Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cupcakes

First off, I have to start this post by saying that something has gone strangely wrong with blogger for me. It no longer recognizes my html codes; they completely disappear no matter how many times I enter them in, so all spacing is messed up. Any spacing between lines you see, are lines that I've forced there. I also can no longer post my ingredients list single-spaced, only double-spaced. I've bolded different headings, to make it easier to read. I hope this is not going to be a problem for readers. This is highly frustrating for me.

Anyway, on with the recipe.
So good. That's what you'll think when you have one of these treasures. We had two birthday parties to go to recently, so I made these to bring along for us. When my children are invited to a birthday party, I always make a dessert for them to have, and I try to make it as yummy as possible, so they never feel left out. These were so good, I had a few, and I'm not ashamed to admit it. There are chocolate chips inside the cupcake, as well, so you are not left feeling as if you been chocolate-shortchanged.

Buttermilk Chocolate Chip Chocolate Cupcakes

Ingredients:

Batter:

2 and 1/4 cups soy milk

2 Tbs. lemon juice

2 cups vegan sugar

1 cup vegan margarine, softened

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 Tbs. EnerG Egg Replacer

4 Tbs. water

2 and 1/2 cups flour

1 cup cocoa

2 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 pound bag of vegan chocolate chips (approx. 2 cups), divided

Frosting:

6 Tbs. vegan margarine, softened

2 and 2/3 cups powdered sugar

1/2 cup cocoa

1/3 cup soy milk

1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

For the batter: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line two cupcake pans with paper cupcake liners. In a small bowl, whisk together the soy milk and lemon juice, and set aside - this is your "buttermilk." In a large mixing bowl, cream together the margarine and sugar. Add the Egg Replacer and water and beat with a mixer, until blended. In a separate bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Alternate beating in the dry ingredients and the soured soy milk into the sugared mixture on medium speed. With the last addition of your 'buttermilk," add in the vanilla.  Beat until thoroughly mixed. Add all but a half cup of the chocolate chips to the batter, and stir well with a spoon. Scoop out batter into paper liners, and fill at least two-thirds full. Bake for 25 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into a couple of them comes out clean. Cool completely on cooling racks.

For the frosting: In a large bowl, mash margarine really well, or beat it with a mixer. In a separate bowl, whisk sugar and cocoa together. Alternate beating in the sugared mixture and soy milk with the margarine. Start on slow speed and work your way up to medium. When completely mixed, add the vanilla, and beat for one minute longer. Spread on cupcakes. Top each cupcake with several chocolate chips. Makes about two dozen cupcakes. Feeds five hungry vegans for a few days. Yummers.

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

SOMETHING HAS GONE HAYWIRE WITH THIS POST. NO MATTER HOW MANY TIMES I TRY TO FORMAT IT CORRECTLY, IT GOES BACK TO PARAGRAPHICAL FORM. IF ANYONE KNOWS HOW TO FIX IT, I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT! I'VE WORKED IN BOTH THE HTML AND COMPOSE AND CAN'T GET IT TO COOPERATE FOR ME. I WILL KEEP TRYING.

I've been feeling more and more comfortable experimenting with my own seitan. It's actually been fun trying to see how versatile it is and how far I can push the flavors. I decided to try my hand at stuffing it; I added a long name, and voila! - I have another tasty dish. My husband especially seems to like hearty meals like this after a long day at work. Now that I'm trying my hand at seitan on a regular basis, the Blessings never know what's going to show up at dinner! This turned out very well, and the gravy was just the right complement to the meal. The crumbles were a fun addition. There seems to be a lot of steps, but things come together really easily. Hope you like it.

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

Seitan before steaming

Stuffed seitan before baking

Cornbread Stuffed Seitan with White Bean Gravy and Toasted Cornbread Crumbles

Ingredients:

Seitan:

1 cup of slow-cooked Great Northern Beans

2 cups of water

1 and 1/2 tsp. of ground thyme

1 and 1/2 tsp. of rubbed sage

2 tsp. salt

1 Tbs. garlic powder

1 Tbs. onion powder

2 and 1/4 cups of gluten flour

Stuffing:

(I realized as I was writing up this recipe, that the cornbread here is the only part I didn't measure. I cut a wedge from the cornbread I made, and it looks to be just less that 1/4 of a pan, which is probably close to 1 and 1/2 to 2 cups ground.)

Unsweetened cornbread - you can use my Ozark Cornbread recipe - a large wedge

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

Gravy:

1/2 cup of slow-cooked Great Northern Beans

1 and 1/2 cup of water

1/2 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

1/4 tsp. ground thyme

1/4 tsp. rubbed sage

1 Tbs. soy sauce

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

2 Tbs. vegan margarine

2 Tbs. flour

Crumbles:

1 cup of ground cornbread (in food processor)

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. onion powder

1/4 tsp. salt

1/4 tsp. pepper

Directions:

For the seitan: In a blender, add all the seitan ingredients, except the gluten flour. Blend well. Pour into a large mixing bowl and add the gluten flour. Stir well, and knead for a minute or two until the dough has no wet or dry spots. Divide into five mounds and shape into rough ovals. Wrap in enough foil to cover the seitan at least three times. Place in a large pot with a lid with water and a steamer basket. Steam on medium heat for 45 minutes. Remove and unwrap each seitan oval. (I make the cornbread, while the seitan is steaming, to keep things moving along.)

For the stuffing: Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Break up the cornbread and put chunks into a food processor. Add the seasonings and process until crumbly. Along the side of each seitan oval, use a sharp knife to cut a deep slice. Don't go all the way to the edges or all the way to the back. Divide the cornbread mix evenly, and fill each seitan cavity with it. Put the seitan in a large baking pan, and pour 3/4 cup of water on the bottom of it. Bake for 20 minutes. Carefully flip the seitan over, and pour another 3/4 of water on the bottom of the pan. Bake for an additional 20 minutes. Remove from oven.

For the gravy: In a blender, combine all the gravy ingredients except for the flour and margarine. Blend until smooth. In a medium pot on medium heat, melt the margarine. Add the flour and whisk well. Add the blended gravy ingredients and continue stirring constantly on medium heat, until it bubbles, about five minutes. Turn the heat to low and continue stirring for one minute. Remove from heat.

For the crumbles: Turn oven heat up to 400 degrees. In a food processor, put in enough cornbread to get about one cup's worth. Add the seasonings and continue to process until mixed. Place crumbles in small baking pan and bake for five minutes.

To assemble: Plate each stuffed seitan with gravy spooned over the top. Sprinkle the cornbread crumbles over the gravy. Serve with the rest of the cornbread and a simple vegetable. Fancy, yet satisfying! Feeds five hungry vegans.

Light Almond Carob Cookies

As I wrote in my last post, GR's birthday was last month and we enjoyed two versions of pink strawberry cakes. However, my parents were unable to make it over on her actual birthday, so they came a couple of days later. I wanted to have a dessert for them, too, of course. Even though I'm not much of a dessert girl, my mom is even less so, and chocolate is very challenging for her to eat in particular because of its sweetness. So, I concocted what I thought would be pleasing to her: a not too heavy, not too sweet cookie. She liked them very much and took at least three of them, which I knew was a definite sign of success. So, for those of us who don't have a big sweet tooth, but want something that just hits the spot every now and then, here's my Light Almond Carob Cookies. By the way, these went over just as well with the rest of the clan; there were none left at the end of the night.

Light Almond Carob Cookies

Ingredients:

Batter:

1 cup vegan margarine
1/4 cup vegan or raw sugar
1/2 tsp. almond extract
2 cups of flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup sliced almonds

Icing:

1 cup of powdered sugar
2 Tbs. carob powder
2 Tbs. hot water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions:

For the batter: With a beater or pastry cutter, cream margarine and sugar together. Add almond extract and mix again. Add flour and salt and stir well with spoon, until well mixed. Add the soy milk and stir again. Add the sliced almonds and stir one last time. Scoop up approximately a tablespoon of batter at a time and place on an ungreased cookie sheet. Gently press cookies into little disks and bake for 12 minutes. Cool in pan on cooling rack for five minutes before transferring cookies to a sheet of foil or wax paper to finish cooling.

For the icing: When cookies are cool, make icing. Whisk together the powdered sugar and carob powder. Add the hot water and vanilla extract and mix well. Either take a butter knife and spread a dollop of icing on each cookie, or dip each cookie into the icing. Icing will dry in less than a half hour, and the cookies will be ready to eat! Makes approximately two dozen cookies. Feeds five hungry vegans and a couple of grandparents.

Big and Little Pink Strawberry Cakes, Naturally

GR turned eleven years old last month, officially making her a tweener. She requested a pink colored, strawberry flavored birthday cake. When we cut out artificial colors and flavors and petroleum-based preservatives last Fall, I hadn't really encountered a need to improvise on colors and flavors until now. I knew it would be coming with the children's birthdays, so I was mentally prepared. GR was very specific: she wanted strawberry flavor, not strawberry chunks. I had thought of using strawberry extract because I think it's okay, but I'll have to check to be sure. But, I really wanted to see if I could do this without extracts. I had also heard of using beet juice for the color, but since I was already using real strawberries for the flavor, I thought I'd see what color they'd make as well. What turned out was a sweet pink hue with a gentle strawberry flavor. GR was very pleased with it. She had a slumber party a few days later, and wanted the same thing in cupcake form, and we ended up with perfect little pink mini-cupcakes.

I used my White Cake with White Butter Cream Frosting as a base to start with. I thought by adding strawberry puree, I wouldn't need the soy milk, but I actually ended up using the same amount of soy milk as in the original recipe. Also, since my dear husband, G, has been complaining so much lately about the lack of frosting in between cake layers, I decided to double the butter cream frosting. Eh, don't do that, unless you have a limitless ability to eat sweets. I am a salt girl, myself, but even my sugar-lovin' family said that frosting version was too sweet. So, stick to the original. I'll repeat the recipe below. The photo of the cake below is with the doubled frosting recipe, and you can see I had abundant frosting. GR wanted both her cake and cupcakes topped with fresh raspberries, and they complete her beautiful desserts. She wanted to do the honors of topping them herself, and she did a great job, deepening my belief that she's going to be a fantastic cook someday.

Pink Strawberry Cake

You can kind of make out the pink cake here

Gorgeous strawberry puree!



Pink cake batter


Our cute little, pink mini-cupcakes

Mini-cupcakes all dressed up and ready to be devoured

Big and Little Pink Strawberry Cakes, Naturally

Ingredients:

Cakes:
(The same for both a double-layer cake or mini-cupcakes)

2 and 1/2 cups flour
1 and 1/2 cups vegan or raw sugar
1 Tbs. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 cup shortening
1 cup soy milk
2 and 1/2 cups of chopped strawberries, pureed in blender
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbs. EnerG Egg Replacer
4 Tbs. water

Frosting:

1/2 cup vegan margarine, room temperature
1/8 tsp. salt
3 and 3/4 cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract
3 Tbs. soy milk

Fresh raspberries for garnish

Directions:

For the cakes: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. For a double-layer cake, spray two round cake pans with an oil spray, and lightly flour their bottoms. For mini-cupcakes: I did not need to prepare the mini-cupcake pan - the cupcakes came right out. If you need to spray yours, feel free to do so. Set pans aside. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder and salt. In a large bowl, cream the shortening to soften it completely. In a small bowl, whisk together the Egg Replacer and water. Alternate beating the flour mixture and the soy milk into the shortening, beating with a mixer on medium speed. At the end, add the strawberry puree, Egg Replacer mixture, and vanilla extract. Beat for three minutes, until completely smooth. For the two-layer cake: divide the batter between the two cake pans, and bake for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. For the mini-cupcakes: fill each cupcake well almost to the top with batter, leaving a bit of room. Bake for 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in a couple of them comes out clean. Cool both types of pans on cooling racks for fifteen minutes. Remove cakes from their pans and finish cooling on racks. Makes one double layer cake or four and half dozen mini cupcakes.

For the frosting: When the cakes have completely cooled, prepare the frosting. In a medium bowl, cream together the margarine and salt. Starting on low speed and working up to medium, beat in the powdered sugar. Add the vanilla extract and the soy milk, and beat on medium speed for three to five minutes, until the mixture is creamy and smooth. Makes enough frosting for one double layer cake or four and half dozen mini cupcakes. For the double cake - rim the top layer with the raspberries, and for the mini-cupcakes - top each one with a raspberry. Feeds five hungry vegans and some giggling little girls!

Breakfast Potato Skillet

Years ago, there was a Sacramento restaurant that G and I went to for breakfast. SR was just a baby and toddler at the time, so she just nibbled off our plates. But, I loved to order their potato skillet. It was a big plate of home fries covered with veggies, ham, cheese and a fried egg on top. By the time I had them leave off the ham, cheese and fried egg, I was left with home fries and veggies. I still loved it, though, because we could actually go out to breakfast on a Saturday morning, a rare treat for a vegan! But, then my frugal mind started adding up the money that I was still paying for the invisible ham, cheese and fried egg, and I began to wonder if I could duplicate this at home, but even more awesome than theirs. And what do you think I did next? You got it - experiment in the kitchen! Yay for my guinea pig family! So, the trick was to get that secret, elusive home fry flavor down: you know what I'm talking about - crispy potato square on the outside with a fluffy center. Just frying potatoes wasn't cutting it. I had to haul out my Big Daddy deep fryer. I deep fry about once or twice a year, so I'm not ashamed, I tell ya! Anyways, the potatoes were perfect, and by adding veggie hot dogs, vegan cheese and just the right veggies, it did the trick. I now have my scrumptious version of the Breakfast Potato Skillet! (Imagine that name echoing a few times.) Mine ends up being baked, and I don't think the restaurant did that; hence their "skillet" name, but I've kept that moniker for some good memories. That restaurant is now out of business, but we're still in the business of chowing down in the Blessed Vegan Life home. Come share in our food!

Breakfast Potato Skillet out of the oven

A steaming serving of this delight

The serving bowl after being attacked by hungry vegans!

Breakfast Potato Skillet

Ingredients:

9 russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/2" cubes
Enough canola oil for deep frying
Salt to taste
1 and 1/2 cups of broccoli florets, coarsely chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
4 - 6 mushrooms, sliced
1 pkg. of your favorite vegan hot dogs (use eight of them)
2 tomatoes, diced
1/2 pkg. of Follow Your Heart Vegan Gourmet cheese, cheddar style, finely shredded, divided
Salt and Pepper to taste
Hot sauce or ketchup, optional

Directions:

Prepare the deep fryer. Gently put in three of the potatoes, diced, in the deep fryer. Cook for 12 to 14 minutes, until golden. Drain on paper towels and salt according to your taste. Repeat two more times with the remaining potatoes. I will do this step often the night before so as to save time in the morning. Put potatoes in a large baking dish. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Meanwhile, put the broccoli, bell pepper and mushrooms in a medium pot with about an inch of water and a steamer basket. Steam for about ten minutes, just until the broccoli is fork-tender. You do not want to overcook them. When ready, put them in a medium bowl, along with the tomatoes. While the veggies are steaming, prepare the hot dogs according to package directions - I bring water to a boil, turn the heat off, add the hot dogs and let sit for two minutes. Slice the hot dogs into 1/2" rounds. Add the hot dogs and half of the cheese to the bowl with the veggies. Add salt and pepper to taste, and stir the whole thing very well. Pour on top of the potatoes in the baking dish, and sprinkle the rest of the cheese all over the top. Cover with a lid and bake for 30 minutes. Remove lid and turn on the top broiler, and broil for 3 to five minutes to melt the cheese. Serve with hot sauce and/or ketchup. Mm-mm goo-ood! Feeds five hungry vegans with leftovers for lunch...maybe.

Sauteed Dino Kale with Criminis and Tomatoes

I have a love affair with kale. The only greens I grew up eating were iceberg lettuce and canned spinach, so when I first tried greens, it was tentatively. I didn't really like them at first because I thought they were bitter, and some are still harder for me to eat, like mustard greens, but I'm friends with most greens now. But, when I tried kale, I couldn't believe it! It was love at first sight: I loved chewing it, and it loved being digested by me. I've been growing kale now for a couple of years and try to incorporate it and other greens into as many different meals as I can for my children. They are so darn healthy for us! But, my kale plants are not lush right now, so I bought some fresh dino kale from the store and made a super simple veggie medley. I used that ultra-delicious garlic blend from Gilroy again, so you can use garlic powder or another blend, if you wish.

For those that have been wondering about the Blessings Question of the Day that I promised in my 100th post, I did do a couple, but it's on hold for right now. Apparently, I didn't pass the idea through to the Blessings before I announced it on my blog. I already mortify my girls on a daily basis just by being their mom. They think I'm too friendly to strangers: in the store I smile at people, horrors! I'll help someone randomly if they appear to need help, how could I?! I'll chat up someone in line if they seem receptive, oh, Mom, stop! So, as you can see, I've gotten myself in hot water with them with my little question of the day idea. Suffice it to say that most of the girls' questions were how I would rather be trampled by one animal or another, escape from death-defying situations, what body part or sense I would rather be without, etc. JK's were faves from colors to animals to foods to wrestlers, etc. Sigh. If things change, I'll let you know. Thanks to those who briefly played along!

Sauteed Dino Kale with Criminis and Tomatoes

Ingredients:

2 Tbs. olive oil
3 cups of crimini mushrooms, sliced
10 cups of dino kale, stripped from their stems, and either coarsely chopped or torn into bite-sized pieces
2 tsp. good garlic blend or garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste
2 tomatoes, halved and halved and again, and cut into "mini" wedges

Directions:

Heat olive oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the mushrooms and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the kale in big handfuls, stirring for a few seconds to slightly wilt kale before adding next big handful. Add the spices. Cook for another three to five minutes, until kale is evenly bright green and slightly wilted but not overcooked. Add the tomatoes and stir until well mixed. Serve and eat immediately. Feeds five hungry vegans. Yum!

Monte Cristo Sandwich

A Monte Cristo sandwich typically is a ham and Swiss cheese grilled sandwich that's been dipped completely in an egg batter before being fried. I've never had one, personally, but I saw a recipe for one and thought I could make a vegan version of it. It was a complete hit with my family and is very simple. I had vegan cheddar on hand, so that's what I used, and it worked great. I took a picture of the garlic blend that I used for the outside, but it came out too blurry. We have a town a couple of hours from here called Gilroy, and it's known for its garlic; the blend comes from them and is amazing. If you don't have a good garlic blend, then you can use garlic powder blended with onion powder and pepper. In the end, the sandwich ended up being an upgraded grilled cheese. I'll show you how...




Monte Cristo Sandwich

Ingredients:

Sliced sourdough bread
Vegenaise
Mustard
Vegan ham "lunchmeat"
Vegan cheese, your favorite flavor
A good garlic blend, or your own blend of garlic powder, onion powder and pepper
Vegan margarine

Directions:

Spread the vegenaise and mustard on the bread, and add a couple of slices of the vegan ham and cheese. Heat a large pan over medium heat. In a small bowl, mix a ratio of 4 Tbs. of vegan margarine with 1 tsp. of the garlic blend with a fork. Spread on both of the outside slices of bread. Use this ratio as many times as you need to make as many sandwiches as you want. Place three to four sandwiches in the pan and cover with a well-fitted lid. Cook for five minutes, carefully flip each sandwich with a large spatula, cover with lid again, and cook for another five minutes. You should have a nicely browned sandwich on both sides. If you find that your sandwich is burning, add a touch of margarine directly to the pan. I think having the ham in the sandwich prevented the cheese from completely melting, but it was very soft, especially in the middle and was delicious! Serve with some steamed veggies for a rounded out meal. I made more than enough sandwiches to feed five hungry vegans.