Moosewood Chocolate Cake: Layered Stylie

This is essentially the recipe from the wonderful Moosewood Restaurant in Ithaca, NY--purveyors of delicious vegetarian fare and excellent cookbooks, the spot where I dined as a teenager and burned the memory of a delectable mint brownie sundae forever into my taste memory--but I doubled it, layered it, and strawberry preserved it, then baked it at a lower temp for flatter, more layerable results. Check it, with pics, below. All recipe credit to the Moose.

Chocolate-Strawberry Layer Cake
3 c. unbleached white flour
2/3 c. unsweetened cocoa powder
2 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 c. sugar
1 c. vegetable oil
2 c. cold water
4 t. pure vanilla extract
4 T. cider vinegar (measure it into a cup for easier quick pouring)

Lazy Gal's Filling:
1 10 oz jar European strawberry preserves (or any other high quality fruit preserves--no jelly!)

Glaze:
11.5 oz bag Ghiradelli semi-sweet chocolate (or whatever brand you prefer...)
1 c. hot water
1/2 t. vanilla

Preheat oven to 350. Oil a 9 inch pan (two if you have them, otherwise the whole process takes twice as long, which is what I did) and lightly flour. Springform pans work nicely. Mix all dry ingredients in a large mixing bowl until well combined. Measure in all wet ingredients EXCEPT for vinegar, and mix until smooth. Add vinegar and stir quickly--it will react with the baking soda and get a little effervescent. Fun! Mix until there are no more light colored swirls in the batter. Pour half of the batter into the pan. If you have another pan, pour the other half in that one. Bake for 25-30 minutes, checking for doneness with a toothpick in the middle.

Let cakes cool at room temp for 10 minutes or so, and if you have the time, wrap each layer in saran wrap and stick them in the fridge or freezer to cool for an hour or two so they are easier to work with (thanks, Smitten Kitchen!).

Then, take one cooled cake and place it gently on a nice big plate. Spread the ENTIRE jar of preserves all over the top. Yum. This makes it really moist and tasty. Carefully place the next layer on top. Let those sit a while while you make the glaze.

Place the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, microwave it for about 90 seconds, then stir in hot water and vanilla until you get a smooth consistency. Spoon this over the cake. It will get everywhere, but that's OK :) You'll also have a LOT leftover. Save it and reheat just before serving to spoon on top of the cake and the vanilla ice cream you know you want to eat it with. Put the finished cake in the fridge for a least 30 minutes before serving, and if you want to get fancy, throw some confectioner's sugar on top.

Oh yeah, not only is it SO DAMN TASTY, it's also vegan! However, the meat-and-dairy folks I served it to were bout it bout it--this cake is just universally fabulous. Enjoy!

Banana Kale Smoothie

Summer started off with the best, toxin-free intentions, but lo, there has been pan-fried noodles and too many Chips Ahoy cookies and even (gasp!) some Popeye's apple pie (which, according to the internet, is technically vegan. But still).

I'm back in school and ready to welcome students next Monday, so I need to re-establish healthy eating routines to preserve my sanity and energy. This kick-butt and simple to prepare green smoothie got me on the right track this summer and I have faith in its restorative powers for the next 180 school days to come...

Banana Kale Smoothie
1 frozen banana
2-3 oranges, either juiced or just peeled and seeded
1 large piece kale, chopped
apple juice, agave nectar, or honey to taste (I use 1 Tbsp. or so)

1. Chop kale and place in blender with one orange, either chopped or juiced. Process until kale is totally pureed. Chunks will ruin the fresh taste of this smoothie and make it bitter and gross.
2. Add remaining orange and the banana, broken into small pieces. Process until smooth and enjoy!

Did you know how AMAZING kale is?

Cucumber Pesto Roll

More killer vegan food to make your mouth water after breaking a fast, or any old damn time. These are super easy and incredibly delicious when you use fresh, ripe ingredients. I will be incorporating dairy, baked goods, and seafood into my diet in the next few weeks, but this jammy summer treat makes a strong case for the vegan lifestylie! This recipe is very much based on one I found on several sites around the internet, but without gross pimientos and with the addition of seasoned tomatoes.

Cucumber Pesto Roll
1 large, symmetrical cucumber
1 tomato (I used creole)
1 avocado
1 oz fresh basil (large handful of leaves)
1/4 cup of pine nuts (or more to taste)
juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbsp olive oil (or more to taste)
1 clove garlic (or more to taste)
ground black pepper
ground sea salt

1. Wash, then peel the cucumber in alternating strips so it is "striped" with peel. Cut it in half lengthwise and use a small spoon to seed the cuke and make a long trench in each cucumber half.
2. Dice the tomato VERY finely. Season with salt and pepper and small squeeze of lemon. Mix well, then spread a light layer into the trough of each cucumber half.
3. Process the avocado, basil, pine nuts, lemon juice, garlic and salt and pepper to taste. The mixture should be very thick. Spread a heaping spoonful of the pesto over the tomatoes in each cucumber half. Use a butter knife to level the pesto with the walls of the cucumber.
4. Carefully put the halves back together and wrap very tightly in plastic wrap. Place roll in the refrigerator and chill for at least two hours.
5. Uwrap roll, separate halves, and cut into bite-size pieces. Arrange on a plate--maybe make it fancy and put the pieces onto a bright green lettuce leaf. Enjoy!

Lovely Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup

This is a wonderfully easy, fragrant, and nutritious variation on the classic lentil soup. Seeing as how I hadn't eaten solid food in almost 12 days when I made this soup, I was really excited to eat something hot, simple, and flavorful--and this delivered big time. After completing a 10 day Master Cleanse followed by a post-cleanse day of fresh squeezed OJ and grapefruit, then post-cleanse day 2 of OJ and 1/4 of a veggie sandwich for lunch, I assembled a variety of organic veggies and spices and got cooking. All measurements are approximate and improvised, natch.

Lovely Lentil & Sweet Potato Soup
1 medium sweet potato
2 cloves garlic
4 stalks celery
10-15 baby carrots
1 can diced tomatoes
1/2 yellow onion
1 c. red lentils
salt and pepper to taste
approx 1 c. Magic Green Infusion (see recipe below)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Scrub sweet potato with hands or veggie brush, then rub with a light coating of olive oil. Cut off the tops of the garlic cloves and rub with oil as well. Bake potato and garlic on foil-covered sheet for about 45 minutes. I suggest a nap while you wait :)
2. Let potato and garlic cool. Dice all veggies. Make Magic Green Infusion.
3. Put small bit of olive oil in a large soup pot and add medium heat. Add onion and celery, stirring occasionally for about five minutes.
4. Add tomatoes, carrots, sweet potatoes and (peeled) roasted garlic cloves, and cover with about six cups of spring water. Let simmer for about 15 minutes.
5. Remove sweet potato chunks with a slotted spoon, and puree with a bit of the broth.
6. Return sweet potato puree to the pot, add Magic Green Infusion and lentils and let simmer (NEVER BOIL!) for about 40 minutes.
7. YUM!


Magic Green Infusion
approx 2 cups flat parsley
10-20 whole cloves garlic
approx 1 Tbsp. fresh lemon juice
approx 4 Tbsp. olive oil
ground black pepper to taste
ground sea salt to taste
dried italian seasoning blend to taste (thyme, rosemary, basil, etc.)
1 cup water or broth

Blend all ingredients until smooth and bright green. Stir in to any soup while cooking--it adds a ton of flavor, nutrition and color.

Top Model Tilapia...

...which is to say, I had so much fun messing around with these recipes that I forgot to watch America's Next Top Model. Probably for the best. What follows are recipes for a tasty tilapia dish and two veggies sides, all super easy, pretty healthy, and yum. This evening of simple and improvised eating was brought to you by love, sweet love. Yes, the kind of love where a girl goes weeks and months without cooking three of her favoritest, healthiest foods, all because her darling boyfriend despises them, leaving her bereft, and craving them all, right now, at once!

Happily, new roomie was down to try the goods. We chomped, and I chased the whole shebang with a Heine and some chocolate ice cream :)

The Menu
Tilapia in a Confetti Cream Sauce
Maple Mustard Sweet Potatoes
Broccoli Soup with Cheddar

Tilapia in a Confetti Cream Sauce
1/4 white onion
2 cloves garlic
kernels from one ear of fresh corn, boiled
1/2 red pepper
1/4 c. fresh parsley
2 Tbsp. olive oil
2 Tbsp. half and half
2 Tbsp. corn meal
ground black pepper
ground sea salt
ground red pepper flakes
1 lb. tilapia

1. Process everything except the fish until you get a thick, greenish, and generally unappetizing looking goo. I'm curious to try this and keep the consistency more like a salsa or salad, but creamy and a little vomitous is how it went (and worked!) on the first go.
2. Place tilapia fillets in a baking dish (I used glass. Thanks, dishwasher!). Cover with the veggie cream sauce and bake at 350 for about 25 minutes.

Maple Mustard Sweet Potatoes
1 large sweet potato
2 Tbsp. creole mustard
2 Tbsp. grade B maple syrup
1 Tbsp. olive oil
ground sea salt
ground black pepper

1. Wash potato thoroughly, then give the skin a good rub down with some olive oil. Cut in half, then in quarters, then into thin, french-fryish slices.
2. Place slices in a narrow baking dish and add remaining ingredients. Mix well until potatoes are coated.
3. Bake at 350 for at least an hour. At 35 minutes, remember to pop in the tilapia.

Broccoli Soup with Cheddar
1 16oz container Imagine Organic Broccoli soup
fresh broccoli
Cheddar cheese, grated

1. This barely qualifies as a recipe, but hey, why not? Make it about 5 minutes before the other two dishes are finished.
2. Heat soup in a pot, add salt and pepper to taste.
3. Steam up the broccoli. I do this in a white-trashy sort of way involving a moist paper towel and a microwave, but you're probably a little classier. Put a few big pieces of the steamed broccoli into a pair of small bowls (I used ramekins).
4. Pour the heated soup over the fresh broccoli and top with Cheddar.

Final note: Don't be afraid to overspice these babies. Tilapia, sweet potato and broccoli are mild and gentle, and a little heat is required to bring them onto the dance floor.

Blue Ribbon Vegan Cornbread?

No, really--it's actually pretty damn good! I made this with a pot of vegan chili with a few adjustments, namely: substituted some grade B maple syrup for some of the sugar, used olive oil instead of canola oil, and added a Tbsp or so of pre-made salsa. The recipe as I freestyled it below, though all credit goes to young Dana Sly.

Surprisingly Good Vegan Cornbread

2 tablespoons ground flax seeds
6 tablespoons water
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/8 cup sugar
2 Tbsp Grade B maple syrup
4 teaspoons baking powder
3/4 teaspoon table salt
1 cup soymilk
1/4 cup olive oil
1 Tbsp salsa

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Oil an 8-inch-square baking dish.
3. Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan.
4. Add the ground flax seed, reduce the heat to medium-low, and simmer the ground flax seed in the water for 3 minutes or until thickened, stirring occasionally. Set aside.
5. In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt until well-combined.
6. Add the ground flax seed mixture, soy milk, and canola oil to the flour mixture. Beat just until smooth (do not overbeat.)
7. Turn into prepared baking pan. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Cool until warm and serve!

Sweet Potato Banana Bread

I made this improvised treat over Christmas, when I suddenly decided to whip up several mini-loaves of Mom T's classic banana bread for some of the office staff at my school. After I'd already begun mixing things up, I decided to double the recipe on the fly. All good, except--I didn't have enough bananas. So, I did what any new Southerner would do--opened up the fridge and pulled out some baked sweet potatoes I had frozen a week or two earlier to take for lunch! This addition lent a bright color, some vitamin A, and a new variant of sweetness to an already fabulous recipe. Well, at least I thought so. The native New Orleanians never did comment...

Sweet Potato Banana Bread

¼ cup butter softened at room temp
½ cup brown sugar (or raw sugar)
1 beaten egg (room temp)
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup oatmeal
3 mashed overripe bananas
1 large baked sweet potato, mashed
1 1/12 cups flour (Mom T uses 2/3 wheat to 1/3 white, and for the white she takes one Tbsp. out of every cup and puts in wheat germ instead)
½ teaspoon each cinnamon and ginger
A very scant 1/8 teaspoon of nutmeg
2 tsp baking powder
½ teaspoon baking soda
½ cup chopped walnuts

1. Preheat oven to 350. Grease and flour a breadpan or muffin tin. It’s annoying, so get it over with first!
2. Mix all the dry ingredients together ‘cept for oatmeal…make them sit off to the side while you do the fun wet stuff!
3. Cream butter and sugar together, then blend in egg and vanilla.
4. Blend in oatmeal and mashed up bananas and sweet potato.
5. Invite the dry ingredients to the party! Blend it all together, but don’t over work it .
6. Put the dough in the loaf pan, bake at 350 for one hour…check for doneness at 50 minutes. If you're making muffins, check them after 25 minutes for doneness.

So delicious in the morning with butter and coffee, and the muffins freeze really well for later breakfasts. Yay NOLA influenced family classics!

Easiest White Bean Soup

This is in no way my own creation, but it was definitely made on the fly and proved to be quick, easy and soothing. Excellent with bread and salad, probably fabulous with grilled cheese:

3 cans white beans
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 32 oz container organic chicken broth or veggie broth
3-4 carrots, scrubbed and diced
3-4 celery stalks, rinsed and diced
2-10 garlic cloves to taste, minced
1 medium onion, minced
ground black pepper to taste
sea salt to taste
dried rosemary to taste
dried thyme to taste

1. Heat olive oil in a large pot, then add garlic and onion and stir until soft and sweaty.
2. Add carrots, celery, and any other veggies you have on hand. Cook on low-medium for a bout five minutes, stirring occasionally.
3. Add all remaining ingredients and bring to a simmer. Cook for about 5-10 minutes, depending on how soft you like your veggies.
4. Using a large measuring cup or a mug, carefully remove about half of the soup and process until smooth in a blender or food processor. Try to get an equal ratio of broth and chunks when you do this.
5. Return the blended soup to the pot, stir together, and serve (with a little chopped fresh herbs on top if you want to get fancy).

Beans, Guac, and Tequila, oh my!

Sunday night I made a Mexican feast for some mostly-vegan friends who were coming off a several week detox. They're killer cooks both, so I wanted to make some delicious, fresh food to earn my keep after the many fabulous meals I've had by their hands, plus slowly re-introduce them to the wonderful world of booze.

The Menu:

Veggie Mexican Lasagna

Guacamole

Cilantro Corn Salad

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas

I found the Lasagna recipe after some googling. I added a blend of Mexican cheese and extra salsa to the layers, used flour instead of corn tortillas, and added fresh garlic to the enchilada sauce, but otherwise just rocked it as stated. Now, onto the improvising...(NOTE: all recipes served four hungry people, and each couple got ample leftovers--except for the margaritas.)

Guacamole
4 avocados
1 large tomato
1 red onion
approx 3 Tbs. olive oil
juice of one lime
5 garlic cloves
salt to taste
ground black pepper to taste

1. Roughly chop the first three ingredients, then mash them together in a bowl using a fork. It should be CHUNKY, not smooth.
2. Blend the remaining ingredients in a food processor/blender/smoothie maker until smooth and frothy. Add to avocado mixture and stir until blended.

Good Guac Storage Tips: Keep pits in the bowl to preserve freshness. Also, put saran wrap right down onto the surface of the guacamole to keep any air from getting in (do this even if you're storing in a tupperware container).

Cilantro Corn Salad
1 cup corn (fresh, canned, or frozen)
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 green bell pepper, diced
1 cup cilantro, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

Combine all ingredients and adjust ratio as desired. Fresh, colorful and crisp=chomp!

Fresh Strawberry Margaritas
1 pint fresh strawberries, hulled
juice of 4 limes
1 cup water
1 cup raw cane sugar
8-10 oz tequila to taste

Combine first four ingredients in a food processor/blender/smoothie maker. Adjust sugar to taste. Pour into a glass pitcher, then stir in tequila. Serve on the rocks!

Quick Peanut Pasta

Start by cooking two servings of your favorite whole wheat pasta. While it's on, combine:

1/2 cup peanut butter
3 T Soy Vey
1 T cider vinegar (optional)
2 t raw sugar
1/2 t each of cracked red pepper and dry cilantro
Stop cooking pasta a minute or so before it is supposed to be done...you want it al dente. Drain it carefully. Leave about a cup of water in the pot.

Mix pasta, water and sauce cook on low heat

Add a handful or two of Seapoint frozen organic garden vegetables...cook a little longer until they are crisp and warm

Slurp happily!!!

Any leftover sauce is great over brown rice and more veggies!

Thank you for starting this Caitlin!!!

Magic Green Salad Dressing

The boy and I have been trying (and mostly succeeding) to eat more salads these days. I created this a few weeks ago when I got tired of our dressing selection.

Magic Green Dressing

juice of 1/2 lemon
2 Tbs. olive oil
generous handful of flat-leaf parsley, washed
salt
ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. plain yogurt (optional--it keeps better without if you don't use it all right away)

Combine all ingredients in a blender, food processor, or Fit n' Fresh (that works PERFECTLY in fact, though eventually I need to break down and get an actual food processor). Adjust parsley/lemon ration depending on how thick/thin you like your dressing. I've eaten this on a mixed veggie salad, and a simple romaine + strawberry + celery salad. Very zippy and delicious, plus it gives you an extra shot of awesome green power.