When I think of a retro recipe, my mind goes to this cookbook that every mother since the 1970’s seemed to own, my own mother included. Thankfully, my mother spared me from Party Potato Salad loaf, Frozen Cheese Salad, and anything with a mixture of gelatine and mayo. I am forever grateful.

The only real recipe that looked good, or edible, was a Pineapple Upside Down Cake. I wanted to update this recipe with some seasonal fruit, make it vegan, and with a gluten free option. I am crazy for peaches and haven’t been eating them enough. 
I was at the farmer’s market where these beautiful fuzzy peaches were calling my name. The farmer suggested to wait a day before eating them to ripen up a little bit more but slightly underripe peaches were perfect for this cake. Ripe peaches are great for eating but a little more difficult to cut for this recipe.  I consulted one of my favourite culinary books, The Vegetarian Flavor Bible: The Essential Guide to Culinary Creativity with Vegetables, Fruits, Grains, Legumes, Nuts, Seeds, and More, Based on the Wisdom of Leading American Chefs, for some flavour suggestions and saw ginger and whiskey. Whiskey is not gluten free since it is made with grains but if you need this cake to be entirely gluten free, replace the whiskey with fresh lemon juice or just powdered sugar. 

The spicy ginger and warm whiskey pair so well with this lightly sweetened peach cake. It can be made in a cake pan instead of a cast iron. The day I tested this recipe, I made it three times just make sure. Make sure each peach slice is touching the cake pan and the peaches don’t layer onto each other or when you flip the cake to remove it from the pan, it is one big mess. Believe me! 

The recipe is best served over tea with a good chat with a friend. If you don’t like peaches or ginger, omit the two and try with some berries perhaps. I haven’t tried it but I am sure it would be good. 

9 recipes down, 21 more to go! See you tomorrow for Day 10: Something Blue. Missed Day 8? Check it out here.

Stay connected on the daily by following me on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest.  Made this recipe? I would love to see it! Use the hashtag #screcipe on your social media. 

FYI: This post does contain an Amazon Affiliate link, which means I would make a (very) small commission on any purchase of my recommendation. I personally own this book and LOVE it! Mark owns the non-vegetarian version and the veg one is bigger When it comes to books, size matters. 

Peach & Whiskey Upside Down Cake

 

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Prep time

15 mins

Cook time

35 mins

Total time

50 mins

 

A retro upside down cake with a modern vegan twist! Inside of the traditional pineapple, I decided to use summery peaches, warm ginger, and whiskey. It can be made in a cast iron or cake pan. The baking time will vary slightly. Always test out with a skewer and allow to cool completely.

Author: Jessica DeMarra

Recipe type: Dessert

Cuisine: Vegan

Serves: 1 cake

Ingredients

• For the Cake:
• ½ tablespoon melted coconut oil
• 2-3 firm but ripe peaches, pitted and sliced thin
• 1 
cup + 1 tablespoon unsweetened almond milk
• 1 
teaspoon apple cider vinegar
• ½ cup coconut sugar
• ⅓ 
cup melted coconut oil
• 1 
teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 ¼ 
cups 1:1 ratio gluten free flour blend*
• 1
 teaspoon baking powder
• 1
 teaspoon baking soda
• 1
 teaspoon ground ginger
• ¼ teaspoon sea salt
• 
  
• For the Whiskey Glaze (optional):
• 6 tablespoons icing sugar
• 1 tablespoon Jameson Whiskey (it's vegan!)
• Teeny pinch of salt

Instructions

1. Add the ½ tablespoon melted coconut oil to the cast iron skillet or 9" cake pan and wipe all around with a paper towel. Add the peach slices to the pan cut side down, making sure that the peaches have contact with the pan. If they are layered too much on top of each other, when you flip the cake over, the peaches will be a mess. Set aside.
2. In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the apple cider vinegar and the almond milk until the mixture is frothy. Allow it to sit for a few moments.
3. Mix in the sugar, coconut oil, and vanilla.
4. In a large mixing bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, ginger, and salt.
5. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until they're just combined, adding a little more almond milk if the cake batter is too sticky.
6. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, or until the topping is fragrant and toasty and a toothpick inserted into the cake comes out clean.
7. Leave the cake in the pan for about 10 minutes. Run a pairing knife along the edges of the cake. Gently flip the cake over onto a wire rack. Allow the cake to completely cool before adding the glaze.
8. To make the glaze: In a small bowl, whisk together the icing sugar and whiskey until completely smooth. For the gluten free option, add it with lemon instead of whiskey or add powdered sugar.
9. Slice and serve!

Notes

*I used Bob Mill's 1:1 GF Flour Blend

3.3.3077

The post Day 9 Vegan MoFo: Peach & Whiskey Upside Down Cake appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

I know how important fitness and exercise is to my body but I mostly hate doing it. Whenever I read on a fitness blog, “Oh I get such a high after a run,” I simply do not understand this way of thinking. Whenever I ran I would get winded and see my life flash before my eyes, unless there was another runner near me then I would pretend to enjoy myself only to wheeze on through as soon as they were out of my sight. I feel a lot of people can relate to this so I am not entirely embarrassed to tell you how out-of-shape I am.

After turning 28 this year and realizing I am much closer to 30 than I am 20, it became very clear to me that I need to make fitness a priority since I need this body to last me another few decades. When I sat down and actually wrote out a few classes I wanted to try out all of them were related to dance. I danced a little bit when I was a child but had to quit after I started high school to make time for an after-school job. Whenever I am wearing my headphones and walking around I always think about dancing to the song I am listening to, especially after seeing Sia’s new music videos. I know I wouldn’t start off like that but it inspired me to get off my butt and go and do something!

I signed up for a very beginners ballet class, bought some pink ballet shoes and wanted to leap and jump and dance my heart out; turns out beginner’s ballet takes a lot of control, balance and discipline to get anything remotely correct. The class spends a lot of time at the bar just bending and frankly, I did not know how much you could sweat by just doing this. Because of my job working in service, my knees and ankles have taken a serious beating over the past few years and it was very evident with every crack-crack-crack of these joints with ever grande-pile I did. Just to add embarrassment to pain, my knees and ankles seem to crack the loudest out of everyone and echo through the large studio so the instructor has given me a few concerning glances.

The following day my body is aching hard and I know I need some serious anti-inflammatory goodness to help me out. I have been on a serious turmeric kick lately (if you hadn’t noticed) and I wanted something warm to soothe my muscles and joints. I usually make turmeric tea consisting of finely grated fresh turmeric, ginger with lemon juice but every time I made this, it would leave bright yellow stains everywhere. Turmeric, why must you stain everything!?! The mess got to be too annoying to make this all the time so I wanted to create something I could a big batch of ahead of time so I could just pop it into my hot water and go.

This recipe is inspired by a video I saw on Laura Miller’s Instagram. If you don’t know whom Laura Miller is, YouTube: Raw. Vegan. Not Gross. and proceed to watch every single video of hers because she is my rock star. In a little video, she juiced a bunch of fresh turmeric, froze the juice in ice cube trays and popped them in her water whenever she needs a “turmeric kick”. Genius.

I do not own a juicer so I improvised with my high-power blender and a fine mesh strainer. Do not use a nut-milk bag for this. Believe me. I read somewhere that pineapple juice is good for a cough so I added in some of that too to give this drink more purpose for those who may be suffering from an achy body from a cold.

I tossed all my ingredients into a blender until fully blended, strained and froze the mixture. I pop one or two cubes out into my mug and top with boiling water. Voilà, almost instant turmeric tea! This bright yellow tea is warming, slightly sweet from the pineapple, loaded with cold-fighting vitamins and is insanely good for you.

I am hoping this drink will fight off any change-of-season cold that everyone seems to get but so far, Winter looks like it is here to stay for a little while longer. Drink this mug full of sunshine if your view is looking grey and get dancing.

The post {Almost Instant} Turmeric-Ginger Tea appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

Mark and I have a smoothie almost everyday since we are both very much on-the-go people; most days Mark leaves at 6:45am and doesn’t return home until well after midnight from rehearsals or gigs. He is literally the busiest man I know. We both have been running on fumes lately and needed a little extra boost in our diet so despite the frigid weather, we have been drinking more greens and fresh ingredients.

I have been hesitant to put up smoothie recipes after reading a few tweets, “Who needs a smoothie recipe? Just put in stuff you like.” Oh, if it only were that simple. After a year of having my Vitamix I am much better at combining ingredients to make a delicious, nutritious, and colourful smoothie but at first, I made some seriously ugly ones. It was so discouraging to me when I made an unpleasant tasting smoothie and figured I would have to choke down every foul coloured drink I made. Sometimes a little guidance is needed.

After a seriously busy weekend working at the restaurant, my joints were stiff and I was feeling burnt out. I have been drinking turmeric and ginger tea but wanted to incorporate these anti-inflammatory ingredients into my smoothies too. So what is so good about anti-inflammatory ingredients?

Turmeric: this bright yellow spice is used traditionally in Indian and Chinese cooking but has tons of medicinal properties. It is said to not only reduce inflammation but also prevents cancer cell growth, lowers cholesterol and detoxifies the liver.

Ginger: this spicy root has quite the list of amazing properties besides tasting great. Ginger relieves nausea, protects your body against cancer and has immune boosting properties to keep those colds at bay.

Cinnamon: I love cinnamon and add to smoothies, oats and apple slices. This spice great for warming you up and mixed with ginger, it makes a great team against colds but also is said to control your blood sugar levels.

Who needs a cold?? Not you! Drink up and feel great!

A big congrats to Terri the winner of But I Could Never Go Vegan: 125 Excuses, Zero Excuses by Kristy Turner. I hope you love the book as much as I do! Thank you all so much for entering and your continuing support in my site! 

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I was feeling really overwhelmed with the upcoming year and ashamed of myself for not taking more chances or more opportunities. A bunch of why’s flooded my brain; why do I still work in a restaurant? Why haven’t I updated any skills to put on a resume? Why didn’t I decide to update my high school credits sooner? Why am I turning 28 and done nothing with my life?!?

All these feelings flooded over me and turned into tears so naturally like the grown up I am, I called my mommy. After telling me all the nice things that mothers are suppose to say when you call them crying she told me that everything is going to be ok. I didn’t believe her and I felt like everything was taking a really long time and I was at a stand-still, despite actively being in school, doing my site and working a full time job. Strange how you can be doing so much and yet feel motionless. She told me that her twenties were very difficult raising two children on her own but after that it got much better. Her husband also told me that sometimes his life was a disaster also raising two children, losing this job to a machine and then having to travel all the time for a lower paying position because it was one of the few jobs available. He mentioned that when the mother of his children became pregnant for a second time, he had a mortgage and no job. The stress was intense but after a lot of hard work, things did in fact get a little bit smoother.  They said that sometimes it felt like things were always going to be bad but thankfully their situations did get better with a little help, love and support from the people around them. They said neither one of them had it all figured out by the time they were 30 and I really shouldn’t put that much pressure on myself when it comes to figuring my entire life out. I was looking at their lives now but did not see the struggle to get there. I was comparing my path to their destination. It was a good prep talk and turned my attitude a full 180 and got down to planning. 

I decided to prepare some birthday goals, which are unlike resolutions have an action plan attached to them. I will give myself until my next birthday to accomplish them since some of them aren’t things that can be accomplished in a week (and thats ok!). I am not one for New Year’s resolutions since I find they are empty but having an action plan can be empowering. Each time I check an item off the list, big or small it is a victory in itself!

My first and most important goal this year is to dump someone that has been dragging me down. This person that is doubting my every decision, embarrassed by the decisions that I have made in the past, someone who doesn’t believe in me and compares my efforts, actions and accomplishments to other peoples. She sighs when she sees someone else’s post or recipe or photograph that is better than mine, thinking I will never be as good as them and might as well just give up entirely. This person is not on Team Jess when I sometimes need her to be so badly. All my friends are on Team Jess, rooting for me in the wings, cheering me on with words of encouragement, support and love but just not her.

This person is myself; that little negative voice in my head that tells me that I simply can’t. I don’t need that little voice telling me I can’t or I shouldn’t or what will people think? I am delaying goals I have had for the longest time because of this and for what? Because of what a stranger may think of me when they see that I am in fact a terrible dancer or so inflexible it is almost laughable or that people in a writing class will hate my ideas? These are not good enough reasons to not pursue the things that I want to do. Who is winning here? Not me. We are always hardest on ourselves but isn’t the world hard enough without our own little voice telling us we aren’t good enough? This is why my number one birthday goal is to stop ruining my own life. 

On that note, I hope you take a little time today and make that goal for yourself, it may not be your birthday or New Years but it is an important one to practice daily. Enjoy these muffin tops with a cup of tea and get your list going. 

The post Carrot Cake Muffin Tops {Vegan & Gluten-Free} appeared first on Sprouts & Chocolate.

 Oh no.

 It is here again.

 The Man-Cold.

Every change of season Mark gets a cold and this season is no different. My 6-foot tall, bass playing, whiskey drinking, straight razor shaving boyfriend suddenly becomes a sniffing, sneezing, whiny baby. It may seem like I am complaining but I am just stating facts here people.

The infamous Man-Cold is when a man shows symptoms of a typical cold but with coping skills and social grace out the window. Mark hogging the whole bed and blankets, a mountain of booger laced tissues on nightstand, video games out and he dresses like The Unabomber in pajama pants and yet I love him enough to make him his favourite “man-cold” drink, a Hot Toddy.

This drink has been served to Mark since he was probably too young to drink but in his Scottish household whiskey is generally the answer for most things. His mother has zero patience for whiners and doesn’t believe in indulging the man-cold. My kind of woman.

Cold medicine makes both he and I weirdly groggy, tired and cranky so we try not to take it. We rely on the old-fashioned methods of hot water bottles, baths with Eucalyptus oil, green smoothies, herbal teas, Neti pots and pajama pants. It isn’t pretty but it does work. I was never a fan of the traditional Hot Toddy, the mixture of hot water, honey, lemon and whiskey never really did it for me. I knew I could make a better one with a little more healing power. Since Mark LOVES apple cider so why not mix the two with a little healing help from ginger, extra lemon and spices? It worked so wonderfully and is Man-Cold Approved! Hooray!

With a Man-Cold gone, everyone is a lot happier except Barb who very much enjoyed the cuddles from a sick Mark. Until Winter…..

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