Vanilla Bean Cookies & Cream Ice Cream Cake (Dairy Free)

With all this weather we’ve been having, I can understand if it’s hard for you to imagine eating an ice cream cake. I’ve spent most of my life in some Midwestern state and I’ve seen my fair share of cold snaps and blustery streaks, but this is too much. That and Seattle spoiled me rotten with it's perpetually 45 degree winter days. While I'm naturally inclined to exaggerate, I don’t think it would be unreasonable to claim that it didn’t get above 10 degrees for a month straight. Or when it got right up to 10 degrees, it felt like a heat wave and I was itching to get off the treadmill and into the slush.

I don’t know how much more of this I can take! Yet oddly enough, an ice cream cake in the middle of the worst of it was just the thing I needed. And exactly what one Marybeth Falish wanted.

The girl I mention above? It’s my pleasure to call her both a good friend and co-worker. When the personal life gets messy or the work gets tough, she’s there for me on both fronts. Days where I think I just can’t make it through another excel document, she’s there to help me and then engage in a little bit of girl talk. Moral of the story: I am so incredibly grateful to work with such a wonderful woman and call her my friend.

Naturally, I made a cake for her birthday. In early January. When the temperatures refused to crack zero degrees. And what did she request? An ice cream cake. An unexpected bonus to making an ice cream cake in January is that my little ice cream machine performed much better in a chilly kitchen than its usual setting - a torturous 95 degree day. 

Armed only with the direction to include ice cream and those “little black flecks” (vanilla beans), I went to work crafting a cake for MBF’s 24th birthday bash. Goat butter is still in nonexistent supply, so I knew I had to go vegan for my cake base (plus eggs). Earth Balance buttercream is not too pleasant, leading me to try making coconut whipped cream for the first time. Topping the experiment off, I had never made an ice cream cake before!

With the photos as evidence, the cake turned out surprisingly well and was the delicious hit of the night! 

Vanilla Bean Cake

Adapted from: More from Magnolia

Ingredients:

• 2 ¾ cups All Purpose Flour
• 2 ½ teaspoons baking powder
• ¾ teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (2 sticks) Earth Balance butter, softened
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 large eggs, at room temperature
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 vanilla beans, cut in half and seeds scraped out

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and grease/flour cake tins.
2. In a small bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt.  Set aside.
3. In a large bowl, cream (preferably with an electric mixer) the Earth Balance until smooth and light yellow in color.  Gradually beat in the sugar until fluffy, approximately 3 minutes.  Add in the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. Add the flour mixture in three parts, alternating with the milk and vanilla.  This is key: after each addition, make sure to beat enough to incorporate the ingredients, but do not overbeat.  (This will create gluten and you will have a rough and dry cake)
5. Fill the prepared cake tins.
6. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a cake tester is inserted into the center of the cake and comes out clean.

Vanilla Bean Cookies & Cream Ice Cream

Adapted from Healthy Food for Living 

Ingredients:

• 2 (14 oz) cans full-fat coconut milk
• 1/2 cup unrefined granulated sugar, such as evaporated cane juice
• 1 Tbsp vanilla bean paste
• 20 all-natural cream-filled chocolate sandwich cookies (I used Newman’s Own)

Directions:

1. Refrigerate the cans of coconut milk for 1 hour (no longer). Chilling the coconut milk will cause the coconut cream to rise to the top of the can and slightly solidify. Carefully scrape out the coconut cream and milk from both cans into a large mixing bowl. Add in the sugar and vanilla bean paste. Hand-whisk lightly to break up the solidified cream, and then whip with an electric mixer for about 10-20 seconds, or until smooth and thick - don’t whip for any longer than a minute.
2. Pour mixture into your ice cream machine and churn according to manufacturer's instructions, gradually adding in the chopped/crushed cookies during the last 5 minutes.
3. Transfer mixture to a freezer-safe air-tight container and freeze until desired consistency is reached (at least a few hours).

Coconut Whipped Cream

1. Buy a can of full fat coconut milk. Thai coconut milk is fattier and works the best.
2. Place it in the fridge overnight.
3. Open the can without shaking it or turning upside down.
4. Carefully spoon out the top layer of opaque white stuff that has gathered at the top of the can. Spoon into a mixing bowl. You will be left with about 1/2 cup of white syrup-y looking translucent liquid. Leave this in the can.
5. Add 2-3 Tbsp of powdered confectioners sugar to the coconut cream.
6. Using an electric mixer, whip the coconut milk froth until creamy. Start on low and move to a higher speed, move the beater in an up and down motion to infuse the mixture with as much air as possible.
7. Use to frost the cake!

Banana Bourbon Muffins

The past month has been an unfortunate one in our household. No, all ten fingers and all ten toes are still intact. No, our garden is still thriving against all odds and days of rain. No, I didn't coat a body part in gold during an unfortunate smelting accident.

Our oven was broken.

As in, it would heat up, beep loudly, stop it's foot and shut down. Just like that our Sunday pizza nights came to a halt. No more roasted vegetables. Most tragically, baked goods ceased to exist. This was not an exciting discovery to make less than two weeks after moving into our apartment.

Life happens and it took a while to coordinate a visit from the repair man. He came by, listed to the bowls of our aging stove and diagnosed it as needing some surgery. Placed on the donor list and hoping for a new part, we waited for relief. Thankfully, the temperature outside rose and the desire to turn on the oven was less tempting. But a crockpot cannot be used as an oven forever and my desire to bake was bulging. Eventually, as this post would suggest, our oven was successfully mended and I got back to baking.

With bourbon. Because I said so… and because "A" went down to Louisville for a bachelor party and we are now are well on our way to having a legitimate collection. There were also some bananas in the corner maturing into prime fruit fly food. Putting two and two together seemed like the best option.

Then because I have a slight addiction to cocoa nibs, I threw in a handful for crunchy good measure.

Banana Bourbon Muffins with Cocoa Nibs

Ingredients:

• 1 3/4 cup all-purpose flour 
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 3/4 teaspoon kosher salt 
• 3 large eggs 
• 3/4 cups sugar 
• 3 large very ripe bananas
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil
• 3 tablespoons bourbon
• Splash of vanilla extract
• Scant 3/4 cup cocoa nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350°. Line a muffin tin with liners or grease with vegetable oil if not using liners.
2. Whisk flour, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl. 
3. In a stand mixer with a paddle attachment, beat bananas until mushy. Add in oil and sugar and beat for 2 minutes, or until well combined. Add in eggs one at a time and beat well after each addition. Mix in bourbon and vanilla extract.
4. Add dry ingredients to banana mixture and stir just until combined. Stir in cocoa nibs. Scoop batter into muffin tin, filling 2/3 of the way.
5. Bake until a tester inserted into the center of a muffin comes out clean, about 20 minutes minutes. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool in pan for 5 minutes. Turn out onto rack and let cool completely.

Amaretto Almond Biscotti

It's real talk story telling truth time and I have an embarrassing confession to make… I'm not quite what you would call a "sweets" person. Which is weird because one of my all-time favorite activities is baking (one could only assume after perusing around on my blog for even just a minute). Nothing melts away stress or puts a smile on my face faster than being elbow-deep in dough and listening to the whirling of my stand mixer whipping together fat and sugar.

It still doesn't mean I would pick it over a crusty loaf of bread with some goat cheese. Or peanut butter. Or figs. Or really, really, dark chocolate. Or… I've better stop myself now. Just know that the way to win me over is with bread and spicy curry. Not a candy bar.

But if you brought me some biscotti? Game over. I'm done, all yours for the taking. Biscotti is my biggest weakness - it's a crispy crunchy not-really-sweet dessert breakfast item. I love brunch. I love crunch. Put those two together and you got biscotti. My kryptonite. 

As I lean towards indecisiveness, I presented "A" with two options earlier this week: biscotti or cookies. This post kinda hints at what he chose. To keep my ravenous self at bay, I sent him off to work with a good sized Tupperware filled to the brim and told him to share. I hope he's at least getting popular...

If you want to be the coolest chap at the office, I recommend you make some too! Or just give them to me and I'll do your (evil) bidding.

Amaretto Almond Biscotti

Ingredients:

• 2 cups almonds
• 3/4 cup plus 1 tablespoon sugar
• 2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/4 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
• 2 tablespoon amaretto or 2 tablespoon rum with 1 tsp almond extract
• 1/4 cup cocoa nibs

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Spread the almonds in an even layer over a baking sheet. Bake for 10 minutes, or until toasted, carefully stirring once halfway through to prevent burning. Let cool for 10 minutes.
3. In the bowl of your food processor, combine 1/2 cup toasted almonds, 1 tbs sugar and pulse until finely ground. Add the flour, baking powder, and salt. Pulse three times to mix.
4. In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the eggs, vanilla, amaretto and remaining sugar on high until fluffy and thick, about 3 minutes. Reduce the speed to low and slowly add the flour mixture. Fold in the whole almonds and cocoa nibs.
5. Lower the oven temperature to 325 degrees.
6. Line a large baking sheet with parchment paper or a silpat. Wet your hands with water, divide the dough in half and form into two loaves, about 2″ by 10″ (the dough will be thick and sticky). Smooth the tops to create a flat surface and bake for 40 minutes, until golden.
7. Remove the loaves from the oven. Using a bread knife or a very sharp chefs knife, diagionally slice the loaves into 1/2″ cookies and bake for another 20 minutes, flipping cooking halfway through, until crispy.
8. Cool the cookies completely before stacking or storing. To retain crispness, put the cookies in an airtight container as soon as they are completely cool. Biscotti may be stored airtight for several weeks.

Tomato Carrot Soup with Bacon Croutons

It's been awhile and I'm ok with that. I've been cooking and experimenting more than ever before and the pressure to not photograph everything has been spectacular. The early setting sun offers another bit of encouragement to sit down and enjoy a loving meal with A instead of waiting for the wafting steam to fade away.

I'm ok with it. You should be too. But now that the sun is hanging around a bit longer with each passing day, I'm more and more encouraged to snap a picture or two. I've also been enlightened by the book "The Everlasting Meal," but more on that in another post.

Thank god this picture isn't all moldy either as I'm pretty sure we ate this way back in December, but hold tight! I have a few more excuses: 2 weeks for the holiday's away from my now home to my childhood home. Then another 10+ days in January for a trip back to my other home (the Pacific Northwest). Then ta-da! End of January and I don't know there the time went.

This soup recipe was actually made by A as I don't eat bacon. He gobbled all that up while I had my soup sans bacon. Just as delicious but I guess not as boy-friendly. It was the perfect amount of smokey, soul-heating goodness balanced against the healthy hearty vegetable base. 

Tomato Carrot Soup with Bacon Croutons

Adapted from Bitchin' Camero 

Ingredients:

• 3 tbsp. olive oil
• 1 medium yellow onion, diced (about 1 cup)
• 4 large cloves of garlic, minced
• 7 medium carrots, cut into 1/4-inch medallions (about 2 cups)
• 3 1/2 cups peeled, seeded and diced tomatoes (canned ok)
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• juice of 1 lemon
• 1 tbsp. hot smoked paprika
• A few grinds of African Spice seasoning (Trader Joe's)
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
• 5 saffron threads (optional)
• 3 slices, thick center-cut bacon, cut into lardons
• 2 cups cubed day-old bread

Directions: 

1. Set a large pot over medium heat. Once it’s hot, heat the olive oil then add the onions and cook for 7 minutes, or until they begin to brown a bit. Add the garlic and cook for a minute, then add the carrots and tomatoes.
2. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, then add the chicken stock and simmer for about 25 minutes, or until the carrots are tender. Using an immersion blender, blender or food processor, puree the soup until no large pieces of carrots or tomatoes remain. Return to the pot.
3. Add the lemon juice, salt, pepper, paprika and saffron and continue cooking for another 10 minutes. Taste and adjust the seasoning as needed.
4. While the soup is cooking, set a large skillet over medium heat and cook the bacon. When the bacon is beginning to turn brown, add the torn bread and cook until golden. Remove with a slotted spatula to a paper towel.
5. Ladle the soup into bowls and top with a heap of bacon croutons.

Makes 6 servings. 

Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Almonds & Chickpeas

Toto, I don't think we're on the West Coast anymore! Move a bit to the east, a bit more… yep, right there in Wisconsin! That's right folks, "A" and I landed in America's Dairyland a little over 2 weeks ago and have been attempting to set up our apartment ever since.

I could go on and on about the trials and tribulations of moving, but I'll save your eyes. I assume most of you have moved at least once and know how it goes. Live on the third floor of an older house, discover you have a slight bat problem for the first week and live out of boxes for an unreasonable amount of time. You know, that ol' schtick. Since we moved our boxes in last week, we have managed to set up a bed, I finally put away my clothes and the kitchen. Oh the kitchen. It was the first thing we focused on and currently the only room worth cleaning. While we're still working out some storage issues, I am proud to announce that after being kitchenless for almost a month, I am back in business.

I don't know if I've ever told you why I moved to Madison in the first place. I decided to be a bit cliche and move with my boyfriend for his job. Yes, there were a lot of tears at first. Yes, I miss Seattle every day and probably will for a while. But you know what? Madison is a pretty great town. The area we live in reminds me of SE Portland and people here really care about their food. I recently was offered, and accepted, an exciting job that I think will bring me down a perfect career path. To top all this off, I get to see the guy I love every day.

To celebrate "A's" second week of work, I got down in the kitchen for the first time. Getting into a cooking project before you know how accurate your oven temp is or how the burners work is an experience. Definitely wouldn't recommend something fancy and French. Yet as we are all classy people here, it still needs to have a touch of elegance. Enter the tagine. Starts on the stovetop, ends in the oven, low n' slow throughout.

As we don't have a ton of counter space, I couldn't recommend prep bowls more. While no recipe demands them, I always think it makes whatever I make turn out better. Instead on frantically fussing around with prepping the next add-in, I can focus on how my food is cooking. You may already know this, but until last year (GASP!) when my mom bought me some prep bowls, I woefully was in the dark.

Now that the world turned up the heat in the Midwest (again), I would recommend making this in the fall as the stovetop and oven need to be on for quite some time. But when you decide to make it, know you'll be walking into a Moroccan, apricoty, fall-of-the-bone-chicken goodness!

Chicken Tagine with Apricots, Almonds & Chickpeas

Serves 6 to 8

Adapted from The Kitchn

Ingredients:

• Olive oil
• 3 pounds chicken legs and thighs (about 4 each)
• 1 yellow onion, diced
• 1 carrot, peeled and diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1-inch piece ginger root, peeled and minced
• 1 teaspoon coriander
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 cup dried couscous
• 1/2 cup dried apricots, roughly chopped
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1/4 cup almonds, roughly chopped
• 2 cups (1 15-oz can) chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons cilantro, optional, for serving

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 300°.
2. Warm one tablespoon of oil in a large Dutch oven (at least 5 1/2-quarts) or tagine over medium-high heat until the oil flows easily and you can see it shimmering. Sprinkle the chicken pieces with salt and pepper, and place as many as will fit into the pan without crowding (I had to do two batches of chicken).
3. Sear for 5 to 8 minutes, flipping once, until both sides are golden brown. Remove to a clean plate and continue searing the rest of the chicken pieces. If necessary, add more oil to keep a thin film on the bottom of the pan. If the oil starts smoking, turn down the heat.
4. Pour off all but a teaspoon of oil and return the pan to medium heat. Sauté the onions and carrots with a half teaspoon of salt until softened and beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook until fragrant, about 30 seconds. Sprinkle the ginger and spices over top and cook until fragrant, another minute.
5. Stir the chicken stock and apricots into the pan, scraping up any seared bits that might be stuck to the bottom of the pan. Nestle the chicken pieces into the pan; try to fit them in a single layer, but it's ok if some pieces overlap.
6. Bring the liquid to a boil, then reduce the heat to low. Cover the pan and transfer the covered cooking pot to a 300° oven. The tagine is ready when the chicken registers 165° on an instant-read thermometer in the thickest part of the meat and when its juices run clear. This should take approximately 90 minutes.
7. While the chicken is cooking, prepare the couscous and set aside.
8. Transfer the cooked chicken to a clean plate and tent with foil. Add the honey, almonds, and chickpeas to the pan with the apricots and onions, and cook at medium-high on the stovetop. Bring the stew to a rapid simmer and cook until it has thickened slightly. Taste the sauce and add salt if necessary.
9. To serve, spread the cooked couscous on a serving platter and arrange the chicken pieces on top. Ladle the stew over top, making sure the chicken pieces each get a good coating. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve.
10. Leftover chicken tagine will keep refrigerated for up to a week.

Oven-Puffed Pancake with Berries

I love brunch.

If that's all I wrote and walked away from my computer I think you'd get an idea how this goes down. I'd talk about breakfast potatoes/hash browns, coffee in kitschy cups and tucked away cafes. Maybe I'd mention a light Pacific Northwest sprinkle and lament on the art of a coffee bean. However, I think I'll ramble about berries and the beauty of a cast iron pan.

Very rarely do A and I make the same thing for brunch. Sure, we've had more pancakes before mountain adventures than I can even count, but the ingredients we're never the same. Fine, there has been an egg or two but rarely are they prepared in the same way nor are the veggie mix-ins repeated. So it goes without saying that this oven puffed pancake is a winner based on the fact that it's on a second run. Same ingredients, same preparation, maybe a bit warmer weather. Well, it is Juneuary so that last part may not be true.

As it comes together quickly and can incorporate whatever produce is in season, I highly recommend making this when entertaining guests or impressing your parents when visiting home. If they don't already own a cast iron pan (side note: Mom & Dad - suggestion for the one I got you for Christmas), buy them one now. They raised you, it's the least you can do. Peer pressure!

Saturday morning is only 3 days away so ready the kitchen for the greatest brunch you've ever tasted!

Oven-Puffed Pancake with Berries

Adapted from Two Tarts

Ingredients:

• 3 tbs goat butter
• 3/4 cup all-purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 3 eggs
• 1 cup almond milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract
• 1 cup blueberries, raspberries, or blackberries (or combination), fresh or frozen

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 450 F. Place the goat butter in a 10-in cast iron skillet, and place it in the oven.
2. Combine the flour and salt in a large mixing bowl. In another bowl, whisk together eggs, almond milk milk, and vanilla. Add this to the dry ingredients, and whisk until combined and smooth.
3. Wearing an oven mitt, remove the hot skillet from the oven (the butter should be bubbling), and pour in the batter all at once. Sprinkle the berries evenly over the top, and return the skillet to the oven. Bake until the pancake is nicely browned and puffed around the edges, 12 to 15 minutes.
4. Remove the pancake from the oven (don't forget that oven mitt!). Cut into wedges and serve with a bit of maple syrup or powdered sugar.

Vegan Mini Roasted Apple & Pear Pies

I haven't taken a math class since my senior year of high school; beyond reason, I was able to count Astronomy 111 as a math in college. However, I've been an avid fan of Pi Day for as long as long as I can remember. Never having been mathematical groupie, my love of Pi Day has been called into question, Maury-style, more than a few times. Maybe I'm a fan of puns (I also celebrate May the 4th), pie or have an appreciation of people who actually do and enjoy math. While it's probably all of the above, I think my love of food trumps my aversion to math. Give me a set of analogies or tedious word problems, but I'd rather walk around a Möbius strip for all eternity than figure out the tip on a bill.

Yet wouldn't you know, I think yesterday was the first time I actually made a pie on Pi Day. Sure, I've made a pie somewhere within the confines of March and called it good, but I've never baked and subsequently eaten one on 3.14. Good thing yesterday was a day of firsts and I finally made some cute little mini pies. A day of firsts you ask? Why yes, it was. I cooked fish, in fact a filet of salmon, for the first time in my entire life, started editing photos for my first ever professional(ish) photography assignment and went for a long walk in the rain… on purpose.

At the end of the day, I felt pretty proud of myself. I was noshing on a delicious salmon dinner with 'A' and eagerly awaiting my first homemade Pi Day pie. As most readers know, I'm allergic to cows milk but am deathly afraid of Crisco and as such, am usually at a perilous crossroad when it comes to making pastries. While I guess Earth Balance 'butter' is sort of like Crisco, its yellowy, stick-like, buttery appearance convinces me otherwise. So after some successful Googling, I found a vegan pie crust that was in compliance with my standards and seemed as though it would be flaky enough.

While the dough was a little wet, the crust baked up wonderfully crispy. If you aren't vegan or don't feel like using this pie crust recipe, I found that halving a recipe for a double crust resulted in enough dough for two mini pies and a little bit to spare.

Vegan Pie Crust

Adapted from Someday Spoon

Ingredients:

• 1 stick of vegan butter, cubed and chilled
• 1/2 tsp. salt
• 1 1/8 cup pastry flour
• 1/4 cup water, chilled
• 1/2 tbsp. white sugar
• Flour for the rolling surface

Directions:

1. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F and grease two 4 in. ceramic ramekins.
2. Pulse the flour and salt in a food processor.
3. Add the vegan butter and pulse the mixture together into beads of dry clumps. If you do not have a food processor, alternatively you can use a large fork to mix the ingredients together.
4. Pour the pre-chilled water into the food processor a little at a time while pulsing the mixture.
5. When about half the water has been transferred, also add a pinch of white sugar.
6. Transfer the dough onto a well-floured cutting surface. Roll into a ball.
7. Wrap the ball in plastic wrap and freeze for at least an hour. Dough can be frozen for up to 12 hours before continuing making the pie.
8. Remove the dough from the freezer and roll out with a rolling pin on a floured surface to 1/4″ thick.
9. Cut dough into 4 circles; two larger ones for the bottom and two smaller ones for the top. Freeze until ready to fill pies.

Roasted Apple & Pear Pie Filling 

Ingredients:

• 1 Granny Smith apple, peeled and diced
• 1 pear, peeled and diced
• 1/8 cup brown sugar
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon ginger powder
• 1/4 teaspoon allspice

Directions:

1. Spread apples onto a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar and spices.  
2. Bake in an oven preheated to 400 degrees for 35-45 minutes.   
3. Remove the apples from the oven. Carefully place the pie crusts in the bottom of the ramekins.  Fill generously with the apple/pear pie mixture.  
4. Top with smaller circles of dough and cut slits for venting. Place ramekin on a clean cookie sheet, return to oven and bake for an additional 25-30 minutes, or until the pie crusts are golden brown.  Allow to cool before serving.

Triple Chocolate Strawberry Cake

This recipe is brought to you by the friendly skies, courtesy of Delta Airlines and the generosity of my dad's frequent flyer miles. I'm totally lying about Delta Airlines, they have no idea who I am. The fact that I am currently writing this post at, oh, about 36,965 feet in the air somewhere over South Dakota (thank you in-seat monitor!) is due to my ol' pops lending me a few thousand air miles so I could make it home for Christmas. This post is not brought to you by the man across the asile watching Twilight or the overly touchy-feely couple next to me. Nope. Not at all.

I'm slowly but surely getting into the Christmas spirit. I would like to think my journey down jolly lane began somewhere in West Seattle sitting in a second-run theater watching a slightly askew showing of "A Very Muppet Christmas". Not only was I good Seattelite and donated a massive bag of dog food to the Humane Society of Seattle (there are more dogs than kids in the city, it's obvious who we love more) but I also roped two of my closest friends into going with me. We left the theater feeling spirited, mainly due to the excitement of the hundreds of children surrounding us, and my skin is losing its green tint and I think my heart has grown at least 1.25 sizes. The last part may be because of holiday food but let us pretend it's from Christmas and going back to the Midwest for the first time in a year.

While I may still be working up to celebrating Christmas, I was surely in the celebratory spirit last weekend.  One of my best friends from not only high school, but also college, now lives in Seattle with her boyfriend (also an alum of BHS and Michigan) doing the whole AmeriCorps thing. I can't be the first one to say it's always nice to have a piece of your upbringing in your new home. As her birthday falls at the end of December, she rarely is able to have a birthday party, let alone in the company of twenty plus people. Her boyfriend came up with the idea to throw her an early surprise birthday party with me at the helm helping spread the word. While I guess actually having people at the party is pretty important, I personally think having the perfect cake is crucial.

Casually bringing up the topic of cake at our weekly girls Glee night earlier in the week, the birthday girl in question explained to here that there can be no such thing as too much chocolate. Ever. Triple chocolate diabetic-shock ice cream? Bring it. Girl hath no fear. So I made the most ridiculously over the top chocolate cake. Dark chocolate cake PLUS dark chocolate almond whipped ganache PLUS a dark chocolate cake collar.

OH YEAH.

Oh, and it was pretty cool that a lot of people showed up too the party too. And that 'A' turned 24. HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!

Dark Chocolate Cake

Adapted fron Ina Garten

Ingredients

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup almond milk
• 2 tablespoons white distilled vinegar 
• 2 eggs
• 1 cup strong black coffee
• 1/2 cup vegetable oil
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease two 8-inch cake pans and line the bottom with parchment paper. 
2. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine sugar, flour, cocoa, baking soda, baking power and salt. Mix together.
3. In a small glass, milk almond milk and vinegar together with a fork. Allow to sit for a few minutes until almond milk starts to "curdle." (Note: if this doesn't need your cake to be dairy-free, use 1 cup of buttermilk).
4. In a medium bowl, beat eggs until they begin to froth. Whisk in almond milk mixture, coffee, vegetable oil and vanilla extract.
5. With mixer running, slowly add in liquid mixture until completely incorporated, taking care not to overbeat the batter.
6. Divide better evenly between the two cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, or until tester is inserted into the middle of the cake and comes out clean. When done, leave in the pans for 10 minutes and then turn the cakes out onto a wire rack until completely cool. Frost as desired.

Whipped Dark Chocolate Ganache

This recipe is incredibly flexible. I always do equal parts chocolate and almond milk but you can adjust the ratio to suit your ganache consistency tastes.

Ingredients:

• 200g dark chocolate, chopped
• 200g almond milk

Directions:

1. Chop dark chocolate and place in a medium heatproof bowl.
2. In a small sauce pan, heat almond milk until it starts to boil. Keep on eye on it - it tends to boil over when it's not being watched.
3. Pour heated almond milk over chopped chocolate and let it sit for one minute. Whisk together until uniform and smooth. Allow to cool completely (I sometimes use my fridge and freezer to speed to up).
4. When cooled, use a whisk or whisk attachment on a mixer and beat until light in color and the texture of mousse. 
5. Use as desired on cake.

As this was the first time I've ever made a cake collar (I think it turned out pretty decent!), I'll direct your attention to a site that does a much better job explaining the process than I ever could. Here you go.

Chicken Curry Pita

I rarely cook chicken. I think it’s kinda icky to prepare and I’m really bad about washing my hands. No, not in that way. You don’t have to worry about the food that I’m cooking for you. I don’t lick my fingers THAT much and I always wash my hands before stepping into the kitchen to cook. Super convincing I know, but what I mean is I don’t like that I need to wash my hands so often when I’m cooking meat.  If I want to turn on the sink to wash my hands after cutting chicken I need to contort my body into some funky yoga pose.  All that work to flip a faucet with my elbow. Tisk tisk. How do I avoid this problem?  I stay pretty much vegetarian in the home.

But as I am posting this recipe, I obviously cook chicken every once and a while. When I do, I’m always rewarded with protein filled goodness. Anyways, cooking meat is a pretty challenging for me and I always need a challenge in the kitchen. I can’t always be cooking cupcakes and casseroles.

I’m really not doing a good job at telling you that you should cook this recipe right away. The dish reminded of me of swimming rama, but without peanut butter. Even though it’s dairy free, the sauce has a very creamy taste and texture and gave me a much needed creamy fix. The best part is that the meal comes together quite quickly. As the chicken is chopped into small pieces, it doesn’t take long to cook.

However, I found that if you stop cooking as soon as the chicken is done, your sauce will be a little thin. If you like it like this, I would recommend serving it with some rice and treating as a curry dish. Keep in mind that I’m difficult and wanted to eat my chicken in a pita dangit!  This meant that I needed to both reduce the sauce (read: cook longer) and add a cornstarch slurry. Even though the recipe didn’t originally didn’t call for a sauce thickener, I found it to be too thin “on its own.”

Did I forget to mention, I am officially 100% cow’s milk free but I CAN eat gluten (praise the kitchen overlords!).  I had a very bad reaction when I tried reintegrating dairy but no such problems eating goat cheese.  This is a prognosis I can live with, I mean, goat cheese/milk/butter is classier anyways.  Keep your eyes peeled for some goats milk ice cream and cookies!

Black Bean Hummus

Sorry that I’ve left you hanging friends.  I have some pretty big news.  No no, I didn’t win the lottery.  Nope, did not meet the man of my dreams and am currently siting on a beach in Fiji honeymooning.

I’m moving.

BAM.

Not anywhere particularly exciting.  Actually, I’m only moving one neighborhood over and about 4 miles away from my old apartment.  What is exciting is that this is the first time I’ll have my “own place.”  Probably shouldn’t have said that on the internet, now creepers are going to be coming after me and my single self.  Regardless, Queen Anne, get ready for my arrival! 

So you probably know what that means, almost everything I own is in a box, waiting to go in a box, or somewhat unpacked at my new place.  Basically, my cooking is pretty much non-existent at the moment.  I’ve been sustaining life on some bean soup I made an embarrassingly long time ago, Amy’s frozen meals and lots of coffee.  Lots.

But this black bean “hummus” (it’s really more like a black bean dip, but who’s calling the PC police here) is from a few weeks ago.  My friend Julie & her family hosted a glass sale out of their home to raise money for her dad & brother to go to Russia. John McComish (Julie’s dad) is an extremely talented local glass artist and he went to Russia to install some glass work at an orphanage.  I really recommend you check his stuff out: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Hot-Glass-Seattle/209400679084056

Food.  Right.  To help nourish the shoppers, Julie and I cooked and catered for the event.  She made some delicious “faux-mosas” (samosa filling in phyllo dough), I made the black bean dip, cut up some veggies, laid out some tortilla chips & we attempted to make gluten free macaroons (they failed MISERABLY).

The original recipe called for 2 tablespoons of tahini but as we didn’t have any of hand, and Julie conveniently doesn’t like tahini, we did without.  I think it made the texture a little thicker and the bean flavor a little more prominent, two things I was completely ok with.

In other news, I am starting the re-integration process for gluten & dairy!  Today (and today only) I get to eat AS MUCH GLUTEN as I WANT!  (insert evil, maniacal here)

Roasted Pear and Toasted Pecan Ice Cream

Three more weeks.  I keep on having to repeat that to myself over and over… only three more weeks until I will (hopefully) start reintegrating gluten and dairy.  My doctor thinks I am sensitive to one of the two and I need to "cleanse" my system more before I nosh on a hunk of bread or block of cheese.  While I wouldn't call my current diet ideal, not being able to have dairy hasn't been too hard.  I've known for a while I'm lactose intolerant.  I mean, haven't you noticed that 99.9% of my recipes use a milk substitute?  But what has been hard is finding a soy ice cream without brown rice syrup.

You'd think having the word rice in the name would mean it was gluten free.  You'd be wrong.  It's one of those sneaky glutenous ingredients.  So, if I can't buy it I'll make it!  I had some pears that were at the edge of being over ripe and a craving for some ice cream.

 When you make this ice cream (which I highly recommend) make sure you set aside a chuck a time.  While not being labor intensive, there is a lot of down time.  At least at the end of it all, your house will smell like roasted pears, toasted pecans and you will be snacking on some freshly turned ice cream.

Mint Chocolate Brownies (Gluten & Dairy Free)

Here is it - my first recipe post that follows my gluten free, dairy free diet.  I would be lying if I said this wasn't difficult.  I have never read so many nutrition labels with such concentration in my entire life nor have I had to pester so many waitresses to make SURE that smoothie has NO DAIRY (not even milk powder) in it.  That's not even the hardest part, I think that titles belongs to having to say no to friends.  To eat at certain restaurants, restrain from diving headfirst into their sandwich (still on the hunt for a good DF/GF bread) or just seeming like the weirdo with the nitpicky dietary concerns. 

Really though, it's not that bad.  I haven't had to deal with this for years, I don't even know if I'll have to deal with much longer (doctor's appointment is on May 5th) and I live in Seattle.  I think out of all cities to be gluten and dairy free in, Seattle must be one of the best.  PCC, Metropolitan Market AND Whole Foods are my meccas now.  Even Trader Joe's does a pretty good job (I'm a big fan of how well they label things).

And you know what's even better?  NO ONE knew these were gluten and dairy free until I told them!  In my book, that's a a huge success on the GF/DF front.  I brought them to the kickball game last week and everyone (the other team, the ref, my teammates) raved over them, asked for seconds and still contested that the fact that they were GF/DF free.