Vegan Chocolate Cake

Not going to lie. This is pretty much the best chocolate cake - vegan or not! It is moist, chocolatey, and easy to make!

Ingredients:
1.5 cups unbleached flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup oil (I use coconut or avocado)
1 cup chilled brewed coffee (i.e. leftover from the morning)
2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
2 TBS. apple cider vinegar

Directions:
Lightly grease and flour an 8x8 baking pan. Mix all the ingredients except the apple cider vinegar in a mixing bowl. Blend until mostly smooth. Add the cider vinegar and stir briefly. This will create a reaction with the baking soda (the reason you don't need eggs). Without wasting any time, pour the batter into the prepared pan.
Bake for 25-30 mins.
Let cool and frost if desired!

Sometimes, I like to make an easy (but non-vegan) frosting for this cake:
1 cup powdered sugar
1/2 TBS. butter
about 1/ TBS. of milk
dash of salt
1/2 tsp. of vanilla
2 oz. melted chocolate (either bittersweet or even just semisweet chocolate chips)
Mix all the ingredients (a kitchenaid mixer works well to create a frosting-like consistency)

Spicy Peanut Noodles

Yum!

Feel free to add black sesame seeds to the finished product! Great for taking to a potluck!

Ingredients:

3/4 pound of thin spaghetti, thin rice noodles, or thin quinoa noodles

2.5 TBS. sesame oil

1/3 cup roasted, salted peanuts - coarsely ground

for the sauce:

1/3 cup plus 1TBS. natural smooth peanut butter

2 TBS. tamari or soy sauce

2 TBS. rice vinegar

2.5 tsp. honey

1/2 tsp. molasses

1 TBS. minced fresh ginger

1 garlic clove, minced

1 tsp. red pepper flakes

3 TBS. chopped fresh parsley or coriander (optional, because I don't like parsley :)

1 medium carrot, peeled and grated

lemon wedges

Directions:

Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook your pasta of choice just until tender. Drain and toss with the sesame oil in a large, shallow bowl.

Make the sauce: combine the peanut butter, tamari, vinegar, honey, molasses, garlic, ginger, and pepper flakes in the food processor. Pulsing to produce a smooth texture; gradually adding up to 3 or 4 TBS. of water. The finished sauce should have the consistency of thin yogurt.

Pour the sauce over the noodles and toss to coat well. There will be clumps, and you may want to use your hands to make and even coating.

Toss in the parsley or coriander and grated carrot. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes.

Just before serving, toss the pasta with the coarsely ground peanuts. Serve with a lemon wedge on the plate.

Courtesy of Feeding the Healthy Vegetarian Family

Simple Arugula Salad

Being back in Salt Lake City, my family and I have been experimenting with square foot gardening.

Although only 3 days ago it snowed about 4 inches, the weather is quickly warming up and it is time to start planting certain vegetables.

One of which is lettuce. I am not a huge lettuce fan, but I do enjoy arugula. It has a tangy and pungent flavor. Here is an easy arugula salad that goes well with pasta or pizza.

Ingredients:

1 bunch of arugula

1/2 fresh lemon (to be squeezed over the salad)

1/2 tsp. of fresh ground pepper

1/2 tsp. of real salt

1 TBS. balsamic vinegar

1 TBS. freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions:

Squeeze the lemon over the arugula. Add the pepper, salt, and vinegar and toss. Sprinkle the top with the parmesan cheese. Serves 2.