Birthday celebration at Kindfood and Kelly’s Bake Shoppe

Posted on May 19, 2013 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

It’s been a busy May so far and a most delicious one too! My birthday, the anniversary of my blog, the Virtual Vegan Potluck and Mother’s Day all fell in the same week! All great excuses to indulge in some treats.My birthday wish was to have a meal at my all-time favourite restaurant, Kindfood. You might recall the review from my last visit here.

I’ll cut to the chase: Kindfood gets everything right. The nicest staff and owners. The greatest location, right by the lake so you can eat out on the patio overlooking the water, or take a short walk to the lakefront after your meal. (Too bad it’s an hour drive for us, but it’s worth it!) Kindfood has the best food. The food is everything you’d want: healthy ingredients that taste AMAZING and allergy-friendly to boot: gluten-free, peanut-free, refined sugar-free and vegan. What else could you ask for in a restaurant?

One minor drawback we’ve encountered with Kindfood in the past is that their café is so small that seating was quite cramped. They fixed that a few months ago when they renovated to make the dining area larger and we enjoyed this improvement. Kindfood has amassed quite a loyal following in the few years they’ve been open and the place is always packed whenever we’ve gone; the roomier redesign helps the place more comfortable. They also opened a sister café, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe so those who just want their famous cupcakes and other treats can head over there.

The entire time we ate there, there was a line of customers from the register to the front door, but don’t be discouraged if you see this when you go; the line moves fast and food comes quickly. (Don’t you hate visiting restaurants with so few staff on that service takes way too long?) Our food was served less than ten minutes after ordering which we found impressive. (When you eat out with kids, this is SO appreciated).

We ordered a mix of our favourites and some dishes we hadn’t ordered before. We can’t go without getting their Caesar salad, mac and cheese and Reuben (below), which we all loved this time, everything was top notch. The food is very kid-friendly too; both our children tried and loved everything we ordered.

We picked two new items to try: the BLAT (vegan bacon, lettuce, avocado and tomato) sandwich (above). It was very good, we liked the carrot shreds, and the vegan bacon bits were nice.

Hubby ordered the California burger (above) and was I ever glad I talked him into sharing half with me! I can’t recall a tastier sandwich, ever. Truly outstanding. Our very favourite item now and we can’t wait to go back and eat it again! The only drawbacks to the sandwiches are that they are small, due to the size of the bread, but I just don’t think you can find gluten-free bread that has the same rise and texture of wheat bread (correct me if I’m wrong). Kindfood uses Organic Works Quinoa Maple Bread. They used to use Quinoa Honey Bread but it wasn’t true to Kinfood’s vegan values, so Organic Works actually created their Quinoa Maple Bread at Kindfood’s request. I met Organic Works’ owner and creator Peter Cuddy a couple of months ago and he let me sample all his breads. The Quinoa Maple is the most delicious, and he confirmed the bread’s story of its creation. Now anyone can buy delicious vegan gluten-free bread.

After our lunch, we took the one minute stroll around the corner to their sister cafe, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe. The place is gorgeous: hard wood floors, crystal chandeliers, stone counters, crown molding; even the powder room was a thing of beauty.
Like Kindfood, Kelly’s Bake Shoppe goodies are free of dairy, eggs, gluten, refined sugar, peanuts and artificial colours.

The amazing flavours of cupcakes included: Vanilla Bean, Red Velvet, Chocolate Mint, Chocolate Raspberry Truffle, Black Magic, Dulce De Leche (Hubby’s favourite), Cookies’n Cream.

HOLY DELICIOUSNESS BATMAN, HOW DO YOU CHOOSE?!!!!

I chose the coffee flavoured cupcake which was topped with a miniature DONUT, how cute is that?! It was awesome.

We also bought chocolate covered donuts and cake balls. The cake balls were an afterthought, we didn’t think they would be as special as the cupcakes, but we were wrong, they were insanely delicious! Imagine a dense chocolate cupcake with chunks of coconut, encased in chocolate. Then take that deliciousness and times it by a hundred and that’s how good it was. So good we had to go back to the store for more!

Hubby also enjoyed a coconut milk latte. I’m not a coffee fan but I had a taste it was really good!

Since Kelly’s and Kindfood are just a hop, skip and a jump from Lake Ontario, we took the kids to the playground on the lakefront and had a great afternoon.
A big thank you to Kelly, Erinn, Mike and the Kindfood team for another wonderful meal. If you are anywhere near Burlington, Ontario, I highly recommend paying a visit to these fabulous restaurants!

Kindfood is located at 399 John Street, Burlington, ON.

Kelly’s Bake Shoppe is located around the corner at 401 Brant Street, Burlington, ON.

Vegan Easter

Posted on April 3, 2013 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

I hope you all enjoyed a wonderful Easter weekend, filled with peace, friends and family. This Easter we enjoyed all the fun and deliciousness of Easter family traditions I’ve enjoyed yearly since I was a child: an egg hunt, a savoury roast for dinner, and lots of chocolate, and it wasn’t too difficult to make it all vegan!

Here’s a rundown of the great food and fun our family enjoyed this weekend:

Brunch: Buckwheat Belgian waffles with Cinnamon Maple Cream Cheese Spread. The recipe for the delicious topping is from Keepin’ it Kind and found here.

Lunch: I recently discovered Magnolia Café in downtown Guelph, which is all-vegetarian and mostly vegan and gluten-free. From their website: “At Magnolia, our love for food and passion for community means that we are committed to mindful and sustainable food practices and specialize in sourcing local, seasonal, fresh and organic produce in all our delicious and healthy offerings.”

One of the many things I enjoyed about Magnolia is that the kitchen is open concept (in fact, you have to walk right through it if you visit the rest rooms), so you can watch your food being prepared and see the high quality ingredients being used. Here’s what we ordered:

Green Goddess Rice Bowl
From their menu: “Brown rice bowl topped with broccoli, kale, snap peas, bok choy, marinated tofu and garnished with shredded carrots, mung bean sprouts and sunflower seeds. Choice of homemade lemon tahini or Thai peanut sauce.”

Magnolia Red Dragon Rice Bowl
From their menu: “Brown rice bowl topped with roasted red peppers, beets, carrots red onions, marinated tofu and garnished with fresh tomatoes, mung bean sprouts and sunflower seeds. Choice of homemade lemon tahini or Thai peanut sauce.”

South Indian Coconut, Vegetables and Chickpea Curry Bowl
From their menu: “Curried Vegetables and Chickpeas with Coconut Milk served on brown rice garnished with toasted coconut, mung bean sprouts and fresh cilantro.”

For dessert, we couldn’t resist these adorable chocolate lavender Easter ducky cupcakes!

We also tried their chocolate raspberry banana muffins and their raw “sun balls” (sunflower seeds, peanut butter, coconut, maple syrup and currants). Out of their desserts, I like the sun balls best.

The food was all quite tasty and very healthy tasting (not loaded with oil and salt like many restaurants), with all of us agreeing that the Red Dragon Rice Bowl and the sun balls were the most delicious items we tried.

Magnolia café is located at 88 Yarmouth Street, Guelph, Ontario.

Saturday’s family dinner: We tried the Gardein holiday roast for the first time, wanting to change it up from the usual Tofurky roasts we usually make for holidays. The consensus was….. Gardein was good but not nearly as delicious as Tofurky brand. For taste and texture, Tofurky wins hands down!
Sunday’s family dinner: We had one of the most delicious meals ever for Easter dinner thanks to my mother’s Somi — a Middle Eastern dish — which are Swiss chard rolls filled with rice, chickpeas, tomatoes, herbs and spices and cooked until it has a buttery texture. It’s quite time-consuming to make so it’s reserved for special occasions. I have never seen Somi in a cookbook or on a restaurant menu, I’ve never even tried to make it myself, I’ve only ever enjoyed them when homemade by my mother or grandmother; consequently, Somi feels like our very own family secret. It might look like a humble dish, but I have no words for how delicious it is. We paired it with a kale and almond salad with lemon and oil dressing. Spectacular!

Dessert: We kept it simple and enjoyed fresh berries and mango.

Then…….the egg hunt! There are many reasons to avoid buying the traditional chocolate bunnies and eggs. Not only have cows suffered for the milk, but most chocolate is produced by child slavery.
If you’re going to go with chocolate, pretty pretty please make it vegan and fair trade! A bonus if you find them organic too! Which brands can you trust? Not the big guys like Nestle and Cadbury, sadly. See the list of fair trade chocolate makers here on Food is Power and check which brands do dairy-free. Some good ones are Chocosol, Camino, Edensoy, Nature’s Path, and Sweet & Sara.

When our oldest was a preschooler, we bought plastic eggs that can be filled with whatever treats you like, and we’ve used these every year since. After the fun of the egg hunt is the thrill of opening them to see what goodies are inside, and every egg can be a little bit different. You can fill them with fun treats like stickers, Panda licorice, teeny toys, costume jewellery, raisins, nuts, coins and chocolate chips (we like Camino vegan chips which are also fair trade certified).
It was such a delicious weekend, I am submitting this post to What I Ate Wednesdays, with thanks to Peas and Crayons for hosting!

My favourite chocolate chip cookie with a surprising healthy ingredient

Posted on February 8, 2013 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

These are one of my most favourite recipes, and certainly my favourite cookie. Better than a basic chocolate chip cookie, these have the lovely texture of flaked coconut and something that tastes almost like a soft macadamia nut. It’s not a nut at all, it’s super-healthy chickpeas, low if fat and packed with protein, fiber, zinc and folate. Baked into a chocolate chip cookie, the chickpea flavour is undetectable. I love that I can put these into my kid’s school lunch as a nut-free treat.

I can’t take credit for the idea of adding chickpeas to cookies, that came from the Deceptively Delicious cookbook by Jessica Seinfeld (Jerry Seinfeld’s wife). Her book isn’t vegetarian but it does have some great idea for hiding healthy ingredients into treat foods. Beyond veganizing Mrs. Seinfeld’s recipe, I’ve decreased the sugar and added whole grain flours, flax, molasses, cinnamon and coconut. You can’t get healthier cookies that taste this decadent!

Coconut & Chickpea Chocolate Chip Cookies

3/4 cup sugar (I use turbinado)
3/4 cup Earth Balance Organic Coconut Flavoured Spread or other vegan margarine
2 tbsp molasses
1 tbsp flax in 3 tbsp water, mixed and set aside
2 tsp alcohol-free vanilla extract
2 cup flour (I used half whole wheat or whole spelt and half all-purpose flour)
1/2 cup oats
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp cinnamon
3/4 cup cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
1 cup mini vegan chocolate chips (I use Camino Semi-Sweet chips which are also organic and fair trade)

Start by pinching the skins off the chickpeas. It doesn’t take that long (I enlist my oldest child for this task) and you’ll get a much nicer texture if you remove and discard the skins. Cream the sugar and margarine, then add the molasses, flax mixture and vanilla. In a bowl, combine the flours, oats, coconut, baking soda, salt and cinnamon. Add to the wet mixture and combine. Add in the chickpeas and chocolate chips and stir gently.

Form into cookies about 2 tbsp each (I use a 2″ spring-loaded ice cream scoop) and drop onto cookie sheet topped with parchment paper. Bake at 350 degrees for about 12 minutes. Yield = about 18 cookies. I am submitting this recipe to Healthy Vegan Fridays.

October’s Vegan Food Swap

Posted on October 30, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

There is something so exciting about getting a package in the mail, especially when you know it contains delicious treats! It makes me feel like a kid again. October was the fifth month I’ve participated in Vegan Food Swap, a foodie pen pal program. This month, I was partnered with Carrie from Carrie 30×30 and Kim from Canadian Vegan Girl.

Here is what Kim gifted me with this month!….

Organic Quinoa: A great healthy pantry staple! I’ll be using this soon.

Oskri Coconut Dark Chocolate bar: I loved the taste! It tasted so much like a Bounty candy bar that I used to eat as a kid, but this time without the sugar, milk and preservatives.

Level Ground Tropical Fruit: mango, pineapple and bananas dried without sulfites, preservative or sugar, just pure fruit. Lovely! I love using my dehydrator to dry fruit but hadn’t tried coconut or mangoes yet, I’ll have to try that myself. Level Ground also produces coffee and uses fair trade practices.

Fruit Source Plus bar: dried fruit and veggies bar. I love these for my purse or my kid’s lunch box.

Camino peanut butter bar: I love Camino chocolate bars so much I sent one to my swap partner this month too! This one tastes a lot like Reese peanut butter cups, which is to say, DELICIOUS! I think my husband eats a Camino peanut butter bar once a week. One of the reasons we buy Camino brand chocolate (like cacao powder, chocolate chips, etc) is that they are certified fair trade in an industry where child labour practices are sadly rampant. Please buy fair trade chocolate! (Who can you trust? Here’s a list by Food Is Power.) A bonus is that Camino chocolate is organic and produced by Canadian company La Siembra.

Haldiram’s Moong Dal: My favourite treat from the swap box and one I’d never even heard of before. Moong Dal is salted fried mung beans. I would describe them as a cross between potato chips and rice krispies and completely addictive. I’ve never seen them in stores but I will hunt for them!

Thank you very much, Kim! I appreciate your thoughtfulness.

Meanwhile, my other partner Carrie received my swap package. Carrie is not a vegan but is trying a vegan month so I wanted to give her some basics to help her enjoy being vegan. Before I committed to veganism (which seemed terribly daunting to a cheese lover), I tried an all-vegan day, then an all-vegan week, then an all-vegan month. If you’re thinking about making the switch to veganism, I promise it’s not as arduous or complicated as you might think. Just give it a try.

Here’s what I sent to Carrie:

–Gingersnaps

–Green Vibrance superfood drink mix

–Homemade chocolate-pear granola

–Assorted teas

–Hemp hearts

–Camino Almond Butter chocolate bar

–Nutritional yeast

I hope she likes it all!

Want to sign up for Vegan Food Swap and get your own box of surprise treats delivered to your door? Contact the awesome Canadian hostess MeShell from In Your City and sign up for November!

This is post #19 for Vegan MoFo and #20 is being posted tomorrow at midnight for the Virtual Vegan Potluck link up party, which means…. I did it! 20 posts in one month, phew! You’ll excuse me if I post far less often in future, you’re probably tired of me anyway!

See you tomorrow for the online potluck and then….. have a wonderful November!

Update: Here is Carrie’s blog post on my goodie package to her: http://carrie30x30.blogspot.ca/2012/10/vegan-food-swap-haul.html.

August’s Vegan Food Swap

Posted on August 31, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

It’s the end of the month, time to recap another great food swap experience!

I was so pleased to be able to connect with two bloggers and fellow Ontarians I’ve admired for months: Jess from Cupcakes and Kale sent a package to me and MeShell from MeShell In Your City received my package. Cupcakes and Kale has a large collection of creative recipes to peruse –check out the chocolate kale chips or the high protein cauliflower alfredo pasta!

Jess sent me a very thoughtful food swap package. As I went through the box, I kept thinking I had seen everything then would find one more delightful treat under the tissues! Thank you, Jess, very much!

Here is what I received:

The Tea Room dark chocolate– I have never tried a chocolate bar infused with yerba mate tea before and I really liked it. And if you need more reason to eat this bar, think of all the antioxidants in dark chocolate plus tea!

Garlic roasted Ontario peanuts — These were delicious!

2 Oskri sesame bars– You’ll have to take my son’s word that these were good. He got to them before I did.

Nana’s sweet popcorn– I usually don’t indulge in something this sugary, but it was worth it for this treat.

Johnston’s Cranberry Apple Herbal Tea — My kids and I loved enjoying this one together. This tea and the popcorn are local to Jess and not something I can find near me, and I liked getting to try new things.

Homemade chocolate Brownie Bites with goji berries–Oh my, so good! They were soft, chewy and fudgy! These were my favourite gift in the swap this month and they were devoured first. I make similar treats that I call cookie dough balls (click here for recipe).

Panda Blueberry licorice–This is the only brand of licorice I care for and I love blueberry the best!

Thanks again, Jess!

Want fun treats in the snail mail too? Sign up for the next food swap! MeShell is the organizer of the Canadian chapter of the Vegan Food Swap and our fearless leader does a super job; check out her blog here. To sign up for the next month, go to http://meshell.ca/blog/veganfoodswap/.

Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites

Posted on August 19, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

One of my favourite childhood summer memories was making (and eating) frozen chocolate bananas as a kid. We’d skewer bananas on popsicle sticks and dip into melted chocolate, then roll in chopped peanuts before freezing. I decided to veganize this treat, with assorted toppings. It was a fun activity for the kids who enjoyed every step! Frozen banana has a similar taste and texture to ice cream (you can make awesome soft-serve by blending nothing but a frozen banana in a food processor until it’s the consistency of ice cream).

Frozen Chocolate Banana Bites
bananas
dairy-free chocolate chips (about 1/4 cup per banana)
coconut oil (about 1 tbsp per 1/4 cup of chips)
your favourite toppings: sprinkles, chopped nuts, shredded coconut, etc

Choose bananas that have just ripened so they are not too soft. Peel bananas and slice into pieces a few centimeters thick. I sliced on an angle for wider pieces. Melt chocolate chips in a double boiler on the stove. Add the coconut oil and stir gently until mixed and chocolate is melted. Pour the toppings into different bowls. Line a pan with wax paper.
Pierce the banana slices with a toothpick, dip in the melted chocolate to coat as much of the banana as possible, then dip in the toppings. Carefully set on the pan. Repeat for the rest of the bananas. Freeze until firm.I haven’t used sprinkles in years (have you read the ingredients in grocery store brands?) but I found all-natural vegan “Sprinkelz” by Edward & Sons at Whole Foods and couldn’t resist. They worked perfectly and tasted just like regular candy sprinkles.

It was the perfect summer treat!

Vegan dinner party and my favourite curry

Posted on August 7, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

One of my favourite dishes to prepare when guests come over is my Thai-inspired curry so that when they walk in the door, they’ll be greeted by the lovely smells of curried coconut, ginger and pineapple cooking. Mmmmmm…. The dish is easily made ahead of time and kept in the fridge, then tossed on the stove to simmer for about half an hour before guests arrive, making it easy for dinner parties when you want everything done ahead of time. You can even make it a day or more in advance and freeze, then defrost in the fridge over night.

The dinner party menu:
Cool Hummus Pizza Bites
Nacho Kale Chips
Spinach and Cranberry Salad
Baguette with Herbed Garlic Butter
Thai Pineapple Coconut Curry
Chocolate Molten Lava Cakes
Fresh raspberries

I chose it to be the main course when we had our friends Mary and Paul over for dinner. This dinner party happened some weeks ago but I delayed posting as I kept tweaking the recipe for the curry, but now I think it’s perfect.

Mary runs my favourite blog This Is Vegan and is a wonderful cook and baker. As a newbie vegan, I’ve deeply appreciated Mary’s advice on everything from restaurant reviews to blogging tips. I don’t know how successful my first year as a vegan would have been without her, and I certainly wouldn’t have had as much fun, so thanks, Mary! I’ve gotten to share some adventures with her like our girls’ weekend at the vegetarian bed and breakfast that turned out to be a secret beef farm, a fact that wasn’t revealed to us until we had checked out. (“Isn’t it wonderful these people are using their farm as a sanctuary for these cows?… Wait a minute, why are their ears tagged?”) . Back to the dinner party. Mary brought her cool hummus pizza bites and they were a fabulous appetizer. Baked crescent dough topped with hummus and garden vegetables! She posted her recipe for them here.

The recipe for my nacho kale chips are found here.

My Thai curry is adapted from the Vegetarian Meat and Potatoes Cookbook by Robin Robertson. The curry is a bit time intensive as the flavours need an hour or so to simmer for best results. I like to cook a big pot of brown rice every few days and keep the cooked and cooled rice in the fridge for quick meals; it keeps for about three days. If you don’t have 2 cups of rice made, you can cook the rice while the curry simmers.

Thai Pineapple Coconut Curry
2 packages of extra firm tofu
1 shallot, minced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch of fresh ginger, grated
6 Tbsp soy sauce
1 tsp each brown sugar, cardamon, coriander, cinnamon, turmeric and cumin
1 tbsp olive oil
2 cups cooked brown rice
3 tbsp coconut oil
1/2 onion
2 cups vegetable broth
2 cups diced potatoes (we used red potatoes and purple yams)
1 cup pineapple chunks (fresh if you can find it, or canned)
1 can chickpeas, rinsed and drained (optional)
1 cup coconut milk
fresh cilantro or pea sprouts

Rinse the tofu, then remove excess liquid by wrapping in a clean kitchen towel and pressing gently. Chop into 1 inch cubes.

Combine the sugar (try it with coconut sugar if you can!), shallots, garlic, ginger, soy sauce and spices in a food processor. Add the oil as well as 1/2 cup water.

Warm 2 tbsp of the coconut oil in a pan and cook the onions on medium heat for about five minutes, until softened. Add the spice mixture, then the potatoes and stir. Cook for about three minutes, then add in the vegetable broth, cover and cook until the potatoes are soft, about 20 minutes.

In a separate pan, warm the other 1 tbsp of coconut oil over medium-high, then add the tofu, stirring every minute or so, so that all sides of the tofu cubes are brown and a bit crispy (you can skip this step if you want softer tofu). Add the tofu, pineapple, chickpeas (if using) and coconut milk, stir, and let simmer for at least 10 minutes. Serve hot. Top with fresh cilantro or pea sprouts and serve.

The best dish of all that night was the chocolate molten lava cakes with raspberries from my garden. I can take no credit for cake recipe as they are the creation of the amazing Chloe Coscarelli. I haven’t found a recipe for the cakes online, so you’ll just have to go out and get the Chloe’s Kitchen cookbook, but I promise it’s well worth it. It’s one of my very favourite cookbooks.

What are your favourite dishes to serve at dinner parties?

Almond Fudge Rice Crispy Bars

Posted on June 21, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

These delicious bars are perfect for a cool treat on a hot day like today. Or any day you’re craving both chocolate and a rice crispy square.

I used a combination of carob and chocolate instead of just chocolate for a few reasons. Carob doesn’t have the caffeine that chocolate has, which makes it a better choice for those with that sensitivity (like me). It also contains plenty of vitamins and minerals including three times as much calcium as chocolate. Also, carob is naturally sweet so you don’t have to use as much sweetener in recipes. I like combining the flavours of both carob and chocolate in these bars but you can use all chocolate if you like. This recipe was inspired by the No-Bake Peanut Butter Chocolate Crispies with PB Fudge from Oh She Glows, one of my favourite blogs.

Almond Fudge Rice Crispy Bars
Crispy rice layer
1/3 cup almond butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1/4 cup chocolate almond milk
1/4 cup carob powder
2 cups rice cereal (I used Nature’s Path GF Organic Crispy Rice)
1/3 cup chopped almonds or other nuts
1/3 cup carob chips

Fudge layer
1 cup chocolate or carob chips (I used a mix of both)
2 Tbsp coconut oil
1/4 cup maple syrup
1/2 tsp cinnamon

Chopped nuts or dried fruit for topping

Over medium heat, combine the almond butter, maple syrup, coconut oil, vanilla extract, chocolate almond milk and carob powder in a medium-sized pan and stir. When well combined, remove from heat and stir in the rice cereal, nuts and carob chips.

Pour mixture into a greased 6-cup (1.5 L) pan and press down so the layer is even. When cool, place in the freezer to firm up while you make the fudge topping.

In the same stove-top pan, melt over low heat the chips, coconut oil, maple syrup and cinnamon, stirring well. When combined, pour over the rice crispy layer and smooth out using a spatula. Top with chopped nuts or dried fruit (I used walnuts and bananas). Return to the freezer until firm. Slice into squares and serve.

I made these bars the night before, keeping them in the freezer the next day, then moving the pan to the fridge at the start of dinner so the bars wouldn’t be too frozen to cut. They were a big hit!

Chocolate Chai Mudslide

Posted on June 20, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

It’s the first day of summer and a scorcher! Perfect day for a frosty smoothie.

The inspiration for this drink came from The Naked Sprout restaurant which uses Brazil nut milk and chocolate-chai tea in their Mocha Chai Mudslide. So many of my favourite things in one smoothie!

Chocolate Chai Mudslide
2 frozen bananas
1 cup chai tea, cooled (see note below)
1 cup chocolate almond milk
1 tsp vanilla extract
4 pitted dates
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp nutmeg

Combine all ingredients in blender. Makes two smoothies. For a frostier drink, pour chai tea into ice cube trays and freeze, then use the iced tea cubes in the smoothie. Happy summer, everyone!

Update: I am submitting this recipe to Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays blog hop. Click the link to see all the submitted recipes.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

Posted on June 12, 2012 by Sarina @ Earthgiven Kitchen

Moist, chocolatey and packed with a vegetable. Last year, I had scores of zucchini in our garden and made plenty of these muffins. I hope our harvest this year will be just as good! You can lower the amount of sugar used to make them healthier or increase to 1 3/4 cups to turn them into cupcakes.

Chocolate Zucchini Muffins

1/3 cup nondairy milk
1 tsp lemon juice
Ener-G (or other brand) egg replacer for three eggs + 6 Tbsp water
1 1/3 cup sugar
3/4 cup canola oil
2 tsp vanilla extract
4 oz (128 ml) pureed fruit such as applesauce, or a small jar of organic fruit baby food
(try mango if you can find it)
2 cups grated zucchini (two zucchini)
2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 cup cacao powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup dairy free chocolate chips (I use Enjoy Life mini chips)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecan (optional)

Create buttermilk by combining the nondairy milk and lemon juice in a cup and let stand for five minutes. Mix the egg replacer and water in another bowl, stir then let sit for five minutes.

Combine the sugar, canola oil and vanilla extract in a food processor. Give the egg replacer mixture another stir, then add to the sugar mixture along with the buttermilk and pureed fruit/applesauce and combine. Add the zucchini and combine again.

In a separate bowl, combine the flour, cacao powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon and mix well. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry ingredients and combine gently until just mixed, you should still see some clumps of dry flour. The secret to great muffin texture is to not over-mix. Add the chips and nuts and stir gently again.

Pour into muffin cups and bake at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes (or 20 minutes for mini muffins). Let cool in pans about 10 minutes before removing.