tahini buddha bowl

we are home from a long trip to visit family all around the country. as is typical of being on vacation and out of my own kitchen, i ended up eating a lot less healthy than i usually do. not that the food wasn't good on our trip. no, no, most of it was very delicious, and a lot of it was even quite healthy. but i indulged in a lot of sweets and overate at every meal and snacked on crap in between.

now that we are home, my husband and i agree it's a good time to start detoxing our bodies a bit. i don't mean one of those awful starvation detoxifications, you know the kind where you're only allowed to drink lemon cayenne pepper water for five months. no, no, i just mean filling our bodies with healthy clean food to drive out all the not-so-healthy-and-clean stuff we've been eating this month.

well, that's what we discussed. and then the day after we got home, i got strep throat, and have been surviving on broth, watermelon, bananas, and chicken pho from our favorite vietnamese restaurant for the last week. before my body shut down on me, i did, however, make this deliciousness:

tahini buddha bowl

i used this recipe from minimalist baker, but tweaked it a bit and added a few things to make it a little heartier and higher in protein. you could easily leave out the chicken and the chicken broth and have a hearty, delicious vegan meal. (i also forgot to add the tahini sauce before i took the photo, pretend there is tahini sauce drizzled all over this pile of yum.)

for the roasted vegetables:

olive oil

1/2 red onion, cut in small wedges

2 large sweet potatoes, cubed

1 large bundle of broccoli, chopped

2 large handfuls of kale

salt and pepper

preheat the oven to 400 degrees and place sweet potatoes and onions on a cookie sheet. drizzle with olive oil and then bake for about 10 minutes. remove from the oven and add broccoli. drizzle with more olive oil and toss with other vegetables. bake another 8-10 minutes. remove from the oven and add handfuls of kale. drizzle with olive oil and toss with other veggies, then sprinkle everything with salt and pepper. bake another 5 minutes.

for the quinoa:

1 cup of dry quinoa (i used red)

2 cups of chicken broth

as the vegetables are roasting, bring quinoa and broth to a boil, and simmer for 20 minutes or until the liquid has been completely absorbed.

for the chicken and chickpeas:

1 cup of cubed chicken tenders

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed

2 tsp cumin

1.5 tsp chili powder

1.5 tsp garlic powder

.5 tsp salt

.5 tsp pepper

1 tsp. oregano

as the vegetables are roasting and the quinoa is simmering. mix the spices in a small bowl. drizzle olive oil in a pan and fry the chicken over medium heat. sprinkle half the spice mixture over the chicken. while it is frying, place the chickpeas in a medium sized bowl and coat them with the remaining spicemixture. when the chicken is nearly cooked through, about 5 minutes, add the chickpeas to the pan and combine with chicken. once the chickpeas are hot and fragrant, about 5 minutes, set aside.

for the tahini sauce:

1/4 c. tahini

1 TBS maple syrup

1/2 lemon, juiced

3-6 TBS hot water to thin

prepare sauce by adding tahini, maple syrup and lemon juice in a bowl and whisk to combine. add water until sauce is thin enough to pour. set aside.

to serve:

place a spoonful of quinoa at the bottom of a large bowl (i used a plate instead), place a rather large spoonful of roasted vegetables on top of quinoa, and then top with a scoop of the chicken and chickpea mixture and drizzle the tahini sauce liberally over everything. enjoy warm or cool.

vegan coconut layer cake

and this is how dinah helps bake birthday cakes #stoppickingyournose

it's my 31st birthday today! i love birthdays, mostly because cake is involved. i've made myself a birthday cake for as long as i can remember. last year i made a white sparkling cranberry cake, the year before, i made a pear cake with brown sugar buttercream frosting. this year, however, i made a vegan birthday cake. no, i'm not worried about eating animal byproducts or attempting to be healthier. no, no, this year, i have a wee tiny baby who's been struggling with dairy. he nurses about every five minutes right now, so when i have dairy, so does he. it's a very common allergy for infants and typically goes away by six months old, or so. since cutting out dairy, his uncontrollable crying sessions have disappeared. which is great, but sort of a bummer to say goodbye to dairy for a while. but a happy, healthy baby is so, so, so worth it.

i have the cutest kitchen helper that ever lived

so, a dairy free cake, it is. no problem. dinah requested a "winter cake" so i figured a white cake, with white icing, and "snowy" shredded coconut would do the trick. finding a good dairy free cake is easy enough, for the frosting, however, i had to get more creative.

this year, our good friends and their three-year-old daughter - dinah's very best buddy - and their one-year-old son came over for lunch, wine and birthday cake. spending birthdays with people you love is the only way i ever want to celebrate them. we had quite a feast; meatloaf, squash, rice, salad, and bread.

we ended the day with a huge slice of cake and sat by the fire and watched the little ones scream and run around. and how was this vegan cake? amazing! i was totally blown away with how moist and flavorful this cake was. even when i'm back on dairy, i will make it again. the icing was fantastic too. so light and creamy. it would be perfect over berries in the summertime.

vegan coconut layer cake

3 cups white flour

2 cups white sugar

2 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

2 cups almond milk

1 cup canola oil

1/4 cup apple cider vinegar

2 TBS vanilla

1 1/2 cups shredded coconut

-preheat oven to 350 degrees. lightly grease and flour two 9-inch round cake pans

-in a large sized bowl, mix flour, sugar, baking soda, and salt together. in another bowl, mix milk, oil, vinegar, and vanilla. pour the wet mixture into the dry mixture and whisk until combined. gently fold in coconut.

-fill each prepared pan with equal amounts of batter. bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out with a few crumbs sticking to it. rotate the pans halfway through baking times.

-let the cakes cool completely before assembling.

coconut whipped frosting

2 14oz cans of coconut cream (from Trader Joe's), chilled

1/2 - 1 1/2 cups of powdered sugar
1/2 cups shortening

1 tsp vanilla

2 cups shredded coconut

-chill the coconut cream in the refrigerator overnight. scrape the hardened cream into a bowl and the shortening, and whip powdered sugar and vanilla into it until it becomes fluffy. assemble and frost the cakes. sprinkle two cups of shredded coconut over the top.