Cupcake Craze

I've kind have been on a cupcake craze. I'm trying really hard not to eat un-vegan treats and so I've been indulging at home. Not just cupcakes, baking of all sorts really, there have been mounds of fudge, plates of brownies, pies and squares galore.

So I thought it's been quite a while since I shared a recipe. These cupcakes are kind of interesting. I just made them tonight and thought I'd try to wet your palates a little.

Key Lime Cupcakes

This recipe comes from Quick and Easy Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C Simpson

To make the cupcakes:

  1 3/4 c flour
  2 tsp baking powder
  1/4 tsp salt
Mix ingredients in a small bowl
  1 1/4 c sugar
  1/2 c margarine
  1/4 c plain soy yogurt
  1/4 c unsweetened applesauce
  3 tbsp lime juice
  3 drops green food colouring
Cream together the wet ingredients in a large bowl
  3/4 c milk
Add the milk 1/4 c at a time to the wet ingredients alternating with adding 1/2 c of the flour mixture until it is all incorporated.
Line two cupcake tins with 16 paper cups and fill. Bake for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.

To make the frosting:

One 8 oz (227 g) container of vegan cream cheese
4 c icing sugar
1/4 c shortening
1/4 c margarine
1 tbsp lime juice
1/2 tsp vanilla extract
5 drops green food colouring

Beat all the ingredients with an electric mixer till light and fluffy. Pipe onto completely cooled cupcakes.

Go sucanat

I want a sucanat inspired recipe that is sure to wow, and I think I've found it!

Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites has come to my rescue once again with: Pina Colada French Toast with Candied Macadamia Nuts. The intro for this recipe reads: "If you top this already crazy good brunch item with vegan whipping cream, you will get marriage proposals. (We apologize in advance if you aren't actually looking to get hitched.)"

Well I guess I'm not marriage material because I tried to make coconut milk whipping cream and I failed. :( Still an extremely delicious dish even without the whipping cream.

Pina Colada French Toast with Candied Macadamia Nuts

Rum Syrup:
1 cup sucanat
1/4 cup dark rum or nondairy milk
1/2 rum extract if using nondairy milk
1/3 cup water
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Combine all the ingredients in a saucepan. Bring to a boil, lower the hear, and cook until the sucanat dissolves. Set aside. Let cool completely. Extra may be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator.

Candied Macadamia Nuts:
1/4 cup sucanat
2 tbsp water
1 cup macadamia nuts
Pinch of sea salt

Place the sucanat, water, nuts, and salt in a saucepan. Heat over medium-high, bring to a low boil, and cook for about 4 minutes. Stir constantly, lowering the heat to medium, until the nuts get some colour to them. Remove from the heat. Set aside.

For the French Toast:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsp sucanat
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
Pinch of fine sea salt
1 cup coconut milk
Stale French bread cut into 1-inch slices
Nondairy butter for frying

In a shallow dish, combine the flour, sucanat, cinnamon, and salt. Whisk in the milk until mostly smooth. Let stand for a few minutes.

Heat a pan over medium-high heat. Dip the bread, 1 slice at a time, into the batter. You just want a thin layer of the batter on the bread.

Melt a pat of butter in the pan. Cook the toast until golden and crispy, about 2 minutes on each side. Repeat with the remaining slices.

Serve the French toast topped with fresh pineapple slices, a drizzle of rum syrup, and a sprinkle of candied nuts. If you have whipped cream... you know what to do.


For those of you who don't know what sucanat is:

 

Sucanat sugar is dried sugar cane juice that is much healthier to use when baking versus white, refined and processed sugar. Sucanat has a smaller proportion of sucrose, fewer calories and is loaded with vitamins and minerals.  

You can read more about sucanat at http://www.livinghealthymom.com/sucanat-benefits/

Donuts on a Diet

I thought it was kind of ridiculous that I curled up with my 21 - Day Kick Start book along with a plate of donuts, but whatever. I haven't officially kick started yet, and I'm just reading up on the things that will need to change. Since I've been reading the book I've already started loosing weight again, so I thought I deserved a little treat.

The 21-Day Kick Start book is kind of geared towards meat eaters that are looking to get healthy. It suggests going vegan and explains the many benefits of doing so. It goes into why the vegan diet is better, completely based on health reasons and not guilt tripping about animal rights. It talks about how this is really how we should be eating for the rest of our lives, but focuses on just getting started and then working from there.

The basic guidelines are surprisingly simple: "You'll want to emphasize whole grains, vegetables, fruits, and legumes, and all the wonderful foods made from them, and to skip animal products, oily foods, and high-glycemic-index foods (sugar, white/whole wheat bread, white potatoes and most cold cereals)"

I thought a couple of the things I read today were really interesting, and will also help me with some of the questions that I get.

Number one question: Aren't you going to be lacking nutrients (protein, calcium, iron)?

Protein: Plant proteins are not only free of animal fat and cholesterol they are also free of two problems cause by animal proteins.
1. Animal protein is linked to osteoporosis because it causes the kidneys to lose calcium in the urine.
2. Animal protein is linked to gradual loss of kidney function.

If you have a normal variety of grains, legumes, vegetables and fruits, you'll easily get all the protein you need. If you are looking for a more protein dense diet, make sure you get lots of beans and bean products such as tofu, tempeh, soy milk, and vegan deli slices.

Calcium: The most healthful sources of calcium are green leafy vegetables and legumes. Broccoli, brussels sprouts, kale, collards, and other greens are loaded with calcium, and their absorption fraction is higher than that of milk. There is also plenty of calcium in beans, as well as in fortified juices and soy milk. Cows milk tends to skew nutrition in the wrong direction. If you get your calcium from milk, you miss the beta-carotene, iron and fiber that vegetables would bring you. and you would get fat, cholesterol, and animal protein, none of which the body needs.

Iron: Plants carry iron in a special form, called non-hem iron, it is more absorbable when your body is low in iron and less absorbable when your body has plenty of iron already. That allows your body to regulate how much iron it takes in. Meats carry iron in a different form, called heme iron, which tends to be highly absorbed whether you need it or not. That's not good, because iron can be harmful, if you get too much of it.

Also interesting tidbit mentioned about eggs: Did you know that one Double Quarter Pounder with Cheese has 155 milligrams of cholesterol? Guess how much one large egg has: 212!!! And I know I would eat 2 or 3 eggs. Shocking.

If you want to check out the book, you can find more information here: www.21daykickstart.org

Anyways. On to Donuts!!
I really wanted to make a recipe for Bacon Maple Glazed Donuts, but the recipe called for the donuts to be deep-fried so I opted for the healthier recipe:

Baked Cinnamon Sugar Doughnut Holes

Wet ingredients:
1/2 cup non-dairy milk
3/4 cup vanilla flavored soy yogurt (I didn't have any so I added 1 tsp of vanilla and a smidge extra sugar.)
1/4 cup non-dairy butter
1/4 cup sugar
Heat in saucepan till the sugar is dissolve. Make sure mixture is only lukewarm before adding to the dry ingredients or you'll kill your yeast.

Dry ingredients:
2 1/2 cups  flour
2 teaspoons instant yeast
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking powder
In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients. When wet mixture has cooled to a lukewarm temperature you can add and mix. Need the dough lightly till combined and form into a ball. Let stand in a warm room for 1 hour.

Cinnamon Sugar:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tbsp ground cinnamon

In a muffin tin coat the cups with cooking spray. Sprinkle 1 tsp of the cinnamon sugar mixture into the bottom of each cup and shake the pan to coat the sides. Divide the dough into the twelve cups and then cover the tops with 1 tsp of cinnamon sugar mixture. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for another 40 minutes.

Pre-heat oven to 375. Bake for 20 min. (If using those cute little doughnut pans (Thanks Jackie), only bake for 10-15 minutes.)

Pennyless Pancakes and Sour Cream

I just did my budget last night for the whole year. Very depressing stuff. I've come to the realisation that I've been spending way above my means and I'm going to have to cut back drastically if I want to keep this ship afloat.

Eating vegan definitely can be more expensive, but making stuff at home really helps to save money. On the plus side, expensive things are usually more processed, which I would like to stay away from anyways.

On the weekend I made my own sour cream for the first time and last night I had Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes. Both very cheap. I have a funny feeling I'll be eating a lot of pancakes this year (or the like).

Sour Cream:
300g Silken Tofu
1/4 c finely ground cashews (I use a coffee grinder bought specifically for nuts.)
1 tbsp lemon juice
1 tbsp rice vinegar
1tbsp white miso paste

Combine in a food processor and blend till smooth.

Buttermilk Blueberry Pancakes:
2 c all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
2 tbsp sugar
1 1/2 c soymilk
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp egg replacer powder
1/4 c warm water
3 tbsp melted butter
1 c fresh or thawed blueberries

In a medium size mixing bowl, combine the flour, salt, baking powder, baking soda, and sugar. In a small bowl, combine the soymilk, lemon juice, and vanilla. It will curdle and become like buttermilk. In another small bowl, whisk together the egg replacer and warm water until foamy. Add to the buttermilk mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry and mix until the batter just comes together. Mid in the melted butter.

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium - high heat. Coat lightly with oil. Ladle about 1/2 c of batter into the pan for each pancake. Sprinkle with a handful of blueberries on each pancake. When the batter begins to bubble and the edges look cooked flip and cook on the other side until golden brown.

Makes six 6-inch pancakes.



I saw this in the store the other day. Whipping cream would have been great on top of these pancakes, but I don't have the money for it at this time. I also heard that you can make whipping cream out of coconut milk ($1.50). I will probably try that before buying this Healthy Top ($5) and I'll let you know how it goes.

Both recipes are from the cookbook: Hearty Vegan Meals for Monster Appetites

The most delicious, mouthwatering, divine, scrumptious, delectable, piquant Mahkni. Ever.

This recipe comes from Monica's mom. She makes the most delicious food and just has a natural gift in the kitchen. She never follows a recipe, eyeballing everything. She is East Indian, and makes the best Indian dishes I've ever had in my life.

I will write down what I put in, but she really just listed ingredients, not amounts. I don't know if I put in too little or too much, but it tasted fine to me.

"Paneer" Mahkni
Butter (2 tbsp)
1-28 oz can crushed tomatoes
1 tsp fenugreek (kasoori methi)
Melt the butter in a pot and add the crushed tomatoes and fenugreek. Cook for 10 minutes.

Garlic (I used about 7 cloves from a jar and used a garlic press)
Ginger (About 1 tbsp minced from a jar)
Green chillies (I didn't have any fresh chillies so I used about one tsp red chilli flakes)
Red chillies
Turmeric (About 1 tbsp)
Salt (1 tsp)
Fry in a pan with a bit of oil for about 3-4 minutes. Add spices to the sauce. (I didn't want to dirty two pans so I did the spices first then added the sauce to it.)

Sugar (1/2 tsp)
500 ml whipping cream (Substituted one can of Coconut milk. Make sure you get the richest, creamiest one you can. I like Aroy-D. Since the can is still 100 ml short I also added in some So Nice coffee creamer.)
Add sugar and cream to sauce and simmer for another 10 minutes.

Paneer is an Indian cheese. I substituted that with firm tofu, just cubed it into non-huge chunks.
Throw in the cubed tofu and simmer till heated through. Stir gently.

I just served this over brown rice.

If you think I added a lot of garlic to the recipe, feel free to tone it down. Garlic is so good for you though, and with all the other flavours in this dish, it's not that overpowering. I also mentioned I got it from a jar, I don't know if this makes it less potent, probably does.

If you want to read some of the amazing benefits garlic has, here is a link: http://naturalhealthremedies.org/what-are-the-health-benefits-of-garlic/

Hummimg Bird Cupcakes

I feel bad for not having posted in over a month. Christmas is a crazy busy time, full of quick bites and bad eating. I haven't made a lot of new recipes, and I also gained weight! Ugh. That's what I get. But it's a new year. Time to re-commit to healthy eating and loosing weight.

I joined a group called Winnipeg Vegan Meetup. I'm really excited about it. They meet once a month, and I don't really know any other vegans in Winnipeg, so I think the support will be great. The day after I joined, I saw a post from a girl trying to get a group together for weight loss. I took it as a sign from the gods that this is something I should be involved in. My shyness and laziness fought me on it, but I thought this would be the perfect way to make myself more accountable. I messaged her and later that day I was in a stranger's home looking over cookbooks and vegan weight loss books. I have to say that I was pretty scared that they were going to be crazy fundamentalist people that would judge me for my more "Veganist" approach to becoming a vegan. But they were all down to earth, good people. I found myself surprisingly comfortable with them. A lot of us confessed to emotional eating, which really does seems to be the basis for a lot of weight problems with a lot of people. I even opened up about the trying year I had, which included changing over to a mostly vegan diet just months before getting legally separated. You want to talk about emotional eating?! But there was a good sense of camaraderie, of knowing where others in the group are coming from and I'm even more pumped than ever.

SO, to start off the new year of healthy eating and weight loss, I give you : CUPCAKES!!

Okay, so not very healthy, but you know what? I don't believe in deprivation. (Obviously) And I made these cupcakes for New Years, so when it's time to party, it's time to eat cake!

My mom got me a new vegan cookbook for Christmas:

I love this author and the stuff really is easy.

From the cookbook Vegan Celebrations by Alicia C Simpson:
Hummingbird Cupcakes
3 c unbleached flour
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/2 tsp sea salt
Mix dry ingredients in a bowl.
1 c vegan margarine softened
2 c sugar
In another large bowl cream together margarine and sugar with electric mixer till smooth in consistency.
2 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp rice, soy, oat or almond milk
Beat into bowl with the margarine.
1/4 c pumpkin puree
1/4 c unsweetened apple sauce
1 c mashed ripe bananas
1 c crushed pineapple
1 c chopped pecans
1 c shredded unsweetened coconut

Mix well into the bowl with margarine. Add dry ingredients into wet ingredients one cup at a time.

Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes. Makes 24 cupcakes.

Cover with Cream Cheese Frosting.

1 pkg of vegan cream cheese.

1 tbsp soy milk

1 tsp vanilla

Add icing sugar 1/2 cup at a time till desired consistency is reached. About 4 cups.

I added half a cherry on top, cause gee whiz, I think that looks cute.