Get ready for Halloween! Feel free to treat yourself to smart, tasty goodies that are free of animal products and cholesterol. Get everyone together for a creative cooking excursion because these Creepy Cobweb Cupcakes are fun and easy to make. It’s a great way to enjoy a decadent,
cruelty-free holiday.

Cupcake Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
2 cups fine brown sugar
2/3 cup cocoa powder, unsweetened
2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups + 6 Tbs. water
6 Tbs. oil
2 Tbs. vinegar
1 Tbs. vanilla

Icing & Cobwebs:
3 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup margarine (preferably Earth Balance), softened
3-4 Tbs. soymilk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
4 tsp. shortening (spectrum is non-hydrogenated)

Directions:

1. Whisk dry ingredients together well in a medium bowl.
2. Blend liquid ingredients in a blender until smooth, then pour into dry ingredients and mix briefly with a whisk until smooth (do not beat, or the cake will be tough).
3. Spoon into 18 greased muffin cups (if they are lined with paper cups, spray the insides of the paper cups with oil spray).
4. Bake at 350º F for 20-25 minutes. Cool on a rack thoroughly before frosting.

Icing & Decorations:

1. Combine sugar and margarine in small bowl; beat at low speed, scraping bowl often and gradually adding enough soymilk for desired spreading consistency.
2. For cobwebs, melt chocolate chips and shortening in 1-quart saucepan over low heat, stirring occasionally, until smooth (3-4 minutes).
3. Place melted chocolate in small heavy-duty re-sealable plastic food bag; snip tip from one corner to make very small hole; squeeze bag several times to combine ingredients.
4. Frost 6 cupcakes at a time, using about 1 Tbs. frosting for each cupcake.
5. Before frosting hardens, place 3 concentric circles of melted chocolate on frosting. Starting at center, draw toothpick 5- 6 times through circles to outside edge of frosting to make cobweb design. Repeat with remaining cupcakes. Let stand until chocolate is firm.

Imagine effortless, homemade rich and delicious baked goods! Cherrybrook Kitchen dessert mixes will make Halloween a special treat for children and adults of all ages. These fantastic vegan mixes make it quick and simple to whip up a batch of your favorite indulgences, such as pancakes, cakes, brownies, cookies, and frostings.No messy eggs or milk is necessary to prepare these yummy moist desserts – just add oil and water. It’s that easy!

For nutritional and product information, visit www.CherrybrookKitchen.com!

If you’re thinking of sipping on a glass of cow’s milk to wash down your Halloween goodies, you might want to reconsider. Major studies suggesting a link between milk and prostate cancer have appeared in medical journals since the 1970s. Two of six cohort studies (research studies following groups of people over time) found increased risk with higher milk intakes. Five studies comparing cancer patients to healthy individuals found a similar association. One of these, conducted in northern Italy, found that frequent dairy consumption could increase risk by two and one-half times.

In 1997, the World Cancer Research Fund and the American Institute for Cancer Research concluded that dairy products should be considered a possible contributor to prostate cancer. And yet another research study surfaced in April 2000 pointing to a link between dairy and prostate cancer: Harvard’s Physicians’ Health Study followed 20,885 men for 11 years, finding that having two and one-half dairy servings each day boosted prostate cancer risk by 34 percent, compared to having less than one-half serving daily.

Ten-year -old Alejandra Tumble has made the decision to “kick the meat habit” for moral reasons. She explains how strange it seems to her that a pig can be processed into a thin slice of pink meat.

While children like Alejandra are special and inspirational, they are not alone in their decisions. Vegetarian kids are becoming increasingly prevalent. Researchers have examined vegetarian children aged 6-10, noting that many chose this lifestyle for moral reasons, rather than personal preference (such as, simply disliking the taste of meat). They also point out that vegetarian kids are the perfect subjects for research about moral development.

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Meatout Mondays is published each week by:
FARM - Farm Animal Reform Movement
10101 Ashburton Ln Bethesda, MD 20817
info@farmusa.org

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