Chocolate Cupcakes - take 2!

I've made these cupcakes too many times to count but I love them because they are very forgiving and still usually turn out no matter what you may or may not change. I barely had 1 1/4 cup unbleached white flour left in my cannister so I had to add 1/4 cup oat flour.  I'm thinking I just might do this on purpose next time as it seemed to make it a little bit denser and "fudgier" which I liked! I used 3 tbsp. olive oil + 2 tbsp. applesauce instead of 3 tbsp. canola oil + 3 tbsp. of pureed baby prunes and 1 cup of soy milk instead of the cold water.  I'm surprised how neutral olive oil can taste in so many recipes. I threw in an extra tablespoon of  Cuisine Camino cocoa powder (5 tablespoons instead of 4 and still included 1 tbsp. of decaff instant organic coffee).  I'm thinking that the strong flavor of cocoa possibly works well to neutralize the olive oil flavor in this case.

For the crowning glory  I whipped up a batch of quick "lemon" icing -- squeezed some fresh lemon, 3 tablespoons of earth balance (whipped organic) and of course powdered sugar.  Whipped organic margarine on it's own doesn't seem to produce a super stiff icing but firm enough that it doesn't run off the cupcake. Ideal mixture for those days you don't want to pull out the decorator and/or need an Eiffel Tower size topping!  Not that I don't love cupcakes that are top heavy - I surely do. My grandson LOVES icing and in fact loves it so much that he thought it would make a great hair gel!  I was tidying up my cupcake mess when he came running to me "Mema do you like my new hair?" Pictured below is him with his lovely icing hair gel. Needless to say count 1,2,3 and he was floating with his rubber ducky in the tub getting a new do!

He was due for a haircut anyhow but this kinda of speeded it up!  He agreed to the cut - he's used to it as we go from curls to smooth to curls quite often.  Takes him about 3-4 months to get same amount of curls back that were just shaved off!

Back to my cupcakes though -- the final touch was a mini-ginger cookie and last but not least a swirl of  Cuisine Camino chocolate (chips melted with a bit of earth balance margarine and thinned to right consistency with soy milk).  I used the trusty mini plastic bag with tip cut off  for that part. These mini ginger cookies are a real gem that I found at Giant Tiger recently.  They're made in Canada and appear to be made with only vegan ingredients.  Doesn't say vegan on the box but I can read all the ingredients clearly and they are straight forward and nothing weird! Brand name is Hollandia.  A 400 gram tub was only $2.77 the day I bought it.  I'm quite sure that Bulk Barn also carries the exact same cookies as I purchased 100 gm there and ingredients and taste are identical to Hollandia brand.  They charge 66 cents a 100 gm so works out to about same price.

Mrs. May's Nut Clusters

Coconut Almond Crunch - a good-for-you vegan snack by Mrs. May's that I just tried out this week.  It certainly qualifies as a terrific energizing  food to give you some get up and go anytime you start to feel like you're losing steam. Cute little squares for easy portion control.  About 1 pluspoint per square if you're following WW plan.  Worth every pluspoint!  Website says that Safeway and Costco sell Mrs. May's but it's a U.S.A. site so not sure about here. I purchased them at a local store in my neighborhood (Brander Gardens) called El Chami.

Description

Coconut boosts energy and endurance, enhancing physical and athletic performance. It quickly creates a nutritional boost of energy that lasts. Coconut also supports tissue and muscle healing and repair, enabling the body to endure heavy exercise. Ninety percent of fat in almonds are unsaturated fat which help lower bad cholesterol! Loaded with protein, fiber, calcium, magnesium, potassium, vitamin E. Help prevents osteoporosis and regulates blood pressure. Pick up a bag of Coconut Almond Crunch today for a natural nut and healthy nut snack!

Ingredients
Almonds, Coconut Flakes, Rice Malt, Evaporated Cane Juice, Sea Salt.

Eco-Force

I was at Planet Organic last night and happened upon a display stand of  eco-force products.  As I was in the market for a couple of fresh sponges I decided I'd buy them along with some other items that looked like they might be useful for more than one thing.  The clothes pegs for one -- I actually bought them because I've not been having much luck with the clips that are intended for reclosing chip bags and the like and thought these might be better.  I liked that there was no metal clip as that was the part that keeps breaking and seems there is no way to put them back together.  The marketing skills of the Eco-Force people are awesome --  loved how they came up with the description "hurricane grip force" for the clothes pins! Certainly cinched the deal for me.

Another use I thought of for the "hurricane grip force" clothes pins (don't all little boys need something as indestructive sounding as that for just about everything?) was a little game my 3 year old grandson and I could play together whilst sitting on a blanket under the shade of my beautiful Aspen tree. The bright colors are appealing and he loves to do funny little things and I thought he would enjoy clipping them around the basket whilst learning how to count. There's 24 so it will keep him happily counting for a little while yet! I also like to buy green products that are actually useful and not priced excessively high.  These were very well priced.  The basket and pegs went for $4.59.  2pk recycled sponges were $2.59 and the handled dishwash scrubber was $2.29.  There are refills available as well for the handled dishwash scrubber (actual name is "dish-matic")!

Did you know?

Aspen is probably North America's most abundant tree, due to its widespread occurrence. For everyting you ever wanted to know about the Aspen check out this information-packed page - you'll be surprised at all the uses the Aspen provided for the First Nations People and early settlers! For instance: The Cree made a tea from the inner bark that was helpful in treating rheumatism, diarrhea, liver and kidney problems, and coughs. Don't know how tasty it would be but they were certainly resourceful!

Black Beans & Broccoli Burgers

Ingredients

1 can Black Beans - 15 oz size
1 package firm tofu (454 gm)
1 1/2 cup cooked broccoli and/or cauliflower florets
1 cup quick oats (raw)
2 tablespoons nutritional yeast
1/4 cup JK fine grind Almond Flour
1/4 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons mustard
2 tablespoons veggie broth powder
1 tablespoon paul bragg liquid amino

spices - chili powder, garlic & parsley powder,
curry powder, freshly ground black pepper, thyme,
cayenne pepper - to taste.

add:  finely diced and sauted onion, garlic
and/or sauted mushroom slices if desired
(not vital - they taste great without it too)

Grate your block of tofu into a large bowl using coarse grating side. Rinse canned beans and add to the tofu. Precook your broccoli/cauliflower florets and chop into small pieces. Add your oats, nutritional yeast, almond flour, veggie broth powder, spices, ketchup and mustard. If you decided to use the onions, garlic and/or mushrooms -- add now.  I was making these for lunch item and did  not want to have major garlic/onion breath so did not.   Using your hands mix together well. Taste your "raw" mixture and adjust seasonings as required. Shape into veggie burgers using 1/2 cup mixture for each one. I wanted "fat burgers" so I did not press them flat.

Fry gently in a couple of tablespoons of olive oil until browned lightly on both sides (the pre-frying can be eliminated if you wish - I was looking for an extra crispy outer coating so that is why I did pre-fry). Carefully slide onto a cooking sheet (lined with parchment paper if desired - I did so).  If you decide not to pre-fry I would suggest perhaps a light coating of olive oil brushed on before putting them in the oven. Cook at 350 for about 20 minutes -  flip over (carefully) and cook about another 20  minutes. These firm up nicely once cooled a bit.  Makes 7 burgers that are delicious dipped into the recommended ketchup. Next time I make these I'm going to try replacing of 1/2  cup of the raw quick oats with 1/2 cup cooked quinoa.

The Simply Natural Ketchup is worth seeking out if you have time as it's truly thick and has a delicious fresh tomato flavor. Planet Organic carries this brand in Canada.  I used  Eden organic canned black beans for this recipe as I was not prepared enough to cook them from scratch.  However I did recently purchase a 16 oz box of dried beans (also Eden brand - photo below) and will have to see if they are as tasty as their canned beans.  Their canned beans are outstanding - perfectly cooked and no tinney taste!  Note:  Their cans are BPA free. All varieties of Eden canned beans are on sale this month at Planet Organic - 2 for $4.49.

Banana-Pecan Oatbran Muffins (GF)

Dry Ingredients
1 cup oatbran
1/4 cup brown rice flour
1/4 cup almond flour
2 tablespoons tapioca starch
2 tablespoons golden ground flaxseed
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt

Wet Ingredients
2/3 cup soy milk
1/3 cup apple juice + 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons agave nectar
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

1 ripe banana cut in little chunks
50 gms chopped pecans (22)

Topping:
an extra pecan (not toasted)  and
1/4 teaspoon brown sugar
for each muffin mixed with
a little cinnamon if desired

Line muffin tin with 11 paper liners or oil - whichever method you prefer. I prefer "If You Care Muffin Liners" myself over anything else. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Toast your pecans at 300 degrees for about 5 minutes - watch carefully -- they burn easily.  Chop roughly. No need to toast the pecans for the topping - in fact better that you don't.  It will toast whilst baking.

Mix together all the dry ingredients and sift - there will be oatbran leftover - just toss back into the dry and mix through.  I like to sift the dry ingredients as that ensures that the flaxseed, tapioca starch, salt and baking powder are evenly distributed throughout the main  flour mixture.

Mix the liquid ingredients (soy milk, juice, agave, oil & vanilla) into a 2 cup liquid measure cup - total liquids needs to equal 1-1/2 cup.  Add any of the liquid ingredients (I prefer to add extra apple juice) to ensure you get to that 1-1/2 cup.

Dice your banana into little chunky size pieces (you want them big enough so they don't disappear into the baked product as they are delicious when they stay bite size pieces once baked) - add through the dry ingredients - tossing around to distribute them evenly.  Pour in your liquid ingredients - mix together.  Let stand a minute or two to thicken.  Then using 1/4 cup measure distribute batter evenly between the 11 muffin liners.  Add leftover using teaspoon -- will be about 2 teaspoons per muffin to use up.  Sprinkle with 1/4 teaspoon brown sugar and top with one pecan half.  Bake for 16-18 minutes at 375.  Cool.  Enjoy as many as you like the first day - freeze leftovers. Reheat for a few minutes in toaster oven or microwave if desired.

Calorie Count
Did an approximate calorie count on these:  they are 131 calories each without any pecans whatsoever.  They are 148 calories each if you put one pecan on each muffin and they are 180 calories each if you add 50 gms of pecans (that equals 22 pecans) to the batter and one pecan on top of each muffin. Also for those on ww they are 4 points plus each approximately for the 180 calorie version.

Baronia Pasta @ Italian Centre

I have talked about the Italian Centre before and it bears repeating -- it's a great place to shop for excellent products.  Above are a few items that were purchased on a recent shopping trip.  The Baronia  pasta was outstanding and I would highly recommend it.  They grind their flour fresh at their own mill and use only fresh spring water.  There is a serious taste difference between Baronia and your ordinary run of the mill pasta.  Start checking the ingredients on some of the pasta brands and you'll be surprised at what they've added and you'll realize why some don't stack up. The Italian Centre Shop also has a very good selection of gluten free pasta including my favorite brand Tinkyada. I made a delicious lasagna last week and it met with rave reviews.  Nobody knew it was made with gluten free lasagna noodles and they were surprised how tasty it was because they had previously had bad experiences with other GF brands. I will be posting that recipe sometime soon as it was an especially tasty combo of yams, tofu and spinach.

Natural Value Sandwich Bags

I really like thse little sandwich bags by Natural Value.  I don't know a lot about Kosher rules but these are Kosher certified so if that concerns you these are definitely worth buying.  Not only that, according to my sister, they wash up several times and the zipper action works better than Ziploc.  Now that's something to rave about! I find that Ziploc baggies smell  "plasticky" so that's why I was very happy to find that these do not.  I made up a batch of my "prairie girl gluten-free flour mixture" today and portioned it into my favorite little baggies.  They're not meant for the freezer so I'll be putting the filled sandwich bags into a big Ziploc container (which I do like and use and re-use over and over again).