Healthy Cupcakes?

One of my cupcake recipe books has a section of "healthy" cupcake recipes.  While they still include butter and sugar, they all have some healthful element added in.  As a vegetarian always looking for new ways to get the protein I need, the recipe including quinoa particularly interested me as it is high in protein and essential amino acids.

Additionally, one of the teachers I work with is on a very restrictive gluten and dairy-free diet.  I have been wanting to try to make a cupcake that I could share with her and not just the other teachers.  While my quinoa cupcake recipe called for white flour, I had some soy flour on hand and have used it in a pinch when baking bread.  I looked up the conversion online - 3/4 soy flour to 1 cup white flour - and got ready to bake.

The original recipe is as follows:

Quinoa-Walnut Cupcakes
2 1/2 C white flour
1 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
1/2 C butter at room temperature
1 C sugar
3 T maple syrup
3 eggs
1 C cold cooked quinoa*
1 C coarsely chopped walnuts

*To prepare the quinoa you will also need 1 T oil, 1/2 C dry quinoa, and 3/4 C water.

Begin by preparing the quinoa.  In a medium pot, heat the oil for about 1 minute, then add the quinoa and stir for about 1 minute.  Add the water, bring to a boil, then lower heat and cover pot.  Cook over low heat for about 8 minutes until all the water has been absorbed.  Turn off heat and leave covered for about 5 more minutes until transferring to a bowl to cool completely.

When you are ready to begin, preheat oven to 325 degrees and place liners in pan.  For the cupcake batter, first mix flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl.  In a separate bowl then cream the butter, sugar, and maple syrup in a bowl until light and airy.  Then reduce the mixing speed to low and add eggs one at a time until well mixed. Gradually add the dry ingredients previously mixed together until you have a smooth batter.  Then add the cooked quinoa and walnuts, mixing well.  Fill the cupcake liners 2/3 full and bake for 20-25 minutes.  Cupcakes should be springy to the touch when done and left to cool for at least 10 minutes on a wire rack.
(Recipe taken from Cupcakes, Cupcakes & More Cupcakes by Lilach German)




Even using the soy flour they turned out quite tasty!  They were sweet with a cornbread-like texture because of the quinoa.  I left the walnuts out as my co-workers daughter has a nut allergy that prevents her from eating nuts.  I also made a maple syrup butter cream for those of us who can have dairy and it went nicely with the coarse cakes.  I highly recommend this recipe for anyone looking for a "healthy" cupcake to enjoy!

Lots of Deliciousness!

Though I haven't posted in a bit, that doesn't mean I haven't been cooking!  This will be a long one but stick around for the whole entry because there is a lot of deliciousness to hear about :)

On my original trip to Whole Foods I picked up some tempeh because I had never tried it before.  I chose an organic kind that had chopped veggies in it.

I prepared it as suggested on the package by slicing it and cooking it in a pan with a little soy sauce and olive oil.  I then threw it on top of a salad.  I LOVED the flavor of the tempeh, but I need to adjust to eating it.  It has whole soy beans in it and both hubby and I had a sore stomachs afterward.

Next up was a Eggplant, Yogurt & Feta Dip recipe that I got off of an Oikos Greek Yogurt lid.  I made half, again because there are only two of us.  To make the dip I needed:

1 small eggplant, peeled

2 T olive oil

1/2 t salt and 1/2 t pepper

1/2-3/4 C Greek yogurt

1 T lemon juice

half a 15.5oz can of chickpeas, drained & rinsed

1/2 C feta crumbles

1/8 C chopped mint (I forgot to buy this so mine didn't have any)

I began by preheating the oven to 350 degrees.  Next I chopped my eggplant into 1/2" cubes and tossed it with the olive oil, salt, and pepper.  I then spread it out to bake for 20 minutes, cooling afterwards.

Once the eggplant is cooled, combine it with all the other ingredients in a bowl and serve with warm or grilled pita.  The dip was delicious and very tangy - I suggest using regular yogurt if you don't like the tang of Greek yogurt.  My only complaint it that it is not very attractive looking.  If I was serving this to guests or taking it to a gathering, I would consider adding an ingredient that would add some color or garnish it with some veggies or something.

That same day I also made a tasty new side dish: Asparagus Potato Skins.  This recipe is from American Vegan Kitchen, though slightly adjusted.  To make the potatoes I needed:

4 medium potatoes

4 asparagus stalks

2 T olive oil

1/2 t soy sauce

1/2 t balsalmic vinegar

1 t salt

1/4 t pepper

2 T milk

1 t Dijon mustard

2 t minced garlic

First I baked the potatoes until they were tender, and roasted my asparagus by brushing them with the olive oil and baking them for 15-20min at 400 degrees.  Once the potatoes cooled a bit, I scooped out their insides and combined the potato with the soy sauce, vinegar, salt, pepper, milk, mustard, and garlic.  I also chopped up my asparagus and added that in.  I recommend using kitchen scissors; I tried several nice, sharp knives but nothing worked as well as the scissors.  

Roasted asparagus

 

Potato and Asparagus filling

Next I filled my scooped out skins with my filling and topped them with a little shredded cheddar because we like cheese around here.  I baked them for about 15min at 400 degrees, and cooked up some breaded seitan cutlets to go with them while they baked.

Both parts turned out really tasty, and hubby was a very happy camper when he came home from class to a covered plate of delicious dinner.  We will be making these again!

 

Tonight portobella "burgers" and some fried potatoes were on the menu.  My sister made me these when I was visiting her in Atlanta, and though I didn't have a recipe, I thought I would give it a whirl.  Talking to her later, the only thing I missed was to add some dill and I included lemon juice for some acid.  

I will start with how I made the potatoes, as they are pretty standard and easy.  I sliced up three medium potatoes in thin, half medallions and cooked them for about 5 minutes in boiling water to soften them up a bit.  I then cooked them in a pan with a little olive oil, salt, pepper, minced garlic, and thyme until they were browned.

To make the "burgers" I first removed the stems from my four gorgeous portobella mushrooms.

I then combined the stems with 1/2 a medium bell pepper, 1 teaspoon minced garlic, 1 tablespoon olive oil, and a splash of lemon juice.  I put this all in my food processor and combined it on the chop function.  I seriously love this little guy - my mom got it for us for a gift.  If you don't have one, you should seriously get one.  They are great for making lots of salsas, dips, stuffings, etc.

Next I turned on my George Foreman grill so it could heat up and brushed my mushroom caps with a little olive oil.  While the grill was finishing heating, I moved my stuffing mixture to a bowl and stirred in about 1/4-1/2 cup blue cheese crumbles.  You can use any cheese you like; my sister used shredded cheddar when she made them.  I loved the flavor of the blue cheese with the meaty mushrooms, though, so I will be using it again.

Once the grill was hot, I grilled the mushroom caps for a few minutes.  I then added hearty spoonfuls of the filling to the caps and grilled them for a few more minutes.  When they were done I put them on a bun and served them with a little mayo and mustard.   They turned out so amazing, and the garlic and thyme potatoes went great with them. 

Please let me know if you try any of these recipes and how they turn out!!

Seitan Success! (And the Italian Seitan Sandwich)

I woke up this morning to a crock pot full of completed seitan.  It looks like brown brain matter, but smelled pretty tasty!  I drained the broth, straining it and placing it in the freezer for next time, then placed one "loaf" in the freezer and one in the fridge to try later in the day.

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Completed seitan ready for the fridge!

After perusing my American Vegan Kitchen cookbook for a recipe that caught my eye, I decided to come up with a sandwich creation of my own using things I had around the kitchen.  And that my friends is how the Italian Seitan Sandwich was born :)

First I mixed some oregano, salt, pepper, garlic powder, and Parmesan with some breadcrumbs.  I next cut a slice of refrigerated seitan from my loaf that was about 1/4in thick, and heated a little olive oil in a pan.  As the oil heated, I coated my slice of seitan in my breadcrumb mixture - because the seitan was already moist, I didn't need anything additional to help to breadcrumbs stick.  Once my oil was hot and my seitan coated, I placed it in the pan to cook. 

While the seitan was cooking, I heated a little marinara in the microwave, sliced some homemade challah bread (see previous post for recipe) and popped it in the toaster just long enough to get warm and a little crusty, and got out some pesto from the fridge. 

The seitan took about 5-10 minutes to cook, and I flipped it several times using tongs.  I cooked it until it was heated through and the breading had browned and become crispy.  Once it was about down I put a half slice of provolone on top.  While it was melting I put my challah on a plate and coated one piece with a hearty layer of pesto.  Finally I placed my breaded and cheesed seitan on top of the challah with pesto, topped it with a little marinara, and then the other piece of challah. 

The Italian Seitan Sandwich

The sandwich was AMAZING!  It didn't take that long to make and was very simple; I will most definitely be making this again!  Hope you try it out and enjoy it as much as I do :)

Savory Seitan: Slow Cooker Edition

For Easter, my lovely in-laws gave the hubby and I an awesome vegan cookbook.  BONUS: It's written by a northeast Ohio native (Ashtabula to be exact)!  It is called American Vegan Kitchen, and is written by Tamasin Noyes.  She also has a blog at www.veganappetite.com/ that you should check out.  FABulous stuff!

In her book, Noyes includes a recipe for making your own seitan; the minute I saw it, I wanted to try it out.  So today I made a trip to Whole Foods (my first ever, and let me tell you, I found grocery store nirvana) to get the necessary ingredients.  Some of the ingredients are household items that most people would have handy, however, the nutritional yeast, vital wheat gluten, and soy flour are not items I regularly have.  You can get any of these items at your local natural foods store, or at a place like Whole Foods.  (Did I mention I'm a little in love with this store?)

Upon returning from the store (and taking a nap), I set out to make the slow cooker version of the seitan.  Noyes' main recipe is for making cutlets in the oven.  I wanted to try a quick and easy version, so I opted to try her slow cooker method.  Plus, I love a good excuse to use my crock pot; as a vegetarian I don't get many chances to utilize it.  I also chose to halve the recipe as there are only two people in our house, and if it didn't turn out, I didn't want to throw away two pounds of seitan.

To make one pound of sietan, I needed the following ingredients:
1 1/4 C vital wheat gluten
1/8 C nutritional yeast
1/8 C soy flour
1/8 C soy sauce
1 T ketchup
1 1/2 t olive oil
3/4-1 C vegetable broth, and 4+ C vegetable broth, separated
1 1/2 cloves minced garlic

To begin, I mixed my wheat gluten, yeast, and flour in a small bowl, and then set it aside for later.

soy flour, vital wheat gluten, and nutritional yeast

Next, in a large bowl I combined the soy sauce, ketchup, olive oil, garlic, and 3/4 C of the vegetable broth.  To make my broth, I used Organic Better Than Bouillon.  It has a great flavor and dissolves very quickly in warm water.  It can be found at most major grocery stores.  

Liquids mixture

I then gradually added the dry ingredients using a wooden spoon.  The mixture quickly came together and became very elastic.

Once all of the dry ingredients were mixed in, I kneaded the "dough" for two about two minutes.  I then formed it into a ball and let it rest for about 15 minutes.  You are supposed to divide it into loaves after it has rested, however, next time I make it, I think I will divide it before letting it rest.  After resting, the dough is VERY elastic and difficult to divide and shape.  While my dough was resting, I got my crock pot ready by filling it with about 4 cups of broth and turned it on low.

 The seitan taking a nap :)

After the 15 minutes were up, I divided my dough into two "loaves" and placed them in the broth in the crock pot.  The seitan needs to be covered by the broth, and I found I needed to add a little more.  This is where the Better Than Bouillon worked great; I just added a little more water and some of the paste, which quickly dissolved into the existing broth.  I then put the lid on the crock pot and set the timer for 8 hours.

As of right now, my seitan is cooking away in my crock pot.  It should be finished sometime around 3am, which works out perfectly because then it will be cooled and ready to store by the time I get up in the morning.  Once it is cooled and I have tried it, I will update this post with details on the results!

Noyes says in her book that the seitan can be stored in the fridge for a few days, and that the cooled seitan will actually be firmer and easier to slice.  She also suggests freezing it, either with or without the cooking broth, for future use.  She also suggests saving your broth for next time you make seitan, explaining that this will enrich its flavor.  All you need to do is strain the broth and store it in the freezer until next time!

Summer Goal #2: The Vegetarian Adventure

In my younger years (not that I am all that old), I was a vegetarian, though not a very good one.  I was young, lived in Rootstown/Kent, Ohio, and had limited resources.  I was also not incredibly passionate about it; I was a vegetarian because I simply didn't like meat.  I eventually went back to eating meat, though never in large quantities, and sticking mainly to poultry and seafood.  When I met my husband, JR, I began eating even less meat, as he was a vegetarian.  It just wasn't very economical to buy meat for just myself, plus I like a lot of the vegetarian options available.  As time passed, I began eating meat mainly when we went out.

This past April, while watching a documentary relating to the latest topic of study for my students' upcoming FPS bowl, I decided to make a change.  That documentary was Food, Inc.  Now I am not one to be easily swayed.  I have seen my share of PETA and animal rights videos, articles, and pictures.  Why terrifying and shocking, they were always too radical and extremist to make a true impact on me.  (I, as a rule, stay away from extremists  of any kind because I feel they generally do not listen to other viewpoints and keep an open mind to changes and new possibilities.)  Food, Inc. was not this way however.  I felt that they provided a realistic perspective on the atrocities that are going on in our food industry today.  They did not preach extremes; they strongly suggested a environmentally and health conscious way for our food industry to operate.  It made me see the risks of continuing to eat the food that I do, without trying to terrify me into making a change.

But make a change, I have.  If JR wasn't a vegetarian, I would have probably just gone organic with meat.  Because I live where I do, I could get us things like free-range chicken and grass-fed beef.  However, I didn't feel there was much point in spending money on this stuff just for myself.  So, vegetarian it would be.  I also decided to try to eat more organic and less processed food.  I have such great resources here in Cleveland - the West Side Market, my neighborhood farmer's market, Whole Foods, Trader Joe's, and others I'm sure I don't even know about - and I should be taking advantage of them.

So that is my second summer goal:  to become a great vegetarian!  I plan on not only exploring the resources I have here in Cleveland, but also exploring what exactly it means to be a good vegetarian.  I plan on learning how to eat vegetarian the "right" way, how to cook great vegetarian dishes that anyone can enjoy, as well as how to do all of this as economically as possible. 

I plan to post about this, so check back for how goes progress.  Tonight I will be attempting to make my own seitan, so check back for an update on how it went, and how to do it yourself!

Atlanta

While in Atlanta, I got a picture of the "golden poo" this time!  Really it is a soybean pod outside of a restaurant, but you see what I mean...

I also forgot to talk about the AMAZING little pizza shop Leslie and I found in Atlanta.  The place is called Rusto's and if you are ever in the Midtown Atlanta area you must find it.  You will not regret it, and it will be an amazing experience.  I've posted info from their site about them below, as well as a picture of the delicious margherita pizza .  Another fun fact:  in talking to the two owners, who were both working while we were there, we found out that the owner/chef is from Cleveland! 

From www.rustospizza.com:
"Two guys wanted a place to feed their friends and family good food, for a reasonable price that won’t kill the world in the process. We started with a very basic idea, and with an enormous amount of help from family and friends, we got the ball rolling. We envision Rusto’s as a place for everyone, a place where a good time is to be had by all.

We take a painstakingly large amount of care in the food that we make, and it shows in the result. We make all of the mozzarella fresh daily, along with our own special pizza dough and the San Marzano tomato sauce. There are no trans fats, preservatives or anything that shouldn’t be in there. In addition, we hand make the ice cream, with no preservatives or stabilizers, every egg that goes into the mix is cracked by us. The food is simple, healthy and delicious!!

Along with fresh food, we are very proud of the fact that we aren’t using containers, cups, disposable silverware, and napkins that kill the world. "Every one of our products is 100% biodegradable, and made out of either corn or sugar cane" We do not offer drinks in plastic containers, only aluminum, and personally recycle every container that can be. We want a place that is good for everyone and a place that does not make the world any worse off.

So come in and check us out, you can find both owners there 7 days a week, personally taking care of you. So come in, eat some pizza & ice cream, have a beer and hang out!!!"

 YUM!!