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Raspberry Almond Upside down sponge cake
Ingredients
Raspberry layer
500g frozen raspberries – defrosted (I ended up using 800g!)
1/8 cup caster sugar
Cake layer
250g butter (or 1 package) – softened
2/3 cup caster sugar
2 tspn grated lemon zest (about 1 lemon)
1 vanilla bean – split and seeds scraped
3 eggs
1 cup (150g) plain flour
1 1/2 tspn baking powder
1/2 tspn bicarb soda
1 1/2 cups (180g) almond meal
1 cup (250ml) buttermilkMethod
1. Preheat oven to 180C. Lightly grease and line 24cm round tin.
Insure you use a regular, non-springform cake tin. As the base can leak.
2. Layer raspberries over the base of the prepared tin. Sprinkle 1/4 cup caster sugar all over raspberries and set aside.
3. With an electric mixer or by hand with a fork or wire wisk, in a large mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar, lemon zest and vanilla seeds until pale and creamy. Scrape down the sides of the bowl and add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.
4. In a separate bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and baking soda. Add almond meal.
5. On low speed, slowly add flour mixture and buttermilk to butter mixture. Mix until just combined.
6. Spoon mixture over prepared raspberries and smooth the top with a palette knife (or the back of a spoon).
7. Bake in preheated oven for 45 to 50 minutes, until cooked when tested with a skewer. Allow to cool to room temperature for a couple of hours or until just warm. Invert cake onto serving plate and carefully remove the tin (and stuck on baking paper) to serve.
The original recipe says to cover with foil after 45 minutes and bake for a further 40 to 45 minutes. The original baker didn’t have to do this, but I found that I had to and it turned out perfectly!Followed this recipe almost to the letter:
http://fongolicious.blogspot.co.uk/2012/10/raspberry-almond-upside-down-cake.html
My own touches included topping with a few sprinkles of slivered almonds (see first image) and serving it with ice-cream on the side while still warm (see below).
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Spinach Pie: Simple, fast and fantastic!
main courses | serves 6
1. Preheat the oven to 180C/gas 4.
2. Cook the spinach in a closed pan over a low heat in the water that clings to it after it has been washed and drained. When wilted, remove from the heat, drain, cool, then squeeze out all the water between your palms. Chop.
3. In a bowl, combine the spinach, feta, parsley, dill and beaten egg. Season with pepper. Grease a 20-30cm round baking dish and line with half the filo, brushing each sheet with butter. Add the filling, then top with filo, brushing each sheet with butter. Sprinkle water on top to stop the filo burning OR brush top with egg yolk (which is what I do) and bake for 45 minutes or until top is golden. Serve hot or cold.
• 1kg spinach
• 350g feta, crumbled
• 1 bunch spring onions, chopped
• handful dill, chopped (20-40 g)
• handful of parsley, chopped (25- 50g)
• 2 beaten eggs
• 1 packs filo pastry or 12 sheets of filo, I like a thicker crust on top and bottom which usually calls for 1.5 - 2 packs of filo sheets. I make 6 layers for the bottom and 6 on top.
• Melted butter
adapted from:
http://www.jamieoliver.com/magazine/recipes-view.php?title=spinach-pieToday I halved this recipie:
• 400 g of spinach or two large packages
• 1/2 package of feta or about 100-125 g
• handful of dill, chopped 20g
• handful of parsley, chopped 25g
•1 egg beaten
•1package of filo pastry completely thawed
•lots of melted butter, about 50/75 g to startI make individual spinach pockets with this recipe by cutting the pastry in half once. See image below:
or you can just place cut the Philo sheets and overlap them in at least 3-4 layers in a pie pan:
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Rice pudding w/ Coconut Milk
I would have taken pictures but it was eaten up too fast! (And for breakfast!)
based on this recipe:
http://thebreathingkitchen.com/forbidden-rice-pudding-with-coconut-milk/
..Which is for “forbidden rice” or “black rice” - Sorry, this couldn’t be found so I used regular Jasmine rice.Ingredients for 4 people
- Half a cup of Jasmine Rice
- 1 and a 1/3 cups of cold water
- 1 quarter of a cup of brown sugar
- 200 ml of coconut milk (stirred)
- Pinch of salt to taste
- Optional: you can add cinnamon, cardamom, golden sultanas or really anything that grabs your fancy during the initial boiling process to add extra oomph.
Bring the rice, water and a pinch of salt to boil in a heavy-based saucepan, cover with a lid and reduce the heat to simmer for 20-25 minutes or until the rice is cooked, but the mixture should still be wet. Add the sugar, coconut milk and possibly a sprinkle more of salt to deepen the flavours (taste it first). Bring the mixture to boil again, then reduce the heat and simmer for around 30 mins until you reach your desired consistency. Then allow the mixture to cool and refrigerate.
You can serve it with nuts sprinkled on top for breakfast, I like pistachios.. or eat it plain which is what usually happens! :D
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current project: *birthday* black forest gateaux
From: GOOD FOOD
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2303676/black-forest-gteau
Ingredients
• 300g plain flour
• 1 tsp bicarbonate of soda
• 25g cocoa
• 200g bar dark chocolate
• 2 medium eggs
• 175g salted butter, plus extra for greasing
• 375g golden caster sugar
• 200g buttermilk or natural yoghurt (I used non-fat yoghurt, which doesn’t seem like much fun, but it does make the cake texture seem lighter)
TO ASSEMBLE
• 425g can pitted cherries , 2 tbsp juice reserved, rest drained
• 100g morello cherry jam
• 4 tbsp kirsch (or more juice from a can if you want it to be non-alcoholic) (or Cherry brandy. We used both)
• 500ml tub double cream
• 3 tbsp icing sugar
• 1 small punnet fresh cherries (optional)
Cook 40 mins
PREP 1 hr plus cooling
Sponges can be frozen before decorating
1. Heat oven to 180C/160C fan/gas 4. Grease and line the base of 3 x 20cm cake tins. Boil the kettle. Put the butter and 75g chocolate broken into chunks in a small pan and gently heat, stirring, until completely melted.
2. Mix together the flour, sugar, cocoa and bicarbonate of soda with a pinch of salt in a mixing bowl. Whisk the eggs and buttermilk or yogurt together. Scrape the melted chocolate mixture and egg mixture into the dry ingredients, add 100ml boiling water and whizz briefly with an electric whisk until the cake batter is lump free.
3. Divide the mixture between the tins and bake for 25 mins, swapping the tins round after 20 mins if they’re on different shelves. To test they’re done, push in a skewer and check that it comes out clean.
4. Prick the cakes a few times with a skewer. Mix together the 2 tbsp reserved cherry juice and the kirsch (or more juice) and drizzle over the cakes. Cool the cakes.
5. Mix together the remaining drained cherries and jam. Tip 200ml of the cream into a small pan and heat until just below simmering point. Chop the remaining chocolate and put in a heatproof bowl, pour over the hot cream and stir until melted. Set aside until spreadable.
6. When the cakes are cool whisk the remaining cream and the icing sugar together until softly whipped. Spread over two of the cakes, then spoon over the jammy cherries. Stack the cakes together. Spread the chocolate cream over the third cake and sit on top of the other cakes. Pile the fresh cherries in and around the cake.You may serve this immediately but we found that it became even more amazing when given a day to sit in the fridge and let all the flavors combine and the layers settle.
PER SERVING (10)
859 kcalories, protein 7.2g, carbohydrate 93.7g, fat 48.9 g, saturated fat 29.9g, fibre 2.6g, sugar 73.6g, salt 0.7 g -
Thai Peanut Lime Chicken..
Chicken with Coconut-Lime Peanut Sauce
Add some green asparagus, or broccoli for veg. Serve with some brown, jasmine or batsmati rice.You can make a double batch of sauce if you wish, which I often do just by doubling all the measurements.Often, I prepare the sauce first and then when I’m ready to cook. I saute the meat and the veg separately, using a large pan. The chicken is first sauteed in some onion (and garlic sometimes), removed from the pan, and then the same thing is done to the veg but only cooked 3/4 of the way.. Then I add just a bit more than half the sauce mixture in so that the chicken and veggies are well covered. I stir and cook the chicken, veg and sauce in the pan, covered and simmering (stirring often) for about 15 minutes, or until everything heats up again and fairly blended together.Chicken with Coconut-Lime Peanut SauceIngredients
Sauce- 1/2 cup Coconut Milk
- 1/2 cup natural Peanut Butter (I like crunchy)
- 1 tablespoon Thai Red Curry Paste
- Juice from 1 Lime (about 1 tbs lime juice)
- 1 tablespoon Soy Sauce or Tamari
- 1-2 tsp or to taste of Tabasco or Sriracha Sauce (adds a bit of spice, and more importantly the vinegar in these sauces balances the creaminess of the coconut milk and peanut butter and bring them together with the red curry paste)
- Pinch of the following:
- Cracked Black Pepper
- Cinnamon
- 1-3 T of Sugar (any kind, to taste)
Other ingredients- 2 pounds Chicken Breast, cut into 1 inch pieces
- 1 diced Onion
- one or two Garlic Cloves, chopped
- 1 cup chopped Asparagus Spears or Broccoli, cut into 1 inch pieces
Optional Garnishes- Chopped Cilantro
- chopped Peanuts
- Green Onion
- toasted unsweetened Coconut Flake
Method
Sauce- In a medium bowl whisk together the peanut butter, coconut milk, curry paste, lime juice, soy sauce, sweetener & seasonings to form a sauce. Taste and change anything if you want to. Set aside.
Chicken- Heat oil in a large sauté pan over medium high heat. Add onion & garlic cook until softened. Add veg and stir-fry in the onion and garlic. Remove from pan and set aside, leaving as much of the onion and garlic there as possible. Add chicken, cook until cooked and browned a bit on the outside. This take me about 20 mins. Stirring constantly. Stir sauce into chicken. Partially cover and simmer for about 5 minutes to let the flavors combine. Add asparagus during the last few minutes of cook time. Serve with spicy Sriracha sauce and garnishes mentioned above.
Modified from this recipe:
http://www.familyfreshcooking.com/2011/02/03/chicken-with-coconut-lime-peanut-sauce-recipe/
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The Perfect Minestrone Soup - from the Guardian
How to cook perfect minestrone soup
Minestrone is a big bowl of carb-based joy with a hefty garnish of vegetables to gladden the heartstrings of health. Is there a British equivalent of this soup for all seasons?
Felicity’s perfect minestrone. Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the GuardianUntil recently, I didn’t do minestrone. This prejudice was based on the powdered version we were served at school; brick red, strangely tangy, and studded with suety strands of pasta, yet which, despite these obvious handicaps, often proved the least of a veritable feast of evils – I must have eaten it at least twice a week between the age of eight and 13, and not once since.
- Perfect: 68 Essential Recipes for Every Cook’s Repertoire
- by Felicity Cloake
Turns out, however, that the school kitchen was not adept in the art of the minestrone – in fact, most Italians probably wouldn’t have recognised their effort as such. Far from a watery tomato sauce with unpleasant soggy surprises lurking in its depths, minestrone seems to be a soup-shaped excuse to get as many seasonal vegetables into one dish as possible, moistened by a light broth, and bulked out with beans, potatoes, rice – or broken pasta (which, with the benefit of hindsight, I believe the little white worms were supposed to represent). Incredibly simple, handily versatile – and, according to Giorgio Locatelli, “the best soup in the world”. And you know what? I’m with him. At least, it’s definitely in my top five.
As Giorgio says in his excellent recipe collection, Made in Italy, minestrone is one of the few dishes to unite the country – “yet everyone makes it differently, with whatever vegetables are in season”. As confirmation, the classic Italian cookbook the Silver Spoon gives no fewer than 10 versions (although admittedly, one of these is a minestrone alla russa – aka borsch): one from Puglia, in the far south, based on their beloved turnip tops, or cime di rapa, a Neapolitan take heavy with Mediterranean peppers and aubergines, which makes an interesting contrast with a recipe from Milan, with its bacon lardons, parmesan and sage. What follows is thus intended as basic guidelines, to be cut to whichever cloth commands your allegiance.Stock answers
Given the simplicity of minestrone, the liquid element, in which all the other ingredients are cooked, is supremely important. The most basic recipes use water – after all, if the stuff you’re adding is flavourful enough, it should become a tasty vegetable soup on the job. This is a method employed by Elizabeth David in the minestrone verde recipe given in Italian Food, and also mentioned as a possibility by Locatelli, but despite the pedigree, the result needs an awful lot of seasoning to lift it from the blandness that many Marie Antoinettish proponents of cucina poverachoose to ignore in their favourite peasant dishes.Giorgio doesn’t make any such scrimping in the Locanda Locatelli kitchen however (and, with minestrone selling at £9 a bowl, nor should he), using a “good vegetable stock” instead. He gives a recipe, but also suggests making a quick variation using the trimmings, plus a few peas for sweetness. Wanting the full Michelin-star experience however, I make the bells and whistles version which also includes peas alongside some of the more usual subjects – the restaurant’s “secret ingredient”, according to its chef. This gives the broth a much better flavour, and the finished soup needs less salt.
Angela Hartnett’s recipe minestrone.Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the GuardianAngela Hartnett admits the possibility of using vegetable stock, if vegetarians are involved, but insists it tastes best using the chicken version – and I have to agree with her. The broth is richer and more savoury in flavour, so it doesn’t get lost in the mass of beans and leaves; you can really taste it in every mouthful.
Jamie Oliver, meanwhile, has a secret ingredient of his own. “Minestrones can be made with water or vegetable stock,” he writes in Jamie’s Italy, “but the most memorable ones I’ve eaten have been made from the light broth that you get when making bollito misto”. Although chicken stock is fine, he reckons that, “to knock people’s socks off” cooks should boil up a knuckle of gammon with some smoked pancetta, wine, peppercorns and bay leaves, eat the meat with beans, and use the liquid as a base for a minestrone.
It seems like an extravagance, but then, I’m tireless in the pursuit of perfection, so I follow his instructions – and conclude that, although minestrone shouldn’t be shy and retiring, this version might have gone too far in the other direction. The salty, smoky flavour of the pork dominates the soup: I’m left pondering whether it would be acceptable to stir in a spoonful of mustard instead of the pesto common in its homeland.
Hearty = meaty?
Minestrone is often lauded for its hearty qualities (the name means “big soup”), evoking romantic visions of peasants as brown and gnarled as their olive trees (Italian soups are “rough and crude and full of personality” according to Jamie, “very much like some of the old Italian faces”) – but, in keeping with its thrifty origins, many are largely vegetarian. Jamie, however, adds smoked pancetta or bacon to his soffritto (the melange of sweated vegetables that forms the base of so many Italian dishes), as does Elizabeth David in two of her four minestrone recipes (a third uses gammon).
I’m not keen however; the meat seems to be surplus to requirements here, and I’ve never been a fan of rubbery boiled bacon in any case. There’s enough olive oil in this dish without adding anything else. (On that note, Angela uses a mixture of butter and olive oil, while the Silver Spoon talks of the “essential butter, bacon fat, oil or lard” in the recipe. Given all my recipes call for a drizzle of olive oil to finish the dish off (as Locatelli recalls from his childhood, “we weren’t a family big on olive oil – at that time, olive oil wasn’t used much in the north – but you couldn’t have a minestrone without olive oil over the top.”), and that I can’t taste the butter in the final dish, I decide to keep things simple and stick with oil.
A question of starch
Silver Spoon recipe minestrone.
Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the GuardianOne of the things I like most about minestrone is its sheer bulk: it’s really a big bowl of carb-based joy, with a hefty garnish of vegetables to gladden the heartstrings of health. Locatelli explains that “whatever ingredients you use, a good minestrone has to have the right balance between the starchy element … and the vegetables.”
That element, however is up for debate: Angela Hartnett uses potato and suggests pasta as an option, Jamie opts for pasta and cannellini or borlotti beans and the Silver Spoon goes for long grain rice or short pasta. Locatelli himself comes down in favour of potato and borlotti beans. Interestingly though, he admits in the introduction to the recipe that, at home “I like to make minestrone the way my grandmother did it, adding rice – which makes it so thick that you could stick your spoon into it upright and watch it fall down slowly.” (“I have never done it in the restaurant” he continues sadly, “a little too rustic.”) I try his version with arborio, which, as he says, makes the broth “really creamy” – and it’s wonderfully thick and comforting.
Extras
Jamie Oliver’s recipe minestrone.
Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the GuardianMost recipes for minestrone follow the same basic pattern – soffritto, vegetable, stock, starch – butJamie stands out by sticking in tinned tomatoes and a glass of red wine. (The Silver Spoon’s Genoese version has fresh tomatoes, but as these don’t break up so easily, they remain part of the vegetable matter rather than the sauce.) It smells good, but it’s a completely different animal to the others – the broth should be savoury, but understated, rather than this garlicky, almost Frenchified beast.
The same recipe in The Silver Spoon features dried mushrooms, which I dismiss for the same reason: no one ingredient should dominate here, and porcini have a distinct tendency to bully. The same, in my opinion goes for the pesto such north-western recipes often add at the end (Locatelli included): pesto takes over, while a sprinkling of parmesan and a few basil leaves only enhance.
Keep it fresh
Finally, a word about cooking times. I love Italian food, but it can’t be denied that they love their meltingly soft veg (if they were British of course, they’d be accused of murdering them, but such is gastronomic relativism). The Silver Spoon minestrone cooks for over two hours, by which time the French and broad beans are reduced to mush – I found Locatelli’s advice, about only adding the vegetables gradually. “You can cook all the vegetables together if you are in a hurry, but the proper way to do it is slowly, adding [them] in stages, so that they are all cooked to the same consistency and keep their own identity, with the potatoes only just soft. It’s up to you.” For my taste, the vegetables should be softened, but still firm enough to present some challenge to the teeth, or the whole thing becomes more of a savoury rice pudding for the infirm.
Perfect minestrone
Felicity’s perfect minestrone.
Photograph: Felicity Cloake for the GuardianMinestrone is a wonderfully versatile dish that works with whatever seasonal vegetables you happen to have to hand – just make sure the broth is flavourful enough to give the dish character, without overwhelming the other ingredients, and there’s enough starch to satisfy even the most active Tuscan goatherd.
Serves 4
3 tbsp olive oil, plus extra to serve
1 onion, chopped
1 clove of garlic, crushed
2 carrots, cut into 1cm dice
2 sticks of celery, cut into 1cm dice
Seasonal vegetables of your choice (at the moment, 1 courgette, diced, handful of fresh peas or broad beans, half a head of fennel, diced, 3 large leaves of cavolo nero, shredded)
1.5l good quality chicken stock
1 potato, cut into 2cm dice
100g cooked and drained borlotti beans
200g risotto rice
Grated parmesan and a few basil leaves, to serve1. Heat the oil in a heavy-based pan and add the onion and garlic. Soften over a medium heat for 5 minutes, without allowing them to colour, then add the carrots and soften. Repeat with the celery.
2. Add the rest of the seasonal vegetables in order of cooking time (courgette and fennel will take longer than peas or fresh beans for example) and allow to soften slightly – they don’t need to cook through at this point. Stir in the potato.
3. Add the stock, the borlotti bean and rice. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat and simmer for about 15 minutes until the potato and rice are cooked. Season to taste.
4. Serve with a drizzle of olive oil, a grating of parmesan and some torn basil leaves. (If you make this ahead of time, you’ll find the rice swells to absorb much of the liquid, so it’s best to make it without the rice, then add it when you reheat it. Alternatively, you can loosen it with more stock.)
Minestrone is surely the world’s most versatile soup – is there anything you wouldn’t put in yours, and what do you like to top it with? Does anyone like theirs chilled, and is there a British equivalent of this soup for all seasons?
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Low Fat Healthy (morning) blueberry muffins (easy peasy)
For the most part, I find blueberry muffins too soft, sweet and even too greasy for the morning. I made this batch which is must less sweet, and a bit more wholesome and ‘bread-like’ which makes a perfect starter for the morning!
These are amazing with butter!
Preheat oven to 175 C or 350 F.
You’ll need some silicon or non-stick baking cups or a well greased or paper lined muffin tin.
To START:
in a medium sized bowl.. you’ll need:
160 g Fat-free Vanilla Yogurt (I used a small yogurt cup bought from Marks&Spencer)
1/4 c to 1/3 milk.. stir into yogurt until a thick liquid.
one egg beaten into above ingredients
one teaspoon of honey
(image above: of the yogurt I bought from Marks&Spencer)
in a larger bowl mix the following dry:two cups of whole wheat flour
1 Tbsp Baking powder
1 Tbsp Baking soda
1 Tbsp Cinnamon
1 pinch of salt
Mix the wet into the dry. Don’t worry about completely blending. No more than ten turns of the the spoon should get all the wet and dry ingredients in contact with each other.
Add a handful of blue berries, I used about 3/4 of a cup. and just barely stir them in, until just evenly distributed in the batter.
Spoon batter among the 12 muffin cups.
Bake until just browned on top and a knife comes out cleanly when inserted into one of the muffins. I think I baked them for about 15-20 minutes.
The recipe is a major modification of this:
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/715635/fat-free-muffinsUPDATE:
See also the Strawberry & Raspberry versions I made the other day!
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“Rock Lava” Chocolatey Brownies w/ Walnuts for 2-6 people
Adopted from the recipe here: http://www.cacaoweb.net/brownies3.html
For my last dinner in Hamburg, before heading back to London for work, James and I ate at a new Mexican Restaurant, El Picosito. Contrary to all our doubts about a Mexican restaurant in Hamburg, the food was amazing. We split a dish of tacos. After the savory dinner as usual I was craving something sweet. Unable to do more shopping for ingredients, I looked in the cupboard to figure out what I could bake. I found the above recipe for brownies only using cocoa powder, which is the only thing I had..
I took the original recipe and cut it in half.
My theory is that these are lower fat than normal brownie recipes as the only source of fat is the butter.
Yield: 9 servingsIngredients1/2 cup butter3/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoon vanilla
2 eggs
1/3 cup all-purpose flour (85 g)
1/2 cup cocoa powder (50 g)
1 teaspoon baking powder
a pinch of salt (optional)
1/3 cup chopped walnutsMethod- Preheat oven to 350 deg F (Gas mark 4 or 180 deg C).
- Line a 4 x 9 in baking tin with grease proof or other non-stick paper and grease the tin. Melt the butter.(I used a bread loaf pan)
- Beat eggs with sugar, and add vanilla, flour, cocoa, baking powder, salt (optional) and melted butter - in this order.
- Add chopped nuts.
- Bake at 350 degrees until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean, approximately 20-30 minutes.
- Cool the cake. Dust with powdered sugar or glace with your favorite chocolate frosting. (I used additional chopped walnuts)
Variations
- Instead of all-purpose flour + baking powder you may use self-raising flour.
- Instead of eggs you may use 3/4 cup med firm drained tofu (suggested by Jennifer, March 2008)
- Instead of using nuts use a mars bar. Freeze the bar, smash it and the sprinkle it on top before baking (suggested by Thea, August 2008)
- To make a more cake-like brownie, bake in a square approx. 9x9 in metal pan. Cooks about 5 to 10 minutes longer, but turns out more fluffy, soft, and cake-like (Suggested by Lucy Sinogeikina, September 2008)
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Rustic Bread from Scratch
http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/2764/rustic-bread
Ingredients
- 250g strong white bread flour
- 1 tsp fast-action dried yeast
- 1 tbsp olive oil , plus extra for drizzling
- 200ml sparkling water
- semolina , for sprinkling (optional)
- finely chopped rosemary and Maldon salt, for sprinklng
Method
- Cut the dough into 8 pieces, then roll out into rough rounds about 16-17cm in diameter. (Don’t pile them on top of each other or they will stick together.)
- Sprinkle a baking sheet or two with semolina if you have it, otherwise leave plain. Lay the breads on the sheets and let them sit for 5 mins, then scatter with rosemary, salt and pepper and drizzle with olive oil. Bake in batches for 8-10 mins until puffy and golden. Can be made 3-4 hrs ahead.
per bread
137 kcalories, protein 4g, carbohydrate 24g, fat 4 g, saturated fat 1g, fibre 1g, salt 0.94 g
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Improved Low-Fat Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies.
This recipe is for a smaller batch than the last post. This makes very gingery and light cookies. They are great out of the oven with a glass of milk. I tried to keep it as low-fat as possible by only adding ‘just enough’ oil, rather than the full 1/4 cup amount. This batch also “spread” less after baking, making a fluffier, chewier cookie.
1.25 C flour
1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
1/4 t salt
1/3 C maple syrup
1/4 C molasses (I am very liberal with this measurement..)
1/4 C oil (tasteless, like sunflower)
3 T fresh ginger, grated
1 t cinnamonPreheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the maple syrup, molasses, and ginger. The “low-fat” part of the recipe: add oil until slowly until all ingredients are just moistened enough. Scoop teaspoon-sized portions onto a lined cookie sheet (tin foil or baking paper) and bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 28 normal-sized ginger snaps.
above photo: Ginger molasses cookies before baking
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Low-fat Vegan Ginger Molasses Cookies
This is low-fat and vegan. I love ginger.. enough said.
This recipe was modified from:
http://www.maenad.net/recipes/desserts/ginger_snaps.html2.5 C flour
1 t baking powder
1 t baking soda
1/2 t salt
3/4 C maple syrup
1/4 C molasses
1/2 C oil
5 T fresh ginger, grated(additionally I added 1/8 t of cinnamon, ground white pepper, and ground powdered ginger)
Preheat oven to 350 F.
In a large bowl, stir together the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the maple syrup, molasses, oil, and ginger. Stir together gently until “just mixed.” Scoop spoon-sized portions onto a lined cookie sheet (baking paper) and bake for 12-15 minutes. Makes 24 normal-sized ginger snaps.— How it All Vegan, Tanya Barnard and Sarah Kramer, Arsenal Pulp Press, Vancouver, 1999
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Thick Chewy Oatmeal Raisin Cookies with Walnuts and Choc Chips
Modified from this recipe here
Ingredients:
1/2 cup (1 stick or 4 ounces) butter, softened
2/3 cup light brown sugar, packed
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon salt (I often use a half teaspoon, but I like more salt in my baked goods)
1 1/2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup raisins
1/2 cup walnuts, chopped
1/2 cup choc chipsPreheat oven to 350°F (175°C)
Directions:
Cream Butter, Sugar, Vanilla and Egg in one Bowl.
In another larger bowl, mix flour, baking soda, cinnamon, salt, oats, raisins, choc chips and chopped walnuts.
Chill dough in fridge - my dough wasn’t very ‘warm’ to begin with so I chilled it for about 10-15 minutes.
1.5 inches apart, set Teaspoon-to-1.5Teaspoon sized balls on a lined cookie sheet.
Bake for 12 minutes.
or until browned around edges and just set on the top.
Remove from oven and let cool on the tray for another 10 minutes before removing to a cooler surface.
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Banana Muffins: the midnight experiment
(low fat and low sugar)
On a whim and a late night sweet tooth, I decided to make some muffins with whatever we had in the kitchen. We had a bunch of bananas.. and I thought I’d try to make some simple banana muffins. I admit the bananas were not overripe as they should have been to bake with but I really needed sweets and there was nothing else.
Preheat oven to 360 F.
Ingredients:
3 bananas, mashed with a fork
3/4 cup Maple syrup for the sweetener
1 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp baking soda
pinch of salt
1 egg
1/4 c milk.
Mix all ingredients together and fill a non-stick or well greased x 12 muffin pan.
Bake for 25 minutes.
muffins are currently baking so, to be continued in a few minutes with the results!!
..Okay, I posted the key photo at the top just now. They turned out great! Perfect when eaten warm right out of the oven with a cold glass of milk.
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Simple Vegetarian Pad Thai
The most attractive thing about this recipe to me at first was that all the ingredients were simple and I did not have to go on an elaborate treasure hunt to find ingredients.
The next thing about this was that it was fantastic! It actually served two people (x2 servings each!)
As long as you use a gluten-free soy sauce, this is a gluten-free recipe.
Vegetarian, even. Skip the eggs for vegan.
TAKEN FROM:
http://browniesfordinner.com/2010/05/11/easy-pad-thai/
(adapted from Brownies for Dinner)
Serves 48 ounces dried, wide and flat rice noodles
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice, plus wedges for serving
— one well squeezed lime for the sauce and one lime cut into wedges for serving.
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 squirt (about 1/8 teaspoon) Sriracha (optional)
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
— I used 1 T vegetable oil and 1 T sesame oil.
3 scallions (green onions), white and green parts, separated and thinly sliced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 large eggs, light beaten (optional)
1/2 cup fresh cilantro
— I used about 3/4 cup
1/4 cup chopped roasted, salted peanuts
— I chopped 1/2 cup and mixed some in during that last part of cooking.Directions
Soak noodles according to package instructions. Drain.
In a small bowl, whisk together brown sugar, lime juice, soy sauce, and Sriracha.
In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat.Add scallion whites and garlic and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant (about 30 seconds). Add eggs and cook, scraping skillet with spatula until eggs are almost se (about 30 seconds).
Transfer eggs to a plate.
Add noodles, scallion greens, and sauce to skillet. Cook, tossing constantly, until noodles are soft (about 1 minute). Add egg mixture and toss to coat, breaking eggs up gently.
Serve noodles with lime wedges, topped with cilantro and peanuts.
Notes and variations
Per serving:
315 calories, 7g fat (0.9g saturated fat), 3.6g protein, 60.5g carb, 1.4g fiber
Per serving: $1.50 or less.
If you’re a carnivore try this: While the noodles are soaking, cut up 1 small chicken breast (or half of one of the colossal ones) into bite sized pieces. Marinate the chicken in a little bit of soy sauce and garlic (or make a little extra of the sauce for the noodles and marinate the chicken in that). OR: use shrimp (marinate same as chicken)… heck, use both. Cook them before you add the noodles to the pan.
Leftovers: heat in the microwave or toss in a hot skillet for a minute to warm the noodles. Not as good as the first day but with a little extra lime juice, it makes a nice leftover-lunch. -
The most amazing carrot cake recipe
This is by far one of the best recipes for carrot cake. I have made four of them now and all have been devoured by my ‘guest tasters’ :)
The icing is fantastic as well. Note that in that image above, I had not finished icing the cake completely. I do suggest using two 6-8 inch circular layer cake baking pans with a removable bottom. Similar to the pan image below.
I baked my last one in a bread loaf pan and it was quite difficult to have the whole thing bake through. I had to reduce the heat and add at least x2 extra to the total baking time…
This recipe will make one medium sized carrot cake or two 6 inch carrot cakes.
adopted from the Joy of Baking
[the original recipe is below, and I added my own alterations in italics]Ingredients:- 1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts
— + some extra for topping over the cake after icing. - 3/4 pound (340 grams) raw carrots (about 2 1/2 cups finely grated)
— this is approx. 3 - 5 medium sized carrots - 1 teaspoon baking soda
— I used slightly more, to make cake more airy and light—> 1.5 teaspoon - 1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
— I used slighly more, to make cake more airy and light—> 2 teaspoons - 1/2 teaspoon salt
- 1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
— I used a lot of cinnamon!—> 2 Tablespoons of cinnamon! - 4 large eggs
- 1 1/2 cups (300 grams) granulated white sugar
- 1 cup (240 ml) safflower, vegetable or canola oil(or other flavorless oil)
- 2 teaspoons pure vanilla extract
Cream Cheese Frosting:
- 1/4 cup (57 grams) unsalted butter, room temperature
- 8 ounces (227 grams)cream cheese, room temperature
- 2cups (230 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted
— I only add 1 cup of this. I think 2 is way too sweet! - 1 teaspoon (4 grams) pure vanilla extract
- 1 teaspoon finely grated lemon zest (outer yellow skin) (optional)
— I used this for sure!
Directions:Carrot Cake: Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (180 degrees C) and place rack in center of oven. Butter or spray two - 9 x 2 inch (23 x 5 cm) cake pans and line the bottoms of the pans with a circle of parchment paper. [I used two 6 x 2 inch cake pans, lining the bottom with baking paper I cut to fit myself]
Toast the pecans or walnuts for about 8 minutes or until lightly browned and fragrant. Let cool and then chop coarsely.
Peel and finely grate the carrots with the smallest teeth on a grater.
In a separate bowl whisk together the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, and ground cinnamon.
In bowl beat the eggs until frothy or bubbly, (about 1 minute). Gradually add the sugar and beat until the batter is thick and light colored (about 3 - 4 minutes). Add the oil in a steady stream and then beat in the vanilla extract. Add the flour mixture and beat just until incorporated. With a large rubber spatula fold in the grated carrots and chopped nuts. Evenly divide the batter between the two prepared pans and bake 25 to30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. If you use a smaller cake pan, I only filled each pan a little over half full, because I knew I would stack the two layers.. the mixture rises about 20-30 percent more after baking.
Remove from oven and let cool on a wire rack. After about 5 -10 minutes invert the cakes onto the wire rack, remove the pans and parchment paper, and then cool completely before frosting.
To assemble: place one cake layer onto your serving plate. Spread with about half the frosting. Gently place the other cake onto the frosting and spread the rest of the frosting over the top of the cake. If desired, garnish with toasted nuts on the top of the cake. Cover and refrigerate any leftovers.
Serves 10 - 12.
Cream Cheese Frosting:In bowl of electric mixer or by hand, beat the cream cheese and butter, on low speed, just until blended with no lumps. Gradually add the sifted powdered sugar and beat, on low speed, until fully incorporated and smooth. Beat in the vanilla extract, and lemon zest.
- 1 cup (100 grams) pecans or walnuts
baking and practices in self awareness.
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