Easy Vegan Gluten Free Pumpkin Bread

This is my favorite fall recipe ever. I love pumpkin bread so much. Like, so much. I like to make mini muffins and every morning I make a hot cup of tea and enjoy it with two mini muffins while I read magazines and cuddle under a soft throw. I highly recommend this activity for instant coziness.

The great thing about this recipe is that you can make it in a toaster oven--very convenient for energy saving or multi-tasking! Plus it's just so cute.

Ingredients:
1 3/4 cup GF flour (I use Bob's Red Mill All Purpose GF Flour)
3/4 tsp Guar Gum or Xantham Gum (this may change according to the package directions on your flour)
1 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup vegan white sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 cup pumpkin puree
1/2 cup Earth Balance, slightly melted
1/3 cup almond/coconut/flax/hemp milk
1/2 cup chocolate chips

Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.
2. Grease your pan.
3. Stir dry ingredients together.
4. Add in wet ingredients.
5. Fold in chocolate chips.
6. Bake!

For a bread pan, bake for 1 hour 5 minutes. Yields one loaf.
For muffins, bake for 25 minutes. Yields one dozen muffins.
For mini muffins, back for 20 minutes. Yields three dozen mini muffins.

Store in an air-tight container for up to a week. Mini muffins can also be frozen and eaten later!

♥ Shannon

The Windy City Dress

This week it finally feels like fall here in Southern California! Cool weather, soft layered clothing, and pumpkin spice lattes--it feels wonderful. It makes me want to curl up on the couch with a fluffy blanket and a good book.

 Outfit details: Windy City Dress by ModCloth, Mossimo heels from Target, Jones New York coat

We just moved out of the city, and for those of you not in Los Angeles, it pretty much has one season all year: warm. So I'm looking forward to seeing some leaves change color, to cupping my hands around warm drinks, and to sitting around a warm fire.

Happy Fall!

♥ Shannon

Fall Recipe Round-Up

Happy October! I'm not going to lie, this is about when I start getting very, very excited about holidays. And while there apparently is no Autumn in Los Angeles, I will still be enjoying pumpkin until they tell me to stop!

Here are some of my favorite fall recipes from last year:

1. This dreamy pumpkin smoothie is so yummy (and perfect if you, too, are still experiencing hot weather!)

2. Warm up your mornings with yummy coconut oatmeal!

3. Buckwheat Pumpkin Pancakes topped with Agave & Earth Balance--these are seriously good.

4. Pumpkin muffins with chocolate morsels? Yes. Yes yes yes.

5. This Autumn Punch recipe is perfect for romantic dinners or visiting with friends. Enjoy!

♥ Shannon

Vegan Pumpkin Recipe

Today's post is brought to you by Jade from Spirit of the People. It looks so delicious! I'll just get right to it.

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Happy Early Halloween everybody! I am so very happy that Shannon is letting me share one of my favorite pumpkin recipes - Vegan Chocolate Chip Pumpkin Muffins! Trust me, they are fabulous!

I make these muffins all of the time. They are my go-to breakfast treat, but I especially love them around Halloween and the fall. Also, it doesn't hurt that they are so easy to make.

This recipe is a modified version of Isa Chandra Moskowitz's "The Best Pumpkin Muffins" which can be found in her cookbook Vegan with a Vengeance. She is a wizard in the kitchen! I hope that you enjoy these punkin treats as much as I do. They would be ideal for a work function or a fall brunch.

What you will need:

Dry Ingredients

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 1/4 cups sugar (make sure the sugar is vegan)

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

Wet Ingredients

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup soy or coconut milk

1/2 cup vegetable or sunflower oil

2 tablespoons molasses

2/3 or 1 cup vegan chocolate chips, your preference (not pictured)

Preheat oven to 400 degree F. Lightly grease a twelve-muffin tin, or as I did, you can use fun, festive Halloween inspired tin liners. I spray them with oil to make sure I get the entire muffin out. I’m greedy like that.

Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, salt, and spices. In a separate bowl, whisk together pumpkin, soy or coconut milk, oil, and molasses. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, mix, add the chocolate chips, and then stir until they are incorporated throughout.

Fill the muffin cups two-thirds full. 

Bake for 17-20 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. (Watch your muffins because you don't want to end up like me. I let mine brown a little too much.)

Voila! Happy Eating and Trick or Treating!

P.S. Shannon posted about vegan candy a little earlier in October. Well, I thought I would share one of my favorites – Annie’s Organic Bunny Fruit Snacks. You can buy these at Kroger on the Halloween aisle. A bag contains Summer Strawberry and Berry Patch packs. Kids and adults will love them.

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Thank you so much for this recipe, Jade--I can't wait to use it, like, every day until June....

Make sure you visit Jade's online shoppe, Spirit of the People. I particularly like her little fish brooch!

♥ Shannon

Delicious Pumpkin Pancakes

I love pumpkin pancakes this time of year. They are so easy to make--and the beauty is that the pumpkin is what makes them vegan--use it as an egg substitute for delicious pancakes that are crispy on the outside and fluffy on the inside.

So here's what you do: your favorite pancake mix, but substitute 1/4 cup pumpkin for 1 egg. If the recipe calls for milk, use your favorite milk substitute (I like almond or coconut milk). Top these babies with some melted Earth Balance and a bit of Agave Nectar or Maple Syrup. Delicious!

♥ Shannon

Halloween Round-Up: PT II

Happy Monday!! Did I mention that I'm mid road-trip right now? California or bust, baby!

Here are some of my favorite Halloween crafts this week:

These Burlap Ghost Lights from Burton Avenue are ah-MAZ-ing!

I just couldn't resist these Pom Pom Owls or these Broom Candy Bags from Woman's Day!!

Here are a few no-carve pumpkins if you're eager to get yourself to the pumpkin patch this year!

I love these painted lantern pumpkins--so pretty and festive!

How fun are these fish-net pumpkins from The Idea Attic???

Have you started crafting? Leave me a link in the comments below--I'd love to check out your projects!!

♥ Shannon

Halloween Round-Up #1

There are so many fun ideas out there, friends. Last month, eighteen25 started off the season with their Spooktacular September event. Here are my favorites:

These Spooky Stone Spiders from Simple as That are AMAZING.

This Bat Lantern from A Bit of Sunshine is pretty genius--it looks fantastic at night.

I love this Table Runner from The Polkadot Chair is super clever--you can have a lot of fun with that.

And then there's Martha Stewart. Oohhhh Martha. So many great ideas. Here are two I'm loving right now:

These Cheesecloth Spiderwebs are perfect for the haunted mansion mystique I'm so fond of. Isn't that a great tablescape?

This Pumpkin Pie Potpourri craft is simply brilliant. Who doesn't want the aromas of sweet pumpkin wafting through their fall home? I cannot wait to try it!!!

Have you started scoping out your favorites? I'd love to hear about them.

Did I mention I really love Halloween?

♥ Shannon

PS: Check out my new October sponsors! I love 'em!

Dreamy Pumpkin Smoothie

I love pumpkin, okay? I love pumpkin seeds, pumpkin pie, pumpkin spice...everything. And you know what? I don't feel bad about that, because pumpkin is so good for you: Vitamin A, Vitamin C, beta-carotene, potassium...oh so many delights. So you can have one of these and think of it as a healthy treat!

Ingredients:
1 cup coconut ice cream (look, you can use soy, but it's just not quite as good!)
1/4 cup pumpkin puree (perhaps more, if it pleases you)
1/4-1/2 cup coconut milk
1 TBS agave or maple syrup
1-2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

Step 1: Blend ingredients, using as much coconut milk and spice as you like
Step 2: Drink and savor, my friends

It's like pumpkin pie in a cool, creamy cup. Feel free to top with roasted pecans or shredded coconut--this is a real treat for your tastebuds. Bonus: it's vegan--no animals were harmed in the making of this smoothie!

♥ Shannon

Jack O'Lantern Inspiration

There are some truly amazing pumpkin-carvers out there. I've been browsing for inspiration, and here are some of my favorites.

To start with, Martha Stewart has some amazing Halloween-themed pumpkins! I love the details:

This moth and candlestick are so haunted mansion!

 This frisky kitty is using a popular new trend: the layered carving approach for different lighting. The effect here is great!

 I love this pair of actually haunted mansions. With the layered carving look again!

This guy looks amazing--I especially love the key detail!

Another great trend is floral designs. This one is from Janice on design*sponge.

This one is Martha Stewart again. Not your traditional Halloween theme, but perfect for fall!

Then, of course, there are the pop culture ones. As a secret Star Wars fan, I just love this!

And then of course there are the precious final touches. Classic Martha!

What will you be carving this year?
♥ Shannon