Let It Scone, Let It Scone, Let It Scone!

(All images by Ms. TheVeganAsana Jr.2)

It’s time for another holiday festival of scone making. This is weekend #2 of making these little delicious pastries and there may be one more to go (we’ll see). Scones are delicious, easy, and last well, making good gift treats for friends, family, and coworkers.

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My baking supervisor, Charlie

Ingredients
2 cups flour
1 T baking powder
1/4 t salt
2 T turbinado sugar (plus more for board)
1/4 C vegan margarine (soften if needed)
2/3-3/4 C soy milk

Add ons:
1/2 C raisins and 3 T cinnamon
1/2 C dried cranberries, 2 T orange zest, 1/2 orange juiced
1/2 C chocolate chips
½ C chopped almonds and 2 t of vanilla extract

Process
Mix dry ingredients.  Use a pastry cutter to cut in margarine until it forms crumbles in the flour.  Add flavorings and stir.  Add soy milk bit by bit until dough forms into a ball.  I use a stand mixer for this with a dough hook.

Cover a cutting board with a thin layer of turbinado sugar. Divide ball into 4-6 even pieces, place on  your sugared board, flatten to about 1/3 inch thick and sprinkle liberally with sugar.

Use a pizza cutter or knife to cut into pie shaped slices.  Bake at 400* until slightly browned on the top.  This will take around 20 minutes.

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Ten Vegan Treats I Enjoy

soy crisps

I work with a few (lovely) people who are convinced that, as a vegan, all I eat is twigs and bark. Today, on Top Ten Tuesday (or List It Tuesday), I am sharing a few of the “treats” that I regularly enjoy. While some of them are fairly nutritious, others are very much not.

In no particular order:

1. Soy latte – Yes, indeed. I can drink a soy latte, with no additional flavoring or sweetener, at just about any time and really love it. Pretty much the only time that I won’t have one is if my stomach is actively ill. Otherwise, bring them on! I really do like Starbucks (sorry, SB haters), but that isn’t required. After 3 p.m., I’ll generally go with decaf, but that’s my only concession.

2. Soy crisps – A while ago, I tried to decrease my pretzel reliance, and I missed the crunchy salty goodness. So, in came the soy crisp. They come in many flavors, but I like the plain sea salt best.

3. Pistachios – Pistachios are a good snack for me, because they take some concentration and mindfulness to eat, and the activity makes me feel like I’m having a nice big snack, even if I only have a few. Also, nutritious!

4. Frozen banana “milkshakes” – When the desire for ice cream hits, there are always frozen bananas in my house, and I can whip up one of these quickly. As a side benefit, they are also pretty good for you.

5. Tofu not-jerky – I actually don’t have this as often as I want to, because it doesn’t last long in my house and then it’s all gone *sadface.*

6. Apples with cinnamon – Sometimes, I can go for a long period without eating an apple, and then when I do, I wonder what I was thinking! I love apples, and a little cinnamon sprinkled on top is just the ticket.

7. Dark chocolate squares – I actually don’t eat much chocolate. It’s not that I don’t like it, but I rarely crave it. But, when I do, these dark chocolate squares are rich and very chocolatey and nip that craving right in the bud.

8. Daiya provolone and wheat crackers – Just yum. I don’t know that I think it tastes like provolone, but then I have not had that for almost a decade. I like it, whatever it tastes like, and like the idea of having “cheese” and crackers.

9. Peanut butter and ?? – On celery, on crackers, on a banana, on an apple, on a spoon. I love peanut butter.

10. Carrots and brown mustard – Yeah, it might sound a little bit odd, and I recognize that this is basically a veggie (contributing to the twigs and bark idea), but I do like carrots dipped in brown mustard. I can eat many of them… many.

So, there you have it, ten treats that I enjoy. How about you?

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