Double Creamy Fruit Salad and Christmas, 2012!

Yes, I know, I'm barely squeezing my Christmas post in before the end of the year!  But, I'm just glad to be doing it.  I have been disgustingly sick for three weeks, and am carving out a spot of energy to do this post.  Actually, without GR and G, Christmas wouldn't have been the same.  GR baked all of our cookies and the Happy Birthday, Jesus, cake, set up the tree and its lights, and decorated inside and out.  She is my Christmas-loving girl - remember her bedroom?  And, G somehow made our tired out carpets look new with his obsessive vacuuming.  Thank you, both!  As usual, my parents came over for breakfast, and we also had two extra guests this year, so it was really nice to get that extra help.

Also, as usual, we had a dinner potluck with the larger, extended family, and I decided to make a salad I veganized from a gathering a long time ago.  When I was in college, I belonged to an environmental club, and at one of our potlucks, a guy brought this simple unnamed fruit salad that had this amazing dressing on top.  It was such a great group, and he was such a cool guy.  He was actually the first person to give me an article on how animals raised for food are treated: it was a one-page article with a photo of a veal calf.  That was the first meat I gave up.  I tried once in high school to become veg but didn't stick with it.  Anyhow, I have saved that weathered article all these years because it was so life-changing for me.  So, that was the guy, and that was his salad dressing, but it was dairy-based.  He didn't seem to really measure anything, I was chatting with him as he  basically just plopped stuff in a bowl, but I've gone strict and offered measurements.  I know some of this fruit isn't in its proper season, but it still tasted great.  Maybe he'll see this and rub his chin with the memory.

The rest of our day's food went like this:

Breakfast:

Our first gingerbread house
Cookies by GR:  Tiger Balls, Chocolate Chip, Holiday Cookies
Happy Birthday, Jesus, cake by GR
Chocolate hearts by GR
Loaded Cinnamon Rolls
Breakfast Potato Skillet
Sausage and Cheese Muffins
Chips
Amazing fruit platter by my mom (unpictured)
Juices, Hot Cider and Coffee

Dinner:

I brought:
Double Creamy Fruit Salad
Tofurky

We also could eat:
Green salad
Rolls
Baked Beans - recipe passed down for generations
3 types of cookies and an apple pie
No complaints here!

On with the pics and recipe.  Have a HAPPY NEW YEAR!  My goal is to definitely amp up my postings.  Hopefully, all the craziness and sickness are behind us now.

Our first gingerbread house!  GR and I mainly did this with JK's little hands "helping" as he could.  GR was surprisingly bossy with this thing.  It was a blast to make it with her.

Our breakfast table.  The fruit platter didn't make the shot.  All was delicious, of course.  :-)

These didn't make the earlier shot either.  GR made these chocolate hearts for us.

Our annual trek to the fire station to deliver cookies.  I love our station and all it's crews!  GR's cookies are being held by the firefighter standing next to SR.  JK's in front with some new Christmas wrestlers, GR's wearing her new Big Bang Theory shirt, SR's wearing her new Christmas dress, and she'll be getting that cast off in a couple of weeks.

A serving of Double Creamy Fruit salad.  A white dressing, in a white bowl on my mom's white counter wasn't the greatest combination, but trust me, this is so good.

Double Creamy Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

Can be flexible here.  Use several cups of your favorite fruits.  I used:

1 pineapple, chopped
2 Fuji apples, cored and chopped
2 bananas, sliced
1 cup of blueberries

Dressing:
1 cup vegan sour cream
1 cup vegan vanilla ice cream

Directions:

Put all fruit in a large bowl.  Ten minutes before serving, take out the ice cream from the freezer and set on the counter.  After ten minutes, add the dressing ingredients to the bowl of fruit and gently fold in.  Do not stir with a hard hand.  You don't want the dressing to become liquidy.  Keep it creamy and billowy.  Serve immediately.  So good you won't believe it.  It's a nice twist on the standard fruit salad.  Feeds five hungry vegans and more!

Avocado Strawberry Toss

Aren't these beautiful colors?  Avocados and strawberries are in their peak season right now over here, and their flavors just pop with intensity.  I just knew I had to see what they tasted like when combined.  I cut up one ripe avocado and quartered six juicy strawberries and tossed them together in a small bowl.  I debated whether I should sprinkle a little salt or drizzle a little lemon juice over the top, but then I thought that any dressing would compete with the two flavors of the fruits.  The creaminess of the avocado is a perfect complement to the sweetness of the strawberry.  But, alas, I was the only one in my family who even tried this dish.  No one else would attempt it.  Will you?  I adjusted the recipe to feed five hungry vegans...in my dreams.

Avocado Strawberry Toss

Ingredients:

3 avocados, chopped
2 - 3 cups of quartered strawberries

Directions:

Add fruit together in a large bowl and gently toss.  Serve immediately.  Enjoy it!  Feeds five hungry vegans, supposedly. 

Fresh Summer Fruit Salad

We make a lot of fruit salads, and the summer seems to offer such a wonderful variety of natural sugary goodness.  This is an example of one of the salads I made a few weeks back, when the fruit was still at its most flavorful.  I added a bit of coconut and raisins for some extra variety.  I served this with some of my homemade rolls .  It makes for a nice lunch or a light dinner. 

Fresh Summer Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

1/4 of a large watermelon, approximately four cups, chopped
1 cantaloupe, seeded, cut away from rind and chopped
2 mangoes, diced   * See tip below on how to prepare a mango
2 bananas, sliced
1 nectarine, chopped
1/2 cup shredded coconut
1 small snack box of raisins, approximately 1/4 cup

Directions:

Put all ingredients in a large bowl.  Gently toss together and serve immediately.  Feeds five hungry vegans.

* There are two ways that I have found the easiest to get at the succulent mango.  One is to peel the ripe fruit with a paring knife.  Once you get the peel going, it is easy to just grasp ahold with your fingers and pull it off the fruit.  Once the fruit is peeled, you can take a larger knife and slice the two wide halves of the mango away from the fibrous pit inside.  Then you can go around the edges and slice away any large chunks of mango still attached to the pit.  Anything left over but too small to cut off, can munched on directly.  Just wash your hands afterwards.  The second way is to leave the peel on and slice away the wide halves like above.  With the fruit still in the detached peel, you take your knife and carve cubes into the mango.  Then, laying the peel flat, carefully slice under the mango cubes, releasing them from the peel.  For the remainder of the mango still attached to the pit, you may do the same or peel and cut away as in the first option.  One of these choices should appeal to you more than the other.  Either way, don't let the fact that you have to work a little harder deter you from getting at a fresh mango.  They are worth it!

Big Salads with Tempeh Bits

Here is another one of my big salad ideas. Every now and then I like to serve big, individual salads for each of us for dinner as our complete meal. To top these salads, I made tempeh bits as a sub for store-bought bacon bits, and I really like the nutty result. The tempeh bits even passed the test with some meat-eatin' friends with kids at a different meal, so that's great! I also like to blanch my broccoli sometimes for salads, instead of serving them completely raw. They seem to go down easier for my blessings that way. So, below I've listed what's in our most recent big salads, including a short recipe for the tempeh bits and also a note on blanching broccoli, if that's new to you. Enjoy!

Big Salads with Tempeh Bits

Ingredients:

2 Hearts of Romaine or one big head of Romaine, chopped small
1 block of tempeh
1 Tbs. canola oil
Garlic salt and pepper to taste
2 cups of chopped broccoli florets
1 can of garbanzo beans, drained
1 cup of shredded carrots
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves chopped
1 can of water-packed and quartered artichoke hearts, drained
2 avocados, quartered and sliced
2 tomatoes, quartered and cut into wedges
1/4 red onion, sliced thin and quartered

Directions:

For the tempeh bits: Heat the oil in a small pan over medium heat. Crumble the tempeh into the pan in its individual bits. Sprinkle just a bit of garlic salt and pepper over the tempeh. Cook for ten minutes, stirring occasionally. Make sure you get the tempeh to brown before you are done cooking it. It eliminates any bitter flavor and releases a wonderful, nutty taste. Very good!

For the blanched broccoli: Heat a few cupfuls of water to boiling in a medium pot. Add the broccoli and boil for three minutes. Drain and rinse with cold water.

For the salad: Use the lettuce as a base on each plate, and add the toppings as desired. Drizzle your favorite salad dressing on top. Eat up! Delicious. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Pecan Raisin Tart

This is a beautiful tart that I think is so elegant looking and tasty. The crust always comes out great and is one of the best tasting ones I make. I made this for our Easter dessert. We had a very simple dinner since our potluck with the extended family was cancelled for unforeseen reasons. So, when I had only planned one dish to share at dinner and this dessert, I was suddenly faced with planning a whole holiday meal. Needless to say, I ended up keeping it very simple.

Here is our menu:

Spring rolls with dipping sauce
Steamed rainbow carrots (that my younger daughter picked out)
Kale with sausage (a very easy recipe that I will share in a later post)

For dessert:

Pecan Raisin Tart

Without further ado, here are the photos and the recipe. This will take an afternoon or morning to make, so don't rush it, and enjoy yourself and the fruits of your labor afterwards!

Pecan Raisin Tart

Wedge of Pecan Raisin Tart

Easter Dinner 2010

Pecan Raisin Tart
Ingredients:

Crust:

1 and 2/3 cups of flour
1/8 tsp. salt
2 and 1/2 Tbs. of vegan sugar
One stick and 3 Tbs. of vegan margarine, chilled and diced
1 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer
5 Tbs. cold water

Filling:

1 and 1/4 cups of brown sugar, packed
2 sticks of vegan margarine
1 cup of homemade or your favorite store-bought maple syrup
A pinch of salt
3 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer
12 Tbs. water
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup raisins
4 and 1/2 cups pecans, coarsely chopped

Directions:

I make most of my crusts in my food processor. However, I also have a pastry cutter that I sometimes use. If you do not have a food processor, feel free to use your pastry cutter, or even a butter knife or fork for the following directions. With your pastry blade inserted in the food processor, mix the flour salt and sugar together. Add the diced margarine and process until it looks like fine crumbs. You made need to stop the machine occasionally and scrape the ingredients from the side of the machine before continuing. Whisk together well the Egg Replacer and cold water. Remove the lid from the feed tube and add the whisked ingredients with the machine running. Wait about a minute to see if it turns into a ball, or pretty close to a ball. This is successful almost every time for me. If it is still fairly dry, add a teaspoon of water at a time to get it into a ball. Be sure to not get it wet or sticky. Most of the time you will not need this additional water. Remove the dough onto waxed paper and keep it in a ball. Wrap the waxed paper around it and chill for fifteen minutes. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Remove the dough from the refrigerator, and on a lightly floured surface roll out the dough to a circle about thirteen inches in diameter. I usually sprinkle a little flour on top of the dough before rolling, so the rolling pin won't stick. In a ten-inch spring form cake pan, carefully lay the rolled out dough. Mine almost always cracks, so don't worry if yours does. Simply press the dough together gently with your fingers. If there are uneven sides to the dough, take the extras and press it in the needed spaces. You will want your dough on the bottom and all around the side of the pan. Prick the bottom and side of your tart crust all over with a fork. Chill for ten more minutes. Remove from the refrigerator and line the crust with waxed paper. Pour one pound of dried beans on the waxed paper, being sure that the whole bottom of the crust has weight on it. Bake for fifteen minutes. Remove the pan from the oven and lower the heat to 350 degrees. Carefully lift two sides of the waxed paper, so it's slightly folded in the center. Use this fold to pour the beans into a spare bowl, and toss the waxed paper. Continue baking the tart for seven more minutes. Remove the pan from the oven, and reduce the heat to 300 degrees. Let the crust cool while you make the tart filling. In a medium pot, put in the sugar, vegan margarine, syrup and salt. Bring to a boil. Once boiling, reduce heat to medium and cook for five minutes, stirring often. If it threatens to boil over, reduce heat slightly. Remove from heat. In a large bowl, whisk together the Egg Replacer and water. Add the vanilla extract and stir. Add the raisins and stir. And, finally, add the pecans and stir very well. When completely mixed, pour in the syrup mixture and stir thoroughly. Pour into the pie crust and bake for one hour. The filling will feel somewhat soft to the touch, but don't worry: it will firm up. Let completely cool on a wire rack. I suggest bringing to room temperature before serving, if you have to chill it. Feeds more than five hungry vegans.

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

This is truly a family favorite. I made this dish for Christmas, and I wrote at the time that I would post the recipe soon. Well, I just made it again for my sister-in-law's birthday, so I thought I'd post it now. I am planning on playing around with making homemade seitan over the summer break, but for now, I'm very pleased with the brand I use. This has a bit of zingy flavor at first due to the brand of peanut sauce, but it's the best for this dish. I've tried other brands, and they haven't been up to par. I hope your family enjoys this and requests this as much as mine does.

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

Ingredients:

1 lb. of linguine
2 pkgs. of liquid packed chicken-style seitan made by Westoy
1 Tbs. of canola oil
1 red bell pepper, halved widthwise and julienned
2 papayas
1 bunch of cilantro, leaves coarsely chopped
1 jar of House of Tsang peanut sauce
3 limes

Directions:

Cook pasta according to package directions, drain. While pasta water is heating, heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium heat. Drain the liquid from the seitan packages. I reserve the liquid for later uses, such as a base for gravy or stock for soup. Chop the seitan into bite-sized pieces and saute them until brown, about five minutes or so. Meanwhile, while the pasta and seitan are cooking, you can prepare the fruit and veggies, unless you're organized and done this ahead of time. In a large bowl, put the julienned bell pepper and cilantro leaves. A quick way I remove the cilantro leaves from the stems is to hold the entire bunch of stems in one hand, and take a sharp knife and quickly slice down towards the cutting board. I turn the cilantro around to get all sides. If I get small chunks of stem, they get chopped up into the dish as well. To prepare the papaya, slice in half lengthwise, and scoop out the seeds. Then cut in several long, narrow wedges. Take your paring knife, and carefully slice the fruit from the peel, then cut in each wedge in half widthwise. Add these to the bowl. When the seitan is cooked, add it to the bowl. Pour the hot noodles in as well, before they have time to stick together while cooling. Gently toss all the goodies together. Pour the entire bottle of peanut sauce over everything, and toss to thoroughly coat. Cut each lime into quarters, and squeeze the juice over the pasta. Mix once again. Can be served at room temperature or chilled; both are delicious. Now you have one of my family's all-time favorite recipes. Treat it with care and love! Feeds at least five hungry vegans.

Shortcut Blueberry Pancakes

Hello, again - what a hectic week. My husband gutted our school room, so now we have loads of stuff all over the living room and dining room. I've got a preschool group coming over on Wednesday morning, so we're madly trying to get some order back in the main rooms of the house. But, the school room is beginning to look great! Both my son and mom had surgery Friday morning, and both are fine, praise God, but it was very stressful. So, starting today, I'm taking my three blessings over to my parents' (a 30 minute drive) and homeschooling there for two weeks, so I can care for her. But, I've neglected this spot, so I'm adding a very simple recipe tonight. I hope you enjoy it. I have learned to appreciate the speed that Bisquick offers, and I am not offended to use shortcuts occasionally. I love to make things from scratch, and usually do, but this recipe offers a speedy way to make a quick and nutritious meal. I've pretty much just veganized the recipe on the back of the box and added blueberries, but so as not to cheat, I'll list everything below. Also, I have noticed that if I make real-sized pancakes, my numbers turn out less than the box says, so I've doubled everything.

Shortcut Blueberry Pancakes

Ingredients:

4 cups Original Bisquick mix
2 cups of soy milk
Ener-G Egg Replacer for four eggs: 2 Tbs. of the mix with 8 Tbs. of water
1 cup of frozen blueberries with extra for garnish
Your favorite syrup
Canola oil as needed

Directions:

Heat one tablespoon of oil over medium heat on a pancake griddle. While oil is heating, mix the Bisquick, soy milk, Egg Replacer, and water in a medium bowl with a whisk or spoon. Add blueberries and gently stir. When oil is hot, take a large spoon and scoop out batter onto griddle. Mine hold four pancakes, and I'm guessing it's about a third of a cup per pancake - they end up about the size of my hand, or just a tad smaller. Cook until bottom is browned, about three to five minutes, and gently flip with a pancake spatula. Gently press down once flipped. The second side cooks faster than the first. When browned on the second side, check to see if there is any batter that has oozed but not cooked. If so, flip again and press those edges down to brown. Set on serving platter. Add the same amount of oil for each batch. I also check to see if I need to turn down my heat slightly, for often my griddle seems to get hotter over time. If they brown too fast, they may burn, or the middle may stay gooey. Top with more blueberries (which have thawed by now) and your favorite syrup. Feeds five hungry vegans with leftovers to freeze for quick morning breakfasts. Enjoy!

Big Bean Tostadas

Yum! I love Mexican food, so we have some form of it about once a week in our home. This is a really easy and tasty dish to make. I like to put the various toppings in a sectioned party tray, so people can tailor their tostadas to their tastes. The only things I put in the shells for everyone are the beans and lettuce. This is always a great success in our home.

Big Bean Tostadas

Ingredients:

5 big pre-made tostada shells - We use Del Oro Tostada Crowns (4 in a box, 2 boxes)
2 16oz. cans or 1 30oz. can vegetarian refried beans
5 packed cups red leaf lettuce, sliced thin
1 container of Tofutti Better than Sour Cream
1 jar of your favorite salsa - we use Herdez
Your favorite vegan cheese - we finely grate 1 cup of Vegan Gourmet, cheddar style
3 avocados, sliced
1 can of black olives, sliced in thirds
3 tomatoes, diced
4 green onions, sliced

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Warm the tostada shells in the oven for three minutes. Heat the refried beans over medium heat until warmed through, about five minutes. Stir occasionally. Divide the beans between the shells by how much a person will eat. In our family, that may not be equal since we have very little people, medium people and big people. Divide the lettuce the same way. Separate the toppings into a divided party tray, and supply spoons and forks for getting the toppings out. Mound your shell until it looks good enough to eat. Then eat it! (You will have a few extra shells leftover for another meal.) Feeds five hungry vegans.

Strawberry Cream Cheese

This is a very easy recipe, and it tastes good and looks beautiful, so I make it every now and then. It's a simple spread that we like to put on bagels for breakfast. Maybe you'll like it too.




Strawberry Cream Cheese
Ingredients:

1 8oz. container of Tofutti Better Than Cream Cheese
5 large strawberries, washed
Cinnamon Raisin and Plain bagels

Directions:

In a medium bowl, scoop out the cream cheese. Dice the strawberries very small. With a fork, gently mix together the two ingredients. You can either toast or not toast the bagels beforehand, then spread the cream cheese over them. Open wide and enjoy. Feeds five hungry vegans.

Candy Cane Coffee Cakes

Every year my parents come over to my home for Christmas breakfast, and then for dinner we all potluck with extended family. I've decided to show you what we had for breakfast and what I brought for dinner and dessert. Following the photos, I'll have my recipe for my Candy Cane Coffee Cakes, my dessert contribution. I veganized a recipe several years ago from a newspaper clipping. They are labor intensive but worth the work and time. By the way, any glaze that happened to drip onto the platter, or even threatened to, was quickly scooped up by my three blessings!

For the breakfast we had:
Tofu Scramble with broccoli and red bell pepper
Waffles with boysenberry and homemade maple syrups
Fried Potatoes with red onions
Fruit Plate (courtesy of my mom)
Mixed nuts in their shells
Turkish Delights
Eight kinds of homemade Christmas cookies
Happy Birthday, Jesus, Cake
Coffee
Hot Apple Cider with cinnamon sticks
Hot cocoa

For dinner I brought:
Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad

For dessert I brought:
Candy Cane Coffee Cakes


Candy Cane Coffee Cakes


Christmas Breakfast

Tropical Seitan Pasta Salad (I will post this recipe at a later date.)

Candy Cane Coffee Cakes

Ingredients:

Filling:
1/2 cup vegan sugar
3 Tbs. water
1 tsp. cornstarch dissolved in 1 Tbs. water
2 cups fresh cranberries
1 tsp. dried grated orange peel

Bread:
5 to 6 cups flour
1/2 cup vegan sugar
2 tsp. baking powder
2 envelopes RapidRise yeast
2 tsp. salt
1 and 1/4 cup soy milk
1 Tbs. vinegar
3/4 cup vegan sour cream
1/2 cup water
1/2 cup vegan margarine
1 Tbs. egg replacer mixed with 4 Tbs. water
Pam

Glaze:
1 and 1/2 cup powdered sugar
2 and 1/2 Tbs. soy milk
1/4 tsp. vanilla extract
maraschino cherries

Directions:

Make the filling first, so it has time to chill. In a medium pot, stir together the sugar and water over medium heat until the sugar is dissolved. And the dissolved cornstarch and stir. Add in the cranberries and cook until they begin to pop, about three minutes. Remove from heat and stir in the orange peel. Chill in refrigerator. For the dough, first mix together the soy milk and vinegar in a medium pot with no heat under it. Let it set until it thickens into a vegan buttermilk, about five minutes. While that is setting, in a large bowl combine with a whisk 1 and 1/2 cups of the flour, sugar, baking powder, yeast and salt. Set aside. Heat the pot with the vegan buttermilk on medium, and add in the sour cream, 1/2 cup water, and margarine until all is mixed in well and very warm. I touch the liquid with my fingertip, and if it's too hot, it's ready. Don't get it to the boiling point. Mix in the warm buttermilk mixture to the flour mixture on medium speed with an electric mixer for two minutes. Add the egg replacer mixture and another cup of flour and beat two more minutes on high speed. If your beaters start to overheat, turn it down to medium. The consistency of the dough will begin to change into a stretchy appearance. Using your hands or a large spoon, add enough of the remaining flour, a 1/2 cup or so at a time, to make a soft but not sticky dough. Turn it out onto a lightly floured board, sprinkle the top with a bit more flour and knead for ten minutes. Dust with additional flour as necessary, if it gets sticky while it is being kneaded. Cover with a dish towel for ten minutes. Take your filling mixture out of the refrigerator. Divide the dough into three equal parts, and roll each into an approximate 6x15 rectangle. Transfer each one to its own cookie sheet that's been sprayed with Pam. Spread 1/3 of the filling down the center of each rectangle. With a sharp knife, make cuts from the filling to the edge on both sides about one inch apart all the way from top to bottom. Now, fold each of these strips over the center at a downward angle, starting at the top, alternating back and forth, all the way to the bottom. Shape each rectangle into a candy cane. Cover with dish towels and let rise for 45 more minutes. Heat oven to 375 degrees and bake each coffee cake for 20 minutes. Cool completely on cake racks. When cool, mix together the first three ingredients for the glaze, and drizzle on the coffee cakes, following the pattern down the center. Where each pair of strips meets in the center, nestle in a maraschino cherry. Lots of work, but it makes three - one to eat, one to give away, and one to freeze. Feeds more than five hungry vegans.

Apple Streusel Coffee Cake

This is a delicious, moist coffee cake that I recommend you make the day before to give it time to rest. The liquid used is orange juice, which gives it a light, citrusy flavor. I've put in a substantial amount of cinnamon for my husband's taste buds. The streusel comes out thick and sweet,with the edges slightly chewy-hard...yummy. We eat this for breakfast, but you can enjoy this as a dessert, if you wish.



Apple Streusel Coffee Cake
Ingredients:

Streusel:
1 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup peeled, chopped apples
1 cup sliced almonds
1/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
2 tsp. ground cinnamon
5 Tbs. melted vegan margarine

Cake:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 softened vegan margarine
1/2 cup vegan sugar
1 and 1/2 Tbs. Ener-G Egg Replacer
6 Tbs. water
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1 cup orange juice

Glaze:
1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 Tbs. orange juice

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Spray the inside of a tube cake pan, like Bundt, including the tube, with a non-stick cooking spray. In a medium bowl, combine all the streusel ingredients, except for the melted margarine. Mix well and add the margarine, stirring until well coated. Set bowl aside. In a second medium bowl, combine the flour, baking powder and baking soda; mix well. In a large bowl, using an electric blender, blend softened margarine and sugar. Add the egg replacer, water and vanilla and continue blending until well mixed. Alternately blend in the flour mixture and the orange juice into the sugar mixture, taking a couple of turns with each. Spoon half of the batter into the cake pan, and top with half of the streusel. Spoon the rest of the cake batter on top of the streusel, leaving the remaining streusel in its bowl. Bake the cake for 15 minutes. Take out of the oven and top with the remaining streusel. Bake for 35 minutes, so an inserted toothpick comes out clean (sticking it through the batter, not the top layer of streusel). Cool completely on a wire rack. When cool, take a butter knife and gently run it around the edge of the cake, including the tube, to loosen any stuck streusel. Put a large plate over the top of the pan and invert cake - it is now upside down. Take your serving platter and place on cake, and flip once again. Your cake is now right side up. Mix together glaze ingredients and drizzle over the top of the cake in a zigzag pattern. If you are eating the cake right away, let it set for at least ten minutes to let the glaze slightly harden. Feeds at least five hungry vegans. So good!