Easy Almond Cake

Growing up in Vietnam, cooking is part of women's lives. It is the first and most important thing for a young girl to learn; it is just a Vietnamese tradition. I love to cook because of this tradition, but I also like to bake too. However, I do not have the gift of baking skills. Maybe I am not patient enough, and that is my character. I gave up learning baking skills. Lately, as I am getting older, I feel that baking is a fun thing to do in my spare time. Also, nowadays so many bloggers like myself are eager to become a baker. They share the recipes for cakes, breads, and muffins, and even I have posted few easy recipes. I think anyone who enjoys cooking also wants to bake because of the joy felt after the cake or bread comes out from the oven with the fragrance that fills the whole kitchen giving a warm feeling for the whole house. I figure that contrary to a long-held belief, baking goods and desserts should not be regarded as a luxury at home with a few straightforward ingredients. It is said that when a cake or bread that you bake at home instead of buying something already prepared and expensive, you are adding to the nutritional value of the meal and the satisfaction of doing it for your loved ones.

Ingredients:

Wet ingredients:

3 large eggs

1 cup sugar

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/2 cup milk

1 tbs vanilla extract

3/4 cup to 1 cup sugar

Dry ingredients:

1 ½ cups all-purpose flour

1/2 cup almond flour

1 tbs baking powder

1/8 tsp salt

Other ingredient:

1/2 cup sliced almonds

Other necessities:

Kitchen Aid blender 

9 inch diameter round or 9 inch square cake pan

Parchment paper

vegetable oil spray

 Directions:

Cut the parchment paper to cover the bottom of the cake pan and spray with oil.

Combine all the wet ingredients and place them in the Kitchen Aid blender.  Use the wire whip attachment to beat the wet ingredients for 7 to 10 minutes or until pale and creamy. You can beat the wet ingredients by hand.

Sift the dry ingredients and set aside.

Add the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients and mix well until there is no trace of flour.

Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and top with sliced almonds.

Bake in the preheated oven set to 350° for 40 minutes until light and golden brown or a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.

Serve with your favorite ice cream.

Mushroom and Potato Soup

Cream of mushroom is a well-known Western soup, but to me it has a lot of fat that comes from butter and heavy whipping cream.. I basically don't like these greasy flavors, so I usually don't want to cook mushroom soup. However, when I became a vegan, mushrooms were one of the vegetables that provided a lot of nutrients. For that, today I will share a new recipe that will change our way of thinking or eating cream of mushroom soup. The flavors of this mushroom soup will be creamy, but it will not come from the heavy whipping cream; instead it will be from the potato, coconut oil, and maybe a little coconut milk. I hope this will be the soup that you will always make for your family because it is so delicious.

Ingredients:

2 potatoes, peeled and steamed

1 lb. of a combination of mushrooms, such as

baby portabella, button, king oyster, shitake, etc...

1 small white onion, chopped.

3 garlic cloves, chopped.

1/2 cup white wine, such as Chardonnay or Sauvignon Blanc

 2 cups water or vegetable broth

2 cup coconut milk

Salt, sugar, and black pepper (to taste)

Coconut oil for caramelizing the onions

Directions:

Slice all the mushrooms and set aside. 

Smash potatoes and set aside.

In a heavy saucepan, add 1/4 cup coconut oil and chopped onions. Turn the heat to low to cook onions until soft and turned into deep yellow or caramelizing the onions. It takes 20 minutes, this is the verry important step to make a wonderful cream of mushroom soup.  

Add sliced mushrooms and garlic. Sauté the mushrooms over low heat until mushrooms become soft. 

Add white wine and cook for 5 more minutes.

Add potato and water. Bring to boil and season with salt, pepper, and sugar to your taste.

Continue to simmer for 10 minutes and use a handheld blender to purée the soup. You can use any kind of blender for this procedure.

Pour it back into the pan and add coconut milk and bring back to simmer for 5 minutes. Re-season to your liking.

Other fresh oreganos, parsley, or thyme can be used to flavor the soup to your liking. This can be added during cooking or sprinkle on top before serving.

Pumpkin -Squash Porridge

If you've traveled a few times to Korea, you're probably no stranger to pumpkin or squash porridge squash. Asians have many different kinds of pumpkin or squash. Most of them have thick skin and yellow meat. Many Asian people like to eat porridge for breakfast or even throughout the day because porridge is very easy to eat. Usually, porridge will be cooked with minced meat, fish, or shrimp. Because this pumpkin porridge does not contain meat or seafood, so the vegetarians can enjoy, and it has a lot of nutrition, as well. Not only that, but this dish is also very delicious and easy to make, and its ingredients are very simple, and you can find in all markets.

 Ingredients:

12 oz. pumpkin, peeled and seeded

1/4 cup sweet rice, soaked in water for a couple of hours

4 cups water or vegetable broth

1 tbs sugar

1 tbs salt or as needed

Others:

3 jujubes seeded and sliced

Some roasted pumpkin seeds or sesame seeds

Directions:

Steam pumpkin in a steamer for 25 minutes.

After soaking rice, drain in colander.

In the Vitamix blender, add cooked pumpkin, rice, and the 4 cups of water. Blend them for 3 minutes.

Add the puréed pumpkin and rice in a medium pot and bring to boil. Continue to cook and stir with a wooden spoon to prevent any lumps from forming when making the porridge.  Cook for 10 minutes, or until the porridge becomes thick. Be careful at this time because the bubbles will rise and pop on the surface and may burn. Season with sugar and salt to taste.

Ladle the porridge onto the serving bowl and top with sliced Jujubes and roasted pumpkin seeds.

Tip: You can use an instant pot cooker to prepare this recipe. It cooks faster.