What else to do with your large muffin pan?

Recently, I've been using my large muffin pan to make non-muffin items. I've made Vegalicious' Vegan Strawberry Shortcake and FatFree Vegan Kitchen's Can't Be Beet Chocolate Cake.

Vegan Strawberry Shortcake

Giant Beet Chocolate Cupcake

I apologize for the lousy photo quality of the beet chocolate cupcake. I took the photo in a hurry because my camera battery was dying. The quality of the recipe, however, was fantastic! I thought the beet chocolate cupcakes were reminiscent of Boston Brown Bread for some reason, but neither of my parents agreed. My dad enjoyed this recipe more than anyone, which surprised me because he usually has the most conventional taste buds out of all of my family members.

Please visit the original recipe links for instructions. I did reduce the measurements a little bit on the beet chocolate cupcakes because I was using a muffin pan. Otherwise, I kept the recipes roughly the same.

The strawberry shortcakes were a little dry. Consider adding a splash of soymilk to them if you plan on baking them in a muffin tin. The recipe may work a little better in its original form, but I enjoyed stuffing the muffin-size treats. Plus, my way is a little less messy.

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By the way, keep an eye out for more posts from me. I'm going to re-commit to this blog. I've definitely been in need of more routine in my life since I graduated from college.

Apples, I'm home.

In the adapted words of Eminem, "Guess who's back, back again? LP's back, tell a friend." 'Cause it feels so empty without me. :-P

I haven't been writing in here this summer because my life has been hectic . Also, my digital camera and I spent some time apart, but now we are reunited in rainy, drainy Oregon.

This summer I moved into a beautiful house with two gorgeous gardens. In the backyard, there is an apple tree with more apples than I know what to do with. But, in an effort to use as many as possible, I decided to make applesauce. It was easier than I thought it would be, and the applesauce is better than any I've ever tasted - and I've tasted a LOT of applesauce.

Here is the food porn you've been waiting for:

Before:

After:

Ingredients:
3-4 pounds of peeled, cored, and sliced granny smith apples (I only quartered my apples because they were small)
4 strips of lemon peel
Juice of 1 lemon
teaspoon of nutmeg (I actually may have used a little less - so use as much as you want!)
1/2 cup of vegan sugar
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1 cup water

1. Combine all ingredients in a large pot (careful not to get a ton of lemon seeds in the pot; they are a pain to pick out). Bring to boil, then simmer for 20 minutes or until it is mushy enough that you can easily mash the rest with a potato masher. Make sure to stir it occasionally.
2. Remove from heat. Remove lemon peels. Mash it!
3. Make sure to eat some while it is still hot. Hot applesauce is delicious!


If I do this again, I'll probably use less sugar, but only a tiny bit less. Mmm, I hope I do this again!

I'm going to eat more applesauce now.

Two Bean Squash Chili

I am sorry I haven't updated in ages. I've been dealing with several crises. One of the milder versions of my current crises is that I am in California and my digital camera is in Oregon. So, I apologize for the lack of food pictures in this post.

I'm currently staying at my parents house, and my rent for my vacation stay is being paid in yummy vegan meals. This makes life easier for my parents because neither of them has had to cook a meal in the last few weeks or so - unless you count my mother's frequent chopping assistance. I hate peeling/chopping garlic, so I talk her into doing it.

Cooking for my parents' taste buds forces me to change certain parts of my diet. For instance, tonight I made chili. When I'm cooking for myself in Oregon and I think, "I want chili tonight!" usually I end up with a pan of roasted green chili, zucchini, and corn that is so spicy it makes my friends weep. However, my dad isn't fond of spiciness, so tonight I settled on a mild version of bean chili that one might find on a menu at some place like Marie Calendars, if Marie ever decided to go vegan. This recipe doesn't even have any real chili in it - just spices. And, to my surprise, it was still pretty good.

I found my inspiration for the recipe here when I was choosing which farmers' market to visit on Saturday. Of course, I changed just about everything in the recipe.

Warning: This makes enough food for about 7 people. You might want to cut the recipe in half.

Two Bean Squash Chili

Ingredients:
1 tablespoon olive oil
2/3 large onion
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 lb butternut squash, peeled and seeded and cut into 1 inch chunks
1 yellow bell pepper, cut into 1 inch squares
1 can corn, drained
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon marjoram
coarse salt and pepper to taste
1 12 ounce can diced stewed tomatoes
1 24 oz. can kidney beans
1 15.5 oz. can black beans
water
lime for garnishing

Instructions:

1. In a 5 qt. sauce pan, heat oil over medium heat. Add onion and garlic. Stir constantly until the onion becomes somewhat clear. Add squash, spices, salt, pepper, and let cook 1 minute.
2. Add 1/2 cup water. Cover and let simmer for about 7 minutes.
3. Stir in tomatoes and their juice, beans, bell pepper, corn, and 1/8 cup water. Reduce heat to medium low, and let simmer about 12 minutes or until the squash is your desired texture. Remember to stir periodically.
4. Garnish with lime, and serve. Be careful; it's hot!


You should serve it with some vegan corn bread. I didn't, but I wish I did. If anyone makes this, you should take pictures, send them to me, and I will add them to my post. I'll give you credit, of course. Otherwise, if I make this again when I'm reunited in Oregon with my camera, I'll add some pictures.

Pan-fried beet, radish, and zucchini spring rolls

I realized I still had some sweet and sour sauce that Megan from The Sisters Vegan left at my apartment. I thought, "Hmm, what should I do with this yummy sauce? Oh! Spring rolls!"

Then I just had to look in my fridge to decide what to put in them. I decided on beets, radishes, zucchini, and lemon juice. I also added ground ginger and miso spices. There really isn't a recipe for this. I just food processed everything, rolled the spring rolls, and then pan-fried them. I used store-bought wrappers, so I don't have a recipe for that either. I am laaazy today (it's midterms week), and this was a spur of the moment dinner choice.

They turned out fantastic. Check them out:

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking, "What the hell is going on with this plate?" Well, I painted it at Brush Fire, and I realize some of the music notes are upside down. They're dancing! Now, back to vegan food pictures:

Yuuuum. K, I'm gonna go eat more.

Hilarious illustrated book

This is not a recipe, but I saw this illustrated book on The Sisters Vegan, and you all should read it. It is mildly offensive to omnivores, but it is thee funniest thing I've seen all day.

Thank you, Megan and Kelly!

Lemon blackberry muffins

This morning I wanted some muffins. So, I made a recipe out of what I had in my kitchen. They turned out surprisingly tasty. Mmm.





Lemon blackberry muffins

Ingredients:
3/4 cups sugar
1/3 cup vegan margarine
egg replacer equal to 1 egg
2 tablespoons lemon extract
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup frozen blackberries
2 tablespoons raw sunflower seeds
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup soy milk
+ 1 tablespoon soy milk

Instructions:
1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. Combine all ingredients. Mix. Add the extra tablespoon of soy milk if the batter seems a little too thick. I had to do this.
3. Spoon into muffin cups. These muffins rise quite a bit, so leave about a quarter of an inch between the top of the batter and the brim of the muffin tin.
4. Bake for 18-20 minutes or until you poke them with a knife and it comes out clean. These muffins don't really brown on their tops, so you need to check on them with the knife trick.




You may want to add a little more lemon, depending how much you like citrus flavors. Lemon is probably my favorite flavor. I wish these were more lemony. Maybe lemon zest would be a good ingredient. Oooh, or maybe a lemon glaze? I don't usually like glazes on my muffins because it makes them too sweet, but it might be tasty.

I think these turned out well for being spur of the moment. Yummy afternoon breakfast.

Root beer float cupcakes

These cupcakes are worth making simply because you will probably have to go to a brewing shop to get cupcake ingredients (grocery stores rarely carry root beer extract). If you have a sense of humor, telling people you are going to a brewing shop for baking supplies will probably make your day. It sure made mine.




I am not going to type the recipe because it is posted here. It won ninth place in Vegan.com's "Top 10 Recipes, 2008." The recipe can also be found in My Sweet Vegan.

The only thing I changed from the original recipe was that I used carob in the ganache rather than chocolate. I'm allergic to chocolate. The ganache was delicious though!

Unfortunately, their frosting recipe wasn't as good as I wanted it to be. I think it could have used a little more soy milk. Just a tiny bit! Or maybe this recipe would have been good with a cream cheese frosting? I'm not sure. I will experiment next time.

I gave the cupcakes to basically everyone on the top floor of my apartment complex, plus their friends. Everyone liked them. I liked them too, and I was impressed that the tops weren't stiff, like so many vegan cupcakes. Mmm, their texture was excellent.

By the way, root beer extract has the best smell out of pretty much everything on the planet. Perhaps I will use it for perfume.






By the way, I made that plate in my ceramics class last summer. Ain't it sweet?