Portable, playful, and particularly pleasing, this easy cupcake recipe is one you can make anytime. Frosting optional, the cakes are that good.

Vanilla Cupcakes

Ingredients

makes 12 cupcakes

1 1/4 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup canola or corn oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/2 cup sour cream

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 F. Line your muffin tin with liners and set aside.

2. Sift the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt into a medium bowl and set aside.

3. In a large bowl, using an electric mixer on medium speed, beat the egg and yolk and sugar until thickened and lightened to a cream color, about 2 minutes.

4. Stop the mixer and scrape the sides of the bowl as needed during mixing. On low speed, mix in the oil and vanilla until blended. Mix in the sour cream until no white streaks remain. Mix in the flour mixture until it is incorporated and the batter is smooth.

5. Evenly divide the batter into the lined muffin tin. Batter should reach no higher than 3/4 full. Bake for 20-25 minutes until just set.

6. Cool before frosting, or just go ahead and enjoy.

Orange Cream Cheese Frosting

Ingredients

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened

1/2 cup butter, softened

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp orange juice

2 tsp grated orange zest

3 cups confectioners sugar

Directions

1. In the bowl of an electric mixer, beat cream cheese, butter, vanilla, orange juice and zest on medium speed until light and fluffy.

2. Reduce to low speed and add confectioners sugar, gradually, one cup at a time, beating well with each addition.

3. Increase speed to medium high and beat until smooth, adding more sugar if needed to get a slightly thicker consistency (the more sugar, the stiffer the frosting). I prefer to err on the less sugary side even if I get a softer frosting in the end.

4. Spread the frosting with an offset spatula or butter knife. Alternately put the frosting in a piping bag and pipe onto the cooled cupcakes.

I ran across this recipe in my goop (Gwyneth Paltrow's venture) email journal. We eat loads of broccoli and cauliflower because everyone in the house likes it. The recipe is straightforward, and one of those that is more than the sum of it's ingredients. I did have one tweak that saved me some dishes and a bit of time.

Here's the link to the original recipe: http://www.goop.com/recipes/sides/cauliflower

You can omit step 2, blanching the cauliflower, simply by preheating the sheet pan as the oven preheats. Also, lay a piece of aluminum foil on the pan right before you spread out the cauliflower. This saves a lot of cleanup! It's also a great recipe for little ones, what with the lemons that need juicing, the garlic that needs peeling, and the mashing ingredients with a mortar and pestle.

Roast Cauliflower with Chili, Garlic, Capers & Lemon

Roasted cauliflower served with lemon chicken and a green salad.

Ingredients

serves 4

1 head of cauliflower, outer green leaves removed, broken into bite-sized florets

2 cloves of garlic, minced

1 small red chili, deseeded and sliced

1 tbsp capers

juice of 1 and a half lemons

olive oil

sea salt

freshly ground pepper

Directions

1. Preheat your sheet pan on the bottom oven rack to 425°F.

2. With a pestle and mortar, bash the chili, garlic and a pinch of salt until it forms a paste. Add 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, mix and pour over cauliflower. Pour over the juice of 1 lemon, and reserve the rest. Toss to coat every floret.

3. Place aluminum foil on sheet pan carefully, remember it's hot! Spread out cauliflower in one layer and roast uncovered for 25-30 minutes, mixing once or twice to even out the browning.

4. Remove from oven and sprinkle immediately with lemon and capers. Toss to coat.