Vegan Blended Latte

1/2 cup unsweetened soymilk (45 cal)
1/2 tbsp instant espresso powder
1/2 tsp cocoa powder
1 cup ice (I use 7 moon shaped cubes)
1/4 cup soy vanilla ice cream (90 cal)
2 tbsp unsweetened soymilk (more or less to be just enough for ice cream to blend in) (~11 cal)
About 12 drops stevia extract

Blend soymilk, espresso, and cocoa until dissolved. (Preferably in a Vitamix.) Next add ice cubes and blend until smooth. Add ice cream, and a tiny bit more soymilk or as needed till ice cream starts to blend in. Lastly add stevia to taste, I use about 12 drops. 146 calories. Makes 1 serving

Altered from Chloe's Vegan Desserts Cookbook

Vegan Mango Slushie

1/3 cup vanilla soy ice cream (1 scoop)
1/4 cup mango juice
1/4 cup ice (optional)

In a blender combine soy ice cream and mango juice until smooth. Next, mix in ice until smooth. Enjoy! Makes 1 serving.

Vegan Coconut Creme Frappacino

1/2 cup soymilk
3 tbsp sugar
1 tbsp + 1 tsp fresh coconut flakes
1 cup ice

In a blender, mix soymilk, sugar, and 1 tbsp coconut until well combined. Add ice and puree until smooth. Pulse in the 1 tsp of coconut flakes. Makes 1 serving. Enjoy!

Vegan Blueberry Milkshake

1/4 cup soymilk
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
2 scoops soy ice cream

Puree all in a blender until smooth. Garnish with frozen blueberries for a refreshing burst on a hot day. Makes 1 serving.

From own recipe

Vegan Caramelized Pears

3 tablespoons Earth Balance buttery spread
1/4 cup + 2 tbsp dark brown sugar
3 cups overripe "grainy" green d'anjou pears, peeled and diced (about 3 1/2 pears)

Melt Earth Balance in a medium frying pan over medium heat. When it foams, sprinkle sugar over top and cook until bubbling and dissolved, about 3 minutes.
Add pears and cook, stirring rarely, until mixture is caramelized. Mixture will separate when cooled but it a solid brown glaze when hot.

Altered from http://www.chow.com/recipes/11444-caramelized-pears

Vegan Mochi Cupcakes

Cupcakes:
1 3/4 cup + 2 tbsp rice flour
1/2 cup + 2 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/8 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp Ener-G egg replacer + 3 tbsp water
3/4 cup soy milk http://www.marusanai.co.jp/lineuplist.php?cat=1
1 tsp pure vanilla extract
4 tbsp cooked sweet Azuki beans
Frosting:
5 tbsp Earth balance shortening
1 cup powdered sugar
1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
1 tbsp soy milk

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. In a small bowl, mix egg replacer and water and set aside. With a mixer, incorporate flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Next add soy milk, egg replacer mixer, vanilla, and mix until smooth. With a mini ice cream scoop, place one scoop batter into cupcake tins, about 10 beans, and top with one more scoop of batter. Bake for 30 minutes. Makes 11 cupcakes.

With a mixer, beat shortening until smooth. Sift in powdered sugar in three portions, mixing between each. While mixing, add vanilla, soy milk, and beat until fluffy. Cut off tops of baked cupcakes. Place star tip into piping bag and open the bag in a tall cup. Place icing into piping bag, cut off tip, and lightly frost cupcakes. Enjoy!

To make Hinamatsuri version, use pink and yellow cupcake tins and top with pink, yellow, and green hina arare.

Recipe altered from http://justjennrecipes.com/mochiko-cupcakes/2009/01/04/ and http://chefchloe.com/sweets/chocolate-strawberry-shortcake-cupcakes.html

Vegan recipes from Food Network!

My all time biggest inspiration has to be Chloe Coscarelli who was the first vegan who won Cupcake Wars! Quite a few vegan bakeries actually compete but few win, and even fewer post the recipes they competed with online so I really appreciate Chloe's website! I have her first cookbook and am going to buy her dessert cookbook which just came out this month. Recipes and more at http://chefchloe.com/vegan-recipes.html and episode review and pic credit to http://archives.quarrygirl.com/2010/06/22/vegan-cupcakes-ftw-chloe-coscarellis-huge-food-network-victory/

Next up has to be Trisha Yearwood's Black Bean Lasagna. I'm not a big fan of Southern cooking, but I watch her show just in case, and I'm glad that I did because the whole entire episode was vegan! She won me over with making using tofu ricotta with nutritional yeast on national television. These are seemingly secret vegan cooking methods that hardly anyone knows about so I was really moved almost to tears that she showcased this alternative on her show. I'm so happy that families like hers have a Veggie Night every now and then and because of this episode I am hopeful that other families who don't have one yet will try it! Recipe here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/trisha-yearwood/black-bean-lasagna-recipe/index.html

More dessert from guess who? Giada De Laurentiis! As a big fan of her show, I would recognize that clean, beautiful presentation anywhere, but little did I know one exciting fact. In the episode, she revealed that her mom is vegetarian. I wonder if she knows Chloe Coscarelli? With things like Italian sausage and pepperoni, Italian vegetarians is something I had not heard of until Chef Chloe. The only qualm I would have about this recipe is that I'm guessing it must be consumed within a couple of days or less otherwise I imagine the avocado would spoil fast like it usually does but when I feel like melting chocolate I definitely want to try this recipe. Thanks Giada! Recipe here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/chocolate-avocado-mousse-recipe/index.html

One recipe I've been dying to try is these Pierogis. I was pretty moved when I saw them in Home Made in America with Sunny Anderson because they were made by a woman who is also named Kathleen. Even better, she said she uses them as payment to get heads to help on her horse rescue farm, and at the time I was really into a farming game on Nintendo 3DS, so I felt we were intensely related, though I was only farming in a game xD. Recipe here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/pierogies-recipe/index.html

Lastly is this vegan chili also from horse rescue farm home cook Kathleen <3. I think about it every now and then because of how satisfying the meat eating farm helpers said it was in the episode. When I can gather the numerous amount of ingredients used to make this chili flavorful and hearty, I really look forward to putting it together. Two Kathleen's making vegan chili ftw! Recipe here http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/veggie-chili-recipe/index.html