Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Spice Muffins

I was feeling much better yesterday evening, thanks to all the cold medicine I've been taking. While I was waiting for Amanda to get home from work I did a brief clean out of the fridge and discovered a bag of fresh cranberries I had bought but not used over the last few weeks.

I discarded the berries that had become squishy and rotten, but I had an overwhelming number left. I didn't feel like cranberry sauce/relish and I wasn't sure what else to do with them. I chatted online with Erica (former roommate/current graduate student/baking goddess) who suggested rolling them in confectioners sugar and drying them. Kevin (co-worker/vegetarian cooking master) was stranded in Indianapolis due to the weather and suggested a vegan pumpkin muffin recipe he had used.

As it turned out I had a leftover can of pumpkin puree in my cabinet, along with some chopped walnuts from Thanksgiving. I figured I could spruce up these muffins a bit and they'd be a nice, relatively healthy (compared to some of the things we've all eaten the last few weeks) treat to share with people post-holiday.

Cranberry Walnut Pumpkin Spice Muffins

1 3/4 cups flour

1 1/4 cups sugar

1 tablespoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 teaspoon ginger

1/4 teaspoon cloves

1 can pureed pumpkin

1/2 cup soy milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

2 tablespoons maple syrup

1/4 cup chopped walnuts

2/3 cup fresh cranberries, halved

This is a sift dry ingredients together in one bowl, mix wet ingredients together in another bowl kind of recipe. Add wet to dry, then mix in the cranberries and walnuts (see photo above).

Fill the muffin cups 2/3 way full (these do puff up, so overfilling them is a bad idea). Amanda had bought these cute blue and yellow silicon muffin wrappers for a dollar (!) at Target and I've been excited to use them. (See below.)

Bake on 350 degrees for 20 minutes (may take less in a gas oven, my electric one seems to take a bit longer to bake everything).

They turned out really beautifully, a little moist (I suspect a whole can of pumpkin puree was too much).

Here they are "naked". I snacked on them last night (and I've had one so far this morning). I will be passing some along to Ashley today, I think we're going to explore the Botanical Gardens since the weather is decent.

Here's to feeling better! And happy eating!

-Robin-

Nothing Says the Holidays like the Flu

I love my roommate Amanda. I do not - however - love her germs. I woke up Wednesday morning excited about my four days off (from both jobs) when I noticed that: I couldn't breathe out of my face.

My symptoms increased throughout the course of the day to: sinus headache, sore throat, upset stomach, coughing, sneezing, running nose, and terrible body aches - aka the classic flu. From Amanda to me, with love, right before we went to my dear sweet grandmother's for Christmas eve.

I went down to my grandmother's (with my brother and Amanda) and we were loaded up with food and goodies. Including a new onion chopper (!) and a salad spinner. And Target gift cards - the greatest gift anyone can give me.

So I came home and have spent most the last 48 hours in bed, feeling like death, ingesting large amounts of cold medicine, watching 30 Rock on Netflix, and not wanting to eat.

That's the worst part of this - I'm not hungry! Oatmeal has been my friend, along with some fruit that I've forced down chased by warm tea.

I'm feeling better now, so I'm trying to eat. Luckily I made a Broccoli Chickpea Casserole earlier this week (recipe/photo below) so all I have to do is reheat for some hearty and healthy goodness.

Needless to say, this black plague forced my idea of two grand birthday cakes for the guy I am not-so-secretly in adoration of to a screeching halt. So I improvised. I had a box of brownie mix and a bunch of Snickers fun size bars (which were originally intended for his cake). So he got Snickers brownies for his first birthday treat this week.


I cut the fun sized Snickers up into 6 pieces each and sprinkled them on top of the brownie mix once it was already in the pan.

Pre-baking shot. Post-baking was delicious (apparently) but not terribly visually-appealing as the Snickers sort of melted into pools across the brownies in a strange, but tasty way.

Here is my saving grace of the week (my foresight is superb apparently):

Broccoli Chickpea Casserole

3 cans of chick peas, rinsed/drained

1/2 large onion, sliced

2 large carrots, grated

1 head of broccoli, cut into small florets

1/2 cup of bread crumbs

3 tbls olive oil

1 cup vegetable broth

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees

Mash the chickpeas in a large bowl using a potato masher. Add the onion, carrots, and broccoli and mix well. Then add the bread crumbs and olive oil. Add the vegetable stock and salt. Mix everything together (by hand seems to work the best).

Transfer the mixture into a glass baking dish and press it down firmly.

Cover the mixture with foil and bake for 45 minutes. Then uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Still delicious, even after a few days in the fridge.

Here's hoping everyone had a healthy holiday and that the worst of this flu is behind us!

Happy Eating!

-Robin-

Issa Was Here

Happy Holidays from the ladies at the UCC! Biz should make an appearance soon while she's home (in Pittsburgh) to spend Christmas with her family before heading back to Dublin, so get ready! I've been busy getting gifts, mailing everything, and baking cookies for Hanukkah/ Christmas/ the New Year.

Here is what Amanda and I got Nathan (Amanda's little brother/ one of my favorite cooks):

Can you be jealous of a gift you got someone else? I am. I want the Flavor Bible too.

This is what our dining room looks like right now ... kinda scary ...

Our neighbor Amalea (Otto's mom!) gave us a poinsettia, which we are using to decorate our liquor shelf.

Amanda's mom Julie (Xango seller/ food sampler extraordinaire) mailed us a Christmas tree from Boise, Idaho along with decorations for our apartment since Amanda won't be home until January to celebrate with her family.

So I've been baking. And not baking. The "cookie" recipe that follows are no-bake cookies. Consider them a Coastal version of the Mid-western "no bakes" Kevin and my other middle American friends have been teaching my urban Eastern self about recently. These have been a holiday favorite of mine for a few years. They're incredibly simple to make, they go in the freezer, and everyone loves them.

Chocolate Cranberry Crisps

1 1/2 cups of rice krisipies cereal
12 ounces of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped almonds
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

In a large mixing bowl, mix together the rice cereal, cranberries, almonds, and vanilla extract. In a microwave safe bowl, melt the chocolate chips and stir until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into the mixing bowl and quickly mix so that the chocolate coats the cereal mixture. On a baking sheet, place a sheet of wax paper. Using two spoons, spoon out the mixture and plop it onto the wax paper. Once the wax paper is full of little gooey blobs of chocolate, put the baking sheet into the freezer for 10 minutes or so that the cookies can set. Once the cookies are set you can pull them off the wax paper pretty easily. I wrapped a batch up for Andy's parents (who I adore!).

I'm sure there will be many more holiday posts coming up. I will probably do a little something festive for Hannukah this week and I will be dividing my Christmas between my grandmother's and Ashley's. I am also gearing up to make two birthday cakes (!) for one very special person and for a low-key New Years that will involve helping Ashley recover from surgery.

For everyone reading this - Have a very Happy Hannukah, a very Merry Christmas, and a Safe and Healthy New Year!

Love & Happy Eating!

-Robin-

The Last 3 Quince

You're sick of me talking about quince, aren't you? Well, as of now, I'm out of quince. : (

My last three quince were used today to make a peach quince pie for Colin, who, like everyone else I know - has never had a quince.

Andy, when he was visiting in September (before he moved here in November!) brought me peaches that were home-jarred. I've been saving the jar for something special and today seemed like the perfect opportunity with Colin here to make him a treat. So I made him a peach quince pie. This is a variation on the quince blackberry pie I made for Andy and his father Tim a month or so ago. I used the other frozen pie crust had saved from that adventure.

I also took a recipe that I LOVE from a copy of Cook's Illustrated that I pour over at Andy's today before lunch. The recipe is for a better crumbly topping and oh, let me tell you - it is loads better than the toppings I've been making.

Peach Quince Pie

1 jar of wonderfully sweet summer peaches, canned by a good friend from the country

3 quince, peeled, cored, and chopped into flat pieces

1 pre-made pie crust

3/4 cup chopped walnuts (although other nuts- like almonds would work well)

1/2 cup flour

1/4 cup packed light brown sugar

4 tablespoons white sugar

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon cloves

Pinch of table salt

5 tablespoons margarine, melted and cooled

1 teaspoon corn starch

2 teaspoons lemon juice

To Do:

Poke holes in the pie crust and bake for about 10 minutes so it gets brown.

Arrange the peaches across the bottom of the pie crust in a pretty design.

In a pot, poach the quince (I put in a little honey and vanilla extract) and cook them until they get soft. Drain them. [I clearly didn't drain them enough, because the inside of my pie was a warmy, gooey mess. Which, frankly, I'm okay with, but some people like their food to stay together a bit more.]

In a bowl, combine the nuts, flour, spices, brown sugar, and 2 tablespoons (half) the white sugar. Pour the cooled melted margarine over the mixture and mix (hands work best) so it makes a wet sand texture.

In another bowl, mix the other 2 tablespoons of white sugar, the corn starch, lemon juice, and punch of salt. Toss the quince in this mixture before pouring them over the peaches.

Crumble the topping over the quince and bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes or so. Basically, bake the pie until the top is crunchy and everything is hot. Your kitchen is going to smell amazing.

Colin really enjoyed the pie. Andy got a text message about it and he's coming over later (before we all venture off to Ashley's housewarming party). The pie didn't stay together very well, and I could take or leave the crust (mostly leave). This would make a great cobbler and is an excellent idea for apples, pears, etc.

Now I just need to figure out what to do with the box of oranges that arrived fresh from a Florida grove from my grandparents yesterday...

Happy Eating!

-Robin-

Vegan Portuguese Kale Stew

My good friend Colin is making a 10 day visit to the East Coast. In his honor, I had our mutual friends over for dinner on Thursday. Andy brought the bread, Caitlin and Ashley brought the wine and apple crisp for dessert. I was in charge of "dinner". Soup/stew is generally a good call with a large crowd (there were 6 of us for dinner).

I was leaning towards making my traditional winter vegetable soup, but I realized I had made it for the break-fast on Yom Kippur, so I wanted to branch out and make a new hearty stew for everyone to try.

I had some vegetarian chorizo in the fridge, which I used at the inspiration for this stew. I picked up the kale and turnip at the organic market by my house, but the rest was found bits from my kitchen.

Vegan Portuguese Kale Stew

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 tablespoon chopped garlic

1/2 cup diced onion

1 large diced turnip

3 large diced carrots

1 bunch kale, stemmed and chopped

4 soy chorizo sausages, chopped

3 bay leaves

3 tablespoons parsley

2 tablespoons thyme

6 cups vegetable stock

1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained

3 red potatoes, diced

Heat the olive oil. Add the garlic, onion, turnip, and carrots. Heat for 5 minutes, then add the chopped chorizo.

Add the stock over the vegetables. Then add the spices and potatoes. Cook for about 20 minutes, until the vegetables are tender.

Add the beans and the kale, a handful at a time until the bunch is incorporated into the stew.

Salt and pepper to taste.


This stew was amazing. It made 8 good servings, because Andy had seconds (no judgement there! I take it as a compliment!) and I had one leftover for lunch the next day.

The colors were amazing and it made me feel good to eat it (as in I knew I was eating really healthy and it tasted great). I will be making this stew part of my recipe book, I think it will be making repeat performances a lot this weekend.

I'm sure I'll be cooking more this week for Colin while he's here, so expect more hearty meals!

Happy Eating!

-Robin-

Smurf Cookies

My coworker Kerri is leaving the hotel for a sweet State Department job (this a very DC story). Kerri hearts cookies, so for her going away last week I edited my standard chocolate chip cookie recipe especially for her.


Blueberry Chocolate Chip Almond Cookies (Smurf Cookies)

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup (2 sticks) margarine, softened (I used Earth Balance)
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
Egg replacer for 2 large eggs
2 cups semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 cup chopped nuts (I used almonds)
1 cup wild blueberries (I used Trader Joe's frozen organic)


To Do:

Mix flour, baking soda and salt in small bowl.

Beat margarine, granulated sugar, brown sugar and vanilla extract in large mixer bowl until creamy. Add egg replacer and beat.

Gradually mix in flour mixture. Stir in chocolate chips, nuts, and blueberries.

Use a large spoon and you can fit about 12 on a cookie sheet (four rows of three).

Bake on 375 degrees for about 10 minutes.


This recipe makes a lot (around 50?) cookies. They're really soft and would probably hold up better with real eggs and butter, but were delicious vegan. Kerri (and everyone else) loved them. And they were really cute and blue.

I'm sure there will be many variations of this to come.

Happy Eating!

-Robin-