Yep, these are vegan!

Courtesy of my ancient and first acquired vegetarian cookbook, "Vegetarian Times Complete Cookbook".  A moist, chocolatey, dairy free cupcake which tastes great and stays moist even after a few days!  (I have found other recipes which seem to have a shorter shelf life and get "cakey" and dry after a day or two.)

cakes:

preheat oven to 375  degrees
line a 12 cup tin with baking cups

in a large bowl whisk together the following dry ingredients:
2 1/2 cups unbleached white flour
2/3 cups unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
2 cups sugar
2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

in a separate bowl combine the following liquid ingredients:
6 tbsp veggie owl
2 1/4 cups plus 2 tbsp water
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 tbsp cider vinegar

stir liquid ingredients into the dry ones only until blended.
pour evenly into lined cupcake tin.
bake about 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean when inserted.
remove and cool.

icing:


blend with mixer: 2 cups powdered sugar and 1/4 cup of vegan margarine. (I like Earth Balance) until mixture is thick but well combined. add 1/4 cup of plain soy or almond milk,
3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder and 1/2 tsp of vanilla extract. continue to blend with mixer until smooth. frost your cupcakes when they are completely cooled.  this frosting recipe makes a lot! you can cut in half really for 12 cupcakes or just use an extra yummy amount!

            
  Autumn is for falling leaves, chilly air, cozy scarves and roasted pumpkin seeds....
Get even more energy out of iron-rich pumpkin seeds by roasting them in a cast-iron skillet.
Yum!

Tuscany Bean Soup
A warming and just hearty enough soup for the early days of Fall...

-Heat 1 tbsp of olive oil in a soup pot and saute 1 chopped medium    onion, 2 chopped celery stalks and 3 chopped garlic cloves until tender.  Add 1 can (28 ounce) of canned tomatoes and cook over medium heat.  Break the tomatoes into smaller pieces with a spoon.
Cover this and cook for about 15 minutes and stir occasionally if you remember!  Add a 15 ounce can of white beans with their liquid, 3 and a half cups of water, and salt and ground pepper to taste.  Cook for another 15 minutes.

Add one cup of small pasta shells to the soup and cook until shells are done.  Ladle into pretty bowls, add coursely chopped basil leaves and serve with a crusty loaf, crackers or corn bread!  Ladle a second helping when finished with the first...

*Did you know?
-when beans are combined with grains such as pasta or barley, they form complete (and easily digestible) proteins? They also really help to amp up the flavor of soups and thicken the stock. 

-onions not only add pungency to your soup but are also a good source of vitamin C.

"Eating"...

"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than we are." -Adelle Davis


After a year of stepping away from my blog to tend to other things, I am back to share. My two latest yummies are: yogurt (soy or dairy depending on your dietary needs), a handful of sliced almonds, a handful of dried cherries, half of a sliced pear and a pour of maple syrup. Voila! A healthy, quick and light summer breakfast, lunch or snack! Best enjoyed outdoors in a summer breeze..


Second, green smoothie is back! My fave for summer: two frozen bananas, an apple, a pear, cold filtered water, a few fresh dates and a few leaves of kale. Perfect food! Thanks to Arnold's Way in Lansdale, PA for always inspiring me with these!  Best enjoyed anytime, anywhere, with those you love!

awareness of the energy you put in to create your meals + the energy it takes to have the ingredients available = the energy of the food itself when eaten and digested. (ie: buy local, homegrow, shop farmers' markets, share with neighbors, do your best and make the best possible choices you can, do it all with love!) All we can do is try!

TTFN  Ta-Ta For Now.... 

"Holy Hiatus" and "New Life"

   I know, two titles for this post. I couldn't decide on one or the other.  "Holy Hiatus" because I literally have not posted since October! I'd like to say I was oh so busy with extraordinary things- exciting projects, etc, etc.  But it was really just life flying by faster than ever without a moment's warning of just how fast it wants to go.....(with some ordinary extarordinary things going on in the mix - since isn't "all of this " extaordinary afterall?)
   And then also "New Life" as I post the pics of my tiny seedlings from early Spring on my cold but sunny windowsill which have now become strong (most of them) little basil, parsley and cantaloupe plants and some flowers ready to bloom.I write this as I just learned of a very old friend's passing (not old in age, just 44 years, but a friend from what seems a whole lifetime ago) and can't help but get some solace from these seedling babies that all life begins again and continues on and we are all ever so linked and intertwined in more ways than we will ever really know or understand....
   So it's simple right? Plant seeds, watch them grow, celebrate life, good food, good health, love, friendships, family. Tread lightly and love LOUDLY for life just loves to fly by quickly and we must embrace the good stuff - now.


for T.D.D.

Eggplant Sandwiches

Friends of ours recently let us have their week's share of produce from their local farm share crop. We were blessed to receive some beautiful veggies including a yummy eggplant. I decided to try this eggplant "sandwich" recipe which uses no bread. It turned out to be truly delightful! Please try it if you love eggplant! Cut a medium eggplant into about 1/2" thick rounds. (Mike accidentally cut ours thinner but we made it work just as well.) He made up for it by salting the eggplant rounds before cooking to help prevent chewiness. Jut sprinkle with salt and let sit for a few or until moisture droplets can be seen. He swears by this method, so I abide. We try to make cooking, when we do it, a pleasant experience for all as opposed to butting heads..... Anyway, you're going to dip each round in a bowl of flour and coat well. Then you will dip each in a mixture of 2 eggs beaten (vegans can use soy milk and some lemon juice). Let excess egg drip off of each round, then coat in a pre-prepared bowl of panko bread crumbs and any dried herbs you desire. See my southern fried tofu recipe from September for a more lengthy breading instruction. Heat oil in a skillet and place each round in when hot,  cooking each side until golden brown. Take them out and blot with a paper towel to remove any excess oil. (Cooking time was about 2-3 minutes per side.) I then began to "build" my "sandwiches" with the eggplant rounds as the "bread". First put down a round, then lettuce of your choice (we used romaine), then tomato slices, then basil, then a cheese of your choice, (we used mozzarella, but thought goat would be delicious, too), then top with an eggplant round again. These were firm enough to pick up and eat like a sandwich which made it even better! We added a glass of organic red wine from Frey Vineyards in California and we had ourselves quite a little meal that we were proud of and was delicious! 

P.S. Vegans can substitute a vegan cheese, and really you could get completely creative with how and what you stack on this sandwich! Have fun!

Southern Fried Tofu Wedges

As summer weather begins to fade around here, I start turning to more "warming" foods and recipes, hence, southern fried tofu wedges!

Start with a 1 pound block of extra firm tofu, rinsed drained and patted dry. Cut it horizontally into 3 equal slabs, then cut each slab into 4 triangles. (My math genius tells me this will give you 12 wedges in all!)

I then make an "assembly line" of my ingredients so I can whip these bad boys up in seconds flat!

Put 2/3 cup of flour on a plate.  Put 2/3 cup of plain soymilk with 2 tsp. of fresh lemon juice in a bowl and stir. Finally, put a cup or so of bread crumbs, some nutritional yeast (optional), salt, pepper, dried oregano, basil, dill, parsley and any other dried herbs you wish to use together on a flat plate and combine well.

Now all you have to do is dip each piece of tofu in the flour and coat well, then dip in the soured soymilk again coating well, and finally coat in the breadcrumb mixture and then set aside until all pieces are coated! (Just like the days of my childhood helping mom with her breaded porkchops-except these are cruelty free and much healthier for you!)
Lastly, coat a large skillet with veg oil and heat on medium. When hot, add the tofu wedges in a single layer.  Cook until the bottoms are well browned then flip and do the same for the other side.  When you remove the tofu from the skillet be sure to place on a paper towel lined plate to blot off any excess oil.  Then add your favorite condiments and voila! We like to use hot sauce, barbecue sauce and honey in our house, but not all at the same time!

These can be eaten with a fork but we also like to just pick em' up with our fingers, dip and eat! Little ones seem to like this form of eating, too!