Oatmeal Cookies Go Western

Yesterday I needed to make cookies as reward for the email Survivor Challenge I run. Wait what ?? Survivor the reality TV show about people living in the "wild" with little food ?? What does that have to do with fine cuisine, baking or do it yourself recipes ?? Not much, but it is one of my guilty pleasures and I have been running this fun and crazy Survivor Challenge for over 6 years now.

Each week before the show airs I send out three questions, participants send me their answers. After the show I discuss the episode, post the answers and add comments from my players. It makes watching the show more fun and my players love the camaraderie of sharing with other fans. Every four weeks there is a reward question added, get that one right and you win cookies baked by yours truly.

Back to those cookies, I wanted to do a take on Cowboy Cookies but they didn't need to be vegan.
In looking online the recipes I saw called for vegetable shortening: Crisco, that white awful stuff my mom always had in a huge tub.
I decided to go with my favorite oatmeal cookies and add one cup each of shredded coconut, and chocolate chips, I used walnuts instead of pecans.
They came out great !!

May Day Art Faire

I am excited to be a new member of this great art fair. It's the weekend before Mother's Day and the perfect place to buy something for your mom or other special woman in your life. Maybe there are birthdays or graduations coming up or you just want to treat yourself.

I will have a nice selection of my usual jams and jellies. I am trying out a new product: infused sugars. They are great for baking, morning tea or evening cocktails. I will be offering mandarin, lemon and cardamon, each will come with a recipe.

Bath salts, soaps and dryer sachets with be in abundance. I will not have lippies and only a limited amount of body butter and scrubs. If those items are on your shopping list, be sure to let me know ahead of time.

I will have lots of great new photos to share on my cards, they make the prefect gift for anyone on your list.

Come join me and seventeen other artisans, May 2 and 3 from 10 AM to 5 PM.
Hope to see you there.

Simple Vegan Vanilla Cake

The other day, on my birthday, a fellow yoga student asked me what kind of birthday cake I was going to have. The question caught me totally off guard and I spent the rest of class thinking about cake ( which is actually not a bad thing to be thinking about ).

I love cake but these days I am the one who makes them and I hadn't really thought about a birthday cake. My celebration had been spending the previous week with daughter and husband in daughter's new home of Baton Rouge ( I plan to blog about that trip soon...).

My husband was taking me out to dinner...but wait, the next evening I was getting together with friends for a potluck and game of Cards Against Humanity. I could make my own birthday cake to bring to the party. I had two parameters I wanted to work within: something with strawberries and a cake my vegan host would enjoy.

I was so happy with the vegan orange cake I recently posted, I decided to adapt that recipe. I wanted a vanilla cake that would showcase the fresh strawberry frosting I had in mind.
Here is the result.

Laurie's Vanilla Spice Cake with Strawberry Frosting

Ingredients

Cake
1 cup soy milk
1/3 cup canola oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 tablespoon vanilla extract

1 cup sugar
1 1/2 cup flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon & 1/4 teaspoon cardamon (optional)

Frosting
2 cups powdered sugar
1/3 cup earth balance ( vegan buttery sticks)
3-4 tablespoons pureed strawberries
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
6-8 strawberries for decoration

1) Preheat the oven 350 F. Grease and flour an 8 inch round cake pan, a 9 inch round or 8 inch square would also do. The recipe stressed the flouring part. You could also use a piece of parchment if you are concerned. I had one with the little "cake release bar" at the bottom.

2) Add the vinegar to the soy milk and allow to sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

3) In a large bowl combine the dry ingredients.

4) Add the canola oil and vanilla extract to the soy milk, mix together well.

5)  Add the liquid ingredients into the dry, mix just to blend.

6) Pour into the greased and floured pan, bake for 30 to 35 minutes. Do the toothpick trick to test for doneness. In the 8 inch pan my cake took 35 minutes to bake. It will be a golden brown.

7) Cool for 10 minutes then carefully transfer to a cooling rack. Allow to cool completely before frosting.


8) To make the frosting use a electric hand beater or Kitchenaid to mix the powdered sugar and earth balance together until very well blended.

9) I made the strawberry puree using a mini food processor. Chop the berries first to make it easier.

10) Add the puree a tablespoon at a time until the frosting reaches the perfect spreading consistency.

11) Add the vanilla extract, mix well.

12) Frost the cake once it has cooled and decorate with slices of fresh strawberries.

It was such a hit at the party one friend ate THREE pieces !!