Dark Chocolate Mini-Muffin

These muffins are so chocolate-y rich that you'd think I added chocolate chips in there instead of carrots and zucchini......Wait, what?!

Ingredients:
* 1/2 cup of mashed ripe banana (about 1 large)
* 1 cup of milk of choice (I used almond milk)
* 2 tbsp of distilled white vinegar
* 1 tsp of vanilla extract
* 1 cup of packed dark brown sugar (or any dried sweetener of equivalent sweetness)
* 1 1/4 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry flour (same as white whole wheat)
* 1/2 cup of unsweetened cocoa powder
* 2 tsp of baking soda
* 1 cup of grated carrot
* 1 cup of grated zucchini

Don't worry, you will neither taste nor see the veggies once they're baked and cooled ;)

Spongy and moist. 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line your muffin tin with cupcake liners and spray the liners with non-stick cooking spray.

2. Combine the milk with the vinegar in a small bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (including the sugar) and mix. 

4. Add the mashed banana and milk-vinegar mixture into the large bowl and whisk until fully incorporated.

5. Add the grated veggies and, using a spatula, fold them into the batter. 

6. Bake for 22-23 minutes, or until you don't feel any mushy batter on the tops of the muffins.

ENJOY!

2-Ingredient Salad

This recipe is pretty simple. The only thing is that the preparation can be a bit time-consuming. The cherry tomatoes are sweet, so I didn't think that adding salt was necessary, but add a bit if you'd like. Besides the tomatoes and zucchini, the rest of the ingredients are optional. And if you want to make a meal out of this, I'd suggest adding beans, sliced avocado and/or slivered almonds with a sprinkle of nutritional yeast (or dairy cheese if you want).

Ingredients:
* 1 medium zucchini, finely diced.
* 20-25 cherry tomatoes, finely diced.
* Optional: a pinch or so of salt, pepper; diced bell peppers; a few sprigs of parsley/cilantro, chopped scallions.

1. Combine all ingredients in a medium bowl and mix until everything's fully incorporated.
2. Optional step: If you have the patience to do so, let the salad sit in the fridge for at least 10 minutes before eating. This will give time for the tomato juices to come out and let the flavors of all the ingredients "marry" together :)

This recipe serves only one person, so multiply the recipe if you're making this to share with friends and family.

ENJOY!

Potato Strips (Chinese Side Dish)

Ingredients: 

* 3 potatoes, very thinly sliced

* 1 1/2 Bell peppers (of any color), sliced. 

* 1 clove of garlic, minced. 

* 1/4-1/2 teaspoon of salt

* 1 teaspoon of distilled white vinegar

* Cooking spray

* 1 tbsp of sesame/peanut oil. (If you're allergic to both of these, then just use vegetable oil.)

1. Soak the potatoes in a large bowl of cold water for 10-15 minutes, then rinse for a minute or so. This will prevent the potatoes from getting mushy.

2. Heat up the pan on high (everything will be a quick stir-fry) and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Pour in the sesame oil. (even if you add a lot of oil, the potatoes would still stick without the cooking spray). 

3. Add the potatoes in the pan and stir, seasoning with the salt.

4. After 1 minute of stirring the potatoes, add the rest of the ingredients and cook for another 2-3 minutes. The potatoes should still have a bite to it once it's ready. 

5. Optional: Garnish with chopped scallions/parsley/cilantro. Serve warm or cold. 

ENJOY!

Molasses Cookies

Oh look, a tower of cookies!

This picture doesn't do the cookie justice. I couldn't capture the chewy, gooey, yet still kinda firm center of the cookie, so this is the best shot I've got.

Ingredients:
* 1/3 cup of molasses (you can use blackstrap molasses for more nutrition)
* 1/4 cup of vegetable/canola oil
* 1/2 cup of granulated sugar
* 1.5 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1 tablespoon of flaxmeal + 2 tablespoons of water, combined.
* 1 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
* 1 teaspoon of baking soda
* 1-1.5 tablespoons of ground ginger
* 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 370 degrees.
2. Combine first 5 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In a small bowl, whisk together all the dry ingredients.
4. Pour dry mixture into the wet and mix with a spatula.
5. Spoon out 1 tablespoon of dough onto a baking sheet that has been lined with parchment paper, leaving 2 inches between each cookie.
6. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely.

Don't you just love the cracked tops of a cookie? XD

Hhhmmmm, speaking of towers...

Well, I tried. Don't judge me. 

ENJOY!

Easiest Gingersnap Recipe

This recipe is so quick and easy, that if I really wanted to sound corny I'd name this post "Gingersnaps in a Snap". Teehees Get it? :D

Ingredients:
*18 deglet noor dates (or any other soft whole date that makes up about 1 cup)
* 1/2-5/8 teaspoon of ground ginger
* 1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1. Add everything into a food processor or blender (I used my Magic Bullet) and mix until smooth. The dates should be thick and cookie dough-like.
2. Slightly wet your hands, then roll the date and spice mixture into balls and flatten them with the palm of your hand to shape them into cookies.
3. Let them sit in the freezer for at least 15 minutes. If you freeze them overnight, thaw for 2-5 mins before serving.

Fun Tip: If you have cookie cutters, you can shape them into gingerbread men! (Who cares if it's not Christmas?)

I don't plan on sharing these.

ENJOY!

Tips on eating out on special diets

It's a lot easier than you think to find a restaurant that can cater to your diet. I noticed that every restaurant has at least one vegetarian/vegan option on their menu.

As a vegan, I never had trouble eating out. 2 weeks ago, for instance, was Chinese New Year and, to celebrate, I went out to dinner with my Mom and brother. My brother chose to have a hot-pot dinner. But since they're not vegetarian, we asked the waitresses to make our meals separate, so they used a divider to help avoid cross-"contamination" between the meat in their meals and the veggies in mine.

Left: My brother and Mom's dinner where they put their lean meats and seafood (not seen in this pic). Right: Me and my mushrooms :)

Hot-pot is used for instant cooking in restaurants where the customers can  cook their own meals.  

Here are some tips that you would find helpful whenever you're out with friends and family:
1. Go on the restaurant's website to check their menu before deciding to go there. This way, you'll be sure if the place has something that you can eat and you'll know exactly what to order.
2. Once you order, make it clear to the waitress/waiter about your dietary needs. 
3. Be careful when you go to ethnic cuisine restaurants or when you order vegetable dishes. I've noticed that sometimes different cultures have different definitions of "vegetarian". In some Asian restaurants, they put meat-based stock in what they call "vegetarian" noodle soup. I once ordered a dish that was labeled "vegetarian" on the restaurant's menu and noticed bits of bone marrow in the bowl. I spoke to the chefs about it and they said that all their so-called vegetarian customers still consider meat-based stocks to be vegetarian! When you go to such restaurants, don;t forget Tip #2  and make sure they either use veggie broth or water in your soup instead.
4. Make sure that the dishes are specifically labeled before ordering. Almost every restaurant nowadays would label their dishes.
5. Find something that caters to your diet that everyone can share, such as an appetizer or side dish. This would make your meal more enjoyable.

My favorite noodle, vermicelli. This thing literally takes just 10 seconds to cook in the hot pot.

I hope you found these tips helpful, and if you have any other tips that I've forgotten to mention, please share them!

Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies (Gluten Free)

......

Wow, that was a mouthful!

These cookies just so happen to be gluten free since I decided to ground some of my oats to make oat flour. The flavor of the peanut butter is just there, and if you want a richer peanut butter flavor just take out as much butter as you would add in peanut butter.

Ingredients:
* 1 stick of butter at room temperature
* 1/4 cup of creamy or chunky peanut butter
* 2/3 cup of granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1 3/4 cup of oat flour (ground rolled oats)
* 1/2 cup old fashioned rolled oats (not grounded)
* 1 teaspoon of baking soda
* 1/4-1/3 cup of chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 370 degrees.
2. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl. Whisk until everything's incorporated.
3. In a small bowl, combine the rest of the ingredients (except for the chocolate chips).
4. Pour the dry ingredients into the wet and mix with a spatula until fully combined.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Spoon out 1 tbsp of dough on to a baking sheet, leaving 2 inches of space between each cookie.
7. Press your palms against the dough to flatten the cookie.
8. Bake for 8 minutes. Cool completely.

This recipe makes 24 cookies.

And this is why you should use parchment paper.

ENJOY!

Naturally Sweetened Banana Bread Recipe

Soft and moist, this loaf is sweetened with dates rather than sugar. 

Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 cups of Whole Wheat Pastry flour
* 1/2 cup of wheat bran
* 1/2 cup of flaxmeal (ground flax seeds)
* 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda
* 1 1/2 cup of mashed bananas (about 3 large-measure after mashing)
* 1/2 cup of milk of choice
* 1 tablespoon of distilled white vinegar
* 1/2 cup of whole dates + 1/2 cup of water

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Spray a loaf pan with nonstick cooking spray and set aside.
2. In a large bowl, whisk to combine the first four ingredients. Set aside.
3. After soaking the dates for 5-10 minutes, blend them with the water until smooth and pour it into a medium bowl.
4. Add the mashed bananas, milk, and vinegar and mix until fully combined.
5. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and combine first with a whisk, then switch to a spatula.
6. Pour batter into loaf pan and bake for 45 minutes.

Red Velvet Cake with Vanilla Buttercream

Surprisingly (well, to me, at least), the almond buttermilk in this recipe really helps make the cake super moist without adding any oil. I also used a bit chocolate chips instead of the traditional cocoa powder.

As for the frosting, I know that it is traditionally made with cream cheese. The Tofutti brand tastes amazing, but in desserts it's just not the same. However, if you like the taste of Tofutti cream cheese in your frosting, then by all means replace half of the butter with 4 tablespoons of Tofutti cream cheese. If you choose not to make this recipe vegan, then use regular dairy cream cheese. Both versions are just as rich as the vanilla buttercream :)

Ingredients:

* 1 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry flour

* 1 tsp of baking soda

* 1 cup of almond milk (other milks would also work)

* 1 tbsp of distilled white vinegar

* 1 cup of dark brown sugar

* 2 tbsp red food coloring

* 1/4 cup of semisweet chocolate chips (measure before melting)

* 1.5 tsp of vanilla extract

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and line your muffin tin with cupcake liners.

2. In a small bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients and set aside.

3. In a larger bowl, whisk the almond milk with the vinegar (the milk with curdle in just 5 seconds).

4. Add in the vanilla, sugar,and food coloring and mix until the sugar dissolves. 

5. Melt the chocolate in another small bowl with a few spoons of the wet mixture in the microwave for 30-60 seconds. Add melted chocolate into the large bowl.

6. Pour dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and whisk just until fully combined. (the batter should be slightly gloop-y)

7. Place 2 heaping tablespoons of batter into each cupcake liner and bake for 19 minutes or until the top of the cupcake is firm to the touch and springs back when lightly pressed. 

8. Cool completely before frosting with the Vanilla Buttercream. 

Vanilla Buttercream: In a large bowl, beat 1 stick of butter until you see pockets of air develop (you can use Earth Balance buttery stick, but I use light Parkay stick since it's also vegan and cheaper). Slowly mix in 2 1/4 cups of powdered sugar, then add 1-1.5 teaspoons of vanilla extract and continue beating for a few minutes until fluffy. 

I definitely could've done a better job with the frosting, I also have room for improvement in terms of food photography. Use a star tip if you have one; it'll make your cupcakes a lot more visually appealing. Or, of you wanna be romantic, make the frosting in the shape of a rose <3

The batter and buttercream together make up 12 cupcakes. 

Peanut Butter Cookies

Ingredients:
* 1 cup of creamy or crunchy peanut butter
* 1 1/4 cups of granulated sugar
* 1 teaspoon of vanilla extract
* 1/4 cup of unsweetened applesauce
* 1 cup of Whole Wheat Pastry flour
* 1 teaspoon of baking soda

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees.
2. Combine the first 4 ingredients in a large bowl.
3. In a smaller bowl, whisk together the flour and baking soda.
4. Dump the dry ingredients into the large bowl and mix with a spatula.
5. Spoon out 1 Tbsp of the dough and place on baking sheet, leaving an inch of space between each cookie. Sprinkle some water on your hands and use them to lightly tap down on the cookie just to get ride of the pointy surfaces.
6. Bake for 9 minutes and cool completely.

Or, if you don't feel like turning on your oven today, just eat the raw cookie dough!





Once you make these, please tell me how they turned out for you :)