Pumpkin French Toast Bowls

29 Sep 2013BreakfastDairy Free, Pumpkin, Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk, Smart Balance Light Buttery Spread, ThanksgivingEmily Stokes

Did you ever make a recipe based on random ingredients you had in the fridge?

I rarely go out of my way to buy ingredients for a specific recipe. Usually I browse the ingredients I have in my kitchen and make something up. Sometimes for inspiration, I dig up a recipe from a cookbook or my Pinterest account.

This was one of those recipes.

Some days I just wake up wanting to cook something! Being eager to post recipes on my brand new blog is also highly motivational.

So on this particular morning when I checked my fridge, I found leftover pumpkin puree and half a loaf of French bread. I plunged into my endless collection of fall recipes on Pinterest and found one for pumpkin french toast by Minimalist Baker. This was a large recipe, but I only needed two servings—one for me, one for my husband. My new single serving size ceramic baking bowls inspired me to make individual servings. I also adapted it to be dairy free, of course.

This French toast recipe is so yummy. I poured agave nectar on mine for a tasty syrup, but my husband ate his up without anything added. He doesn’t usually use condiments, but this tells me it was pretty good.

You can play around with this recipe to make it your own. Let the bread soak up the liquid longer if you like. Try a different type of bread, like sweet cinnamon raisin bread. Add extra pumpkin, or add some powdered sugar on top after baking. Try using some different non-dairy milks as well.

While you can use any type of non-dairy milk in this recipe, I recommend one that contains vanilla and spices. I used Silk Very Vanilla Soy Milk, but some other good options would be Silk Vanilla Almondmilk, SoDelicious Coconut Nog, or Rice Dream Vanilla Rice Milk.

I just made an amazing homemade oat milk recipe from ohsheglows.com. This oat milk would be great to use in any French toast recipe because of its vanilla and cinnamon flavors. I hope you use your favorite dairy-free ingredients and enjoy!

If you try this recipe, let me know! Did you try any variations, and how did it turn out?

Pumpkin Spice Café Au Lait

26 Sep 2013Breakfast, Desserts, MoreAgave Nectar, Beverages, Coffee, Dairy Free, Holiday, Pumpkin, Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk, ThanksgivingEmily Stokes

Everyone is drinking pumpkin spice lattes now! I see pictures of them on instagram, facebook, Google+, and Pinterest…absolutely everywhere.

It’s been hard not to stop at every Starbucks I drive past (there’s one about every block), and march in and buy one.

I do love Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks, especially with half the syrup and soy milk. They are perfect that way. Even if you can drink dairy milk, I encourage you to order a tall pumpkin spice latte with soy and half the syrup next time you go to Starbucks. It’s not overly sweet that way and the soy gives it a malty taste. Delicious.

The problem with Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Lattes is that the pumpkin spice syrup contains dairy. If I order half the syrup with soy and no whip, the small amount of dairy in the pump of syrup doesn’t bother me much. But if you want to avoid dairy completely then this is not the drink for you.

Isn’t that sad, especially when the whole world is broadcasting their Pumpkin Spice Lattes all over social media?

To satisfy my Pumpkin Spice Latte craving (and to save $5) I made my own pumpkin spice café au lait at home.

One of my favorite toys is my handy dandy Keurig coffee brewer. I’ve bought dairy free pumpkin spice kcups in the past, but I haven’t seen them this year yet. So I just decided to brew a perfect steaming cup of medium roast coffee and then add my own pumpkin spice soy milk concoction.

I used Silk Very Vanilla Soymilk because it’s so thick, sweet, and creamy, though you can use any vanilla soy milk brand. I know some people don’t like to use Silk Soymilk because it contains carrageenan. I use it because I think it has the best taste.

Any coffee you brew will do (see what I did there?), but since Starbucks uses espresso, why not get a 1lb bag of Starbucks Espresso beans, grind some, and brew the fresh grounds in your regular coffee maker? Even better if you have an espresso machine. It will give you the more authentic taste of a Starbucks Pumpkin Spice Latte.

Want to know something even more exciting? Whole Foods sells a wonderful product called Rice Whip by the company Soyatoo. It’s vegan and soy free.

The ingredients are organic rice milk, organic rice syrup, rice starch, rice flour, coconut oil, thickeners, and sea salt. Together these ingredients make an awesome whipped cream. It’s even in a propellant canister so you get that beautiful coffee shop whipped cream look and texture. It’s delicious and I highly recommend trying it. The only problem is how fast it goes when you are using it on all of your desserts and beverages.

Crispy Tomato and Goat Cheese Bruschetta

31 Aug 2013Snacks & DipsAppetizers, Goat Cheese, TomatoesEmily Stokes

I don’t mean to brag, but this bruschetta has been declared the greatest of all time by a very reputable source, who is also my personal taste tester (my husband).

I’ve made it a few different ways with various toppings. I usually prefer regular French or Sourdough bread for the best tasting bruschetta, but this recipe goes well with whole wheat French bread. Pour on the olive oil and you can’t go wrong.

I also use the freshest ingredients, like torn basil straight from the garden. Farmer’s market heirloom tomatoes are colorful favorites to use, unless I have homegrown tomatoes available, which are the best of the best.

The bruschetta pictured would not have been possible without Laura’s tomatoes from The Urban Homestead. I didn’t grow tomatoes this year so I’ve been enjoying hers! She is such a wonderful friend to have traded veggies with me, even though I only had one cucumber to give out at the time.

If you are looking for a great place to get fresh goat cheese, Harley Farms in Pescadero has some amazing cheeses. I love goat cheese, especially since it has much less lactose than cows milk cheese.

If you ever get out to the West Coast or are a Californian looking for a fun day trip, go to Pescadero. It’s a tiny town right on the coast, about 20 miles south of Half Moon Bay–pumpkin growing country! There’s an awesome restaurant called Duarte’s, where they make the most delicious olallieberry pie. You won’t miss it, as there are only two restaurants in the whole town, which is on one street. There’s also a general store, a post office, a fire station, and a single stop light.

Behind all of this is Harley Farms, where you can spend a good hour watching the baby goats play and tasting the amazing selection of goat cheese and olive oils. They also make ceramics and goat milk lotions, and sell fresh eggs. I’ve posted some pictures of Harley Farms below to accompany the coastal farm fresh experience of my goat cheese bruschetta.