the CAKE.

When I was a kid... I would have been about 11 or 12... my family and I vacationed at the Outer Banks in North Carolina. It was also around this time that I fancied myself as being from about 7 different countries/regions of the world. I was a New Yorker, a Puerto Rican, a southerner, a Brit, and my personal favorite, an Australian. (I once convinced a man doing work on our home that I was, indeed, from Melbourne. It's still a source of pride and accomplishment.) So one night on vacation we all go out to dinner to this seafood buffet place. Now, remember when I said I hated mushrooms? Seafood takes this dislike to another level. Just the thought of it activates my gag reflex. That texture.. it's enough to put me in a cold sweat, and I wasn't not alone in my dislike for seafood. My mom and my sister weren't too keen on the googly-eyed entrees either.

Needless to say, it was a rough dinner, but the crowning savior was the dessert bar. Oh, the dessert bar. That shining beacon of comfort. (yeah, I eat my feelings! what's it to you?!) So my sister and I survive the cracking and lip smacking ordeal that is dinner, and head to the dessert bar. I lead the way, Aussie accent in tow, and line up for some serious fat kid feasting. To my delight, they have chocolate cake, so naturally, I want to share this excitement with my sister. Thinking she's right behind me, I turn to her, and in my best Aussie, exclaim, "Look, Sarah, they have chocolate cake!" Imagine my surprise when I discover that is not Sarah behind me, but rather a startled, middle-aged woman staring at me like I had tourettes. I don't remember exactly what happened after that. I think I eeked out a smile, and muttered something like "they have chocolate cake..." while staring intensely at the serving utensils. And surely, I still got my piece of pre-sliced comfort.

This cake here is the Moosewood version that I raved about in my last post. It's 100% chocolate gooey-goodness. I call it the cake brownie. It's fudgey like a brownie, but still thick and airy like a cake. Oh, and it has frosting. I'm going to work on making it into cupcakes and filling them with cream because I think that'd be like a hostess cupcake.. but fudgier (i.e. out of control yum). What is really great about this recipe is that you can stir everything up directly in your pan, so you don't have 8 bowls to wash when you're done, and the frosting can be made in a glass measuring cup, so that's super simple too. Plus, you Chem nerds will rejoice when you pour in the apple cider vinegar and it reacts with the baking soda. It's pretty cool. (Why didn't we ever do THAT in lab instead of watching a bunsen burner for an hour?)

You should make this recipe. You won't regret it. You just might regret it if there is more than just you in the room when it comes time to eat it.

Moosewood's Vegan Chocolate Cake

Cake:

1 ½ cups unbleached white flour

⅓ cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

1 cup sugar

½ cup vegetable oil

1 cup cold water or coffee (I used water)

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

2 tablespoons cider vinegar

In an 8x8 square pan, or a 9-inch round pan, sift together the flour, cocoa, baking soda, salt and sugar. In a measuring cup (like a glass pyrex), mix together the oil, water and vanilla. Add to the dry ingredients in the pan and mix the batter with a fork or small whisk.

When the batter is smooth, add the vinegar and stir quickly. There will be pale swirls in the batter as the baking soda and vinegar react. Stir just until the vinegar is evenly distributed throughout the batter.

In a 375 degree oven, bake 25-30 minutes (I think it's taken me more like 30-35 - just check with a toothpick), and set aside to cool.

Chocolate Glaze:

½ pound semi-sweet chocolate

1/2 cup hot water (but I used hot almond milk instead)

½ teaspoon pure vanilla extract

In a glass pyrex or microwave safe bowl, melt your chocolate. Once melted, add the water/milk and vanilla and stir until smooth. Pour evenly over the cooled cake, and refrigerate the glazed cake at least 30 minutes before serving. The glaze will firm up and be more chocolate ganache-y like.

Enjoy!

Moose, quinoa and gorges...

This past weekend the hubs and I headed up to Morris Run, PA to visit my lovely older sister and her family. If you're wondering, "Where is Morris Run?" you're not alone. It's about an hour and a half south of Ithaca, NY. y'know, like all those "Ithaca is gorges" bumper stickers? Oh, and I think there's some Ivy League school there.. pish posh! What you should actually be associating Ithaca, NY with is the swoon-worthy establishment loved by Veggies everywhere - Moosewood Restaurant! woo woo!

I felt like I was at some celebrity restaurant! I told people about it before the trip looking to incite jealousy and envy. I fussed about what to wear.... will there be a red carpet? paparazzi? Gaga? Ok, so I didn't really think those things, but I was super stoked, and I love my sissy dearly for taking me there.

The interesting thing about the restaurant is that they have a new menu each day, but it is like a specials menu, so there's just a few things to choose from. I was a little nervous about this, but as long as I can remove 'shrooms from a dish, I am willing to try most things. We had an app of quinoa black bean salad with guacamole (the recipe is below), that was super tasty, and for an entree I had the Pine Nut Pasta. (okay, so it had some pretty, fancy name, but I don't remember what it was.) I know I asked for it without the pine nuts. I don't think I like them. so sue me! I must have had a bad batch of pesto once, and I have always been convinced it was the pine nuts. I avoid basil-pine nut pestos to this day. true story.

Here's my yummy pasta:

THEN. oh then. Then, it was time for dessert. Joe and I shared the vegan chocolate cake. I don't know if we so much shared as much as I gobbled. I seriously had a Meg Ryan moment at the table. I mean, I think it would have been a good cake even if it wasn't vegan, but since it was vegan, it was like the best cake I ever had. It was moist and the flavor was so chocolately full, and then the frosting was a ganache that wasn't too sweet. It was so. good. My sister got a piece, but couldn't get through the whole thing, and she actually pondered not taking it home with us! gahh! We were going to get a box, but things got a little chaotic when we were leaving and that just didn't happen. As soon as we got up they came over to clear the table (I'm pretty sure Oprah was waiting for the table), and Joe and I both looked at the leftover cake and simultaneously forked up the rest of it. I felt like Chunk from the Goonies when they take the ice cream away from him, ripping the spoon out of his chubby, sad cheeks!

Here's the picture of the oh-so-amazing cake:

ha! Have no fear! I remembered that I had this recipe in my Moosewood cookbook, and I have all the intention in the world to bake it this week. ohhh yeah.

So what's awesome about the restaurant is that their dishes are all from their cookbooks, so if you like something, you can just go find it. The magic of the internet quickly led me to the appetizer dish we had, and Joe and I cooked it up last night. It's tasty and simple. Plus, it's grains and beans and veg: the magical 3 combo.

Here is *our* version:

and here's the recipe! We made guac too cause I love me some guac. and those are blue corn chips in the back.

Quinoa Black Bean Salad
1/3 cup quinoa
1 cup water

Rinse the quinoa in a sieve under cool running water, and add to a saucepan with your 1 cup of boiling water. Cover, reduce heat to low and simmer until all the water is absorbed - about 10-15 minutes. Allow to cool about 15 minutes.

1 tsp. olive oil
4 tsp. lime juice
1/4 tsp. ground cumin
1/4 tsp. ground coriander
1 T. finely chopped fresh cilantro
2 T. minced scallions
1 1/2 cup. cooked black beans (or a 15 oz. can, drained)
2 cups diced tomatoes
1 cup. diced bell peppers (any color you'd like)
S&P to taste

In a small bowl, combine the oil, lime juice, cumin, coriander, cilantro and scallions. Stir in the beans, tomatoes and peppers. Add the cooled quinoa, and salt and pepper to taste, and combine well. Refrigerate until ready to serve.

Enjoy!

Mango Summer Rolls

Dear Mango,

Let's be together forever. And not just in the spring and summer, but like, all year round. Let's throw macrobiotics to the wind and spend all the seasons in tasty bliss!

Love,
Ann

Oh, mango. I heart you so. I love you even more when I can pair you with rice noodles and dip you in sauce.. wait, did that just get weird?

Summer roll time! I've been holding on to this recipe for a while now, but with all the obnoxious "I'm not even moving but my boobs are sweating" heat, something is telling me summer is in full swing, and it's time to share. This is a super easy recipe, and there's no cooking required, and it tastes best chilled, and it has rice noodles and fruit and cilantro and... are you convinced yet?

Fresh Mango Summer Rolls
from Isa Chandra Moskowitz

1 mango, peeled and sliced into matchsticks
1 cup bean sprouts or seedless cucumber, sliced into matchsticks
1/2 cup fresh cilantro leaves
4 oz very thin rice noodles
1/4 cup roasted peanuts, finely chopped
20 rice paper wrappers

Cook up your noodles: Boil a medium-sized pot of water. Turn off the heat and add the noodles. Let them soak for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Drain the noodles and run under cold water.

Have a pie pan or large wide bowl filled with hot water (like tap water) and a clean counter space or cutting board. Place the rice paper wrappers, 2 at a time, into the water until they are flexible (about 30 seconds). Carefully remove from the water and lay flat on your clean surface. In the lower two-thirds of the roll, place a tablespoon of noodles and sprinkle on some nuts. On top of that place 5 or 6 mango strips, then add your bean sprouts (6 or 7), and finally 3 or 4 cilantro leaves. Fold the left and right sides of your wrapper over the filling, then take the bottom of the wrapper and begin rolling. Keep these wrapped and chilled until serving.

Thai Dipping Sauce
1/4 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
3 T. roasted peanuts, chopped
1 1/2 tsp. sugar

Enjoy!