#wallace ave

[laurkamkitchen]

I always, always take recipes which tout themselves as the ‘best’ of anything with a grain of salt, so while I was enthusiastic about trying this one, I still kept my expectations in check. However, I can say with full confidence that these are indeed by far the best vegan chocolate chip cookies I’ve ever made. Honestly, no way would you ever guess that they were vegan. They have the exact texture I love in a cookie, very much like Nestle Tollhouse. I would usually save such praise for the end of a review, but I will go ahead and declare here that this will be the only ever basic chocolate cookie recipe I use from here on out.

Remus and I (well, mostly me) made about 3/4 of this recipe using a mix of snapped dark chocolate buttons and M&S chunks. I honestly was most motivated to make this recipe since it called for both coconut milk and applesauce, both of which I have been trying to use up, but somehow that created the perfect combo for deliciously gooey cookies.

We ended up with about 15 cookies and perhaps did not give all of them enough room for spreading. Ever concerned about our over-hot oven, I pulled the first batch at 8 minutes, thought the ends were too crispy, and so went for 7 on the second. I think, however, just because they were so crowded, 8 was actually probably the right call. Yes, the edges were a bit crispy, but with 7, the middles perhaps were not baked thoroughly enough.

But you know what, they’re vegan, so who cares if they’re not fully baked! Then you just miss out on all that extra gooeyness. And gooey goodness is exactly what this recipe promises. I know this is now going to be a forever favorite.

[laurkamkitchen]

This recipe got put on my parsnip shortlist honestly just because of how good it looked in the pictures and because I thought it’d be fun to try something a little different. I made this in full, mostly because leeks in Tesco only come in a two-pack, and skipped the green chilis. I used the grater attachment on my food processor to get the parsnips all nice and chopped; I never use it, so that little indulgence here was quite satisfying. 

Before making this, I had already noticed a discrepancy in that 1/2 cup chickpea flour was definitely not even close to 100g. I thought I’d go for the lighter end of things first, however, just to see how this would go, but the answer was not well. I did add in some extra flour after it was clear my first couple of patties simply were not, well, patties, but I never really did get this mixture to properly bind; it was very, very far from being ‘dough’.

To me, part of the problem seemed to be just the sheer amount of leeks that was going on here. I don’t know if the leeks this recipe writer originally used were just way smaller than mine, but they really overwhelmed the whole mixture and simply refused to bind.

I did about 3 ‘patties’ at a time in Matthew’s cast iron pan, and while some of them held shape better than others, none of them were anywhere near well enough formed to get wrapped up and put in the freezer, which was my original intention for half of what I was making here. So it looks like I will be having them again this week much sooner than I’d thought.

I will say that the flavor here was actually delicious. Leek city aside, I was so surprised by how yummy whatever my final product was turned out. And that deliciousness genuinely probably kept me from dumping half of this, as I honestly really do want to eat it again soon. I can see this as a great way to sneak some less popular veggies into the system of someone you love, especially if you’re actually able to turn it into an appetizing pancake spread rather than the stir-fried mess I ended up with. Now I know: 100g of chickpea flour, not 1/2 cup. Although at this point I’m so traumatized from this process that I will probably not be attempting it again any time soon.

[laurkamkitchen]

I’m pretty sure I made this salad some time last autumn while operating under similar circumstances: leftover black beans and Brussels sprouts in season. It’s an interesting combination of flavors and has the yummiest dressing which really makes the whole thing.

I made this in full, using one of M&S’s chickpea and sweet potato veggie burgers that I had in my freezer, unsweetened coconut yogurt that I needed to use up, and cashew butter since I couldn’t find any sunflower. I also used smoked paprika and cumin to season the veggies.

I was hesitant about how the dressing would turn out since I was subbing its two largest components for other things, but, as I mentioned above, it turned out super delicious. I used my mini food processor and a lot of water, although in retrospect whisking would have been easier. The coconut in the yogurt complimented the curry powder really well and I think really put this over the top.

I ended up adding a bit more kale and sort of toasted the beans and the sunflower seeds in the pan I used to cook the veggie burger (which was SO good, by the way — M&S Plant Kitchen really is something else). I’m not sure how long I left the veggies in for, but it was probably around 30 minutes. I definitely overseasoned them — I never thought I’d say this, but the cumin was overwhelming — but that was my own fault, so I don’t blame the recipe for it.

This was a great little meal, again a perfect one for this time of year and for using up old black beans. And, oh, baby, that dressing . . .

[laurkamkitchen]

I know I made this recipe several times last autumn, usually as a quick make-ahead breakfast to have before I had somewhere else to be in the morning. It’s one that you always end up regretting you’re eating in a rush because of how deliciously indulgent it is. Honestly, I’m not even a big pumpkin pie fan and would honestly rather have this over the real thing any time.

I always use whatever milk I have on hand and did go ahead and add the pecans here for a little extra protein and crunch, although I think they did kind of take away from the yummy creaminess of the oats. I don’t think I’ve ever warmed them up, as they’re great cold and rich enough in texture and flavor that taking the time to heat them has always seemed unnecessary to me.

I really will make these over and over again, as they are truly so delicious and honestly probably one of my favorite overnight oats recipes. Definitely worth prepping ahead of time at some point this fall.

[laurkamkitchen]

I have not made veggie burgers in a while, nor any kind of fry, so I was dying to do some kind of gourmet fall pairing of the sort this week. This recipe sounded super different and super delicious, and also seemed pretty straightforward as far as veggie burgers go.

Finding chipotle peppers in adobo sauce is definitely a no-go here in the UK, but thankfully, you can get chipotle paste in Tesco, which is what I subbed here for both the pepper in the burger and the sauce in the mayo, and, as far as I’m concerned, it worked just as well.

I halved this recipe went ahead and shaped the burger a few hours ahead of time in the midst of a baking project, leaving the oats in tact (and will add they did not turn out the worse aesthetically for it). I also have to say that the moment I added my flax egg was genuinely so satisfying; the dough seized up immediately, and instantly got that clingy texture you need for the structural integrity of a burger. Gotta love science.

The mayo and the avocado smash, both of which I just halved even though I was only planning on having one burger, came together really easily through some whisking and fork mashing, respectively. (I, of course, also used vegan mayo here.)

Later, when I went to cook, these browned fast on our gas stove and were done on both sides in just a few minutes. I served with the mayo and avo smash, of course, as well as some toasted pita bread, spinach, and some paprika parsnip fries on the side. And I have to say, I loved these. This was such a yummy, delicious, and flavorful recipe; the pumpkin works so well here, both in texture and in taste, which you would so not expect. I will definitely be coming back to these next year, as they were seriously so good and constituted something a little different in my high pumpkin intake.

[laurkamkitchen]

Yesterday was the first day of autumn, which means pumpkin season is back, baby! It’s the return of my favorite kind of baking, and I could not be more enthused. I kicked things off with these super yummy chocolate chip cookies, a recipe I also made last year and knew I needed to return to.

I only had about a cup of dark chocolate chunks on hand, so I ended up making about 2/3 of this recipe. I couldn’t find molasses anywhere and instead substituted for a mix of dark agave and maple syrup. I also thought I had ground ginger on hand so I could whip up this season’s batch of pumpkin spice, but it turns out I did not, so instead I just used my chai spice mix, which is really the same thing, just with cardamom. So I guess these turned out to be pumpkin chai-spiced chocolate chip cookies in the end.

I used the whisk attachment on my immersion blender for the mixing here but had a lot of trouble grappling with the coconut oil, so I ended up adding in the wet ingredients before the oil and sugars were full blended in order to help out with that process. There was also no way I could ask that thing to handle this thick cookie dough, so I did most of the final blending by hand with a rubber spatula.

I did two rounds of 6 cookies to a baking sheet, removing them right at 9 minutes when they had just a big of browning on them. They were crisp on the outside but soft on the in, so chocolately and with such a great texture. I don’t remember them being as good as last year, but still, they turned out so delicious and I’m still so pleased with them as a first pumpkin bake. It’s been a while since I’ve had a fresh, warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie right of the oven, and, boy, did I need that. Delicious. 

[laurkamkitchen]

You would think that finally, finally that after making this recipe that jar of miso I’ve had for ages would be gone. But you’d be thinking wrong.

We’re getting there, though, and this was another recipe I threw in to make it happen. I still had half a can of chickpeas left from those eggplant couscous bowls from the other night, and decided to simply roast the rest for salad use. This particular recipe was super quick and easy, with a short oven time that gave me just enough time to prep my salad before topping with these and taking it all to work with me.

I was really pleased with how crispy these turned out; the bake on them really was just perfect, and the flavoring was also incredible. Unfortunately, because I made these ahead of time on a soggy salad I ate several hours later, I don’t think I quite got their full, crispy, yummy effect, but what I did get, I was still very impressed with. Apparently I still have miso to use up, and in that case, I will definitely return to this recipe next time I have more purposeless drained chickpeas saved in my fridge.

[laurkamkitchen]

Another day, another way to use up my miso paste! Since I’ve just moved into my new house, it was time to make a batch of salad dressing; you guys know tahini is my favorite, and this combined all sorts of other delicious ingredients that I find make for a yummy version to have on hand.

I halved this and used my immersion blender in an old jam jar to make it. In total I think I ended up using 4 or 5 tablespoons of water, which is about twice the amount the recipe calls for, although this may have been because I’d gotten to the clumpy bits at the bottom of the jar of tahini I had on hand. I know it’s gonna thicken a lot in the fridge, so I’ll probably add even more when it comes to future use.

This was exactly what I wanted, everything I honestly need in a salad dressing. And guys, we are making serious progress on that miso — I think I  only have enough left for one or two more recipes.