Vegan Carrot Spice Cake

The carrots I buy are not all the same size and some are a little twisty, but they taste great. I just finished baking a vegan Carrot Spice Cake, so they obviously work well. I thought I would share the recipe as it uses lovely carrots and is fun to make on a snowy day.

Greetings fellow gardeners,  

Wandering around outside today I could feel the snow that is coming. At least the temperatures will be more manageable. The woodpile is getting low, and I am starting to wish for a blast of spring weather.

Seed Accessories

The local dollar store is starting to stock up on seed-starting accessories and soil. I like dollar store soil as a filler, but it is not the best for starting seeds. I did find that they had their spikey mats in stock, and I bought one. These mats can be cut to size and are very handy. I want some spikey mats for when I am ready to start my dahlias. I like to start my dahlias early so that I can extend the bloom time. The large pots will need to stay inside, to the delight of the too-many cats. If I put the spiky mats down, the dahlias have a better chance. In addition, I often wrap them in bird-netting as a further deterrent.

Zone 8 Seeds Keep Growing

The pimento pepper seeds that I collected are up! How exciting. So far, the jalapeno seeds I collected have not germinated and the white sage got grumpy when the temperature was a little too low. I shall have to plant it again. At night when the light is off and heating mat is off it is difficult to get these zone 8 seeds to continue growing. 

Groceries seem to be more expensive these days, but I have discovered imperfect vegetables. You can find imperfect vegetables clearly marked in the produce section and in the frozen vegetable area. The carrots I buy are not all the same size and some are a little twisty, but they taste great. I just finished baking a vegan Carrot Spice Cake, so they obviously work well. I thought I would share the recipe as it uses lovely carrots and is fun to make on a snowy day.

Vegan Carrot Spice Cake

 (Preheat the oven to 350 degrees and grease a cake pan)

Dry Ingredients

• 1 ½ cups flour plus 3 tablespoons
• 1 cup sugar (or less if you prefer)
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• ½ teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• ½ teaspoon cloves
• ½ teaspoon nutmeg
• ½ teaspoon allspice
• (Or just use 2 teaspoons of cinnamon if you prefer)
• ¾ to 1 cup peeled, grated carrots
• ½ cup raisins (I prefer golden raisins)

Wet Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon vinegar (apple cider works well here)
• 1 teaspoon vanilla
• 5 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 cup water

In a large bowl mix the dry ingredients and blend well. Add the carrots and raisins and mix. Next, add the wet ingredients and pour the water over top. Mix well and pour into the greased cake pan. 

Bake for 35 to 45 minutes. I like to bake it for 45 minutes as it makes a bit of a crust.

  Vegan Carrot Spice Cake with Halloween sprinkles because why not?

As we will be receiving more snow, take this opportunity to be sure that your garden is covered. Often the snow is wet and heavy, so I watch that my small fruit trees aren’t weighed down with too much snow. You can shake the tree or use a broom to lightly push the snow off.  Enjoy your week. Judith. 

(Email:  sghorticultural@gmail.com)  Veggie Bites are available at https://sghorticultural.wixsite.com/website or https://gardeningcalendar.ca/articles/veggie-bites/