Chocolate covered rice crispy treats

I was inspired to remake this childhood favorite after eating the DELICIOUS chocolate rice crispy treats from the Brown Rice Bakery in Sacramento (every other Saturday from 11a-2p in Davis at the informal market on 3rd between University Ave and B St).

I found a great recipe for vegan rice crispy treats online at It doesn't taste like chicken. A double batch is probably more handy than a single batch, which doesn't make a full rectangular pan's worth.

My favorite version involves melting a chocolate bar and pouring it over the top :-) Choose from a variety of chocolate bar flavors to make it interesting - salted caramel, almonds, raspberries, you name it!

Bagels

Clockwise from bottom left: everything bagel,
black and white sesame seed, plain,
cinnamon raisin, pepperoncini, cranberry, banana walnut

this recipe was taught to Corina by Kelsey

Follow the recipe at the link above (the actual recipe is almost at the bottom of the page at the link, so here it is for ease of baking):

• 2t / 6g active dry yeast
• 4.5t / 19g sugar
• 1.25C / 300ml warm water
• 3.5C / 440g bread flour (or high gluten flour)
• 1.5t / 6g salt

My favorites bagel types are black and white sesame, plain, cinnamon raisin, and cinnamon with sugar on top

Tips

• Only put a TINY bit of oil in the bowl to keep the dough from sticking. If you put too much, it makes it impossible to turn them into bagels. In this case, add water and mix it into the dough until it is sticky
• How do you know when the dough has sat for long enough? Poke your finger in the ball and if it doesn't bounce back, then it is ready
• Instead of putting the toppings on top (where they easily fall off), fold the toppings into the dough at the point when you make the 8 balls.
• If you prefer the toppings on top, instead of an egg wash, use vegan butter to get the toppings to stick better to the bagel
• Cut the bagels after they come out of the oven - makes it easy to toast them while frozen
• Freeze any bagels you don't plan on eating that day. When you are ready to eat them, take them from the freezer and put them in a toaster or toaster oven or in the oven (use Bake until they are mostly done, then use Broil for the last 1-2 min - no longer because they will burn on top!). Don't let them defrost before toasting.

  

  Plain

  

  Black cumin (lower left), cinnamon sugar (top left),
  everything (top right), sesame (lower right)

Naan

modified by Dieter from Rasa Malaysia

Plain naan with the batter going
into the hot pan

Follow the recipe at the link above, but use vegan plain yogurt rather than dairy yogurt. We like to add schwarzkümmel (thanks Freddy!)

Instructions on how to fry:

• Pour 1T sunflower oil into a frying pan and get the pan really hot
• The dough is more runny than normal bread dough. Use a spatula to break off a handful sized piece of dough and put it into the frying pan
• After 3 seconds, quickly flip the dough over. Then use the spatula to press it down and make it flat. Add whatever spices (e.g., schwarzkümmel) to the top
• Let it fry on that side for a few minutes until that side is crispy and the dough has formed bubbles on the side you can see
• Flip if over and fry until the other side is crispy

Naan with schwarzkümmel

 

Lemon Carlota

modified to be vegan by Dieter based on the recipe at The Cookware Geek

• REPLACE the 1C milk, 1 can evaporated milk, 1 can sweetened condensed milk, and 1 can heavy cream WITH 1 package of vegan cream cheese, 1T agar agar, 200ml soy cream, and powdered sugar. 
• Bring the above liquid ingredients to a boil to activate the agar agar thickener. Stir in 3/4C powdered sugar and the lemons (or limes - we used 3).
• Follow the rest of the directions at the recipe.

Polvorones

modified by Dieter based on recipes (1, 2, 3)

                             

This makes about 24 cookies / Teig genug für ca 24 Kekse:

1 cup (150ml) sunflower margarine / 1 Tasse (150ml) Sonnenblumenmargarine

1/2 cup (100gr) granulated sugar / 1/2 Tasse (100gr) Zucker

1/2 cup (60gr) powdered sugar / 1/2 Tasse (60gr) Puderzucker

2 cups (250gr) Mehl / 2 Tassen (250gr) Mehl

pinch of salt / Prise Salz

Beat the margarine with a mixer to make it creamy. Add the sugar and powdered sugar and beat for 2 mins until well mixed. Continue beating and add the flour until no flour is visible anymore. There will be crumbles, so briefly combine it all with your hand. Take a spoonful, shape into a cookie, and place on an slightly greased oven tin. The cookies will melt slightly during baking, so don't place them right on the edge. Sprinkle with toppings if you like. Bake at 180C/375F for 15-20mins (golden brown).

Schlag die Margarine mit einem Mixer bis sie cremig ist. Füge den Zucker und Puderzucker hinzu und vermische alles gut mit dem Mixer für 2 Minuten. Füge das Mehl hinzu und schlage es mit dem Mixer unter. Es werden sich Krümel formen, also forme alles kurz mit der Hand zusammen. Nimm einen Löffelvoll, forme es in einen Keks, und setze es auf ein leicht geöltes Ofenblech. Die Kekse schmelzen etwas auf dem Blech, also nicht direkt an den Rand setzen. Wenn gewollt, streue Garnierungen drauf. Backe bei 180C/375F für 15 Minuten (bis sie golden sind). 

Recipes the grackles are named after

Thanks to Zara for the great idea to make a bunch of the dessert recipes on our staycation! It then turned into a post for all of the recipes the grackles are named after. It will take a long time to make all of them, so this is a work in progress.

DRINKS (Santa Barbara, CA grackles) - no blog entries yet :)

DESSERTS (Sacramento, CA grackles)

• Xangos - a Mexican dessert consisting of deep fried tortillas filled with cream cheese (and other things) and topped with ice cream, cocoa sugar, strawberries, and more. They also seem to be called Chimichangas, but the dessert version. Maybe Xango is short for Chimichangas? 2 varieties: plain cheesecake filling or strawberry cheesecake filling
• Churros - deep fried dough sticks dipped in cinnamon and sugar
• Polvorones - similar to butter cookies / shortbread and with toppings (sweet and salty toppings are a nice complement)
• Carlota (lemon) - lemon cream poured around biscuits and refrigerated to harden

APPETIZERS & MAINS (Tempe, AZ grackles)

• Tortilla (chips) - make your own from scratch!
• Nachos - tortilla chips topped with beans, olives, pepperoncinis, and cheese
• Tostadas - a modified version based on nachos with pico de gallo and guacamole and lettuce piled on top
• Pico (de gallo) - a topping made of tomatoes, onions, coriander, lime, and salt
• Guacamole - a topping made of avocados, lime, and salt
• Fajita (salad) - it's all about the seasoning!
• Quesadillas - beans and cheese in a tortilla and baked until gooey :-)

Cauliflower Taco Filling / Phad Thai hack

 By Dieter

1 cup of cauliflower (small head) / 1 Tasse Blumenkohl (kleiner Kopf)
1/2 cup of soy crumbs / 1/2 Tasse Soja-Hack
2 table spoons water / 2 Esslöffel Wasser
3 table spoons sunflower oil / 3 Esslöffel Sonnenblumenöl
3 table spoons ketchup / 3 Esslöffel Ketchup
2 table spoons smoked paprika powder / 2 Esslöffel geräuchertes Paprikapulver
2 table spoons smoked salt / 2 Esslöffel Salz
1 table spoons smoked chili powder / 1 Esslöffel geräuchertes Chilipulver
1 tea spoon cumin / 1 Teelöffel Kreuzkümmel

Blend the cauliflower into small shreds. Heat up a large pan on the oven at high heat. Add the soy crumbs, pour over boiling water, and stir. Briefly wait until the water is absorbed, and add the cauliflower to the pan. Stir in the sunflower oil. Fry the mixture, occasionally stirring it, until it starts to brown. Turn off the heat, add the ketchup and spices, and stir well. Fill into taco shells with tomatoes and lettuce.

Pürier den Blumenkohl im Mixer. Erhitze ein grosse Pfanne auf hoher Hitze. Füge das Sojahack hinzu, giess das kochende Wasser drüber, und vermixe alles bis das Wasser aufgesaugt ist. Füge den Blumenkohl hinzu, giess das Sonnenblumenöl darüber, und vermische alles gut. Fritier es, mit mehrmaligen Umrühren, bis es anfängt braun zu werden. Stelle den Ofen ab und füge den Ketchup und die Gewürze hinzu. Vermisch alles gut miteinander. Füll es in die Taco-Schale mit Tomaten und Salat.