Creamy Vegan Pasta Salad

Ahh...it's already October!

Time flies! ^^"

I'm sorry that in September, I only posted one recipe.

Today, I'm going to teach you to make a delicious Pasta Salad!!

I forgot when I made this... It's some time in July or August. My boyfriend and I brought my favourite nephew to the zoo!!! So I packed lunches for all 3 of us~! ^^

Those are awesome Kyoho grapes!!!

Ingredients (serves 3~4):

- about 1/3 packet of frozen mixed vegetables (peas, carrots, corn), defroze

- 1 packet of your favourite pasta

- 1 block tofu, cut into 6 pieces + 1 tsp turmeric powder

- 2 teaspoons olive oil

- 1 Japanese cucumber/ zucchini, chopped into bite-sized pieces

- 8 tablespoons soy mayonnaise

- 4 tablespoons raw sugar

- salt and pepper to taste

1. In a large pot of water, bring it to a boil over big flame. When water is boiling, throw in the mixed vegetables. Cook them for about 3 minutes and take them out with a small metal stainless steel strainer. Set aside.

2. In the same pot of water (you may have to add in more water. see pasta package's instructions), add in 4 tbsp of salt. Cook pasta according to package's instructions.

3. Drain pasta and set aside. You may drizzle some extra virgin olive oil over pasta so that they don't stick together while cooling.

4. In a medium-sized glass bowl, toss tofu with turmeric powder. Use a glass bowl because turmeric is quite hard to wash from plastic bowls! 

5. In a small frying pan, heat olive oil over a small-medium flame for about 2 minutes. Throw in tofu mixture, scrambling it for about 1 minute. Turn off flame. 

6. In a big bowl, make dressing by combining mayonnaise and sugar. Toss in pasta. Toss well. 

7. Mix in all the vegetables (including zucchini and tofu) evenly. 

8. Add salt and pepper to taste and mix evenly.

And you're done!!! 

This is really an easy dish to make, and like all pasta dishes, it impresses. The recipe is versatile too. Feel free to throw in any vegetables or meat you like. It's very delicious. I usually serve it cold.

I first learned of Pasta Salad when I went to Australia to stay with my best friend for awhile. She organised a trip to Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary and very nicely said she would make us lunch and we would eat it over there!

Till this day, her pasta salad still remains the best pasta salad I've ever eaten. My version will always be in 2nd place. Haha! Sometimes it's the fond times that make some food seem so spectacular in memory. Unbeatable. When I made this for our zoo outing, I wanted my nephew and boyfriend to have fond memories of our trip together too!

In the end, it's my boyfriend's sweet surprise that I cannot forget. He produced a Kinder Surprise chocolate egg for my nephew and I. Ok, my weak spot is guys being nice to kids, so yea, I cannot forget that. Haha!

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Classic Peanut Butter Cookies

Sorry for the long hiatus over here in my blog! I was feeling rather down and uninspired to write since my last post here. I updated everyday on my facebook page though, and I'm really happy to see new people on my facebook page from all over the world! I really wish one day I can meet everyone here~~ ^^

Well, anyway!

Despite me feeling blue for the past month, I've been trying my best to bring cheer to my other friends with my baked goods at that same time~! ^^

I've made peanut butter cookies, lemon drop cookies, very dark chocolatey cookie balls and so on~!

They are all very delicious, and today I'm going to share what was a huge hit with my friends and family!

These are classic peanut butter cookies and as you can see, they don't look exactly pretty. Hahaha! Oh but who cares when they are so delicious! They are fragrant and moist on the inside, yum yum!

I used Skippy's Creamy Peanut Butter. I'd wanted to get Chunky because I just love to bite on things, haha, but I grabbed the wrong bottle. -____-"

If you are very particular about the food you put into your tummy, go ahead and grab some organic and pure peanut butter~ ^^ If yours is just pure peanut butter without other added additives (read the ingredients list!), do add some salt into this recipe. A pinch or 2 will do. 

Ingredients (Makes about 20 cookies):

- 3 tbsp water + 1 tbsp flaxseed meal (or 1 egg, beaten)
- 150g all-purpose flour
- 1tsp baking powder
- 150g peanut butter
- 50g raw sugar
- 50g brown sugar
- 40g shortening / refined coconut oil (if using this, measure 40g of the coconut oil in its liquid form as the 1st step and pop it into the freezer until you need to use it)

1. Preheat oven to 180℃. Line baking sheets with parchment paper.

2. Sift flour and baking powder into a medium-sized bowl.

3. In the bowl of a stand mixer, cream together the peanut butter, sugars, and shortening (or solidified coconut oil). Scrape down the sides, then beat in the flaxseed mixture (or egg).

4. Stir in (2) until thoroughly combined.

5. Use a small ice cream scoop and drop the dough 2 inches apart onto the prepared sheets. If you do not have an ice cream scoop, you can use your hands, grab a piece of dough, and roll it into a ball, and place them onto the lined sheets.

6. Using a fork, press the cookies down in a criss-cross pattern.

7. Bake cookies for 10 to 12 minutes or until the edges are golden and the tops no longer look wet. Be careful not to overbake!

8. Transfer cookies to cooling racks and wait for them to cool before storing them in pretty glass bottles or cookie containers~! ^^

These cookies can keep for up to 5 days in room temperature in an airtight container, or freeze for up to 3 months. ^^

I hope you enjoy them! They are so very delicious, easy-to-make, and make great gifts for friends!

Choose to buy organic refined coconut oil if using it to bake. The unrefined one has a strong coconut taste and smell, which you might not want or like in your baked goods. ^^

Where to buy:

Currently, I'm using this one and I got mine from Organic Sunny's Choice at The Rail Mall. You will be able to find many other excellent choices of coconut oil in selected Cold Storage supermarkets, Yes Natural organic shops, and other healthfood/organic stores, and even Indian provision shops. 

Coconut oil is just lovely. It's the only non-meat oil that can be solidified naturally in lower temperatures. ^^ Read about the other awesome use of coconut oil here!

Random, but I wonder if anyone missed this blog's updates at all. Probably not, because there are so many blogs out there to keep you entertained, and this blog hasn't been particularly entertaining I guess. Hahaha! But well, anyway, remember to like Happy Girls Cute Food on Facebook if you like reading my updates. I update there everyday with recipes, food porn (haha!), and some nice fashion for girls. So, check it out, and like the page if you like it! ^^

Chef Chloe's Ginger Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes~!

And again, I want to share another of Chef Chloe's amazing vegan recipe!

In her book, this is called Chloe's Award-Winning Ginger Nutmeg Spice Cupcakes.

I love spices so I really wanted to make this and try how it tasted! In her cookbook, she has a date caramel sauce for this, which I didn't make. I also made my own frosting. If you want the original recipe, please support her cookbook! It has 125 recipes inside, and although she's well-known for winning Cupcakes War, the savoury recipes in her cookbook are really interesting and delicious! There's even a cookie recipe for your dog~!

I think Chef Chloe is such a sweet girl~ She's my idol!!!!

So, anyway, I'm going to share with you the recipe for the basic spice cupcakes and also the recipe for my own frosting. Enjoy!!!

Ingredients (Makes 6):

- 85g all-purpose flour
- 2g baking powder
- 1g baking soda

- 2g ground ginger

- 2g ground nutmeg

- 1g ground cloves

- 1g ground cinnamon

- 2g salt

- 65g sugar
- 55g pumpkin puree, canned or cooked fresh
- 55g coconut milk, mixed well before measuring
- 23g canola oil
- 4g white or apple-cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 175℃. Line a 6-cup cupcake pan with 6 cupcake liners.

2. In a large bowl, sift flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, nutmeg, cloves, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk in sugar.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Fill the cupcake liners about 2/3 full with batter. Bake for 18 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center of a cupcake comes out clean with a few crumbs clinging to it. Cool the cupcakes completely before frosting.

Date Caramel
- 2 medjool dates
- 55g maple syrup
- 10g water
- 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Place dates in a small saucepan with water to cover, and bring to a gentle boil. Let the dates boil gently for 10 minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water until cool to the touch. Peel the dates with your fingers and discard the skin.

2. Remove the pits and coarsely chop the dates. Place in a blender; add maple syrup, water, and cinnamon. Blend until smooth. Refrigerate until chilled.

Vanilla Frosting
- 25g cold vegan vanilla whipping cream (I used Toppin' Pride)

1. Beat on high until light and fluffy~! Refrigerate until ready to use.

To assemble the cupcakes, spread a thin layer of the frosting on the Spice Cupcakes and drizzle with the Date Caramel.

Enjoy~!

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Chocolate Hazelnut Fudge

My boyfriend had a mad craving for chocolates so I really wanted to make him something really good!

For all my chocolate recipes, I always only use Belcolade chocolate chips. I started using it because they were the only vegan chocolate chips I could find with only cacao and sugar as its ingredients. But now I love them for a different reason. They taste so wonderful! They are the best chocolate I've ever tasted!

This is super easy to make and you can finish making them in less than half an hour, but you have to chill them in the fridge before they're ready, so take note of this! If you want to give your friends a nice chocolatey gift, you have to make this one night before! ^^

And, and!!! I want to credit Chef Chloe for this recipe! Her original recipe uses more sugar, semi-sweet chocolate chips and walnuts. I changed it a little because my boyfriend likes dark chocolate, and I only have hazelnuts on hand. ^^" So I guess mine has a slightly more mature flavour. If you like sweet chocolates, just use semi-sweet chocolate chips and 15g more powdered sugar~! ^^

Ingredients (Makes 25 tiny squares): 

- 165g coconut milk
- 285g dark chocolate chips
- 1 tablespoon pure vanilla paste/extract
- 30g cocoa powder
- 30g powdered sugar
- 1/3 cup toasted hazelnuts

1. Line an 8-inch square pan with foil or parchment paper so that it covers all sides and hangs over the edges of the pan.

2. In a small saucepan, heat coconut milk over medium heat until the first sign of boiling. Add chocolate chips and reduce heat to low. Let cook, stirring occasionally, until all chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth. Remove from heat and whisk in vanilla. Set aside.

3. In a medium bowl, combine powdered sugar and cocoa powder. Add the chocolate mixture and beat until all ingredients are incorporated and fudge batter is smooth.

4. Stir in hazelnuts.

5. Spread the fudge evenly into the prepared pan. Cover tightly with foil and refrigerate for 8 hours or overnight. Bring to room temperature and cut into squares the size you like to serve.

Random, but my crazy boyfriend asked with a straight face why I put chickpeas into my chocolate fudge and that I was very creative and healthy to do that. 

He's an idiot. hahahahaha! 

So, maybe it's a better idea to have roughly chopped, toasted walnuts in your chocolate fudge, so that you give your boyfriend no chance to ask silly questions like that. Haha!

He loves my chocolate fudge. It's a happy thing to see him eat them piece after piece! Hohoho!

Where to buy:

1. Belcolade Dark Chocolate Chips

Really easy to use and so flavourful. I always buy the dark chocolate one with only cacao and sugar as its ingredients. :) Bought them from ToTT at Dunearn Road. 

Shepherd's Pie in a Jar! (and bonus lava cake in a jar recipe!)

My boyfriend made my dream come true by purchasing tickets to Universal Studios for not only me and him, but my favourite nephew!

It was a really special day for me (he even got us express passes!) and I was really happy, so I made all of us shepherd pies...in jars for easy carrying! ^^ 

This recipe is all-vegan, and I was actually a little bit nervous if my 7-year-old nephew would even eat it because the whole jar is basically filled with vegetables! I know some children hate vegetables. However, my favourite nephew finished it all! He also said it was very very delicious. He really gobbled it up. I was so happy!!! Hahahaha! 

The boyfriend finished it up too. I'm still so happy when I think about this. I want to get married soon and become a mother! Haha!

My mashed potato for the shepherd's pie has cauliflowers mixed in, and so, isn't too carbohydrates-dense! You can't taste the cauliflowers at all. They didn't even know there was cauliflower inside. Haha!

As like all savoury food dishes, it's very easy to modify this recipe. If you love vegetables, just put in any kind of vegetable you like. If you absolutely have to eat meat, you can put in some seafood or any meat you fancy. You can make your fillings spicier or non-spicy or maybe with cream sauce. It's really all up to you. Mine isn't a very traditional shepherd's pie... I didn't even bake it them actually...but oh well, it's delicious and cute!!!! Everything in a jar is cute! I've been making lava cakes in a jar too! No pictures, but if you need the recipe...oh ok! I will just do a quick one at the end of this post! ^^

Ingredients (Makes 4 small jars):

- 2 russet potatoes
- 1/3 cup cauliflower florets
- freshly ground pepper
- 3 teaspoons salt
- nutritional yeast (optional)

- 1/2 tbsp of olive or vegetable oil
- 1/4 cup finely chopped yellow onion
- 1 cup of frozen mixed vegetables

- 1 celery stalk, finely chopped

- 1 garlic clove, minced
- 6 pieces of shiitake mushrooms, washed and sliced/chopped
- 2 teaspoons tomato paste
- freshly ground pepper

1. In a pot of heavily salted water, boil cauliflower till they are soft (about 15 minutes). Remove with a sieve and drain. Break cauliflower into smaller pieces. Pour 50ml of this water into a seperate bowl/cup and put it aside.

2. Using the same pot of water (you may have to add in more water now), boil potatoes until they are tender when pierced with a fork (about 20 to 30 minutes). Remove from pot, run them under cold water, peel the potatoes with your hand, and dry the peeled potatoes with a paper towel. Break them into pieces.

3. In a mixing bowl, throw in the cauliflower and potatoes and beat it with a hand mixer until smooth and creamy. You can also mash it with a fork/potato masher manually. Season with pepper, salt and nutritional yeast.

4. In a medium-sized pan, heat olive oil over medium heat. Add the onions, celery, and frozen vegetables and cook, stirring constantly, until softened (about 5 minutes).

5. Add the garlic and stir for 1 minute.

6. Add the mushrooms and cook until they are slightly browned.

7. Stir in the 50ml of water you have used to cook the cauliflower earlier, tomato paste, and cook, stirring, until the liquid has almost evaporated, about 3 minutes.

8. Season with salt and pepper.

9. Divide the vegetable mixture into 4 empty jars. Each jar should be 3/4 full. Spoon the mashed potato-and-cauliflower into each jar on top of the vegetable mixture.

10. You can bake them if you want at 180℃ for 10 minutes. Be careful of the hot jars when taking out from the oven!

BONUS RECIPE!

Picture not mine. This is microwave chocolate lava cakes from another blog. Check out its recipe here! The jars that I used are about this size too though! ^^

VEGAN LAVA CAKE (Makes 2 small jars):

Dry ingredients:
- 65g all-purpose flour
- 65g sugar
- 15g unsweetened cocoa powder
- 2g baking soda
- pinch of salt

Wet ingredients:
- 115g soymilk
- 55g canola oil
- 10g white or apple cider vinegar
- 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract/ paste

Other ingredients:
- 2 tablespoons vegan semisweet chocolate chips 
- powdered sugar for dusting (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 200℃. Lightly grease your jars.

2. In a medium bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.

3. In a separate bowl, whisk together all the wet ingredients.

4. Pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and mix until just combined. Do not overmix.

5. Fill each jar 1/4 full. Place 1 heaping tablespoon of chocolate chips of the batter in the center. Fill the jars with more batter until 3/4 full or slightly less than that.

6. Place the open jars on a rimmed baking sheet and bake for 12~15 minutes.

7. Remove the whole tray for oven. Wait for jars to cool down before handling them. Be careful they'll be really hot! Dust powdered sugar over your lava cake if you want to. Screw on the cap and they're ready to be given away as gifts for your loved ones! ^^