Tonight's dinner: Homemade falafel and tiramisu, and my Valentine's cupcakes

I made these decadent chocolate cupcakes with chocolate-banana frosting for Valentine's day, along with the handmade decoration (silly, but cute). I used a recipe for the chocolate cupcakes from "Vegan Cupcakes Take Over The World" by Isa Chandra Moskowitz and Terry Hope Romeo. I used their basic chocolate cupcake recipe and I adapted the frosting from the same cookbook (Chocolate buttercream frosting). I used less shortening and almond milk instead of soymilk, plus I added one mashed ripe banana. It turned out great! Less shortening made the frosting lighter and less rich so I could eat more of it :-)

Recently, my working hours have increased so I have been working more hours, along with volunteering which didn't leave me much time or energy for blogging. I have been also working on some product reviews that I will post soon, along with a new giveaway. You will love my upcoming giveaway :-)

I made a homemade falafel with dill-lemon sauce for dinner tonight. I have been wanting to make a vegan tiramisu for years now so I decided to give it a try. I used my own recipe for a vanilla cake that I used for the tiramisu, but I had to get inspiration for the creamy tofu part online. It turned out fantastic!

Lemon-Kale Pesto & Teeccino Giveaway Winner

Lemon-Kale Pesto

(This recipe was adapted from Vegetarian Times magazine: Kale-Pecan Pesto in the January/February 2011 issue, page 81)

1 bunch kale, tough stems removed, leaves torn into smaller pieces

1/3 cup walnut pieces

1-2 cloves garlic, peeled

1/3 cup olive oil

3 Tbs freshly squeezed lemon juice

zest of 1/2 lemon (optional)

1/4 tsp. salt (or more to taste)

Cook kale in large pot of boiling water 2-3 minutes until wilted and bright green.

Drain and cool.

In a blender or a food processor, blend walnut pieces and garlic, until finely chopped. Add olive oil, kale, lemon juice, salt and lemon zest and blend until smooth. If the paste becomes too thick you can add little bit of water to achieve desired consistency.

I served this Lemon-Kale Pesto over Farfalle (Bow-tie) pasta. It was zesty, fresh and full of flavor.

The winner of the Teeccino Giveaway is comment number 25.

Congratulations to Coconat! Please, email me your address and full name so I can send you your prize. (czech.vegan (at) yahoo.com)