Dessert, Recipe
Or cocktails IN cupcakes.
I really did have good intentions.
I was planning on making a tropical fruit salad infused with mint and lime, but the mint kept screaming “make me into a cupcake”.
I had to listen.
So instead of tangy fruit cocktails alongside some real cocktails, I had cupcakes.
Clearly I made a good decision here.
I couldn’t decide which cocktail I was inspired by more: the pina colada or the mojito.
So naturally I channelled both.
Pineapple juice & shredded coconut, meet lime and mint. I believe you’ll get along just swell.
Yeah, I’d say it’s a pretty good match.
by with a Side of Sneakers
These vegan, gluten-free cupcakes pack a punch of flavor you wouldn’t expect- tropical hints of pineapple and coconut along with the zing of mint and lime.
If you’re not gluten-free, simply sub the flour, starch, and guar gum for 2 cups all purpose flour.
For the Cupcakes
- 1 cup sorghum flour or brown rice flour
- 1 cup tapioca starch
- 1 cup sugar
- 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
- 1 teaspoon baking powder
- 1 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 teaspoon guar gum
- ½ cup coconut milk
- ½ cup pineapple juice
- 1 flax egg {1 T flax meal + 3 T water}
- 3 tablespoons coconut oil
- 1 t vanilla
- 2 t lime juice
- 1 bunch mint leaves
- ¼ cup unsweetened coconut flakes
For the Frosting
- 1 cup vegan shortening
- 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
- 1 1/2 teaspoons lime juice
- 1/4 cup coconut milk
- 1/2 teaspoon mint leaves, minced
- zest of one lime
- coconut for garnish
Prepare flax egg. Set aside.
Combine dry ingredients.
Chiffonade mint leaves into small pieces, mashing & bruising as you do so. Mix with lime juice and microwave for 10 seconds to release mint flavor.
In a mixing bowl, combine wet ingredients. Slowly mix in dry ingredients with mixer.
Fold in mint, lime & coconut.
Divide batter evenly into muffin cups. Bake for ~17 minutes at 350 degrees.
Remove from oven and let cool slightly before transferring cupcakes to cooling rack to cool completely.
While cupcakes are baking, prepare frosting so flavors can start to meld.
Combine coconut milk, lime juice, zest, and mint. Microwave for 10 seconds to release mint flavor.
Mix all frosting ingredients and beat on high speed until fluffy.
When cupcakes are completely cooled, brush tops with lime juice then top with frosting. Sprinkle with extra coconut and lime zest. Garnish with lime wedges and mint leaves.
What cocktail would you want to eat in cupcake form?
*If you want to know why I bothered making these delicious treats gluten-free AND vegan, read today’s post on tiny sneakers.
Recipe
While I could eat the grilled jalapeno-peach crostini for a meal by itself, I went the mature route and made a salad to go with them.
A giant, grilled fruit, coconut shrimp salad. And don’t worry, there’s a vegan version too.
First up, the coconut shrimp.
Grilled Coconut Shrimp
1/2 lb shrimp
4 Tbsp cornstarch
1/4 tsp cayenne
dash of cumin
1/4 cup orange juice
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
Set up three small bowls with the following: cornstarch, cayenne, & cumin in one; orange juice; coconut flakes.
Dip de-shelled shrimp into the cornstarch mixture. Wipe off extra cornstarch so there’s just a light coating. Dip into orange juice, then coconut flakes.
Place shrimp on hot grill. Cook a few minutes on each side, until shrimp just turns pink. Alternatively you can bake them in 350 degree oven for 15 minutes.
Now time for the salad. Grilled fruit is 10x better than sliced bread. I haven’t met a fruit I don’t like better grilled…this was just my excuse to eat a lot of it.
Grilled Fruit Salad
1 head romaine
1/2 pineapple
1 mango
1 orange bell pepper
Slice fruit and pepper into long strips.
Heat on grill.
Chop lettuce and top with grilled fruit.
And of course you can’t have salad without salad dressing. {Well you can, but it’s way better if you do.}
This dressing is probably best made a day ahead so the flavors can meld together, but if you have to, you can make it last minute. {Just make extra so it’s really good the next time. 
}
Citrus Witbier Salad Dressing
3 Tbsp olive oil
2 tsp diced shallot
1/2 garlic clove, diced
2 tsp dijon mustard
3 Tbsp wit bier {like New Belgium’s Mothership Wit}
splash of honey
If you can’t make the dressing the day before, you might want to pop the shallot and the garlic on the grill for a few minutes before dicing- it’ll mellow the sharp flavors of the fresh shallot and garlic so they don’t overwhelm your dressing. Otherwise, just leave them raw.
Place ingredients in a jar and shake to combine. Couldn’t be easier.
To put it all together: top romaine with fruit and coconut shrimp, then drizzle dressing on top.
Goes great with jalapeno-peach goat cheese crostini. The shrimp taste great dipped into the jalapeno-peach jelly mixture too.
Don’t eat shrimp? Make grilled coconut tempeh!
How’s that for beer pairing?
Recipe
My favorite go-to recipe lately is black bean pineapple enchiladas. Not only are they delicious, but they are so easy to fix it’s hard to find a reason not to make them every night.
They’re also easy to fix ahead of time and pop in the oven just before dinner time or pop in the freezer for another day.
They’re also easy to drop on the floor if you’re tired. {And yes, I did eat them. They’re too good not too.}
Black Bean Pineapple Enchiladas
8 whole wheat tortillas
2 cans black beans, drained & rinsed
1 can crushed pineapple {if you have the really big can, only use half}
1/2 packet low sodium taco seasoning
2 chilies in adobo, diced
1 can enchilada sauce {or make your own enchilada sauce}
Mix together black beans, enchiladas, taco seasoning, and chilies. Scoop into whole wheat tortillas. Fold in edges of tortillas and place in baking dish. 
Top with enchilada sauce.
{Not going to lie, these are so good I’ve even used spaghetti sauce in a pinch. Not bad. Not as good though.}
Bake at 350 for 20 minutes, then broil on high until edges start to brown.
You can certainly add cheese before you broil the enchiladas, but I promise you won’t even miss it if you don’t.
They’re also delicious smothered in a pile of jalapenos and served with a Pale Pale Ale to wash away the heat. Mmmm,
Saranac Pale Pale Ale…if you like IPAs and hoppy beer, I definitely recommend giving this one a try.
Recipe
Critics say vegetarians can’t possibly get enough protein.
I say they’re wrong.
Quinoa + Black Eyed Peas + Cashews = Veggie Protein Powerhouse
Black Eyed Pea Quinoa
3/4 c dry red quinoa
3/4 c pineapple juice
3/4 c water
2 T soy sauce
2 T Worcestershire sauce
1/2 c pineapple chunks
1/2 c raw cashews, chopped
1 jalapeno, diced
1 clove garlic, diced
1/2 T olive oil
red pepper flakes
2 c black eyed peas
Bring quinoa, pineapple juice, water, soy sauce and Worcestershire sauce to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes or until water is absorbed.
While quinoa is cooking, sauté jalapeno and garlic in a splash of olive oil. Cook for ~3 minutes, stirring to keep garlic from burning. Stir in cashews. Cook until you can smell the cashews toasting or the jalapeno starts to brown.
Stir in pineapple chunks. Optional: add an extra splash of soy sauce & Worcestershire sauce. Stir in red pepper flakes. Omit if you don’t like heat; add liberally if you do.
When liquid is absorbed in quinoa, stir in black eyed peas.
Serve quinoa and pea mixture in bowls, then top with cashew-pineapple mixture.
Optional: serve with toasted pita wedges.
So now do you want to talk about protein? 
What’s your favorite veggie-source of protein?
Dinner
I love checking cookbooks out from the library. Since I usually use them for inspiration and don’t actually follow them, I like to look through them first before buying. No sense in another cookbook collecting dust in the pantry.
Before I went to the beach, I was super excited to finally be able to pick up my copy of Veganomicon. I immediately scanned through the recipes and marked some I needed to look at closer.
Only by the time I got back from my trip, the book was due, and I never got a chance to take another look. 🙁 Time to get back on the reserve list!
One recipe definitely stood out to me, so I decided to do my best attempt at recreating it from what I could remember. The name of the recipe pretty much reveals the biggest secret: “Pineapple Cashew Quinoa”- at least I knew 3 ingredients I needed!
First up, the quinoa. (If you’ve never had quinoa, click the link to learn more- it’s so yummy!)
I love using red quinoa- it’s pretty much the same as regular quinoa, but it adds fun color to a dish and tends to have a little more fiber!
The only thing I could remember from the recipe was that it called for the quinoa to be cooked in pineapple juice & soy sauce, so I combined my 2/3 cup quinoa with 2/3 cup each of pineapple juice & water, plus a splash of soy sauce.
As the quinoa simmered away for 15 minutes, I sautéed a huge handful of cashews and a yellow bell pepper in sesame oil. As it cooked, I added 2 cloves of garlic, a few slices of chopped jalapeno, ginger, red pepper flakes, & some Worcestershire sauce.
Finally I added the better half of a can of pineapple chunks. Once the quinoa had absorbed all the liquid, I tossed it in with the pineapple and cashews to mix it all together.
Before I knew it, I had dinner ready!
All I have to say is I need to get my hands back on that cookbook. This was amazing!!! Even the husband loved it, despite me forgetting to add chicken to his portion. If this dish was this good just from me remembering the title, I can’t imagine how good it would be if I actually used the rest of the ingredients in the recipe.
I served it along with some sugar snap peas. The sweet peas went perfectly with the spicy heat of the quinoa dish.
Along with the last of my forgetter’s bread. I should’ve made a double loaf!!
What’s your favorite cookbook? Do you follow recipes?
