Strawberry Lemonade Cheezcake Mousse

I know...

Another dessert post.  

Why?

Because all work and no play makes Kimberly a dull girl! Where have we heard that before?  Well those that know will take this serious.  It seems like the busier I get, the more desserts I bake.  I would have to say that it is NOT because I'm addicted to sugar (which may be true) but that lately I've been a baking queen because it's my release when I'm stressed.  Creation of recipes helps me to escape the hustle and bustle of the busy life and focus my attention somewhere else.  And then, when I've baked or made my new creations, I have to have company over to try it.  Thus, my second escape from the craziness life throws at me is to have a nice conversation with friends...and dessert to compliment that sweetness of friendship.  

Hey, wake up! I hope I didn't bore you with my revelation of self but let's move on to the good stuff, Strawberry Lemonade Cheezcake Mousse. A Silky and creamy smooth bowl of deliciousness that perks up the taste buds just in time to absorb the slightly sweet flavors of spring and summer and the crunch of a cookie.  It's not too sweet but perfectly balanced for a snack, breakfast or dessert. You may just want to remember this recipe for a nice little party you throw for Mom since Her day, Mother's day, is coming up ya know. Or just make it for yourself, because YOU are Special too. 

Strawberry Lemonade Cheezcake Mousse Recipe:

Crust-

3/4 C Crushed Cookies.  (I used gluten free because they also hold up well to keep the crunch.)

1 Tbs Melted vegan margarine

Mix in a bowl and then pat down into a small souffle cup.

Filling-
8 Oz Vegan Cream Cheez  (I used Tofutti brand)
1 Tbs warmed coconut butter
1/4 C Sugar
1/2 Tsp Vanilla
Zest of Lemon and 1 1/2 Tsp lemon juice
4 Large Strawberries
In a Blender or food processor,  process on high for 2 min or longer until smooth and fluffy.  Spoon over cookie crumbs and let set over night, uncovered.  Enjoy...

Hey Lovely...

Thank you for stopping by to see me.  I'd love it if we could meet up again. Let me know what you think about this recipe and my others by joining me here on the blog, facebook or instagram and share a little love.  Why?  Well, it's because I love you too...

So stay awhile, have a nice beverage of your choice, grab a treat or two and enjoy....

                                                   ©2015 MyDeliciousVeganDiary

Citrus Scones

 

If you haven't noticed by now that the majority of my blog entries are some sort of sweet, they are because I'm still a kid at heart.  I remember growing up, I would always search the house for dessert and once ended up with 6 brownies in my lunch box for school.  My mom still tells the story of me robbing the pantry of all sweets and leaving none for my siblings.  When I'd get in trouble for this act of tyranny, I'd tell myself that when I got older, I'd make all the desserts I want!  Well today I do bake like a crazy woman, feeding my inner child, but because of that middle aged decrease in metabolism I have slowed down a bit on my consumption of these goodies... ( and of course I do feel sorry for my childhood gluttony!)

 

 

Today I made scones for our lazy Sunday.  I wanted a nice treat to follow up with my nice spot of tea.  I wanted to use the lemons and grapefruit that I had on my counter especially since I'm in love with citrus.  And because lately I've been having a bit of issue with gluten, I wanted to make these gluten free too.

 So here we go...

Me in my bake happy state is hoping you enjoy this tasty breakfast treat.

 

Citrus Scones Recipe

 

1 16oz box (2 3/4 cup)of Gluten Free Flour mix  (tip* reserve about 2 Tbs of mix for flouring your counter and baking pan if you don't have any more to use)
1/3 cup Granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan butter
3 tsp ener-g egg powder
1 tsp chia seeds
3/4 tsp vanilla bean paste or extract
1/2 tsp cornstarch
3 ounces tofu (soft)
1/2 cup- 3/4 cup Coconut milk ( I use canned coconut milk that has cream on the top. I make sure to mostly use the creamy part for this recipe...Do NOT use cream of coconut.)
lemon zest
grapefruit zest
juice from the grapefruit and lemon

1 tsp course granulated sugar for sprinkling

Glaze
Remaining juices, remaining zest
1 1/3 cup powdered sugar

Mix all dry ingredients, flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, egg powder, chia seeds, cornstarch in a bowl. Add butter and mix until butter is the size of small peas. Do not over mix and make sure butter is very cold. Stir in 3/4 of the zest from the grapefruit and lemon (reserving 1/4 of the zest for the glaze.) Mix in another bowl, 1/2 cup milk, 2 tsp of the grapefruit juice and 1 tsp of the lemon juice (reserving all the rest of the juice for the glaze) and tofu . Add wet to dry stirring just until incorporated. Should slightly resemble a pie crust dough. If dough doesn't stick together, add a bit more coconut milk, a little at a time, until it holds together.
On floured counter, divide into two halves and make into the shape of disks about 1- 1 1/2 inch high.  Use a little remainder of the coconut milk to brush the tops of disks and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar. Cut each disk to make 6 pieces. Place pieces onto a cookie sheet, slightly apart to give room for baking all sides.  Bake in preheated oven set at 400 degrees for 20-25 minutes. These should be slightly brown.

 

 



 

Allow to cool a bit while making Glaze. In a bowl, mix juice and zest and add 1/3 cup of powdered sugar at a time, mixing well using a whisk.  You want this to have a nice semi thick consistency that will slowly drizzle over the warm scones. *(use a cookie cooling rack to keep the scones from sitting in the syrup.)  Once the glaze is almost dry, your scone is ready to devour.... enjoy!

 

 

Lasagna Italiano

I'm Italian and proud of it. I was raised standing in the kitchen next to my mother, watching her cook for the family. All of our recipes were passed down from our relatives by watching.  One of the recipes I always loved was our family lasagna.  Well many years later, I still love lasagna however I needed to create a meat-less version of our family meal. To my pleasure, my mother's pleasure and to the complete joy of my family...this Lasagna recipe rocked!  So here I am, sharing this delicious recipe in hopes that you and I can both create a new tradition with our kiddos standing by our sides, learning to create delicious vegan meals to pass on down the line.  Mangia! And Enjoy!

Lasagna Italiano

20 cooked  gluten free or regular vegan lasagna noodles (cook a few more for breakage)
2 Large Zucchinis, sliced and grilled (I found Zucchini at the farmers market that were big like pumpkins)
25 ounces prepared vegan tomato spaghetti sauce
Veggie Italian Sausage (I used helen's kitchen brand organic and non-GMO)
1/2 cup black olives diced
1/2 cup Grilled onions
1 Tbs Basil
1 Tbs Oregano
1 Tbs Garlic
9 oz vegan Ricotta Style Cheese
1 large handful of Spinach leaves
3 Roma tomatoes sliced
10 ounces Mozzarella style cheese
Serve with extra sauce if you like it really saucy like me.

Layer 1~ In a rectangle baking dish, spread about 1/4 cup prepared sauce on the bottom.  Layer with 5 noodles (touching or just overlapping), then half of the grilled zucchinis, 3 ounces of ricotta, the basil and a few spoonfuls of a little sauce.

 Layer 1

 

 

For Layer 2~ 5 noodles, Italian Sausage, black olives, 3 ounces ricotta, oregano, grilled onions, a little sauce, and spinach leaves.

 Layer 2

 Layer 2

 

 

Layer 3~ Not pictured, 5 noodles, the rest of the zucchini, 3 ounces ricotta, garlic and more sauce.

 

Layer 4~ 5 noodles, the remainder of sauce, the sliced tomatoes.

 

 Layer 4

 

Cover with Tin Foil and bake in a pre-heated oven at 375 degrees for 60 minutes. Add sliced Vegan Mozzarella cheese and broil just a few minutes until melted.

Serve, Eat...Enjoy.

 

Look at those delicious noodles.  I love the end cut! How about you?

 

Worried about having too much lasagna at one time?  I love to freeze some for future quick grab meals or I love to bless friends with a little lasagna to go also.

Polenta Bar

Having a Party or Holiday Celebration?  Want an easy food recipe that'll help feed a crowd in a creative way?   Try having a Polenta Bar.  It's easy, fun and inexpensive plus your family and friends will be happy to create their "own" tasty masterpieces.  I love the beautifully creamy consistency of Polenta and the hearty meal it makes. My family thoroughly enjoyed our Polenta Bar and I can't wait to make it again!

 

 

Easy Polenta Recipe(This feeds up to 14 people as a side. It'll make about Eight 1/2 cup portions for a larger portion) 

7 cups water

2 teaspoons salt

2 cups Polenta or yellow cornmeal

3 tablespoons vegan margarine

 

Boil water in a large pan or polenta pan on high heat. Add salt.  Whisk in cornmeal. Reduce heat to low and cook about 15 minutes, making sure to stir it every couple of minutes (this is where having kids can come in handy).

Turn off heat, add the vegan margarine, and stir until Polenta is nice and creamy.

I love to serve mine on a nice piece of wood or wooden cutting board.

 

 Here are some mix in ideas.  Have fun and create your own too.

Mix ins~

 

Grilled Mushrooms,

Grilled Red Onion,

Grilled White Onion,

Tomato Sauce,

Vegan Parmesan or Vegan Shredded Cheese,

Vegan Sour Cream,

Fresh Herbs like Rosemary, Oregano or Basil,

Grilled Vegetables like zucchini, broccoli or cauliflower,

Salsa,

Black Beans,

and the list could go on and on and on.

 

Enjoy!

 

Need a quick meal to go? I packed up these left overs and took it to my parent's house since my daddy just had surgery.  They heated in the oven when they were ready to eat.

 

Rosemary Garlic Kale Chips



Somedays are just plain outright snacking kind of days.   And when I need a quick fix, I always go for Kale Chips.  However, I don't go for the plain jane kind of Kale Chips but I love to make Rosemary Garlic Kale Chips.  And those, my dear friends, are my favorite!

 

 

So here is a picture of my wild Rosemary.  I love it.  I love the ease of walking out to my yard and picking it.  This stuff is like a weed and grows easily in a pot or the yard.

Get yourself some, it's great.  (I also put it in a pot simmering on the stove with an orange peel and drop of vanilla. This makes the whole house smell great!)

 

 

Rosemary Garlic Kale Chips

 

Kale, about 10 leaves, washed, dried and cut into large bite sized pieces ( you will have shrinkage.)

Fresh Rosemary, 1 sprig, needles removed and chopped

1 clove garlic chopped finely

1 TBS olive oil or more as needed

salt

 

Mix all ingredients until coated evenly.  If you are using a lot of Kale, you may need to add a bit more oil.

 

Add kale to a cookie sheet and sprinkle lightly with salt. Bake at 350 degrees for about 10 minutes or until looking lightly browned.  Cool completely.

One Bowl Pumpkin Blondies

I'm having cravings. My cravings are turning me into a crazed bake-aholic. Today, I was craving chocolaty oozy gooey brownies.  Just as I  was getting ready to bake them, it dawned on me I had leftover pumpkin in my refrigerator from Thanksgiving.  The one thing I hate the most is waste so I decided to scrap the Brownie plan and shoot for a Pumpkin Blondie instead.  I've never made Blondies before so this was an attempt to use leftovers and to make something tasty to curb my outrageous cravings.  Here we go...

One Bowl Pumpkin Blondies

1 stick Vegan butter
1/2 c pumpkin
1 tsp baking powder
3 ener-G eggs
1 tsp vanilla
dash salt
1 3/4 cups sugar
1 cup flour
1 package Duncan Hines Frosting Creations Pumpkin Spice flavor (*If it's hard to find since it is seasonal, omit and add 1 tsp cinnamon, 1 tsp allspice or pumpkin pie spice)

Spray bottom of 9x11 pan with cooking spray. (*this is not a 9x13 pan.  I found this odd size at a baking store because it was bigger than an 9x9 but that'd work too) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a microwave proof bowl, melt butter.  Mix with pumpkin, vanilla, sugar, and salt.  Add flour, baking powder, ener-G eggs, and Pumpkin spice packet and stir well.  Pour into 9X11 pan and bake for 30-35 minutes.

Let cool.

We couldn't wait for it to cool.  We're bad like that.  But I liked it.

Eat. Eat another. Eat one more...tell no one! 

 

Enjoy.  We sure did.

 

Ginger Yam Mash

Today we are having spectacular thunder and lightning storms.  All this afternoon we've had flash flood warnings in the high desert area.  It is something quite beautiful to watch as the skies light up and the earth regains its water. Fascinating.  However, with the summer storms comes power outages. As I sat and watched the beauty outside, I realized that I was starving!  So I quickly tried to think of what I could make with little to no time involved before the storm was right on top of us. Last week I had purchased two yams from the farmer's market and had envisioned a yummy casserole.  Well, at this point, oven cooking wasn't going to work so I decided to toss them into the microwave for 10 minutes and then I finished it off over the stove, which even in a power outage, still works.   I'm glad I decided to make this because it was soooooo gooooood!!!  And now, not only are my family's tummies full, but we're  back outside watching the sky, in under 20 minutes!

 

 

 

 

 

Ginger Yam Mash

 

2 large yams

1 can coconut milk (make sure it's the creamy type)

4 tbs vegan butter

1 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp ginger (fresh or powdered)

1/4 cup brown sugar

1/2 cup shredded coconut ( I toasted mine but the choice is yours)

1/2 cup chopped candied nuts (I used walnuts)

 

Poke holes in Yams. Microwave Yams for about 10 minutes until soft. Peel and put into a pan on stove top.  Over medium-high heat, cook all ingredients except for nuts and coconut, for about 5-6 minutes until hot and bubbly. Add coconut and stir.  Remove from heat and serve with chopped candied nuts sprinkled over the top.  *If you like it even sweeter, also sprinkle on a little cinnamon sugar on top.  Delish!



Lemon Blueberry Scones

 

School's out, the children are bored, your friends want to get together...summer has officially begun.  Now's the time to plan that special get together or tea party with friends so you can keep in touch.  These Scones are the perfect treat that'll have your friends talking.  Better yet, skip the party and hoard these babies all for yourself for breakfast! Yeah, go ahead, you deserve it!

Gluten free, Egg free, Vegan Lemon Blueberry Scones Recipe

1 16oz box (2 3/4 cup)of Gluten Free Flour mix (I've used the "Gluten Free Pantry" Brand all purpose flour and I've also used their Perfect Pie Crust mix for these scones too) (tip* reserve about 2 Tbs of mix for flouring your counter and baking pan if you don't have any more to use)
1/3 cup Granulated sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
3/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup vegan butter
3 tsp ener-g egg powder mixed with 3 Tbs water and 1 Tbs flax oil (set aside for 10 min)
1/2 cup- 2/3 cup Coconut milk ( I use canned coconut milk that has cream on the top.  I make sure to mostly use the creamy part for this recipe...Do NOT use cream of coconut.)
2 tsp lemon zest
1 tsp lemon extract
1/4 cup dried blueberries
1 tsp granulated sugar for sprinkling

Mix top four ingredients. Add butter and mix until butter is the size of small peas. Do not over mix and make sure butter is very cold. Stir in zest and blueberries. Mix  all wet ingredients in another bowl. Add wet to dry stirring just until incorporated.  Should slightly resemble a cookie dough. If dough doesn't stick together, add a bit more coconut milk until it holds together.
On floured counter, divide into two halves and make into the shape of disks about 1 inch high. Place both disks onto lightly floured cookie sheet.  Use a little coconut milk to brush the tops of disks and sprinkle with a pinch of granulated sugar.  Cut each disk to make 6 pieces. Pull all pieces out and slightly apart to give room for baking all sides, but keep in its disk shape. This may bake back together slightly and this is okay. Bake in preheated oven set at 425 degrees for 20-25 minutes.  These should be slightly brown.
Here is a super neat trick that I've read about and tried.  Place cookie sheet with scones, ready to go, into freezer for 30 minutes before baking. Place this immediately in hot oven and your scones will turn out even better. Enjoy!