Lemon cake is as subtle as it gets, but saffron most certainly is not. Brought together in this dessert recipe, they surprisingly make the perfect pair – commonplace meets exotic!

Saffron: What Is It and How to Use It

Even though this recipe only calls for one-fourth teaspoon of saffron, it is undeniably the star of the show. I mean, the lemon cake is delicious and all on its own, but the saffron-infused syrup is what makes this recipe the standout dessert that you won’t forget any time soon.

Here’s what you need to know about saffron.

Saffron is a perennial spice that is a member of the lily family. Iran is the world’s largest producer of saffron, and Spain is the largest importer of the spice (it’s prominently featured in the popular rice dish paella). Saffron is also commonly found in Portuguese and Turkish dishes.

While saffron is most certainly used stateside, it is not a huge part of our culinary culture. Its price point may have a lot to do with that. Producing saffron is labor intensive and timely. The pollen catchers, or stigmas, must be delicately handpicked, cut from its white style, or stalk, laid out on a sieve, and cured over heat to deepen its flavor. It takes 4,500 crocus flowers to make up one ounce of saffron spice. One pound of saffron can reach a retail price of some $1,500. But rest assured, you’ll never need that much saffron in your life, and you can buy a gram at a time for around $7. For a special occasion or for the every-so-often dish, it’s worth every cent!

Saffron’s taste is hard to describe. In fact, it seems everyone experiences the spice differently. To some, it is honey-like, floral, and sweet. To others, it comes across as musky, mushroom-like, and bitter. While opinions differ concerning its taste, everyone agrees on one thing: saffron is intense and a little goes a long way. That is good news, considering how expensive it is.

The best way to approach saffron is to purchase a small amount and to taste it. That way, you can better see how its complex flavor profile can be applied to some of your favorite dishes. Since it’s hard to find it being used in dishes on restaurant menus, seasoned home cooks (pun intended) should integrate the spice more into their lives! Not only does saffron add a touch of gourmet flair to grain, chicken, and fish dishes, it offers some health benefits as well.

One ounce (two grams) of saffron contains 400% of the RDA of manganese, 38% of the RDA of vitamin C, 18% of the RDA of magnesium, 17% of the RDA of iron, and 14% of the RDA of both potassium and vitamin B6. Manganese is an essential trace metal that is crucial for normal cell function and metabolism and is particularly important for brain health. Saffron has shown to improve symptoms of depression.

Preferably, you should purchase saffron from an ethnic specialty grocery store to get the purest product. Meanwhile, to obtain the most flavor out of saffron before adding it to this recipe, soak it in a teaspoon of warm water for five minutes.

Lemon Cake with Cardamom and Saffron Syrup

Serves 10

Ingredients

For the cake

• 1 cup sugar
• 2 large eggs
• 1 tablespoon finely-grated lemon zest
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 2 tablespoons freshly-squeezed lemon juice
• 1 stick (1/2 cup) of unsalted butter, melted
• 1 cup milk
• 1 1/2 cups white flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• ¼ teaspoon salt

For the syrup

• 2 tablespoons lemon juice
• 1/4 teaspoon saffron threads
• 1/4 teaspoon cardamom powder
• 1/4 cup water
• 1/4 cup sugar
• 1 teaspoon finely-grated lemon zest

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. Grease a cake or loaf pan with butter and set aside.

For the cake, combine the sugar and eggs in a large bowl and beat them together. Add in the lemon zest, extracts, and lemon juice. Beat the mixture while you add in the melted butter and milk.

Next, sift in the remaining dry ingredients: flour, baking powder, and salt. Fold the mixture with a spatula until just combined. Transfer the mixture to the greased pan and use a spatula to spread it out evenly across the pan.

Bake for 40 to 45 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean from the center.

About five to ten minutes before the cake is finished baking, prepare the syrup. Combine all syrup ingredients in a saucepan over medium heat. Stir until the mixture reaches a boil. Reduce heat to a simmer and continue to stir while cooking for five more minutes, or until the sugar has dissolved and the syrup thickens. Once the cake is removed from the oven, immediately pour the hot syrup over the cake. Set the cake aside to cool before serving. Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon
20 Foods to Help Your Sleep Better
20 Herbs and Spices to Boost Your Immune System
9 Natural Ways to Spice Up Your Sex Life

The post Lemon Cake With Saffron and Cardamom Syrup: A Simple Staple Ventures Into Exotic Territory appeared first on EcoSalon.

Carrot cake is one of my favorite cakes to enjoy. It is light, packed with veggies, and absolutely spring perfect. However, carrot cake recipes can often overload on the sugar, defeating the purpose of honoring the sweetness of carrots to begin with. This carrot cake recipe takes out all the offenders, including eggs and dairy, and leaves you with a vegan, light carrot cake recipe that you’ll drool over!

Spring Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe

Serves 6-8

For the cake:

• 3 1/2 cups homemade oat flour
• 3-4 tablespoons ground flax seed
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
• 1 1/2 tablespoon baking powder
• 2 1/2 cups almond milk
• 3/4 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon almond extract
• 1/4 cup freshly squeezed orange juice
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated orange zest
• 1/4 cup melted coconut butter
• 1 1/2 cups raw turbino sugar
• 1/3 cup chopped walnuts
• 1/2 cup raisins
• 2 1/2 cups chopped shredded carrots

For the frosting:

• 1 can coconut milk, refrigerated
• 6 dried figs, soaked in water for at least 1 hour
• 1/4 teaspoon vanilla
• 2 tablespoons molasses

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit. For the cake, in a large bowl, combine the first 5 dry ingredients. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, extracts, juice and zest. Melt the coconut oil in a pan and add the turbinado sugar. Whisk until dissolved. Add the coconut oil to the wet ingredients and whisk. Transfer the wet ingredient to the dry ingredient bowl and fold together. Add the walnuts, raisins and shredded carrot. Mix until smooth. If you need more liquid, add almond milk. Place in a coconut oil greased 13-inch by 9-inch pan and place in the oven for 40 minutes. Check on it during the least 10 minutes to keep aware of when it is overcooking. A toothpick should come out of the center clean.

While the cake bakes, prepare the frosting. Scoop out the hardened part of the coconut milk, omitting the water. Add to a food processor and mix with the remaining ingredients until smooth. Use to dress the cooled cake.

Enjoy!

Related on EcoSalon

Braised Chickpeas and Carrots with Yogurt Topping

Snack Away with this Crispy Baked Carrot Chips Recipe

Sunday Recipe: Summer Carrot and Date Quinoa Salad with Basil and Mustard Citrus Vinaigrette

Photo Credit: Pen Waggener

The post Vegan Carrot Cake Recipe with Coconut-Fig Frosting appeared first on EcoSalon.

So decadent it could only be for celebrating a birthday. 

Who ever said it was sad to make your own birthday cake was wrong.

Here’s the thing about baking your own birthday cake: it ensures that you are in full control of what you are eating to celebrate your day. No crumbly cupcakes because your friend forgot that you actually hate cupcakes, no overly sweet processed frosting because your neighbor only had time to go to the bakery department of the chain grocery store and no half-eaten chocolate mint ice cream cake left in your freezer for the next six months.

Another great thing about birthday cakes? You can make it and not even tell anyone, leaving an entire cake to yourself. No one has to know, it’s your birthday after all.

My mother has made me this cake on many a birthday, and I have no shame in making it myself because it’s one of the most amazing baked goods I have ever tasted. Like many traditional Swedish cakes it employs whipping cream instead of frosting, which if you ask me, every cake should do. This is no cake that’s masked as health food, it’s simply a cake. Not vegan, not low fat, not full of omega 3s… because you know what? It’s your day, and you deserve to eat a chocolate, hazelnut, whipped cream masterpiece.

Did I say today was my birthday? Shhhh….

Chocolate Hazelnut Meringue Birthday Cake

Ingredients:

For the cake:

• 5 tablespoons butter
• 3/4 cup sugar
• 4 egg yolks
• 3/4 cup flour
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
• 5 tablespoons milk
• 100 grams hazelnuts
• 1/4-1/2 cup chocolate chips

For the meringue:

• 4 egg whites
• 1 1/4 cup sugar

For topping:

• Whipped cream
• Hazelnuts
• Cocoa powder

Directions:

Cream together butter and sugar. Add in egg yolks one at a time and mix thoroughly. Mix in flour, baking powder and milk.

Grease and flour two circular 9″ baking pans and pour even amounts of batter into each. Chop hazelnuts and sprinkle on top, followed by chocolate chips.

To make the meringue, whip the egg whites until stiff, and carefully fold in sugar. Spread over hazelnuts and chocolate chips in the baking pans.

Bake at 325F for about 40 minutes.

Let cool in the baking pans before removing. Run a butter knife around the edge of the cakes to loosen them and remove carefully. Place one on a large plate and cover with a layer of whipped cream. If you want, add in a layer of fresh raspberries or blackberries here. Cover with second layer of cake and cover entire thing with whipping cream.

Garnish with cocoa powder and hazelnuts. And a Swedish flag or two if you want to really be Scandinavian.

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

The post Sunday Recipe: The Best Birthday Cake Ever appeared first on EcoSalon.

Putting apple harvest to good use.

When the first Gravenstein apples start to fall from our tree in late August, I pull out this recipe, Brita Nelsons Äppelkaka.

I got it in 1970 from a friend (the cake’s namesake) when I still lived in Sweden. It is written with a ballpoint pen in a 2-ring blue recipe binder that was a must to take along when I moved away from Sweden in 1974. Even if I know how to make it from memory, I still look it up to have that bittersweet jolt of thinking of her and wondering what she does now.

The recipe is great all year round, but it’s best with the seasonal harvest of autumn apples. It can be made with equal success using halved plums or sliced pears but the apples are still my favorite.

Brita Nelson’s Apple Cake

Ingredients:

• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1/3 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup almonds or hazelnuts, chopped
• 1 egg
• 1/3 to 1/2 cup flour, can be almond meal or rice flour for a gluten free version
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• a few drops of almond flavoring (optional)
• Peeled and sliced apples

Directions:

Cream butter and sugar (in food processor or by hand). Mix in the rest of the ingredients.

Grease a round baking pan, and coat with either almond meal or unsweetened coconut.

Spread batter into pan. Note: the batter is a little sticky, use a spatula and it’s okay if it doesn’t come all the way out to the edges.

Starting in the middle, place the apple slices side by side in a circular formation, then press them into the dough. This will also make the dough spread. Sprinkle cinnamon and sugar on top if you so desire.

Bake 40 minutes at 360F.

Whipped cream on top is always a common way of serving cakes in Sweden… But it is good plain too! And if you’re going to be truly traditional, eat it with a small fork, NOT a spoon!

Want more food inspiration? Check out the rest of our Sunday Recipe series. 

The post Sunday Recipe: Swedish Apple Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

Make this classic Black & White cake, and you’ll get rave reviews from vegans and non-vegans alike.

When bridal showers, birthdays and celebrations of all sorts roll around, there’s nothing that says “Let’s Celebrate (in style)” like Black & White cake. And, this regal dessert, as I discovered quite by accident, has many forms and flavors. The first version I created was white(ish) inside and black outside, compliments of a simple (accidental) ingredient omission—cocoa powder. So naturally, I had to try again. My second go at it, everything went smoothly (cocoa powder included) until, while putting the finishing touches on the frosting, the whole cake tumbled to the ground just minutes before it was due for serving at a party.

With crumbles left behind on the cake stand, I was able to resurrect some pieces, however, this time I lost the cake’s outer, gleaming white hue, as the (vegan) cream cheese frosting melded into the moist chocolate cake.With this mishap, I stumbled upon the creamiest, sweetest, moistest and unbelievably gluten free- and vegan– delight to date. While it tastes sinfully rich and creamy, each bite comes with a dose of vitamins A & E, magnesium, zinc, potassium and even fiber thanks to a secret (moistening) addition—pumpkin puree. So, if your sweet tooth craves chocolate and cake, you really can’t go wrong with this one. Forget an ingredient or send the cake flying in the air and you too might find a new spin on this classic cake.

The Original – Black & White Cake
from Clinton Street Baking Company

Ingredients

• 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• 2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk
• 1½ cups all-purpose flour
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup buttermilk
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract
• 8 ounces cream cheese, softened
• ½ stick (4 tablespoons) unsalted butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners’ sugar
• ½ cup whole milk
• ½ cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup
• 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
• ½ cup semisweet chocolate chunks (52–62% cacao)

The Vegan Version – Black & White (or just Black) Cake
Generously serves 8

Ingredients

• 1½ sticks (12 tablespoons) vegan butter, softened (I used Earth Balance)
• 1 cup light brown sugar
• 1 cup granulated sugar
• Egg substitute equivalent to 2 large eggs, plus 1 yolk (I mixed 3 tablespoons flaxseed meal with 7 tablespoons warm water)
• 1½ cups gluten free flour blend:
• (1/2 cup brown rice flour_
• (1/4 cup white rice flour)
• (1/4 cup sorghum flour)
• (1/4 cup potato starch flour)
• (1/4 cup minus 2 tablespoons tapioca flour)
• (2 tablespoons almond flour)
• (3/4 teaspoon xanthan gum)
• 2/3 cup unsweetened cocoa powder, sifted
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup pumpkin puree
• ½ cup buttermilk (easily make your own by mixing ½ cup dairy free milk, like homemade cashew nut milk, with ½ tablespoon white distilled vinegar; let sit for 10 minutes)
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract

Frosting
• 8 ounces vegan cream cheese, softened
• ½ stick (4 tablespoons) vegan butter, softened
• 4 cups confectioners sugar (sifted)
• ½ cup dairy free milk (Mine was thin enough that I omitted the milk all together)

Glaze
• ½ cup heavy cream (I used homemade cashew nut milk)
• 3 tablespoons light corn syrup (I used homemade cane juice by melting a few tablespoons of sugar in a pan on the stove top)
• 1 tablespoon vegan butter
• ½ cup semisweet, vegan chocolate chunks (52–62% cacao)

Directions

Make the Cake
1. Preheat the oven to 300°F. Lightly grease (with vegan butter) and flour two 8-inch round cake pans.
2. In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the vegan butter and sugars. Add the egg substitute mixture, and combine. Whisk the gluten free flour blend and remaining dry ingredients together, in a separate bowl.
3. Whisk the pumpkin puree together with the buttermilk and vanilla in another bowl. Alternate mixing dry ingredients with the pumpkin mixture into the egg mixture. Start with dry and end with wet.
4. Divide the batter between the prepared cake pans. Bake for 30 to 40 minutes, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Let the cakes cool and unmold.

Make the Frosting
In the bowl of an electric mixer, cream the vegan cream cheese and butter together until soft. Add the sifted confectioners sugar, blending in 1 cup at a time. Add the dairy free milk slowly, as needed, and mix until the frosting is smooth and creamy.

Make the Glaze
Heat the “cream,” corn syrup (or cane juice), and vegan butter in a saucepan until boiling. Place the chocolate in a bowl. Pour the cream mixture over the chocolate until it is completely melted, mixing gently with a rubber spatula until the glaze is smooth.

Assemble the Cake
Place 1 of the 2 cakes on a cake plate. Ice the top with 3 to 4 tablespoons frosting, and place the other cake on top. Then use a cake spatula to mask the top and sides until the cake is evenly frosted. Set it in the fridge for 10 minutes. Then, remove the cake from the fridge and pour the chocolate glaze over the center of the cake until the top is covered and the glaze runs over the sides, still showing some frosting. Let the glaze set and serve.

Whatever happens, enjoy!

Images: Jennifer Barckley

The post Vegan This: Decadent Black & White Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

Cake for breakfast? Of course.

It’s a shame that so many cake recipes call for eggs, cream, and loads of sugar, when the same texture – fluffy, moist, flaky, and rich – can be matched sans the heavy ingredients and dangerous boost in blood sugar levels. Sure, there’s room for those kinds of desserts too, but if you’re anything like me and need dessert everyday – that is, require for basal human function –  then it helps to have an arsenal of silhouette-forgiving, vegan dessert recipes on hand.

This vanilla cake recipe is a simple, foundational recipe that can be altered according to your tastes. Like chocolate? Add cocoa powder. Like more texture? Add dried fruit and nuts. Like things bigger? Buy more pans for layering. But what I’ve written here is a mild, flaky cake that is a lot like a soft, light, and slightly sweet bread to be complemented with tea, coffee or almond milk.

I added a personal touch to the cake by baking it over pineapple slices, which add moisture and make for a great presentation. I chose pineapple for its taste, but the diamond-under-the-rough fruit is also packed with immune-boosting vitamin C, promotes healthy gums and teeth, sharpens vision, improves digestion, and alleviates arthritis symptoms.

Pineapple also contains the enzyme bromelain, which helps to break down protein. This knowledge comes in handy after you’ve eaten a hefty meal – chewing on a bit of pineapple can help to make room for dessert, because foregoing dessert is seldom an option. And lucky for you, this recipe cuts to the chase and adorns the top of a vanilla cake with brown-sugar glazed pineapple slices, so you make more room for dessert whilst eating dessert. Pure logic, my friends.

Note: If you want a caramelized effect, use a metal spring-form pan and the brown sugar is a must, since it helps to caramelize the pineapples. I personally like my pineapples to tenderize without becoming too sweet, since I treat this dish more as a “S’pose-I’ll –just-have-this-here-cake-for-breakfast-since-it’s-so-clean-and-healthy” item than a dessert item. For this reason, I use a glass pan and sometimes forego the brown sugar. When I do want the cake for dessert, I warm it up and drizzle with honey for that extra sweetness.

Pineapple Bread Cake

Serves 8-10

Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon brown sugar (optional)
• 2 cups whole-wheat flour
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons vegan butter + 1/2 tablespoon for coating baking dish
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 1/3 cup canola oil
• 1 1/2 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 cup almond milk

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Coat the bottom and sides of baking dish with 1/2 tablespoon of butter. Sprinkle brown sugar on top, evenly across the area of the dish. Skin a pineapple and cut along its width as thin as possible, making 4-6 discs. Place pineapple on the bottom of the baking dish.

In a medium bowl sift together the flour, baking powder and salt. Using your hands, cut the vegan butter (I like to use Earth Balance) into the dry mixture, using your fingers to create a meal-like texture.

In a separate bowl, whisk together the wet ingredients, except for the almond milk. Add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until pasty. Add the almond milk a little at a time until the mixture reaches a thick, but easily spreadable texture.

Carefully spread batter over the pineapple slices in the glass baking dish.

Bake in the oven for approximately 35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.

After you remove the cake from the oven, loosen the edges with a knife and let cool down. When cool enough to handle with your bare hands, use a cutting board to help flip the dish over so that the pineapples are exposed.

The result is a light but comforting bread-like cake that has just the right touch of pineapple to keep things interesting. Cut a piece and serve warm with almond milk for dipping or enjoy aside a morning coffee.

Enjoy!

Aylin Erman currently resides in Istanbul and is creator of plant-based recipe website GlowKitchen.

The post Recipe: Vegan Pineapple Vanilla Bread Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

A round-up of what we’re reading right now.

There’s nothing like travel to spark some serious soul-searching. [Via The Frisky]

In Jackson, a fight to maintain Mississippi’s only abortion clinic. [Via Ms. Blog]

Is social entrepreneurship just a passing trend? Experts weigh in. [Via GOOD]

A bite-sized cake recipe fit for even your most intense book clubs. [Via Big Girls Small Kitchen]

Beauty blogging can be about more than blush and bronzer, but how far is too far? [Via Refinery 29]

And there goes your Facebook-stalking habit. [Via Complex Tech]

Image: Kema Keur

The post Link Love: The Joy of Travel and the End of Facebook-Stalking appeared first on EcoSalon.

Have your gluten free walnut cake and eat it too.

Packed with protein, omega 3s, and antioxidants, walnuts are an excellent source of energy. Their rich flavor also makes them perfect to bake with. And why wouldn’t you want to bake a cake entirely out of walnuts? Enter the Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake.

This dense cake was inspired by a recipe in a recent issue of Bon Appetit, but with a few tweaks it quickly turned into a gluten and dairy free version. Add in figs, coconut and chocolate and you have a cake that’s just as good for breakfast as it is for dessert.

Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake

Ingredients:

• 3 1/2 cups raw walnuts
• 1/3 cup buckwheat flour
• 3/4 cup almond meal
• 1/3 cup vanilla sugar (place a vanilla bean in a jar of sugar and store in your pantry for easy use)
• 3 eggs
• 1/2 cup coconut oil
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• 1/2 cup dried figs, chopped
• 1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips
• 1 teaspoon powdered ginger
• 1/4 cup shredded coconut + a couple of tablespoons for covering bottom of cake pan

Directions

Preheat oven to 350F.

Put walnuts in food processor and chop coarsely. Remove 1 cup and set aside in a bowl.

Add buckwheat, almond meal, salt and ginger to the remaining walnuts in the food processor and mix until well blended.

In a separate bowl, beat eggs and sugar together. Note: if you don’t have vanilla sugar, add in a teaspoon of vanilla extract.

In a saucepan, melt the coconut oil. Combine with sugar and eggs and mix in coconut milk.

Add in walnut, buckwheat and almond meal mixture along with the shredded coconut and chocolate chips and mix all ingredients together.

Fold in the remaining cup of chopped walnuts.

Put a tablespoon of coconut oil in a cake pan (I use a 9″ quiche dish) and place in oven until coconut oil is melted. Make sure the bottom of dish is completely greased and sprinkle a layer of shredded coconut. Pour in batter and bake for approximately 30 minutes or until edges of cake are lightly browned.

The post Sunday Recipe: Fig and Coconut Walnut Cake appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnCelebrating two years of being food obsessed.

I know for a fact that at least four people read this column: my mother (she has to), her friends Lisa and Sally (I shamelessly email it to them every week), and the guy who runs Portland Food and Drink (probably because we live in the same city and he thought that my take on bone luging was funny).

There are, of course, a few more fans than that. (L.A. Weekly, The Washingtonian, and The New York Times seem to agree, which makes this writer proud. At least, I’m happy to see the foodies are not so underground these days.)

Today Foodie Underground turns two. Or as I like to look at it, today Foodie Underground and I are celebrating our two-year anniversary, because writing a weekly column is kind of like being in a relationship.

Before you start making your “food equals love” jokes – I just so happened to pen a whole set of pick up lines just for that – let me explain.

Just like in a new relationship, in the beginning, you start off happy and giddy.

“You want me to have my own column?” you say to your editor, excitedly planning all the things you and your column will do together. The first few months are great. You’re spinning with creativity and thinking about your column 24 hours a day. Everything you do reminds you of your newfound love. Life is beautiful.

Slowly however, the reality of routine hits. You. Must. Write. The. Column. Every. Single. Week. A few Monday mornings you drag yourself out of bed, put on a French press and stare at your computer screen, glancing at your watch, realizing said editor is going to be very upset if you don’t get this thing done soon. Things feel a little boring. You’re not as inspired as you once were. Where is the spark? Should you break things off and move on to something else? You find yourself asking your editor for ideas to “spice things up.”

But as you get farther into your relationship, things stabilize and the positive feelings return. You hit a comfortable stride, evolving and developing your relationship, that creativity takes on a new face. Then you hit the “we” stage, the point where you realize you and your column have become one. Much like a partnership, you start to do fewer and fewer things apart. You’re never alone on a Saturday night when you have a column to get in the can for Monday.

You come to realize how very much influenced you are by your “other.” Such is the case with Foodie Underground. In the last week alone I have been contacted to see if I know anything about hay smoking (yes, it’s a thing…or at least was in early 2011), told that I should write a food advice column, and received an email from my mother to see if I had ever tried combining chocolate and sea salt with ground coffee (I have not, but it’s on the to-do list now). These are all things that didn’t use to happen. Invitations, Twitter, products, events…these relationships, er, columns, are work.

To add to the realization that my food column and I are inextricably linked, last week an office mate asked me what he should get for lunch, and I told him to go to the taco truck down the street. “How big are they?” he asked.

“Here, let me show you a picture,” I responded, pulling out my phone, which happens to store a lot of food related photos.

“Of course you have a photo of that,” he smiled.

“Want to see what I made last night?” I quipped back, not waiting before whipping my laptop over to his desk to share more food photos.

Call it an obsession verging on insanity if you must, but writing this column has forced me to think – really think – about food in new and vital ways. What we eat, how we eat, where we eat, who we eat with, people who don’t eat, people who eat too much, where we get our food, who prepares our food: Food is everything.

We must eat to live, and ultimately, so much of our everyday lives – health, emotional well-being, energy levels – is affected by what we put into our bodies. In the western world, most of us have access to foods that our grandparents and even parents could only dream of. And yet we’re stuck in the middle of a health epidemic. Obesity rates are rising despite a bounty in supply; food deserts. And unfortunately, when talking about good food is equated to a certain level of pretentiousness, we get distracted from the real issues, and solutions, at hand.

Yes, that truffle-infused fennel-crusted bacon-studded brioche you’re staring at looks good, and you could certainly pair it with a glass of sparkling water, but what have you done lately to deal with the questions of food justice?

As I wrote two weeks ago, you might be surprised to find out what’s normally on my dinner plate. Although I like bourbon drinks out of mason jars as much as the next single-speed riding urbanite, I’m as weary as you of the predictability of the trendy culinary world and the people who are obsessed with it. Kind of like this:

I may have a not-so-secret love affair with foodie capitals like Brooklyn and San Francisco – the first Foodie Underground ever mentioned both. Last week, I ate an entire roasted fish at a restaurant that had a very fitting name, only one word, of course. And on occasion I do things like learn how to make cheese. But the truth is that I just want to explore new places, discover good food along the way, and make sure that we’re putting the spotlight on programs that are ensuring that everyone, no matter where they live or what socio-economic bracket they find themselves in, can do the same.

Fortunately, I have supportive friends, who could just be putting up with me because they know that eventually I will cook them dinner and it will probably involve arugula, or even a polenta olive oil cake, and although Foodie Underground and I are tied at the hip, they don’t seem to care too much. That leaves me to keep thinking and talking about food, which as I have come to learn, makes me one happy girl.

Two years of this is cause for celebration, and in good Foodie Underground spirit, I had to come up with a fitting celebratory dessert. The result was this little gem, which I am hoping at least a few of you try to make yourself. It’s a combination of some of my favorite flavors, has the obligatory sea salt, is gluten-free and vegan (because porquoi pas?) and is relatively painless to make.

Enjoy, and then go out and change the world with good food.

Date and Orange Chocolate Ganache Torte with Lemon Almond Crust

(The Official Foodie Underground Birthday Cake)

Note: I use two 6 oz./4.5″ tartlet ramekins for this recipe.

Ingredients

Crust

• 1 cup almond meal
• 1/8 teaspoon baking soda
• 1/4 teaspoon sea salt
• 2 tablespoons coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon honey
• zest of one Meyer lemon
• 1 teaspoon cardamom

Filling

• 1 cup dates, chopped or cut into small pieces
• zest and juice of 1 orange

• 4 oz. baking chocolate, 100% cocoa
• 1/2 cup coconut milk
• 2 tablespoons sugar

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350F.

• Prepare the crusts by melting the coconut oil and mixing with the rest of crust ingredients, until a dough forms. Chill dough for 15 minutes.
• Split dough into even parts and press into greased tart pans. Bake for 10-12 minutes or until golden brown.
• While the crusts are cooling, combine dates and orange zest and juice in a saucepan and place on medium heat. Stir regularly, until orange juice has been soaked up by dates. Pour date mixture evenly into baked crusts.
• To prepare the ganache, chop the chocolate into small pieces and place in a bowl. Heat coconut milk together with sugar in a saucepan until bubbles appear around the edges, then pour over chocolate. Let sit for five minutes, then gently stir until mixture has a smooth consistency.
• Pour the ganache over the date mixture and let cool. Note that these are best served when the chocolate has set, so store them in the refrigerator, and remove about 10-15 minutes before serving.
• Garnish with sliced almonds, orange zest and a lemon slice.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to independent markets to the culinary avant garde.

Images: Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground Celebrates 2 Years appeared first on EcoSalon.

ColumnWhy cardamom is your new best friend.

High end ramen, breakfast for dinner, sparkling water: We spend a lot of time discovering and discussing food trends on Foodie Underground. It’s a dichotomous pursuit. There are the evenings spent complaining to friends about how fed up with the foodie world I am (bone luging, really? yet another cupcake store, must we?). Naturally, in the next sentence, I’m going on about my sea salt and olive oil polenta cake in the oven.

“Sea salt, Anna, really?”

“But sea salt is really good in cake. I swear.”

Pause.

“Want to try this cardamom chocolate cake instead?” Tease all they want, I know they’re not going to turn it down.

No matter how much your friends roll their eyes at a foodie’s obsession, one can always quell their serving of sass with what one cooks up. Appreciation for good homemade food is universal.

But about those trends. Today: cardamom.

Go take a look in your spice cabinet. What do you see? A half-empty container of powdered ginger that’s more yellow mass than powder? Vietnamese cinnamon you haven’t used since that botched chai recipe in graduate school’s chai-and-soy-I-don’t-do-coffee days? Turmeric that you don’t dare use because…well, because it’s so damn technicolor?

Get rid of them – all of them – and make room for cardamom, your new spice of choice.

I have a personal long-standing love affair with cardamom, it being the basis of practically every Swedish baked good ever created – thank you, Vikings. It has been a longtime staple in my culinary adventures, but lately I’ve noticed that whenever I see a restaurant that employs one word for its name (or two words connected by an ampersand in Helvetica of course), I can be certain there will be cardamom on the menu. Cardamom is the food world’s latest It Spice.

This spice deserves any accolade a food lover gives it. It’s versatile, delicious and sexy in everything from desserts to main courses. Yes, it’s expensive, coming in after saffron and vanilla, but there’s good reason that this India-born spice is the new épice du jour.

Here are five reasons you should (and will) fall in love with cardamom.

1. Cardamom is exotic. It is sexy.

Cardamom has a distinct and complex flavor. Bonus: Anything you put the spice in is automatically going to sound more alluring that the original version.

Just read the following variations out loud:

Orange ice cream. Orange cardamom ice cream.

Roasted potatoes. Cardamom roasted potatoes.

Saffron macaroons. Saffron-cardamom macaroons.

And so forth. Thanks to this spice, you can instantly turn yourself into a creative, culinary genius, which of course will be a hit for your food-related dating endeavors. It’s marketing, baby! (Fortunately, the product backs up the hype.)

2. Cardamom goes well with coffee.

“Must be some Scandinavian thing,” a friend of mine responded to a comment I had made about never being able to put too much cardamom in my coffee.

I’m not certain putting cardamom in coffee is an actual Scandinavian habit, but my Swedish-born mother has been doing it since before I can remember, and she buys cardamom in bulk quantities to ensure that we never run out. Having the economic sensibilities of every other food-loving twentysomething, I always fill a plastic bag up when I go home to visit my parents to avoid having to purchase it myself.

Add a pinch (or two, or three) to your morning brew and let it work its magic. You’ll quickly understand my obsession.

3. Cardamom is both sweet and savory.

The beauty of cardamom is that it goes just as well with pastries as it does in a lamb tagine.

For a quick and easy sweet tasting cardamom recipe, try my favorite Cardamom Cake.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups flour
• 3 teaspoons ground cardamom
• 1 tablespoon baking powder
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 7 tablespoons butter
• 1 egg
• 1 cup milk

Instructions:

-Mix dry ingredients in a bowl. Add in butter with your fingers and mix until crumbly consistency.

-Add in egg and milk and mix until a batter consistency.

-Pour into a greased 9.5 inch circular baking pan. If you want to, sprinkle with sliced almonds or orange zest. (The one pictured above uses Swedish Pearl Sugar, which you can buy at IKEA or import food stores).

-Bake at 400 F for about 30 minutes.

4. You can get creative with cardamom.

I have found that any recipe that requires any element of spice can be adapted to include cardamom. Food52 ran a contest with cardamom inspired recipes, resulting in everything from Bellinis to granola.

If you have yet to go out on a foodie limb, cardamom could just be your gateway spice. Start small. Add a little cardamom to your hot chocolate, for example. Then graduate to more complex creations, like cardamom in a butternut squash soup.

Just remember to go easy; too much cardamom and your recipe will taste more like medicine than food.

5. You can please omnivores, vegans, the gluten-intolerant and your grandmother. 

There’s a cardamom recipe for everyone.

The Meat Lover: Cocoa Cardamom Steak Rub

The Vegan: Cardamom Macadamia Nut Pancakes

The Europhile: Fig and Cardamom Spiced Tiramisu

Your Conventional Grandmother: Cardamom-Spiced Meatloaf

The Bacon Lover: Sugared Cardamom Bacon

The Gluten Intolerant: Cardamom and Orange Quinoa Cookies

The Bartender: No. 4 – a cocktail with gin and cardamom

Now get yourself to the grocery store and stock your spice cabinet. You have delicious to do.

Editor’s note: This is the latest installment of Anna Brones’s weekly column at EcoSalon, Foodie Underground, discovering what’s new and different in the underground food movement, from supper clubs to mini markets to the culinary avant garde.

Image: Veganbaking.net, Anna Brones

The post Foodie Underground: 5 Reasons to Love Cardamom appeared first on EcoSalon.