Yellow cupcakes( vegan) with choc.frosting( not vegan).....

By now you know I'm not a Vegan and I probably will never be one( I really love dairy too much). I probably could become a vegetarian though. I havent eaten red meat in over 20 years and lately the thought of chicken or pork gives me bad shivers. I honestly don't like cleaning or touching raw chicken!!

You're probably asking "then why did she buy a vegan cookbook?" I bought Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World last year sometime because I thought so many of the cupcakes I'd see on other foodbloggers sites looked really good. I also thought " I'd still like to bake if I don't have any dairy or eggs in the house". That should be reason enough right?

Anyway, as I prepared our non-vegan dinner last night of Turkey burgers and oven baked fries, I decided I'd like a little treat for dessert. Aside from those chocolate brownie muffins, I havent baked anything in about 2 weeks.

I whipped out the book and decided on this basic yellow cupcake. The recipe came together in about 5 minutes. You clabber some soymilk( I used vanilla) with of cider vinegar in order to mimic buttermilk. You add your sugar to that along with some flavoring and 1/3c of oil. I used Fiori Di Sicilia, a citrus floraly vanilla flavoring from KA flour. You add the wet ingredients to the dry( flour, cornstarch, soda and powder) and thats it. I didnt even pull out the mixer!!

They smelled heavenly while they were baking, but I was still a bit skeptical. Since it was freezing outside( 12f), I popped them on the deck to cool for about 5 minutes. I frosted them with some simple chocolate frosting( NOT VEGAN) that I had leftover from a party I catered. If I was a vegan, obviously I would have whipped up a vegan frosting using margarine, but I dont even have any margarine in my house!!

I gave Robin a cupcake while explaining to her that these are vegan. Like the muffins, she was a bit skeptical!! How can you make a cupcake with no eggs?

The verdict? We liked them. They were light and not too sweet with a nice flavor. Next time, I'll try the chocolate kind. After all, I still have almost a full container of soymilk to use up......

Haddock w/Mushrooms and vermouth( Fine Cooking)....

I picked up the January issue off Fine Cooking looking for something quick and easy to make for dinner on Friday. My eyes were drawn to the little pull-out section in the back titled " Quick Fish". I spotted this recipe because I knew that Haddock was on sale and cremini mushrooms were on sale too. The original recipe uses cod, but the footnotes say that any firm white fish can be substituted. It came together in about 15 minutes and was delicious served with some mashed potatoes.

Weight Watcher brownie muffins......

I really debated about whether or not I should blog about these,because they're not gourmet or even blog worthy. I thought about it for a day and then said " why the heck not". I really wanted to blog about these, because I want this to come up on google if anyone is searching for a Weight Watcher Recipe for something sweet and simple.

As I mentioned last week, Robin and I started Weight Watchers( although I'm not being anal about every single point). I blogged last week over on Egullet with 2 other foodbloggers who were also watching their weight. One of them, has lost an impressive 200lbs already!! Anyway, I cooked a ton last week, along with packing Robin a snack container and lunch each day. All last week though, I craved something sweet with low points. I was browsing the cooking forum over on Garden Web and came across these. I think they're absolutely genius and I can't believe something can be so tasty with 2 ingredients and only 2 points( 3 if you use chocolate chips).

Now, don't hate on me because of the cake mix. I do have an organic mix in my pantry, but I was worried they wouldnt come out the same. One day I'll try them with that mix. For now, take my word that if you're dieting and in need of chocolate or your're a child, you'll probably love these. I think my neice Emily will love them and I've already instructed my sister to make them this weekend.

WW Brownie Muffins

1 box chocolate cake mix( can be devils food or dark chocolate)
1 15 ounce can of pumpkin( not pie filling).
6 ounces of choc. chips.

THATS IT!!!!!

No eggs, no oil, nothing else.

Mix the two really well( Mixture will be very thick) and scoop into sprayed muffin tins. Bake at 350 for around 13-15 min.

I topped mine with a few chips rather than adding them in.

I gave Robin one last night with about 3 tbls of organic vanilla ice cream and 1tbls of hot fudge( I made that!!) and she just about died. She couldnt believe they were 2 points each and only 2 ingredients. And no, you dont taste the pumpkin!!

Pssstttt......

I'm blogging about weight watcher's along with two other gay foodbloggers over at Egullet. Check it out!! You don't need to be a registered member to read.

New Year's Eve Paella( Cook's Illustrated).....

We're home!! Did you miss me? We had a glorius time in Florida. The weather was perfect,between 75-80F the entire time we were there. We managed to lay out in the sun almost every day( except xmas). We ate out a lot and believe it or not, I was looking forward to coming home and cooking. We usually get lobster on NY eve, but this year our supermarket was pre-cooking them. I decided to make a paella since I had some wonderful Spanish Paella rice lanquishing in the pantry that I picked up in Cleveland this summer. I also had the saffron, the chicken and the shrimp. I ended up buying clams, a piece marlin and the chorizo. It came out really well, very flavorful. I picked up 2 lobsters on sale for 8.77lb. I didnt really think about it, but the total was 15.50. Only when Robin picked out the palmful of meat( from both) did I realize that they were both under 1lb. Oh well, it was a nice garnish.

If you're having a party, its a great party dish because it made a huge pot!!