The Year of 52 Adventures

Updates from September, 2010 Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts

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  eatveggiesdrinkwine 10:22 pm on September 20, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Adventures 24/52 & 25/52: Road-tripping with DP (my husband) and Veganizing my favorite summer cake 

  In my rush to post all of my summer adventures, I forgot to add one of the best …

  Adventure 24/52: 24 hours in Indianapolis with DP (my husband) and Jack Johnson

  In a whirlwind road trip to Indianapolis in July just for fun, DP and I had dinner with one of his former students at ZING, rocked in a mellow kind of way with Jack Johnson, enjoyed the downtown canal walk, felt the magic at Hinkle Fieldhouse, and got a big dose of LOVE at the Indianapolis Museum of Art. The original plan was for a group road trip, but it turned out to be a fun 24-hour vacation for the two of us … we’ll definitely repeat in a different city sometime soon.

  And returning to a more recent adventure…

  Adventure 25/52: Veganizing my favorite summer cake

  Lime Cream Torte. Sounds and looks fancy, but it’s pretty simple to make. Especially because it uses boxed cake mix, which I realized was a little weird the last time I made it. If I’m going to the effort of whipping real cream for the frosting, why am I relying on Duncan Hines processed cake mix? That was the first spark in wanting to try a makeover on this Taste of Home recipe.

  Before I go on, let me assure you that I believe in the sacredness and importance of dessert. At a restaurant, I’ll take the chocolate raspberry cheesecake over a fruit cup any day. Sure, at home I’ll satisfy my craving for something sweet with a slice of watermelon or a square of dark chocolate, but I wouldn’t call either of those options dessert. Additionally, though I find myself leaning more toward a vegan diet these days, I don’t like to use soy-based butter and whipped cream and egg replacers when I bake. So, this adventure was more about challenging myself to find less-processed options for making this tasty cake.

  The final result definitely tasted more on the “healthy” end of the dessert spectrum than I would have liked, but for my first attempt at recreating a dessert recipe, it stood up to the challenge. I substituted coconut oil and flax seed for the butter and eggs called for in this key lime cake recipe, then I made a cashew-nut based “cream” frosting (using lime juice instead of water) thanks to directions from this lovely blog I discovered. (Note: you should really soak the cashews for 2 hours or more. I was too impatient and I think the texture of the cream was impacted.) I took it to a family gathering on Sunday, and this is all that’s left:

  

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  eatveggiesdrinkwine 10:11 pm on September 20, 2010 Permalink | Reply  

  Adventure 26/52: Leaving a hope note for a stranger to find 

  

  The purpose behind last week’s Mondo Beyondo secret mission was simple: “There’s nothing like putting something good out into the world to give you the courage to believe it yourself.” I was invited to leave an affirmation in a public place for someone else to find and enjoy.

  However, for someone like me who gets caught up in the rules (e.g., what if I’m not allowed to put tape on this wall?!), the execution was not so simple. I was excited but nervous about where I’d place the notes (because I wanted to share two messages) and wasn’t sure I’d be able to snap a picture afterwards in case I needed to make a quick getaway from the tape police. (I’m only partly kidding …)

  The first note is from a Valentine’s Day postcard my husband and I sent a few years ago. Cincinnati readers might be able to spot the location. I hung the second note near a few benches. I hope that someone eating lunch or taking a few moments to reflect will see it peeking through the leaves.

  

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    adventurechaser 5:41 pm on September 27, 2010 Permalink

    LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE LOVE this! I’m a rule follower too and can completely relate (that in itself is an adventure for some of us 🙂 Good for you for taking on the tape police for such a worthy cause.