of mine, and its focus is translating science (genetics especially) into English - how to communicate science to non-scientists, how to improve science education, how to relate science to the real word, etc.  You should check it out, it's pretty awesome!  And if you're looking for a way to jazz up a gluten-free vegan chocolate cake, or some tasty gluten-free vegan banana brownies, you should definitely check out my post for all your icing needs.  Happy baking!