One Bowl Vegan Chocolate Cake

I have a baking ego.

I don't know where it came from. For some odd reason though I think I can drastically change a recipe (a.k.a. substitute half of the ingredients in the recipe for different ingredients that I deem "healthier") and still achieve the same result.

It never works.

Thankfully, I still learn a lot in the process and have even had accidents turn into masterpieces. Like this Vegan Chocolate Cake. It was my friends birthday a week ago and we invited her and her husband over for some birthday dessert. I asked her what her favorite flavors and/or desserts were and she mentioned brownies and ice cream.

While her and her husband aren't vegan, they have been in the past and often eat vegetarian meals. Any time we have them over I take advantage of trying out new vegan dishes, because I know that they don't mind meatless meals. More importantly, whenever we have anyone over for dinner I always like to make a vegan dessert. That way I don't sit there awkwardly watching everyone else eat their dessert while they wonder if I have a thing against chocolate. That will never happen. 

So for my friends birthday dessert I wanted to make vegan brownies. I also wanted the ingredients to be ones that I felt good about putting in my body. There are tons of vegan brownie recipes out there that call for two cups of sugar and a cup of oil and I'd rather just not go there. So after a bit of searching I found a recipe that used whole wheat flour, avocado and a little bit of olive oil. I didn't have an avocado on hand so I used unsweetened applesauce instead. I also wanted these brownies to be made only with agave nectar instead of white and brown sugar, so I cut out the white and brown sugar and replace some of the wet ingredients with agave. The batter tasted great and it wasn't as runny as some other brownie batters I've made in the past, so I was feeling optimistic. 

When I checked on the "brownies" close to when they were supposed to be done I realized that they had risen a lot and that it was looking and feeling more like a cake. Whoops. I figured I would just roll with it, whip up some type of frosting or glaze to pour on top and call it a night. I remembered that my mom used to always make this ah-maaaaazing chocolate sauce using milk, chocolate chips and vanilla so I thought I'd make it using vegan ingredients and pour it on top of the cake.

Oh. My. Goodness. The result was one decadent, rich chocolate cake. I didn't want my piece to end! Everyone thought it was a hit and my friend didn't care in the slightest that it wasn't brownies. 

Failure turned success. Finally.

Vegan Chocolate Cake with Fudge Icing

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup applesauce
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 3/4 cup maple syrup or agave nectar
• 1/4 cup water
• 2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 1 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 1/2 teaspoon cornstarch
• 1/2 teaspoon sea salt
• 1 cup vegan chocolate chips
• 1 batch Vegan Fudge Sauce or icing of choice

Directions:

1. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a loaf pan with cooking spray.
2. In a large bowl whisk together the applesauce and olive oil until smooth. 
3. Add in the remaining wet ingredients (until vanilla) and mix until combined.
4. Add in the flour, cocoa powder, soda, starch and salt and stir until you get a thick batter.
5. Fold in the chocolate chips.
6. Pour the batter into your prepared pan and bake for about 30 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean. My edges cooked quicker so make sure you check the center of the cake!
7. Let the cake cool, remove from the pan and top with Easy Vegan Fudge Sauce.
8. Cut and dig in!

Eat Consciously,

Faith

One Simple Bread Recipe. Multiple Possibilities!

Ah this bread. It's so delicious, simple and versatile. 

You can make it with white or wheat flour. You can add in herbs to the dough. You can make a couple Italian loaves. You can make individual flat breads. You can roll the dough flat, spread marinara sauce and cheese over it and then roll it up to make pizza bread. Endless possibilities I tell ya!

Basically this recipe is must have and use often kind of recipe.

Simple Bread Recipe 

I didn't know what else to call it!

(Makes 2 loaves or 8 flatbreads)

Ingredients:

• 4 cups flour
• 4 1/2 teaspoons yeast
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon salt*
• 1 teaspoon to 1 tablespoon sugar*
• Approximately 3 cups warm water (105-115 degrees)

*Use whatever amount of salt and sugar between 1 teaspoon and 1 tablespoon that you desire. Just make sure the amount of salt and sugar are equal. For example, I usually use 1 1/2 teaspoon salt and sugar.

Directions:

1. Combine the dry ingredients in a food processor or mixer with the dough hook attachment.
2. Turn on the appliance and gradually add enough water in a fine stream to make a ball of dough. Make sure to add the water slowly, because you don't want to put too much water in so the dough gets too wet and sticky. Once the dough forms, stop pouring the water, but let the machine continue to run for a minute or so to knead the dough.
3. Place the dough in a greased bowl or plastic container, cover it loosely with a towel and let it rest for 20 minutes.
4. For Italian Loaves: After the dough has rested 20 minutes, divide it into two sections. Roll each section into a rectangle and then starting at the long end, roll up the dough into a loaf. Seal the long edge together and pinch together the ends. Place the loaves on greased cookie sheets and cover with plastic wrap and a towel. Let them rest for 1 hour. Bake the loaves at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Turn the loaves and bake 10 minutes more or until golden brown.
5. For Pizza Bread: Follow the directions for the italian loaves, but spread pizza sauce, cheese and toppings on the rectangles of dough before you up the dough into loaves. Make sure you leave a couple inches of space around the edges so the sauce doesn't ooze out when you roll up the dough. Let the dough rise for one hour under plastic wrap and a towel and bake for 20 minutes at 425 degrees, rotating halfway through.
6. For Flatbread: After the dough has rested 20 minutes, divide the dough into 8 equal section and roll the sections into balls. On a lightly floured surface, use a rolling pin to roll out each section to about 1/4 inch thick. Using a greased grill or skillet, cook each piece of flatbread separately for a few minutes on each side. 

Place all of the dry ingredients into a food processor or mixer fitted with the dough attachment.

Pulse a few times to make sure everything is well mixed.

While the machine is running, slowly pour in the warm water in a steady stream.

Pour just enough water until a ball of dough forms.

Once the dough forms stop pouring water into the mixer, but let 

the machine run for a minute to knead the dough.

Place the dough in a greased bowl and cover with a towel. Let it rest for 20 minutes.

The dough will rise while it's resting.

Divide the dough into sections. The number will depend on whether you making loaves or flatbread.

The remaining pictures show the process for making flatbread:

Eat Consciously,

Faith

Baked Falafel and Vegan Tzatziki Sauce!

Brett and I love trying out foods from all different parts of the world. We'd so much rather eat at a new Indian restaurant or slurp up a big bowl of Pho than eat plain ol' meat at potatoes. It must be all the traveling we've done. Good thing is were walking distance from a bunch of restaurants serving food from all over the world. 

Sometimes though, my frugal nature wants to save money instead of eating out. Thankfully there are now tons of recipes available on the internet for almost any kind of cuisine. So the other day when I was craving some Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food I was able to find a falafel recipe and a vegan tzatziki sauce recipe online, both of which were winners. Now I want to share them with you!

The tzatziki recipe isn't my own and for the falafel I just made a few changes to this recipe that I found on the food network website. The last time I tried making baked falafel they didn't hold together well and never really cooked all the way through. The recipe I used this time had only five star reviews and called for an egg (I used a flax egg) and flour. I knew the flaxseed and flour would help bind all the ingredients together. This recipe is a keeper!

Baked Falafel

(Makes 15 patties)

Ingredients:

• 2 1/4 cups cooked chickpeas
• 1/2 cup chopped onion
• 1 large garlic clove, chopped
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
• 1/2 cup loosely packed chopped parsley
• 1 flax egg (1 tablespoon ground flaxseed + 3 tablespoons water)
• Juice of 1 lemon
• salt to taste
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/3 cup whole wheat flour

Directions:

1. Prepare your flax egg by whisking together 1 tablespoon of ground flaxseed with 3 tablespoons of water. Set aside for 5 minutes to thicken.
2. In a food processor, pulse to combine the chickpeas, onion, garlic, spices, parsley, flax egg, lemon juice and salt to taste. Don't pulse too much that a puree forms, but you don't want there to be large chunks either (see picture below).
3. Sprinkle the baking powder and flour overtop of the chickpea mixture and pulse a few more times just until everything is combined. 
4. Pour the chickpea mixture into a bowl and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
5. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees and spray a baking sheet with cooking spray and set aside.
6. Remove the chickpea mixture from the fridge and form 15 patties using about 2 tablespoons of mixture for each patty. I like to roll 2 tablespoons of the chickpea mixture into a firm ball and then slightly flatten it into a patty. 
7. Place the patties on your prepared baking dish. They don't expand while baking so don't worry if they are close together.
8. Bake the patties for 13 minutes, flip them over and then bake for 15 more minutes until both sides of the patties are browned.
9. Serve in pita with hummus and veggies or on top of a big bed of lettuce with my favorite Sweet Tahini Dressing!

In the next week I'll be posting my favorite flat bread recipe. The flat bread is what we ate our falafel and tzatziki on the first night. It was a delicious combination. Check back for the recipe soon!

Another great addition to baked falafel is this Vegan Tzatziki Sauce! I found the recipe on Food.com and was really happy with how it turned out. Instead of using yogurt as the main ingredient, it's made with silken tofu. It makes a ton so you can enjoy it all week long! I've even used it as a salad dressing.

What's your favorite kind of food? 

Do you like to try out new foods or stick with what's familiar?

Eat Consciously,

Faith

How To Make Traditional Indian Flatbread: Chapati!

The first time I had Chapati, also known as Roti (which means bread), was two years ago during a 6-week work trip to India. It was served at almost every meal and it quickly became the food I looked forward to most at meal times. At times my coworkers and I were served some suspicious foods, but Chapati was the one thing I could count on to be familiar and delicious.

After getting back from India, I missed eating Chapati so much that I quickly found an Indian market close by and bought some from their freezer section. It was good, but not as good as the fresh, warm Chapati that was served to us in India. Yet, I just kept buying it from the store and never once thought about learning how to make it myself.

Fast forward a few months. 

One of Brett and my friends and neighbor ended up getting a roommate named Abby who grew up in Kenya. Abby's energetic and friendly personality made it easy for us all to become good friends quickly. One night a group of us got together to hangout and Abby cooked us all some traditional Kenyan food. It just so happened that one of the side dishes she made was Chapati! At the time I didn't know that versions of Chapati are also found in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda, so I was surprised and so excited to see that she knew how to make it. 

Oh. My. Goodness. It was delicious. In fact, it was so good that we asked to take some of the leftovers home with us for lunch the next day. Of course, I also asked if she could teach me how to make it and a few weeks later she did! 

So now, thanks to Abby, I can share the recipe and process for making authentic Chapati with you! In fact,  I just made Chapati using this recipe for some of my friends from Bangladesh last night and they all said it was just like the real deal and tasted great.

However, I will warn you that in order to make authentic Chapati you can't have a phobia of oil. You'll be brushing oil on these bad boys a number of different times...and it's gonna be delicious! Of course, if you want to lighten up this recipe you can skip steps 4-7 and use more cooking spray, but just know that they won't turn out as soft and pliable. 

Oh, and on a side note, when Brett traveled to India, most people called him Roti because when he introduced himself as "Brett" people thought he said "Bread". Get it? Brett. Bread. Roti...

Chapati

(Serves 8)

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour (all-purpose, whole wheat or a mix)
• Pinch of salt
• 1 cup warm water
• Oil (non-flavored oil is best)

Directions:

(To see the directions without pictures go to the bottom of this post.)

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Pour in the water and stir until dough forms.

2. Infuse with oil. Poke holes in the dough and pour a little oil in the holes. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes to 2 hours.

3. Knead and divid: After the dough has sat for an hour or so, knead it for a minute or two in the bowl to incorporate the oil into the dough. Then divide the dough into 8 equal sections.

4. Roll out the dough. Take a section of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. You will probably have to flip it over a few times. Make sure it doesn't get stuck to your rolling surface.

5. Coat with Oil and Roll. After you've rolled the dough into a thin, large circle, cut a slit in the dough from the center to the edge.

Using a pastry brush, brush a little oil all over the surface of the dough.

Then using your hands, start from one edge of the slit and roll the dough up into a cone.

Take the last corner of the dough and push it into the center of the cone to seal the dough.

6. Repeat for all sections. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the remaining sections of dough until you have 8 little "flowers". 

7. Rest 30 minutes.  Place the "flowers" on parchment paper and try not to let them touch or they may stick together. Cover the dough with a towel and let them rest for another 30 minutes.

8. Prepare to cook the Chapati. Start by preparing your cooking station. Preheat a large skillet to medium heat. Have a small bowl of oil and a pastry brush nearby as well as cooking spray and a plate with aluminum foil and a towel.

Roll out the dough one section at a time on a lightly floured surface. Again, be sure to flip the dough over as you roll it out so that it doesn't stick to your rolling surface. Add more flour if necessary. Roll the dough as thinly as possible.

9. Cook the Chapati. Spray your heated skillet with cooking spray. Place the rolled out dough onto the skillet and turn it a little with your hand so that it doesn't stick. Quickly brush the top surface of the dough with oil.

After you've brushed the top surface, flip the dough over and brush the top surface of the dough again with oil. Soon bubbles will begin to form in the dough. Let the dough cook for about 30 seconds while you use a fork to move it around and keep it from sticking.

After about 30 seconds, or once you see some brown spots on the underneath part, flip the chapati over and let the other side cook for a while until brown spots form.

10. Remove, stack and cover. After you have cooked both sides, carefully take the chapati off the pan (I use a fork) and place it on your prepared plate with aluminum foil.

Fold more aluminum foil over top of the Chapati and cover it with a dish towel. This keeps the Chapati warm and allows the oil to continue moistening the Chapati.

11. Repeat. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until all the sections have been rolled out, cooked and are stacked on top of each other and covered with the aluminum foil and a dish towel. 

12. Enjoy! Serve the Chapati warm or let them cool and store them in a zip-lock bag in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat you can wrap them tightly in aluminum foil and place them in an oven preheated to 200 degrees until warm.

Directions:

1. Make the dough. In a large bowl, whisk together the flour and salt. Pour in the water and stir until dough forms.
2. Infuse with oil. Poke holes in the dough and pour a little oil in the holes. Cover the dough with a towel and let it rest in a warm spot for 30 minutes to 2 hours.
3. Knead and divid: After the dough has sat for an hour or so, knead it for a minute or two in the bowl to incorporate the oil into the dough. Then divide the dough into 8 equal sections.
4. Roll out the dough. Take a section of dough and roll it out on a lightly floured surface. You will probably have to flip it over a few times. Make sure it doesn't get stuck to your rolling surface.
5. Coat with Oil and Roll. After you've rolled the dough into a thin, large circle, cut a slit in the dough from the center to the edge. Using a pastry brush, brush a little oil all over the surface of the dough. Then using your hands, start from one edge of the slit and roll the dough up into a cone. Take the last corner of the dough and push it into the center of the cone to seal the dough.
6. Repeat for all sections. Repeat steps 4 and 5 for the remaining sections of dough until you have 8 little "flowers". 
7. Rest 30 minutes.  Place the "flowers" on parchment paper and try not to let them touch or they may stick together. Cover the dough with a towel and let them rest for another 30 minutes.
8. Prepare to cook the Chapati. Start by preparing your cooking station. Preheat a large skillet to medium heat. Have a small bowl of oil and a pastry brush nearby as well as cooking spray and a plate with aluminum foil and a towel. Roll out the dough one section at a time on a lightly floured surface. Again, be sure to flip the dough over as you roll it out so that it doesn't stick to your rolling surface. Add more flour if necessary. Roll the dough as thinly as possible.
9. Cook the Chapati. Spray your heated skillet with cooking spray. Place the rolled out dough onto the skillet and turn it a little with your hand so that it doesn't stick. Quickly brush the top surface of the dough with oil. After you've brushed the top surface, flip the dough over and brush the top surface of the dough again with oil. Soon bubbles will begin to form in the dough. Let the dough cook for about 30 seconds while you use a fork to move it around and keep it from sticking. After about 30 seconds, or once you see some brown spots on the underneath part, flip the chapati over and let the other side cook for a while until brown spots form.
10. Remove, stack and cover. After you have cooked both sides, carefully take the chapati off the pan (I use a fork) and place it on your prepared plate with aluminum foil. Fold more aluminum foil over top of the Chapati and cover it with a dish towel. This keeps the Chapati warm and allows the oil to continue moistening the Chapati.
11. Repeat. Repeat steps 9 and 10 until all the sections have been rolled out, cooked and are stacked on top of each other and covered with the aluminum foil and a dish towel. 
12. Enjoy! Serve the Chapati warm or let them cool and store them in a zip-lock bag in the fridge for 4-5 days. To reheat you can wrap them tightly in aluminum foil and place them in an oven preheated to 200 degrees until warm.

Notes: If you want to decrease the oil in this recipe, skip steps 4-6 and use mostly cooking spray to cook the chapati. Remember that you probably won't get the same results.

Eat Consciously,

Faith