Apple Strudel
I come from a Czech family (on my mom’s side), and so apple strudel is a very traditional Czech dish. My dear grandmother has made it my whole life (many many times throughout the year). Whenever any company came in town, like a distant aunt or uncle, my grandmother always had strudel on hand. I haven’t looked at her recipe to try and veganize it (besides…I bet her recipe is in her head, not on a piece of paper). When I got The Joy of Vegan Baking a couple of months ago, I knew I would have to make the apple strudel. Not only do the pictures of it in the cookbook look amazing, but Colleen Patrick-Goudereau’s recipes do not disappoint. Sunday afternoon, I decided what a perfect time for an apple strudel. Oh my grandma would be so proud!! Here are pictures of the strudel in the process. Doesn’t the bowl of apple slices look yummy?! They are all rolled up in sheets of phyllo pastry. (I used whole wheat phyllo pastry because that’s what I had on hand.)
Golden brown Apple Strudel right out of the oven! Cinnamon, sugar, and roasted almonds are sprinkled generously all over the top. Our house spelled of yummy apples and cinnamon…definitely a fall smell. Once cooled, we dug in and split a piece before a late afternoon Sunday walk. We would indulge in more later! 
Sunday night Cowboys game dinner consisted of a veggie burger (on the yummy Ezekiel sesame buns), a veggie mix, and a pickle. Our cat, Scotch, obviously like the smell of this dinner! She jumped in my lap when I was trying to photograph. I caught the back of her head in the picture!
I LOVE vegan baking!!!
This was a big week for baking for me. It all started last Sunday when a coworker and dear friend, Clorinda, had a birthday. We’ve worked together for over a year now. I’ve been vegan since I met her, but it wasn’t until about a month ago that Clorinda, upon her own accord, went and bought and read Skinny Bitch. She’s been vegan for over 30 days now and doesn’t have a plan to stop. I love it because now there’s someone else on my team who’s weird like me! 
She also gives me great restaurant and grocery item advice. I have a vegan buddy!
On Sunday, I wanted to make sure Clorinda could have a proper birthday, and being vegan and all, she needed a vegan cake…..so in the kitchen I went. I made her a Chocolate Cake (from The Joy of Vegan Baking, p. 72) with Vegan Fluffy Buttercream Frosting (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, p.142). Her review was superb! And I know for a fact the cake was delicious because she brought me a piece to work on Monday (how thoughtful)! This made the perfect birthday cake. The cake itself was so easy and requires ingredients you are likely to have on hand (same for the icing). I topped it off with vegan chocolate chips. Eric put the candles on top. He tried to place them to make the digits of her age. Can you guess how old she is?
Wednesday night I was up to more baking. This time I was baking for Eric and my whole team. Eric was flying out of town on Thursday for a few days, so I got the idea to make him a treat before he left. He LOVES pumpkin…..pumpkin anything really. You name it, if it has pumpkin in it, he’ll like it. (Which makes me think…I need to make pumpkin tofu. heehee) Since he made me such lovely cupcakes on my birthday, I decided to return the favor (with pumpkin). I made Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Icing (from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, p. 126). I made them a little extra healthy (for good measure and because I have to put a little bit of a Tara spin on it). I subbed a little over half of the all-purpose flour it calls for with whole wheat pastry flour. I also only used between a 1/2 and 2/3 cup of sugar, instead of a whole cup. They were just perfectly sweet, and with the rich icing, they were divine! Eric and I indulged on them Wednesday night. I also packaged them up to give each one of my teammates one on Thursday morning. Everyone seemed to love. I’ve been spreading vegan recipes around. Another lovely teacher on my team, Kristen, is also starting to follow the vegan diet. It’s so hilarious really! We’re known as the healthy team! I wonder how many teachers will turn vegan while I’m there. heehee
