My mom makes amazing cinnamon rolls.   They are huge and fluffy, filled with cinnamon and chocolate chips, and topped with melty frosting deliciousness.

They are so good that you want to eat three of them in a sitting, and each roll probably contains at least half of your calories for an entire day.

These are not my mother’s cinnamon rolls, but they are very good and much, much better for you.  There’s some sweet potato goodness in there (hooray hidden veggies!) and they are entirely vegan.  They satisfy the cinnamon roll craving without an absurd amount of calories.  Especially if you send over half the batch into work with your hubby. :)

I didn’t make the glaze listed below because I didn’t have all of the ingredients required.  I just made a simple glaze with confectioner’s sugar and it worked great.  Thanks to my friend Laurie for recommending this recipe!

Ingredients

Sweet Potato Dough

• 1 0.25-oz. pkg. active dry yeast
• 3 1/3 cups bread flour, plus more for rolling dough
• 2 Tbs. sugar
• 1 1/2 tsp. salt
• 2/3 cup mashed cooked sweet potato
• 3 Tbs. vegetable oil, plus more for oiling bowl

Cinnamon-Pecan Filling

• 1/3 cup packed light brown sugar
• 1 3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 2 Tbs. very soft vegan margarine, plus more for greasing pan
• 3/4 cup chopped toasted pecans, divided

Maple Glaze

• 3 Tbs. vegan cream cheese
• 1/2 tsp. natural maple flavor
• 1 pinch salt
• 1 cup confectioners’ sugar

Directions

1. To make Sweet Potato Dough: Stir yeast into 1/3 cup warm (105°–115°F) water until dissolved. Let stand 10 minutes.

2. Combine flour, sugar, and salt in bowl of food processor, stand mixer, or regular bowl. (Reserve 1/3 cup flour if kneading by hand.)

3. Stir sweet potato and oil into 1/3 cup warm water. Stir yeast mixture and sweet potato mixture into flour mixture. 
(If using food processor, add liquids through feeding tube with processor running. If using stand mixer with dough hook, add liquids in steady stream with mixer on low speed.)
4. Place dough in oiled bowl; cover. Let rise 1 hour, or until doubled in volume.

5. To make Cinnamon-Pecan Filling: Stir together brown sugar and cinnamon in bowl. Grease 13- x 9-inch baking sheet with margarine.

6. Roll dough into 14- x 12-inch rectangle. Spread with margarine. Sprinkle cinnamon-sugar over dough; top with half of chopped pecans. Starting at long edge, roll up dough. Slice 1 inch off each end; discard. Cut roll crosswise into 12 1-inch-thick 
pieces, and place on prepared baking sheet. Cover, and let rise in warm place 45 minutes, or until doubled in size.

7. Preheat oven to 375°F. Bake buns 
18 to 20 minutes, or until golden.

8. To make Maple Glaze: Combine cream cheese, maple flavor, and salt in small bowl. Stir in confectioners’ sugar. Spread glaze over warm buns; top with remaining pecans.

Source: Vegetarian Times

Year of the Noodle:  Week 40

I’ve never liked portobello mushrooms.  They are thick, fleshy, and chewy.  I suppose those attributes are what make them appear to a nonveg like the most appealing meat substitute for vegetarian dishes.  I’ve eaten my fair share of these giant shrooms at the BBQs of well intentioned friends who aren’t sure what else to make for me (often the only vegetarian in attendance.)  While I greatly appreciate the effort they put forth to think of me, I also feel too polite to tell them how much I dislike portobellos.  Thus, I pick at half of one and then feed the rest to John.  (If you hang out with me regularly and have fed me a portobello mushroom, thanks for the thought but next time I’d prefer to just eat sides.)

For years I’ve lumped eggplant in the same category as portobellos – generally too icky to serve to anyone but a vegetarian when you aren’t sure what else to make.  In this dish, I suspected that the eggplant mostly serves as a vehicle for eating sauce and cheese.  So I decided to give eggplant another try.  Turns out I was spot on.  While the eggplant provides a bit more substance to the dish, it doesn’t contribute much flavor.  Still, it was a hit with everyone who tried it, and i did enjoy it.  It’s a pretty good dish and it makes the house smell awesome.

Oh, and I served this with angel hair pasta, thus qualifying it for the Year of the Noodle.  It just looked prettier in it’s baking dish than it did on the plate :)

For the Eggplant:

2 medium eggplant (about 2 pounds) cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick rounds
1 tablespoon kosher salt
4 cups breadcrumbs
1 cup grated Parmesan (about 2 ounces)
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup all-purpose flour
4 large eggs
6 tablespoons vegetable oil

For the Tomato Sauce:

2 cans (14 1/2 ounces each) diced tomatoes or pureed or crushed tomatoes
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
4 medium garlic cloves, minced (about 1 tablespoon)
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup coarsely chopped fresh basil leaves
Salt and ground pepper

For Baking:
8 ounces whole or part-skim mozzarella, shredded (2 cups)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese (about 1 ounce)
10 fresh basil leaves, for garnish

To make the eggplant:

1. In a large bowl, toss half of the eggplant slices and 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt; transfer salted eggplant to colander set over bowl. Repeat with remaining eggplant and salt. Let stand until eggplant releases about 2 tablespoons liquid, 30 to 45 minutes. Arrange eggplant slices on a triple layer of paper towels; cover with a triple layer of paper towels. Firmly press each slice to remove as much liquid as possible, then wipe off excess salt.
2. While eggplant is draining, adjust oven racks to upper- and lower-thirds of the oven, place rimmed baking sheets on both racks, and heat oven to 425 degrees F.
3. In a pie plate or shallow dish, combine breadcrumbs, Parmesan, salt and pepper. Set aside.
4. Combine flour and 1 teaspoon pepper in large zipper-lock bag; shake to combine. Beat eggs in second pie plate. Place 8 to 10 eggplant slices in bag with flour, dip in eggs, let excess egg run off, then coat evenly with breadcrumb mixture. Set breaded slices on wire rack set over baking sheet. Repeat with remaining eggplant.
5. Remove preheated baking sheets from oven; add 3 tablespoons oil to each sheet, tilting to coat evenly with oil. Place half of breaded eggplant on each sheet in single layer; bake until eggplant is well browned and crisp, about 30 minutes, switching and rotating baking sheets after 10 minutes, and flipping eggplant slices with wide spatula after 20 minutes. Do not turn off oven.

To make the sauce:

1. While eggplant bakes, process 2 cans diced tomatoes in food processor or blender until almost smooth (if using pureed or crushed tomatoes, skip this step).
2. Heat olive oil, garlic and red pepper flakes in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden, about 3 minutes; stir in processed and remaining can of tomatoes. Bring sauce to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until slightly thickened and reduced, about 15 minutes. Stir in basil and season to taste.

To assemble:

1. Spread 1 cup tomato sauce in bottom of 13-by-9-inch baking dish. Layer in half of eggplant slices, overlapping slices to fit; distribute 1 cup sauce over eggplant; sprinkle with half of mozzarella. Layer in remaining eggplant and dot with 1 cup sauce, leaving majority of eggplant exposed so it will remain crisp. Sprinkle with 1/2 cup Parmesan and remaining mozzarella.
2. Bake until bubbling and cheese is browned, 13 to 15 minutes. Cool 10 minutes, scatter basil over top, and serve, passing remaining tomato sauce separately.

Source:  Cooks Illustrated via Smells Like Home

I only own three cookbooks.  How to Cook Everything: Vegetarian (the best cookbook ever, in my opinion), Baking with Agave Nectar (still experimenting with this one), and 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes.  I’ve owned the last one since my senior year in high school, and I think at best I’ve made 10 of the recipes from it.  What can I say, the Internet is such an alluring source of recipes and I often forget the written ones sitting on my shelf.

So I present to you the 11th recipe I’ve made from this book.  I love marinated cucumbers, so adding cilantro (another love of mine) seemed like a logical next step.  This would probably be better in the summertime when fresh and crisp salads rule the day, but it adds a nice freshness to the roasted vegetables and winter squash of the fall.  It also goes well with soup and a grilled cheese.  Enjoy!

Ingredients

3 cups chopped peeled cucumbers

2 tablespoons chopped cilantro

2 tablespoons chopped scallions

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

fresh ground pepper to taste

Directions

Combine cucumbers, scallions, and cilantro in a large bowl.  In a small bowl mix lime juice, oil and salt.  Pour the dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

Source: 1,000 Vegetarian Recipes

It’s soup season.

I’ve already made about 6 or 7 soups in the last few weeks (thanks to a incredibly handy list of recipes from last year’s soup project.)  I wasn’t thrilled with the butternut squash soup I made last time, though, so here is a new one.  The strongest flavor in this soup is actually the ginger, not the shallots.  This makes a very small batch of soup, so double it if you want leftovers.  Flavorful, easy, makes the house smell good.  Perfect for a snowy day!

Ingredients:

• 4 cups of cubed (1-inch) peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 4 large shallots, peeled and halved
• 4 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 (1/2-inch to 1-inch) piece of peeled fresh ginger, thinly sliced
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 2 1/2 cups vegetable broth
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Directions:

Preheat oven to 400°F.

Spread squash, shallots, garlic, and ginger onto a jelly-roll pan. Drizzle with olive oil and sprinkle with salt. Toss to coat, then spread out in an even layer on the pan. Bake for 35-40 minutes, or until tender, stirring occasionally. Let cool 5-10 minutes.

Place half of the squash mixture and half of the broth in a blender. Remove the center piece of the blender lid to allow steam to escape, and secure lid on blender. Place a clean towel over the opening in the blender lid to avoid splatters and blend until smooth. Pour into a large saucepan. Repeat with remaining squash and broth. Taste mixture and add more salt and pepper if desired. Cook in the saucepan over medium-high heat for 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Serve warm, seasoned with additional pepper if desired.

Source: Cooking Light

Can you tell we love chocolate chip cookies?

First Mint Chocolate Chip Cookies, then Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies, and now these.  Before these varieties I always used a more standard recipe – heavily influenced by the people at Tollhouse.  I’ve only recently began branching out (no, 2012 will not be The Year of the Chocolate Chip Cookie.)

I actually decided to make these on a whim.  I intended to make zucchini bread but we didn’t have all the ingredients.  So I made these instead.  They are kind of a combo of zucchini bread and chocolate chip cookies, really.  Weird when you first taste them, then yummy.  A good way to sneak veggies into your favorite cookie snack :)

Ingredients

• 1 egg, beaten
• ½ cup butter, softened
• ½ cup brown sugar
• 1/3 cup honey
• 1 tbsp. vanilla extract
• 1 cup white flour
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• ½ tsp baking soda
• ¼ tsp salt
• ¼ tsp cinnamon
• ¼ tsp nutmeg
• 1 cup finely shredded zucchini
• 12 oz chocolate chips

Directions

1. Combine first five ingredients in large bowl.  Combine dry ingredients in a separate, small bowl and blend into liquid mixture
2. Stir zucchini and chocolate chips into other ingredients, mix well. Drop by spoonful onto greased baking sheet, and flatten with the back of a spoon. Bake at 350° for 10 to 15 minutes.