Friday: What's Cooking In The Kitchen...

Finally back again! I have taken a bit of a break... not from the cooking and being in the kitchen

but rather just from blogging.

Since I last posted Kevin and I have enjoyed a trip to New Mexico to see some of our best friends and enjoy the Albuquerque Balloon Fiesta (hot air balloons). Turns out our trip to Snowmass to see the balloons was just a small taste; because in New Mexico we saw over 200!!! It was magical and beautiful and overall a wonderful trip.

My parents came to visit in mid October. Dad was here just for a weekend and mom stayed with us for two and half weeks. We made lots of great food and had fun at the Molly Brown House, Coors Tour, Painted Platter and lots of other adventures. She worked hard in our kitchen too; making cinnamon rolls and cooking down and freezing three giant pumpkins!

Thanks Mom!

Speaking of pumpkin... I tried a new recipe today. In our house we LOVE hummus so here is my recipe for an attempt to make pumpkin hummus.

Pumpkin Hummus

• 1 3/4 cups dry garbanzo beans
• 1 (15 ounce) can pumpkin puree
• 1 TBS lemon juice
• 1/3 cup tahini paste
• 2 cloves garlic
• salt to taste
• • 
    
• • I just throw it all in the food processor and then add a little water to get the right consistency. I was hoping that it wouldn't be too overpowered with the pumpkin and tahini paste always makes me nervous but...
  • • It turned out perfect!

We are also meeting up with friends tomorrow (saturday) for a double date at the Painted Platter (paint your own pottery place). When we are done we are planning to eat dinner and play some games here at the house. I'll be placing Vegan Chili in the crockpot before we leave in the morning and for dessert making Vegan Chocolate Cake.

Vegan Chocolate Cake

INGREDIENTS:

• 1-1/2 cups unbleached flour
• 3/4 cup sugar or other sweetener
• 1/2 tsp. Salt
• 1 tsp. Baking soda
• 3 tablespoons cocoa powder
• 1 tsp. vanilla
• 1/3 cup vegetable oil
• 1 tablespoon vinegar
• 1 cup cold water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Combine the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, and cocoa powder in a bowl and stir with a fork until mixed. Make a well in the center and add the vanilla, oil, vinegar, and water. Stir with a fork until well mixed. Pour into a 9x9-inch baking dish (or cupcake pan), and bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in center comes out clean.

Cool completely, then frost with Chocolate Cream Frosting

Chocolate Cream Frosting

Makes enough for one 9-inch cake or 8 cupcakes

INGREDIENTS:

• 2 tablespoon softened margarine (Earth Balance)
• 1-1/3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup cocoa
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
• 2-4 tablespoons water

INSTRUCTIONS:

Cream the margarine in a small bowl then add the sugar, cocoa, vanilla, and enough water to make a thick but spreadable frosting.

YUM! Can't wait to try this... the batter was good :) So now you might be wondering why everything is vegan... NO, we did not go Vegan but close. I will post more on this later this week because this is already overly long! Watch for that post!

Enjoy your weekend!