The 3 Alarm Vegan Bacon Cheeseburger

Hot.

There is a monster of a heat wave hitting NYC right now* which I have to admit is cramping our style a bit. There are all these great fruits and berries hanging out in our local farmer's markets and grocery stores that I want to bake into pies and various other treats but all my will to turn on that oven has been... well to be honest... punched in the face.

So it would seem ironic that we would post a burger that is "Hot" but these spicy burgers give you room to get creative and take less than 20 minutes to make. They also gave us a chance to combine a bunch of awesome vegan things we've finally been able to locate in our new home :

• Gardein Beefless Burgers - If you haven't had these yet you need to try them! They have to be the best vegan burgers we've had in forever. Sorry Boca - but no one forced you to change your vegan burgers. We still love you Boca and plan on eating you regularly but really I think we are prepared to go on record that The Shannons love Gardein Beefless Burgers more than sunshine (especially right now).
• Lightlife Smart Bacon - It's no secret we love a great fake bacon. We like to mix it up and use smokey tempeh sometimes but sometimes it's nice to have something really crispy and super smokey. That's when you want smart bacon.
• Daiya Pepperjack Cheese - I don't think I need to tell you how awesome Daiya's vegan cheeses are but I feel like I should let you know as a friend that if you haven't tried the pepperjack yet... you're missing out.
• Rick's Pick Hotties (spicy sriracha-habanero pickles) - We found these last weekend at the farmer's market and have fallen in love with them. I mean pickles made with sriracha. Here's some great news for you folks not in NYC - you can order them online!

About now, your elementary schooling has kicked in and you're saying "Um, that's only 2 alarms."

You are correct my learned friend. We decided to use sliced jalapenos for our 3rd alarm but really that is the beauty of this burger... you can add as many alarms as you want and make them whatever you want! Here are just a few suggestions for other alarms you might want to try :

• Pepperoncinis
• Spicy Kim-Chi
• Any of the millions of Hot Sauces out there including the beloved Sriracha
• Chipotle Peppers
• Hot Salsa (obviously)
• Wasabi
• Smart Deli Pepperoni
• Spicy Mustard
• Jerk Sauce made with Red Scotch Bonnet Pepper

If you have any more suggestions - Please share! We'd love to hear about hour favorites.

So ask yourself... Are you ready see how many alarms you can handle?

* Seriously everyday the cats look at me and ask : "Mommy why did you bring us to this bad place? I'm melting." - with their little gestures of course - not vocally. I haven't been driven insane by the heat yet.

The Betty Crocker Project : Adventures with Strawberries & Rhubarb

Strawberry Rhubarb Spice Muffins

Once upon a time there was a girl* who had never eaten rhubarb. Over the years, several opportunities to bake with rhubarb presented themselves, but it never really appealed to her. Then one day she found herself in a position where she had to be open to new ideas... because Betty Crocker said so.

Last weekend, we had a perfect married weekend. When I say perfect, I mean super crazy mega-married weekend**. We got up early on Saturday, filled our travel mugs with coffee, and went to the Brooklyn Botanic Gardens. They're free 10am to noon every Saturday, and it's rose season. You don't have to love flowers to love this place, but if you do, it totally rocks. I strolled around for about an hour with my best friend and talked about the random things friends talk about when there are pretty things to look at. Then we walked over to the Grand Army Farmer's Market to load up on organic and locally grown everything.


The Situation.

Yes, that's where we got that gorgeous bread from yesterday's post. It's also where I found organic locally grown rhubarb and these huge irresistible baskets of organic strawberries from New Jersey. We bought too much because this was my first time baking with it, but I knew there were two recipes in Betty's Big Red that asked for this pretty pink celery looking stuff - so sometimes you just have to be brave and commit.

Now, like always, I did a little research before I committed to a big bag of rhubarb. You may already know these things about rhubarb, but in case you don't, I hope you find this helpful during your own rhubarb purchasing and baking missions:

1. Rhubarb can be very tart, so Betty's recipes call for a lot of sugar to be added to offset that. I've tried to replace and decrease sugar where I can, but it was tough because Betty is pretty much always right. The earlier in the season you get the rhubarb, the sweeter it is and the less sugar you need. Since April appears to be prime Rhubarb Season in NY, we followed Betty directions for "older rhubarb" - hence the sugar.
2. Rhubarb is a good source of Vitamin A. That's good for you.
3. Strawberries can have a very subtle flavor that can be hard to capture in baking sometimes. Rhubarb compliments it so well, it really would be shame to not combine them. It not only makes your baked goods a bit healthier, but it makes the flavor more vivid too.
4. Don't eat the leaves - I guess they're poison. I think this is a pretty important tip, even though most of the time when you go to buy it the leaves are removed. Poison is bad.

First thing we made was Strawberry-Rhubarb-Mint-Tea-Tarts and if you're wondering where the Tea Tart recipe is, well I should be honest and tell you, the crazy person in me wasn't satisfied with them. The crust was just a little too crumbly. We made a tiny tweak to a recipe we already love with our vegan chicken pot pie and used a different vegetable shortening, but apparently it made a big difference. I think this tart would have been perfect with the crust we used for the fresh berry & tea tart and so we're going to try that next. The other thing was that I wasn't sure how rhubarb cooked down. So my first 2 tarts were overflowing like Jane Mansfield in an evening gown***.


I just want to point out that if you ever find yourself getting a look like that from Sophia Loren - You must be doing something right.

It was a sad moment when I realized these little tarts, tasty as they were, weren't ready for the public. But the kitchen can be a funny place. Just when you want to give up and order a pizza, you remember there's a coffee cake recipe you still need to try. These muffins are our take on Betty's Rhubarb Coffeecake and are lovely little buddies to start the day with. They've also convinced me that I can take on rhubarb.

So enough chatter... to the rhubarb!

The Betty Crocker Project : Egg-less Egg Salad

Most of the year I enjoy soup for lunch. I actually look forward to it all morning. A nice bowl of soup with a slice of whatever whole wheat multi-seed bread I've stumbled across that weekend on the side is pretty much the highlight of my day. But it's too hot for soup. So today we're having a vegan classic : The Egg-less Egg Salad Sandwich!

We've had a lot of different Egg-less Egg Sandwiches over the years, some much better than others. It's an easy thing to mess up. But I think this salad has the right amount of kick from the creole seasoning and good flavor from the nutritional yeast and tahini. It makes a nice sandwich when you pair it with some whole wheat bread... they're like BFFS. Like I'm sure if they weren't food, they'd buy each other little broken heart lockets and talk about boys over soy mochas.

Here's a little song from Whole Wheat Bread to this Egg-less Egg Salad to enjoy while you make lunch!




Let's eat!

It's too hot in NYC to bake, so let's talk about what's cool.

Earl Grey Iced Tea with Raspberries, Cherries and Fresh Basil - Sound Weird BUT So Good!

So we bought a bunch of stuff to bake a ton of pies* just in time for a heat wave to hit NYC and drive me out of the kitchen. For someone like me, who spends about 80% of her life trying to be the prefect temperature but feels weird abusing air conditioning this early in the summer, this has been tough for me because I love baking and cooking. I've been conflicted, but ultimately being vegan and making food is about fun for me. Cooking in the heat isn't fun. So this post is all about avoiding suffering this summer. Yes, there will be lots of pictures in this post, and lots of pies coming up soon.

I'm going to start with one of my favorite summer treats: Iced Tea! I know you're like, "iced tea isn't really a treat." But trust me... it can be! By using green tea or Earl Grey, you can add a new twist to this drink that's usually made with old-school black tea. You can toss in some frozen berries or sliced peaches, and experiment with fresh mint and basil leaves to add a sweet and fresh flavor your drink. We even got this cute little tray that makes fish-shaped ice cubes at IKEA for like a dollar to add a little fun. Before the summer is over though, we're investing in some spaceships. I love iced tea and couldn't make it through the day - let alone the summer - without it.

But we know what you really want... FROZEN TREATS!

The Mint Cookie & "Butterfinger" Vegan Shakes at Foodswings in Brooklyn - it's OK to GASP. We did.

The Super Chocolate Vegan Hootenanny Continues! Episode IV : Vegan Mississippi Mud Pie Cake

In my defense, it *is* called a mud pie... what'd you think it was going to look like?

Yesterday was apparently "Jerk Tuesday." I'd forgotten to mark my calendar, so you can imagine my surprise. It's like forgetting it's the Fourth of July and then spending the day surrounded by exploding things and patriotism--only instead of someone offering you a beer or inviting you to a BBQ, they're just a jerk.

Man, it was a long day. It was the kind of day that makes you understand why someone would start a Fight Club. But let's not focus on the those grumpy little black clouds... instead, let's talk chocolate.

To be more specific, let's talk about the ultimate chocolate dessert: vegan Mississippi Mud Pie Cake. Yeah, this little buddy lives up to the name and isn't the prettiest little baked good on the block. But this pie-cake has heart! This super rich and gooey yummy pie-cake is perfect with a scoop of vanilla soy or coconut ice cream and will help you forget - if only for a moment - why you hate your job or whoever it is that was being a rude jerkface monster.

You know what else was really helpful yesterday? This photo. I keep a copy of this photo on my desktop for tough days, and not for the reason you might think.

God Bless you Happy Wolverine & Stan Lee.

Yeah, this guy has been posted all over the internet and people have said some pretty mean things about him... but look at that smile in his face. This might be a photo of the best day of his life! No one can ever take this moment away from him. I want to be more like Happy Wolverine and focus on what makes me happy, and not those who want to steal my joy.

This is not a healthy recipe. This is not something that is designed to help you lose weight. It is just a compassionate version of chocolate awesome.