Pumpkin Cheesecake

It's National Pumpkin Cheesecake Day! (gotta love the super specific food holidays hahaha) It is also the day that my blog reached 19,000 Views!!!! Thanks so much to everyone who reads and shares my blog.  Depending on how quickly my view count continues to go up... I have a big surprise that I've been secretly working on that I will announce for either 20K or 25K views!  So Keep Sharing!

Well what kind of food blogger would I be if I didn't give you a recipe for today's "holiday"?!  If you've been following me for a while you may remember that last year's Thanksgiving a debuted a new dessert.  It just so happens that I never posted the recipe (ughhh I'm such a blonde sometimes) annnnd it was a Pumpkin Cheesecake... Are you connecting the dots...???

Today's recipe, in honor of NPCD ...yeah I'm sick of writing it out.... issss:

Pumpkin Cheesecake with a Gingersnap Crust! 

Oh it's so good.  When I made it for the non-vegan family members to try, they all said the same thing... "But this doesn't taste Vegan...!?"  What does that even mean? Why does everyone have this preconceived idea that vegan food is not as good as regular food?  UGH those people bug me... Just TASTE IT! (slight variation of my normal tagline... but it's the same point!!)

Crust:
1 1/2 boxes of Back to Nature Triple Ginger Cookies (Or try making crust with my Gingersnaps!)
5 TBSP Earth Balance Soy-Free Margarine, melted

In a food processor pulse cookies into fine crumbs. 

Add in melted margarine and pulse until it looks like wet sand.

Grease a 9-inch springform pan and pour the crumbs into the pan.  

Press down* and around firmly to create crust on the bottom and up the sides of the pan.
*I use a measuring cup to spread and press the crumbs into a crust.

Filling:
2 (8-oz) containers of Daiya Cream Cheese (or your favorite brand non-dairy cream cheese)
1 (15-oz) can pumpkin puree (not pumpkin pie filling)
1 cup light brown sugar
1 TBS cornstarch
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Combine all ingredients in a food processor or stand mixer, until completely combined.

Pour the filling into the prepared crust.

Bake in a preheated 350 degree F for 45 minutes.  Turn off the oven and leave the cheesecake in the oven for another 10 min.

Remove from the oven and let it sit out at room temperature for an hour.
Refrigerate for at least 4 hours and serve!

Pomme Frites

So funny story...  You may have gone to a fancy restaurant and ordered "Pomme Frites" and gotten what we know as French Fries in the US... But literally translated, Pomme Frites means "apple fried".

Last I checked, potatoes and apples don't run in the same crowd... 

This recipe for pomme frites is actually what the name suggests with a little touch of the Americanized version... that's right guys... these are: APPLE FRIES (ahahaha I'm so good at rhyming without even trying!!<---- I did it again)

Apple fries... HOLY SUGAR! These are so yummy.  I'm still perfecting the recipe a little so that the apples stay crispier for longer, a problem only because of the residual cooking that happens while they are cooling. 

...maybe if I freeze them first.... hmmmm Next batch I will try that.  I will definitely make these again, and often.  They are SUPER quick and a great little snack that would definitely be a hit with the kiddos!

Side Note:  I've always got a bucket of cinnamon sugar on hand... A happy mistake created by my sister :-) 

YOU NEED:

• High Temp Frying oil
• 1 apple, peeled, cored, and cut into "steak fry" sized wedges 
• cornstarch
• cinnamon sugar

Heat oil in a sturdy pot to 375-400 degrees F.

Coat apple wedges in cornstarch, shake of extra. 

Fry apples in oil for 1-2 minutes per side. Drain on paper towels.

Dip in cinnamon sugar to coat. And serve.

They are best when they are fresh out of the oil but like a real fry they do stay crispy on the and are get soft and squishy on the inside.... Like I mentioned earlier, I'll work on a way to make 'em still crunchy on the inside for a longer period of time! 

Tasty Travels- Sticky Fingers Sweets and Eats

If you follow my Facebook (if you don't... why not?!) you may have seen that I started a new photo album of all of the foods I've eaten when I travel.  I decided this was a good way to share not only my pictures but also to let you know of vegan places all around.  

Classic TLT

Peanut Butter Pie (mini and out of this world!)

For example, one place I frequent here in the DC area is Sticky Fingers.  They are a vegan bakery and cafe in the Columbia Heights neighborhood of DC (Literally like a block from the Columbia Heights metro on the green line) and they are the only place I have found in this area that does VEGAN DONUTS! Yup, Tuesdays and Thursdays their bakery produces a TON of donuts.  Everything from your standard Cinnamon Sugar and Vanilla Glazed to flavors like ESPRESSO GLAZED w/ chocolate (Hands down my favorite) and PB filled with Jelly and even cranberry ginger!  On top of donuts, they are also knockin out some great milkshakes, sandwiches, soups, and more! 

Here's their address in case you're in the DC area and want to visit them! 

• 1370 Park Rd NW

• Washington, District of Columbia 20010

Soup de Jour: Sweet Potato and an Asian Wrap

(I just realized I raved about the donuts and DO-NUT have any pictures of them... haha see what I did there.. I'm a dork.  Oh well just another excuse to go back and get more!)

** UPDATE I FOUND A PIC!!!**

Tiramisu Filled Donut: Chocolate filling, espresso glaze YUM!

Biscuits

I've been feelin' a bit homesick for the rolling bluegrass pastures, the shockingly sweet tea in every restaurant and home, the bourbon, the home cookin', the genuine southern hospitality, the slow pace, and especially the accents of "My Old Kentucky Home".  I will get my fix later this month but until then... How about some biscuits?

In the south, Biscuits are a serious staple.  Starting at a young age girls would hear, "No man wants to marry a woman who can’t make a decent biscuit," from the matriarchs of their families.  Breakfast, lunch or dinner can be served on them... What's not to love about a tender, flaky, hot from the oven biscuit? 

This biscuit recipe is one for quick, in-a-pinch biscuits... Literally takes more time to heat up the oven than to make and bake these yummy biscuits and you can make a bunch of small nuggets or about 3 big ol' biscuits with this one.

1 2/3 cups All Purpose Flour
1 TBS Baking Powder
1/2 tsp Salt
2/3 cup Non-Dairy Milk (I used cashew milk today)
1/3 cup canola oil or melted Earth Balance

Preheat the oven to 475.  Grease a baking sheet.  Wait for a few minutes so the oven has a few extra minutes to get started so your biscuit dough doesn't sit and wait for long.

Mix together the Flour, Salt, and Baking Powder until combined.

Stir in milk and oil/butter.  Dough will come together but will be very sticky.

Drop either a heaping tablespoons of dough onto the baking sheet about an inch and a half apart Or use a large serving spoon to create larger biscuits. 

Bake for 8-12 minutes (depending on the size) until the tops are golden brown.  Serve hot with gravy or apple butter/jam. Let cool and store in a ziplock bag for a breakfast sandwich the next day!

I'll be back soon Kentucky... until then:

"Weep no more, my lady,

Oh weep no more today!

I will sing one song for my old Kentucky home,

For my old Kentucky home far away."

Gingersnaps

Before I start this (much anticipated) post for my Gingersnaps... I have to brag for a sec:

I, Tasty Kaiti's, have had TWO twitter interactions with one of my favorite non-vegan chefs, (@chefsymon) Michael Symon, in less than one week!!!! 

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Okay, on with the Gingersnaps! :-) 

I've written a lot about the time I got to spend growing up with my grandparents... Turns out that a lot of who I am, what I do, and what I like I got from them. Gingersnaps are one of those things. Pop-pop (my grandfather) and I could go through that brown bag of gingersnaps in one night while we watched and talked about the Food Network shows we were watching. He taught me how to dunk them in (then) milk so that they got just soggy enough that they would melt away in your mouth. Something about the spicy bite of the ginger blended with the warmth of the nutmeg and cinnamon... I just can't stop! Thinking about them now is making my mouth water like crazy... as another Food Network chef (Guy Fieri) would say, "Get me a mop!"

Christmas time is like, THE time for cookie baking and in my house, that is most definitely the truth... I think I made 8 dozen cookies this past Christmas! ...Don't Judge me...  I found and adapted this recipe from the Food Network so that this gingersnap loving vegan could devour them!  Best part? Even Pop-pop said they were better than the brown bag cookies we used to inhale!  I made these three times during Christmas because we just couldn't stop eating them!!! 

2 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

2 teaspoons ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves

12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) Earth Balance 

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 tsp Ener-G + 2 TBS warm water, mixed together until frothy and thickened

1/4 cup molasses

1/2 cup sugar in a shallow bowl, for topping

Set racks in the upper and lower thirds of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt, and spices in a bowl; stir well to mix.

In the bowl of a standing electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat together on medium speed the Earth Balance and sugar for about 5 minutes until very light, fluffy and whitened.

Add the egg replacer and continue beating until smooth.

Lower speed and beat in half the dry ingredients, then the molasses. Stop the mixer and scrape down bowl and beater.

Beat in the remaining dry ingredients. Remove bowl from mixer and use a large rubber spatula to finish mixing the dough.

Use a small ice cream scoop to scoop out 1-inch diameter pieces of dough. Roll into balls between the palms of your the hands, then roll in the sugar.

Place the balls of dough on the prepared pans leaving about 3 inches all around each, to allow for spreading.

Bake the cookies for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until they have spread, the surface has crackled, and they are firm to the touch.

Slide the papers from the pans to racks. Store the cooled cookies between sheets of parchment or waxed paper in a tin or plastic container with a tight-fitting cover.