that's what she baked.

Vegan Blueberry Cobbler (what I was making when I instagramed this)

The other day I had a lovely dinner with Brittany (this lovely lady) and my favorite vegan, Kirsten (you’ve seen her before, here). As close as I live to Brittany (she resides directly above me), I hardly see her much these days (it’s very silly) and Kirsten recently moved to the neighborhood (which I’m so happy about) but I haven’t hung out with either of them in quite some time, so a get together was in order. I offered to make a salad (because that’s something I know how to do) and attempt to make a vegan dessert (something I have less experience with).

I decided to make a blueberry cobbler, adapted from this recipe, by Chef Cloe (check out her website, there’s lots of vegan recipes and instructional videos). The berry part was absolutely delicious, and super simple to make. I only had blueberries in the house, so that’s what I used. I also halved the recipe since I was only making dessert for 3. The dough was super weird, and I should have spread it out more, I’m not really sure. I also didn’t get a chance to try making the whipped cream myself (which is supposed to be easy), but the coconut milk at the store wasn’t going to be cold enough, so I bought vegan pre-made vegan whipped cream. It turned out to be a nice closer to our meal, following salad, something delicious Brittany made and a good amount of wine.

I’ve never made a cobbler before, so that was a first, but I can’t wait to try again. I need to get myself some more berries before the farms around here run out. 

Pumpkin Pecan Chocolate Chip cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

These (very delayed) birthday cupcakes were made for co-workers last week. Originally, I wanted to make cupcakes for, or close to people’s actual birthdays, but timing and life often doesn’t work out like that. I asked for preferences and both of the teachers said they like almost everything I’ve made, but are partial to cream cheese frosting. I didn’t want to have to go food shopping so I decided to work with what I had in my cabinet. While pumpkin season has passed, I thought I’d use the can now, instead of waiting again for the fall to come. I had toasted pecans from these pies and some chocolate chips hanging around so I thought they’d be great to mix in the pumpkin batter (a Martha Stewart recipe) topped with a creamy cream cheese frosting (also, Martha). I didn’t turn my Kitchen Aid on at all and mixed everything but the frosting, with a whisk and my muscles. 

I was not happy with the fact that I under-filled the cupcake liners, but nobody complained. Whenever I think I know how much to fill, I have a different recipe and it has a different weight and consistency, etc. That’s what’s happening right? I’m not too too worried about it. However, under-filling did give me the opportunity to make some babycakes, which gave me the ability to taste the cakes and share with more friends.