Totally vegan and totally delish!!!!!

Serves 12 cupcakes
Ingredients:
Cupcakes
1 ½ cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon salt
1 cup coconut milk, non-dairy milk, or water
½ cup canola oil
2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar

Soaking Liquid
1/3 cup amaretto
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder

Raspberry Sauce
1 cup raspberries (fresh or frozen)
½ cup agave or sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of salt

Frosting
1 tablespoon instant espresso powder ( I use Medaglia D' Oro brand. If you can't find espresso powder, you can use finely ground instant coffee.)
2 tablespoons amaretto liquor
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
1/4  cup non-hydrogenated shortening (I use Spectrum Organics brand, but feel free to use any brand that you find at your local market. Non-hydrogenated margarine and refined coconut oil will also work.)
4 cups organic confectioners sugar
2 tablespoons water

Garnish (optional)
12 fresh raspberries
12 small mint leaves
½ cup raw cacao nibs or ground bittersweet chocolate

Procedure:
Cupcakes
Preheat over to 350.
Sift or whisk together flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt into a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix the coconut milk, oil, vanilla, and vinegar. Combine the wet and dry mixtures and whisk until thoroughly mixed. Distribute batter into lined cupcake baking pan, and bake for 15-20 minutes.

Soaking Liquid
Combine amaretto and espresso powder and set aside.

Raspberry Sauce
In small saucepan, cook raspberries and agave on medium heat on raspberries wilt down. Let simmer on low for 5 minutes until the mixture becomes a pourable consistency. Remove pot from heat and mix in vanilla, lemon juice, cinnamon, and salt. Taste and adjust sweetness by adding more agave if necessary. Let cool in refrigerator.

Frosting
Combine espresso powder, amaretto, and vanilla in small bowl and mix or swirl bowl until espresso powder has dissolved (about 1 minute). Beat shortening in large bowl with an electric mixer for about 1 minute, then add confectioner's sugar. Add the espresso mixture to the frosting a little at a time as you beat it. You might not want to add ALL the espresso mixture depending on the climate and how the frosting is looking. Once it becomes a desirable consistency, you can stop adding it. If you dump it all in at once, it may become too runny.  If it is too dry, add 1 tablespoon of water at a time until desired buttercream consistency is achieved. I usually beat on high for about 5 minutes, scraping down the sides with a spatula often. Pipe or frost with a knife.

Assembly
Using a spoon, cut out a small hole from the top of each cupcake (scoop out about 1 tablespoon of cake) and discard. In the hole of the cupcake, layer approximately 1 teaspoon of soaking liquid, 1 tablespoon of raspberry sauce, 2 teaspoons of cacao, and piped frosting on top. Garnish with a raspberry and mint leaf. Enjoy!

Black Bean Vegetable Soup

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon vegetable oil
• 1 onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 2 teaspoons chili powder
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 4 cups vegetable stock
• 2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (8.75 ounce) can whole kernel corn
• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 (14.5 ounce) can stewed tomatoes

Directions

1. In large saucepan, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic, and carrots, stirring occasionally, for 5 minutes or until onion is softened. Add chili powder and cumin; cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add stock, 1 can of the beans, corn, and pepper; bring to boil.
2. Meanwhile, in food processor or blender, puree together tomatoes and remaining can of beans; add to pot. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 to 15 minutes or until carrots are tender.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

YUMMY YUMMY YUMMY

2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

Directions:
In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers.  Mix well to blend.  Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place ¼ cup of the filling in the center.  Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center.  Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free.  Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner.  Finish rolling and press to seal closed.  Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F.  Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray.  Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray.  Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking.  Serve warm with salsa.   

Converting, Shopping and Meat Substitute!

I'm new to blogging so forgive me for not being as polished as many.  I have always lived my life on the edge of vegetarian and not a huge meat eater...in fact I will go on a limb and say the only reason I ever ate meat is because it was the way I was raised!  I didn't know any better and I was horrified that my eating experience wouldn't be a pleasurable experience if I changed it so drastically.  BOY WAS I WRONG!!!  I think most people who convert to a plant based lifestyle do so for their love of animals but the health benefits are also undeniable.  Be warned however there is a food addiction that you will struggle through as well as a detox phase...it isn't nearly as dramatic as it sounds and for the most part after the first week you are over the hump.  If you are considering a change in your lifestyle READ ABOUT IT FIRST!  You can't just stop eating meat "cold turkey" without getting sick so do your research.  I started with PETA and their starter kit is very helpful!

My next fear was how the heck do I shop now???  Well SURPRISE...even that is much easier than expected.  If you live in AZ one thing I strongly suggest you check into Bountiful Baskets for fifteen bucks you get a laundry basket full of fruits and veggies!  They offer many other things as well but this is certainly one way to get FRESH fruits and veggies at an excellent price!

My stores of choice and in this order:  Whole Foods, Sprouts, Frys Food/kroger, Fresh and Easy and Trader Joes.  I haven't tried Lee Lee Asian Market yet but from other friends I have heard it is amazing.  You can obviously find fruits and veggies anywhere and for the most part most grocery stores have a "natural" section so shopping isn't nearly the burden it once was.

Last and certainly not least and the most delicious part of my transformation...Meat Substitutes!  Trust me when I tell you I was strongly against these...In my head I am thinking I stop eating meat but now I am going to eat meat shaped veggies???  SO here is my experience...thus far Morning Star Farms products are my favorite!  I haven't had one thing I don't like with the exception of the no meat Corn Dogs...I should tell you even as a meat eater I wasn't a big hot dog fan but the Chikn products are hands down my favorite and I love the veggie burgers too!!!  BTW many fast food chains have veggie burgers, they just aren't on the menu so if you are in a hurry Burger King is the safest bet but I have also heard that McDonalds has one too.  My second favorite are BOCA products and they are fabulous too.  Third and not really in a particular order is Tofurky.  For those who think it is only for Thanksgiving you are missing out...they have some amazing products including Italian sausage, bacons and some other options including lunch meat slices.  I never would have imagined how much I enjoy these products and they all have tasted better than meat in my opinion.  No skin, veins or other disgusting things you find in your chicken nuggets or chicken wings!!!  Most importantly no animal died for your dining pleasure!!

Use these links!  They provide lots of helpful recipes and you will be absolutely amazed how much better you feel and if you are anything like me knowing that you are no longer contributing to the horrible conditions animals endure does a lot for your soul!  My final link for this blog comes with a warning...this documentary is known as the Vegan Maker and I think everyone should watch it.  I guarantee you  that most people don't know what a dairy cow endures!  I haven't ever been able to drink milk and prefer the alternatives like Silk Very Vanilla.  But now that I lied and included a soy milk link I give to you the Vegan Maker: EARTHLINGS!  Please don't watch this with children and I have to warn you it is very hard to watch and very hard to forget but even if you continue to eat meat at least you will be informed about what is happening.

I'll be posting more recipes this week but figured I should share some information first :)

Cucumber Salad

Cucumber Salad

Ingredients:

4                       CUCUMBERS

4TBSP             Sugar

3TBSP             White Rice Vinegar

1TSP               Pepper

1 Cup              Italian Dressing (I add this accordingly and sometimes use more than a cup...I also use the itallian dressing that you can see all the stuff that has sunk to the bottom of the bottle...make sure ya shake it up first.)

1.  Peel & Cut up all the cucumbers and mix all ingredients except for the Itallian dressing.  It won't look like much and you may think something is wrong but it will be perfect.

2.  Put the mixture in the refrigerator overnight and let the cucumbers wilt...moisture from the cucumbers will drain out of them.

3.  Pour in your itallian dressing and mix everything up!

This is really simple and it is always a hit!!!