Chana Masala Sweet Potato Jackets

Vegan, gluten-free, very healthy in many ways, but not Paleo friendly. 

Don't worry, it's day three and I have not yet broken my Paleo Challenge.  I've been tweeting what I've been eating, but it's just been my breakfasts, actually.  Lunches and dinners I eat some stir fried vegetables and meat.  I was going to go all out and buy the Paleo friendly pantry necessities -- but they're not very student-budget-friendly.  So no coconut oil or coconut flour or too many nuts for desserts.  Though I could make this Healthy Chocolate Avocado Mousse again, just with honey instead of sugar. 

Anyway, I had made this last week.  Very yummy. I miss chickpeas.

One Week Paleo Challenge

First of all, HAPPY CHINESE NEW YEAR! it's the year of the snake.  If you can read Mandarin, you'll be able to appreciate this.

"朋友您好，為了你好，
請您坐好，用心聽好。
錢多錢小，夠吃就好。
人醜人美，順眼就好。
人老人少，健康就好。
家窮家富，和氣就好。
老公晚歸，有回就好。
老婆嘮叨，顧家就好。
父母健在，福報最好。
翁姑兩老，有了是寶。
孩子從小，就要教好。
博士也好，賣菜也好，
長大以後，乖乖就好。
房屋大小，能住就好。
名不名牌，能穿就好。
兩輪四輪，能駕就好。
老闆不好，要忍就好。
是是非非，不理最好。
一切煩惱，能解就好。
堅持執著，放下最好。
人的一生，平安就好。
不是有錢，一定會好。
心好行好，命能改好。
孝善二行，原來最好。
誰是誰非，天知就好。
修福修慧，來世更好。
說這麼多，明白就好。
天地萬物，隨緣就好。
很多事情，看開就好。
人人都好，日日都好。
你好我好，世界更好。
今天立春，蛇年啟動！"

Apple and Almond Tea Cake

Hello Readers,

How are we doing?  Lent's coming up.  Are we all doing something for Lent?

I was going to do a Happy Belly Lent Challenge, but it's 40 days.  40 days.  I had a Math teacher in high school who was a devout Catholic and a coffee addict.  The poor man gave up coffee for Lent every year and he was just the b*tchiest thing in the world in that period.  Lovely man the other 325 days of the year, but those 40 days, he just derives me mad (hah, get it? Math teacher? I crack myself up).

Anyway, 40 days is too much, but I thought I'd do another two week challenge perhaps starting this weekend. I've done vegan, I've done gluten-free,  this time -- Paleo.  I'll talk more about it when I actually start.  I've done some preliminary research and it's already upsetting me as I discovered peanuts are off the list. 

So while I'm eating everything, I'm going to eat cakes and stuff.  Paleo means baking's a pain because the only flours I'm allowed to use are nut flours and coconut flour which is very $$$.

Coffee and Almond Cake

My streak of bad luck with birthday cakes is finally over.  My last two birthday cakes for friends had been disasters. 

Let's first admire my latest success -- a simple coffee and almond cake from Jamie Oliver.

 It was originally a coffee and walnut cake, but I like almonds more.  I didn't get to eat it actually, I had brought it to the birthday party but then had to leave early to attend another thing.

It's just a simple coffee flavored sponge cake with some ground almonds in it.  Then it's sliced in half, filled with frosting and then glazed with icing.

I got this from Jamie Oliver, and the title of the cake was "Best Ever Coffee Walnut Cake".  That was..well, I haven't had that many coffee cakes, so I wouldn't argue with the fact that it was probably one of the better coffee cake recipes around.  So it depends on what you like and whether or not you trust Jamie.

And then there was the cake I had made for my friend Jess' birthday.  Hah.  This was awhile ago.  I didn't even bother photoshop it or anything, there's no way of making this photo better.   To be fair, it wasn't this yellow, it was the lighting.

Yea it looks like it exploded.  With expired milk on top.  I'm not going to go into this.

And then I don't have photographic evidence for the other one. 

The other one was bad, it didn't rise, but the other one was so bad that it's actually funny.  What's your worst cake disaster?


Recipe adapted Jamie Oliver
Ingredients
Sponge
175g unsalted butter, cubed and softened, plus extra to grease
75g ground almonds
175g sugar
3 eggs, beaten
150g self-raising flour
1/2 tsp baking powder
50ml cold espresso

Coffee Filling
65g butter
125g icing sugar
40ml strong espresso

Coffee icing
100g icing sugar
20ml strong espresso

Method
Preheat the oven to 180C

Grease and line the base of a cake tin. 

Cream the butter in a bowl with the sugar until light and fluffy.  Gradually beat in the eggs then add the ground almonds and gently stir through

Fold the flour, baking powder, and a pinch of salt through with a wooden spoon until just incorporated.

Stir in the espresso. 

Pour the mixture into the cake tin and bake for 20-30 minutes or until golden/when a knife is inserted into the cake it comes out clean.

Leave the cake to cool and make the filling and icing. 

For the filling
Put the butter in a bowl.  Sift in the icing sugar and beat until fluffy, then beat in the coffee.

For the icing
 Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and beat in the coffee to make a thick, smooth icing

Cut the cake in half with a knife and spread on one half the coffee filling. Top with the other half and drizzle over icing.   You can smooth it over with a palette knife or with a spatula.  Sprinkle over some almonds if you wish. 

Curried Eggplant Soup

I'm exhausted - I hate cleaning, well, I hate mopping and and wiping.  I never cease to amaze myself with my clumsiness.  I was twisting open my new bottle of prune juice and then, in slow motion, it somehow slipped out of my left hand and fell onto the coffee table before bouncing off to the ground.  The dark staining liquid flew out, making its way across the living room, marking its territory on the coffee table, floor, ceiling, couch, walls, my purse and shoes, my flatmate's jacket and iPad and binder filled with academic notes.  I've got this brown stuff on my face and clothes as well.  I look like a homeless wreck.

This is why I was not allowed to help my ex-boyfriend carry boxes when he was moving houses.

Anyway, I mopped and wiped and mopped and wiped and I'm just done.  Too exhausted too cook lunch, but no worries, because look what I had in my freezer!