Halloween Party!

I love to host a party, and this weekend was my first time hosting as a vegan. To make it even more of a challenge, all our guests were carnivores. So, I decided I had to make EXTRA delicious vegan food to distract them from the lack of meat....and egg, cheese, milk, etc..

On the menu:
Black Bean & Butternut Chilli
Corn Bread Muffins
Spiced (and Spiked) Apple Cider

For Dessert: 
Brownies
 Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes

For the Chili, I used THIS recipe from Bon Appetit. To make this Gluten-Free, I used Red Quinoa instead of Bulgur. I obviously also omitted the sour cream and cheese as recommended toppings. ;-)
I also didn't use quite as much oil. Just a few drops to cover the bottom of the pot.

I made this in a pot over the stove, and then transferred into a crock pot to keep warm (and free up space on my stovetop).

For the Cornbread I used a recipe from my new favorite cook book, The Happy Herbivore. She has the most amazing blog with a ton of her recipes.

For the Spiced (and Spiked) Apple Cider, I sort of punted for a recipe. After scouring the internet, I only ended up confused. There were a million different recipes, and all of them were way too different. So, I decided I'd throw things in a pot a see...it ended up DELICIOUS!

2 Qts Honeycrisp Apple Cider
1t Allspice
1/2 t nutmeg
3 Cinnamon Sticks
1/2C Woodford Reserve Bourbon

So far I've made these brownies twice. Both times they were a hit with the non-vegan crowd....a true test in my book.

They are the perfect blend of soft & chewy with a little crispy top. And, they are super quick and easy to make. They don't have a lot of ingredients and it's all pretty basic stuff you should already have in your cupboards.

The highlight of my evening was making a winning batch of Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Cupcakes. Pre-Vegan, I was quite the cupcake baker. So, giving up dairy and eggs seemed like doomsday on my cupcake obsession...

UNTIL....I got the best cookbook ever, "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World" . (Yes, that is it's actual title) And, I must say in my world, they definitely have.

1 cup canned pumpkin
1/3 cup oil
1 c granulated sugar
1/4 cup soy milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 cup chocolate chips

1. preheat oven to 350.

2. in a med. bowl, stir together pumpkin, oil, sugar, soy milk and vanilla. Sift in the flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and salt. Stir together with a fork -- don't use a mixer, as it will make the batter gummy. Once well combined, fold in the chocolate chips.

3. Fill cupcake liners two-thirds full. Bake for 22 to 24 minutes. Transfer to a wire rack and let fullly cool before icing.

These were the perfect blend of pumpkin and chocolate. They were moist, fluffy, and delish! In the book it recommends a cinnamon glaze, but wanting to decorate them with webs, I opted to try making my own vegan "butter cream":

1/2 c Eath Balance Margerine
2 T Soy Milk
1 t Vanilla
Add Powdered Sugar to desired constancy (about 2 C)

I made the webs by drawing 2 circles on the cupcakes (like a target) and then dragging a toothpick through them. My non-vegan guests didn't even know they were vegan...well, until we told them :-)