Those Tricky Leprechauns

Remember a few years ago when Jessica Seinfeld wrote a book about sneaking vegetables into kids food?  I remember hearing some debate over whether or not you were actually doing a disservice to your kids by sneaking vegetables into meals, versus teaching them to like them, straight up.  This was before I had kids, so you can guess which side I took.  Now, as a mother with years (3) of experience, I'm all about lying to the little stinkers.

Speaking of lying, how about leprechaun tricks, traps, and shenanigans?  My kids have been talking about nothing but the creepy little green men for past 2 days.  So far, our leprechaun has not been very creative (green water in the toilet, green water in the flower vase, a green banana stuck in the couch cushions- yep, even I don't understand that one).  Luckily, my kids are using their imaginations to my advantage, upgrading our leprechuan a notch or two.  They have been seeing him hiding above the kitchen cabinets, and hearing him in the dining room, prompting them to eat their dinner nicely.  They are finding "tricks" all over the house, my favorite of which was tonight, when Blake ran into the kitchen, saw a container of spinach, and screamed, "Wow!  The leprechaun brought us salad!"   Nope, not the leprechaun, just your sneaky mother.

The spinach was turned into frosting.  To top cupcakes made with beets and zucchini.  Quit gagging.  Seriously, knock it off.  If I hadn't told you, you'd never know what was in them.  What would you do if a box of produce containing beets and zucchini unexpectedly showed up on your doorstep?  (Wait a minute, damn leprechauns...)  Add chocolate, of course!  I've seen recipes for chocolate zucchini cake, and recipes for chocolate beet cake, so I figured I could mix it all together, and luckily, it worked.  I also had recently seen a recipe for frosting that used spinach for green coloring, and so it was decided.  Zucchini beet chocolate cupcakes with spinach frosting.  Eat your heart out, Jessica Seinfeld.

Mmm.. beets a' boiling

 The dry

 How about some veggies with your cupcake batter?

 Fresh from the oven

It's frosting time!

Zucchini Beet Chocolate Cupcakes

adapted from this recipe

makes 28 cupcakes

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

In a large bowl, stir together:

1 cup all purpose flour

1 cup whole wheat pastry flour

1 1/2 cups white sugar

3/4 cups unsweetened cocoa powder

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cinnamon

In a small bowl, mix together:

4 eggs

3/4 cup vegetable oil

3/4 cups unsweetened applesauce

1 tsp vanilla extract

Stir liquid ingredients into dry ingredients and mix well.

Add:

 1 1/2 cups shredded zucchini (raw, unpeeled)

1 1/2 cups shredded beets (cooked and peeled)

Mix, then portion into muffin tins, greased or with liners.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, or until a tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  Allow to cool, then frost if desired.

The cupcakes are moist, dense and chocolatey.  Sure they contain sugar and white flour, but pre-frosting, they can't be any worse than most muffins.  They made a perfect afternoon snack for my kids.

Spinach frosting

inspired by this recipe, and this one.

In the bowl of food processor, mix:

 2 1/2 cups fresh spinach

1/2 cup softened butter

1 tsp vanilla

2-3 TBSP milk

3.5 cups powdered sugar

Chop/mix until smooth and combined.  Pour mixture into the bowl of a stand or handheld mixer, then whip until thick and fluffy.  Frost cupcakes, then keep refrigerated.  This frosting is a bit on the thin side, and tastes like powdered sugar frosting with a twist.  Had I remembered to buy whipping cream, I would have whipped one cup of cream until stiff, then folded in the spinach frosting mixture.  If you try it, let me know how it works.

Yum!