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Crazy Carrot Cake Oatmeal Porridge (Vegan, Gluten-Free)

Another sort of gloomy, cool, and foggy morning here on Vancouver Island.  We know that Spring is on the way, but ... So, it calls for a bowl of porridge-- something that "sticks to your ribs" as my mother used to say (I think she said that, but it may have been someone else).   Here is a plug for healthy organic eating (and cooking)-- food actually TASTES better when it is organically-grown.  That is my observation, and apparently, it's true, according to food scientist Harold McGee (quoted from a blog over at The Kitchn.com ): " when plants are under attack, they begin to ramp up production of their chemical defenses. This can mean releasing an aroma that attracts counter-attacking bugs (wasps for caterpillars, for instance), manufacturing something toxic or distasteful to the insects themselves, or producing an anti-fungal compound. For us, these "defenses" translate directly into flavor and aroma. McGee says, "Because they're not prote

No Need to Fret with No-Knead Bread!

Do you, or someone in your household, bake this fragrant, hearty, genuine crusty bread?  The particular loaf above is a rye bread with caraway seeds in it.  It has a crispy, crunchy crust and a hole-y crumb (inside of the bread).  I baked it using the fantastic recipe and videos from Breadtopia AND my brand new favourite tool (read: kitchen toy) called LaCloche (you can see it in the background.)  It's a stoneware, or clay (or you can use enameled cast iron) "baker" that comes in two parts: a baking 'pan' base (more like a cake pan in shape) and a heavy lid. Available from Amazon. Click Above. The LaCloche simulates baking your bread in a clay oven (the highlight of Pioneer Days in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan was the delicious bread the Hutterites baked in an earthen/clay oven behind their booth). This rye bread is no-knead... that means you don't thump and knead it as part of the process.  It's made with quite a lot of water, and allowed to rise

Upside-Down Vegan Banana Cake

So, I made this delicious Upside Down Banana Cake adapting a recipe from the blog US Masala I saw on Pinterest -- dee-lish-us!  I did lots of substitutions to the original, but I'm sure it tasted just as good, but not better.  This is a great way to use up 3 or 4 over-ripe bananas.  I made fresh apple sauce in my Vitamix, but you can, of course, use the ready-made stuff.  And I used both coconut oil instead of butter and coconut oil (melted) instead of the oil called for in the original recipe.  AND, I made full use of my food processor, as usual.  But other than that, well, it could be the same recipe. INGREDIENTS: For the Upside-Down Layer: 3 ripe bananas, cut in 1/2" pieces 1/4 C. Brown Sugar 3 T. Melted Coconut Oil For the Cake: 1 C. Unbleached Flour  (or sub 1 1/2 C. GF mix for this and the tapioca starch) 1/2 C. Tapioca Starch 1 tsp. Baking Powder 1 tsp. Baking Soda 1/4 tsp. Sea Salt 1/2 - 1 tsp. Organic Cinnamon 5 T. Coconut Sugar 1 tsp. Vanilla (

Bushels of Salads...

Every Girl Should Know How To Make A Salad I have had a lovely summer... and lots of great salads! Above is a picture of my 6-year old granddaughter making a salad -- what I want her to be skilled at in the kitchen, actually.  In my day it was an omelet.  But we vegans have different ideas about what is appropriate! If you want to see a pile of excellent salad recipes why not go to my Pinterest Salad Board and 'follow' it?  There are great recipes for salads on there right now, and a bunch more to come!  You could have a different salad every day of the year...wow! (Keep them organic of course!)