jawesome!!!

it's shark week!!! i don't even have cable, and i'm excited! so excited that i made shark week cupcakes. i don't think these needs much more of an explanation. on to the shark week sweets.

Shark Week Cupcakes

• one box dairy egg free cake mix (i used duncan hines classic yellow)
• 3 small bananas or 2 large
• juice of one lemon
• water
• oil
• cupcake liners
• icing (you can make this or buy in a can. i used duncan hines classic vanilla)
• food coloring
• swedish fish

1. follow instructions on box for water and oil amounts. mine called for 3 eggs, and this is where the bananas and lemon come in. one banana is equal to one egg as far as replacers go. mine were fairly large so i used just 2 bananas. chop them up then squeeze the juice of one lemon of them and mash. they should turn to about the consistency of an egg...there's your binder!
2. i divided my batter in two leaving half yellow, and the coloring the other to a sea-foam green. then put equal parts of each into the cups, and used a knife tip to marbleize them.
3. bake according to box. i actually had to leave mind in a tad longer. just use a toothpick or knife to poke the center of a cupcake; if it comes out clean they are finished! let cool.
4. while those are cooling mix some of your white icing with blue food coloring for the water, but be sure to leave some white for the splash.
5. after cupcakes are cool cover top with blue icing then add a dollop white in the center for a splash. the final touch: swedish fish! these vegan no meat treats will serve as our veracious jaws!

keep in fridge until serving or icing will melt! making these with kids would be a blast. these are so good good that my new un-named cat pulled one of the counter into the sink and ate almost the entire thing. i hope you do too!

who needs cheese when you have peanut butter?

my mom used to always give us bananas with peanut butter on them. i loved them. to this the day the mention of banana and peanut butter sends me into a tizzy. this recipe started when i actually wanted a pb & j sandwich, but had no j. then i remembered the bananas i did have! but i had no bread. i was finally saved by the flour tortillas i always have in my fridge. roller coaster of emotions.

Peanut Butter Quesadilla

• banana
• flour tortilla
• peanut butter

1. spray your skillet with some vegetable oil.
2. on half your tortilla spread peanut butter. i just so happened to have some white chocolate wonderful from the peanut butter company. so good.
3. add your sliced bananas, and fold over other half.
4. heat in skillet over medium high heat for about 2 minutes each side. just until they are golden brown, and you pb is melted.
5. cut and serve!

this could be fun and easy to make with kids. i don't make these with big tortillas that would be too much, unless you were making them for a dinner party and serving slices. this is a great snack, or as part of a lunch. enjoy!

apple burritos.

i had some of my most favorite people over for dinner last night, and it was awesome. dreams were dreamed of photographing all the food, and blasting out an epic post...but that did not happen. i was too busy having the time of my life laughing, and chatting with friends. one thing i did manage to snap a few photos of was the dessert! now, i did have to do a reenactment with leftovers & the last few drops of soy whip for the finished photo, but it worked. i made about 10 of these bad boys last night for the party so i tried to bring it to a more manageable amount (the pictures are from the big batch so, remember that!). alright, let's get down to business.

Apple Burrito

• 2 granny smith apples
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 2 tablespoons lime juice
• 3/4 cups chopped pecans (pecans are super easy to chop with your knife)
• 2 tablespoons of water
• 1 tablespoon cornstarch
• cinnamon
• brown sugar
• tortillas

1. after peeling and coring the apples cut them in to thin slices.
2. in a skillet mix lime juice, orange juice, and apples.
3. when the apples start to get soft add cinnamon and brown sugar to taste.
4. mix water and cornstarch then add to pan while constantly stirring. do NOT add the cornstarch straight to the mix. it will just clump up. we need the cornstarch to thicken up the filling. it should be about the consistency of apple pie. if you need to add more cornstarch to get it to your desired consistancey just remember to mix with water first!
5. transfer to a bowl, and stir in pecans. i'm nuts for nuts so i might add a little more next time. the crunch they give is a nice additional texture as well.
6. let the mix kick it on the counter for a bit to cool down.
7. spoon the filling onto tortilla, & roll it up.
8. you can bake them at 350 for about 15-20 minutes on a cookie sheet lined with very lightly greased aluminum foil, or a lightly greased glass dish.
9. let cool on rack or plate for a few minutes then cut diagonally.
10. plate and eat up!

serve this with soy whip or vanilla soy/coconut milk ice cream. as well as adding more nuts next time i think i will brush some melted butter on them and sprinkle with some brown sugar. also, i read that ground cloves usually go in this dish, but i only had whole cloves so, that didn't happen, but i'd like it to next time. the filling could be made the day before to save time. when i was prepping one for the finished product shot, & it was chilled the burrito was way easier to cut as well. i guess what i am saying is i'm pretty sure these could be made the day before a dinner party, and warmed up before serving. now i am off to munch on leftover enchiladas, and remember the awesome time i had last night with some pretty amazing people. enjoy your day!