Wacky Chocolate Cake

It was 1996, I just moved out on my own and had little money. I was working at the movie theater and had $50 or less to spend on groceries a week at the Super Walmart. I lived off of ramen, potatoes, Spaghetti-O's, bread, peanut butter and sometimes Hamburger Helper. I tried to keep the cost of each item to a dollar. I also made sure that I kept a stock of the standard baking supplies to make Wacky Chocolate Cake. I would make it when I got tired of toast with peanut butter for breakfast.

Wacky Chocolate Cake is also known as Depression Cake, War Cake and Wacky Cake. It doesn't have any eggs, milk or butter in it. There are multiple origins of the cake, with it being a Depression Era cake to a WWII cake. Both eras had rationing and this is a ration cake. Many have had the recipe passed down to them. My Mom said that she thinks she remembers finding it in a book. You can find a number of different recipes for it on the internet. Some call for coffee, others call for bacon grease. Some will also provide a recipe for frosting. This one is just the basic 9"x 13" size cake, nothing fancy, but still wonderful. 

How can it be a cake if there isn't any eggs, milk, or butter in it? The oil and water adds the moisture and the combo of the Baking Soda and Vinegar makes it rise. It's really easy to make and a great recipe for kids. Everything is mixed in the baking pan so there isn't the mess of multiple dishes.

Ingredients
3 cups Flour                      2 tsp White Vinegar
2 cups Sugar                     2 tsp Vanilla
6 Tbs baking coco            10 Tbs Vegetable Oil
2 tsp Baking Soda            2 cups water
1 tsp salt

Instructions

• Heat oven to 350 degrees.
• In the baking pan, mix the dry ingredients together. Don't worry about greasing the pan.
• Once mixed, make three depressions to place the wet ingredients in. One for the vanilla, the second for the vinegar and the third for the oil.
• Pour the 2 cups of water all over the top of the mix.

• Stir everything together until it's all mixed.

• Cook for 30-35 minutes.
• Once it's done baking, let it cool a little and sprinkle powder sugar on top.

• Serve warm or cold, it's great either way!

Sushi Totoro

So a new sushi place opened not far from where we live, Sushi Totoro. Yes, they combined sushi with one of my favorite movies, My Neighbor Totoro.  The restaurant is cutely decorated with murals of Totoro characters and the lay out from my understanding is typical of Japanese restaurants in Japan. The staff are very friendly and it's very clean. Simon and I have been there a number of times and each time the service has been constant and the food always delicious.

Sushi Totoro is a All You Can Eat sushi place. They do offer individual plates for ordering but why go to a All You Can Eat sushi place and not get all you can eat? Lunches are $14.99 and dinners are $24.95. We feel this is pretty fair considering that it's ALL YOU CAN EAT!!!

They start you off with complementary Monkey Brains. Before you freak out, it's not real monkey brains. It's avocado with crab meat and maybe something else, fried in tempera. I'm not a avocado person. I will pull it off of anything that I get. However, the way they cook this makes it to where I don't get the avocado taste. You have the crunch of the tempera and then the soft  inside that almost melts inside your mouth, combined with some kind of wonderful sauce. This was good to munch on while we went over the menu. If you want more, you can order it off of the regular menu and pay extra for it.

Monkey Brains

The All You Can Eat menu is broken down into sections nicely. You have the appetizers, entrees and the sushi. We went for Miso Soup, Tofu Salad and the Chicken Yakitori from the appetizer list. The Miso was spot on and I have to say, one of the best Miso Soups I've found in Aurora. Simon had the Tofu Salad and said that it isn't really anything to write home about. It's chunks of tofu with iceberg lettuce, carrot, onion and the normal ginger salad dressing. The Chicken Yakitori is really just a chicken kabob with bell peppers and onions. The sauce we think is teriyaki with sesame seeds sprinkled on top. It was okay but the chicken was dry. This wasn't one of Simon's favorite dishes.

Chicken Yakitori, Tofu Salad and Miso Soup

For our entrees, we picked Beef Teriyaki and Yakisoba Noodles. Next to the sushi, these two dishes were our favorites. The beef is thin cut, like the kind that you would see in Bulgogi, which brings out the flavors of the sauces. There is something about thin cut beef that make a dish ten times better. The Yakisoba Noodles were perfectly cooked. 

 

Then there was the sushi. I'm very limited to what kind of sushi I can eat. I admit that I have a issue with textures of food. I always get Tamago, you can never go wrong with egg and rice. I did try it with the seaweed wrapped around it but my teeth have a hard time biting and chewing up seaweed, so I have to take it off. I also order the Kani (Crab Meat). Simon orders all of the other stuff. This time he got Unagi, Salmon, Tuna, Spicy Scaloop, Ocotopus, Flying Fish Roe, and Spicy Crab Rolls. The sushi is the best that we've had in the area and for being in a land locked state. The fish is fresh and not slimy. 

They have so many other options for you to choose from and the best part of this is, it's ALL YOU CAN EAT! So if want to sample everything and then order more of your favorite, you can! Everything that we ordered, is on the All You Can Eat menu. Note, if you want just rice with your meal, you aren't going to get any. It's a shame as I love rice and the Beef Teriyaki would be awesome with some.

If you enjoy sushi and drinks, this is the place for you. There is a kids menu. They will charge $.50 for any left over sushi, so make sure you order only what you can eat. They offer take out and catering. They also have a full bar for those that want drinks. 

Sushi Totoro
4243 S Buckley Rd
Aurora, CO 80013
(303) 766-0045

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Hours
Mon- Sat
11:30- 2:30
4:30- 10
Sun
4:00- 9:30

Monsoon Cuisine of India

One day at work I was chatting with some co-workers about of favorite places to eat when I was told that I just HAD TO go to Monsoon at Southlands Mall. I looked at her with a what the heck look and she said that it was the best Indian food that she ever ate. I told her that I've never had Indian food and she about fell out of chair. She then proceeded to tell me that the food was sooo good that she could have gnawed on the chicken bones of her last meal there, stating that she sucked all of the juices and spices off of them. I'm like wow.. ok, we'll have to give them a try.

That following weekend we went to a movie and then headed over to Monsoon for a late lunch. The second we opened the door our noses were filled with wonderful aromas of different spices, causing our mouths to water. The staff greeted us and we were quickly seated and handed the menu. What ensued has been a love affair that has tickled my taste buds every time we go.

For the last year, we've had to have a meal at Monsoon at least once a month. The food is so good, you do want to gnaw on the chicken bones. We've introduced the mouth watering goodness of Monsoons to my Father-in-law, our friends, my oldest nephew and the latest, my parents.

My nephew Liam. First time eating Indian Food.

I have to say, they perform some kind of magic on their chicken as every time that we've been there, the chicken is cooked perfectly. My favorite dish is the Chicken Korma. It's a perfect blend of curry spices with roasted coconut, and ground cashew and almonds. It's sweet with just the little kick of spice. Mmmm.... I think it's time to go again.

For the starters, we like to get the Chicken Pakora. It's all white chicken meat that is marinated in chickpea batter and deep fried. It comes with two dipping sauces, one that is a sweet spice and the other a hot spice, I think chutney? I'll have to confirm this when we go back. 

We also order some Naan bread. They have nine different ones for you to choose from. We usually get the Garlic, the Monsoon 1/2 dozen, or the cheese Naan. Naan will also come with some of the main dishes depending on the dish.

Now, Simon has sampled more of the dishes than I have. I tend to stick to the Chicken Marsala and the Chicken Korma. Simon usually with pick lamb over chicken. One of the dishes that he tried was the Lamb Vindaloo. This is a spicy dish and they don't hold back on the spice. They do serve it with a cucumber yogurt sauce to help lessen the heat if needed. We left that day with Simon's sinus cleared out.

The dining is casual, it's family friendly and great service. The pricing is fair for but it can be expensive. When we eat there, it normally runs us $40-50 for the two of us. This is a Date Night stop for us. The food is gluten free and it's great for Vegetarians and Vegans. They also have Carry Out and Delivery. You can even order on line.

Go and try them out. Trust me, you won't regret it!

Monsoon Cuisine of India
24107 E Commons Ave 
Aurora, Colorado 80016
(303)627-5444

Open: 
Mon-Thurs 11am-10pm 
Fri & Sat 11am-11pm 
Sun 11am-9pm 

They Take Reservations, Order on Line and have Carry Out/Delivery.
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Twitter: @Time4Monsoon