Closing Out October the Right Way

Blueberry Pie Parfait

Something came over me this past weekend. Sugar was in the air and I was sniffing it. It put me in the mood to make desserts. I started with something easy, this parfait. I layered graham cracker crumb crust with blueberry pie filling, coconut pudding, and whipped cream. Instead of eating it soft like most parfaits, I froze it for a cold treat. Delicious and easy! 

Healthy Top Whipped Cream

After seeing this in a few vegan recipes, I needed to buy this whipped cream. It is vegan and made with cashews and almonds. It tastes just like cool whip! Tonight I mixed it with melted dark chocolate to make a mousse. Two ingredients, five minutes, and an amazing rich dessert that can be featured in many upcoming recipes. The chocolate mousse reminded of a 3-Musketeers, which was perfect along side this Halloween weekend. 

Blueberry Pie Macaroons

I make my best creations on a whim. I have a few ingredients, don't know what to do with them, and start mixing this and that. I piped these dreams out and filled them with my blueberry pie filling for a superb cookie. At first I just piped them out without anything in them, and was planning on using the blueberry mixture for parfaits or mini pies. Mr. Organnix came in the kitchen and suggested that I fill the cookies with the blueberries. I loved the idea and worked hard to get it in those cookies. Their texture is almost that of Passover macaroons, but these are way better. Instead of coconut, they are made with almonds. And with the blueberry filling, these can't be beat! Not exactly easy to make, but definitely worth sharing with friends and family. 

Mustache Cupcakes

Okay now I must admit: I did not eat those orange decorations. I made the decor with home-made marzipan mixed with flour and orange food coloring, but the flavor was lacking. It tasted like fondant, which we all know is better for decorating than enjoying. It was fun to make these with my leftover almond paste...but not fun to eat. Even the cupcakes themselves were lacking.

Vegan baking needs help from the gods, if there are any. I've had a $4 vegan cupcake from a professional bakery, a Native Foods Cafe cupcake on more than one occasion, and have baked cupcakes plenty of times. I've had vegan desserts all over and can only recall liking one baked product. It was two years ago at a gourmet place called Avanti Cafe. It was a slice of german chocolate cake. But it took me about 4 days to remember having this one great vegan baked dessert. 

Why can't vegan cake be moist? No matter how much oil is in it, they still taste dull. I've baked from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" too many times to count. The cupcakes above are made from the Golden Vanilla recipe. And still, with every ingredient measured to a T, they are dry. They stick to the papers. They aren't good. The good ones are always filled with something. The only reason those ones are moist is because they have a pudding, frosting, or pie in the middle. The cake just doesn't meet my standards. It needs help. Let me know your favorite place or recipe for a moist, rich, upstanding cake. I would love to try it. 

A Vampire Piggy

My wonderful, talented, artistic boyfriend created this piggy! We both LOVE little piggies (even if he still eats real bacon, he still loves them). He got super creative this Halloween and made a revengeful vampire piggy pumpkin. My story is that this vampire piggy eats all the humans who indulge in eating his piggy friends. Mr. Organnix's story goes that he eats vegans because he wonders why they would never eat him. Either way, this piggy is no herbivore.

Hogarth

I decided to go a more friendly route. Hogarth is a menagerie character of a voodoo poppet clan named Bublo. He normally has a giraffe like skin, but my carving skills were no where near good enough to make that happen. 

Key Lime Pie

During my summer trip to New Hampshire I had this delicious drink called a Key Lime Pie. I was overlooking the Atlantic and sipping on this dessert drink wondering how they got it so creamy without dairy. I got the recipe from the bartender and recreated it this past weekend. I added some vegan whipped cream to make it the real deal.What's in it? Equal parts of Pinnacle Whipped vodka, and Malibu rum; lime juice, a graham crumb rim, and whipped cream to boot. With all the sugar it was sure to give me a wrenching hangover, but dang this thing is tasty! 

Hansel and Gretel

And to close out October with a smile, we dressed as good ol' innocent Hansel and Gretel. I wasn't really up for going out in a leotard and cat ears, pretending that my slutty costume is justified by my pin on tail. Instead, I decided to go the cute route and match my shining German boy, Hansel.

It's officially the holiday season now that Halloween has passed. Get ready to practice those Thanksgiving recipes! I'm looking at stuffing first. Mmm....