Hershey's perfectly chocolate cake

For mother's day, kids and I did some baking. Since all three of us like chocolate cake I thought to try out this recipe. It was simple (important when baking with kids) and delicious! We baked it in a loaf pan. It was delicious!

For the cake

Ingredients:

• 2 cups sugar
• 1-3/4 cups all-purpose flour 
• 3/4 cupHERSHEY'S Cocoa 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder 
• 1-1/2 teaspoons baking soda 
• 1 teaspoon salt 
• 2 eggs 
• 1 cup milk 
• 1/2 cupvegetable oil 
• 2 teaspoons vanilla extract 
• 1 cup boiling water

Method:

1. Heat oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 9-inch round baking pans.
2. Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a large bowl.
3. Add eggs, milk, oil and Vanilla.
4. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes.
5. Stir in boiling water (batter will be thin).
6. Pour batter into prepared pans.
7. Bake 30-35 minutes or until wooden pick inserted comes clean.
8. Cool 10 minutes, remove from pans to wire racks. Cool completely and then frost.

For the frosting

Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup butter
• 2/3 cup cocoa powder
• 3 cups powdered sugar
• 1/3 cup milk
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Method:

1. Melt butter. Stir in cocoa.
2. Alternately add powdered sugar and milk, beating to spreading consistency
3. Add small amount of additional milk if needed.
4. Stir in vanilla

Creamy (vegan) cauliflower soup

I saw this recipe in Vegan For Everybody. It looked pretty good and the ingredients seemed pretty accessible. So I gave it a try. I modified the recipe a little to make it simpler as well as to suit the ingredients I had on hand. The soup was healthy and delicious! A great way for kids to get their share of vegetables!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 head cauliflower, chopped
• 3 tsp oil
• 3/4-1 cup onion, chopped
• 1 tsp ginger, chopped
• 1 tsp kitchen king
• 2 1/2 cups water
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (canned)
• 1 tablespoon lime juice
• Salt to taste
• chopped cilantro, for garnishing

Note: The size of the chopped vegetables doesn't really matter because everything will be blended together.

Method:

1. Heat the oil on medium heat in a dutch oven or big pan.
2. Add onion and salt; and sauté till onion is translucent.
3. Add ginger and kitchen king. Sauté for a minute.
4. Add cauliflower and water. Increase heat to medium high and bring to a boil.
5. Simmer till the cauliflower is cooked.
6. Blend in a blender till smooth.
7. Add the puree back to the pan and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Turn off the heat.
8. Add coconut milk and lime juice. Mix.
9. Garnish with chopped cilantro.