Karina Makes the Chow, Ariel Takes the Vow: cupcakes for the newlyweds!

This weekend...oh, what a weekend. Our very own Ariel and Sam got themselves hitched on the beautiful Mt. Tam, and I was lucky enough to be there to witness one of the most unique and inspiring ceremonies imaginable... Even better- I was asked to make cupcakes for the celebratory event!


Ariel requested enough cupcakes to feed 75 folks, and hinted at the wish for two different flavors. I knew there was going to be a more traditional wedding cake front and center made by her incredibly talented friend Butch, so I decided to stick to my style and go bizarre and bold.


I made my favorite go-to vegan cake batter using all the organic ingredients I could get. (I made a little over double what this recipe calls for:)

2 cups water
3/4 cups light oil (I used extra virgin olive oil this time)
2 tbl white vinegar
4 tsp vanilla
3-1/2 cups unbleached flour (I used whole wheat instead and recommend it!)
2 cups sugar
1 tsp sea salt
2 tsp baking soda cinnamon and cayenne

Then I split the batter in half and made two different flavor purees to add to each one.

Kiwi-Lavender (with added mango, ginger and dates)


And Banana-Chipotle (with added cayenne, ginger, more cinnamon and dates.)


I added each puree to one of the batter bowls, and made a few last minute flavor adjustments by adding this and that (more spice here, a little lemon to balance it there, agave to make it perfectly sweet..) I made both minis and regular size to make sure there was more than enough to go around.


Once they were all cooked at 350* to moist and golden perfection and cooled over night, I set up my decorating station and got to some serious business... (notice my new frosting syringe I just bought- an awesome addition to my cake garnishing tool box!)


I had made both frostings by starting with a base of room temperature earth balance, vanilla, powdered sugar, sea salt, dates, fresh ginger, cinnamon and cayenne. I added bananas and chipotle peppers to one, and kiwi, lavender buds, lemon, and rose water to the other.


I garnished the kiwi-mango-lavender cupcakes with dried pomegranate seeds, dried blueberries, and candy pearls...


And the Banana-Chipotle cupcakes with freeze-dried bananas, chili-coated dried pineapples, dried pomegranate seeds and more candy pearls.


Butch's gorgeous cake!




The crafty couple planned for the reception to be one giant potluck, and luckily all of their friends and family apparently are INCREDIBLE cooks. I am fairly confident that no one went hungry that night.


Congrats Ariel and Sam!

Karina's Inner Monologue making a Birthday Cake...

"Karina, will you make my birthday party cake?"

"Yes, yes I will. What flavors do you want?"

"Surprise me, I trust you."

"Done."


Mango, Lime, Basil Cake with Ginger and Cinnamon... I'll make it vegan.



I'll use my favorite go-to vegan cake recipe as a base and add my mango-basil puree. Better use a little less water than it calls for since this is a lot of green liquid.

Wow...good.


Now for frosting. I have earth balance and powdered sugar to start with and I guess I'll mix it with the other half of this mango, basil, lime, and ginger. I think I'll add these dates too. And some more cinnamon. It needs an extra kick...this splash of Jameson I have in the freezer...

(This actually may be the best frosting I've made...)


My favorite garnishes, figs, are back. Gotta use them. These oranges will look good too with some more fresh basil and dates.


This looks kinda alright...


I have to start trying to sell my cakes...


Here, let me arrange the candles for you (hands off my cake.)



Another Happy Birthday for the books.

Karina throws a sushi party!

People often tell me they're intimidated with the idea of making sushi or think you need special rollers or equipment, so I wanted to share just how easy it is to do it by hand!
First you want to buy a bunch of your favorite seasonal fruits and veggies, sushi rice, nori paper, and anything else you might want to add to your rolls. You want to wash your sushi rice until clear water streams through and put it in a big pot with cold water (1 cup rice to every 1 1/4 cup water- I was cooking for about ten so I did a little over 3 cups rice). Bring to a boil and then reduce heat, cover and simmer for about 20 minutes or until rice is fluffy and soft and water is gone. Cool a bit and sprinkle with sugar and rice vinegar to make it sticky for later!

Once my fruits and veggies were cut and cooked and my station was complete with a bowl of water for my hands, I pulled the first sheet out and went to rolling town. I always face the shiny side of the paper face down. I wet my hands, grab a good-sized handful of rice, and place it in the center of the bottom half of the sheet. I use my hands to spread, flatten and level out the rice to fill the bottom four sections on the nori sheet.

I always cut my ingredients into the longest, skinniest strips possible making it perfect for rolling a tight, even roll. Line your ingredients next to and on top of each other in the middle of your rice plain length wise. Often I'll start with a strip of almond butter or wasabi down the center to add a dynamic and surprising twist.

I get as much extra rice out of the way as possible, reach both hands under the bottom corners, and fold the bottom over all of the fillings as tightly as possible, tucking it in with my fingers. Once I start to have a secure tucking, I continue to roll it up, taking time to tighten and even it. Wetting your hands often makes it easier to both clean off the loose sticking rice and seal the nori to itself. You want to use water to seal the end of the sheet to the roll to make sure it stays together.

This is my favorite part because you can make every roll completely different. I love to add unusual ingredients such as dates, kiwis, pears, beets- whatever you dare. Just try and think about giving the bite a balance of textures and colors as well as flavors. Like I said, adding almond butter (or peanut butter!) is always a huge hit and has aided in many of my favorite rolls.


Simply use a good, clean knife and slice it into delicious pieces! It helps to get the knife wet throughout the process to have clean cuts.

These rolls were made up of organic mango, avocado, carrot, cucumber, gold kiwi, red pear, roasted asparagus, pumpkin (that I roasted with home-made wasabi oil!),sauteed portobello mushrooms, roasted zucchini and of course, almond butter.

So easy and even more delicious!