Tuesday, March 26, 2013

Chocolate Cake Roll with Strawberry Cream Filling

Chocolate Cake Roll with Strawberry Cream

I made myself a mixture of avocado, strawberries, and lemon juice together to go with my lunch at work yesterday. It was actually quite tasty, so I thought I would try to incorporate avocado and strawberries together into a dessert somehow. I had a couple of cans of coconut milk chilled already in the fridge, so I wanted to incorporate those into the mix as well. I decided to stick with a chocolate base, since...well...chocolate just makes everything taste better!

While this dessert doesn't really feature the avocado as much as I originally planned, you can still taste a slight hint of it within the cake. The main features are chocolate, strawberries, and creamy coconut flavors. I will warn you though, it's not as sweet as it looks. I did not use any baking soda or baking powder either, so it's not very fluffy. But overall, it still tasted pretty good. Not the best cake in the world, but certainly not the worst. Plus it's gluten-free, dairy-free, nut-free, contains no leavening agents, and is made with real wholesome ingredients! Now I don't have to feel so guilty when I have a slice. :)

Saturday, March 16, 2013

Greek Cauliflower Salad

Greek Cauliflower Salad

I apologize for the lack of posts lately. Both of my sisters are due in April, as well as my sister-in-law, so I have been super busy shopping and planning baby showers. I just haven't found the time for blogging. That doesn't mean I haven't been cooking though!

The idea for this dish actually came from my sister's shower planning. She had requested that we try to bring lots of healthy foods, preferably gluten-free. When trying to come up with ideas I decided to create a gluten-free version of a Greek pasta salad that was always served at family events when I was a kid. It must have turned out well because I got several compliments at the shower. In fact, I'm making it again for my other sister's shower tomorrow! I hope they like it too. :)

The cauliflower texture in this dish is a mix between couscous and rice. I think it really goes great with the strong flavors of the capers, olives, and Feta cheese. Then you have the juicy grape tomatoes to mellow out all those salty flavors. Best of all, it is great cold so you can prepare it ahead of time if you need to. This does makes several servings, so if you are making it at home for 2-4 people you may want to halve the recipe.