Basic gluten-free vegan chocolate cupcakes

INGREDIENTS
1 cup soy milk, or other nut milk
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/2 tsp rum extract
1/2 cup sorghum flour (or finely milled brown rice flour)
1/2 cup tapioca starch or potato starch
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 tsp xanthan gum
3/4 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt.

Chocolate glaze:
1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp Earth Balance or other vegan margarine
2 tbsp soy, almond, or coconut milk
2 tbsp cocoa powder
2 tsp vanilla extract

NOW DO IT

Wisk milk and vinegar together in a large mixing bowl, and set aside for 5ish minutes to curdle. Add sugar, oil, vanilla, and rum extract to the milk and vinegar mixture, and beat with an electric mixer until foamy. Combine remaining ingredients in a separate bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients in 2 batches, and beat until the lumps are gone.
Bake in LINED muffin tins, filled 3/4 full. Bake for 18-20 minutes at 350 degrees (or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean).

For glaze: bring sugar, margarine, milk, and cocoa powder to a boil in a small saucepan, stirring slowly to make sure it doesn't scorch. Reduce heat and simmer for 2 minutes, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, add vanilla, and keep stirring for about 5 minutes. Spread glaze quickly (it dries fast) or dip the tops in the glaze. Add any toppings right away. Let cool for 45 minutes. 

Nigerian coconut candy

This coconut candy is great for when you've got a super sweet tooth (the sugar is definitely intense), but still want a candy with a bit of redeeming health value to it. Coconut provides dietary fiber and healthy fats, and supports immune system health. Ginger reduces inflammation and nausea, and combined with the molassesy goodness of turbinado sugar, it makes this candy taste like ginger beer. It's pretty simple to make too.

Ingredients:
2 cups freshly grated coconut (about 1/2 a coconut)
1 tbsp freshly minced ginger

1 cup turbinado sugar

sturdy grater (I like mine finely grated, with some thick grated pieces for variation. A microplane grater or rotary cheese grater works best)

Optional: 1/2 tsp coconut oil, 1 tsp honey

The most time consuming part of making this candy is freeing and grating the coconut. Start by finding the coconut's "eyes"--those three little indentations. Push on them to find the softest eye (often the biggest one). Take a drill bit that's smaller than the eye hole (but big enough to drain the coconut water) and start screwing in into the softest hole, until it breaks through the meat inside. You can also drill through the eye, but make sure you have someone there to hold the coconut stable for you. Drain the coconut water into a glass container for later use, or drink it straight up. (Refrigerate and use within 2 days tops, or freeze in an ice-cube tray. You can use it to replace regular water in cooking/baking/smoothie making, or add a couple tablespoons of raw apple cider vinegar and soak your hair in it or use it as a face astringent. Mmm, coconut brown rice with Thai curry.)
After I drain the coconut water I usually just take the coconut outside and throw it at the ground until it cracks in half, or repeatedly hit it around the meridian against a hard edge. Remove the meat from the coconut by cutting a slit out of it and then prying around the edge with a knife. It'll come out in chunks. Video of the method I use here, and here is another method that uses a freezer/refrigerator. 

Grate the coconut and set aside in a bowl. Then mince the ginger finely and stir it into the coconut. Refrigerate for an hourish until it's nice and cold. After it has chilled, pour the turbinado sugar into a sauce pan on medium heat, shaking it back and fourth in the pan every minute or so. After 3-5 minutes it should start to melt around the edges. Keep shaking the sugar around. more frequently now, so it doesn't burn. As the sugar starts melting into a caramely looking sauce, reduce the heat to low, stir it up so it's all melted, and quickly add the coconut. Mix well so all the coconut is sugar coated. If you want a softer, chewier candy, add the coconut oil and honey. Remove from heat and let sit for about 5 minutes until it's cool enough to work with. Scoop up about 1 tbsp of the mixture and roll into balls (light pressure is key. I also wash my hands if they start getting too sticky). Place on a plate/cookie sheet and put in the fridge to cool and harden. Store in the fridge and serve chilled.

Spicy smothered Cajun collard greens

INGREDIENTS
1 bunch of collard greens, cut in half lengthwise, and then cut in ~1/2 inch strips (tip: stack and roll the halves the hotdog way, then cut strips)
⅔ cup vegetable broth
1 bay leaf
2 tbsp olive oil
1 yellow onion, diced
1 large green pepper, diced
2-3 stalks of celery, cut into small slices
2 large cloves of garlic, minced
4 medium tomatoes, diced
½ tsp red pepper flakes
1 tsp hot sauce
½ tsp garlic powder
¼ - ½ tsp black pepper
To taste: cayenne pepper, chili powder, fresh thyme, rosemary, paprika, cumin, dill, and cardamom (I also added portobello mushrooms to the particular batch pictured above.)

NOW DO IT
Saute green pepper, onion, celery, and garlic in olive oil until they start to soften, then add broth, bay leaf, and collard greens. Stir and cover. Cook on medium low heat for about 6 minutes, until greens are slightly soft. Add other ingredients, cover and cook another 6-8 minutes. Remove bay leaf before serving.