Chocolate Banana Protein Pancakes with Maple-Peanut Butter Sauce (gluten free)

Lawd have mercy!

It’s been a long time. A long, long time. Suffice it to say that I’ve been very busy and that I never thought I’d find myself writing another post, certainly not now anyway. Since I last wrote, I’ve moved to central NY, taken a job at a farm animal sanctuary where on a daily basis, I care for about 600 rescued cows, chickens, pigs, turkeys, goats, sheep, and waterfowl–animals who have suffered tremendous agonies and have been lucky enough to end up in the safest place possible. And yet, they make up only a fraction of a fraction of a fraction of those who will never know the things we all want and need regardless of our species: to be respected, to be loved unconditionally, and to feel safe. It’s been quite the experience.

Peanut Butter Pumpkin Vegan Dog Treats

Dog tested, dog mom approved!

Good day, MoFos and friends! Here’s one for the dog lovers out there! I’ve been meaning to take on vegan dog treats for a time and I figured, well the Vegan Month of Food is as good a time as any. My little vegan superhero pooch, Chicken — yes that’s his real name, named after the bird in it’s living state — really likes pumpkin and the only thing he likes more than pumpkin is peanut butter so, I thought: why not give the little man the best of both worlds?

This may not be human comfort food, but in the spirit of veganism — here’s to the desires and comfort of my favorite little nonhuman friend! These treats are so easy to make and Chicken absolutely loves them! Hopefully, you know of a four-legged, bushy tailed someone who will love them too!

Peanut Butter Banana Chocolate Chip Cookies

Keep the cows happy: Serve with a nice tall glass of almond milk!

Peanut butter, bananas, chocolate. What’s not to love?! For a long time, I’ve feared that I simply couldn’t make an “uncomplicated” cookie. But here I am, proving myself wrong. This cookie recipe is so simple and all you need is one bowl! Chances are you already have all the ingredients at home — but you might need to run out to the store for some vegan chocolate which can be easily found at Whole Foods or most supermarkets. As usual, if a certain brand is “accidentally” vegan, please make sure that if the ingredients list sugar that it is organic or beet sugar as these are inherently vegan and not processed with bones. This is really simple stuff, folks. Don’t be fooled into thinking otherwise — bone processed sugar is insanely easy to affordably avoid.

Another plus about these super simple cookies is that they are flourless. That’s right. No flour. You know what that means? They’re gluten free — as long as you use gluten free vegan chocolate chips, of course! These  gluten free ones are easy to find in most supermarkets. These cookies are also delicious and hard to resist! I recently made a batch to take on a hiking trip and boy were they a welcome treat at the top of the mountain! If I hadn’t added chocolate, I could have shared them with the dogs who seemed very eager to give me their expert opinions. But they settled for their very own vegan treats (see picture below)!

I highly recommend trying these out if you love peanut butter. Or, you know, cookies in general. Don’t fret about using light brown sugar (they’ll just come out a little lighter in color) or smooth peanut butter — they’ll still be super tasty! If you are using natural peanut butter — the kind that separates from the oil — make sure that you mix it very well before adding it. You don’t want to add a lot of the extra oil to the cookies or they will flatten out quite a bit! Enjoy!

Easy Peanut Butter Cream Pie with Chocolate Cookie Crust — aka “The Cow Farmer” Pie

I’ve had this pre-made chocolate pie crust for what seems like…ever. But really, it’s only been a few weeks. Lately, I’ve been going back in forth on how to use it. I had my “a-ha!” moment yesterday when an old friend posted something on my Facebook wall that reminded me and reinforced to me, just how awesome she truly is. When I was in high school, this girl loved Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups. She loved them so much that she wore a bright orange Reese’s t-shirt pretty much any chance she could. That’s how I mostly remember her.

She was vegan (we called her “Cow Farmer” or “Cowf” for short), and I remember how she lamented that Reese’s weren’t. I remember that it was the only non-vegan food item she couldn’t give up. Eventually, knowing that the pleasure of a Reese’s Peanut Butter Cup does not outweigh the horror that goes into making it, she gave them up. Yeah, she’s pretty cool like that. She also speedily stepped in for me last week when I really needed her help. So, in honor of her past and present awesomeness, I have made a Reese’s inspired peanut butter cream pie with a chocolate crust.

I wish this pie could really encompass how amazing this girl is, but it just can’t because…it’s a pie. Still, it’s pretty damn close.

But I suppose I should tell you a little about the pie…