Chocolate-banana-nut cupcakes

Chocolate-banana-nut cupcakes

Ingredients:

Dry:
1 cups AP flour (I used King Arthur unbleached flour)
1/2 cups granulated sugar
1/3 cups cocoa powder (I used Hershey's)
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts and dried cranberries

Wet:

3/4 cups water
1 tbsp oil
1/3 cup honey (or agave nectar)
1 medium mashed banana*
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tbsp lemon juice (or vinegar)

1. Assemble the dry and wet ingredients in separate bowl.
2. Mix wet and dry ingredients together and beat out all the lumps.
3. Pour into a cupcake pan.
4. Bake at 350 C till a toothpick comes out clean. It took me about 24 minutes.

Makes about 8 cupcakes.

*I peel the banana before freezing it. So all I had to do was chop in up into little bits instead of mashing it.

Tamale pie

Tamale Pie

Ingredients

1 zucchini
1 can black beans
1 cup frozen corn
Red chili
Corn tortillas
1 cup of cooked rice
1 small onion
1 cup tomatoes
1 clove garlic
Mexican blend cheese (optional)
Paprkia, cumin, salt
Canola oil


Prep:

1. Chop the onion, garlic, tomato and zuchini.

2. Tear the corn tortillas into quarters.

3. Sautee the onion in canola oil. Add the corn,zucchini and beans and saute till the squash is cooked. Season with cumin and salt. Add paprika if you want it hot. (Veggie-Beans)

4. Make quick spanish rice: cook the tomatoes with salt, cumin and paprika. Add the rice and stir. (Rice)

5. Grease a baking dish. Start with some red chili in the bottom and build layers of veggie+beans, rice and corn tortillas. Top with shredded cheese if desired. Pour the chili liberally. For a vegan version, increase the amount of oil in the recipe.

6. Cover the pan with foil and bake at 350 till done.

Miso Soup

Ingredients:

1/4 block firm tofu
10 dried Chinese mushrooms
4 stalks scallions
3 leaves kale
Ginger
Red/White miso paste
Water/vegetable broth
Toasted sesame oil
Salt
Pepper

Prep:
-Boil 2 cups of water aand reconstitute the dried mushrooms. Remove 4 mushrooms and chop. You can start with just 4 mushrooms if you are using a veggie broth. Reserve the water.
-Grate the ginger.
-Tear the kale into small pieces.
-Dice the tofu (no need to press).
-Chop the green bits of the scallion. You can discard/keep the white parts.

1. Combine the water, broth, mushrooms in a pan. Add a pinch of salt. Simmer for a few minutes.
2. Add the ginger and kale and simmer till the kale is a little soft but not mushy. If using the white parts of the scallion, put those in.
3. Add the tofu and simmer for a minute.
4. Add the grated ginger and scallions. Remove from heat.

To serve:

Ladle some soup into a bowl and stir in a teaspoon of miso paste. Add salt and pepper to taste.