I hesitated to even put the word "Vegan" in the title of this blog post because I'm willing to bet that at least 50% of the people who see that word won't read any further. "Vegan" carries with it a very negative connotation and there are still a lot of people who believe that vegan food couldn't possible taste good. (Mostly men) I am not a vegan but I have a friend who is, so when we celebrated her birthday, I baked vegan cupcakes. The recipe really isn't much different than my traditional chocolate cupcake recipe. As a matter of fact, if I didn't tell you that these cupcakes were vegan, you would probably think that you were eating a delicious chocolate cupcake with chocolate ganache and coconut frosting. I found the cake recipe in a cookbook that I borrowed from a friend called "The Vegan Table." The cake was originally intended to be baked in an 8" cake pan but I turned mine into cupcakes. The recipe also called for an apricot glaze to be poured over the cooled cake and I eliminated that and opted for a coconut whipped cream to top of these delicious little cupcakes. Vegan Chocolate Cake 1 1/2 cups flour 3/4 cup sugar 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon baking soda 1/4 cup cocoa powder 3/4 cup soy milk 1/2 cup black coffee 1/3 cup canola oil 1 Tablespoon white vinegar 1 teaspoon vanilla Ganache 2 Tablespoons cocoa powder 3 Tablespoons powdered sugar 2 Tablespoons black coffee 2 Tablespoons nondairy butter
Bake 16 minutes at 350. Spread ganache over cooled cupcakes. The recipe for the coconut whipped cream came from kblog.lunchbox.com. I admit that it took 2 attempts to get it right so take my advice: have patience and buy and extra can of coconut milk!
Scoop only the top "solids" out of the can. This is where I went wrong in my first attempt. I got too much of the liquid from the bottom of the can.
Decorate with vegan chips and enjoy. (Don't forget the birthday candle.) Ciao!
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I don't know if it's like this in your house but when 5:00 hits in this house, I better be prepared to feed 2 very hungry teenagers. Spending 2 hours at soccer practice or running a 5 mile cross country course makes my kids VERY hungry. It isn't always easy to get nutritious meals on the table and sometimes it's even harder to convince ravished kids to eat something that looks healthy. I found this recipe for Lighter Sesame Chicken on MarthaStewart.com and unfortunately, it didn't have the nutritional information for the recipe but it sure sounded like a healthy way to get more lean protein and vegetables into my diet so I decided to give it a try. Sesame Chicken 3/4 cup brown rice 3 tablespoons honey 2 tablespoons sesame seeds 2 tablespoons soy sauce 1 garlic clove, finely chopped or crushed with a garlic press 2 large egg whites 1/4 cup cornstarch 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, cut into 2-inch chunks Coarse salt and ground pepper 2 tablespoons vegetable oil, such as safflower 4 scallions, thinly sliced 1 1/2 pounds broccoli, cut into large florets, stems peeled and thinly sliced
Return all the chicken to skillet; add reserved sauce and scallions, and toss to coat. Serve sesame chicken with broccoli and brown rice. Yes, I know that you are supposed to serve the chicken and broccoli OVER the rice but I like mine beside it - I'm just weird like that.
My family really liked the slightly sweet sauce over the chicken and they even ate the some of the broccoli. (Probably by accident.) I didn't hear any complaints about my switch from white rice to brown rice either so that may have to be the new standard. Ciao! If you have ever been faced with a situation where you needed to take someone a meal, you know how stressful that can be. What do they like? What foods do they hate? What can I make that the kids and the adults will both like? Do I need to take vegetables along with the meal? Should I stick with a chicken casserole or a lasagna? What can I put it in so that they don't have to return my dishes? There are endless possibilities when it comes to preparing meals for other people. The most important things to find out is how many people you are serving and whether there are any food allergies. Once you know the answer to those 2 things, you can start to plan your meal. I like to choose meals that my dinner recipients can heat for themselves whenever it's convenient. This also frees me up to drop the meal off earlier in the afternoon instead of trying to transport hot food at dinnertime. Baked Penne with Chicken 6 tablespoons butter, plus more for baking dishes Coarse salt and ground pepper 1 pound penne rigate 1 teaspoon olive oil 2 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves (8 ounces each), halved horizontally 1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled) 4 garlic cloves, minced 6 cups whole milk 10 ounces white mushrooms, trimmed and thinly sliced 1/2 cup oil-packed sun-dried tomatoes, drained and thinly sliced 1 1/2 cups shredded provolone (6 ounces) 1 cup finely grated Parmesan (4 ounces) In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Season chicken with salt and pepper; cook until opaque throughout, 3 to 5 minutes per side. Halve each piece lengthwise, then thinly slice crosswise.
I hope that this blog will help alleviate some of the stress that comes along with preparing food deliver to someone else. The bottom line is that if you've ever been in a situation where you've had to be on the receiving end of these meals, you know just how much they are appreciated - no matter what they are. I like this baked penne recipe for a couple of reasons. The pasta appeals to children and the chicken appeals to the lean protein eaters in the house. The sauce is rich and creamy without using heavy cream so it's lower in fat than traditional Alfredo sauces - especially if you use low-fat cheeses. This recipe makes enough for 2 casseroles - one for my family and one to give away. You could also bake one dish and freeze the other for another day. Pair this dish with a fresh green salad and a loaf of whole wheat bread and you have a dinner that any family would be grateful to receive.
This recipe came from the Martha Stewart website and it was originally called Baked Penne with Chicken and Sun dried Tomatoes. I omitted the sun dried tomatoes because they have kind of a strong flavor that doesn't appeal to everyone. Ciao! Don't throw away your Halloween pumpkin yet - turn it into a creative container to hold your dip instead. I served this pumpkin dip inside of a hallowed out pumpkin at my Halloween party yesterday. This recipe was posted on pinterest by allreicpes.com. It was a big hit at my party and for those of you who requested the recipe - here it is. Pumpkin Dip 8 ounce container cool whip 3 ounce box instant vanilla pudding 1 cup pumpkin 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice Fold together ingredients. Serve dip inside of a hollowed out pumpkin. I served cinnamon and honey graham sticks alongside the dip - for dipping of course. It would also be good with apple slices or fresh strawberries.
You could certainly use this pumpkin container for any kind of dip that you like. If you don't want your dip to taste like pumpkin, cut the opening so that you can fit a small bowl inside of the pumpkin. This would be a great, eye-catching way to serve vegetable dip and fresh veggies. Ciao! |
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