Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes

But first, the dinner they were paired with:


In the background, a bacon and king trumpet mushroom pizza with fresh
oregano, all from the Castro farmers market (uncured bacon from Prather
Ranch, a total score).

In the foreground, the braided loaf that was the result of the first batch of
faulty pizza dough. I think I added the yeast to water that was too hot. The
dough was slow to rise, so I repurposed it into this dense but delicious loaf.
Jesse mixed up some olive oil with our good balsamic vinegar, and we had
no problem eating the whole thing.

Off screen, a second pizza with sage dough, just-picked asparagus, blanched
spinach and homemade ricotta cheese, garlic and a ton of mozzarella cheese.
If anyone still has not made ricotta, do yourself a favor and whip up a batch.
It's so good with a little bit of salt, eaten with a spoon.

All of this was shared with Helen, Faith and Tanya, and followed up by cupcakes
and a killer game of team Scrabble. The highlights were "elements," "yoyo," and
"java."

Vegan Chocolate Cupcakes:

1/2 c brown rice flour
1/2 c tapioca starch
1/2 c sorghum flour
1/2 c cocoa powder
1 T baking powder
1 t salt
1/4 t xanthan gum

1/2 c canola oil
1/2 c applesauce
3/4 c agave nectar
1/4 c coffee
2 T flax seed meal
2 t vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350. Bake in greased muffin tins 20 minutes, or until
puffed muffins are springy to the touch. Enjoy with fresh strawberries!

In other news, I've got a gluten free sourdough started brewing on the
shelf, stay tuned for those yeasty experiments!