donkey's alright

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I’ve been eating like shit the past couple of days so in order to get back on track I decided to cook every vegetable in the house and eat it for dinner. The result was so fucking delicious. Like it might be the only thing I ever eat again. 

Italian Roasted Veggies over Spinach 

• 1 small head of cauliflower, cut into florets
• 2 small zucchini, cut into half moons
• 2 big handfuls of cherry tomatoes
• 2 cups of sliced mushrooms
• 1 small head of garlic, minced
• 1 small onion, diced
• 1/3-1/2 cup of good quality Italian dressing
• salt and pepper to taste
• fresh spinach, lightly dressed

Combine everything but the spinach in a large bowl and put it in the fridge to marinate for at least two hours. When you’re ready to roast the veggies, preheat the oven to 400 degrees and bake on a lined roasting pan/baking sheet for about 20 minutes, turning halfway through. Serve on a bed of spinach that’s been tossed with a few teaspoons of Italian dressing.

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Late night snacker. (Taken with instagram)

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This is how vegans do lunchables.

• Chocolate Almond Milk
• Back to Nature Crispy Wheat Crackers
• Yves Veggie Dog
• Rice Vegan Cheddar Style Slices
• Apple Slices
• Baby Carrots
• Newman O’s

Candy Cane Cupcakes

Mint Chocolate Cake

(Adapted from: The Tolerant Vegan)

My favorite thing about this cake recipe is whether you are vegan or not, you probably already have all the ingredients in your kitchen.

• 3 cups all-purpose flour
• 2 cups sugar
• 3/4 cup cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 cup vegetable oil or equal parts unsweetened applesauce
• 1 teaspoon of pure mint extract (or if you’re fancier than me you could use real mint leaves)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 2 teaspoons distilled white vinegar
• 1 cup strong black coffee
• 1 cup of water

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine dry ingredients in a bowl and whisk together until well blended. In a separate bowl mix the wet ingredients, then add the wet to the dry and stir them together. (Or just toss everything in a Kitchen Aid.)

Pour into a greased cupcake tin and bake for 14 minutes. 

Makes about 30 cupcakes (I’m guessing here) depending on how much batter you eat.

Candy Cane Buttercream

• 1 cup Earth Balance, softened
• 1/2 cup non-hydrogenated vegetable shortening, softened
• 3 1/2 cups powdered sugar
• 1/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 teaspoon mint extract
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/2 cup crushed candy canes, plus more for garnish

With a blender, blend the margarine and shortening together until light and fluffy. Then add powdered sugar one cup at a time. Next add the almond milk, mint, and vanilla. After everything is combined, gently fold in the crushed candy canes. 

Use a pastry bag (or a Ziplock baggie with the corner snipped off) to pipe frosting onto cupcakes. Garnish with additional crushed candies. 

Merry Merry, y’all. 

P.S. - Sorry it took me so long to post this, I got sucked into the Harry Potter series again for the bajillionth time. 

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I made taquitos for lunch.

While everyone else was napping I defensively ate the leftovers.

For those of you who aren’t familiar with defensive eating, it’s where you eat something (even though you’re already full) just so no one else can eat it.

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Triple Chocolate Cherry Cake

You guys. Stop what you’re doing and make this cake right now. It’s fucking amazing. I mean, what’s not to love? There’s chocolate cake, cherry filling, dark chocolate frosting, and chocolate chips.

For The Cake:

I used this chocolate cake recipe from one of my favorite food bloggers, The Tolerant Vegan. Everything this lady makes is pure gold.

Dark Chocolate Frosting:

• 1 pound powdered sugar
• 3/4 cup vegan margarine, softened
• 1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 2 T. strong coffee
• 2 cups cocoa powder
• 2 tsp. vanilla extract

I’m sure there’s a proper method for making frosting, but I just threw everything in my Kitchen Aid and beat it till it looked like frosting. If it’s too dry you can add a touch more coffee.

For The Filling:

• 1 can of cherry pie filling

Rinse the majority of that goopy shit off and put it between the cake layers. After you’ve frosted the bottom one, but before you add the top one. You get the idea. (If you don’t you should remove yourself from the kitchen. I’m serious.)

After you’ve frosted the entire cake, throw about a cups worth of mini chocolate chips on it.

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So this just happened.

Chocolate cake with cherry filling, topped with dark chocolate frosting and chocolate chips.

Happy birthday, indeed.

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So I made cookies, and Holy Mother of Pearl they were delicious.

Recipe

• 1 cup Earth Balance vegetable shortening
• 3/4 cup packed brown sugar
• 3/4 cup white sugar
• 2 Ener-G replacer eggs
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 2 1/2 cups of old fashioned oats
• 1 (10 ounce) bag of mini vegan chocolate chips

Cream shortening, sugars, egg replacer, and vanilla together. In a seperate bowl mix together flour, baking soda, salt, and cinnamon, then slowly incorporate it into the wet ingredients. Next mix in oats and chocolate chips, stirring until everything is mixed togather nicely. The mixture will be sort of crumbly, but that’s fine. Make golf ball sized dough balls and slightly flatten them on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 15 minutes. Let rest 5 minutes on the cookie sheet before moving them to a cooling rack.

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Hummus Plate

Cucumbers, heirloom tomatoes, and chickpeas tossed in olive oil, balsamic, lemon juice, sea salt, and pepper. Served with whole wheat pita and a shit load of hummus.

Best meal ever.

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Sunday mornings are also for breakfast tacos and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.

Taco Filling: Pan fried potatoes, onions, green chilies, roasted cumin, soyrizo, and crumbled tofu.