Friends in the Garden

Chocolate Beet Cake with Raspberry Frosting - Vegan

It Looks Like Summer

There were fresh raspberries as well as strawberries at the farmer's market this weekend. I found a great cake on another food blog, Vegalicious. It's made with beets and chocolate and almost has the density of a brownie. It's very moist and sweet, no one needs to know there are beets in it.  We had to cut two pieces to get just the right picture.  We didn't mind at all, the subjects of the photos were yummy.

I only made a couple substitutions. I used pure maple syrup instead of brown sugar. I used a little bit less to make up for the moisture, just a cup instead of a cup and a half. I used organic chocolate chips for dark chocolate, 1½ ounces isn't very much chocolate, but combined with the cocoa, it really did the job.I made the frosting a bit different than this recipe called for.

for the frosting:

¼ cup coconut butter
½ cup raspberries
½ seeds scraped from a vanilla bean
1 cup organic powdered sugar
about ½ tablespoon almond milk.

Happy Birthday Isabelle

I think it's finally summer.  At least it feels like it today again.  It was lively out at the community garden today.  Lots of plants are reaching for the sun and growing.  There were many families and gardeners working together in the peaceful field.  I am so looking forward to the changes in the garden in the next few weeks.  It won't take long for the whole place to transform into a tall field of many colors.

I finished my garden surprise.  She's not your typical scarecrow.  I planted a garden princess.   Her name is Isabelle and she'll keep an eye on the garden, but unfortunately she'll probably make friends with the birds instead of scare them.  That's OK, she makes me smile.

Strawberry Moon in the Garden

My last post title was "What a Day, Glorious!" I've had one of those today.  We began our day in the garden in the last hour of darkness and the first hour of the full moon.  The Strawberry Moon as it is called in the Farmer's Almanac. In the wee hours of the morning there was a partial lunar eclipse during which the moon partly enters the Earth's shadow.

We have about completed the planting and got together with Rachel to give blessings for the garden under the moon.  We sat in quiet meditation on the herb hill in the moonlight with candles and herbs burning until the morning was bright.  It was a very calming experience.  I generally start my day with some form of prayer and meditation, but this morning was a little more special.

I went to the farmer's market this morning. There were fresh strawberries and raspberries today.  I put ten pounds of strawberries in the freezer and about 5 pounds of raspberries.  I just took a vegan chocolate beet cake out of the oven.  It's a vegan twist of the red velvet cake.  Some of those raspberries will become frosting for that cake.  I will post the recipe tomorrow with the photo just before I try the first piece.  I've got a pot of beans made for our meals in the upcoming week.  I made some quinoa, not sure what I will do with it yet, but it's ready for some veggies and herbs.  I spent some artistic time with a surprise for the garden.  I have an idea for a princess of sorts in the garden.  I'll introduce you when she's completed. 

I've been waiting since I planted these babies in February to post a slide show like this.  Here's some progressive artichoke pictures.  Enjoy!

"Let the beauty we love be what we do.  There are thousands of ways to kneel and kiss the Earth."

-Rumi