Day 2 of Shinmas

Today we have another two special treats - my first guest had actually contacted me last month to talk about their products. I really loved the neatness of their website and that they wanted to sell a variety of seeds, but more importantly, they love to advertise. While you may not think of this site having anything to do with anything creamy or saucy - they often lead to delectable recipes for almond butter, sesame sauces and lots of other lavish things to do with nuts and seeds. I still haven't been able to post my ground pumpkin seed risotto for the site, but I would say that this is a great alternative. The company is named "EatSeed" and I would definitely suggest checking them out.

EatSeed has a nice variety of seeds that you can get on their own OR you can get your own special seed blend. In this you could buy one of their own special seed blends or make your own. They sell specialty flours and if you can't find chia, flax or black sesame seeds too often (like I do) this would be a great website to check out. Their prices are quite equal in proportion to the amount you get and you have the option of receiving roasted and toasted seeds if you do not wish to have them raw.

The variety of seeds is very nice - as they even serve hemp along with chia, pumpkin, flax, sesame ect. And one thing that I absolutely cannot forget is their "Superseed Of The Month Club" for less than $90 a year for eight ounce bags for each seed selection. It can get a bit pricey depending on your own market, but to offset that it appears that you also get reward points which you can then use to counter-balance the cons. I was smitten.

EatSeed Website: http://www.eatseed.com/
EatSeed Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/EatSeed/483750051643395?fref=ts 

Speaking of smitten - my next guest has me Susmitten, she has guest posted for my blog before and I her, so she is no stranger! Something that interested me very much on her blog recently was her post about "Vegan Ice cream Basics". In this she shows how to make an extremely simple ice cream base in which you can make anything interesting and, if you feel up to it, quite gourmet. You'll never have to worry about finding an entirely new recipe when you want a big change up from your typical ice cream flavors with this post. Don't forget to check out the rest of her blog for more imaginative recipes such as these.

Veganosaurus Blog Link: http://blog.veganosaurus.com/ 

 

Guest Post: By Susmitha Subbaraju

Susmitha is perhaps one of the friendliest people that I have encountered online and has accepted me into the group "Vegan Temptivists" on Facebook, which is truly an honor - especially since she is my first guest blogger! She is an extremely talented artist in practically all of the mediums and makes amazingly mouth-watering recipes. Her blog, http://blog.veganosaurus.com/ is full of delicious, stunning and unique recipes - she isn't afraid to veganize and is most definitely outgoing when it comes to the things that she loves. Check her out because you won't regret it! ^^

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Before I became vegan, 9 years ago, I was never interested in baking and barely interested in cooking. But turning vegan opened up a whole new world of ingredients and possibilities to me and I couldn't help but be inspired to get creative in my kitchen. That's when the baking bug bit me and ever since then there's been no looking back.
Since I'm vegan for ethical reasons, for the longest time I had the attitude that I'd rather use a few less than healthy ingredients in my baking (all purpose flour, processed oils etc...) than compromise on the taste and texture of the finished goodie. My main focus was to have people taste my cakes and pastries and be blown away by the deliciousness of vegan desserts.

When my more health inclined vegan friends spoke of using date syrup or whole wheat flour in their cakes, I used to turn up my nose and say, "those healthy cakes won't impress non-vegans into turning vegan so what's the point?" I even tasted a few of those healthy cakes and cookies with an open mind but was left unimpressed which further strengthened my belief that good cakes had to be made of all purpose flour and contain a generous amount of oil.

Then a few months ago, my friend Arun kicked that attitude right out of me by bringing this amaaaazing chocolate cake to our monthly Vegan Bengaluru potluck. I thoroughly enjoyed it. He told me that it contained absolutely no oil, was made of whole wheat flour and was made without an oven! My jaw would've dropped hearing that last bit except that I was busy gobbling up the cake.

Since I associate Bou Shin's blog with healthy eating as much as the cute bentos, I figured a healthy cake recipe would be perfect for my guest post here. :)

I made a bunch of changes to Arun's original recipe based on the ingredients I had at home.

(Here's my version of the Healthy Chocolate Cake recipe)

• 1 1/2 C Whole Wheat Flour
• 1 C Jaggery Powder (can use Sugar if you can't find jaggery but it's less healthier that way)
• 1/3 C Cocoa Powder
• 1 tsp Baking Soda
• 1/2 tsp Salt
• 2 Small Mashed Bananas + 2 tsp Flax Seed Powder+ 1/4 C Water (whipped together for a few minutes)
• 3 tsp Lime Juice
• 1 tsp Vanilla Extract
• 1 C Water
• 1/2 C Walnuts - broken into little pieces
• 2 Small Mashed Bananas + 2 tsp Flax Seed Powder+ 1/4 C Water (whipped together for a few minutes)

(Directions)

• Bring 3 to 4 C of water to boil in a large pan/pot/steamer (the baking dish should easily fit inside).
• Line a baking dish with aluminum foil and lightly grease with a few drops of olive oil.
• Mix dry ingredients (except sweetener and walnuts) and sieve a few times to make the flour airy.
• Mix jaggery/sugar with wet ingredients and whip for a few minutes to create air bubbles.
• Mix wet and dry ingredients quickly until there are no large lumps (do not over mix).
• Stir in the walnuts and transfer to baking dish.
• Place an upside down the plate or bowl inside the steamer pot (to add height) and place the baking dish inside it.
• Cover the pot and steam on medium-high heat for 30 minutes.
• Uncover and continue steaming for another 15 minutes.
• Remove the baking dish from the pot and keep aside for 10-15 minutes.
• Gently lift the cake along with the foil out of the dish and place on a cooling rack.
• After the cake has cooled completely, peel off the foil.
• Slice and serve plain or with melted chocolate poured over it.
• Enjoy!

Thanks Bou Shin for having me over on your blog.