Orange Zested Chocolate Chip Scones

Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's of every variety out there. 

In addition to copious amounts of cooking, I also am a con-ner. No, I do not commit scams and rob people of their hard earned money, I go to conventions. Nerdy nerdy conventions full of things like cosplays, bronies, trekkie, and jedis. There awesome. I apologize for nothing. I went to one in early April. I crashed at my cousin's house afterwards. As a thank you for letting me couch surf, I baked them breakfast scones! My niece found them salty. But I liked them.  They tasted like a Terry's chocolate orange. 

Note 1: I had no chocolate chips, so I used semi-sweet chocolate bar that I chopped up.  

Orange Zested Chocolate Chip Scones - Chloe's Vegan Italian Kitchen pg. 190. 

Ingredients

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour, plus extra for work surface
• 1/3 cup of sugar, plus extra for sprinkling
• 1 tbsp of baking powder
• 1/2 tsp of salt
• 1/2 tsp of ground cinnamon 
• 1/4 cup of vegan margarine or refined coconut oil
• 1/2 cup of non diary milk (almond, soy, or rice milk) plus extra for brushing
• 1tbsp of freshly squeezed orange juice
• zest of one medium orange
• 2/3 cup of semi-sweet chocolate chips, dairy free

Directions

Note 2: I am writing about the method using the food processor, cause that's what I used. There is also a method using your hands

Note 3: Don't forget parchment paper! I just oil the pan and my scones burned a little. 

1) preheat over to 375 degrees F. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper

2) In a food processor, process the flour, sugar, baking powder, salt and cinnamon until combined

3) Add the margarine, and pulse until crumbly. Add the non-dairy milk, orange zest, orange juice,  and pulse until the dough just comes together. Don't overmix

4) Transfer dough to a bowl and fold in chocolate chips. 

5) Transfer dough to a lightly floured surface and liberally flour the top of the dough. Pat the dough into a circle about one inch thick. 

6) Using a sharp knife, cut the dough like a pizza into 8 triangular slices. Transfer each slice to the prepared baking sheet. Leave two inches in between each slice. Brush the tops with non-dairy milk and sprinkle with sugar.

7) Bake for 15 minutes. Until golden on top. Let cool and serve.

semi-sweet chocolate bar, all chopped up. 

Other ingredients. 

folding the chocolate into the dough

floured surface

GIANT COOKIE SCONE. NOM.

On the oiled pan. Use the parchment paper. 

SCONES 

Nourished on the Go.

Remember my post about convenience food? In that post I discussed Rawlicious and how it offered healthy clean eating when I didn't feel like cooking.

Well. There was a fire.

Don't worry!!! The Rawlicious is intact! However, the building directly beside it is not. It was gutted. The Rawlicious and adjacent buildings actually share walls, everything is connected. Also, they are all historical buildings. So until things are repaired/torn down, I have no take out.

Enter Groupon!

A friend posted a Groupon on her Facebook Page for Nourished on the Go . It advertises as "healthy vegan fast food restaurant". I was intrigued. I looked at the menu online and saw many things I wished to try. So I bought the Groupon and checked it out.

It's not a place where you're likely to sit down for a meal, it's simply not big enough. But because it wasn't too busy when I went, I got to chat with the chef while she was working. In particular, I was curious about the artwork on the walls, all of which is for sale. Very reasonable prices too! Yes, she knew the artists. Yes, they were all local artists. One of them very fond of painting carrots. She showed me some more carrot paintings. I want one for my walls. Also featured was peppers, and a giant beet. The painting was called "Queen Beet".

I also learned there was a vegetarian association in my area! I had thought the only chapter was in Toronto. Exciting day!

I got the Thai coconut green curry soup, a Cesar salad, and the strawberry cheesecake. Everything. Was. Delicious. I liked the salad best. The dressing was creamy and garlicky and zippy, just as a Cesar dressing should be. She added fake bacon strips to the top. They were nice and smokey. The cheesecake was cashew-based and the strawberry topping was very refreshing.

My only complaint about the soup was that it was thin. That's not to say that it wasn't filling. It had loads of broccoli, leeks onions, carrots, and some chilies for a kick. I mean the broth was thin. I prefer soups to be a little thicker. Maybe next time I will get a stew. Nevertheless, I was very pleased with my meal.

Nourished on the go insures that ALL of it's take away containers are compostable or recyclable. Even their cutlery can be placed in the compost. This is HUGE for me. To see a restaurant take it's responsibility to the environment so seriously, makes me very happy.

With my Groupon, I paid $12 for my dinner. the normal price would have been closer to $21. For a soup salad and dessert? I consider that a fair price. Certainly it's on par with Rawlicious.

I will be back!

Thai Coconut Green Curry Soup

Cesar Salad

Strawberry Cheesecake

Crowd pleasing Tex Mex Casserole

This recipe is got gooey, and most importantly, taste like Mexican food. Which if you didn't know, is the most superior of all foods. As you can see, there's a LOT of ingredients, but the actual cooking is very straightforward. So once your done with the chopping, it doesn't take too long. Which is par for the course with casseroles. It has a nice kick to it and good flavour. 

Also, the recipe makes a ton of food, enough for lunches for a week. However, I did need to pair it with a salad to feel full until dinner. 

Note 1: Again, I didn't preheat my oven until the casserole was ready to go. 

Note: I used salsa and avocado as my toppings. Along with some more vegan cheese. 

Crowd Pleasing Tex-Mex Casserole - Oh She Glows pg 149-150

Ingredients:

• 1 tbsp of chili powder
• 1.5 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp of paprika
• 1/4 tsp of cayenne pepper (plus more as needed)
• 1 1/4 fine grain sea salt
• 1/4 tsp ground coriander (optional)
• 1.5 tsp of extra virgin olive oil
• 1 red onion diced
• 3 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 orange bell pepper, diced
• 1 red bell pepper, diced 
• 1 jalapeno, seeded if desired, and diced 
• fine grain sea salt and ground black pepper
• 1/2 cup fresh or frozen corn
• 1 (14 oz) can of diced tomatoes and juices
• 1 cup of tomato sauce or tomato puree
• 2-3 cups of chopped kale leaves or baby spinach
• 1 (15 oz) can of black beans, drained and rinsed
• 3 cups of cooked wild rice or brown rice
• 1/2 of vegan shredded cheese
• 1-2 handfuls of corn chips, crushed. 
• Optional toppings: salsa, avocado, cashew cream 

Directions

1) In a small bowl, mix the chili powder, cumin, paprika, cayenne, salt and coriander if using. Set aside

2) Oil a large casserole dish (4-5 qt/4-5 L) and preheat over to 375 degrees F, 190 degree C. 

3) In a large wok, heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, garlic, bell peppers, and jalapeno and saute for 7-8 minutes until softened. Season with salt and black pepper.

4) Stir in the Tex-mex spice blend, corm, diced tomatoes and juice, tomato sauce, kale, beans, rice and a 1/4 cup of the vegan shredded cheese. Saute for a few more minutes and season to taste. 

5) Pour mixture into the prepared casserole dish and smooth out the top. Sprinkle the crushed chips over the casserole mixture along with the remaining 1/4 cup of cheese. Cover with a lid or foil and bake for 15 minutes. 

6) Uncover the casserole and cook for 5-10 minutes more, until bubbly and lightly golden around the edges.

7) scoop into bowls and serve with desired toppings

ingredients for spice blend

spice blend

other ingredients 

Woking it up. 

Giant bowl of food. Giant bowl.

before baking. 

After baking (it doesn't look much different I know. But it was all hot and bubbly.