Vegan Almond Butter Swirl Brownies

I have finally made brownies that are delicious! I broke my my curse of making bad brownies (hopefully)! These are pretty easy to make and they are delicious, especially if you have a weakness for almond butter.

Brownie Recipe:

3 tablespoons vegan butter
3 tablespoons water
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1/4 cup water
1 tablepsoon ground flax meal
1 tablespoon egg replacer powder
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon baking powder

Almond Butter Swirl:

1/2 cup almond milk
1/3 cup sugar or brown sugar
2 teaspoon energy egg replacer + 2 teaspoons water
1 teaspoon almond milk
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a small sauce pan melt butter. Mix in water, sugar, cocoa powder, and vanilla. Remove from heat.

Ina  separate bowl whisk together flax meal, water, and egg replacer powder.
Whisk into chocolate mix.
Whisk in the flour and baking powder.
For the almond butter swirl: Mix all of the ingredients together.
In a lightly greased 8" square baking pan evenly spread out chocolate mix. (It will be a very thin layer, don't worry!)
Put chunks of almond butter on top of the chocolate layer.

Swirl around with a knife.
Bake for about 25 minutes.

ENJOY!!

Vegan Raspberry Lemon Crumb Cake

 
I love coffee cake. I feel like vegan places tend to under rate just how good coffee cake is. In lieu of spring time I made a lemon raspberry crumb coffee cake. It is so good and everyone loved it.

Raspberry Layer:

2/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup cornstarch
3/4 cup water
2 cups raspberries (fresh or frozen)
1 tablespoon lemon juice

Cake:

3 cups white flour
1 cup sugar
3 teaspoons baking powder
1 cup cold vegan butter
Egg replacer equivalent of 2 eggs (you can also use ground flax meal 1 egg=1 tbs flax meal + 3 tbs water)
3/4 cup almond milk
1/4 cup lemon juice
zest from 2 lemons
1 teaspoon vanilla

Crumb Mixture:

1/2 cup flour (white or wheat)
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cold butter

What to do:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium saucepan, combine sugar, cornstarch, water and raspberries. Bring to a boil over medium heat. Stir constantly until thickened. Remove from heat and set aside.

In a large bowl, combine flour, sugar, and baking powder. Use a fork and mash in the butter so the mixture is crumbly.
In a separate bowl beat together to "egg," almond milk, lemon, zest, and vanilla. Add to the crumb mixture and mix well.
In a greased 13x9x2 baking pan pour about half the mixture. Pour the raspberry sauce over that. Top with the remaining batter.
For the crumb mixture: Combine flour and sugar and mash in the cold butter. It should be crumbly. Pour this all over the top of the mixture.
Bake for 50 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

The cake is moist but the raspberry layer makes it even more decadent!

It was very popular...therefore, it went quick!

Salad with Sauteed Tofu and Brown Rice

Here is a filling, healthy, and delicious salad recipe! I hope you like it!


What you need:

1/2 cup dark leafy greens
1/2 tomato chopped
1/4 cup shredded carrots
1/2 avocado
1/4 cup steamed brown rice
1/2 block tofu
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoons toasted sesame oil (optional)
1 clove garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
your favorite dressing


What to do:

You can use any vegetables to put into your salad. I just think these ones complement the brown rice and tofu well.
Compile all the vegetables.
Dry tofu and cut into cubes. Put the tofu into a bowl.
Pour soy sauce and sesame oil over tofu just enough to cover it. Crush garlic and add to tofu-soy sauce mix.

In a saute pan heat olive oil for about 1 minute.
Once heated, pour tofu into the pan.

Stir tofu often and cook about 5-10 minutes until the tofu has browned.
Pour hot tofu onto the salad and enjoy with your favorite dressing!

*The cooked tofu can be refrigerated up to 3 days. If you would like it warm you can reheat it in the microwave.

Vegan Chickpea and Kale Soup

I have been lagging on updating my blog due to being so busy! I have school or work or both every single day! On top of that, I went to Coachella last weekend (which was super fun, I must say). Anyway, here is the Chickpea and Kale soup I promised. It is inspired by the soup I had in Las Vegas at the Wynn. (see my birthday post). The soup came out delicious and I really liked the kale in it. It was my first time cooking with kale. I will definitely be cooking with it more often! Anyway, this soup is easy to make and super delish!

Ingredients:
2 cups vegetable broth
2cups garbanzo beans
2 tablespoonsl olive oil
3 large carrots chopped
1/2 onion chopped
1bunch kale chopped
salt pepper
1 medium potato

What to do:

In a blender or food processor blend about 1/2 cup of vegetable oil, olive oil, and the garbanzo beans together. Mix until pureed.
In a large sauce pan, stir together the rest of the vegetable broth and the puree.
Add in the carrots, onion, and kale.

 Simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Add in the chopped potato. (You can add the potato with the carrots but it tends to be a bit soft, almost mushy).
Let the soup simmer for another 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Once the carrots are soft, the soup is done!
Enjoy!

4 Layer Vegan Chocolate Cake with Mocha Frosting and Dark Chocolate Ganache!

 I haven't been updating this recently because I have been incredibly busy with school and work. But, in the midst of all this my best friend, Mary, turned 21! April 3rd was the special day and since she made me such an awesome birthday cake I had to return the favor. I made this cake from the cupcake recipe I have on here but switched it up a bit so it would be a perfect cake. I also created an amazing dark chocolate ganache to sophisticate the cake a bit. The cake takes quite awhile to make because of all the cooling. But, it is so worth it. Mary, our friends, and I all loved the cake! There are a lot of directions so make sure you scroll down all the way so you don't miss anything. <3

Cake Ingredients:

3 cups all purpose flour
2 cups organic sugar
3/4 cup cocoa powder
2 teaspoons baking soda
1 cup light coconut milk
3/4 cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
4 round baking pans-same size (available at your grocery store in a pack)

What to do:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and lightly grease the 4 baking pans.
2. Sift together the flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda into a medium bowl.
3. In a separate bowl, or in your mixer, beat together the coconut milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. Slowly beat in the dry ingredients until incorporated.

4. Pour the mixture into the three tins evenly.
5. Bake for about 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean in each cake.
6. Take out and cool completely.
7. Scroll down for further instruction.

Mocha Frosting ingredients:
1/3 cup vegan butter, softened
1/3 cup almond milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 teaspoons espresso powder
1/4 cup cocoa powder
about 4 cups powdered sugar (enough to make the frosting thick)

What to do:

Mix all ingredients together adding powdered sugar last. Powdered sugar is hard to measure out for frosting, so just keep adding until it's at the consistency you want. *TIP* Refrigerate your frosting about 10 minutes, it will be easier to spread evenly onto the cake.
Once the cake is cooled, frost one layer of the cake over the entire top surface.

Place the second layer of cake on top and do the same until the cake is stacked. Spread the rest of the frosting over the entire cake.

 Refrigerate for about 20 minutes. You will pour the ganache over the layer of frosting.


Ingredients for the ganache:

1 cup vegan dark chocolate
1/3 cup almond milk
1 tablespoon vegan butter


What to do:

In a double broiler melt the chocolate. Stir in almond milk and melt in the butter. As soon as it is all melted pour over the slightly refrigerated cake. Smooth it all out with a rubber spatula. Place in the fridge for about an hour to let the ganache harden. Once it's hardened then you can enjoy!

COMING SOON:
Chickpea and Kale Soup and Oatmeal Maple Chocolate Chip Cookies!!

21!

I recently celebrated my 21st birthday. It was so much fun and I got to spend it with my friends, family, and my dog. It was a bittersweet birthday. I found out 2 days before my birthday that my dog, Zoe, has progressed cancer and this will be my last birthday I get to spend with her. Lucky for me, I got to spend 15 years with her. I have to say that if it weren't for Zoe I wouldn't love animals as much as I do and I probably wouldn't be vegan. I also wouldn't have been able to enjoy my vegan birthday cake and vegan cupcakes.

 My best friend, Mary, baked me a vegan carrot cake for my birthday. It was delicious, delicious, delicious! I've had the same cake for 3 years in a row!

 After celebrating my birthday with my friends, I went to Las Vegas to visit my family. My sisters surprised me with 3 Water Course Mini Cakes all the way from Denver!! I got a Ho Ho Chocolate Cake, Strawberry Cake, and Carrot Cake.

They were all so good! I also got to go to a fancy restaurant at the Wynn. For those of you who aren't familiar with Steve Wynn...He owns probably half of the strip in LV. He recently opened a hotel named after him called the Wynn and then the Encore. You're probably wondering why I'm giving a biography of the guy. Well, he is Vegan. So, all of the restaurants in the Wynn have a pretty large Vegan option list. We ate at a restaurant called Stratta. It was SO good. I got Chickpea Soup with Kale and Vegan Pizza with Soy Cheese.

 It was so good, decadent, and nice! But, it's quite the expensive place so it's a good place to go celebrate. I love the soup so much that I'm trying to find a way to recreate it! Once I do it will be up here! Any who, I think that's all.

Happy 21 to me!

Olive Oil Garlic Spaghetti

This recipe is so delicious and easy to make. 

Ingredients:

5 cloves garlic
1 teaspoon dried oregano
3/4 cups extra virgin olive oil
1 pound whole wheat or brown rice spaghetti

What to do:

In a large pot, boil water for spaghetti.
While waiting for the water to boil, cut the cloves of garlic in half.
Once water is boiling, pour in pasta and cook for time stated on the bag. 
In a medium sauce pan, simmer garlic, oregano, and olive oil until spaghetti is a la dente.
Once pasta is cooked, drain it and pour over garlic pasta sauce.
Serve with any vegetable you would like.

An easy side to make is sweet potato and asparagus.
Chop up the sweet potato and cut off the bottoms of the asparagus.
Put them all onto a baking sheet, pour 1 tablespoon of olive oil over all of it.
Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes!