Cornbread, Ain't Nothin' Wrong with That

Chris Rock has forever ruined cornbread for me. I can't even begin to utter the words without immediately thinking: "Ain't nothin' wrong with that!!"And if you have no idea what I'm talking about, you should listen to this while you bake this AMAZING, incredibly perfect cornbread:

Strawberry Macadamia Nut Whole Wheat Muffins

Andrew and I have begun a fast starting last night at 10 pm. Fasts are a good way to cleanse your system and expel any toxins your body has built up over the years [[since toxins cling to your fat]]. We've lost a lot of weight [[both about 20 lbs. each]] and gotten in good shape. It only seems fitting that we give our bodies a couple cleaning days. If you notice I'm not posting, it's probably because I'm not eating. I should be up and running by Friday though.

As a farewell to food, I made some strawberry whole wheat muffins with macadamia nuts. I like a good whole wheat muffin. My favorite is probably lemon poppy seed, BUT I had some macadamia nuts and frozen strawberries, so there you go. These muffins could almost be considered cake with all the sugar in them, they still aren't too sweet though.

These are are really light and fluffy with a touch of cinnamon flavor. I like a little cinnamon in muffins so I tend to always add it in. The warm, gooey strawberries contrast well with the crunchy nuts. I think we most traditionally see macadamia nuts paired with white chocolates, a classic, but they can be paired well with fruit or plain chocolate. I used my tin foil looking cupcake liners that I usually use for fauxstess cupcakes. If you're looking for unique and really adorable cupcake liners, check out Cupcake Swirl -- they also have other cute baking essentials.

Also, the use of vinegar and soy milk is meant to substitute buttermilk. If you ever have an old recipe that calls for buttermilk, use 1 tbs vinegar for every 1 cup soy milk.


[[Strawberry Macadamia Nut Whole Wheat Muffins]]
Makes 6 muffins

dry:
1/2 cup + 2 tbs whole wheat pastry flour
1/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp aluminum free baking powder
a pinch of salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
wet:
1/2 whole soy milk, unflavored
1/2 tbs white distilled vinegar
1/6 [[2 tbs + 2 tsp]] cup canola oil
Add ins:
5-6 shopped strawberries
about 2 tbs chopped raw macadamia nuts

Preheat the oven: 350 F
-- Mix all wet and dry ingredients separately. Be sure to whisk the wet mixture well.
-- Add wet to dry, plus chopped strawberries, and stir until just combine.
-- Place in baking pan and top with chopped macadamia nuts.
-- Bake for about 15 minutes, until browned and a toothpick comes out clean.

Carrot Cupcakes!

This isn't my recipe, but I thought I'd impart a review of this recipe. The Joy of Vegan Baking has a carrot cake recipe that I used to make carrot cupcakes. I hunted for other recipes, and it seems everyone has such different takes on carrot cake. Some like it sweeter, some like it earthier. I like mine sweeter personally, and unfortunately, Coleen's recipe was on a the earthier side. With enough of that amazing cream cheese frosting, though, they're pretty out of this world. Oh, and they're like loads better refrigerated. It's kind of strange.

My question to you is, how do I make these sweeter without ruining the balance. I know adding more sugar will effect the texture, so how do I sweeten them while keeping them fluffy and delicious still? I also wanted to substitute brown sugar, because I like the molasses flavor, but I was unsure how the moisture in the brown sugar would affect the recipe. Any advice would be much appreciated. :)

Awesomely, Amazing Blueberry Muffins

I love blueberry muffins. I've tried a couple other recipes, often substituting bananas for the egg, which just ends up making it taste like bananas. So, I concocted a recipe that I find pretty delicious. Let me know if you have any suggestions, as I'm still messing around with it. Andy and I ate four... I know, I live in shame.

Preheat 400 F [[I did 375 because my blueberries were frozen]]

muffin:
1 1/2 cups flour
3/4 cup white sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
a little cinnamon
1 Ener-G Egg
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup. +3 Tbs. vanilla soy milk
1 cup blueberries

crumb topping:
1/4 cup brown sugar
2 Tbs. flour
a little cinnamon, nutmeg, and cloves
2 Tbs. earth balance

Mix wet ingredient together, first whipping the Ener-G Egg really well, then add milk and oil. Then, mix all dry ingredients and combine with wet. Don't over beat muffins, it's ok if it's lumpy and some dry ingredients aren't all the way mixed in. Those will combine in the oven. Fold in blueberries.

Once you put them in the muffin pan, mix together the crumb topping. It'll melt in the over and become the sweet crunchy topping. If you want it to be more crumby, add a little less butter and use an electric mixer to beat it, that way they're little pieces.

Bake 25 minutes. Adjust per over, though.


These are really fast and easy. I'd recommend using fresh blueberries if you have them-- frozen ones just don't cut it sometimes.


<3

Vegan Yum Yum: donuts

I know, I know-- I'm one of a million bloggers who've tried this recipe and raved about it. But I have to say, if you've never tried these vegan donuts on VeganYumYum, you're really missing out. This is my fourth or fifth time making them, and they've made my life as a vegan just a little bit more complete. Even though we are fortunate enough to have a vegan bakery in our town, they don't offer much variety-- and especially lack my favorites, cheesecake and donuts. Luckily, it's easy to recreate both.



I was a little fearful of making donuts, mostly because I envisioned a really difficult task of baking, deep frying, glazing, and on and on. But this was a basic cake donut- only requiring 15 minutes in the oven and a little stove top heating. I was also worried about having to order some expensive pan online-- but Walmart [[I know-- according the whole progressive agenda, I shouldn't shop there]] had a mini bunt cake pan that worked. I think it gives the donuts a cute detail, too, personally.

My advice about the egg replacer [[veganyumyum doesn't give a specific egg replacer to use]] is to use 1 tbs of egg replacer to 2 tbs of water. The box of Ener-G Egg Replacer [[I purchased mine at Whole Foods]] says to use 1 1/2 teaspoons, but I get a better texture when I use 1 tbs. When you whip it, it should come out more of a thick slush, rather than a runny texture.



I also added a touch of Halloween to them [[the orange squiggles?]] and brought them into my office Friday.

<3


[[photo props to the hubby, Andrew Warner]]