We had Abby spayed this past week. I was super anxious the whole time leading up to it. Imagining my little sweetheart on an operating table, with tubes going down her throat, being cut open – it freaked me out! Thankfully, she got through it without any problems and the incision was tiny. She recovered pretty quickly (we’re just waiting for the stitches to come out next week) but man, was she out of it when we first brought her home. It was all of those wonderful doggy drugs that they pumped into her. She was super sleepy but because the wound on her belly was so new, she kept moving around because she couldn’t get comfortable.

Here she is right after coming home. Look at her sad, drugged up little face!

Abby is our baby. We’re always doing research on how best to raise her, train her, discipline her and feed her. We started her on a raw diet over a month ago and she loves it. We’ve noticed that since starting her on raw, she has lots more energy and her poos are much smaller and less smelly (I know – you come to a food blog to read about poo, right?!). I’m also looking into what fruits and vegetables to give her. Although dogs don’t really need veggies for nutrition, it helps with constipation (I promise I’ll be done with the poo talk soon!). Here’s an adorable photo of Abby after eating a bowl of blueberries:

I already have enough problems trying to feed me, the Husband and Abby good nutritious foods that are also tasty. I can’t imagine having to deal with dietary restrictions, allergies and medical needs. Which brings us to today’s Sunday Supper theme of [blank] free dishes, be it fat, dairy, gluten, meat, you name it, we’re making it!

This week’s event is hosted by the super sweet, absolutely lovely Bea of The Not So Cheesy Kitchen. This subject is very close to Bea’s heart. Her two beautiful daughters have a rare metabolic disorder called Classic Galactosemia. I’d never even heard of this until I met Bea. It’s a rare genetic disorder that affects an individual’s ability to metabolize the sugar galactose properly. This means you can’t have anything with milk sugar in it. This is not the same as lactose intolerance – permanent damage can be done to the body when you have this disorder and you consume galactose. Bea, if I have any of this information wrong, please feel free to correct me! Bea has done an amazing job of making foods her girls can eat and transforming recipes that are traditionally dairy-laden into delicious dairy-free versions that look just as good as the original. Please visit her blog for more information about galactosemia, what it’s like to live with it, and all the yummy foods she’s made.

I’m so happy to be taking part this week and sharing a dairy- and egg-free recipe with you. Seriously, this vegan chocolate loaf tastes so rich and decadent, I felt guilty while eating it until I remembered that it’s actually pretty good for me!

Vegan chocolate loaf (adapted from Banana Wonder)

1 cup cocoa powder
11/4 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp ground black pepper (you can probably omit this – I’ll explain why later!)
1/2 tsp salt
3/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 avocado (mine was medium sized)
1/2 cup sugar (I used my beloved Zulka Morena sugar)
2 tsp vanilla
2 teaspoons ground flax seeds
6 teaspoons warm water
1 cup hot coffee (or boiling water)
1 cup chocolate chips
sea salt for sprinkling over top (optional)

Preheat your oven to 350 degrees F. Line a 9X5 inch loaf pan with parchment paper for easy release of the loaf after baking.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and pepper in a medium bowl.

In a small bowl or cup, mix together the flax with the warm water. It creates a gloppy paste (called a flax egg) that acts as a binder, the perfect replacement for regular ol’ chicken eggs. The first time I’d heard of flax eggs was from my friend Erika, aka The Pancake Princess. This girl lives up to her name but she also makes lots of healthy, good for you recipes, like these vegan cookies ‘n cream pancakes where she utilizes flax eggs and gives a nice description of how to make and use them.

In a food processor or a bowl with a mixer, cream the olive oil, avocado and cocoa powder until smooth. Add the sugars and blend until smooth.

I love you, food processor. You make life so easy.

This smelled ridiculously good.

Mix in the flax egg and vanilla. I found that my oil started separating from the avocado/chocolate mixture. That’s ok – it’ll all come together when you add the flour and coffee.

Stir 1/3 of the flour mixture into the avocado mixture, then 1/3 of the hot coffee. Keep alternating until all the flour and coffee have been incorporated. Add the chocolate chips and then pour into your prepared pan. Sprinkle the top with sea salt if using. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes, then turn the heat down to 325 degrees F and continue to bake for another 15 minutes. When a cake tester comes out clean, remove from the oven. Allow to cool in the pan for about 10 minutes, then move your loaf to a wire rack. Let your loaf cool completely before slicing.

I haven’t always had the best luck baking with avocado (see my post here for an example) but damn, this is a good loaf. It broke apart at the edges a bit when I was slicing it so I worried that it was overly dry. My worries were needless because this loaf is so moist and dense.

The chocolate flavour seriously punches you in the mouth – it’s so dark and decadent, it’s overwhelming in the best possible way. The chocolate chips make it even better (duh – the proper thing to do with chocolate is always to add more chocolate). I wanted a spicy kick from the pepper but I couldn’t taste it at all, which was too bad. This loaf is so rich that I feel like I’m eating something laden with butter but it’s not – this is actually pretty healthy (compared to most of the stuff I make!). Success!

Check out this amazing list of recipes. Given how I’m always looking to improve my diet, I’ll be making a lot of these dishes in the near future!

Breakfast

• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut & Soy Free Brown Rice Breakfast Pudding bygirlichef
• Dairy & Nut and Sugar Free Blueberry Tangerine Muffins by Vintage Kitchen
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, Nut, and Soy Free Homemade Mango Jam Recipe byMasala Herb

Main Courses

• Gluten Free Nothing Missing Manicotti by Jane’s Adventures in Dinner
• Gluten Free Sun-Dried Tomato & Feta Meatballs over Courgette Noodles bySmall Wallet, Big Appetite
• Gluten Free Pizza by Cravings of a Lunatic
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Balsamic Portobello Burgers by Curious Cuisinere
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Nut Free Mushroom Risotto Bake by Cindy’s Recipes and Writings
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Vegan Mac and “Cheese” by Webicurean
• Dairy, Egg & Nut Free Creamy Mushrooms on Pasta by The Not So Cheesy Kitchen

• Gluten Free Persian Cucumber Yogurt by Shockingly Delicious
• Gluten Free Quinoa with Olives, Basil and Sun-dried Tomatoes by That Skinny Chick Can Bake!!!
• Dairy Free Farro and Fruit Salad by Magnolia Days 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Dairy Free Fattoush Salad by From the Bookshelf
• Gluten Free Chickpea Fritters by The Lovely Pantry
• Dairy, Egg, and Gluten Free Black Bean and Mango Salad by Soni’s Food
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten, and Nut Free Grilled Fennel Salad by Food Lust People Love

• Dairy & Gluten Free French Bread by Blueberries and Blessings
• Dairy & Gluten Free Crunchy Almond Sesame Crackers by Sue’s Nutrition Buzz

Treats

• Dairy & Gluten Free Individual Chocolate Pavlovas by The Girl in The Little Red Kitchen
• Gluten Free Flourless Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Cookies by Juanita’s Cocina
• Dairy, Egg & Gluten Free Apple Almond Butter Cookies by What Smells So Good?
• Gluten Free Chocolate Chip Cookies with Almond Flour by Hezzi-D’s Books and Cooks
• Nut Free Lemon Cardamom Wedding Cookies by Gourmet Drizzles
• Dairy Free Chocolate Gelato by Growing Up Gabel 
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Sugar Free Cantaloupe, Strawberry, & Coconut Gazpacho by Peanut Butter and Peppers
• Gluten Free Meringue Kisses with Dulce de Lece by Basic N Delicious
• Dairy & Egg Free Vegan Everyday Chocolate Loaf by Gotta Get Baked
• Gluten, Dairy, and Nut Free Coconut Macaroons by Happy Baking Days
• Dairy, Egg, Gluten & Soy Free Tastes like Chocolate Ice Cream byCookistry
• Gluten Free Enoki Mushroom & Pine Nut Quinoa by Family Foodie
• Gluten Free Mousse & Cookies by Ninja Baking
• Gluten Free Brown Butter Snickerdooles by Pies and Plots
• Dairy, Egg & Soy Free Chai Spice Coconut Ice Cream by Daily Dish Recipes
• Gluten Free Lemonade Dip by The Messy Baker
• Nut & Fat Free Chocolate Angel Food Cake by Table for Seven

Drinks

• Gluten & Dairy Free Honey Bear Smoothies by Neighborfood
• Sugar Free Strawberry Meyer Lemonade by The Weekend Gourmet

Be sure to join our Twitter #SundaySupper chat party starting at 7:00 pm EST today, June 9th, 2013. Follow the #SundaySupper hashtag throughout the day to see the amazing recipes. We look forward to see you 🙂 to join all you need to do is follow[ the #SundaySupper hashtag and please do not forget to include the hashtag in your tweets as well. Be sure to check out our #SundaySupper Pinterest board for more delicious recipes and photos.