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Raspberry Blackout Cake w. Ganache-Y Frosting
If you happen to be celebrating a birthday in our family this is most likely the cake I would make for you*. Who doesn’t like chocolate and raspberry together? Crazy people I suppose. I’ll admit that I usually don’t like raspberries at all but when mixed with chocolate cake you can’t go wrong. My sister was the lucky recipient of this cake even though a day before her party she requested a Crepe Cake which wasn’t going to happen on such short notice with 2 kids in the house. The recipe is from Vegan with a Vengeance. You really can’t go wrong with any of Isa’s recipes.
When I was done smoothing out the frosting I had a bit left over and added some star details with a piping bag and tip. The detail and some fresh raspberries, which I picked off (!), made for a beautiful birthday cake!
*On occasion I’ve been known to make a coconut cake for birthdays also.
April 16th, 2012
Butternut-Coconut Soup
I was lucky the other day when Miles decided to grace us with a nap. He’s not like his sister was as a baby who would take two 2 hour naps a day at the same time every day. I’m lucky if his afternoon nap is more than 25 minutes. The other day I could just tell he was going to sleep awhile so I got busy cleaning the kitchen and then messing it up again while cooking a few things. It was nice to cook. I’m still cooking our dinner every night but they have been the same ol’ boring things you’ve seen on this site over and over again. It was just really nice to create and cook something new for a change!
While I was cleaning I noticed a butternut squash that was showing signs that it was needing to be used, very soon, like that day. I thought of roasting it as a side dish or making Kidney Bean and Butternut Veggie Burgers or a few other ideas. I ended up quickly throwing a soup together with it and I’m really happy I did. This soup was so silky, smooth, creamy and delicately spiced with cinnamon. It made a healthy amount that I stored away in the fridge and would heat up a mug of it for lunches and snacks for the next couple of days. The best part of the soup, to me at least, is that Miles LOVED it. The joy I had seeing my 9 month old baby devour this soup I made was wonderful. I froze small portions of the soup to save for him for another week while he enjoyed what I portioned out in the fridge for all of us. Sadly last night we finished off the soup. Luckily I randomly bought another butternut at Whole Foods the morning before which means I’ll be making this soup again for us this weekend!
Butternut-Coconut Soup
2 Tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 medium sized butternut squash
(I peeled the squash then cut it in 1/2 lengthwise, scooped out the seeds and cut each 1/2 in 1/2 again lengthwise. Then sliced them into 1/4 inch slices.)
1 can coconut milk (13.5 fluid ounces)
1 chicken-less boullion cube
6 cups water
1 2 inch cinnamon stick
salt and pepper to taste
Heat olive oil over medium heat in a large soup pot. Saute the onion and garlic until the onion is translucent, about 3-5 minutes. Add the butternut squash and saute until the butternut starts showing signs of caramelization. Add the coconut milk, bouillion cube, water and cinnamon stick. Bring the soup to a boil and then cover, with lid slightly off to let steam escape. Lower to a simmer and cook, stirring occasionally until the squash is soft. Blend in a blender or with and immersion blender which is my favorite way of blending! Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve.
March 10th, 2012
40 Clove Chickpeas and Broccoli
Another Appetite For Reduction dish. 40 Clove…is by far my favorite thing I’ve made from this cookbook. Its in heavy rotation on our list of regular meals which means we are eating it once every week or so. That also means that Reno eats it and loves it. I’ve served it to family and friends and everyone raves about it. The best part about it is how quickly it comes together. You basically throw everything in a pan and stick it in the oven for a bit then add another ingredient and stick it back in the oven for a bit more. I always double the recipe because I love it as leftovers the next day. I serve it over rice so when I pack it together in a container the rice absorbs the broth and flavor all night long making for an extra flavorful lunch the next day.
I’ve made a few minor changes to the recipe. I add a bit of tamari to the broth and I use thyme instead of oregano. One some occasions I’ll also juice the lemon I’ve zested and will add that to the broth as well.
I highly recommend you make this recipe ASAP!
October 13th, 2011
Aglio e Olio
Aglio e Olio translates to Garlic and Oil. Its a traditional Italian dish that can be made cheaply and usually doesn’t require you to go to the store for any of the ingredients and that’s why we have been eating this for dinner about once a week since Miles was born 4 months ago. Its not as easy to get food shopping done as it used to be but that’s ok. We are saving money and I’m forced to use what is in our fridge and pantry which can make for some interesting meals. 
To make this I chop up a ton of garlic. Sometimes an entire head of garlic is used. I coat a pan with extra virgin olive oil, add a tablespoon of Earth Balance and then lightly saute the garlic for a few minutes by itself before adding a pinch of red pepper flakes and dried basil. Its then cooked until the garlic is soft but not browned in anyway. During this whole process I’m cooking some angel hair pasta which once it’s done is drained and added to the pan with the garlic oil, mixed together and served.
Most people, like my husband and daughter, eat this just as is with maybe the addition of some salt and pepper. I go crazy and add a whole lot of nutritional yeast to mine as you can see in the first picture to this post. I add so much I could probably skip taking my multivitamin the next day. If you are a nooch fan I highly recommend eating this my way.
October 11th, 2011
I’m a freak for pesto. The saddest part of the end of summer/beginning of fall is that my basil plants in the garden are no more. We had such a great abundance of basil in our garden this year that pesto became my go to dinner for those nights I didn’t know what to make or if I hadn’t been food shopping in awhile. I always have the extra ingredients I need to make it on hand. Those ingredients being garlic, mellow miso, nuts, olive oil and salt. I like a lot of garlic in my pesto. The garlic gives a nice spicy rawness to it. I find a lot of vegan pesto recipes will use nutritional yeast in place of the cheese and as much as I love nutritional yeast and I love it a lot there is no place for it in my pesto recipes. I use miso instead. I love what miso does to a batch of pesto and it gives it a nice richness that replaces the cheese in a traditional pesto. Pine nuts are traditionally used for pesto’s but I like to use almonds instead. I alway’s have almonds in my freezer, they are much cheaper then pine nuts and you don’t run the risk of getting “pine mouth”. If you’ve never experienced pine mouth consider yourself lucky. If you don’t know what it is wikipedia it or something like that. Its not a fun thing to experience.
A new ingredient I’ve been adding to my pesto is a leafy green such as spinach or kale. Sometime over the last year my daughter Reno has become obsessed with pesto. Its her number 1 requested meal. One day over the summer I got the brilliant idea to sub 1/2 of the basil for spinach and it was great! She loved it and it got a vegetable in her. When she’s making it with me and sees me put some baby spinach into it she’ll ask what it is and I just tell her it’s a friend of the basil and she goes with it….thank goodness. Anyone I’ve had over for a pesto dinner that has kale or spinach in it hasn’t been able to tell that’s I’ve strayed from my usual recipe.
When I make pesto using basil from the garden I make A LOT of it. It freezes wonderfully and if you put saran wrap pressing right up against the pesto making sure to get all air bubbles out it will keep in the fridge for a few days without oxidizing much. You can alternatively pour a thin layer of olive oil on top of the pesto before refrigerating.
October 4th, 2011
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