Chocolate Cake

This recipe is the worst recipe I have ever found and I regret the day I googled 'vegan chocolate cake'.

It's quick, DELICIOUS, any decent cook is always in possession of the ingredients... and it's loaded with calories. Hence the 'I regret' part. It is THE worst recipe to have when you're at that time of the month, it's late and there is nothing to scoff in the entire house. However, since I don't want to be the only fat person on this planet who is addicted to this chocolate cake, I will post the recipe so you too, can succumb. Because I am mean like that.

However, DISCLAIMER: Do not come crying to me if you've found yourself evening after evening scoffing this lovely, rich, moist, chocolate cake. Because I have warned you. The recipe is for the base only. The cake. There are endless possibilities to decorate it. Use your creativity and your taste buds. Chocolate goes well with raspberries, strawberries, jam, chocolate paste and nuts. I usually decorate it with store bought chocolate icing and chocolate or sugar sprinklers, because I'm lazy like that. But release your inner Martha and go wild.

Kitchen utensils

• Large mixing bowl
• Sifter
• Fork
• Wooden spoon
• Spatula
• Oven dish/silicone pan (I use a silicone pan, which is great for cakes, but I don't think silicone should be used for muffins or cup cakes, your product stays too moist, which is great for cake, but not for muffins or cup cakes)

Ingredients

• 1 cup/200gr sugar
• 1,5 cup/150gr all purpose flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 cup cocoa/30gr cocao
• 1 tsp baking soda (NOT baking powder, in Dutch it is 'zuiveringszout' and you can get it at baking goods stores or in my case, at the health food store)
• 1/3 cup/80ml vegetable oil (go with a neutral one, like sunflower oil)
• 1 tsp vanilla essence
• 1 cup/240ml water

Preheat oven till 350F or 175C. Mix the dry ingredients in a bowl, pour in liquids. Stir until smooth. Pour batter in dish. Bake for 35 minutes. Lick batter of spoon and mixing bowl and smile knowing you won't get salmonella from raw eggs. Does stick to hips, though.

Tamari Spicy Noodles

My favourite cuisine is the Asian kitchen. Whether it's Vietnamese, Indian, Thai, Japanese or Chinese, I love their use of fresh herbs and stir fried vegetables. There's nothing I hate more than overcooked vegetables. They loose their taste, their colour and more importantly, their vitamins. Most of the time, the Asian cuisine is quick, easy and extremely tasteful. It is vegetarian and vegan heaven too. Although a lot of Asians love their meat, fish, insects, snakes and even spiders, the possibilities to cook without having to kill your meal first or having to milk a goat are endless.

You really don't need a recipe either. The simplest meals are the best.

But... this wouldn't be a recipe blog without recipes.

So here I'll give you the recipe for a quick but lovely simple noodle dish. As with most of my stir fry recipes, I use vegetables that I like, in the quantity that suits me. Feel absolutely free to use what you want and the quantity you want. If you don't like snow peas but love broccoli, use that. Just take into account that some vegetables need to be stir fried longer than others.

Kitchen utensils

• pan
• wok
• sharp knife
• grater
• wooden spoon

Ingredients

• garlic (to make things easier, I used jarred garlic paste)
• chopped onion
• grated ginger
• chili pepper (again, to make things easier, I used the condiment sambal)
• fresh cilantro (which I cut with a scissors I use only for food, easy peasy)
• noodles (I used thick Chinese wheat noodles)
• tofu (I used spicy tofu cubes that you can buy in most stores these days)
• red bell pepper (cut in pieces)
• shiitakes
• snow peas (LOVE them, I cut them in half)
• scallions (cut in half an inch/one centimeter long pieces)
• tamari soy sauce (you can use others, this one is Japanese)
• oil (I use rice bran... don't use olive oil. Stir frying is too hot for olive oil and the taste of olive oil is quite strong and doesn't suit stir fries in my opinion. You can use sunflower oil or sesame oil if you like the taste)

Cook noodles as indicated on pack. Heat oil in wok. Throw in chopped onion, grated ginger, garlic and chili peppers (sambal). Stir fry until onion and ginger are soft. Throw in shiitakes, bell pepper and snow peas. Stir fry until vegetables are almost done (it needs to be crunchy, I'd do about five minutes). Throw in the scallions and a bit of tamari soy sauce. Stir for some more minutes. I use one table spoon for two servings. Stir in the fresh cilantro and noodles and stir until cilantro is warmed up a bit. This should take a few seconds, if you heat it up too long it will lose it's lovely taste. Turn off heat and bon appetite...

The key with this recipe is to keep the vegetables crispy. Crispy, but warm and not too raw.