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in a city not so far away there lives a girl who loves green. Green is her favourite colour since it matches her eyes and her favourite sweater. She tries having green in all aspects of her life since she now realizes how important it is to love green food. She uses green vegetables in her cooking and smoothies but that wasn’t enough for this girl: she wanted green milk. Rich, cool, creamy and lightly sweetened green milk. Sounds crazy right? But this girl believed in the green!

She summoned the assistance of her Vitamix cauldron to concoct the perfect green milk. Double double turbo trouble! ITS ALIVE!!

The Green Monster Milk was ready to go out into the world, spreading the goodness of green for everyone to love and enjoy.

The only problem was this milk didn’t look like the rest of the milks in the world. On the surface he looked a little different but inside he had so many good things to offer: vitamins and minerals, those important micronutrients but all anyone saw was his green colour.

He was sad and lonely so he went on a journey through the spooky Collard Green Forest in hopes of meeting others that would understand him and his greenness.

Just when he thought he wouldn’t find any green monsters like him, he finally met some! And people who loved all his green goodness that he wanted to share!

He finally found his calling and that is bringing people only the best source of green power: plant power! He lived happily ever after. Definitely not THE END of this recipe.  

Happy Halloween from our new friend Green Monster Milk!

I made this milk for those who do not like green juice (I have yet to be sold on it!) but I do love green milk! It tastes just like my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk but with all the green juice goodness. The milk is completely raw, vegan, gluten-free and refined sugar free since it is sweetened with dates! So if you are not a fan of straight green juice this milk is a great alternative.

For complete step-by-step instructions with photos visit my Homemade Vanilla Almond Milk post, just add the chopped greens and dates with the almonds instead of just the almonds. Warning: if your nut milk bag is made of a natural fibre like hemp, it will slightly discolour the bag. Wash right away for minimal staining. Trust me….

This is a great recipe to use if you need a little detox after a Halloween fete. If you are anything like me and stuffed your face with sweet bubbly punch and tons of candy, you will need this green milk in the morning. 

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The last post of the month long vegan food feast is finally here! What a blur it has been and did it ever go by quickly. I was hesitant to initially sign up for it, 20 new recipes in 30 days seemed a little daunting for me since I am currently in school full time and work 30-35 a week but I filled in the sign up form and sent it away (almost) with immediate regret. What have I done? Have I gone crazy?

In a panic I started clicking away about the VeganMoFo 2013 blog roll and remembered how disappointed I was not signing up for last year’s event since I lacked the confident to try something so challenging. With this in mind, the panic (somewhat) settled I got to work pouring over vegan and non-vegan cookbooks alike to be inspired get some recipe ideas and flavour profiles I wanted to highlight with the season change. On my little whiteboard calendar I scheduled out the recipes and testing days, trying to be realistic about the time I would have to get everything done. I brought meals and treats into work asking my carnivore co-workers and friends to taste test almost everything I made, they happily obliged. The Pureed Broccoli and Cheezy Soup, Vegan Beer and Chocolate Chilli and this recipe were amongst their favourites.

I was once told that people in their kitchens are just looking for that perfect chocolate cake recipe. Molly Wizenberg states in the final chapter of her book A Homemade Life that a chocolate cake recipe is important in any cook’s repertoire (other things being important too) but a good chocolate cake was essential. With this spirit in mind, I wanted to create my perfect vegan chocolate cake for my repertoire (and hopefully yours too).

To me, chocolate cake needs to be rich, decadent and chocolate-ly. I have never heard some complimenting a chocolate cake that was airy and light. I like it when you can satisfy your chocolate craving with just a sliver of cake. Or a giant piece? I am not the boss of you.

When I first made this cake the taste was great but the cake looked rather plain and I wanted to end my first ever VeganMoFo with a bang. I called in a professional who was willing to be paid in cake and vegan Pumpkin Spice Lattes, my beautiful and talented friend Holly. She is so wonderfully creative, makes amazing tassel garlands and wants everything in the world to be sparkling and beautiful. She herself sparkles every day. I knew when she brought over a vintage box and bags of styling props, fresh flowers and a gorgeous white stand from Le Dolci bakery that I had put my precious cake into good hands.

I decorated the cake while she crafted a custom made little sign celebrating the end of Vegan MoFo 2014 and set up the shoot. My regular shoots are never quite as glamorous as this one but it has inspired me to get a little more creative and a lot more sparkle friendly.

I wouldn’t have thought of gold, peach and green accents (I am more of a black and white girl) but everything turned out beautifully. Now for the bang! 

In her styling bag she brought a few sparklers but couldn’t remember if they were specifically meant for the outdoors or were acceptable for inside. We took the gamble and were blown away with the results however our squeals of delight were quickly drowned out by the pounding sound of the smoke detector. Oooops. Ringing eardrums and one pissed off cat later we were finally ready to cut the cake.

Swoooooon! I am in love with that word lately because it is perfectly describing how I am feeling about this dessert. The rich chocolate mixed with creamy coconut milk to make the most perfect decadent ganache, the double layer of dark chocolate cake and with the nutty toasted slivered almond edge, who wouldn’t swoon?

This cake is a little more expensive to make than my other recipes so you may want to save it for special occasions however not any more expensive than attempting to get a great tasting vegan chocolate cake custom made from a bakery. Homemade is always the way to go and you get to shamelessly lick the spatula if you are so inclined. I don’t think I have ever met anyone, young or old that would refuse a spatula coated in chocolate batter.

I loved doing VeganMoFo since it taught me a lot about myself: mistakes I have made with my organizational skills, how to work under pressure and of course where I want to be in the next few years, in life and with this site. For now, I am happy to take a little break from the kitchen (it needs a deep clean!) and enjoy my accomplishment. Until next year VeganMoFo….

Special thanks to Holly Bowman of Champagne Hearts: Parties-In-A-Box creator, stylist,  sequin enthusiast and chocolate lover. This shoot was everything I wanted it to be because of your artful eye and hard work making sure every sequin is in the right place. Thank you so much for everything you did for me from making me a custom tassel garland to getting the hair out of my face when I was elbow deep in chocolate. I am a lucky gal to have such a wonderful and inspiring friend. 

Thank you to Le Dolci in Toronto for allowing me to use your perfect white cake stand for the shoot and Sweet Woodruff for the gorgeous peach and white flowers that I have been enjoying well beyond the shoot day. Follow Le Dolci on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

The post Decadent Dark Chocolate Cake with Chocolate Ganache {Vegan} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Though it has been challenging thinking of new recipes to post 4 times a week there are so many bloggers who made this experience look easy. I am sure they are hustling and sweating behind the camera like the rest of us. Well at least I hope I am not the only one with shaky caffeine hands and a kitchen that looks like a bomb went off.

These are just a few of my favourite VeganMoFo bloggers:

Fork and Beans 

She has turned the ghoulish into adorable (I mean terrifying…) vegan AND gluten-free Halloween treats for everyone to enjoy. Bravo!)

Vegetarian Snob 

LOVE the Lazy Sunday recipe idea! Especially the Tempeh Bacon Quiche, the Pumpkin Spice Cinnamon Rolls, all of them really!

Olives for Dinner

I have drooled over these recipes and amazing photography.

Popcorn and Nooch

I am glad someone loves movies and television as much as I do and then recreates it into amazing meals.

Zsu’s Vegan Pantry

Burgers for an entire month? Sign me up! Thanksgiving, Irish, Eggplant Sriracha, Gyro….the list goes on! 

To the fine creators of VeganMoFo, I applauded your hard work to build an annual vegan food-sharing community. Because of this event, I discovered sites and accounts that I fell in love with and have bookmarked to check on the regular. My hat goes off to you!

 Now why would I include a borderline dessert as a staple? This is not just your average dessert since it has protein (from the hemp hearts) and omegas (from the chia seeds). I feel it is important that every kitchen have a little something-something kept the freezer for your work/school week because it always kept me from buying (although vegan) the not-so-good for you “snack foods” out there. I would be in a store after school or work and could tell I was getting a little hangry, I just needed something to get me home but thankfully with these guys in the freezer waiting for me I could talk myself out of grabbing a chocolate bar or a bag of chips. I would think to myself “Why waste the calories/money in a treat that I don’t really want?” and put that snack down and wait until I got home. Now I pack one or two in my dinner that I take to work since I don’t get a break (ever!) but need a little boost when it is blindingly busy or when a table is particularly rude to me.

They are quick, easy and can be made in one bowl. Hooray! Oh did I mention that they are vegan, gluten free and insanely delicious, especially right out of the freezer. The roasted almond butter melts as you chew it, revealing new flavours like coconut, nutty oats, caramel-y dates and chocolate. Swoon! For this recipe I used my One-Ingredient Roasted Almond Butter (another staple!) to make these balls however I am sure any almond butter of your choice will do.

So if someone asks why a little protein-filled dessert is considered a staple, tell them to try it first and if they still don’t get it, just stop talking to them. You don’t need that kind of negativity in your life. Haha! Saw that one on Pinterest and I felt it applied.

It has been such a pleasure for me to share with you some of my favourite recipes that I make every week. Thank you all so much for the lovely comments and blog love! I am so grateful for all the readers of my site and there is plenty more coming from my kitchen after VeganMoFo has ended. Check out Tuesday’s post for the final recipe of this month long vegan food fest. I have been saving the best for last. 

Happy Sunday!

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 Welcome to another Staple Sunday! So far I have posted the One-Ingredient Roasted Almond Butter (can you guess what the ingredient is?) and Basic Cashew Cream {10 ways}. This week is Homemade Almond Milk Step-by-Step. If you have never made your own milk you are in for a real treat! Milk as a treat? YES! I may not know how to milk a cow (and frankly why would I want to?) but I sure can milk a nut! Feel free to giggle.

Making your own nut milk is very easy and you probably already have all the ingredients in your pantry: almonds, vanilla, salt and a sweetener of choice, I used maple syrup but agave, brown rice syrup, dates or stevia would work (I can’t eat anything with stevia since it gives me a wicked headache, has anyone else had this problem?). So why bother to make it yourself when now there are so many great dairy-free options? Homemade almond milk is about a zillion times better than store bought. You may have a Kristen Wiig moment in Bridemaids because damn this stuff is good.

I like to soak my almonds overnight but if you forgot to 2 hours should be good. After soaking them, drain, rinse and add them to your blender. Put in some earplugs because we are going turbo! I am not too sure how this recipe would fare in a non heavy-duty blender. If you don’t have one, it is still possible but you might not yield as much milk.

A nut milk bag (more giggles!) is needed to squeeze out all the delicious milk from the mixture after it is blended.

Wtf is a nut milk bag? It is generally a medium sized drawstring bag made of different kinds of finely woven material. Mine is made of hemp but I have seen others made up of cotton, nylon or linen. I got my bag from The Big Carrot in Toronto but check any well-stocked health food store for their selection.

“Oh the blender woke you up? Sorry sweetie! Well, since you are awake can you be my hand model?” Thanks Mark! 

This milk is lightly sweetened but if you like sweeter milk just add more sweetener of choice but I think it is pretty amazing all on its own.  Milking my own almonds made me feel like a little homegrown country gal except in my high-rise apartment in Toronto.

13 recipes down, 7 more to go……

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