Sangria d'Iris

delicious sangria is simpler than you think. the key is to let it chill for a while before serving, although it is versatile enough to be yummy made in the moment too. Red is classic (after all 'sangria' means 'bloody') but sangria does lend itself nicely to adaptation, so I've included my own white recipe too.
*one note* far be it from me to discourage flexibility in recipes but I must say, having sampled my share of sangria all over spain and having searched through many awful American recipes--I advise against hard liquor in sangria--it simply doesn't need it. If you want to play around with the recipe, try different combinations of fruit or types of lemonade (again Trader Joe's has just what you need)...

red sangria
1 bottle cheap red table wine (most often I use two buck chuck merlot)
equal or lesser amount of lemonade (or enough to fill the rest of the pitcher you are using)
4 Tablespoons sugar or a splash of maple syrup
2 teaspoons cinnamon
sliced fresh fruit (oranges and peaches are traditional)

white sangria
I bottle while wine (again two buck chuck, sauvignon blanc)
equal amount of lemonade
4 tablespoons sugar or a splash of maple syrup
2 teaspoons ginger
sliced fresh fruit

the plan: just mix together and let steep. when the fruit get's all saturated you know it's good.
you won't regret it.

most delicious cinnamon buns

how these buns got their name: I had been hunting for a good cinnamon bun recipe to veganize, and as fate would have it Alea happened to make these buns while I was over. I tasted them decadent and delicious-- warm out of the oven. It was love at first bite. of course asked for the recipe and saved it as a word document with this title.
most of the time I make them without the frosting--they are sweet enough without it, but to really set it over the top, the frosting is delicious. The dough is a sweet yeast dough, so you will need a good chunk of time, but they are worth it. people never believe they are vegan.

Most Delicious Cinnamon Buns from alea

Rolls:
1 T (or one package) active dry yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup soymilk, warmed
2 eggs worth of egg replacer
1/3 cup margarine, melted
4 and 1/2 cups flour
dab of salt

Filling:
1 cup brown sugar, packed
3 tablespoons ground cinnamon
a touch of nutmeg, clove and/or ginger
1/2 cup margarine, softened
1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional but highly recommended)

Frosting:
About 3/8 (3 oz) of a container of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
1/4 cup margarine, softened
1 & 1/2 cup confectioner's sugar
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
touch of salt

The plan:
1. mix yeast, sugar, and heated soymilk in a bowl and let stand until foamy

2. add egg replacer, melted margarine, flour, and salt. Mix well and knead for 5-10 minutes. You can do this right in the bowl if you like--adding as little flour as you can in the kneeding process. The dough should be firm and smooth. tuck the sides under to form a ball and cover and let it rise until it is double in size (about an hour)

3. meanwhile, in a small bowl, combine brown sugar, margarine and cinnamon. when I'm feeling it--I'll add a little nutmeg, ginger or clove as well (and once when I was feeling cruel on april fool's, cayenne pepper). also chop pecans if you're going to add them.

4. turn the dough out onto a floured work surface and roll dough into a rectangle. the thickness and width of the rectangle will decide how thick each ring is and how big the buns are on the whole. I've made them every size from cute, dainty mini buns to supersized. play with it and see what you like. spread dough with the sugar-margarine-cinnamon mix. Roll up dough into a log and cut it into 1-2" segments.

5. Place rolls in a lightly greased baking pan, brownie/cake pan or a cookie pan if it has a lip. place them gently toughing, but not jammed together--they need a little room to grow. cover and let rise again about 30 minutes. at some point get your oven to 400 degrees F.

6. bake rolls in preheated oven until golden brown, about 15 minutes. while rolls are baking and everyone in your house is drooling over the smell, beat together Tofutti, margarine, powdered sugar, vanilla, and salt to make the frosting. spread frosting on warm rolls before serving.

cooking philosophy

egg replacer

one of the obstacles of vegan cooking is recreating that gooey cohesive quality of eggs. there are a few options, as the lightest of googling will demonstrate, but my hands-down favorite is the ground flax seed option. it's simple, flexible and good for you.
love it.

for each egg a recipe calls for whisk
1 Tablespoon ground flax seed with
3 Tablespoons hot water.
then let it cool a little (usually I pop it in the freezer for a few minutes). if it's winter and I'm having tea anyways I boil water and then measure it, if not I usually throw them together and microwave it whether or not it ever boils.

anyways, the magic is that the fiber in the flax comes out with the hot water and when you cool it, you have this beautiful, fiberful, healthy egg-like substance. you've got to see it to believe it.

cooking philosophy

the most delicious form of zucchini

Chocolate Zucchini Cake

the dry ingredients:
2 cups flour
1/2 cup coco powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
2 teaspoons baking powder
a bit of salt if you so desire it

the wet ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine
1/2 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3 eggs worth of egg replacer

the mix ins:
2 cups zucchini (1 or 2 medium zucchinis) grated
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup frozen raspberries (optional but highly recommended, and make sure to add these last, if the raspberries get melty they lose their structural integrity)

The plan:
1. mix or sift(if you're feeling ambitious), all the dry ingredients in one bowl.

2. then combine all the the wet ones in another bowl.

3. and then add the mix ins to the dry ingredients--the dry ingredients will kind of coat the zucchini and raspberries nicely.

4. then add the wet to the dry or the dry to the wet (whichever bowl is larger) and mix it until it is "just mixed". basically don't over mix it because then it won't rise as much, but if you do that's ok too because it will still be delicious.
*special note about this cake...if you are used to making cakes, the batter of this one will seem very thick. I've played with this, adding more wet ingredients etc, the conclusion is that the zucchini makes this cake very moist...so the batter needs to be a bit thicker, just go with it*

5. then pour it into some greased and floured pans. you can use two 9" round pans to make two layers or I've done it many times in just one pan to make one thick layer and then if there is any extra I just throw it in some cupcake tins-yum!

350 degrees
and I just realized I've never timed the baking of this cake....it takes a while because it's so moist so I'll go with 45min-1hour or until a toothpick stuck in the center comes out clean.

Oh and frosting! I've used two different forms of frosting both with great success. When I had some left over vegan whipped creme that they gave out for free at the boston vegetarian food fest I just whipped some of that up with a little vanilla extract and topped it with fruit(pictured above)
I've also made a vegan version of the Joy of Gardening's rich creme cheese frosting.

(original idea from Garden way's Joy of Gardening Cookbook...recipes grouped by garden-fresh ingredient-perfect when you have a plethora of one thing and you don't know what to do with it...I've veganized and otherwise adapted it to make it my own) see also my cooking philosophy

vegan creme cheese frosting

blend together:
3/4 cup margarine
1 8oz tub of toffuti creme cheese
4 cups confectioner's sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

this frosting has a low melting point so make sure your cake is good and cooled before frosting with it--or enjoy goooey oozing frosting over a warm cake!

for raspberry frosting: put in half the butter and add a handful of frozen raspberries!!

cooking philosophy