Some Updates

Hi, all! Hi, all! I miss blogging a lot, and all your updates, but computer time is rare nowadays. I have been busy with all sorts of hats, though not much in the culinary side. Minnesota summer is so short that we try to make the most of it while it's here.

Everyone had a blast in our mini vacation up north that we are planning to go back in a few weeks.

Here's Aliyah harvesting at Grandpa's garden.

I was inspired to cook one day last week, but other than that...

It's mostly this kind of meals lately.

But hey, life is good!

My Sweetie's Birthday Cake

The cake we baked for my dear hubby's birthday looks monochromatic, but the taste is definitely not. It was super moist and delicious, easy to make, and gluten-free. It is an adaptation of the Best Banana Cake recipe from the new Vegan Family Favorites cookbook.

You can use whatever frosting suits your fancy, but since I was working with my daughter, I decided to use silken tofu blended with vanilla pudding mix. The bananas were mashed in the food processor, for that extra smoothness. The original recipe calls for white, but I'm glad I went with the brown rice flour. The salt amount was cut in half, so was the sugar. Anyway, here's what we came up with:

THE BEST BANANA CAKE
1 1/2 cups brown rice flour
1/2 t. salt
1 1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 cup + 2 T. sugar or sucanat
3 large ripe bananas, mashed
1 cup (or less) water

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. The recipe says to bake in 8-inch round cake pans at 350 degrees F for 25 minutes, but we did ours in a bigger round, and it was done in 30 minutes or so.

I love the fact that we only used that much sugar, and that it is gluten and fat-free. Six ingredients for a cake that's so moist and oh so good. Not too shabby, don't you think?

Everybody's Happy on Fathers' Day!

This morning, Zurielle woke up looking for Daddy. When I told her that he's at work and that it is Monday today, she replied, "I want to say 'Happy Fathers Day' to him!"

My hubby also had his birthday last week, and it was a week-long celebration for the kids.

And for some strawberry picking in the afternoon:

Aliyah seemed to take this very seriously. She picked the best strawberries, too.

The girls had so much fun with their own baskets for the strawberries they picked.

Even little Lyrica got in the act, with Daddy's help, of course.

Sweetie, I hope you had a great Fathers' Day. We love you!

Here you go, Vicki...

Vicki was asking, "Where's the cake?"
I made a comment about it on her blog, and oops, forgot to post about it. But first let's start with: "Gooda Uncheese" from Joanne Stepaniak's Raising Vegetarian Children.
This wasn't too bad, and so easy to make, but nobody would even eat it. Sigh.

I've been making these Date-Nut Pop-Ems from Dr. Fuhrman's "Disease-Proof Your Child" regularly for the kids. I particularly am not fond of the process, but this is so good for the little ones, and hey, they actually like 'em. Susan also has it here.




I make smoothies with some veggies when I can, and here's what I had for today: a carrot, celery, 1/2 apple, frozen pineapple, orange juice, a date and a handful of SPINACH! Nothing close to nasty, it turned out so sweet, and in a good way. I made a comment about it, and Aliyah reminded me that it's because of the date. Mommy brain. She was getting all the ingredients for the Pop-ems when I was making the smoothie. Seeing the medjool dates, I grabbed one thinking that it would be a great addition to the smoothie. So right.
This is a copycat of Nava Atlas' Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cake. I used carob chips instead, and half the amount of the optional raisins. Everybody liked it. Aliyah even asked if that could be her next birthday cake. (She asks me this kind of question once every two months!)
We just felt bad for the little one since she couldn't have it yet, because of the peanut butter, and she was begging for it! Next time, I have to make sure I have another treat especially for her.

Speaking of Dahl

Yesterday, we met up with Ron for lunch. Here's a short conversation between me and Zurielle:

Z: Mommy, where are we going to eat?
K: An Indian restaurant.
Z: They have icky chicken!
K: You don't have to eat the chicken.
Z: What me gonna eat?
K: You can eat the nan, the dahl...
Z: Dahl? I DON'T EAT "DAHLS," I EAT FOOD! Dolls are for playing.

At the restaurant, looking at the buffet meat trays:
Z: Mommy, those chicken died!
A: Shhhh!

And later on when I needed to get gas:
Z: Gas? Girls don't get gas! Boys do!

Thanks to Melody

I found Melody's blog through a comment she left on mine. That was just recently and yet Melomeals has already been a wealth of resources for me.
This is the Red Lentil Dahl that I made the other night. A little watery, but nothing that couldn't be fixed for next time. I didn't measure the liquid and got really anxious towards the end, so I added some hot water thinking that I must had not put enough. I also put less ginger than called for. Recipe is here.

I had never been inspired to make my own Dahl before, so I could only compare it with restaurant made, and I must say, this is the definitely the best.

Another thing I learned from Melody: making Essene Bread. This looks strange, I know. I made it a few days ago, put it in the fridge, and totally forgot about it until today. This is just sprouted wheatberries, ground, and baked at 250 degrees for a few hours. I added raisins to it, as I did like the last time. Today, it has a texture almost like that of a cake. I like the natural sweetness of it, but I'm the only one who eats this around here.

Oh, and did I mention she has a good Marinara recipe too?

Tofu on a Rainbow...NOT!

I made this Tofu with black bean garlic sauce, baked at 375 degrees for 30 minutes. The kids couldn't help but eat them before they were even cooked.

The bed was basmati rice, and napa cabbage stir-fried with garlic, ginger, soy sauce and hoisin sauce. This meal is so simple and yet Ron couldn't stop raving about it.

I checked out Nava Atlas' Vegetarian 5-Ingredient Gourmet cookbook at the library yesterday and reading it, realized that I've already been doing the principles she applied in the book. How cool.

I thought I should share this pic with you all. Not that good, between finding the camera in my backpack and green traffic light, but nevertheless cool. Check out the street name. Yes, it's by IKEA and the Mall of America.

Let's Move On!

Today is a new day. I'm moving on... to a new blog. Welcome all to my new tent! Here's some pix just to cozy up the place:
Aliyah's plate of Grilled Cheez Sandwich from Raising Vegetarian Children and "Ribbon Salad." We had a mixed verdict on TJ's Pomegranate Vinegar dressing.
Lunch on my new Vitamix: frozen pineapple tidbits, an orange, half an apple and a large carrot. This is filling! I still have to try this with greens...
BBQ seitan. This one is not homemade, but I'm proud to say that I did my first seitan-making stunt yesterday and it turned out pretty, pretty good. I couldn't get myself to take photos yesterday because of that blogging problem, but I could say that it was better than store-bought and I'd definitely make it again. Recipe was from VwaV.
An offspring of the Korean Stew. This is my new favorite dinner. Garlic, ginger, tofu, water and white miso boiled with whatever veggies you have on hand.