Recipe-less Spicy Noodles, Chickpea Curry and Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins

Yes, sometimes I use actual cookbooks, not just recipes from online. In fact, I own a horrendous number of them. So, in this post, all I will offer you is food porn! Who doesn't like that?

Burmese Noodles with Chili Sauce from The Asian Vegan Kitchen

A word of warning: So... Spicy... But also delicious!

Lemon Poppy Seed Muffins from The Candle Cafe Cookbook

Best muffins I have ever had, ever. Period. 

Chana Masala from The Asian Vegan Kitchen

Featured in my Indian Feast post. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

I've just been too lazy to write up a long review-type post about my Europe trip, fun as it was. But that's okay, because I have something of deep importance to write...

Vegan or not, these are the cinnamon buns of the Gods, no joke. My sister liked the Swedish cinnamon buns I posted a while back, so I guess it's a matter of taste. But honestly, these blow my mind. So, regardless of seasonality, make them. 

Pumpkin Cinnamon Buns

From donteatoffthesidewalk.com

Ingredients:

Dough

2 1/4 teaspoons active dry yeast

1/4 cup water

3/4 cup pumpkin puree

1/4 cup soymilk

1/4 cup vegan margarine

1 tablespoon sugar

2 1/2 cups plus 3/4 cup all-purpose flour, divided

1 1/4 teaspoons salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

1/4 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

Filling (Once again, I doubled it. I have a thing for gooey buns.)

3 tablespoons sugar

3 tablespoons brown sugar

2 tablespoons all-purpose flour

1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon

2 tablespoons vegan margarine

Glaze

3/4 cup powdered sugar

1 tablespoon water

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

Warm the 1/4 cup of water until nicely warm to the touch. In a large bowl, whisk together the yeast and warm water, and let stand for 5 minutes. Melt the 1/4 cup margarine and add it to the yeast mixture, along with the pumpkin, soymilk and sugar. Sift in 2 1/2 cups of flour, add the cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger and salt, and mix to combine. Using an electric mixer, beat the dough on medium speed until smooth. 

Turn the ball of dough onto a floured surface. Using the 3/4 cup of flour, a little bit at a time, flour the dough while kneading. Knead for about 10 minutes, until the dough is soft and slightly sticky to the touch.

Oil a large bowl and place the dough in the bowl, turning to coat. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place for 45 minutes or until doubled in size. 

Once risen, punch the dough down. Let it sit for 5 minutes. 

Combine the sugar, brown sugar, flour and cinnamon. Cut in the margarine until it becomes a corse meal. 

On a lightly floured surface, roll the dough out into a 10 x 12 in. rectangle. Sprinkle with the filling mixture. Starting with the long side, roll up the dough tightly and pinch the end to seal. Cut the roll into 12 even slices (about 1 in. long each). Grease a 9 in. pan and place the buns in it. Cover and let rise for 25 minutes or until doubled in size.

Preheat the oven to 357 degrees F.

Bake the buns for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool for 15 minutes in the pan, on a wire rack. 

Mix the powdered sugar with the water and vanilla, and whisk with a fork until smooth. If too thick, add water by the 1/2 teaspoon until it reaches the consistency you want. 

Orange Muffins

I've been pretty busy the past few days! One of my best friends and I had a great celebratory night out, my sister got an MRI and a brain scan, and I began an internship. Most importantly, my sister is completely healthy (turns out that sometimes a headache is just a headache). I was lucky enough to be given the opportunity to intern in a political office this summer, so exciting! Definitely a good past few days.

Also good are orange muffins. Whenever we visit my grandparents down in Florida during the winter, my grandma always buys mini muffins. IGA must employ some masterful mini muffin bakers, with such muffin skills that I can only dream of (well, they may have been a little more like cupcakes...). My favorite was always orange. The day after returning from our winter break in Florida, I whipped up a batch of these orange muffins; they aren't IGA by a long shot, but they're pretty damn good. My search for the perfect orange muffin continues!

Orange Muffins

Adapted from allrecipes.com

Makes 12

Ingredients:

2 cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup sugar

3 teaspoons baking powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup orange juice

1/3 cup canola oil

1 tablespoon orange zest

1 tablespoon ground flaxseeds

3 tablespoons water

Directions:

Heat the oven to 400 degrees F. Grease a muffin pan or line it with cupcake wrappers. 

Whisk together the flaxseed and water with a fork until it becomes slightly gelatinous. Then whisk together the orange juice, canola oil and flaxseed mixture until well blended.

Whisk together the flour, sugar, baking powder, zest and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix until just combined. 

Fill the cupcake wrappers 3/4 of the way. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Transfer to a wire rack to cool.

Swedish Cinnamon Buns

Pretty much everyone loves cinnamon buns (except for my one friend, who shall not be mentioned here...). Before becoming vegan two years ago, I had never baked cinnamon buns homemade, unless you count the Pillsbury ones from a tube. Pumpkin cinnamon rolls from Don't Eat Off The Sidewalk (which I will definitely be posting about later) opened my eyes to the deliciousness of fresh, cinnamon-y pastry in the morning, so it's been my go-to recipe since, with much approval. 

But! My grandpa is Swedish and sometimes you just don't have a can of pumpkin. However, I did have Swedish pearl sugar that we picked up in Sweden a couple of years ago. These are everything you could ever ask of a cinnamon bun: easy, pretty and super tasty. The Swede approved. 

Swedish Cinnamon Buns (Kanelbullar)

From dieflaschenpost.blogspot.com

Makes 12 

Ingredients:

Dough

2 teaspoons active dry yeast

2/3 cup soymilk

2 tablespoons soy yogurt

1/4 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 teaspoons ground cardamom

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1/4 cup vegan margarine, softened

Filling (I would suggest doubling it, I think it would be way too dry otherwise.)

2 tablespoons vegan margarine, softened

2 tablespoons sugar

1 tablespoon cinnamon

soymilk 

Swedish pearl sugar

Directions:

Warm the soymilk (about 30 seconds in the microwave) and gently whisk in the yeast until dissolved. Add all the remaining dough ingredients and knead together for 10 minutes, until a smooth ball of dough has formed. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.

Mix the filling ingredients together. After the dough has risen, roll it out into a 10 x 12 rectangle. Spread the filling evenly over the dough and, beginning with the long side, roll the dough up. Slice this into 12 even pieces.

Place 12 white cupcake wrappers on a baking sheet. Places one slice of cinnamon roll in each wrapper. Cover and let rise until doubled, about an hour. Preheat the oven to 425 degrees F.

After the rolls have risen completely, brush with soymilk and sprinkle with Swedish pearl sugar (along with the cardamom in the dough and being baked in white cupcake wrappers, the pearl sugar is very important for the authenticity of the buns, and it adds a nice texture). Bake for 10 minutes, or until golden brown with bubbling tops.

And Happy 4th of July!