1. Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn! Supplies corn kernels 2 tsp oil 1 1/2 cup white sugar (beet sugar) or light brown sugar 3 tbsp earth balance (vegan butter) 1 tsp vanilla extract coarse sea salt Instructions Cover the bottom of a medium pot with the corn kernels, then coat in the oil. Shaking every minute or so, heat the pot until all the corn is popped. (Wait until there’s a couple of seconds between pops.) Transfer the popped corn into a big bowl. Wipe out the pot and pour in the sugar, butter, and vanilla. Let it all heat, stirring occasionally to keep it from burning. When the mixture starts to bubble, slowly stir it to bring it all together. When it’s ready, it’ll be consistently liquid and light amber in color. NOTE: Don’t lick or touch the mixture, even if it’s “cooled” on the spoon - the sugar is dangerously hot. Also, don’t stir it too fast or the sugar will start to crystallize. Pour the caramel over the popcorn, folding it in as you go. Quickly sprinkle a couple of heaping pinches of sea salt over top and fold it in. The caramel will harden pretty quickly, so make sure to evenly coat the popcorn before it does! Be careful to not touch the caramel right after it comes out of the pan - it’s still really hot! To give as a gift, break it into small chunks and package in a small paper bag, taped over with festive washi tape.
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    Day two of our food gifting week: salted caramel corn!

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    December 18, 2012
  2. All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together! As always, check labels (or company websites) to make sure the ingredients you use are vegan. Bark Supplies a 24 oz. bag of semi-sweet chocolate chips 1 tsp mint extract 4-5 candy canes parchment or wax paperBark Instructions Line a rimmed flat baking sheet with the parchment/wax paper. In a double boiler (or, if you’re unequipped like me, a small pot inside a large pot filled 1/4 with water) melt your bag of chocolate chips with the mint extract, until it’s consistently smooth and creamy. Be careful to stir slowly - if you do it too fast the chocolate will seize up and become hard. (Not that I’ve ever done that or anything….) Meanwhile, crush the candy canes with a hammer or in a food processor/blender. When the chocolate’s melted, pour it into the baking sheet. Spread it out carefully until the whole pan is filled. Sprinkle the top with the crushed candy cane. If you want to keep the top very flat, lay another piece of parchment/wax paper on top and roll it with a rolling pin. Freeze for a few hours, at least one hour. How I packaged these bark pieces: Break the bark into small pieces. Wrap in tissue paper, then tie it up with twine. Get some small gift boxes - I got mine from a craft store in the baking aisle. Before assembling, write your message on the box - I carved “to” and “from” stamps myself, but you could just as easily draw/write it out. Put the bark in the box, then tape it shut with some washi or decorative tape. Make sure to keep the bark in the freezer until you plan to give it away. Hope you like this little project, and find it easy enough to make! :)
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    All this week we’ll be coming up with easy food gifts that you don’t have to make with your oven. The first one up is this super simple peppermint chocolate bark. Click through to read how to put it all together!

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    December 17, 2012
  3. we ran out of cereal this morning, and we were out of any other food i wanted. (this happens more often than i’d like to admit!) this sort of morning is perfect for experimenting with what you’ve got lying around in your pantry. this isn’t a “recipe” so much as it is an idea for you to try. i love to make big batches of this sweet granola, then bring it with me on a road trip or snack on it throughout the day. the beauty of this is that all you need is some oats, nuts, other mix-ins, and some liquid sweetener. you could add in chocolate chips or seeds as well - whatever you have will work, really! what i put in mine: 2 cups rolled oats 1 cup raw cashews, loosely chopped one handful raw sunflower seeds 1 cup raisins & dried cranberries 1/4 cup agave nectar 1/4 cup pure maple syrup from there, mix everything together and lay it out on a piece of parchment paper on a big baking sheet. bake it at 300F for about 20 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure nothing is burning. (especially in the last few minutes, it’s easier for things to crisp up.) when you take the pan out of the oven, lightly dust some cinnamon over top of the whole tray. then break apart the granola into smaller pieces into a jar or bags to eat later. (or…eat it now. i won’t judge.) i’m in love with this granola mixture… it’s like those hot candied nuts you get from a sidewalk vendor in central park, but mixed with some more filling foods like the oats and seeds. hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as i did!
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    we ran out of cereal this morning, and we were out of any other food i wanted. (this happens more often than i’d like to admit!) this sort of morning is perfect for experimenting with what you’ve got lying around in your pantry.

    this isn’t a “recipe” so much as it is an idea for you to try. i love to make big batches of this sweet granola, then bring it with me on a road trip or snack on it throughout the day.

    the beauty of this is that all you need is some oats, nuts, other mix-ins, and some liquid sweetener. you could add in chocolate chips or seeds as well - whatever you have will work, really! what i put in mine:

    • 2 cups rolled oats
    • 1 cup raw cashews, loosely chopped
    • one handful raw sunflower seeds
    • 1 cup raisins & dried cranberries
    • 1/4 cup agave nectar
    • 1/4 cup pure maple syrup


    from there, mix everything together and lay it out on a piece of parchment paper on a big baking sheet. bake it at 300F for about 20 minutes, checking every few minutes to make sure nothing is burning. (especially in the last few minutes, it’s easier for things to crisp up.)

    when you take the pan out of the oven, lightly dust some cinnamon over top of the whole tray. then break apart the granola into smaller pieces into a jar or bags to eat later. (or…eat it now. i won’t judge.) i’m in love with this granola mixture… it’s like those hot candied nuts you get from a sidewalk vendor in central park, but mixed with some more filling foods like the oats and seeds.

    hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as i did!

    (Source: sewindie.com)

    January 25, 2012