(gluten + dairy free) chocolate olive oil bundt w/ salted maple almonds /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

the other day i was reading an article about the history of agriculture and food in america.  i had one of those "how come i never thought about this, it's so frickin' obvious" moments.  the author basically broke down the last 100 years of american eating in about 3 short paragraphs. early 1900s: hardly any grocery stores (only local "mom & pop" general stores) or restaurants and no fast-food.  mid-1900s: advertisers were increasingly abundant, encouraging people to buy store-bought items, ready-mix baked goods and dinners, instant coffee, and those boxed, microwavable TV dinners.  in the 80s and 90s there was a focus on workout videos (hello Jane Fonda, scrunchie socks and sweatbands!), Jenny Craig, protein bars and diet shakes.  as the author so vividly pointed out: more convenience = less wholesome food and the more we relied on convenience and giving other people responsibility to manage food for us, the less knowledge and concern we had over our own nutrition. i guess this struck me because as i've gotten older i have seen and felt the direct correlation between the food i put in my mouth and feeling good - making conscious decisions and taking responsibility for what will give my body energy, provide nutrients and put me in a good mood.

i know, chocolate cake after i went on a rant about nutrition?  hey, part of this whole nutrition thing is balance, and there's no balance in life if chocolate isn't involved, am i right?  me and chocolate cake have long history; on every single one of my birthdays my mom would make a chocolate layer cake with chocolate frosting with chocolate m&m's!  but then there was the baker's cafe - a small restaurant known as somewhat of a hippie establishment because they had items on the menu that included: sprouts, whole wheat bread, pita bread, hummus, and hemp seeds - so hippie you guys ;) in any event, their takeout/bakery counter had all sorts of cakes and cookies, but me and my dad's favorite was the baker's chocolate cake.  it was a deep, dark, lusciously moist bundt cake with a super thick chocolate ganache and we would get a piece each time we went.  so you can imagine my great joy when i popped this lovely cake out of her pan and cut her open to find that she was just as dark and luscious as the baker's cake - only free of gluten and dairy!  so here's to chocolate cake and making conscious decisions about the food that we eat. 

and while we're on the topic of cake...

anya's Parsnip Cake with Candied Kumquats is a.) super clever. and b.) gorgeous! definitely putting it on the to-make list for next year

i will never be able to get enough of nuts on cake, especially when there are hazelnuts and chocolate involved - laura wins the cake game with this one!

julia's photography is super pretty but this gluten free coconut cake, totally takes the cake! (harhar)

and i think we can all agree, cynthia's miniaturization of cake and pie is pretty impressive! 

then there were cake truffles by the always inventive molly!

lastly, i never knew how intricate you could get with decorating mini cakes.  here, sarah comes through with some serious jedi cake decoration knowledge

chocolate olive oil bundt w/ salted maple almonds (gluten + dairy free)

ingredients

  • 1 cup brown rice flour
  • 1/4 cup + 2 tablespoons almond flour
  • 2 tablespoons arrowroot powder
  • 1/3 cup raw cacao powder (or unsweetened cocoa powder) + more for coating pan
  • 1 teaspoon baking soda
  • 1/2 teaspoon fine grain sea salt
  • 3 free-range eggs
  • 1 cup coconut palm sugar
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
  • 1/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
  • 1 cup hot water
  • coconut oil for greasing 

chocolate ganache

  • 2 ounces dairy free chocolate 
  • 1.5 ounces full-fat coconut milk
  • tiny pinch of salt

salted maple almonds - recipe here

  • 1/4 cup, roughly chopped

instructions

  • preheat oven to 350° and grease an 8 or 9-inch bundt pan with coconut oil, place a couple teaspoons of cacao powder in the pan.  gently shake the pan to disperse the powder evenly; tip and bump to clear excess powder, set aside
  • in a large bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients with a whisk; set aside - break up any clumps with your fingers
  • in another large bowl, beat the eggs with the sugar until thoroughly combined - about 1 minute.  add the vanilla and oil; add the hot water while whisking
  • add the wet ingredients to the dry and whisk until combined.  carefully pour the batter into the prepared bundt pan; transfer to oven and bake for 40-45 minutes, rotating halfway through and until a baking tester comes out clean
  • transfer to a cooling rack and let cool completely.  invert onto a serving platter or large plate

make the ganache

  • in a small saucepan, heat the coconut milk until boiling, remove from heat and add the chocolate; let it rest for about 5 minutes, add the salt and stir to combine
  • drizzle chocolate evenly over the top of the cake, then top with salted maple almonds
  • best eaten the day of, but you can cover the cake with parchment and store at room temperature for about 3 days

enjoy!

maple almonds w/ fleur de sel /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

things are finally starting to settle around here with our new pup - he's actually turning 1 in a couple days, but he's so tiny and still learning so much about his new surroundings that it feels like he's a baby.  he's really a delightful little guy; full of energy and kisses, and the little noises he makes when stretches kill us! but the best is when frank comes in the room, he gets so overcome with excitement that he does this little hop-dance where he jumps on all fours...so cute!  so, despite the runs to the vet late at night for ear infections, or accidents on rug, or barking at neighbors and other dogs, he's the best addition to our little family.

i wasn't sure if i should even post these - maple almonds w/ salt? they're not much of a "recipe" but i came to the conclusion that these are just too dang amazing not to share!  perhaps you have a favorite store-bought brand of candy nuts, honey-roasted nuts, etc., but i urge you to make these homemade sweet, salty, snack-y almonds that are super easy, and a lot more inexpensive than the store-bought kind (not to mention healthier because you can control the amount of sugar and sodium in these babies!).  they're so good that while i was shooting these photos i turned around to what i thought was my pup chewing his toy, but nope, he was chomping down on these tasty treats - however angry i wanted to be, i couldn't, i would've eaten them too! 

happy friday, friends! have a lovely weekend :) xo

maple almonds w/ fleur de sel

| makes 1 cup |

  • 1 cup raw almonds
  • 2 tablespoons + 1 teaspoon grade B maple syrup
  • ~1 teaspoon fleur de sel (more or less depending on what you prefer)

pre heat oven to 325° and line a small baking sheet with parchment

in a medium mixing bowl, combine the maple syrup, half the fleur de sel and almonds; stir to coat evenly. transfer almonds to the prepared baking sheet and arrange them in a single layer. bake for 15-20 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes, until syrup is bubbly and almonds are a bit plumped.  remove the almonds from the oven and evenly sprinkle the remaining fleur de sel. let cool completely and store in an airtight container or jar at room temperature

enjoy! 

5-spice black bean salad w/ rocket greens + citrus dressing /  by Lindsey | Dolly and Oatmeal

call it a sensory issue or something, but up until last summer i never ever ate beans in their whole form, meaning i would eat them mushed, but never actually chomped a bean other than a chickpea. however, after honeymooning in costa rica last august my bean-thinking mind did a 180°! almost every meal was served with what the costa ricans call, gallo pinto (rice + beans), and they were some of the most epic pieces of food to ever enter my mouth.  i think the mixture of rice with the beans all together helped me get over my irrational fear of the the black bean, but also the red pepper, cilantro and in some cases chili pepper that was all super subtle but extremely tasty.  frank and i still dream about gallo pinto, and i hope one day i'll have more luck recreating it.  

this salad really just started out as an easy lunch for the entire week.  a lot of dishes/salads i make usually last me for a good 3-4 days; things that i can pack away in the fridge as leftovers and put them together easily the next day.  this salad has been my absolute favorite for a number of reasons: 1.) i cheat and use canned beans because i'm too lazy for the overnight soak sometimes. 2.) the 5-spice combo is insanely tasty, mixing savory and sweet spices to give the beans some serious depth of flavor. and 3.) all the flavors are super bright; mixing the spices with some citrus, acid, slightly bitter/peppery greens and sweetness from the mango all make it super well-rounded and packed with flavor.  i hope you enjoy as i seriously look forward to this easy little meal each day :)

5-spice black bean salad w/ rocket greens + citrus dressing (gf + v)

| makes 4 servings |

ingredients

  • 1 can black beans, drained and rinsed (preferably no salt added + bpa free lining - i like Eden Organic brand) 
  • 1 small-medium red onion, chopped
  • 2-3 garlic cloves, minced
  • 1/4 cup low sodium vegetable stock
  • 1 1/2 teaspoons cacao powder
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 teaspoon ancho chili powder
  • pinch of cayenne pepper (optional)
  • 1 1/4 teaspoons salt, separated
  • 1/2 cup quinoa
  • 1 mango, peeled and sliced
  • 5 ounces wild arugula
  • 1 tablespoon extra virgin olive oil
  • juice from half of a lime
  • sesame seeds + hemp seeds to taste

easy citrus dressing

  • juice from 1 orange (navel, blood, cara cara, etc.)
  • 1/2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • big pinch of salt
  • a few cracks of black pepper
  • 3 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

instructions

  • in a small saucepan, combine the quinoa with 1 cup of water and 1/4 teaspoon sea salt, bring to a boil, stir and cover; reduce heat to low and cook for 12-15 minutes.  remove from heat with lid on the pot, set aside for later

make the beans

  • in a medium-sized sauté pan, heat the olive oil over medium heat; add the onion, cook for 2-3 minutes, until soft and fragrant.  add the garlic and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes. add the black beans and stock, bring to simmer.  add the 5 spices (cayenne optional) and salt and stir to combine.  let the beans simmer until half the liquid has cooked down, about 12 minutes.  turn off heat and set aside

citrus dressing

  • in a jar fitted with a lid, combine the fresh orange juice, vinegar, salt + pepper; secure lid on the jar and shake vigorously for a couple minutes.  take lid off and add olive oil, shake vigorously again until all ingredients are incorporated.  set aside if using right away, if not store in the fridge until ready to use

assemble salad

  • portion each of the 4 bowls with equal amounts beans, quinoa, greens, and mango.  drizzle dressing over the greens, and give the mango a good squeeze of lime juice; garnish with a healthy dose of sesame + hemp seeds