Vegan Chocolate Pudding

Several years ago, I bought the wonderful vegan cookbook ExtraVeganZa. Recently I made Triple Chocolate Kahlua Velvet Pudding. One could easily fool people until believing this was conventional (non-vegan) pudding.

Instead of gelatin, agar agar powder is used. You can generally find it in health food stores. Agar is quite amazing; it turns the pudding into a gelatinous blob, which is then smoothed out in a blender. (I wish I had taken a picture.)

Since the recipe is not available online, I scanned the page and posted it below. Please let me know if it is too difficult to read. I highly recommend ExtraVeganZa, by Laura Matthais. It contains many wonderful recipes utilizing farm fresh produce, healthy ingredients (such as brown rice syrup), edible flowers, and includes several gluten-free dishes.

For the love of KALE

Have you checked out 101cookbooks? It's a very popular healthy food-oriented recipe blog. Recently, I made the Raw Tuscan Kale Salad featured on the site. It was delicious. It reminded me of a another raw kale salad I had had before, from Urban Green Cuisine at the South Pasadena Farmers' Market. In addition to farmers' markets, Urban Green LA  does catering, and has a cafe called On Spring Cafe. If you are in Los Angeles you should try their food soon!

The raw kale salad from 101cookbooks helped me discover my new favorite kind of salad: marinated salads. Tougher raw greens like kale, cabbage, and collards taste really great when they've been marinating in a dressing for a day or more. "Normal" salad greens (lettuce, spinach) can get soggy quickly. If you don't eat the dressed greens within a short period of time, the salad has to be thrown out. A marinated salad would be great to serve at any gathering because if not all of it got eaten it wouldn't have to be thrown out, and it would be even better left over.

Here is the recipe as it appeared on the site. 

Raw Tuscan Kale Salad

1 bunch Tuscan kale (for ex: black or lacinato)
2 thin slices country bread, or two handfuls good, homemade coarse breadcrumbs
1/2 garlic clove
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt, plus a pinch
1/4 cup (or small handful) grated pecorino cheese, plus adiitional for garnish
3 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus additional for garnish
Freshly squeezed juice of one lemon (scant 1/4 cup or ~50ml)
1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
Freshly ground black pepper to taste

Trim the bottom few inches off the kale stems and discard. Slice the kale into 3/4-inch ribbons. You should have 4 to 5 cups. Place the kale in a large bowl.
If using the bread, toast it until golden brown on both sides and dry throughout. Tear into small pieces and pulse in a food processor until the mixture forms coarse crumbs, or crumbs to your liking.
Using a mortar and pestle or a knife, pound or mince the garlic and 1/4 teaspoon of salt into a paste. Transfer the garlic to a small bowl. Add 1/4 cup cheese, 3 tablespoons oil, lemon juice, pinch of salt, pepper flakes, and black pepper and whisk to combine. Pour the dressing over the kale and toss very well (the dressing will be thick and need lots of tossing to coat the leaves).. Let the salad sit for 5 minutes, then serve topped with the bread crumbs, additional cheese, and a drizzle of oil.
Adapted from the Raw Tuscan Kale Salad with Chiles and Pecorino recipe in Melissa Clark's In the Kitchen with A Good Appetite.

The beginning

I started this blog about two weeks ago after I had spilled tea on my computer. I had to bring it to a Mac store to get the keyboard replaced. Since I had to quickly bring the computer to the store so they could save it from water damage, I didn't have time to send a Microsoft Word file to my email address, so I couldn't finish the job application I was working on at the time.

I was crestfallen, but then I realized, what a great time to finally start a blog about food! I love cooking, and I love sharing what I've made with others. Now I can write about what I'm making and share pictures with people who are somewhat far away and can't enjoy what I just made.

Aprons are important when one is cooking, and I have often worn one while cooking ever since I started cooking. They are useful for protecting your clothing, and they can be used as a towel.

The first thing I made with this blog in mind: Carrot-Oat Cake.
I found the recipe through the Whole Foods mobile application. It is a great app, if you like to cook and have a magic phone, then you should download it. The app allows one to select favorite recipes, search for recipes based on ingredients one has on hand, and create a shopping list based on a chosen recipe. Although the recipe called for currants, I decided to add chocolate chips instead. After tasting the cake, I realize that currants would have worked well, but sometimes you need chocolate.

Happy eating!

Colorful carrots!

A locally produced flour! I used some, along with whole wheat pastry flour.

Here is the recipe, available on the Whole Foods website (http://www.wholefoodsmarket.com/recipes/2686):

Serves 16

Enjoy this hearty carrot cake for breakfast, a snack or dessert. Serve it warm or at room temperature.

Ingredients

Natural cooking spray
1 cup rolled or quick cooking oats
1 cup chopped walnuts
1 cup whole wheat pastry flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups grated carrots
1 cup pure maple syrup
1 cup dried currants
1/2 cup unsweetened finely shredded coconut
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Method

Preheat oven to 325°F. Lightly oil a (9-inch) square baking pan with cooking spray and set it aside.

Pulse oats and walnuts in a food processor until coarsely ground. Transfer to a large bowl. Add flour, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon, ginger and salt and mix well. In a second large bowl, combine carrots, maple syrup, currants, coconut and vanilla. Add carrot mixture to flour mixture and stir until completely incorporated. Transfer to prepared pan and bake until cooked through and deep golden brown, about 1 hour. Set aside to let cool before cutting into squares.

Nutrition

Per serving (about 2oz/67g-wt.): 190 calories (50 from fat), 6g total fat, 1g saturated fat, 0mg cholesterol, 230mg sodium, 32g total carbohydrate (3g dietary fiber, 19g sugar), 4g protein