Vegan Fruit Sweetened Banana Bread

Sometimes you just want your food to give you a nice warm hug. It's that familiar feeling of comfort, as you inhale that special aroma from your childhood, savor that distinctive combination of textures and flavors on your tongue. Perhaps it'll remind you of days spent in your grandmother's kitchen, or that old haunt of a diner that served up your favorite mid-term meals in college.


It's the reason why you love to eat.

This is one of those foods for me, and I think for a lot of people. It seems like everyone's mom made banana bread- warm and fragrant from the oven, with that toasty carmelized crust, tender moist cake with crunchy walnuts and sweet raisins inside. It does take me back, to that goofy little wide-eyed girl who found the simplest things interesting. Sometimes it's fun to feel like that again!


This version, which is made with spelt flour and sweetened with dates and bananas, never lasts very long in my household of five adults. I have a feeling we share similar memories.


This makes 2 large loaves


Ingredients:
1 C. soy milk
1 C. water
2 C. pitted dates (split in half to check for stray pits, and packed well into the measuring cup)
2 C. banana puree (about 2 large bananas, or 3 medium)
2-3 extra bananas for topping
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2 T. ground flax seeds
1 C. canola oil
3 1/2 C. spelt flour (or all purpose flour)
1 T. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
1 C. chopped walnuts
1 C. raisins


Spinz:
In a sauce pan, heat water, soymilk, and dates until just boiling. Turn off heat and let cool for about 10 minutes. In a food processor, puree bananas, vanilla, vinegar, and flax seeds. Add the date mixture and puree until smooth. In a large mixing bowl, sift together the flour, baking soda, and salt, making sure they are well mixed. Add the wet mixture to the dry, and mix until just combined. Mix in walnuts and raisins. The batter will be thick and gooey. Pour it into two 5 x 9" loaf pans that have been sprayed with nonstick cooking spray. Slice extra bananas and press halfway into the top of each loaf. Bake at 350 degrees for 45-55 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.

House of Cake

layered chocolate cake with vegan buttercream frosting in the shape of a house.

I took the month of December and part of January to clean, purge, and organize my entire house of 12 years worth of junk. It was tedious. It was draining. It was therapy. Old pots and pans, tupperware with missing lids, an assortment of clever kitchen gadgets that never worked as they're TV commercials had claimed- all to be remembered with varying degrees of fondness, before letting them go. It's amazing how much we hold on to things in our lives- some out of mere laziness, some with an alarming amount of dysfunctional sentiment. In the end, our home made it through it's month-long intervention with a rekindled energy, and a heck of a lot less dust!

A 4-yard dumpster, sore muscles, and 10 plus donation bags later, I decided to celebrate this experience by making a gift to the house. What better way to celebrate than with a house of cake? It's one whopping New Year's resolution down!

This cake was another of my attempts to also use spelt flour instead of wheat, and to minimize processed sugar. I adapted this recipe to make it, and also added a bit of coffee, as I read that it enhances chocolate flavor. It turned out super moist, not too sweet, and the perfect partner to the vegan buttercream frosting.
The roof was made with a triangle cake that was inspired by this post by Hannah over at Bittersweet.


Cake Ingredients:
2 1/2 C. whole pitted dates
3 C. water
1 T. instant coffee (I used decaf, but regular should be fine too)
1 C. soy milk
2 T. apple cider vinegar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2 T. ground flaxseed
1/2 C. vegetable oil
1/2 C. unrefined sugar
3 C. spelt flour
1 T. baking soda
1 tsp. salt
3/4 C. cocoa powder (unsweetened)

Makes two houses, depending on size

Spinz:
Cut open dates to check for pits. Place them in a sauce pan with the 3 C. of water. Let it come to a boil, then turn off heat, add instant coffee, and set aside.
Mix soy milk, apple cider vinegar, flaxseed, vegetable oil, and sugar in a bowl. In a separate bowl, sift together the spelt flour, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. In a food processor, transfer the date mixture and blend until smooth (if it's still hot, allow steam to escape or allow it to cool down first). Mix the date mixture into the prepared wet mix, then mix in the dry mix. Spread into two prepared jelly roll pans (try to spread evenly). Bake at 350 F for 10 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow it to cool before cutting into four identical squares (to make the base layers). Cut 2 more squares into rectangles lengthwise (to make roof layers).


Vegan Vanilla Buttercream Frosting Ingredients:
1 C. Earth Balance buttery sticks
3 1/2 C. confectioner's sugar
2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/4 C. soy milk (adjust according to desired thickness)

Spinz:
Put everything in a food processor, and blend until very smooth and thick. Refrigerate.

Assembling the Cake:
To make the base, simply spread on a thin layer of frosting in between squares, making sure to frost all the way to the ends. For the roof, frost between the rectangle layers as you did previously. Then put in the freezer to set- this will help you keep the layers together when you cut your triangles. See the diagram below.

Happy Birthday to Me Cake II

Why is it that the older you get, the less candles you get?

Yes, I've hit 39. And, as I cling desperately to my 30's, I'm (oddly enough) looking forward to the big 4-0. Maybe because 40 is the new 20, which makes me only 19 -haha!

Anyway, I love making birthday cakes for my friends and family, so when mine rolls around, it's time to make another "Ultimate Karma Cake." Last year, it was my Ultimate Coconut Cake. This year, my best friend Cee insisted on making a cake for me (love her!)... Anyway, she asked me what kind I wanted, and I came up with a Chocolate Cookies & Cream cake. It came out gorgeous, and tasted divine. It definitely screamed, "Happy Birthday to Me!"

My favorite chocolate cake recipe can be found here. And for the frosting, she used the vanilla frosting recipe from VCTOTW and mixed in crushed chocolate cookies, leaving chunks in for texture. Then she decorated the sides with more crushed cookies- brilliant!

For me, a birthday is kind of like New Years Eve. I end up thinking about what I've learned so far, and where I've grown, and reflect on the stumbles I've had this past year. I think about what I'd like to accomplish before my next birthday, and if I'm doing what I should to reach my goals. I also like to take time to appreciate all that I have right now- the people in my life, my health, and the lessons learned (and re-learned). So here's a list of things I've picked up along the way of this journey that is called "life."

1) Outer beauty is so much more effective when balanced with inner beauty.
2) Worrying about money only leads to less money.
3) Hating on yourself leads to no money.
4) Taking care of yourself means more than going to the gym and eating well.
4 part II) Taking care of yourself also requires facing your fears, stepping forward, and supporting yourself with love- which makes going to the gym and eating well that much more positive and satisfying.
5) It's much more effective to share your beliefs through setting an example, rather than passing judgment.
6) Communicating well means putting yourself in another's shoes before speaking.
7) The more you care about the honest details, the more dependable, the more balanced, and the more aware you will be, and the less mistakes you will make.
8) Punishing yourself for mistakes is like "...taking chemo because your tired of shaving your head." (quoted from Robin Williams).
9) Your worst enemy when learning something new is your own ego.
10) Your best friend when learning something new is your own intuition.
...and finally
11) Being vegan is the bomb! (Not that I'm passing judgment on anyone) :D

Hmmm... I wonder what kind of cake I'll want next year.

Chocolate Cupcakes with Carrot Vanilla Frosting

This is my ULTIMATE chocolate cake recipe, which I used for making some cute Halloween cupcakes tonight. Every year, we go all out and set up our "haunted" entryway with our special effect DJ lights, jack-o-lanterns, and this year- an old TV set playing a variety of horror clips. We also set up our huge 6' X 9' projection screen and showed movies for the neighbors. This year, we were double-booked as well, and between decorating, making food, and organizing the gigs, it was non-stop and I am SO dead right now... but hey- it's for my favorite holiday!

Our featured films this year were Coraline and Monsters Vs. Aliens. Our neighbors from across the street get out their lawn chairs every year and camp out on their driveway for the viewing. The weather was perfect this year, so we had a good crowd of neighborhood kids camp out too.

Why is it that I always wish I had more time to carve pumpkins? ...My favorite part of Halloween!

A spider cupcake (made with cookie legs)

To make orange frosting, I used carrots which worked out really well. I didn't want it to taste like carrots, but I did want it to just have enough to make it orange. I think you could add even more if you wanted.

I also used this recipe to make a decadent birthday cake for my best friend.

Chocolate Cake (makes 2- 9" rounds or about 2 dozen cupcakes)

Dry Ingredients:

3 C. all purpose flour
1 T. baking soda
3/4 C. cocoa powder
1 tsp. salt

Wet Ingredients:

2 C. soy milk
2 tsp. vanilla extract
2/3 C. vegetable oil
2 C. unrefined sugar
2 T. apple cider vinegar

Spinz:

Mix together dry ingredients and set aside. Mix wet ingredients, then blend with dry ingredients until smooth. pour batter into prepared pans of choice and bake at 350 degrees. For cake rounds bake for 20-25 minutes. For cupcakes 12-15 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool before frosting.
Carrot Vanilla Frosting

Ingredients:

1/2 C. cooked carrots
1/2 C. Earth Balance Buttery Sticks (room temp)
2 C. powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla extract

Spinz:

Cook the carrots (I microwaved mine in a covered bowl with a little water for 3 minutes on high). Drain all excess water and let cool. Put the carrots and the remaining ingredients into a food processor and blend until smooth.

Happy Birthday to Me Cake!

Yes, it's my birthday today- a celebration of the 38 years of being alive in this world. But for my blog, I'd like to call this my 5th birthday, as it is a celebration of 5 years being vegan! 5 years of having a clear conscience, better health, and a worthy cause that inspires me to share.

My life in a nutshell? ... a nearly (nearly?) middle-aged DJ, who stays "hip" by scratchin' and playing the top "hits" but secretly loves the 80's (Hall & Oates, The Go-Go's- yeah!), loves her doggies like children because let's face it, they ARE- has a crazy obsession with cooking and blogging about it, constantly looking to make some good "food porn" with a dinky digital camera- loves the fact that her husband went almost vegan for her (couldn't give up the sushi though), and appreciates her best friend, housemates, and DJ crew for doing the same without complaints of meat deprivation- and is hopeful for her mother who has had cancer for 5 years, which was the trigger that led her to veganism... and this blog.

So... what does a person like this want to do on her birthday? Well, besides writing run-on sentences and talking about herself in the third-person... EAT CAKE, of course!

There are no vegan bakeries here in Davis (boo!), so I had to make this one myself- although I have been assured that there are one or more cakes to come this week, made by my family & friends. Yes, I'm a lucky, lucky girl!

After a little thought, I decided to make a coconut cake- because I LOVE coconut and we just bought a batch of coconut milk. And, I made a rich coconut frosting to go with it. It was a bit rich for me, but I got complements like "perfect" and "da bomb!" from everyone else. I only frosted between the layers before running out (but that was enough frosting for me). If you want to frost the whole thing inside and out, I would double it - but be prepared to take a long nap afterwards! zzzzz

Makes one four-layer cake (2 round cake pans)

Ingredients:

Cake
1 C. soy milk
1 C. coconut milk
2 tsp. apple cider vinegar
2/3 C. canola oil
1 T. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. almond extract
1 1/2 C. sugar
2 1/2 C. all purpose flour
1/4 C. corn starch
1 1/2 tsp. baking powder
1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Frosting:
1/2 C. vegan margarine (I used Earth balance buttery sticks)
1/4 C. coconut butter
1/2 package of Mori-Nu firm silken tofu
2 tsp vanilla extract
2 C. powdered sugar
1 C. reduced fat unsweetened coconut flakes (regular is ok too)

Spinz:

Prepare the frosting first by throwing everything except the coconut into a blender or processor until smooth. Add the coconut flakes and pulse a few times to combine. Note: if you're using the regular (not reduced fat) coconut, it would be a great idea to toast it a little first. Unfortunately, the reduced fat one does not toast well and gets overly tough and chewy. Put the mixture into the fridge to cool.

Pour the soy & coconut milk into a large bowl and add the vinegar. Let stand a few minutes. Add the oil, vanilla, almond extract, and sugar and mix well. Then add the remaining dry ingredients and beat until lumps are gone (I used an electric mixer). Pour into two greased round cake pans and bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes until a toothpick comes out clean. Allow to cool down before carefully popping them out onto plates and slicing each into halves. Spread the cooled frosting between the layers and chill in the fridge until ready to eat.