Fun Cakes I made this year!

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

A while back I stopped updating this blog and have been working on perfecting some of my skills. I am also considering Culinary School. I struggle with the vegan issue as well as the family issue though and I am not sure if it will work at this point in time but I have decided to continue to hone my knife skills and challenge myself to see where I can get. Hopefully I will be able to update a little more often now that I will be again working on new things.

I have been inundated with requests for my Caramel Apple Cinnamon Cupcake recipe. It is part of a cookbook I am making but I will throw it on here for those who are asking. :) For one of my friends in particular:(You better let my precious baby friend Psalms have some... you know who you are lol!)


Caramel Apple Cinnamon Cupcakes
The Cupcakes:
1 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 tsp Cinnamon
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon extract(optional)
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line muffin tray with paper liners and set aside until ready.
Wisk together Soy Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar in a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside to allow to curdle. Next, sift together flour, baking soda, baking pwder, salt and spices. Add sugar, oil, and extracts to the Milk mixture and slowly mix flour mixture into milk mixture until just combined. Do not over mix!

Fill paper liners 3/4 full and bake for 18-20 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

The Center/Topping:
2 Granny smith Apples or other baking type apples
2 tbsp Vegan Margarine (Earth Balance is my first choice)
2 tbsp Brown sugar

Carefully dice Apples into 1/2 inch dice. Melt Margerine in heavy bottom skillet and add apples and brown sugar. Coook at medium temp until apples are soft and sugar has caramelized and liquid has reduced.

The Frosting: (Click on the link for more awesome cupcake recipes and icings and more from Isa Moskovitz and Terry Hope Romero)
1/2 cup vegan cream cheese (softened)
1/2 cup vegan margarine (softened)
4 cups powdered sugar
2 tsp vanilla extract

cream together cream cheese and margarine with electric mixer. When well mixed add vanilla extract and slowly add powdered sugar in 1/2 cup increments until well mixed.

There is also typically a vegan caramel in these cupcakes as well however it is a very advanced culinary technique and I am not going to post it. The apple mixture in the cupcakes should be enough for the caramel flavor or you can purchase something like This Vegan Caramel or you can just skip it.

Now to assemble, I cut a cone shape out of the cupcake in the middle. You can also use a spoon and dig it out but keep removed cake in one piece. Place the cone shape to the side and fill with apple mixture. Put the cone point side up back onto the cupcake and the using a icing tip pipe around it using it as a center to get a nice tall peak on your cupcake. Sprinkle a couple more apple pieces on top of your cupcake and a small amount of caramel if using.

March Meatout

So March Meatout is coming up fast. March 20th I will be asking my friends to give up Meat for a day. If you gave up Meat last year for the day you might consider trying to be Vegan for a day! I will start posting recipes for the Meatout, so let me know if there is something you want but don't know how to make Vegan or Vegetarian!

Today on Oprah she and her staff are going Vegan for a week... I posted the question on Facebook and Twitter... Could you go Vegan for a week? My guess is you could and you wouldn't even miss it!

Next week my family (filled with omnivores and one mostly vegetarian) will. I am not going to tell them (don't worry they don't read my blog.) My guess is that they will not notice. Starting Monday Feb 7th I will feed them only Vegan food. Since I have teenagers I am not sure what kind of (Starbucks) mess they will eat/drink away from me but I will do my best to have them eat Vegan food. Cake, Ice Cream, Mousse, Veg Burgers, Enchiladas and whatever else I can trick them into. I will post the results as we go. SHH... don't tell anyone!

TVP Sloppy Joes-Chili Joes

Interesting pic huh? It is from my Tupperware container since I made these and didn't plan on posting it. lol sorry!


Okay so these aren't your normal sloppy joes with the BBQ flavor... I like things a little spicy! These are more of a "Chili" Joe. I imagine they would be Amazing on or over some vegan cornbread!

If you aren't familiar with TVP, get familiar! Wiki says this:
Textured or texturized vegetable protein (TVP), also known as textured soy protein (TSP), soy meat, or soya meat is a meat analogue or nutritious meat extender made from defatted soy flour, a by-product of extracting soybean oil.[1] It is quick to cook, with a protein content equal to that of the meat,[2] and contains no fat.

What are the negatives? NONE! TVP is super cheap too! Whole Foods sells it and so do most grocery stores. Bob's Red Mill is a great brand but a lot more expensive than buying it bulk at Sunshine Nutrional Centers (off of the square) or at Whole Foods.

2 tbsp olive oil
1 Stalk Celery, minced
1 Carrot, minced
1 Onion, minced
1 Bell Pepper(any color,) minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 cup TVP
1 16 oz can tomato sauce
2 tbsp chili powder
1 tbsp molasses
1 1/2 tsp of apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup water
1/4 tsp oregano (Mexican preferably)
1/2 tsp kosher salt
sriracha hot sauce (to taste) -I have used Tabasco if I didn't have Sriracha but don't unless you hate it or don't have it it tastes soooo much better!


saute the onion, pepper, celery and carrot in olive oil for 10 minutes or until the onions are translucent add in the garlic in the last 2 minutes of cooking (do not brown the garlic or it will turn bitter.) Add tomato sauce and water and bring mixture to a boil. Stir in the rest of the ingredients except hot sauce. Cook for about 10 minutes until TVP is soft and "meaty" add sriracha tasting as you go becareful not to "over heat" it with the sriracha! Serve it on or over bread or rolls!

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

This is my very favorite thing in the universe!!! I make it all year long! Although I regret saying this, I do not recommended using fresh or frozen green beans... the canned ones are softer and the fresh ones just aren't as good in this. I know sad right?

Vegan Green Bean Casserole

1/4 cup margarine
1/4 unbleached all purpose flour
2 c vegetable stock (canned or homemade)
2 cans green beans
1 cup of mushrooms,chopped(any kind is great)
1 1/2 c french fried onions
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp fresh ground black pepper
2 sprigs of rosemary

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Make a blond roux with the flour and margarine (click on the word roux if you don't know what this is)
add the vegetable stock slowly about a 1/4 cup at a time bring to a boil for 1 minute until thickened add salt, pepper and rosemary. Remove from heat and set aside. Add Mushrooms, green beans and 1/2 can of French fried onions to a 2 qt casserole pan. Pour the roux sauce over the top and cook for 20 minutes. Add the remaining French fried onions to the top and cook an additional 10 minutes until top is browned.

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Vegan Pumpkin Pie

Pie Crust:
2 1/2 cups crushed ginger cookies, (about 55 to 60 cookies)
6 tablespoons butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Put a 9-inch removable-bottom fluted tart pan on a baking sheet.
Make the crust by combining the ginger cookie crumbs and melted butter in a large bowl, until well blended. Add the crumbs to the tart pan and evenly press over the bottom and up the sides with the bottom of a measuring cup. Bake until set and a bit darker in color, 10 to 12 minutes. Remove from the oven and set aside to cool.

Pie Filling:

2 cups canned pumpkin
1 cup low-fat soymilk or rice milk
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
1/2 Tbs. dark molasses or to taste
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp. grated nutmeg
1/4 tsp. ground allspice



Preheat oven to 425F.

In large bowl, mix all remaining ingredients until smooth and blended. Pour into prepared crust and smooth top. Bake 10 minutes.
Reduce oven temperature to 350F; bake until filling is set, about 50 minutes. Set on wire rack to cool, then refrigerate overnight. Top with your choice of dessert topping if desired.

Pecan Crumble Topped Sweet Potatoes

Sweet Potatoes
2 large sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons margarine
1/4 tsp of salt

Prepare a baking sheet either place parchment paper on a baking sheet or grease baking sheet with shortening.

Put cubed potatoes into steamer basket and place steamer into a large pot of simmering water that is no closer than 2 inches from the bottom of basket. Allow to steam for 20 minutes or until the potatoes are fork tender. Add margarine to potatoes and mash with potato masher. Add salt and continue mashing to combine.

Put into a piping bag and pipe on to prepared pan into circles about the size you prefer for one serving. if you do not have a piping bag use a gallon zipper bag with the corner cut off.

FAST PECAN CRUMB TOPPING
• 3/4 c unbleached all-purpose flour
• ½ c dark brown sugar
• 1/8 tsp of salt
• ½ tsp cinnamon
• 3/4 c pecans
• 4 tbsp margarine, sliced and well chilled

Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Place flour, sugar, salt and cinnamon in a food processor. Add pecans and pulse until coarsely chopped. Add margarine and pulse until mixture is crumbly. Sprinkle evenly over sweet potatoes and bake 10-15 minutes or until topping is browned.

Cranberry Orange Sauce-Vegan

Posting some of my favorite Thanksgiving Recipes this week... Yeah I know I am a awful blogger!!! I don't update enough!

Cranberry Orange Sauce

1 cup sugar (or more if needed)
1 cup water
Zest of 1 orange (grated very finely)
Juice of 1 orange
Cinnamon stick
Bag of cranberries (12 oz)

Make simple syrup with sugar and water. Put water and sugar in pan and bring to a boil, stir until sugar is dissolved. Add all of the remaining ingredients into a saucepan reduce to medium heat and simmer until the cranberries burst and the sauce thickens, about 15 to 20 minutes. (You may want to add more sugar if it isn’t sweet enough for you.) Serve at room temperature or cool and refrigerate. Remove the cinnamon stick before serving.

Fresh Cranberries (as with all berries) differ in tartness and this recipe should be adjusted by the tartness of your berries. Check the tartness AFTER cooking for the most accurate test, most of your berries should have burst you may need to add ½ to ¾ cup.

Got some fun!!!! Mexican Chipotle Fiesta!

Oh, my life changed that day. The day I discovered the KROGER Brand Ranch Packets are VEGAN!!! WOOOO!!!! So I need to have a Fiesta to celebrate. Mexican Chipotle Fiesta Salad to be exact!

I adore Chipotle and any kind of Mexican-ish Salad. Here is my favorite!


Chipotle Ranch Dressing
1 container of Tofutti Sour Cream
1 packet Kroger Brand (or other Vegan) Ranch Salad Dressing Packet
3 tbsp Chipotle in Adobo Sauce
2 tbsp Cilantro, chopped
Juice of 1 fresh lime

First prep your chipotle peppers, WEAR GLOVES (trust me) seed the chipotle peppers and remove ribs add to the blender and dump all of the adobo sauce in too. Puree until well blended. Your chipotle will keep in the fridge for about 4 days.

Now on to the dressing
In a medium bowl mix all of the ingredients.

Okay EVERYONE knows what goes in a salad but her is my fave with this dressing!

Black Beans
grilled corn
grilled red bell pepper
black olives
Soy or Rice Cheese
Red Onion
Tomato
Jalapeño
Packaged Salad Mix (I like Hearts of Romaine the BEST)

Some people like to add corn chips or other nonsense... I like to put it all in a really big chip! I have THIS and I really recommend them! You can bake a flour tortilla in the oven and then you have a thing of beauty! OR you could buy this... they taste great and they are a little bigger but I don't like the price or the nutrition label. They are No Bueno!

I am going to hang some balloons for my fiesta! Blog On!

The Next FOOD Network Star- Me?

Food Network Head Shots

Here are my "head shots" Meg (the 15 year old) took yesterday in the garden!

I went to the open call today for Food Network's The Next Food Network Star! It was pretty exciting! They herded us into a room where we waited for our number to be called... I was in there about an hour! Yawn! I met some interesting people and probably had the most fun watching "characters" and laughing at them that I have in a LONG time! There was a WOMAN there that looked EXACTLY like Brett Michaels! I promise! Blonde hair, cowboy hat and all! I wouldn't have known she was a woman except for the "character" sitting next to me pointed out that she has "BOOBIES" hahaha!!!

Today was a brief interview, I am not sure how I did... it was rather confusing and over before it started. lol but Here's to hopin! At least you all like me right?

Top Secret: Hummus Is Yummus!

I love spicy stuff!!! That is probably why I am sitting here eating spicy sweet chili Doritos posting this blog. YES they are Vegan! So are Oreos by the way!!! (thank you Jesus) Sorry, lost on a junk food tirade! ANYWAY, I love spicy food and one of my favorites is Harissa... so I brought North Africa to Greece where alllll of the Hummus is Yummus!

Harissa Yummus


First let's make some Harissa! You can keep this in the fridge for up to 3 weeks! use it on Burgers, over Tofu steaks or stir into Veganaise! Whoa! the possibilities are endless!

10-12 Small Dried chilies-for this I recommend a blend of New Mexico chilies and guajillo with a few Ancho thrown in for variety.(You can use anything you want)
3 cloves of Garlic, minced
3/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 tbsp toasted and ground Coriander seeds
1 tbsp toasted and ground Caraway seeds
1/2 tbsp toasted and ground Cumin seeds


soak dried chilies in boiling water for 30 minutes. Drain the water and set aside until you need them.

Toast the Caraway, coriander and cumin seeds in a dry skillet until fragrant stirring frequently to keep them from burning. Crush finely in mortar and pestle or spice grinder.
In a food processor, grind down,the garlic, ground spices and salt, when you have a fine powder add in the rest of the ingredients until you have a smooth paste. You may want to add a little water a tbsp at a time until you get the consistency you like.
This will make 1 1/4 cup

alright, now for the FUN!

1 cup canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 cup canned black beans
1/2 cup tahini
juice of 1 lemon
2 cloves of garlic
1/2 tsp salt
2-3 tsps of Harissa

Garnish with parsley or cilantro and serve cold!

You can use this as a dip or spread this high protein Yummus on a sandwich or pita! You could almost LIVE on this stuff!! Believe me I am trying!

Chili Weather is a comin!

I don't care that I live in Nashville and it is still 90 degrees out!!!!!! Do you? I didn't think so!

Here is my long awaited chili recipe. You are going to kick yourself it is soooo simple and NO there is NO chili powder in it!

1 jalapeño seeded, finely diced
1 medium sized Pablano pepper, seeded and finely diced
1 medium to large spanish onion, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
2 cloves of garlic, finely minced
1 rehydrated Ancho chili, seeded and diced (rehydrate in boiling water for 30 mins)
3 stalks of celery, diced
2 tsp olive or vegetable oil
1 tsp chipotle in adobe sauce (see note)
2 cans (15 oz) Light Red Kidney Beans
2 cans (15 oz) Dark Red Kidney Beans
4 cans (15 oz) Petite Diced Tomatoes, undrained
3 cans (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 tablespoon Mexican oregano
salt to taste
cayenne if you like

-not opposed to honey...like me? 3/4 cup honey
- meat eater (NOT like me) add 1 lbs pre-browned GROUND SIRLOIN! Not ground chuck or beef, it is also okay to add pre-browned stew meat.

Here goes...
preheat oil in dutch oven or stock pot over medium high heat. Add all of your vegetables and chilies and sauté until onions and celery are translucent. Add everything else. cook until the sauce is reduced and the consistency is Chilish!

There. Mystery solved? I told you it wasn't that amazing!

Got a Vegan in a meat eating house hold? split the mixture in half and put it into 2 pots, only add the meat and honey to one and leave the other pot the same or add veggie crumbles or even rehydrated TVP. I know, simple but I had to say it for those who don't "get it" yet!

Nutritional Yeast is not lame!

There are so many things that can be enhanced by Nutritional Yeast that it is scary! If you aren't either a health food Nut or a Vegan. Vegans use this lovely inactive yeast as a way to add a cheesy flavor to foods and add vitamin B12 which can be a challenge to the most conscientious of us.

Red Star is my favorite but if you live in the Murfreesboro area... you CAN find it in our one horse town at Sunshine Nutritional Center! Here is a link to the store's website! http://www.livingnaturally.com/retailer/store_templates/shell_id_1.asp?storeID=187018644C9149CD862BC76FAF90A535

Here is a quick one for you today!
Miss Parmesan cheese?

1/4 cup each of the following
Nutritional yeast, finely chopped walnuts
and a 1/4 tsp salt

put in a blender or food processor and viola!

Vital Wheat Gluten...Ribs!

What is vital wheat gluten???

Some of us know what gluten is... my mom always described it as the "sticky stuff" that holds your bread together. It is that but it is so much more! Gluten is latin for GLUE! So mom was right but did you know it also adds elasticity and assists in leavening?

My favorite product out there is Bob's Red Mill Vital Wheat Gluten. You can use it to add protein to baked goods and even make Vegan "wheat meat" or Seitan from it. Are you a new Vegan and miss ribs? YES YOU CAN!!!

Vegan Seitan style Ribs!

1 cup vital wheat gluten
2 teaspoons smoked paprika
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1 small caramelized onion, finely minced
2 cloves garlic, finely minced
3/4 cup water
2 tablespoons nut butter
1 teaspoon Liquid Smoke
1 tablespoon Braggs Liquid Aminos or Soy Sauce
Your Favorite BBQ Sauce
canola oil


Preheat the oven to 350 and lightly spray an square baking dish with oil.

In a medium sized bowl mix together Vital Wheat Gluten, Paprika, Caramelized onion and garlic together. In a separate bowl stir together the water, nut butter, Liquid Smoke, and soy sauce.

Add the nut butter mixture to the dry ingredients. Using your hands mix well and then knead lightly in the bowl for 5 minutes until a strong gluten forms. It should be well mixed and elasticized.

Put the dough into the baking dish, flatten it so that it evenly fills the pan. Take a sharp knife and cut it into strips; then turn the pan and cut those strips in half to form two rows. You can make the pieces as big or small as you like.

Bake in the oven for 25 minutes. Get your grill ready in the mean time, make sure to brush the grates with vegetable oil so your Ribs don't stick!

You can freeze some now if you will not need it all right away other wise generously coat the top of your Ribs and place them coated side down on the grill, when you are done placing them on the grill brush the other side with sauce. When the first side is sufficiently brown, turn over and repeat on the other side. The cooking time will depend on your grill but on my charcoal grill not in the center of the fire it takes about 5 minutes each side to get a good grill mark on it and to get the nice and sweet.

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Granola Bars

I decided that the granola bars that you buy in the store just weren't good enough for me anymore... I can do better! Turns out, I was right!

People ask where I get these recipies, so here it is in brief: I look up somewhere between 10 and 30 recipes and figure out what they have in common and then look at ways to cut the animal products out, I use my past recipies to figure out what works and what doesn't then finally... I try it. Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't. What I post on here I have tried them and they are ready for other people to make.

Hope you enjoy!

Chewy Granola Bars:

INGREDIENTS
1 cup maple syrup
2/3 cup chunky natural peanut butter
2 2/3 cups rolled oats
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup wheat germ
Totaling 2 cups- mini chocolate chips, bran cereal, sweetened coconut and flax seeds or any other fillers you like

METHOD
Preheat oven to 350 degrees

Mix syrup and peanut butter until well blended. Stir in oats, flour, wheat germ, spices, and mix-ins. If mixture seems too dry, add water 1 teaspoon at a time. If it is too sticky, add oats 1 teaspoon at a time. Mixture should be slightly sticky, but still easily spread in a pan.

Press into a 9x13x1 inch pan, push down with wax paper firmly, the tighter you pack it in the better your bar will be. It is important to get them as even as possible as well as getting out to the edges.

Precut or score bars to make life easier on yourself.

Bake until barely browned, check at 20 minutes and then again every 5 minutes until desired doneness.

While warm spread peanut butter on bars in a thin layer, and then cut bars through. Pre-scoring should make it easier on you.

Makes about 16 bars.

People Read this!!

I know people are reading my blog because of the traffic on the side bar, but if you read my blog... please comment just so I can see who is looking in :) it makes me want to post more!

An Apple for Teacher

Our Teachers are great! My daughter's first day of 3rd grade was Friday so I decided to make some cinnamon cupcakes with cream cheese icing! As any cupcake would be at an elementary school would be... they were a big hit!

All Vegan Cinnamon Cupcakes with Apple Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

Cinanum Cupcakes with Apple Butter Cream Cheese Frosting

1 ¼ cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
½ tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
3 tsp Cinnamon
1 cup soy milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 ½ tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp cinnamon extract
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line muffin tray with paper liners and set aside until ready.
Wisk together Soy Milk and Apple Cider Vinegar in a medium sized mixing bowl and set aside to allow to curdle. Next, sift together flour, baking soda, baking pwder, salt and spices. Add oil, and extracts to the Milk mixture and slowly mix flour mixture into milk mixture until just combined. Do not over mix!

Fill paper liners 3/4 full and bake for 22-24 minutes until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Icing:
1/3 cup apple butter
1/4 cup vegan cream cheese
1/4 cup margarine
4 cups confectioners’ sugar

Cream cheese and margerine should be brought to room temperature before mixing. whip together apple butter, cream cheese and margerine when well combined and fluffy slowly add in the confectioners' sugar a little at a time until well mixed together and light and fluffy, it should be the consistency of buttercream.

Pipe on icing using a decorators tip... to make the swirls like the above picture use a 1M tip. Click to see this technique step by step!

Working on the banana cupcake recipe today!!!

Nashville Famer's Market-LAME

Is it just me? It seems like the farmer’s market used to be a place to go to get FRESH beautiful fruits and veg directly from the source but it seems like it is a place for the farmers to get rid of the crap the buyers won’t take now.

My friend Amanda and I enjoy spending the day with our kids out at the farmer’s market. Last trip Amanda bought some Plums that went bad the NEXT Day! I bought some green beans Friday that were NASTY by the time I went to serve them Saturday.

I support buying locally and want to get farm fresh items that help our economy but I don’t think I will continue to buy from the farmer’s market in Nashville with this terrible quality!

Looking for other options, please share if you have ideas on how to order online or a new market!