Banana Espresso Chocolate Chip Muffins

I made these last night after dinner. They're rich and moist and really easy to make: sososo good. I was hoping to have some left over for this morning but my family ate them all:[

Serves: 12
Muffins:
4 ripe bananas, mashed
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup firmly packed light brown sugar
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1/2 cup light vanilla soy milk
1 tablespoon ground flax meal + 3 tablespoons water
1 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 cup Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate chips

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and oil muffin tins.
In a small bowl, whisk together the flax meal and water for about 2-3 minutes and set aside.
In a medium bowl, stir together the bananas, sugar, margarine, soymilk, and flax mixture. Add the flour, instant espresso powder, baking soda, and salt and mix until well combined. Fold in the chocolate chips. Fill each cup about three-quarters full. Bake on the center rack for 25 minutes. Let cool in tins for about 15 minutes and then transfer to a cooling rack.
Enjoy[:

*Don't use ground espresso; they aren't the same! Instant espresso is available in most grocery stores and will work much better.*

**There isn't a strong coffee flavor to these muffins, so if you want more just add more powder to taste.**

"Butterbeer" Cupcake

If there is anything that you should know about me, it's that I'm a huge Harry Potter fan. Like. Borderline obsessed if not there already. And so, in light of all of the Harry potter events [Harry Potter being constantly played the movie channels, The Wizarding World in Florida, HP7 commercial which I will share with you, and HP7 part 1 coming out in November] I decided to create a Harry Potter inspired "Butterbeer" cupcake:D
I looked up a bunch of butterbeer recipes and it's basically a butterscotch drink. So I made a butterscotch cupcake. And the best part? It's totally vegan. :D

serves: 12
Cupcakes:
1 heaping tablespoon cornstarch whisked in 2 tablespoons water
2/3 cups dark brown sugar
1 cup coconut milk
1/3 cup vegan margarine, melted
2 tablespoon corn syrup
1 tablespoon vanilla
2 cups flour
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

Icing:
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 cup brown sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tablespoon whiskey
3 1/2 cups confectioners sugar

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees and grease muffin tins.
Whisk together the cornstarch/water mixture, sugar, coconut milk, melted margarine, corn syrup, and vanilla until well combined. Sift in the flour, baking powder, and salt and mix. Pour batter into tins and bake on the center rack for about 15-20 minutes. Let cool completely.

In a saucepan, melt the vegan margarine. Stir in the sugar and mix until well incorporated, then add the vanilla, soy milk, and whiskey. Stir until mixture comes to a boil, and then take off heat. Let the mixture cool until lukewarm, then add the confectioners sugar.

*If you don't have dark brown sugar, use light brown and add two tablespoons fancy molasses to the cupcake batter.*

Moroccan Lentils

We had way too many lentils just sitting around at my house and it was driving me crazy. I found this recipe in Vegan With a Vengeance [<3] and I absolutely love it. It originally had raisins in it, though, so I took them out. Because that seemed a little sketchy. I have a foolproof couscous recipe that's good with it, too[: I'll post it after.

Serves: 6-8
Lentils:
2 tablespoons grapeseed oil
2 medium onions, quartered and sliced thin
1 cup carrots, cut into 1/4 inch dice
1 serrano chile, seeded and minced, to taste
3 cloves garlic
2 tablespoons ginger
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground tumeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 cups vegetable stock
3 cups water
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 cinnamon sticks
2 bay leaves
several dashes of black pepper
1 cup dried lentils, washed
1 zucchini, halved lengthwise and sliced 1/4 inch thick
1 cup green beans cut into 1 inch pieces [I cheated and just drained a can of less salt cut green beans]
2 cups grape tomatoes, halved
1 teaspoon salt
about 4 cups spinach torn into pieces
1/2 cup chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 cup chopped mint
lemon wedges to serve

In a stockpot, saute the onions in the oil over medium heat for 3 minutes. Add the carrots and chile and saute 3 minutes more. Add the garlic and ginger; saute for 2 minutes. Add the cumin, tumeric, and coriander, and mix. Add the stock, water, tomato paste, cinnamon sticks, bay leaves, black pepper, and lentils. Bring to a boil, then lower heat and let simmer, uncovered, for 20 minutes.
Add the veggies [except the spinach] and salt, simmer for 15 more minutes. Add the spinach, cilantro, and mint; stir well. When the spinach has wilted, about 1 minute, turn the heat off. Let the stew sit for 10 minutes. Remove bay leaves and cinnamon sticks. Serve over couscous with plenty of lemon wedges to squeeze in. :D

Couscous:
3 cups couscous
4 1/2 cups boiling water
1 teaspoon salt
1 Tablespoon grapeseed oil (optional)

Add the salt and oil to boiling water. Spread couscous evenly in the bottom of a large casserole so that it is in as thin a layer as possible. Add the water and cover tightly with plastic wrap. Wait until all the water is absorbed (about 15 minutes), then fluff with a fork. Enjoy!