Cranberry Relish Mug Cake

Got cranberry relish left over from Thanksgiving? Or maybe you're planning to make some for Christmas? (I'm talking about the ground up fruit stuff, not that gelatinous stuff that comes from a can--though it might work if you blended it. I don't know. I haven't tried.) Then make this delicious mug cake! With minimal ingredients, its comes together in a flash, cooks in the microwave, and is all yours!

Ingredients:

2 T applesauce
2 T milk
2 T cranberry relish
1 t vanilla
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking powder

Directions:

1. In a microwave safe mug, whisk together the wet ingredients.

2. Whisk together the flour and baking powder and add into the mug.

3. Stir to combine.

4. Cook for 1-1.5 minutes in the microwave. (This mug took 1.5 minutes in my microwave.)

Loosely adapted from this cranberry mug cake from Jim's Kitsch Kitchen

Mug Cakes (The Best Ones)

Mug cakes...they're not exactly photogenic, but they're fun. I get to try something new every day (yes, I've been making them daily!). There are some flops, but investment of resources in one serving is low. I do not really make any of the recipes as written, so maybe one day, I will post some of my adaptations, but for now, here are some recent faves:

Blueberry muffin in a mug (Best Mug Cakes)

Carrot mug cake (Chop Notch)

Gooey chocolate mug cake for one (The Healthy Toast)

Healthy chocolate mug cake (Creekline House)

Hot chocolate bomb cake (Best Mug Cakes)

Microwave cornbread muffin (Shaw Simple Swaps)

Snickerdoodle crazy mug cake (Sweet Little Bluebird)

*Yes, the mug in the photo says, "Does this ring make me look engaged?" I am married, but kept this memento from engagement days because a friend gave it to me and it brings back special memories.)

Friday Fun (Last One!)

Is it the last Friday in February? Already? Yes, I guess it is. This little experiment of mine went fast. It's been helpful though, to recognize fun. As the month is ending, I am asking myself why things are fun, and how I might incorporate more such activities into my life. With as much sorrow and struggle as there is in this life, there always seems to be room for more fun, not to take away the sadness, but to add some levity, because we have to stay afloat to survive. Also, as Ben Stuart shared on a recent podcast I heard, "If you don’t prioritize positive fun, the enemy will always introduce destructive fun.” I don't want any more destruction. There is already enough of that in the world. I want to build myself up. I want to build others up. Fun is necessary for this. God doesn't make accidents. He does things on purpose, so if we can have good, clean, healthy fun, let's do it!

Fun for this week:

Celebrating-My mom pointed out that I like to celebrate everything. Yes, I guess I do, because it's FUN!

Cooking from cookbooks

Curating our own assortment of herbal teas

Making more (yes, even more!) mug cakes

"Playing tennis" with my husband (we don't really play games, we just well, play) 

Scouring stores for new Reese's varieties (see my post from last week)

--

As I review my list, I notice themes of celebration, creation, and newness. I live a very structured life (on purpose), but fun provides a little adventure now and again (hence the name of my Instagram account). Life isn't all about fun, but fun does make me a little more about life, and that's worth doing. So here's to fun, and having more of it, blogged about, or not!

Reference:

Downs, A. F. (Host) (2022, January 27). Ben Stuart + Rest & War [Audio podcast episode]. That Sounds Fun. https://www.anniefdowns.com/podcast/episode-360-ben-stuart-rest-war/

Mug Cake Month

I have gotten back into making mug cakes this month. (If you are not familiar with mug cakes, they are single serve cakes made in a mug, usually cooked in the microwave, but sometimes in the oven.) Mug cakes are not the be-all, end-all of desserts, but they are convenient and they keep life interesting. (I am bad about making dessert, eating it once, and letting the rest go to waste.) I have made mug cakes before, but I found a wealth of new mug cake recipes on Pinterest, and have been going off those. So without further ado, here are a few winning recipes (with my adjustments) that I have found so far:

Cinnamon roll microwave mug cake (Kim's Cravings)

Mix:

1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/4 t baking powder

Stir in:

3 T whole milk
1 T unsweetened applesauce
1/4 t vanilla

Top with 1 teaspoon cinnamon sugar and swirl into batter with a knife. Microwave for 1 minute, 30 seconds.

Banana bread muffin (Skinny Taste)

*I made this one in a bowl. Bowls also work for mug cake recipes. 

Mash:

1 banana

Stir in:
1/4 c whole wheat flour
1/2 t baking soda
1/2 t vanilla 

Add in 2 T of water if the batter is dry. Microwave 1 minute, 30 seconds for a gooey cake, or 2 minutes for a more firm cake.

Single serving brownie (Brooklyn Farm Girl)

Mix:

2 T whole wheat flour
2 T Cocoa
1 t cinnamon 
1/2 t baking powder

Stir in:

1/4 c applesauce 
2 T water

Microwave 1 minute, 30 seconds.
--
If you have any fun mug cakes, please comment, or send them my way. I enjoy experimenting!

Comfort Food: Lent Part 2

For me, Lent is a time to refocus and re-prioritize. People traditionally fast from food during Lent, and that was the second part of my fast. (Read about Part 1 here.) I chose to fast from cereal, as that was something I tended to overdo. 

Food is a form of self-care. Eating highly palatable foods for comfort is a choice. The problem was that I was mindlessly eating cereal and not finding it fulfilling.

So I took Lent to focus on other food choices. I went back to chocolate bowl cakes (based on this recipe) and peanuts and raisins and hot cocoa. Sometimes they satisfied and I didn't think about cereal, and sometimes they didn't and all I wanted to do was pull down the cereal box and fill my bowl. But I didn't.

I bought special cereal for Easter: chocolate peanut butter Cheerios!

I expected these Cheerios to be amazing, but  they weren't. Don't get me wrong, the cereal is decent, but not as rich and satisfying as I'd hoped. (I have something against the way that peanut butter tastes when it bakes. It's a hold over from my dislike of peanut butter for the first 21 years of my life.) My mom likes the Cheerios and I'm mixing them with things, so they'll get eaten, just maybe not as quickly.

I'm a little disappointed that my return to cereal hasn't been as satisfying as I hoped, but that's part of the point of Lent. Food isn't designed to give ultimate satisfaction. It's a good gift from God, but only He ultimately satisfies.

Hereby ends my series of reflections on Lent. Anyone else have Lenten experiences they want to share?

30 Days of Oatmeal: Microwave Chocolate Oatmeal Bake

Ever want something fudgy and sweet, but need something healthy that won't spike your blood sugar? Don't want to turn on the oven, but have a microwave? This is the mug cake, or special breakfast for you!

To make this recipe extra decadent, top with a square of chocolate or some semisweet chocolate chips. I chose a square of Ghirardelli's Mango Sunset.

Ready for the recipe?

Ingredients:

(Adapted from Kim's Cravings)

1/3 c instant oatmeal

1 T dark cocoa powder

1 T ground flax seed

1/3 c applesauce

1/4 c water

Optional toppings:

Chocolate square or chocolate chips

Milk

Directions:

1. Grease the inside of a small cup. (I used coconut oil. You can omit this step, but it will make the oatmeal bake hard to remove.)

2. Mix all ingredients thoroughly in the cup.

3. Microwave 3-5 minutes on high.*

4. Top with optional chocolate and a splash of milk.

*Note, this bake will remain fudgy due to the vegan ingredients.



30 Days of Oatmeal: Pumpkin Almond Butter Mug Cake

Here's something different for you: a mug cake/microwave baked oatmeal recipe. This recipe features pumpkin and almond butter and cooks up quite nicely. (Make sure to add enough liquid, though!)

This recipe isn't sweet, so feel free to add in a teaspoon of maple syrup if you like.

Ingredients:

1/3 c quick cooking oats
1/4 t cinnamon
1/4 t pumpkin pie spice
1/4 c pumpkin puree
2-4 T milk or water

Directions:

1. Grease a small cup and add oats and spices. Stir to mix.
2. Add pumpkin puree and 2 T milk water. Stir. If mixture is dry, stir in more liquid 1 T at a time.
3. Microwave three minutes.
4. Let cool for two minutes and then dig in!