The only problem with this cake is that it disappeared too fast! Everyone seems to love it~ and it’s a really filling cake.

Cake
3½ cups all- purpose flour

4 teaspoons baking powder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon kosher salt

2 cups soy milk

1½ cups unsweetened cocoa powder(we recommend Hershey’s)

1 cup canola oil

3 cups real maple syrup

1 teaspoon distilled white vinegar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Coconut-Pecan Center 
½ cup soy milk

¼ cup cornstarch

1 pinch kosher salt

2 cups firmly packed dark brown sugar

1½ cups coconut milk

2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract

3 cups sweetened shredded coconut

1 cup pecans, coarsely chopped

Chocolate Ganache
½ cup soy milk

8 ounces unsweetened chocolate

¼ cup real maple syrup

What to Do:

1. To make the cake, preheat the oven to 350°f. Have ready two 8- inch round nonstick cake pans.

2. In a large bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt.

3. Heat the soy milk in a small saucepan to slightly bubbling, and then add the cocoa powder. Remove from the heat and whisk well.
(When I worked at Starbucks we would ‘make the mocha’ at night by combining chocolate powder and hot water. This is basically the same idea)

Now, while this looks like a tasty treat….its not. Remember that it has no sweetener, so before you snag a taste remember that! Its just bitter coco

4. In a medium bowl, combine the oil, maple syrup, vinegar, and vanilla. Whisk well. Pour in the soy milk–cocoa mixture, and whisk until smooth.

5. Using a mixer or by hand, add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until the batter is smooth.

6. Pour the batter evenly into the two cake pans, and bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until a toothpick stuck into the center comes out clean. Set the cake aside to cool thoroughly.

7. To make the coconut- pecan frosting, whisk the soy milk, cornstarch, and salt together in a small bowl.

8. In a medium saucepan over medium heat, dissolve the brown sugar in the coconut milk. Cook, whisking, until the mixture comes to a boil. Then reduce the heat to low and cook for 5 minutes, or until slightly thickened.

9. With the mixture on the stove still over low heat, pour in the soy milk mixture and stir continuously until the mixture is very thick and smooth. Remove from the heat and beat in the vanilla, coconut, and pecans. Cool before using.

10. To make the chocolate ganache, combine all the ingredients in a saucepan over low heat, and stir continuously until the glaze is smooth. Remove from the heat, stir for another 2 minutes, and then cool to room temperature.

11. To build the cake, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand, and spread a layer of the coconut- pecan frosting over the top (but not the sides). Place the second layer on top of the first. Using a spatula, ice the cake with a thick layer of ganache.

Now German chocolate cakes usually have a top layer of the coconut-pecan mixture. Feel free to add it, but I personally think it’s just too much. This is a REALLY filling cake as-is

The other night my mother came home with a beautiful new blender. She was so excited she got right to making “Smoothies”. The only problem is….they were afoul. I’m not sure why she thought you can throw whatever you find in a blender with some ice an it’ll just turn out great. So I decided to put this up for those people who need a little push in the right direction when it comes to making actually good smoothies. 

What You’ll Need

1/2 cup Frozen Strawberries

1 Frozen Banana (Sliced)

1 cup Soy milk

2 Tbl Agave Nectar

What To Do
Put everything into a blender and give it a whorl. :)

I think the important note here is that, if your fruit is frozen, you don’t need ice. Given, it will be colder with a few cubes. Just don’t use too many. Also, you’ll want to make sure you don’t over blend your smoothie, it’ll get aerated and make your tummy sad.

So! There ya go. Enjoy!

The first time I tired it I almost had a little food freak out its soooo good! I had to share. It’ll be perfect for the upcoming fall season, and it’s a really is a simple recipe (and cheap too!).  ;) 

What You’ll Need (Cake)

1/2 cup Soy Milk

2 Tsp Apple Cider Vinegar

1/2 cup Vegan Margarine (softened)

1 cup Lite Brown Sugar

1 can Solid-Pack Pumpkin

1 Tsp Pure Vanilla Extract

2 cups All-Purpose Flour

2 Tsp Baking Powder

1 Tsp Baking Soda

1/2 Tsp Salt

1 1/2 Tsp Ground Cinnamon

1/2 Tsp Ground All-Spice

1/2 Tsp Ground Nutmeg

(Chocolate Glaze)
3/4 cup Vegan Semisweet Chocolate Chips (I use Ghirardelli)

2 Tbl Vegan Margarine

1 cup Confectioners Sugar

1 - 2 Tbl Soy Milk

I personally think that if you’re doing this for a Halloween get together a few Halloween themed sprinkles on top would be uber cute. Just an idea ;)

What To Do (Cake)

First thing, go ahead and grease a pan. For a nice presentation use a Bundt pan (and it’s easier to serve that way), but if you’re simple like me a regular 9x13 in pan gets the job done. Set the oven to 350d and get ready to cook!

In a small bowl combine the Soy Milk and Vinegar and set aside.

In a large bowl, cream together the Margarine and Sugar until fluffy (2~3 mins). Now, I know you might be thinking, “Fluffy?” But mix it until it looks close to the picture below. I put some flour on my hands and use them to mix. They are after all, your best tools in the kitchen!

Add the pumpkin and vanilla and beat until mixed. Stir in the Soy Milk Mixture and Beat until smooth.

In a medium bowl, whisk together the Flour, Baking Powder, Baking Soda, Salt, and Spices. Add the flour mixture to the pumpkin batter, about 1/3 at a time (mixing each time), until everything is mixed together.

(I wish I had taken a picture of this, but alas I did not. Sorry. It looks just like normal cake batter at this point.)

Pour it all into a pan and bake for ~30 Minutes (or until a toothpick comes out *of the center* clean). Cool completely.

What To Do (Glaze)

In a medium saucepan, melt chocolate and margarine over low heat and stir.  

Remove from heat and beat in the sugar. Gradually add the soy milk until the glaze is pourable. When the cake is completely cool, pour on the glaze.

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My favorite thing to do is heat a slice in the microwave for 5 seconds then put some vanilla ice cream on top. YUM!

Hope you like it! Enjoy! :)

Every time I tell someone what a vegan is or what vegans don’t eat I will almost undoubtedly be asked, “So what DO vegans eat?” Even having been vegan for six years now I’m never sure exactly how to respond to that question (Maybe because it comes off as ignorant almost every time). So. This is about to be a response to the question I’m sure all vegans hear. This is right off of my shopping receipt for one week.

60 Dollars Worth of Vegan

6 pk on-the-go V8 Juice

1 jar Blackberry Spread

1 pk Thomas’ Whole Wheat Bagels

1 pk Roasted Edamame (YUM)

1 Slicing Tomato

1 Yellow Onion

1 Bell Pepper

1 6 pk Whole Wheat Tortilla Shells

1 thing of Fresh Salsa

1 box Fruity Pebbles

2 1/2 Gal. Silk Soy Milk

1 jar Pickles

1 can Hormel Vegetarian Chili

1 bottle Lite Pancake Syurp

1 loaf Natures Own Bread

1 bag McCormick Fries

1 bag McCormick Hash browns (I normally don’t do that, but it was buy one get one)

1 pk Ghiradelli Semi-Sweet Chocolate Chips

1 box Baking Soda

1 box Baking Powder

1 bag Flour

1 lb Fresh Strawberries

1 Bundle of Bananas

1 12 pk Coke Zero (I only get soda once in a blue moon btw)

1 Smart Balance Lite “Butter Spread”

1 frozen Amy’s Cheese-less Pizza

1 box Luna Smores Bars

1 can Pumpkin

1 pk Gardein “Buffalo Wings”

Spices I also picked up: All-spice, Ground Ginger, Nutmeg

SO. Now you know what a vegan eats. Pretty normal? I think so

You guys know how much I love cheap, easy, yet tasty vegan recipes. I just so happen to be stuck at my house today (my car is kaput, a lady completely ran a stop sign and T-boned me. *sigh) so I decided to write a blog! :)

This is SO good, and its an awesome replacement for a classic (not to mention, fattening) lasagna recipe. There are a few different ways you can make this ‘yours’. I’ll make some optional side notes in here to get you started.

Ok, lets get this show on the road! (I feel like that was a bad pun…My poor car…)

Ingredients:

12 oz Ziti

3 1/2 cups Marinara Sauce

1 lb Extra Firm Tofu

3 tbl Nutritional Yeast (optional, but recommended)

3/4 cup Fresh parsley, minced

Dried Basil, Oregano, Salt, and Pepper

1. Ziti: Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the Ziti over medium heat for about 10 minutes (until dente). Drain and return it to the pot. Add 2 cups of the marinara sauce and mix.

Optional: When boiling the Ziti add at least a 1/2 cup of vegetable broth to the water to amp up the flavor. Its a great addition (you can even go as far as cooking it entirely in broth instead of water). Also, when I salt my water (salting is unneeded if you’re using broth) I use garlic salt. yum :)

2. Tofu: Drain and crumble into a large bowl. Then mix in the yeast, parsley, basil (~1 1/2 tsp), oregano (~3/4 tsp), salt, and pepper (Add to taste).

-optional- Add a little minced garlic, if you’re into that

3. Mix and Bake: Spread a thin layer of the marinara on the bottom of a lightly oiled casserole pan. Add half of the pasta mixture, top with the tofu, and toss on the other half of the pasta. Add whatever you have left of the marinara on top.

Cover tightly with foil and bake until hot (~45 minutes). Serve hot.

When I did this I just mixed the tofu mixture with the first half of the pasta+marinara mixture. Its not quite as pretty, but its good :)

If you wanna splurge a little add some shredded vegan mozzarella on top. I would have but I can’t drive out to go get some at the moment… :(

This dish costs less than $1.50 per serving to make, and it’s pretty damn good. :)

Ingredents:

1/2 cup Green Lentils

1 Medium Butternut Squash (peeled, halved, seeded)

Olive Oil

1/2 cup minced Yellow Onion

4 Garlic Cloves, minced

1 (14oz) can Diced Tomatoes

Arugula (optional, if you’re feeling classy)

Vegetable Stock

Linguine

What to do:

1. [Lentils]

Poor some of the Vegetable broth in a small sauce pan (you can add some water if you need to stretch it) and bring to a boil. Once you have it boiling poor in your 1/2 cup of lentils, let the water return to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer (covered) for about 45 minutes. Drain, set aside.

2. [Squash]

Go ahead and preheat oven to 400F. Cut your squash into 1/2 inch squares and spread them in a baking pan (or cooking tray). Drizzle with a little olive oil and salt and pepper to taste, mix together well and roast until tender (about 30 minutes), turning half way through.

3. [Sauce]

In a large Skillet heat oil over medium heat. Add the onion, cover the pan, and cook until tender (about 5 minutes). Next comes the garlic, stir it in and give it a good 30 seconds before adding the tomatoes and lentils. Add a cup of vegetable broth (+ 2 tbl sage, if you have some), and simmer for 5 minutes.
Toss in the roasted squash and keep the mixture warm over low heat. Add vegetable broth as needed if you want a more sauce-like texture.

If you really want to be luxurious add 2 to 3 cups of chopped arugula then you add the garlic. It’s not necessary, but it is nice. I added a few small hand fulls myself.

4. [Linguine]

hum. Cook some noodles. (12 oz.) Add whatever you have left in vegetable broth to the water when boiling.

Drain the noodles and gently toss in the lentil-squash mixture. and done!

So, as is my nature, I love easy recipes that also taste damn good. This happens to be one of them! :)
Lets get started then…

Ingredients: Filling:
3/4 Cup of Sugar
3 Tbl Cornstarch
2 Tbl Fresh lemon juice (about one lemon) and the Lemon Zest
5 Cups of Blueberries.

Mix the first three ingredients then pour over the blueberries and mix it all together really well (your hands are your best tools in the kitchen, use them!)

(Used my boyfriend as a model)

Crust:
2 1/2 Cups of ALL PURPOSE FLOUR (NOT self rising people!)
1 Tbl of sugar
1/2 Tsp of Salt
1/3 Cup and 1 Tbl of COLD water (MAKE SURE its cold!)
1/2 Cup of Soy Butter

Mix the first four ingredients together (seriously, use cold water)
This is dough in the making at this point, so it should be little balls of flour that don’t stick together well. Don’t worry, we’ll get there.

Ok, now for the butter…
Take a butter knife and scoop out a little chunk and toss it into your mixture. Now use a fork to smush it in. Repeat that step in another spot, making sure to mix it in well. You’ll see it start to take more of a doughy texture.
There will be a certain point where you should abandon the fork and just use your hands.

Now I know it’ll be really buttery, its suppose to be! That way it wont stick to the pie pan when you try to get a slice, and will prevent ‘aw, sad salad’.

**Make sure to set half of your dough to the side. Take the other half and line your pie pan with it. Poke a few holes in the bottom with a knife.

(If you need to take some extra dough from what you set aside so that you can finish, that’s fine. Just don’t take too much)
Dump (yes,I said dump) your blueberry mixture in~
I squish out the top into the size I want it before flopping it onto the pie, its so much easier than trying to work it while its already on there.

When you make the pinches around the top use water to make sure its sealed well. If you don’t molten blueberry will find its way out the sides.

Don’t forget to mark it with an X! (or, as I like to do, lots of little holes)

Bake at 425 for 30 Minutes
-then-
Bake at 350 for 25-30 more minutes.
(Just let the oven open for a minute to help it cool down)

Cool pie for AT LEAST an hour and a half to two hours and enjoy! :) FYI: We left ours in the fridge overnight and its perfect.
(Happy 4th!)