Columbia Cake

I'm not sure whether or not the fine people of Smith Island, Maryland would care for my vegan version of the Maryland Official State Cake, so I have decided to call mine "Columbia Cake", while acknowledging the Smith Island pedigree of this lovely dessert.

I followed the basic guidelines set forth here, and also perused several random internet articles to check out all the possible variations. There are many, but I finally decided to try one of the recipes that seemed the most popular: yellow cake, cooked chocolate frosting, and crushed peanut butter cups between the layers.

I should also mention that I've never actually had the omnivore version of Smith Island Cake, so I was a little nervous about attempting a veganization. This cake was intended to debut at the IC's top-secret surprise birthday party. I consoled myself with the thought that if it was awful, there would be many other desserts to choose from. I thought it was pretty good, though, and I've received enough requests for the recipe that I suppose it went over just fine.

NOTE: You must have vegan peanut butter cups in the freezer overnight for the best results. You will need as many 8-inch round pans as you can rustle up. I bought some E-Z foil pans and did all six layers at once, but you can also just keep swapping out two pans until all your layers are done. But E-Z foil is...E-Zier.

WARNING: my recipe produced only SIX layers, which falls short of the standard 8-12 layers achieved by Smith Island Cake champions. I think you could modify this recipe to make more cake layers: increase everything by half. So, 3 cups soymilk, 3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, 3 3/4 cups flour, etc.

So...here's the recipe:

For the Cake:

2 cups soymilk
2 teaspoon apple cider vinegar
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
4 tablespoons cornstarch
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup softened non-hydrogenated margarine, like Earth Balance
1 1/2 cups granulated sugar
4 teaspoons vanilla extract
pinch of turmeric

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Set up all your 8-inch round pans. Spray or oil them lightly.

3. Put the vinegar in the soy milk and let it curdle.

4. Mix the dry ingredients in one bowl, the wet ingredients in another, then combine the lot of them in one big bowl.

5. Pour a thin layer of batter into each pan and bake for about ten minutes. This should be sufficient to bake it all the way through. The layers will be so thin that you ought to be able to tell if they're underdone.

6. Cool all the layers completely.

Part 2: the Candy Filling!

One popular version of the Smith Island Cake includes crushed peanut butter cups between the layers. I tracked down some vegan peanut butter cups at my local natural market. You can also find them online at a few specialty stores. You freeze them overnight, then pulse them, still frozen, in a food processor until they are almost completely pulverized.

Part 3: the Frosting!

You'll need: 1 bag of vegan chocolate chips, a large spoonful of coconut oil, 3 tablespoons of soy creamer.

Melt the chips and coconut oil together using your preferred method: microwave, pot on the stove, double boiler, whatever. You'll need to keep an eye on them as they melt so they don't burn. Stir them until the chocolate is silky smooth and shiny. Add the soy creamer and whisk until everything is blended completely.

Part 4: Assembly

Pop out one layer directly onto your cake plate (the layers are very delicate, so you want to move them as little as possible). Sprinkle generously with pulverized peanut butter cups. Add your next layer. Add more peanut butter cups, or you might alternate frosting and candy. Once you've topped off the whole thing with the final layer, pour frosting over the whole thing.

I let my frosting cool slightly as I constructed the layers of cake and candy, and poured it on warm. I used a spatula to get complete all-around cake coverage. It wasn't totally perfect; my layers didn't come out totally even, and it looked a bit like a giant stack of pancakes, but once the frosting cooled it really helped to disguise my mistakes and hold the whole thing together.

Good luck!

Wacky Cake!

OK, this post owes massive thanks to my friend Jackie, who brought the recipe for Wacky Cake to my attention a few months ago. She told me and told me how easy and fantastic it is, and I guess I just felt that the recipe looked a little...lackluster. You probably will, too, and there's a very good reason for that. This recipe was developed during the Depression so people could still have cake even though they didn't have eggs, butter, or dairy products. Or, it was the result of wartime rationing, during World War I. Or during World War II. Or, between the two wars.

Whatever the case, inventive cooks at some time created something marvelous with limited ingredients, and so it is simple, super-easy to prepare, and VEGAN. In today's turbulent economic waters, who wouldn't like to give this little Home Ec gem a run around the park?

Also, it has SCIENCE: The last-minute combination of vinegar and baking soda acts as leavening. The reaction between the two causes the batter to bubble vigorously, and thus, rise!

Ingredients:

1.5 cups flour

1 cup sugar

1/3 cup cocoa powder, I used a little Dutch-processed and a little regular cocoa

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

3 tablespoons applesauce

2 tablespoons canola oil

1 tablespoon vinegar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1 cup cold coffee, or water, if you don't have any leftover coffee from this morning. If you use water, you might reduce the sugar a little. Or not. The recipe is pretty forgiving.

Directions

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Coat 8-inch-square baking pan with nonstick cooking spray.

2. Whisk flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda, and salt together in pan. Make 1 large and 2 small craters in dry ingredients. Add oil to large crater and vinegar and vanilla separately to remaining small craters. Pour water into pan, and mix briskly until just a few streaks of flour remain. Immediately put pan in oven.

3. Bake until toothpick inserted in center of cake comes out with a few moist crumbs attached, about 30 minutes. When I did this today, 30 minutes was exactly right.

This was SO EASY TO MAKE. AND SO DELICIOUS. The texture is very light, even with the applesauce, but the cake was also very moist and delicate. I don't know if my pictures adequately express this wonderfulness.


I made some coffee-flavored vegan frosting (recipe below) and the combination was amazing. Even though, y'know, the frosting flies in the face of the scrimpy-savey simplicity of the cake. But it also rules, so I say go for it.

Totally Anachronistic Coffee Buttercream Frosting (small batch), adapted slightly from the fantabulous recipe in Vegan Cupcakes Take Over the World.

1/4 cup Earth Balance
1.5 cups confectioner's sugar (vegan)
1 tablespoon soy creamer
1-2 teaspoons coffee extract (I like Frontier Naturals alcohol-free coffee extract, but any will do. Also, I think probably instant coffee crystals would work).
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

Stick it all in a mixing bowl and beat it (with a mixer or a whisk) until fluffy. You might need to add a little more soy creamer or a little more confectioner's sugar to get the consistency just right.

Then, it's pretty self-explanatory. You either sit down with a bowl of frosting and a pan of cake and a spoon, or you go ahead and wait until the cake cools and use some sort of kitchen utensil to spread the frosting ON the cake. I think either would be perfectly satisfactory.

Spinach Pie!

I have recently discovered these little spinach pies made by Heba's Health Foods. I. Love. Them! They're little turnovers filled with spinach and onions, no preservatives or animal products, nothing but delicious perfection. I like to toast them, top them with a little hummus and tabouleh salad, and eat them for lunch. Every day.

Heba's is apparently located in Manassas, Virginia, but they don't have a website. I have seen their delivery van on the beltway a few times, and I have considered trying to hijack it. I don't think there's a restaurant, I think they just make a few middle-eastern food items and sell them at a handful of area health food stores. And probably also in heaven.

In today's difficult economic climate, it is always worthwhile to find out if it might be more cost-efficient to learn to cook something oneself. So I Googled around for spinach pie recipes. The Heba's-style pie is evidently based on a popular middle-eastern street food called "Fatayer Sabanegh" (that means, "Spinach Pie"), and there are indeed some recipes for those which I may eventually try. But in the course of my journey, as so often happens, I discovered many other wonderful variations on my original objective, and I decided to try a vegan version of some of these.

So today, I give you, (Vegan) Spinach and Chickpea Pie! This turned out so beautifully and is so delicious. I didn't take any step-by-step photos, which I regret, because the crust is really not confidence-inspiring during the preparation phase, although it came out marvelously well. I will try to be more diligent with the camera in the future.

Ingredients

Dough
2 cups chickpea flour
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
2 teaspoons Old Bay seasoning
3 tablespoons cold Earth Balance
2 tablespoons plain soy yogurt
3/4 cup soy milk (or rice or almond or whatever)
¼ cup toasted pine nuts (optional, but they add a little crunch and are divine)
extra flour for rolling dough

Filling
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
2 teaspoons Old Bay
black pepper to taste
3 bunches spinach, thoroughly washed and stemmed
1/2 cup firm tofu, crumbled
¼ cup nutritional yeast
Oil spray

Method
To make dough: Combine flours, baking powder and old bay in a large bowl. Rub in Earth Balance until flour mixture looks like peas. Add yogurt and milk and stir with a rubber spatula until just combined. Flour your hands and gather dough into a ball. Wrap in plastic and refrigerate for about one hour.

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and cook until soften and slightly golden but not burned, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and stir to combine. I had some leeks, so I added a couple leeks, too.

Add chickpeas, vinegar and molasses, turn heat to low and cook for 15 minutes. Stir in salt or Old Bay, plus pepper to taste. Set aside.

Steam spinach until just wilted and drain in a colander, pressing out as much water as possible. Coarsely chop spinach, place in a bowl, season with 1/2 teaspoon salt and pepper to taste. Add tofu, half of nutritional yeast and toss. I used some baked & seasoned tofu from Heba's; if you have a recipe for tofu ricotta, that would work, too.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a nine-inch pie plate or spring form pan with oil spray.

Remove dough from refrigerator and dust work surface with flour. NOTE: Dough is really sticky. Keep hands floured, too. Cut dough into half and work with each half one at a time. With your hands, press dough into a 10-inch circle, then carefully lift into prepared pan. Press dough into bottom and trim off excess if necessary.

Spread spinach mixture over dough. Top with chickpea-onion mixture. Roll out remaining dough and lift onto top and pinch crusts together to make a seal. Make small steam vents on top crust with the tip of a sharp knife.

Bake until crust is brown, about 30 minutes. Do not overbake, as results will be dry. Cut into wedges and serve.

I also made tahini sauce:
a few tablespoons of sesame tahini thinned with a little water and,
a tablespoon or so of Ken's Balsamic Vinaigrette.

I served the pie with salad and rice-filled grape leaves, and the tahini was yummy on all of it.


The crust is light and and delicate, very fragile, but savory and rich-tasting. I was a little surprised, because it seemed so heavy and sticky while I was prepping it. My intrepid omnivorous companion said it was "Good!", and when asked to elaborate, added, "Flaky crust good", and after a few minutes, "Creamy sauce good" (I presume he means the tahini sauce, which really was good. Kudos to Ken's dressing, even if it does owe its existence to a steakhouse).

I also think that this recipe would lend itself well to modification. Curried lentils instead of chickpeas, or swiss chard instead of spinach? Serve it with warm tomato sauce and vegan parmesan?

Eight Belles

I read this article, which was a bit of a surprise to me...it's from a mainstream sports reporter, and yet it seems to call into question the way animals are arbitrarily commodified, particularly in horse racing, and specifically in light of the tragic death of the filly Eight Belles at the Kentucky Derby. The only issue I have with the article is that he seems to think the universal condemnation of Michael Vick, after he tortured and murdered several dogs, had to do with a kind of general social need to feel superior. So...what? So people only care about animals because it offers us an opportunity to feel superior? That seems nutso to me.

That "moral superiority" question comes up a lot in discussions of veganism, and I think it's a moot point. Sure, if you're an ethical vegan, you're acting on an ethical and moral principle, and that's very admirable. Are all vegans morally perfect in every other respect of their lives? Of course not. I don't know a single vegan who was motivated to action by a need to feel superior. For the most part, it seems to be about health, because caring about animals smacks of "caring" a little too much for people of my generation. But many of us really do care about animals. Especially if we are capable of thinking. And reaching conclusions in the process.

OK, that was snotty. But I'm not sorry! See? Unrepentant snottiness! I'm not morally perfect!

I really thought people were outraged about Michael Vick because he was engaging in a totally despicable activity which hurt and killed a lot of dogs. I think people are often powerfully affected by the mere sight of a horse, and seeing them in agony from a racing-related injury legitimately affects people on an emotional level. I also think that once the initial shock of notorious incidents like Barbaro, Eight Belles, Michael Vick, or the Hallmark Meat Packing plant fades, people are confronted with some pretty uncomfortable questions. About animals, and their rights, and whether we should be doing what we're doing to them.

Anyway, I think horse racing should be stopped. Also, dog racing. Also, meat-eating, and puppy-kicking, and animal testing, and egg-stealing, and bee exploitation. And cockfighting. And all other forms of animal exploitation. *sigh*

Vegan Pasta Primavera

Tonight's dinner was delicious vegan pasta primavera. I've never tried it before and I just kind of made it up as I went along. Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:

Noodles, 1 package of penne or linguine or whatever you like, prepared according to package

Vegetables (chopped up into bits):
1 1/2 cups baby bella mushrooms
1 onion
1 zucchini
1 yellow squash
1 red pepper
1 cup of fresh peas, or frozen peas, thawed

Other stuff:
3 cloves of garlic, minced
tarragon and basil: I used fresh but I suppose dried would do as well
salt and pepper to taste
olive oil, several tablespoons
3 tbsp Earth Balance margarine
3 tbsp of flour
3 tbsp nutritional yeast
About 1 1/2 cups of almond or soy milk (or rice, or whatever milk you please)

Saute the onion and mushrooms in some of the olive oil in a very large pan. This is the pan you'll be combining everything in at the end, so make sure it is capacious. As the onions become translucent, add in the rest of the vegetables and allow to cook thoroughly. Add the cooked pasta along with the tarragon and basil. Stir around so the herbs and the olive oil coat all the veggies and pasta.

In a small saucepan, heat the Earth Balance and three tablespoons of olive oil with the garlic. Whisk in the flour and create a paste. Slowly add the almond or soy milk alternately with the nutritional yeast, whisking all the while. It should thicken as it warms up. Be sure to keep whisking it so it doesn't get lumpy and sticky. You may need to add more "milk" or more flour to achieve the consistency you want. A good consistency to aim for is a thick, pourable, creamy one! Add salt and pepper to taste, then pour all of it into the vegetable and pasta mixture.

Top it off with "vegan parma", which is just a little nutritional yeast with finely chopped walnuts and parsley and salt (I think you can buy this at most hippie food stores), or maybe toasted pine nuts, or just enjoy it the way it is. The sauce is lighter and more delicate than the dairy version, but it's lovely in its own way!

Emerson

“You have dined, and however scrupulously the slaughterhouse is concealed in the distance of miles, there is complicity.” Ralph Waldo Emerson

No Comeuppance!

My omnivorous but vegan-inclined sweetheart had an interesting experience today: another omnivorous person told him that eventually there would be studies showing that veganism was unhealthy, especially when it comes to levels of calcium and protein. The tone wasn't one of concern, so much as one of vindication and triumph, "Those self-righteous vegans think they're so great, but one day they'll pay the price for their compassion and careful meal-planning, and that'll teach them to try to treat their fellow Earthlings with kindness and respect! Ha!" I don't think this person actually said that, but that's the gist of it.

He was bothered both by the tone and the closed-mindedness of the remarks. Our home is awash with nutrition information and countless volumes reporting the many long-term studies that have already been done. Here's a brief rundown of some of their findings:

A study of 1600 women found that vegetarian women experienced only half as much bone loss as meat- and dairy-eating women by the time they reached the age of eighty. This is because the protein in meat and dairy products actually contributes to a calcium deficit. Which is why the two biggest dairy-consuming countries in the world, the U.S. and Sweden, have the highest rates of osteoporosis in the world. Check out the science yourself! Even a study funded by the Dairy Council had the same findings! Although, for some reason, they don't report it.

Meat and dairy products have been positively linked to every "disease of affluence" that affects people living on the standard American diet. Heart disease, diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, gallstones, cancer...all of these are tied to a diet centered on meat and dairy.

Every time I see someone offer a study that opposes this information, it turns out to be a lobbyist for the Cattlemen's Association or the Dairy Council. I know everyone thinks that vegans are terrorists with some sort of hardcore communist ideology. But all the vegans I know are really nice people who are really, truly concerned about issues of health and compassion. Yes, we want everyone to be vegan. I'm not going to lie: I want to spread veganism like a virus. But how do I benefit?

I don't own a tofu factory. I'm an archaeologist! I don't have a vested interest in anyone becoming vegan, except that I really, honestly think it's a step toward eradicating insupportable cruelty and unnecessary disease that destroys our ability to enjoy healthy, happy lives.

And the science indicates that there will be no comeuppance for my outrageous, dangerous ideas based on my need to tell you how to live your life.

I really don't want to tell other people how to live. There's a term, "vegangelizing" for that sort of activity. I don't like being evangelized. But I have a lot in common with door-to-door religious evangelists: I really, really think if I can just effectively communicate this information to you, you will benefit.

I guess the difference is that I'm talking about actual, observable phenomena that you can go and see for yourselves. I have been to a factory farm. It was a pig farm in North Carolina. It was the worst place I've ever seen, and even with no especially affectionate feelings about pigs (at the time - I have since known many excellent pigs), I knew that that place and everything that happened there was wrong, wrong, wrong. I didn't want to be part of it. I don't think anyone would.

I've had my cholesterol tested while eating meat (over 300, which is bad). My most recent test, last month, showed a total cholesterol level of 160, with good cholesterol representing 90 of the total measure. Which is absurdly, insanely good. My experience is not unusual. It occurs in measurable, statistically significant ways in every study ever done about a vegan diet.

Yes, if you are vegan you need to plan your diet carefully, but you have to plan your diet carefully ANYWAY. And since a vegan diet has been shown to reverse diabetes, stop the development of cancer, prevent heart disease and osteoporosis, and be totally nutritionally sound, I think a little planning would be a very, very small price to pay.

I feel bad for OmniMan, because he just had his first tall frosty glass of anti-vegan Haterade. And he's not even vegan (yet, mwa-ha-ha!). To counteract the poisonous experience, we enjoyed a delicious stir-fry of tofu and roasted veggies with sesame-ginger glaze. It was steamily delicious.