A note on nutritional information

I have had several people ask if I have nutrition facts for the recipes I've posted so far. If the cupcake doesn't come with a label, it doesn't have any calories, right?

Didn't buy that? Read on.

In the supermarket, I'm that girl reading the label on everything that goes into my cart, but at home I tend to stay away from calculating the calories and fat in my homemade recipes.

Vegetables = healthy            Cream cheese frosting = not healthy 

Here's my opinion: if you're going to indulge, indulge. Low-fat baked goods are notoriously gummy and sticky, and often lacking in taste. My best strategy for not eating too many cookies or cupcakes is simple; bake delicious cookies and cupcakes. If I'm satisfied with the first bite, I'm less likely to go back for seconds.

If you can't help but to go back for more, then go ahead. Making your food from scratch almost always means you're eating whole, all-natural foods. If you lead a healthy, active lifestyle then you can forgive yourself for enjoying a warm chocolate chip cookie from time to time.

When shouldn't you go back for seconds? When you're eating a whole row of store-bought cookies packed with overly processed and enriched ingredients, with a side of high-fructose corn syrup.

If all else fails, bake for friends and family. Not only will you have the joy of making their bellies happy, there will be fewer leftovers for you to snack on in the middle of the night.

Happy baking!

Vegan Chocolate Peanut Butter Whoopie Pies

I'm not sure you can say you're from Pennsylvania if you've never had a whoopie pie from a local farm stand. There they sit, next to the tomatoes and summer squash, surrounded by zucchini bread and peach pie. You tell yourself, "I don't need that," and yet you know it was baked and individually wrapped just for you.

Germantown Farmers Market

Often a pie (accidentally) makes its way into my market bag. Chocolate cake with marshmallow filling is the standard whoopie pie, but I prefer pumpkin (There aren't many pumpkin-flavored desserts that I don't like). Personal-sized desserts are my favorite: No sharing required and no evidence remains of your indulgence. But the truth is, I don't really love the super sweet, traditional marshmallow fluff-shortening filling. After all, what about that combination sounds appetizing?

These chocolate peanut butter whoopie pies, on the other hand, are delicious. The cakes bake up moist and fluffy, and are filled with a yummy, not-too-sweet, not-too-rich buttercream. You will quickly forget that these are vegan!

Homemade Granola

About once every week or two my kitchen turns into a granola factory. I started making my own granola in December 2010, soon after I got hooked on Chobani's plain yogurt. All-natural, no fat, no cholesterol, and 18g of protein per serving. The only catch? If you've ever tried plain yogurt, I bet you've made the sour face. It's tangy, for sure. So, I top off a bowl with a handful of fresh fruit and homemade granola. 

I've seen a number of homemade granola recipes and although they each have their own twist, the basic ingredients are the same. The recipe you will find below will give you a basic, slightly sweet 'nola that you can adjust to your taste buds. 

The beauty of this recipe is that it's safe to play with. You're essentially toasting the oats so you don't have to worry about a food chemistry nightmare. 

Vegan Mango Banana Bread

... or why I can never become a locavore.

I eat a banana with breakfast just about every day and snack on dried mango slices like they’re chocolate caramels. Naturally, I was thrilled when Joy the Baker posted this recipe for a vegan quick bread that combines two of my favorite flavors.

Do you know Joy the Baker? If you like to bake you must visit her blog. I have yet to try a recipe that wasn’t delicious, even if my product wasn’t as picture-perfect as Joy’s.

This one has become one of my favorite quick breads. The first loaf didn’t last but a day. The next two loaves sustained my friend Erin and I over three hot, stormy days of camping at the Philadelphia Folk Festival, and I’ve even tried this bread as a muffin. It’s moist, sweet, and just as good cold as it is warm. The bread will last up to five days, but that’s a total joke. I’d like to see you keep your hands off of it for that long!

Be sure to use ripe bananas!

Baked Mac n' Cheese

Fontina.

Gruyère.

Extra-sharp white cheddar.

Parmigiano-Reggiano.

Still reading? I thought so.

Who doesn’t love a good mac n’ cheese? I don't need a story to convince you to make this. This recipe is from Martha Stewart and it's a relatively simple mac n’ cheese to make when you've got the blues.

Clockwise from top: fontina, Gruyère, Parmigiano-Reggiano, white cheddar

Notes from the kitchen:

The original recipe suggests making breadcrumbs with white bread and butter. White bread is evil. I opted to use canned breadcrumbs since I love the way they crunch up during baking.

Martha’s recipe calls for only 8 oz. of macaroni, or half of a standard box. Since I’m used to pasta recipes adjusted for a pound of pasta, I neglected to read the fine print and threw the entire 16 oz. box of macaroni into the cheese sauce. It wasn’t until the following day when transferring the recipe to a card for my box that I noticed my mistake. That’s also after we were all raving about how delicious the mac n’ cheese was. Next time I’ll try it with 12 oz. and it should be perfect. If you want that oozy, Velveeta-like mac n’ cheese, use only 8 oz. of noodles.

The trick to making a good, thick mac n' cheese is in the béchamel sauce. In non-chef talk, it's made when you add milk to your roux (butter and flour mixture). Temperature is important here, but unless you burn your butter, let the flour clump up too much, or burn your milk, you should be fine.

You can easily spice up this recipe by adding 1/2 t. ground mustard, spinach, broccoli, peas, caramelized onions, or anything else your heart desires.

Mac n’ Cheese

Adapted from Martha Stewart, Winter 2009

About 8 servings

breadcrumbs, as desired, about 1/4-1/2 cup
8-16 oz. elbow macaroni (*see Notes from the Kitchen above)
3 T. butter
¼ c. diced yellow onion
¼ c. flour
3 c. milk
2 oz. fontina, grated (½ cup)
3 oz. Gruyère, grated (1 cup), 1/3 c. reserved for top
6 oz. extra-sharp white cheddar (2 cups), 1/3 c. reserved for top
2 oz. Parmigiano-Reggiano (1 cup), ½ c. reserved for top
1/8 t. ground nutmeg
salt and pepper

Boil pasta 2-3 minutes less than recommended. Strain and rinse with cold water.
Preheat oven to 375°. Grease small dishes or a 1.5-quart casserole dish.

To make the cheese sauce, melt butter in a medium to large saucepan over medium heat. Add onion and cook until translucent, about 5 minutes. Whisk in flour and stir until bubbling, about 45 seconds. Add milk and whisk to combine. Bring to a simmer, stirring with a wooden spoon, until thickened, about 4 minutes. Add fontina, 2/3 c. Gruyère, 1 2/3 c. cheddar, ½ c. Parmigianno-Reggiano, nutmeg, and salt and pepper. Stir to combine.

Add pasta to the sauce and stir to cover pasta. Pour into baking dish and sprinkle with reserved cheeses and cover with breadcrumbs. Bake until bubbling, about 25-35 minutes.

Banana Cupcakes with Brown Butter Cream Cheese Frosting and Caramel Drizzle

I’ve been making my own birthday cakes since high school and this year was no exception. I wanted to spotlight one of my favorite flavors, (real) banana, and after a few days of deliberations, decided on cupcakes.

A banana cupcake recipe from the book Hello, Cupcake! by Karen Tack and Alan Richardson (2008) resulted in a dense, banana bread-like cake. I am a huge banana bread fan and the flavor was satisfying. As with any banana recipe, use very ripe, even black, bananas.

I paired the cakes with my go-to cream cheese frosting with a new twist. My friend/chef/ultimate foodie/supermom Lindsay suggested browning the butter in the frosting. Brown butter makes everything better. That’s a fact. The melted butter made my frosting a bit runnier than usual but the flavor was worth it. Just be sure to transfer the cakes to the fridge shortly after icing.

I finished the cakes off with Trader Joe’s Fleur de Sel Caramel Sauce and banana chips. Perfection.

New Year's Vegan Raw Gluten-Free Frozen Cashew Pomegranate Cake

When New Year’s comes around I get excited about the changes, friendships, love, and memories that are sure to come the following year. Today was the most wonderful start to 2012. Unseasonably warm weather, sunshine, fresh air, lovely people, a dog named Javier, tea, and a (healthy) post-hike dessert.

Photo Credit: Kat Muscianesi, Fresh Eyes – Daily Unlimited Snapshots on Flickr

One of my best pals is vegan and I’m always happy to try a new treat for her. I found the recipe for the cashew pom cake on www.bonappétit.com in an article about a vegan Christmas meal. It was the perfect cake for a fresh start to 2012.

This frozen, vegan “cheesecake” is lightly sweet and a bit tart. Soaked cashews whip up to a creamy filling, which is quite satisfying when paired with the nutty crust. What did I change from the original recipe? I left out of the hemp seeds for sake of needing to run to one less market, and replaced them with 2 tablespoons extra of sunflower seeds. I used both almonds and walnuts in the crust to avoid hurt feelings. I also skipped the cardamom and swapped vanilla extract for the vanilla bean. Still delicious! The recipe calls for 2 pomegranates and I reserved some seeds for garnish. If you enjoy snacking on poms, it’s worth getting 3 total and using 2 full poms for the topping.

If you have a food processor (or blender) and a freezer, this recipe is simple to make. That’s the beauty of a raw recipe! And you can skip feeling guilty about eating it. Sure the nuts are high in fat, but it’s good fat, and 1/3 cup of sweetener is nothing compared to most dessert recipes.