Yeah, it's my first time

I've been waiting to post until I had a few of those "lightbulb" food finds -- you know, when something's really yummy and it gets you all fired up to post. Thankfully I finally had a few of those moments this week!



Just this morning, I tried a new waffle recipe. Normally I never make a basic waffle recipe -- just because I never had one -- but I remember a really old post here and got to work on making some nice basic vegan waffles. I topped the waffles with peanut butter, raspberry preserves, and ground flaxseed, and had them with a glass of Silk Unsweetened Soymilk (it's my favorite!). The recipe turned out pretty well. I cut Veggie's recipe in 1/4's to serve one, which was a little too much batter for my waffle iron. It actually started oozing out the sides of the iron. (The oozy stuff tasted yummy, by the way.)

But lately my waffle iron just hasn't been the same. I own a restaurant-style Waring Pro Belgian Waffle Iron, but I was reading reviews about it on Amazon.com and it seems like it typically has a relatively short life. I make waffles a lot and hope to get a lot more waffles out of it, especially since I got it just this Christmas as a gift! Hopefully my baby decides to stop acting up so I don't have to become waffle-deprived. Because then I will cry and cry. Oh, and I decreased the baking powder by one-half in the recipe.

I've also been absolutely, positively obsessed with Tamari-Roasted Chickpeas from Eat, Drink & Be Vegan. They are so amazing! I purposefully didn't buy tofu this week, thereby forcing myself to eat more beans and lentils, and this chickpea recipe has been keeping me really happy.



The other day I had said chickpeas over the Sesame-Lime Soba Noodles (from the same cookbook) with steamed zucchini (which is sooo good steamed, by the way). Yum. I decreased the sweetener in the sauce -- it really doesn't need that much agave to be yummy!

I also made wheatberries for the first time! I soaked them overnight in a 1:3 ratio (wheatberries:water), brought them to a boil this morning, and simmered them uncovered for about 50 minutes. They are so yummy and spring and chewy! I love 'em. I love how they smell, too. I had the last of my tamari-roasted chickpeas over a bed of wheatberries for lunch, surrounded by some steamed swiss chard seasoned with salt and pepper, mixed up with some Annie's Goddess Dressing (another one of my newer obsessions).



By the way, these chickpeas are all fresh! I finally cooked up some dried chickpeas instead of buying canned. The price and taste cannot be beat. Fresh cooked chickpeas are the best, and I stored a few servings in the freezer until I was ready to use them.



I fear my newest obsession is the infamous Microwave Brownies from VegWeb. They got a lot of bad reviews, but a lot of good reviews, too. I spent a lot of time going through what people wrote about them so that I would be prepared and they would come out yummy. I made 1/4 of the recipe tonight and changed it up a little. Here's what I did:

Microwave Brownies



3-1/2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/2 tablespoon raspberry preserves
1 tablespoon canola oil
1 tablespoon unsweetened soymilk (Edit: use 3 tablespoons!)
1/4 teaspoon vanilla
3 tablespoons whole wheat pastry flour
2 tablespoons dutched cocoa powder
3 tablespoons sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt

squirt Ah-laska chocolate syrup (about a teaspoon)

I mixed together the wet ingredients in a bowl (not including chocolate syrup) and sifted in the dry ingredients. After mixing them well, I sprayed a small microwave-safe dish with canola oil spray and I transferred the batter into the greased dish.

I heated the batter in the microwave on high for 4 minutes and 30 seconds and then added the squirt of chocolate syrup to the top of the brownie. Then I heated the brownie for 15 more seconds. My mom and I split this.

It was great, even without chocolate chips; the heated chocolate syrup on top was absolutely perfect in terms of taste and temperature. Next time I will add 1 to 2 tablespoons soymilk to the liquid ingredients and I will try microwaving for only 3 to 3 minutes and 30 seconds initially. The brownie tasted great but it was too dry. It would definitely benefit from a little more gooiness, which can be attained with a more liquid-y batter and less heating. I was pleased that the finished brownie was very easy to remove from the baking dish. (Edit: I made these again and 3 minutes worked well in my super-powerful microwave, so the brownie was just fudgy enough instead of dry! Just experiment, but start with less time because you can't undo it once you've gone too far.)

Yay for silly baking experiments! I want to try again tomorrow, so hopefully I can find someone to split the brownie with me. I can see myself quickly becoming obsessed with this recipe... Even if they aren't the best, most gourmet-fabulous brownies ever, this is probably going to be one of my guilty pleasures and something I'll have fun making for friends in my apartment next year. Yay.



Oh, and these are pretty yummy, too! But they only give you three in a box! What's up with that?! I'm used to even-numbered items in boxes. Three is kinda random. And a final discovery: click here for your ticket to heaven. I won't even describe it, just go to your nearest Whole Foods or wherever and get one. Mmmm. Seriously good.