Valentine's Day Events and Love Bites

Okay, I'm pretty busy keeping a lot of balls in the air right now, but I'm so proud of this gluten-free cake recipe that's so moist and delicious you can serve it to anyone and they'll ask for another slice, and these Love Bites which are as ubiquitous in my house around Valentine's Day as bunnies and chocolate eggs are for Easter or flags and grilling are for Independence Day. They're the definitive sign that Valentine's Day is upon us. So I'm reposting the recipe for you to enjoy.


Or, if you're in Austin, you could save the baking for another day and come out and buy a few Love Bites from The Natural Epicurean's 5th Annual Bake Sale. I'm leading the baking this year, and I planned the menu as well as created most of the recipes. We'll have three different kinds of Love Bites, including a chocolate mint mousse version, Cheesecake with Chocolate Hazelnut sauce, Blood Orange Coulis, Blackberry Coulis and Pineapple Ginger Coulis, and Hello Dolly Bites, all of which will be vegan, gluten free, and free of refined sugar, plus Carrot Cake Cupcakes with Cashew Créme Cheese Icing, Baklava, and Spanakopita, which will be vegan and free of refined sugar. Some of our items will also be soy free. The bake sale will be on the Casa de Luz Campus at 1701 Toomey Rd., Saturday, February 14, 10:00 am - 2:00 pm or until we sell out.

I won't be able to attend the whole bake sale, though, as I'll be teaching a the Annual Aphrodisiacs: Cook to Love, Love to Cook class, where Rachel Zierzow and I will be making showing how to make a luscious and seasonal meal of: Artichokes with Lemon Butter, Porcini Mushroom Soup with Chestnuts, Tempeh Italiano and Toasted Pine Nuts over Seasonal Greens, Risotto Milanese, Maple Roasted Winter Squash with Apples and Fennel, Chocolate Amaretto Mousse with Almond Tuile and Kumquats.

The class is Saturday, February 14th, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm at Casa de Luz in the Cielo Room, and the cost is $55.00 for a single attendee and only $27.50 for a friend or family member who enrolls and attends with you. Per couple, it is $82.50. To register, please call (512) 476-2276.

Love Bites
Christina Terriquez

Yields: 20 servings

Valentine’s Day is a perfect special occasion to indulge in something really decadent with your loved ones. However, one of the biggest problems with indulging is the indigestion and feeling of heaviness that accompanies most baked goods. Nothing ruins romance like an upset stomach or feeling bloated and too-full.

These Love Bites are gluten-free for easy digestion. They have a complex yet classic combination of flavors which is rich and satisfying, yet their petite size makes them a perfect end to your meal, that won’t leave you or your sweetheart’s tummies feeling overstuffed.

Ingredients
1 recipe Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
1 recipe Crème Anglaise for garnishing, optional

1/4 cup organic juice sweetened raspberry preserves, diluted
with 1 or 2 teaspoons of water

3/4 cup organic unsweetened non dairy milk, like soy, oat,
coconut, almond, rice, etc.
1/2 cup chocolate chips*

organic fresh raspberries for garnishing, optional

Directions
Prepare Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake and Crème Anglaise according to recipes.

Place chocolate chips in a heatproof bowl. In a saucepan, heat soymilk over medium-high heat until soymilk just begins to boil. Pour hot soymilk over chocolate chips and let stand for two minutes. Whisk soymilk and chocolate together until a smooth homogeneous texture is achieved.

To assemble Love Bites:
Place a wire cooling rack over a cookie sheet.

Cut off any crisp or tough edges of Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake and set aside for other uses. Cut remaining cake into individual servings using a small heart cookie cutter, or cut into 1 inch squares. If using a cookie cutter, make sure it is no more than 2 inches by 2 inches.

Cut heart in half, so that you have doubled the amount of hearts.

Spread 1/4–1/2 teaspoon of thinned raspberry preserves over the top of half of the hearts, then place another heart on top, creating a sandwich.

Place heart sandwiches on a wire rack/cookie sheet set up. Slowly pour chocolate sauce over each heart, allowing some chocolate to flow down the sides of each heart If chocolate has thickened, heat it or whisk in a tablespoon or two of more nondairy milk. Decorate hearts with raspberries while chocolate is still soft, if desired.

Place chilled and whipped Crème Anglaise in a small plastic bag and cut the very tip of one corner off the bag. Use the bag to gently drizzle crème over each heart.

Allow chocolate and crème to set up. Share with your loved ones.

Notes
*If you are not gluten free, you can use grain-sweetened chocolate chips. If you are gluten free, but not avoiding sugar, you can use gluten-free chocolate chips. If you are avoiding both refined sugar and gluten, you can use unsweetened chocolate chopped into small chunks and sweetened to taste with agave nectar.

Variations
Try using a different flavor of preserves or Cashew Crème.

Substitute your favorite cake recipe for the Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake.

Add 1/4 teaspoon of almond extract to soymilk before boiling.

Gluten-Free Chocolate Cake
Christina Terriquez

Yields: 9–16 servings

1/3 cup organic quinoa flour
1/4 cup organic chick pea flour
1/4 cup organic white rice flour
1/3 cup organic, free-trade cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon organic ground cinnamon, optional
1/4 cup organic safflower oil
5/8 cup organic unsweetened soy milk or coconut milk (1/2 cup
plus 2 tablespoons)
1 1/2 teaspoons organic white wine vinegar
1/2 cup organic agave nectar
1/8 teaspoon unrefined sea salt, Lima or SI brand recommended
1 tablespoon organic ground flax meal
1/4 cup filtered or spring water
1/2 teaspoon organic vanilla extract
1/8 teaspoon organic almond extract, optional

Directions
Preheat over to 350° F.

Prepare one 8 inch square cake pan by lightly brushing with safflower oil, then lining with an 8x16 inch piece of unbleached parchment. Set aside.

In a medium sized bowl, sift flours, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and cinnamon together.

In a large bowl, mix remaining ingredients together. Add dry ingredients and gently mix to incorporate.

Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30–50 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean.

Allow cake to cool completely on cooling rack. Run a knife along the edges of the cake, and use long ends of parchment to gently remove cake from baking pan.

Variations
Double this recipe for a two–layer 8 inch square cake.

Frost with Creamy Chocolate frosting, chocolate ganache, Tofu Cream Icing, Cashew Creme, or serve with Orange Blossom Syrup.

Garnish with a fruit sauce made with fruit sweetened preserves diluted in apple juice or water and thickened with kuzu.

Crème Anglaise
Christina Terriquez

3/4 cup organic unsweetened soymilk
2 tablespoons agar flakes
1 organic vanilla bean
1/3 cup organic coconut milk
1/4 cup organic light agave nectar
1/4 cup organic amasake
1 tablespoon organic vanilla extract
1 tablespoon organic coconut oil, optional

Directions
In a medium saucepan, combine soy milk and agar flakes and let rest for 10 minutes.

While agar and soymilk are resting, split vanilla bean in half lengthwise. Scrape the tiny black seeds from each half, and put vanilla seeds and pod into soymilk.

Add remaining ingredients to saucepan and simmer for 10–15 minutes, until agar flakes have dissolved and sauce has thickened slightly. Remove vanilla pod from sauce. Remove from heat and blend in blender or with immersion wand once again. Use immediately for glazing.

If using sauce for garnishing, cool until set. After sauce has set, purée in blender or with immersion wand. Sauce should be soft custard consistency.

Notes
Crème Anglaise is usually made with cream, refined sugar, egg yolks and vanilla beans. This vegan version is much healthier for your heart.

Store it in a squeeze bottle (this is a perfect use for your agave nectar bottles when you've used all the agave inside), and use it to garnish any other desserts you make that week.

Make a double or triple batch and put it in an ice cream maker for a rich, French Vanilla-style ice cream.

Guide to a Vegan Vanguard Thanksgiving, Part 3

Where Can a Vegan in Austin Go to Get Their Thanksgiving Grub On?

In Austin, there are many food-related events for vegans in the days leading up to, and including Thanksgiving Day.

Natural Epicurean Academy of Culinary Arts
Annual Very Best Thanksgiving Class and Luncheon
Great community-building event, where all dishes are vegan and gluten-free.
Class is 9:00am-noon, lunch is 12:15pm-1:45pm
Saturday, November 22
Class & lunch are $55 for the first person, $40 for the second, or attend lunch only for $25
512-207-0598
1701 Toomey Road
Austin, TX 78704

Royal Co-op
Vegan Thanksgiving Potluck
Enjoy a sense of community and meet new people
4:00pm
Sunday, November 23
512 478-0880
1805 Pearl Street
Austin, TX 78701

Happy Vegan Baker
Eat Thanksgiving dinner in your own home without having to prepare a thing.
Complete 8-part meals prepared by Inge
Order by 5 pm on November 25, pick up or get it delivered(for a fee) on November 26.
Full meal is $28 per person, but dishes can be purchased separately.
Order via the website, phone 512-657-3934, or email inge@happyveganbaker.com

Casa de Luz
Austin's only totally vegan restaurant continues its tradition of offering lunch on Thanksgiving.
11:30am-2:30pm
Thursday, November 27
$15 includes full meal and dessert
1701 Toomey Road
Austin, TX 78704
512-476-2535

I know other cities are host to similar events, unfortunately, I don't have any info about them.

May Updates

Platter of deliciousness.

I've been a bad, bad blogger. I'm sorry about the lack of posts. It's not from a lack of cooking. I've been taking tons of pictures, and creating many, many dishes. These pictures give you a glimpse of some of the dishes and recipes I'll be writing about in the coming weeks.

Strawberry Sorbet with Lime Zest

Raw TuNut Wrap
Quick Wonton Ravioli
Vegan Ceviche

During the winter and first half of spring, I was taking inspiration from Indian food, although lately Persian food has been my muse, so expect to see some recipes with Indian and Persian flavors.

I have also been very busy with our garden. In January, R and I moved into a lovely house. In March, JD joined us. JD and I have built three raised bed gardens, one full of vegetables including roots like carrots, onions, radishes and turnips, plus some tomatoes, fennel, broccoli, cabbage and jalapenos, one that has cucumbers and zucchini, and, once we make it a bit longer, will have cantaloupes, and my favorite bed, the herb garden, which features a bust that we've been calling The Lady.

The Lady watches over our herbs from her perch in the backyard.

The herb garden currently has dill, cilantro, thyme, lemon thyme, lemongrass (to go with our two kaffir lime trees), sage and basil. We have about 5 or 6 spots open for more herbs, in the herb bed, and a couple of container herbs, like chives and oregano. I recently bought some Asian seeds, including two amaranths (for the greens), Chinese cabbages, two daikons, shiso, Chinese leeks, bunching onions and burdock. I want to built three more raised beds; a tall bed for the burdock (you harvest it when it's 3 to 4 feet long, and it will grow through rock and around other roots, so with all the tree roots in our yard, planting it straight in the ground would make a harvesting nightmare), a large bed for all the other Asian vegetables, and a small bed like the herb garden for edible flowers.

Late Bloomers: I had all but given up on these pansy seedlings

We're also growing a few other things in the garden, outside of beds, like English peas, sweet potatoes, a fig tree, raspberries, blackberries, hibiscus, and of course the avocado trees and pineapples.

This is kind of a teaser, as I plan to write more on the topic later, but, at the school, it's home processing time, which means I get to teach some of my favorite classes. To view info about all the upcoming events, see more recipes and pictures, and see what else I'm up to, you can check out the blog I moderate for work here, I write the posts for NaturalEpicurean.

In more personal news, JD and I will be going to the ACL festival again this year. I'm especially excited to see DeVotchka, The Decemberists, Andrew Bird, Bjork, Regina Spektor, and Bob Dylan (Did you hear about this? The story made me giggle.) It will be great to see Wilco, Ben Kweller, The Del McCoury Band, Spoon, Kaiser Chiefs and Bloc Party again, although I'm not a huge fan of the latter four artists, I've seen them live, and they all put on great shows. I saw Jack White play with the Raconteurs last year, which made me wish I was watching The White Stripes, even though I stopped following them after Elephant, so this year I'll get my wish. I haven't decided if I'll check out Muse. I caught some of their show last year, but JD wasn't into them, so we left after two songs. I think their debut, Showbiz was my personal favorite, and honestly, I haven't kept up with them too much recently. Anyone on the lineup you consider to be must-see? I was disappointed that Interpol and Of Montreal weren't tapped since they (will) have both released albums (by the time of the festival).

Last, but certainly not least, my best friend, H will be visiting me this week! I have many potential ideas, including:
Zilker Botanical Gardens - the Oriental garden and koi ponds are gorgeous.
Happy Hour(or dinner) at the Clay Pit - appetizers are half price during happy hour, and although I always enjoy the food, it's the pashwari naan that I really want H to try.
Lunch at Aster's Ethiopian - plenty of injera, and many delicious vegetarian dishes.
Uchi - everyone in my social circle raves about Uchi, but I've never been since I can get decent vegan sushi anywhere, and I can make AWESOME vegan sushi at home, it always seemed as pointless for me to go to an expensive sushi place as it would be for me to go to an expensive steakhouse. H loves the sushi, though, so this is a good time to check it out.
AMoA
Cocktail party! - I think the South Austin Spec's just opened....
Threadgill's - I've never been, but one of my favorite locals band is having a show there.
The Draughthouse Pub and Brewery and/or The Gingerman - both have an vast & varied selection of exquisite beers, and the Draughthouse (obviously) brews their own. If we go to The Gingerman(which I've been known to drunkenly call "The GingerBREAD Man"), we'll probably check out Halcyon, because, though they are not vegan, H would love the idea of their indoor S'mores.
The Alamo Drafthouse - hopefully we can check out Terror Thursday at the original before they close.
The Whole Foods flagship location - it's kind of a huge yuppie amusement park, yes, but good Lord, do they have a lot of beautiful, tasty stuff, plus, they give out tons of samples.
Waterloo Records/Waterloo Video - 'nuff said.
Book People - Ditto.
Kerbey Lane - I'm sure we'll be out really, really late at least one night, in need of nourishment, and what's better for that than KL's Mushroom Artichoke Spinach Omelet, veganized? Nothing, that's what.
I'm also taking recommendations, so if you have suggestions for quintessentially Austin things, or know of any fun events occurring between May 31 and June 6, let me know.