My dessert of choice to round out our vegan Thanksgiving was Pumpkin Cheesecake.  The small obstacle was using the ingredients I have onboard or are available for purchase in Grenada.  I’ve never seen vegan cream cheese on any of the islands so got that route was not an option.  Pumpkins
are a plenty seemingly everywhere this time of year and I wanted to use what was available locally instead of going with canned but you can use canned pumpkin if you want.  Also hard to find are graham crackers (for the crust) so I used ginger snap cookies and I would do it again even if I could find graham crackers- they worked and tasted great! 

Some other hints to consider are: the banana-even though it’s a small amount of banana it does add to the flavor so if you’re a big fan of banana taste feel free to use a ripe banana but if not you might want to use a less ripe one (but not totally green.)  Finally, if you use a fresh pumpkin your cheesecake will be much milder in color- making your cheesecake swirl will still work but it will be a more subtle look.

Here goes, it’s pretty easy really.  This recipe was re-created using Isa’s recipe from “Vegan Pie in the
Sky.”

What you’ll need (for the crust): 
1 1/4 cups of finely ground graham crackers or gingersnaps
3 tablespoons sugar
3 tablespoons melted coconut oil (or melted non-hydrogenated margarine, or canola oil)
1 tbls. plain soy or almond milk.

What you’ll need (for the filling):
1/2 cup whole unroasted cashews soaked in water for 2 to 8 hours or until very soft
1/4 cup mashed banana (about half of 1 medium-sized banana)
1 12 to 14 oz package silken tofu (drained)
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup brown sugar
3 tbls. coconut oil, at room temperature
2 tbls. cornstarch
2 tbls. fresh lemon juice
2 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon grated orange zest
1/4 tsp. sea salt
1 3/4 cups pumpkin puree (fresh or canned)
3/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

What you’ll need (for the topping):
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 tbls. coconut oil (or margarine) 
1 cup pecans (roughly chopped)
Dash of Salt

What’s Next (for the crust):
-Preheat oven to 350 & spray or grease a 9” spring form pan (or a pie plate if you don’t have the pan)
-In a medium bowl crush the crackers/cookies until they are in fairly fine pieces & then stir in the sugar.  Drizzle w/the oil (or margarine) until moist then slowly stir in the milk to form a crumbly mixture.
-Pour the crumbs into the pan and press down firmly to form the crust w/your hands or using a fork
-Bake 8-12 minutes then remove from oven (keep oven on for the cheesecake)

What’s Next (for the topping):
-In a medium bowl use a fork to mix together the sugar, margarine/oil, and salt until crumbly.
-Add in the chopped nuts & stir to combine- set aside until ready to use

What’s Next (for the filling):
-Drain the cashews and place in a blender or food processor with the banana, tofu, sugar, brown sugar, coconut oil, cornstarch, lemon juice, vanilla, orange zest, and sea salt. Blend until completely smooth and no bits of cashew are left.
-Set aside 1/2 cup of batter (optional- if you don’t want to make your cheesecake marble style don’t set any filling aside.) To the remaining batter, add the pumpkin puree, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg and blend until smooth, then pour it into the crust.
-(If you reserved ½ the filling)Randomly spoon dollops of the reserved batter onto the cheesecake. Poke the end of a chopstick into a batter blob and gently swirl to create a marble pattern; repeat with the remaining dollops.
-Bake the cheesecake for a total of 45 to 50 minutes. Remove cheesecake halfway through baking and sprinkle on the topping. Return to oven to continue baking. Cheesecake will be done when the top is lightly puffed and the edges of the cake are golden. Remove it from the oven and let cool on a rack for
about 20 minutes, then transfer to the refrigerator to complete cooling, at least 3 hours or even better if overnight. To serve, slice the cake using a thin, sharp knife dipped in cold water.

It’s magnificent stuff. If you have another recipe for me to try, please comment-We really like cheesecake!
 

A couple years ago I was on a very limited vegan diet for a yoga training I was participating in.  Remarkably I was “allowed” to eat natural dried fruit and found that Whole Foods sells mini coconut date logs in their bulk food section.  Let me say that for the four months I was on this diet eating the occasional coconut date log from Whole Foods seemed like I was cheating. 

There are lots of coconuts here in the islands and the other day the market had some local dates- score! Dates are awesome! So I made my own version.  It was a bit of work but that’s might be because we have a rather small grater!  If you live somewhere where coconuts don’t fall off the trees you can purchase one of those brown coconuts from the store, drink the juice and crack it open for the meat.

What you’ll need:
-1 cup freshly grated coconut meat
-1 cup dates
-agave nectar (optional, for extra sweetness)

What’s Next:
-Put the grated coconut and dates in a food processor and pulse to shred and incorporate
-Transfer mixture to a bowl & stir in a little agave if using (it doesn’t take much)
-Form into balls and eat or refrigerate

*Makes about 12 balls*

This is sort of a funny story…I have used a few different recipes to make chocolate cake, like the chocolate chip cake on my recipe list.  But one of my yoga students in Grenada urged me to try a vegan recipe she has. 
She is a personal chef and she got this recipe from her vegan friend and
said it is the best chocolate cake she has ever had.  So, she was kind enough to hand write out the recipe and brought it over to my boat.  Before I even looked
at the page I asked her if she knew where the recipe came from (other than from
her friend) she said she didn’t.  But I looked down at the ingredients (the first two being soy milk and
apple cider vinegar) and knew exactly where it came from.  Isa Chandra from “Vegan Cupcakes take over the World”- since I happen to have the book I checked and sure enough it is exactly the same. 
Whenever I see a recipe anywhere with soy milk and apple cider vinegar I can bet it’s hers-something about providing a leavening agent when vinegar is mixed w/soy milk like the effect of buttermilk in non-vegan recipes.  Anyway, I’ve made this in cupcake form too with a Peanut Butter Cream Frosting- awesome! 
 
I used a chocolate Grenache like frosting that I’ve been eating for years.  Does that sound like too much chocolate?  It’s not- really, it’s fabulous.

What you’ll need (for the cake):
-1 cup soy milk
-1 tsp. apple cider vinegar
-3/4 cup granulated sugar (I use the raw cane)
-1/3 cup canola oil
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1/2 tsp. almond extract
-1 cup flour (unbleached, all purpose)
-1/3 cup cocoa powder
-3/4 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. baking powder
-1/4 tsp. salt

What’s Next:
-Preheat the oven to 350
-Whisk together milk and vinegar & set aside for a couple minutes
-In a medium bowl add the sugar, oil, vanilla, and almond extract and stir to combine
-Stir in the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt.  Stir to combine well.
-Pour the batter into a greased 8x8 pan, or a 12 cupcake tin w/liners

What you’ll need (for the Grenache):
-1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
-1/4 cup non-dairy milk
-1/2 tsp. vanilla

What’s Next:
-In a small pot heat the milk until it just boils
-Add the chips and vanilla and stir to combine on very low heat (do not let the chocolate burn)
-Once melted remove from heat immediately and set aside until ready to use for your cake or refrigerate
-When you’re ready to add the chocolate sauce to your cake-take big spoonful’s of Grenache and drop them on the cake, then use a fork to lightly drag the sauce in a swivel lines to even distribute.

*Incidentally this chocolate sauce makes a great chocolate fondue for dipping fruit or whatever you like to eat chocolate with

Growing up I was never interested in baking the interest only came over me recently.  My sister always helped my Mom, eventually totally taking over, with the task of making all the Christmas cookies, pies, and cakes. She is still a great baker and has a good audience with her husband and soon to be 5 kids.  I only have an audience of one and Marty is very happy and getting used to having a homemade dessert daily.  I want us to be able to stop eating the desserts it’s just that I like making them so much- weird huh.  So usually I share the goods (Marty doesn’t like that part) with our friends on other boats. This creation I adapted from a recipe in “Vegan Cupcakes Take over the World.”  It’s seriously good.

What you’ll need:
-2/3 cup soy milk
-1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar

-1 ½ cups flour
-3/4 tsp. baking powder
-1/2 tsp. baking soda
-1/2 tsp. salt
-1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
-1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

-1/2 cup pure maple syrup
-1/3 cup canola oil
-2 tbls. brown sugar
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-1 tps. Maple or Almond extract 
 
What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350 and lightly oil your baking pan- this time I used a Bundt pan and made a short bundt cake.  My cake came out dense and moist, it was very good.  Alternatively you could use a square 8x8 pan or round pan but nothing too large b/c it’s not enough mix for a large pan.  
-In a medium bowl whisk together the soy milk and apple cider vinegar and set aside for a few minutes
-In a separate medium sized bowl combine the flour through cinnamon on the ingredient list
-In the bowl with the soy milk, add the remaining ingredients (syrup through extracts)
-Sift or slowly incorporate the dry flour mixture into the wet ingredients and stir until smooth
-Pour mixture into your cake pan and bake until toothpick comes clean from the center- about 25 minutes
-Let cake cool completely, transfer to plate and frosting with Orange Cream Frosting (recipe below)

What you’ll need (for the frosting):
-2 tbls. + 1 tsp. vegan margarine
-2 tbls. + 1 tsp. shortening
-1 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
-1 ½ tbls. orange juice (preferably from an orange)
-1/2 tbls. grated lemon zest
-1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

What’s Next:
-In a medium bowl cream together the shortening and margarine with an electric on hand mixer
-Slowly, in batches, add the confectioners’ sugar with a small splash of orange juice and continue mixing until all juice and sugar is combined and smooth
-Add the zest and vanilla and beat another couple minutes
-Place the frosting in a closed container in the fridge until ready to use

Happy Dessert!

I just made these brownies for the first time today. 
A group of us are going up island to a local fish fry so I thought I’d make
something to share with everyone on the ride up. I’m going to the fish fry for
the local experience not the food and these brownies might be my
dinner!  

I can’t take credit for developing this recipe; this is a very close variation of a creation by Dharma Mittra, my yoga teacher.  It’s totally possible these are the best brownies I’ve ever tasted.  Try them out and
let me know if you think so too!
Here’s what I did…

What you’ll need:
-1 ½ cups flour
-2/3 cup cacoa powder (unsweetened)
-3/4 tsp. baking powder
-1/4 tsp. sea salt
-1 cup non-dairy chocolate chips (I use “vegan chips” from Whole Foods- I restock these every time I go back to the states!)
-1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

-3/4 cup agave nectar (or maple syrup if you don’t have agave)
-3/4 cup applesauce (unsweetened/no sugar added)
-1/2 cup water
-2 tsp. ground flax seed
-2 tsp. vanilla extract

What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350
-In a medium size bowl combine all the dry ingredients together, including the chips and nuts.
-In a separate medium bowl combine all the wet ingredients and stir to incorporate
-Slowing incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and stir until well combined
-Pour mixture into a lightly oil greased 8x8 pan
-Bake for 30-40 minutes- the brownies will be a little moist but a knife/toothpick should still
come out clean from the center

Thank you Dharma!

Isn’t Chocolate and Peanut Butter amazing together?  My best friend got me
hooked on the combination when we were kids and the only ice cream she would get at Baskin Robins was chocolate peanut butter.  I frequently search out a way to add peanut butter into chocolate recipes but you can always leave it out if you
don’t like it as much as me or if you are serving someone with an allergy.   So chocolate and peanut butter made into a pudding seemed like a pretty good idea to me.  My Mom used to use that instant pudding mix to make pudding and put them in little bowls in the fridge; I remember it being very hard to wait the appropriate cooling time before we got to eat it!  Then we would stir in some cool whip or vanilla ice cream, yum! Did
anyone else love that?  So, my taste may have changed a bit but I wanted to replicate that wonderful experience of pudding, vegan style.  So I noticed that “Vegan Pie in the Sky”, a newly published book, had a pudding pie recipe and this is how I made my variation. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed with this; we weren’t!  And I got to use the local Grenada chocolate, a bonus!

What you’ll need:
-Pie crust; store bought or homemade
-3 cups almond milk
-1/4 cup cornstarch
-1/3 cup sugar
-3 tbls. cocoa powder with no additives 
-3 tbls. vegan chocolate chips
-1/3 cup peanut butter
-1 tsp. vanilla extract
-Whip cream (optional) for serving (recipe below)

What’s Next:
-In a medium sized pot, combine 1 cup of the milk with the cornstarch and whisk until dissolved
-Whisk in remaining milk, sugar, and cocoa powder
-Bring to a boil whisking occasionally. Once boiling, reduce heat to slow boil and whisk constantly until the mixture is thick
-Add chips and peanut butter and stir until melted and incorporated. Add vanilla
-While the mixture is hot pour into in the pie crust and let cool on the counter for 20 minutes.
-Place parchment paper over the filling so a skin doesn’t form and refrigerate at least 3 hours
-Serve with whip cream if you wish (hint you’ll need to start this at least 10 hours before serving)

What you’ll need (for the whip cream):
-1 can coconut milk (not the “light” version)
-sugar, stevia, or agave to taste

What’s Next:
-Open the can of coconut milk (do not shake it first) and leave it to sit in your fridge for about 10 hours
-Pour the coconut milk in a bowl (if you want the cream even thicker you can leave out the water part at the bottom of the can
-With a hand mixer or beaters whip in your sugar to taste

 That’s it, enjoy!

This is a cake that I’ve made a bunch of times.  It’s super easy and doesn’t require a bunch of clean up :)!  I whipped it up the other night when we had an unplanned dinner with our friends from “Zero to Cruising.”  Rebecca doesn’t really like things too sweet and this turned out to be a great dessert for her!

Another cruiser brought a version of this to a potluck and asked her for the recipe so I could vegan-ize it and give it a touch of island!

What you’ll need:
-2 cups flour
-3 smallish/medium apples
-1 cup canola oil
-3/4 cup sugar (I use the natural cane kind)
-1 cup natural un-sweetened applesauce
-6 tbls. Water
-3 tsp. baking powder
-1 tsp. vanilla
-1/2 tsp. cinnamon
-1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg 


What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees
-Chop apples, either with or without peels- as you wish! Set aside
-Toss all the ingredients (except apples) into the same bowl and blend (really, no drama here)
-Lightly flour a baking pan- I use an 8x8 but you can use up to a 9x11.
-Place half the batter in the pan and spread around to evenly distribute
-Place half the cut up apples on top the batter
-Pour the other half of the batter on top and lightly shake or spread to distribute evenly
-Place the rest of the apples on top
-Bake for about 30 minutes or until slightly golden brown and toothpick comes clean from center.
-Serve hot or cooled, it’s great both ways.

That’s all!  Enjoy!

I’ve made this cake a bunch of times and it’s always a hit.  All the cooking I do
is for non-vegans and this cake always gets huge compliments.  In fact when I made it on my Dad’s visit he said it was the best cake he has ever had (don’t tell my Mom!)  Although I think he said that about the cake I made later in the week too!  It’s a variation of a recipe from Carob Powder.  Sorry about the
sloppy picture- I forget to take one before we served the cake!

What you’ll need:
-1 ½ cup flour
- ¼ cup high quality coco powder or carob powder (carob powder has a strong taste so I use less)
- 1 tsp. baking soda
- 1 tbls. juice from lemon
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 6 tbls. Canola oil
- 1 cup water

- ½ cup vegan mini chocolate chips (optional) (if you use regular chips the weight of them will sink to the bottom of the cake which is still good)

What’s Next:
-Preheat oven to 350 degrees (again I have no thermostat on my boat oven so I don’t know exactly)
-Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl.  Mix wet ingredients in a separate (large/medium) bowl.
-Sift dry ingredients into wet ingredients and combine until smooth.  The mixture will be runny.
-Add the chocolate chips (if you are using them) and combine 
-Pour mixture into greased cake pan (not a big one) like 8 inch square or 9 inch round
-Bake until toothpick comes out clean in the center- maybe 25-30 minutes.
-Let cool completely before frosting.

Peanut Butter Cream Icing!
The last time I made this cake I made a Peanut Butter Cream Frosting from “Vegan Cupcakes take over the World.”  It is fantastic and goes together marvelously!

Icing Ingredients:
-1/4 cup margarine softened
- 2 tbls. Shortening
-1/3 cup creamy peanut butter
-1 tbls. Maple syrup or agave necter
- 1 ½ tsp vanilla
-1 ¼ cups confectioners’ sugar
-1 to 2 tbls. Soy milk

What’s Next:
-Beat together margarine and shortening until well combined. 
-Add the peanut butter, syrup, and vanilla and continue beating a couple minutes
-Add the sugar, the mixture will be stiff so dribble in the milk and beat for a few more minutes.
-Refrigerate until ready to use

*A frosting hint: I put my frosting into a zip lock bag (zipped up) and cut a small hole in one corner where I squeeze the frosting out of right onto the cupcakes (in a decorative fashion!) If you’re not eating/using all the cupcakes at once only frosting the ones that you will eat at the time.  Any leftover frosting I keep in the same zip lock bag in the fridge (in a cup or bowl so none magically comes out of the small hole all over your fridge- I’ve been there before!)

Nearly every week I bake something.  Usually it’s combined with us inviting friends over, otherwise Marty and I will eat all the cake ourselves and that’s not good.  This week’s dessert is a recipe I created then added a Grenadian flare to- which means nutmeg.  Nutmeg is this country’s number 1 export and Grenada used to be the producer of more nutmeg than any other country in the world- before Hurricane Ivan in 2004, now I believe they are climbing back up the ladder and sit at number 15 or something.  In any case, there is a whole lot of nutmeg here and I’ve noticed that they like to add it to all types of dishes, maybe just because it’s
there so I nicknamed the spice “Grenadian Flare” when I’m talking food.  

What you’ll need/Ingredients:
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup pure cane sugar
1 ½ tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. nutmeg

½ cup applesauce
¼ cup softened vegan margarine (like Earth Balance)
1 tsp. vanilla
¼ cup non-dairy milk

1 cup grated carrots
½ cup mini vegan chocolate chips (if you can’t find mini, regular will do)

Other variations:
Instead of chocolate chips use ½ cup raisins or chopped walnuts

What’s Next:
*Preheat oven: I am not going to pretend to know what temperature- my oven is either lite and “on” or not, which leads me to believe it doesn’t matter all that much about temperature since all my stuff seems to come out fully baked (although admittedly a bit uneven when if I’m using bigger pans!)  So, let’s say 350.
-In a bowl mix all the dry ingredients together.  In a separate (and large) bowl mix wet ingredients.
-By hand sift or slowly add dry ingredients to wet ingredients pausing to incorporate until everything is mixed together and smooth.
-Add carrots and chocolate chips and combine into the mixture.  The mixture will be wet and thick, not runny.

If making cupcakes, place liners in cupcake tin.  Distribute the batter equally between 12 cupcake liners. If making a cake, pour the batter into an 9 inch cake pan, or use a bunt pan to make a small carrot bunt cake.  Bake cupcakes for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean from the center.  Let cool completely before frosting.

Icing!
I would love to tell you to make a vegan cream cheese frosting because it would go great with this but I’ve never made that type of frosting b/c there isn’t a place to buy vegan cream cheese that I’ve seen in the islands.  So, I made this variation of vanilla butter cream frosting from “Vegan Cupcakes take over the World” that is also great.  Icing is really easy to make and you don’t need any fancy mixers.  I use a small electric wand beater but I also have a hand (manual) mixer that I have used while making icing.
Icing Ingredients:
1/3 cup non-hydrogenated shortening
1/3 cup vegan margarine
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tbls. Soy milk
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar

How to make it:
-In a bowl combine shortening and margarine and beat until fluffy.
-Add the sugar and beat for a couple minutes making sure everything is smooth and combined. 
-Add the vanilla and soy milk and beat for several minutes (about 5) until the frosting is fluffy.
-Refrigerate until ready to use.

*A frosting hint: I put my frosting into a zip lock bag (zipped up) and cut a small hole in one corner where I squeeze the frosting out of right onto the cupcakes (in a decorative fashion!) If you’re not eating/using all the cupcakes at once only frosting the ones that you will eat at the time.  Any leftover frosting I keep in the same zip lock bag in the fridge (in a cup or bowl so none magically comes out of the small hole all over your fridge- I’ve been there before!)

Chocolate Chip Macaroon Cookies

This is a variation of a recipe I got from www.theppk.com.  These are fairly simple to make and they are really good.  I’ve made these cookies a bunch of times and shared them with many non-vegans who have all been impressed or, as my brother-in-law likes to obnoxiously point out, they are just saying that!  But I choose to believe the bit about being impressed :-) 

Also, I've made these gluten free with Bob Mills Gluten free all purpose flour and they are still good!

Ingredients:
 -3 oz extra firm silken tofu, like mori-nu (1/4 of the package)
 -1/3 cup coconut or canola oil
 -2 tablespoons non-dairy milk
 -1/2 cup sugar
 -1/2 teaspoon almond extract
 -1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
- 1 cup flour
- ¾  teaspoon baking powder
 -¼  teaspoon salt
 -1 ½  cups unsweetened shredded coconut
 - ¾ cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line two baking sheets with parchment or cooking oil.
 
-Puree tofu, oil and milk in a blender or food processor until smooth, scraping down the sides with a spatula to make sure you get everything.
-Transfer to a mixing bowl. Mix in the sugar and extracts. Mix in flour, baking powder and salt until well incorporated.
-Mix in chocolate chips and then shredded coconut until a stiff dough forms.
-Drop cookies by the spoonful onto cookie sheet 2 inches apart from each other, they don’t spread much at all. Don’t smooth the tops out, it’s cool if they have some pieces of coconut sticking out to get a little browned. Bake for 12 to 14 minutes, the bottoms should be lightly browned and the tops just barely flecked with color in a few spots.
-Let cool on sheets.

**makes about 20- 2 inch cookies (or more if you don’t eat a bunch of the uncooked dough :))**