Vegan Chocolate Chip Mug Cake

Hey pixels!! That’s me with a mug cake again! It’s been a lot since the last one!! But today I wanted something sweet to eat, and I had not time to make a big cake; also it’s still too  warm to even think about using the oven…

Almost all the mug recipes we’ve made until now were chocolate recipes. Today’s one it has chocolate involved, of course, but only a few chips. I wanted to try something new, so I’ve made my first chocolate chip mug cake: vanilla flavoured cake with some dark chocolate chips. I love it!!

To improve things, the recipe is completely vegan and it requires very few ingredients, so you can make yours in no time. 5′ are enough to get it ready.

The flavour is amazing. If you don’t have chocolate chips, you can take a small amount of chocolate broken into small pieces. The result will be almost the same.

I can’t say this is a healthy recipe, but it could be worse… I mean, at least it’s home made and everything is vegan. You can reduce the amount of sugar if you want. This can be a nice dessert, part of a brunch or even part of your breakfast if you’re going to have a hard day and you feel that you need something amazing to eat before leaving home.

Do you need some extra energy to start a new week?? Today it’s Monday… Why not giving this cake a try?

Ingredients:

• 4 tablespoons flour
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/8 teaspoon vanilla
• 3 tablespoons soy milk
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 tablespoons vegan dark chocolate chips

Directions:

Combine all ingredients except chocolate chips into a microwave safe mug. This is a small cake, so don’t worry about your mug size. Combine until there are no lumps.

Add the chocolate chips and stirr a bit. Microwave for about 1′. Allow to cool a bit before eating.

It couldn’t be easier to make this cake!! What do you think about mug cakes, my happy pixels? Do you make them at home? Are you going to try this one? Please, let me know in the comments below.

S’mores cake

Hey pixels!!  I just realized that today’s it’s S’mores National Day, and I wanted to share with you this s’mores recipes I did some days ago!! Enjoy it, my happy pixels!! And have a nice day!! (Are you eating s’mores today??)

I’m going to a picnic today! This evening we’re going to have a picnic near the beach. A picnic at night is always fun. There is an area with tables and benches that you can use, so you just have to prepare some good food and go there.

 

In my town it’s forbidden to make campfires, so a more traditional way to eat s’mores is complicated… But, when I found that s’mores cakes do exist, I couldn’t be happier. I love making cakes, so I ran to the supermarket to buy some ingredients (I didn’t had heavy cream, guilty) and I went back home to make the cake.

I’m bringing my cake to the picnic tonight. I hope that everyone will enjoy it!! It’s been my first time making this cake. But not going to this kind of picnic. Temperatures are so high lately that being near the sea, feeling a nice breeze and the smell of the sea salt is incredibly awesome. I usually go with my family. We eat and chat about our lifes and plans. I love it!!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5-6 tablespoons butter

Chocolate dough:

• 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

for topping:

• 3 egg whites
• 90g sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Melt butter and mix in graham crumbs. Mix until moistened. Spray a round mold with non-stick spray and press graham crust into it.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Add to the mold. Place mold in a baking dish and add about 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom. Bake for 30′, or until cake is set.

While baking the cake, make the meringue. Pour it all over your baked cake. Heat the broiler on your oven and watching carefully, brown meringue for about 2-3′. Do not take your eyes off the cake! Serve immediately.

Do you like s’mores, my happy pixels? How do you eat them?  Do you go camping? Picnics? Anyone? I hope you’re having a wonderful Summer!! Please, feel free to leave a comment.

S’mores cake

Hey pixels!! I’m going to a picnic today! This evening we’re going to have a picnic near the beach. A picnic at night is always fun. There is an area with tables and benches that you can use, so you just have to prepare some good food and go there.

 

In my town it’s forbidden to make campfires, so a more traditional way to eat s’mores is complicated… But, when I found that s’mores cakes do exist, I couldn’t be happier. I love making cakes, so I ran to the supermarket to buy some ingredients (I didn’t had heavy cream, guilty) and I went back home to make the cake.

I’m bringing my cake to the picnic tonight. I hope that everyone will enjoy it!! It’s been my first time making this cake. But not going to this kind of picnic. Temperatures are so high lately that being near the sea, feeling a nice breeze and the smell of the sea salt is incredibly awesome. I usually go with my family. We eat and chat about our lifes and plans. I love it!!

Ingredients:

Crust:

• 1 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
• 5-6 tablespoons butter

Chocolate dough:

• 1 1/8 cups all purpose flour
• 1/4 cup dark cocoa powder
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup brown sugar
• 1 egg
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup milk
• 1/2 cup + 3 tablespoons heavy cream
• 1/2 cup butter, melted

for topping:

• 3 egg whites
• 90g sugar

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180ºC.

Melt butter and mix in graham crumbs. Mix until moistened. Spray a round mold with non-stick spray and press graham crust into it.

In a bowl, whisk egg and sugar until smooth and no lumps remain. Add milk, cream, butter and vanilla, and mix until combined. Sift dry ingredients together and add to wet mixture. Mix until batter is smooth. Add to the mold. Place mold in a baking dish and add about 1 1/2 cups of water to the bottom. Bake for 30′, or until cake is set.

While baking the cake, make the meringue. Pour it all over your baked cake. Heat the broiler on your oven and watching carefully, brown meringue for about 2-3′. Do not take your eyes off the cake! Serve immediately.

Do you like s’mores, my happy pixels? How do you eat them?  Do you go camping? Picnics? Anyone? I hope you’re having a wonderful Summer!! Please, feel free to leave a comment.

Rice & Veggies Salad

Hey pixels!! Yesterday was the first day of August. This means that the first seven months of 2017 are gone… How have you spent them? Did you had fun?

Now I’m writing from my favourite café, listening to good music and having a coffee with milk. Watching occasionally at their tv. And enjoying their air conditioned, we’ve had even higher temperatures over the past days (and today): 38ºC. Too much for me… I would like to have a house on a colder country to spent Summers there…

But I don’t have enough money for that, so I’m just making cold salads and dishes and eating lots of ice cream. One of my cold recipes is this rice salad full of veggies. Yummy!! (Note: now there is cycling on TV, so it’s harder to concentrate on writing this post).

Actually this salad is yummy cold or warm, so it’s up to you!! You can choose your favourite salad dressing. Or not, the salad flavour itself is good enough, you’ll enjoy it with just a few drops of raw olive oil on top. Enjoy it, my happy pixels!!

Ingredients (serve 3):

• 1 1/2 cups rice/brown rice
• 1 can sliced mushrooms
• 1 cup fresh spinach
• 1 jar red pepper slices
• optional: your favourite salad dressing
• salt, olive oil

Directions:

Cook rice.

While rice is boiling, cook pepper slices in olive oil for 5-6′. Add mushrooms and cook 5-6′. Add fresh spinach and cook just 2-3′.

Drain rice and mix it with the cooked veggies. Serve in bowls. Pour a bit of your favourite salad dressing, if using. If you want it colder, store in your fridge for at least 30′.

This salad can be stored in a closed container in your fridge for one day. Or you can bring it to your next beach picnic if you have a cooler.

How are temperatures where do you live, my happy pixels? How your Summer is going? Are you having fun? I hope so. Please, feel free to leave a comment.

Meatless Monday: Zucchini & Cherry Tomatos Quiche

Hey pixels!! It’s been a long time since our last quiche. Last week I went to a barbeque and someone brought a zucchini quiche. I thought it was yummy and I asked for the recipe. So, here it is, my happy pixels!! Now I want to share it with you!!

Zucchinis have a wonderful flavour, and combined with a bit of cheese, eggs and cream they just even yummier. I use a soy based cream for this kind of  recipes, because I love how it tastes, and because it’s a bit healthier than the dairy cream.

The original recipe was crustless, but I add a crust to mine. I like the contrast of a crispy crust and the tenderness of the quiche. The same way I add some cherry tomatos to the original recipe. I did not bake mine, but you can bake them perfectly.

Ingredients:

• 1 store bought quiche crust
• 1 large zucchini, sliced
• 200ml soy cream
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup flour
• 100gr cup grated cheese (use your favourite one)
• 6-7 cherry tomatos, halved

Directions:

Preheat oven to 180⁰C.  Grease a 20cm round mold. Pour crust and make a few hole using a fork. Set aside.

Put zucchini, soy cream, eggs, flour and cheese into a bowl and mix to combine.

Pour into the mold.

Bake for 40-45′, or until set and golden brown. It will be ready when a fork comes out clean.

Serve in pieces with the halved cherry tomatos on top. I prefer to eat the tomatos raw, but you can bake them, too.

Note: it’s better if you eat all the quiche the same day.

Do you like quiches, my happy pixels? Do you have a favourite one? Please, let me know in the comments below.

Vichyssoise

Hey pixels!! Today we’re having another post about a cool soup. The last one was our red pepper soup. I’m posting too many soup recipes?? I don’t know, my happy pixels. I just can say that I love soup, and I can’t stop eating it just because it’s Summer….

This is a classic recipe, famous worldwide. My version is not exactly like the traditional one: it’s lighter and vegetarian/vegan. The only difference is to use whole milk or soy cream. This is up to you: just choose between this two options. If you don’t eat dairy choose the soy cream.

I love this recipe. It has a nice taste and a soft texture. I think it’s amazing. A great starter. Today I ate it for lunch, and after that I ate a vegan burger. A yummy and inexpensive lunch. How was your lunch, my happy friends?

Ingredients (serves 2):

• 1/2 sweet onion, chopped
• 4 leeks, sliced
• 2 large potatos, peeled and cubed
• 700 ml vegetable stock
• 1/4 cup whole milk/soy cream for a vegan version
• olive oil, salt
• bread croutons to garnish

Directions:

Cook onion in olive oil for about 5-6′. Add leeks and cook 3-4′ more. Add potatos and continue cooking 3-4′.

Pour stock and bring to a boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 30′, until potatos are tender. Blend until smooth. Add the milk/cream and cook about 5′, so it thickens a little.

Remove from heat and allow to cool at least one hour before serving. Garnish with some bread croutons. If you want your soup colder, you can make it the day before or just a few hours before eating. But I think it’s better if it’s still a bit warm.

Do you like Vichyssoise, my happy pixels? Do you make it at home? Are you going to try this recipe? Please, let me know in the coments below.

 

Meatless Monday: Eggplant canneloni

Hey pixels!! It’s Monday again. How are you starting this week? I am doing it with a yummy vegan pasta recipe! I love veggies and pasta, so when I found this recipe I knew I was going to make it. It has been yummy!!

This has been our lunch. I ate four units and a healthy dessert. Perfect!! You can store your canneloni in a closed container and freeze them. Or store them in your fridge for 2-3 days.

This recipe is so easy, and it’s different because no white sauce is required. Tomato sauce is used instead. I made my tomato sauce using fresh tomatos instead of using canned ones, because you know, it’s Summer and now tomatos are in season. It’s a way of eating fresh veggies.

Ingredients (12 units):

• 12 canneloni sheets
• 2 large eggplants, cubed
• 5-6 tomatos, peeled and cubed
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 leek, sliced
• 1/2 teaspoon dry oregano
• 1/2 teaspoon dry basil
• optional: grated mozzarella/vegan mozzarella

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions. Set aside.

Cook onion in olive oil for 5-6′. Add tomatos, oregano and a pinch of salt. Cook more or less 30′.

In a second saucepan, cook leek in olive oil for 5-6′. Add garlic and cook 1′ more. Add eggplant, basil and a pinch of salt. Cook until tender, about 30′.

Preheat oven at 170ºC.

Pour 2-3 tablespoons tomato sauce on a greased baking dish. Fill the canneloni sheets with the cooked eggplant cubes. Top the filled canneloni with the rest of tomato sauce. If using, sprinke the cheese/vegan cheese on top.

Bake for about 20′. Serve warm.

Do you celebrate meatless Mondays? Do you have any special vegetarian/vegan recipe to share with us? Please, let me know in the comments below.