Roasted Vegetables With Tomato Sauce

Searching for a crowd pleasing dish? This is the one!  I brought this over to my friends big Thanks Giving dinner a couple of years ago and had been asked to prepare the recipe ever since. Think about double or triple helpings. Although Pilgrims did not have eggplants at their Thanks Giving Feast, our multicultural ways of living is forgiving us for a taste of Mediterranean.

Originally the recipe calls for deep frying but I think roasting is a healthier version. Watching calories or  your fat intake, you can definitely use your non stick grill. Garlic and tomato sauce is the secret here. Serve with fresh warm bread for dipping.

Cover your  baking dish with aluminum foil. Roast  vegetables- eggplants, red peppers, jalapeno peppers, etc. in the oven under the broiler. Check often for doneness. Slice eggplants, keep skins on, lay them over the broiler safe dish and brush them with extra virgin olive oil. Roast for 15 minutes, flip the vegetables over in midway. Think about your favorite veggies. Add them to the list.  I prefer eggplants, red peppers and jalapeno peppers in this recipe.

For the sauce wash, peel the skins and dice 2 lbs of tomatoes. In a sauce pot bring the tomatoes to a boil with 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Mince 4-5 cloves of garlic and mix with the tomato sauce . Simmer for about 10 minutes, tomatoes will get a rich darker red tone. Add salt, pepper and 1 teaspoon of sugar to the sauce.  Pour the sauce over your roasted veggies.

My five year old daughter enjoyed helping and tasting! through the process.

Chocolate Lovers Wet Chocolate Cake and Vegan Too!

That is a deliciously dirty chocolate cake!


I read about this delicious and simple recipe from the Food Allergy Mama blog. I did not have chocolate chips at hand so I increased the amount of soy milk, sugar, cocoa powder and canola oil. The end result was irresistible.



3/4 cup soy milk
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1 1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup unbleached all purpose flour
1 1/2 cup sugar DIVIDED
1 cup unsweetened cocoa powder DIVIDED 
2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1 cup boiling water


Preheat oven to 350 degrees and oil an 8 inch glass square baking dish. In a medium bowl mix soy milk, vegetable oil and vanilla with a wire whisk. In a separate medium bowl combine flour, 1 cup granulated sugar,  1/2 cup cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda and salt with a wire whisk. Add soy milk mixture to flour mixture and combine with a rubber spatula until thoroughly mixed. Spread batter into prepared cake pan. In a small bowl combine remaining granulated sugar and 1/2 cup cocoa powder. Sprinkle evenly over top of batter and pour 1 cup boiling water over the top. Do not stir.


Bake 30-35 minutes or until cake is just set in the center. A tooth pick inserted in the middle should come out with just a few crumbs. Remove from oven and serve warm. 


The cake can be scooped out with a large spoon or let it sit until it is room temperature and cut into slices. Devour and enjoy!

Roasted Eggplant Salad

Love Eggplant? I promise this will be one of your favorite salads!

Roast 3 or 4 lbs of eggplants with the skins on using your oven's broiler for about 25 minutes rotating the eggplants every five minutes or so. Wait for a charcoal color on the skin and take them out. Peel the charred skins under running cold water. Take the seeds out. Mash the remaining eggplants mix with  4-5 cloves of minced garlic, olive oil, salt and vinegar or lemon juice. Lay the mixture on a serving platter and serve with red onions, tomatoes, olives and flat leaf parsley.

Spicy Chocolate Almond Clusters

This is a forbidden treat for me. My son has severe food allergies and nuts are one of them. I prepared this easy recipe by being extremely cautious.

Melt your favorite chocolate in a double boiler or in microwave. Add some vanilla extract to the melted chocolate, a pinch of hot red crushed peppers, a pinch of salt and roasted almonds. Give it a nice stir.  Lay them in clusters on a parchment covered baking sheet. Ready after chocolate is no longer shiny. Take a bite and let your heart melt...

Pizza Your Way- Party

Preheat oven to 450 F.
Prepare your own dough or use a store bought pizza dough.  Cut up veggies, cheese, sausage, etc. Don't forget to add your favorite toppings.  Let everyone decorate  their own pizza. Bake for about 15 minutes or until the cheese is melted. We used red onions, red peppers, cauliflower , shredded carrots, broccoli stalks and sausage. No cheese, no tomato sauce. This was our own favorite pizza!

Fried Dough for Tea Time?

A very basic dough made with 1lbs. all purpose flour, water, 1 teaspoon salt and 1 tablespoon active dry yeast. Use just enough water to get a softer and stickier than pizza dough feeling. Let it rest for an hour covered with a damp towel and deep fry for a golden look. Devour with honey, goat cheese, tomatoes and olives. Please do not forget to steep your favorite tea.

Vegan Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake - Creating a Food Legacy?

Serving suggestion: Chocolate covered carrot cake silly monster balls

After a very long time I am back again. This time my five year old daughter had me post this recipe. Actually she insisted I teach her how to cook and bake her favorites so that she will be able to  have the same taste when she grows up. Some foresight! I promised her to keep a food diary and write down the recipes both she and her brother liked so they will be able to prepare their favorites when ever they liked. We like spending time in the kitchen as a family and kids love helping out.

I need to modify most of recipes to our dietary needs as my son has multiple food allergies. I checked online to find a vegan carrot cake recipe I can bake. Most of the time I have an item or two missing in the pantry. It was the case again. I try to balance dry and wet ingredients listed in the original recipe by trying to come up with something that can replace the listed ingredient.  I ended up adding chocolate chips and mashed bananas. This modified vegan recipe worked wonders! Every ones favorite! It is not only moist and delicious but also provided some veggies and fruits disguised in a chocolaty taste.

Now it is time to keep the promise I made to my daughter and let our family food legacy begin:)

Vegan Chocolate Chip Carrot Cake

This recipes yields two medium sized cakes. I bake the two cakes at once and freeze one  for a week or two or until a friend shows up for some coffee.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup all purpose wheat flour
2 tsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups raw sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup canola or sunflower oil
1 cup rice or soy milk
2 cups grated carrots
2 mashed bananas
1 tbs vanilla extract
1 cup chocolate chips (I used Enjoy Life dairy, nut and soy free mini chips)
I also added liquid calcium supplement for additional calcium (for my dairy allergic son).

Prepare dry and wet ingredients in separate bowls and then combine the bowls and mix with a fork. Lightly grease a 9x9 inch baking pan or two round cake pans. Pour the batter in pans.
Bake about 40 minutes or until a fork or toothpick comes out clean.

For a fun play date treat mash 1/4 of your cake into crumbles and mix with 1/2 cup of sun butter.  Get small bite size portions from the mix and roll them in your hands. Melt dairy free chocolate in microwave, dip your mini balls in chocolate, lay them on a parchment covered baking dish. Decorations are optional.  I know it is hard but wait for chocolate to dry for about an hour.