Love and Olive Oil

Cupcakes in May

I made me some pretty cupcakes last weekend, to bring to an open house our good friend Tiffany was having. I think they went over well. :) I got enough requests for the recipes (rich chocolate and almond), so I’m reprinting them again (with any modifications I’ve made since the original).

I added mini-chocolate chips to the chocolate cupcakes, and topped them with some neon pink frosting (Tiffany’s business colors are hot pink and black - so I thought it was only fitting). I did a chocolate version of the cream-cheese frosting rather than fudgy frosting for the almond cupcakes, it’s thicker and easier to pipe onto the cupcakes. For the cute little flowers, I colored some marzipan, rolled it out and cut it into flower shapes. Add one tiny white nonpareil in the center, and tada!

I’ve been practicing my cupcake-decorating skills, because I’ve decided that I think I’m crazy enough to make my own wedding (cup)cakes. And they’ll need to be pretty. Plus, with a proposal like that, I don’t think I could get away with having anything but cupcakes at our wedding. :) So you can probably expect to see a lot of cupcake experimentation in the near future.

Rich Chocolate Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

Makes 11-12 cupcakes.
Recipe from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
3/4 cup sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/3 cup cocoa powder, Dutch processed or regular
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Vanilla Bean Frosting:
1/4 cup margarine (or butter), softened
1/4 cup tofutti (or regular) cream cheese, softened
2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1 vanilla bean, split and seeds scraped out, or 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)

Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with paper liners.

Whisk together the soymilk and vinegar in a large bowl, and set aside for a few minutes to curdle. Add the sugar, oil, and vanilla extract to the soy milk mixture and beat till foamy. In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add in two batches to wet ingredients and beat until no lumps remain (or very few remain).

Pour into liners, filling each with 1/4 cup of batter. Bake 18-20 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.

For frosting, cream together margarine and cream cheese until just combined. Add confectioners’ sugar 1/2 cup at a time, mixing each addition until smooth and creamy. Add vanilla and food coloring, and beat until fluffy and smooth. Keep tightly covered and refrigerated until ready to use, then pipe/spread onto fully cooled cupcakes.

Vegan Almond Cupcakes with Chocolate Cream Frosting

Makes 14-15 cupcakes (or 12 and plenty of tasties).

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
1 ½ cups plain soymilk
2 1/8 cups flour
2 teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon kosher salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
1/4 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup almond paste (not marzipan)
½ cup canola oil
1 ¼ teaspoon vanilla extract
1 teaspoon almond extract

Chocolate Cream Frosting:
1/3 cup margarine (or butter), softened
1/3 cup tofutti (or regular) cream cheese, softened
½ cup cocoa powder
2 ½ cups confectioners’ sugar
2 tablespoons plain/vanilla soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon almond extract

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350º. Line 14 muffin cups with paper cupcake liners. Lightly spray liners and top of pan with cooking spray. This will prevent the tops of the cupcakes from sticking to the pan when they rise. Set aside.

Combined apple cider vinegar and soymilk in small bowl. Stir well and set aside (the mixture will curdle). Add oil and flavor extracts and stir.

In a food processor, chop almonds until finely ground. Add almond paste and 1/8 cup sugar and pulse until well incorporated.

In a large mixing bowl, stir together the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the curdled soymilk and almond mixtures to the dry ingredients and stir until smooth (try not to overmix it).

Fill each muffin cup with ¼ cup of batter. Bake for 15 to 20 minutes, or until tops are puffed and lightly golden and a toothpick inserted in the middle of a cupcake comes out clean.

Let cool in the pans for 5 minutes, then remove and place on a wire rack. Cool completely before frosting.

For frosting:
With electric mixer, beat margarine and cream cheese until fluffy. Add cocoa powder and soymilk and beat until combined. Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time and continue to beat until all the sugar is incorporated. Add extracts. Beat on high speed for another 3-5 minutes, or until fluffy. Spread or pipe onto cupcakes.

Filed Under: Chocolate, Dairy-free, Desserts
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Lentil, Goat Cheese, and Asparagus Salad

A nice, fresh, summery salad.

It would have helped if we had remembered to buy sundried tomatoes (I think I went into sticker shock and mentally blocked them - even though they were on my list I mysteriously crossed them off when we hadn’t really bought them)… though we used some sliced grape tomatoes instead and it was still delicious.

I have to say that tomatoes are growing on me. I used to hate them - with a passion - and would only eat tomato sauce (in moderation) on pizza and in lasagna—don’t you dare get it near my pasta. Sliced tomato on a burger? Ew. I’d wipe the tomato puss off the lettuce before I’d even touch it.

But they’re growing on me… especially the little ones. To Taylor’s surprise, I actually popped a few in my mouth while we were making this. Something that, if you knew me a few years ago, would surprise you too.

Don’t go overboard though - I still don’t like tomatoes contaminating my burgers.

Lentil, Goat Cheese, and Asparagus Salad

Makes 2 servings. Recipe from Not-So-Typical Grub.

Ingredients
4oz green lentils
3oz goat cheese, crumbled
1 Bunch of asparagus
Handful of sundried tomatoes or fresh grape tomatoes, sliced/diced
1 tsp white wine vinegar
1 tsp lemon juice
1 tsp balsamic vinegar
3 tsp sunflower or other oil
Salt and pepper, to taste

Directions
Drain, rinse, and cook the lentils according to the package instructions.

Mix the vinegars, oil and lemon juice together. Season to taste.

As the lentils near the end of their cooking time, boil the asparagus for around 3-4 minutes, until just tender. You can also roast the asparagus, drizzled with olive oil and seasoned with salt and pepper, in a 350 degree oven for 7-10 minutes, until tender. Drain the lentils and refresh under cold water. Drain the asparagus as well.

Return the lentils to the pan, and mix with 1/2 of the dressing. Stir in tomatoes. Toss the asparagus in the remaining dressing, and arrange on the plate. Garnish with the goat cheese.

Filed Under: Healthy, Quick, Salads, Vegetarian
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Spicy Thai Tofu with Red Bell Peppers and Peanuts

Sometimes I’m at a loss for words. Maybe that’s why all my other attempts at blogging quickly fall into a pattern (or lack thereof) of a post a month. This blog, however, is immune from writers block - as we have to eat every night, and even if it wasn’t very good or I don’t have any quip or anecdote to say about that particular meal, as long as I’ve got a picture and a recipe, I’ve got a post.

So hear you go. A picture and a recipe. And actually something worth trying, it was pretty good and a quick meal. Surprisingly (since we rarely repeat things), we’ll probably make this one again.

We don’t have a wok, and actually baked this tofu rather than frying it, which we’ve recently discovered gives it a very nice color without the need for oil. Simply drain your tofu, marinate it in some soy sauce, sesame oil, lime juice, and hot sauce (the longer the better), then pop it in the oven for about 20-30 minutes, or until it’s nice and golden.

Hey look, my lack of words has suddenly turned into 3 surprisingly thoughtful paragraphs!

Spicy Thai Tofu with Red Bell Peppers and Peanuts

Recipe from Bon Appetit. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
1/3 cup olive oil
2 large red bell peppers, seeded, thinly sliced
3 tablespoons minced peeled fresh ginger
3 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 14-to 16-ounce package extra-firm tofu, drained well, cut into 1-inch cubes
3 green onions, thinly sliced on diagonal
3 tablespoons soy sauce
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
1/2 to 3/4 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper
1 6-ounce bag baby spinach leaves
1/3 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup lightly salted roasted peanuts

Directions
Heat oil in wok over high heat. Add bell peppers, ginger, and garlic; sauté until peppers just begin to soften, about 2 minutes. Add tofu and green onions; toss 2 minutes. Add next 3 ingredients. Toss to blend, about 1 minute. Add spinach in 3 additions, tossing until beginning to wilt, about 1 minute for each addition. Mix in basil. Season with salt and pepper. Sprinkle peanuts over.

Filed Under: Asian, Main Dishes, Quick, Vegetarian
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Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Bacon

I swear, once you’ve gotten used to fresh, homemade pasta, it is awfully hard to go back to the dried stuff.

This recipe originally called for thick sliced pancetta, cubed and cooked until crispy, like croutons. Too bad for us the only pancetta in the store is paper thin and way overpriced. So we used some bacon, cooked until crispy. Not bad, though I do wonder how the pancetta croutons would improve it? It’s a little short on flavor - and if it weren’t for the fresh pasta, we might have deemed this one a failure. The potential is there, it just needs some work.

We make a good team in the kitchen, Taylor and I. For this recipe, you have Taylor at the stove dealing with the pasta water and bacon - anything cooked, boiled, or protein-packed. I sometimes call myself his sous-chef—I do all the chopping, dicing, slicing, washing, prepping, dressings, sauces, marinades, pasta-making… and he does all the heavy lifting. It works, and we’re not stepping on each other’s toes trying to man the same stations in the kitchen. Even more perfect is when the food is finished, I plate it and scurry away to photograph the dish by the sliding glass door (hello, natural light!). By the time I’ve got the money shot, he’s got the dishes done and the kitchen cleaned and sparkling. Yes, a man who does the dishes. Isn’t it a wonderful thing? I should get a photo of it to prove it’s not a myth…

Lemon Fettuccine with Broccoli and Bacon

Recipe adapted from Bon Appetit. Makes 4 servings.

Ingredients
4 oz. bacon or thick sliced pancetta
5 1/2 cups 1-inch broccoli florets (from 1 pound broccoli crowns)
9 ounces fresh or dried fettuccine
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, melted
1/4 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon finely grated lemon peel
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
2 teaspoons fresh thyme leaves
1/2 cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
Sauté bacon or pancetta in heavy medium skillet over medium-high heat until almost crisp and brown. Transfer to paper towels.

Cook broccoli in large pot of boiling salted water until crisp-tender but still bright green, about 3 minutes. Using slotted spoon, transfer broccoli to medium bowl. Add pasta to same boiling water; cook until tender, stirring occasionally.

Drain pasta; return to same pot. Add next 5 ingredients. Toss over low heat to coat. Add pancetta, broccoli, and cheese; toss to blend. Season pasta with pepper.

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Pasta, Quick
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Bruschetta with Goat Cheese and Olive Tapenade

Sometimes we like to eat bites. Not full meals, but rather a series of appetizers in place of a single dish. “Morsels” as Taylor likes to call them. These crispy and tart little toasts are just that, morsels. You’ve got to like olives though - as the tapenade definitely tastes like olives. Strong olives. Though, that could partially be amplified by the fact that I *forgot* to add the olive oil, all 1/4 cup of it, at the end. I guess my mind started thinking about goat cheese and I was a goner…

Mmm… goat cheese…

Bruschetta with Goat Cheese and Olive Tapenade

Makes 1 heaping cup (we made half the recipe and it was more than enough for appetizer sized servings for 3-4 people). Recipe from Wolfgang Puck.

Ingredients
1 cup Niçoise olives, pitted
1 cup small green French olives (Picholine), pitted
1/4 cup Oven-Dried Tomatoes, drained
1 tablespoon capers
1 garlic clove
1 anchovy fillet
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme leaves
1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley leaves
1/4 tablespoon chopped fresh oregano leaves
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 baguette, sliced on a bias into 1/3″ thick slices
4 oz. goat cheese, room temperature

Directions
In a food processor, combine all the ingredients except the olive oil. Using the pulse button, process until coarsely chopped and well blended. Continue to process, slowly adding the olive oil. Refrigerate in a covered container. Use as needed. Will keep up to 1 week, refrigerated, in a covered container.

Brush bread slices with olive oil, and broil for 1-2 minutes until golden. Spread with goat cheese, and top with a dollop of tapenade.

Filed Under: Appetizers, Quick
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