Easy (Vegan) Chocolate Cake

I came home from a pretty long day today, and you know what I wanted? Chocolate Cake. I never want cake. I want fries and chips and bread and other salty goodness, but I never want cake. (Well except today clearly)

So I scrounged around cookbooks and found my super easy cake recipe I found in Belize, where I made more chocolate cake than I have in the rest of my life with the AMAZING local chocolate. And 40 minutes later - cake!

It's a vegan recipe, not because I went vegan in Belize but because I didn't always have eggs or milk and stores weren't always open when I was craving a local, sweet treat, so I found a milk/egg-less recipe to enjoy. I don't like icing so I also have a glaze recipe I put on this.

Anyway, I just finished the piece of cake I was craving but I have a whole rest of the pan leftover. Good thing I have girlfriends to pawn baking off to!

Yummy Cake!

Here's the easy recipe! Enjoy!

Easy Vegan Chocolate Cake
1+1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa, unsweetened - ideally from Belize if you've got it hanging around ;) 
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup warm water
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup veg oil
1 tsp vinegar (white or apple cider)

Preheat oven to 350F
Mix flour, sugar, cocoa, baking soda and salt with a fork, mix it well.
Add water, vanilla, oil and vinegar. Blend well with a fork.
Bake at 350 for 30 min
Cool as long as you can stand. Today, that lasted approximately 3 minutes. If you're going to put glaze on it, do wait until it cools or the glaze will just get super liquidy and melt off the cake rather than stay on top with it's deliciousness.

Glaze 

1/2 cup sugar
4 tbsp margarine (butter if you're not vegan - I'm a real-butter-all-the-time kind of gal)
2 tbsp plain almond milk/soy milk/cow milk
2 tbsp cocoa
2 tbsp vanilla

Combine ingredients in a small saucepan over low-medium heat, stirring to prevent burning. Let it cool slightly before pouring over cake. If it hardens too much, just heat it back to liquid.
I read somewhere once that burning chocolate is considered a sin in some cultures. I would concur.

Knitting for Women's Rights

I tried knitting once - it was ... less than successful. However, when this event came up, I was there! What event, you ask?

A motion was introduced in February that, if accepted, wold call a committee to discuss whether fetuses should be included in the Criminal Codes definition of human being - which is the trying-to-be-sneaky way of saying "let's discuss if abortion is murder."

Ok. seriously PCs? The abortion debate was closed in 1988 and we've been doing just fine for the last 24 years.

So some awesome women decided to make sure their MPS knew that they were quite happy having rights to decide what to do with their own bodies, thank you very much. Some groups are doing this in this States too, where in many places women are REALLY having their health and rights challenged and even stripped away by politicians who don't even HAVE uteri! So the idea is, we'll make one for them so they'll have their own uteri to legislate and they can leave ours alone. Anyway, we got together, and at this great Womanspace event we knit/crocheted/sewed uteri to send to MPs who said they would be supporting the motion.

Hey - it's my uterus! 

I loved the event - it was a creative way to resist a motion I don't agree with, it was a great space with positive energy, and plus, how often do you get to sew a uterus! What a fun project! 

Apparently the news loved the event too! We were covered by a local media group CJOC FM, the Winnipeg Free Press and even the Globe & Mail!  We're famous! [Update! Our local newspaper, the Lethbridge Herald ran the story from the G&M with a photo of my little uterus! She's famous!] [ANOTHER update! We're in the CBC! Good thing my uterus isn't camera shy!]

We're excited for round two tomorrow night, August 14th. It will be at a local watering hole, the Owl at 6:30 and we'll even show you how to do it! Like I said, my knitting skills leave a little to be desired and I still have a pretty pink uterus to be gifted to my MP. :) Check out the deets on Facebook and see you there! 

And remember - Women's health and rights are not up for debate! Make sure your MP knows you feel that way, even if you don't get to knit them a present.