Note: The following will be Anne McAlpine’s final column following her passing on July 1, 2023. The Press will consider how best to continue a cooking column, a favourite of many readers, in the coming weeks.
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I recently attended the Celebration of Life for a Caledonia icon, Harold Bennett, who passed away at the age of 90. His son, Barry, is a lifelong friend of my son, Jason, and spent many of his younger years playing football on my front lawn. He reminded me that I often made cheesecake filled chocolate cupcakes for the ‘boys’ and that I also made egg rolls every year for their birthdays. I hadn’t remembered the cupcakes until he mentioned them, so I made them this past week. I simply use a chocolate cake mix when I make them, but you could, of course, make one from scratch. I used a Betty Crocker cake mix and have given you the amounts of added ingredients for it. Typically, I choose Duncan Hines mixes when using a cake mix but my daughter found these on sale for me and with the price of groceries lately I can’t be fussy.
I love egg rolls and bake them now instead of frying them, as I did for the guys’ birthdays. I recently found this recipe for egg rolls in a bowl in a Taste of Home magazine and so tried it. Although I did miss the crunch and flavour of the wrap, it is delicious and much lower in calories. I substituted 2 cups of bean sprouts for 2 cups of the coleslaw mixture. You can also use ground chicken in place of ground pork. You could add chopped mushrooms, chopped water chestnuts, cashews, or peanuts. Leftovers can be stored in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. The recipe as shown makes 4 servings.
Cheesecake Filled Chocolate Cupcakes
- Betty Crocker devil’s food or dark chocolate cake mix
- 3 eggs
- 1 ¼ cup water or milk
- ½ cup vegetable oil
- 1 pkg. cream cheese
- Generous ½ cup of sour cream
- 1/3 cup icing sugar
Let the cream cheese come to room temperature. Preheat oven to 350. Line muffin cups with paper liners or spray with baking spray. Mix the sour cream, cheese, and icing sugar until it is blended very well together. Prepare the cake mix as directed and fill the muffin cup a little less than half full. Add a generous teaspoon of the cream cheese and then more cake mix over the top. Bake for 14 to 19 minutes. Let cool and frost with chocolate icing.
Egg Roll in a Bowl
- 1 lb. ground pork
- 4 green onions
- 2 tsp. grated ginger
- 4 cloves garlic
- 1 lb. coleslaw mix
- 3 Tbsp. soya sauce
- 1 tsp. sesame oil
- Sesame seeds
Separate white and green parts of the onions. Mince the garlic. In a large skillet brown the pork over medium high heat. Break it up with a spoon to separate it. Drain off any fat. Add the white part of the onions, the grated ginger, garlic, and coleslaw mix. Cook until tender, about 5 or 6 minutes. Stir in soy sauce and sesame oil and cook for 1 more minute. Divide into bowls and garnish with green onions and sesame seeds.
Brownie Cupcakes
- ¾ cup chocolate chips
- ½ cup plus 2 Tbsp. cold butter
- 3 large eggs
- ¾ cup sugar
- 1 tsp. vanilla
- 1 tsp. instant coffee
- ¾ cup flour
Preheat oven to 325. Cut butter into small cubes and mix it with the chips. Microwave in 15 minute intervals, mixing often until smooth and glossy. Let cool at least 5 minutes. Beat the eggs, sugar, vanilla, and coffee together in a bowl. Add flour gradually and mix just until combined. Pour batter into cupcake liners and bake for 25 minutes until the tops crack and the cupcakes are firm. Remove and let cool down completely. Frost with chocolate frosting.
Hint: To avoid lumps in gravy add the flour and water to a glass jar and shake well. Then stir into the juices.
Food for thought: (from Grace Battle of the Jarvis area) Being happy doesn’t mean everything is perfect. It means that you have decided to look beyond the imperfections.
