The past couple of weeks my friends have been hounding me for the pad thai recipe I’ve been raving all about. And me? Well, I’ve been uber lazy and am only just now sitting down to blog about it! I promise, though, it’ll be worth the wait. :)

This recipe is an adaptation from the one found in Vegan World Fusion Cuisine– there are some slight modifications due to personal taste, or not having ingredients available. Ample amounts of peanut butter and lime juice, plus all your daily servings of veggies are used to make a very unique kind of pad thai.

Ingredients
1/3 cup Shoyu
1/3 cup Lime juice (when in a crunch, lemon juice will work okay)
1/4 cup Unrefined sugar
3 tablespoons Peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tahini
1/2 teaspoon Green curry paste
1/4 teaspoon Red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon Cumin
1/4 teaspoon Coriander

8 oz. Rice noodles
1 cup Extra firm tofu, cubed
A medley of vegetables for stir frying. I usually use the following:
1/2 a White onion, sliced
1/2 a head of Broccoli, chopped
1-2 Carrots, halved into small sticks
1-2 Scallions, chopped
1 small can Sliced water chestnuts
Celery, halved and chopped
Handful of cashews, coarsely chopped (optional)
Sesame oil (for frying)

Directions
- In a small mixing bowl, combine the first nine ingredients and mix. I usually let my bowl sit next to the stove top as I cook so the peanut butter and tahini have a chance to warm up and make mixing easier. I also make this sauce in large batches and store in my fridge in an airtight container– that way, when I want to make pad thai again in the next couple of weeks I simply have to prepare the noodles and veggies. Then, voila!

- In a wok, saute onions in sesame oil while preparing the rest of the food to be fried. Add tofu and cook until all edges are golden brown. Add broccoli and carrots and cook for about 15 minutes. Add celery, scallions and water chestnuts. Put the lid on the wok if necessary to speed up the process, making sure not to let the broccoli and carrots get too soft.

- Meanwhile, prepare rice noodles according to packaged instructions. Usually this involves boiling water, removing it from the heat and soaking the noodles for 3-5 minutes before pouring into a colander and rinsing with cool water. During a visit a few months ago, my best friend gifted me a Sheartoku, which I now use to cut the noodles into more managable lengths. If using, now would be the time to add the cashews.

- After making sure the veggies are cooked to your liking, add noodles and mix. Slowly stir in the peanut-lime sauce to taste, making sure not to add too much. Store leftovers in an airtight container in the refrigerator. Let the pad thai sit for a few minutes to ensure noodles and sauce become warm– then serve and enjoy!

I’ve been on a big cookie dough kick lately now that school is out and I don’t have anyone to pawn large batches of cookies off on. Baking has never been simpler– make a big batch of dough, store it in the fridge and bake cookies as we crave them. These are exceptional for such a process because the longer it sits, the more concentrated the banana flavor becomes.

The original recipe comes from the famed Martha Stewart cookie cookbook, but I’m always cautious of cookies that call for lots of oats, nuts and chocolate “chunks.” I hate making ugly cookies, and if there’s anything large amounts of those three things can do, it’s ruin the aesthetics of a round, relatively smooth cookie.

To fight the problem I ran all of the oats and half the chocolate chips through the food processor before stirring everything else in. This made the texture of the cookies a lot less chunky and easier to roll.

But to the common cookie lover that’s just the nitpicking of someone who likes to make cookies more than she likes to eat them. :) The bottom line here is that these treats combine the tastes of banana bread and chocolate chip cookies and, when you consider that, who cares what they look like?!

Veganized and beautified recipe as follows :)

Ingredients
1 cup All-purpose flour
1/2 cup Whole wheat flour
1 tsp Salt
1/2 tsp Baking soda
3/4 cup Butter, room temperature
1/2 cup Unrefined sugar
1/2 cup Brown sugar, packed
1 serving Ener-G Egg Replacer
1 1/2 tsps Vanilla
1/2 cup Ripe banana, mashed
1 cup Rolled oats
1 cup Semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup Pecans, or other nut, chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 375 F. In a small bowl, whisk the first four ingredients.

- In a food processor fitted with a metal blade, cream butter and both sugars together for 2-3 minutes. Add egg replacer and vanilla and process more before adding the banana, oats and half the chocolate chips. Process once more for about 30 seconds.

- Transfer batter to a large bowl and gently fold in the flour mixture by hand. The dough will be pretty sticky, but it’s okay– no extra flour is needed. Roll them into evenly sized balls, approximately 1″ thick, and place on a cookie sheet lined with a Silpat. Bake until delicious– or about 15 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool before noshing.

Store extra batter in an airtight container in the fridge and bake as you crave. Cookies will keep in an airtight container at room temperature for 2-3 days.

Enjoy! :)

This was the first recipe I attempted to veganize from my new cookie cookbook and with delicious results! I worked with what I had in my pantry, using pecans instead of walnuts and Ener-G Egg Replacer instead of actual eggs. If I make these again I’d like to try using bananas for the egg substitute– a hint of banana would work really well with these!

Ingredients
2 3/4 cups Rolled oats
3/4 cup Whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsps Baking powder
1 1/2 tsps Salt
1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1/4 tsp Allspice
3/4 cup Earth Balance
2 cups Brown sugar, packed
3 portions Ener-G Egg Replacer
2 1/2 tsps Vanilla
1 1/2 cups Pecans, chopped
1 cup Dates, pitted and chopped

Directions
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. In a food processor, grind 1 1/4 cups oats until a finer texture is made. Place in a large bowl with 1 cup whole oats, flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon and allspice. Whisk together and set aside.

- Beat butter and brown sugar until creamy and light. It helps to let the sticks of butter sit out for a bit while you prepare the rest of the ingredients. Mix in egg replacer and vanilla. I prefer to add the flour/oat mixture by hand to avoid over mixing, but you may use an electric mixer or food processor if you wish. Add in the pecans and dates (or other choice fruit/nut combo!) and fold into the batter.

- Coat a 9×13″ glass baking dish with shortening or cooking spray, then pour the batter in, making sure to spread it evenly throughout the dish. Sprinkle the remaining oats over the top and bake for 35 minutes, rotating halfway through if you desire. Use a toothpick to test the center before removing, then let cool completely before cutting.

I individually wrap mine in saranwrap and they kept well for about a week. They are unbelievably delish with a cup o’ joe early in the morning!

Good grief! It’s been way too long since I’ve updated! The good news is that I have a ton of tasty bites to share with everyone, but the bad news is that I barely have enough time at the moment to make the treats, let alone process photos and blog about them. This week is the last of regular classes, then finals– then summer!

I’ve been baking out of Martha Stewart’s Cookies cookbook a lot lately. The few recipes I’ve tried so far are absolutely flawless, and with Chris’s discount at work, the book was a steal! ;) So hold on for just a little bit longer and I promise something real delicious will be at the end of this two week stretch.

Hope everyone is having a happy Sunday!