Vegan Brownies

I didn't really intend my first real post on here to be about a recipe but due to the fact I'm on a rush this morning and that I really wanted to post something (not to get into the bad habit of not writing often enough), I decided that it would be better than nothing.

It's something I baked quite a few months back and it probably was one of my first vegan dessert baking experience. I never was a very big fan of brownies but I decided to give those a try and really didn't regret it!

• 2 cups unbleached flour 
• 2 cups sugar 
• 1/2 cup cocoa 
• 1 teaspoon baking powder 
• 1 pinch of salt 
• 1 cup water 
• 1 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup of vegan chocolate chips

First, you need to preheat the oven to 350 degrees. 

Then, mix the flour, cocoa, sugar, baking powder and the salt.

In a different bowl, mix the water, vegetable oil, vanilla extract and vegan chocolate chips and add it all to the "dry" mixture. 

Stir well and pour into a pan and bake for 25 minutes. 

Though, the time  depends on your oven... I remember cooking them for just over 25 minutes due to my oven being a bit difficult to control the temperature of but my brownies ended up slightly too cooked. It still was delicious, don't get me wrong, but next time, I'll make sure to keep a closer eye on it!

Enjoy!

A Little Vegan Introduction

     As a vegetarian for many years, I quite recently (about a year ago) decided to make the transition to veganism. Gradually cutting out food, I finally achieved my goal. Although I must admit it wasn't without difficulties... As a Canadian currently living in the UK, the main difficulty was (and still is) getting the information and support. At first, I felt I was the only vegan aspiring in the entire area of Manchester... and I'm sure it's a feeling shared by many when considering becoming a vegan on their own. Becoming a vegetarian was a much easier thing to do for me as I never really liked meat anyway... I was eating it because people around me were doing so and because that's what was put in front of me by my parents. It only took about 4-5 months living on my own for me to decide to stop eating meat altogether. Naturally, becoming a vegan is a much bigger step, which is why I did it so gradually... motivated by my desire of ethical treatment of animals as well as the book which started it all for me: "Skinny Bitch", by Rory Freedman & Kim Barnouin.

The fact that my husband is an omnivore didn't make the process any easier either! Despite all his very appreciated support, I still could see all the food I wouldn't allow myself to eat laying there in my kitchen. It still can be tempting sometimes, especially with food I used to absolutely love such as cheese and chocolate, but I only have to think about the non-existing ethic behind it all to push the temptation away.

Another obstacle was finding vegan food in my area. I'm living in a little town just outside of Manchester, where both vegetarian and vegan options are basically non-existent or at least very limited. I sometimes go to Manchester in order to fill my cupboards but in between, it can be quite a struggle. When I think about how vegan friendly my hometown of Montreal is, I long to move back there even more!

So I have to admit that during that transition process, internet probably was my "best friend". I found so many good websites and blogs which are there to support, inform and motivate! I sincerely don't know if I would have managed without all this and I think that's what pushed me to create my own little blog in which I plan to write about issues/challenges that I have gone through and still am (probably just like most vegans), reading and viewing materials that inspire or anger me, cooking, fashion (which is also one of my passion)and hopefully many other things related to my lifestyle choice and animal activism.