Roots ‘n Mugs

I don’t cook…at all…really.  Once in awhile I bake something from a mix or throw a salad together or stick something in the microwave.  But I was inspired.  Yesterday after seeing Kelli’s yummy root vegetables (africankelli.com), I couldn’t get them out of my mind.  I didn’t copy…exactly…but I stopped at Sprouts on the way home and bought sweet potatoes, rutabagas, and portobello mushrooms.  Came home, chopped ’em up, put them in a casserole dish after adding sherry (and drinking some, cook’s privilege), cayenne, basil, thyme, sage, oregano, tarragon, and summer savory, baked at 350 for 50 minutes (25 with the lid on, 25 lid off).  I was shocked; it was good!  Even Tony thought so and he can cook!  I’d post a photo but it just didn’t look appetizing in the picture, unfortunately.

So, I was on a roll.  I had also been thinking the last couple of days about adapting the 5 Minute Chocolate Mug Cake recipe to a different flavor, for the sake of variety.  And it was very tasty.  I substituted vanilla pudding mix for the cocoa and crushed walnuts for the chocolate chips, added cinnamon, and increased the vanilla extract to a teaspoon instead of a splash.  It’s definitely a keeper.

Here is the 5 Minute Vanilla Mug Cake:

4 tablespoons flour
4 tablespoons sugar
2 tablespoons vanilla pudding mix (sugar-free)
1 egg
3 tablespoons milk
3 tablespoons oil
3 tablespoons crushed walnuts (optional)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 large coffee mug

Add dry ingredients to mug, and mix well. Add the egg and mix thoroughly. Pour in the milk and oil and mix well. Add the walnuts (if using) and vanilla extract, dust with cinnamon, and mix again.  Put your mug in the microwave and cook for 2 minutes, 45 seconds at 1000 watts. The cake will rise over the top of the mug, but don’t be alarmed! Allow to cool a little, and tip out onto a plate if desired.

Now, if I would just pick up that crochet hook and start doing those stitches that my friend Michelle showed me and get some scarves made, I would have a handle on this domesticity thing.

But I think that tomorrow I’ll be back to art again...cooking’s hard, art’s easy.

Candace