want to add some spice to your morning tofu scramble? instead of reaching for the frozen faux meats which are packed with weird ingredients, try your hand at seitan. if you’ve never had it before, it’s a really amazing “meaty” texture, it’s incredibly flavorful, and its applications are many. read more about it here!

if you’re intimidated by making this, watch an instructional video before you start to help you out. (we love that video by working class foodies, but if you want something simpler try this silly one.)

vegan nutella pancakes

there’s no food that says “sunday morning” to me than a tall stack of pancakes. these are moist and sweetened by some from-scratch vegan nutella. we altered this recipe from the original in the joy of vegan baking, one of our favorite cook books.

1. make some vegan nutella (page 12)! or use a close commercial version, like justin’s chocolate hazelnut butter or peanut butter & co’s dark chocolate dreams
2. mix together 1/2 cup pure maple syrup and 3 tbsp vegan nutella
3. stir in a mixing bowl until just combined: 1 cup flour, 1 tbsp baking powder, 1/4 tsp salt, 1 cup non-dairy milk, 2 tbsp oil, and 3 tbsp of the nutella/syrup mixture. if the batter is too thin add in some flour, if it’s too thick add in some milk.
4. spoon the batter out onto a hot flat pan, 2-3 tbsp for each pancake. cook on medium-low, and when the pancake starts to bubble, flip it over. give it another couple of minutes and check the other side to see if it’s done.

serve with the rest of the nutella/syrup mixture, or just maple syrup, or fresh fruit, or whatever else you like with pancakes. one recipe makes enough for about two-three people, depending on how hungry you are! enjoy :)

today we carved jack-o-lanterns, and i really needed to use all the insides we scooped out. these cookies really hit the spot!

we adapted this from this original recipe

1. (you can skip this first step if you’d like, and just use canned pumpkin, but what’s the fun in that?) scoop out a pumpkin or two. separate out all the seeds, and toast them later for a great snack. place the rest of the insides in a saucepan along with 1/4 cup of brown sugar, cinnamon, and a bit of water. cook it all down until it’s mushy, about 20 minutes. using either an immersion blender or a food processor/blender, blend the pumpkin until it’s a consistent puree. measure out 2/3 cup of the pumpkin puree and let cool. (you can easily double this recipe if you have a lot of leftover pumpkin.)
2. cream together 1/2 cup earth balance (non-dairy butter), 1/2 cup turbinado sugar, and 1/2 cup packed brown sugar.
3. stir in the pumpkin and 1 tsp vanilla extract.
4. pour in 1 3/4 cup flour, 2 tbsp corn starch, 1/2 tsp baking powder, 1 1/2 cinnamon, 1 tsp nutmeg, 1/4 tsp cloves, and 1/2 tsp salt. (optional: add in 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips.) stir until just combined.
5. place tablespoon-sized pieces on a greased cookie sheet. bake at 350F for 10-14 minutes. makes 20 cookies.