Cheers!

That's right! I made cupcakes with beer!



It turned out really delicious! So much so, that Clint already asked me for the topping recipe. His girlfriend, Danielle, gave me the recipe for the cupcakes (which, in turn, is taken from the book Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World) so he didn't need it from me. However, I did modify it a little bit: I put 1/4 cup of oil instead of 1/3 cup, and 1/3 cup of beer instead of 1/4 cup. I think it was a good substitution, don't you?

I topped it with chocolate mousse, also from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World. It was so good! What I made was enough for the cupcakes and a few more generous servings of mousse desert.

Vegan chocolate mousse:

• 15 oz extra firm silken tofu (I actually used regular soft tofu from Fresh & Easy)
• 15 oz semi-sweet chocolate chips - melted
  
• 2 T maple syrup (I only used 1, and added about 3 heaping t of powdered sugar, because I was afraid the mouse won't be firm enough to stand on top of the cupcakes)
• 1 t vanilla
• 1/4 c soy milk (I put a little less, and substituted the rest with Irish Cream (not vegan, but can be easily veganized at home, or just left out) just because I have some from making the suggested Irish Cream frosting from the cupcake recipe link above. BTW, if you do it, put a lot more than 2 T, otherwise it won't taste like Irish Cream at all. I put around 6 T the second time I made it).

Blend tofu and milk in blender until smooth, add syrup, vanilla, and melted chocolate and blend more until smooth, creamy and delicious.

** although these cupcakes are vegan, my version of them is not - both because of the Irish Cream and because of the beer I used (I understand Guinness is not vegan, because part of the manufacturing process involves using some fishing by-product. Well, that's the last time I by this brand! Now I need to think what to do with the 4 bottles I have left...). These two items could be easily substituted, or completely omitted in the case of the Irish Cream.

A Fancy Midweek Dinner For Absolutely No Reason

Well, there is one reason - that I decided to get a roll of polenta. I've been wanting to try it for a while, and finally did. Since it doesn't go by itself, I had to come up with something to put on it, so I figured out something that incorporated vegetables we had in the fridge, it came out quite good: Polenta with goat cheese and caramelized onions on crusted tofu, sitting among fire-colored vegetables. I'd say delicious, but I'm not sure Mark would agree. He thinks the polenta should be enhanced further. I thought the goat cheese and caramelized onions were very good for it. You should try it and see which one of us is right!


I really ought to get some green herbs for decoration...


It's very easy to make:

Polenta:
slice 1/2" slices and fry them in a pan with a tiny little bit of olive oil, spread some goat cheese on top and put in the toaster oven to melt, then top with caramelized onions.

Crusted Tofu:
cut tofu (~9 oz) to 1/2" thick squares, and dry.
In a small bowl combine: 2 T soy sauce, 1/2 T oyster sauce, and 1/2 T mustard.
ladel sauce on tofu pieces, both sides, then dip the edges in the bowl, and transfer to a plate with 1/4 c Italian bread crumbs. Fry in a pan over medium - high heat with a little bit of olive oil until golden brown and crisp.

** I kept the tofu and the polenta in the toaster oven while I worked on the other stuff, to keep them warm, and added the goat cheese just a few minutes before we sat to eat. **

Fire-Colored Vegetables:
Dice 1 red bell pepper, 1 orange bell pepper, and a tomato (or use cherry tomatoes). Saute in a pan over medium-high with some olive oil, adding the tomatoes last. Spice it up with some herbs - oregano, basil, thyme - and salt and pepper.

Caramelized onion:
Cut 1/2 onion to thin wedges and saute in a little bit of butter. When it softens, add a little bit (1 t) of sugar. keep sauteing until golden brown.

It may seem like a lot of things, but really, it's quite simple! I liked it a lot.

Food in Switzerland

First of all, Luxemburgerli:

Sweet, little melt-in-the-mouth thingies. The passion fruit was the best! Can only find them in Switzerland. Fortunately, there's one place in Tempe that sells something similar (the French macaron)!

On my last night, there were no hotel rooms available because of the carnival, so I stayed with Flore, a graduate student in Mathias Koelliker's lab. She was so nice, and made me some ratatouille! She should know how to make it - she's French!



Of course, it was accompanied by a glass of wine :)

Here's how I think she made it:
2 zucchinis
1/2 orange bell pepper
1/2 yellow bell pepper
onion
tomato

they were all coarsely chopped, and cooked in a pan, adding them leisurely, one at a time, starting with the onion, of course. Olive oil was added liberally, and also herbes de Provence mix. Simple and quick! Serve with rice.

Tortilla Black Bean Casserole

This is Mark's favorite casserole:



1 chopped onion
1 chopped green bell pepper
14 oz canned tomatoes
3/4 c salsa
1 T garlic
2 T cumin
2 15 oz cans of black beans, drained
1 c corn or more. The more the better
8 corn tortillas
1.5 c shredded cheese

In a LARGE skillet, over medium heat, combine first 6 ingredients, bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer uncovered for 5 minutes. Stir in beans.
Spread 1/3 of the mix over bottom of 13x9" pan. Top with 1/2 the tortillas, 1/2 c cheese, 1/3 of the mix, remaining tortillas, 1/2 c cheese, last 1/3 of the mix. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes in 350 degrees F. Sprinkle remaining cheese and wait for 10 minutes or so before serving.

** I don't follow these directions very closely, that's why I ended up topping it with some more tortillas. There's also tortillas at the bottom! Either way, it's yummy!

A Match Made in Heaven

Yes - sweet potatoes and leeks! Can anything be better than a combination of these two divine vegetables?



This sweet potato leek gratin was taken from The Vegetarian Times. It's not yet online, so here's what you do:
Slice 1-2 sweet potatoes (2 lb) - 1/8" thick, set aside

In a small non-stick pan over medium-high, heat 1 T olive oil, and saute for about 8 minutes:

• 3 leeks, white and light green parts chopped
• 3 cloves garlic, minced
• 1.5 T chopped rosemary
• salt and pepper

Layer sweet potato slices alternately with leek mix, so you end up with 3 layers of sweet potato and 2 layers of leeks. Sprinkle 1/3 c vegetable broth. Cover with foil.

Bake in 450 degrees F for about 30 minutes.

Remove from oven and sprinkle a mix of:

• 3 T breadcrumbs (Italian, or just add some Italian herbs and garlic powder)
• 1.5 T rosemary
• 2 T romano or parmesan cheese (optional)
• 1.5 t olive oil

Bake uncovered for 10-15 minutes more (until breadcrumbs are nice and golden-brown).
Wait a bit before serving (officially 8 servings, but for us it was 4).

The cheese is optional, so it qualifies as vegan. It's delicious, and pretty easy to make -- the hardest thing was to slice the sweet potato :)
So try it!
[Leeks for a reasonable price can be found at Lee Lee's.]

Pierogies with Sauteed Onions

We made them a while ago and froze them. The two times we ate them before were served with garlic - butter sauce. It was good, but we wanted to try buttered onions, and it turned out to be good as well! The onions' sweetness came out as they sauteed in the butter, and it was most complimentary to the flavorful pierogies. Yes, they were flavorful! Mark made the dough himself, and filled them with potato-onion filling. Much better than Mrs. T's, if I may say so. No offense.

Chestnut Soup

We found some cheap chestnuts at Lee Lee's. They come in a 3 lb bag. I love chestnuts.
But these cheap ones are SO hard to peel...
They make a yummy soup, though!



After peeling a bunch of them, with Mark's help, and getting our thumbs sore as hell, we both enjoyed a delicious and rich soup with some yammy bread.
I didn't follow the recipe exactly, simply because I didn't have all the called-for ingredients, but it was very good nonetheless.
Here are my substitutions:

• Spanish cooking wine instead of Marsala wine
• Milk and melted butter instead of cream
• No mushrooms (though I'm sure they would have added a delicious kick)

So don't get cheap chestnuts from Lee Lee's! Get better (fresher? a different variety?) at Trader Joe's, or better yet - get them already cooked and peeled in a jar! :) Then this recipe could qualify as fairly easy.