When Vincci contacted me about the Calgary Food Blogger Bake Sale we had a couple weekends ago, my mind was swimming with so many ideas of what to bake. Within a few minutes, I had a list of 10 things I was unrealistically determined to make, but thankfully Vincci was able to bring me back down to earth and I was able to finally scale it down to just 3 items. I don’t know what’s up with that but it never fails, whenever I see an opportunity to bake, I immediately want to make every single recipe I’ve ever bookmarked.

I’m sad to say that I didn’t get the chance to take any pictures when I dropped my treats off on the Saturday because there was quite the spread! I wanted to stick around and chat (and maybe find myself some accidentally vegan yums) but my schedule had other plans. So many beautiful treats had been made to help raise funds for the Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids Society, cupcakes, brownies, breads, cookies, you name it and a talented blogger had made it. The tables we’re packed! So to say I was shocked to show up on Sunday and find only the scattered treat remaining would be an understatement….Calgarians apparently love their treats

After taking part in previous bake sales, I’ve learned that as much as people love their sweets, a lot of people are on the hunt for something savory, so I decided to make a bit of both.  My pizza rolls went over well at the World Wide Vegan Bake Sale, so a dozen of those were added to the menu. I also made some brownies, but since I was contributing to a foodie event, I couldn’t just leave them plain! Oh no. I had to go jazz them up by adding some strawberries and balsamic reduction to the mix (sorry, no pic).

On top of the pizza rolls and brownies, I chose to make a recipe I’ve been dying to try ever since I found it on the Food Network website, Peanut Butter & Strawberry Tarts! Just think of it as breakfast with a crapload of sugar thrown in

I’m proud to say that with all the time, energy and sugar everyone contributed, we were able to raised $1,900! A big thank you to Vincci for organizing the event, she did an amazing job, and also to all the fine folks who stopped  by to spend their hard earn cash on some  homemade goodies! I can’t wait until the next one. Now onto the recipe!

Strawberry & Peanut Butter Tarts

Makes 1 9-inch or 6 4-inch tarts

Ingredients:

• 12 tablespoons margarine, softened
• 2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 cup natural peanut butter
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 3/4 cup confectioners’ sugar
• 1/4 cup soy yogurt
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup strawberry jam
• 1/3 cup toasted peanuts, roughly chopped

I said it once and I’ll say it again (and again and again), I loooove breakfast. I’ve been sticking to my old standby of oatmeal with apples, apple butter and peanut butter lately, but with our next Calgary brunch coming up this sunday (we already have 40 people confirmed, eep!), I figured this past weekend was a good excuse to “test out” some pancakes. I’ve posted about pancakes a couple times on here but never have I attempted anything remotely gluten-free, and with good reason. I. Hate. Gluten-free. Baking! There, I said it, you can all condemn me now. You see, I’ve done a lot of baking over the years, and I’ve gotten to the point where I feel pretty confident with my skill level, but then you throw gluten-free into the mix and I’m completely and utterly lost! So many different flours, so many different variables, so many new things to learn, I don’t even know where to start! Now don’t get me wrong, I know there are some pretty amazing gluten-free bakers out there and I’ve even attempted a couple recipes myself, but when you go in assuming you can utilize the same knowledge you’ve used for gluten-filled baking and everything goes wrong, it’s really frustrating and on top of that, it’s really hard to figure out what the hell you did wrong. So, instead of bitching and complaining about my failed attempt at scones, I thought I’d start with something a little more basic.

I bought a bag of buckwheat flour ages ago when I made a loaf of pear & buckwheat bread. The bread turned out awesome, although I forgot to take pictures (bad food blogger, bad!) and the bag of buckwheat flour has been sitting on my shelf, untouched, ever since. Besides for the bread, I’ve never actually tried anything with buckwheat flour in it before and since the bread only used it for a background flavour, I wasn’t sure if I was actually going to like it, I’ve always heard that it has a pretty overpowering flavour.

My friends, I’m proud to say that I can finally yell SUCCESS! I actually made something gluten-free and it was damn good. Nothing fell apart, nothing was grainy, nothing was soggy, these pancakes have actually given me some hope for my gluten-free baking future. The flavour wasn’t too far off from regular pancakes besides for a somewhat nutty/earthy flavour, this may have more do to with the fact that I used a light buckwheat flour instead of regular, maybe if I had used regular buckwheat flour the flavour would have been more dominating? Either way, if you can get yours hands on the light stuff, go for it.

By the way, if you’re thinking of making these, don’t even think about slathering them in some fake ass “pancake syrup”, otherwise I may chase you down your street with my fist in the air yelling at you like some old guy who wants you off his lawn. Only maple syrup will suffice.

Raspberry Chocolate Chip Buckwheat Pancakes (Gluten-Free)
Makes 8 to 10 pancakes

Ingredients:

• 1 cup light buckwheat flour
• 1/4 cup coconut flour
• 3 tablespoons tapioca flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/8 teaspoon kosher salt
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 1/4 cups unsweetened or vanilla non-dairy milk
• 2 tablespoons flax seeds, finely ground
• 2 tablespoons agave or maple syrup
• 2 tablespoons sunflower or canola oil
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 1/3 cup chocolate chips or carob chips
• 1/2 cup raspberries, fresh or frozen

In a medium bowl, whisk together the buckwheat flour, coconut flour, tapioca powder, cinnamon, baking powder, soda, ground flax and salt.

Mix together the apple cider vinegar and milk. Add the oil, syrup and vanilla to the cup and whisk briefly to combine. Begin to heat a nonstick frying pan over medium heat.

Pour the wet ingredients over the dry and mix just until blended; don’t overmix. Fold in chips and raspberries.

Using a 1/3 cup measuring cup, scoop batter and pour it in the pan; spread out slightly if necessary to create a circle shape. Allow to cook until the pancakes are totally dry on the edges and begin to puff in the middle, 4-6 minutes.  Flip and cook the other side another 3-4 minutes, until light golden.  Continue with remaining batter. Serve warm with loads and loads of maple syrup.

Adapted from Diet, Dessert & Dogs

And this is my absolutely favorite mug that I was lucky enough to win during Vegan Mofo. This giant handcrafted mug was donated by the lovely Jeanette over at Vegan Dish. You can fit so much coffee in this thing, seriously! It’s awesome!

Submitted to Wellness Weekend at Diet, Desserts & Dogs

Well, I missed 3 Food Network Fridays, but I’m back with a goodie! Well, really there were no excuses for me not to do this one, I needed to make dinner, I had all the time in the world to make and I had a fresh loaf of rye bread sitting on my counter. It was like the damn stars were alined!

I’ve never heard of chef Jeff Mauro before but I was liking his spin on the traditional reuben sandwich. The original recipe is supposed to be made into sliders but I’ve yet to find those bitty pieces of bread and I wasn’t about to get out the biscuit cutters and destroy a perfectly good loaf of bread, so samiches it was! Honestly, I just wanted an excuse to eat more of that pumpernickel rye

I’ve never attempted making meatless meatballs before, so off to the world wide web I went in search of someone who knew more about things of this nature then I. I’ve been following Vegan Dad‘s website for a stalkerish length of time now, so I know the man knows what he’s doing and sweet jebus do those italian meatballs look good! Using the tempeh meatballs as a base, I changed around the spices, added some Daiya and rye bread crumbs and ended up with a mighty tasty little ball. The texture is pretty nice, they’re not exactly as firm as their carcassy counterparts but they’re hearty, tender without being too delicate and have a nice crisp outside. The Daiya isn’t exactly a necessity but it adds a delicious creaminess to the tempeh balls, that you’d be missing out on otherwise.

Once I had the meatballs figured out, the rest came together in a snap! I used one of Kim’s tester recipes for the thousand island dressing but there are plenty of recipes on the internet to choose from, look! There’s one now! I don’t know about the rest of you but I love da kraut, and mixed with the dressing it goes absolutely perfectly with those lovely little tempeh balls, a little sour, a little sweet, a little savoury and all kinds of delicious.

And for the record, these were not enjoyed while watching the Superbowl,  although they would have been a pretty kick ass Superbowl watching snack. Instead they were enjoyed while watching re-runs of Mad Men. What can I say? When it comes to sports vs. Don Draper, Don Draper’s gonna win everytime. Hell, when it comes to most things vs. Don Draper, he’s still probable gonna win 9 chances out of 10

Rueben Meatball Sandwiches

Ingredients:

• 1 8-oz pkg tempeh
• water
• 2 teaspoons no-beef broth powder
• 1/4 cup toasted rye bread, processed into breadcrumbs
• 2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
• 1/2 cup vital wheat gluten
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• 1 tablespoon instant tapioca
• 1/4 teaspoon crushed black pepper
• 1 teaspoon caraway seeds
• 1/2 teaspoon thyme
• 1/2 teaspoon oregano
• 1/2 cup Daiya mozzarella
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 cloves garlic, grated
• 2 tbsp soy sauce
• 2 tbsp hp sauce
• 1/4 cup parsley leaves, chopped

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 cup sauerkraut, drained
• 1/2 cup 1000 island dressing
• 8-14 slices of rye bread (depending on size), toasted and buttered

Directions:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Cut tempeh into 4 pieces and place in a sauce pan. Add enough water to cover the tempeh, along with the “beef” broth powder. Bring to bubbling then simmer for 15 minutes. Remove from water, drain and let cool.

Grate tempeh and mix with onion, garlic, and the rest of the ingredients in a large bowl. Mix well with your fingers and knead for 1 minute.

With wet hands, form mixture into 18 balls. Let rest for 5 minutes to firm up.

Heat a thin layer of oil in a non-stick frying pan over medium-low heat. Add tempeh balls and cook, turning regularly, until browned all over. Remove from pan. Place in oven and continue baking for 15 minutes.

Assembly: Heat the sauerkraut in a small saucepan and mix in the dressing until heated through. Toast two pieces of rye bread, top one piece with tempeh balls, then the sauerkraut mixture and top with bread. Enjoy with best friends and your favourite pint of beer.

Adapted from Food Network

It’s round two of the Calgary Food Bloggers Bake Sale and I’m so excited that this time around I get to take part!

Amazingly talented food bloggers from all around Calgary are joining forces to raise money for Brown Bagging for Calgary’s Kids Society. A fantastic charity that provides healthy lunches for children that would otherwise go without, check out their website to learn about all the great things they do for our city’s kids.

Round up all your friends and come on down to Casel Marché on February 11 and 12 (This Weekend!) between 10am – 5:30pm for some uber yummy baking. I’ll be contributing baked goods for both days and will be manning the table with Dan on Sunday 11:30am -2pm, so stop by and say hey…..and ya know, buy something!

For more info, visit the Facebook Event page and see which of your favourite Calgary bloggers are taking part!

A big thanks to Vincci from Ceci n’est pas un food blog and Dan from Dan’s Good Side for organizing the event.

Now the only real question is, what do I make?!