Rosé, Meatballs, Vanilla Cupcakes

Savasana- pose of complete surrender

One week ago I returned from a weekend stint filled with, I kid you not - rosé and meatballs - in good old NYC. "Try the meatballs!" "Have a glass of Rosé!" "Meatballs are our specialty." "I hear the meatballs here are amazing." "Can I get you anything? A glass of Rosé?" "Did you try the meatballs?!?!!??!?"
It took the better part of a week to get my groove back. But I'm Back.

I ate the last two eggs for breakfast thursday morning and as dinner came to a close and I rolled up my sleeves and pulled on my oven mitts to commence J's Birthday sweets my heart sank as I saw the empty egg carton laying peacefully in the recycling. The solution: search vegan.

J and I just watched cupcake wars and had pastryballs (not meatballs!) on the brain. Now I know cupcakes have been overly trendy for a long time now. In NYC a new cupcake shop is about as welcome as a rat infestation and as cool as an electronic cigarette, but it's not like I am suggesting replacing one's wedding cake with a cupcake tower. I found this cupcake recipe and loved the ingredients so much I just had to try. (Coconut Oil! Curdled Almond Milk?!)

They were a success. J is a plain vanilla guy and always gets to pick what he wants on his birthday, so our little snacks were old fashioned and simple, but you can feel free to add 3 tablespoons cocoa powder/different extracts/citrus rinds/food coloring/m&m's... let your imagination run wild!

Vegan Vanilla Cupcakes for Anyone

1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 cups almond milk
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup white sugar
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup coconut oil, warmed until liquid
1 1/4 teaspoons vanilla extract

1. Pour almond milk over apple cider vinegar (in a pyrex measuring cup) and allow to curdle 

2. while you sift flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda and salt. 

3. Whisk coconut oil and vanilla into almond milk and 

4. then mix dry and wet ingredients just until combined. 

5. Bake 18 cupcakes in cute papers at 350 for 15-20 minutes (will spring back when touched.)

Frost with a matching frosting of choice. I combined whipped cream cheese, powdered sugar and vanilla extract with a spatula until I reached the desired sweetness. Refrigerate. I enjoyed these even more cooled the following days. And honestly, feel free to have these for breakfast, I know I just did ;)


AP tries on 'clubbing clothes' for NYC pre-trip (two weeks ago.)