Moist (Vegan) Pumpkin Cupcakes

I have been looking into Vegan cupcakes and other recipes for a friend of mine. Her son, who is the sweetest little boy I know, is unfortunately allergic to many things. So, the vegan lifestyle seems to work best for him. I don't know why I decided on pumpkin, but these are SOOOO good.

Pumpkin Cupcakes

First bowl:

1 cup pureed pumpkin

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup soy milk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Second bowl:

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/2 tsp ground nutmeg

1/2 tsp pumpkin pie spice

1/4 tsp salt

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp baking soda

Preheat oven to 350 deg. Line 12 cupcake holders.

Combine the ingredients in the first bowl. Add second bowl mixture lightly using a fork, not a mixer. Spoon mixture into holders, filling about 2/3 full. Bake for 23 - 25 minutes.

Allow cupcakes to rest in the cupcake for 10 minutes before placing them on a cooling rack.

(Use whatever icing you like. I used a vegan buttercream with cinnamon and brown sugar.)

Chocolate Vegan Cupcakes

3 C AP flour

6 T cocoa powder

2 t baking soda

2 c sugar (I used 1 1/2c white and 1/2c brown)

1 t salt

10 T vegetable oil

2 T white vinegar

2 t vanilla

2 C cold water (I used 1 1/3c water and 2/3c soy milk)

Preheat oven to 350 deg F. Place all dry ingredients into a large bowl and combine. Into your mixer bowl, add oil, vinegar and vanilla. Alternating, add the dry mixture with the water, ending with flour mixture. Pour into cupcake liners , about 3/4th up the liner.

Bake for 25 to 30 minutes. Let cool in pan for about 10 minutes, then completely cool on rack.

I found these cupcakes to be very moist and yummy. I would like to think you could leave out the cocoa powder and have vanilla ones. Good luck!!

Cinnamon Raisin Oatmeal Bread

Makes 3 loaves

24 oz (5 1/2 cups) bread or all-purpose unbleached flour
8 oz (1 7/8 cups) whole wheat flour
5.3 oz (1 5/8 cups) rolled oats
20 oz (2 1/2 cups) water
3.5 oz (3/8 cups) milk
2.4 oz (3 tablespoons) honey
2.4 oz (5 1/2 tablespoons) vegetable oil
.7 oz (1 tablespoons plus 1/2 teaspoon) salt
.37 oz (1 1/4 tablespoon) instant yeast
.5 oz (2 tablespoons) ground cinnamon
10.6 oz (2 cups) soaked and drained raisins

At least half an hour before you begin, soak the raisins in warm water.

Doing so plumps them, which makes them softer and moister in the loaf.

Next, soak the oats in the 2 1/2 cups water for 20 to 30 minutes.
If you are using active dry yeast instead of instant yeast, which I did, withhold 1/2 cup of the water to proof the yeast in. Mix the flours, yeast, milk, honey, oil, salt, and cinnamon into the oats. Mix well, until all of the flour is hydrated. Knead by hand for 5 minutes or in a standmixer for 3, then mix in the drained raisins. Knead or mix until the raisins are distributed throughout the dough. Cover the bowl of dough and allow it to rise for 1 hour. Then remove the dough from the bowl and fold it, degassing it gently as you do.

Place the dough on a floured work surface, top side down. Fold the dough in thirds, like a letter, gently degassing as you do. Fold in thirds again the other way. Flip the dough over, dust off as much of the raw flour as you can, and place it back into the bowl. Cover the bowl and allow the dough to rise in bulk again for another hour. Then divide the dough in thirds and shape the loaves. Place each shaped loaf into a greased bread pan. Spray or gently brush each loaf with water and sprinkle with some more oats. Cover the pans and set aside to rise until the loaves crest above the edge of the pans, roughly 90 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450. Place the loaves in the center rack of the oven. After 5 minutes, reduce the oven temperature to 375. Rotate the loaves 180 degrees after 20 minutes, and bake for another 15 to 25 minutes, until the tops of the loaves are nicely browned, the bottoms of the loaves make a hollow sound when tapped.

Notes: I made this bread with Craisins because I didn't have any raisins. Since I substituted quick-cook oats instead of the rolled oats, I didn't wait that long for the oats to soak in the water. I heated the oat/water mixture to 110 deg F and added my yeast to proof it. (I have active dry yeast instead of instant.)

THIS BREAD MAKES THREE LOAVES WHICH IS A LOT WHEN THE DOUGH IS RISING. BE PREPARED FOR LOTS OF DOUGH!!!!

Coconut Bread

2/3 cup coconut milk

2/3 cup lukewarm water

2 T shortening, melted

1/2 cup sugar

2 T milk powder

4 t instant yeast

1 t salt

1 egg, beaten

2 T coconut, finely chopped

4 cups bread flour

In a large bowl, add water, egg, coconut milk, shortening, sugar, instant yeast, salt, milk powder and coconut. Mix until well combined. Add in half the flour and continue mixing until smooth. Start adding more flour slowly. When it becomes hard to mix, pour out onto a hard surface. Continue to add more flour and begin to knead the dough for 8 to 10 minutes. After kneading, add a little oil to a bowl and add the dough. Flip a few times to make sure th dough is coated. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until dough has doubled. Cut dough into 32 equal pieces. Layer eight pieces in the bottom of one 4 1/2" by 8" greased loaf pan. Place eight more pieces on top of the first eight. Repeat with a second loaf pan. Cover with plastic wrap and allow to rest until dough reaches about 1 inch from the top of the pan.

Topping

1 egg white

1 T water

3 T flour

2 T sugar

2 butter, softened

2 T coconut, finely chopped

Combine flour, sugar, butter and coconut into a bowl. Using your fingers, mix till the mixture becomes a crumble. In a separate bowl, combine the egg white and water. Whisk until foamy. Brush the tops of the loaves with the foam and then add the crumble topping. Place into a 350 deg F preheated oven for about 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the pan and allow to cool on wire rack.

Notes: I didn't really make any changes to this recipe. I liked it the way it is. The only thing was that I didn't have any fresh coconut, so I used the frozen sweetened coconut instead. This bread isn't insanely sweet. It has a bread taste with a hint of coconut (from the coconut milk).

Oatmeal Bread

Ingredients

1 cup uncooked rolled oats

2 cups boiling water

1 envelope dry yeast

1/2 cup light molasses

2 tsp salt

1 tbsp butter

3 1/2 - 4 cups flour

Directions

Soak oatmeal in coiling water at least 30 minutes. When oatmeal has cooled add yeast, molasses (I used honey), salt, butter, and flour, one cup at a time. Place dough on a lightly floured surface and knead for a few minutes. Place in a greased bowl until doubled in size. Punch dough down and divide into 2 loaves. Cover and let rise again. Bake at 350 deg F about 35 - 40 minutes. Place on a wire rack to cool.

Notes: I used quick cooking oats and no quite boiling water. Then, I allowed the mixture to cool to the traditional 100 to 110 deg F before adding to my yeast mixture. I didn't melt the butter; don't know if you need to, actually. And, I used honey instead of molasses. Also, this time required all 4 cups of flour. Who knows the next time.

This bread is very moist and delicious. I highly recommend cutting it right after taking out of the oven and slapping on some butter (or cinnamon butter if you have it).

Baby Meador is a ...

GIRL!! Yes, we're having another girl. Wes came home unexpectedly from sea, so we were able to open the baby's envelope. (I had the US tech mark in a card whether the baby was a boy or girl because Wes couldn't be at the US.)

Now, the tech did say that she had a hard time telling the gender of the baby this time. We could still be having a boy, but it's pretty promising that it's a girl. At least, I kept all of Gwyn's clothes since she's been born. I only need to buy 0 to 6 months clothes in summer attire. Most of Gwyn's are wintery.

We haven't picked out names yet. In December, we are going camping (yes, at 7 months pregnant) and picking out the new baby's name. Once we figure it out, we'll let everyone know.

In three weeks, we will be moving again. We finally got a house in gov't housing on Ford Island. I like where we live now, but housing has air conditioning where I can close the windows and keep Hera from barking all the time, a gate with a guard 24 hours a day, and lots more room for all our junk and then some. I'm getting more excited every day. Unfortunately, Wes probably won't be here to help. Not his fault, his job pays the bills are allows me to stay home to raise the kids. Can't complain.

Well, that's all for now, I think. I hope everyone's having a great week so far. We look forward to anyone who wants to come for a visit, just after November and February is taken by the new little one. Best wishes to all. We love and miss you!!

Round Two

So, it has been a while since I have updated the blog. Once Wes arrived on July 23, it's been harder to post information. But, the biggest news is that we are expecting again, Feb 20th. Earlier this week, we had our 20 week ultrasound. Here are the pictures.

Right Foot

Nose and Lips (the right arm is covering the face and you can see the nose and lips in the center of the US picture)

Profile 1

Profile 2

Profile 3

Like with Gwyn, we had the US tech write in a card the gender of the baby. When Wes gets home from his sea trip, we will open it and tell everyone. The tech did say that it was a little harder to determine the gender, because the baby had his/her hands in their crotch. Nice.

Other good news is that we are moving again. We finally got a house in gov't housing on Ford Island. Due to whatever reasons, the navy is moving us again and I don't have to, all by myself - again. We are moving in the middle of November, which works out beautifully since our lease on the temporary place ends November 30th. Exciting times!!!!

Gwyn and I are doing great. I will post more pictures in a little while. She has been walking and trying to talk actual words. She turned 1 on Sept 2nd. She had a struggling time with her birthday. For whatever reason, she was sick and not feeling good at all. But, we all made it through it. Thanks to all the family that came for her birthday party.

Well, I'll post more later. I really wanted to get these pictures up so that Wes could see them. Love you all.