Weekend foods.

A gorgeous and really delicious potato and green bean salad with capers, olives and red onion tossed with dijon vinaigrette. The recipe originally adds white beans but I was out. You can find the recipe at this blog page*.

Easy dinner of Dr. Praeger's California veggie burger brushed with bbq sauce on Ezekiel bread. It was yum.

I had a fight with my sweet tooth and my sweet tooth won. I broke down and baked a chocolate sheet cake with cocoa walnut glaze. Damn good and totally worth it! I used Fran Costigan's "Mix in the Pan Chocolate Cake" which is the same recipe as Crazy Cake, Wacky Cake and all those vegan egg free chocolate cake recipes out there. She adds a teeny bit of cinnamon which makes it nice.

*I'll post the recipe for the potato salad here just in case that link doesn't work later on.

Sicilian Bean and Potato Salad (Recipe from Linda McCartney's On Tour cookbook)
1 pound new potatoes, unpeeled
1 pound green beans, steamed and cut into 1 inch lengths
1 cup cooked or canned haricot (navy) or cannellini (white kidney) beans
1 small red onion, chopped finely
1/2 cup black olives, pitted and sliced
1-2 tablespoons capers
Classic Vinaigrette
2 tablespoons freshly chopped parsley

In a medium saucepan, cook the potatoes in boiling water until they are tender. Allow them to cool slightly and cut them in half.
Mix the potatoes, beans, onion, black olives and capers in a large bowl. Pour sufficient vinaigrette over the salad to moisten it and toss well. Sprinkle with parsley and serve.

Classic Vinaigrette (Recipe from Linda McCartney's On Tour cookbook)
1-2 teaspoons fine or grainy mustard
2 tablespoons fresh lemon or lime juice, or 2 tablespoons wine, balsamic or cider vinegar
6 tablespoons olive oil
crushed garlic to taste (optional)
sea salt and black pepper to taste

In a small bowl, mix the mustard with the lemon or lime juice or vinegar. Whisk in the olive oil gradually. Stir in the garlic if you are using it. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Chocolate Cake (adapted from Vegan Chocolate cookbook by Fran Costigan)
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
3/8 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/3 cup olive oil
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 cup chilled almond milk

Sift flour, sugar, salt, baking soda, cinnamon and cocoa powder in a bowl. Whisk to combine. Add oil, vinegar, vanilla and milk. Mix until batter is smooth. Pour into a greased rectangular baking pan and spread batter to make it even. Bake at 350 F for 15-20 minutes or until a toothpick inserted comes out clean. Frost immediately with cocoa walnut glaze.

Cocoa Walnut Glaze(adapted from a Ree Drummond recipe)
1/2 cup margarine (1 stick Earth Balance buttery stick)
4 TB cocoa powder
1 tsp vanilla
2 TB almond milk
1/2 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 cup chopped fine walnuts/or pecans
To make glaze:
Melt a stick of Earth Balance margarine (about 1/2 cup) over medium heat. Add 4 tablespoons of cocoa powder and whisk to combine. Turn off heat and add vanilla, milk and powdered sugar. Whisk to get all lumps out and make it smooth. If it's too thick, add a little more milk. If too thin, add a little more sugar. Stir in walnuts and pour over warm cake. Glaze will set a little bit and give it a nice crackly finish.