To Live and Eat in L.A. – A Vegan Food Photo Blog

So guess what? The results of Robin Robertson’s Couscous Cake contest are in and my recipe was awarded 3rd place! You have no idea how cool that is! Once you see all the other amazing submissions that she received, you’ll realize just what an honor it is to have been chosen for 3rd place… by a panel of judges no less! To see the other winners and rest of the top contenders along with their creative & delicious creations, please click on over to Robin’s Vegan Planet website. What follows is my submission for the contest… enjoy!

Apple Pie Couscous Cake (vegan)

1 cup drained silken tofu
1 cup baked apples *
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup Earth Balance butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cup apple juice
pinch salt
1 cup instant couscous

For frosting:
1 cup raw cashews
1 cup pitted dates
1 cup cream cheese (Tofutti)
1/2 cup light coconut milk

Ok, first things first. I am not a cook. Nor am I a baker or a dessert maker (or a candlestick maker for that matter). I’ve never baked an apple pie before. In fact, I’ve never baked any sort of pie. Or cake. That said, and having already successfully tried my hand at Robin’s no-bake Pumpkin Rum Couscous Cake (minus the rum), I thought I could probably pull off my idea for an apple pie inspired couscous cake for this contest. Here’s what I came up with, along with very helpful suggestions along the way from my mom (someone who actually does know how to cook).

* The first step was to bake the apples. I roughly chopped 3 large green Granny Smith apples and placed them into a baking dish along with 1/2 cup of butter (Earth Balance), 1/2 cup brown sugar, 2 tablespoons of maple syrup and 3 tablespoons of ground cinnamon. This was put into a pre-heated 350 degree oven. After 10 minutes I took it out to stir and realized now that the butter was melted that I’d used too much of it (1/4 cup should be more than enough). I wanted the apples and sugar to caramelize and that wasn’t going to happen with all this liquid, so I spooned out quite a bit of the butter, then put it back in for another 30 minutes (stirring every 10).

Next, I made the couscous mix as called for in Robin’s original recipe: In a medium sized sauce pan, combine apple juice, 1/4 cup of brown sugar and pinch of salt, bring to boil. Reduce heat to low and stir in the couscous. Cover and simmer for 2 minutes, then turn off heat and let stand 5 minutes.

While the couscous did it’s thing, I made the tofu mixture. Into the blender went 1 cup silken tofu, 1 cup of the baked apples, 1/4 cup brown sugar and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract. This was blended until smooth yet still slightly chunk with soft apple pieces.

Once the couscous was ready I transferred it to a large bowl and combined with the tofu and apple mix until well blended. This was then spread into a lightly oiled 9″ spring form pan, pressed in firmly and evenly. The rest of the baked apples were then spread on top of the cake. This was placed into the refrigerator and chilled overnight.

The next day I made the delicious frosting. I was going for a cashew cream sauce that I was going to pour along the top of the cake and have run down the sides, but what I came up with instead was a much thicker sort of topping which ended up even tastier than I’d imagined it would.

Into the food processor first went the cashews and dates, processed until the nuts were chopped and the dates in pieces. I then added in the cream cheese and coconut milk and processed until it reached a creamy, pasty consistency.

I then applied the frosting to the cake while it was still in the spring form pan. I spooned it on around the apples in the center, using my fingers to get it on firmly and evenly. I was afraid that the frosting would pull away when I took the sides off the pan, but thankfully it did not. I was also pleased and relieved that the cake did not fall apart :)

I then decorated the cake with a more cashew nuts and frosting.

The verdict:

It was really good! I was pleasantly surprised that it worked as well as it did. It was actually quite tasty and pretty close to how I’d envisioned it in my mind. Not exactly, but pretty close. I think it could have done with a bit more sugar and cinnamon, and my mom concurred. Mostly I think it’s the idea that’s a winner, if not the execution.

I think this concept of the apple pie couscous cake is a really good one, and in the hands of a real cook who already knows how to bake a mean apple pie… well, that person could adjust the flavors like a pro and probably make something incredible out of this. It sure was fun to try and make it though… and even more fun to eat it!

Tags: apple pie, couscous, couscous cake, recipe, Vegan Planet

Inspired by a few different recipes I found online for roasted brussels sprouts, I took what I liked best from each and ran with it. I’ve never tried roasted brussels sprouts before so I wasn’t sure if I’d like them; the last time I had this vegetable it was not prepared well and the results were awful. I was pleased to discover however that when roasted this way they are delectable.

Below is what I came up with, my own version of a roasted brussels sprouts recipe – if something this simple can even be called a recipe. I’m not giving any exact amounts because that’s really just not how I roll when I’m cooking on the fly. Plus it’s all going to depend on how many brussels sprouts you’re planning to cook. Be creative and just season these according to your taste.

Chop off the knobby bits on the end then slice the brussels sprouts in half. The young, small ones taste the best.
In a large bowl mix together the brussels sprouts with:
- just enough olive oil to coat
- two splashes of balsamic vinegar
- one large crushed garlic clove
- couple dashes each of sea salt, black pepper, red chili flakes and nutritional yeast
Place on baking sheet and roast at 400 for about 15 min. Turn and roast for another 5 minutes or until the tops get nicely browned and slightly crispy.

I made a quick dipping sauce of balsamic vinegar, agave nectar and more red chili flakes.

At this point I’m addicted to roasted brussels sprouts and I’ve been making them almost everyday for the past week. They make for the perfect quick, cheap and super healthy snack, something I’m grateful for right now as I’m attempting to shed the winter weight.

Tags: brussels sprouts, recipe, roasted vegetables

I’ve got a lot of meals to post for you, but first off the one I’m most excited about, Chilled Asparagus Fennel soup. It’s exciting because not only did I make it from scratch, but also because it turned out amazingly good!

I’d been to the evening farmers market that they hold at the Northridge Mall. Among other things, I picked up a bunch of asparagus, which was organic and fresh picked on the farm just hours previous. Awesome. So with all this lovely asparagus to use up, I decided to try my hand at a cold soup. After looking through a number of online sources as well as my cookbooks at home, I found the perfect recipe in a book which I’d just picked up a couple of weeks ago (for super cheap at the used bookstore), “The American Vegetarian Cookbook from the Fit For Life Kitchen” by Marilyn Diamond.

For the most part I stuck exactly to the recipe, except for one significant change and a few minor ones. Below is the recipe, along with what I did differently.

Cream of Asparagus and Fennel Soup

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1 small potato, peeled and cubed (optional)
2 pounds asparagus, trimmed and cut into 1 inch segments
1 bulb fennel, coarsely chopped
7 cups water
1 tablespoon powdered vegetable broth or 1 vegetable bouillon cube
1 tablespoon light miso (optional)
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon or 1/4 teaspoon dried
1 1/2 tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1/2 teaspoon dried
1/4 to 1/2 cup Cashew Cream (1 heaping tablespoon raw cashews liquefied in 1/2 cup water)

1. Heat oil with onions in a large soup pot. Add potato, asparagus and fennel, then saute briefly, stirring constantly. Add water, bouillon, miso and herbs. Mix well and bring to a boil. Cover and reduce heat to medium. Simmer 20 minutes or until vegetables are tender. Prepare Cashew Cream.

2. Cool soup slightly, then liquefy with a hand blender or food processor until smooth and creamy. Stir in Cashew Cream. Adjust seasoning and reheat but do not boil. (Serves 6).

Ok, so to begin with I forgot the green onions when I was gathering my ingredients at the market, but in my defense I did use the medium onion (which nearly killed me to chop… I don’t know how you people do it!). I don’t know if a red potato was what the recipe intended, but I wanted to keep everything organic and was only able to find organic red potatoes, so that’s what I used. And I didn’t peel it either (that’s where a lot of the nutrients are packed in). I used premade vegetable broth instead of powder or bouillon, substituting one cup of the broth for one less cup of water. Everything else was done just as in the recipe, until it came time to make the Cashew Cream.

I envisioned the cream being, well, creamy. It wasn’t though, so I added in more cashews. It still wasn’t very creamy, more like white watery stuff. So I poured out some of the water and poured in a lot more cashews, as in, probably closer to 1 1/2 cups worth instead of the heaping tablespoon called for in the recipe. Sure enough, a few more pulses in the food processor turned this into a nice, thick nutty cream. I then proceeded to liquify the soup (in batches as there was a lot of it), leaving it still a bit chunky, then mixed in the new and improved Cashew Cream. The flavor of the soup was excellent, but very mild. To boost the flavors a little bit I added in just a few shakes of black pepper and a dash of cinnamon.

It was so delicious! Light and yet at the same time filled with complex flavors. This was so great after a tough workout on a hot day, not only tasty to eat but wholesome and nourishing too… just what I needed. Even if you don’t fancy yourself much of a cook, you should give this one a try. I can’t really cook either, but as you can see by the directions, it’s super easy with not much possibility of messing up. Take my advice though and go overboard on the cashews, it was well worth it.

Tags: asparagus, fennel, recipe, soup