Chocolate Cake
Serves: 8
Difficulty: Easy
Prep: ~15 min
Cook time: ~45 minutes

A very simple cake made with items already in your cupboard. Be ready to shock your non-vegan friends!

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
1 tsp baking soda
½ tsp salt
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
1 tsp distilled white vinegar
1 cup water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Lightly grease a 9×5 inch loaf pan. Sift together flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt. Add the oil, vanilla, vinegar and water. Mix together until smooth. Pour into prepared pan and bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes. Remove from oven and allow to cool.

Notes:
I’ve used brown rice vinegar instead of white in a pinch.
You can substitute applesauce for the oil to lower the fat content, but the texture of the cake may be compromised.
Nuts and/or vegan-friendly chocolate chips make nice additions to this cake.
You may want to flour or lay some parchment paper in the bottom of the pan in addition to greasing it. I sometimes have a little trouble removing the cake.

Quinoa and Black Beans
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Easy
Prep: ~15 min
Cook time: ~35 minutes

Unfamiliar with quinoa? Don’t be shy! This dish is a wonderful showcase to the “mother of grains.” It may become a favorite at home or at your next potluck!

1 tsp vegetable oil
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
¾ cup uncooked quinoa, rinsed briefly in cold water
1 ½ cups vegetable broth
1 tsp ground cumin
¼ tsp cayenne pepper
salt and pepper to taste
1 cup frozen corn kernels
2 (15 ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
½ cup chopped fresh cilantro

Heat the oil in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in the onion and garlic, and sauté until lightly browned. Mix quinoa into the saucepan and cover with vegetable broth. Season with cumin, cayenne pepper, salt, and pepper. Bring the mixture to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir frozen corn into the saucepan, and continue to simmer about 5 minutes until heated through. Mix in the black beans and cilantro.

Notes:
Most quinoa manufacturers rinse the grain during processing, but it is recommended to rinse it in cold water prior to cooking.

Winter Vegetable Hash
Serves: 6
Difficulty: Easy
Prep time: ~10 min
Cook time: 35-40

This extremely versatile recipe allows for many substitutions, depending on what you have on hand, and will warm you on those cold winter nights.

3 tbs extra virgin olive oil
1 pound potatoes, diced
½ pound shitake mushrooms, diced
1 red bell pepper, diced
1 small acorn squash, diced
1 shallot, finely chopped
2 tsp garlic powder
1 pinch salt
1 pinch ground black pepper
1 cup chopped kale
~4 leaves sage, cut into strips

Place oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Mix in potatoes, mushrooms, bell pepper, squash, and shallot. Season with garlic powder, salt and pepper. Cook for 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are tender.

Mix in the kale and sage. Continue cooking for 5 minutes, until the kale has wilted.

Notes:
The smaller the dice, the faster the potatoes will cook, however you might want to cook the potatoes on their own for about 15 minutes before adding the remaining ingredients.
Any type of potatoes will work; Yukon gold are mentioned in the original recipe.
Any type of mushrooms will work.
A small onion will substitute nicely for the shallot.
The acorn squash can be bought already cut up. Just dice into pieces similarly sized with the potatoes.
The garlic salt can be replaced with 2-4 cloves of pressed garlic.
Dried sage or thyme can be used if no fresh is available.

Mayan Hot Cocoa
Serves: 1
Difficulty: Easy
Prep: 2 min
Cook time: 5 minutes

Sometimes hot cocoa needs a little something extra. If you’d like to spice up your winter hot drink, try this spicy treat!

1 cup vanilla soy milk, sweetened
1 tbs cocoa
1 tsp sugar
½ tsp cinnamon
1/8 tsp chili

Heat the soy milk to the desired temperature, either on the stove or in the microwave. Combine the dry ingredients, cocoa, sugar, cinnamon and chili and mix well. Slowly add the hot soy beverage to the powdered mixture, stirring constantly to avoid lumps. Enjoy!

Notes:
Unsweetened baker’s chocolate can be substituted for the cocoa. Just melt it in the soy milk while it is heating, either in the microwave or on the stove.
The richness can be adjusted with more or less cocoa.