Teany

Forgive the cell phone photographs, but I have to review Teany.  There are prettier pictures on their website.  It’s my favorite go-to spot for a rainy day and we’ve been having quite a few of those recently.  On my last trip, I tried their vegan quiche:

It came with a really good vodka sauce on the side and a green salad that I had with their tahini dressing.  The quiche was WONDERFUL.  It had a very soft crust and a nice quichey(quiche-esque? quiche-ish? the word ‘quiche’ looks like it’s not real now that I’ve typed it so many times) texture and the flavor was perfect.  The sauce on the side was also really good – some nice mushrooms hanging out in there.  I sat around working and grazing for about an hour before I started wondering if it was time for dessert. It’s always time for dessert.  I ordered the Chocolate Macaroon Cake:

Ridiculously good.  This shouldn’t be allowed to exist.  It was chocolate cake with chocolate coconut buttercream.  Enough said.  I am in love with Teany and its preciousness.  I didn’t have any tea this time (coffee addiction is too strong) but the Green Cherry Blossom tea is beautiful. Of course there’s the whole Moby connection – which is very cool.  Check out his blog! Go eat their Chicken Salad Salad!

Brownies For the Win AKA Stop It With the Chocolate Already

These bad boys are adapted from Have Cake, Will Travel’s Butterscotch Chocolate Fudge Brownies.  Thanks for sharing!!

Original Recipe

Butterscotch Chocolate Fudge Brownies

preheat oven to 350F. prepare an 8×8 pan with non-stick cooking spray.

in a microwave-safe bowl (or in a double boiler), melt:

1 1/2 cup mix of vegan butterscotch chips and semisweet chocolate chips (if you cannot find butterscotch chips, go for all chocolate)

set aside to let cool.

place melted chocolate in a large bowl and whisk in:

1 cup sweet potato purée
2 T mild-tasting oil (vegetable, canola…)
1 t pure vanilla extract
2 T soy creamer (or milk alternative)

in a separate bowl, sift together:

1/4 cup organic powdered/icing sugar
1/2 cup light spelt flour
2 T unsweetened cocoa powder
pinch fine sea salt
1/4 t baking powder

combine sweet potato & flour preparations, fold in:

1/2 cup mix of vegan butterscotch & semisweet chocolate chips

mix until combined. pour batter into prepared pan, bake for 28 minutes. let cool on a rack, place in fridge (still in pan) once cool enough or even in the freezer for more ease of slicing. I love to eat these when they’re really cold!

My adjustments

I didn’t have access to sweet potato puree (really I’m just to lazy to puree potatoes) so I used a canned butternut squash puree.  I also can’t find vegan butterscotch chips in this neck of the woods (which is kind of unbelievable considering the monstrosity of this city).  I doubled the recipe because I’m a nut (and I wanted to share these beauties with everyone).  That last fact turned out to be a bad idea because I polished most of them off by myself.  I had a few days when I ate these for breakfast and felt heart paliptations for hours.  Wheeee!  I also used almond milk because … I had some.

When I first tried one of these, I wasn’t really sure how I felt about them.  However, after chilling them in the fridge they took on this moist, chewy texture that is amazing.  They’re very dense, which is the way I like a brownie to be.  They’re still not quite what I’m looking for as far as replacing egg/milk laden brownies, but they are definitely a giant leap in the right direction!  I think I’ll try adding flax and Earth Balance on the next trial – which will be a while from now.  I’m still recovering.

Black and Purple and Full of Spiders

Sounds appetizing, right?

Oh it is.

I was insane to make these – I had no free time last week and the two hours I did have were devoted to being in the kitchen.  I used my old tried and true frosting recipe:

Ingredients

1/2 C Earth Balance

1/2 C Vegetable shortening

1/4 C cocoa powder

3 C powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

2 T soymilk

Directions

• Mix the Earth Balance and shortening together until thoroughly combined
• Mix in cocoa until incorporated
• Mix in powdered sugar in small batches until completely incorporated
• Add the vanilla and soymilk and mix until fluffy

• Store in the fridge until using or use immediately.  If you store it for later, let the frosting sit at room temperature for a half hour or so before using.  Re-mix it too.  Ya know.

For the cake, I used Dreena Burton’s recipe for Chocolate Sin-nammon cake in Eat, Drink, and Be Vegan.  Hooray!

Oh yeah, and how ’bout that President Obama?

Something to Think About

Another Saturday Night…

I’m blogging on a Saturday night and there’s nothing else I’d rather be doing.  I finished work at 4:30 this morning (that’s AM).  I’m just happy to be sitting on this couch – eating chocolate, drinking wine, watching Pyscho Beach Party, filling out memes.  I was tagged by EatAVegan!

1. Four Places I Go Over and Over

* My Qi Gong massage place on Bowery.  I’m not telling anyone where it is because as it stands I never need an appointment   The ladies at this place beat me up and make all my back pain disappear.  Yeah, they might answer the phone in the midst of digging into my shoulder, but no one else can make it hurt so good.  That sounds gross.

* Our special island off the coast of Georgia.  My family has been going there every summer for over fifty years and I hope we’re still going there fifty years from now.

* Yoga class at my gym.

* Whole Foods.  I need to stop spending my entire paycheck on chocolate.  Maybe.

2. Four People Who E-mail Me Regularly

* My mom

* My manager

* Michelle Obama.  She’s my BFFles.

* My dad

3. Four Places I Would Rather Be Right Now (Honestly, nowhere.  Did you read what I’m doing right now? Okay, I’ll play along)

* Sitting in the audience at SNL

* In a cabin in the Catskills with some just-made apple cider, a roaring fire, a good book, and my precious sweetie friends

* On the inside of a chocolate blackout cake, eating my way out

* Kentucky – Christmas time with my family (soon!)

4. Four of My Favorite Places to Eat

* Angelica Kitchen – Just ate there yesterday.  Mmm.  Thai Mee Up.

* Pure Luck – Dude.  Duuuude.  Have you had their sweet potato fries?  Have you HAD them though?

* Alfalfa – I HATED this place when I was a kid.  I thought ‘health food’ was gross and longed for McDonald’s.  Now that I’ve come to my senses I realize what an awesome restaurant it is.  Try the grits.

* Souen – Whenever I feel like I need something healthy and clean and wonderful – this is it.  I feel like you get five years added onto your life just walking in there.

5. Four TV Shows I Watch Over and Over

* Twin Peaks

* Freaks and Geeks

* Top Chef

* Ace of Cakes

6. Four People I’m Tagging!

* Veggie Girl

* To Live and Eat in LA

* Have Cake Will Travel

* Vegan Crunk