My husband’s birthday was this week. I baked him the perfect cake for quarantine times: Chocolate Amazon Cake with peanut butter frosting. Also known as Wacky Cake, Amazon Cake is made with nothing but pantry items. That’s right, no butter, no egg, no milk, so it’s vegan and parve. (Though definitely not kosher for Passover.) And yet, it has to be one of the most chocolatey cakes I know of. My husband asks for it every year, usually with some raspberry accent, but this year we turned to the pantry for the frosting, too. For that I used this recipe, which worked perfectly. (Just make sure you beat the heck out of the butter and peanut butter before adding the powdered sugar—you don’t want to see any lumps at all.)
With only three of us at home, I knew we’d still manage to eat the whole thing within 48 hours. So I offered up slices on my building’s Facebook page and left them at neighbors’ doorsteps on paper plates, wrapped. How’s that for contactless delivery?
I think we could all use a little cake right now. Imagine I’m sharing this with you.
Here’s how next week goes:
Sunday
Cook a big batch of rice.
Whatever kind you have will do. Cook two cups of it in a large pot of salted water, like you would pasta. Divide into two containers and refrigerate.
Monday
Marinated Beans and Rice Salad
You’re making a double-batch of the beans, using whatever beans and whatever herbs you have. No fresh herbs at all? Let’s make it work with dried. Normally you’d use 1/3 the amount you’re using fresh but in this case that would translate to something like 5 tablespoons of dried herbs. I can’t see that tasting good. So let’s say we’re going for a slightly different effect and use around 1 tablespoon of dried herbs instead.
Refrigerate half the mixture to serve on Wednesday, and toss the rest with one container of cooked rice. Now, let’s add stuff to make our salad more, y’know, salad-like. Chop a roasted red pepper or some artichoke hearts, carrots and celery if you’ve got em, raw bell pepper too. Maybe a little more minced shallot. Use what appeals to you. You’re likely to need more oil and vinegar, too, because the rice will absorb quite a bit.
Tuesday
Photo courtesy Bon Appetit
Creamy Tomato Soup with Cheese Toasties
The recipe calls for a large can of whole peeled tomatoes, but as long as you’ve got the equivalent amount of some tomato, you should be fine. Step 3 won’t need quite as long to cook if you’re not using whole. As for the cheese toasties, use whatever kind of bread (and heck, whatever kind of cheese) you’d like to dunk into tomato soup.
Wednesday
Marinated Beans on Toast with Garlicky Greens
The bread-toasting technique you used last night, with olive oil and garlic, would work beautifully here. Warm up the beans from the fridge, and serve on top. To serve alongside, make a garlicky sauté with frozen chopped spinach or kale.
Thursday
Photo courtesy Epicurious
Whaddya Got Fried Rice
Pull out that second container of rice, assess your vegetable/protein/seasoning situation with this helpful guide in mind, and make magic.
Friday
What’s in the Pantry Pasta Night
Which one of those five easy recipes can you make?
As always, hit me up if you have any questions—just respond to this email. I’ll do what I can!
Stay safe and wash your hands,
Debbie