Whole Wheat chocolate cake

I really wanted to make a cake today with Hugo, but alas, we were without a car and lacking lots of staple cake ingredients. I scoured the internet until I found this recipe whcih was close enough to what I had to make. I made some substitutions - the original called for sour cream, but thats just not something I would ever have. So I subbed whole fat yogurt. If you have more time and some cheese cloth I think the recipe would be even better if you drained the yogurt for about 30 minutes. Or, if its a new container use the creamy stuff on the top or use labneh.

Anyway, this cake is wonderful!! I really like eating whole-grain treats - it helps me avoid sugar triggered migraines and helps avoid those crazy blood sugar swings you get with all white-carb treats. I like the taste of whole wheat too. But this is definitely decadent treat food. No applesauce instead of butter here. I imagine it would be good with sucanat or maple syrup too.

Decadent Chocolate Cake

Ingredients:

* 2 ounces unsweetened chocolate
* 1 1/4cups sifted organic whole wheat pastry flour
* 2 tsp baking soda (1 tsp if you are using sourcream)
* 1/4 tsp sea salt
* 1/4 cup butter, softened at room temperature
* 1 1/4 cup natural brown sugar, lightly packed
* 2 eggs
* 1 1/2 tsp vanilla
* 1/2 plain whole milk yogurt
* 1/2 cup boiling water

Preparation:

1. Preheat the oven to 375. Grease and flour a 9” cake pan.
2. Sift the flour, baking soda, and salt together and set aside.
3. Melt the chocolate and then allow it to cool slightly. Be careful to not allow it to harden.
4. Beat the butter and sugar for two minutes. Add the eggs and beat for an additional two minutes. Beat in the vanilla and cooled chocolate.
5. Gradually stir in the sifted flour mixture in approximate thirds, alternating each time with 1/4 cup of the yogurt.
6. Stir in the boiling water. Pour the batter into the prepared pan.
7. Bake for 25 minutes. Do not overbake this cake! Allow the cake to cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes.

I frosted this with an almond butter frosting. Its great. Mix powdered sugar, almond butter and butter to taste. Add milk to get the consistency you want. You can also beat in a spoon-full of coco-powder of an ounce or so of melted bittersweet chocolate. I think I used about 1/2 cup almond butter 1/2 c butter 1c powdered sugar. Not really sure though. I ended up adding more butter at the end.

Snow Ice Cream

Tonight will be the first time I've tried this, so I'm not sure how it tastes but it sounds like a fun and easy project regardless!

Clean snow or crushed ice (approx. 4-5 cups)

1/2 cup powdered sugar (regular sugar works, too)

1/4 tsp. vanilla extract

Flavored syrup (optional)

1 c. milk or cream

1. Collect some freshly fallen clean snow and put it in a bowl.

2. Sprinkle the sugar in and add some vanilla extract. If you have bottles of flavored syrup like raspberry use a dash instead of the vanilla.

3. Mix the ingredients together until the sugar is dissolved. Add just enough milk to make a nice slushy texture.

Balti Butter Chicken with Pullao Rice

I made this last night and oh my goodness, is it amazing! Al said it was the best he's had. I hope that you like it too! I made the rice first because the chicken didn't take that long to assemble.

Pullao Rice:
1C Basmati rice, rinsed until water runs clear
2T butter
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
1 bay leaf
1t salt
2C water

Melt the butter in a saucepan and add spices. After 2 minutes add rice and fry for 1 minute. Add water, bring it to boil, cover pan and reduce heat. Cook for 15-20 minutes. Fluff with fork.


Balti Butter Chicken:

2/3C plain yogurt
1/2C ground almonds
1.5 t of cayenne pepper
3 bay leaves
1/4t ground cloves
1/4t ground cinnamon
1 t garam masala
4 cardamom pods
1t grated ginger
1t grated garlic
1.25t salt
2 C canned crushed tomatoes
2 lbs (roughly 6.5C) boneless chicken breast, cubed
3T butter
2T olive oil
2 medium onions, sliced
2T chopped cilantro
3T heavy cream

Mix yogurt, almonds, spices, tomatoes, add chicken, set aside.
Melt butter and oil in a deep skillet, saute onions until they are transparent, about 3 min.
Add the chicken mixture and saute for about 10-12 minutes, until the chicken is cooked.
Add cilantro, cook for 2 minutes. Add cream, stir and bring to a boil for only 1 minute.
Serve with pullao rice. Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup

I found this online and it makes the most yummy, hearty soup. Really good with the no knead bread.

4 C vegetable broth/stock
4C tomato juice
1t salt
1T basil
1 red pepper, chopped
2 carrots. chopped
2 stalks celery, chopped
1 onion, chopped
2t garlic powder
1C sliced mushrooms
28oz can whole tomatoes (slice the tomatoes and reserve the juice)
can of kidney beans, drained and rinsed (if you like them)
1.5 cups of pasta (rotini worked great)

Combine all ingredients except pasta in a crock pot on low for 6 hours or until veggies are cooked. Add pasta, cook for 20-30 minutes, depending on your pasta.

Pan-fried tofu with greens and peanut sauce

Variation from a recipe in Feeding the Whole Family. I've been making it for years. It turned out so well tonight with a few modifications, thought i'd post it.
Here's the recipe as found on MDC:

1 pound firm tofu
1-2 tablespoons sesame oil
1-2 large bunches collard greens

Marinade
3 cloves garlic, sliced
4-5 slices (1/8 inch thick) fresh gingerroot
1 cup water
1 tablespoon brown-rice vinegar
1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
1/3 cup tamari or shoyu

Sauce
1/4 cup creamy cashew butter
2 teaspoons maple syrup
2 tablespoons tamari or shoyu
1 tablespoon brown-rice vinegar
1 teaspoon grated gingerroot
1-2 teaspoons hot pepper oil
1/3 cup water

In the morning, combine all ingredients for marinade. Cut tofu into 1/2-inch slabs, then cut slabs into triangles. Put marinade and tofu in a glass storage container with a tight-fitting lid.

Heat sesame oil in a skillet. Place marinated and drained tofu pieces in oil and brown on both sides. Set aside. Prepare greens by stripping leaves from stems before washing. Wash greens carefully. (An easy way is to fill your sink with cold water and submerge the leaves.) Bring 2 quarts of water and 1/2 teaspoon of sea salt to boil. Submerge greens and boil for 5-8 minutes. Pour cooked greens into a colander in the sink. Let cool. Squeeze out excess water with your hands. Chop into bite-size pieces and set aside.

Combine all sauce ingredients in a small pan over low heat. Using a whisk, mix ingredients until smooth and warm. Add extra water for desired consistency. Serve cooked greens and browned tofu on top of noodles or grains. Drizzle sauce over all.

Makes 4 servings, 1 cup sauce

Preparation time: Overnight for marinade, 30 minutes to make dish

For Babies 10 Months & Older: Reserve some unmarinated tofu, cut into cubes, and serve with bite-size pieces of cooked noodles.

Variation for Children: Separate foods. Serve plain noodles, fried tofu, small pile of greens, and a little bowl of sauce for dipping.

DAWN'S NOTES:
Today I made this with these modifications, which made this easy recipe even easier -
1. subbed powdered ginger for fresh. still good.
2. subbed peanut butter for cashew.
3. subbed frozen broccoli florets for fresh greens. Just boiled them with the soba noodles. Super easy.
4. No hot pepper oil - didn't have any, didn't need it.

Baked Oatmeal

Found this on MDC. This is good stuff, especially for lazy winter mornings or as part of a festive brunch. It's kind of a breakfast dessert--like an oatmeal cake. It's nice to prepare it all the night before and then all you have to do in the morning is put it in the oven and wait 35 minutes. I especially like baked oatmeal with cooked apples on top. You can just peel and slice a bunch of apples and put them in the crockpot with some sugar, cinnamon, and butter (or just by themselves) and put it on high for an hour and the apples are done. But I wouldn't do that in the morning--I would have the apples made ahead of time. Anyway, the baked oatmeal:

1/2 cup applesauce or vegetable oil (I use organic cinnamon applesauce)
3/4 cup sweetener (I use a little less and use a combination of honey and sugar)
2 eggs
1 cup milk (I use light plain soymilk)
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
3 cups regular oats
1/2 cup raisins (or other dried fruit, I like cherries)
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Directions: Beat together applesauce and sweetener. Mix in eggs, milk, salt, baking powder, oatmeal. Beat well and then stir in raisins. Pour into a lightly greased pie pan. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon. Refrigerate overnight. The next morning, preheat oven to 350. Bake in preheated oven until firm, about 35 minutes. Serve hot.

Super Chocolate Cake with Buttercream Icing

Ok, I know folks around here aren't so into the baked goods. But. It's January and we've got a few months of cold, hard, gloomy weather and what's better than chocolate for getting through that, right? So I thought I'd share the recipe for this cake my friend made for me when Grace was born. It's really good (she always makes it for new babies- as an excuse to eat some herself, lol!)

Cake:
Mix together:
1 3/4 c. flour
2 c sugar
3/4 c. cocoa powder
2 t. baking soda
1 t baking powder
1 t salt

Add to dry ingredients:
2 eggs
1 c. strong coffee
1 c. buttermilk
1/2 c vegetable oil
1 t. vanilla

Mix for 2 minutes. Pour batter into 2 round cake pans and bake for 30-35 minutes at 350'. Cool completely then frost with buttercream frosting.

Frosting:
6 T butter, softened
2 2/3 c powedered sugar
1/2 t. + 3/4 c. cocoa powder
1 t. vanilla
4-5 T milk

Beat sugar, butter, & cocoa powder together until smooth and creamy. Add milk & vanilla and mix til smooth. If too thick, thin with a little more milk.

Cheddar & Bacon Potato Soup

I made this tonight and it was so yummy I have to share! I like potato soups and this was one I pulled together in honor of this super cheddar cheese my aunt got us for Christmas (raw artisan cheddar from a small farm in Vermont!). Anyway, if you're not afraid of fat, give it whirl!

Ingredients:
8 slices of bacon chopped into 1/2" pieces
1 onion finely diced
3 Tbs flour
4 medium potatoes, chopped
1 bay leaf
3-4 cups chicken stock or water
1 1/2- 2 cups sharp cheddar, shredded (the better the cheese, the better the soup!!)

1) Cook chopped potatoes in a separate pot until they are just cooked through (still nice and firm). If you want a smooth soup, puree the potatoes now. If you like it chunkier, then leave them be. Set aside.

2) Put the bacon into a hot pot and turn heat to medium-low. Render the fat out of the bacon by cooking it on med-low til the bacon is crispy and there's a lot of fat in the pan (about 10-15 minutes). Add chopped onion and cook til onion is soft & clear. Add flour and cook for another minute, stirring often.

3) Add broth and bay leaf and cooked potatoes, bringing soup to a boil. Turn heat to low and simmer for 5-10 minutes. Add shredded cheese, stirring until smooth and completely melted. Remove bay leaf and enjoy!