We are growing lots of herbs in our garden. And guess which herb is already spreading?
Yes, it is MINT. Mint really grows like weed but I don’t mind them cuz I love the smell of mint in our garden. Also Mint gives so much flavor to dressing, marinate, drinks, and dessert!

When I was looking at our weedy mints this morning, I wanted to use them to bake a cake today. I surfed through the recipe sites and landed to Giada de Laurentiis Lemon Mint Cake! It had great rating and looked pretty easy.

But of course, I have to modify the recipe cuz I am working really hard to cut Wheat based flour as much as possible. Also we are trying to cut sugar in our diet. Instead, we use more honey and agave nectar and we love it.

So, I read through the recipe and reviews (Reviews often give me good ideas of ingredients substitution), and modified the recipe to fit our diet!

Here is my version of Lemon Mint Cake GF/DF/SF!

Lemon Mint Cake – Gluten Free, Dairy Free, and Sugar Free

Ingredients

• Vegetable Oil for greasing
• Almond Flour for dusting
• Parchment Paper for line the pan

For Cake:
3 Eggs, separated, at room temperature
1/2 cup Agave nectar
1/4 cup Vegetable oil
1/4 cup chopped Mint
2 tablespoons Lemon juice (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 tablespoon Lemon zest (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 cup Almond Flour

For Syrup:
1/3 cup Agave nectar
1/4 cup Water
1/4 cup Lemon juice (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 tablespoon Lemon zest (One Lemon / One Meyer Lemon)
1 tablespoon Orange Liquor

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 F. Oil and Almond flour 9-inch round cake pan.
I recommend putting the parchment paper on the bottom & side of round cake pan.

For the cake:
1. In a medium size bowl, with an electric mixer, beat the Egg Whites till stiff peaks.

2. In a separate large bowl, beat the Vegetable oil, Agave nectar and Egg Yolks. Add the chopped Mint, Lemon juice and Lemon zest. Add the Almond flour and mix until combined.

3. Slowly add 1/3 of the Egg White mixture into #2 mixture. With a rubber spatula, fold in another 1/3 of the Egg White mixture and repeat one more time.

4. Pour #3 mixture into the prepared cake pan and bake for 35 minutes until a toothpick inserted into the middle of the cake comes out clean. Let the cake cool at least 10 minutes before moving to the platter.

For the syrup:

1. In a small saucepan, combine Agave nectar, Water, Lemon juice, and Lemon zest over medium heat about 5 minutes.

2. Remove the pan from the heat and add Orange Liquor. Let the syrup to cool, about 20 minutes.

When you serve the slice of cake, you drizzle this decadent syrup

This is light, fresh, and perfect Summer cake!

Enjoy!!!
Mrs. H

Why Should I Shop at a Farmers Market versus a Conventional Grocery Store?
The sustainably grown food offered at farmers markets is often going to taste better, retain more naturally-occurring nutrients and be fresher than the equivalent produce in grocery stores. Farmers markets provide you the opportunity to ask questions about the growing methods directly to the farmers. In addition to fruits and vegetables, many farmers markets also sell meats, flowers, plants, cheeses or wines, sold by the farmers that produce them.

Okay—That Sounds Good. Now How Do I Find a Farmers Market Near Me?
Check in the newspaper or at a health food store to find listings of farmers markets and local farms. There are also several options available online, such as localharvest.org or farmersmarket.com, that allow you to search by city, state or region. Depending on your location, there may be several options, so try them all out—you may discover you like the taste of one farmer’s carrots over another’s, or the selection and prices may vary by farm or market.

Will This Cost More? And What if I Can’t Find the Produce I’m Looking For?
Typically, shopping at farmers markets or family farms will save you money. When you purchase locally-grown food, the cost of shipping and packaging is taken out of the equation. And when it comes to getting the produce you’re looking for, farmers markets sell what’s in season—so you may not find granny smith apples if it’s not the peak season for apples. However, the trade-off for freshness is often worth it. And you can also supplement any missing ingredients with canned or frozen produce.

In choosing to shop at farmers markets, not only will you be supporting your local economy, but you’ll also be reducing the negative impacts of production, packaging, transport and shipping that is often part of the supply chain of getting produce to conventional grocery stores. Reducing your environmental impact in these ways is just an added bonus to the tasty, fresh produce you’ll discover at local farms and farmers markets!

Nathan Joynt works with Gaiam and Spiritual Cinema Circle – advocates for health and wellness through motivational movies and lifestyle media.