Refreshing cucumber yogurt soup - Recipe Monday

Cucumber Yogurt Soup w/ Bread and Einstein

Today's recipe is a favorite in our little home. The husband always gets super excited when he sees me getting the ingredients out. Although this is technically a summer soup we make it whenever we want, you know, Texan winters aren't usually that cold :)

I have made this recipe many, many times, first following the instruction my grandma had given me and then following a recipe I found in a German vegetarian cookbook. By now I don't measure anything and follow my gut.  

Here is what you need for this quick, uncomplicated cold "summer" soup which will leave you wanting more - except of course if you are lactose intolerant.


Ingredients:

• Plain Greek yogurt, about 3 cups
• a drizzle of olive oil
• 1 cucumber, peeled and cut into rough cubes
• 1 clove of garlic, finely minced or grated
• the zest and juice of one lemon
• salt and cayenne pepper to taste
• fresh or dried dill to taste (I use about 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon)

And this is how it's done:

1.  In a food processor process the cucumber until smooth. 
2. Transfer the processed cucumber to a bowl, add in the Greek yogurt, garlic, a drizzle of olive oil and the zest of the lemon. Mix with a wooden spoon until smooth.
3. Gradually add in the lemon juice, dill, salt and cayenne pepper to taste. 
4. If you think that the soup is a little too thick add in a little cold water (about a 1/4 cup at a time) until it reaches the desired consistency.
5. Garnish with a slice of cucumber and serve with toasted bread. Serve immediately.

This is great as a light dinner or lunch and makes the perfect appetizer soup. But remember this contains a clove of fresh garlic, so don't eat it before going on a date ;-)

If you want to make it a little ahead of time, don't add the water until right before serving and keep the soup in the fridge so that it is nice and cold when you serve it.

On a side note, make sure you taste it while seasoning it. Add about half the lemon juice first and see whether it needs more lemon or not. Your taste is what matters not mine, and that's why I don't give clear measurements for the spices. As I have said before: Make it your own!

Homemade Chocolate Pudding - Recipe Monday

I love pudding. And when I say love, I really mean LOVE. But I hate pudding mixes with artificial flavors, colors, or worse gelatin. For some time I found myself searching the internet for chocolate pudding recipes and as you can probably guess there are tons and tons of recipes out there. Some use eggs (I found recipes using up to 6 eggs), avocado (as a secret ingredient), others use silken tofu. I don't like eggs. Everything about them grosses me out. I did not have avocados at hand, and well I was doubtful. Silken tofu is hard to come by in a place that will give you ten different kind of tortillas and twenty types of beans, but only one type of Matzos (the cardboard kind). So,well, I gave up until the Vegan Zombie posted a vegan pudding recipe. I modified the amount of sugar used in the recipe quite a bit because I like to eat a bowl of pudding and not just a spoonful. But trust me, the pudding is still plenty sweet...

Here is what you will need:

• 3 cups of soy milk (plain)
• 1/4 cup cornstarch
• 1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sugar
• pinch of salt

  And here is what you need to do:

1. Add milk to a saucepan and turn the heat to medium. Whisk in cocoa powder and cornstarch until well combined. Then whisk in the sugar until dissolved.
2. Keep stirring over medium heat until the mixture thickens.
3. After it thickens, bring it to a boil and keep stirring for another minute or two.
4. Remove from heat, pour pudding into ramekins or bowls. Let cool (or eat it when it is still warm if you prefer your pudding warm).

Hope you give it a try and let me know what you think. 

Vegan Strawberry Cupcakes - Recipe Monday

Today we are trying something new: A recipe! Because, well the wife took over :) We will see whether it will become a thing or not. So let's get started.

Here is what you will need to make these super delicious vegan summer cupcakes:
Makes 12 cupcakes:

• 4 tbsp (vegan) butter or margarine at room temperature
• 2/3cup sugar
• 2tbsp vanilla extract
• 2 egg replacement (I used 2 tbsp flax seed meal and 6 tbsp water, but if you are not vegan feel free to use 2 eggs)
• 1 and 1/2 cups flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 cup milk (such as plain soy milk)
• 7 oz strawberries (about 8 strawberries), pureed (try raspberries or maybe even peach)

1. Preheat your oven to 325F and lightly grease a muffin pan.
2. In a bowl, cream together the butter/margarine, sugar and vanilla extract until light and fluffy.
3. Mix in the egg replacement, then add in the flour and baking powder and stir until well combined.
4. Lastly add in the pureed strawberries. The batter will look nice and pink.
5. Spoon the batter into the prepared muffin pan and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until a tooth pick inserted into the center of the cupcake comes out clean.

What is great about these cupcakes is that they are easy to make and don't require any weird ingredients... and they are a lot cheaper than anything you can buy at the store. (We buy flour, soy milk and vanilla extract from Costco.)
And if you are worried that these might taste funky, I assure you they taste wonderful. I never use milk or eggs in my baking and no one has ever noticed a difference. I halved the recipe yesterday and made 6 cupcakes, and what can I say... they were gone by bedtime. In addition, they don't need fancy frosting. They are wonderful with just a dusting of powdered sugar or a drizzle of melted chocolate.