Happy Birthday, Mom: Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting

We celebrated my mom’s birthday this weekend with a family dinner at our house. My sister, our mom, and I divided up cooking responsibilities, and we all contributed a few dishes that resulted in a Sunday evening feast. We even had three desserts! My mom blew out her birthday candles with the help of my nephew and niece, and then we enjoyed some carrot cupcakes (courtesy of the birthday girl herself), and a few other treats! It was an enjoyable evening spent with a wonderful family and good food! Happy Birthday, Mom!


Carrot Cupcakes with Cream Cheese Frosting
(Recipe by Ellie Krieger)
Ingredients
¾ cup whole-wheat pastry flour
½ cup all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ cup canola oil
¾ cup firmly packed light brown sugar
2 large eggs
½ cup natural applesauce
½ teaspoon vanilla
1 ½ cups finely shredded carrots (about 2 medium carrots)
¼ cup plus 2 tablespoons finely chopped walnuts
4 ounces 1/3-fat cream cheese
¾ cup confectioners' sugar, sifted
½ teaspoon finely grated lemon zest

Directions
Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line 12 muffin cups with paper liners.

Sift together the first 6 ingredients. In a large bowl, whisk the oil, brown sugar and eggs until well combined. Whisk in the applesauce, vanilla and carrots. Add the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Stir in ¼ cup of the chopped walnuts.

Divide the batter between the muffin cups. Bake until a toothpick comes out clean, about 20 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

With an electric mixer, beat together the cream cheese, confectioners' sugar and lemon zest until smooth and creamy. Frost the cooled cupcakes and sprinkle with the remaining 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts. The cupcakes should be stored in the refrigerator.

Apple Applications: Baked & Stuffed Apples and Apple Chips

Apples happen to be my husband’s favorite fruit, if not one of his favorite foods. He’ll eat them any which way. He loves apple pie, and I’m ashamed to admit that I’ve only made an apple pie once in my life. I did it a of couple years ago for his birthday. The pie turned out wonderfully, but when you’re cooking healthy meals for two, apple pie doesn’t make it into the regular rotation.


The October, 2009 issue of Cooking Light had a couple ideas of how to be innovative with this well-known fruit. These aren’t your typical apple applications, but they are quite tasty and a lot of fun. They would be a fun treat for kids to try! (Particularly the Apple Chips, which are a bit addictive!)

Apple Chips
Ingredients
* 2 apples
* 1 teaspoon sugar
* 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions
Use a mandolin to cut paper-thin slices of apple. Arrange apple slices in a single layer on a baking sheet lined with parchment paper. Sprinkle apples with sugar and cinnamon, and bake at 200°F for 1 ½ hours or until lightly browned. Remove from pan and cool on a wire rack.

Stuffed and Baked Apples
Ingredients
* 4 apples
* ½ cup brown sugar
* 2 tablespoons chopped walnuts
* 1 tablespoon butter, cut into small cubes

Directions
Peel top of apple skins, then core, stopping ½ inch before you reach the bottom to keep filling inside. Use a melon baller or spoon to scoop out core, if necessary. Mix brown sugar, walnuts, and butter in a small bowl. Fill apples with brown sugar mixture.

Place apples in an 8-inch square baking dish, cover with foil, and bake at 350°F for 45 minutes; uncover and bake an additional 30 minutes or until a knife is easily inserted into flesh.

Fakin' the Bacon: Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Bacon and Walnuts

I’d like to welcome November with a hearty seasonal dish. I tried another recipe from the Raley’s magazine. This was another opportunity for me to use a fall-favorite ingredient (butternut squash) and quinoa.

Wow – this was great! When we tasted it, my husband and I found it to be very hearty and rustic. A delectable fall meal. The original recipe calls for bacon, but I used soy bacon (which my husband has coined “Fakin’ ”). This made it healthier and allowed me to enjoy it as well! (The soy bacon keeps the smokey flavor that you'd achieve with real bacon, but cuts out the cholesterol and saturated fat.) I used more squash and onion that the original recipe called for, and also used a clove of garlic instead of garlic salt (all changes noted below).

Quinoa with Butternut Squash, Bacon and Walnuts
(Adapted from Raley’s "Something Extra", Holiday, 2009)
Ingredients
* 2 cups vegetable broth
* 1 cup rinsed and drained quinoa
* 4 strips chopped bacon (or “Fakin’”)
* 1 tbsp. olive oil
* 2 cups diced butternut squash
* 1 medium-size onion, chopped
* 1 garlic clove, minced
* Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper, to taste
* ¼ cup walnuts, toasted
* Top with chopped fresh sage or thyme and chopped

Directions
Bring 2 cups vegetable broth to a boil in a medium saucepan. Stir in 1 cup rinsed and drained quinoa; reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 12 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes.

Cook 4 strips chopped bacon (or soy bacon) in a large skillet until very crisp. Remove and set aside. (If using real bacon, drain off all fat.) Add 1 tbsp. olive oil and stir in chopped onion, diced butternut squash, and minced garlic. Cook and stir over medium-high heat for 10 minutes. Stir vegetables and bacon into quinoa and season to taste with salt and pepper.

Top with chopped fresh sage or thyme, and chopped toasted walnuts.