Chocolate peanut butter banana pie!

Last week, we had our first dinner guests over. That really made it feel like "home" here. Not to mention, we had kind of gotten into a rut of the same stir-fries, curries, and sandwiches over and over again. Nothing like guests to inspire you to try something new!   (Not to mention it also encourages us to clean the house, something we really ought to do more often.)

Our meal was Ethiopian inspired. We made an eggplant stew, a lentil dish, and a sweet potato stew. Talk about ambitious! Combine that with the injera we picked up at a nearby restaurant, it ended up being way too much food! The sweet potato stew didn't even make it to the table, I just froze it to save for later!

So, keeping that in mind, I wasn't too upset when I was the only one to finish my dessert...

I need to stop eating food before I take a picture of it...

It's Chocolate-Peanut-Butter-Banana Pie!

And it was super easy to make.

Ingredients:
1 pre-made pie crust
2 medium avocados
1 c. peanut butter
1 c. cocoa powder
3/4 c. sugar
2 Tbsp. vegan milk (I used almond)
2 tsp. vanilla
2 bananas
2 oz. dark chocolate
2 tsp coconut oil

Cook pie crust according to manufacturers instructions.  You could always make your own, but I've had issues doing that in the past... it's hard to get a perfect vegan pie crust if you can't use soy! The WF brand pie crusts are vegan (at least the ones at my store are!), and they're actually really delicious. I've used them several times since discovering this...Anyway, cook, and then set aside!

Put everything in a food processor except 1 1/2 bananas, the dark chocolate, and the pie crust (duh). Give it a good processing! It should be thick, and there should be no chunks of avocado or banana left.

Scoop filling into the pie crust. Cut the remaining 1 1/2 bananas into slices and layer on top of the filling. Melt the dark chocolate in a small pot with the coconut oil, and drizzle over the pie.

Freeze for about 2 hours, or until you're ready to eat!

It made a really rich dessert. I originally planned on just a peanut butter and banana pie, but because of the avocado, the filling was green. And it weirded me out.

I guess I'm just not that kind of vegan.

Banana Coconut Creme Pie

I've never really been a big "pie" fan. Generally, I don't like cooked fruit. But then someone told me about creme pies, and my life was changed!

John and I made this pie last night to celebrate Rowan's 6 month birthday. He didn't get to eat any, but it was the thought that counts.

Ingredients:

- 19 oz coconut milk
- 1/4 C. maple syrup
- 1/4 C. cornstarch
- 1/2 C. granulated sugar
- 1 tsp. yellow food colouring (optional)
- 1 tsp. vanilla extract
- 1 Tbsp. Ener-G egg replacer mixed with 1/4 C. rice milk
- 3 to 4 ripe bananas, thinly sliced

1. Set aside 1/4 C. of coconut milk (about 2 oz). Combine the remaining coconut milk and maple syrup in a heavy saucepan over medium heat. Heat, stirring, until it begins to bubble. Remove from heat.
2. In a new bowl, whisk together the reserved coconut milk, cornstarch, sugar, food colouring, and vanilla.
3. Add egg replacer to the coconut milk/maple syrup, then add the cornstarch mixture. Heat over medium heat, stirring continuously, until it comes to a simmer. Cook, stirring continuously, for about 4 minutes or until thickened.
4. Spread a small amount of the custard in the bottom of the pie shell. Place a layer of sliced banana on top of the custard. Repeat! Repeat again! Let cool to room temperature, and then refrigerate until ready to nom.
5. Nom nom nom.

You can do whatever you want for a pie crust. Store-bought, or home made, doesn't really matter. You're going to want to cook it, though, and let it cool completely before putting in the custard.

John and I tried out a random recipe I found online, and it FAILED. John's theory is that a bitter chef posted it online to screw with all the amateurs.

 

"Let's see them make delicious pie NOW! A-ha-ha-ha!"

And he's probably right. So don't trust random recipes posted on the internet! If you want to make your own pie crust, use THIS recipe! 

Ingredients:

- 1 1/4 C. flour

- 1/4 tsp. salt

- 1/2 C. coconut butter

- 3 Tbsp. very cold water

1. In a large bowl, stir together the flour and salt. Cut the shortening in the flour mixture until very well mixed, then add the water. 

2. Mix together until a dough forms.

3. On a lightly floured surface, knead for a minute or two and then roll into a ball. 

4. Wrap dough in wax paper, and chill for 30 minutes. Roll the dough into a pie crust. (about 9")

5. Bake in oven at 450°F for about 15 minutes! 

Here's our pie with two generous slices taken out!

You don't win friends with salad!

... You win them with delicious cupcakes!

John and I haven't been doing too much cooking/baking lately. Everything we've made has been along the lines of "what do we have in the fridge?". A lot of stirfrys, and perogies.

But the other night I was feeling antsy, and had a bit of a sweet tooth, so I made some cupcakes!

This recipe is from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, which is the greatest cookbook (bakebook?) to ever exist. Even if you only make cupcakes once a year, you should buy this book.

I did edit it a bit though, so I will put my edited version on here. If you want the real version, buy the book!

Banana Cupcakes

1/2 C. very ripe banana, mashed well (you don't want any lumps. I mashed mine with an immersion blender)
1 1/4 C. all purpose flour
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
3/4 C. granulated sugar
1/3 C. canola oil
2/3 C. rice milk
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract

1. Preheat oven to 350°F.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, baking powder, and sugar in a large bowl. In a seperate, smaller bowl, whisk together the oil, rice milk, vanilla, almond extract, and banana. Create a well in the dry ingredients and fold in wet ingredients, mixing to just combine.
3. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake for 20-22 minutes.
4. Cool completely before icing.

I haven't quite figured out how to make a vegan AND soy-free buttercream-style frosting. I didn't want boring cupcakes though, so I made a chocolate glaze... I put 1/4 C soy milk in a little sauce pan over the stove, until it was gently boiling. Then I took it off the heat, added 2 Tbsp. maple syrup, and chocolate chips. I didn't really measure the chocolate chips, I just poured them while slowly stirring with a spatula until it was nice and thick. I probably used about 150 g. Then I poured in about 1/2 oz. of coconut rum! 

You can make the glaze while the cupcakes are baking, then set it aside, because you want it to be cooled down when you use it.

When the cupcakes are ready, spoon the glaze generously over top. I topped my cupcakes with a slice of frozen banana! (Fresh works too.)

These were really good. I made them at about 10 pm... They didn't make it through the night.