hello lovelies! I'm shelly and I am the second contributor to this blog. above you will see a picture of me, eating a melon. undoubtedly you will come to find that I eat many melons.

I love chiana and I love food. other things we shall not speak of. I've had a tendency to eat my way through life so now I have come to eat the internet. I am not vegan, vegetarian, gluten-avoiding, sugar-avoiding, trans-fats-avoiding, or weary of dangerous edibles. neither you or I will come to live very long, so why not enjoy to the fullest what this world has gifted us? if it's delicious, then it needs not to be anything else. 

come with me on this delectable journey and I'll try my best not to take a bite out of you.

with love,

shelly.

ps. I totally wanted to call this blog "marble cake" because she is brown and I am yellow GET IT but she wouldn't let me. 

vegan coconut & banana pudding

The first thing I heard about when I turned vegan was a pudding replica that used silken tofu as a base. I scrunched up my nose and kept scrolling through the blog i was reading. But, I went back after awhile and decided to give it a try. The first one I attempted used cocoa powder & chocolate soy milk. It was a revelation.

So, since then, I've been testing a billion different combinations. Some worked better than others (I tried to make a “cinnamon spice” one that just made me want to keel over in agony) and this was definitely one of the highlights. So, I hope you guys enjoy! And don’t be scared if you dislike the taste of tofu - you don’t even taste it. It's just super silky & smooth, with a kiss of vanilla balanced with coconut and banana. Super decadent. Oops, I just drooled a little.

No, a lot.

banana-coconut pudding 

(serves one with some leftovers! so, two, i guess)

• 1/2 of a 12 oz pack of silken tofu
• 2 tsp vanilla extract (or vanilla bean pod if you’re feeling fancy)
• 1/2 mashed ripe banana
• 1/4 cup coconut milk (or more if you like your pudding a little lighter)
• a food processor or blender

1. Take the tofu, crumble it a little and toss it in the food processor.
2. Put in the vanilla, coconut milk, and banana, and a little sugar or agave if you’re into that.
3. Pulse, blend, grind, whatever you do until it’s silky & smooth (add more coconut milk if necessary)
4. Pour it into a pretty bowl (I usually use a silicone spatula with this step, it makes things easier) and chill for 10 minutes or so. At this stage, it can be left in the fridge if you want a firmer pudding. You can even leave it overnight.
5. Once it’s nice and chilly, top with some chopped fruit, unsweetened coconut, maybe some chopped dark chocolate? Serve right away!

Hope you guys enjoy it! 

Love,

Chiana

new starts

Hello loves, and welcome to Bicycle! This is my newest excursion into the food-blogging universe, and it seems like an amazing place to be. It's also something I'm going to have to put quite a lot of time & effort into keeping up. Somehow, though, I'm very excited.

I became vegan quite recently, only a few weeks ago, but I'm already becoming pretty accustomed to eating this way. It's freeing, you know? You live more mindfully of what you put into your body, and get so much in return. 

In any case, due to this being the first time I've done this (and to a slightly limited time-frame as of late) I'm going to do my best to keep this updated regularly. Please bear with me through my point-and-shoot-camera-conundrums and my occasional lack of inspiration.

I'm delighted to be here, and I hope to fill your houses & Internet browsers with lovely food.

Love,

Chiana