Chocolate Cake - Vegan/ Dairy Free/ Gluten Free

Prep Time: 20 minutes
Cook Time: 35 minutes
Total Time: 55 minutes
Servings: 16

Ingredients:

Chocolate Cake

• 1 cup unsweetened almond milk
• 1 Tablespoon apple cider vinegar
• 2 cups Gluten Free flour (I used cup4cup brand)
• 1 3/4 cups granulated sugar
• 3/4 cups cocoa powder
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 cup canola oil or melted coconut oil
• 2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract
• 1 cup boiling water

Chocolate Buttercream Frosting

• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 1 1/2 cups earth balance vegan butter softened (or any dairy free butter)
• 4-5 cups powder sugar
• 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
• 1/4-1/2 cup unsweetened almond milk

Instructions:

Chocolate Cake:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F and grease two 9-inch cake pans. I also line them with parchment rounds and sprinkle with cocoa powder for easy removal of the ackes later.
2. Measure 1 cup unsweetened almond milk an add the Tablespoon of vinegar to it. Stir slightly and set aside to curdle.
3. In a large bowl, add the flour sub, sugar, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt. Whisk well to comine.
4. Now add the oil, applesauce, vanilla and almond milk/vinear mixture. Mix on medium speed with a hand mixer (or stand mixer with the paddle attachment) until well compbined.
5. Lower the speed and carefully pou in the boiling water, continuing to mix into the cake batter until combined. The batter will seem very thick at this point.
6. Divide evenly between your round cake pans. I used a large spoon to divide and press to edges. Bake 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. After 10 minutes of cooling in the pan, carefully remove the cakes from the pans and let cool completely before frosting.

For the Chocolate Buttercream Frosting:

1. Add the cocoa powder to a large bowl.
2. Add the softened vegan butter and mix with a hand mixer until creamed and well combined
3. Add half of the powdered sugar and half of the almond milk, and mix until combined. Add the rest of the powder sugar and vanilla extract. Mix starting on low, and turn to high. Mix until fluffy and combined.
4. If the frosting seems too dry, add more milk, a tablespoon or two at a time. If the frosting seems too wet and doesn't hold it's shape, add more powder sugar until it thickens up.
5. Frost he cake using an icing spatula or butter knife. I placed wax paper slightly under edges around the cake, so the cake stand would be clean for presentation.

*Notes:

• For cupcakes, fill liners half full and bake for 20-25 minutes. The whole recipe ill yeild approximately 24 cupcakes
• Double recipe to make a 4 layer cake, or cut in half to make a 1 layer round cake.
• Frosting recipe yields enough frosting for 2 cakes.

Recipe adapted from Nora Cooks

Chicken with Balsamic Fig Sauce

Ingredients:

• 1 lb thin chicken
• 2 shallots
• 2 sprigs rosemary or 2 tsp (remove needles & bundle needles together and chop across)
• 1 Tablespoon Balsamic Vinegar
• 2 Shallots
• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon Chicken stock concentrate
• 1 oz Fig Jam
• Drizzle Olive Oil
• Salt & Pepper, to taste

For side dishes:

• 1/2 lb potatoes
• 3 cups snap peas
• drizzle olive oil
• Salt & Pepper to taste

Directions:

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a large pan over medium-high heat. Pat chicken dry with a paper towel ans season all over with salt and pepper. Cook in pan until no longer pink in center 5-7 minutes per side. Remove from pan and set aside to rest.
2. Lower heat under pan to medium. Add Shallot, chopped rosemary, and a drizzle of olive oil. Cook, tossing, until softened, 2-3 minutes. Stir in balsamic vinegar and fig jam. Simmer until syrupy, about 1 minute. Stir in 1/2 cup water and stock concentrate. Let reduce until saucy, about 3 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in 1 TBSP butter. Season with salt & pepper.
3. Thinly slice chicken. Drizzle chicken with sauce. 

I served mine with roasted potatoes & snap peas.

1. Preheat oven to 425°F
2. Cut potatoes in 1/2 inch cubes, toss potatoes and snap peas in olive oil, and a dash of salt & pepper. Toss on baking sheet and cook in oven until tender and browned, 20-25 minutes.

*Leave butter out if you'd like the dish to be dairy free.

* You can sub sweet potatoes for regular potatoes & sub green beans for the snap peas.

Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies - GF, Dairy Free, Egg Free

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/3 cup coconut milk (rice, or almond)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla
• 3/4 cup white rice flour
• 1/3 cup coconut flour
• 2 Tablespoons GF Starch
• 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips (you can buy dairy free chocolate chips, the brand I've seen is Simple Joy)

Directions:

1. Mix together the sugar and oil.
2. Add the milk and vanilla and mix until combined
3. Mix together the dry ingredients in a medium bowl.
4. Add dry ingredients to wet mixture. Just mixing until you don't see flour. (don't over mix).
5. Add the chocolate chips.

Allow the dough to rest 20 minutes. Preheat the oven to 350 F. Bake cookies on a well greased cookie sheet or silicon mat. Bake 10 minutes or until desired doneness is reached. Let cool on baking sheet 5 minutes before moving to wire rack. *This is to allow cookies to be firm enough to hold shape.

~Recipe adapted from Yammies Guten Freedom

Cilantro Lime Chicken

Ingredients:

• 1 pound of chicken breast
• Olive oil
• Bunch of Cilantro (Store sells it in a bunch), chopped roughly
• pinch of salt
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• 1 Tablespoon lime juice

Directions:

1. In a food processor or blender combine: cilantro, salt, pepper, garlic, red pepper flakes, lime juice, and about 1/3 cup olive oil. Mixture should almost look like pesto, you may need to add more olive oil.
2. Place cilantro mixture in a large ziplock bag. Place chicken breast in ziplock and marinate for atleast an hour.
3. Cook anyway you'd like. I choose to bake on a rack in the oven. 
4. Serve with rice.

*I put some of the marinade on the chicken while cooking it. Some of the oil dripped onto the sheet pan below the rack and burned quickly, causing the kitchen to get a bit smokey. I would recommend not putting the marinate on the chicken when placing in the oven or just grill it outside.

~Recipe from Mikaila

Spring Quinoa Side

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dry quinoa
• 1 bell pepper. diced (I used 1/2 red & 1/2 orange)
• 1 medium red onion, diced
• 1 zucchini, chopped
• 5 ounces grape tomatoes, halved
• 1 teaspoon olive oil
• 2 teaspoons garlic powder
• salt & pepper, to taste

Directions:

1. Cook quinoa following package directions, set aside.
2. Heat olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Saute onions and bell peppers for 5 minutes.
3. Add zucchini &grape tomatoes and saute for 3 minutes.
4. Stir in cooked quinoa to pan along with garlic powder and salt & pepper to taste. 
5. Can be served warm or cold.

~Recipe from Mikaila