Triple Layer Anniversary Carrot Cake!

Today's post is a very special one as hubby and I are celebrating our one year anniversary this weekend. Hmm, am I still allowed to call myself a New Wife?

{Photos courtesy of Alisha Clark Photography}
To be honest, I started this blog on a whim without much thought of the future or even if I would have a second blog post. The thought of choosing a title with longevity was beyond me. Perhaps I had enough lifelong commitments to deal with at the time. :)


Hubby and I have shared a wonderful and fun, yet crazy first year as husband and wife. In 12 months, we have managed to live in 4 cities, darting from the midwest to the west coast to the east coast and back again.

We've grown to know and love each other more than I could ever have imagined or even dreamed.

We've transitioned from the luxury of two incomes to a measly one while hubby attends grad school to become my favorite international economist.

We've lived on top of each other in a 500 sq ft DC studio....And managed to enjoy being so close to each other.

We've survived a condo disaster and our first trial as landlords.

We've eaten a lot.

{delicious mango shrimp from our wedding that I was too busy to enjoy}

From day one of our relationship, we've enjoyed good food, fine (and not so fine dining) and exploring new cuisines. Funny thing is that in those early stages of courtship, hubby was the cook. He'd invite me over for dinner and I thought he was the cutest thing I'd ever seen.

Me? I was too shy to cook for him. I'm not sure if it's the messy kitchen tornado I typically create or my very un-Martha Stewart-like habit of spilling, splashing and knocking over any ingredients in my 2-ft radius. Whatever the blocker may have been, it took me a good couple of months before I'd make my first dish for him. I suppose the rest is history; hubby probably hasn't cooked since we got engaged. I don't blame him, I have a food blog to run, folks.

In honor of the best day of my life, I'm baking us a Triple layer Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Our wedding cake so elegantly titled,
Light Carrot Cake Studded with Grand Marnier Soaked Currants, Layered with Cream Cheese Icing,
has to be one of the most divine, perfect, sinfully delicious things I've ever eaten. Tradition may call for a couple to eat their cake top, but ours is approximately 1,853 miles away in my parents' freezer. I was a tad afraid of freezer burn, anyway. So, I figured I should get in the kitchen and make us a "new" topper. Our glorious wedding cake:


Obviously, carrot cake has always been our favorite and since the caterers haven't offered me their famous recipe, I've stuck with Gigi's Carrot Cake recipe from Emeril for the past few years. It's certainly not for the faint of heart with a whopping 3 sticks of butter (5 with the icing), but if you're celebrating I say you should really celebrate. This cake has never let me down, though be sure to butter your pans very well and use parchment paper so that they do not stick. I also omit the pecans, though throw 'em in if you're nut crazy.

Here's my creation. Happy Anniversary, hubby. I love you.

{2 layers, one more to go...}

{Couldn't find the same orchids but figured these would do}


I can't wait to post a picture once we cut into the cake so you can see the triple layers.
I'm off to pick up hubby from the airport and we're going to see my favorite musician: Jack Johnson! Enjoy the long weekend!

Triple Layer Anniversary Carrot Cake
Courtesy of Emeril
3 sticks, plus 1 tablespoon unsalted butter
2 cups granulated sugar
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
3 cups grated carrots
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (I omit)

Pecan Cream Cheese Icing:
8 ounces cream cheese
1 stick unsalted butter
1 (1-pound) box confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 cup chopped toasted pecans (I omit)

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Butter 3 (9-inch) cake pans with 1 tablespoon of the butter and set aside (I also line the pans with parchment paper and grease again). In a large bowl, cream the butter with an electric mixer. Add the sugar, and beat. In a medium bowl or on a piece of parchment, combine the flour, baking soda, cinnamon, and salt, and mix well.

Add the dry ingredients, alternating with the eggs, beating well after the addition of each. Add the vanilla extract and mix. Add the carrots and beat on medium speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Fold in the nuts. Divide between the 3 cake pans and bake until set and a cake tester inserted into the middle comes out clean, 25 to 30 minutes. Remove from the oven and let rest in the cake pans for 10 minutes. Invert onto wire racks, remove from the pans, and let cool.

For the Frosting: In a large bowl, cream together the cream cheese and butter until light and fluffy. Add the sugar gradually, beating constantly. Add the vanilla and pecans.

When the cake is cool, place 1 cake layer on a cake plate or stand. Spread the top with cream cheese frosting and top with a second and third cake layer, spreading the icing between each layer. Spread the icing around the sides of the cake and let harden slightly before serving. To serve, cut into wedges.

A Lemony Blueberry Vegan Treat

When hubby and I embarked on our vegetarian experiment a few months ago, I was absolutely amazed by the number of quality vegetarian and vegan blogs, recipes, and guides available on the web. Oh, about 15 years ago I'll go out on a limb and say that at least 20% of the population thought Vegans were part of a freaky New Age religion led by PeeWee Herman.

These days, fabulous blogs like the Veggiegirl and Susan's Fatfree Vegan Kitchen have been convincing carnivores like hubby and omnivores like me :) that there is life beyond meat. During our veggie days, I found a lot of inspiration from both those blogs, amazed at the delicious creations I thought vegans only pined for.

Though that part of our lives is over, I've had Susan's Blueberry Oat Bar recipe bookmarked, just waiting for the appearance of juicy and plump blueberries to show up in the markets. Mostly, I have been eager to answer life's most important question: can baked goods truly be delicious without eggs, butter, white sugar...or even flour for that matter? Though I attempt to curb my consumption of the aforementioned ingredients, to me they're the heart and soul of baked goods. Take them away and what are you left with?


Blueberry goodness, I guess. For starters, this recipe uses Agave Nectar Syrup, an all-natural sweetner. No high fructose corn syrup or refined sugars here! Rolled oats are blended into a fine powder and moistened with unsweetened apple sauce along with some other goodies. Fresh blueberries cook in an agave sweetened syrup that makes the house smell absurdly good.

I tried to stay as true as possible to Susan's recipe, lest I make anything un-vegan. I added extra cinnamon, lemon zest, a bit more agave nectar, and a sprinkling of brown sugar over the topping. Well, I managed to do all this and then bastardized half of the bars by throwing a few (non-vegan) white chocolate chips I found in the pantry. Oops. It was only half. Forgive me.


These bars were exceptionally good. I will admit that they do lack the crumbly, rich goodness of a butter based crumb. However, if you eat these without expectation of what the bars should taste like, they are marvelously delicious on their own. I've been eating them cold out of the refrigerator, and cannot believe how many I've already gone through. Yum! Thanks for the great & healthy recipe, Susan!

Original recipe here from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen.

Lemony Blueberry Oat Bars
Adapted from Fat Free Vegan Kitchen
1 pint fresh blueberries (I ended up adding about 1/4 cup more)
zest from one lemon
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/4 cup apple juice
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
2 tablespoons cornstarch mixed with enough water or juice to form a smooth paste

3 cups rolled oats
1 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt
3/4 cup (6 ounces) unsweetened applesauce
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) agave nectar
6 tablespoons (3/8 cup) water
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/4 cup white chocolate chips (optional)

Preheat oven to 375F. Grease an 8x8-inch baking dish.

1. In a small saucepan, combine the lemon zest, blueberries, agave nectar, and apple juice. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat. Once boiling, add vanilla and cornstarch mixture, stirring until mixture returns to a boil and thickens. Remove from heat and set aside.

2. Put 1 1/2 cups of the oats into a blender or food processor and grind to a medium fine powder (I kept mine with a little texture). Pour into a medium-sized mixing bowl and add the remaining oats, cinnamon, baking powder, and salt. Mix well. Stir in the apple sauce, agave nectar, water, and vanilla, and mix well.

3. Spread half of the batter into the prepared pan, smoothing well to cover the bottom of the pan. Spoon the blueberry filling over the batter, and spoon the remaining batter over the blueberries. Sprinkle with brown sugar and chocolate chips.

4. Bake for 30 minutes, or until the top is lightly browned. Allow to cool before cutting into bars.

Omnivores Unite!

Do you consider yourself an adventurous eater? Want to give Anthony Bourdain a run for his money?

I was brought up with a father who eats anything from cow stomach (tripe- (KirkK, thanks for the clarification!) to pig ears . Gross, I know. As a child, I was mortified by my father's feasts, and secretly hoped he wasn't some kind of scary beast. Love ya Dad! Now I suppose I'm glad I grew up in such an environment. I am willing to try anything at least once, though I admit that I've regretted it a few times

(i.e. chicken feet = bad idea).

I saw this post on Cate's Sweetnicks, and thought it was a fun post for a Friday afternoon. The Omnivore's 100 is a list compiled by Very Good Taste and includes foods that Andrew thinks every good omnivore should have tried at least once in their life. The list of foods ranges from the mundane (PB&J sandwich) to the totally obscure (at least to me - Lapsang souchong).

Try it out and let me know how adventurous your taste buds are! See anything I must try? Have anything you'd like to add to this list?

Here's the simple rules:

1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating. (I'll try anything once, remember!)
4) Optional extra: Post a comment here at www.verygoodtaste.co.uk linking to your results.

If I counted correctly, I have 62/100!

Omnivore's 100
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes (does Boone's count? :)
19. Steamed pork buns (a staple in our house growing up)
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl (I'd go back to SF just for this experience)
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal (I may have eaten rattlesnake, but not a big mac meal!)
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% ABV
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores (sometimes a daily treat)
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky (ooh, I grew up with these as a snack! Hubby has never had them. Weirdo).
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse (I'm no horse lover but this one kind of scares me!)
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake (rattlesnake sausage!!)