Lemon Cupcakes with Blueberry Frosting

A Refreshing Spring Treat- Gluten Free

I was always the kid at the parties that requested two scoops of ice cream and NO CAKE. My loathing for cake started in second grade when someone brought in cupcakes for their birthday with a cake to frosting ratio of 1:2. They were extra mini cupcakes, so I put the whole thing in my mouth at once. I was so repulsed by the overwhelming frosting that I nearly gagged and had to force myself to swallow the rest. Maybe I had refined taste buds at a young age? I'm not sure. However I am sure, that cupcakes have become a big fad which I have been slow to catch on to. Once I did splurge on a real quality cupcake (not the safeway 12 pack), and was surprised by how good it was. So here it is, a second chance for cupcakes. They are not too sweet but just sweet enough. Without frosting they make a great muffin, and with frosting, they taste best chilled.

Lemon Cupcakes

 Ingredient- Makes 10-12 cupcakes

• 3c blanched almond flour or almond meal
• 1/4c coconut oil, melted
• 1/2c raw honey
• 3 eggs
• 2t vanilla extract
• 1T lemon juice
• 1/2T lemon zest
• 1/2t salt
• 1/2t baking soda

 Directions

1. Preheat your oven to 325*
2. Whisk together eggs, honey, melted coconut oil, vanilla, lemon, and lemon zest until smooth.
3. Combine the wet with the dry and stir with a wooden spoon until just combined (careful not to make almond butter).  The resulting product is a thick batter you can still poor.
4. Empty batter evenly into the lined muffin papers or silicups.
5. Bake for 23-25min, until a toothpick comes out clean and they are golden brown on top.
6. Remove from the pan and let fully cool before frosting.

 

Lemon Blueberry Frosting

• 1c heavy whipping cream
• 4oz cream cheese
• 1/2c blueberries
• 6T raw honey
• 1t lemon extract

Directions

1. Whip the whipping cream together for several minutes until stiff peaks form. 
2. Add the cream cheese and continue whipping until combined.
3. Beat in blueberries, honey and lemon extract.
4. Chill for 30-60 minutes. The longer the better. The frosting will be very soft, so this step is key for better taste.

Note: Technically, you are supposed to do many more steps, such as whipping the cream cheese separately, and boiling the blueberries. I liked the idea of blueberries not completely mixed in to add some texture, but feel free to try a total blend if you want a more professional look or smooth taste. Also, this version of frosting takes very little time to make.

Just a side note: My preferred method of eating a cupcake is to cut off  the bottom and place it over the frosting, for a nice sandwich.

Tuxedo Coconut Chocolate Almond Butter Cups

A New Jacket for Almond Butter

     I always like making nut butter cups, but sometimes I sense they are lacking in variety.  Let me introduce you to the tuxedo almond butter cup! The bottom is not made from white chocolate, but melted coconut butter. Please think of coconut butter as something similar to almond butter NOT coconut oil or regular butter, before judging. Coconut butter is made from blended unsweetened coconut flakes. With vanilla cinnamon almond butter inside, this is full of delightfully different textures and flavors. I tried making it purely with coconut and no chocolate, but I definitely recommend the half and half style.

     Eat these as a dessert, breakfast, or snack. Before leaving for my hike yesterday I chopped a few of these up in my almond butter sandwich.  The extra nutty crunchy spread kept me satisfied for hours with out making me feel overly full. I can't wait to try these mixed in oatmeal or on top of a pancake. Enjoy

Ingredients

• 1/2 C coconut butter
• 100grams 72% Dark chocolate
• 1/2 T coconut oil
• 1/3 C vanilla cinnamon almond butter 
• http://innovativenourishment.blogspot.com/2012/02/chreeses-almond-butter-cups.html

 Directions

1. Melt coconut butter until smooth, and coat the bottom 1/3 of a muffin paper or silicup.
1. Note: I found the easiest way to melt coconut butter is to dip the glass jar in hot water for a few minutes. It is much easier to scoop out with this way.
2. Freeze for roughly 6-10 minutes until hardened
3. While freezing, melt chocolate and coconut oil in double boiler pan.
4. Place roughly 1 tsp vanilla cinnamon almond butter in each cup 
5. cover with melted chocolate
6. Refreeze or chill until hardened.

Vegetable Medley Frittata with Sweet Potato Crust

 This frittata could be a complete meal and feeds 8 all from one large skillet. If your group is smaller,  just make sure you get in the key ingredients, eggs, sweet potatoes, and vegetables. Don't stress too much about the perfect ratio.






Ingredients

• 1 large sweet potato (not yam) sliced in roughly 1 cm thick rounds
• 10 eggs
• 1/3 C milk
• 1/2 C sundried tomatoes (not in olive oil)
• 2 T pesto sauce
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 bundle swiss chard, stalks cut off
• 1 C chopped asparagus
• 1.5 C cheese - I used Monterey jack but a parmesan/ romano blend would work just as well if not better.

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Peel and slice the sweet potatoes and lightly toss  in melted butter or olive oil. Line the bottom of an iron skillet with the potato slices. Try to have as little of the skillet showing as possible. This may require some overlapping. Bake for 20-25 minutes.
2. Swiss chard: Remove stalks and cut into small peices. Saute until slightly wilted.
3. Asparagus: Steam for 5-6 minutes
4. Egg mixture: In a large bowl mix together eggs, milk, pesto, and salt. Stir in sun dried tomatoes, asparagus, chard, and 1/2 C cheese. 
5. Pour over the potatoes in the iron skillet. Bake for 25-30 minutes until mostly firm (98% done).
6. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese over the top, and broil for 2-3 minutes. Remove from oven and eat while warm. 

Muffin Variation
These ones are more sweet potato rather than egg dominant. I also eliminated the cheese and milk for my lactose intolerant readership. They still turned out quite well and I think they would make a perfect on the go breakfast, if already prepared. 
1. Place one of the cooked sweet potato slices on the bottom of a muffin paper or silicup. Layer with egg mixture, another slice of potato and then egg mixture again.
2.  Baking 15-20 minutes until firm.

Curry Rice Sweet Potato Wrap

Pete's Current Food Phase

Steve and I wrote this excerpt about Pete in 2010 on a shared google doc. It is only somewhat relevant, so feel free to skip down to the recipe if you are pressed for time.

"Pete’s Phantastic Phood phases! If Pete says something is fantastic you may want to clarify. Does it taste fantastic? Or, is it a bowl of liquid health combining the top ten healthiest and most Biblical foods? Don’t get me wrong either one is okay, it just makes a difference. Pete is known for his food phases. During New years eve 2007 discussion when asked to describe a big turning point in the year, he truthfully answered “my discovery of peanut butter”. In High school, salmon quiche, turkey sausage, protein shakes, raw eggs and kumquats all served as ergonomic aids to help his running at separate points in his career. His current phase is 3 over easy eggs, mixed with assorted veggies, crunchy bran and wheat flakes, hummus, and extreme amounts of cayenne pepper and celtic sea salt (all mashed together). The current pre-run meal is blueberries with fish-oil.  Pete gets genuinely excited about the goodness he is putting into his body, and is similarly offended when confronted with a possible unhealthy food.  Good thing there are labels that detail the contents.  With Pete it is not even what he eats but how he eats it.  A massive calorie burning machine, when he eats it is as if the size of his mouth frustrates him because it can't get the food in fast enough.  Between the size of his bites and the expression on his face you get the feeling that he'd rather cut his stomach open and deposit the food straight in.  Having to chew is a formality that gets in the way of what he's trying to do.  Though only 25, his jaws have evolved to open wider and wider, like that of a rattlesnake.  The process of biting and chewing to Pete is a mechanical necessity, and he is often deep in thought while doing so."

 All that being said, the current phase of the delicious curried rice wrap, is one that I hope will stay. It's fun to assemble and feels quite nutritionally balanced. 

Ingredients- Makes one large wrap or sushi roll

• 1/2 C cooked sushi rice
• 1 small yam or sweet potato
• 1-2 eggs
• 1 seaweed sheet
• 1/2 t curry powder
• salt and pepper to taste
• Butter or olive oil for cooking

Directions

1. Mix curry powder with rice and water before cooking it. The ratio of water to rice and cooking time will depend on the strength of your steamer or pots and pans.
2. Peel the sweet potato and slice it into thin rounds.
3. lightly coat the potatoes in olive oil or melted butter and spread out in a cookie sheet or Pyrex dish.
4. Bake for 25 minutes at 350 degrees F until sweet potatoes are soft and just the slightest bit crisp.
5. Fry an egg to your desired consistency.
6. Assemble all ingredients on the seaweed in this order, rice, sweet potatoes, eggs. If you have a bamboo sushi roller, feel free to use it, otherwise, just eat this like a taco.

• Check out the steam!

Creamy Sundried Tomato Pesto and Chicken Penne

       

   I apologize for the lack of blog updates over the last 8 days. I have been out of town for Easter in southern California. Anyway, to the recipe. For a long time I  avoided ordering creamy pasta dishes at restaurants because it just seemed too unhealthy. Lately I have been reading and discussing with some knowledgeable relatives and friends about how saturated fats have been wrongly vilified, and may actually contain some health benefits. I tried making this with skim milk also, but it turned out much better with the cream. This was quite flavorful and satisfying. Our vegetarian dinner guests enjoyed the sauce over the pasta and claimed they would order it at a restaurant. 

Ingredients- Serves about 5

• 1 (8.5 oz jar) sun-dried tomatos with most of olive oil drained
• 1/4 C basil pesto
• 1.5 cups heavy cream
• 4 large chicken breasts cut into pieces
• 1 package of penne pasta

Directions

• In a double boiler heat the cream on medium, stirring occasionally
• Meanwhile, blend the basil and sun-dried tomatoes in a food processor or mixing bowl until almost smooth (but not completely)
• Add the sun-dried tomato mixture to the cream on the stove and stir until thickened. 
• Combine with chicken in a skillet and use it to top pasta. 
• Sprinkle with parmesean (optional)

Apple Pie Bites

Chilled Apple Cinnamon Balls

      My 3 year old cousin Orion is probably my favorite taste tester. He is a charming child with a cheerful disposition, but will always give a straight answer. Even if he doesn't say anything, I can tell by his facial expressions whether he likes something or not. He polished off two of the sweet and chewy delights in a few bites and asked for another. Then he added in a whisper "Just don't tell my Mom."  His logic: These are really really good so they must be bad for me. The reality is he's eating nuts, seeds, and fruit. Why not have another? Although I did have some explaining to do when he wasn't hungry at dinner ;-)

Ingredients- makes 8-10 balls

• 14 dates
• 8 oz roasted lightly salted cashews
• 2 T flax seed meal
• 1.5 T chia seeds
• 1 apple sliced
• I used pink lady, but other varieties would work as well
• 1/2 t cinnamon
• 1 t vanilla extract
• 1/4 t ground ginger
• 1/2 C coconut flakes

Directions

• Blend nuts in a food processor until coursely chopped.
• Add dates vanilla extract, cinnamon,  ginger, and blend until combined
• Pulse in apple slices
• Mixture will be very soft- almost like a nut butter. Form balls and roll in coconut flakes.
• Freeze for several hours until they are firm
• Serve chilled

Disclaimer: Not photographed by me. Photo from thischickcooks.net. I lost my photos on the computer somehow, although mine look almost exactly the same.  Most date-nut balls look quite similar.
Enjoy