Second Coming of Cupcakes

Easter is one of my favorite holidays, and unfortunately we were unable to go home for the traditional bloodbath we call an egg hunt.  Luckily we were invited to an Easter dinner at a friends house.  Thanks to my mother, I know never to go empty handed.

Vanilla Cupcakes w/Lemon Buttercream Frosting

Cupcake:

1 C Almond Milk

1 t Apple Cider Vinegar

1 1/4 C All Purpose Flour

2 T Cornstarch

3/4 t Baking Powder

1/2 t Baking Soda

1/4 t Salt

1/2 C Earth Balance (softened)

3/4 C Sugar

2 t Vanilla Extract

1/4 t Almond Extract

-Preheat oven to 350.

-Whisk milk and vinegar together and set aside to curdle.

-Sift flour, starch, baking powder & soda, and salt.

-Mix on medium speed sugar and earth balance until light and fluffy(about a minute).  Add vanilla.

-Add dry ingredients alternating with milk to the butter mix.

-Bake 20 min.

Frosting:

1/4 C Shortening

1/4 C Earth Balance

1 3/4 C Confectioners Sugar (sifted)

3/4 t Lemon Extract

1/8 C Almond Milk

-Beat until fluffy.

A special thank you to Theresa and Scotty for inviting us, and making me my own special vegan portions of all you your wonderful food.  Love you.

Ebony & Ivory

Together in perfect harmony.  These little guys are from my second round of “Mini Doughnut tryouts”.

Powdered Sugar & Chocolate Glazed

Not exactly like mom used to make…but I dare you to notice they’re vegan.

These made the varsity.

Monster Treats

This is this beginning of a month-long project.  Until May 22nd, I will be testing recipes to sell at the Punk Rock Flea Market.  For those of you who read this (or love me just the same), keep an eye on treats you like and come try some of my Monster Treats.

Mini Olde Fashioned w/Cinnamon Frosting

*I’ll come back with the recipe once it’s been tweaked to perfection…Just a hint-They’re baked not fried. Hooray for healthy doughnuts!

Greens

A word to the wise: because a restaurant has a pricey prix fixe menu does not mean it will be wonderful. Greens came highly recommended. I’m not sure why. Maybe because it’s on the water at the marina…or because San Franciscans will notoriously “eat anything”. Whatever the reason is, I feel as if we were misguided. It wasn’t the worst meal I’ve ever had but it certainly wasn’t worth $200(and that was with a cheap wine)…I’m not going to bother posting the photos.

Little Bird (Revisited)

I promised we would be back here. And I kept that promise with a breakfast vengeance. The Ritual “Elida Estate” coffee is phenomenal. We will be bringing some home with us. The battle between savory and sweet met a stalemate…

“The works”-Tofu and daiya cheddar(“egg”) w/pesto,hummus,slow roasted tomatoes,avocado,and caramelized onions on an English muffin.

Ginger Peach Scone- no idea what’s in this other than vegan heaven.

Cafe Grattitude

We ventured out for brunch today to Cafe Gratitude. After a few people suggested it and yelp reaffirmed, we decided to try it. There weren’t very many brunch options, but maybe they have a different menu for the weekends.

Daily Porridge Special-Coconut milk,nuts,fruit,vanilla,and cinnamon. Fantastic!

Live Sunburger-Sprouted pumpkin seed-walnut burger served open faced on a sweet onion sunflower bun w/romaine lettuce,tomato,catsup,pickles and a side salad…also amazing! The “catsup” was unreal. I’ve never had catsup like this before.

Millennium

Many friends were amazing enough to give us some great recommendations for our trip. The one that kept popping up was Millennium…and for good reason. Thanks to Aunt Sue we had an unbelievable meal.

The appetizers were great portions…black bean soup, homemade gnocchi with chickpeas and turnips…then they sent us out three desserts, and were more than willing to share ingredients with us. If I could afford to eat here every night I would.

Little Bird Coffee House

The Little Bird Coffee House was our first stop on the vegan exploration of San Francisco. We had Ritual coffee and an adorable chocolate coconut donut…by the looks of the photo it didn’t last long. But we will definitely be back!

Banana Bread

I have always been a fan of cookies and cake for breakfast. But unfortunately I am no longer blessed with a 15 year old’s metabolism. This banana bread definitely doesn’t have the wonderful sugary icing that makes cake in the morning so great…but it is relatively low fat and tasty.

-3 Bananas (mashed well)
-1/4 C Applesauce (unsweetened)
-1/4 C Canola oil
-1/2 C Light brown sugar
-2 T Molasses
-1 C All purpose flour
-1 C whole wheat flour
-3/4 t Baking soda
-1 t Cinnamon
-1/4 t Nutmeg
-1/2 t Salt

-Preheat to 350 and grease a 9×5″ loaf pan
-Mash bananas(really well). Add sugar,applesauce,oil, & molasses. Whisk.
-In a separate bowl sift flours,soda,spices, & salt. Mix with a wooden spoon until all dry ingredient are incorporated. Do NOT over mix.
-bake 45 min. Or until toothpick comes out clean.
-Remove from pan and allow to cool on rack.

Grandpa Bruno

When we lose a loved one, there is nothing on this earth that will ease our pain other than time…but sharing cookies and memories with family can certainly help.

Grandpa Bruno…These are for you (I’m sure Grams won’t mind).