Tuesday, August 31, 2010

"It's so hot" Vegan Carrot Cake

Since it's 40 degrees with the humidity...I decided to bake. I chose the photo on the left even thought there were better ones because it seems to express the hazy Toronto heat of the past few days.
I had some beautiful dark purple and pale yellow carrots and decided to make a vegan carrot cake. With a whole handful of substitutions and omissions, I roughly followed a recipe from Group Recipes. The bones of it are located here, but I skipped the ginger and swapped the apple juice for orange and omitted the nuts and glaze and opted instead to top the whole thing with sugar.
Now for a complaint. Why is it that I have to create a google search half a mile long to get a vegan recipe without egg replacer, flaxseed meal or some other weird thing? Just give me the basics, PLEASE!
Stay cool,
liz

Friday, August 13, 2010

Japanese Cold Noodles - Hiyashi Chuuka

These noodles are awesome. They travel well, (I took them on a picnic to the island) are a filling and healthy meal, and they're dead simple.
Cook one serving of chinese-style noodles (the kind that come on in 4 or 6 pack bricks) al dente, then rinse thoroughly and drain.
Chop any combination of vegetables, tofu, fake meat, or real meat and place on top. Essentials are thinly shaved cucumber (done with a peeler) and tomato.
Add a squirt of mustard to the side of the dish.
Assemble a sauce of 1-2 tbsp of soy sauce, 1 tsp sugar, 2 tbsp stock or water, 1-2 tsp sesame oil, 1tbsp tahini or ground sesame seeds, and 1 tbsp vinegar (all ingredients can be adjusted to taste). Add some pickled or thinly shredded ginger, and assemble right before eating. Nom!!