October! The coolest kid on the playground!

Though it wasn't planned, it's fitting that I started this blog in October. It's my favorite month and the beginning of my favorite time of year. I know not everyone shares this feeling but it's how I feel and I absolutely LOVE the Fall! The weather (if you live in the right place) starts to change and, though the leaves on the trees are technically dying, everything smells and feels like it's coming alive or waking up!  The air is crisp and the produce, like the leaves on the trees, are vibrant and gorgeous!  Everything just looks smells and tastes so much better! Yay Fall!

I could go on and on but I won't. I'll get right to the purpose of today’s (and probably a few more) post.  The best part of October, the big "to do" at the end of the month that leads us all merrily into the holiday season and then the New Year... MY BIRTHDAY!!  Kidding!  Though my birthday is at the end of the month, I am actually talking about HALLOWEEN!!!  Mwahahahahahahaaaaaaa!!  Every single year when Halloween starts to approach (by that I mean October 1st and NOT August 1st when every store, restaurant and mall start to put up their Halloween decorations and merchandise) I start to get so excited!  It's the perfect reason (not that I really need one) to go all out and have fun in the kitchen!  With or without my kids, it's a blasty blast!

When I thought about my first food entry on here, I have to admit, this was not what came to mind.  I honestly thought I would blow you away with a fabulous fall recipe like you see in all the other amazing vegan blogs out there.  Seeing that this is my blog and I just talked about having Halloween fun the kitchen, I thought I might start with that.  It won't be anything too crazy or complicated. Though, if you still want to feel inspired, we will be going green with 1 of these 2 recipes. I know I know... you're on the edge of your seats.  I don't blame you, this is very exciting stuff!  (Hehe)

Heeeeeeeeeeere we go!

The Ghastly Green Slime Shake!  (a.k.a. Green Shake)

This drink is neither ghastly nor slimy as the name suggests.  It's just a fun Halloween name when you have kids and cool Halloween cups to put it in.  Does it scare people even in regular cups?  Yes.  Should it?  No.  The shake itself is actually quite yummy, VERY versatile and can be had any time of the day (or year).  

This was a drink inspired by the Vita-mix website. Of course, I do not have a vita-mix yet but this is beside the point.  I can dream!  I go on the site to look at the recipes and imagine a better time when I, too, will get to blend things in a way they could only dream of being blended.  Alas, that day is not today.  For now I use my regular blender at home and she does a wonderful job on her own.  IF I am over working her, she hasn't let on yet so I keep blending.  As I was saying, the Vita-mix website.  They inspired me to start playing with different ingredients to come up with a yummy green shake (among many other thing) about a year or so ago.  Since then, I have tweaked  a little here and there and come up with something simple yet very enjoyable.

Halloween Pancakes
(a.k.a. Pancakes)

The only thing that makes these "Halloween" pancakes is the set of molds I used while making them. The recipe is a basic pancake recipe I have been working on and tweaking for a while, trying different flour blends, ingredients and different measurements to make sure flavor and consistency comes out the way they should.  Truth be told, it's hard (though not impossible) to come across fluffy vegan pancakes.  When you omit ingredients like eggs you have to work hard to find a way to make sure they're not missed.  This is what I have managed to come up with so far.  It's been tested several times (closest to this was using 1 cup unbleached AP flour and 1 cup whole wheat flour resulting in denser pancakes but still delicious) and I am sure it won't be the last time.  I am pretty happy with the results and feedback I have gotten back so far.  Let me know what you think.