Cinna..wha????

Okay...My husband Tim has put me on my own Vegan Food Challenge...to create Vegan versions of the most delicious foods that he belives can ONLY taste RIGHT in his world (the omni side of the world that is..) as well as some packaged foods he feels are utterly impossible to re-create or actaully, no...impossible for ME to re-create. So far I have to whip up a batch of Vegan Rice Krispies using a vegan marshmallow substitute, caramel (eh.), Regular AND Vegan croissants...and that's just the beginning. Well, when we went grocery shopping last weekend Tim and Amerie decided to grab a can of Pillsbury's Cinnamon Rolls and asked for me to pop them in the oven tomorrow morning for breakfast....okay fine..but what about mommy?

My goal has always been to create a Vegan version of whatever I cook for them, breakfast, lunch or dinner so one, I don't feel so left out and Amerie won't wnat what I have, and two, to show off my artistic, culinary skills. I have to show Amerie (and others) that veganism is a change but that it's easy to live by and with patience, lots of research and a few skills..easily adjustable as well. So since they were having Cinnamon Rolls..I wanted to them too!!

I started off by pulling out a huge jar of yeast from the fridge that my mom had given me a while back....I tested to see if it was still good and what I got was no reaction and a slightly sour smell so that didn't work....I rummaged through my small pile of food "packets" hoping a small pack of yeast would slip out..nothing. "Tim!" I ran half way down the stairs looked at my loving husband,lip pouted out, eyes as depressing and innocent as that of a puppy dog and with the tone of a sad little girl I murmered, "I have no yeast.." Thankfully there's a Shoppers literally right across the street so he willfully obliged to make a quick run (not for me but more for his own sanity in hopes of preventing any further moping and wining =-) ssh..it works every time!)

So now I had a three fresh packs of yeast...this should take no time right? WRONG!!! I searched for a recipe that seemed quite popular and decently successful among my fellow vegans, halved the recipe and jumped right into it...5 attempts, 3 packs of yeast, almost 2 cups of soy milk and a whole cup of sugar later..I get a yeast that slightly foams..for some reason I could not get my yeast to activate and foam...

I figured it had something to do with the warmth of the milk but unfortunately, when you move into a new home, kitchen gadgets along with other household needs are added onto a new homeowner's list titled "Gradual Purchases: One Item, $50, Each Paycheck" listed by importance and a kitchen thermometer..not quite on top.

Anyways I completed the recipe, kneading the old fashion way of course, threw a damp towel on top and left with a pre-conceived notion that this sucker was going to be a dud. But once again I was wrong! I came back 45 minutes later to a mostly risen, light and airy dough ready to be rolled out (BTW not with a rolling pin but with a cooking spray can covered in press-n-seal wrap..I tell ya it works!), drenched in Earth Balance Butter and topped with cinnamon sugar. I rolled it up into a nice round log, cut the log into 6 1-1 1'2" thick rolls, placed three on a baking sheet, covered it with plastic wrap and threw it in the fridge to rise overnight while the other three I tossed into a freezer bag and threw them in the freezer for future cravings.

So far my cinnamon buns seem to be a success..Tim seems quite convinced that my creation may pass the "It's so "Real" Taste Test. So far he says the dough smells very good and that they look "normal" so we shall see when we reach the final steps in My Vegan Food Challenge..Stay Tuned for tomorrow morning when the final step of baking is completed and the Vegan Buns face the Omnni Judges.