pancake cupcakes

for an academy meeting last week, i decided to make some some pancakes.  since i was short on time, i thought that the perfect way to pop pancakes out fast was to turn them into cupcakes.  all i did was prepare a vegan pancake mix (use your own or from the box!), coat a 12- cupcake pan with non-stick spray, bake for 20 minutes at 400 degrees, and garnish with confectioners sugar.  serve with maple syrup or try my banana topping!

i served these pancake muffins with a banana topping.  sorry i forgot to take a picture of the finished product will be sure to take a picture when i bake these up again!

banana topping recipe

ingredients:

one banana sliced
4 tbs of brown sugar
4 tbs of vegan butter
cinnamon (optional)

directions:
1) melt butter on medium heat.
2) when butter is melted, add brown sugar and cool until caramalized.
3)  add bananas and cook for 1-2 minutes.
4) top with cinnamon

tofu teriyaki

the other day, i popped in some ready made chicken terryaki  trader joe meal in the oven for my hubby.  when i pulled out the chicken i felt sick to the stomach from the smell of meat.  although the teriyaki sauce heating up in a seperate pan smelled pretty darn good. i was inspired to cook up some tofu teriyaki during the week.

running short of time during the week to prepare my dinners ( i'm currently taking 2 night classes on tues/wed/thurs this spring) i decided to make the terryaki sauce last night and marinate the tofu overnight to save time before i head to class.  all i had to do when i got home from work today was fry up the tofu.  i even garnished it with onions from my garden!  yummmm.

teriyaki sauce marinade ingredients:
1/4 cup of soy sauce
1 cup of water
2 tbsp of ginger
4 tbsp of brown sugar
3 cloves minced garlic
1/4 cup of cold water

directions:
1) combine 1 cup water, soy sauce, brown sugar, garlic and ginger in a saucepan and bring to a boil, stirring constantly.
2) in a bowl, dissolve cornstarch in 1/4 cup of cold water and add to sauce.
3) stir constantly to allow the sauce to thicken on medium low heat. if the sauce is too thick add a little water or soy to thin.
4)  set sauce aside to cool.

teriyaki tofu ingredients:
a block of tofu
1/2-1cup of cornstarch
teriyaki sauce
vegetable or canola oil
sliced chives or green onions

tofu preparation:
1)  cube a block of tofu.  http://www.cookthink.com/reference/309/How_to_cube_tofu
2)  place in a container or large ziplock bag.
3)  pour teriyaki sauce over tofu making sure that all the tofu is completely covered.  marinate  a minimum of 1 hour or overnight.  do not use all the teriyaki sauce.  make sure you reserve at least 1/2-1cup for the finished dish.
4) in a frying pan, heat oil on medium heat.  put enough oil in the pan brown the tofu cubes.  you are not deep frying them!
5) on a flat surface or plate sprinkle a 1/2 cup of cornstarch evenly coating surface.  take tofu cubes out of the marinade (make sure you shake off any extra marinade) and lightly coat all sides of the tofu cube with the cornstarch.

6)  fry tofu cubes until all sides are brown.  about 2-3 minutes on each side.
7)  in a bowl, toss fried tofu and the remainder of the teriyaki sauce.  garnish with chives and enjoy!

vegan red velvet cake with vegan butter cream frosting

this past weekend, i celebrated my 31st birthday. to celebrate my hubby baked me a vegan red velvet cake!!!! omg!!!! it was sooooo freakin' delicious! i'm having a slice right now as i type up this blog. haha.  he found the recipe on My Vegan Planet.com.

here's the website where you can make your own scrumptious red velvet vegan cake!
http://www.myveganplanet.com/2009/01/vegan-valentine-red-velvet-cake

cucumber chickpea quinoa salad

i just put this together for dinner using left over cucumber salad that i ate the night before. this is a great salad to eat that light, yet fullfilling and loaded with nutrients.

ingredients
1 cucumber sliced, cubed what ever you like.
1/2 cup of japanese rice vinegar
a handful of cherry tomatoes, sliced
1/4 red onion, sliced
1-2cups of cooked quinoa
1/2 cup of chickpeas, drained
salt, pepper and red pepper to taste
fresh parsley for garnish

directions:
1) marinate cucumber, tomatoes, onions, salt, pepper and red pepper in vinegar in a large bowl.  cover and chill for preferably and hour.
2) in another bowl mix chickpeas and quinoa together.  when cucumber mixture has fully marinated, drain vinegar and add the mixture to the quinoa and chickpeas.