The Granola Bar That Will Have You Leave Candy Crying at the Altar...

Am I exaggerating?  Ok, maybe just a little bit, but these granola bars were fantastic!  They have chocolate, sweetness, and none of the blood sugar crash you would get from candy.  And did I mention they have protein and you don't have to bake them?  Oh yeah! 

I started with this recipe from Naturally Knocked Up, but I adjusted it.  I decided I wanted some oats in my bars (instead of them being grain free), and I did not have enough nuts anyways.  I also did not have cranberries, so I subbed in dates (which I think were part of the key of how good these were).

Chocolate Granola Bars
4 Tablespoons butter
1 Tablespoon coconut oil
3/4 cup honey
1 cup sucanat (unrefined sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups roughly chopped nuts (I used a mixture of almonds & walnuts)
2 cups uncooked oats (not steel cut)
3 Tablespoons cocoa powder

1 cup chopped dates or other dried fruit

In a medium saucepan combine: butter, coconut oil, honey, sucanat, vanilla, and salt.  Place on the stove over low heat until mixture begins to simmer.  Simmer longer for harder bars, less time for "chewy" bars (I think I let it simmer just a few minutes for my soft bars).  In a large bowl stir to combine nuts, oats, cocoa powder, and dried fruit.  Pour the sugar mixture over the top & stir thoroughly.  Pour the mixture into a 9x13 pan and spread evenly (use oiled fingers to press it down into the pan).  Allow to cool completely & then cut.  I kept my bars stored in the refrigerator.

Next time I might try peanut butter in place of the butter...

Enjoy!
Lisa

"Faux" Apple Pie (uses zucchini!) and Sourdough Pie Crust

Did you know that apples are the #1 pesticide containing produce?  For those times when you're craving apple pie but can't afford to buy organic apples, it may sound crazy, but zucchini makes a great substitute!

One year I was looking for recipes to use up all my garden zucchini & I found this recipe for "faux" apple pie that uses zucchini instead of apples.  My husband loves apple pie & couldn't believe it (after he tried it) when I told him I made it using zucchini.  The key is to use lots of spices & the zucchini pick up the flavor of the spices.  My 13 year old loves to take this to school in her lunch, offer samples to her friends, and THEN tell them they just ate zucchini!  I also want to share with you a recipe for sourdough pie crust (since I'm trying to use sourdough in most of my baking now for health reasons).

Sourdough Pie Crust
1/2 cup wheat flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (I used coconut oil)
1/2 cup sourdough starter

With a fork, mix together: flour, salt, baking soda.  Cut in the butter or coconut oil.  Add the sourdough starter & mix thoroughly.  Cover & allow to rest on the counter for 6 hours.

Faux Apple (Zucchini) Pie
2 (9 inch) pie crusts
4 cups zucchini: peeled, cored/seeded, & thinly sliced*
3/4 cup unrefined sugar**
2 tablespoons tapioca
1/4 cup lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
2 teaspoons cornstarch
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon milk

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Roll out your pie crusts (if you haven't already) to 9 inch circles. Place the bottom crust inside your pie pan.  Combine the sugar, tapioca, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and cornstarch together in a large bowl.  Add the zucchini and lemon juice and mix well.  Pour mixture into the pie crust.  Dot with butter.  Place second crust over the top and pinch the edges together to seal.  Cut 4 vents in the top of the crust.  If desired, brush with milk and sprinkle with additional sugar.

Bake at 400 for 15 minutes.  Reduce oven temperature to 350 and bake for an additional 50 minutes, or until top crust is lightly browned.

*This is very important:  make sure you peel & remove the core of your zucchini.  You do not want zucchini seeds in your pie!  Plus, once you've peeled & cored it, then cut each slice in half, you get a nice "C" shape which more resembles cut apples.

**If you want to play with this recipe a little bit, and pump up the apple flavor, you can reduce the sugar & replace the 1/4 cup lemon juice with 1/4 cup apple juice.  Combine apple juice, zucchini, tapioca, & spices & let sit for 15 minutes so the zucchini can "soak up" the flavors.  By the way, I didn't have any lemon juice, or tapioca, when I made the last pie, so I just left both of them out & it was still fine!

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of:
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Fightback Friday 
Monday Mania 
Slightly Indulgent Tuesday
Traditional Tuesdays

Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies or Scones

I found some information about the benefits of sourdough at this post on the Simple Bites blog and you may want to check that out if you're interested in sourdough.  In previous posts I have talked about why I am using more sourdough in my baking.  I have also been exploring a lot of sourdough recipes, including the somewhat unexpected "dessert" category. 

these cookies were a batch I made without raisins, but I like them much better with raisins

Sometimes I find recipes that include sourdough starter, but do not include a "souring" or "soaking" stage- which means the sourdough is only there for flavoring?  I have been adjusting some of these recipes to include a souring stage, thus getting the most health benefits out of using sourdough.  This recipe was one of those & I was pleased with how nicely it turned out (I also reduced the amount of sugar & substituted honey for half of the sugar).  The texture is very similar to a scone, but you can also enjoy it as a dense cookie, or even a snack cake (the first time I made it I was too lazy to do anything other than pour it into a pan & it turned out great, just extend your cooking time).

my scone version

Sourdough Oatmeal Cookies or Scones 

2 cups sourdough starter

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup coconut oil

3 cups rolled oats

2 cups flour
1/2 cup unrefined sugar

Thoroughly combine above ingredients & allow to rest (covered) for 6 hours.

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground cloves*

1/2 teaspoon allspice*

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4-1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Pre-heat the oven to 375.  Mix the spices and baking soda in a separate bowl.  Add to oats mixture along with raisins (you may have to "knead" the dough to get everything well combined).  *I did not have cloves or allspice, you could also try ginger and a dash of nutmeg.

Roll into small or large balls, depending on if you want cookies or scones (for scones I made them the size of biscuits).  Bake on greased cookie sheet for about 12 minutes (longer for scones).  Makes 12 scones or 36 small cookies.

Enjoy!

Lisa

P.S. for those of you who follow this blog, despite my long silence, I am still here!  The last month and a half (and more) have been spent working on finalizing our oldest daughter's adoption, as well as getting ready to come back to the states for summer vacation.  Busy!

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday
Pennywise Platter Thursday
Fight Back Fridays

Sourdough Peanut Butter Chocolate Cookies

Here is a recipe that originally called for no "soaking" or "souring" stage for the dough, but I have modified the recipe to include that stage so we get the most sourdough benefit (if the starter doesn't have time to work on the flour it seems pretty pointless to me to use sourdough starter at all- but you'll find those recipes out there).  I also modified the amount of sugar by replacing more than half with honey.  This is a lightly sweet cookie that my family gobbles up, but if you want it sweeter you may add a sprinkle of sugar to the finished cookies before baking them.  The cocoa is also optional (you can just make them peanut butter cookies) but we like it with the cocoa!

Sourdough Peanut Butter (Chocolate) Cookies
1 cup sourdough starter
1 cup peanut butter (or other nut butter)
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
2 cups flour (whole wheat or otherwise)

In a medium bowl mix the above ingredients well, cover, & allow to rest for 6 hours.  When you are ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350 and add the remaining ingredients to the sourdough mixture:

1 teaspoon vanilla
1 teaspoon baking soda
3 to 4 Tablespoons cocoa powder (optional)

Mix well.  The dough may be very sticky at this point (if it's too sticky you can refrigerate the dough for 30 minutes to make it easier to handle, but I don't...)  Drop by spoonfulls onto a parchment paper lined cookie sheet (space at least 1" apart).  Bake for 12 to 15 minutes.

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Kitchen Stewardship's Soaking Grains Gallery, Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade, and Pennywise Platter Thursday at Nourishing Gourmet.

"Soaked" Snickerdoodle Cake

The other day I was having a serious craving for snickerdoodle cookies.  Some of you may not know about these sugar cookies with a cinnamon crust on the outside, but if you like cinnamon then "snickerdoodles" should be on your radar!  I searched & searched the web for a recipe that involved soaking the flour (see the tab above for "why soak").  What I did finally find was a recipe for a snickerdoodle cupcake that included buttermilk in the ingredients (perfect medium for soaking flour).  I modified the recipe to soak the flour and reduced the sugar as well.  This produces a tender cake that will hopfully hit that "snickerdoodle craving" when you may have it!

"Soaked" Snickerdoodle Cake
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil, softened
1/2 cup buttermilk (or milk + 1 1/2 tsp. apple cider vinegar, could also substitute yogurt or other soaking medium)

In a small bowl combine these ingredients thoroughly, cover, and allow to rest at room temperature for 12 to 24 hours.  When ready to bake, preheat your oven to 350, and add to the flour mixture:

2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Mix well, then add in the remaining ingredients:

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 cup unrefined sugar

When well combined, pour into a greased pan (I used a 10x10, you could use 9x9 for a thicker cake, or 9x13 for a thinner cake). 

For the topping, stir together in a seperate bowl:
1 tablespoon sugar
1 teaspoon cinnamon

Sprinkle on top of cake.  Bake in oven for about 25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.  Allow to cool.

Enjoy!
Lisa

This recipe is linked up to Kitchen Stewardship's Soaking Grains Gallery and Monday Mania at the Healthy Home Economist.

Grain-Free Nutbutter Brownies with a Cheesecake Swirl

Recently Food Renegade posted this recipe, via Megan Keatley of the blog Health-Bent (her blog subtitle: "Paleo friendly recipes that don't look or taste like dog food"- love it!)  I tried out the recipe and I just have to share it with you, in case you missed it, because it is really sooo good!  She recommends using a 9x9 pan, but all I have is a 10x10 pan so mine are thin, but still delicious!  Next time I may try them in a muffin tin - if you have a mini muffin tin you could make brownie bites.  Just make sure to watch them carefully in the oven because you'll have to reduce the cooking time.

You can try any nut butter you prefer: here in Rwanda we have something similar to peanuts (just called "ground nuts") that they make a nut butter from.  For the "cream cheese" I used yogurt cheese made from plain yogurt drained through a coffee filter inside a strainer (left in a bowl in the refrigerator- save the whey for "soaking").  And we don't have chocolate chips so I didn't add any of those in, but these're great already without them!

Nutbutter Brownies with a Cheesecake Swirl
Brownie layer:
1 cup nut butter (almond butter, peanut butter, etc.)
2 eggs
1/3 cup cocoa powder
1/2 cup unrefined sugar (i.e. raw sugar, turbinado, sucanat)
1/3 cup chocolate chips or chopped chocolate (optional)

Cheesecake layer:
8 oz. (1 cup) cream cheese or yogurt cheese
1 egg
1/3 cup unrefined sugar
2 teaspoons vanilla extract (optional: substitute with mint, almond, orange, etc.*)

Preheat your oven to 350.  Oil or butter a 9x9 pan (or whatever you are using).

Mix together all the brownie ingredients in a medium bowl.  Stir or whisk until smooth.  Pour into prepared pan.  (then lick the bowl clean... oh wait, did I say that?)

 Stir or beat cream cheese until smooth, then add the rest of the ingredients and mix well.  Drop by spoonfuls all over the top of the brownie batter.  Use a toothpick or knife to lightly draw through the cream cheese mixture, swirling & circling as desired (don't overdo it or instead of nice designs you'll just have it all mixed together).

Bake for about 35 minutes (less if using a different size pan).  The top will be cracked and the cheesecake mixture just starting to brown.  Cool completely & then refrigerate.  Serve cold (like cheesecake).

Enjoy!
Lisa

*another option to try with this recipe would be to add shredded coconut & coconut extract to the cream cheese layer.  I think that would taste great as well!

Chocolate Coconut Sourdough Cake

I almost called this Chocolate Coconut Sourdough Snack Cake, because it is a cake which doesn't require frosting (although you are certainly welcome to add it), and if it doesn't have frosting you can snack on it anytime of day, right?   Well, maybe!  I shared with you in my last post how I have been using sourdough as my primary source for bread, pancakes, and other things, and briefly why.  You may not think that sourdough & a sweet dessert cake are possible to have together, but you must try this!  It is moist, tender, and really does not have that much sugar for a dessert.

You will notice the directions indicate you can use between 1 and 1 1/2 cups of sugar.  The amount you use is going to depend on how long you let your batter "sour" and your personal preference.  I accidentally forgot about my batter and let it sit for too long.  I first added 1 cup of sugar, but when I sampled the batter I knew it needed the additional 1/2 cup.  I also wanted to help it out more by adding in 1/2 cup of shredded coconut.

This is only a slightly  modified version of the Chocolate Sourdough Cake from The Nourishing Gourmet.  If you would like to add frosting to your cake, you can check out GNOWFGLINS where she shares her version of the recipe (with spelt flour) and a coconut cream frosting - - which would be divine on this cake!

Chocolate Coconut Sourdough Cake
1 cup recently fed sourdough starter
1 cup of raw milk, diluted coconut milk, or water
2 cups of whole wheat pastry flour (mine was regular whole wheat flour)
1 to 1 1/2 cups of sugar (raw sugar, maple sugar, or palm sugar)
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup melted coconut oil*
1 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/.4 cup cocoa powder**
1 teaspoon instant espresso powder (optional- I used Pero, Teeccino also works)
2 large eggs
1/2 cup shredded coconut

1.  6 to 18 hours ahead of time you will make the sourdough mixture.  Combine the starter, milk, and flour in a large bowl.  Allow to rest at room temperature.

2.  Preheat oven to 350 and rub a 9x13 pan with oil.

3.  In a medium bowl cream together the sugar, oil, vanilla, salt, baking soda, cocoa powder, and optional espresso powder (mixture will be grainy).  Then beat in one egg at a time.  Add all of this to the sourdough mixture, as well as shredded coconut.  Gently stir until well combined.

4.  Pour into prepared pan and bake for 30-40 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted into the center of the cake comes out clean.  Allow to cool completely.

I let my cake cook a little too long and the top seemed burnt, but when I went to cut the burnt part off I tried it & it actually still tasted good- bonus points for that!  *This cake would be best with coconut oil (unrefined for the coconut flavor) but if you don't have any, like me, then you can use olive oil or melted butter.  **The original directions say to not use Dutch processed cocoa, because it is not acidic enough to react with the baking soda.  In other words, using Dutch cocoa could cause the cake not to rise as much.

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Real Food Wednesday.

Chocolate Banana Muffin Bites

This was my second attempt at making a “flourless” dessert. The first banana bread was a big flop (or should I say glop?). I think the cocoa powder helps here. This originally was written as a cake recipe, but since I don’t have a round cake pan I tried it in a bread pan first. That turned out pretty good, but I knew that if I made them in a cupcake pan it would be easier to get it cooked all the way in the middle (and avoid gloppy-ness). These are yummy & even those who are not trying to go wheat, grain, or gluten free will enjoy them!

Chocolate Banana Muffin Bites

3 eggs

¼ teaspoon salt

½ cup honey

¼ cup oil

1 cup mashed (ripe) bananas

½ cup cocoa


Preheat oven to 350. Beat or whip the eggs for 2 minutes (I’m using my rotary mixer I brought to Rwanda with me- remember those?) Add the remaining ingredients and blend thoroughly. Grease or insert paper liners in your muffin tin (12 muffins). Evenly distribute the batter in the muffin cups (about 1 inch of batter in each one). Bake for about 20 minutes. Cool for 10 minutes & then remove.


Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Monday Mania, Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Real Food Wednesdays.

Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

I'm really surprised I have not blogged about these awesome little treats before- these need to be in your recipe book right after the healthy mounds/almond joys.  This recipe comes from the Oceans of Joy blog.  I made them here last week (yes, I brought my [half full] gallon of coconut oil here to Rwanda- and now I am seeing the pitiful bottom of my tub... sigh...).  After not having a good treat for a while I was so ready for these & loved having one each day- bliss!

I know these peanut butter cups look a little funky on top, that's because my chocolate mixture started to seize when I was ready to put the top layer on, so I had to just put little dollops of chocolate on each one- still tastes good though!

Healthy Peanut Butter Cups

chocolate layer:

1/4 cup coconut oil

1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/8 cup honey (more if you like your chocolate sweeter)
1 tsp. vanilla

Melt the coconut oil (in a skillet or a hot water bath).  Add the rest of the ingredients and combine until smooth.  I used a regular muffin pan (12) for making these, in the past I have used a mini muffin pan also.  Line each muffin cup with a paper liner or oil thoroughly.  Evenly distribute half of your chocolate mixture into the muffin cups (start with about one tablespoon in each one).  Place in refrigerator or freezer to cool.

filling:
3/4 cup peanut butter
2 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup coconut oil
1/3 cup ground nuts (optional, I did not have them this time)

Melt the coconut oil again, add in honey, vanilla, and peanut butter.  When thoroughly combined stir in the ground nuts.  Evenly distribute the peanut butter filling into each muffin cup.  Top with the remaining chocolate mixture (if you need to, gently reheat it, being careful not to let the chocolate seize).  Refrigerate or freeze until firm.  Store in refrigerator and enjoy this healthy treat!

In my last post I promised you a picture of my kitchen sink, so here it is: 

Use your powers of perception carefully here- notice anything odd about it?  Hmmmm.  How about those interesting spickets for water that only pour into one side of the sink?  Yeah, sometimes the way they do things here just makes you say... "Huh?"  In order to fill the left sink for doing dishes, you have to use a cup to transfer water into that sink.  But, if I haven't said so already, I am very thankful to have a kitchen with counters and cupboards, because the last time we were here our kitchen was just a room with a refrigerator and a table that doubled as a cupboard and work area.

I am also having awesome success here with my sourdough.  I will post another time about how to dehyrdrate sourdough starter (I brought some of mine from home).  I don't know if it's the elevation (5000 ft.), the air, climate, or the flour (there is no such thing as whole wheat flour in these stores, white only) but my starter actually smells like yeast and is making the most amazing bread!  Very exciting for me when at home all I got was super-sour dense bread that no one else in the family would eat!

Hope all your kitchen adventures are successful this week.
Enjoy!
Lisa

Chocolate Pudding Pops & Mocha Smoothie

Do you ever have extra milk you need to use up?  Last week I did, and I decided my choices were either to make yogurt (but I already had 2 large containers of that) or make pudding pops- guess I have to make pudding!  I found this recipe on the Everyday Life blog, where she says you can either refrigerate for pudding or freeze for pudding pops. Start with the chocolate pudding & you'll be on your way to making some mocha smoooooothies...

Chocolate Pudding
5 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sugar (I used rapadura)
6 Tablespoons cocoa powder
1/3 cup arrowroot powder (or cornstarch, I used arrowroot)
2 Tablespoons butter
2 teaspoons vanilla

Start out with a low heat on the stove and dissolve the sugar into milk, stirring or whisking until dissolved.  Then add the cocoa powder and arrowroot.  Increase your stove temperature to medium and stir with a spoon (to be sure it doesn't stick on the bottom- keep on stirring!)  After several minutes the mixture will thicken and you can remove it from the heat.  Stir in the butter and vanilla.  Allow to cool slightly and then either refrigerate or freeze.

Now I will be honest & say that I usually don't care for the "stand and stir" recipes (which most pudding recipes fall into).  It just doesn't feel efficient to me: I have to multi-task!  Of course this has been the death of more than one "stand and stir" recipe.  [Thanksgivings come to mind when I used to make a pumpkin custard pie every year for my father-in-law, and sometimes I would have to make it twice because of not minding it closely enough- ugh!]  Thankfully, my mom was visiting and could help me stir the pudding while I made blueberry jam.  Yes, I was multi-tasking: I can't help it!

Last week I posted about Creamy Probiotic Popsicles and I suggested that if you don't have a popsicle mold that you use a muffin pan.  So, this time I tried it.  Did I mention this recipe makes a lot?  Oh, yes it does!  And do you see how pitiful my popsicle mold stock is (I only have 5 containers, it is supposed to be 6 but one went missing years ago when my daughter was a toddler...)

After I took this picture I placed a toothpick in each mini muffin cup, just layed it in there, and put the whole thing in the freezer.  A day later I pulled it out & ran hot water over the bottom for a few seconds to loosen them (don't take too long with the hot water, they melt fast, and be careful not to impale your hand on the toothpicks- ouch!)  It worked great!  I put them all in a ziploc bag & tossed it back in the freezer.  Voila!

 Hmm, well that picture looks a little messy.  Certainly not going to win me any awards.  But we did end up with mini popsicles!

Now, I am going to share with you my favorite way to enjoy these.  See that ice cube tray up there?  I also popped those out & put them in a ziploc in the freezer.  The next day we had some coffee that did not get finished in the morning, so I put it in the fridge.  Later that afternoon when I was ready for a snack, I pulled it out & threw together this awesome mocha smoothie!  


Mocha Smoothie
1 cup cold coffee
3/4 cup milk
5 cubes of frozen chocolate pudding
small amount of stevia, honey, sugar, or maple syrup to taste

Combine all ingredients in blender until smooth.  Pour into a tall glass & say yum!  (Makes about 2 servings- so share, but only if you want to...)

 This picture was taken when I made it using 1/2 cup milk and 1/4 cup homemade vanilla ice cream- oh yeah!  Why not use all ice cream & make a mocha milkshake?  Now we're talking!

Enjoy!
Lisa

Creamy Probiotic Popsicles

When I saw this recipe for popsicles using buttermilk, I knew I wanted to try it out.  The day I made mine, I decided to give them a little extra boost.  I substituted some of the buttermilk with 1/4 cup raw milk kefir.  I was unsure if freezing kills the probiotics in kefir or yogurt (or cultured buttermilk for that matter) and after doing some digging on the internet I find myself - well, still unsure.  It seems as though the jury is out on whether or not freezing kills them, but even those who say it kills them admits it does not kill all of them- so you are still getting some benefit.

So, if you're going to have popsicles, why not boost them too?  I also added a teaspoon or two or flax seed oil to the mix.  It completely goes undercover & gives you the benefits of essential fatty acids too.  I might try drizzling in a teaspoon of melted coconut oil next time too.  I was out of fresh fruit when I made mine so I used frozen strawberries.  I also ran out of popsicle molds (this recipe makes quite a bit) so I poured the extra into an ice cube tray (pop them out, put in a ziploc bag, then I throw a few at a time into our smoothies) and a couple small containers.  I ate those with a spoon like sorbet.  Mmmmm.

Here is girlichef's recipe with my adjustments...

Creamy Probiotic Popsicles

1 cup buttermilk (real & cultured preferred)
1/2 cup kefir (or yogurt)
1 banana
1 1/2 cups fruit (fresh or frozen)
1/4 cup raw honey
optional: 2 teaspoons flax oil or coconut oil (melted)

Put all the ingredients in a blender and blend completely.  Pour into molds (or muffin tin?) and place in the freezer.  (If adding your own sticks add them in after one hour & freeze for an additional hour.)

If you don't have popsicle molds, why not use muffin tins (or mini muffin tins)?  I remember as kids we used to use dixie cups, cover with plastic wrap, and then put a stick through the plastic wrap so it would stay in place.  I bet that would work for mini muffin tins or ice cube trays too!

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesday and Pennywise Platter Thursday.

Carrot Cake

My all time favorite cake is carrot cake (or cheesecake- if that counts as cake then it's a tie)!  Since it was my birthday I decided I would make myself a healthy birthday cake- that way we can really enjoy it.  I wanted my cake to also have the benefits of "soaking" to make it even healthier.  I searched & searched real food blogs, but no soaked carrot cake was to be found.  The closest I could find was this recipe for Election Cake (which I had never heard of- and I had also never heard of using yeast in a cake).  Later I googled it & found this information about it's history.

Even though there was no picture of the cake, it had molasses, spices, and dried fruit.  I figured I could sub out the dried fruit for carrots and give it a try.  Pretty brave of me I think!  I ended up adding quite a few things, and I wasn't sure how it would turn out, but we've decided it's pretty good.  Here's what I ended up with:

Carrot Cake
4 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 1/4 cups buttermilk

12 to 24 hours ahead of time combine flour & buttermilk, cover, and allow to sit at room temperature.  Mixture will be a little dry.

8 oz. can crushed pineapple, undrained
2 packets yeast
1/2 lb. butter, room temperature
3/4 cup sucanat or turbinado sugar
1/4 cup molasses
2 eggs
1 T. cinnamon
pinch of cloves
pinch of nutmeg
1 1/2 tsp. salt
2 c. shredded carrots (about 3)
1 c. shredded coconut
1 c. chopped pecans
1 c. raisins

The morning after you've soaked the flour: drain pineapple juice into (glass) measuring cup & add enough water to equal 2/3 cup.  Warm gently to about 110 degrees (do not boil- you can place the measuring cup in a pot of water on the stove to warm it).  Remove from heat, stir in yeast & allow to sit for several minutes.

Meanwhile, cream the butter and sugar together at high speed until creamy.  Add molasses and eggs and continue to beat.

Mix the flour mixture into the egg & butter mixture one cup at a time.  Then add the yeast mixture, spices, and salt and mix thoroughly until a thick-cake like batter forms.  Stir in drained pineapple, carrots, coconut, pecans and raisins.

Pour batter into pans (one 9x13 or 2 round cake pans) that have been oiled & floured or lined with parchment paper (that's what I did).  Make sure you account for the fact that this cake is going to rise!  Leave in a warm place for several hours or until doubled in bulk (it sure did)!  Wow- that's a lot of cake!

Pre-heat oven to 375 & bake for approximately 45 minutes or until toothpick inserted in middle comes out clean (mine baked for closer to an hour & it was over cooked).  Check half way through bake time- if top is browning too fast then cover with foil.  Allow to cool for 5 to 10 minues in pan, then transfer to cooling rack. 

This may be more dense than your cake usually is (more like the density of a fruitcake), but it is still tasty.  I found it paired perfectly with Wardeh's vanilla coconut cream frosting.  Right now Tropical Traditions has their coconut cream on sale: buy one, get one free!  If you're thinking about buying some (use some for frosting and some for fudge) and it's your first time, you can use my referral number 5997607 to get a free book about coconut oil.  I've been reading it & it's full of amazing testimonials. 

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Real Food Wednesdays.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Fudge

This recipe actually originated on the Tropical Traditions website, but as written it only made a small amount.  I quadrupled the recipe and modified the amounts slightly.  This amount of fudge worked perfectly for using a bread pan as a form.  I have kept mine in the freezer- it does not get too hard but has a nice consistency when frozen- reminds me a little of a "fudgesicle".

I shared this fudge with some extended family members, people who are not "real foodies".  They loved it!  One even offered to pay me to make this for her!  You can vary the amount of honey to give it more or less of a dark chocolate taste.

Dark Chocolate Coconut Fudge
3 (scant) Tbsp. coconut cream concentrate
3 (scant) Tbsp. coconut oil
1/3 cup honey
1/2 cup hot water
1 cup cocoa powder

optional: chopped nuts, shredded coconut

This is how I prepare the coconut cream concentrate for use.  I place it in a pot of water and heat over medium heat.  As the outside of the cream begins to melt I use a knife to cut through it (like cutting a pizza) because having more surface area will help it melt faster.  Once it's melted you need to mix it up thoroughly.

Measure the coconut cream and honey into a bowl.  Add the coconut oil (solid) and then use the hot water from the pot to add the 1/2 cup hot water needed.  The hot water will melt the coconut oil and soften the honey.

Add the cocoa powder (and any optional ingredients- I didn't use any).  Mix thoroughly.  Line a bread pan with parchment paper and pour in the fudge mixture.

Place in the freezer until firm (a few hours would be good).  Pull out the parchment paper & slice the fudge.  I tried this both with a regular knife and with a pizza cutter.  I think the pizza cutter made it a little easier, though it is sticky either way.

I placed the pieces in mini muffin cups to keep them separate & also for presentation.

If you have coconut cream concentrate you can try this other idea too (if you order through Tropical Traditions and give my customer # 5997607 as your referral, then you get a free book & I get a bonus product too!) .  When the coconut cream is warmed a little (like in the Summer months) use a knife to make a hole in the side (so you're getting down into the cream, not just getting the oil on top).  When you have pancakes scrape a little bit out and put it on your pancake. The hot pancake will melt the cream & with maple syrup it tastes amazing!  This picture was a bit of an afterthought so it doesn't look pretty, but trust me, this tastes so good!

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Slightly Indulgent Tuesdays and Real Food Wednesdays. 

Pudding & Other Things

This post is a part of Tuesday Twister at GNOWFGLINS.

I have tried out several new recipes in the past week & while I won't share all of them with you now, I will be soon!  The first one was Andrea's Coconut Milk Vanilla Pudding.  I'm normally not one to make pudding because it requires standing & stirring over the stove: I'm too much of a multi-tasker to stand for that!  (Translation: I walk away from the stove & it burns or curdles.)  But for the sake of my son, who loves vanilla pudding, I gave it a go.

First you combine 3 Tbsp. honey, 1 Tbsp. arrowroot, and a dash of salt in a small pan.  Whisk in 1 can of regular coconut milk and one egg yolk.
You bring it to a simmer, stirring & scraping constantly, over medium high heat, then reduce to medium and continue cooking & stirring til pudding "coats the back of a spoon" (I never can tell what that means, but since she also said "two minutes" I just did that).

I think I stopped cooking mine too soon because it never did thicken up (I thought it would set up in the fridge).  It was very tasty, but my son rejected it because of the coconut flavor.  Oh well, more for me!  It was quite sweet & next time I will try dropping the amount of honey down to 2 Tbsp.

Makes 4 servings.  Now if I was really cool these would have been in matching containers, but since I was behind on the dishes then you get what you get!

I have also been trying out some new recipes for different greens this week: kale, spinach, even rainbow chard (which I had never tasted or bought before in my life).

 I didn't buy that much- just once bunch. Photo credit to Alex (eflon)

I ordered the greens from our produce co-op and went right over to allrecipes.com to see what I could find.  I tried two different highly rated recipes with the chard and have to tell you that both of those were rejects- no more chard!  But I found a way of cooking kale (or spinach) that my daughter loves & now she is actually asking me to cook kale everyday- seriously!  Who would have thought?  I will share more of our "green" adventures tomorrow.

For my final Tuesday Twister thought, I'd like to share a picture with you that I will entitle "I thought it wouldn't happen to me"

This picture was taken in my freezer.  This is my chicken broth.  Do you see the little shards of glass next to the container?  Yes, I thought it wouldn't happen to me.  I had heard stories of glass shattering in the freezer, but I thought if I left enough room for expansion everything would be fine...  Maybe I didn't leave enough room this time.  This could be interesting, I imagine when I thaw it I will put it in a fine strainer & catch any glass shards?  Or do you think it's not worth it?

Here's hoping you enjoy your kitchen adventures this week!
Lisa

P.S.  You'll notice over on the right hand side of my blog is a white box that says "Feeling Overwhelmed?" and it links to the ecourse at GNOWFGLINS.  This is different than the Online Cooking Class from the Nourished Kitchen, whose banner is running at the top of my blog.

Wardeh (of GNOWFGLINS) has felt compelled to offer her ecourse on a donation only basis.  This is a step of faith that I highly respect, and I hope that everyone who takes her course realizes the hours and hours of her time that she has put into the curriculum.  Blessings Wardeh!

Cookies... for breakfast?

If you're of my generation that line may bring back memories of Saturday morning commercials for a certain sugar filled cereal...  but what we've got going here is a whole different animal!  Last week I had some soured milk that I needed to use up and I felt like making something different for breakfast.  I decided to try out the recipe for Breakfast Cookies at Heavenly Homemakers.

Since I started cooking with soaked grains I have been missing cookies something terrible!  The only cookie recipes I have found either require sprouted flour or are macaroons (nothing against macaroons, but it's not quite the cookie experience I was craving).  The first time I made this recipe I soaked it for 12 hours, the second time was closer to 24 (which is much better for you).

"Soaked" Oatmeal Cookies
Makes about 50 cookies (unless you make giant ones)

The recipe calls for 1 c. melted butter, but I melted 1/2 c. butter with 1/2 c. coconut oil.  Stir that together with 2 c. flour and 2 c. oats, then add in about 1/2 to 3/4 c. of  buttermilk (I added a tablespoon of kefir to my soured milk to make sure it was cultured).  You want to mix well so that everything is moistened & you will have something that is a very thick oatmeal consistency.

Cover and let sit for 12 to 24 hours.  For the next step you better get ready, because you are going to get a good arm workout!  What was oatmeal consistency has now become much more cement-like!  Use a sturdy spoon to start breaking it up.  I added the 2 eggs & 1 t. vanilla at this point, as well as 1/2 c. honey (the recipe calls for 3/4 c., but because these were for breakfast I didn't want them too sweet) & I began to work that moisture into the dough.

Eventually it will begin to get smooth and you can add a teaspoon each of salt, cinnamon, and baking soda.  Once that is thoroughly mixed in add 1 c. raisins (my raisins were low so I only had 1/2 c.).  Preheat your oven to 350 and get out your cookie sheets & parchment paper (optional).  I was using a cookie scoop, so my cookies were not "giant" like the original recipe.  I filled two very large cookie sheets and baked them one sheet at a time for 15 minutes each.

Oh, my cookie scoop, how I missed you!  You have no idea how delighted I was to make cookies again!

If you use the full 3/4 c. honey your cookies will not be as firmly rolled as these are (and when I made almond butter ones they were much looser & spread much more).  When they are done you get a light & fluffy cookie.  But the real fun was when my daughter (who did not know what was for breakfast) got a whiff of them baking and said, "What is that smell?"  When I got to tell her, "Breakfast Cookies," her whole face lit up!  Priceless.

These are healthy so if you want to serve them for breakfast, go ahead, but I would use them as a side with some other protein item (bacon & egg, whole milk yogurt, etc.) to really start your day right.

Now we get to have cookies again- hurray!  I even made almond butter cookies (with the full 3/4 c. honey) for my husband's birthday celebration & they were well liked.  Even with 3/4 c. honey they are still not overly sweet, which is great for us.  These are handy for dessert, after school, or as a quick on-the-go snack.

Almond Butter or Peanut Butter Variation: substitute 1 c. almond or peanut butter for the 1 c. butter/coconut oil, omit cinnamon, optional: add 1/2 c. chopped almonds or peanuts
 In case you're wondering, I did include the almond butter with the oats & flour that "soaked" for 24 hours.  I did not try almond extract instead of vanilla, but you might want to if you're using almond butter.  This batter will spread more, so make sure to space them 2" apart on your cookie sheet.

(Suggested) Apple Spice Variation: subsitute 1 c. finely chopped apples for the raisins, add 1/8 to 1/4 t. ground nutmeg (I have not tried this yet but I think it would work great!  I'll let you know soon!)

Chocolate or Carob Chip Cookies: this is the one my son can't wait for- use chocolate or carob chips instead of raisins, omit cinnamon (or leave in depending on preference)

Do you have any other ideas for variations on this cookie?  How about a tropical version- use 1/2 c. shredded coconut & 1/2 c. tropical dried fruit, instead of raisins, and a different extract instead of vanilla?  Have some fun!

Tomorrow will be my post on making homemade pear sauce (or syrup) in the crockpot.
This post is a part of Real Food Wednesday.

Enjoy,
Lisa

P.S.  Have you seen Food, Inc?  Did you know it is premiering on TV tonight on PBS?  Check your local listings, in my area it is on at 9pm.  Then watch it, record it, DVR it, or Tivo it.  Tweet about it, update your facebook status, email your friends, talk about it and get people watching & learning!  If you want to talk about it after you watch it you can visit my Food, Inc. post to comment & discuss there.  I am sure that change can happen if people learn & begin to care about what they feed themselves!

Homemade "Mounds" or "Almond Joy" Candy

The other day my husband came home from work & saw my computer open to a page on The Nourishing Gourmet that featured a picture of her homemade "Mounds" candy.  Right away hubby started talking about how good they looked- and when I looked at the ingredients I thought, "I can make those!"  So I did  :)  Have you tried them yet?  If you like coconut & chocolate- you must!  They are UH-MAZE-ING!  If I had an award to give, I would certainly give her one for this recipe.

I used a mini muffin pan, so the recipe made 24 candies.  I used 2 "crispy" almonds in each one (you could do 3, or use chopped), so you would need at least 48 almonds this way.  Here's my 1 1/3 coconut in the bowl (I used unsweetened shredded instead of flaked) along with the teaspoon almond extract and 1/4 c. honey & 1/2 c. coconut oil that I melted in pot of hot water.  You don't have to use muffin liners & may not want to- I will go into that more...  Using almonds make these more of an "Almond Joy", but because it is a dark chocolate, not milk chocolate, it's kind of a "Mounds" & "Almond Joy" hybrid.

OK, so my 6 year old son is a camera fiend & he took this picture of me furiously stirring up my coconut/honey/oil mixture (and then he took 20 of the dog).  Sometimes his pictures actually turn out & I am so thankful for the "delete" button on digital cameras (as well as the fact that the sink of dirty dishes is behind me where you can't see it)!

Here is the coconut mixture sitting on top of the almonds. Next it goes into the freezer for 30 minutes, and you can work on the chocolate mixture (or spend some time deleting pictures from your digital camera).

Here is the coconut oil, tablespoon vanilla, scant 1/4 c. honey and 3/4 c. cocoa powder getting mixed together.  I want you to know I was almost out of coconut oil, so I only used 3/4 c. instead of the 1 c. called for & it still turned out great.  In fact this chocolate mixture is more than great, it's so-good-I-have-to-lick-the-bowl-clean great!

Oh yeah!  There it is- can you believe that ingredients this simple can make something this awesome?  Now, if you are using paper liners you have an extra step here- you have to remove the paper liners before you put the chocolate layer on- you see the cups are so full that the chocolate will run over the top & around your paper liners.  Not good.  So, why use paper liners?  Well, if you notice in my picture below my candies ended up looking "chocolate dipped" because the paper liners are smaller than the muffin cups, they freeze that way & then the chocolate goes all around them.  So, if that look is important to you- go for it- otherwise skip the paper liners!  By the way, if you use a tablespoon to measure the chocolate mixture on each candy it should work out just right.  Freeze for another 30 minutes or so, wait patiently, until...

My husband took one bite of these and said, "These are way better than Almond Joy!"  My daughter (11 year old milk-chocolate-loving-sweet-toothed one) said, "These aren't sweet enough" and as she was finishing it she said, "Can I have another one?"  LOL- yes!  Kimi says to store these in the freezer but we put them in a container & they store well in the refrigerator.

WARNING: these candies may cause serious cravings & consuming thoughts of... MORE!

Enjoy!
Lisa

This post is a part of Fight Back Friday at Food Renegade

Good Morning Bread Pudding

I shared with you how I recently tried out the recipe for Multi-Grain Sourdough Bread.  There was a problem though: this bread is made with leftover oatmeal and the leftover oatmeal I had contained chai spices (cinnamon, cardamom, cloves, etc.)  Somehow, the combination of sourdough flavor and chai flavor just did not work!  As I looked at that loaf of bread last night, I thought, "What do I do with this?"  And then I decided it would work perfectly in bread pudding for breakfast- and very convenient since I had no idea what we were going to eat for breakfast either!

I originally found this recipe for Bread Pudding shortly after I first tried to make the "soaked" muffins from Nourishing Traditions.  They were a huge failure- dry & tasteless.  Rather than throw them out (which I was tempted to do) I made them into bread pudding & the resulting breakfast was wonderful!  Now, as I experiment with sourdough baking I have had a few more occasions to turn a failed loaf of bread into a delicious breakfast.  I have adjusted the recipe a little bit & I put it together the night before so when I get up in the morning I can just put it in the oven to bake.

The recipe calls for sugar- what I use is turbinado sugar because our family seems to tolerate it well.  You could also try Sucanat.  Normally I use raisins in this recipe, but because I've been eating raisins all week in my No Bake Granola Bars I decided to use blueberries instead.  I pulled the blueberries straight out of the freezer & they thawed overnight in the pudding.  I also saw I had some sliced almonds & decided they would be nice sprinkled on top. 

Good Morning Bread Pudding  :  Serves about 6

6 slices day old bread, cubed
2 Tablespoons butter, melted
1/2 cup raisins or blueberries (fresh or frozen)
4 eggs
2 cups milk
1/2 c. sugar (scant- could go closer to 1/3)
1 heaping teaspoon cinnamon
1 teaspoon vanilla

Optional: sliced almonds, whipping cream

Place bread in 8x8 inch pan (mine was being used for granola bars so I used an oval casserole dish instead).  Drizzle melted butter over the top of all the pieces of bread.  Sprinkle with raisins or blueberries.

In a mixing bowl combine eggs, milk, sugar, cinnamon, and vanilla.  Beat until well mixed.  Pour slowly & evenly over the bread.  Lightly push down on bread to make sure it is covered & soaking in the egg mixture. 

If using almonds, sprinkle these on top.  Cover and place in refrigerator.
In the morning uncover dish & place directly in oven.  Turn oven on to 360 (do not preheat) and bake for approximately 50-60 minutes.  Middle of the dish will rise from the steam coming up from underneath & then go back down as it cools.

Here is our finished dish.  When I pulled it out this morning it smelled wonderful.  Then I thought, "This would be great with some whipped cream!"  I just happened to have some cream & whipped up about 1 c. of cream with some stevia to sweeten (alternately you could use maple syrup to sweeten the whipped cream).  My husband gave it a thumbs up & my daughter said it tasted like blueberry pie!

If you make this in the morning instead of the night before, I would suggest preheating your oven to 350 and baking for 45 - 60 minutes.  This post is a part of Pennywise Platter Thursday because you are making a meal out of something (stale or failed bread) you might otherwise throw away.  And it's sooo good!  Enjoy!

Blessings,
Lisa

Exploding Toaster Ovens & "Girl" Talk

This post is a part of the Tuesday Twister Blog Carnival at Gnowfglins

and Gratituesday at Heavenly Homemakers

Just so I'm not accused of being over-dramatic, I should say that my toaster oven did not explode with a "BOOM!".  What did happen was very strange though.  We've had this toaster oven since Christmas.  I asked for it so we could avoid microwave use.  The reasons why are listed out for you here.  So, on Friday I was cooking some hot dogs for my son in there (uncured hot dogs, thank you very much Trader Joe's for no nitrates!)  When I heard the "tinkeling" sound of a lot of glass shattering in the kitchen.  What I found was this

The entire glass door had spontaneously shattered into tiny pieces.  Every last bit.  There were a couple of pieces that were even all the way across the kitchen floor.  So bizarre!  Thankfully no one was near it when it happened.  A friend reminded me to check the CPSC website to see if it had been recalled- it hadn't but I did file a report on what happened.  Kind of ironic that I started using a toaster oven to be "safer" and then this happens!  We took it back to the store and got a different toaster oven- no more Black & Decker ones for me!

One thing I have been enjoying in my kitchen this week has been these oh-so-good Healthy Grain Free Brownies.  The first time I made these they were thin & dense, but still very good.  Then I saw another similar recipe at Just Making Noise.  The difference was more eggs, more coconut oil, more salt & vanilla, and 2 T. coffee substitute.  I decided to morph the two recipes (and not use coffee substitute in mine) and the result was a wonderful soft fudgy treat!  I used the Healthy Grain Free Brownie recipe and used 3 jumbo eggs (you could use 4), between 1/3 & 1/2 c. coconut oil, and the extra vanilla.  Now the bittersweet chocolate I'm using was strong- about 84-90% cacao bars from Theo.  The great thing about their bars, besides being fair traded and organic, is that they do not contain soy.  Just cocoa beans, sugar, cocoa butter, and vanilla beans.  The way it should be!  But because the flavor is so strong, and I wanted to make sure all the flavors blended together, I melted the coconut oil and chocolate together before adding to the batter.  It turned out great!

I feel good having this kind of treat because: lots of good for you ingredients & no grains (most of us consume way too many).  Both black beans and dark chocolate are high in magnesium.  Magnesium is helpful for women when we are PMSing- maybe that's why we crave chocolate?  I'm about to delve into some "Girl Talk" here- so guys beware.  :)  When I was a teenager I never had PMS.  No cramps, no irritability, nothing.  Then, when I got married at age 20, I went on hormonal birth control.  Suddenly I had headaches & all the other PMS stuff.  I was only on birth control for about 6 months, but my hormones never were right again after that.  Fast forward 18 years to 2010.  Every single cycle I have 2 weeks of PMS and then I have to take Ibuprofin to manage the painful cramps when my cycle begins, and this is how it has been for 18 years.  That is, up until last month.  Last month I had one day pre-cycle where I was feeling irritable, so I upped my intake of magnesium foods (black beans, dark chocolate, almonds) and felt better the next day.  During my cycle itself I felt light "twinges" but no cramping really.  Nothing that was enough to interrupt my day.  I could hardly believe it!  It was amazing!

We have made so many changes to our diet I can't tell you what I should attribute this too.  Soaking grains?  Raw milk?  Kefir?  Eliminating processed foods?  I have no idea.  But I am delighted & thankful!

Here's to your health journey too.

Blessings,
Lisa