Roasted Strawberry Frosting on Chocolate Cake (My Sugar Dilemma and. . . Rainy Day Garden)

Here was a cake that came about for no other reason than to do "something" with all the strawberries I had on hand. I am the person the grocery store has in mind when the display of this fruit is so large and in-your-face you practically have to high-hurdle jump over them to not notice. And before you can reach the bananas you "originally" came in for, there they are again, in a second display area! What's a girl to do? Buy two large flats, of course.

Thus begins my month of strawberry coveting. My own strawberry plants are just now beginning to form fruit. Then a chipmunk dug four neat little holes around the vines and took out half my crop in my one little container. I don't care how many "chipmunk" movies, songs, etc., are shoved down our throats, those critters are evil. EVIL.

I have been pre-occupied with several little side projects lately. First, and never ending is: weeding. Second, and somewhat constant: tending to the early spring veggies. My peas are slow this spring for some reason. Okay, maybe it has to do with the fact that the trellis I so painstakingly built for them collapsed on top of them during a rain storm we had last week and I had to hand lift each and every little pea vine up off the ground and ever-so-gently wrap their feeler vines over and under the trellis step. The lettuces and my kale are still going strong--as are the radishes (which I grow for pure benefit to the veggie bed, and not my tastebuds because I really don't like radishes--but they are very good for the soil). 

Well. I had cake craving again. I am trying really hard to work "healthy" into my baking. Be that through substituting whole wheat flour, adding fruit or reducing the amount of sugar a recipe calls for--it all helps in the long run. Baby steps for me. I've had a few unpleasant post-eating moments as of late that have given me pause as to why and how these reactions are occuring. 

Lately, I had noticed I was having blood sugar spikes after eating certain cereals and--even oatmeal--the instant kind. These moments always happen after breakfast. The rest of the day, I can eat whatever and will be fine. But with certain foods (mainly cereals) I found I was either super shaky afterward or, in a coma, asleep.

I'm not a rocket scientist. Low glycemic diets have been touted for years as being really beneficial to your whole body. I sort of poo-pooed those ideas as I have never really had many problems with my glycemic levels. Or so I thought. Dr. Thyme would disagree as he likes to point out my "Sybil" personality emerges if I go for longer than say three hours without eating. Then you better look out. It can get ugly. But my biggest concern was the blood sugar spikes in the morning.

I began researching the causes. Of course the worst culprit: highly processed carbs and sugar. Well, as much as I like to admit I am a lover of all things chocolate, I can tell you sometimes it doesn't love me back. And I can also say in all honesty, this probably is a dreadful side effect of Almost Fifty. Egads!

I promised myself I'd not turn into one of those Crazy Old Ladies who has an "ailment issue"--that is, for everytime someone asks, "How you doing"--I take that to literally mean biologically how I'm doing and begin ticking off the aches and pains. No. That will not be me. But this blood sugar stuff is no joke. And when you have zero background on your mother's side (deceased/adopted) and a father who literally dropped dead, you begin to take things like your body having a bad reaction to food you put in your mouth a little more seriously.

I can't tell you how many times I've re-edited my breakfast routine. To be sure, it is the most important meal of the day. As I mentioned, I'm a tad unbearable to be around until like ten or so. (I was a joy to have in the office!)

I've studied cereal labels to the point of ridiculous in grocery store aisles. I thought I had the formula down for just the right amount of sugar listed in the ingredients label to NOT cause me to have the shakes or pass out first thing in the morning. I am a person who NEEDS to eat breakfast.

I came home this week with a new cereal from Whole Foods--sugar grams per serving: eight. Which is low if you compare them. And I have. After one bowl, it failed the test as I found myself needing to offset the blood sugar spike I had during a treadmill workout with a hard stop and a scramble to a peanut butter sandwich. Anything to stop the shaking. I was a wreck. The cereal is gone. After doing more research, I determined the thing to do was to stay completely away from flour-based foods for breakfast (especially processed foods) unless they have lots of oats in them, and to stay clear of sugar as much as possible for breakfast. I've noticed an immediate improvement.

I made a quinoa-potato frittata this week for hubby and I to share. It was delish! No blood sugar spike. No shakes. (Sorry, no photos, but I'll make it again and get the recipe out to you all when I do.) 

Then this morning, for the first time EVER, I made homemade oatmeal. I am an instant oatmeal QUEEN. It has been my go-to breakfast for years. Well, again. I noticed this blood sugar thing happening. I had to have something! I had plain rolled oats on hand. I also happened to have a wonderful recipe for cherry-vanilla oatmeal from scratch. Made it this morning and LOVED it! And. . . no shakes, no sleepy. I think I'm on to something here. I'll keep you all posted.

Not to be a complete wet blanket and all--I do have cake to share . . . but not for breakfast and in MODERATION! I took this chocolate cake recipe (the link is here) and topped it with a roasted strawberry frosting. It was absolutely divine. And it was so easy. The roasted strawberry gave the cake a really pronounced stawberry flare--in a good way. Being the strawberry lover I am, I was smitten with how this cake turned out. This little step really is nearly effortless, but is so worth it. 

Cut up about two cups of strawberries and drizzle about two teaspoons of olive oil and a teaspoon of balsamic vinegar over them adding a pinch of salt. Toss well to coat. Roast at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes. The berries will just begin to caramelize around the edges. Remove the strawberries from the oven and allow to cool. Then proceed with your favorite buttercream frosting recipe--adding only 1/4 cup of mashed, roasted strawberries to your regular vegan buttercream frosting. I made mine this way:

4 tablespoons vegetable margerine

2 tablespoons vegetable spread

1/4 cup mashed roasted strawberries

2-3 cups powdered sugar (*I know. . . but you HAVE to make it with sugar!)

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons of soy milk

*1/8 teaspoon strawberry extract (optional)

Blend the margerine and veggie spread together until creamy. Add the strawberries to this and mix until well blended. (Be careful about adding too much of the roasted strawberries to the frosting mix--you could end up with glue!--save the rest of the strawberries for topping toast in the morning or putting over a cup of coconut ice cream. The strawberries will keep for a few days in an airtight covered container in the fridge). Add your vanilla extract, soy milk and strawberry extract to this along with 1 cup of powdered sugar and mix well. Begin adding more powdered sugar until you get the consistency you'd like for frosting the cake. I went with a thinner, but very intensly flavored frosting for this cake! And for the middle of my cake, I whipped up a small batch of chocolate buttercream frosting. Yum!

Still life with chocolate.

It was raining this morning. I thought it made for a perfect stroll with camera moment.

Poppy in the rain.

Pink rose in rain.

Blue iris in rain.

Sweet bay magnolia in bloom, in rain.

Lamb's ears in rain.

Kale in rain.

Lavender.

Awaiting the tomato plants. (*Potato barrels and onion barrels already growing!)