Wednesday, July 6, 2011

Cupcakes and Coffee

Today Tony's car was in the shop, so he took my car to work. I figured it was a good day to get a lot of cleaning and laundry accomplished, since I couldn't take the kids anywhere. But Jackson was sticking to me like glue. If you've ever tried to mop a floor with a barefoot 2-year-old trailing behind you, you know it's a wasted effort. So I told him, "If you let me clean in peace, you can help me bake something later." He paused to consider the deal I was offering. Then he said, "We not bake something. We bake cupcakes."

The kid drives a hard bargain.


We made the red velvet cupcakes from Quick & Easy Vegan Celebrations, topped with the sour cream frosting from Vegan Bake Sale. I picked that frosting recipe for one reason -- I had a tub of Tofutti sour cream sitting in my fridge. I don't like its super-thick texture dolloped on top of a baked potato or nachos, but it worked perfectly for making a creamy frosting.

I let Jackson and Olivia share a cupcake, and froze the rest. I was in the mood for a different kind of sweet.


Everyone has their own method for making iced coffee. I brew my coffee twice as strong as normal, chill it, and then add ice. I figure the ice cubes dilute the coffee to the point where it all balances it out. I used to just sweeten it with stevia, but then I found out that my liquor store carries all the Torani flavor syrups. Sugar-free hazelnut is my favorite. (The raspberry flavor is good in iced tea, too!)  

I always hated coffee until I moved to New York, and then I started drinking it to stay warm during the long, cold winter. (I also drank tons of hot tea, but it wasn't enough!) When we moved back to Texas, I had a full canister of coffee, so I started drinking it iced, just to use it up. Now I am hooked. Most days, it's my treat when the kids nap. Are you a coffee or tea drinker? Or both, like me? 

For dinner I made Chili Lime Rubbed Tofu and Pineapple Collards, both from Appetite for Reduction, with roasted butternut squash. Everything was delicious. The tofu is fast and easy to make (no marinating necessary) and I always adore collard greens. I peel and cube my squash and roast it with a little bit of olive oil, salt, and dried sage, at 400 degrees for 40 minutes. It turns sweet like candy.

8 comments:

  1. Mmm... I love iced coffee. I used to spend oodles of money at Starbucks each week until I figured out how to make it at home last summer (I basically follow the same process you do using vanilla syrup -- yum!).

    And Jackson had the right idea: cupcakes are always the answer!

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  2. So is that flavor syrup a liqueur? That always sounds like a great idea to me, and it only works with coffee. I drink both, but it's definitely all been iced recently!
    The cupcakes look great, as does the dinner! I've got a bunch of collard in the fridge I've been eating raw but I should make them with the pineapple soon before they go bad.

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  3. do you have any must make recipes you would recommend out of AFR? i have the book but haven't used it... sorta obsessed with viva vegan cause most of the ingredients i can easily find or already have on hand :)

    your meal looks bomb <3

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  4. foodfeud - torani syrups aren't liqueurs, they're just flavored syrups. no idea why the liquor store sells them -- i guess maybe you could use them as mixers.

    amy - the arabian lentil & rice soup is my favorite. also the 40 clove chickpeas and broccoli. oh, and the mushroom tibs and y'abesha gomen if you like ethiopian food :)

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  5. sara, I loved the pineapple collard greens, too! We had it with the blackened tofu - which was also good, but honestly, I enjoyed the collards more!

    amy- I am also a big fan of the 40-clove chickpeas and broccoli. A couple of other favorites are the Goddess Nicoise Salad and the Chickpea Piccata (wow, those are all chickpea dishes!). You might want to take a look at my blog - I'm cooking my way through AFR and reviewing each recipe, so you might get some ideas there. :-)

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  6. I love coffee and tea both. As much as I liked tea, I used to be die hard on the coffee. Lately been trying to cut back on the caffeine a bit so I have been downing green tea like nobody's business:) I never thought of looking for Torani in the liquor store. I've seen it at Hy-Vee but they never seam to have sugar free, and I really want to pick up peach for mixing in lemonade...:) Now I'm in a cupcake mood;)

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