My Birthday Cupcakes

Note from the author (in the voice of the Glee narrorator): Here's what you missed on The Hidden Vegetable... red velvet cake was promised, but the first attempt was a disaster of epic proportions, and a second attempt has not yet been made... the author was shocked to discover that her favorite cupcakes haven't yet been posted... and one more year has come and gone.  And that's what you missed on The Hidden Vegetable.
 

Happy Birthday to me!  

These are my most favorite cupcakes.  Not because they are good for me, not because they have a hidden vegetable, but because they are simply the BEST CUPCAKES EVER!  

I apologize for the yelling.  In those caps, I am Dash from Disney/Pixar's the Incredibles, when he says "BEST DAY EVERRRR!" and proceeds to spin around and fall down in happiness.  Because Dash, I know how you feel buddy, I know how you feel.

These are Ina Garten's pumpkin cupcakes.

I have never made her maple frosting.  It looks delicious, I am just partial to chocolate frosting.  Specifically, my chocolate frosting.  My secret-recipe-best-ever-can-be-eaten-with-a-spoon chocolate frosting.  (Otherwise known as the one bowl chocolate frosting from the unsweetened baking chocolate package... here is the link.)

Here we go...

Cupcake Ingredients

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon    plus a little extra!
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger    plus a little extra!
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg    plus a little extra!
2 extra-large eggs, at room temperature
1 cup canned pumpkin purée (8 ounces), not pie filling    plus a little extra!
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 cup vegetable oil    I use walnut oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 350, line 12 muffin cups with liners (note: she says 10, but I have always made 12, maybe it's my extra spices...).
  
It's the usual, combine dry ingredients, combine wet ingredients, mix both together just until moist.  Spoon into cups, bake 20-25 minutes.  

 

Frosting Ingredients

4 oz. BAKER'S Unsweetened Chocolate 

1 pkg.  (16 oz.) powdered sugar
1/2 cup  butter, softened 
2 tsp.  vanilla (oops, I only used one...)
1/3 cup  milk

Directions

Melt chocolate, mix in butter, vanilla, and sugar.  Add milk slowly until you have the desired consistency.  I use my stand mixer on whatever speed the knob lands on.  I've also used skim, whole, and almond milk, and also water, and never noticed a difference.  (Now THAT would be a fun side-by-side taste test!)      

I have experimented with different amounts of powdered sugar, from one cup to four, and it always turns out delicious.  One cup doesn't make it quite sweet enough for me, but for people who like less sweet frosting (Like my research team!  I know right?  Not sure why I married him.) it is perfect.  Or better anyway.  My research team would actually prefer no frosting.  Whatevz, more for me!  (OH, that's why I married him!! :) )

So far, I am the only one who has had a cupcake, because at the dinner party we were all so full that we completely forgot about desert.  But I still submit that they are the best cupcakes ever!

ps.  I asked my research team how to spell 'whatevz', and he replied "I don't know, let me look it up in my Webster's dictionary."  Ha!  Hilairous.

Beets

Beets!  

They have been staring at me recently at the grocery store... whispering... "I'd be so beautiful as a puree..."  and "look at how dark and pretty I am..." and "you know you want me..."

But the mom in me is whispering back... "oh but it'll take so long..." and "I have a headache..."


I have been thinking lately about making food fun colors, and beets are perfect for that.  They were on sale, so I gave in to the seductive whispering, and bought some.

Fun colors aren't exactly hidden veggies... well, okay, they are not at all hidden veggies, but they are a fun and different way to incorporate more veggies, so we'll count it!  Plus the whole point of this vegetable blog is really to eat more and different veggies, and we are doing just that. 

So, I chopped them, boiled them (saved that beautiful water), pureed them, and you know what?  They were right.  They might not be the most humble vegetable, but look how beautiful the color is: 

I went right to work, and within minutes I had thin beet puree, thick beet puree, beet juice, beet popsicles, and plans for lots of pink food.  Liiiiiike, pink mashed potatoes!   (I swear this is not play-doh!)

We had these for dinner tonight.  They are just regular 'ole mashed potatoes with enough beet puree to barely taste it if you thought about it really hard.  The research team loved them!


The verdict:

"These mashed potatoes can't be beet!"


My research team thinks we should name these potatoes "hard to beet potatoes" but I like "play-doh 'tatoes," what do you guys think?      

Here is a picture of the beet juice, which is made from the water the beets were boiled in.  I added a little maple syrup to sweeten it, and also a little lemon juice.  In the plastic cup on the left is the beet juice, and my research team added orange juice to his, it's on the right.

The juice is okay.  I know this is going to come as a shock but.... it tastes like beets.  :)  I'm going to give it a couple days and see if it grows on me or if I can tweak it.  My two year old drank all of his, so that wasn't an issue!  Now I know what to give him when he requests juice!  Bwaaahahahah, now that's hidden veggies!


ps.  Do you see red velvet cake in the future?  I do!

 

  

Chocolate Truffle Pie

After my last disaster with not at all hidden avocados, a friend of mine recommended a recipe for Chocolate truffle pie, made with avocados.  I am a sucker for desserts with hidden veggies (well, really I am just a sucker for desserts, and the hidden veggies mean I can have two slices right?), so I figured I'd try the whole hidden-avocados-in-chocolate-thing again.   



Here is the link from Free Coconut Recipes, if you want to check it out. 


This recipe is great for a lot of different reasons.  Healthy fat.  No white sugar.  No dairy.  No gluten if you wish.  Hidden veggies.  (I know what you are thinking.  There is no way it is going to be any good.  I know the feeling, I am skeptical of any dessert that doesn't contain large amounts of butter.  What?  I learned it from Paula Dean.)  


Here we go.

Ingredients:
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup cocoa  (1/3-1/2 cup cocoa (to taste))
1/8 teaspoon salt   (1/8 -1/4 teaspoon salt (to taste))
1/2 cup expeller pressed coconut oil
2 avocados
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
One 8" graham, crumb, or nut crust

Directions:

Bring water and honey to a boil; add cocoa and salt. Stir until smooth.  Pour into a blender. Add the avocado pulp, coconut oil and vanilla. Blend until smooth. Pour into the pie crust.  Chill in the refrigerator 4 hours or until firm.

This recipe was super easy to make, oh also, I used a store-bought graham cracker crust, so that helped.

I tasted the filling as I was pouring it into the crust, and I could taste the avocado, but I wasn't concerned.  It is not uncommon to taste the hidden veggie in the batter of other desserts.

Here are pics of the finished product. 

The Verdict(s):

First...
          "Mmmm... this is really smooth."
Then...
          "But something is weird.  It's not the right kind of sweet."
 Next was...
          "The second bite is better than the first."
And finally...
          "This is good, once you get your expectations straightened out."



It is good.  I'd really like to try it out on some poor unsuspecting soul... my research team is suspicious of everything I make.  (Gee, I wonder why?!? :))

It's rich and smooth, it's texture is not like a chocolate cream pie, but more like... well, a truffle!  

My research team says he can taste the avocado.  I'm not sure if we just think we can taste it because we know it is in there, or if we can actually taste it.  I do think it tastes more like avocado if it warms up a little bit, so I'd advise to keep it refrigerated until eating.

I will definitely be making this pie again.  I'd like to try it with peanut butter also.  Maybe peanut butter instead of the coconut oil?  I'll let you know how it goes!


UPDATE

I substituted peanut butter for the coconut oil and here is the new verdict:

"I can't taste the avocado, even when I try!"

It was chocolate-peanut butter deliciousness, but it was a little soft, so next time I might add a little coconut oil back in to see if I can firm it up a little bit.  Look for update number 2!    

Choco-cado Mousse

So excited, I got my new Parenting magazine this week!  I know I know, I'm old school, but I just love getting fun stuff in the mail.  And I like Parenting because it has ideas about 'how to tame your toddler' and 'dress like the stars.'  (Since that is the most important parenting subject... I didn't realize parents or kids had to get dressed?  Unless of course we go to the fancy grocery store.)

Anyway, I found an article with many different (kid friendly) uses of avocado.  Hmmm, that is right up my alley.  And then I came across "Choco-cado mousse."   WHaaaaaaa???  I like avocados, but avocados that taste like chocolate?  Sounds even better.  Sounds like a perfect hidden vegetable.  Sounds like "Hey kids, here, dip your pretzels in this chocolate dip!"  Sounds like "I found a chocolate spread for my graham crackers!"  Sounds like "I think I'll have chocolate mousse for snack!"

I got right to work.

Here are the instructions from the article:

Combine:
1 avocado
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp agave nectar (or honey for kids 12 months and up)
1/4 cup skim milk

Puree until smooth.
 
Here we go: 

Ummm?:

This does not look like mousse (and anyone who has kids knows exactly what it does look like!).   It does not taste like chocolate.  It tastes like avocado.  In fact, in a blind test I think I may have believed it was just pureed avocado.  Which is not a problem, except it is supposed to taste like chocolate mousse.

We ate it anyway, as a dip: 

But it leaves me to wonder... do they test their recipes?  What is the purpose of adding chocolate and honey if you can't taste it at all?  Was there a typo?  Was my avocado twice as big as theirs?

Well, not to worry, I tried again.  I added an additional tablespoon cocoa powder, an additional tablespoon of honey, plus a splash of vanilla.

Well it looks better, but still has a very strong avocado after-taste.  In a separate bowl I put about half of the avocado mixture and dumped chocolate and honey on it until it was way to much, and that bowl was very sweet and chocolatey, but somehow also still avocado.

Here is what I think:  avocado and chocolate just don't go together.  The flavors just don't suit each other.  In all the amounts that I tried, it just isn't something I would want to eat by the spoonful.  My 2 year old did though, so that's something.  But he is also a kid who can be bribed with pureed peas, so he might not be the best example.

The Verdict:

"It's edible."

My research team felt that this was a waste of good avocados, and after doing the experiment, I have to say that I agree. 

Guacamole, we're baaaack!     

G-Ma's winter salad

I have never been able to reproduce my mothers cooking.  Never.  Not her delicious biscuits, not her best in the world chocolate chip cookies, not her famous green chili...

To be fair, it's not her fault.  She can't follow a recipe for the life of her, and I know this.  (Hmm, sound familiar?)  Let me tell you a little story about the time I found out why I cannot replicate her cooking...


Once upon a time, in a not so far away land, 3 months ago (wow, has it already been three months?) my mother came to visit after the birth of our baby girl.  She made her best-ever-my-most-favorite-chocolate-chip cookies whilst she was here.  I'm helping her (trying to figure out what I am doing wrong), and as I start to measure the baking soda I hear from behind me..."Oh, I always add a little less..." and so it went with the next ingredient, and the next, measuring, mixing, sigh.  She is giving me the recipe she follows, only SHE'S NOT FOLLOWING THE RECIPE!  Well, now I know.  I will never be able to replicate her amazingness, because she doesn't measure anything, and she is magical. 


Fast forward about 3 months and we visited my parents over the Holidays.  My mom has been making this "winter salad" that she and my dad love, and as it turns out, my research team could not get enough of the stuff!  One night the after dinner conversation went like this...

Dad:  "Anyone want some ice cream?"
Me:  "Yes please!"
Research Team:  "Can I have more salad?"

No, seriously.  And he wasn't joking.  


Fast forward two more weeks to today, and guess what. 

No, guess.  I think you might get it! 

Fine, I'll tell you.

I REPLICATED MY MOM'S WINTER SALAD!!!  No, I really did.  It turned out just like hers.  I am so happy, maybe, just maybe, I am a little magical too.  (Or, with this particular salad, the ingredients are so good that the measurements don't really matter... or I'm magical too, either one.)


Note:  I realize that the vegetables in a salad aren't hidden, but I figure, the goal is to eat more veggies, and my research team is definitely doing that!


Ingredients:

The must haves:
Green cabbage
Green onions
Blue cheese
Extra virgin olive oil  (my mom says it has to be the good one... but I can't remember which one that is!)
Balsamic vinegar
Black pepper

Also choose one or more of the following:
Red peppers (my mom's favorite)
I used strawberries
Any other fruit or veggie or dried fruit or nuts

Directions:
Chop half of a cabbage head.  Put in large bowl.  Save the other half for tomorrow's salad.  Chop green onions, add to bowl, chop strawberries, add to bowl.  Add EVOO to salad, "enough to cover everything" yes, that is a direct quote from mom.  Add balsamic vinegar to taste, sprinkle with blue cheese and pepper, stir.  Eat.  Enjoy.

OH!  I almost forgot, here are some pictures:

I am swelling with pride, just looking at the pictures.  :) 

I know, you are rolling your eyes... thinking, 'it's just a salad, it's just... salad!' 

Yes, it is just a salad, but it also might be the beginning of something magical!   (Maybe I should try to make her cookies while I'm on a roll...  Nah, I don't want to ruin it.)  

ABC Muffins

ABC Muffins.  As in Apple Banana Craisin muffins, not Already Been Chewed muffins.  That's right you generation texters, you have no idea what ABC stands for.  You also have no idea that we from the 80's were so far ahead of our time.  We were totally using awesome acronyms long before OMG and LOL.  We always had to make sure our gum wasn't ABC gum.

Meh, who am I kidding... no one under the age of (Hey Sissy, how old are you again?) 29 reads my blog!

I have made ABC muffins twice now, and both times they were awesome.  The first batch was ABC - apricot banana craisin, and the second batch was technically PBC - peach banana carrot.  Because of the carrot, PBC is the recipe and pictures I've posted here on my blog.

Also, it is important to note that these are muffins.  They are flavorful and delicious, but not very sweet.  They are not bald cupcakes.   


Ingredients:

1 3/4 cups whole wheat flour 

2 teaspoons baking powder 

1/2 teaspoon baking soda 

2 tsp cinnamon

1 tsp nutmeg

1/2 tsp ground cloves

1/2 cup brown sugar 

1/3 cup walnut oil 

1 egg 

2 bananas, mashed 
1 peach chopped  (1 apple or about 5 apricots)

1 cup shredded carrot  (1/2 cup craisins)

Directions:
Preheat oven to 375.  In a large bowl sift together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and spices.  Add remaining ingredients.  Mix well.  Pour batter 2/3 full into muffin cups (yields 12ish... 15 the first time and 13 the second).  Bake about 20 minutes, until browned.

Look how pretty all the yummy, healthy ingredients are!  

The finished product is also very pretty. 

As far as the hidden veggie goes, the carrots were shredded, so they were visible.  A puree for veggies would be better for completely hiding them.  My 1 1/2 year old gobbles them up, but he also eats only the veggies out of our macaroni and cheese, so he might not be the best gauge...  wait, why am I hiding the veggies?       


The Verdict:

"Yum."


The best thing about this recipe is the variations are endless.  I could use vegetable puree in place of the banana, or any shredded or chopped fruit or veggie that is in season.  Any dried fruit would be great...  NUTS!  I could add nuts!  Cashew starts with C!  Well, these are going to become a staple in our house, I can already tell.

Not Betty Crocker's Hamburger Helper

So there I was, standing at the pantry thinking "I wish I was one of those people who bought hamburger helper" because I was too lazy to think of anything to make, much less cook it.

Not too lazy to look online to see if I could make homemade hamburger helper though!

I found this site and proceeded to make one of the many options for homemade hamburger helper.  The great thing about hamburger helper, even from a box, is that it is all mixed together which makes it a great candidate for hidden vegetables.

I choose the chili cheese hamburger helper recipe and added pureed carrots.  I've had success with carrots in spicy food before, it's a good sweet and spicy flavor.

So here goes:

Ingredients:

1 lb ground beef
1 cup hot water
2 cups milk
1 cup carrot puree (or I'd say any puree that is not green)
1 1/2 cups macaroni or whatever fun noodles you have
1 tablespoon corn starch
3/4 tablespoon chili powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon onion powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon cumin
1 cup shredded cheese

(note:  if you go to the site, you might notice I changed the spices a little bit)

Brown ground beef, drain fat.  Add all other ingredients except cheese.  Bring to a boil, cover and simmer on low for 12 minutes or until noodles are tender.  Add cheese for the last few minutes of simmering.  When cheese is melted and noodles are done, let stand uncovered for a few minutes to thicken.

Oh WAIT!  I forgot to tell you the best part!  Here it is:  my sister bought me one of these for my birthday:

So awesome!  It is so easy to puree the veggies, and the clean up is SO much easier than my blender.  See, here are the carrots and water in the pot they boiled in:

Then I blend them in the same pot:       

TA DA!  So easy.

Anyway, back to the homemade hamburger helper...  here is a picture:

We liked it, and the veggies were well hidden.  No one would guess they were there.  We had it with salad, and even our 18 month old ate some.  :)

The verdict:

"I wouldn't know there were veggies if I hadn't seen you take a picture of it." 

Sigh, he is on to me.