food

Simplest Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad


I love tabbouleh. It’s light and refreshing. A while ago my friend Amanda (it’s her amazing and florescent carrot butter on that little whole grain toast in the background) introduced me to a pre-made quinoa tabbouleh salad at Costco, it had extra bells and whistles, like mung beans and brown rice, but it was lacking something so I decided to re-create it at home. I like my simple version better and think it’s more flavorful.

Simplest Quinoa Tabbouleh Salad

4 C. cooked and cooled quinoa

2 english cucumbers, finely diced

2 beefsteak tomatoes, diced (sounds weird on a vegan blog, eh?)

1 bunch parsley, finely minced

1 t. sea salt (adjust to taste)

1/3 – 1/2 C. fresh lemon juice and zest of one lemon (start with 1/3 and add more lemon juice as desired)

Method: Toss all ingredients in a large bowl. Let marinate in the fridge for 30 minutes. Can also be dished over a bed of greens. Serves 4 hungry people.

My friend Shira at IPOM posted a different amazing quinoa salad recipe yesterday. In her post, she included a link to this New York Times article about how increased consumption of quinoa worldwide is decreasing it’s consumption in Bolivia where it’s grown, and the ramifications of that to the health of the people there. Be mindful and grateful when you eat quinoa.


Insane Chocolate Layer Cake

What would you do if you had cause to celebrate but you couldn’t just go out and buy any old cake? I mean I could have picked up a specialty vegan cake at City Cakes or Cake Walk, but I’ve tried their not-so-amazing cupcakes, so a 45 minute drive didn’t seem worthwhile for something I wouldn’t LOVE.

So instead, you make the awesomest plant-based cake. Ever.

Okay, well maybe it wasn’t really the best one ever, and this other cake probably wins the healthiest cake contest, but mine was pretty dang tasty.

Insane Chocolate Layer Cake:

This cake features a simple chocolate cake base, layered with chocolate cheezcake ganache, topped with coconut whipped creme and adorned with figs.

For the cakes: 3 C. whole wheat pastry flour (blend it again through your power blender to get it extra fine, I used extra finely ground kamut berries instead of wheat), 2 C. water, 1 C. unsweetened applesauce, 1 C. raw agave, 2/3 C. cocoa powder (I used raw cacao), 1 t. baking soda, 1 t. salt, 2 T. vanilla, 4 T. apple cider vinegar.

Method: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil two 9 inch cake rounds, dust with cocoa powder. Set aside. Combine flour, baking soda, cocoa powder and salt in a large bowl. Then combine water, vanilla and agave in another bowl. Add the liquid mixture to the dry mixture and stir til just combined. Add the 4 T. apple cider vinegar and stir until swirls start to form in the batter. Immediately pour batter into the cake pans and bake for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cakes rest for 10 minutes before turning out on a cooling rack. Let cakes cool completely. This cake IS NOT made with buckets of white flour, white sugar and loads of fat, so it’s not very sweet or rich, so the batter may not taste like you think it ought too, but the finished product is delicious.

For the Chocolate Cheezcake Ganache: 1 1/4 C. raw cashews, 1/3 C. agave 1/4 t. salt, 1/2  C. dairy free dark chocolate chips, 1 T. lemon juice, 2 T. Cocoa Powder (I used raw cacao), 1 box lite silken firm tofu, 2 T. dry pectin (the kind you use for jam making), 1 C. boiling water.

Method: Place cashews in power blender, grind to a fine powder (if you don’t have a powder blender, soak the cashews for a few hours and skip this step), add agave, cocoa powder, lemon juice, chocolate chips, pectin and salt. Pour the boiling water over the other ingredients and blend until fully combined. Add the box of tofu and blend again. This mixture will be hot and will need to cool in the fridge for a few hours before using.

For the Coconut Whipped Creme: 1 can full fat coconut milk, refrigerated for at least 3 hours.

Method: Open the can, pour off the liquid and save for use in a smoothie, scoop solidified coconut creme into a chilled bowl and whip with beaters or whisk until light and fluffy. See the Veggie Witch method here, I only used one can of coconut as opposed to her 2 cans and didn’t sweeten the creme.

Fresh Figs for decorating

Assembly: Slice the two cakes in half width-wise into layers using a long serrated knife. You will have 4 layers now. Put First layer on a plate or cake platter, spread 1/3 of the cheezcake ganache over the top of the cake. Carefully place the next cake layer on top of the ganache. Repeat until you reach the top cake layer, for the top of the cake, frost with the coconut whipped creme and adorn with sliced figs. This cake MUST be kept covered and refrigerated or the ganache will melt and start to slide everywhere (as it clearly did in my photo shoot).

The Ultimate Ratbag

First I want to thank you all for the overwhelming response for this new blog! 

Now, let’s get a little more acquainted.

My name is Somer, and I am a Ratbag.

I started blogging earlier in the year at Good Clean Food and I wouldn’t be where I am today without the help of my three friends there: Amanda, Erika and Carolyn. They gave me my blogging wings and helped me stand firm when the transition to a plant-based diet was toughest.

In an act of penance for leaving them and going solo on this site, here are 3 fabulous recipes in photo form, one of my favorites from each lovely lady.

Amanda’s African-Inspired Peanut and Vegetable Stew

recipe here

This beauty of a dish is a one pot meal. You can cook it on the stove-top like in Amanda’s directions, but it’s also fabulous simmered in a slow cooker all day. It’s autumn comfort food meets creamy, spicy and peanut buttery goodness.

Guess what else? There’s a whole head of kale in it (shhh!) and your kids will eat it AND lick their bowls.

Erika’s Happiness in a Cookie Bite

recipe here

When Erika named these cookie dough bites, she wasn’t messing around. She brought them to a lunch we had at my house and we were all very happy to eat every last one.

They made us so happy we couldn’t stop. Delicious, meet nutritious!

Carolyn’s Sourdough Quinoa and Black Bean Bread

recipe here

I’ll admit when Carolyn first posted this recipe I was too afraid to try it. Quinoa and black beans in sourdough bread? Um, weird! Then, once I made it, I couldn’t figure out why I waited so long. It’s unique and amazing!

Here’s a little hint: don’t go searching high and low for the black bean flour. Grind your own flour from bagged, dried black beans in your high powered blender or coffee grinder. If you’re trying to cut back on oils and sugars like I am, just replace them with an equal amount of almond milk in the recipe.

If you don’t all ready have a sourdough start, there are also lots of recipes on-line for getting your own start going. Carolyn gave me some of her ancient sourdough starter with this warning: if it turns orange, it means DEATH! Chuck it out! Thanks girl, it still hasn’t turned orange!

Much love and thanks, Somer

p.s. I’m finally on Facebook and Pinterest. I don’t know what the heck I’m doing in either forum yet, but you’re welcome to come hang out with me in either place.

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