Government Spending Explained with Cookies

Baby Shower Cupcakes

These cupcakes are my new favorite. I made them for Mel's baby shower this weekend, and everyone seemed to like them. I've only made them twice so far, but I'm hoping to try some fun variations eventually.

Vanilla Bean Cupcakes
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups soy milk
2 1/8 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/8 cups sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 vanilla bean
1/2 teaspoon coconut extract (yeah, sounds odd, but it gives it a nice buttery flavor)

Preheat oven to 350. Combine vinegar and soy milk, set aside to curdle. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (split the vanilla bean and scrape the seeds in). Whisk with a fork (or you can use a sifter, if that's they way you roll). In another, smaller bowl, mix the oil, extracts, and soy milk mixture. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and beat with a handheld mixer until nice and smooth. Fill greased or lined muffin cups about 2/3 full of batter, and bake for about 25 minutes, or until the tops start to brown a bit. Let cool, then douse with frosting.

Can't believe it's Vegan Frosting
1/2 cup (one stick) Earth Balance shortening
1/2 cup (one stick) Earth Balance buttery sticks
3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 cup soy milk

(I recommend using a large bowl for this, as the frosting tends to splatter whenever I make it.) Beat shortening and margarine until fluffy, then add the sugar and beat for a few minutes. Add the vanilla and soy milk, and beat for a few minutes longer (five or so if you can make it that long) until the frosting is smooth and fluffy. Add a little food coloring, and spread or pipe onto cupcakes.

Cas-ou-let is fun to say

It doesn't look like much, but this cassoulet was a pretty tasty, hearty winter dish. And it was super easy to make. All you do is sautée some veggies, add a roux, throw in a can of white beans, and let it simmer until nice and thick. Then make a simple batch of baking powder biscuits, throw little pieces of the dough on top of the whole mess, and stick it in the oven for 15 minutes or so. I added a little bit of brown sugar and sage to the biscuits, which made them extra yummy. Here's the recipe:

1 pound of potatoes (yukon gold), diced
3 cups veggie broth
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 leeks, thinly sliced
1 onion, diced
2 carrots, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 teaspoons dried thyme
1 cup frozen peas
1 can white beans

Boil potatoes until tender, about ten minutes, then drain and set aside. Make a roux by whisking broth and cornstarch, set aside. Sautee leeks, onions and carrots in a bit of olive oil until all are nice and tender--but watch the leeks so they don't burn. Stir in the garlic and thyme, and salt and pepper. Add the potatoes, peas and roux, and season as needed. Let simmer until thick, then top with biscuit dough (recipe below), and stick it in the oven at 400 for about 20 minutes, or until the biscuits are nice and fluffy and just starting to brown. Let sit for a few minutes, then enjoy!

Biscuit Topping

3/4 cup soy milk
1 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 cup (half stick) Earth Balance shortening
a few dashes of salt
1-2 teaspoons sage
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Combine soy milk and vinegar, and set aside to curdle. Then mix dry ingredients, and cut in shortening. Slowly add the soy milk mixture, then knead the dough with a bit of extra flour until it's all nice and smooth.

When did vegan become synonymous with terrorist?

As I was whiling away my morning at work with a bit of snarky celeb gossip via Jezebel.com I happened upon a post discussing this article: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/13/dining/13incompatible.html?_r=1&oref=slogin
I especially like the Anthony Bourdain book quote: “vegetarians, and their Hezbollah-like splinter faction, the vegans ... are the enemy of everything good and decent in the human spirit.” WHAT?!?!
The topic of the post immediately piqued my interest--er, after I read all about some celebutard's new clothing line--and I wanted to see what the commenters were thinking. Bad idea. When did vegetarians become the enemy? I had no idea we had such a bad rap, but from the comments it's pretty evident that lots of people are insensitive, ill-informed, and just plain mean. I guess I've just never really cared enough about other people's dietary choices to even say something. I'm not going to make fun of someone who's kosher--I'll probably ask a zillion questions and google it so I know more about it. I may have a huge personal problem with diets that consist solely of Doritos and Mountain Dew, but I'm not going to berate those who choose to eat that way. And though I might make tease my friends who find black pepper to be "too spicy," they know it's all in fun. I think my point is, that it surprised me, and sort of hurt my feelings, to learn that people have such harsh thoughts on vegetarianism. That's all.

Spanish Wine

Our neighborhood liquor store is being remodeled, or expanded, or something, and Chris couldn't find any of our usuals, so he came back with a haul of Spanish wines ... this is our new fave.

Phyllo Delight

Another Veganomicon attempt: Kasha Phyllo Pie. Basically, it's a crust of phyllo dough, with a filling of mushrooms, onions, and "roasted buckwheat groats" (which my co-op doesn't carry, so I had to go with something that's meant to be a buckwheat-based hot cereal--it worked fine, I think), and topped with another layer of phyllo dough. I really love phyllo, and though it wasn't quite as tasty as my homemade baklava, it was still pretty darn tasty.

Yet another reason not to eat meat, or work in a slaughterhouse

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/02/05/health/05pork.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2&sq=minnesota&st=nyt&scp=2&adxnnlx=1202247284-XjX2REThEN4Q/kDwDKSHQQ