Saturday, January 5, 2008

Experiments From My Vegan Laboratory

This morning I gathered various chemicals and set out for an experiment. I mixed together mysterious powders and uncapped vials of fragrant fluids, and from these testings, little balls emerged:



I incubated these strange little beings for 11 minutes, and alas, they emerged as something quite different!



I had created Oreo Cookie-Cookies!

I've been enraptured by Celine's recipe for Oreo-Cookie Cookies ever since I saw it, but I was never able to make it because I try to avoid Earth Balance and Ener-G egg replacer. So I took matters into my own hands and used my favorite cookie recipe as a base and followed Celine's instructions to mix in the Oreo cookies. (You can use Trader Joe-Joes or Dairy Free Newman-O's for these cookies, and if you read the labels carefully, many varieties of Oreos are vegan.) I only made enough batter to produce three small cookies, which were thoroughly enjoyed by me and only me. I am so evil. Also, I healthified them by decreasing the oil by a bitty bit and substituting applesauce and by using 3/4 whole wheat pastry flour and 1/4 all-purpose flour.

But wait! The experimentation isn't finished!

I wanted to create my own chicken-free nuggets. I decided to use the Chickpea Cutlet recipe from Veganomicon and molded the batter into little nugget shapes, reminiscent of those lovely little hunks of cruelty we all used to enjoy at the golden arches. My Chickpea Nuggets taste best when they're a few days old and reheated, for some reason, not when they are fresh. The original recipe makes four cutlets, and for me, each cutlet yielded four nuggets; therefore, one recipe makes 16 nuggets.



Yum! They rock with barbecue sauce.

So there you have it, two successful experiments from your friendly vegan scientist. I guess the expensive education and all these chemistry classes are paying off, then, eh?

20 comments:

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Haha I am picturing you in the kitchen with goggles and a lab coat.

Glad the experiments worked out well; what a great idea to make the cutlets into nuggets!

russ said...

quite the cookie monster! Not the prettiest of creations, its got to be said, but I'm sure they tasted damn good!

ooo I tried the quinoa today and it turned out quite nicely!! YUM!
I might have to go out and get myself a copy of veganomicon now so I can give those muffins a whirl

Jenni (aka Vegyogini) said...

Great work, Ruby Red! I love how your plate of nuggets features both brussels sprouts and an apple. Now THAT looks like a happy meal. ;)

Amy said...

Those "nuggets" look great! Wonder if I can pass them off to the kiddies without them complaining?!?!

Jackie said...

A happy New Year to you.

Glad I am not the only one to experiment...probably why I put other people's recipes on my blog as I don't think some of my experiments would go down all that well LOL

The Oreo cookies look great. Wish we could get the Vegan Oreo's here but they only appear to import the other ones.

eatme_delicious said...

Oo excellent experimentation. I saw those cookies on Celine's blog and want to try making them. Good for you for making all those modifications to make the cookies healthier. I try to make a lot of things healthier but have never tried to for cookies. I just accept their bad for you ways! And the chickpea nuggets! Great idea turning the cutlets into nuggets.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

You wouldn't have been far off with your guess, because Molly HAS fallen in the pool before... and she can't swim; her legs are too short for her body-- poor dear :o/

LizNoVeggieGirl said...

I LOVE your kitchen experimentations - you know that I too try to avoid the use of EB when possible; and I have never (and never will) used Ener-G egg replacer (ick), so I'm so happy that your experimentations resulted so well (both with the cookeis AND the cutlets)!! :0)

Sheree' said...

Love your post! Love the nuggets! Why don't you use EB or egg replacer? Is there something I should know about?

Vegan_Noodle said...

I love your little experiments. Takes me back to the days of chemistry class...
Great job on making those cookies a bit healthier! Did you bake your nuggets? They look tasty!!

Anonymous said...

chickpea nuggets! thats genius! im stealing it.... i hope you dont mind! :o)

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

I'm making the oatmeal pudding for breakfast tomorrow too! Yay-- we can be twins :o)

Cherry said...

I like your blog! Those nuggets look great.

Cakespy said...

Glad that you put dessert first. Man, those cookies look good. Real good.

Rage And Love said...

I just found your blog!

I love the Oreo Cookie-Cookie's! Much awsomeness to that!

J said...

Those nuggets look so good!

And I like your experiment with the Oreo cookie, my partner Brett is addicted to Newman O's so I think he would love something like this.

ChocolateCoveredVegan said...

Cranberries sound like a really good idea for the pudding... Iwon't omit the raisins (since I am a raisin fiend), but I bet cranberries AND raisins in there would only add to the deliciousness :o). Thanks for the idea!

Ashasarala said...

I know I said it before, but I love how you make the smallest batches of cookies! It's so cute and very smart. Lord knows if I have 12 cookies in front of me, I'll eat them all!

A lot of food seems to taste better if you let it wait a day or so. I think it's marinading. Or maybe the oxygen has something to do with it. Who knows.

I know Earth Balance isn't the healthiest option, but what is wrong with the egg replacer? If it is totally unhealthy like lard or something, I'll cry because it's the most convenient egg replacer ever. I'll just cry! ;(

Jen said...

"little hunks of cruelty"

touché!

the chickpea version looks much better :-)

Megan said...

o0o0o I'm making those chickpea nuggets, end of story! dont ya just looove chickpeas? :)