Chewy Mexican Chocolate Cookies

Feeling guilty from hearing other's resolutions for 2012, I tried to come up with a list of my own. But what I found myself doing instead was remembering some of the promises I'd made to myself at the start of other years gone by—specifically why I made the choice to stop eating meat and dairy, and began moving into a nearly 100% vegan diet. Because "vegan" can be a scary word for some, I like to call my dietary choice Pure Vegetarian.

After reading Slaughterhouse by Gail Eisnitz three years ago, I realized I could no longer pour my hard-earned money into an industry I was now discovering to be so terribly corrupt. I was disgusted by not only the unimaginable cruelty to farm animals, but also the sickening product contamination, and horrifying events workers in slaughterhouses and on factory farms are subjected to on a daily basis. An activist at heart, I did what I figured I could to back my new cause. So I went Pure Vegetarian; and whether you want to call it Vegan or Pure Vegetarian, the transition wasn't scary at all.

Over the years, I've tried to spread the word to as many people as possible without being preachy or overbearing. I started Kitchen La Bohème to help with that. And I wanted naysayers to see just how amazing vegan food can look and taste!

Below is the first KLB recipe of the new year—a sweet recipe with a kick. I promise, it's the total opposite of scary.

CHEWY MEXICAN CHOCOLATE COOKIES (Made with Taza Chocolate Mexicano)

Ingredients:

• 5 ounces bittersweet (60 to 70 percent) chocolate, coarsely chopped

RECOMMENDED: Taza Chocolate Mexicano Vanilla and/or Cinnamon flavor

• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder

• 1/4 teaspoon salt

• Dash of black pepper

• Dash of ground red pepper (Cayenne)

• 1 1/4 cups granulated sugar

• 1/4 cup Earth Balance Natural Buttery Spread, softened

• 2 1/2 tablespoons golden flax meal beat together with 3 tablespoons water in a small bowl

• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

• Parchment

To start: Preheat oven to 350°. Line 2 baking sheets with parchment; set aside.

Prepare the cookie dough: Place chocolate in a small glass bowl; microwave on high for 1 minute or until almost melted, stirring until smooth. Set aside and cool to room temperature.

In a medium bowl, combine flour, cinnamon, baking powder, salt, pepper and Cayenne; stir with a whisk until fully incorporated.

In a large bowl, combine sugar and Earth Balance; beat with a handheld mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 5 minutes). Add flax meal/water mixture; beat well. Add cooled chocolate and vanilla; beat until just blended, being careful not to over-mix. Add flour mixture; beat just until blended.

Bake the cookies: Drop dough by level tablespoons 2 inches apart on baking sheets lined with parchment. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until almost set (my tired, old oven required 13-14 minutes of baking; but ovens vary, and while you don't want your cookies to be raw in the center, you want to be careful to pull them from the oven before they look very done, or they will be overbaked).

Remove cookies from oven. Cool on pans for 2 minutes or until set. Remove from pans; cool completely on a wire rack.

For an extra kick, finish cookies with a very light sprinkle of Cayenne over top.

Photography, styling and design by Alyssa; photographs ©Alyssa Yeager

Taza Chocolate Mexicano

Happy New Year (or, New Year's Eve, rather)! To help ring it in, I wanted to share a sneak preview of the first planned recipe for 2012... Can you guess what it'll be? Hint: the pictured chocolates will be included.

I found the motherload of Taza Mexican stone-ground chocolates in a huge variety of flavors at my local gourmet market. The price was ridiculously right, so...

Stay tuned for that recipe. In the meantime, I hope everyone has a happy and safe NYE, and I look forward to catching up with all of you more often in the new year.

Photography, styling and design by Alyssa; photograph ©Alyssa Yeager

The Guest Cook

I am one of those people who seems to always end up cooking for other people. I guess this wouldn't be so bad; only, when you're at a friend's house as the guest, you tend to sort of expect a little more from your host (like being waited on hand-and-foot and stuff).

The truth is, I go to friends houses hoping for the opportunity to cook for them and share a Pure Vegetarian meal that changes their already-set view of vegan food (usually as gross sprouts and uncooked, blob-y tofu). So when this exact opportunity presents itself, I'm always thrilled.

This weekend I had the chance to cook for my out-of-town friends using Gardein's new Crispy Chick'n again. Only, this time I made a sweet-and-sour stir-fry. I was lucky enough to be hanging out with some of my fave fellow creatives and foodies. We chatted about design, art, personal work, and then about opening a mixed vegan/vegetarian/omni restaurant and bakery together in DC — a refined version of this dish was totally already considered for the hypothetical menu.

SWEET-AND-SOUR "CHICKEN" WITH SPROUTED BROWN STICKY RICE AND SUGAR SNAP PEAS

Ingredients:

Serves 3-4

• 4 tablespoons ketchup

• 4 tablespoon low-sodium tamari

• 1 1/2 cups vegetable broth

• 4 teaspoons granulated sugar

• 2 teaspoons Sambal Oelek, or other Asian chile sauce

• 2 teaspoons cornstarch

• 3 tablespoons rice vinegar

• 4 tablespoons peanut oil

• 4 tablespoons minced fresh ginger

• 2 garlic cloves, minced

• 2 bags Gardein Crispy Chik'n

• 1 10-ounce bag frozen sugar snap peas, cooked

• 4 cups sprouted brown sticky rice (also known as "sweet rice" or "glutinous rice"), soaked in water for 30 minutes, drained and steamed

To start: In a small bowl, whisk together the ketchup, tamari, vegetable broth, sugar, chile sauce, cornstarch and vinegar. Set aside.

Prepare the stir-fry: In a large skillet or wok over high heat, add the oil and swirl to coat the pan. Add the ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant (about 10 seconds). Add the Crsipy Chik'n and cook until soft and browned on the outside, but not cooked through (about 1 to 2 minutes). Whisk the prepared sauce and add it to the pan over the Crispy Chik'n. Cook, stirring until the sauce is thickened and the Chik'n is cooked through (about 3 minutes).

Serve immediately with Sugar Snap Peas and steamed sticky rice.

Photography, styling and design by Alyssa; photographs ©Alyssa Yeager

Giving Thanks

After spending some time at home for Thanksgiving, I was lucky enough to meet and bond with the newest member of my family, Sheltie puppy Skye (I like to call him The Little Peanut, and Baby Peanut). Another important member of the family, Toby the Golden Retriever, was lost recently; and while things didn't feel entirely right without Toby there, being home so soon after Skye's arrival was a wonderful opportunity to give thanks for this new little life in the house. Skye is cute and smart, and seems to be the easiest puppy I've ever known — he's already asking to go out when he needs to.

Skye came from Main Line Animal Rescue, an organization that saves and rehabs animals from Pennsylvania's notorious puppy mills. MLAR was featured on Oprah, and has a wonderful reputation. (Oprah's groundbreaking puppy mill show came about after MLAR founder Bill Smith's efforts to encourage her to do the show — Oprah, and thousands of others, saw his billboard off the Kennedy Expressway in Chicago that read, "Oprah: Do a show on puppy mills. The dogs need you.)

If you are living in the immediate Chester County, PA area, MLAR may be the perfect place to find your next pet.

I hope everyone had a happy Thanksgiving! What are you thankful for this year?

Photography, styling and design by Alyssa; photographs ©2011 Alyssa Yeager

Easy "Crispy Chicken" Stir-Fry

I came home on Friday evening to the December 2011 issue of Saveur in my mailbox, and the cover photo stopped me dead — it may not be vegetarian, but their Lobster Fra Diavolo Italian Christmas feast is simply gorgeous. I still haven't done much (really any) preparation for Christmas but I did want to share at least one recipe with you before we all break for the upcoming Thanksgiving holiday. If you find yourself in need of a quick and easy Pure Veg meal during the downtime between the main feast and the following Monday, this stir-fry might do the trick.

The Saveur cover that got me giddy

Just a note: I've used udon in this stir-fry, but it would also be wonderful with rice served on the side instead.

"CRISPY CHICKEN" STIR-FRY WITH BABY BELLA MUSHROOMS AND HARICOTS VERTS

Ingredients:

• 1 package Gardein Crispy Chick'n tenders, sauce removed and discarded

• 1/2 to 1 tablespoon peanut oil

• 1 pint haricots verts, rinsed and trimmed

• 1 pint baby bella mushrooms, brushed clean and cut into 1/4-inch slices

• Pinch of salt

• 3.5 oz dried udon noodles

• 2 - 4 tablespoons tamari

• 1 teaspoon rice vinegar

• 1 teaspoon sesame oil

To start: fill a small saucepan with water and bring to a boil over high heat. Add udon and allow to cook for 5 minutes. Remove from pot and set aside to drain in a colander.

In the meantime, stir-fry the vegetables: In a large skillet or wok over high heat, add peanut oil, then green beans and mushrooms. Sprinkle with salt; cook, stir-frying until vegetables are just beginning to get soft but still crispy. Add 1 - 2 tablespoons tamari and cook only a few minutes longer, stirring, until sauce has reduced. Remove vegetables from pan and set aside in a bowl.

Prepare the Stir-Fry: Add more peanut oil to pan if it has become too dry. Add Crispy Chick'n tenders and stir-fry according to package instructions, until browned and crisp on all sides. Add udon and cooked vegetables, and the rest of the tamari, and rice vinegar. stir-fry until all ingredients are thoroughly warmed and combined.

Remove from heat. Add sesame oil and stir to combine. Serve immediately in large bowls or on plates, with chopsticks.

Photography, styling and design by Alyssa; photographs ©2011 Alyssa Yeager

(Sunken) Double Chocolate Loaf Cake

Not all Veganize It experiments... Turn out. Above is the photo I snapped over the weekend of my little sunken loaf. There's still some experimenting to do, but I figured I'd post the initial result to give a peek into the process (or a peek at the fact that it actually is a process sometimes — you don't always hit it on the first try).

The loaf was really tasty, though the middle sunk while the edges got too crispy. I plan on trying again with a different egg replacement. Stay tuned, and I'll keep you posted on the final result: perfect veganized Baked (as in the Brooklyn bakery) Double Chocolate Loaf Cake!

Instagram

Tomorrow, I think I'll make an attempt at a veganized version of Baked's amazing Double Chocolate Loaf Cake — I have Dutch process cocoa powder in my pantry that's been calling for some action. If you've never heard of Baked, the Brooklyn bakery (and later, cookbooks) born of two Ad guys turned full-time bakers/business owners, I recommend you do. That advice will probably apply only to those readers outside the NYC metro area, but either way...

It has long been my dream to save enough money working by day making other people's businesses look beautiful as an art director/graphic designer, to start my own bakery business to make beautiful — like the guys from Baked. Baked is not a vegan bakery, but what they've done with it (and continue to do) is certainly inspiring.

I'll keep you posted on the outcome of my veganized Double Chocolate Loaf Cake. In the meantime: Won't you find me on Instagram (@hyperfocusnyc) if you're a user? I love sharing KLB-related food porn (like above), and also random snapshots from around the city, street art, etc etc etc. What a fun little app, and a great way to connect with others who are inspired by the same things you are.

I hope everyone has a great rest of the weekend, and I'll catch up with all of you again soon!