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Giveaway: Silicone Bakeware and Products from Wilton

Cooking Tool of the Month – Silicone Bakeware

Howdy folks! I hope you liked the savory dish I posted on Monday using the Cooking Tool of the Month! Would love for you to share your comments on the recipe and what you think of silicone bakeware so far (excuse my father's embarrassing outdated kitchen lol!). Today we are blessed with a fun giveaway of Wilton products. I mentioned in Monday's post Wilton is one of the most well known and sought after products made from silicone. Their website is a baker's dream! 

We've been talking about how awesome silicone bakeware is all month on the blog. Many people have left comments saying they love this cookware too. I've posted muffins, brownies, and tofu frittatas, but I've also used the square pan to make baked beans, the larger casserole dish to make roasted root vegetables and the loaf pan to make a sweet loaf bread. There's so many shapes and sizes available for silicone cookware, you just can't go wrong!

Since I'm not a serious cake decorator, when I went to the Wilton website I was drawn to things I knew I would use time and time again. You can never have enough spatulas, the silicone baking mat saves money and the environment not having to use parchment paper ever again, and the muffin pans have so many uses, both sweet and savory. 

Enter to win these great products from Wilton! Continental US Residents Only for this giveaway (unless you want to pay for shipping). I'll pick a winner on Tuesday February 28th at 8am CST. If you win be sure to contact me back within 24 hours to get your prize because I'm leaving town for 5 weeks! 

To Enter number 1 is required and the rest are bonus entries:
1. Leave a comment telling us why you would love to have this silicone bakeware gift set.
2. Like Wilton on Facebook and Like The Blissful Chef on Facebook
3. Subscribe to my blog in your reader or by email (by clicking the blue heart in the left sidebar). 
4. Follow me and tweet about this giveaway on Twitter
5. Pin the photo above on Pinterest and follow my pins

Feel free to leave one comment with a note of which things you've done or leave individually comments. Good luck and be sure to share with your friends!

Meatless Monday: Mini Tofu Frittata Bites

Cooking Tool of the Month – Silicone Bakeware

Hello blissies! Did you have a wonderful weekend? Mine was very busy with cooking parties and cooking classes. We had so much fun at the Thai Street Food class and I learned there are other people in Texas that can't handle red chilies! You gotta watch out for those sneaky buggers. Somehow I managed one evening to squeeze in this video showing you one of my favorite ways to use the silicone bakeware that doesn't involve sweet muffins; mini tofu frittata (quiche) bites. A frittata has no crust and a quiche does, but you can put dough in the bottom of the muffin pan to make it a quiche, so call them what you will. 

Wilton has been around since 1929! They have so many wonderful variations of silicone bakeware and their website is full of information from recipes, cake decorating, other meal and dessert ideas, and a discussion forum so you can share your trials and tribulations with others. It's pretty cool. And Wilton is super awesome because they are letting me host a giveaway this month for some of their awesome products! Keep an eye out for that later this week. 

This is a variation on the Fresh Corn and Zucchini Frittata in Blissful Bites (pg. 184). You can take this base recipe and use whatever vegetables and spices you want with it. I like to make the corn version in the late summer when fresh organic corn is at its peak. Today I used what I had on hand to sneak those veggies in. Use whatever is in season. Mmmm some chopped up Brussels sprouts would be good! 

I did a half batch for the video above. 

Mini Tofu Frittata (Quiche) Bites
Makes 12 muffin bites

1 package (14 ounces) extra firm tofu
3 tablespoons yellow cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/3 cup nutritional yeast
1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari
1 teaspoon maple syrup
2 tablespoons sherry, red wine, or champagne vinegar
Pinch sea salt and black pepper
1/2 cup veggie broth
1 medium carrot, small dice
1 cup celery, small dice
1 teaspoon thyme
1 teaspoon garlic powder
3 tablespoons fresh basil, minced

Preparation
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Combine the first eight ingredients in a food processor. Blend until smooth and no tofu chunks are visible. Be sure to scrape the edges of the bowl a few times to incorporate all the ingredients. Meanwhile, heat up the stock in a skillet and saute veggies with spices for a few minutes. Toss in fresh basil. 

Place tofu mixture in a bowl with veggies. Fold in the vegetables until well incorporated. Fill a lightly oiled muffin pan or use the silicone muffin pan (no oil needed) with mixture, filling about 3/4 of the way full. Press mixture evenly into each slot and smooth over. Bake for 45 minutes. Remove from oven, let cool slightly, then remove from muffin pan. Serve hot. 

Have you ever used Wilton's products? What is your favorite things to put inside your quiche? 

Guest Post: Chef AJ’s Outrageous Brownies

Cooking Tool of the Month – Silicone Bakeware

Today's guest post comes the chef who first suggested silicone bakeware to me, Chef AJ! It seemed only fitting that she shared her love with you all and a delicious recipe from her book Unprocessed. Enjoy!

I am in love with silicone baking pans. As a former restaurant pastry chef who uses no oils, they truly are a dream come true. NOTHING STICKS TO THEM!!!  Processed oils are not heart healthy. They also add unnecessary fat and calories to the diet while supplying no fiber or nutrients. By using silicone pans to bake in you save money, calories and time not having to grease your pans.

Silicone pans are also very versatile. They come in just about every conceivable shape and size. You can get silicone bundt pans, springform cheesecake pans, and loaf pans. For Valentine's Day I use my heart shaped silicone pan, for St. Patrick's Day my shamrock shaped silicone pan and for Christmas my gingerbread man shaped silicone pan (to name just a few).

Compared to other cookware, silicone pans are extremely inexpensive and very durable  I have had mine for over 5 years and they still look brand new. Plus, they are a breeze to clean. You can find silicone pans on line, at Target, at Michael's and at Bed, Bath & Beyond (where you get to use your 20% off coupons)!

You can use silicone pans in any recipe where you would use a metal pan. No need to adjust anything in this recipe. Why not try this Black bean brownie recipe? You can make it in the same amount of time you would make a boxed brownie mix.

Outrageous Brownies

No one will ever know that there are almost a pound of nutritious beans in this decadent dessert!

15 ounce can salt free Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1.25 cups date syrup*
2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
1 tablespoon alcohol-free vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon caramel extract (optional)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup raw cacao
3/4 cup barley flour
1 cup non-dairy grain sweetened chocolate chips (Sunspire brand)
1/2 cup finely chopped unsalted nuts (I like to use pecans or pistachios)

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Place beans and date syrup in a food processor fitted with the “S” blade and process until smooth. Add the flax seeds, extracts, baking powder and soda and cacao and process again. Add flour and process very briefly, just until combined. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour batter into an 8 x 8 square silicone baking pan. Sprinkle with nuts.  Bake for 30-35 minutes until middle does not jiggle and toothpick inserted comes out clean.

* if you can't find date syrup you can use maple syrup. I buy mine at www.OrganicsAreForEveryone.com.

Chef AJ has followed a plant based diet for over 35 years. The author of UNPROCESSED, she was the Executive Vegan Pastry Chef at Sante Restuarant in Los Angeles.  She lectures and teaches cross the United States about the benefits of a Whole Food Plant Based diet free of Sugar, Oil and Salt. She is proud to say that her IQ is higher than her cholesterol.

Meatless Monday: Chai Quinoa Breakfast Porridge

I always try to batch cook grains so I have some sitting in the fridge for times when I wake up and want to make a breakfast porridge. Quinoa is awesome for that and has a ton of protein. I do this with brown rice too (and sometimes I mix grains)! Now that it's cold here in Texas (and it snowed yesterday, without sticking) porridge is one of my favorite breakfasts. Using quinoa, millet, or brown rice has more nutrients and good stuff than oatmeal out of a package. 

The chai tea is totally optional, and is pretty subtle depending on what brand of chai you use. If you want it to be a more pronounced flavor than use 2 tea bags. These are the standard ingredients for any porridge/oatmeal I make; non-dairy milk, raisins, cinnamon, nutmeg, dash of maple syrup if needed and toasted nuts on top. Sometimes I get crazy and put a teaspoon of coconut oil inside. I'm sure that YOU have more creative things to put in a breakfast porridge so share those with us in the comments. 

Chai Quinoa Breakfast Porridge
Makes 2 servings (or 1 large one)

1/2 cup water
1 chai tea bag
1/2-1 cup unsweetened almond milk
1 1/2 cup leftover cooked quinoa
2 tablespoons raisins (or other dried fruit)
1 tablespoon maple syrup (optional)
Dash cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Toasted nuts, for garnish

Preparation

Simmer water and tea bag in a small saucepan for a few minutes. Remove tea bag and add the rest of the ingredients to the pot except nuts. Bring to a boil, then simmer on lower stirring occasionally. Cook until the porridge is at the consistency you prefer. If you want to cook it longer and make it softer add more almond milk and continue to cook.

Garnish with nuts and cinnamon if you wish.

P.S. Cookbook Mania totally fell by the waist-side last week. I didn't cook out of one cookbook. The reason for this was I was excitedly working on my own recipes for my next book. Yippee! I made some amazing stuff and I can't wait to share it with you. I am finally working on my next book proposal and the concept it coming together nicely. I'm SO excited! It focuses on how you can prepare easy, healthful meals without a lot of effort. It's all about the food baby (no new agey stuff if you aren't into that lol). 

What kinds of things do you like to have for breakfast in the winter? Did you make anything exciting last week? Am I the only one that doesn't care about Valentine's Day?

FAQ With a Vegan Chef

I get questions all the time pertaining to cooking and such, so I decided to answer a few of the most common questions I receive for you today. Feel free to ask more questions in the comments and I will get to them in a future post!

What are the most important tools to have in the kitchen? A good knife and a few favorite gadgets

Your most important tool hands-down is a good chef's knife. Go ahead and spend the money on something awesome. It will last you a lifetime if you take care of it. Of all the knives I've tried, I'm partial to Japanese brands. They are sleek, light (which is great for women & small handed peeps) and comfortable. I own this Global 7 inch Santoku, this NHS knife (which needs more care than the others), and this MAC knife (I prefer the feel and shape of the last two most). You could go to a fancy cookware or knife store and give a couple of brands a whirl. Play around, pretend to chop, get a good feel for it before you buy. And don't bother with a whole set; you just need one awesome chef knife, a paring knife and a serrated knife. Those last two can be any brand and purchased at Ross or some other discount store. Save your cash for the chef knife.

Also have a nice large wooden/bamboo cutting board and a few other favorite gadgets. Stainless steel pots of various sizes are needed along with a skillet. You can make delicious food without gadgets but they sure make cooking more fun and enjoyable. I couldn't live without my pressure cooker, food processor, blender, microplane zester, multiple high heat spatulas, dry and wet measuring cups/spoons, mesh strainers of various sizes, bakeware and variety of glass and stainless steel bowls. 

Can I substitute this flour or another type of sugar or xyz? Baking is not that much of a science 

I'm pretty sure some real bakers will disagree with me, but I have rarely messed something up when it comes to baking. I think this applies to regular vegan baking only (not animal-based baking, oil-free or gluten-free). I'm constantly changing the type of flours and sweeteners in a recipe, or reducing the oil. Many times I will look at 10 recipes to get a feeling for the overall measurements in a certain baked good and then go in the kitchen and wing it. As long as I know what the texture is suppose to be like (i.e. cookies are more solid dough, cupcakes more runny, brownies and muffins in-between, etc) and the overall general ingredients needed to make it (a. flour, b. sugar c. dash salt, baking powder and/or soda d. liquid, etc.) then I can easily adjust the dry and wet ingredients to accomplish that texture. 

I've only made something once that was inedible. Basically what I'm saying is don't be afraid to experiment. If you are worried about budget than half the recipe…and go wild

What is your best advice for those wanting to cook more meals at home? Keep things simple for greatest success

Like I say in my book, every meal does not need to be a gourmet cook-a-thon. If you keep your meal simple it will take no time at all to make and your meal will be healthier in the long run. I see each meal as having a grain, a protein, and a vegetable and greens. Sometimes this is like the plate to the right with each of those elements, sometimes it's a big stew or one pot meal that has beans, greens, and brown rice in it. Sometimes I eat a huge salad filled with lots of veggies topped with chickpeas and quinoa. Maybe it's a big burrito with all those elements wrapped up nicely in an easy to eat meal. 

Batch cooking on your days off saves you a lot of time as well. When you meal plan keeping the 3 elements in mind (grain, protein, veg/greens), then you can easily plan a meal that will be on the table in 30 minutes or less. So choose one "fancy" dish out of cookbook to try one night and keep the other elements on the plate simple. You don't have to cook out of three different cookbooks each night. Cooking that way takes forever. 

How long with x last in the fridge? Plant-based foods last awhile 

People always ask me how long something will keep in the fridge. A general rule is, if it's plant-based and whole food it will probably last at least five days to a week, maybe more. This raw taco meat lasted 2 weeks in the fridge! Also do the smell test and if something smells sour it's probably best to throw it out.

The best way to keep your produce fresh is to get these green bags. I've been using them for over 8 years and I swear by them. Sometimes I go a little crazy at the store buying produce and don't get around to using it all. Or maybe you get a produce box delivered to your house once a week. Grab these bags and your kale will stay fresh for around 2 weeks. 

I hope this has been helpful to you! If you have any other questions regarding cooking please leave them in the comments and I will answer them in a future FAQ with a video!

Meatless Monday Muffin Mania, Using Silicone Bakeware

Cooking Tool of the Month – Silicone Bakeware

Hope everyone had a wonderful weekend! I've been making muffins like crazy over here using my silicone muffin pans. I created these banana bread muffins with no oil, no refined sugar, with tons of protein and proceeded to eat 4 in one day. They are that good and thankfully when muffins are made with such healthful ingredients, you don't have to feel guilty for eating four!

Kids and adults alike will gobble this up. They aren't super sweet, which I prefer in a morning muffin, so if you like a sweet muffin then add more sweetener. As usual feel free to substitute another granulated sweetener (which will make the muffin sweeter overall) and use whatever whole grain flour you have available (may need to adjust liquid measurements).

My friend Nicole at A Dash of Compassion wrote up a great post about healthy vegan baking and what those ingredients look like. Her style of baking is very similar to mine, using whole foods and good quality ingredients. Visit her post to see what kinds of ingredients you will see on this and her blog. 

Wholesome Banana Bread Muffins
Makes 6 muffins

3/4 cup barley flour
1/2 cup garbanzo bean flour
1/2 cup coconut palm sugar
1 tablespoon flax meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
Dash nutmeg
Dash sea salt
1 large ripe banana, mashed
2 tablespoons unsweetened applesauce
1/4 cup unsweetened non-dairy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla flavor (or alcohol-free vanilla extract)
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
2 tablespoons coconut palm sugar

Preparation
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Spray muffin tin lightly with cooking spray or use silicone muffin pan. Whisk together the first eight dry ingredients in a medium bowl. In a smaller bowl mash up banana with a fork then whisk together with applesauce, milk, vinegar, and extract until bubbling. Mix wet into dry until well combined. Spoon batter into muffin pan until almost full. Mix together walnuts and sugar then sprinkle each muffin with a little of topping. Bake for 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out dry when inserted into the muffin.

What kind of muffins are your favorite? Do you like your muffin really sweet? How about savory muffins with veggies and herbs?