Cupcakes for a Cause

Cupcakes to raise money for Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk.

I spent Thursday night in my kitchen, barefoot, slaving over cupcakes, & covered in frosting.  I'll allow you a moment to enjoy and digest that sexy visual.  OK, I'll be honest, I was not barefoot & there was no Amish porn involved in the making of these cupcakes ;)

The cupcakes were for a bake-sale in my office on Friday.  My company participates in the Making Strides Against Breast Cancer walk (actually, it's a festival at our local location due to the high level of participation).  I made dark chocolate cupcakes, half of them had cherry frosting with a Maraschino cherry on top and the other half were topped with raspberry frosting and a fresh raspberry. My friend/coworker Ruth made the cupcakes with the adorable mini pink breast cancer awareness ribbons on them (the white frosting, and the pink/white swirled frosting cupcakes). She also took the wonderful photo above to display our delicious & beautiful creations. Two other coworkers made the "stuffed" cupcakes and ribbon shaped cookies (not pictured here). These people all deserve some thanks and recognition for their hard work, baking skills, & donation to the cause.  The baked goods raised almost $400 on Friday :-) The company team is over the $5,000 goal with almost $7,000 (and still counting) raised for the event tomorrow. We kind of rock like that!

Breast Cancer Awareness Cupcakes. Yeah, they look like that on purpose ;)

The event is especially important to my coworkers because less than a week ago we lost one of our own.  Our payroll manager, Lorena, lost her battle with metastasized breast cancer at the age of 48.  Her funeral was on October 13th which is Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day in Maine.  It is that day in Maine because back in 2008 Lorena contacted the governor of the state to ask that Maine adopt the day.  This day is an important reminder to everyone that breast cancer awareness isn't just a collection of survivor stories, mastectomies, & support groups; it's also about the people who will not survive.  Breast cancer is still a very deadly form of cancer. I know many women who have survived breast cancer (including other coworkers, family, & friends) so I understand that there is a general misconception that as long as it is caught early a person will survive. Lorena's death is a very sad reminder that even when caught during a monthly breast exam (as it happened in her case) breast cancer can still kill you.

Triple Chocolate Surprise Brownies

Layered brownie "cake" with walnut butter, banana slices, & chocolate syrup

Surprise! These brownies have black beans & spinach in them... nothing says ooey, gooey brownie goodness like um, black beans & spinach? I understand the purpose of the beans, they would add density & moisture and perhaps a depth to the chocolate similar to the way coffee would, but not so sure about the purpose of the spinach. Moisture? Texture?

I came across this interesting recipe for Triple Chocolate Surprise Brownies at health.com and they captured my interest.  I decided to make them, but I altered the recipe a bit to make them vegan & gluten-free (basically just for the heck of it and to say it can be done).

I swapped out the eggs in their recipe with ground flax seed & water, replaced butter & olive oil with walnut oil, used walnuts instead of pecans, banana instead of apple, buckwheat flour instead of regular flour, less sugar, & different types of cocoa/chocolate blocks.  OK, so I changed their recipe a lot.

Ingredients

• 1 10 oz can of black beans, rinsed and drained (about 1 cup)
• 4 tablespoons walnut oil
• 1/2 cup thawed and squeezed dry frozen spinach
• 1 ripe banana*
• 2 tablespoons of finely ground flax-seed
• 6 tablespoons of warm water
• 1/2 cup sugar*
• 4 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa (Hershey's Special Dark)
• 1 1/2 tablespoons instant espresso powder (2 packets of Starbucks VIA ready-brew Colombian)
• 3 ounces chopped semi-sweet chocolate
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup buckwheat flour
• 1 3oz bar of Endangered Species Tiger chocolate (dark chocolate w espresso beans).
• 1/2 cup chopped walnuts

*I posted what I used, if I made these again I would use two bananas for better texture/moisture and 3/4 cup of sugar to make them a bit sweeter.

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°. Put warm water, flax-seed, instant coffee, and vanilla in a bowl and let sit for 5-10 minutes to gel up. Put black beans, walnut oil, spinach, banana, flax-seed mix, sugar, & cocoa in a food processor; pulse for 1 minute or until smooth (I used a blender, I don't have a food processor...). Microwave semi sweet chocolate pieces in a glass bowl, stirring every 30 seconds or until smooth; cool for 5 minutes. Transfer blender/processor mix to large bowl, add melted chocolate & salt, and mix. Stir in buckwheat flour and bits of the tiger bar chocolate. Pour into an oiled/greased 9x13-inch pan; top with chopped walnuts. Bake for 20-25 minutes; cool for 15 minutes.

The end product wasn't bad; definitely a decent dark chocolate/coffee flavor.  Like I said above, I would use two bananas and a little more sugar if I made these again to give them a more dessert like sweetness & dense brownie moisture.  I might skip the extra sugar and use walnut butter to make a sweet, fluffy walnut frosting for them as well. Yum! I would also consider skipping walnuts altogether and making these with some cinnamon & cayenne to make some spicy Mexican brownies... makes sense with the beans after-all ;)

You can feel good about serving these vegan brownies that also helped endangered species with that "Tiger Chocolate" :)~

Serrano Orange Chicken w/ Jasmine Rice

Recently I saw this recipe for Serrano Orange Chicken with Jasmine Rice in a Hannaford Magazine and decided to try it because I love orange chicken, hot peppers, & Jasmine rice, so why not mix them all together, right? I gave this a try after being outside most of the day on Friday in some unseasonably cold weather which made me look forward to spending time near a warm stove.

Servings: Serves 4
Prep Time: 15 minutes
Cook Time: 18 minutes

Ingredients: 

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast cut into 3/4-inch pieces

3 tablespoons cornstarch

1 teaspoon grated orange zest

3/4 cup orange juice

2 tablespoons honey

2 each serrano chili peppers, seeded, veined, and minced

1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil

1 teaspoon Crushed red pepper flakes, or to taste

2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 tablespoons reduced-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons Olive oil, divided

1 cup sliced red and yellow bell pepper

2(8.5 oz.) pkgs precooked microwavable jasmine rice (such as Uncle Ben's)

Directions:

1. In a medium bowl, coat chicken pieces with cornstarch. Set aside.

2. In another medium bowl, combine orange zest, orange juice, honey, serranos, sesame oil, red pepper flakes, garlic, and soy sauce. Whisk to combine. Set aside.

3. Heat 1 tablespoon of the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add bell peppers and cook until slightly softened, about 3 minutes. Transfer to a plate.

4. Add remaining 1 tablespoon olive oil to the pan and heat over medium-high heat. Add chicken and cook about 5 minutes. Turn chicken and cook 5 minutes longer. Add orange sauce to the skillet. Toss to coat chicken, and cook until sauce is reduced by half, about 3 minutes. Add bell peppers back to the pan and cook just until heated through, about 1minute.

5. Heat rice in microwave according to package instructions, about 1 1/2minutes.

6. To serve, divide rice among 4 bowls. Top with chicken and peppers and serve immediately.

 

Source: Hannaford fresh Magazine, September - October 2011

My finished product of Serrano Orange Chicken

I cooked up some jasmine rice on the stove-top rather than using the microwavable kind. The finished product was OK, but if I made it again I would double the Serrano peppers to add more heat/flavor or perhaps throw some dried japones chiles in there for some serious heat. I realized after making this dish that it was lacking something important: more veggies! It could use some broccoli florets, carrots, & maybe even some baby/mini corn. That would really make it better :) The orange glaze might be improved with some ginger & scallions as well.

Buffalo Chicken Bits & Jasmine Rice

Since I was still craving some heat on Saturday night I used leftover chicken and rice to make a dish of Buffalo chicken with thinly cut strips of celery. Yummy :)

Exploring Nature in Wells, Maine

On Friday I decided to travel to some trails that I had read about in Wells, Maine.  I have my local trails that I love, but sometimes (many times) it is nice to get out and see something new.

First stop was the Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge.  A chance to see a New England Cottontail in its natural habitat is enough to get me out of bed early on my day off :) Yes, I love bunnies, who doesn't?  No, don't answer that because I would have to hate anyone who disliked bunnies, and that will waste too much  energy that could be used for something better :-D

Carson Trail @ Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

Rachel Carson National Wildlife Refuge

I did see one bunny hopping around, but didn't get a good view because he was well protected under some overgrown brush (good for him being safe!).  It was an easy one mile or so loop around some woods and marsh land with little bridges & scenic outlook posts. Quite charming. Leashed pets are allowed on this trail & I wish I had my dog with me to enjoy it that day. 

After leaving the Rachel Carson park I decided to visit the Wells National Estuarine Research Reserve at Laudholm which is close to the Rachel Carson land; across one of those quaint one lane bridges that you find in this area of the country. Quaint because I didn't have to deal with anyone trying to use the bridge at the same time as me.

I walked around the grounds at the Wells Estuary and started to walk down the path to take me to the beach, but I got distracted by the cart path which is narrow boardwalk type of a path through the woods. I'll have to go back another day to check out the other trails on the property and see what the beach views are like there. I'm sad that dogs aren't allowed on this property because I would love to take my dog for a walk along the beach on a cool autumn day.

Carson Trail @ Rachel Carson NWR

Whimsical path on Carson Trail

Cart Path @ Wells Estuary

Historic Laudholm Farm @ Wells Estuary

For more photos see my Wells, Maine set on Flickr.