Ice Cream Cake!!

My roommate, Rich, had a potluck this weekend for his birthday. The night before, I couldn't think of what to make, so he suggested an ice cream cake! I always like making something new, so I was up for the challenge. And it was a challenge! Caution...don't try to make an ice cream cake only 4 hours before the party! It's actually not that hard, just make sure you leave yourself ample time to let everything freeze and set up. This is a perfect do-it-the-day-before kind of dessert. Here's how I did it (or should have done it)!

Ice Cream Cake
Makes one 9" round cake.

Components:
Your favorite cake recipe (enough for two 9" round cakes)
Yummy Ice Cream-at least 2 pints (I used Maggy Mudds Freestyle- Tarmack)
Frosting or ganache (3/4 cup soy milk, 12 oz. dark chocolate chips)

Step 1: Bake the cakes, cool and remove from pans.
Step 2: Take the ice cream out of the freezer for a little while to soften a bit.
Step 3: Line one of the clean, cooled cake pans with a couple layers of plastic wrap and spoon the softened ice cream into it, smoothing it down to make an even layer. Cover with a sheet of plastic wrap.


Step 4: Freeze the ice cream for a LONG TIME (trust me, 2 hours is not enough). Overnight would be great.
Step 5: Once the cakes are completely cooled, trim the tops to make an even, flat surface. (note: slightly frozen cakes are easier to cut).


Step 6: Place one layer of cake on a cooling rack, lift the plastic wrapped ice cream out of the cake pan, remove the plastic, and place the ice cream layer on top of the cake, taking care to line up the edges. Top with the other cake layer. Put back in the freezer for a while.


Step 7: Make the ganache- Put chocolate chips in a large bowl. In a pan, bring the soy milk just to a boil and then remove from heat. Pour the soy milk over the chocolate, let sit for a few minutes, then whisk gently until all the chocolate is melted and the ganache is smooth. Let cool for 5-10 minutes.


Step 8: Remove the cake from the freezer and set the cake and cooling rack on a sheet pan. Slowly pour the ganache on the top of the cake, smoothing it out with a knife and pushing ganache over the sides. Try to make it as smooth and even as possible, on the sides and top of the cake. (Note- sometimes it helps to apply a smooth, thin layer of ganache over the sides and top of the cake first, let that harden, and then pour the rest of the ganache over the cake as described. This helps seal up the sides and any loose crumbs for a smoother finish.)


Step 9: Put the cake back into the freezer until about a half hour before you're ready to serve it to soften it a bit (or less, depending on how soft the ice cream was to begin with). You can transfer the cake to a nice serving platter at this point if you want.


Step 10: Eat it. Nom, nom, nom.

Peach Almond Cobbler

Our scrawny little peach tree in the back yard finally cracked under the weight of it's peach filled branch (yes, branch singular...it didn't have much going for it), dropping all of it's fruit just before they were ripe. We left them out there for a while, and they finally ripened up, so I decided to make a cobbler before the bugs and birds got to them.

The cobbler topping in this recipe is a bit denser than some, but that may be due to the addition of ground almonds. I kinda like it that way, though. I also added some almond liquor to the peach filling, but I actually think almond extract would have been a bit more obvious. Oh well, the cobbler's just as good without the almond flavor, so it's no big deal if it's left out. I'm a big fan of fruit desserts, and it's been a while since I've made one, so I was pretty excited that the peaches were finally ready! Enjoy.

Peach Cobbler
Makes one 9 x 13 cobbler
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees

Peach Filling
About 4 lbs Ripe Peaches (roughly 9 cups sliced peaches)
3/4-1 Cup Sugar (adjust depending on tartness of fruit)
4 Tbl Flour
3/4 Cup Almond Liquor (of 1-2 tsp Almond Extract), optional
Pinch of Salt

Cobbler Topping
2-1/2 Cups All-Purpose Flour
3/4 Cup Finely Ground Almonds
4 Tbl Earth Balance Margarine or Veg. Shortening
1/4 Tsp Salt
2 Tbl Sugar
3/4 Cup Soy Milk

Peach Filling:
Wash, pit and slice the peaches and put into a large saucepan.

Add the flour, sugar, and pinch of salt and toss together until everything is wet and juicy. If using, add the almond liquor and over medium heat, cook for about 10 minutes until the peaches begin to soften and the juices thicken.

Remove from the heat and pour into a 9 x 13 baking dish.

For the topping:
In a food processor, grind whole, raw almonds until they form a slightly coarse meal.

In a large bowl, combine the flour, almond meal, sugar, salt, and baking soda and mix until well combined. Cut in the cold margarine or shortening with a pastry blender until the mixture is crumbly. Make a well in the center, and pour in the soymilk. Mix gently with a fork until just combined, then for the dough into a ball with your hands. Be sure not to overwork the dough!

At this point, you can go for a rustic top and just plop little globs of dough on top of the cooked peaches, or you can roll the dough out into a 1/2" slab and use a cookie cutter to cut out cool shapes.

After you've placed the dough on top of the peaches, pop it in the oven for about 20 minutes until the cobbler topping is golden brown and the fruit mixture it bubbly. This is good served warm with ice cream!

Liquid Smoke

I just bought a bottle of it yesterday. I've never used it before, but I've seen it called for in lots of recipes. I don't really understand what it is though, but it sounds cool. Maybe tomorrow night I'll try making the Smokey Miso Tofu on the Vegan Yum Yum site. It looks like a good place to start.

Pizza Nights

We've been making pizza at the house a lot lately. I've always considered homemade pizza a huge endeavor, but it's actually not that bad. I've been using the dough recipe from Vegan With A Vengeance, which is really good, then we all make individual pizzas and put whatever topping we want on each of them! I'd really like a baking stone to put in the oven, though. For now we've been putting a baking sheet in ahead of time to heat up, and then transfer our made up pizzas to the hot pan to bake. It actually seems to work pretty well and the bottom gets nice and crisp. I don't have any recipe to post since pizza is pretty much whatever you feel like putting on it, but I definitely recommend making lots of little pizzas with friends sometime. It rocks!

Sloppy Joes

Here's a quick, easy, yummy, messy recipe that really hits the spot! I meant to post this ages ago, but I lots my notes for the recipe. After a thorough bedroom cleaning the other day, my boyfriend Jose found them, so without further adieu, Sloppy Joes!!!

Sloppy Joes
Makes about 4 servings

14 oz. Firm Tofu (not the silken variety), pressed to remove excess liquid
1/2 Medium Yellow Onion
2 Medium Carrots
1 Medium Green or Red Bell Pepper
1 (generous) T Garlic, finely chopped
22 oz Tomato Sauce (1 14 oz can plus a smaller 8 oz can)
2 tsp Ground Cumin
4 tsp Chili Powder
3 T Granulated Sugar
1 T Balsamic Vinegar
3/4 tsp Dried Oregano
1/4 tsp Red Pepper Flakes
1 tsp Salt
2 tsp Tamari or Soy Sauce
Vegetable Oil

Finely chop the carrots, onion, and bell pepper.

(Ignore the celery in this picture...I didn't like it)

In a large skillet, heat some oil (a few teaspoons) over medium heat and add the chopped vegetables and garlic. Sautee, stirring, until the vegetable begin to soften, about 5-8 minutes. Crumble the pressed tofu, and add it to the skillet.

Pressing the tofu.

Sautee for another 5-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the tofu is cooked. Add the spices, tamari, balsamic, and red pepper flakes. Sautee for another minute or two.

Add the tomato sauce and cook for about 5 more minutes, until hot and bubbly.

Serve over toasted hamburger buns or crusty french rolls.

Zucchini Bread

Freshly baked zucchini bread with homemade Strawberry Jam!

*I finally made this again, so I've added some pictures!

So, along with a bunch of ripe apricots, I also keep finding unnaturally large zucchini in my back yard that I can't seem to keep up with. I'm not sure how they do it, but every time I check my plants there seems to be another gigantoid zucchini hiding under all the huge leaves. Big zucchini aren't really good for too much, but they do make a mean bread!

You obviously don't have to use oversized zucchini for this recipe, but if you do, be sure to cut out and discard the spongy, seedy center part and only use the firm, outer flesh.

This recipe is pretty loosely adapted from the King Arthur Flour Cookbook's Lemon Zucchini Muffins. I substituted half the white flour for whole wheat pastry flour, used flax seeds instead of eggs, and adapted a few other things to make it as a loaf instead of muffins. The last time I made it, I tried using an even larger ratio of whole wheat pastry flour and less sugar, but it tasted too much like wheat bread and not enough like zucchini bread. You can use all white flour if you want, but I like the combo.

Zucchini Bread
Makes 2 loaves.

2 Cups Unbleached All Purpose Flour
2 Cups Whole Wheat Pastry Flour
3 T. Baking Powder
1 Cup Granulated Sugar
1 1/2 tsp Salt
1 1/2 tsp Cinnamon
1 Cup Soy Milk
1/2 Cup Vegetable Oil
4 T. Finely Ground Flax Seeds mixed with 1/2 Cup Water
2 1/2 Cups Grated Zucchini, packed, excess water squeezed out
1 1/2 Cups Walnuts, roughly chopped
1/2 Cup Raisins, optional

Pre-heat oven to 350 degrees.
Lightly grease 2 bread pans with oil or margarine and dust lightly with flour.


In a large bowl, combine all the dry ingredients (except the walnuts) in mix until well combined. In a separate bowl, combine the soy milk, oil, and flax mixture (I grind whole flax seeds in a coffee grinder to make a powder) .

Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients, and pour in the wet ingredients. With a wooden spoon, mix until well combined, but don't overmix.

Add the grated zucchini and fold in. Add 1 cup walnut and the raisins, reserving the rest of the walnuts for the tops of the loaves. Spoon the batter evenly into the 2 pans and sprinkle with the remaining 1/2 cup of walnuts.

Bake on the center rack for about 65 minutes, until the tops are a deep, golden brown and a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
Allow the bread to cool in the pans for about 10 minutes, then turn out onto a cooling rack and let cool for at least 30 minutes before serving. The cooler the bread, the less likely it will squash down and get dense when you cut it. I actually like the bread best the next day after it's cooled completely!

Aaahhhh, Summer.

Can I just say that I love summer? Yeah, the warm weather is nice, but what I really like is all the sweet, juicy fruit that's in season and the abundance of tasty vegetables. I'm still waiting for most of my own veggies to start producing, but our apricot tree in the back is ripening so fast I can't keep up! I went to Tahoe over the weekend with my family and decided to try something new. I assembled two apricot pies and froze them before I left for the weekend. Then when I was up there, I popped the frozen pies in the oven, and viola! Warm homemade pies! I'd never frozen a pie before, so I was a bit nervous, but it actually worked pretty well.

When I got home, the tree was still loaded, so I decided to make jam. I used a recipe from a cute little cookbook by Alice Waters called Fanny At Chez Panisse. It's written from the perspective of Fanny, Alice's daughter, about growing up in her moms restaurant. All the recipes are pretty simple (not vegan though), and there's cute artwork and stories. Growing up, I made apricot or blackberry jam numerous times with my mom and we always used pectin. This recipe, however, didn't call for any, so I was kinda curious to see how it would turn out.

My new $5.00 thrift store pot!

Well...I think I would call it Apricot Preserves or Yummy Apricot Ice Cream Topping instead of Apricot Jam. It tastes great, and I actually like the runny consistency, but it's definitely not PB&J suitable. It would, however, be perfect with warm scones or some toasty French bread. I'm thinking about giving some to my neighbor, whichever one it is, who keeps calling the cops every time we have people over. Maybe I'll win them over with the sweetness of homemade jam and they'll leave us alone!

Not sure what this does, but my Mom does it, so I will too!

By the way, this batch of jam (which I'm not posting a recipe for cause there's a million online already) was probably the most time consuming one I've ever made. Yeah, I had to cook it longer to make up for the lack of pectin, but the real problem came when most of the jars didn't seal right. I made it last night, but by this morning, about half of the lids still hadn't popped down. I used the 'turn the jar upside down' method of sealing the first time, but tonight I had to take all the lids off, replace them with new ones, and reprocess every jar in boiling water. I also decided to make a couple jars of strawberry jam while I was at it, so that took a bit longer. As I write though, I can actually hear the "pop" of the lids sealing, one-by-one, so I think it's safe this time! Man, my feet are tired, but I think it's all going to be worth it.