Hello everyone, I want to tell you that I’m still around! There are many healthy recipes that I would like to share with you, but I just need to find extra hours to be able to sit in front of the computer so I could post more blogs. There are so many baking classes in delhi from who you can learn about cakes and breads.

It’s garden season, we are working hard to prepare our garden for summer vegetables. Our spring veggies are doing really well. Broccoli flowers are out, cabbage heads are also forming. I transplanted several varieties of tomatoes, peppers and eggplant seedlings into the garden, and our green vegetables continue to give us abundant, fresh harvest! Anyway, that’s all for now about our garden update.

My son just turned two, on the last day of April. In-laws came to visit us the following week-end until Monday. The truth is, I wasn’t planning on doing any birthday preparations, because it’s not that important. We thank God, we say our praises to Him for giving our son another year, to me that’s what really matters. Last year, on his first birthday a friend of ours and in-laws offered a birthday cake. So he had a real first birthday, gift-giving, party tradition (twice). As I said, I was not planning on making anything extra special for his birthday this year and in the coming years, but I sensed that my in-laws were sort of expecting a little cake to celebrate their grandson’s second birthday, and for the little one to enjoy candle blowing as well. To make the story short, I made a cake – for the celebrant and for everybody! As I posted in one of my dessert blogs that I don’t have a sweet tooth. In one of my favorite vegan cookbooks, the 7 Secret Cookbooks, I saw a Create-a-Cake recipe so I chose my ingredients, modified it to suit mine and everybody’s taste. And everybody agreed that the cake, even though it was decorated pretty simply, it was good and moist, and the taste is perfect. My father-in-law said, “you can make this again”. The little birthday celebrant blew the lit candles four times and was wanting for more. He too had a few bites of the healthy cake! I am sharing with you the recipe here on my food blog. Feel free to try it sometime, and let me know your thoughts.

CAKE INGREDIENTS: (Note: T = tablespoon, t = teaspoon, c = cup)

Dry Ingredients:
1 c whole wheat flour
1/2 c unbleached white flour
1 t sea salt
2 and 1/4 t baking powder (I used Rumford)
3/4 c sugar cane crystal (options: 1/2 c honey and omit water, or any real sugar)
1/4 c ground flax (options: raisins or chopped nuts)

1/2 c applesauce (I used homemade applesauce)
1/2 c mashed ripe banana
1 c almond milk
1 t vanilla extra
water as needed

1. Preheat oven to 400*F (204.4*C).
2. In a bowl, combine all dry ingredients.
3. In a blender combine all wet ingredients, blend until smooth.
4. Stir wet ingredients into the dry mix until well mixed.
5. Pour into an oiled, 8-inch round or square pan. (You can also use paper cups)
*Cut-to fit parchment paper for the bottom of the pan, which makes it easy to remove the cake.
6. Bake at 400*F (204.4*C) for five minutes. Reduce heat to 350*F (175*C) and bake for 20-25 minutes. Check for doneness by inserting a knife or a skewer in the center. It should come out clean and edges of cake are beginning to pull away from sides of the pan.
7. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes before adding frosting. (Frosting is optional).