Posted By Lindsay on November 19, 2009
You know those nights when you have a meal planned, but just don’t feel like eating it? That happens to us, quite a bit actually. We plan out our entire weeks’ meals every Tuesday when we go to the grocery store (one of the benefits of being self employed is NOT having to brave the market on the weekends). This was one of those meals, when it came time to make it for dinner, I just wanted to go out for a hot dog instead. But we resisted, and you know what? This turned out to be one of the best things we’d made in a while. We substituted Israeli couscous for the quinoa (along with regular couscous, there’s something about quinoa that Taylor just doesn’t like… the texture maybe? Who knows!) But you could easily use the quinoa as originally specified in the recipe.
We’ve made this twice since that initial evening, and the second time tossed in half a rotisserie chicken for a bit more substance. And with only 2 tablespoons of butter (which make it incredibly smooth and satisfying), it can definitely be called a healthy meal. Quick and healthy… AND delicious? I’ll take that over a hotdog anyday! :)
Israeli Couscous with Black Bean and Tomato
Ingredients:
2 teaspoons grated lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon sugar
8 oz. Israeli (pearl) couscous
1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 3/4 cup boiling water
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
4 scallions, chopped
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
Directions:
Whisk together lime zest and juice, butter, oil, sugar, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and 1/4 teaspoon pepper in a large bowl.
Preheat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Add couscous and cook for 2-3 minutes or until lightly golden, stirring occasionally. Add cumin and cinnamon and stir to coat. Add boiling water and return to a boil. Cover pan and cook until couscous is tender and water is absorbed, 10-12 minutes (refer to package directions for exact cooking times).
Add couscous to dressing and toss until coated, then stir in remaining ingredients and salt and pepper to taste.
Posted By Lindsay on November 13, 2009
Pumpkin. Butternut squash. Sweet potato. Sometimes they can really be used interchangeably. While I feel I could taste the difference between these sweet potato cupcakes and my last batch of pumpkin cupcakes, I’m sure if you went out and told someone they were eating pumpkin they’d be none the wiser.
The sweet potato in these cupcakes makes them extra moist and delicious, and while I used canned puree, you could just as easily boil and freshly puree your own. When I decided on a maple buttercream for frosting, I was thinking maple, as in, you know, maple-glazed donut maple. Not quite what I got (even with 1/4 cup of maple syrup the flavor was barely distinguishable), but they were still tasty nonetheless. Must do more research into whatever ‘flavoring’ is used in the donut glaze (because it sure as heck isn’t real maple), and get my hands on some for the next batch.
I don’t know what it is about all things orange (well, except for carrots), that make me think of fall, but these cupcakes are no exception. They are fall all the way. Which explains my choice of backdrop (I actually sent Taylor on a stroll around the neighborhood and bring me back some pretty leaves, what a nice guy). Not that these cupcakes couldn’t be enjoyed just as much in June, of course, but sweet potato, along with pumpkin, will always bring to mind fall and only fall.
Turns out I’m not the only one who enjoys the pretty fall foliage. Kitty got very excited by the pile of leaves Taylor brought home, and I had a hard time getting a photo that didn’t have a tail disrupting the scene. She likes to pretend she’s an outdoor kitty sometimes, and a pile of leaves is about as close as she’s going to get.
Sweet Potato Cupcakes with Maple Spice Buttercream
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 cup sweet potato puree (fresh or canned)
1/4 cup soymilk
1/3 cup oil
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt
Frosting:
1/2 cup butter or margarine, room temperature
3-3 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar, sifted
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
pinch ground allspice
1-2 tablespoons soy creamer or heavy cream
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Line muffin pan with cupcake liners.
In a medium bowl, whisk together sweet potato puree, soymilk, oil, sugars, and vanilla. Sift in the flour, almond meal, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add wet ingredients and mix until just combined.
Fill liners with 3 tablespoons batter (cups should be approximately 2/3 full). Bake for 20 to 22 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 maple syrup, creamer, and spices, and mix to incorporate. Continue adding sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, mixing well between additions. Beat until light and fluffy. Add more creamer or sugar as needed to achieve the right consistency. Spread or pipe onto cooled cupcakes. Dust with cinnamon and enjoy!
Posted By Lindsay on November 11, 2009
The equation for a perfect panini is simple. Bread + something gooey + something meaty or crunchy or fruity. And add some greens if you so desire. This one? Bread + blue cheese + caramelized onions + crisp gala apples = mmmm. There you have it, folks. Panini math. That’s the kind of math I’m good at (well, that and converting cupcake recipes to feed hundreds).
And this is one good panini. Unique, savory, and delicious. Taylor heard the words “caramelized onions” and “blue cheese” and practically started drooling right there in the market. No, Taylor, I don’t always make you eat lentils and barley, sometimes we eat man food too. Well, if you consider panini man-food, that is. Gentrified man-food, maybe? Ok, ok. Steak is man food. Pizza is man food. But panini maybe not so much. Sorry Taylor.
You know what’s interesting? We all get cravings, right? My cravings are (almost always) for chocolate, often times in combination with nuts (peanut butter + chocolate, almond + chocolate, macadamia + white chocolate, well, you get the point). Then here comes Taylor, who gets cravings for protein and for cheese (I’ll take the fall for that, since we don’t exactly get to each cheese all that often because of me). Steak. Burgers. Pizza. Italian sausage. Barbecue ribs. Swiss cake rolls (ok, maybe that one isn’t so manly). A true man. Who eats panini. And likes it. A man-food revolution, perhaps?
Caramelized Onion, Apple, and Blue Cheese Panini
Ingredients:
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 gala apple, sliced
2 ounces blue cheese, crumbled
handful baby spinach
4 slices country bread
olive oil
Directions:
Heat a splash of olive oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add onions and saute, stirring frequently, 10 to 12 minutes or until onions are caramel colored and soft. Remove from heat.
Prepare panini press, grill pan, or heavy skillet.
Assemble sandwiches by layering apples and spinach on bread, followed by half of the caramelized onions and crumbled blue cheese. Top with other slice of bread. Brush sandwiches with olive oil.
Cook sandwiches for 5-7 minutes total, flipping once if not using a panini press, until both sides are toasted and golden brown. Slice and serve immediately.
Posted By Lindsay on November 8, 2009
Obviously you all loved the go-to chocolate cupcake recipe I posted a few weeks back, and I’ve gotten numerous requests to do a similar base-recipe for vanilla. Thing is, I don’t very often do plain vanilla. When I get sugar cravings, chances are whatever I bake needs to involve chocolate, or my craving will not be satisfied.
However, a vanilla cake base is a necessity, and something I’ve used repeatedly for such creations as the Cookie Dough Cupcakes and Fruit-filled Lemon Cupcakes.
My first attempt at making plain-old vanilla cupcakes wasn’t the best. I felt the resulting cupcake was just a bit… blah? And bit too dense. So I tried again. And so what if I used almond meal – while some might claim the resulting cake is more of an almond vanilla cupcake than just a vanilla cupcake, I feel the almond meal gives it a unique taste and depth of flavor that one cannot achieve with vanilla alone. And I love almond. So sue me. If you don’t want to use the almond meal, substitute regular or whole wheat flour, or even some variety of nut flour (I’ve heard of hazelnut flour, which might be good?) in its place.
Anticipating that there will be questions, yes, you can substitute milk for soy milk (I’m usually making substitutions for cow milk, so it always cracks me up when people ask if the opposite is true, and while I’ve never done it, it should produce a perfectly palatable cupcake). Or use coconut milk. Or almond milk. Or any milky-liquid, really. Again, this is a base cupcake recipe for a reason. It’s your call as to how you might want to change it up for a particular flavor.
Despite what the picture might make you think, these cupcakes are different from the Vanilla Almond Cupcakes with Blackberry Buttercream. Who would have thought I could have so precisely recreated the color of natural blackberry puree in a buttercream with only liquid food coloring (I was simply trying to match the plum pink on the wrappers, nothing more).
So take this recipe, my dear readers, and go forth and create. Use it as a basis for a myriad of delightful cupcake flavors – the sky’s the limit!
Very Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Buttercream
Ingredients:
Cupcakes:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/4 cup almond meal
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon cider vinegar
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup oil
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
Vanilla Buttercream:
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, room temperature
3-3 1/2 cups confectioners’ sugar
1/2 vanilla bean (seeds only)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
food coloring (optional)
Cream or soy creamer, as needed
Directions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Combine soymilk and vinegar and stir to combine. Set aside for 5 minutes. Mixture will curdle.
In a large bowl, sift together flour, almond meal, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.
Whisk sugar, oil, vanilla bean, and extract into curdled soymilk mixture. Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the wet ingredients. Mix until relatively smooth. Fill cupcake liners with a scant 3 Tablespoons of batter (cups should be just under 2/3 of the way full). Bake for 20-22 minutes or until lightly golden, and toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Transfer to cooling rack and allow to cool completely.
For frosting, cream butter in electric mixer for 1-2 minutes until fluffy. Slowly add 1 cup sugar and beat until smooth. Add soy creamer and mix until combined. Add remaining confectioners’ sugar, 1/2 cup at a time, and beat until well incorporated. Add vanilla seeds, extract, and food coloring, and mix at medium-high speed until light and fluffy (2-3 minutes). Add cream or more sugar as necessary to achieve proper consistency. Pipe or spread onto cooled cupcakes.
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