Secret Spy Grub

Tags

apples, black bean soup, dessert, dinner, healthy eating, Pumpkin, pumpkin cupcakes, vegetarian

“Secret” Pumpkin Cupcakes with Dark Chocolate Chips

Ah Fall…when a young girls fancy turns to thoughts of…pumpkin? Well, if you’re my almost seven year old daughter it does, she’s been begging my for the last week and a half to make her pumpkin bread, and this evening I surprised her with something even better when she got home from Zumba-ing her little butt off. Frankie helped me make these and he firmly insisted we “put some choco in it” so of course I listened and I have to say I am grateful for that two year old palate because these lovely cupcakes wouldn’t be the same without “choco”!

Mmmmm….pumpkin and chocolate…..

Before I made these cupcakes with my underoo clad assistant (“I mix it Mommy!”) I threw together this black bean soup, including one of many monstrous yams I bought at the market last week. These yams, despite their daunting size, have been totally awesome and delicious, and I can’t help but be impressed by a potato that feeds me for THREE meals. And yes, they’re local and organic too.

“Secret” Black Bean and Sweet Potato Soup

These two dishes have something in common, a secret ingredient or two. Some ingredients come from years of trial and error in the kitchen, some I just thought of today when I opened the fridge and said; hmmm, what ELSE should I put in these? So enjoy! And tell me, what secret ingredients do you like to use?

My “Secret Signature” Black Bean Soup

There are actually a couple secrets hidden in this soup, but most important is cooking the beans to perfection and not adding them in until the soup is served.

• 1 cup dried black beans
• 2.5 cups veggie broth
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1 yellow onion, minced
• 2 tsp minced fresh ginger
• 2 cloves minced fresh garlic
• 1-2 Tbsp cumin
• 1 sweet potato, peeled and chopped into medium dice
• 4 cups veggie broth
• 2 cups water
• 2 Tbsp Chocolate syrup (I used Hershey’s Special Dark)
• 2 Tbsp lime juice
• chopped cilantro and sour cream and avocado and fresh chopped tomato

Cook the beans. There are a couple different ways to do this, I put the dried beans, the veggie stock and the bay leaf in my pressure cooker for twenty minutes and they come out perfectly. Alternatively you can soak the beans overnight and cook them on the stovetop in the stock with the lid on until tender. Or use canned, but rinse them well. For all beans, after cooking, drain and set aside.

In a large stockpot or soup pot, heat the olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until soft and translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and cumin and a little salt and pepper, cook for about 2 more minutes, reduce heat if things start looking too brown. Add the sweet potatoes and saute for another 2 minutes. Add the veggie stock and water and bring to a boil, simmer with the top on until sweet potatoes are tender, about 20 minutes. Take the lid off and continue to simmer for about 20 more minutes, until broth is reduced. Add the beans, chocolate syrup, lime juice and chopped cilantro, turn off the heat and let the flavors meld for about five minutes. Serve with shredded cheese, sour cream, fresh tomatoes and more chopped cilantro on top!

“Secret” Pumpkin and Dark Chocolate Cupcakes

• 1 can (15 oz) pumpkin (I used Trader Joe’s)
• 1/2 cup packed dark brown sugar
• 1/2 cup canola oil
• 1/2 cup hard cider ( I used Woodchuck Ginger Hard Cider!)
• 2 tsp vanilla
• 2 cups whole wheat flour
• 1/4 cup flax seed meal
• 1 1/2 tsp baking soda
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1 cup dark chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350 degrees, grease a 12 cup muffin tin with canola oil or butter or whatever other oil you have lying around. In one bowl combine all of the wet ingredients EXCEPT the hard cider. In another bowl sift and combine all the dry ingredients. Make sure your pan is ready and mix the wet ingredients with the dry, then mix in the hard cider and the chocolate chips. Stir just until mixed and then fill muffin tins 3/4 full. Bake for 25 minutes, cooling in pan 5 minutes and then on a rack. These are delicious as is or can be frosted with;

• 1/2 cup cream cheese (reduced fat is fine)
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 tsp vanilla.

Whip the above ingredients with a stand mixer until fluffy and then frost the cooled cupcakes, dust with cinnamon…yum!

Rainy Day Squashiness

Tags

apples, ginger, Soups and Stews, winter squash

Buttercup Squash Soup with Almond Crema and Roasted Turnip "Croutons"

Here’s a little known fact about me…okay…it’s really actually a well known fact and that is that I LOVE rainy days. I especially love rainy days that I spend at work, mostly because I know it increases the odds that the weekends will be nice and that is when I don’t have to work. But I also love them because they are cosy and cool and inspire me to create tummy warming dishes such as this lovely Buttercup Soup. It ended up being on the spicy side, which was not a bad thing at all considering that we have been stuffed to the gills with some nasty cold, this certainly helped clear us out. And…it packs a real nutritional wallop, half your daily requirement of vitamins A and C!

First things first. I like the taste of roasted squash so while it may seem a bit like overkill I roasted a butternut squash at 425 degrees for about 30 minutes. The squash was cut up, just halved it would take a bit longer, and I dressed it with olive oil, salt and pepper.

The squash..cuddling.

In the meantime…

Buttercup Squash Soup with Almond Crema and Roasted Turnip “Croutons”

1 medium turnip, cubed

2 Tbsp butter

vegetable stock as needed to deglaze

****

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 apple, diced

1 inch peice fresh ginger, diced or sliced very thin

2 cups chopped yellow squash

1/2 roasted buttercup squash

4 cups vegetable broth

2 tsp curry powder

2 Tbsp maple syrup

salt + pepper

****

1/2 cup almond milk

1/4 inch piece fresh ginger, mandoline sliced

2 tbsp tapioca starch or 1 Tbsp cornstarch

• In a large saucepan over medium high heat melt the butter. Add the turnips and cover immediately. Cook until golden on all sides, reducing heat as necessary and adding veggie broth as needed to deglaze the pan. Do not let the turnips get too dark or they will be bitter!! This process will take about 20 minutes or so.
• Meanwhile in a large stockpot heat olive oil over medium heat. Add onions and saute until translucent. Add apples and 1/2 cup veggie broth and cover, cook for 5-10 minutes or until apples begin to soften.
• In a separate small saucepan combine almond milk and sliced ginger and place over low heat.
• Add chopped yellow squash and roasted buttercup squash and remaining broth. Simmer uncovered for 10-15 minutes, then add curry powder and maple syrup, cook for 5 more minutes.
• Blend with an immersion blender until very smooth, adjust seasoning to taste.
• Remove almond milk from the stove and strain, blend strained milk with tapioca starch and whip until frothy.
• Serve soup with a handful of “croutons” and a dollop of almond crema!

I really loved this soup, the fiery ginger in the soup married perfectly with the almond milk and the earthy flavor of the buttery turnips. If you have a family member who doesn’t like the heat you could blend in some yogurt to cut the heat a bit, but I thought it was quite perfect! Serve this with some toasted bread or green beans and snuggle up..baby it’s cold outside!

Serves 4

Nutrition Facts (1 serving)

Calories: 226

Total Fat: 12.2 (2.3 saturated, 0 trans, 0 cholesterol)

Sodium: 634 mg

Carbohydrate: 30.2 g

Fiber: 5.1 g

Sugars: 20.2 g

Protein: 2.2 g

Vitamin A 50%, Vitamin C 45%, Calcium 10%, Iron 8%

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

Tags

apples, cupcakes, not gluten-free

I know I have waxed on and on and on about how fabulous fall is and how much I LOVE apples…and this post will be no different. I have a dear friend who has been quite ill and when I get worried and want to care for someone I tend to bake excessively. This particular friend teases me about my “hippie” cupcakes and has sworn up and down he will NOT eat anything I bake because he knows it has some hidden vegetable. Well, in a departure from the everyday I made these lovely little gems because, quite frankly, when life gives you lemons you should turn around and eat cupcakes.

Caramel Apple Cupcakes

8 Tbsp butter, softened

1 cup packed brown sugar

1 egg

1 tsp vanilla

1 cup homemade applesauce (recipe to follow)

1 1/2 cups all purpose flour

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp cloves

1/2 tsp ginger

1/4 tsp salt

Preheat oven to 350 degrees and liberally grease a 12 cup muffin tin or line with cupcake liners.

Cream butter using a stand mixer until fluffy, about 30 seconds, add sugar and continue to mix on medium high speed until light and fluffy (3-5 mins). Add egg and vanilla and beat for two more minutes. Slow mixing speed and add dry ingredients and applesauce alternately, mix to combine

Scoop into muffin tin and bake for 20 minutes or until knife inserted in center comes out clean. Cool completely and frost with fluffy vanilla-cinnamon frosting and caramel drizzle.

Fluffy Vanilla Frosting

3/4 cup vegetable shortening, at room temperature

1/8 cup butter, at room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla

1/2 tsp cinnamon

4 large caramels

On high speed cream butter and shortening until fluffy. Slowly add sugar and increase speed to high, whip until  VERY fluffy, add vanilla and cinnamon and frost cupcakes. Melt caramels in microwave for 20 seconds and drizzle over frosted cupcakes.

These cupcakes aren’t ALL bad, I mean, they have applesauce! I make my own applesauce by dicing apples and simmering them with a little water until soft, sometimes I add sweetener but usually not, I usually add vanilla and cinnamon. The thing I liked best about these cupcakes is that the cake was quite dense and not very sweet, in fact it was a bit tart. The frosting was a great contrast, very sweet and fluffy, with that lovely caramel drizzle. I used fancy French salted caramels and the taste was beyond divine.

We also had this tonight;

…a great heart dinner on a harvest moon might! I have been amping up my exercise the past few days and am feeling much better, I did some nice vigorous yoga practice tonight and it felt good to stretch my tired limbs! It has been a long work week, many long days and lots of worry..I am really having a crisis of career at this point, and I am not sure quite what to do with that. Have any of you experienced something similar? Are you doing what you love? And what if what you love is the thing you have absolutely no experience (except personal) in?

Thirty Days Hath September..

Tags

apples, cider, cornbread, fall

A plethora of pumpkins..

Truthfully, I could stay in September forever. It is one of those magical times when you feel the seasons shift and each day is unpredictable. The last few days have hinted at October with brisk winds and rain, four days ago we were in t-shirts, squinting at the sun and sweating with the temperature hovering in the 80’s. As much as I love the true fall-ness of October there is something magical about September, something that deserves to be celebrated with cider and apples and running through speckled autumn leaves laughing…bundling up in sweaters in the early morning fog only to shed them as the sun warms us midday.

We are settling into our new lives here in the country, and while the transition is not without it’s challenges (we still need to have our woodstove and heat installed and have no lights or trim in the bathroom) the quiet and solitude is beginning to calm us more, making the hectic pace of the daytime recede a little faster in the evening.

Today Izzie had a doctor’s appointment at the academic medical center about an hour and a half from us. After her tests were done we meandered home and decided to stop at Harlow’s farmstand to peruse the gluten-free goodies at Cafe Loco. And what a beautiful fall sight greeted us, gourds and pumpkins of every color, size and shape…rustling cornstalks and tart apple butter, bushels of apples polished and gleaming.

Ornamental kale

Inspired by all the autumn festiveness surrounding me I decided to fashion a little tribute to fall with a nod to my favorites; apples or course, and also apple cider…but in a hearty cornbread base with some honey butter to top it all off!

Apple Cornbread with Honey Butter Glaze

1 cup whole wheat flour

3/4 cup cornmeal

1/2 tsp salt

1 Tbsp baking soda

2 Tbsp honey

1 tsp vanilla

1 egg

4 Tbsp flax oil

1 apple, peeled and chopped

1 cup hard (or soft…heehee) apple cider

1 Tbsp butter

1 Tbsp honey (I used raw honey)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees and grease a 9×9 square glass pan

In a large bowl sift the dry ingredients together

In a glass measuring cup beat together the eggs, flax oil, honey and vanilla until smooth

Make a well in the center of the dry incredients and pour in the egg mixture. Add the cider and mix until smooth, fold in the chopped apples. Bake at 375 for 20-30 minutes or until a knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Meanwhile melt the butter and honey together. Brush on top of the cornbread as soon as it comes out of the oven.

The only change I would make here would be to somehow give the bread a little more lift, but other than that the flavor was lovely with the bite from the hard cider and the smooth honey butter rounding out the density of the bread and the sharpness of the apple flavor.

Enjoy!

What is your favorite fall flavor?

Indian Summer

Tags

apples, Gluten Free, pesto, salad

Hey! Stop stealing my salad kid!

Ah New England, just when you start to think the seasons might be changing and fall nips at your heels promising apples and sweaters and frosty breath….you get walloped with 99 degree weather and 1000% humidity.

Yuck.

So it appears I am not done with the summer recipes yet. Tonight was so darn hot I wanted a nice cool salad so I made the above; mesclun, arugula, cute little cherry tomatoes, goat cheese, avocado, walnuts, and garlicky dragon tongue green beans with a balsamic dressing. Yum! Sneaky little kid hands kept stealing my goat cheese..

I also made a quick chicken dish because I couldn’t bear to have the oven on for more than five seconds. I heated some grapeseed oil over medium high heat (I love this oil for the high smoke point and loads of omega’s), then tossed in some chicken breasts to brown. I seasoned the chicken simply; salt, pepper, all purpose seasoning. As the chicken neared its finale I threw in some cherry tomatoes and spinach and served the breasts with a healthy smear of goat cheese on top. Izzie DEVOURED this dinner, she has become a goat cheese lover again, hurray! Poor kid, she is suffering such cheese deprivation..

I also made this; delicata squash peeled and cut into chunks and steamed, then mashed with homemade applesauce and hazelnut milk. Also totally divine, the homemade applesauce makes it!

As Hurricane Earl eyes our small coastline I am hoping the weekend brings some rain and cozy cooking. We move in two weeks, two weeks! I can’t wait…for the country and the quiet and a new kitchen and lots of natural light and inspiration.

Finally tonight I leave you with some photo’s for my upcoming guest post on glutenhatesme.com. Stay tuned for the recipes! I made a delicious gluten-free pesto tart and gluten-free apple turnovers! Oh and finally, congrats to my Mum for her recent publication!

Gluten Free Pesto Zucchini Tart

Apple Turnover Innards

Cutting the dough.

Gluten Free Mini Apple Turnovers