But that's too deep to be thinking about right now, so let's talk about something more fun...... FOOD. And more specifically, super yummy vegan food. Seeing that this was Ari's first vegan birthday, going all out on the menu was *completely* necessary. The course, you ask? (Keep in mind, all foods listed are vegan and gluten free, on top of following the "whole foods" ideology).
*Fresh and local fruit salad (I put in some tropical pineapple. So sue me. Nobody's perfect)
*Kale salad (see recipe below!)
*Red bean tostadas
*CHOCOLATE cake with CHOCOLATE icing and fresh sliced strawberries (see recipe below!)
For the non-vegans of the bunch, my parents conjured up some meat-full chili and a traditional Romanian rum-walnut cake (#butterandeggyolks)
Even our pickiest friends left the party feeling beyond satiated and with super happy bellies. And hearts. There's just something really special about getting together with a group of young people and discussing matters ranging from where to get a cheap meal and the value of ultimate frisbee, to the GMO controversy and Eastern vs. Western ideology. It was an engaging 6 hours, to say the least.
Dawww! Now aren't we a happy bunch?
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As promised, the recipes. Keep in mind that Ariana made these up completely without rhyme or reason. Ingredients were thrown into a blender and magic was soon birthed. You will be quick to learn that my recipes contain quite a bit of free stylin'.
Klueberry Salad
A raw veggie mash-up in a blueberry-avocado dressing*Kale + blueberry = "klueberry"
Required tools: Blender, sharp(ish) knife, partial competency
SALAD BASE
(Note: try to use what is fresh and local to you, especially now during the summer months. I am very happy with this combination I made, but of course everything is up to your interpretation)
*One bunch (about 6 big leaves) of rinsed and dried raw kale (see how to prepare below)
*One each of thinly sliced or diced zucchini and yellow squash
*1/2 of an yellow or purple onion, finely chopped
*1 large tomato, diced
*One diced large cucumber
To prepare the kale, place it in a large bowl and cover with cold water. Scrub the leaves a bit with your hands to get all of the dirt off. A lot of times kale can have a good bit of hidden dirt, which can make your salad grainy/sandy. That's a no fun zone. :(
After it has been washed, cut off the long, stiff stalks at that bottom and compost (or munch on them. That's always a good option. Cleans out those sparkly whites!). Then you can chop the leafy parts into bite sized pieces.
Chop the remaining veggies and voila!
BLUEBERRY-AVOCADO DRESSING
(Note: blender required)
*3 tablespoons oil (light or extra virgin olive, grapeseed, safflower, sunflower, canola, vegetable...whatever ya got layin 'round)
*2 tablespoons sweetener (honey, agave, white sugar. Yeah. We understand bein' poor)
*1/4 cup apple cider vinegar
*2/3 to 1 cup blueberries (frozen and thawed or fresh)
*1/2 ripe avocado, mashed with a fork (should be soft to the touch and easy to cut open)
*splashes of water, as needed (2 tablespoons to 1/4 cup-ish)
*Salt and pepper, to taste
Place all ingredients in a blender and "puree." Or "blend." Or "liquify." Whatever you're feelin', bro! If it seems kinda think, add some water until its the consistency you want. Also, add spices to taste. I've only made this once, so I didn't really experiment with spicings. I'd love to get suggestions! Red pepper, perhaps? Or fresh ginger. Or dare I say....garlic?
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And the moment you've all been waiting for..... Here comes the cake! (Every break into song! "Happy birthday to you....")
Ari's Fudgy Sweet Potato Cake
Not for the faint of heart. A dense, fudgy, whole-food indulgence. Eat it warm out of the oven, room temperature, or cover it with my fudgy icing and stick it in the freezer for an ice cream cake-esque vegan delight.
Required tools: Mixer, blender, large spoon, bowls, cake pan, oven
Step 1: Grease your baking pan with some oil or vegan butter.
Step 2: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
Step 3: Follow the instructions below!
Wet Ingredients:
*2 small/medium sweet potatoes (baked or boiled until very soft. See note)
*3/4 cup almond milk (or vegan milk of choice)
*1.5 teaspoons vanilla extract
*1/2 cup almond butter
*2 tablespoons molasses, maple syrup, or honey
Cooking sweet potatoes:
-To bake, turn oven to 400 degrees F. Poke potatoes a couple times with a fork and put them on a pan so they don't drip sugary liquid to the bottom of your oven (only YOU can prevent oven fires!). They should be done within 45 minutes to 1 hour. This method is very energy inefficient, so we don't recommend it.
-To boil, place 2 cups of water in a sauce pan and boil. Peel sweet potatoes and chop into small cubes. Once water is boiled, toss in the tots, cover, and cook until soft (about 10-15 minutes). Just keep forking them.
-Or there's always the microwave, depending on how you feel about nukes. Puncture the potatoes with a fork, place them on a plate (sustainable) or paper towel (evil) and nuke for 5 minutes, turn over, and hit it for 5 more minutes. Voila!
Once sweet potatoes are cooked, it's business time.
Place cooked potatoes in a large bowl and mix with a mixer for about a minute or two, until well blended and smooth. Add almond milk and vanilla and go for another minute. Scoop in the almond butter and molasses and give it one more hit.
Dry Ingredients:
*1 cup oat flour (To make, place 1 cup quick cook or steel cut oats in the blender and grind until flour-like)
*1/2 cup almond meal (put almonds in blender and follow same process as oat flour)
*1/2 cup tapioca starch (or potato or corn starches)
*1.5 teaspoons baking soda
*3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
*1 teaspoon salt
*1/4 cup sugar (if you don't do sugar, no problem babe! Add 2-4 extra tablespoons of the liquid sweetener)
Place all ingredients in a bowl and whisk until it's lookin all uniform.
Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and mix with a wooden (or otherwise) spoon. If it looks thick to you, go 'head and add some more milk (or water if you're feeling frugal).
Once it's lookin good, pour the batter into your prepared baking pan and stick your new friend in the oven for a nice tanning sesh. Try not to taste test too much! Cake is the ultimate goal, after all.
VEGAN CHOCOLATE ICING
Feeling extravagant? Why not cover your baby with a thick coat of fudgy chocolate icing/sauce!
Required tools: Double boiler (needed to melt chocolate. If you don't have one, I'll tell you how to craft a make-one. See note)
Ingredients:
*3 tablespoons oil (coconut oil is BOMB here, but any light tasting oil will do)
*4 squares of unsweetened baker's chocolate
*1/2-3/4 cup almond milk
*1/4 cup sweetener (white/brown sugar, honey, agave, stevia. There are different instructions based on whether you use a dry or wet sweetener, so see note)
*1 teaspoon vanilla extract
*1 teaspoon salt
Make shiftin' a double boiler
What you're gonna need: two sauce pans. One bigger than the other. It works best if you have one bigger pot, then another smaller pot that you can set right on the lip of the bigger one. The smaller pot on top isn't touching water this way. If the second pot you have is a lot smaller than the first and touches the water, that's fine. Just make sure the water doesn't spill over the edge onto your stove when it is displaced by the smaller pan. Remember: when water boils it can get violent and spill over. You gotta be careful!
Place a little water (~2 cups) in the bigger sauce pot and place smaller pot on top. Bring water to boil, then reduce head to medium low. While water is boiling....
Cooking Instructions:
Put oil in in smaller pot. While it is heating, finely chop baker's chocolate with a sharp knife. Put it in the pot with the oil and stir it around until melted. If using liquid sweetener, add remaining ingredients and stir until smooth consistency. Sauce will thicken when you add the milk and stir it a bit. If it seems too thick, add a bit more milk. Remember: you're gonna be sticking this in the fridge so it can thicken up a bit more. Should be the consistency of room-temperature honey.
If you're using a dry sweetener (eg, white sugar), before adding it into the melted chocolate dissolve it into the almond milk by first warming it up. Then put it into the chocolate. That's the only difference, babe!
Once it's cooled, stick it in the fridge and slather it on the cake. Cake MUST be completely cooled before adding the sauce, or it will run. If you're into that, go for it. Chocolate is chocolate is chocolate. If you're not into that, I recommend cooling the cake to room temperature and then sticking it into the fridge.
Happy birthday from one vegan to another!
Look, chocolate! I covered mine with a farm-fresh strawbs (eg, strawberries) and made an aesthetically-pleasing pattern! Yes, I do think I am an artist. We all are, really.
(white sliver on the right is the non-vegan Romanian walnut-rum cake I mentioned earlier. This guy is an animal-consuming sinner :P )
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