Sweets

Some sweets for this weekend:

Vegan German Chocolate Cupcakes – to the authors of Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World, I love you.

Vegan Spice Cupcakes dusted with powder sugar.  Mmmmm…

A gifted bottle of wine – my co-workers rock, is all I can say.

A clean house, finally, after weeks of being too exhausted to really clean the house beyond the necessities.

And the sweetest, cutest, couch cuddler ever: my dear little rottie mix, Bodie.

A one-day weekend is too short, but one more 6-day week to go and then it’s almost time for Thanksgiving!  I can hardly wait.  We’re not traveling this year and we finally get to spend a holiday with my dad!  No one told me that getting married meant spending more time with in-laws (not that I don’t love them) than the family I grew up with and miss dearly.  I can’t wait to spend time with my family, reveling in the memories of good food and my amazing family that make me who I am.  My assignments for contributing this Thanksgiving:  green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, fresh cranberry sauce, pea salad or other green veggie dish, maybe some roasted beets, and vegan, nut-free cupcakes.  And, we get to take our puppy with us!  He’s the newest, most spoiled grand-pup ever.

Cheers!

vegan coconut pecan frosting made fresh = heaven.

VEGAN GERMAN CHOCOLATE CUPCAKES
straight from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

For the 12 cupcakes:

Measure 1 cup soy milk and add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.  Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together:  1 cup all-purpose flour (I use unbleached) – when doubling, I use 1 cup all-purpose and 1 cup whole wheat pastry – 1/3 cup cocoa powder, 3/4 tsp baking soda, 1/2 tsp baking powder, and 1/4 tsp salt.
In a large bowl, mix together 3/4 cup granulated sugar, 1/3 cup canola oil, 1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
Now, I veer from the book’s instructions – I add the flour mixture and begin to mix.
Then, I add a flax egg – 2 Tbsp flax oil, 1/8 tsp baking powder, and 3 Tbsp water mixed together.
Then add the milk and whisk until just mixed.
Fill 12 cupcake liners and bake at 350 degrees for 18 – 20 minutes.
Cool in the pan a few minutes, then finish cooling on wire racks.

For the Frosting:
I subbed a few ingredients, so this is the recipe I used according to my substitutes.

Whisk 1/4 cup soy milk with 2 Tbsp cornstarch and a scant pinch of salt. (the recipe calls for rice milk, but I don’t use it regularly, so I used my trusty non-sweetened Silk soy milk).
In a saucepan, add 3/4 cup soy milk, 1 cup brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp coconut extract. (the recipe calls for coconut milk instead, without the extract, but I didn’t have coconut milk on hand, so this was my improvisation, and it was yummy).
Heat this over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until it begins to boil.  Reduce heat and continue cooking for 5 minutes.
Re-whisk the cornstarch mixture then add slowly to the brown sugar mixture.
Stir occasionally and cook about 11 minutes, until the mixture becomes really thick and smooth.
Remove from heat and add 1 1/2 cups unsweetened flaked coconut and 1/2 cup pecan pieces.  Okay, so I used closer to 1 or 1 1/2 cups pecan pieces.  One-half cup was just not enough pecans for me.  And trust me, use the unsweetened coconut.  The brown sugar is all the sweetness you need.
Cool to room temp and frost the cupcakes.  These are divine.  My kids were in heaven, and so were a couple of the student workers at the office.

 

VEGAN SPICE CUPCAKES
again, from the Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World

For 12 cupcakes:

Measure 1 cup soy milk and add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar.  Set aside.
In a medium bowl, sift together 1 1/4 cup all-purpose flour (again, I used unbleached, and when doubling, use whole wheat pastry flour for the second half of the flour), 2 Tbsp cornstarch, 3/4 tsp baking powder, 1/2 tsp baking soda, and 1/2 tsp salt.
To this, I added some spices to make this basic cupcake a spice cupcake:  2 tsp ground ginger, 1 tsp ground cinnamon, 1/2 tsp ground cloves, and 1/2 tsp ground allspice.  Mix well.
In a large bowl, mix 3/4 cup granulated sugar with 1/3 cup canola oil and 2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract.
Mix in the dry ingredients, and again, I add a flax egg:  2 Tbsp flax oil, 1/8 tsp baking powder, and 3 Tbsp water mixed together.
Add the milk, and stir until combined.
Fill 12 cupcake liners and bake at 350 for 20 – 22 minutes.

You can top with cinnamon buttercream, or plain buttercream.  Or, what I did for sake of time and ease, dust with powdered sugar.

Read Full Post »

Just Jump In

Almost 4 years ago, I went to a sports bar to meet some friends for Monday Night Football.  Cowboys vs the Giants and the Giants killed the Cowboys.  Killed.  I went to spend time with friends, but someone had invited this really cute guy.  Really cute quiet shy guy.  He thought I was cute too.  We decided a date was in order.  A couple days later I called him to finalize date details.  I kept hearing little voices in the background.  “What is that I hear?  Who’s talking?”  “Those are my little girls.  I have two little girls.”  I was sold.  Then and there.  Within two months, I had met the girls, the youngest had asked, “when are you just going to move in so you can stay here all the time?,” prompting me to move in – to a house nearly 60  miles from where I worked, with a guy, his two daughters, his crazy chocolate lab, two cats, two dwarf hamsters, and a fish.

And today was one of those magically awesome days that just make me smile at that split second decision in October 2006 to just jump in to a whole new world.

Today held everything.  Exercising, grocery buying, frustrate-ing, house cleaning, relaxing, laughing.  Hubby needed to take the girls to get hair cuts, so he did that while I bought groceries.  I made lunch while I put the groceries away so it would be ready when they walked in the door.  I chose one of the girls’ favorites:

I mix green peas into the shells with cheese, and my kids love the veggie chikn nuggets.

The girls devoured every last bite.  Then split a gala apple, and then had a mini cupcake each.  They were hungry!

Hubby was frustrated he had so many chores today.  He was on floor duty.  This is what floor duty looks like while he’s taking a break to play his video game.

I was on bathroom-cleaning duty.  Finally, the whole house was cleaned!

Hubby went to run some errands while I relaxed with some cooking shows and reading.  Before I knew it, it was time to start making dinner!  Where’d the day go?

Earlier, while lunch was cooking, I put about 1/3 cup of Chimichurri sauce over about 1.25 pounds of salmon to marinade.

Preheat oven to 425 and place the salmon in a parchment lined baking dish; bake for 10 minutes per inch of thickness – I baked mine for 20 minutes.

Time for the side dish:
Quinoa, Squash & Zucchini Salad
In a saucepan, place 2 cups water with 1 cup quinoa, bring to a boil, reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 – 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.

While that cooks, heat a medium, deep skillet and add a tablespoon or so of oil.  Dice one yellow squash and one zucchini; add to hot skillet.  Cook for about 10 minutes, then add one clove pressed garlic and cook a few more minutes.

The quinoa should be ready; add it to the squash mixture in the skillet, along with  1/4 – 1/3 cup chopped green onion.  Season with salt and pepper to taste, about 1 Tbsp dried parsley, and 1/4 tsp dried cilantro, plus 1 tsp of the chimichurri sauce.  Stir to mix well.

And serve alongside the salmon.

Chimichurri Salmon

• Marinade 1 – 1.5 pounds salmon in 1/3 – 1/2 cups bottled chimichurri sauce for at least 30 minutes or up to 5 hours.
• Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
• Place salmon in a parchment lined baking dish.
• Bake 10 minutes per inch of thickness.

Quinoa, Squash, and Zucchini Salad

• In a medium saucepan, combine 2 cups water with 1 cup quinoa.
• Bring to a rolling boil.
• Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 – 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
• While that cooks, dice one yellow squash and one zucchini.
• Heat a medium, deep skillet with a Tbsp or so of oil.
• Add the squash and zucchini to the skillet; cook about 10 minutes over medium to medium-high heat.
• While that cooks, finely chop about 1/4- 1/3 cup green onions and peel and mince one clove garlic.
• After the squash and zucchini have cooked about 10 minutes, add the minced garlic and cook a few more minutes.
• The quinoa should be ready; pour it into the squash mixture.
• Add 1 Tsp dried parsley, 1/4 tsp dried cilantro, 1 tsp chimichurri sauce, and the green onions.  Mix well.
• Serve alongside the salmon.

Yum!  I had two very happy girls and one really happy hubby after this meal.  Did I mention my stepdaughters love salmon?  They beg for it.  And this salmon was so, so good – the chimichurri sauce is the perfect marinade to keep the salmon moist and delectable during cooking.  The final flavor is so buttery and full of herbs, with a slight kick.  Fresh chimichurri sauce would be better, but due to being ill all summer, I didn’t keep up with my herb garden so it’s no longer, unfortunately.

Later in the evening one of my friends came over and she got to experience my goofy children who were dancing around, playing “actresses,” and being plain silly.  She’s known my kids for a while, they’ve slept over at her house numerous times, and tonight was the first time she really saw them let loose and be goofs.  We laughed so hard, they had a great time, and I was so very proud to watch two ecstatically happy girls laughing and being themselves at home with their stepmom whose life they jumped into with open hearts and sweet hugs.  It was the perfect end to a day in the life of a marriage that I jumped into without a second thought.

What was your “just jump in” decision you made without a second thought that changed your life?

Read Full Post »