Baking

I have a passion for baking, its what I do when I need to de stress or when i am feeling sad. The thing is ...I don't eat what i bake, I make it for others. I have gotten SO many compliments about my baked goods and if i had the capabilities I would So open my own bakery/coffee shop. I wish I was rich! lol
The most recent item in my baking repertoire was a Chocolate Stout cupcake, Vegan of course : It turned out pretty darn good. I also made a vanilla chocolate marble cupcake with "butter cream" frosting, this also was vegan and even my non vegan friends LOVED it and could not tell the difference.

That is my goal, to bake for others whether by selling or just giving it away. I love to bake :)

Been awhile

So it has been awhile since i have written anything, I need to make sure I try and write something everyday. Alot has been going on since I last wrote. I just returned from a vacation of a lifetime in Bali, Indonesia....AMAZING!!! Unfortunately I did veer slightly off the vegan train while I was there but am back on firm footing now that I am back home. I have to say that I enjoy being a vegan, I do miss cheese but am aiming to try out Daiya as everyone that i have read says its the best non cheese cheese lol. I also am going to attempt to sell some of my baked goods as its something I love to do and people always seem to enjoy them, lets see if they like the vegan versions as much as the regular ones :)

:)

So I have been baking vegan items again. I'm not sold on the amount of yeast I'm supposed to use in the Banana bread but i guess ill need to adjust that as I go. I have made several candies as well which i have to say are pretty tasty. I will post the recipes soon, I forgot to bring them to work with me.

I went to a delicious Vegan restaurant the other day, not super expensive Staff was super friendly and the food was the BEST. I look forward to going back even with the hour and a half wait :)

The Beginning

A friend suggested I begin a blog about my transition to veganism along with some of the fun yummy recipes I come up with along the way, so here I am and here it goes :) I began the transition to veganism several months ago with the thought that since I am mostly vegetarian anyway how hard could it be? Its hard.....very hard. Not everyone has the same transitional issues but I am a cheese lover, grilled cheese, cheese pizza etc so to give up cold turkey was a definite issue. I am still in fear of the fake cheese mainly because I bought the "soy Parmesan" yeah that was not even close to the real thing, I threw out my pasta over that. However I love soy and the Soy Italian sausages and soy dogs are Delicious!

So My first recipe that I have fallen in love with is a veggie soup/stew and it goes as follows:
8 cups of low sodium/no sodium vegetable broth
2 cups of water.
3 large red potatoes
Barley
1 package of mushrooms or use fresh
1 large can of diced tomatoes or make your own using three large tomatoes diced
1 small bag of carrots peeled and chopped
1 stalk of celery chopped
half a bag of frozen corn.
Dried chopped Basil
Celery salt
Rosemary
Goya Seasoning (optional)
Salt & pepper to taste

place the broth and water on the stove on medium heat, add in barley (depending on how thick you want it either 1/2 cup for less or 1 cup for more) let the barley cook while you are cutting and peeling the vegetables. place potatoes, carrots and celery, tomatoes into the pot after about 15 minutes add the mushrooms and the corn. I use a teaspoon of rosemary, 1 teaspoon of dried chopped basil, and 1 teaspoon of celery salt. Salt and pepper to taste and I add a few dashes of the Goya seasoning. turn heat to simmer and let cook until potatoes and carrots are to the desired consistency.

I usually let it simmer for approx an hour on low as everything just kind of comes together while its cooking.