Bill's Vegan Biscuits

I needed a biscuit that does not use dairy products and does use whole wheat flour (at my wife's request.) So here's how I made them (recipe makes 10  2 1/2" Biscuits).

Ingredients:
    •    2 cups whole wheat flour
    •    4 teaspoons baking powder
    •    1 teaspoon salt
    •    4 tablespoons vegan butter substitute
    •    2/3 cup unsweetened almond milk
How to make 'em:

Preheat oven to 375°
then...
    1.     Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into bowl.
    2.     Mix butter in with knife or fingers.
    3.     After butter is well mixed, add milk slowly.
    4.     Roll dough out on floured board.
    5.     Cut with biscuit cutter
    6.     Bake on greased baking sheet in oven for 12 minutes.

Enjoy.

Fruit Fly Problem?

If you are like me, you eat a lot of fruit and probably have an exposed fruitbowl full of apples and oranges, etc. This time of year, a lot of fruit flies appear to make your life miserable.

I have been battling with fruit flies for the last week or so... they pop up everywhere... drains, fruitbowl, cutting board area... and, since we don't use any poison sprays, getting rid of them was a real problem. Until I did my research, of course, and discovered how to make "fruit fly traps" which have worked so well that you hardly see any of the little bastards around.

How does one make a fruit fly trap? Simple. Start with a good, widemouthed jar (we always have plenty of old Ball jars around which we use for canning) and put in about an inch or two of warm water with a squirt of dishwashing soap. Then add a shot of apple cider and a shot of red wine. Cover the top of the jar with a piece of Saran Wrap and use a rubber band to keep it tightly sealed at the neck of the jar. Now comes the tricky part... you have to punch a few very small holes through the plastic wrap... small enough for the fruit flies to get in but not so large that they can go right out again. I use a nut pick to punch the holes, but a fork could do it, too.

Then all you have to do is put the jar wherever the greatest number of the pests have been spotted. I made four jars and put them in various places in my kitchen. Now all you do is wait. In about an hour or so you will notice a distinct reduction in the bugs. The next day when you check the jars you will find they are full of little drowned fruit flies. Amazing!

I change the liquid and reseal the jars every few days and my fruit-flies are now nowhere to be found (on the first refill day there were much fewer of them caught in the traps, so we are succeeding quite well.)

An apology and a recipe...

I've been away from Panhandle Vegan for a couple of weeks, for which I apologize. I've been spending most of the time shopping for a car, getting through a theater production at Full Circle Theater, and a pile of other things (I spend what time I have available keeping Under The LobsterScope going and we're in a heavy political season).

But I'm back today and I have a recipe tailored to diabetic vegans out there... Blueberry Coffee Cake.


OK... here we go.

Dry Ingredients:


1 cup old fashioned oats 
1 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 cup stevia powder
 2 tsp baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon Ener-G Egg Replacer
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt


1 1/4 cup fresh or frozen blueberries (thaw frozen blueberries after measuring - 1 minute in the microwave should do it.)


Wet Ingredients: 1/2 cup unsweetened almond, soy or coconut milk
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 cup unsweetened applesauce
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 tablespoon canola or sesame oil


Topping:
2 tablespoons stevia powder
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon


Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly spray or wipe the bottom and sides of a 9-inch baking pan with cooking spray.


Put the oats into a blender and grind until they are a fine oat flour. Mix the oat flour with the other dry ingredients. Stir in 1/4 cup of the blueberries.


Put the remaining cup blueberries into a blender or food processor with the water. Pulse (quickly turn on and off) to coarsely chop the blueberries, but do not completely puree.


Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in blueberry mixture and other wet ingredients. Stir until moistened and completely combined, but don't over-mix.


Pour into the prepared pan (batter will be quite thick). Mix together the sugar and cinnamon topping, and sprinkle it over the top.


Bake for 25-35 minutes, until a toothpick or fork inserted in the middle comes out clean. Allow to cool.

You'll really like it and it will be pretty safe for any diabetic Vegan on my block!