White Russian Cupcakes and What The F*@# Should I Make for Dinner?

We just got back from the best vacation ever. We flew to Los Angeles, spent a couple of days in Southern California, then spent another couple of days driving up the coast to San Francisco. We turned in our rental car, spent a few days seeing the sights in San Francisco, then took an Amtrak train back to LA. If you ever get a chance to do a trip like this, you won't regret it.

I was back at home this week making a grocery list and the vacation seemed to have cleared my head a little too well. I wanted to buy groceries for at least five meals but I could only think of two meals to make.  So I typed "what should I make for dinner" into Google and found a hilarious and useful website, called, yep, What The F*@# Should I Make for Dinner?  With all the F-bombs I thought it was just a novelty at first, but after only three minutes I had more than enough ideas to finish my grocery list. There's a vegetarian and a non-vegetarian section, but I found a couple of my ideas on the non-veg part, so both are worth exploring. The ideas also click over to recipes, but this week, I'm cooking from my own - I just needed the ideas. 

Next time I want a cupcake recipe for someone's birthday, though, I won't need to type "What the F*@# Should I Make for Dessert" into Google, because I am making these again. They were for Jim's birthday a couple of weeks ago and were so good. I found the recipe on MidwestVeg. A new cooking goal is to learn to decorate cupcakes to be as pretty as hers.

I made these a little bit differently than she did by using golden flax seeds as an egg replacer and halving the vodka, as I didn't think it was necessary. I also made only half the buttercream frosting, which was plenty. 

White Russian Cupcakes

6 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1 tablespoon golden flax seed, ground in the blender

3 tablespoons water

3/4 cup sugar

1 tablespoon vodka

4 tablespoons Kahlua, divided

1-1/4 cups all-purpose flour

2 teaspoons baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/2 cup milk

Preheat oven to 350 F. Line a cupcake pan with 12 liners.

With an electric mixer, beat together the margarine, flax seed and water on medium-high speed until the mixture is creamy. Add sugar, vodka and 2 tablespoons Kahlua and beat well, letting the mixer run until the mixture is very creamy and light.

Before measuring the flour, fluff it up in your container with a large spoon. Carefully spoon the flour into measuring cups and use a knife to level the top.  Transfer to a medium bowl, add the baking powder and salt, and stir them together.

Add about a third of the flour mixture and beat on low speed until mostly blended. Repeat with the remaining thirds of flour and milk. Once you begin adding the flour, don't overbeat the batter; I usually do the last bit of mixing by hand with a big spoon.

Divide the batter among the cupcake liners and bake for 16-20 minutes. The cupcakes are done when the top springs back after you press lightly.

While the cupcakes are warm, drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of Kahlua over the top (1/2 teaspoon per cupcake.) Let the cupcakes cool completely before frosting them with:

Kahlua Buttercream Frosting

4 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

1-1/2 cups powdered sugar

Pinch of salt

About 2 tablespoons Kahlua

Beat the margarine, powdered sugar and salt together on medium-high speed until creamy. Add Kahlua a bit at a time until desired consistency. 

Makes 12 cupcakes.

Purple Hull Peas in Coconut Curry Sauce

Every year in the summer, fresh purple hull peas appear in farmer's markets and a few supermarkets. They are related to black-eyed peas and look like them, except that they have a purple patch instead of a black "eye." They're also milder and creamier.  My two favorite things to do with them are to use them in a simple salad like this one, or to put them in a curry.  I'm not sure where I got this curry recipe. All I remember about it is that originally it had chicken in it. I imagine that after replacing the chicken with purple hull peas, I can now claim it as my own creation!

This is my entry for House Favorites this month. 

 

Purple Hull Peas in Coconut Curry Sauce

 

1-2/3 cup fresh purple hull or black-eyed peas (or a 15.5-ounce can)

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 cup onion, diced small

6 cloves garlic, minced

1 tablespoon minced ginger

2 or 3 jalapeños, minced

1 sprig curry leaves, cut into thin strips

1 tablespoon cumin seeds

1 tablespoon ground coriander

1 teaspoon garma masala

1 teaspoon chili powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 cup coconut milk

1 cup tomato puree (I used an 8-ounce can of tomato sauce)

1/2 to 1 teaspoon amchoor powder

1/4 cup unsweetened dried coconut

Rinse the peas and transfer to a small sauce pan. Add just enough water to cover the peas. Bring to a low boil, then simmer until they reach your desired tenderness, about 10-15 minutes.  Set aside.

Heat the oil in a large skillet to medium high. Sauté the onion for a minute or two until it's starting to become translucent, then turn down the heat to low. Continue to cook until the onion is tender and golden, about 10 minutes.  Turn the heat back up to medium and add the garlic, ginger, jalapeño and curry leaves. Cook for about 2 minutes. Add the cumin, coriander, garam masala, chili powder and salt. Cook for a minute.

Add the coconut milk, tomato puree and peas with their cooking liquid. Heat through. Add the amchoor powder and coconut and cook over low until mixture thickens slightly, about 10 minutes.

Serves 4.

House Favorites: Vegan - August Wrap Up

This month we were all about veganizing typically meaty and dairy-laden dishes and making them even better than the originals. We're also trying new ingredients in familiar dishes, and, as always, making old favorites. 

Kelly of Vegan Ventures in Cuisine slow cooks portobello mushrooms and blends creamy cannellini beans with seasonings to make lip-smaking  Portobello Barbacoa and Smokey Queso Spread.

 At Tadka Pasta, R&R bring out new textures from mushrooms by roasting them and then infusing them with Indian spices to make  Masala Mushroom Medley.

 R&R also give us Green Chard Chutney,  a new twist on a classic chutney recipe with green chard, peanuts and the perfect combination of spices. 

Roasted Corn and Potato Chowder becomes even tastier when Cathy of What Would Cathy Eat? forgoes the cream and bacon for roasted corn, almond milk and smoked paprika. 

Vaishali of Ribbon's to Pasta's made Wheat Halwa with wheat instead of the usual ingredients, then finished the dish with rose flavor and petals, and pistachios.

Deepika at My Life & Spice has been making Chana Masala for so long she doesn't have to measure the ingredients, but she took the time to measure in order to help a coworker learn to cook the dish, and we all benefit.

I revisited one of the first Asian-style recipes I ever made, Broccoli Stir Fry with Almond Butter Sauce.

I also made another recent favorite, Green Curry Rice Bake.

Thank you so much for all of your tasty entries for August. I'm sorry this round up was a bit late. No excuses - I've just had a head full of bees lately. The announcement for this month's event did go up on time, however. I hope to see you all there!

Chocolate Sorbet

 

Last week when the three-day Labor Day weekend was coming up, I realized I didn't have a food tradition for the holiday.  For the Memorial Day weekend, I like to barbecue, and Independence Day weekend, I nearly always make peach cobbler, but at the end of the long, hot summer, it just never occurred to me to celebrate with food. This summer has been one of the hottest on record and whatever I cooked needed to involve lots of ice. So, I made frozen Margaritas (twice!), and tackled a new recipe for chocolate sorbet from Vegetarian Times.

Have you ever had ice cream with those little brownie pieces mixed in? This is like a scoop of the brownie by itself; it's super rich.  As I was making it, I tasted the mixture and decided it was too bitter and added a good bit more sugar. (This was probably because instead of using dark chocolate bars I used less expensive, unsweetened chocolate made for baking) . The resulting sorbet was as sweet as a semi-sweet chocolate bar.  I think chocolate ice cream is going to be our new Labor Day tradition!

Chocolate Sorbet

 

1-1/2 cups sugar

2 tablespoons lemon juice

2-1/2 cups boiling water

1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

7 ounces/200 grams unsweetened chocolate, finely chopped (a food processor makes this easy)

(salt and ice for your ice cream maker - I always forget the salt!)

In a large sauce pan or Dutch oven, cook sugar over medium heat. Stir frequently until sugar has melted and darkened to a caramel color. This will take about 20 minutes.

Add lemon juice. This will cause the sugar to boil for a minute or two. Add boiling water and stir well until all of the sugar is dissolved. Add cocoa powder and salt.

Bring mixture to a low boil. Remove from the heat and stir in the chopped chocolate. Blend with an immersion blender. Refrigerate sorbet mixture for several hours or overnight and freeze the container for your ice cream maker.

Follow your ice cream maker's instructions to make the sorbet.

Makes about 2 quarts.

For Black and White Wednesday

These are some leek tops that I snapped on the way to the compost bin recently. So pretty, and so useless!  This is going out to Black and White Wednesday, by Susan of The Well-Seasoned Cook.

I've been feeling a bit like a leek top since this weekend. First I sprayed no-stick spray all over my laptop. It's fine, but the next day, I dropped my food processor on the floor, upside down.  It's a gonner. Then, I lost my cell phone not too long after that. It was logged in to my email, my Facebook account - everything.  This is one reason I hang on to old things as long as I can because both the food processor and phone needed to be replaced anyway. Christmas is just coming a tiny bit early.

All this self-induced chaos means I'm behind on everything! I promise to get the House Favorites wrap-up done in the next couple of days and I have some posts of actual food soon too.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

The first time I tasted Daiya vegan cheese, I thought its rich and creamy flavor would be perfect for making mac and cheese. I had half a package in my freezer left over from making enchiladas, so I gave it a try. I used the classic recipe from my old chocolate and gravy-stained Fannie Farmer Cookbook as a guide, a recipe that I've taken to family dinners and potlucks many times. The recipe starts with a white sauce in which you melt a rich cheese. The dish is then topped with bread crumbs and baked. It's the ultimate comfort food.

The macaroni and cheese was delicious, but I served it with a nut loaf. This was my first nut loaf and I didn't realize how filling they were. As a result, we ended up eating just a couple of bites of the mac and cheese each. We were looking forward to some leftovers, but then Tyler came home from work and ate the entire dish. No leftovers for you, parents! 

I'm sending this to Presto Pasta Nights, hosted this month by the creator of the event herself, Ruth of Once Upon a Feast.

Vegan Macaroni and Cheese

7 ounce package elbow macaroni

1 slice bread (about 1 ounce)

3 tablespoons Earth Balance margarine

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1-3/4 cup non-dairy milk

1/4 teaspoon paprika

Pinch cayenne (optional)

1/2 a package (4 ounces) Daiya vegan cheese, any flavor

Salt to taste (start with 1/4 teaspoon)

Preheat oven to 350 F. Cook macaroni according to package instructions. Drain, rinse (to prevent the pasta from sticking to itself) and set aside. Grind up bread in the blender to make crumbs and set aside. Oil a 2-quart casserole dish.

Melt margarine in a medium saucepan over low heat. Whisk in flour and cook for a minute. Take pan off heat, add milk, and whisk into the margarine and flour until there are no lumps. Put pan back on the heat and turn up to medium or medium high. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Add paprika, cayenne and Daiya cheese. Cook, stirring frequently, until cheese melts. Remove from heat.

Stir macaroni into the cheese sauce and transfer to the casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs. Bake, uncovered, until hot in the center, about 15 minutes. (You can make this earlier in the day and refrigerate until ready to cook. Straight from the refrigerator, this will take about 45 minutes.)

Serves  4 as a side or 1 hungry teenager.

House Favorites: Vegan - September Announcement

As food bloggers, sometimes we get so caught up in trying new things that we forget about the dishes that we make all the time. These are the recipes we make repeatedly for house guests and potlucks. The ones our families won't let us skip on the holidays. Our beloved signature dishes. Our house favorites.

What are your house favorites? This is a monthly blog event where you can show them off. It will run from the first day of the month to the last. I'll have a writeup of all the entries by the fifth of the following month. The rules are simple:

    1. Your dish needs to be vegan. This means no meat, fish, dairy, honey or their derivatives.

    2. You should have made this at least three times and consider the recipe "finished." Any course is welcome, from appetizers to desserts. Variations on your favorite dishes are welcome.

    3. In your blog post, please mention House Favorites: Vegan, and link to my main page: http://chezcayenne.blogspot.com.

 4. Use Mr. Linky at the end of the monthly announcement to enter your post.

Of course older posts are welcome, but please limit your entries of older posts to one a month, or reblog about them during the current month to enter more. There is no limit to the recipes you've blogged about during the current month. 

Feel free to enter your House Favorites: Vegan entries in other blog events.

You are welcome to use either of the logos here, but it's not required.

If you have a recipe that's not vegan, but you can veganize it without changing the character of the recipe much, blog about your vegan version and send it in - there's no need to make the vegan version three times. If a vegan ingredient is an option, make sure that you mention it in the ingredients list and instructions. (e.g. Your ingredients list can say something like 2 tablespoons butter or olive oil and your instructions say heat butter or olive oil.)

Non-food bloggers can participate too. Do you have a favorite message board that welcomes vegan recipes with photos? Post your recipe, a photo and a link back to my main page on the message board. Then use Mr. Linky and leave a comment here.