Libations

blog awards

2010-04-17T21:44:00.001-07:00

I've received my third blog award the other day so I decided to post them all today before I forget. The first two awards are from the very lovely blogger, looking glass vintage.
I pass on the award to
1.Starr Crow
2. calivintage
3. Megstatus
4. Rebecca
5. delightfully tacky
6. cats and dogs
7. leproust vintage
8. night lights
9. fade to black
10.versicle
With this award you say 7 things about yourself if you accept the award and I pass it on to
1. lemondrop vintage
2. Kimberellie
3. curious mel
4. two styles one city
5. Kelley Anne
6. lucy marmalade
7.off of broadway
8. the girl from hk ldn & sf
9. thrift candy
10. make cupcakes not war

My third award is from the wonderful Chloe of make cupcakes not war.
I pass on the award to
1. thrift eye
2. she got a ticket 2 ride
3. orphaned apparel
4. the girl under the stairs
5. looking glass vintage
6.simply hope
7. Tyler January
8. the way i do
9. song of the exile
10. q' s day dream
11.strawberry koi
12.liebemarlene
That was quite a long list but I love passing on some blog love to these deserving bloggers. If you want to accept the nomination just pass keep passing it on like I did and please let me know if you do it!

Apple Gallettes

2010-04-09T13:23:00.000-07:00

from vegenomicon which has so many amazing recipes

crust:
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 T sugar
1 t salt
1/2 c shortening
1/2-3/4 c very cold water
1 t apple cider vinegar

apple filling: 2 granny smith apples, peeled, cored and sliced very thinly(1/8 inch or less)
2 T light brown sugar
1/4 t cinnamon
6 t apricot preserves

prep dough
in a large bowl, combine dry ingredients. Add the shortening in 3 batches. Cut with a pastry cutter until it is crumbly and pebbly. combine acv with water and slowly add mixing gently with a fork until the dough holds together. knead a few times and refrigerate dough for 30 min. you can refrigerate it longer but then you will have to leave it out for 15 min.
preheat oven to 425 degrees F.
roll dough out on floured surface to about a 12x15 rectangle and 1/4 inch thickness. cut 4 8 inch hearts. (I used a paper heart to get them to be uniform)
re-roll scraps to make 2 more.
roll in the edges and score with a fork.
spread 1 t apricot preserves on each crust and starting from the top place 4 slices of apple on each side. spray w/ oil and sprinkle some brown sugar and cinnamon on top. cook for 35-30 min until brown.
not to sweet so it goes great w/ something creamy.
My favorite is Larry and Luna's coconut based vanilla "ice cream"

Best Cupcakes Ever

2010-01-21T14:06:00.000-08:00

INGREDIENTS
makes about 18 cupcakes
* 2 cups soy milk
* 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
* 1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
* 2/3 cups canola oil
* 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1 teaspoon almond extract, chocolate extract, or more vanilla extract
* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 2/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch-processed or regular
* 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
* 1 teaspoon baking powder
* 1/2 teaspoon salt

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Preheat oven to 350°F and line a muffin pan with paper or foil liners.
2. Whisk together the soy milk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, vanilla extract, and other extract, if using, to the soy milk mixture and beat until foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no large lumps remain (a few tiny lumps are OK).
3. Pour into liners, filling 3/4 of the way. Bake 18 to 20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

* Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting
(I used only 2 cups of sugar and omitted the soy milk and it was amazing as well. I don't like my icing too sweet.)
NGREDIENTS

* 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated shortening
* 1/2 cup nonhydrogenated margarine, we use Earth Balance
* 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar, sifted if clumpy
* 1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup plain soy milk or soy creamer

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Beat the shortening and margarine together until well combined and fluffy. Add the sugar and beat for about 3 more minutes.
2. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for another 5 to 7 minutes until fluffy.

Variation:Cookies ‘n’ Cream Cupcakes (pictured): Mix into cupcake batter 1 cup (about 10 cookies; chop first, then measure) of coarsely chopped vegan chocolate cream-filled sandwich cookies, like Newman-O’s. Bake as directed

Found Recipe on chow but it is from Isa's Vegan Cupcakes take Over the World.

Best ever vegan chocolate chip cookies

2009-08-10T11:00:00.000-07:00

Ingredients

2 1/4 cup unsifted all purpose flour
1 cup softened (not melted) non-hydrogenated, vegan margarine or coconut oil
1 c organic sugar or 3/4 agave
2/3 cup applesauce
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 teaspoon vanilla extract
9 oz. of vegan chocolate chips
1 c cashews or other nut opt.

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375. In a small bowl mix together flour, baking soda, and salt. In a large Cream together brown sugar, sugar, vanilla and margarine until it has a still chunky but somewhat smooth texture. Slowly add flour mixture in and mix until smooth and thick. Mix in chocolate chips and nuts. Bake cookies on a cookie sheet for 10 minutes or when they are soft enough but solid enough to eat.

Serves: 25 decent sized cookies

Preparation time: 30 min. - 1 hr.
modified from veg webs recipe for grandma anarchy cookies

I want this hair

2009-05-21T19:23:00.000-07:00

Cheap wine that doesn't suck

2009-04-28T09:49:00.000-07:00

I have two picks. Unfortunately I haven't found many under $10 that don't have that cloying vanillian flavor I detest (or some other major flaw). These two made the cut.

1.Contadino Pinot Grigio, 2007. We picked this up at Trader Joe's for $5. It isn't bad, very mellow with a papaya(or was it mango)afterglow. Would be ideal for a hot day.
2. Toasted Head Chardonnay, 2007. If you have a Costco membership it is only $8.50. Other places it is more $11. The ubiquitous choice, this wine is easy to procure and it is easy to see why. It is a creamy tropical wine with a toasted finish. A really great value for the complexity of flavors.

Hopefully I will find some more that don't break my wallet. Any suggestions are appreciated.

Spicy Sammich

2009-04-27T12:49:00.000-07:00

a.A really awesome track by flying lotus
b.A delicious meal
c.All of the above

Sazerac

2009-04-27T10:04:00.000-07:00

Last night was my husband Alaric's birthday. We celebrated by going to a place called the Shady Lady. It had a wonderful assortment of old timey drinks. This one was my favorite. Upon further research I found out that it is from New Orleans and dates back to before the Civil War. I was pleased that it had absinthe as an ingredient. Apparently it is again legal in the US (as of 2007). Yay for absinthe.

Aknahten

2009-04-25T18:53:00.000-07:00

I'm not usually a huge opera fan but after listening to Aknahten by Philip Glass I
might just change my mind. Alaric found it whilst listening to Pandora and it is
pretty epic.