Another cake?!

Why yes, another cake, indeed! Between my family and Justin's, there is a birthday every month from February to August, so I have been a very busy baker. This cake was for Justin's sister, Chelsea. It is the Americanized strawberry shortcake, and it was every bit as delicious as it looks. I used the basic vanilla and chocolate cupcake recipes from VCTOTW to make the two layers, as well as their infamous fluffy vegan buttercream.

I do make real food, though, I promise, which is why I'm going to share this with you.

We took a trip to the farmer's market last sunday and came back with quite a bounty. Included were 5 beautiful yellow squash, which I marinated with plenty of fresh herbs for a refreshing side dish.

Marinated Yellow Squash

Ingredients

3 medium yellow squash, julienned with a mandoline (if you don't have a mandoline, you can thinly slice the squash into rounds, or any other shape you please)

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbsp fresh chives, chopped

1/4 cup fresh squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp dijon mustard

a few dashes tobasco sauce

Arrange squash in a thin layer in a large, shallow pan or baking dish, then lightly toss with thyme, oregano, and chives.

Whisk together orange juice, vinegar, water, mustard, and tobasco sauce. Pour mixture over squash and gently toss to coat. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, the longer the better.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

Back from Bonnaroo!

That's right, I'm back - and for good this time (although I really wouldn't mind being at Bonnaroo forever).  We had a great time down in Manchester; four days of great music, no sleep, and unpredictable weather led me to the conclusion that I will certainly be attending this festival again.  We brought along enough food to last a month, and with all of the amazing vendors we had absolutely no problems.  Our favorite was a stand that served curry and dahl - in fact we went there three times - but there were also great wraps, as well as a Whole Foods that carried fresh fruit, hummus, granola, and the best $1 fruit bars you could ask for in the scorching heat. I'm also happy to have brought along several bags of Trader Joe's pre cooked lentils and freekeh which came in handy for dinner, as well as a pound each of dried apples and mangoes, and a jar of almond butter,  which were great for breakfast and snacks.  The music was, of course, amazing, but I'll save that for another time.  Has anyone else been to Bonnaroo? How did you like it?

With all of the free time that comes with summer, I thought I'd be creating dishes like mad, but for a while, I was quite uninspired and many of my meals looked like this:

For breakfast, a sliced pear (or apple) with cinnamon, fresh berries, a handful of dried fruit, and almond butter.  I actually eat this every day now, but prior to the summer, I never ate breakfast.

For lunch: hummus (in this case, homemade white bean hummus) with plenty of fresh vegetables (and the requisite pita chips). 

For dinner: huge salads filled with grains, beans, etc.; basically whatever I could find in the fridge. I still eat a lot of these, too, but I have become a bit more creative with my meals.  I was in a bit of a rut.

On the dessert front, though, I never lost my inspiration.  And this, of course, is where you get a recipe.  With my long absence, I feel you deserve one.  This little number was born around midnight, like so many of my desserts are.  It must have been good, because my mom, Justin, and I finished half of it in one sitting; so beware. 

Lemon Cookie Cake with Matcha Glaze

Cookie

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup apple sauce

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

egg replacer for 2 eggs, prepared

zest of one lemon

juice of 1/2 lemon (about 1 tablespoon)

Glaze

1 1/2 tsp matcha green tea powder

3/4 cup powdered sugar

soymilk as needed

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly grease a 10-inch springform pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together flour, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

Place applesauce, sugar, and margarine in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until well combined.  pour in vanilla, egg replacer, lemon juice and lemon zest, and beat until incorporated.  Slowly pour in flour mixture and beat until homogenous.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, release from pan, and let cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, make the glaze: combine matcha and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and whisk in soy milk, drop by drop, until the glaze is just thick enough so you can spread it on the cake without it running, although, if you want it to run, go ahead and add a little more soymilk.  Once you reach the desired consistency, spread it on top of the cake, and devour. 

If you don't have matcha, I'm sure a lemon glaze would be equally as delicious; just substitute about a tablespoon of lemon juice for the matcha and use less soymilk.

P.S. I just made a batch of maple soygurt a la Celine, and it is fantastic. Go make some, now!

Where have I been?

And what have I been doing, you ask?  Well to begin, I finished freshman year of college a few weeks ago, so hooray!  I gave myself a little time to relax after all of those finals, which also unintentionally included a brief break from blogging.  But now I am back with food and stories to share.

First on my list: I went with Justin’s family on a trip to Ithaca to see his cousin graduate from Cornell.  Along the way we ate at several great restaurants, although somehow, the camera never came out in time to photograph the food we ate.  I can still tell you what I had, though.  On our first night we went to a nice little Thai restaurant that had a separate vegetarian menu with many vegan options.  I ordered a dish that included several varieties of mushrooms, green onions, and toasted cashews in a mushroom sauce.  I’m not a fan of overly spicy food, which Thai tends to be (at least to my taste buds), but Justin is, so I gave him the two Thai peppers that were floating around in the sauce.  He took one bite – not so bad, so he took one more.  At this point his face became bright red and he felt a bit like he was going to faint. Little did we know, these are not supposed to be eaten, despite their presence in an otherwise completely edible dish.  Before this little fiasco though, Justin did enjoy a nice curry dish that he finished every bite of.

There was an organic café next to the hotel we were staying at called the Smart Monkey Café where we got breakfast the next morning.I got a delicious bowl of flax-laced steel cut oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, while Justin indulged in a roasted vegetable wrap.  We also had our first taste of kombucha which I greatly enjoyed, but Justin was not so keen on.

 

For dinner that night, we went to none other than the famous Moosewood restaurant.  It was a very nice place with tasty food, but I wasn’t as impressed as I expected to be.  We each ordered a Moroccan vegetable stew served on a bed of couscous, as the only other vegan dish was a very plain sounding pasta.  As I said before, it tasted good, but it was nothing too special.  What was really delicious, though, was their vegan chocolate cake.  I would've eaten two pieces given the chance!

 On a non- food related note, we visited three separate waterfalls, as well as the plantations at Cornell, which were all beautiful:

Our first waterfall

... and the second. Look how small we are!

Walking down the falls

Part of the Cornell plantations

And the final falls

In other exciting news, I'm heading to Tennessee for Bonnaroo tomorrow at 3 am with Justin and a big group of friends, which should be very exciting.  We're bringing a camera along so I'll have more stories to share with you once we get back.

P.S. Several cake posts are on their way.  YUM!

Spring has sprung

Or at least that's how I felt when I was making this cake. 

Justin's mom, Susan, had been raving about the blondies I made earlier in the year, so for her birthday, I decided to make a blondie cake.  Not just any cake would do; I needed to make this special, which is where the berries came in.  They added a delicious tanginess that balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the blondies, but more importantly, they provided a feast for the eyes.  The blondie recipe I used comes from the amazing Hannah Kaminsky, and can be found at Everyday Dish.

Chocolate Chip Blondie Cake with Raspberry Glaze

I wanted to make a two tier cake, so I doubled Hannah's recipe and baked about 5/8 of the batter in a 10-inch springform pan, and 3/8 of the batter in a 9-inch cake pan.  I also had to adjust the cooking times; the 9 inch cake pan took a little less time than the original recipe cals for, while the 10-inch springform took a bit longer.  If you decide to make this into a two tier cake, make sure you check the blondies with a cake tester (or a toothpick) at around 20 minutes, and frequently after, to prevent over-baking.  If you only want to make one pan of blondies, halve my recipe and bake in an 8 inch x 8 inch square pan for 25-30 minutes at 350 °F.

Blondies

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

3 cups dark brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

12 oz vanilla coconut milk yogurt (or soy yogurt)

2/3 cup plain soy creamer

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease and line with parchment paper one 9-inch cake pan and one 10-inch springform pan.

Melt margarine and pour it over the brown sugar in a large bow, stirring to coat.  Pour in vanilla, yogurt, and creamer, and stir until completely incorporated.

Add in the flour, about a cup at a time, and the baking powder, and stir just until the mixture is smooth.

Pour into prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes (9-inch pan) or 30-35 minutes (10-inch pan), or until the sides begin to pull away from the pan and the top is firm.

Raspberry Glaze

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

2 cups powdered sugar

Place raspberries and powdered sugar in food processor and blend until liquefied.  If you're not a fan of raspberries, you can use any other frozen fruit you want.  I've been thinking about trying this with mango for a cupcake frosting.

Wait until blondies are completely cooled to pour on the glaze, or it might get too runny and become a big mess.  I would also suggest topping the cake with fresh berries, but it is definitely not necessary.  A small piece goes a long way with this cake, so if you are only serving a small group, I would suggest halving the recipe.  Either way, I can ensure that it will be delicious.

As promised..

Chocolate moose. Oh, that's not the moose you wanted? I understand, you wanted chocolate mousse.  Well, you're in luck; I have that, too!  But first, I want to share a fun fact.  

Pollen is everywhere. The cars are yellow, the streets are yellow, my clothes are yellow the moment I walk outside.  This time last year, I woke up in the morning struggling to breathe because my allergies were so bad.  Now, everyone around me can't stop coughing and sneezing, but my allergies are nowhere to be found.  Why is this, you ask?  Well, from what I've read, dairy is a big contributor to allergies.  I haven't eaten dairy in nearly a year, so I'm guessing that my allergies are gone because there is no dairy in my system.  About this I am ecstatic!  Has this happened to anybody else, or am I just the odd girl out?

In celebration of my AWOL allergies, here is the (usually dairy laden) chocolate mousse!  I have made this no less than four times (with several variations) in the past couple of months.  Whenever somebody asks what's for dessert, this mousse is the first thing that comes to mind.  It is extremely easy and even more delicious! I recommend you make some immediately.

Chocolate Matcha Mousse

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp soymilk

1 tbsp matcha green tea powder

9 oz. chocolate chips

12 oz extra firm silken tofu

Whisk together matcha and soymilk in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and let cool while you melt the chocolate.

Pour chocolate chips into a double boiler (or a makeshift double boiler: saucepan set under a glass bowl).  Fill the saucepan with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer, then place the bowl filled with the chips on top.  Occasionally stir the chips until they are completely melted, then remove from heat.

Pour the melted chocolate, matcha infused soymilk, and silken tofu into a blender and process until smooth, or pour matcha infused soymilk and silken tofu into the bowl with the melted chocolate and process with an immersion blender until smooth.

Pour into individual cups, or into one large bowl for at least 1 1/2 hours, but preferably longer.  Serve to your friends, or keep it all to yourself, either way it will be delicious.

You can play around with the flavors by adding different extracts: try peppermint, almond, vanilla, really whatever suits your fancy. You could also steep different teas in the soymilk. I'm sure you'll find something you like!

Pretzels, please!

I woke up early Saturday morning with the urge to bake. But not to bake cookies or cakes or pies, no, I wanted to bake bread.  Well silly me, I should have thought of that the day before, shouldn't I?  I read recipe after recipe, just waiting to find one that didn't include a line such as "let rise for 6 hours for best flavor development," or "begin by making a starter at least 1 week in advance," because really, I didn't have time for that.  I wanted immediate gratification.  Finally, I had an epiphany: soft pretzels. I remembered from last time I made a batch that they require only about an hour to rise, and off I went.

Soft Pretzel Rolls (very slightly adapted from Vegan Dad)

Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 1/8 tsp salt

1 cup bread flour

3 cups all purpose flour

Topping

2 cups warm water

2 tbsp baking soda

coarse ground seal salt

cinnamon and sugar

In a large bowl, combine water and yeast, and stir to until dissolved.  Stir in brown sugar and salt and stir until dissolved.  Carefully pour in flour and knead until dough is satiny and elastic.  Let rise, covered, for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda into warm water.

Divide dough into eight equal pieces (or 6, or 12, however large or small you want).  Form into the shape of your choice - I chose to roll the dough out to about 15 inches, then twist it around a few times and press the ends together.  Once all of your pretzels are formed, allow them to rise on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes more.  

Dip each pretzel into baking soda mixture, then place back onto baking sheet and sprinkle on your toppings of choice.  I've had great success with smoked sea salt and thyme, cinnamon sugar, garlic powder, etc. Anything that strikes your fancy will probably work, as long as it's not ice cream. That might melt in the oven.  

Bake pretzels for 10 minutes, or until they are a nice, golden brown.  Remove from oven and try not to eat them all in one sitting. (While these are the best straight out of the oven, they are still extremely delicious when reheated on a baking stone, or even just at room temperature).  

The best thing about these pretzels (besides being an amazing way to satisfy a carb craving) is that they make the kitchen smell like bread all day. Don't you think that's the best smell in the world? I know I do.

I have a weekend full of baking ahead of me, so expect some more desserts very soon!  Oh, and I haven't forgotten about the mousse and sushi, they're still lingering here on my computer, I'll get around to them soon, I promise.

Going (Coco)nutty

I've been on a serious coconut kick lately.  I just can't seem to escape it. Coconut milk ice cream, coconut on my cereal, coconut cookies... I might turn into a coconut at this rate (which is highly probable - I just got another huge bag of coconut)! So if I disappear, you'll know it's not because I don't care about you, but because I've morphed into a tropical fruit who, unfortunately, doesn't have any fingers. Enough about that, It's time for cookies!

For me, these were the ultimate coconut cookies.  Perfectly crunchy with a delicious hint of nuttiness, and, of course, the perfect amount of toasted coconut. But I couldn't just leave these cookies unadorned - I had to dip them in chocolate!  Needless to say, it was a well received addition.

Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies (adapted from smitten kitchen)

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

3/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

1/2 cup plus 1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

9-10 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread coconut on one baking sheet, and place in the oven until coconut is golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Beat together margarine and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until well combined, then beat in salt and vanilla extract.  Carefully beat in flour in 2 additions.  Once fully combined, stir in toasted coconut.  Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disc, and wrap in plastic.  Refrigerate for at least an hour, or up to two days.

Preheat oven to 325°F. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove dough from refrigerator and roll to 1/4 inch on a lightly floured surface.  Cut dough into rounds with 1 3/4 - 2 inch cookie cutters, and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.  Combine and re-roll dough scraps and cut out additional cookies.  

Bake cookies for 20 minutes, or until just golden.  Leave on baking sheets to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are cool, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave in several 30 second bursts.  Dip half (or more, if you wish) of each cookie into the melted chocolate, and place onto wax or parchment paper to cool.  Alternatively, you could just eat the cookies while the chocolate is still warm (you know, to save parchment paper).

Because of my current coconutty state, I've decided that just one coconut recipe is certainly not enough for this post, so here we have coconut whipped cream.  We used this to top some brownies, that were sadly not photographed.  Do make these brownies next time you have a craving, Celine's recipe is absolutely perfect.

Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingredients

two 15 oz. cans full fat coconut milk, refrigerated

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

Place the whisk attachment and metal bowl of 

your stand mixer in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to making the whipped cream.

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Spread coconut onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until golden.  Remove from oven and let cool completely,

Remove coconut milk from refrigerator whisk attachment and bowl from freezer.

Skim the solid part of the coconut milk out of the can and place in the bowl of the mixer.  Whisk on medium speed until light and fluffy, about a minute.  Add in powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and toasted coconut, and mix until completely combined.

Put on top of everything! (The coconut cream will keep in fridge for a few hours, but after that you may need to re-whip it).