Chocolate Dream Pie (vegan + gluten free)

Since marrying my husband, I’ve become a sucker for chocolate. It’s strange because I was never a huge fan of the creamy stuff. I was more into candies that were sour, gummy, and fruity. Alas, turns out the chocolate in Europe really is good stuff. To top it off, chocolate compliments a lot of different flavours, which makes it pretty versatile in my eyes. AND pure cocoa is technically vegan - as long as there is no added milk, etc.. Win, right? 

I remember tasting my first chocolate cream pie. Since I always loved pudding, it was pretty much a dream come true to have crust added to it too (who doesn’t love a good crust?!). I set out to make one of my own that had no heavy whipping cream in it, but still had a creamy, chocolate texture.

This particular crust came out of sheer need. I didn't feel like wrestling for a flaky crust, and I had some nuts in my freezer and dates in my pantry, so this crust was born. I apologize to those with nut allergies, but you can make the filling with any kind of crust that works for you!

The topping is also DIY optional. I've included a simple recipe below, but if that's not your thing, you do you! I'm constantly switching out things when I cook or bake so I always expect people to do the same. I also know people who stick to the letter of the law when following a recipe, so I've included the steps for each part of the pie below.

Also great about this pie? Aside from the crust, there is no baking required, and is quik to whip up. Just patience while it sets. It makes for the perfect dessert in the summer since it needs to be served cool.

Chocolate Dream Pie (vegan + gluten free)

What you need:

For the Pie Filling:

• 1 ¼ cups original almond milk

• 1 can unsweetened coconut milk

• ⅓ cup cane sugar

• Pinch of salt

• 1 tsp vanilla

• ¼ cup arrowroot powder

• ⅓ cup cocoa powder

For the Crust:

• 1 cup almonds

• 1 cup walnuts

• 1TBSP chopped dates

• 1/2 TBSP maple syrup

• 2 TBSP vegan butter

For the Whipped Topping*:

• 1 can coconut milk refrigerated overnight

• 1 tsp vanilla extract

• 1 TBSP maple syrup or agave (to sweeten)

Optional:

Extra cocoa powder and toasted coconut for garnishing

What to do:

To make the crust:

1) Prep pie dish by lining with parchment or greasing and preheat oven to 400 degrees F

2) Put nuts and dates into the food processor and pulse until you have a nice meal consistency

3) Add your mixture to a bowl and mix in the maple syrup and butter well until a dough forms

4) Press dough evenly into prepared pie dish

5) Bake for 12 minutes and allow to completely cool before making the filling

To make the filling:

1) Add everything to a large pot.

2) Bring to slow boil, stirring/whisking constantly to avoid burning and clumping

3) Pour into prepared pie crust

4) Refrigerate for several hours (at least 4 hours) to set 

To make the whipped topping:

1) Right before serving, make the whipped topping by opening coconut milk and scooping out the solid part of it into a chilled bowl (be careful not to get much liquid into your bowl).

2) Add vanilla and maple syrup and whip with hand mixer.

3) Apply to pie as desired - spreading it over the top, or adding a dollop to each piece - really, whatever you want :)

* Note: Alternatively, you can use your favourite store-bought vegan topping

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Are you a fan of cream pies?

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Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins (vegan)

Before I got married, I always had this idea in my head about going running with my husband. We would get all cute in our coordinating (but not matching) gear and go down the street. Everyone would look at us and think in their heads: wow, what a healthy power couple!

Yeah, well, reality looks a little different than our imaginations sometimes. The first time we ever went for a run together, I was consistently about 3 blocks behind at all times. I blame it on my short[(er)-than-his] legs. For the last few months, however, we've been running at the same pace and it's been great (especially when deer come out of nowhere and I know I'm not alone....)! I hope the neighbours think we're a healthy power couple. Never mind. 

Also great? The things that happen in our kitchen when I get serious cravings on a productive day. Like Mexican food for a solid week, and fresh cinnamon rolls for breakfast. Or freezer meals that will last a month!

Then there are those times I see brown bananas on the counter and get really excited...

The thing about bananas in our house: they don't last long enough to turn brown. You see, there's a banana-eating machine in our home roaming wild. My husband. It seems as if no matter how many bunches I purchase, they are all gone before those beautiful brown spots even get a chance to develop. So when I see a brown banana? Well, I pounce, and delicious things tend to happen.

When I was growing up, it seemed that the family we carpooled with always had these little chocolate chip banana muffins. This always baffled me because I never associated chocolate with breakfast. At the same time, it intrigued me, and after trying one, I knew that life would never be the same. 

I knew some kind of banana chocolate mix would happen when I saw those brown babies on my counter. I think I have some sort of chocolate theme when it comes to muffins! I have no idea how, but they turned out on the first try - I even gave the bulk of them away!

Without further ado (it's not like you're reading any of this anyway), here is the recipe!

Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins

What you need:

• 1 1/2 cups whole wheat white flour

• 1/2 cup dark brown sugar

• 2 tsp baking powder

• 2 very ripe bananas, mashed

• 1 flax egg (1 TBSP ground flax mixed with 3 TBSP hot water)

• 1 tsp pure almond or vanilla essence

• 1/2 cup vegan butter, melted

• 1/4 cup non-dairy milk (I use non-sweetened almond milk)

• 1/3 cup vegan chocolate chips
   

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease muffin tin (I use olive oil).
2) Prepare flax egg by combining the flax and hot water and leave to sit for five minutes.
3) Mix flour, sugar and baking powder in a large bowl.
4) In a separate bowl, mix mashed bananas, pure almond essence, vegan butter, non-dairy milk and prepped flax egg.
5) Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix well.
6) Stir in chocolate chips.
7) Distribute the batter evenly into the muffin tin (I'm still working on the even part...)
8) Bake for 25 minutes, until the muffins pass the toothpick test.
9) Remove from oven and cool on rack.

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Poor Man's Lentil Soup

It was one of those months where we needed to get creative with what was in our pantry. It happens a few times a year where what we have needs to stretch out as long as possible - not necessarily always because we're short on cash, but especially when we have a new goal (like a trip or a larger purchase) that we want to aim toward. There are also times where we feel it a good idea to "clean out" our pantry by making sure we eat what we have to avoid spoil.

Usually, we purpose to not spend a penny during these times, relying on canned and frozen vegetables to accompany our other staples, but this time around, we splurged and were able to score some inexpensive, and fresh produce at the farmer's market!

I love soup and have never associated it with not having money, so it's always a welcome dish to me. However, it is also one of those things my husband does not anticipate to fill him long enough, so I always purpose to make it hearty. I, however, enjoy more brothy soups, so this was a great in-between. The lentils fill us, but the broth is so yummy, and perfect for some bread to soak up. 

The fresh kale makes it even more enjoyable - I love the texture and colour that this soup has; the bright oranges and greens! 

This soup is not only extremely inexpensive to make - it is also flexible (use beans or potaoes or whatever you have in the pantry/fridge instead of lentils) and amazingly easy to make. 

Poor Man's Lentil Soup

What you need:

• 1 TBSP olive oil

• 1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 stalk celery roughly chopped

• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped

• 3 cloves garlic, roughly chopped

• 3 TBSP homemade vegan chicken-style seasoning

• 2 tsp salt

• sea salt to taste

• 1/2 cup dried lentils

• 4 cups water

• 4 cups vegetable broth (try this homemade version!)

• 1/2 bunch of kale, roughly chopped

• Your favourite vegan sausage (optional)

What to do:

1. Cook carrot, celery and onion with 2 tsp salt in olive oil in a heavy stock pot or dutch oven

2. Add vegetable stock, water, garlic, seasoning and lentils

3. Simmer for about 25 minutes, until the lentils are cooked

4. Add kale and allow to turn a deep green and wilt a bit before stirring into the soup.

5. Adjust seasonings to your liking. Serve hot!

(good in the fridge for 4 days)

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What are some of your go-to meals when cleaning out your pantry? 

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Apple Pumpkin Crisp (vegan)

I was a really poor student when I was in university. I struggled most months paying rent and making sure I had food to eat because no matter how many job applications I sent out no one ever bit. That year was a year of amazing miracles, and I never went hungry or homeless but I'll never forget one lightbulb moment I had one day. I seriously had no produce in my tiny city apartment but some apples that were already on the edge of becoming dehydrated snacks, and not much in my fridge but almond milk (that was actually half water because I had to make it stretch) and ketchup. I managed to scrounge up the ingredients for an apple crisp and let me tell you: that evening, I felt rich. Since then, I've especially appreciated a good apple crisp - especially when the weather is cool!

After making some pumpkin treats the other day, I found that not only did I have a basket full of apples to consume, I also had some leftover pumpkin puree. What?! Dream-come-true much. I decided to try something new, and what came out was this delicious apple pumpkin crisp. Why not?

It turned out to taste a lot better than I thought it was going to, so I decided to share it with you today - in honour of all things pumpkin anyway. I added some walnuts to the topping, and it just added a level of deliciousness that is out of this world! I also topped it with some coconut cream, and oh boy!

Apple Pumpkin Crisp

What you need:

Filling

• 6 medium-large apples (I used granny smith), peeled and chopped

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 TBSP lemon juice

• 1/2 cup brown sugar

• 1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

• 3 TBSP arrowroot starch

• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1/4 tsp ground ginger

• 1/4 tsp nutmeg

Topping

• 1 cup old fashioned oats

• 1 cup white whole wheat flour

• 1/3 cup organic cane sugar

• 1/2 cup raw walnuts, roughly chopped

• 1/4 tsp sea salt

• 1 tsp ground cinnamon

• 1/2 cup olive oil 

What to do:

1) Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

2) Add all the ingredients for the filling to a large bowl and mix well until combined

3) Put mixture into a small baking dish and set aside

4) Rinse and dry out the bowl you used for the apples and mix together the oats, flour, sugar, walnuts, salt and cinnamon. 

5) Add the olive oil to your dry ingredients and mix well, until completely coated.

6) Pour the topping onto the apples in the baking dish, coating completely.

7) Bake for 30 minutes until the top is a nice golden brown.

8) Best fresh, but refrigerate up to 3 days.

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Have you ever added pumpkin to your apple crisp before?

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Pumpkin Donuts (vegan)

I don't know about you, but I love donuts. Something about that cute little hole in the middle (and when there's no hole in the middle, there's tasty stuff like jelly or cream!). Well, in the fall, with pumpkin everything coming out and little donuts everywhere, I thought it would only be appropriate to try and make my own! I mean, why not?

They were a little denser than your traditional donuts from Mr. Horton but still delicious. I love pumpkin pie, so this was right up my alley - with the right spices and pumpkin taste.  In true fall fashion, they are dipped in a sugar and cinnamon mixture. Yum!

These are even husband-approved, which is a pretty big deal when he doesn't usually prefer donuts. These babies are best fresh, but you can store them overnight if you need to.

Vegan Pumpkin Donuts

What you need:

For the donuts:

• 1 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/4 cup white whole wheat flour

• 1 1/8 tsp baking powder

• 1 tsp cinnamon

• 1/2 tsp ground ginger

• 1/2 tsp nutmeg

• 1/2 cup packed brown sugar

• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

• 1/3 cup pumpkin puree

• 2 TBSP melted vegan butter or coconut oil

For the (optional) topping:

• 1/4 cup fine cane sugar

• 1 TBSP cinnamon

• 1 TBSP vegan butter or coconut oil

What to do:

1) Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

2) In a large mixing bowl, mix the flour, baking powder, spices, and sugar. In a separate bowl, mix the rest of the ingredients.

3) Gradually add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. The batter will be thick, not pourable.

4) Put the batter in a plastic bag, cut the corner, and squeeze evenly into all donut pan cavities.

5) Bake for 10-12 minutes, until the donuts pass the toothpick test (come out clean).

6) Cool on a wire rack. While the donuts are cooling, mix the cane sugar and cinnamon in a shallow bowl, and the vegan butter or coconut oil in the other.

7) Once cool, dip the donuts into the butter and then into the sugar mixture. You can flip the donut and repeat the process on the other side, but one side is sufficient.

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What's your favourite Autumn donut? Are you on the pumpkin bandwagon?

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