Vegan Caramel Corn

This year I am hosting Thanksgiving dinner for the very first time! So consequently I am extremely busy this week getting ready for the holiday. That means, I don't really have time to type much about this recipe. I will say, however, that it is surprisingly easy to make. Also, if you're looking for some good ideas on holiday goodies to make for friends and family, this caramel corn makes for a fantastic gift. (Not to mention, you can make way more caramel corn for a fraction of the cost of pre-made caramel corn bought from the grocery store. Plus it tastes much better homemade!)

Additionally, if you're looking for a light dessert to make for Thanksgiving day to follow up your hefty holiday meal, this is a great alternative to the traditional heavy Thanksgiving desserts.

I warn you though, this dessert is EXTREMELY snackable! My husband and I had to fight ourselves from eating the entire batch in one sitting.

Vegan Caramel Corn

Ingredients:
14 cups popped popcorn
1 cup dry roasted peanuts (optional)
1 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/4 cup light corn syrup
1/2 cup non-hydrogenated, nondairy butter
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon vanilla

Lightly grease a shallow pan, such as a roasting pan.

Place the popped popcorn in the pan. Add the peanuts, if using, to the popped corn. Set aside.

Preheat the oven to 250 degrees.

Combine the brown sugar, corn syrup, butter, and salt in a saucepan. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring enough to blend. Once the mixture begins to boil, boil for 5 minutes, stirring constantly.

Remove from the heat, and stir in the baking soda and vanilla. The mixture will be light and foamy. Immediately pour over the popcorn in the pan, and stir to coat. Don't worry too much at this point about getting all the popcorn coated.

Bake for 1 hour, removing the pan every 15 minutes and giving the popcorn and nuts a good stir. Line the countertop with waxed paper. Dump the popcorn out onto the waxed paper and seperate the pieces. Allow to cool completely, then store in an airtight container or resealable bag.

**Tip: Give the popcorn an entire hour in the oven, stiring every 15 minutes, otherwise the caramel will be too sticky and difficult to eat.

P.S. Love the vegans in your life. Since Thanksgiving is known for not being very vegan friendly at all, you can at least offer them a delicious dessert!

Corn Dog Muffins

Corn dogs. One of the most popular meals on a stick. Next to Mac & Cheese, it is a favorite dinner among children everywhere. Plus, parents love them for their quick and easy preparation. In nearly 20 minutes, without any effort at all, dinner can be on the table and mom and dad just saved themselves the hassle of making dinner after a long and busy day.

But in this day and age, parents are becoming more aware and concerned about what their kids are consuming. Organic, low sugar, low sodium, whole wheat, fair trade, no aspartame, low fat foods...it's enough to make a parent go cross-eyed when they are grocery shopping. But it doesn't have to be that complicated. Sometimes, the easiest thing you can do for you and your family is to start off with small steps. And one of the best ways to do that is by some good ol' fashioned home cooking. Rather than deep fried frozen meals, a homemade meal can make all the difference nutritionally.

So where do corndogs come in? Well, my family is big into corndogs but unfortunately corndogs are far from healthy. Battered, deep fried, frozen little weenies of mystery meat placed conveniently on a stick for quick consumption. But they taste so good! I knew I had to come up with a way to still enjoy the corndog taste without all the processing in between.

Now, don't get me wrong, this recipe isn't what I would call healthy. However; it is at least good middle ground. My family can still have their delicious corndogs, I still get the convenience of a pre-made meal, and it doesn't involve a deep fryer. For those of you with busy lives, I highly recommend making this recipe ahead of time and freezing it. Just like regular corndogs, you can simply reheat them in the oven for a nice easy meal. But the best part is: it's still a home cooked meal!

If you look at the list of ingredients you will see that there is bacon fat in the recipe. Obviously that doesn't scream "healthy", however; it does add a fantastic smokey flavor. You can, of course, use butter in place of bacon fat. But, in my opinion, fat is fat. Either butter or bacon fat, the nutritional value isn't much different. Might as well go with the one that adds a nice smokey flavor to your corndog muffin.

Anyway, if you try this recipe out, let me know what you think!

Corn Dog Muffins

Ingredients:
1 cup flour
2/3 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
2 Tablespoons bacon fat (the following link will tell you more about the glory of using bacon fat in your cooking: http://thetastyspoon-gingerales-kitchen.blogspot.com/2011/05/fat-can.html)
1 egg
1 1/4 cup buttermilk
6 hotdogs cut into fourths (you'll have 24 hot dog chunks total)
Honey

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Grease 12 muffin tins and set aside.

Combine flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl.

Add the bacon fat, egg, and buttermilk to the flour mixture. Using a submersion blender or a food processor, blend until smooth.

Pour the batter into the muffin tins, filling only half way. Then place two hotdog chunks into each muffin tin. Pour remaining batter over top of the hotdog chunks until completely covered.

Bake for 15 minutes.

When done baking, allow the muffins to cool on a wire rack. As they are cooling, brush honey over the tops of the muffins.

Serve warm.

Vegan Sweet Potato Bread

I am back from the great wild yonder! Boy have I missed blogging. But I am happy to say that my absence has been due to the fact that we bought a house and moved in! For the first time ever I have a real kitchen to work in. No more tiny closet size apartment kitchens. So consequently I have a backlog of recipes that I need to post since I have been testing the limits of my new kitchen.

As we were moving, I noticed that I still have a surplus of leftover jarred baby food that my son no longer eats. So I decided to set to work on finding creative ways to cook the baby food into our meals so it wouldn't go to waste. But since we had just moved and I hadn't gone to the grocery store yet, we were running a little shy on baking supplies (ie: milk, eggs, butter...). Well, if you've read my previous posts you would know that any time you are out of milk, eggs, or butter, it is a perfect time to try a vegan recipe since it doesn't require any of those ingredients.

What I came up with was a dense, delicious sweet potato bread that eventually condensed into what tasted more like cake with each passing day. And best of all, I was able to use up quite a bit of baby food! Of course, most people don't have baby food sitting around their house so I will make note of what you can use instead. But seriously. As a salute to fall and as a gift to your taste buds, you've got to give this recipe a try. Not to mention, when you bake it, your house is going to smell heavenly.

Vegan Sweet Potato Bread

Ingredients:
4 1/2 teaspoons Ener-G Egg replacer (equivalent of 3 eggs)
6 tablespoons water
2 cups granulated sugar
1 1/2 cups unsweetened applesauce (I used baby food apple sauce even though it was sweetened)
14-ounces jarred baby food sweet potato (or a 14-ounce can of sweet potato puree)
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Lightly oil two 8-inch loaf pans.

In a small bowl, whip together the egg replacer and water until creamy.

In a large bowl, stir together the sugar, applesauce, sweet potato puree, and egg mixture.

In a medium-size bowl, stir together the flour, cloves, cinnamon, nutmeg, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Thoroughly combine the dry ingredients, then add them to the wet. Stir until just combined.

Spoon the batter into prepared loaf pans. Bake for 55-60 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Let the bread cool for at least 20 minutes before removing from the loaf pans. This is important, as the bread is still baking and needs time to coalesce in the hot pan.

BBQ Corn on the Cob

I am by no means an experienced cook when it comes to BBQing. But this recipe was super simple and didn't take long to put together. I have to admit, I am pretty proud of myself for coming up with the recipe and actually executing it so well. The best part is, I walked away from the BBQ with my eyebrows still in tact! Seriously. This is a victory for me. If you talked to my best friend about my BBQing skills, I'm sure she'd tell you about the time I nearly blew up the BBQ at a condo we stayed at in Canada...

It was a gas grill and I was completely unfamiliar with how it worked. Being the stubborn person that I am, I decided to mess around with it rather than ask someone for help. With the lid still covering the grill, I turned on the gas. But I still couldn't figure out where the "on" switch was. Finally I found it. However, might I remind you, the gas was still going this whole time with the lid still on. So I had, unknowingly, created a tight enclosed container of gas that I was about to add fire to. Basically I had created a bomb. Sure enough, as soon as I clicked the little dial for the flame, the lid came bursting open, grazing my arm with flames and sending me and my friend jumping backwards. It was a miracle neither of us were seriously hurt and even more of a miracle that I didn't actually break the BBQ.

So now that you know just how stupid I am when it comes to BBQing, you can have complete confidence in this recipe being a no-brainer. If I can do it, you most certainly can!



**You'll notice I didn't add any measurements. This recipe is just a "season to your liking" kinda recipe.

BBQ Corn on the Cob

Ingredients:
corn on the cob, shucked
butter, melted
garlic salt
paprika
pepper
parsley

In a large pot, bring water to a boil and carefully place corn on the cob into boiling water. Boil for approximately 10 minutes.

Then remove the corn from the boiling water and place the corn into a casserole dish or large Tupperware.

Drizzle melted butter over corn cobs, making sure to turn the cobs as you go so they are evenly coated on all sides.

Then sprinkle corn cobs with the remaining ingredients, again making sure to turn the cobs as you go so they get an even coating all the way around.

Cover and refrigerate for at least two hours.

When you are ready to BBQ, make sure the coals aren't too hot. It's best to cook the corn when the grill is either still heating up or already cooling down after BBQing any other items you may be cooking. The corn can burn easily so be sure to only leave it on the grill for about a minute at most per side. Be sure to rotate and check your corn often! The idea is to just slightly grill the corn for the smokey taste. It doesn't take much.

Serve with a little extra salt to help the flavors really pop.

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

Because I like to stress eat, and because baking helps to calm me down, it can be a confusing combination. I start off determined to make myself a dessert that I can consume in my stressed-out state. But by the time I'm done baking, I've usually calmed down and lose interest in whatever it is I've made. Consequently, in times of stress, a mountain of sweets begins to grow in our home, only to be shipped off to my husband's work. But this time...this time I think I might just keep the dessert around. This cake is a chocolate lover's dream! And if you're a fan of the ol' chocolate and peanut butter combination, you will die over this frosting! Creamy, chocolaty, melt-in-your-mouth goodness!!!

I apologise to my husband's co-workers. This dessert is happily going right to my belly!

Vegan Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
3/4 cup granulated sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon white distilled vinegar
1 cup cold water

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly oil a Bundt pan.

Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl until thoroughly combined. Create a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water. Mix until just combined. Pour into your prepared pan, and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Cool on a wire rack. To remove the cake from the pan, run a sharp knife around the inside of the pan to loosen the cake. Cool completely before frosting.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Frosting

1/2 cup peanut butter
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 cup nondairy milk
2 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cream together the peanut butter and cocoa. Add the milk, and beat until smooth. Add the confectioners' sugar, salt, and vanilla. Frost cake when cake is completely cooled.

Blueberry Cobbler

It's that delicious time of year when blueberries are ripe and ready for the picking! I have been very fortunate to grow up in a house where we had a surplus of blueberry bushes and raspberry bushes. Every morning, I'd saunter outside in my pajamas, bed-head and all, and pick a large bowl of fresh berries for my cereal. More often than not my ratio of berries to cereal was grossly disproportionate. I basically had cereal with my berries for breakfast and preferred it that way. Naturally it comes as no surprise that one of my favorite summertime desserts celebrates these poppable little explosions of sweet-tart juices.

Blueberry cobbler is really not all that difficult to make. However, it can take some practice getting the sauce just right. It might take a few tries to understand how cornstarch works as a thickening agency. It doesn't instantly thicken up, but once it does, it's hard to miss. Although the recipe says to boil it for just one minute, sometimes it can take a little longer. So be patient, don't set your heat on high or you might burn it, and just keep stirring.

Also, this dessert is delicious either cold or hot. When cold, it tastes like biscuits and jam. When hot, it takes like warm pie filling. It's hard to go wrong with this dessert.

Blueberry Cobbler

Ingredients:
1/2 cup sugar
1 tablespoon cornstarch
4 cups blueberries*
1 teaspoon lemon juice
3 tablespoons shortening
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon sugar
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup milk

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Mix 1/2 cup sugar and the cornstarch in a pan. Stir in blueberries and lemon juice. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens and boils. Boil and stir for about 1 minute. Pour into ungreased 2-quart casserole dish; keep blueberry mixture hot in oven while preparing the biscuit batter.

Mix 1 tablespoon sugar, the baking powder and salt. Cut shortening into the flour mixture until it resembles fine crumbs. Stir in milk. Drop dough by 6 big spoonfuls onto hot blueberry mixture.

Bake until topping is golden brown, 25-30 minutes. Serve warm and, if desired, with a little bit of vanilla ice cream on the side.

*You can substitute blueberries for several different types of fruit to make the cobbler how you like it best. Examples are: peaches, blackberries**, cherries, or raspberries**. Use the same measurement of 4 cups for whatever fruit you choose.

**If you choose to make a raspberry or blackberry cobbler, I recommend adding in 1 more tablespoon of cornstarch. Since both of these berries tend to be juicier, they need a little more cornstarch to thicken up the sauce.

Popcorn Pork Chops

Oddly enough, popcorn has been a big part of my marriage. I remember when my husband and I were first dating...

It was a cold and windy fall night up at WWU. Earlier that day, my husband had invited me to come up and join him for a movie night up in his dorm room after class. I was so nervous and excited!--A cute collage boy had invited me up to his room!--Since he was providing the movie, I thought the least I could do was bring something to snack on. So I grabbed the only thing I had in my room: popcorn. Quickly, its buttery aroma filled my room causing my roommate to perk her head up from her book.
"Where are you off too with that?" she asked, nodding her head toward my comically large red bowl of popcorn.
"I'm off to Joe's room. We're gonna watch a movie." I tried hard to hide my blushing face behind the bowl.
"Oooooooh! I see." She winked at me.
Laughing, I stuck my tongue out at her and dashed out the door. But in my excited and nervous state, I forgot to grab a coat...and my dorm room key. There I was stuck out in the cold wind wearing nothing but my short-shorts, a large pj t-shirt, and my big fuzzy slippers as I clung desperately on to the bowl of popcorn. Luckily my husband's dorm room was right above mine. So as fast as I could, I sprinted up the steps.

It was amazing how quickly the chill of the fall wind drilled deep into my bones. Loudly I banged on my husband's door, desperate to get out of the cold. When he opened the door, the warm glow of his room surrounded him like an angelic painting. He looked down at me and did little to stifle his laugh. There I was, fuzzy slippers and all, shaking like mad as I gripped my huge bowl of popcorn. "Come in!" he said as he wrapped his arms around me. "Let's get you warmed up."

The rest of that evening, we sat snuggled up on his bed under a pile of blankets as we munched away on popcorn. To this day, popcorn is still our go-to snack. But I will never forget that first bowl of popcorn we shared on that cold, windy, fall night.

Although this recipe isn't your classic buttery bowl of popcorn, it is a creative and delicious new way to jazz your dinner menu. I hope you enjoy!

Popcorn Pork Chops

Ingredients
Vegetable oil
Four 8-ounce bone-in pork loin chops
salt and pepper
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1/2 cup teriyaki sauce
1/4 green onion cut into thin rings
1 1/2 quarts freshly popped corn, slightly crushed

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Add enough oil to coat the bottom of a 10-inch saute pan. Heat over medium heat to the smoking point.

Season the pork chops with salt, pepper, cinnamon, and mustard seeds, rubbing the seasonings into the meat. Pan-sear both sides of the pork chops, 20 to 30 seconds on each side.

Brush the pork chops with the teriyaki sauce and place them on a wire rack in a baking pan. Roast to an internal temperature of 150 degrees, about 20 minutes. Flip the pork chop halfway through roasting and brush with teriyaki sauce at least twice. Remove from the oven and brush the pork chops a final time with teriyaki sauce. Sprinkle the green onions and popcorn over the pork chops. Place the baking pan back in the oven until the popcorn begins to brown slightly, about 2 minutes. Remove from the oven and serve.

Vegan Lavender Scones with Lemon Glaze

Scones--sad, crumbly, unsatisfying biscuits that mask themselves in jelly, hoping that they can rival their sweet nemesis, the breakfast muffin. But with one bite they will rob you of all the moisture in your mouth leaving you choking for a glass of milk. They are the reject breakfast food that sits coldly in the display case, slowly turning from scone to stone with each passing day....

Okay, so maybe I'm being a little dramatic. But you get the idea: clearly I'm not a fan of scones. So why am I posting this recipe? Because, at long last, I have found a recipe for scones that I actually love! These scones were, by far, the best I have every tasted! They were actually moist and full of flavor. I came up with this recipe by combining a basic vegan scone recipe with one of my favorite flavor combinations: lavender and lemon. The end result?...Fantastic!

Vegan Lavender Scones with Lemon Glaze

Ingredients:
1 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer
2 tablespoons water
2 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/3 cup granulated sugar
4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup nondairy butter
1 cup dried lavender buds
2-3 tablespoons nondairy milk for brushing tops
1 cup powdered sugar
1 teaspoon cream of tartar
1-2 tablespoons lemon juice

Preheat the oven to 425 degrees.

Lightly oil a cookie sheet or line with parchment paper.

Whip the egg replacer and water together until thick and creamy. Set aside.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add the butter to the dry ingredients and cut it into small pieces with two knives or with a pastry blender (although, I usually just use a fork but it will give your arm a workout!). You're not creating a paste; you want a coarse crumbly batter that resembles small bread crumbs. (To make flaky scones, leave some of the butter pieces as large as peas.) Stir in the lavender.

Add the milk and egg replacer mixture, and keep the mixing to a minimum otherwise you'll get rock-hard scones. Mix just until the dry ingredients are  moist. The dough will not be completely smooth like bread dough.

Gather the dough into a ball (you may need to add just a teaspoon of nondairy milk or water, but you will be able to form it into a ball), and place on a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough out into a 1/2-inch-thick round, and cut into 8-10 pieces--triangles are the traditional shape so cut it like you're cutting up a pizza. Place them 1/2 inch apart on the baking sheet, brush the tops with nondairy milk, and place into the oven.

Bake until the tops are golden brown, 10-15 minutes. Let cool on a rack.

While the scones are cooling, in a small mixing bowl, combine the powdered sugar, cream of tartar, and lemon juice. Only add the lemon juice in a little at a time as you stir until you reach a slightly runny but still thick consistency.--You want to be able to pour the glaze but not have it be too thin and runny.

Drizzle the glaze over the scones. Let the scone sit just long enough for the glaze to set and turn white (it will be clear at first when it hits the warm scone) and then serve.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Wow, I am really embarrassed with how much I have let my blog go these past few months! But rather than feed you some lengthy and quite frankly boring excuse, I'm just going to jump right back in there as if no time has passed at all....

So this recipe comes from the vegan kick I was on a few months back. I have to admit I was surprised at how moist and delicious these cookies turned out to be. Unfortunately vegan foods have seemed to have acquired a bad rep amongst the average consumer. And, I'm ashamed to admit, I too was expecting lifeless bland cookies from a vegan recipe. How could it be rich and moist without butter, eggs, or milk? Oh boy was I wrong! These cookies were a wonderful surprise.

The only sidebar I can make to this recipe is: if you're expecting the classic taste of a chocolate chip cookie, you'll probably be disappointed. For those of you who have not had carob chips before (a chocolate substitute that I used for my chocolate chips), you'll realize quickly that they don't have the same flavor as a classic, full dairy chocolate chip. With that said; these cookies are still a sweet treat that can stand in as a great vegan friendly (and/or friendly to those with egg or dairy allergies) chocolate chip cookie. And regardless of their unique taste, I still think they're damn delicious!

Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients:
4 1/2 teaspoons egg replacer
6 tablespoons water
1 cup nondairy butter, softened
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
2 1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1-2 cups nondairy semisweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.

Line a cookie sheet with parchment paper or use a non-stick cookie sheet.

In a food processor or blender, whip the egg replacer and water together, until it's thick and creamy.

In a large bowl, cream the butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, and vanilla. Add the egg replacer mixture to the wet mixture and thoroughly combine. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking soda, and salt. Gradually beat the flour mixture into the wet mixture until it begins to form a dough. When it's almost thoroughly combined, stir in the chips.

Bake on the prepared cookie sheet for 8-10 minutes, or until golden brown. Let stand for 2 minutes; remove to wire racks to cool completely.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

So I've been on a bit of a vegan food kick lately. Not that I am vegan but mostly I just like making healthier substitutions when I can. Since I love to eat a lot of rich and fatty foods, I figure I can try to shave off a few calories here and there, or at least give my comfort food a little more of a nutritional value, by making the vegan version instead.

I have never made chocolate mousse before so I can't exactly tell you how this version compares to a non-vegan version. But either way, this dessert turned out to be smooth and creamy! I even caught my dad sneaking a few extra spoon fulls from the leftovers after sharing some with my parents--which is really saying something considering the man almost never eats tofu.

Vegan chocolate mousse is surprisingly easy to make and, when garnished with a few fresh berries, it makes a fantastic cool dessert for those rare but wonderful warm and fragrant spring nights. I personally enjoy it with a cheesy romance novel and a glass of wine on the side, but that's just me.

Vegan Chocolate Mousse

Ingredients:
1 cup nondairy semisweet chocolate chips
12 oz silken tofu (soft or firm)
1/2 cup nondairy milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
fresh berries for serving (optional)

Put the chocolate chips in a microwave-safe bowl, and heat it in the microwave for 1 minute. Give the chips a stir, and heat for another minute. They should be melted at this point. (You can also melt the chips by using a double broiler if you'd prefer.)

Place the tofu in a blender or food processor. Add the melted chocolate, nondairy milk, and vanilla. Process until completely smooth, pausing the blender or processor to scrape down the sides and under the blade, if necessary.

Chill the mixture in serving bowls--or in a graham cracker crust to make a chocolate mousse pie--for at least 1 hour before serving. Add fresh berries just before serving, if desired.

Vegan Ginger Carrot Bran Muffins

"Honey? Why does everyone keep calling me muffin top?"
The husband avoids eye contact with his wife who stands before him in a midriff shirt, her stomach and hips pooching out over her tight pants.
"Uh...well," he stutters, " it's because the muffin top is the sweetest part of the muffin--everyone's  favorite part. So really all those people are just saying you are so sweet."
The wife smiles proudly. "Oh! Well that's nice."
The husband sighs with relief.

That was actually from a KitKat commercial that aired years ago, but to this day it still makes me laugh. Oddly enough, despite my love for anything that is sweet to eat, I am actually rather picky when it comes to muffins (actual muffins, not blurby people that are wearing clothes that don't fit!). Blueberry muffins are okay but a bit over-rated in my opinion. Chocolate muffins are, let's face it, basically chocolate cake and way to sweet for the early morning hours. Lemon poppy seed muffins are a good mix of sweet and zesty so I'd have one if offered. But my favorite muffin hands-down is the bran muffin. I know, I know. Having a love for bran muffins and knitting marks me worthy of living in a retirement community. But there is a subtle sweetness and rich flavor that, in my opinion, only bran muffins can offer. As a powerhouse of fiber, it is a great way to start the day.

The other reason why I love bran muffins is because there is a large variety of twists you can do to enhance your muffin. For example: blueberry bran muffins, carrot bran muffins, or raspberry bran muffins. But today, I am posting a recipe for a delicious vegan option for all my vegan friends out there, or for anyone who wants a healthier option for their breakfast muffin--although, if you're already choosing to eat a bran muffin, kudos to you for already making a healthy choice!--Today's recipe is the twist I put on a basic vegan bran muffin recipe, giving birth to the amazingly delicious Vegan Ginger Carrot Bran Muffin.

Push aside the negative stigma that says bran muffins are only for the elderly and give this recipe a try. I think you'll be surprised just how delicious bran can be.

Vegan Ginger Carrot Bran Muffins

Ingredients:
6 teaspoons Egg replacer
1/2 cup water
2 1/2 cup wheat bran
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup nondairy milk
1/3 cup canola or vegetable oil
1 cup grated carrots
1/4 cup chopped candied ginger

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.

Lightly grease your muffin tins.

In a food processor or using an electric hand mixer, whip the egg replacer and water together, until it's thick and creamy.

In a large bowl, combine the bran, flour, brown sugar, baking soda, and salt. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the egg replacer mixture, milk, and oil until smooth. Stir in the grated carrots and chopped candied ginger. Add to the combined dry ingredients and stir just until blended. Do not overmix.

Spoon into the prepared muffin tins, filling each cup about two-thirds full. Make until a toothpick inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 15 minutes.

Cool in the tins for 5 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.

Guinness Stout Chocolate Layer Cake

Alright my fellow foodies: if you're ready for a challenge and want to create one of the most rich and sumptuous cakes you'll ever make, than strap on your aprons and get ready for the greatest St. Patrick's Day cake known to man!

Guinness Stout Chocolate Layer Cake. The only cake suited for the holiday. Because unlike all of the other brightly colored sweets out there that claim to honor St. Patrick's Day simply because they're green; this cake actually has Guinness in it! Alcohol and chocolate you ask? Why yes! This cake is riddled with the bitter sweet combination of beer and chocolate making it perfect for your St. Patrick's Day celebration.

I haven't made this cake in years. In fact, the last time I made it was the year I met my husband up at college. Since we mostly ate at the college dining hall leaving me little chance to cook for him, I wanted to show off my baking skills and win him over with sweets. As the old saying goes: "the best way to a man's heart is through his stomach." So I busted out the dark chocolate and Guinness and started to create my "man catching" cake. To this day, I don't know if he was really all that impressed or if he just thought it was simply good cake. But considering that he scarfed down his piece and, 5 years later he's still raving about my baking, I guess the cake did its job.

So after you finish eating your classic St. Patrick's Day dinner of corn beef and cabbage with a side of potatoes (because that's what the Irish eat, right?), top off the evening with some Guinness Stout Chocolate Layer Cake and your taste buds will be singing!

Guinness Stout Chocolate Layer Cake

Ingredients:

Bittersweet Icing
1 ½ cups heavy cream
6 ounces bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
4 ½ tablespoon confectioners’ sugar
4 ½ tablespoons cocoa
1 ½ teaspoons vanilla
1/8 teaspoon salt

To prepare the Bittersweet Icing, bring cream to a boil. Place chocolate in a heatproof bowl, pour boiling cream over it, and whisk until chocolate melts and is thoroughly combined. Cover tightly and chill. Chill beaters from a hand-held mixture at the same time.

Up to 3 hours before serving the cake, whip chocolate mixture with a hand-held mixer. When soft peaks form, sift in confectioners’ sugar and cocoa and add vanilla and salt. Continue whipping until combined.

Drizzling Syrup
1/3 Cup Guinness Stout
1/3 cup dark brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla

To prepare syrup, combine all ingredients in a small, heavy saucepan, whisking until smooth. Heat over medium heat, until sugar dissolves and syrup is smooth.

Cake
2/3 cup Guinness Stout (measured after foam has subsided)
2/3 cup currants
1/3 cup, plus 2 tablespoons, unsweetened cocoa powder
2 ounces semisweet chocolate, cut into small pieces
¾ cup buttermilk
1 ¾ cups, plus 2 tablespoons sugar
2 cups, plus 2 tablespoons, all purpose flour
Cooking spray
2/3 cup butter, softened
4 eggs
1 ½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon baking powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ cup red currant jelly, warmed
Bitter Sweet Icing (seen above)

Preheat over to 350° F.

To prepare cake, pour stout over currants; cover and soak until plump.

Drain Currants, reserving stout. Add stout to a small saucepan. Whisk in 1/3 cup cocoa and bring to a simmer. Remove from heat; add semisweet chocolate, stirring until chocolate melts. Cool slightly. Stir in buttermilk.

Combine 2 tablespoons cocoa, 2 tablespoons flour. Coat two 8 or 9 inch square or round cake pans with cooking spray; dust with cocoa mixture.

Beat butter with a mixer at medium speed until smooth. Gradually beat in 1 ¾ cups sugar until well blended. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla.

Combine 2 cups flour with baking soda, baking powder and salt. Add flour mixture to butter mixture with chocolate mixture, stirring until blended. (Batter may look curdled.) Stir in currants.

Divide batter between pans. Bake 25 to 30 minutes, until a wooden pick inserted in the enter comes out clean. Cool pans on a wire rack 10 minutes; invert onto rack.

Poke tops of cake layers with a skewer or toothpick. Spoon Drizzling Syrup over tops. Place one layer on a platter. Spread warmed jelly over layer on the platter. Chill 30 minutes. Cover jelly with about a quarter of the Bittersweet Icing. Place second layer on top.

Ice top and sides of the cake with the remaining icing.