Vision...

Summer is coming to a close here in the Black Hills. The mornings and nights are getting cooler, school is almost back in session, and the harvest has begun. I love this time of transition between Summer and Fall. Its my favorite part of the year. Everything begins to slow, to calm, to cool. Its a state of pure perfection.

The transition also means I can turn my oven back on. Which means blissful hours spent baking. This time of year, this is my Zen, my apex, my joy.

My life over the Summer has had me feeling completely out of focus, off center, and unable to accomplish my goals. I began the season with a goal of publishing the first week of August. That has come and gone, and so I'm setting a new goal. November 1st. No messing around this time. No leaving it on the back burner. No letting other things get in the way. Perfect or not, November 1st.

I ask you, all of you to help me hold this vision. To ask me monthly, weekly, daily how the book is coming. To push me to hold my goal and achieve it.

Kitchen Therapy....

Its been a rough week. This Mercury Retrograde really seems to be making a mess of things lately. Thus, I've been indulging in some kitchen therapy to help myself cope. My go to foods when I've had a lousy day are always packed with earthy flavors to ground my soul. I tend towards homemade Mexican food when I need comfort food, because the flavor profiles are earthy, clean, and fresh. Here are some of my favorite recipes for shaking off a crumby day.

Mexican Rice

1 cup Brown Rice

2 cup Water

1/2 cup Tomato Juice

1 tsp Better Than Bouillon Veggie Stock

Place all ingredients in a 3 quart sauce pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and cover with a tight fitting lid. Let simmer and steam for 35 to 40 minutes. Be careful about checking it too often. Releasing the steam means the rice won't cook as well. Let sit for 5 minutes and fluff with a fork.

Re-fried Beans

2 cups Pinto Beans that have been soaked and slow cooked. You can use canned, but its just not the same.

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1/2 tsp Cumin

1/2 tsp Garlic Powder

1/2 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Chili Powder

Salt to taste

Place all ingredients in a large skillet on medium heat. Using a potato masher, mash the beans to your desired creaminess. Note that adding a bit of the liquid the beans cooked in or a touch more oil will help to make them creamier. Cook until heated through.

Homemade Tortillas

2 1/2 cups All-Purpose Flour

1/2 cup Coconut Oil (solid, it won't work as well if liquid) or Vegetable Shortening

1 tsp Coarse Salt I like the Margarita glass rimming salt for this. 

1 cup Warm Water

Place the flour and salt in a medium bowl. Cut in the coconut oil or vegetable shortening using a fork or a pastry blender to incorporate. Once the consistency is sand like, add the warm water and work into a dough using your hands. When the dough has pulled away from the sides of the bowl and has formed a nice ball, cover the bowl with a damp towel and let rest 15 to 20 minutes. Heat a dry non-stick skillet to medium. Pull off 1 inch balls of dough and press using either a tortilla press or between two pieces of wax paper with a rolling pin. Place the dough in the skillet one at a time and cook until puffy and lightly brown.

Enjoy!

Revisiting past recipes...

Once upon a time I ran a blog called A Vegan In South Dakota. I've been revisiting some of those recipes lately and wanted to share my two favorites with all of you. I bought some local Rhubarb from the Farmer's Market and plan to make the coffee cake tonight.

Coffee Cake of My Dreams

The batter for this is more like a dough, but it bakes up moist and amazing!

For Cake

1 cup caster sugar

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 cup vegan butter

1/4 cup unsweetened apple sauce

1 tbsp cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp water

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 tsp baking powder

2 cups all-purp flour

2 cups fresh fruit (I love it with Rhubarb)

For Topping

1/4 cup caster sugar

1 tsp cinnamon

Preheat oven to 375. Prepare a 9 x 13 x 2 baking dish. Cream sugars, butter, and apple sauce. Add dissolved cornstarch and vanilla. Fold in flour and fruit and spread into baking dish. Sprinkle on topping and bake for 35 minutes. Let cool for 15 minutes before cutting. 

 

 

Wonderous White Bean Dip

1 can white beans drained and rinsed

1/4 cup olive oil

1 tbsp Braggs

1 tbsp Paprika

1 tsp Garlic Powder

1 tsp Onion Powder

1/2 tsp Fennel Seed

a mix of chopped fresh or dried herbs

Blend it all up in your food processor and enjoy!

 

Introducing: Season of The Vegan Tasting Parties!

It started as a day dream... and turned into a beautiful way to promote my upcoming book. Tasting Parties, a wondrous way to indulge. But first, I need to gush a bit...

I know I don't update the blog as often as I should, and for that I am very sorry. I'm so grateful for those who have stuck with me and supported this adventure. I wish I could personally hug each and everyone of you! The book is coming slowly, but that's due to my need to release a good product. I want to birth a book into the world that people want to own, that they want to cook from, that they want to share with others. Not just another vegan cookbook that sits on the shelf and gathers dust. I want it to be inspiring in text, taste, and photo. I want people to feel like they are indulging in full sensory eating. I want it to be cherished and loved and delighted in. I know many will buy it because they know me, love me, and want to support me. Or because they've tasted something I've brought to a potluck and always wanted the recipe. But most, will buy it without ever having met me or tasted anything from the book, or anything vegan for that matter, and I want them to have the same amazing experience cooking from it as those who know me. The book is a labor of love from me to you.

The Tasting Party idea came out of a need to be in the kitchen, a need to feed those around me, and a need to promote my upcoming book. The basic idea is such, you (the party host) pays a sliding scale payment of  $35 to $65 cover my time, you select between 4 and 6 items from the list below, then you and your guests each pay a sliding scale payment of $5 to $15 to cover my food costs. In return you get an amazing experience of well prepared vegan faire, everyone receives a copy of the recipes, and you support my publishing costs. Its that easy!

Savory Picks:

Cucumber Tea Sandwiches
Spring Greens Salad
TLT Sandwiches
Crazy Crunch Salad
Grilled Zucchini
Balsamic Black Bean & Corn Salad
Spiced Nuts
Curried Butternut Squash Soup
Black & White Dip with Chips
Baked Artichoke Dip
Stuffed Mushrooms
Oven Roasted Yam Medallions
Brushetta Trio (counts as 3 picks)
Meatless Meatballs

Sweet Picks:

Lemon Poppy Seed Scones
Coconut Cakes with Coconut Frosting
Basil & Mint Fruit Salad
Fresh Cherry Pancakes
Maple Pumpkin Pudding
Pecan Pie Puff Pastries
Oat & Apricot Cookies
PBC Truffles
Dad's Pie Crust Cookies
Coffee Cake of My Dreams
Death By Chocolate Cakes
Mixed Berry Soft Serve
Mini Raspberry Cheesecakes

Libations:

Cranberry Orange Fizz
Cafe Granita
Midnight Champagne Cocktail

To book your Tasting Party please email me at seasonofthevegan@gmail.com 

Renewal, writing, and cupcakes from heaven!

Ah my favorite time of year is finally upon us here in Rapid City. Its warming up and the Earth is coming back to life. Renewal is in the air. <3

There are some big things happening here at SoTV. The book is coming along, all be it not as quickly as I had hoped. I'm hoping for a release date of August 1st. Stay tuned for updates!

We have a wonderful new Vegan business here in the Black Hills that will be up and running in early June. Welcome Ginger Twins Vegan Cupcake Company! I had the joy of meeting the younger Ginger Twin, Shannon Crane, last month when the ladies donated 4 dozen of their amazing cupcakes to our local benefit production of The Vagina Monologues. She then graced my door step a week later with 1 dozen of my new favorite treat, their Pumpkin Cream Cheese Cupcake with Orange Buttercream. These cakes are pure heaven! I was skeptical at first of pumpkin (my personal favorite flavor of anything) paired with orange, but whoa mama are these good! The flavors balance in a way that creates this burst of sublime ecstasy on the palette. I had to share the love at the arts center, otherwise I would have eaten the whole box.

I've also sampled their PB&J, which features white cake filled with strawberry jam, and topped with a wonderfully creamy peanut butter frosting. Its the best PB&J you'll ever eat. Their cakes have a wonderful texture that is neither too dry nor overly moist. Its that perfect middle of the road crumb that gives a delightful mouth feel. Their cakes are also just the right amount of sweet. I often find that vegan bakers up the sugar content in the frosting to tooth achingly sweet. The Ginger Twins have got it just right. These ladies are certainly going to hit the ground running in June! I can't wait to try all they've got and introduce all my local peeps to the goodness that is the Ginger Twins Vegan Cupcake Company.

If you'd like information on how you can indulge in a Ginger Twin creation visit the ladies at their website or find them on Facebook. And be sure to let them know Ashley at Season of The Vegan sent ya!

Season of The Vegan 2.0

Its been a long time! But, I'm back and ready to roll. You'll be seeing some big changes here at the blog. Plus, I have some big news about the cook book!

The beautiful Mrs. Anna Roop has agreed to do the food photography for the SoTV cook book! We start the photo shoots and cooking extravaganza on April 7th.

Stay tuned for upcoming contests, Tasting Parties, new recipes!

Last nights dinner...

Dinner with Robin

As promised, here is a picture of last nights dinner. We had Wild Rice, BBQ Tempeh, Asparagus (that a friend of Robin's canned recently), and Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes. Such a quick, easy, and tasty meal! Here are the recipes for the BBQ Tempeh and the Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes.

BBQ Tempeh

I left out the onion and green pepper when I made this batch, due to not having them on hand. Its great with or without them. You can serve this as is or on a bun as a Sloppy Joe.

1/2 a large White Onion, diced

1/2 a Green Bell Pepper, diced

2 tbsp Vegetable Oil

1 block Tempeh, crumbled

1/4 cup Your favorite BBQ Sauce

Heat the oil to medium heat in a large skillet. Saute the onion and green pepper for 3-4 minutes. Add the tempeh and continue to saute another 2-3 minutes. Mix in the bbq sauce and finish heating another 4-5 minutes. Enjoy!

Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes

2 medium Sweet Potatoes or Yams, sliced into 1/4 inch rounds

4 tbsp Olive Oil

1/4 to 1/2 tsp Sea Salt

a sprinkle of Ground Cumin

Preheat oven to 350. Drizzle a cookie sheet with 2 tbsp of the olive oil and place the slices of sweet potato on it. Drizzle remaining olive oil on top of the slices and sprinkle them with the sea salt and cumin. Bake for 20-30 minutes or until fork tender in the middles and slightly blackened and crisp on the edges. Enjoy!

On the road again...

Hi Folks! Well I'm officially on my way to JCCFS for the winter. I've made it 2/3 of the way from Rapid City, SD to Brasstown, NC. That equals out to be roughly 17 hours of driving that I split between two days. I'm delighted to not have to drive today.

Friday night I stopped in Omaha, NE to stay with Carl's cousin. It was a wonderful evening filled with many a glass of wine. I had originally planned to stay in Omaha for the whole weekend and visit all the vegan hangouts, but decided to cut my time short, so I could spend an extra day in Illinois.

Robin and I celebrated my arrival in Decatur, IL last night with a Mexican fiesta. During my time in SD, I had really missed traditional Mexican food. TexMex and, what I've heard people call, Colorado TexMex just aren't the same as the traditional Mexican food that I grew up eating. Last night I gorged myself on Vegetarian Fajitas and Chips and Salsa. It was the "Welcome Home" that I needed after all that time spent in the car.

Tonight for dinner I'm making BBQ Tempeh, Oven Roasted Sweet Potatoes, and Wild Rice. If I can dig my camera out of my luggage, I'll post picks along with the recipes.

Vegan Love and Many Thanks for reading!

Jon Gorman's White Bean Soup

Here's another piece from Jon's series on cooking vegan as a non-vegan. This recipe sounds like the perfect early fall soup to be served with a hearty slice of toasted Sourdough. Give it a whirl, and tell us what you think. 

White Bean Soup

Ingredients
2 TB palm oil
2 small leeks or one large leek, sliced
2 shallots, diced
2 stalks celery, sliced
1 carrot, sliced
1 medium potato, diced
3 cloves garlic, diced (about two teaspoons)
3 cups white beans, cooked
6 cups vegetable stock
3 cups white beans
1 ½ teaspoon lemon juice

Cook the beans ahead of time.  You can probably get away with canned beans, but since they’re the main focus of this dish I prefer to cook them ahead of time.  I just cook a 1 lb pound bag of white beans by putting them in the slow cooker to soak overnight and filling the slow cooker with water, then setting the slow cooker on low during the day while I work.  We have a cheap light timer we use with our slow cooker to set it to cook for about 8 hours.  The beans should have a bit of snap when you first bite it, but otherwise be soft.  I scoop out three cups for the recipe and freeze half-pound amounts of beans in sandwich bags for other recipes.

Chop up the leeks and shallots.  Put two tablespoons of palm oil into a soup pot.  I’d say at least an 8 quart pot is needed, but if you’re neater than me you might be able to do it with less.  Once the solids have melted and the pan is hot, add the leeks and shallots. If you don’t have leeks and shallots, two or three onions will do. Cook till the leek and shallots become translucent, about 6 to 8 minutes.  And add the carrots and celery and a dash of salt.  Cook until the carrot starts to become tender, about another 5 to 8 minutes or.  Add the garlic for about 30 seconds.  

Then add the stock, another dash of salt, beans, and potato and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat to a simmer, and cook for about 40 minutes to an hour.  Make sure that the potatoes are soft.  Once they are, puree the soup with a blender and then add the lemon juice.  

This recipe is a merger of a couple of recipes I’ve seen for white bean soup.  One, from a cookbook I’ve mentioned before on Season of the Vegan, is “Extending the Table”.  The other is a cookbook I got recently from the library, “Bi-Rite Market’s Eat Good Food”.  Both recipes are similar, but both use pork fat in the dish.

I didn’t want to use olive or vegetable oil, but I’d thought about trying vegetable shortening or palm oil.  I’ve had some packets of palm oil in ramen before, a curious thick shorting-like fat that I’d never think to call oil. In a moment of odd coincidences, a book I was reading had on a flight back from a recent conference gave me the motivation to get off my duff and try palm oil more seriously.

The essay that gave me the motivation was, ironically enough, “An Ode to Pig” by Bethany Ewald Bultman in “Corn Bread Nation 2: The United States of Barbecue”.  The essay mentions how lard ended up being a substitute in many African dishes for palm oil.  That lead me on a quest to one of our local international grocery stores, World Harvest Food.  They didn’t have the block form of palm oil, but they had a less refined and very red bottle of the lumpy red palm oil. It is a wonderful, slightly nutty and sweet fat that I’ve been enjoying.  I am now using it in many dishes instead of butter or pork fat and in some cases mixing it with another oil or fat. I’m curious to try it in an avocado-centric dish, but haven’t yet. You can probably use olive oil or shortening in this recipe, but it’s worth seeking out palm oil if you can.

                  
In Jon's professional life he combines a love of books and computers by working as part of Library IT for a large academic library. At home, he explores another love, cooking. Not a vegan himself, he's striving to become a conscientious eater, eating more vegetarian and vegan cooking in his normal diet. An avid cookbook reader, he'll share good vegan recipes he comes across on this blog.

Its alive....ALIVE.....

So, my laptop died a horrible death over the course of the last few weeks. Huge thanks to Carl, who was able to switch out my hard drive and bring my "sweet mathilda" back to life. I was able to save a text copy of my book, but I lost all of my pictures for the book, and the info for the three (yes three) posts that I was working on for here and the one for This Dish Is Veg. Hopefully, over the course of this next week I can rehash what I was working on and get some content up for you lovely folks.

I've only got three weeks left here in South Dakota. I'm hoping to post a "What and Where I'm Eating" log while I'm on the road. It'll be sort of along the same line as what Kristen over at Will Travel for Vegan Food is doing, but without reviews. I've managed to keep up with my travel blog My Journey Back To Me a little better over the past month. It's currently about how I'm in the process of preparing for my adventure to North Carolina. So, if I seem to have fallen off the face of the Earth, you can find me over there. I'll have another delish recipe from Jon's series of Vegan Cooking from a Non-Vegan for you in a day or two.

Have a fantastic week!

July Vegan Food Swap

I feel like a slacker, I haven't posted in almost a month. This heat wave and lack of air conditioning have left me feeling uninspired. I've spent most of the month hiding in the basement reading, since its the coolest part of the house. Luckily its the part of the year where a big fresh salad makes the perfect meal. This has saved us from further heating up the house.

I once again participated in the monthly vegan food swap put together by Cat over at The Verdant Life. This month my giftee won't be receiving hers until almost August, as she is currently on vacation. I didn't want to send it and have it languish in the heat as it awaited her arrival home. My box arrived about a week ago from Gina at Vegan Strong, filled with great stuff. Unfortunately due to some technical difficulties with my camera, I can't post any pictures right now. As soon as I get that fixed I'll post them in the comments. My box included an assortment of teas with a Cuppow to drink them from. I'm loving my canning jar to go cup! Gina also included a bag of Somersaults, which I'm now hooked on, and a couple of snack bars. Thanks so much Gina!

Getting it together....

Sorry I've fallen off the face of the earth this past month. Life has been crazy. I'm planning to get my July Food Swap post up later today and hopefully a recipe or two posted by the weekend. I have however been posting over at My Journey Back To Me, its my new blog about my upcoming trip across the US. I also have a new post up at This Dish Is Vegetarian, if you need a recipe fix. Thanks for reading, folks! Vegan Love!

June's Vegan Food Swap

Once again, I participated in the monthly Vegan Food Swap that Cat over at The Verdant Life has put together. I'm really enjoying sending and receiving boxes of great vegan products with other bloggers. I hope that I'll still be able to be a part of it while I'm at JCCFS. I'm not sure what my resources for tasty bits to ship out will be though. This month I shipped a box of citrus themed goodies to Shelby at Everyday Vegan Girl. My box of treats came from Veronica at Short Silly Vegan. Carl and I snacked on the Primal Jerky before I could get the picture taken. The Sweet Potato chips and Cinnamon Thin Cookies from Lucy's are two of my new favorite things. We still haven't tried the Hot Cereal, because we haven't wanted to eat anything hot for weeks due to the heat. We'll save it for cold South Dakota mornings this winter.

Weekly Ramblings and Pineapple Mango Salsa...

It's been a busy week thus far, which makes me even happier that I have a three day weekend to look forward to. This past Saturday's Bountiful Basket brought with it lots of amazing fresh fruit. We got bananas, a pineapple, and a watermelon from small farms in Mexico, and plums and apricots from California. We also received a five pound bag of potatoes from a small farm in Idaho as well as many other goodies. Though I know it would be better for the environment for us to buy local produce, there still hasn't been much at the farmer's market. I plan to go down this weekend and see if we've moved past the jams, meat, and crafts portion of the year and on into the veggies and fruit portion. It would be nice to buy local every other week and from BB on the off weeks, so we could support both while still getting good variety.

I started my travel blog that will document my journey to John C. Campbell Folk School. You can find it at My Journey Back To Me. I plan to try and keep up with both blogs while I'm working as the Student Host at JCCFS. I'm fairly certain that I'll be mostly posting on my travel blog though.

Since its summer time I thought I'd include one of my favorite salsa recipes. This Pineapple Mango Salsa is quick, easy, and perfect on a hot summer day.

Pineapple Mango Salsa

1 cup Fresh Pineapple

1 cup Fresh Mango

4 cloves Garlic

2 Jalapenos, seeded

1/2 cup Cilantro leaves

1/2 cup Green Onions, chopped

2 tbsp Apple Cider Vinegar

Pulse all ingredients in a food processor until desired texture is met. Let set 1 hour and enjoy.

Beautiful day and what's to come....

It's a beautiful late Spring day here in Rapid City, SD. I'm getting ready to start my day with a hearty bowl of oats with crushed pineapple and a cup of coffee. What do you usually start your day with?

I'm getting close to finishing the Season of The Vegan cook book. All the recipes are loaded into the publishing software, the recipes that will be photographed have been chosen, and a great friend has volunteered to copy edit. Now I need to cook and photograph food and write the index and forward. Then its off into the world! I can't wait. I think the hardest part about the whole experience so far has been trying to do it in my spare time. But I suppose that's what makes it a labor of love.

I'm also getting very close to the end of this leg of my journey in life. In early September I'll be driving across the country to Brasstown, NC to work as the Student Host at John C. Campbell Folk School. At that time I'll continue this blog (with a bit less frequency) and begin a blog about my time there. As the SH there, I get three Silver Bullet classes (ones I can't get bumped out of or pulled away from for work). I've signed up for White-Line Printmaking, Kente Cloth Weaving, and Beginning Mountain Dulcimer. Given I'm not really stepping too far out of my comfort zone with any of these, but they are classes that will allow me to further my skills. I'm also hoping to try my hand at Blacksmithing, Book Making, Forging for Mushrooms, and Danish Folk Dancing while I'm there. I'm still uncertain where I'll end up at the end of next January, but then again I'm never very sure where I'll be from year to year. I do know, that if I'm to put down roots it would have to be for a career and not just another job. I need to be working for causes that I care about. Either in the arts or for a company promoting veganism. If you know of any good leads in those fields, let me know.

Yum....

So a while back I posted my recipe for Vanilla Rum Banana Bread. I finally got around to taking some food photos the other day.

 

For this batch I added some semi-sweet vegan chocolate chips. So yummy!

Belated May Food Swap Reveal

So, I'm a little behind on posting this. It's been a very busy week both at work and at home. What with friends birthday parties and organizing a bake sale to benefit the local humane society and volunteering at the art's center and loading all the recipes for my cookbook into Lulu, I just haven't had time to blog.

My May Food Swap Box came from the lovely Miss Sarah of goodstorysarah.wordpress.com and heyimoverhere.com. I seriously feel like Sarah is a kindred spirit! So many wonderful things packed into this little box!

Cute Recipe Cards: one for Lemon Verbena Mint Tea, which I made and loved! And one  for Easy Peasy Peanut Butter Fudge, which I haven't had a chance to try yet, but will soon.

Earrings and Buttons: So cute! The earrings are admittedly one of my favorite parts of the swap box. She also sent me a Vegan Button, that I've placed on my bag for all to see. I love that Sarah thought to send some non-food goodies.

Mix CD: Her boyfriend had her include an awesome mix cd that he made. It's already made the cut for summer traveling music as I road trip this year.

Hurraw! Lip Balm: I have a hard time finding vegan lip balm in SD, so this was a great thing to see in the bottom of the box. Sarah sent me the coconut, which is one of my favorite flavors, it certainly does the trick for keeping my lips kissable. I give it 4 out of 5 Vs

Mighty-O Coffee:  We're big coffee drinkers here. Plus, I manage a coffee bar for a living. So, I was very excited to see a bag of coffee included. Mighty-O's Cave Dweller was a great cup of coffee. It made for a perfect start of the day. I give it 4 out of 5 Vs

Origins Tea from Teahouse Kuan Yin: Along with the recipe card, Sarah sent me Lemon Verbena and Peppermint teas from her favorite teahouse. Both are wonderful and will be quickly used up for summery iced tea. I give them 4 out of 5 Vs

Biscoff Spread: I was so over joyed to see this in my swap box! I love biscoff cookies, but can only get them when I fly (Delta has them as a snack option). I don't have a source for the spread here in SD and have really been wanting to try it. Let me tell you people, it is fantastic! It's like spreading your toast with a spice cookie. I think I've found a new food addiction. I give it 5 out of 5 Vs

Soy-go Coffee Creamer: This is another item I've been wanting to try for a while. I can see how it would come in handy on the go, but all in all I wasn't a huge fan. I do like a little splash of non-dairy milk in my coffee. This did a sort of weird clumpy thing instead of turning my coffee creamy. It did however taste fairly good. So I'm a bit torn on this product. I give it 2 out of 5 Vs


A big thanks to Sarah for all the wonderful bits and a big thanks to Cat for putting this swap together. If you're interested in participating visit: The Verdant Life or if you'd like to see what others received in their May swap boxes visit Cat's page that we all link to.

New Piece on TDIV

Here's the link to my Why I Went Veg piece over at This Dish is Veg. I hope you all enjoy getting to know a little more about my personal experience.

Oh what a beautiful day...

So far I've spent my morning writing and sipping amazing coffee that my new friend from Washington sent me. I'll have a new piece up at This Dish Is Veg shortly. This one is my personal story of why and how I went Vegan. I'll post a link when its up. I've also been busy today packing up this months Vegan Food Swap box to ship to Janna of nomvegannom as well as a box filled with teas for a friend from high school. The weather here is cool and calm this morning. It feels like the perfect day to just lounge and read a good book. Alas, I need to kick it into high gear and conquer the chores around this house as well as prepare for a Healthy Lifestyle coaching I'm doing this afternoon.

Bountiful Baskets & Lemon Loaf Cake

I volunteered with our local branch of Bountiful Baskets yesterday morning. What an awesome organization bringing fresh inexpensive produce to regions of the US that normally don't have any. While I do believe very heavily in buying as much from local farmers as possible, the growing season in Rapid City is only about 2 1/2 months long. Which leaves us without good quality produce for the majority of the year. I joined Bountiful Baskets to help us save money and so we could get fresh food from smaller farmers from the US and Mexico. Even if you don't pay the extra for their 100% Organic Basket, much of the produce is Organic. The breads they offer are amazing! And at $12 for 5 artisan loafs of Organic, small bakery produced bread, you can't beat it. We got some really amazing lemons in our basket this week, so naturally I awoke this morning ready to make Lemon Loaf Cake.

Lemon Loaf Cake

1/2 cup Earth Balance at room temp.
1/2 cup Cane Sugar
1 tbsp Cornstarch dissolved in 3 tbsp Water
zest of one large Lemon
1 cup All-Purpose Flour
1 1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp fine Sea Salt
4 tbsp Soy Milk
Juice of 1 large lemon
1/2 cup Powdered Sugar

Preheat oven to 350. Lightly grease a loaf pan. Cream together the Earth Balance and sugar. Beat in the cornstarch mixture and lemon zest. Slowly beat in the flour, baking powder, salt, and soy milk. Spread into the loaf pan and bake 45 min or until a toothpick comes out clean. Let cool on a wire rack and remove from pan. In a small sauce pan dissolve the powdered sugar into the lemon juice. Prick the loaf cake with a toothpick and pour the lemon juice mixture over. Enjoy!