5 Minute Cake

Yesterday I opened up my inbox to something truly incredible: a forwarded mass email that I actually wanted to read. My aunt had sent along a recipe for "5 Minute Chocolate Cake," an individual sized cake that bakes for 3 minutes in the microwave. I had come to believe that microwaves were only good for reheating leftovers and making popcorn, but I was pleasantly surprised to pop open the door after 3 minutes and find a moist, more than decent cake for tonight's dessert. For those late night chocolate cravings or times when you just don't want to put a lot of effort into dessert, this recipe is one to remember.

Ingredients:

4 tbsp flour

4 tbsp sugar

2 tbsp cocoa

1 egg

3 tbsp milk

3 tbsp vegetable oil

3 tbsp chocolate chips (optional)

1 small splash vanilla

Directions:

(1) Mix dry ingredients in a microwave safe mug.

(2) Combine wet ingredients in a separate bowl and add to dry ingredients. Stir until combined.

(3) Microwave on high for 3 minutes. NOTE: Place a plate under the mug to avoid messy cleanup if the cake overflows.

(4) Allow cake to cool. Put out onto a plate if desired.

NOTE:

I was missing a few ingredients, so I improvised to make the cake work. I didn't have any eggs, so I used 1/4 cup of crushed blackberries to act as a binding agent, and 1/8 tsp of baking soda as a leavening agent. I also only had about 1 tbsp of cocoa, so I added 1 tbsp of instant coffee in its place.

West Van Flowers

We went to the Harmony Arts Festival this past weekend in West Van, and the highlight for me was touring the community gardens between Ambleside and John Lawson Park. There were lots of vegetables - including 2 metre tall bolted lettuce which was staked! - but the the flowers really grabbed my attention. Here are a few of my favourites:

August in the Garden

Our internet is finally back after going out the night of the thunderstorm. Since that time, the zucchinis have gotten out of control, lots of eggplants have emerged, and two varieties of tomatoes have started to ripen.

I'd read zucchini plants were prolific before we started the garden, but I guess I hadn't really grasped just how prolific because I kept 7 of the 11 plants we originally had. Our counter is covered in zucchini, and our freezer full of shredded zucchini. Now I've pulled almost everything, leaving just 2 of the smaller plants. I think that next year I'll start with 4 plants and eventually pull 2. I also want to try varieties other than the traditional green zucchini.
For the last few weeks, though, the garden has been suffering through more than just a glut of zucchinis. Beginning with a melon plant, powdery mildew began to affect the curcubita plants, and I had to pull 1 pumpkin, 1 zucchini plant and 2 melon plants. I wanted to keep them, but neither organic treatments nor fungicides helped, so I had to remove them to stop the fungus' spread. The spread of fungus is something that I will definitely keep in mind when designing the garden next year. I also need to do more research into disease-resistant pumpkin seeds, because I really want a successful pumpkin harvest.