Pretzels

Addy and I made these together recently, they are really easy and she had a great time making shapes and as always eating them after!
Right out of the over dipped in a little mustard....mmmmm yum!

Soft Pretzels

From "The Joy of Vegan Baking"

 by Colleen Patrick-Goudreau

1 tablespoon granulated sugar

3 cups warm water divided

1 packet dry active yeast

3 cups all-purpose flour ( we used whole wheat pastry flour)

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 tablespoons baking soda

2 tablespoons coarse salt

Lightly grease a large cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Stir the sugar into 1 cup of warm water.

Once it has been evenly distributed, add the yeast and allow to dissolve, then whisk it and let it sit for 10 min.

After this time the yeast should begin to form a creamy foam on the surface of the water. If there is no foam, the yeast is dead and you should start over with a new packet.

Combine the flour, salt, and oil in a large mixing bowl. Add the yeast mixture and stir until combined. Knead the dough for about 3 minutes, then form into a ball. The dough should easily come together in a ball. If it’s too wet, add a little more flour.

Place the dough in a lightly oiled bowl and cover with plastic wrap and a damp cloth and let sit for about 2 hours in a warm draft free spot do dough can rise. The dough should double in size.

Divide the dough in 12 pieces and roll each piece into a ball. Place the balls on a cookie sheet or lightly floured surface and let rest for 10 min.

When ready to bake heat preheat oven to 400 degrees.

Roll each ball into 16 inch length and form into a pretzel of other fun shapes. IN a large bowl, dissolve the baking soda in the remaining 2 cups of water.

Carefully dip the pretzels (already in formed shapes) into the water. Shake off excess water and place each pretzel on the cookie sheet. Sprinkle with coarse salt.

Bake for 15-20 min or until golden brown.

They are best right out of the oven, but you can freeze and reheat them at 375 for 5 min.

Chocolate Strawberry Popsicle

I made these for Addy the other day and they were a huge hit!

Chocolate Strawberry Popsicle

Pour chocolate almond or soy milk into a popsicle mold about half way, add fresh cut strawberries and add more milk if needed to reach the top.

You could do this with any fruit.

 Freeze and enjoy!

ChickPea Mash!

A friend gave me this super easy recipe and since then I cannot get enough! We eat it in sandwiches, in lettuce wraps, piled on a cracker and my favorite right out of the bowl late at night! 

It's a sad day around here when the last has been eaten!

ChickPea Mash

From Allison

2 cans chickpeas mashed, I leave some of them whole

2-3 carrots shredded

3-4 stalks of celery chopped

about 1/4 cup red onion diced

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

vegenaise enough to moisten

pepper to taste

Mix all together and serve as desired!

In sandwiches we have found some amazing local french bread squares, but we also use plain old sliced whole grain bread. We use vegenaise as the spread and add lettuce, tomatoes and avocado.