Love and Olive Oil

Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Rum Buttercream

In my recent craving for all things pumpkin (apparent by the recent baking of pumpkin muffins and multiple batches of pumpkin chocolate chip cookies), it was only time before the vivid orange squash made its way into some vegan cupcakes.

These cupcakes began as a vision. I’d lay in bed thinking of just what kind of fluffy frosting should top them. I had wanted to do a brown-sugar buttercream, but was afraid that the inherent differences between heavy cream and soymilk would prevent me from doing so (the recipe I had found, I assume, relied greatly on the ‘fluffing’ powers of cream, powers that, try as I might, I cannot replicate with soymilk). If anyone knows otherwise, please let me know - I’d love to try to make this frosting in a non-dairy version.

Brown sugar buttercream impossible, I moved on to my next idea. Thinking of what spices and spirits would go best with a slice of rich pumpkin pie, I set out to make a buttercream, spiced with cinnamon and spiked with rum. And it was good. Quite good. Since the frosting isn’t cooked, the rum stays put, and you could definitely taste it. Same with the cinnamon. I was worried that one might overpower the other, but the balance was perfect.

A perfect fall cupcake, indeed!

Pumpkin Chip Cupcakes with Cinnamon Rum Buttercream

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

Ingredients
Cupcakes:
1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup oil
1 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup soymilk
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
3/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon each ground cloves, nutmeg, and ginger
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup mini chocolate chips

Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
2 cups confectioners’ sugar, sifted
1 tablespoon dark rum
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
soy milk, as needed

Directions
Preheat oven to 350˚F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.

In a medium bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soymilk, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Gently whisk by hand until just combined, don’t use an electric mixer or overmix the batter as it may become too gummy. Once combined, fold in the chocolate chips.

Fill liners with 1/4 cup batter (cups should be approximately 2/3 full). Bake for 22 to 24 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack and let cool completely before frosting.

To make frosting, cream butter. Add 1/2 cup confectioners sugar and mix until smooth. Add rum and cinnamon, and slowly mix (careful not to splatter). Continue adding sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Continue to beat until light and fluffy. If frosting is too thick, add a bit of soymilk to thin it out. If too thin, add more sugar and continue to beat until it is the right consistency. Spoon into a piping bag or just slather it right onto the cupcakes. Dust with cinnamon and enjoy!

Filed Under: Cupcakes, Dairy-free, Desserts, Favorites, Vegetarian
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Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween!! From two really big dorks…

We dressed as contestants on the Price is Right. And you’re not seeing things… Taylor’s shirt really says “Bob Barker is my Homeboy”. Classic. Unfortunately for us, it was chilly the night we wore them, and our coats covered our creativity.

Our pumpkins however, stole the show. Taylor’s pride and joy, the little snowman pictured above, won 3rd place in the carving contest. My pumpkin, which was actually a working clock, wasn’t so lucky. Maybe because there was very little ’skill’ actually required to put it together. :)

We had a blast - considering it was the first time since, eh, maybe 7th grade? that we had both willingly participated in a Halloween celebration of any sort.

Filed Under: Ramblings
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Lentil, Turkey, & Apple Wraps

Make the best of the fall apples - stick them in anything and everything. You’d be surprised how well they work with just about everything. Like these crisp and refreshing wraps. They’d be good, but somewhat dull if it weren’t for the bright crunch of the apple. These would make a great lunch (or they DO make a great lunch - we had the leftovers the next day and enjoyed them just as much as we did the night before).

Lentil, Turkey, & Apple Wraps

Makes 4-6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients
4 cups low-sodium vegetable or chicken stock
1 cup dried brown lentils
1/2 cup dried French green lentils
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 large carrot, peeled and chopped
1 sprig fresh thyme
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1 medium tomato, cored, seeded, and diced
1 small Fuji apple, cored and diced
1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
2 teaspoons extra-virgin olive oil
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
6 (12-inch) flour tortillas
3/4 pound turkey breast, thinly sliced
1/2 head Bibb lettuce

Directions
Place the stock, lentils, celery, carrot, thyme, and salt in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer until the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes, depending on the lentils. (If they begin to dry out, add water as needed.) Remove and discard the thyme. Drain and transfer the mixture to a bowl; let cool.

Fold in the tomato, apple, lemon juice, and olive oil. Season with the pepper.

To assemble a wrap, place 1 tortilla on a clean work surface. Spread the lentils in the center, top with the turkey and lettuce, and fold up the bottom, left side, and right side before rolling away from you.

Filed Under: Dairy-free, Healthy, Poultry
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Almost Chicken Marsala

Don’t be fooled. The practically non-existent prep (if you bought sliced mushrooms, that is), doesn’t make this a quick meal. By any means. We fooled ourselves into thinking this would be quick when I got out the cutting board to start prepping and only had to chop some onion and parsley.

“Woah!” I thought. This is freakin’ easy! Taylor… this would be a great meal to make when we really don’t feel…

Cut to 45 minutes later… when we finally sat down to eat. Definitely not quick. Very good, but not quick. Or, maybe it is quicker than some things we’ve made, but it doesn’t feel that way when you thought you would be eating 40 minutes ago.

I call it “Almost” Chicken Marsala because, well, we forgot the Marsala. Oops. So we opened the only bottle of wine we had, some Shiraz or something (us=not wine experts). Our variation, then, must be known as Chicken Shiraz (doesn’t quite have the same ring as marsala, does it?).

Chicken Marsala

Makes 6 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.

Ingredients
3 whole boneless chicken breasts with skin (about 2 1/2 pounds), halved
1 1/2 tablespoons olive oil
3 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter
1 onion, sliced thin
3/4 pound mushrooms, sliced thin
1/2 cup Marsala
1 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons minced fresh parsley leaves

Directions
Pat chicken dry and season with salt and pepper. In a large heavy skillet heat oil and 1 1/2 tablespoons butter over moderately high heat until hot but not smoking and brown chicken in 2 batches, transferring with tongs to a large plate as browned.

Discard all but 1 tablespoon fat from skillet and sauté onion and mushrooms, stirring occasionally, until liquid mushrooms give off is evaporated. Add Marsala and cook mixture, stirring, until Marsala is almost evaporated. Add broth and chicken with any juices that have accumulated on plate and simmer, turning chicken once, until cooked through, about 15 minutes. Transfer chicken with tongs to a platter.

Simmer mushroom sauce until liquid is reduced to about 1/2 cup. Remove skillet from heat and stir in remaining 2 tablespoons butter and salt and pepper to taste, stirring until butter is just incorporated. Spoon mushroom sauce around chicken and sprinkle with parsley.

Filed Under: Main Dishes, Poultry
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Corn and Edamame Salad with Miso Tofu

Salads can get old, fast. Sure you can add croutons, and various nuts and fruits and vegetables… mix up the dressing on occasion, but it’s usually still just fancy lettuce.

But not this salad.

What a fresh, wonderful change of pace. So quick, so easy, and surprisingly refreshing. Colorful, healthy, and did I mention quick?

No recipe required for the tofu, really, just a quick marinate with some miso, soy sauce, sesame oil, ginger, garlic, and chili flakes.

No lettuce required.

Corn and Edamame Salad

Makes 2-4 servings. Recipe from Epicurious.
Ingredients
2 ears fresh corn, unhusked, or 1 1/4 cups cooked corn kernels
1/2 cup shelled edamame
1/4 cup chopped red onion
1/4 cup small-diced red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon light mayonnaise
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped or grated ginger
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Directions
To grill:
Soak fresh corn in cold water about 30 minutes. Heat grill on high. Grill corn in husk, 10 to 15 minutes, turning once. Let cool. Remove husks. When cool enough to handle, cut corn from cob into a medium bowl and let cool.

To boil:
Remove husks and silk from corn. Carefully cut kernels off of cob. Boil kernels in salted water for 3 minutes or until tender. Drain and transfer to a medium bowl.

Combine corn with remaining ingredients. Cover and chill in refrigerator until ready to serve.

Filed Under: Dairy-free, Healthy, Quick, Salads, Sides, Vegetarian
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