Monthly Archives: March 2012

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes

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SPRING!  We’ve been enjoying the most glorious springtime.  It’s hard to believe we escaped winter unscathed by snow.

What I especially love about this time of year is making fun and delightful treats with my children.  My kids always clamor to make cupcakes.  With a bake sale coming up at church on Sunday, I decided these would be perfect for Spring!

Vanilla Buttermilk Cupcakes
(recipe from Dorie Greenspan)
1 1/2 cups flour
1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 egg yolk
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup buttermilk

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Fit a 12-cup muffin tin with cupcakes liners.  Whisk together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

Beat butter and sugar until fluffy.  One by one, mix in the eggs, the egg yolk, and the vanilla. Add the flour mixture alternately with the buttermilk, mixing until smooth.

Spoon out the batter.

Bake for about 25 minutes.  Let cool and top with your favorite frosting.

The recipe stated that it made 12 cupcakes, so I divvied up the batter accordingly.  It was really too much batter in my opinion, because while the cupcakes were baking the batter rose pretty high and it spread out all over the pan.  A pain to clean!  So, next time I will make more cupcakes with the batter…sometimes less is more, right?

Easy to make, these cupcakes are moist and flavorful.  I topped them with pink buttercream frosting.


Have a great weekend!  We’ll be dyeing Easter eggs…how about you?

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Quick Chickpea Curry with Homemade Falafel

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Anybody out there love Indian food like I do?  I could live on the stuff.  Honestly.  I first discovered it when we lived in Atlanta – ah, the vast culinary adventures we had back then – and have loved it ever since.  So, for our Meatless Monday this week, I made a flavorful chickpea curry with some homemade falafel.  What is falafel, you say?  Well, they’re basically like little spicy chickpea fritters.  Read on!

Quick Chickpea Curry
(Everyday Food magazine)
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 large  yellow onion, diced small
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 cinnamon stick (3 inches)
pinch of ground cloves
2 cans (15 ounces each) no salt added chickpeas, rinsed and drained
3 tablespoons ketchup
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 cups water
chopped cilantro and lemon wedges (optional), for serving

In a large straight-sided skillet, heat oil over medium-high.  Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until dark brown around edges, about 6 minutes.  Add garlic, curry, cinnamon, and pinch of cloves and cook, stirring until fragrant, about 30 seconds.  Add chickpeas, ketchup, salt, pepper, and water.

Bring to a boil; reduce to a simmer, cover, and cook 20 minutes.  Uncover and increase heat to medium-high; cook until sauce is slightly reduced, 5 minutes.  Serve topped with cilantro, and lemon wedges alongside if desired.

Falafel

(Cooking Light magazine, February 2007)
1 cup dried chickpeas
1 tablespoon lemon juice
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 small onion, coarsely chopped
1/4 cup fresh curly parsley, stems removed, tightly packed
1 teaspoon cumin
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1/2 teaspoon baking soda dissolved in 1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
pinch of cayenne
canola oil for frying

Rinse the chickpeas, then soak them in a medium-size bowl in several inches of water overnight.  The patties won’t hold together as well if you use canned chickpeas.

Drain the soaked chickpeas and place them in a food processor.  Add all the remaining ingredients and blend, scraping the sides if necessary, until the mixture is creamy, about 1 minute total.

Heat an inch of oil in a large, heavy, frying pan to 375 degrees (a spoonful of the mixture should  sizzle as soon as it’s immersed).  Scoop up a heaping dinner tablespoon of the falafel mixture and gently place it in the heated oil.  Place 4 or 5 more spoonfuls in the pan.  Fry the patties until they are thoroughly brown on one side, about 2 to 3 minutes, then flip them to brown the other side.

Drain the patties on a plate covered with a paper towel and sprinkle with additional salt, if desired.  Serve with yogurt dipping sauce.  Makes 16 to 20 patties.

Yogurt Dipping Sauce

6-ounce carton of plain yogurt
3 tablespoons water
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh curly parsley
1 teaspoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
salt and pepper to taste

The small size of the falafel make them a wonderful finger food, perfect for dipping – and thus making them very appealing and fun for kids to eat.  You can also make a nice lunchtime sandwich by serving falafel in pita bread with lettuce and tomato.  The chickpea curry is wonderfully high in fiber, and it is delicious with basmati rice or any other rice of your choice.

The falafel were a bit time consuming to make, as opposed to using a boxed mix like I have in the past.  But it was so worth it!  By the way, here’s an interesting lesson I happened to learn.  If a recipe calls for 1 cup of dried chickpeas, do not soak the whole bag of chickpeas.  Not that I did that.  Well, maybe.  OK, I did.  One cup of dried chickpeas is different from one cup of soaked chickpeas.  Make sense?  The chickpeas expand and stuff.  They get bigger.  So I kind of messed up the measurement ratio on that one.  Consequently, I ended up cooking a huge pot full of chickpeas and am now dreaming about mounds of creamy hummus…

I am truly blessed with children who are adventuresome when it comes to eating.  My son scarfed down two bowls of the curry, and my daughter loved the falafel.  A success, in my book!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

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Oat Bran Applesauce Muffins

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Muffins.  How I love them!

I picked up some Hodgson Mill Oat Bran at the store some time ago and, in my quest for a healthy muffin, made this recipe from the back of the box.  Talk about a perfect snack when you’re on the go!  These muffins are hearty and filling, packed with protein and fiber.  Here’s a great article if you want to learn more about the health benefits of oat bran. It is so good for you!

Oat Bran Applesauce Muffins
(recipe from Hodgson Mill)
1/2 cup brown sugar, packed
1 1/2 cups oat bran cereal
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 eggs or 4 egg whites
1 cup applesauce, chilled
4 tablespoons canola oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners or grease muffin cups. Blend together dry ingredients.

Here’s what you’ll want to look for in the grocery store aisle!

 Add eggs, applesauce, and oil.  I like to use Mott’s all-natural unsweetened applesauce for baking.

Mix  until well blended.  Spoon batter into muffin cups.  Let stand 10 minutes.  Bake 15 minutes or until golden brown.  Yield: 12 muffins.

I froze all the muffins from the batch I made so if I know I’ll be needing a snack later, I just grab one out of the freezer on my way out the door.  By the time I’m hungry it’s completely thawed out and totally tasty!  And, it keeps me full until mealtime, so I’m not tempted to snack on something unhealthy.

I hope you’ll give these a try!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Whole Wheat Waffles

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It’s fun to celebrate food holidays when you have children.  In fact, sometimes it just makes for a good excuse to have breakfast for dinner.  Like yesterday, which happened to be International Waffle Day.  Whew, thank goodness I was off the hook for dinner… I just whipped up a batch of waffles!  I really wanted to find a new, healthy recipe to try and this one fit the bill.   These waffles were definitely hearty AND delicious!

Whole Wheat Waffles (from King Arthur flour)
1 1/2 cups white whole wheat or whole wheat flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 large egg
1 1/2 cups lukewarm milk
1/3 cup melted butter or canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla

Preheat your iron while you make the waffle batter.

Whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, sugar, and cinnamon.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the egg, milk, butter or oil, and vanilla.

Mix together the wet and dry ingredients, stirring just until combined.  The batter will be a bit lumpy.

Cook the waffles until desired doneness.  Delicious topped with fresh blueberries!
The basic recipe did not call for cinnamon or vanilla; those were my add-ins, so feel free to leave them out if you like.  I think it really helped boost the flavor, though.  And, I chose to use canola oil instead of butter.  My batter was slightly runny, so next time I will use less oil.

The problem I’ve always had with whole wheat or whole grain waffles is they typically end up chewy and tough.  Or, the recipe calls for whole wheat pastry flour which is insanely expensive.  However, this recipe was different – I was able to use all whole wheat flour, and the waffles were still light and crispy!

I did add a couple other mainstays to our waffle dinner – you know, the usual scrambled eggs (I like Eggland’s Best) and turkey bacon.  The kids were happy, and the husband gave a big thumbs up to the new waffle recipe.  I think I’ve found a whole wheat waffle recipe worth keeping!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Classic Apple Pie

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I guess you could say I have summer on the brain with all this hot weather we’ve been having. And nothing reminds me more of summertime than a delicious apple pie!  So, here’s a great recipe from my mom that I hope you’ll enjoy – it’s my personal favorite.

Apple Pie
6-8 tart apples, peeled, cored, and sliced (6 cups)
3/4 to 1 cup sugar
1/2 to 1 teaspoon cinnamon
dash of ground nutmeg
dash of salt
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour2 tablespoons butter
pie pastry (see below)

Pastry (makes 2 9-inch pie crusts)
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup canola oil
5-7 tablespoons cold water

Stir salt and flour in bowl. Measure oil into container and add cold water. Without stirring, immediately pour oil and water into dry ingredients. Mix well with a fork until combined. Divide dough in half and roll each half into a 9-inch round.

Combine sugar, flour, spices and salt; mix with apples.  Let mixture sit while you prepare pastry.

Line a 9-inch pie pan with pastry.  Fill with apple mixture; dot with butter.  Adjust top crust and seal edges.  Cut slits in top for steam to escape.  Sprinkle with sugar.

Bake in 400 degree oven for 50 minutes.

I have made this pie with several different varieties of apples.  Of course, you can’t go wrong with Golden Delicious.  I’ve also tried Ginger Gold, which was equally just as good.  With this particular pie, I’m not exactly sure what I used.  It may have been McIntosh…my memory fails me!  And, I actually made it for a friend, so that is why you will see no pictures of it sliced and ready to eat.
The one thing I love about apple pie is that it is always a crowd pleaser.  Who doesn’t love apple pie?  With a nice scoop of ice cream on top, it’s hard to beat!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies

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It’s National Oatmeal Cookie Day!  Here’s a great recipe I found on an Ocean Spray Craisins magazine ad.  These cookies are easy to make and delicious too.

Oatmeal Cranberry Chocolate Chunk Cookies
2/3 cup butter, softened
2/3 cup brown sugar
2 large eggs
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats
1 1/2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 5-ounce package craisins (any dried cranberries will do)
2/3 cup semi-sweet chocolate chunks

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Using an electric mixer, beat butter and sugar together in a medium mixing bowl until light and fluffy.  Add eggs, mixing well.  Combine oats, flour, baking soda and salt in a separate mixing bowl.  Add to butter mixture in several additions, mixing well after each addition.  Stir in dried cranberries and chocolate chunks.
Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets.  Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.  Cool on wire rack.

Makes approximately 2 1/2 dozen cookies.
The verdict was pretty much unanimous at our house – these cookies are moist, chewy, and scrumptious.  Give them a try!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread

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My sister is getting married!!!

The wedding is on St. Patrick’s Day and she asked me if I would like to make Irish Soda Bread for the reception.  Of course, I said YES – I love baking bread and to make it for my sister’s wedding makes it all the more special.

So, I set out on a quest to make the perfect loaf of Irish soda bread.  I had some help from friends – thank you, Elaine!  I also had some help from my mom, who provided me with a good recipe.  Thanks, Mom!

And, I had the opportunity to visit with a friend who lived in Ireland for 10 years.  She invited me over and we baked up a lovely loaf of true Irish soda bread!  Much different from the American version!  Thank you, Joanne!

That means I have two recipes to share with you today.  One from my mom, and the other from my friend Joanne.

Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread (Mom’s recipe)

1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/2 cups buttermilk
1 tablespoon butter, melted

Grease cookie sheet well.  Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.  Add buttermilk and mix until moistened.  Turn out dough on well-floured surface.  Knead gently until smooth, about 1 minute.  Shape dough into ball and flatten into 7-inch circle, about 1 1/2 inches thick.

Press large floured knife into center of loaf, almost through to bottom.  Repeat to divide loaf in quarters.

Bake 35-40 minutes in a 375 degree oven or until loaf is golden and sounds hollow when tapped.  Remove to wire rack and brush top of loaf with melted butter.


Irish Soda Bread (Joanne’s recipe)
3 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup plain flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
14 oz buttermilk

Mix dry ingredients together and add buttermilk.  Mix until incorporated and turn out onto floured surface.  Knead for 1 minute.  Place loaf on greased baking pan.  Flatten slightly with hands and press dough into a circle.

Cut through dough with knife as instructed above, nearly through to bottom and all the way across.  Bake in a 425 degree oven for 25 minutes, then reduce heat to 350 degrees and bake for 15 minutes more.

After removing bread from oven, immediately wrap loaf in a tea towel until cool.

One important lesson I learned from Joanne was to really make deep cuts in the bread – nearly all the way through – before putting it in the oven.  Good to know.  And, with more whole wheat flour in the recipe, the Irish recipe yields a loaf of bread that is more golden brown.

Joanne also explained the reason for putting the bread in a tea towel as soon as it comes out of the oven.  This is done to keep the crust from becoming too hard.  What a great idea!
So, for the past month, I’ve made a loaf of bread here and a loaf of bread there, and now I have 10 loaves that I will be taking with me this weekend to the wedding.  Honestly, I think I am going to miss making it!  Oh, and eating it too.

It means a lot to me that my sister asked me to make bread for her wedding.  At the reception, my husband will lead everyone in a blessing of the bread.  I pray that my sister and her new husband will be truly blessed with many years of happiness, love and joy!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Something Sweet and Green for St. Patrick’s Day!

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With St. Patrick’s Day coming up, I have really been wanting to make something green.  The first thing that came to mind were my mom’s Exquisite Mint Sticks!  I have memories of these when my parents ran a catering business many years ago.  They would often make them for weddings, and I always loved the aroma of mint and chocolate coming from the kitchen.  It smelled divine!

Exquisite Mint Sticks
2 squares unsweetened chocolate
½ cup butter
2 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
½ cup all-purpose flour
dash salt
½ cup chopped nuts, optional

Melt butter and chocolate together in large bowl.  Beat eggs and stir in sugar.  Stir into chocolate mixture.  Add vanilla, flour, salt, and nuts, if using.  Mix well.  Pour into greased 8×8 pan.  Bake in 350 degree oven for 25 minutes.  Let cool.

Topping
2 tablespoons butter, softened
1 cup sifted confectioner’s sugar
1 tablespoon cream
drop oil of peppermint
food coloring, if desired

Blend all ingredients together.  Spread over cooled brownie.  Let set or refrigerate until firm.

Glaze
1 square unsweetened chocolate
1 tablespoon butter

Melt chocolate and butter together; drizzle over topping.  Chill and cut into small bars.

This recipe is really very easy; however, it does require multiple steps, so you will have to plan accordingly.  I made these last week, then promptly stuck them in the freezer because I was going out of town, so my children haven’t even seen them yet.  I think I am going to pack them as a special treat for their school lunches tomorrow!

Up next: Whole Wheat Irish Soda Bread…for my sister’s wedding!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Black Bean Burgers

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As promised, here’s that black bean burger recipe, also from Everyday Food magazine.  Can you tell it’s one of my favorite magazines?

Black Bean Burgers
(March 2012 issue, Everyday Food)

2 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained
1 small red bell pepper, finely chopped
1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped
3/4 cup dried breadcrumbs
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups cooked black beans, drained
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 tablespoon olive oil

In a large bowl, mash 2 1/2 cups cooked black beans.  Stir in red bell pepper, cilantro, breadcrumbs, egg, and remaining black beans.  Season with salt and pepper.  Form mixture into four patties.  Heat oil over medium-high and cook patties until crisp on outside and heated through, about 5 minutes each side.

Although my black bean patties did not entirely keep their shape (flipping them was certainly tricky), they were absolutely delicious!  The flavor was outstanding.  I had mine without a bun on top of some spinach leaves with sauteed squash, zucchini, and roasted red pepper.  If you are serving them on buns in true burger fashion, the magazine suggests topping them with a slice of avocado and cooked red onions.  Yum!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom

Cuban Black Beans

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This recipe comes from the latest issue of  Everyday Food magazine, which I finally had the chance to read while I was waiting in the doctor’s office last Friday.  After trying to get over a sinus infection for 10 days, I gave in.  I had fought the good fight.  So, I went to the doctor, and I left with a prescription for antibiotics and the age-old advice: “You’ll feel much better if you can just get some good rest this weekend.”

Good rest.  WOW, what a concept!  Don’t get me wrong, I love my doctor.  He is great.  But, did I mention that I have a family to take care of, meals to cook, laundry to do and a house to clean? Oh, and that’s just at the top of the list.  I left A LOT out.  The list could go on and on!

Does this sound like you?  It describes me in a nutshell.  I hate stopping my life just to be sick.  I mean, really…I have to rest?  But I was getting so much done!  I don’t know about you, but I make a lot of “to-do” lists.  I love lists. They keep me focused and clear away the clutter in my head.

Once my daughter started kindergarten, I realized I had started making very long, daily to-do lists.  My assumption was that with both children in school, I could get A LOT done!  It wasn’t long afterwards that I realized my lists were completely unrealistic, leaving me feeling deflated when I didn’t accomplish everything on the list.

Although I’ve pared down my daily to-do lists somewhat, it is still very easy to fall into the pattern of trying to do too much.  But over the weekend, I did get some rest.  My husband turned into Mr. Mom, which he is really good at.  In fact, I probably don’t let him do that often enough.  And, in the middle of all that resting, I did make just one thing – this big batch of black beans!

Cuban Black Beans
from Everyday Food, March 2012 issue
1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced medium
2 celery stalks, diced medium
2 garlic cloves, smashed and peeled
2 carrots, cut into 1/4-inch rounds
1 1/4 teaspoons ground cumin
coarse salt and ground pepper
1 pound dried black beans, soaked according to package directions
1 dried bay leaf
1 small bunch cilantro, stems and leaves separated, stems tied together with kitchen twine and leaves reserved

In a large Dutch oven or other heavy pot, heat oil over medium.  Add onion, celery, and garlic and cook until onion is softened, about 6 minutes. Add carrots and cumin and cook  until fragrant, 1 minute; season with salt and pepper.

Add black beans, 8 cups water, bay leaf, and cilantro stems and bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat and simmer until beans are tender and liquid is slightly thickened, adding more water to cover if needed, about 1 1/2 hours.  Season with salt and pepper.  Remove bay leaf and cilantro stems.

Makes 7 cups.  To store, refrigerate, up to 5 days, or freeze up to 6 months.
My husband soaked the black beans overnight for me.  Don’t they look lovely?  Almost purple!

Carrots…celery…
onions…
and garlic!  Sadly, I did not have any fresh cilantro or dried bay leaves.  I did, however, use dried cilantro instead, which seemed to work just fine.

The best thing about this recipe?  You can’t really mess anything up!  Well, and the fact that I’ll have plenty of black beans to eat for days to come.  Awesome!

Up next: Black Bean Burgers!

Until next time,
Muncho Mom