Kale Salad in a Cucumber Cup

Kale, kale, kale! Everyone is talking about the health benefits of kale and it is suddenly a staple on restaurant menus.  Curly kale is popular, but there are so many varieties like Red Russian or Dinosaur.  All I'm gonna say is that I liked kale before it was cool.  Have you always loved kale or are you a recent convert?

One of the latest assignments for my Plant Based Rouxbe course focused on kale.  We learned about the different ways to wilt raw kale for salads.  One of the suggestions for our wilted leftovers was a kale, radish and avocado salad. 

Often times I find that some dishes are too salty for me, so I skipped it here. For this salad, Rouxbe also had a tasty recipe for a sesame, sunflower seed and spice topping.  The cucumber cup looks really pretty and wasn't too difficult to put together...though there may or may not have been mild cussing involved.

Chocolate Stout Cupcakes

Last weekend, my girlfriend procured two cans of Young's Double Chocolate Stout.  Though I'm not a fan of dark beers, I asked that she save some so I could make Chocolate Stout Cupcakes from Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World: 75 Dairy-Free Recipes for Cupcakes that Rule.

When I searched through old blog posts, I noticed that I had mentioned making these before in 2006.  Apparently, I didn't care for the recipe much at the time, though I may have baked them too long.

This time around we both loved these cupcakes.   They have a rich chocolate flavor and are uber moist.  Cocoa powder, sugar, flour and a little bit of oil make a delicious chocolate crumble on top.

You might have noticed the silicone liner in the photo.  I received these Cupcake Liners from The New York Baking Company on Amazon to test and review.  These were quite nice compared to another brand I tried in the past.  There's a full review of mine over on the product page, so I won't bore you with it here.

Instead I'll tell you these are definitely one of my favorite cupcakes from Isa's book.  I'm glad I gave them a second chance.  If you haven't tried them yet, add them to your list.