Triple Berry Lemon Vegan Cake

For the 4th of July, I had my heart set on baking. As I try to eat healthy as a norm and confine my consumption of treats such as ice cream and baked goods to special occasions (birthdays, Christmas, etc.), I rarely bake. However, in spite of my commitment to "clean" eating, I actually love baking and all of the associations that come with the ritual as well as its yieldings, from the comfort of a simple vanilla-frosted plain cupcake to a trendy, pastel-hued French macaron. Baking can be fun and silly (think Funfetti mix) or elegant and refined (a classic creme brule). It can yield the most visually appealing of gastronomic creations -- smooth, spongy surfaces of cupcakes toped with a perfect tubed spiral of frosting -- or goods that were made with scant regard to aesthetics, but baked with plenty of love and the ideal combination of pleasure-inducing ingredients, such as mom's peanut-butter/chocolate-chipped cookies. 

I knew that my Independence Day treat had to contain the cliche patriotic berry medley of strawberries and blueberries, possibly blackberries or raspberries if I was feeling adventurous, and also not be extravagantly unhealthy (no cheesecake!), so I found a recipe that matched my criteria in this vegan Lemon Berry Cake (from the visual knockout of a blog, Fragrant Vanilla Cake.

This was the first time I baked with berries, let alone vegan, and I'd say it was a success. The cake was  very moist, probably due to the high concentration of fruit in the batter. While the recipe called for plenty of vanilla in addition to lemon juice, the latter overwhelmed the former. If I were more knowledgable with regard to baking, I'd tweak this recipe in the future so that the vanilla stands out more, probably by using less lemon juice. Otherwise, the cake was delicious and a hit with those with whom I shared it.

Cuisine Related Books I'm Set on Reading

http://newyork.grubstreet.com/2009/06/has_new_york_said_au_revoir_to.html

Shrimp, Spanish Tapas Style

Israeli Couscous with Roasted Eggplant & Cinnamon-Cumin Dressing

Vegan Banana Ice Cream

I haven't posted much in the past few months, not only because I was too busy to blog, but also because I was often too pressed for time to prepare interesting dishes! I will more than make up for it now that the semester is over.

Now for a few catch-up posts on dishes and food-related stuff since the last update.

Let's begin with bananas. Bananas are delicious, no? Well, in an effort to preserve quickly-browning bananas, I often slice them up and pack 'em into a plastic container, which I put in the freezer. People often freeze fruit to use for smoothies, but I'm not really into those. I find that, while delicious, smoothies like most liquid calories don't really keep me satiated. However, when frozen, these banana "chips" make for delectable nibbles. There is something about freezing this fruit that makes its sweetness extra-concentrated. 

Knowing how delicious frozen bananas are, I had always wanted to give vegan banana ice cream a go. Finally, about a week ago, I tried it, and it did not disappoint. Recipe after the jump!

Food as of Late

It has been quite a while since my last post.  I have been so busy with grad school (student teaching, a full load of classes) that I haven't had much free time to indulge in blogging. So, I'm breaking the no-post spell with a few food photos that I've recently taken. It's Saturday night, and I'm making brussels sprouts (trying a new recipe!) among other dishes, so a cooking post is soon to follow.

The birthday treats I bought for my mother on her special day: blue velvet cupcake, black-and-white cupcake, red velvet cake pop

lettuce wrap burger from Bare Burger, NYC. contents include organic beef, lettuce, tomato,  red onion,  jalapeno relish, horseradish mayo, and chipotle ketchup. (I honestly couldn't distinguish the different condiments [which is too bad, considering my affinity for sauces] and ended up adding a decent amount of extra ketchup, the beef was really good, though)

Two Trader Joe's Products: A New Fave & One Soon-to-try Item

Recently, during a shopping excursion at Trader Joe's, I picked up two products: one was new for me in that I had never tried it, while the other product is actually new to the store.

The former is TJ's Almond Butter with Flaxseeds.  I have previously extolled the wonders of this butter's peanut butter counterpart, and the almond version might be just as delicious.  Only problem is that I go through the jar way too fast! 

Since it is salted, and I eat a ton of this stuff (healthy fat, low carb, yo), I decided during a following trip to TJ's to opt for the non-salted creamy version instead. If I'm gonna be a pig, I might as well go with the healthier option. Plus, the creamy non-salted version actually has 1g more of protein per serving than the salted flaxseed one! 

The totally new product is the organic spicy hot cocoa.  I love the packaging, all Mayan themed.  So far, I have not actually made a cup of cocoa using it, but I did try a bit of the powder, and it was delicious -- chocolaty with just the right amount of spice, including cayenne pepper.  I am looking forward to trying and savoring a toasty serving of this, even though the weather has been warm lately.