Vegan Dinner & Chewy [Vegan] Brownies

As one of my 2012 goals, two of my sorority sisters and I started a vegan night. From now until they leave me (for grad school, work, etc), we will be have a vegan dinner once every two weeks---complete with dessert, of course! One of the sisters, Amanda, has been vegan for a few years now, so she is acting as our guiding leader. I've given up meat and cheese for lent before, so I have a little experience with being creative with my protein (and enjoy it!); but just so far this year, I've discovered food items I've never tried before and ones with overlooked potential.

Last night, I hosted our second vegan dinner night at my apartment. Through some brainstorm emails back and forth, we created the following menu:

Dinner: Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup with Cornbread from Veganomicon
Dessert: Chewy Brownies

Chipped bowl...sorry for the poor presentation

It was 64 degrees yesterday, so not prime soup weather, but we went with it! Soup is such an easy vegan meal! Its something you don't typically think of as being vegan, but with a few swaps (e.g. vegetable broth for chicken broth, beans for meat), it's a tasty and satisfying option. There was a large amount of chili powder and black beans in this soup (3 CANS!), and was balanced by the slight sweetness of the potato. And the cornbread was PHEMON...it wasn't as m-(rhymes with oist) as my mom's sour cream cornbread, but it still had great flavor. We used medium-grind cornmeal and white whole wheat flour, which gave it a great rustic texture, and you could taste a slight nuttiness from the almond milk. I shamelessly enjoyed THREE pieces.

Last, but not least, vegan dessert. This is something that I've gotten the impression people are scared of. I told Boyfriend on the phone last night that we made brownies and he responded with "Well...what's in them?" I admit, I've heard of vegans getting a little weird-n-crazy with substitute ingredients--some which I am willing to try--but that's not what every recipe is like! These brownies had completely normal ingredients! Flour, sugar, cocoa powder, oil, chocolate chips...there just weren't any eggs, butter, or milk. And honestly, they were just as delicious as normal brownies. 

With that being said, there were some subtle differences. Most noticeable was the texture: it was in between dense and cakey, definitely not dry, but it didn't hold together as well as normal brownies, making it difficult to scoop up in one piece when still warm. Probably due to the absence of eggs? I think all three of us would agree that the absence of eggs isn't worth changing...we were able to eat the batter straight out of the bowl without a single worry of salmonella poisoning! (which I still dismiss as a myth...)

I'm happy to say that vegan dinner #2 was a success. Plus, we all have some delicious leftovers for lunch today! Also, my week will be complete if I can get Boyfriend to try a brownie tonight...fingers crossed!

Chewy Brownies (Vegan)

Adapted from Compassion Over Killing

Servings: ~24 (one 9x13 pan)

2 cups flour (1 cup AP, 1 cup white whole wheat)

2 cups sugar

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 cup water

1 cup canola oil

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 cup vegan chocolate chips, divided
Optional: 1/2 cup walnuts

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine all dry ingredients in a medium bowl. 

• Using a double-boiler, melt 3/4 cup of chocolate chips. Add the water, oil, and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well. Lastly, pour in the melted chocolate chips and remaining 1/4 cup of solid chocolate chips (and walnuts, if you desire) into the batter and stir until combined.

• Pour into a well-greased 9x13 pan and bake for 20-25 minutes for fudgey brownies, or up until 30 minutes when a tester inserted in the center comes out clean. Allow to cool for about 10 minutes before eating.