white chocolate pumpkin brownies

white chocolate pumpkin brownies [df]
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup oil (I used corn)
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup milk (I used coconut)

1 cup canned pumpkin puree
1 Tbs flour
1 Tbs brown sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ginger

1/2 cup white chocolate chips (dairy free options exist)

1. In a bowl, combine the brown sugar, oil, vanilla, eggs and milk.
2. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cocoa powder, baking powder and salt.
3. Combine the wet and dry mixtures until the brownie mixture is moistened.
4. In a separate small bowl, combine the pumpkin puree, flour, brown sugar, and spices. Mix in a couple spoonfuls of the brownie batter.
5. Pour the brownie batter into a greased pan. Pour the pumpkin mixture on top. Pour the white chocolate chips over it all.
6. Take a utensil and swirl all the layers together, until the pumpkin mixture and chocolate chips are incorporated throughout.
7. Bake at 350 for 35-40 minutes.

These brownies are basically the love child of a polyamorous relationship. White chocolate and pumpkin, and more chocolate. So there. I just introduced these brownies to you in the most bizarre way possible. But don't leave yet - I really hope you make these because they are actually worth a try.

I first made these brownies back in March in an effort to use up old pumpkin puree. They didn't turn out as fudgy as I had hoped for. The pumpkin gives the top layer a super soft, creamy texture, and I knew I had to perfect it. They are *almost* dairy free - almost, until you get to the white chocolate chips, which I wasn't aware until recently that there existed dairy-free substitutes for. 

the spatula incident & blueberry coffee cake

Today was the last day of my summer internship, and I decided to bake some homemade goodies as a farewell/thank you treat for the office. I woke up at 6AM to start mixing the ingredients for this blueberry coffee cake, a recipe I'd tried before and liked. As I creamed together the butter and sugar with some aggressive hand-to-spatula action, I suddenly realized that a tiny chunk of the spatula...was missing.

Oh, shoot... Where did it go...?

oops.

I stared down into the butter and sugar mixture, poking around it with waning conviction before realizing how hopeless the situation was. I tried melting the mixture in the microwave, in an attempt to separate solid from liquid. But that failed, too.

I loathe cliches, but this is really like searching for a needle in a haystack.

The butter and sugar mixture was simply too grainy, and most troublesome of all, vaguely white-ish and translucent - just like the spatula. Instead of potentially feeding silicone bits to my unsuspecting coworkers, I chose to dump the butter and sugar mixture and start all over. Sigh.

So, I learned an important lesson today. I should be gentler on my spatula babies. To be fair, this one withstood 3 years of regular use before giving out.  Next time, I will look for a brightly-colored spatula, so if this situation ever strikes again, I can more easily detect the silicone.

Rest in peace, spatula friend. You were my great and loyal kitchen assistant.

...On the bright side, here's a great blueberry coffee cake recipe! I didn't get a chance to take a photo since I was running out the door. And then my coworkers devoured it. As usual, I made some recipe adjustments, which I'll detail below.

blueberry coffee cake
1/4 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup white granulated sugar
1 egg
1/2 cup milk (I used almond)
1 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup blueberries
optional: a touch of lemon juice/zest never hurts

topping
4 Tbs white granulated sugar
3 Tbs all-purpose flour
1 tsp cinnamon
4 Tbs butter, softened

Follow instructions as listed. Bake at 350 F for 50-55 minutes, until topping is golden.

lemons and limes...curd (butter-free!)

There's something I find irresistible about citrus. The sharp scent, zingy taste, the bright colors - I can't get enough of it. To me, citrus is the epitome of summertime and happiness. And that's exactly how I'd describe this bright yellow lemon curd.

I made this early in the year, while I was still back in school and living in the dorms. That week, I found some lemons on sale and thought about using them in an apple pie, but you might have noticed by now that things never seem to go as planned - especially in my kitchen. 

On a late Sunday night, this is what happened instead:
"Jessie, should I make lemon curd?"
"Yes."
"Should I make it right now?"
"Yes."

And that was that.

I was surprised to learn that many lemon curd recipes contain butter, which kind of weirded me out because I certainly don't think of butter when I'm eating lemon curd. But then, there was this this no-butter lemon curd recipe by Mandy on Food.com, which has (much-deserved) great reviews. I also eliminated the recipe's vanilla extract because, just like with butter, I didn't see a need for it in my lemon curd. (I'm nitpicky - sorry, not sorry).

The curd turned out fantastic! It deals a powerful, fresh lemony punch to the taste buds. It's not overwhelmingly sweet like some storebought versions; instead, you get a bit of that lip-pinching tartness that jolts you awake! And if you need any more reason to make this: know that this was very easy to make because it requires little ingredients, utensils and time. Plus, it leaves your utensils and kitchen smelling like citrus :)

Luckily, I had the best lime wedge squeezing machines (a.k.a. Judy and Joy) to assist in this endeavor.

Fast forward a week or so, and Judy and I were hanging at a campus-sponsored event to scrounge around for leftovers. (cue obligatory hashtags: #nomealplanproblems #noshame) One of the event's main courses, pad thai, came with two containers filled with just lime wedges. While others made a beeline for the pad thai, we took the limes because we're cool like that. (Well, we did grab the leftover fried rice, too!) You know how the saying goes: When life hands you lemons and limes... make curd!

butter-free lemon/lime curd (adapted from here)

Zest of 2 lemons/limes (approx. 1-2 tsp)

Juice of 2 lemons/limes (approx. 1/3 to 1/2 cup)

4-5 Tbs white granulated sugar

1 egg

Yields approx. 100-200mL 

1. Zest and juice the lemons/limes. 

2. In a pot over the stove on low heat, stir and dissolve the sugar with the juice.

3. Add the zest, and continue stirring for a minute.

4. In a separate heat-proof container, beat an egg. While continuously whisking the egg, very carefully add in the hot lemon/lime mixture. You want to be careful not to cook the egg. Whisk well.

5. Pour the lemon and egg mixture back into the pot, and place it on low-medium heat. Keep on stirring until the mixture bubbles a bit and noticeably thickens.

6. Turn off the heat. Pour the lemon curd into a heat-proof container, and let it cool. When it reaches room temperature, refrigerate it.

NYC: Best Vegan Ice Cream

For the lactose intolerants, dairy-allergic and vegans baking under this mid-summer heat, vegan ice cream is the answer. There is one vegan ice cream store in my hometown of Boston: FoMu. But there are several vegan ice cream shops throughout NYC - which is why, when I visited New York last week, I was ecstatic and determined to try them all! Limited by time and my wallet, I visited 4 locations with plenty of dairy-free ice creams. Here are my tried-and-tested, honest opinions.

Sweet Jane’s in Astoria, Queens
Closest stop: Astoria Ditmars Blvd
Price: $4.50 with tax/scoop (1 flavor)

Sweet Jane’s is a small ice cream shop in the far off Astoria suburb of Queens, at the end of the N/Q train. For a cute neighborhood ice cream shop that serves up regular and allergan-conscious ice cream, they offer an impressive number of both dairy and dairy-free options. It's also one of the most affordable options in the city.

Peanut butter with toasted coconut

After sampling many vegan options, I've determined that Sweet Jane's ice cream is not as sweetened or creamy as some other vegan options in the city. My favorite flavors are Mai Tai, which tastes like passionfruit, and Peanut Butter, which complements well with crunchy coconut flakes. Unfortunately, their serving size was disappointingly small; as you can see in the photo, my scoop was dwarfed by the cup and spoon. For almost $5 a pop, I was expecting more. I also noticed they didn't offer water on the side, which other ice cream shops did.

Mint almond cookie

DF Mavens in East Village, Manhattan
Closest stop: Astor Place
Price: $4.90 with tax/cup (1 flavor)

DF Mavens, which sells its ice cream by the pint in Whole Foods, recently opened its first store on the grungy-hipster corner of St. Marks Place. You can buy your smoke pipe, get a tattoo, sip on boba and eat vegan ice cream all on one street. DF Mavens is a godsend for us dairy-freeks who miss the feeling of being able to walk into a store and order anything from the menu. They’re entirely dairy free, so you can blindfold yourself, pick out anything from the menu and hey, it won't give you diarrhea!

For nearly $5, the ice cream was delicious and the portions were fairly generous, relative to what other vegan ice cream shops serve.  But: it just wasn't mind-blowing. Admittedly, I'm a mint ice cream snob who judges vegan ice cream shops by their mint ice cream, and I found their Mint Almond Cookie to be on the sweeter side with not enough mint. What will keep me coming back are the good vibes, fair amount of seating and the plethora of options to try.

Alchemy Creamery @ Smorgasburg in Williamsburg, Brooklyn
Closest train: depends on which Smorgasburg you visit
Price: $5/pre-made push pop; $6/cup (1-2 flavors); $7.5/cone

At a somewhat scary $6 per cup, Alchemy Creamery's ice cream might as well come topped with solid gold sprinkles. Speaking of toppings, their ice cream comes with free toppings (For the price, though, why shouldn't they?!). When I visited, they were offering approximately 5-6 flavors of ice creams and sorbets.

Alchemy Creamery's ice cream is the kind of delicious that you never want to end and that you remember forever. What struck me about their ice cream was just how wonderfully creamy it was; I doubt a dairy-lover could tell the difference. I got the Peanut Butter (incredibly rich, peanut butter lover's dream come true) and Chocolate Chai (mostly chai, with a hint of chocolate).

But alas, the price! The price is too steep for my student budget. A treat from Alchemy Creamery will be reserved for those really special days.

Van Leuuwen Artisan Ice Cream in Boerum Hill, Brooklyn

Closest train: Bergen St
Price: $5.25 with tax/regular cup or cone (1-2 flavors)

Dark chocolate and Mint Chip

Van Leuuwen functions as an ice cream shop and truck that sells both dairy and vegan ice cream. They have several locations; I visited the one on Bergen Street, which is conveniently located just steps from the train.

At $5.25 for a cup, this is easily one of the pricier vegan ice cream options. The portions are smaller, but their ice creams pack a flavor punch.

What’s makes them one of my favorites is that all flavors are simplistic, but really well made. I’m not sure how to explain this, but Van Leuuwen manages to capture the essence of the flavors. For instance, their Mint Chip deals a minty kick; their Dark Chocolate is rich with a dark chocolate bitterness; the Pistachio was nutty and the Salted Caramel was actually salty. It just tastes so satisfying.  Flavors tasted like how they should taste, and even better. I sampled all five and loved them all. There's no artificiality or overbearing sweetness here.


Can't wait to try
Blythe Anne's
Oddfellows Ice Cream Co.
The Ice Cream House
Healthy Nibbles
Klein's Ice Cream House
Sustainable NYC

Thanks for reading!

Sincerely,
A Slightly Broke Vegan Ice Cream Connoisseur Wannabe