Vegan MOFO Day 6 - Sweet Potato Stew, Chocolate Cake and VEGAN MARSHMALLOW FLUFF!!!

First off I know what you're thinking... "You ACCIDENTALLY made vegan fluff??" The answer is a resounding YES! More to come on that later... but here's a teaser pic!

It was super easy, cheap and doesn't have a ton of crap or chemicals!

Anyways, back to what I had planned to post about! I'm home for the weekend and therefore get to cook in MY kitchen!! Even better is the fact a few months ago my mom went vegan, and since she's basically the only other long-term vegan I know (friends have dabbled and dieted) it's fun being able to cook for her! Not to mention I came home to find the table looking adorable! AND the fridge stocked with SOY FREE Earth Balance!!! Apparently our local supermarket started carrying it out of the blue and I'm super excited about it!

I made this stew a few weeks ago for friends and we scarfed it down, so I figured a re-make would be fabulous. I started off with this recipe and changed enough that I'll post my version! If you have the chance to get cumin seeds I can't recommend doing it enough. It may seem pricey or like it would be a pain in the butt, but it's completely worth it! And you use less because it's more potent (not to mention has better flavor) so you save money in the long run!

Butternut Squash and Sweet Potato Stew

Ingredients

1 large butternut squash - chopped

1 or 2 largeish sweet potatoes - chopped

2 large onions - chopped

1 head of garlic - roughly chopped

2 cans of black beans - drained and rinsed

veggie stock (for the bazillionth time this week use Better than Bouillon it gives you way more control over how much stock you use!)

2 tbs cumin

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chili powder

juice of half a lime

Saute squash, sweet potato and onions until soft. Add enough veggie broth to cover (monitor as you go to ensure your desired stew consistency). Throw in garlic and spices. Simmer until squash breaks down. Serve with a touch of vegan butter on the top and some fresh herbs or scallions!

The makings of an amazing soup!!

The finished product!

Now the part I'm sure all of you are wondering... how did she make vegan fluff in 5 minutes??? Remember how yesterday I mentioned the glorious coconut creme I found in the fridge? I thought it would make a perfect frosting for a cake... oh man was I WRONG. First I was using a different brand of coconut milk so I'm not sure if that made a difference or not, but the creme wasn't as firm or whipped like this time... I may have needed to refrigerate it for longer too, who knows? Anyways I thought it would be fine if I just added some powdered sugar to it.... yeah DID NOT WORK! Proof of fail is pictured below!

You can't see from this picture but the cake's top layer has basically slid off the bottom layer! Whoopsies :-). While I was making the "frosting" I started thinking that it seemed an awful lot like marshmallow fluff! Taste, texture, EVERYTHING! It even got the same level of gooey as fluff does, but dries with a non-sticky surface (keeps the gooeyness though!!!)

Stupid Simple Marshmallow Fluff

1 can full fat coconut milk, chilled and only the fluffy creme part of the milk, not the watery part

3-4 cups powdered sugar

Whisk together!

Serve in a pb&fluff sandwich, or however you'd use the original stuff!! More recipes with this stuff are sure to follow!