Apple Muffins

At 5:30 this morning, I lay on the couch, wide awake.  After tossing and turning, reluctant to get up so early, I finally roll off.  I, half zombie like, check my e-mail, facebook, and blog.  Knowing, that not much has gone on since I went to bed last night.  My sister lays motionless of the living room floor, I envy here ability to sleep in.  Well, sometimes that is.  During the week I am more than glad that I can get up at 6, make a wonderful breakfast, shower, and still get to class before 8.  It is mornings like this that I hate her.  I wish I too was still sleeping, but being an early bird is something I clearly get from my parents.  'Cause, as I mentioned, it is just 5:30 am, and they are both no where to be seen.  Both probably left for work a good half hour ago.  Thank mom and dad! 

Well, enough about complaining.  I figure that since I am up I might as well get some use out of it.  I put coffee on, a wonderful German Chocolate roast I got from my Great Aunt.  I dig through my cook book and cupboards, trying to find something to whip together.  I made pancakes on Friday, so I'm thinking muffins sound great.  I have been trying to make some big fluffy vegan ones, and today feels like a perfect day.  We have a couple soft apples that will work just fine.  I must say, they turned out quite delicious! Perfect breakfast for anyone :)

Apple, Cinnamon, Walnut Whole Wheat Muffins!

Ingredients:
1-2 apples (I used Gala, becuase that's what we had, but Granny Smith or baking apples work great!)
1/2 cup sugar
1 cup soy milk (or other non-dairy milk)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white pastry flour (regular white flour works!)
2.5 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/3 cup chopped walnut

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Peel, core, and chop apples into small cubes or grate them into a bowl.  Add the soy milk, sugar, and oil, fold together.  In a separate bowl, add the flours, baking powder, salt, and cinnamon.  Slowly add the dry mixture to the wet, stiring the ingredients until mixed evenly.  Add the walnuts, and fold in.  Lightly spray a muffin tin and fill 3/4 fill.  Bake in the oven for about 25 minutes.  The muffins will be golden brown when ready.  Stick a tooth pick into the center of a muffin before taking out of the oven, the toothpick should come out clean if they are done! Let cool, and top with this cream cheese frosting:

Muffin Frosting:
1 package vegan cream cheese (I like Tofutti)
2/3 cup confectioner's sugar
3 tbsp apple juice

With a beater, food processer, or blender, add all ingredients together and whip until smooth.  Add to your muffins and enjoy!

Schmoopie's Aprons

This is my favorite.  I actually use this design for the apron I use in the kitchen. 
Call or e-mail to order! Phone: (920) 645-1525; e-mail: jackielutze@yahoo.com
All aprons from Schmoopie's Designs: $23.99 +shipping
The aprons are all double sided, so they are more durable and not cheaply made.  I ensure you they are high quality and worth every penny.  I don't cook anything without mine!
Don't see a design that you like?  I am up for suggestions! Let me know colors and/or a pattern and I will definitely see what I can find for fabirc.  I want you be love your apron, so if you have something in mind, we can definitely work together to get you what you're looking for!

Polka Dots Apron

Here is another one I just made.  If you can't tell, the bottom pattern is blue with multi color polka dots and the top golden yellow!  It's really cute with the frilly ties!  Perfect for any cook or baker. 

Schmoopie's Design: (920) 645-1525

Homemade Aprons!!!

Aside from my love for cooking, I also love to sew.  I am not extremely skilled in the area but can do the basics.  One day I was looking for a cute, simple apron to wear while I cook.  I couldn't find one.  I looked at many places.  Even searched the streets of New Orleans while I was there.  All of the had silly sayings or weird designs.  I just wanted something cute! So, I decided, it couldn't be that hard to make one.  So, I did.  And, if I might say, it turned out quite good.  I have mad quite a few since then, and decided to sell them.  If I couldn't find an apron that I liked, there has to be cooks out there that have the same problem! I brought my sewing machine and kit to school, and have been sewing and cooking my way through the snow storm that hit Wisconsin.  Here is the picture of the one I just finished.  My line is called Schmoopie's Designs! Definitely for sale! Call for pricing and ordering!
Buisness Phone:  (920) 645-1525

Red Velvet Cupcakes

Since I am still in school, I usually don't have the time (or money) to bake batches upon batches of goodies.  But, that is ONE of the many perks of coming home to my parents house for the weekend.  I had a pretty busy, and stressful, week or two, or three, at school and I knew that perfect way to relax was bake my way through the weekend.  I had a couple recipes in mind that I wanted to try, and now two days later, I have quite a lot to show for it.  The first thing on my list, Red Velvet Cupcakes. 

I am a frequently customer at the local Starbucks in Stevens Point, conveniently located across the road from the campus, but I always go in there, at my mouth waters over the delcious, non vegan, desserts stacked delicately, behind their glass counter, teasing me to splurge.  It is moments like this that it is bitter sweet being vegan.  I am first mad that I choose not to eat the delcious contents of these treats, but then glad that I can't consume these extra calories atop my Chai Latte.  But after many weeks of restraining myself, I put matters into my own hands.  I set out on a baking mission: to master vegan cupcakes and scones! So, here ya go!

I got home Thursday night, and begged my mom to run to the grocery store with me.  I simply couldn't handle the temptations anymore.  I was going to have one of these "Red Velvet Cupcakes" tonight! They always looked so perfect behind their glass wall, and I can't remember ever having one, so they were first on my to do list! I looked up a recipe online, but tweaked it of course to make it my own.  I simply couldn't get the ingredients together fast enough. 

My father is usually quite cautious eating my creations, knowing that they are a little bit different tasting and sometimes quite odd, but I served him one of these fresh and even he couldn't turn down another one!  And my picky sister has had quite a few over the last two days.  They definitely don't last long in our house!

1 cup almond milk
1.5 tsp apple cider vinegar
1.5 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
3 tblsp cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp almond extract
red food coloring

First, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  While the kitchen heats up gather up your ingredients. 
In a small bowl, mix the almond milk and vinegar and set aside.  Shift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in a side bowl.  Mix the oil, vanilla extract, and almond extract.  Slowly add the dry ingredients until well blended.  I find adding the red food coloring to the almond milk/ cider mixture works the best.  After you have reached a good red color, at that to the rest of the batter.  It may seem a bit runny, but I assure you it will cook just fine! 

Fill cupcake tin about 3/4 of the way full.  Cook for 18 minutes or until a toothpick can be inserted and pulled out clean! Let cool and finish with this delicious topping!

Cream cheese frosting:
One container vegan cream cheese
Almond milk
1/2 cup Confectioner's sugar

Mix the cream cheese and sugar together.  Add a little milk until you get the thickness that you desire.  Keep the color white and play with some more food coloring!  Top you now cooled cupcakes and enjoy!

Stuffed Mushrooms

I work at a Cafe on my school's campus, where I can credit most of my love for cooking.  At work this past week my boss was catering an event for some professors and I can to work to find the kitched filled with the smell of baking mushrooms.  I went over to where my boss was working and wanted to eat every stuffed mushroom on the plate.  Unfortunately, they were loaded with cheese but I knew exactly what I was making for supper.  I have listed the vegan recipe, but then footnoted additions for a non vegan version. 

Ingredients:
1 package of large mushrooms
2 cloves minced garlic
1/8 chopped onion
1/4 cup chopped spinach
4 oz tofu
2 tsp lemon juice
1 cup tomato sauce
2 tblsp olive oil
1 tblsp oregano

Pick out the largest of the mushrooms from the container leaving the 4 smallest .  Carefully scoop out the steam with a spoon, leaving a hole for filling.  Then chop up 4 mushrooms.  Add the chopped garlic, onion, and spinach to the mushrooms.  Heat a skillet with some olive oil and sautee the vegetables.  Add the lemon juice and tofu until sizzling.  Put the mixture into the holes of the whole mushrooms. 

Mix the tomato sauce and olive oil and put on the bottom of a oven pan.  I used a bread pan because I only made a few, but a cookie sheet or anything else with a edge.  Put the stuffed mushrooms on the bottom of the pan.  Add the tomato sauce and drizzle some over the mushrooms.  Pop them into the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes, or until the sauce is sizzling.  Remove from the oven, scoop out the mushrooms and drizzle with the sauce from the pan.  Great served over pasta or just as is!

For a non vegan version:
stuffing ingredients:
1/4 cup chopped mushrooms
1/8 cup chopped spinach
2 tblsp garlic
2 tblsp parmeasan
Splash of cream or milk

Sautee all the vegetables in the cream.  After removed from heat, add the cheese and stuff the mushrooms.  Continue the rest of the process.  Enjoy :)

Zizi's, London

One evening a group of my friends and I were looking for a perfect place to eat and drink wine in the heart of London.  We had been there for a few months at this time, and wanted something we hadn't tried before.  To our surprise, and pleasure, we found Zizi's, nestled in only a couple blocks from our flat.  The dining room was quite small but the atmosphere was quaint and romantic, maybe not a perfect place for four twenty something girls, but we had to try one of their irrestibly good sounding pasta plates.  We had learned by this time that it was best for each of us to order something different and then pass each plate around. 

The dishes included pizza topped with fresh mozarella, mushrooms, tomatoes, and olives; pasta drenched in sweet sauce and mushrooms; pasta carbonara (sausage); and marghreita pizza (loaded with cheese).  By process of elimination, one can conclude that I ordered the simple sauce and mushrooms, but it did not disappoint.  The pasta was the perfect al dente and the sauce was so light it added the perfect amount of taste to the noodles.  Everyone else raved about their dishes as well as we sat back and looked at the dessert menu.  We were all over stuffed but the caramel cheesecake and homemade sorbert were calling out to us.  We ordered another bottle of our favorite Rose wine, that was conveintly shipped from California, and waited for the tasty desserts to arrive. 

Our waitor was one of a kind, and was incredibly patient as we pondered each order.  He helped with decisions and had the best recommendations for every taste.  We liked him so much, we asked for his work schedule to plan our next visit so he could greet us again. 

After a good two meals worth of food later, we sat motionless planning our next visit to our new favorite restaurant in London.  We couldn't decide if it was wonderfully convenient that it was only two blocks from home or if we better start buying larger jeans, but nonetheless, we went back time and time again.  Each time somehow better than the last.

Italian cooking...at home

Throughout the years, my favorite food was consistently Italian.  I had other favorites that would come and go.  But nothing ever quite got me excited like a big bowl of pasta, olive oil, fresh bread, and of course, wine.  I feel that American Italian just isn't quite right, so I have tried many different ways to bring Italy back home with me.  The light sauce is a perfect topping to a hearty bowl of whole wheat penne. 

I like to make this in large batches because this is a staple in my diet, but you can obviously make it on a smaller scale. 

2 cans of tomato sauce
2 large tomatoes (diced)
1/4 cup red wine
mushrooms (as many as you like)
onion (as many as you like)
1 tsp red cayenne pepper
1 tlbsp olive oil
1 tlbsp oregano

First take the sauce and tomatoes and bring to a boil.  Add the wine, mushrooms, onions, pepper, oregano and olive oil and bring to a boil.  To make a lighter sauce add more wine or olive oil.  My favorite is a plum wine I got from a Door County wine company, it adds the right amount of sweetness to the sauce.  But any red wine will taste great!  Serve this over whole wheat pasta and you'll feel like your sitting along Tiber River in Rome.  And make sure to pour yourself a glass of your favorite wine. 

Emy J's and Cafe Espresso

Stevens Point was my first home away from home.  I came to the University here as a freshman three years ago and since the first time I stepped foot in Emy J's I knew I would be back countless times over the course of my college time here.  Located a block north of downtown this quiet, quaint, little place seems to be in a perfect spot.  On one side you can find a wide variety of baked goodies, ice cream flavors and speciality coffee drinks.  Once ordering a Hot Apple Cider or Smoothies, customers can venture to the other side and look through their menu of delicious soups, wraps, and breakfast dishes.  Now, I have been here many times before but for some reason this trip stuck with me.  I ordered a Beany Bean Wrap, minus the cheese.  The large wrap came loaded with gucamole, black beans, greens, and pico de gallo. Along with that the dish comes with sweet potato chips, soup, or a side salad.  I dug my teeth into this enormous wrap and let the juices overwhelm my tastebuds.  The wrap came fresh off the grill and definitely did not disappoint. 

My dearest friend Ari swears by the Chicken Curry Wrap, and as did a lot of other people there.  It is definitely a crowd pleasure.  She got it paired with a wonderful, steamy bowl of Pumpkin and Red Pepper Soup, which I snitched more than one spoonful of. 

The atmosphere brings friends together and the lighting is perfect for reading.  After enjoying our filling meal (I had leftovers) we grabbed some coffee and mochas and sat reading for school.  There are plenty of couches around as well as tables for people to sit at.  The only thing that made this trip better was knowing that I was drinking fair trade coffee and most of their produce comes from local, and some, organic farmers in the Stevens Point area.  So whether you need a break from studying or just a place to grab coffee with a friend, make sure to stop in next time you're in the area.