Banana-Orange-Chocolate Cake

I made this dessert for date night with Vegan Mom by combining the methods from my pudding cake and cobber recipes. The base is sauteed bananas and Grand Marnier, topped with a fluffy cake with hints of orange and bursts of chocolate. It's not as oozy as the pudding cake, and not as fruity as the cobbler. And it's freaking delicious.

INGREDIENTS
- 1/3 cup margarine
- 2 large bananas, thickly sliced
- 1/4 cup Grand Marnier

- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1/4 cup water

- 1 cup flour
- 2/3 cup sugar
- 1 tsp baking powder
- 1/4 tsp baking soda
- 1/4 tsp salt
- 1/2 cup soy milk
- 1/2 cup orange juice, minus 2 tbsp
- 2 tbsp Grand Marnier
- 1/2 tsp orange extract
- 1 tbsp orange zest
- 1/2 cup chocolate chips

METHOD
Heat oven to 350 degrees
1. Heat a frying pan over med-hi heat. Melt butter then add sliced bananas. Fry for a few mins per side, until they are a nice golden brown. Add Grand Marnier. It will bubble like crazy. When it stops, remove from the stove and transfer into an 8 x 8 baking dish. Make sure the banana slice are spaced evenly.
2. Put sugar and water in a small saucepan. Bring to bubbling, without stirring, over medium to med-hi heat. Let bubble for a minute, then remove from the heat.
3. While sugar mixture is heating, make the cake. Whisk together dry ingredients, then add soymilk (don't mix yet). Place the two tbsp of Grand Marnier in a 1/2 cup, then fill up with orange juice. Add to dry ingredients along with extract and zest. Whisk together.
4. Pour cake batter over the bananas, then sprinkle chocolate chips over the batter.
5. Spoon the sugar mixture over the top of the batter. Bake for 35 mins, or until the top has reached a nice golden brown and the bananas are bubbling on the bottom.

Pugliese: Baking Through the Bread Baker's Apprentice

I can't believe that it's been almost 2 months since I posted about my journey through The Bread Baker's Apprentice. I've been baking, I just haven't been blogging. This is the last recipe in the book before the sourdough section. It is a chewy, rustic Italian loaf whose success relies on making a rather wet dough. I find this easiest with my KitchenAid stand mixer that makes it possible to knead without making a huge mess or breaking your wrist using a spoon.

GENERAL NOTES
1. The mashed potatoes are optional. I had some on hand and I think it made for a softer loaf.
2. I do not have proofing bowls so I just lined 2 mixing bowls with towels and it worked just fine.
3. I used a 50-50 blend of durum flour an bread flour.

VEGAN NOTES
- none

Halushki with Fresh Flax Noodles

Ah, halushki (or haluski). This is a dish my grandma used to make, being of western Pennsylvania steel town stock. It is a cheap dish that is filling and delivers some great flavour. I added more ingredients than my grandma used to, but it still brought back all sorts of memories. I'll admit that I weenied out and made the noodles with my pasta maker. She used to roll them out by hand. Speaking of noodles, these are a great vegan version of egg noodles--tender, yet durable.

Fresh Flax Noodles
Makes 1 lb
INGREDIENTS
- 2 cups all purpose flour
- 1/2 cup warm soy creamer or soy milk
- 2 tbsp finely ground flax
- large pinch of tumeric (optional)
- 1 1/2 tsp salt (I used black salt for an eggy flavour)
- 2 tbsp water (more as needed)

METHOD
1. Place flour in a bowl and make a well in the centre.
2. Whisk flax into the soy creamer in a separate bowl. Let sit a few mins, then whisk again until thick and goopy. Whisk in tumeric (for colour).
3. Put flax mixture into the well, and sprinkle salt over top. Begin to mix together, adding water as needed to make a stiff but pliable dough.
4. Cut into four equal pieces and pass through a pasta roller up to number 7. Cut into 1/4 inch (or a bit bigger strips) and let dry on a towel for at least 2 hours.
5. When pasta is dry, cut into 4-5 inch lengths.
6. To cook, drop into boiling water, stirring to keep it from sticking together. You only need to cook for about 30 seconds after the water comes back to boiling.

Halushki
INGREDIENTS
- 2 tbsp margarine
- 1 large sweet onion, halved and sliced
- 1 leek, white and light green part, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 large carrot, finely grated
- 1 small head of cabbage, cored and sliced
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp parsley, plus more for garnish
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 tbsp margarine
- cooked egg noodles

METHOD
1. Melt 2 tbsp margarine in a large saucepan over medium to med-hi heat. Saute leeks and onions for 5-7 mins, until soft and translucent. Add garlic, carrot, cabbage, and a few pinches of salt and mix well. Once sizzling, reduce heat to med-lo, cover, and cook for 10-15 mins, stirring regularly. You want the cabbage to be nice and tender, but not soggy. Add paprika and parsley, then season to taste with salt and pepper. Remove from pan.
2. Add another 2 tbsp of margarine to the pan over medium to med-hi heat. Add egg noodles and gently stir to coat. Fry for a few mins, then add cabbage mixture. Stir to mix, adjust seasoning and serve.

Happy Belated Birthday, Son #2

Son # 2's birthday landed smack on the same day we were traveling back from Ohio to the Great White North after a wee summer vacation and a family reunion. As such, he didn't get a special cake like I do for all the kids on their birthdays. So, when we got home he chose a cake pan at the library (yes, the library), signed it out, and on a weekend trip to the cottage Son #1 made and baked the cake and I did the decorating. The cake is sitting on a slightly nasty cookie sheet that is perfect for the cottage but which you'd probably replace if you had it at home. The cake was a hit with the whole family (cousins, aunt, uncle, etc.) and with the birthday boy.

Zesty Onion and Tomato Relish

If you have been following Vegan Dad on Facebook you know that I grew cayenne peppers in my garden this year. I'm not sure why, exactly . . . for fun, I guess. I have always had bad luck with peppers but this summer's hot weather has yielded a fine crop of bright red and super hot peppers. The problem is what to do with them since I shy away from really hot foods because of the kids (though there was that time I went on a ques to make the hottest jerk sauce on earth . . . .). So cayenne recipe number one is this zesty relish. It is quick and easy to make and you can decide how hot to make it by leaving the seeds in the pepper or adding more than one.

INGREDIENTS
Makes about 2 cups
- 1 tbsp oil
- 1 large sweet onion, diced
- 1/4 cup packed brown sugar
- 15 cherry tomatoes, halved or quartered (if larger)
- 1/2 cup apple cider vinegar
- 1 cayenne pepper, seeded and minced (or leave seeds in for more zest!)
- 1/2 tsp salt
- fresh ground black pepper

METHOD
1. Heat oil in a saucepan over med to med-hi heat. Add onions and saute for about 5 min, until soft and translucent but not browned. Add brown sugar and stir. Bring to bubbling and cook for 3 mins, stirring regularly.
2. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to bubbling over med-hi to high heat. Cook for about 10 mins, stirring regularly, until most of the liquid had evaporated. If the relish is still too runny you can drain it in a fine mesh sieve.

So what did I do with the relish? Luckily, I had some awesome tomatoes and basil ready to be eaten. I seasoned some tofu slices with salt and pepper and fried them a bit on each side in a bit of oil. Then, on a freshly made kaiser roll, I slathered on some pesto (Isa's recipe from VWAV, but made with toasted sunflower seeds because I was out of walnuts), the tofu, some slices of beefsteak tomato, and a large dose of relish. Dee. lish. us.

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