Muffins

I've been making muffins and/or cupcakes every Sunday for school. Here are the latest creations.

Banana Bread Muffins
Preheat Oven to 350 F
Blend til creamy: 1/2 c vegan butter (melted), 1 c organic granulated sugar
Beat 3 Tbs hot water and 2 tsp Egg Replacer; add to above
Add 4 mushed up bananas (the older the better)
Add 2 c flour, 2.5 tsp baking powder, .5 tsp salt
Add a hand-full or more of goji berries(or anything else you want)
Bake about 45 minutes in muffin tin.

Sunny (Raspberry) Corn Muffins from VwV
Preheat oven to 400 F
1 c flour
1 c cornmeal
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1/3 c sugar (brown)
1/2 c vegetable oil
3/4 c soy milk
one small container soy yogurt (I used fruit on bottom raspberry)
1 tsp vanilla extract
1.25 c dried blackberries.

Mix flour, cornmeal, baking powder, salt, and sugar. In separate bowl whisk oil, soy milk, yogurt, vanilla. Fold ingredients into dry. Fold in the blueberries. Don't overmix. Bake fore 20-25 minutes.

More from last week

For the rest of the week took some Wild Rice Soup I'd had in the freezer forever and heated that up. Suprisingly, it was wonderful still. Very creamy, like it's intended to be.

Wild Rice Soup
Ingredients
6 T. margerine
2 medium onions (stew cut)
8 strips vegan bacon, cut into 1 inch pieces
6 c. veggie broth
3 c. water
1+ c. carrots (stew cut)
2+ c. red potatoes, unpeeled (stew cut)
1 1/2 c. uncooked wild rice (not the quick cook kind)
5 T. flour
1 c. non-dairy milk
1/2 - 3/4 c. nutritional yeast

Directions
1. Melt butter in large soup pot over medium to medium-high heat. Add bacon pieces and onions; saute until onions are cooked and bacon starts to brown.
2. Add broth, water, carrots, potatoes, and rice. Cover and cook on medium until rice is chewy and done (about 40-45 minutes).
3. Combine flour and non-dairy milk in a tightly sealed jar and shake well; add to soup. (If this is too thick at this point, add a bit more water.)
4. Add nutritional yeast.
5. Enjoy! Serves at least 6.

Last week

There's nothing better than being able to have a soy mocha and a bagel with soy cream cheese and local jelly on the weekend. I feel a little bit pretentious. But there IS a street taco van outside my door. So it makes me feel more...grounded.

Anyway, life has been hectic. Last Sunday I cooked some African Peanut Stew for a friend and finished it for lunch for a few days. Definitely decadant....

African Pineapple Peanut Stew
I made this tonight and it was SO good. My kale was a little wilted, so I'm glad I could use it all up (I froze it, don't ever do that).

African Peanut Stew

1 large onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
1-2 bunches kale (4-8 cups sliced)
1 cup, about 5-6 small red potatoes, quartered
about 2-3 portobello mushrooms, sliced into small chunks.
1 can crushed pineapple in juice
1 can no-salt added diced tomatoes
1 cup crunchy, natural peanut butter
1 tablespoon Tabasco or other hot pepper sauce
I used dried parsley and oregano
salt to taste


Boil the potatoes in a pot, covered with water for about 10 minutes, to get them soft. Drain.

Prepare the kale by washing it and removing the large center stem from each leaf. Stack the leaves on a cutting board and slice them into one-inch thick slices.

In a large, wok sauté the onions for about 6 minutes, stirring frequently, until the onions are lightly browned. Add the garlic, and stir for another minute.

Add the pineapple and tomato and its juice to the onions and bring to a simmer. Add potatoes and mushrooms. Stir in the kale, cover, and simmer for about 5 minutes, stirring a couple of times, until just tender. Mix in the peanut butter, Tabasco, and spices and simmer for 5 minutes. Add salt to taste, (This makes about 4-6 servings).

Stuffed, Baked Kabocha Pumpkin

Cut a hole in the top of a medium-large kabocha pumpkin/squash, like you were making a jack-o-lantern. Scoop out the insides and save the seeds for baking. Bake (with top back on) for 45 minutes in a 375 degree oven.

Meanwhile, cook the stuffing.

2 cups water
2 cups veggie broth
seasoning: cinnamon, tumeric, pepper, coriander
1 cup quinoa
3/4 cup jasmine rice

Boil for about 15 minutes. Add more water so it's moist.

Also, cut up some veggies for the stuffing. I used local white eggplant, green zucchini, shitake mushrooms, and toasted pine nuts. I didn't, but I reccomend, stir-frying the eggplant and zucchini for a few minutes to brown them. I also reccomend, but didn't, seasoning the veggies before you mix them with the stuffing.

Mix everything together. Stuff the pumpkin and put the remaining stuffing in a casserole. Bake the stuffed pumpkin again for 45 minutes at 350. Add casserole to the oven with 15 minutes to go.

Cut open pumpkin in slices, like a watermelon and serve with lots of stuffing. Don't forget to peel the pieces!

Bake the seeds for about 20 minutes, turning every so often. Top with salt!

Cashew Butter Cupcakes

Sorry folks, for forgetting the cupcake recipe! I adapted it from the Joy of Cooking.

Chocolate Satin Frosting
Boil (in microwave) 1 cup milk
Add 1 round of Abuelita Mexican Chocolate - cover and let sit for 10 minutes without stiring.
Scrape into food processor and add:
1.5 c sugar
6 Tbs (soy) butter
To taste if it's not sweet enough:
some maple syrup
some more sugar
Process until pefectly smooth.
Refrigerate until ready to use.

Cashew Butter cupcakes
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Combine in food processor:
1 1/4 cup flour
3/4 c brown sugar
1.5 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 c milk
1/3 c cashew butter
1 egg
1 tsp (soy) butter
1 tbs veggie oil
4-5 tsp chocolate powder


Fill the muffin cups about 2/3 the way full. Bake about 25-30 minutes.

Crock pot Chili

Today shall be a day for cooking. I love cooking, and since I've got nothing to do but study, and play soccer later, I thought I'd cook up a storm! I made (non-vegan) french toast for breakfast. And I'm making almond nut butter cup cakes later today. I will post a recipe for that. For now...

I’m in the “get rid of food and use what you have and spend less money” mode. So I threw together this one pot chili from some leftovers and a bit of fresh vegetables.

Crock pot veggie chili

1 can red beans, drained
1 can black beans, drained
1 large can (any heat) salsa (I used Pace brand) + a bit of leftover salsa
1 small zucchini, cut into quarter chunks
1 package fresh mushrooms (no idea what variety they were)
10 baby carrots, cut into bite sized chunks
½ package veggie crumbles (I used Yves brand)
left-over (frozen) rice
1/2 bag frozen fiesta mix (corn, black beans, onions, green and red peppers)
6 oz can tomato paste
water to allow for absorption


Dump everything into a crock pot and cook on low all day. If you’re in a hurry you can also cook it on high. Everything’s pretty much pre-cooked anyway, the flavors just need to blend together.

Risotto Helper

I've never had hamburger helper, but I imagine this is pretty much what it would have been like. I sorta made up this recipe on the spot. I was cooking at a friend's house, it was quite fun. We should do it more often! I love one pot meals as well. It was quick, and easy.

Ingredients
1 package butternut squash risotto (I forgot the brand): add water & soy milk
1/2 package veggie crumbles
1/2 large zucchini
a bit of olive oil
onion powder
garlic powder


1. Start cooking the risotto according to the directions in a medium size pan.
2. Break up the crumbles so they look like hamburger meat.
3. Heat a bit of olive oil in a pan and add the crumbles. Saute until browning and add the onion and garlic powder.
4. Cut up the zucchini into bite-sized pieces. Add to the risotto when there are about 10 minutes left to cook time.
5. When risotto is finished (still a little gloopy) add the crumbles.
6. Mix well and serve. Would be wonderful with some (veggie) grated cheese as well.

Lunch in the Gardens

Today we took our students to the Botanical Gardens. It was hot and we walked a lot. But I had some great energy food with me! The recipe stems from a few online recipes I encountered last night when I discovered I didn't have any jelly.

Tortilla Nut Sandwhich
1-2 soft corn tortillas (depending on how neat you are)
some nut butter of choice (I used cashew)
raisins (I used dark raisins)
honey (or other sweetner)
1/2 apple sliced up with lime juice to preserve color

Lather the tortilla(s) with nut butter, then raisins, then sweetner, then apples. Fold or roll and enjoy. You may need to wrap in another tortilla if things seem to be falling apart. They did for me!

I also had some cheerios and a separate apple. And a lovely student bought us juice! They're so sweet!

Quinoa and Lentils

I had made this some time ago and froze it for the time when I was low on cash and motivation. Now was the time. It turned out quite tastey still after being frozen! Hurrah!

Ingredients

1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup dry lentils (I used brown)
8 oz fresh muchrooms, chopped (I used rehydrated oyster mushrooms)
~1 cup water
Bunch of spinach(remember it reduces when cooked)

1. Cook lentils in a pot w/ vegetable broth as directed on package (~15 minutes for red)
2. Saute onions, garlic, and mushrooms - mix in quinoa - cook 5 minutes
3. Add above to pot w/ lentils - cover and cook 20 minutes.
4. Add water as needed so mixture doesn't stick.
5. Remove from heat. Shred spinach and gently mix into pot. Cover and sit for 5 minutes.

Mexican rice and vegetarian mole

My friends are visiting for the weekend. So I decided to cook for them. I love cooking, so why not? I used my mother's recipe for rice Mexicano, and a few different recipes and my own doctoring for mole.

Arroz Mexicano
1.5 cups long grain white rice
1 large tomato
1 large clove garlic
1 small onion
1/4 cup canola oil
1 packet of sazon (goya brand)
3.5 cups veggie broth
1 grated carrot
1/2 bag frozen fiesta mix vegetables (peas, corn, black beans)

1. soak rice in hot water for about 15 minutes, drain well
2. blend tomato, onion, and garlic in blender
3. fry rice in oil until golden brown, about 10 minutes.
4. Add tomato puree and sazon. Stir until almost absorbed, about 3 minutes.
5. Add the broth, carrot and fiesta mix. Stir
6. Cover and cook until most of the liquid is absorbed, about 10 minutes.
7. When chimneys appear place a large piece of terrycloth over the surface.
8. Continue to cook over very low flame for about 5 or 10 minutes.
9. Set aside for about 30 minutes, do not open it!

Quick vegetables and mole
1 tbs olive oil
1 small minced onion
1 clove garlic
3 tbs ground dried chiles (ancho, pasilla, etc)
1 cup veggie broth
1 oz (one round) Mexican chocolate
1/8 c smooth hazelnut butter (or any nut butter)
1/4 tsp salt
1 bay leaf
a bit of powdered cloves
about 1/4 cup salsa
1 tbs sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 package frozen fiesta veggies
10-12 baby carrots, sliced in rounds and steamed
1 can black beans, drained.

1. Sautee onion and garlic in oil until tender.
2. Add remaining sauce ingredients and simmer 20-25 minutes.
3. Stir in frozen veggies and carrots.
4. Serve warm