Didi Ananda Devapriya: Yoga and Meditation Teacher in Romania

Vegan Carob Walnut Cupcakes

This recipe has been a favorite of mine for many years – it makes such a light and fluffy cake that is luscious, dark and rich in flavor, but surprisingly low in fat. Most people are convinced it is a dark chocolate cake – as the barley coffee gives it some of the bitterness of chocolate. It is the chemical reaction between the vinegar and baking soda that makes this cake rise, and which is one of the secrets of making amazingly light, delicate, egg-less cakes. As the vinegar reacts with the baking soda, its flavor is neutralized, forming bubbles of carbon dioxide and water, so don’t worry-  you won’t taste it. Just make sure to preheat your oven so that you can immediately bake this cake.

Ingredients:

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Tofu Picatta

Lemon, butter, pepper and capers give this tofu picatta dish a fresh, tart, springtime flavor.  It was featured at our April dinner at Morningstar. Together with steamed asparagus and oven roasted rosemary potatoes, and an organic salad from our AMURTEL Bio Garden, it was a lovely introduction to spring!

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Eggless Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

This is a luscious, moist cake with warming spices, so especially suited to cool weather, though it is popular at any time of the year. I often make it at Christmas parties. I also recently  made it for a birthday party in Spain during the Youth in Permaculture meeting. In fact, this posting is inspired by their requests for the recipe…There I used a kind of “fromage frais” instead of cream cheese, and it was delicious.  The cake is vegan, and though the frosting is not,  I have included a link to a vegan cream cheese frosting as well for my vegan friends!

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Moroccan Chickpea Sattvic Stew

This aromatic, cinnamon and cumin scented chickpea dish is warming in the winter and delicous with cous-cous. I made it for our last vegetarian dinner at the Morningstar Center in Bucharest!  It has the additional advantages of being low fat and vegan, but very hearty and filling. It is also sattvic – a type of vegetarian food that enhances your meditation and yoga practice.

Ingredients:

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Blueberry Lemon Cake

This Blueberry-Lemon Cake is an eggless, sattvic vegetarian dessert. The tartness of lemon enhances the flavor of blueberries, and the sour cream adds a luscious texture. It is the chemical reaction between the baking soda and acidic lemon and vinegar that causes the cake to rise and maintain a fluffy, light texture.  As all of those of us who made baking soda volcano experiments as kids may remember, this chemical reaction is relatively short lived, so the cake must enter directly into a hot oven after adding the vinegar, at the very end, when all of the other ingredients have been added. It is possible to change the type of berry used to vary the flavors – for example replacing the blueberries with raspberries and the lemon juice with orange juice and orange rind.

Dry Ingredients:

 

3 cups of flour

1 2/3 cup of sugar

1 teaspoon baking poweder

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

 

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Vegetarian Cornbread and Black Bean Casserole

A new experiment – combining some of my favorite things from the US – cornbread, black beans, cumin, cilantro, fresh tomatoes, sweet corn – what is not to love!!!  The slight sweetness of the cornbread contrasts with spicy, savory black beans .  It is also quick and easy to prepare (a characteristic of most of my recipes….I like to eat well, but not necessarily to spend unnecessary amounts of time in the kitchen!)

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Baked Panko Pesto Tofu with Mozzerella Ratatouille Casserole

 

Baked Panko Pesto Tofu Recipe:

(lacto-vegetarian, egg-free, sattvic)

This was my very first experiment with panko – having only recently discovered it when I was served panko crusted tofu and I was amazed at how it changed the experience of tofu completely by giving it a crispy, crunchy coating. I also had a jar of sattvic pesto to use up – and so the idea came to combine them. I  think the dish I had had was deep fried, but it works out perfectly this way. It is really difficult for me to feel good about pouring a half inch of oil into a frying pan…

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