by betsy

Fresh Raspberry-Champagne Vegan Buttercream Frosting

Yield: enough to generously frost 12 regular cupcakes or a single-layer cake

School started on Monday with an in-service week for teachers, so I made these beauties for a few of my teacher friends to wish them a “sweet” start to a new school year.

What a hit they were!  One teacher wanted the recipe, one said they were “three minutes of uninterrupted heaven,” another sent me a text saying, “Awesome cupcake,” and still another said he was quite sure it was the best cupcake he had ever eaten!  And, by the way, all of these teachers are omnivores.

What makes them so special?  Well, the vanilla cupcakes from Isa Chandra Moskowitz’s Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World are darn good.  But the cupcake-frosting combination is out of this world.  Truly, it was the frosting that sent everyone over the moon: fresh raspberries that I marinated in champagne!  Actually, they were from a sangria recipe I created with Prosecco (I was testing a recipe for a major project that, fingers crossed, will come to fruition).  But, for the purpose of recreating the frosting without having to make sangria first, I figured out the correct proportion of Prosecco and sugar.  The flavor is bursting with berry freshness and a little tangy zip, but there is a subtle depth and complexity about it too.

These cupcakes are pretty enough for a wedding, but it would be a shame to save them for such rare occasions.  Bake up a batch and make any day special!

1/2 cup sparkling wine (I use Prosecco, but champagne would be lovely too)

3 tablespoons natural sugar

1 cup fresh raspberries

2 tablespoons vegan butter

2 tablespoons vegetable shortening

2 tablespoons vegan cream cheese

5 1/2 cups powdered sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

The day before you plan to make the frosting, marinate the berries: in a small bowl, dissolve sugar in the sparkling wine, add berries, stir well, cover, and refrigerate for 24 hours.  To make frosting, cream butter, shortening, and cream cheese with an electric mixer until fluffy.  Add the powdered sugar, a cup at a time, starting the mixer on slow and gradually increasing the speed so that you don’t coat yourself in sugar.  After you’ve added about 2 cups of the sugar, drain berries and add all of them with another cup of sugar, beating well.  Don’t be alarmed if mixture looks curdled; it will smooth out as the remaining sugar is added.  Continue beating and adding remaining sugar and vanilla until the frosting is thick and creamy.  You may find that you need more or less of the sugar in the marinade, as well as in the frosting, depending on how sweet and moist the berries are, respectively.  So adjust as you see fit.  Use the frosting immediately or refrigerate until ready to use.  I like to pipe swirls of frosting on top of the cupcakes using a pastry bag before garnishing with white nonpareil pearls for a very feminine look (I purchase the pearls at our local Kroger).  However, a fresh raspberry perched on top , perhaps with a mint leaf, would also be lovely.

Note: I recently saw some Oreos (they’re vegan in the U.S.!) with a berry filling!  So pretty in pink.  I’m thinking that the frosting would be absolutely scrumptious between two chocolate wafer cookies, no?

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by betsy

Vegan Lentils with Soy Chorizo, Orange Tomato, Caramelized Onion, and Kale

Yield: 4 servings

So simple, so satisfying, so colorful, and so nutritious…this dish is fabulously tasty warm, room temperature or even chilled.

I use Trader Joe’s brand soy chorizo and it is mighty spicy.  I find that the sweetness of the tomato helps temper the heat of the chorizo, as does this particular selection and proportion of additional ingredients.

Though it doesn’t need it for flavor, I top the mixture with a little cashew cream for color contrast and sprinkle with just a few roasted and lightly salted pepitas (also from Trader Joe’s) for texture contrast.

It’s the ultimate one-dish wonder!

 

3 tablespoons olive oil, divided

1 medium yellow onion, halved and slivered

Pinch sea salt

1-2 tablespoons water

1 tablespoon natural sugar

1-12 ounce package Soy Chorizo (I like Trader Joe’s brand)

4 lightly packed cups chopped fresh kale

Approximately 18 ounces steamed lentils (I purchase Trader Joe’s in the produce department)

1 fresh very large orange tomato or 2 medium, cut into 1/4-inch dice (any color will do; I just think orange is especially pretty in this dish)

Juice of one medium  lime

Optional garnish: cashew cream and roasted and lightly salted pepitas

In a large cast iron skillet over medium high, heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Add onion and caramelize, stirring frequently, for about 10 minutes.  After about 5 minutes, add water and natural sugar.  Reduce heat if necessary to prevent scorching, but you want the onions to be a deep golden brown.  Transfer onions to a medium bowl.

In the same skillet, heat remaining 2 tablespoons of olive oil, break up chorizo into the skillet and saute until lightly browned and heated through.  Add kale, and continue sauteing just until kale is almost tender; it should still be bright green.  Add lentils and continue cooking until kale is tender and lentils are heated through.  Transfer to bowl with onions, add tomato, sprinkle with lime juice, and toss all together.

Serve warm, room temperature or chilled with a dollop of cashew cream and a sprinkling of pepitas.

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by betsy

Vegan Mediterranean Kale Salad with Lentils, Red Onion, Orange Bell Pepper and Sunflower Seeds with Sumac Vinaigrette

Yield: 4 servings

I don’t need much of an excuse to create new kale recipes.  But I actually did have a good one: school started Monday with an in-service week for teachers and I needed something healthy and filling to pack for lunch.

I create this salad on Sunday–inspired by my foodie friend Trish Pfeifer’s love of sumac (this was the first time I ever cooked with it and I’m now a fan)–and took it a couple of days ago to share with my art teacher colleages, Mylinda McKinney and Sara Reich,.  They loved it!

Mylinda had brought boiled peanuts and fresh cherries, so we pooled our resources for a quirky but delicious and nutritious–not to mention brightly colored–school lunch.

Salad:

Approximately 9 ounces of steamed lentils (I purchase them at Trader Joe’s in the produce department)

1/2 cup diced red onion (you can soak for about 20-30 minutes in unsweetened soymilk to remove a little of their peppery bite if you choose)

1 medium orange bell pepper, cut into 1/4-inch dice (a yellow or red bell pepper would be just fine)

4 lightly packed cups kale, very finely chopped (I use a food processor for this task)

1/2 cup roasted and lightly salted sunflower seeds

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper to taste

Sumac Vinaigrette:

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tablespoon balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon ground sumac (found in Middle Eastern/Mediterranean markets)

1 teaspoon ground coriander

Pinch sea salt

Pinch garlic powder

Combine all salad ingredients in a medium bowl.  In a small cup or bowl, whisk together vinaigrette ingredients.  Drizzle dressing over salad and toss gently to distribute dressing.  Serve immediately or refrigerate, covered, and serve chilled.

Note: I think some diced plump dried apricots would be a lovely addition to this dish; maybe a half cup or so.

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by betsy

Vegan Charred Corn on the Cob with Thai Chili-Lime Mayo, Coconut, Cilantro and Chopped Peanuts

Yield: 4 servings

Find this unique and uniquely delicious recipe inspired by my Thai Not Dogs and Mexican street food on One Green Planet!

Just click HERE for the back story, ingredients and simple instructions…

Quick before the beautiful summer corn is a fading memory!

 

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by betsy

My New Vegan Friend, Rocky the Horse, Invites Himself to Our Vegan Picnic

As owners of Great Danes and other hounds, my husband, Joe, and I have had many a dog’s head in our own plates and, a bit embarrassingly, that of our guests.  We joke about our “horses,” but neither of us have ever really experienced a horse’s head in our plate…until yesterday.

My dear friend, Maggie Test, recently purchased a gorgeous eight year old gelding named Rocky.  He boards at a lovely barn tucked into the woods in the back of nowhere in a quasi-rural section of VA Beach.  There he lives in horse heaven with 5 other lucky equines.

I’ve been wanting to meet him and have needed to test some recipes for a potential project, so Maggie and I decided to have a picnic lunch yesterday at the barn.  When she asked if I wanted to dine in the barn or at the picnic table, I chose the latter–it was a beautiful, mild summer day–asking if Rocky, grazing nearby, would be interested in our food.

Her response was that she didn’t think so but that, if he was, he would just sniff.  No sooner had we sat down than he walked right over and stuck his humungous head in my plate.  But, indeed, he just sniffed–all over the table–finally deciding on a nice fluffy mound of cilantro.  It was a little unsettling, but utterly delightful.

And the beauty of a true horse head in your plate, as opposed to that of a horse-like dog, is that a horse doesn’t drool!  His beautiful face was quite dry and, all in all, he exhibited rather remarkable etiquette.

I’ll share my lunch with this magnificent vegan beast any time!

Note: We weren’t fast enough to snap a photo of him caught in the act and this photo doesn’t really do him justice, but you get the idea.  And, by the way, the rather odd looking food in the gratin dish was DELICIOUS eggplant and portabella enchiladas with sundried tomato sauce absent their garnish. 

 

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by betsy

Blooming Platter Kale Salad of Grilled Eggplant, White Beans and Fresh Figs with Herbed Hummus Dressing Published on One Green Planet

Quick!

Before the birds get all the fresh figs…gather up a few and whip up this fresh summer salad.

It will have you “singing” it’s praises!  And you might even want to “Tweet” it. 🙂  Okay, enough with the corny bird references.  But, seriously, you will want to add this one to your summer repertoire.

Just click HERE for the recipe at One Green Planet.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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by betsy

Last Day to Enter Blooming Platter and Jazzy Vegetarian Cookbook Giveaway!

10 p.m. EST tonight is the deadline for you to enter The Blooming Platter’s and the Jazzy Vegetarian’s joint Sizzlin’ Summer Seasonal Cookbook Giveaway!

Three lucky winners will be chosen to win one of the following: BOTH cookbooks plus the “Better Days” CD by Laura Theodore, aka The Jazzy Vegetarian;  Laura’s cookbook and CD; or Laura’s cookbook.

Simply follow THIS LINK to toss your hat in the ring.

Good luck!

 

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by betsy

My Vegan Bangkok Black Rice Salad with Fresh Peach is Published by One Green Planet (This is NOT the rice salad of days gone by!)

Somewhere, there is a juicy summer peach out there just waiting for you to make this gloriously colorful and breathtakingly flavorful salad.

Find my surprisingly simple recipe at One Green Planet.

Don’t keep that peach waiting!

 

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by betsy

Vegan Heritage Press Offers Cookbook Give-Away to Thank Loyal Customers!

Don’t miss this opportunity to win one of six Vegan Heritage Press titles by Amber Shea Crawley, Bryanna Clark Grogan, Tamsin Noyes, Jon Robertson, Robin Robertson, and yours truly!

Three books will be given away and to make sure you are in the running, just follow THIS LINK and then follow the easy instructions.

May the best–okay, just the luckiest–vegans win!

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