Rhubarb Banana Muffins with cream cheese filling

I haven't posted anything in a long, long time! And that is sad, because there have been some delicious things made in this kitchen since November. Oh well, have to start (again) somewhere...

(PS I have a LOT of black bananas. This may start a trend.)

Muffins:

Ingredients:
2 eggs
2/3 cups light vanilla silk soy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 overripe banana

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon cinnamon

2/3 cups rhubarb (I used frozen rhubarb chunks.)

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix wet ingredients. Mix dry ingredients separately. Add dry into wet ingredients. Fold in rhubarb.

Filling: 

Ingredients:
1/4 package of cream cheese (2oz.)
1/8 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/8 cup light vanilla silk soy milk

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients.

Fill muffin pan 1/2 full with mix, place filling into a hole in the mix, then added mix to top each slot in the muffin pan. To top, mix 4 teaspoons cinnamon, 4 tablespoons sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla. Add crumbles to top each muffin.

Bake for 25-30 minutes or until muffins are no longer shiny on top/tooth pick comes out with no wet dough.

WARNING: These are not healthy like many of my past recipes. These are a treat for my coworkers and meant to be too sweet/too sugar-y, and c'mon, cream cheese isn't used in health food.

Vegan Indian Curry

**NOTE** Careful with your wooden spoons...This is a colorful dish.

Ingredients
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
4 garlic cloves
2 teaspoons Gourmet Garden Ginger Spice Blend
3 tablespoons olive oil
1/4 cup tomato paste
1/2 cup sweet potatoes, small cubes or mashed
1 tablespoon curry
1 tablespoon ground cumin
1 tablespoon turmeric
2 teaspoons cilantro

4 cups vegetable broth
1 teaspoon brown sugar
1 tablespoon lime juice
4 russet potatoes
3 large carrots
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/2 thing (stalk?) cauliflower
3 tomatoes
15 oz box of firm tofu, cut into cubes
2 tablespoons salt
1 tablespoon pepper
2 teaspoons garlic powder
 + Add more salt, pepper, garlic powder, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, and cilantro to taste. I definitely had more in there than listed above by the time we ate. But we're a salty family.

Instructions
1. Chop onions and garlic into small pieces. For sweet potatoes, either boil and cut or mash, etc. Make it easier on yourself and your food processor.
2. Mix onions, garlic, ginger, oil, tomato paste, mushy sweet potatoes, and spices in food processor.
3. Put the mixture in a large pot and add broth, brown sugar, and lime juice.
4. Cube/slice the remaining vegetables into bite size pieces.
5. Add potatoes, carrots, peppers, and cauliflower to the pot and cook on medium heat until the veggies are about half-cooked, then add tomatoes.
6. For the tofu on top- I did it separate so it would not get soggy. I sliced the block of tofu into 3 slices and squeezed them between paper towels to soak up the liquid. Then I cut it into about 1/2-inch-ish cubes. I PAM-ed a cookie sheet, spread the tofu on it, then covered them in salt, pepper and garlic powder. I cooked them at 400 for about 10 minutes on each side. You could mix them into the stew too, but I did that last time and they kind of crumbled.
7. Serve with rice and naan.
8. Do not forget the naan :)

Apple Banana Spiced Bread

Ingredients

1 stick butter

1/2 cup sugar 

2 bananas- preferably old rotty ones

1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup water
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla

2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking powder 

1 teaspoon baking soda 

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon 

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg 

1 teaspoon ginger  

2 shredded apples

12-16 thin apple slices (1-2 apples, depending on size)

2 tablespoons sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

4-5 drops vanilla 

 

 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 2 bread pans. 
2. Mix butter and sugar, then add in bananas, honey, milk, water and vanilla.
3. Stir together flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and ground ginger, and add to first mixture.
4. Add in the shredded apples, and set aside.
5. Combine 2 tablespoons sugar, 2 teaspoons cinnamon, and 4-5 drops vanilla. Sprinkle this mixture in the bottom of each bread pan, followed by 3 or 4 thin apple slices.
6. Evenly pour 1/4 of the batter into each bread pan. 
7. Place 3-4 more apple slices in each pan. 
8. Add the rest of the batter on top.
9. Bake time is iffy because I forgot to time it...ha. Probably 1 hour, 20 minutes-ish. Check the inside with a knife once the outside starts becoming golden-brown.

Vegan Jambalaya

Ingredients

Olive oil to half- cover the bottom of a fry pan
1 yellow onion
1 red onion
2 cloves garlic
4 medium sized tomatoes
1 red bell pepper
1 yellow bell pepper
1/3 bag carrot sticks (or 2-3 large carrots)
3 celery stalks
2 medium zucchinis
Sausage made of meat OR sausage made of other things (I didn't add this but it would add some extra yumMMM)
1 can chipotle peppers (This I would change- this recipe is so spicy that i couldn't eat it. Sarah and Robb ate it up (hehe))
Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning
2 teaspoons paprika
 cayenne pepper, crushed red pepper, salt, and pepper - to taste

3 cups vegetable stock
3 cups rice
1/4 cup tomato paste

Instructions
1. Chop onions and garlic. Chop/slice all other veggies.
2. In a large pan, add olive oil, put on medium heat, and add onions and garlic.
3. When the onions are clear-ish, add tomatoes, peppers, carrots, and celery and put the heat on low. Lastly add the zucchini. (You can also add veggies like- squash, eggplant, mushrooms, beans...and meats or fake meats like sausage/seafood....it's kind of a "dump what you have in the fridge type of recipe.)
4. In the meantime, in another saucepan, put in rice and stock. Cook rice as directed, substituting the vegetable stock for water. Once the rice is almost done, stir in tomato paste.
5. Add the vegetables into the rice, and then add spices. If you can't handle spice- TAKE THE SPICES SLOW haha. I literally could not eat a whole bowl.
6. Serve with chips or french bread. (or both :) )

Not cookin food!

Hellllo I haven't updated in awhile. But I guess I will inform all of my, ahem, followers. This is mostly (only) for you Ma :) I'm busy cookin' up a passing grade and a new job so the food will have to wait. It will start again in a few days. I'm sure my "roommates" will be happy too :)

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Coconut Almond frosting

Happy 9th Anniversary Sarah and Robb!! Here is... a slight variation of the chocolate cupcakes from before, a fully vegan cake/frostings, and my first attempt playing with fondant! (It's funnn, but it sort of looks like a small child's art project. And it kind of looks like turkeys too. But, still fun.)

CAKE

Ingredients

3 3/4 cups flour

2 cups sugar

3/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1 teaspoon cloves

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 1/2 cup water

1 1/2 tablespoon pure maple syrup

1 1/2 tablespoon agave nectar

1/2 cup coconut oil

2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar

Instructions
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Combine flour, sugar, cocoa, cinnamon, cloves, baking soda, and salt.
3. Add water, syrup, agave, oil, and vinegar. Mix it up real good.
4. Grease two round cake pans.
5. Bake 30-40 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

 

COCONUT ALMOND FROSTING (Loosely based on this recipe)

Ingredients

1 1/2 cup soy milk 

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup cornstarch

2 cups sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons almond extract

  

3 1/2 coconut

2 1/2 sliced almonds

Instructions:

1. In a saucepan, Before heating, mix together milks and cornstarch, until it is all liquid with no chunks.

2. Turn heat on to medium-high and add sugar and extract. 

3. Stir until it is smooth and thick

 

FONDANT

I borrowed this recipe from right hurr: Fondant Recipe from AllRecipes.

I substituted almond extract in place of the vanilla extract. I'll say it was because I thought the almond extract would really compliment the almonds in the other frosting, but really it was because almond extract is all I could find. Either way it worked, and I'm sure vanilla would be delicious too :) Also, I used all-vegetable shortening for vegan-ness. Yummmm

**EDIT** I made these into cupcakes for my friend's birthday (Oct 10) and they turned out cute so I wanted to show them off :)

 

Stuffed Pork Chops with Roasted Apples

Yay meat! Finally a meal centered around animal! The picture may not do this meal justice, but I promise you it was tasty. 

Ingredients

3 thick pork chops, thawed

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 clove garlic

1 medium onion

1/4 cup flour

1 egg

1/2 cup Seasoned bread crumbs

1 hunk of broccoli

Cubed brie- I used half of a triangle

Cubed manchego cheese- I used like a fist sized hunk. (Sorry, I don't know the exact ounces... You need enough broccoli/bri/manchego to fill the 3 pork chop pitas.)

1 large apple

1 tablespoon red cider vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon garlic powder

Instructions

1. Slice each pork chop lengthwise, not all the way through. If that does not make sense to you, make the pork into a pita-like pocket.

2. Brush each chop with flour, dip in egg, and then cover in bread crumbs.

3. Put oil in pan on medium heat, add garlic and half of the onion.

4. Once the onions are clear and the oil is sizzling, put in the chops.

5. When the bottom side turns golden, flip over the chops. After both sides are golden and beginning to cook, take out and set aside. (Don't worry, the meat on the inside of the pocket does not need to be cooked through yet.)

6. Mix the good parts of broccoli, with the cubes of cheese, with the second half of the onion. Sprinkle salt and pepper on the mix. Set that aside too.

7. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

8. In a ceramic dish, cover the bottom with apple slices, vinegar, salt, and garlic powder.

9. Stuff the cheese and broccoli mixture into the pork chops and close them with toothpicks (REMEMBER TO TAKE THEM OUT LATER. Seriously. If you don't, you will cause injuries to your family and they will hate you.)

10. Place stuffed chops on top of the apple slices and cook for about an hour, or until the inside pita pocket part of the pork (say that ten times fast) is cooked.

 

Sometimes when food is really pretty, the taste ends up being disappointing. Trust me, this is the opposite. (Take the toothpicks out!!! :) )