Lemon Blueberry Bunt Cake

Deliciously tart and sweet at the same time this cake makes a good finish to any meal. This recipe is adapted from the book "Have Your Cake and Vegan Too." Here is what you need for the cake:

2 cups unbleached flour
1 1/2 cups old-fashioned oats ground in food processor
3/4 cup organic cane sugar
1 Tbs baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 1/2 cups non-dairy milk
Zest and juice of one lime
1/3 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup applesauce
1 tsp vanilla
1 cup organic blueberries
1 6oz cup of amande almondmilk yogurt

For the glaze:

1/3 cup organic powdered sugar
Enough lemon juice whisked in to make a thick glaze.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease and flour bunt pan. Combine the flour, ground oats, sugar, baking soda, and baking powder in a bowl.

In a separate bowl combine yogurt, milk, zest and juice and let sit for a few minutes to activate the citrus. Add in the applesauce and vanilla and mix to combine. Incorporate the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients. Do not over mix. Fold in the blueberries and pour into prepared pan. Bake 45 minutes to an hour. Once cooled invert pan onto plate and drizzle with glaze.

Kettle Corn

My friend Cory came over tonight to watch a movie and of course we needed popcorn! I should warn you though this recipe is highly addictive. Here is what you need:
1-2 Tbs coconut oil
2 Tbs sugar
1/2 popcorn kernels
1/2 tsp salt

Place all ingredients in a stovetop popcorn popper with crank. Put over medium heat and turn crank until popping stops. Enjoy.

Vegan Food Swap

This was my first month participating in the Vegan Food Swap it was really a lot of fun. I sent a box of goodies off to San Fransico, a place I have always wanted to visit but never been and got a box from Washington State, very near to a place I will be visiting in 5 short weeks. My box came from Sage. It was full of some yummy things, the Somersaults were my favorite. Can't wait to see what next month holds.

Gluten Free Birthday Bars

So one of my favorite people in Jacksonville had a birthday this week and didn't tell me so I missed it. But I decided to make a treat to make up for me missing it. The recipe is from the Chocolate Covered Katie blog that I follow. It is super simple and only requires 3 ingredients. I used my food processor and my Calphalon square baker pan as a mold. These are raw, so they don't require any baking.

All you need is 1/2 cup of raw cashews and 1 1/2 cups of dates. Put them in the food processor with 1/8 teaspoon of vanilla and process until sticky. I added just a splash of water to mine. I then lined the pan with birthday baking papers for easy clean up and scooped in the mixture. I wanted them to come out square, so I used the pan for a shape but you could free form them and wrap in cellophane. I refrigerated them overnight before moving them out of the pan. Super yummy and quick and easy. Enjoy!

Strawberry Banana Nut Bread

Here is what you need:

2 ripe bananas
3 tablespoons of canola oil
1 1/2 c. flour
1/2 c. sugar
1 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 c. chopped walnuts
1/2 c. diced fresh strawberries
1/2 c. Lite No Sugar Added Applesauce



Place the bananas and oil in the mixer bowl and with the flat paddle attachment mix until banans are mashed. Add in the flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, baking powder, chopped walnuts and applesauce. Mix thoroughly. Stir in strawberries. Pour into an greased loaf pan. Bake 40 minutes

Avocado Potato Salad

This is so fantastic. I love avocados. This recipe is inspired by Isa Chandra Moskowitz's Creamy Avocado Potato Salad from her book Vegan Brunch. As soon as I saw avocado I knew I would be making this. I went to the local flea market to get avocados this morning. I am having lunch at a friend's house this afternoon and can't wait to take this to have them try it. I didn't have all of the ingredients so I improvised a little. Here is what I used:
2 lbs of potatoes, cut into 3/4 inch chunks
2 avocados
2 tbs lime juice
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 c. chopped red pepper
2 green onions, diced
1 small cucumber, diced
1 ear of cooked corn, cut off ear

Boil the potatoes until tender. Drain and let cool. In a food processor add the avocado flesh, lime juice and salt. Purée, scraping down the sides as needed. Dice the pepper, green onion and cucumber. Mix all the ingredients together and chill. Enjoy.

Coconut shrimp

I made these a few weeks ago before starting "Eat to Live" they were so good. They may not be the healthiest thing to eat, but it sure was a nice treat.

Here is what you need:

Shrimp peeled, deveined and butterflied
Coconut milk
Oil for frying
Flour( I used unbleached flour)
Shredded coconut and breadcrumbs mixed together

Dip the shrimp in the flour to coat. Dredge through the coconut milk and roll in the shredded coconut bread crumb mixture. Fry about 4-6 minutes until pink. Enjoy.