Why yes, another cake, indeed!  Between my family and Justin’s, there is a birthday every month from February to August, so I have been a very busy baker.  This cake was for Justin’s sister, Chelsea.  It is an americanized strawberry shortcake, and was every bit as delicious as it looks.  I used the basic vanilla and chocolate cupcake recipes from VCTOTW for the layers, as well as their infamous fluffy vegan buttercream.

I do make real food, though, I promise, which is why I’m going to share this with you.

We took a trip to the farmer’s market last Sunday and came back with quite a bounty.  Included were 5 beautiful yellow squash, which I marinated with plenty of fresh herbs for a refreshing side dish.

Marinated Yellow Squash

Ingredients

3 medium yellow squash, julienned with a mandoline (if you don’t have a mandoline, you can thinly slice the squash into rounds, or any other shape you please

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped

1 tbsp fresh oregano, chopped

1 tbsp fresh chived, chopped

1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice

1/4 cup balsamic vinegar

1/4 cup water

1 tbsp dijon mustard

a few dashes tobasco sauce (optional)

Arrange squash in a thin layer in a large, shallow pan or baking dish, then lightly toss with thyme, oregano, and chives.

Whisk together orange juice, vinegar, water, mustard, and tobasco sauce.  Pour mixture over squash and gently toss to coat.  Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for at least an hour, the longer the better.

Serve cold or at room temperature.

That’s right, I’m back – and for good this time (although I really wouldn’t mine being at Bonnaroo forever).  We had a great time down in Manchester; four day of great music, no sleep, and unpredictable weather led me to the conclusion the I will certainly be attending this festival again.  We brought along enough food to last a month, and with all of the amazing vendors we had absolutely no problems.  Our favorite was a stand that served curry and dahl – I fact we went there three time – but there were also great wraps, as well as a Whole Foods that carried fresh fruit, hummus, granola, and the best $1 fruit bars you could ask for in the scorching heat.  I’m also happy to have brought along several bags of Trader Joe’s pre cooked lentils and freekeh which came in handy for dinner, as well as a pound each of dried apples and mangoes and a jar of almond butter, which were great for breakfast and snacks.  The music was, of course, amazing, but I’ll save that for another time.  Has anyone else been to Bonnaroo? How did you like it?

With all of the free time that come with summer, I though I’d be creating dishes like mad, but for a while, I was quite uninspired and many of my meals looked like this:

For breakfast: a sliced pear (or apple) with cinnamon, fresh berries, a handful of dried fruit, and almond butter.  I actually eat this every day now, but prior to the summer, I never ate breakfast

For lunch: hummus (in this case, homemade white bean hummus) with plenty of fresh vegetables  (and the requisite pita chips).

For dinner: huge salads filled with grains, beans, etc.; basically whatever I could find in the fridge.  I still eat a lot of these, too, but I have become a bit more creative with my meals.  I was in a bit of a rut.

On the dessert front, though, I never lost my inspiration.  And this of course, is where you get a recipe.  With my long absence, I feel you deserve one.  This little number was born around midnight, like so any of my desserts are.  It must have been good, because my mom, Justin and I  finished half of it in one sitting; so beware.

Lemon Cookie Cake with Matcha Glaze

Cookie

1 1/2 cups whole wheat pastry flour (or all purpose)

1 1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2/3 cup apple sauce

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

1 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

egg replacer for 2 eggs, prepared

zest of one lemon

juice on 1/2 lemon ( about 1 tablespoon)

Glaze

1 1/2 tsp matcha green tea powder

3/4 cup powdered sugar

soy milk as needed

Preheat oven to 375°F.  Lightly grease a 10-inch springform pan.

In a small bowl, whisk together four, baking soda, and salt.  Set aside.

Place applesauce, sugar, and margarine in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and mix until well combined.  Pour in vanilla, prepared egg replacer, lemon juice and lemon zest, and beat until incorporated.  Slowly pour in flour mixture and beat until homogenous.

Pour batter into prepared springform pan and bake for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven, release from pan, and let cool on a wire rack.

Once cool, make the glaze.  Combine matcha and powdered sugar in a medium bowl and whisk in soy milk, drop by drop, until the glaze is just thick enough that you can spread it without it running, although, if you want it to run, go ahead and add a little more soymilk.

Once you reached the desired consistency, spread the glaze on top of the cake, and devour.

If you don’t have matcha, I’m sure a lemon glaze would be equally as delicious; just substitute about a tablespoon of lemon juice for the matcha and use less soymilk.

P.S. I just made a batch of maple soygurt a la Celine, and it is fantastic.  Go make some, now!

And what have I been doing, you ask?  Well to begin, I finished freshman year of college a few weeks ago, so hooray!  I gave myself a little time to relax after all of those finals, which also unintentionally included a brief break from blogging.  But now I am back with food and stories to share.

First on my list: I went with Justin’s family on a trip to Ithaca to see his cousin graduate from Cornell.  Along the way we ate at several great restaurants, although somehow, the camera never came out in time to photograph the food we ate.  I can still tell you what I had, though.  On our first night we went to a nice little Thai restaurant that had a separate vegetarian menu with many vegan options.  I ordered a dish that included several varieties of mushroom, green onions, and toasted cashews in a mushroom sauce.  I’m not a fan of overly spicy food, which Thai tends to be (at least to my taste buds), but Justin is, so I gave him the two Thai peppers that were floating around in the sauce.  He took one bite – not so bad, so he took one more.  At this point his face became bright red and he felt a bit like he was going to faint.  Little did we know, these are not supposed to be eaten, despite their presence in my otherwise completely edible dish.  Before this little fiasco though, Justin did enjoy a nice curry dish that he finished every bite of.

There was an organic cafe next to the hotel we stayed in called the Smart Monkey Cafe where we got breakfast the nest morning.  I got a delicious bowl of flax-laced steel cut oatmeal with raisins and brown sugar, while Justin indulged in a roasted vegetable wrap.  We also had our first taste of kobmucha, which I greatly enjoyed, but Justin was not so keen on.

For dinner that night, we went to none other than the famous Moosewood restaurant.  It was a very nice place with tasty food, but I wasn’t as impressed as I expected to be.  We each ordered  a Moroccan vegetable stew served on a bed of couscous, as the only other vegan dish was a very plain sounding pasta.  As I said before, it tasted good, but it was nothing too special.  What was really delicious, though, was their vegan chocolate cake.  I would’ve eaten two pieces given the chance!

On a non-food related note, we visited three separate waterfalls as well as the plantations at Cornell, which were all beautiful.

Our first waterfall

…and the second.  Look how small we are!

Walking down the falls

Part of the Cornell plantations

And the final falls.

In other exciting news, I’m heading to Tennessee for Bonnaroo tomorrow at 3 am with Justin and a big group of friends, which should be very exciting.  We’re bringing a camera along, so I’ll have more stories to share with you once we get back.

P.S. Several cake posts are on their way.  YUM!

Or at least that’s how I felt when I was making this cake.

Justin’s mom, Susan, had been raving about the blondies I made earlier in the year, so for her birthday, I decided to make a blondie cake.  Not just any cake would do; I needed to make this special, which is where the berries came in.  They added a delicious tanginess that balanced perfectly with the sweetness of the blondies, but more importantly, they provided a feast for they eyes.  The blondie recipe I used come from the amazing Hannah Kaminsky, and can be found at Everyday Dish.

Chocolate Chip Bondies Cake with Raspberry Glaze

I wanted to make a two tier cake, so I doubled Hannah’s recipe and bakes about 5/8 of the batter in a 10-inch springform pan, and 3/8 of the batter in a 9-inch cake pan.  I also had to adjust the cooking times; the 9-inch pan took a little less time that the original recipe calls for, while the 10-inch springform took a bit longer.  If you decide to make this into a two tier cake, make sure you check the blondies with a cake tester (or a toothpick) at around 20 minuts, and frequently after, to prevent over-baking.  If you only want to make on pan of blondies, halve my recipe and bake in an 8×8 inch square pan for 25-30 minutes at 350°F.

Blondies

1/2 cups non-hydrogenated margarine

3 cups dark brown sugar

1 tbsp vanilla extract

12 oz  vanilla coconut milk yogurt (or soy yogurt)

2/3 cup plain soy creamer

4 cups all purpose flour

1 tbsp + 1 tsp baking powder

1 cup chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Lightly grease and line with parchment paper on 9-inch cake pan and one 10-inch springform pan.

Melt margarine and pour it over the brown sugar in a large bowl, stirring to coat.  Pour in vanilla, yogurt, and creamer, and stir until completely incorporated.

Add in the flour, about one cup at a time, and the baking powder, and stir just until the mixture is smooth.  Gently stir in chocolate chips until well distributed.

Pour batter into prepared pans and bake for 20-25 minutes ( 9-inch pan) or 30-35 minutes (10-inch pan), or until the sides begin to pull away from the pan and the top is firm.

Raspberry Glaze

1/2 cup frozen raspberries

2 cups powdered sugar

Place raspberries and powdered sugar in food processor and blend until liquefied.  If you’re not a fan of raspberries, you can use and other frozen fruit you want.  I’ve been thinking about trying this with mango for a cupcake frosting.

Wait until blondies are compltely cooled to pour on glaze, or it might get too runny and become a big mess.  I would also suggest topping the cake with fresh berried, but it is definitely not necessary.  A small piece goest a long way with this cake, so if you are only serving a small group, I would suggest halving the recipe.  Either way, I can ensure that it will be delicious.

Chocolate moose.  Oh, that’s not the moose you wanted?  I understand, you wanted chocolate mousse.  Well, you’re in luck; I have that, too!  But first, I want to share a fun fact.

Pollen is everywhere.  The cars are yellow, the streets are yellow, my clothes are yellow the moment I walk outside.  This time last year, I woke up in the morning struggling to breath because my allergies were so bad.  Now, everyone around me can’t stop coughing and sneezing, but my allergies are nowhere to be found.  Why is this, you ask?  Well, from that I’ve read, dairy is a big contributor to allergies.  I haven’t eaten dairy in nearly a year, so I’m guessing that my allergies are gone because there is no dairy in my system.  About this I am ecstatic!  Has this happened to anybody else, or am I just the odd girl out?

In celebration of my AWOL allergies, here is the (usually dairy laden) chocolate mousse!  I have made this no less than four times (with several variations) in the past couple of months.  Whenever somebody asks what’ for dessert, this mousse is the first thing that comes to mind.  It is extremely easy and even more delicious!  I recommend you make some immediately.

Chocolate Matcha Mousse

Ingredients

1/2 cup + 2 tbsp soymlk

1 tbsp matcha green tea powder

9 oz chocolate chips

12 oz extra firm silken tofu

Whisk together matcha and soymilk in a small saucepan.  Bring to a simmer, then remove from heat and let cool while you melt the chocolate.

Pour the chocolate chips into a double boiler ( or makeshift double boiler: saucepan set under a glass bowl).  Fill the saucepan with a couple inches of water and bring to a simmer, then place the bowl filled with the chips on top.  Occasionally stir the chips until they are completely melted, then remove from heat.

Pour the melted chocolate, matcha infused soymilk, and silken tofu into a blender and process until smooth, or pour matcha infused soymilk and silken tofu until the bowl with the melted chocolate and process with an immersion blender until smooth.

Pour into individual cups, or into one large bowl for at least 1 1/2 hours, but preferably longer.  Serve to your friends, or keep it all to yourself, either was it will be delicious.

You can play around with the flavors by adding different extracts: try peppermint, almond, vanilla, really whatever suits your fancy.  You could also steep different teas in the the soymilk, and, I imagine a coffee flavored mousse would be quite divine, as well.  I’m sure you’ll find something you like!

I woke up early saturday morning with the urge to bake.  But not to bake cookies or cakes or pies, no, I wanted to bake bread.  Well silly me, I should have thought of that the day before, shouldn’t I?  I read recipe after recipe, just waiting to find on that didn’t include a line such as “let rise for 6 hours for best flavor development,” or “begin by make a starter at least 1 week in advance,” because really, I didn’t have time for that.  I wanted immediate gratification.  Finally, I had an epiphany: soft pretzels.  I remembered from last time I made a batch that they require only about an hour to rise, and off I went.

Soft Pretzel Rolls (very slightly adapted from Vegan Dad)

Pretzels

1 1/2 cups warm water

1 1/8 tsp active dry yeast

2 tbsp dark brown sugar

1 1/8 tsp salt

1 cup bread flour

3 cups all purpose flour

Topping

2 cups warm water

2 tbsp baking soda

coarse ground sea salt

cinnamon and sugar

In a large bowl, combine water and yeast, and stir until dissolved.  Stir in brown sugar and salt and stir until once again dissolved.  Carefully pour in flour and knead until dough is satiny and elastic.  Let rise, covered, for at least an hour.

Preheat oven to 450°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.  In a large bowl, dissolve baking soda into warm water.

Divide dough into eight equal pieces (or 6, or 12, however large or small you want).  Form into the shape of your choice – I chose to roll the dough out to about 15 inches, then twist it around a few times and press the ends together.  Once all of your pretzels are formed, allow them to rise on the baking sheet for about 5 minutes more.

Dip each pretzel into baking soda mixture, then place back onto baking sheet and sprinkle on your topping of choice.  I’ve had great success with smoked sea salt and thyme, cinnamon sugar, garlic powder, etc.  Anything that strikes your fancy will probably work, as long as it’s not ice cream.  That might melt in the oven.

Bake pretzels for 10 minutes, or until they are a nice, golden brown.  Remove from oven and try not to eat them all in one sitting.  (while these are best straight out of the oven, they are still extremely delicious when reheated on a baking stone, or even just at room temperature).

The best thing about these pretzels (besides being an amazing way to satisfy a carb craving) is that they make the kitchen smell like bread all day.  Don’t you think that’s the best smell in the world?  I know I do.

I have a weekend full of baking ahead of me, so expect some more desserts very soon!  Oh, and I haven’t forgotten about the mousse and sushi, they’re still lingering on my computer.  I’ll get around to them soon, I promise.

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For me, these were the ultimate coconut cookies.  Perfectly crunchy with a delicious hint of nuttiness, and, of course, the perfect amount of toasted coconut.. BUt I couldn’t just leave theses cookies unadorned – I had to dip them in chocolate!  Needless to say, it was a well received addition.

Chocolate Dipped Toasted Coconut Shortbread Cookies (adapted from smitten kitchen)

Ingredients

1/2 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

3/4 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

1/2 cup plus 1 tsp sugar

1/2 tsp coarse kosher salt

1/2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cups all purpose flour

9-10 oz. chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Spread coconut on baking sheet, and place in oven until coconut is golden, stirring occasionally, about 8 minutes.  Remove from oven and set aside to cool.

Beat together margarine and sugar with an electric mixer in a large bowl until well combined, then beat in salt and vanilla extract.  Carefully beat in four in 2 additions.  Once fully combined, stir in toasted coconut.  Gather dough into a ball, flatten into a disc and wrap in plastic.  Refrigerate for at least and hour, or up to two days.

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Remove dough from the refrigerator and roll to 1/4 inch on a lightly floured surface.  Cut sough into rounds with 1 3/4 – 2 inch cookie cutters, and place 1 inch apart on prepared baking sheets.  Combing and re-roll dough scraps to cut out additional cookies.

Bake cookies for 20 minutes, or until just golden.  Leave on baking sheets to cool for 10 minutes, then transfer to wire rack to cool completely.

Once cookies are cool, melt the chocolate chips in a double boiler or in the microwave in several 30 second bursts.  Dip half (or more, if you wish) of each cookie into the melted chocolate, and place onto wax or parchment paper to cool.  Alternatively, you could just eat the cookies while the chocolate is still warm (you know, to save parchment paper).

Because of my current coconutty state, I’ve decided that just one coconut recipe is certainly not enough for this post, so here we have coconut whipped cream.  We used this to top some brownies, that were sadly not photographed.  Do make these brownies next time you have a craving, Celine’s recipe is absolutely perfect.

Coconut Whipped Cream

Ingredients

two 15 oz. cans full fat coconut milk, refrigerated overnight

1 tbsp powdered sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1/4 cup unsweetened, shredded coconut

Place the whisk attachment and metal bowl of your stand mixer in the freezer for at least 30 minutes prior to making the whipped cream

Preheat oven to 325°F.  Spread coconut onto a baking sheet and bake for about 8 minutes, stitting occasionally, until golden.  Remove from oven and let cool completely.

Remove coconut milk from refrigerator and whisk attachment and bowl from freezer.

Skin the solid part of the coconut milk out of the can and place in the mowil of the mixer.  Whisk on medium speed until light and fluffly, about a minute. Add powdered sugar, vanilla extract, and toasted coconut, and mix until completely combined.

Put on top of everything!  (The coconut cream will keep in the fridge for a few hours, but after that you may need to re-whip it).

As many of you are probably well aware of by now, whoopie pies are making a big comeback, (anybody read the Times article?) so of course, I had to get in on the action.  Like so many of my desserts, I whipped this one up at around 1 am, and therefor did not have all of the ingredients called for in the recipe (originally Hannah’s, of course).  No problem though, I improvised, and they did not disappoint!

Cookies

1 cup soymilk

1 tsp apple cider vinegar

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp dutch processed cocoa powder, sifted

2 tbsp espresso powder

1 tsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated margarine

1/4 cup granulated sugar

1/2 cup dark brown sugar, packed

2 tbsp very well mashed banana

1 tsp vanilla extract

Filling

2 cups confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3 tbsp soymilk

1 tsp vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350°F.  LIne two baking sheets with parchment paper.

In a small bowl, whisk together soymilk and apple cider vinegar.  Set aside and allow to curdle.  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, cocoa powder, espresso powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt, and set aside.

Place margarine and sugars in the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream until fluffy and well combined.  Add mashed banana and cream once again, until completely incorporated.

Whisk the vanilla into the now curdled soymilk.  Now, alternately add the dry ingredients and wet ingredients to the mixer, scraping down the sides as necessary.  Mix just enough to fully combine.

Use a 1/4 cup measuring cup to drop about 4 tbsp of dough at once onto the prepared baking sheets, leaving about 2 inches between each drop.  Bake for 10-14 minutes, or until slightly cracked on top.  Remove from oven and let cool completely on baking sheets.

While cookies are baking, make the frosting.  Place shortening and confectioner’s sugar into the bowl of your stand mixer and beat on low for about a minute.  Add soymilk and vanilla, then continue to beat on low until sugar is fully incorporated.  Turn the mixer to high and beat for 2 to 3 minutes, until icing has become a bit fluffier.

Drop of pipe quite a bit of frosting onto the flat side of one of the cooled cookies (careful not to eat it all first), then place a second cookie on top and press down to spread the icing out.  Repear with the rest of the batch, and enjoy!

Who doesn’t love a good chocolate chip cookie? I can’t think of anybody.  Despite the abundance of recipes circulating for this classic cookie, I’ll still share mine.  These cookies are deliciously soft and chewy on the inside, with a slight bite around the edges.  Several people described a certain nuttiness in the flavor, which is a mystery to me, as nuts were nowhere to be found, but it only made them all the more delicious.  Bake yourself a batch nixt time you feel a craving – I promise you won’t be disappointed.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients

2 1/4 cups all purpose flour

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup (2 sticks) non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

1 1/2 cups dark brown sugar packed

1 tsp salt

2 1/2 tsp vanilla extract

egg replacer for 2 eggs, prepared

12 ounces minu chocolate chips

Preheat oven to 350°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Sift together flour and baking soda in a medium bowl.  Place margarine and sugar in the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and cream on medium speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes.  Pour in salt, vanilla extract, and prepared egg replacer, and mix on low for another minute or so, until well combined.  With the mexer still on low, pour in the flour mixture in 3 additions, scraping,down the sides of the bowl in between if necessary.  Once the flour mixture is completely incorporated, turn off the mixer and stir in the chocolate chips.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets, leaving 2 inches between each.  Bake for 10-12 minutes, or until edged are golden and delicious.  Let cookies cool on baking sheets for 2 minutes, then transfer to wire racks to cool completely.

We ate these with chocolate mousse (which I’m certain will be making an appearance here quite soon) for a decadent dessert.

I couldn’t leave you with just one recipe after such a long absence, so I bring to you… more cookies!

I’ve made oatmeal raisin cookies in the past, but these new, improved cookies (adapted from this recipe) really steal the show (while maintaining a higher degree of nutritional value than the old cookies!

Health(ier) Cinnamon Glazed Oatmeal Raisin Cookies

Cookies

1 cup all purpose four

1 tsp baking powder

1.2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

1/4 cup granulated sugar

3/4 cup dark brown sugar, packed

egg replacer for 1 egg, prepares

1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce

2 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/3 cup old fashioned rolled oats

1/2 cup raisins

Set racks to upper and lower thirds of oven and preheat to 375°F.  Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.

Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt in a small bowl.

In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together margarine and granulated sugar on medium speed until smooth.  Beat in brown sugar, prepared egg replacer, applesauce, and vanilla extract until thoroughly combined.  Reduce speed to low, and slowly beat in flour mixture.  Once fully incorporated, turn off the mixer and stir in oat and raising until well distributed.

Drop dough by rounded tablespoonfuls onto prepared baking sheets 2 inches apart, then use a fork to slight flatten each mound.

Bake for 10-12 minutes, “or until they look dull on the surface but are still moist and soft,” rotating the baking sheets halfway through.

Let sit on baking sheets for a few minuted to cool, then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

While the cookies are cooling make the cinnamon glaze.

Cinnamon Glaze

2 cups powdered sugar

1 tsp cinnamon extract (or 2 tsp ground cinnamon)

soy milk (or non-dairy milk of choice)

*These measurements are not exact, as I threw this together on a whim, but play around with the proportions to find a taste that pleases your own palate.

Place powdered sugar and cinnamon extract or ground cinnamon into a medium bowl, the pour  in soy milk, a drop at a time, until the glaze coats the back of a spoon.

Once the cookies are cool (or when you can’t resist the tantalizing smells filling your kitchen any longer), dop each cooking into the glaze, then place back onto cooke sheets (or into your mouth) to harden (or digest).

I wanted to start out simply, but next time I make these, I’ll most likely add nuts, seeds, different dried fruits, etc.  I don’t see how I could possibly go wrong.

I’m back, as promised, with more sweets to share, but first, I have an actual dinner item!  As per my dad’s request, I made polenta for his birthday dinner, closely resembling a polenta dish I made a few months ago.  This time, I changed the spices a bit, added some new toppings, and fancied up the presentation.

Polenta

1 cup polenta

3 cups water

1 tbsp fresh dill, chopped

1 tbsp fresh thyme, chopped (or 1 tsp dried)

1 tsp dried oregano

1 tsp salt

1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

Adornments

1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil

1 large vidalia onion, thinly sliced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 cups shiitake mushrooms, thinly sliced

2 red bell peppers, sliced into spears

salt and pepper, to taste

whole basil leaves to garnish

Bring water to a boil in a medium saucepan, then slowly stir in polenta to avoid clumping.  Pour in herbs, and continue to stir over medium heat for about 30 minutes, or until polenta has softened.  Pour the polenta into an 8×8 baking dish, spread out evenly, and place in refrigerator to cool.

Once cool, remove polenta from the refrigerator and cut into shaped of your choice.  I chose triangles, but rectangles, squares, even hearts or stars if you’re feeling really creative, would work equally as well, I’m sure.

Now it’s time to fire up the grill, or stovetop grill pan, in my case.  Brush both sides of your polenta with olive oil, and grill on each side for about 5 minutes, or until crispy.  While you’re grilling the polenta, it would only make sense to grill the peppers, as well, so spray the pan with non-stick spray, and throw the pepper on for a few minutes on each side.  If you don’t have a stovetop grill, and don’t want to venture outside, you can just as easily pan fry the polenta and saute the peppers in a bit of olive oil.  You may want to preheat the oven to a low setting, just to keep everything warm while you’re preparing the rest of the meal.

This may seem a tad hectic, but i assure you I was able to accomplish all of these tasks at once.  While your polenta and peppers are grilling, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat, then add onions and stir every few minutes for about 20 minutes, or until onions have caramelized.  After about 15 minutes, add garlic and mushroom, and continue to stir, using additional olive oil if necessary.  Season, to taste, with salt and pepper.

At this point, everything should be ready to eat, so plate the polenta however you please.  I chose to stack my components, but you can serve everything individually or even make little polenta sandwiches, as I originally planned to do, but never quite got around to.

Now, on to what else but dessert? Namely chocolate.

My mom, like the rest of my family, loves chocolate, so for her birthday, chocolate is what the got.  I used Brynna’s vegan sponge cake recipe (which is fluffly and delicious, just like a non-vegan sponge), and baked it in two 9-inch round cake pans, then spread a mixture of strawberry and raspberry jam along with sliced strawberries and raspberries between the layers, and covered it all in a chocolate buttercream frosting.  As for the final touches, more berries and chocolate shavings on top.

Chocolate Buttercream Frostins

Ingredients

1/2 cup )1 stick) non-hydrogenated margarine, softened

1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening

3 cup confectioner’s sugar

1/2 cup dutch processed cocoa powder

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp chocolate extract

1/4 cup soymilk

Cream together margarine and shortening until fluffy, about 3 minutes.  Carefully pour in confectioner’s sugar and cocoa powder, and beat until well combined and crumbly looking.  Finally, add soymilk and extracts, and beat another 5 to 7 minutes, until light and airy.

I had to restrain myself from eating this whole batch of frosting before it hit the cake; I was lucky I had enough left to decorate!