Wednesday, June 13, 2007

The urge to bake



I telecommute most Wednesdays, and I find I'm often stricken with an urge to bake. Bread is a perfect project because it just needs a few minutes of attention over several hours. I'm not a great bread baker, though. Today I was craving something buttery and nutty, yet vegan and somewhat healthy. And I didn't want to go to the store since I was working, after all, and had to head out immediately after my work day was over.

I found my answer in Dreena's blog, with Raspberry-Coconut squares from The Everyday Vegan. They are delicious! Here is a list of their virtues:
--they don't call for any butter or margarine, yet they taste buttery
--omnivores should note that they call for no "weird" ingredients, and you could use cow milk in place of soy milk
--I used coconut that I had serious doubts about, since it had been sitting in my freezer for at least a year, but they tasted fine (OK, that's my issue)

I modified the recipe by substituting 1/4 cup of pecans for 1/4 cup of the coconut in the base layer. I also sprinkled pecans on top and used 2 T ground flaxseed and 2T flour for the topping instead of the 1/4 cup flour the recipe called for. And yes, I had coconut extract in my pantry. I have a library of extracts.

I should get around to posting our vegan adventures in NYC soon.

4 comments:

Katyola said...

Baking is an urge I've never had. Right now, I have an extreme urge for potato chips, which I think I'm going to satisfy.

eindeloze sfeer said...

Potato chips? Katyola, you haven't lived until you've had Michael Season's Cheese Puffs.

eindeloze sfeer said...

Actually you have to get the "Lite" ones. They have le bleu cheese. That's the magic ingredient.

Amy said...

There will be no talk of dairy products on this blog. Ah, who am I kidding--I love cheese puffs and as the next entry will show, I haven't expunged cheese completely from my diet.