Energy Bars

I’m not sure that any of us really need any more energy, in the sense of calories, in our lives! The calorie is easy to find around these parts, but it is nice to have a treat now and then. I’ve been making way too many of these, so trust me, if you want to put on weight, this is what you should eat. These are very densely packed calorie bombs that will surely keep you moving if you know what’s good for you! This would be a great snack to carry with the road bike crew or mega run in prep for a marathon. Of course, a bite or two for your average teacher is a good thing too! These are stored in the freezer and best to eat when frozen.

Ingredients:

Chocolate Coconut Banana

• 2 cups Medjool dates
• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1/2 cup raw almonds
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• pinch of sea salt
• 1 banana
• 1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut

Chocolate Cherry

• 1 cup Medjool dates
• 2 cups dried cherries
• 2 cups raw almonds
• 1/2 cup unsweetened grated coconut
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• pinch of sea salt

Apricot Orange

• 1 cup Medjool dates
• 1 cup dried pineapple
• 2 cups dried apricots
• 2 cups raw cashews
• 2 mandarine oranges zested and juiced
• a pinch of sea salt

Lemon Coconut

• 1 cup Medjool dates
• 1 cup dried pineapple
• 1 banana
• 1 cup unsweetened grated coconut
• 2 cups raw cashews
• 2 lemons zested and juiced
• a pinch of sea salt

Orange Cinnamon Chocolate Apricot

• 2 1/2 cups dried apricot
• 2 cups Medjool dates
• 2 cups raw cashews
• 1/8 cup nutritional yeast
• 1 cup cocoa powder
• 3/4 cup sprouted and dried buckwheat groats
• 1/2 cup dried pineapple
• 2 clementines zested and juiced
• 1/2 tsp. sea salt
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Directions: Add all ingredients to a food processor and pulse until the mixture comes together. If the mixture is too dry, add more dates or a dash of water. Pour the mixture onto parchment paper to form a flattened square. A pastry blade is helpful to shape the edges. Wrap in parchment and place in a baking pan in the freezer. When frozen cut into one-inch cubes and store in the freezer.

Plum Galette

Do you ever wonder what happened to good old-fashioned pie? Do you occasionally crave it, then find the slice that sits in front of you to be woefully inadequate? What happened to that thick slice of pie chock full of fresh fruit with a richly flavored, not-too-dry yet flaky crust?  I sometimes dream of that pie, but so often forget it can’t be found in a bakery. We can all find lots of mediocre pie at chain restaurants and grocery stores but if you want to find the real thing, you might be looking forever. Perhaps some nice old Finish lady in Northern Minnesota could hook you up, but if you’re looking in a store or pastry shop, you’re probably out of luck. I feel bad for kids these days because I don’t think they’ll ever know what pie really is. There is just something about old-fashioned pie that can’t be replicated in the bakery kitchen.

Having grown up with a nice old Finish lady to show me the ropes, there are a few things I know. First, butter is a must. I am a practicing vegan except when it comes to pie – no margarine allowed. The dough has to be cold, cold, cold so leave it in the fridge for a good long rest before you roll it. And finally, don’t roll your crust too thin. It’s just a beautiful thing to eat a slice of pie from tip to crust – to end with a generous chunk of flaky dough lightly kissed with caramelized fruit juices and sugar. Mmm mmm!

I know that one problem with pie is that it seems too difficult. So many of us just don’t have the time anymore, so I made a galette instead of pie. Galette is a fairly easy alternative allowing for free form rather than fussing with a pie pan and crimping edges. Fortunately, with a galette, we still get that old-fashioned sense of the pie!

Ingredients:

Crust: For a really clear and easy-to-follow recipe, see Elise’s directions at Simply Recipes.

Filling:

• 6 red plums
• 2 Tbs. flour
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 lemon juiced
• 1 beaten egg
• turbinado sugar

Directions:

1. Preheat oven 350 degrees.
2. Cut the plums either into small chunks or thin slices. Place them in a mixing bowl.
3. Add flour, sugar, nutmeg and lemon juice and mix.
4. Roll out the pie crust to about 1/8 inch and place on parchment covered cookie sheet.
5. pour plum mixture into center of pie crust. Push all the plums together into a tidy flat circle.
6. Fold the pie crust up over the plums crimping the dough where it doubles over itself.
7. Brush the dough with the egg wash and then sprinkle with turbinado sugar.
8. Bake for about 50 minutes until the dough is browned.

Honey Brittle Nut Bars

These bad boys fall into the dessert category for me, so I wouldn’t normally encourage anyone to have such treats around the house, but my dad’s honey is just the most amazing thing, and I wanted to come up with a way to really highlight its sweetness.

In an effort the last few months to stay away from grains, raw almonds have found their way into our pantry along with a few other nuts and seeds like cashews, pumpkin and sunflower. Apparently when eaten in small quantities, these powerhouses of life provide healthy fats, omega-3 as well as a myriad of other vitamins and minerals. That is when they are raw. Turning them into dessert by toasting them probably diminishes much of the health benefits. Regardless, these brittle bars are a really tasty snack made from all whole foods. If anything, they are a good source of energy for your average marathoner or long-distance biker. Since Jeff completed 72 miles this morning, I think I’ll encourage him to have a few of these!

Once these cool, they do become brittle, however as they rise to room temperature the honey begins to soften. I would recommend cutting them and storing them in the freezer in an airtight container.

Ingredients

• 1 Tbs. coconut oil
• 3/4 cup honey
• 2 cups whole almonds
• 1 cup whole cashews
• 1 cup hulled pumpkin seeds
• 1/2 cup sunflower seeds
• 1 cup large flake coconut
• 1 tsp. flaked kosher salt

Directions:

In a non-reactive sauce pan slowly melt the coconut oil. Add the honey and bring it to a simmer. Stir frequently and allow the mixture to simmer for about ten minutes.

While the honey simmers, toast the nuts separately as the small ones will burn if you try to toast them together. After each batch is toasted pour them out onto plates to cool in a single layer.

Once the nuts are all toasted and the honey has simmered and evaporated for ten minutes, pour the honey mixture over the nuts and mix well.

Pour the mixture out into a 9×9 square baking pan lined with parchment paper. The bars will be about an inch thick in this pan. Use another sheet of parchment on top to press the mixture firmly together.

Place in the refrigerator to cool.

Cut into squares and store in airtight container in freezer.

Rhubarb Sorbet with Garden Herbs

Here’s the local beat in Minnesota right now: mint busting out of its pots and rhubarb galore! Why not have a tart little midsummer cool-down treat.

Ingredients:

• 4 cups rhubarb, very thinly sliced
• 1 cup water
• 1 cup sugar
• 3 large sprigs mint
• 1 sprig oregano
• 1 Tbs. triple sec
• 1 Tbs. Grenadine Syrup

Directions:

1. Simmer rhubarb, water, sugar and herb sprigs until the rhubarb is soft and begins to break down.
2. Refrigerate until the mixture cools.
3. Remove herb sprigs.
4. Puree mixture and add triple sec and Grenadine.
5. Freeze in ice cream maker.
6. Transfer to freezer container an allow to freeze for at least four hours.

Lemon Spice Cookies

This idea came to me from a series of insignificant coincidences that formed a dream. California lemons in the fridge, a lemon bar from the Birchwood at the 2 x 2 lecture series with the folks from Locus Architecture, a cookie craving and coriander. I woke up the other day, with the perfect lemon spice cookie recipe floating around in my head.

I knew I would base the recipe on my favorite chewy gingersnap recipe from The Joy of Cooking, but with lemony spices instead of molasses and cloves. I would use lemon zest, lemon grass, ground coriander and ground ginger. To lighten the color of the cookie, I replaced the molasses with honey. I was hoping for the crinkle effect of a gingersnap, but for some scientific reason, that did not occur. Does anyone know why not? I used baking soda and vinegar…does the chemical reaction needed to make cracks involve molasses?

I’ll include the original gingersnap recipe below as well. If you love chewy cookies, it’s an amazing recipe.

Ingredients:

Makes 4 dozen cookies

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1/2 cup honey
• 2 tsp. white vinegar
• 2 tsp. vanilla
• zest 1 lemon
• juice 1 lemon
• 1 Tbs. finely pureed lemon grass (I used Gourmet Garden Lemon Grass prepared product)
• 2 tsp. ground coriander
• 2 tsp. ground ginger
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 3 3/4 cup all-purpose flour

Directions:

Preheat oven 325 degrees.

Cream together the butter and sugar. Add all the other ingredients except the flour and mix well using a hand or stand mixer. The last step is to add the flour and mix together well.

Form dough into 1-inch balls. Bake on a cookie sheet for 12-15 minutes. When the cookies cool, cover them with sifted powdered sugar.

Gingersnaps from the Joy of Cooking

Preheat oven to 325 degrees

Cream together:

• 3/4 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar

Stir in:

• 2 well-beaten eggs
• 1/2 cup molasses
• 2 tsp. vinegar

Sift and add:

• 3 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
• 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
• 2 to 3 tsp. ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp. cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp. cloves

Mix ingredients until blended. Form dough into 3/4 inch balls. Roll the balls in sugar. Bake on a greased cookie sheet about 12-15 minutes.

Carrot Ginger Mini Scones

I’m not much of a breakfast food person. I know. Amazing. How can that be? Doesn’t everybody love breakfast? I’m just not a fan of sweet food in general, let alone for breakfast, and I really don’t like eggs much. I enjoy the occasional stack of homemade pancakes or waffles or a fresh bagel with peanut butter, but if I am going to indulge in a huge mid-morning meal, I like it to be Mexican – breakfast burritos, chilaquiles, quesadillas – I like it spicy and FLAVORFUL.

These scones fit the flavorful bill. Made with basil, ginger and lemon zest, they are fresh, sparkly and surprising -  decadent companion to a Spring Brunch menu.

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups rolled oats
• zest of 2 lemons
• juice of 2 lemons
• 1 cup soymilk
• 3 medium carrots, grated
• Fresh basil, chopped (about a handful)
• 1-inch chunk fresh ginger, minced

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pulse together in a food processor the butter, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Pour mixture into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir it all together until combined then turn out onto a floured counter.

Gently form dough into a ball and flatten into a fat disk. Cut the disk into four sections. Work with one section at a time. Form one section of the dough into a ball, and flatten into a disk about 6 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 8 wedges and place them on a cookie sheet. Repeat with the other three balls of dough. You will end up with 32 mini scones. Bake for 25 minutes, or until the bottoms have browned.

Strawberry Crusted Mojito Pie

Looks good, doesn’t it? Well it wasn’t!

The kitchen gods appear to be out to get me today, and because of that I suffered a few minor disasters: I blew out the blender, cut the tip of my finger off, felt tired while cooking, served food cold that was meant to be hot, and to top it all off, my never-fails Mexican Montage all tasted, um I’m not sure the word…weird. Everything just tasted strange. Old-hat menu items came out tasting funky. I was feeling in a funk. Did the food pick up on that? I thought it might just be me and my taste buds, so I checked with Jeff and he agreed, “Yeah, everything was just okay!” Confirmed.

Why did this happen to me? Are they using some kind of strange gas in the trucks that transport from California? Is it that I am picking up on the regional flavor of California March Fresh (apparently not a good flavor)? Is it that the produce I used was not organic? Something I did only for purposes of convenience, and apparently a BIG mistake! What happened? Did the food turn out mediocre because I was having an off day, or was it the produce?

The best thing on the menu was dessert. We enjoyed Strawberry Crusted Mojito Ice Cream Cake, but even that suffered the day’s revenge of the kitchen gods! My strawberry crust was too crumbly, and the whipped cream topping (omitted from the picture) looked brown. How do I appease the gods? What have I done wrong?

Strawberry Crusted Mojito Pie

Ingredients:

• 1.5 quarts Alden’s Organic Vanilla Bean Ice Cream
• 1 handful fresh mint leaves
• 1 can frozen lemonade concentrate
• zest of 1 lime
• 2 Tbs. Creme de Menthe
• 4 cups frozen strawberries
• 1/2 cup coconut, toasted
• 1/2 cup pistachios, roasted, salted and crushed

Directions: Let the ice cream and the lemonade concentrate soften a bit before you take this on unless you want to blow out your blender motor. Place the lemonade concentrate in the blender first followed by the mint, lime zest, creme de menthe and ice cream. Pulse the ingredients until it looks like a malt.

Pour the mixture into a bundt pan and freeze. Allow the pie to set up for about an hour and then add the strawberry crust. Pulse the frozen strawberries in the food processor and then spread on top of the ice cream layer. Let the pie freeze for at least six hours.

To remove the ice cream cake from the bundt pan, immerse for a few seconds in a bowl filled with hot water, then place a serving plate on top of the bundt pan and flip it over. Allow the cake to firm another hour in the freezer before serving. Serve topped with toasted coconut and roasted pistachios.

Heart Healthy Goody Bars

Cruisin’ through some of my favorite food sites tonight, I stumbled on Cafe Cyan’s Heart Healthiest Chocolate Chip Cookie post. I usually just breeze over baked goods, but she caught my attention talking about how walnuts and oats are usually not allowed to contaminate her sacred cookie. Having the same sentiment and intrigued by the recipe, I clicked to the link originally posted in Vegetarian Times, and was surprised to find that these cookies are actually a full-on vegan option-concoction. I immediately noticed no eggs and no butter. Instead, walnuts are processed with a little canola oil to make a walnut butter which replaces the traditional egg, sugar and butter base for the cookies. Anything to get rid of eggs, and I’m a happy girl!

So, how are they heart healthy? I think it’s all about fiber that helps to lower bad cholesterol, whole grain nutrients are rich in rolled oats, and this one has the added benefit of no cane sugar. But really, don’t treats like these just make you fall in love with whoever baked them? They make the old heart go pitter-pat!

For some reason, the original recipe calls to dissolve brown sugar in a saucepan with water and then cool it, but that would take too much time for this lazy lounge lizard. I opted for agave nectar to replace the sugar, and also cut some serious corners in the time department by baking bars and not cookies. It took about eight minutes to whip up the batter and twelve minutes to bake. I also added a little flaxmeal to make it even heart healthier. These babies are moist and delicious! Thanks to Crystal for the motivation! I know Jeff really appreciats the treats.

Dry Ingredients:

• 2 cups rolled oats, whipped to a fine powder in the processor
• 1 tsp. baking soda
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon
• 1/2 cup ground flaxmeal
• 2 cup rolled oats
• 12 oz. bag chocolate chips

Wet Ingredients:

• 2 cups walnuts, ground to smithereens in a food processor
• 3-4 Tbs. oil
• 1 cup agave nectar
• 2 tsp. vanilla

Here’s How:

Preheat oven 350 degrees.

Process two cups of rolled oats until they are finely ground like flour. Pulse in the baking soda, salt, cinnamon and flaxmeal. Remove the dry ingredients to a mixing bowl.

Next, place the walnuts in the food processor and turn it on. While the processor runs, drizzle in the oil until it starts to look like creamy peanut butter. While it runs add the vanilla and agave nectar. Scrape the wet ingredients into the ground oats mixture and stir together. Add the 2 cups of oats and chips and fold together.

Spread the mixture into a greased 9×13 baking pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 12 minutes until the bars brown on top. Let them cool, si se puedes, or eat them up warm!

Spanish Lesson: si se puedes = if you can

Clementine Cranberry Scones

I’m not a big fan of having baked goods around the house, but the smell of Clementines and the fresh yogurt in the fridge prompted me in the direction of scones. These are based on Heidi Swanson’s rendition of Romney Steele’s recipe from her new cookbook, My Nepenthe. These light and intensely flavorful scones are chock-full of whole grain goodness, have very little sugar, but are loaded with butter…choose your battles!

Ingredients:

• 3 cups whole wheat pastry flour
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 1 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup (2 sticks) cold butter, cut into small pieces
• 2 cups rolled oats
• zest of 2 Clementines
• juice of 2 Clementines
• 1 cup plain yogurt
• 1/3 cup dried cranberries, chopped

Directions:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Pulse together in a food processor the butter, flour, baking powder and baking soda. Pour mixture into a bowl and add the remaining ingredients. Stir it all together until combined then turn out onto a floured counter. Gently form the dough into a ball, and flatten into a disk about 10 inches in diameter and 1 inch thick. Use a sharp knife to cut into 12 wedges. Place the wedges on a cookie sheet and bake for 20 minutes, or until the bottoms have browned.

Yogurt

“You could make your own yogurt.” I know what those words mean, but always assumed it would mean investing in lots of elaborate and expensive equipment that would ultimately sit in the back of one of my cupboards only to be used once or twice a year. I never thought making yogurt would be simple. I thought it would be “simple” like canning 200 quarts of tomatoes is easy – not! Well, how wrong I have been.

First, I read through lots of yogurt maker reviews, then I found a bunch of sites about making yogurt, and a clear picture began to form in my head. Get some milk, heat it until it begins to froth, turn it off and let it cool down until it feels the same as a hot tub, add a spoonful of good quality yogurt, mix it all together and put it in the oven at 100 degrees over night. Now that is truly easy! In the morning take it out of the oven and the next day you can enjoy fresh tangy yogurt.

To make yogurt, you simply need to add a spoonful of premade yogurt with live cultures. I used Brown Cow brand and decided to freeze it in little glumps for future yogurt making adventures. This is my answer to having no ice-cube trays! Once it was frozen, I tossed the blobs into labeled freezer containers.

The new yogurt went into a covered Pyrex container overnight in the oven at 100 degrees…pretty slick! Not nearly the work involved in canning, and no unneccessary supplies!

Coconut Almond Granola

For many years, Jeff and Max and I have vacationed on the Mexican Riviera. We have found that the “All Inclusive” is a great way to go for a vegetarian family. The all-inclusive hotels put out amazing spreads everyday, and there are always lots of options for the vegetarian. Max particularly loves the all-inclusive buffet because he can see what he is going to eat and everything is separate; something that is very important for kids.

Last year while we were in Akumal Jeff surprised me with his breakfast choice. He began to eat granola with yogurt and fresh fruit. I don’t know why that surprised me other than the fact that  granola was never a thing we ate nor was yogurt ever added to the grocery list. When we returned to the states, granola and yogurt became staples in our house…and our food bill went up. There is some fantastic organic granola at the co-op, but by the time the bag is full, I have a ten-dollar item. After a few weeks of this, it suddenly dawned on me that I could probably make granola for a little less at home.

Rolled or steel-cut oats are inexpensive as is quinoa, flax seed and oil, but the nuts and sweetener can be expensive. To make a less expensive granola, I have had to resort to Costco bulk -  the almonds, and agave in plastic bottles from Costco, lessen the cost.

Note: Co-ops try to buy things like agave nectar and salad dressings in glass bottles for environmental and food safety purposes. Perhaps Surly will help usher in an increased awareness of aluminum as a better food packaging alternative.

Thanks to Heidi Swanson over at Cookbooks 101, I came to understand how granola is ridiculously easy to make, and once you get the hang of it, your granola will become more creative. Jeff loves the almond coconut combination, but doesn’t like dried fruit. If you are a dried fruit friend, add it to the granola after it is baked and cooled.

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried coconut, unsweetened
• 1/2 cup quinoa
• 1/2 cup whole flax seeds
• 8 cups rolled or steel-cut oats
• 2 cups whole almonds
• 1/4 cup canola oil
• 1 cup agave nectar
• 1 Tbs. Amaretto
• splash of water

Directions:

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

In a saucepan, heat the oil, agave nectar and Amaretto until it begins to simmer.

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a big bowl and add the liquids. I use a splash of water so there will be a few big chunks of granola. It helps bind it together before it gets baked.

Spread the granola out onto two cookie sheets and bake for 45 minutes.

Chestnut Crabby Crisp

What a lovely little blushing princess is this! She’s called the Chestnut Crab, about the size of  a golf ball, just sweet and tart enough for a demure little nibble, with a finish reminiscent of childhood in the tree. The Chestnut is flying off the shelves of your local co-op because folks like Dan Walsh know their pleasures.

You may have met Dan and his family if you visited the Kingfield Farmer’s Market. The Walsh family spends their summer tending heirloom tomatoes, the early spring tapping maple trees and for a few Sundays in the summer, Kingfield can enjoy the fruits of their labor. Dan’s wife, Kathleen is a co-worker of mine – a fellow teacher extraordinaire!

Well, a few weeks back, Dan informed me that the Chestnuts had arrived and I had better hurry if I wanted to indulge. Chestnuts you say…what exactly is the chestnut? He explained simply that they are one of the only edible crab apples and are quite delicious little delicacies. Well, of course, being the (clear throat here) foodie that I am, I suddenly had an urgent need to acquire some Chestnut Crabs, so off to the co-op I went.

Lo and behold, Dan was right. There, amidst the apples was a small section with a tag labeled, “Chestnut Crabs,” but there were no tiny lovelies to be had, boo hoo. I immediately inquired as to their whereabouts and was quickly reassured that they were just coming out of the cooler! Whew. Once the box of little crabbies was wheeled to the produce section, I had my pick. I packaged my two pounds and off I went to make a pie…

Four weeks later…

Apple pie turned to apple crisp! It’s Wednesday after all, I have the math tests yet to correct this evening, report cards are waiting in the wings, and a mock-up of this week’s art lesson is pounding on the door – not to mention that I better get started thinking about next week, or I’ll be planning lessons all weekend.

Yes, I am busy, but not without a little creative energy. Tonight’s apple crisp has a few surprises. First and foremost it is sweetened entirely with the Walsh family maple syrup from the spring of 2009. The demure little Chestnut Crabs also share their quarters with a large diced beet, some blueberries from last summer, a little amaretto glaze and chopped almonds to top it off. Not your average crisp. This one is hearty and not too sweet.

Chestnut Crabby Crisp – Ingredients

Filling:

• 2 pounds Chestnut Crabs, cored and sliced
• 2 cups blueberries
• 1 cup roasted beets, diced
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• 2 Tbs. Amaretto

Topping:

• 2 cups oats
• 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
• 1 cup chopped almonds
• 6 Tbs. canola oil
• 1/2 cup maple syrup
• pinch of salt

Coring the Chestnuts is a pain. I tried the old-fashioned method of quartering and cutting out the seeds, and figured that would have taken me until tomorrow. Next I tried the apple cutter, but the skins are too tough to break through. So, I ended up cutting the bottoms off the little apples and that way they went right through the apple slicer. Check it out.

Once you get all the fruit sliced, dump it into a 9 by 13 pan. Sprinkle it with the amaretto and pour the maple syrup over the top.

Mix the crisp topping ingredients in a bowl. The oil and syrup should make the topping stick together slightly. Spread this out over the fruit and bake for 1 hour at 375 degrees. I found out that Chestnut Crabs remain pretty crunchy after baking and so this dish turns out to be pretty hearty – perhaps a good breakfast meal. Enjoy.

Flipped PB and Apple Cake

I don’t know about you, but I love apples with peanut butter. The other day, Max and I were enjoying some fresh-from-the-tree Minnesota Honeycrisps with creamy organic peanut butter, and I started to fantasize about an apple pie. Then I started to dream about an apple pie with peanut butter. Would it be possible? Well, the fantasy survived, but the time to make it never came to fruition. Then last night at about 8:30, I decided to build my creation, but as a cake instead. Time didn’t allow for pie crust.

A while back I made some zucchini bread and after a day, the egg flavor started to come through. I know lots of people adore eggs, but that’s one food item I abhor. I usually don’t mind them hiding in pancakes or other sweet treats, but last night I didn’t want to take my chances, so I created this recipe dairy free. Does that mean I am turning into a vegan?

The cake is dense and moist sprinkled with tart little niblets of apple and topped with a sweet agave caramel. It has all the apple pie spices, but rich overtones of peanut butter. The peanut butter provides protein as well as the garbanzo bean flour I added, and I used agave nectar to cut down on the glycemic index. It got three thumbs up from this household.

Flipped PB and Apple Cake Recipe

Ingredients:

• Canola oil to coat spring form pan
• 1/4 cup agave nectar
• Sprinkle of cinnamon to coat pan

• 2 cups flour, sifted
• 3/4 cup garbanzo bean flour, sifted
• 1 Tbs. baking powder, sifted
• 1 tsp. salt, sifted
• 1 Tbs. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/2 tsp. cloves

• 4 apples, one thinly sliced, the other three diced

• 1 cup peanut butter
• 1 3/4 cup agave nectar
• 1 cup soymilk
• 3 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1) Preheat oven 350 degrees

2) Prepare a non-stick spring form pan. (I did not use parchment paper, but it would probably be a good idea as a few of the apples stuck.) First coat the pan generously with canola oil then sprinkle with cinnamon. Next place sliced apples in a decorative pattern on the bottom of the pan and top with 1/4 cup of agave nectar.

3) Sift and mix all dry ingredients.

4) Mix wet ingredients.

5) Combine the dry ingredients and the wet ingredients and the apples. Pour into pan and bake for 60 minutes.

Spiced Coconut Fudge

I adore coconut. I love chocolate. I am crazy about almonds. I am one of the few who relish over an Almond Joy candy bar. So, I figure, if I make coconut fudge with chocolate and almonds for dessert Saturday night, I’ll get to eat the pieces rejected by coconut dislikers! They don’t know what they are missing!

This is a three-part layered concoction. First you make the coconut fudge, then you toast the almonds and when the whole thing is ready to assemble, you melt the chocolate. Line a pan with parchment and stack the stuff. After it cools, cut the fudge into squares and serve. Watch out! It’s super sweet.

Spiced Coconut Fudge Recipe

Ingredients:

• 1 cup evaporated milk
• 2 cups unsweetened coconut
• 2 cups sugar
• 1/8 tsp. cloves
• 1/8 tsp. nutmeg
• 1/8 tsp. cinnamon
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 3 Tbs. butter
• 1/2 bar semi-sweet chocolate
• 1 cup chopped almonds, toasted

Directions: Place evaporated milk, coconut, sugar, vanilla and spices in a sauce pan on low heat. Bring to a simmer and stir until most of the liquid has evaporated and the mixture is fairly thick. Stir in 2 Tbs. of butter and turn off the heat and let the mixture cool. Once it has cooled to room temperature, you want to give it a good mixing until it is thick and shiny looking.

Meanwhile toast the almonds in a shallow pan on medium heat. Keep them moving so they don’t burn and pour them out onto a plate once you are able to see that they are beginning to brown.

This recipe fits a small square pan 8 x 8 or so and you’ll need to line it with parchment paper. I lined my pans north – south, east – west and left some parchment sticking up so it will be easy to pull the fudge out to cut.

Melt the chocolate on medium heat in the microwave. Watch it carefully so it doesn’t begin to boil or burn. Once it is hot add the other Tbs. of butter and mix it into the chocolate.

Now you are ready to assemble. Pour the coconut fudge into the bottom of the pans and flatten with a spatula. Next drizzle or spread the chocolate over the fudge. Last, cover with toasted almonds. Use the spatula to flatten the top and press the almonds into the mix a little so they don’t fall off the top when the fudge is cut into squares.

Zucchini Bread

It’s not that I don’t like baking, I just can’t stand having sweets around the house. The minute I start eating foods with lots of sugar, I find that I am hungry all the time, or at least find myself thinking about eating more. If I start eating sweets over the course of a couple of days, I find that I am more hungry overall, and then I start gaining weight. I always lose weight in the fall when school starts, but as soon as the Halloween candy comes, the weight starts finding a home again. It feels like a vicious circle, so I try to not even start with sugary things. I find if I keep them totally out of my life, my eating habits can stay in check.

Today when I set out to make zucchini bread, my guilty brain influenced the recipe. “Can’t you take some of that sugar out? Can’t you add something a little more healthy?” the brain asked. Luckily, like many one-pot dishes, sweet breads have a built in slush factor. They are kind of like my friend Kate’s “Garbage Curry.” Anything can go into them and they’ll turn out pretty tasty. I swapped out cane sugar for agave nectar and instead of all white flour, I added some whole wheat, chickpea flour and flax bran. My adaptation lowers the glycemic index, adds protein, fibre and omega 3s.

I looked over many zucchini bread recipes and ultimately used as my base Smitten Kitchen’s adapted recipe. I wanted to keep it pretty simple with the hopes that Maximillian would at least try it! This one is deliciously moist and you’ll notice right away that it’s not too sweet.

Zucchini Bread From Smitten Kitchen
Adapted from several sources

Yield: 2 loaves or approximately 24 muffins

3 eggs
1 cup olive or vegetable oil
1 3/4 cups sugar
2 cups grated zucchini
2 teaspoons vanilla extract
3 cups all-purpose flour
3 teaspoons cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon nutmeg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup chopped walnuts or pecans (optional)
1 cup dried cranberries, raisins or chocolate chips or a combination thereof (optional)

Vegetarian Perspective’s Rearrangement of the Zucchini Bread Recipe

3 eggs

1 cup canola oil

1 1/4 cups agave nectar – lower glycemic level

1 large grated zucchini

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 cup organic all-purpose flour

1 1/2 cups organic whole wheat flour – adds protein

1/2 cup chickpea flour – adds protein

1/2 cup flaxseed meal (Bob’s Red Mill brand) – adds fibre, and Omega-3s

3 teaspoons cinnamon

1/8 teaspoon nutmeg

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon baking powder

1 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Note: I baked this zucchini bread as cake in a 9 x 13 inch cake pan and it only took 35 minutes to bake.