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Thursday, September 19, 2013

Birthday Cake

My best friend just got to celebrate that joyous time of the year where at this stage in life we see it as a time to drink it up and party that we are yet another year older. Haha not really but kind of true. (What I would do to have a pinata at my birthday party again.)

I tried to make her a gluten free birthday cake. It came out ok for a gluten free cake. I know there are places that could have done a way better job then I did, but honestly the only reason I really wanted to make it was to try out a special frosting recipe. I made a banana cake with chocolate fudge frosting. I'll give you the frosting recipe first because that was my favorite part of the cake, then the cake recipe, that don't get me wrong it tasted good just texture wise it was gluten free.

Chocolate Fudge Frosting

4 baby avocados (yes you are seeing this correctly!!)
1 tablespoon vanilla extract
1/8 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 cup cacao powder

Put everything in a mixer or food processor (I would go with the food processor, I tried the mixer and it was a tad lumpy). Blend it up. You could just eat it right out of the bowl, or eat it like pudding (cause this is how people make raw chocolate vegan pudding), or frost a cake or cupcakes with it. Yum!

Gluten Free Banana Cake

7 really ripe bananas
1/2 cup  vegetable oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 tablespoon flaxseed meal
1 tablespoon chia seeds
6 tablespoons water
3 cups all purpose gluten free flour mix
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1/2 cup milk (use soy, almond, or any milk of your choice)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees, spray two round cake pans with nonstick spray and then line the bottom with wax paper.
Mix the flaxseed meal and chia seeds with the water.
Mash the bananas.

Add in the flax eggs, the oil, and the vanilla.

In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bp, bs, and salt together.

Add the vinegar to the wet mixture.

Slowly add the dry ingredients in three parts.

Once almost mixed in add in some of the milk. You will repeat this two more times until all the flour and all the milk are used up.

Place into the two pans evenly. Bake in preheated oven for 30 to 40 minutes, turning the pans half way during the bake time.

Test to see if they are done by inserting a tooth pick in the center and it comes out clean. Allow them to cool on a rack, once they can come out, take them out of the pan and cool on the rack that way.

Add frosting in the middle or jam or any filling you wish. I went with a superfruit jam.

Then frost.

Cake!

Gotta love good old Trader Joe's!!

Also I just wanted to share my strange but delicious meal with you.
Kale, mango, figs, roasted beets, roasted  golden beets and parsnips with the spice blend I told you about last posting (I froze small batches or the veggies I roasted), and tamari almonds.

Until we meet again with a new dish.

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

Time For Eats

So ever since I've come back from summer camp and started school I haven't really had too much time to get very creative. I know, I make way too many promises, and I really plan to fulfill them one of these days. My Pinterest recipe boards are so full with things I want to make and just wish I had the time (and stomach capacity) to make them all. One of these days.

But really. I have been able to make a few fun yummy foods/meals. Not really recipe worthy postings but I can share some tempting photos with you and how I made them.

First, I was going on a job interview in Summit and found this really cute spice shop and had to venture in. I bought ground caraway seeds (which I have a strange obsession with) and a spice blend called Vindaloo.

It has coriander, garlic, cumin, ginger, cinnamon, brown mustard, red pepper, jalapeno, cardamom, turmeric, Tellicherry black pepper, and cloves. Every spice I LOVE!!! Like, those of you who know me, coriander is my go to spice and cinnamon, can't live without it. I roasted some yellow beets and parsnips with with it and it has a nice amount of heat to it. Not too over bearing.

So then while I was buying those spices, the guy behind the counter gave me a spice blend for free because I liked spicy things.

He gave me Berbere which has Cayenne pepper, garlic, ginger, fenugreek, cardamom, cumin, black pepper, allspice, turmeric, cloves, Ceylon cinnamon, and coriander. I roasted chick peas with that mix and it had a tasty kick to it. I put them in a salad with mango, cucumbers, tomatoes, avocado, roasted corn, parsley, and basil. I loved it, so did my boy friend (well that's what he told me, he didn't care for the fresh herbs as lettuce though). I also made garlic cheese bread to go with it (that he devoured).

And who's happy for FALL?? This girl. Well I eat pumpkin all year round, but most other people are all excited for pumpkin everything!! So I made a pumpkin chick pea flat bread with the ground caraway seeds.

Topped it with cinnamon cashew butter,


fresh super ripe figs,

and kale.

Yum!!! I really love figs.

I had some not so ripe figs and decided to roast them,

then topped kale with them along with roasted beets and sweet potatoes, and an avocado.

Strange but good. (You know me and strange go hand and hand.)

Last but not least, some herb flat bread with kale, tomatoes, and fennel seed cashew creme sauce.


That's all I have for now. But do expect a cake recipe soon, like I'm 100% going to follow through with that one. <3