Saving time

and a recipe for a vegan carrot cake that takes just the right amount of time

I hate waiting in lines.

Wait, let me rephrase that. I hate waiting in lines where everyone is either invisible or a nuisance. By avoiding eye contact with the person who may or may not have been there first, it gives one license to push ahead with impunity, to discount the possibility of having a moment of human interaction. To say “please, go ahead” with a smile, knowing that the several minutes that have been given to the other person are a gift.

The idea of time as a collective endeavour, not an individual race against the clock, have been swirling around in my head ever since I heard Jenny O’Dell being interviewed. O’Dell has just written a book called Saving Time: Discovering a Life Beyond the Clock, which dives into the past, present and future of time. A multidisciplinary artist and educator at Stanford University, O’Dell has spent her career making observations about the world around her, and connecting the dots between those observations and how we might shift the way we think about things.

Just how closely O’Dell goes beyond the surface might be encapsulated in her habit of carrying a jeweler’s loupe everywhere she goes. With it she might zoom in close on a flower, the side of a building, a rock outcrop. It allows her to notice the tiny changes that are constantly happening all around us; microscopic moments that otherwise disappear. As she says it, “Something like walking around with the loupe for me is a reminder that everything around me and myself included is all involved in these interwoven processes of change that I think are what time actually is.”

A moment in time

Boiling down O’Dell’s wide-ranging and expansive book into a few sentences or paragraphs doesn’t do justice to the multitude of themes she explores. But if there’s one idea that’s sticky, it’s the notion of time being “stretchy”: ticking by slowly in some moments, speeding by in others. When our rhythms are set to the ticking of the clock, instead of our own cadence, that’s when time seems to be elusive, slipping through our fingers like sand, never feeling like enough.

In our quest to make the most of those precious grains of time, we might miss out on the moments that make life a truly rich pageant. That’s what happened yesterday, when we drove a stranger home and ended up with a new friend. It’s a tale for another day, and one that will be worth the wait.

As O’Dell eloquently says: “I want to be in a world in which other people and other things exist for themselves and we are all encountering each other. That is a very enlivening experience and it’s also when time feels the most expansive because it’s full of surprises.”

An idea whose time has come.

Vegan carrot cake

from The Spruce Eats

serves 8-10

In a confusing world where food intolerances and preferences abound, it can sometime feel overwhelming to make exactly the right thing. But the extra time and effort to make something special is well worth it.

My dairy-free baking repertoire is pretty narrow, which is why I was excited to find this super easy vegan recipe for a perennial favourite - carrot cake. It comes together in a single bowl, and has the same warm and spicy goodness as a traditional carrot cake recipe.

Note: Nut allergies are at an all time high; be sure to use soy or oat milk instead of the almond milk, and eliminate the walnuts if you’re making this cake for a nut-sensitive eater.

Ingredients

2½ cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar, firmly packed

1 cup granulated sugar

2 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon ground ginger

¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg

1 cup cinnamon applesauce

¾ cup almond or other plant-based milk

½ cup canola oil

1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract

3 cups finely grated carrots, from about 3 large carrots

1 cup chopped walnuts, optional

Vegan Cream Cheese Frosting

½ cup vegan butter, cubed and softened to room temperature

8 ounces vegan cream cheese

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

4 cups confectioners' sugar

Walnuts, for optional garnish

1. Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease and flour 2 (8-inch) round cake pans or coat with baking spray and set aside. 

2. Make the frosting. Whip the vegan butter, vegan cream cheese, and vanilla extract until combined. Gradually add the confectioners' sugar until light and fluffy. Store in refrigerator until ready to use.

3. Make the cake. In a large bowl, combine the flour, brown sugar, granulated sugar, baking powder, baking soda, salt, cinnamon, ginger, and nutmeg. 

4. Add the applesauce, almond milk, oil, and vanilla. Stir until just combined.

5. Fold in the carrots and walnuts, if using. Do not overmix.

6. Pour the cake batter evenly between the prepared pans, then bake for 35 to 45 minutes, until a toothpick comes out clean and the tops of the cakes are set.

7. Remove from the oven, and cool in the pans on a wire rack for about 20 minutes before carefully removing from the pans. Allow the cakes to cool completely on the wire rack before frosting.

8. Frost between the layers, over the top and down the sides of the cake. Garnish with additional chopped walnuts, if desired. Refrigerate until ready to serve.