Mint Chocolate Cupcakes

To celebrate running a good race in the JASR 5K yesterday, I made Mint Chocolate Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World. They're my favorite!

The cupcake is the basic chocolate cupcake batter with 1 teaspoon of mint extract mixed in. I tried a plain cupcake and it was heavenly--extremely moist and just melted in my mouth.

The frosting also has mint extract, with some green food coloring mixed in. You add a spiral of frosting to the cupcake.

Last, I made the quick melty ganache and spooned it on top.

I'd just spooned the ganache on here, but it hardens once you put them in the fridge to set. So delicious--the perfect race celebration treat!

Vegan Blondies

Recently I finished my freezer stash of my leftover Christmas cookies. So while at Whole Foods last week, I picked up a vegan cookie and considered buying it. But it was not soft and not very appealing, plus was $1.69. I knew I could cook up a whole batch of cookies for less than, so I broke out Vegan Cookies Invade Your Cookie Jar and made the blondies.

Oh my! They are absolutely delicious. They have the taste of a great chocolate chip cookie with the ooey-gooey goodness of a brownie. You can get the recipe here.

Vegan Love for Burgatory

This was my second time at Burgatory, and I loved it just as much as the first time. You'd think a burger restaurant wouldn't be a good vegan restaurant option, and granted there is only one vegan option on the menu. But it's so good, it's enough.

We started with the Hole 'Mole as an appetizer, which was a substantial bowl of house-made guacamole with a nice kick and tortilla chips. I got the Herb's Grape Refresher as a cocktail, which was a delicious and refreshing blend of vodka, grapes, and basil.

The Phat Patti's Veggie Burger is made with mushrooms, lentils, cashews, and cracked wheat. It comes on a whole-wheat bun with arugula, tomato, and guacamole. I swapped the cheese it came with for vegan cheddar cheese. The burger is huge, very filling (I ate less than half), and extremely delicious. Because the house-made chips are cooked in the same oil as chicken (thanks to the bartender for letting me know!) I got a mixed green salad as a side that came with an absolutely delicious house-made red wine vinaigrette dressing.

Another option would be to start with the veggie burger and customize it with different toppings. There are a number of good vegan options.

I drooled over the milkshakes on the menu (Caramel Pretzel! Coffee and Donuts!), but even if they were vegan I wouldn't have gotten one. They must be a million calories. No thanks.

As far as vegan veggie burgers go in Pittsburgh, Burgatory has one of if not the best. (I also love the one at Brillobox...I'll need to try theirs again to compare.)

Vegan Baked Mini Donuts

I made mini baked donuts to take to a meeting at work this week. They were a hit! The recipe is from Vegan Yum Yum and is pretty easy to make. You do need to buy egg replacer, but all the other ingredients are pretty basic. You just mix the batter, spoon into a pan, and bake for 12 minutes. I made the chocolate iced ones once before. This time I tried the glazed too. The glazed is my new favorite! You can find the recipe over at the Vegan Yum Yum blog.

Smoky Split Pea Soup

This weekend I tried the Smoky Split Pea Soup from Appetite for Reduction. It was easy to make, thick, and very hearty. The flavor--made smoky by lots of smoked paprika--was good but not to die over.

I'd probably make it again. It's a good, low-fat, simple soup to have in my soup arsenal and is great for lunch in winter...but I wouldn't break it out for guests.

I like my legumes to be extremely soft and not hard at all so I cooked it for 50 minutes instead of the recommended 40 minutes. Even then, some of the split peas were a little firm, so I'd add more water and cook for at least an hour next time. I used bullion cubes to make the vegetable broth. Between that and the additional salt, this was really salty. I like that, but if you don't, use less salt or don't use bullion cubes.

Smoky Split Pea Soup
Serves 6

• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 1 medium-sized onion, diced small
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• Several pinches of freshly ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 4 teaspoons smoked paprika
• 2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 1 1/2 cups diced carrots
• 1 1/4 cups dried split peas
• 6 cups vegetable broth
• 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice, or to taste (I didn't use this)

1. Preheat soup pot over medium-high heat. Saute the onions in the oil until soft and translucent, about 5 minutes. 
2. Add the garlic, pepper, and salt; saute for another minute. 
3. Add the paprika and thyme, stirring continuously for about 15 seconds to toast the spices.
4. Add the carrots, split peas, and broth. Cover the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 40-60 minutes, until split peas are soft enough for you. If necessary, thin the soup with water. Stir occasionally to prevent the soup from burning at the bottom.
5. Add lemon juice if using. Let set for at least 10 minutes before serving.

Lentil Tomato Soup

This soup saw me through the polar vortex. It's hearty, comforting, and has just enough Indian spices make the flavor really interesting without being overwhelming. This is definitely one of my favorite soup recipes, and it's easy to make with just a few ingredients. I used split red lentils, but if you use regular lentils you'll want to cook it longer and possibly puree some or all of it to get the creaminess of the red lentils.

Lentil-Tomato Soup
Adapted from a very old Cooking Light magazine; I ripped out the recipe and don't know the date but probably circa 2000.

Ingredients

• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 2 cups chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper (add or subtract to taste)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 1/3 cup dried split red lentils
• 1/3 cup chopped cilantro
• 6 cups veg broth
• 3 cups water (use more or less water for desired consistency)
• 1 28-oz can diced tomatoes, undrained
• Chopped fresh tomatoes (optional)
• Cilantro sprig (optional)

1. Heat olive oil in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. 
2. Add the onion; saute for 5 minutes or until tender. 
3. Add the turmeric and the next 6 ingredients (turmeric through garlic); saute for 1 minute. 
4. Add lentils and next 4 ingredients (lentils through tomatoes); bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 20-30 minutes until lentils are very soft and soup is thick and creamy. If you want it creamier, puree some or all of the soup.
5. Garnish with chopped tomatoes and a cilantro sprig if you want to be fancy pants about it.

Arizona Hippie Soup

This is another fabulous soup I first tried at my friend's soup party. Note that she adapted it from the Oh She Glows blog (I'm not sure what the adaptations were). The toppings for it were awesome, but I think the soup is perfect as-is without toppings. I cooked it for a really long time to get all the veggies nice and soft. While I don't usually like sweet potato in soup, the sweet potato in this added just the right amount of sweetness.

Arizona Hippie Soup

Adjusted from: http://ohsheglows.com/2012/11/30/black-bean-sweet-potato-and-red-quinoa-soup/

Ingredients:

    • 1 cup uncooked red quinoa, rinsed and drained
    • 1TBS coconut oil
    • 3-6 garlic cloves, minced
    • 2 cup diced sweet onion
    • 1 jalapeno, seeded if preferred and diced
    • 1 large sweet potato peeled and chopped
    • 1.5 tsp ground cumin
    • 1 tsp chili powder
    • 1/2 tsp ground coriander
    • 6 cups vegetable broth
    • 1.5 cups cooked black beans (one (15-oz) can rinsed and drained)
    • fine grain sea salt and black pepper, to taste (
    • 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (or red pepper flakes) 

Toppings: Spinach, avocado, chips, cilantro, cashews, lime


Instructions:

1. In a medium-sized pot, add quinoa along with 1.5 cups water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to medium, and cover with tight fitting lid. Simmer covered for about 17 minutes or until the water is absorbed and quinoa is fluffy. Remove from heat, fluff with fork, and keep it covered until ready to use.

2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large  pot. Add garlic and onion and sauté for a few minutes over medium heat. Season with salt and pepper. Now add in the jalapeno and sweet potato and sauté for 5-7 minutes more.

3. Stir in the cumin, chili powder, coriander, and broth. Bring to a boil and then reduce heat to medium and simmer for about 18-20 minutes uncovered, or until the potatoes are tender.

4. Just before serving, stir in the cooked quinoa, drained and rinsed black beans, cayenne. Season with salt and pepper to taste, adding more spice if desired.

5. Garnish soup with Spinach, cilantro, chips, avocado, cashews, lime.