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Silken Chocolate Mousse Cake

Welcome back everyone! Did you have a nice long weekend (if you're in the US that is)? Ours was wonderful and relaxing, and best of all I made this amazing cake!

I've mentioned Hannah over at Bittersweet many times before, but I have to say this recipe of hers is my new favorite! It's actually from her first cookbook,My Sweet Vegan: passionate about dessert. If you didn't know she just came out with a second cookbook, Vegan Desserts: Sumptuous Sweets for Every Season! I really need to get myself a copy ASAP!


Hannah's version calls for shaved dark chocolate to top the cake, unfortunately I was all out (plus John doesn't like dark chocolate anyway) So I subbed in some fresh strawberries instead. The shaved chocolate would have been prettier but the strawberries sure were delicious too!

The crust is made from almond meal and cocoa, and the mousse has a silken secret... silken tofu that is! Ok now don't get all up in arms telling me there is NO way you'd eat tofu in a dessert. I promise you will NOT taste one little bit of it. John is a "I'm not eating tofu" kinda guy and he fully admitted this was sweet, decadent, and delicious. This is not health food people, it's full on, and it tastes like it is... well it's a little healthy, tofu instead of cream is WAY healthier, plus it still gives it that smooth silky texture. Just make sure you buy silken tofu and not firm or extra firm block tofu... that would be gross. Now go whip some up and I'm positive your guests will be none the wiser.

Seriously, I am in LOVE with this dessert! Go get her book and cook this up! OH and another bonus, no oven needed, just a blender or food processor and it sets in the fridge, perfect for summer :)


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6 chews:

Dresses that make you look pregnant

I fully admit it, some days I'm a walking fashion don't... lets take for example dresses that make you look pregnant. I've got at least three dresses like this kicking around in my closet.

WOW am I looking pale... yikes! The rain needs to stop so the sun can come out!


The dress had great intentions, for starters I loved the pattern, and the cute little button closure at the top... AND it was on sale. How could I say no?? But every time I put the dress on I'd feel a bit self conscious, especially while sitting, as the draping would sometimes billow in all the wrong places. I figured I was just being too self critical and kept on wearing it... until a certain someone who has been asked to be left unnamed told me I looked a good 2-3 months pregnant in this dress... Really?? That bad?? OK something needs to change!


The dress had elastic thread sewn in under the bust which made making this into a skirt super easy. One quick slice with a rotocutter and the skirt was free from the top! another quick hem to finish off the top and PRESTO CHANGO a new slimmer me was born!


This skirt is way more flattering on me than that dress was. LOOK I have a waist, it's not hiding anymore! Lets all repeat it together ladies. "I will not buy pregnant looking dresses... unless I'm with child"

Do you fall into shopping patterns of buying clothing that doesn't flatter your shape? What are you guilty of?

Happy Memorial Day weekend! Got any fun plans?

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18 chews:

Carrying Case

Awhile ago my sister asked me if I could make her a crayon carrying case for her purse. It's the perfect thing if you have a kid, instant entertainment at a restaurant, and no crayon mess in your purse. Best of both worlds right?





Of course I couldn't resist whipping one up for her, although it did take forever to actually get it in the mail... whoops... hopefully it gets there today... otherwise... I totally ruined the surprise with this post...

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11 chews:

Alfalfa Farmer

If you've been around the blog awhile you probably know I'm a sprout farmer. Yup, alfalfa, mung beans... I sprout them! It's crazy easy to do and literally costs pennies. Also the sprouts last a good week longer then the ones you buy in the store! Double bonus right?


On our trip to Vermont Val packed up some delicious hummus/feta/alfalfa/tomato sandwiches. They were AMAZING, and the day after we got back I knew I had to get to sprouting again. I changed the sandwiches up slightly though since I was in more of an avacado mood than a hummus mood, either way these things are delicious! I no joke ate one for lunch every day this week. YUM!!


Want to learn to sprout all on your own? Check out my post here from 2 summers ago that lays it all out for you!

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5 chews:

Date almond loaf and Erythritol


Erythritol kinda sounds like a science experiment doesn't it? It's not though, it's a natural, almost zero calorie sweetener that isn't produced using chemicals (they ferment the sugar with yeast!). Here's more about it not in my words:


Erythritol is a natural sugar alcohol which has been approved for use in the United States and throughout much of the world. It occurs naturally in fruits and fermented foods. At the industrial level, it is produced from glucose by fermentation with a yeast, Moniliella pollinis. It is 60–70% as sweet as table sugar yet it is almost non-caloric, does not affect blood sugar, does not cause tooth decay, and is absorbed by the body, therefore unlikely to cause gastric side effects unlike other sugar alcohols. Under U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) labeling requirements, it has a caloric value of 0.2 kilocalories per gram (95% less than sugar and other carbohydrates). Source

I was very excited when Emerald Forest asked if I wanted to give this product a try. I know my current "fake" sweetener is eyeballed unapprovingly by a lot of people, so this was a great thing to try. The first recipe I tried was my go to whole wheat chocolate chip cookie recipe that I've been experimenting with. They came out just as delicious but a little less sweet (makes sense since it is less sweet than table sugar). So if you are going to use this to totally replace your sugar you will want to use more. For me most recipes have too much sweet, so using this and not upping the amount would work out perfectly.

The next thing I made was a date and almond loaf I was inspired to make on What Would Cathy Eat? She used walnuts, but in all truth I'm not a huge walnut fan, so I went with almonds, YUM!


I did a half batch and came up with two mini loaves. And they came out amazing! The perfect amount of sweet and a great texture. Like the birch sugar I experimented with recently, this stuff has a similar texture to sugar, it's not airy light. Also good to know, it doesn't have a weird aftertaste.

Whole Grain Date Walnut Bread
adapted by me from What Would Cathy Eat?

1/2 cup chopped dates
1/2 cup boiling water
1 egg white
1.5 tablespoons organic canola oil
1/3 cup Erythritol (she would have used 1/4 cup sugar in the raw)
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
3/4 cups whole wheat flour (she used ww pastry flour, I didn't have any)
1/4 cup oats (she used oat flour)
1 tablespoons ground flax
1 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
dash salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 cup slivered almonds (she used walnuts)

Preheat the oven to 350. Combine the dates and boiling water in a small bowl and let stand for 15 minutes.

In a medium bowl, vigorously whisk together the egg, oil, sugar and vanilla.

Combine the flours, flax, baking powder, soda, salt and cinnamon in a large bowl. Stir in the dates with their liquid, along with the egg mixture and stir just to combine. Fold in the walnuts.

Pour into two lightly oiled mini loaf pans and bake for 30-35 minutes, until a toothpick or knife inserted in the center comes out clean. Let cool thoroughly before slicing.

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10 chews:

Barn raising

They say it takes a village to raise a barn...


Apparently it only takes 3 guys and one fiesty lady to side one though... guess who learned how to install pine plank siding in Vermont this weekend? This chicka right here!!

Although the rain tried to beat us down, we wouldn't let it stop us! I learned I'm really accurate with a miter saw, and with some practice I'm deadly with a hammer. (please ignore the first few pieces with dents next to the nail... whoops)

Other exciting things from the weekend involved loads of delicious food, hikes, a hot sauna, (some took dips in the pond - I took a pass on that one ewww pond gunk...) and this little friend I made right here...


Isn't he cute??


Close up shot by Val!


So now that I have these new siding skills... who wants to come over to my house and help me reside the whole darn thing!??

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12 chews:

Virtual Bake Sale

Due to a very crappy blogger issue that took place last week this did not post on Friday :( I'm so sad because I wasn't able to let you all know about another Steph's bake sale that I was taking part in. Head on over here to see the final results of the sale.
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I was so happy when another Steph (Steph's rock!) asked me to join in on her online bake sale to benefit The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society! There are so many tasty tasty things and bidding starts at 7am TODAY!!! So head straight on over to the front page of Steph's Bite by Bite and bid on some tasty treats! (all proceeds go to The Leukemia & Lymphoma Society)

You know you want me to send you a batch of my liquored up smores fudge don't you?


Doesn't it just look good?? Head on over and support a great cause and get some goodies in return for doing so!

As you read this I'm on my way to Vermont for the weekend! Hooray VT!!! I'll be back Sunday night though and will have some fabulous pictures up for you ASAP! Have a wonderful weekend!

Anyone have any fun plans?

What do you want to bid on over at the bake sale?

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5 chews:

Bunnykins

Although reports of his untimely death have been widely reported (AKA I told everyone I thought he was dead since I found a rather large tuft of bunny fur in the yard), tonight I have hard evidence that bunnykins is indeed still alive!

check it... he's giving me the eyeball


Sorry for the blur.. it was at dusk.. through a 2nd story screened window... and 300mm zoom.

In other news... the house of doom that we bought is still showing up with surprises... Awww don't you love surprises?


I now HATE surprises... and yes that would be a major support beam holding up our roof. Amazing. Did I mention I hate the previous homeowners with the vengeance of Zeus?

Do you have any random wildlife living in your yard? Bunnykins lives under the deck.

Got any house horror stories you want to tell me so I don't feel so bad about ours?

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15 chews:

Pumpkin Garlic Knots - vegan

Heaven. That is what these things are, pure, heaven. I've had these pumpkin garlic knots bookmarked for what seems like a year now. I first saw them on (never home)maker and knew I had to make them... what took me so long to actually do it?? I have no idea.. but all I know is I'll be making them again soon for sure. Hmmmm actually maybe I'll bring them to the potluck I'll be heading to in VT next weekend... hmmmmmmm

ready to go into the oven

I made these to go along with dinner last night for Mother's Day. We had John's parents over (we would have had mine over too.. but they live out of state *sad face* ). On the menu along with these were a mustard BBQ pork tenderloin, roasted root veggies, asparagus, and a chocolate cake for dessert. (and for those of you who caught that... John didn't eat the pork, I made him cashew chicken chili instead, yup I'm a good woman to him)


I am totally smitten for this recipe and I think you will be too. Next time I'm going to sub 1/2 whole wheat, will let you know how it goes! As written these are amazingly buttery (without butter!) and so very tender. Love love love love love. (I may have eaten 4... ok I'm lying.. 5 last night - I know that goes against the moderation thing... but hell they are THAT good)

Pumpkin garlic knots
recipe by (never home)maker

What you'll need . . .

* 1 cup warm water
* 1 envelope active dry yeast
* 2 tablespoon agave nectar
* 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
* 2 tablespoons olive oil
* 1-1/2 teaspoons coarse kosher salt
* 3-1/2 cups unbleached bread flour (I used King Arthur)

First, you'll need to make the dough: (for step by step pics, head on over to their recipe here)

STEP 1:
Pour the warm water into a medium bowl and whisk in the yeast. Let sit until frothy -- about 10 minutes. Then add your agave nectar, olive oil, and pumpkin -- whisk until smooth.

STEP 2:
Whisk together the flour and salt in a large bowl. With you fist, make an impression in the center -- a "bowl" that's big enough to pour your wet ingredients into. Then pour in your wet ingredients.

STEP 3:
Start pulling everything together with a spatula. When you can no longer mix, use your hands to start kneading the dough. Keep kneading -- and adding more flour as necessary -- until you have a ball that's elastic, but not sticky.

STEP 4:
Lightly oil another large bowl and put your dough ball inside it -- flipping over once to coat both sides (again -- lightly) with oil. Cover with a damp towel or plastic wrap and let rise for 2 hours. Once the dough has risen, preheat your oven to 425 degrees F, put in a pizza stone (you may use a pan, too, but it works best with a stone), and divide the dough into two equal pieces. If you're planning to use the other half the next day, just put it in a large Zip-Lock bag and store in the fridge. You may also freeze the dough for up to three weeks.

STEP 5:
To create the garlic knots -- just take off sections of dough (about the size of two tablespoons, if that makes sense) and roll them into a snake shape. Then tie that snake in a knot. Set aside and continue with the rest of the dough. Once you've made all your knots, put them on your stone (or on your pan) and let bake until golden brown on the tops (anywhere between 10 and 15 -- or more -- minutes, depending on how big your knots are).

STEP 6:
While you're waiting, in a large bowl mix together 1/3 cup olive oil with 3 to 5 cloves of minced garlic . . . as well as some salt, pepper -- and if you're feeling cheesy, Parmesan or nutritional yeast -- to taste. There's really no right or wrong mixture, just what you like. Feel free to taste test. When the knots are done, dump them into the bowl and mix well to coat. (I just used a drizzle of olive oil, no where near 1/3 of a cup)


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19 chews:

Joe Bean - new location

Happy Friday everyone! I have exciting news for those of you located in good ol' Ra-cha-cha NY. Joe Bean has moved from Webster to downtown Rochester!! Hooray! And the best news, their grand opening is today!!! So you can go on over and get yourself a cup of joe, or a tasty latte, or whatever your little heart desires!


Make sure to stop in today for the Grand Opening!

Friday, May 6th
6pm–10pm
1344 University Ave. Suite 110


To check out their new space head on over to the head roasters blog here. And make sure to stop by in real life and say hi! It's a beautiful new location with plenty of parking, and the coolest reclaimed barn wood table tops (I'm in love with them).



So what are all of your weekend plans? I need to bake something up for mother's day for John's mom, other than that.. maybe we'll hit up Imagine RIT on saturday. How about you?

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2 chews:

Tuna Bow Tie Salad

Everyone has all sorts of memories from their childhood. I've got tons of good ones, especially ones involving my Nana...

see even then I was constantly eating...

Some memories though are not so amazing. On my list of not amazing is tuna bow tie pasta salad *bleh* I remember it being a fixture at family picnics (it was probably served at the picnic pictured above!), and I remember hating it. I'd be much happier eating a burger or hot dog, maybe a little ambrosia salad, but tuna bow tie salad.. ugggg pass that one right along.


John had mentioned at some point that the only use for bow tie pasta was in this very dish... so I assumed that meant he liked this dish. So what do I do? Go and make this up thinking he's going to be all excited to eat it... WRONG.

So now I have a batch of this stuff and neither of us want to eat it... want some? Don't I make it sound so good? :)

Tuna bow tie salad
recipe made up from my very bad memory (Check out my mom's comment to see how it was really made back in my childhood!)

1/2 box whole wheat bow tie pasta (cooked, drained, and cooled)
2 cans white tuna packed in water, drained
1/2 cup frozen peas (actually I think moms version had broccoli maybe? and probably come celery and carrots.... maybe)
2 Tbs-ish italian salad dressing of choice
few glugs red hot (I'm positive that wasn't in mom's version)
salt/ pepper/ celery seeds to taste

Mix it all together, toss in the fridge.. and bring it to a picnic.. where I will NOT be eating it :)


What's one thing you always hated that was a fixture in your family meals? Or you know.. you can tell me something you love too, no need to be negative :)


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26 chews:

Hashbrowns or Homefries

Tell me, are you a hash-brown or a home-fry kinda guy/gal? I can appreciate both for sure, but if I'm at a diner I always order home-fries... with two eggs over easy (and of course bacon!).

The drippy yolk makes John want to yak, he refuses to sit at the table with me when I'm eating these bad boys :) Personally I think it's the perfect thing to dip your home-fries in.

Whenever I'm boiling up potatoes for dinner or potato salad I made sure to add a few extra and keep them on hand in the fridge. This way I can just chop them up and toss them in a pan with a little butter, salt, pepper, and a good helping of paprika and I'm set with home-fries in a hurry!

So are you a home-fry or a hash-brown, and how do you order your eggs? :) Are you with John or me on this one?


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12 chews:

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