Apple Spice Cake

This recipe comes from a book entitled Canning For a New Generation written by Liana Krissoff. She original bases off of a applesauce recipe in the book but i substituted for store bought as i was far too tired to make any more jams etc. This cake is quite moist and flavorful with warm spices.

Afternoon Applesauce Spice Cake

 makes one 9-inch square cake

2 1/2 cups flour ( I used whole wheat, but it might make it lighter if you use all purpose or half and half)

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 tsp cinnamon

1/4 ground clove

1 1/2 tsp baking soda 

1/2 sea salt

1 cup applesauce

1 tsp apple cider vinegar 

1/2 cup canola oil

1/2 cup water

1/2 cup nuts, toasted and chopped 

1/2 cup raisins (optional)

In a medium bowl use a fork to combine the flour, brown sugar, spices, baking soda and salt. Add the remaining ingredients and stir until the dry ingredients are just moistened. Scrape the batter into a 9-inch square cake pan and smooth the top ( i think it'd be prettier in a circular pan though... ) Bake in the middle of the oven for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Cool on a rack for at least 15 minutes before cutting and serving. 

Scrumptious Blueberry Muffins

 These muffins reign supreme above all other muffin recipes, hands down. They're filled with lush fresh blueberries, and topped with a butter cinnamon-sugar topping that melts deep down into the light texture of these divine breakfast pastries. To simply say... they are superb! 

Blueberry muffins
Inspired By Vanilla and Lace Makes 12
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
3/4 cup raw sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1/4 cup applesauce
1/3 cup almond milk
1 cup fresh blueberries

For the streusal topping:
1/2 cup white sugar
1/3 cup whole wheat flour
1/4 cup earth balance
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease muffin cups or line with muffin liners.
2. Combine 1 1/2 cups flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt and baking powder. Place vegetable oil into a 1 cup measuring cup; add the applesauce and enough milk to fill the cup. Mix this with flour mixture. Fold in blueberries. Fill muffin cups 2/3 full, and sprinkle with crumb topping mixture.
3. To Make Topping: Mix together 1/2 cup sugar, 1/3 cup flour, 1/4 cup earth balance, and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix with fork, and sprinkle over muffins before baking. (You may not use all the topping)
4. Bake for 20 to 25 minutes in the preheated oven, or until done.

Harvest Party Muffins

I finally succeeded and made a pumpkin pastry! I'm so excited. Pumpkin is my absolute favorite to cook with and yet I rarely get the chance, so this evening I finally made sure to put aside time and bake. I made Harvest Muffins! I call them this because I have a major desire to throw a harvest party, I mean how splendid and blissful does that sound? To sit outside on a wooden table, decorated with deep warm sunflowers, surrounded by green meadows in the Autumn air... awe, it just sounds too lovely! At least it's a fantasy of mine. Maybe one day I can live up to my fantasy; I suppose we shall see.

 But these muffins were made for my dear friend Jordan up in Oregon, so I hope and pray they'll continue to be fresh and moist by the time they reach her mouth! 

My muffins are inspired by Post Punk Kitchen's  recipe for pumpkin muffins, just a bit revised to a healthier version : )

Harvest Muffins

 Makes 12 muffins

Preheat oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit 

Spray a nonstick spray on muffin pan, or use paper cups.

(I personally cut squares of parchment paper for a fun touch.)

1 3/4 cup Whole Wheat White Flour

1 1/4 Raw Sugar

1 Tbl baking powder

1/4 Sea Salt

1 Tsp Cinnamon

3/4 Tsp Pumpkin Pie Spice

1/8 Tsp Ground Cloves

1/2 Tsp Nutmeg

Sift dry ingredients together in one bowl. 

1 cup Pumpkin ( I used organic canned)

1/2 cup Unsweetened Almond Milk

1/2 cup Apple Sauce

2 Tbl Molasses 

 Stir all wet ingredients together in a separate bowl.

 Pour wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and mix together

1/2 cup Fresh Cranberries Chopped

1/2 cup Walnuts Chopped

 Fold in cranberries and walnuts

Fill muffin tins about full, the batter should be mostly used up. 

 Bake for 18-20 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean. 

Enjoy with a good cup of morning joe to start your day!

Pumpkin Seeds

   Yesterday evening my boyfriend, Ben, (I'm sure you'll hear of him in the future) and I decided it was about time we carved our pumpkins! Seeing that we purchased them from Avila Barn over a week ago. I fell in love with a gorgeous deep orange and green pumpkin plus a round plump white one, while he purchased a much larger classic orange fellow. I wish I knew the names for all of these unique squash. Pumpkins are just so gosh darn gorgeous and simply adorable! So I did my best attempt to stencil an owl from one of Martha Stewart's cut-outs. ( I know, Martha... buuut i really liked the owl!) My attempt was a slight failure. The pumpkin had too many notches to make a clear picture and the cut-out paper kept ripping because of my pumpkin slime induced hands.  But Ben's pumpkin turned out well, since he decided to stencil his very own face on it... He's a goober. I know, buuut he's my goober at that.
     I really was planning on making tooons of pumpkin goodies this last month, but school has been completely over loading with homework and when I'm not doing homework I'm working or sleeping. My mom has always told me that school is like a second job sometimes and I hadn't believed her until now... That was my mistake... But tonight I forced in some necessary free time and my parents barbequed some delicious corn for me. I swear i could live off of corn for the rest of my life, as long as it is roasted and topped with some good o'le earth balance, chili powder, paprika, oregano and salt... mmmm i'm in heaven with that! After watching half of the first Futurama movies we decided to get started on some pumpkin seeds! This is what we came up with!

Pumpkin Seeds 

2 cups Pumpkin Seeds 

1 tbl Olive Oil

Cleaned from a fresh pumpkin, and rinsed to separate all the pumpkin glops.

Next pat dry with paper towels and lay out on a cookie sheet to complete dry over night.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees Fahrenheit

In a bowl put two cups of pumpkin seeds and add 1tblsp of Olive Oil. Toss together so all are coated.

Next pour sunflower seeds on a baking sheet and divide in half.

Ben's Version

1.5 tbsp raw sugar

1 tsp Cinnamon

1/2 tsp Salt

Sprinkle mixture over half of the pumpkin seeds ( 1 cup worth)

Lauren's Version

1 tsp chili 

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp garlic powder 

1 tbsp raw sugar

1 tsp black sesame seeds for a bit of an edgy look

Sprinkle mixture over second half of the pumpkin seeds ( 1 cup worth)

(all measurements are truly based on personal preference!) 

Get creative with you seedlings, try flavors such as thyme, cocoa and chili powder, basil  and balsamic, or lavender and cardamon. Use that imagination! 

Beautifully Connected and Bound

            My fellow coworker and her fiance Lee are to be wed this coming Friday! I'm so very excited for them two! This whole marriage thing has really been getting me thinking... I'm wondering about when I would want my wedding, what colors, what location, what photographer, what food, what cake and soooo much more! Would I want it next to a holiday, even though I love the fall? Would it be indoors or outdoors? Can I have Jose Villa, please? Vegan or non-vegan? Far tooooo many decisions for me at this age in my life. But I admire her sensibilty and calm spirit. She has been working this weekend and yet looks completely unfrazzled, or anxious, I'm amazed at this women's balanced emotions! I know for sure that I would frazzled consistently through the entire process, being a terrible decision maker does not help a bit. But I decided to bake the lady a dark-chocolate lavender & cardamon tarte Inspired By to soothe any last minute emotions that may arise. 


      While this tarte isn't vegan, it is gorgeous. I would have preferred to have cooked it in a long tarte pan like the original so it could be cut and wrapped individually but it was still very pretty with the home made cardamon and lemon crust. I adore this ladies blog, entitled "Desserts for Breakfast", her use of flavors and spiced really pair well with one another and enhance each other. Plus, her pictures are beeeauuuutiful and that wins me over right there! But, continuing on, I wrapped it in a white box, tied it with very fall festive colored fabric that i tore into strips and tied around into a bow, and then a bundle of dried lavender from the farmers market. It was a splendid way to spend foggy cold evening inside. 

Neon Carrot Orzo Salad

     A couple weeks back my Mom and I decided to try a new restaurant in SLO (San Luis Obispo) called "Neon Carrot". The name already had me hooked. My Mom was a bit hesitant to go, fearing the worst of not enjoying her lunch, but we were both quite pleasantly surprised! We decided to split a vegetable pita with a nice squash puree and a lemon caper topping, then on the side she got their potatoe salad and I ordered the Orzo salad. The Orzo was light and vibrant with flavor and color, purely fresh for our taste buds sliding into winter weather. So i decided to attempt the salad myself and this is what i came up with...

 

Fresh Orzo Salad

Ingredients:

~1 Package of Orzo Pasta

~5 Mini bell

~1 Can of artichoke hearts

~1 Handful of asparagus spears

~10-12 Kalamata olives

~2 Tbsp Olive Oil

~Juice of 1/2 a Lemon

~Salt-n-Pepper

~Fresh Basil

Steps to Follow:

~Roast the bell peppers over an open flame. They will be ready when they begin to char and blacken. From there you can remove the skins (rinsing may help) and cut open to remove seeds. 

~Boil a handful of asparagus spears and blanch. I personally just heated up some frozen spears to make things a tad easier.

~Cook the Orzo Pasta according to the Package directions

~While the pasta is cooking, go ahead and chop up the bell peppers, artichokes, asparagus, and kalamata olives. 

~When pasta is done toss with olive oil and vegetables. Then        

season with lemon juice, salt and pepper to taste. 

~I recommend refrigerating the pasta so that all the flavors begin to mingle with one another. Before serving toss in some freshly torn basil and enjoy!

     

                     Rice shaped pasta is just lovely

                     

Garden Pita

THE most AMAZING vegan pizza that has yet to come.  

(well it's not even necessarily a pizza, it deserves it's own appreciation)

  Crust:  ~1 whole wheat pita

  Sauce: ~1 Large tomato chopped

             ~3 fresh basil and 3 parsley leaves

             ~1 Clove of Garlic minced

             ~a dash of dried oregano, salt, and pepper

             ~about a half to a whole tablespoon of olive oil for the cookin'

  Topping: ~ 1 small zucchini sliced thinly 

                 ~ 1 cup of fresh spinach chopped

                 ~ 2 large leaves of swiss chard chopped

                 ~ 3 or 4 spears of asparagus chopped

                 ~ 1 clove of garlic minced

                 ~  about half to a whole tablespoon of olive oil for the cookin' 

Finale: ~1-2 kalamata olives minced

            ~Juice of about 1/2 a small lemon

            ~Sprinkle of Balsamic Vinaigrette 

Directions: Preheat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit.

 Heat olive oil in a pan, toss in garlic till diffuse flavor, add tomatoes. once tomatoes soften break them up with spoon, add herbs and cook on low till complete soft.

 In a second pan, heat olive oil, add zucchini and cook for a couple minutes till the color becomes a bit vibrant. Toss in spinach, swiss chard and garlic. cook until the greens are "al-dente" 

Turn off the heat on both pans and throw the pita in a cast iron skillet to heat in the oven just for a minute. take out and top with sauce and then vegetables. Place back in the oven for about 5 minutes, possibly less...

Once it is taken out top with 1-2 chopped kalamata olives, a squeeze of half a lemon, and a sprinkle of balsamic. 

Lastly, Enjoy It's Majesty.

To finish it off, 

Vegan Hot Cocoa

I mug of Almond milk

About three teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder or to your liking

About a tablespoon of raw sugar or agave to your liking

Sip and enjoy : )

I'm sorry to say i have no pictures to show since i happened to eat it too quickly. But I am quite sure I'll be making it once again in the future and I'll make sure to set aside my drooling taste buds to snap a photo.