Chocolate Cake for Sara

I developed this recipe a few years ago for a good friend. At the time her daughter (Sara) was having a lot of food allergy issues and was on a very restricted diet. This is hard for anyone but for a teenage girl whose friends go out for pizza and ice cream is is doubly hard. Her mom asked me if I knew of any kind of dessert recipe that she could make for Sara. Among the long list of other items not allowed were wheat, dairy, soy, and corn (I won't bore you with the entire list) Luckily she could have chocolate as long as the other ingredients were okay. Well, my first thought was a flour-less chocolate cake. The problem was all the ones I could find had at least on ingredient from the list of forbidden foods. I put on my thinking cap and did some experimenting. I came up with this particular chocolate cake that has only 4 ingredients, all on the approved list and it was a hit. Sara and her mom loved it as well as my kids. (Good thing my kids liked it, we ate several versions to get to this one)

This is a very dense, moist chocolate cake with a slightly bitter taste (like that of dark chocolate) so good. It is best the first day or so after it is baked but it seldom lasts very long at my house.

Obviously, if you are making this for someone with allergies be sure to read all the labels on the ingredients you are using. And I can say from personal experience read them every time you purchase. Manufacturers do change formulas sometimes and just because the last one you purchased was fine there is no guarantee that the one on the shelf today will be. When you are trying to work with food allergies you have to read those labels every time not just sometimes.

I based this recipe on unsweetened baking cocoa for a simple reason that is all that is in it. There are no other ingredients (at least my brand) added to it. Many of the unsweetened chocolates have other ingredients and they were not allowed for Sara at that time.

Chocolate Cake for Sara

1 1/4 cups cocoa powder
1/2 cup + 2 Tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup sugar
3 large eggs

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit and move the rack to the middle of the oven.
Oil an 8" cake pan
In a mixing bowl combine the cocoa powder and the oil and beat with a mixer until smooth.
Slowly beat in sugar until well combined .
Add eggs and beat well after each.
Pour/ spread in prepared pan
Bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until  the top of the cake forms a thin skin.
Cool in baking pan for 5 minutes and then invert onto a serving plate.

Serves 8

Pumpkin Cookies

Okay, I have to admit these are one of my favorite things to make in the fall!! I love these and they are pretty easy to make. They have all the wonderful spices you would normally find in a pumpkin pie. So good and since I only make them in the fall they remain special. I usually make a batch sometime in the month of September or October and that is it. If you missed them you have to wait for next year (well, if you asked really nice I might make another batch)

These also freeze really well so some years I divide the dough up and use fall cookie cutters for part of it and Halloween for the rest and then freeze the Halloween ones for a few weeks.

Because there are no eggs or dairy products in these they are vegan so if you need to come up with a good cookie that is either vegan or dairy free these are wonderful. The combination of the pumpkin and the shortening along with the brown sugar and molasses gives these cookies a wonderfully chewy (almost cake like) texture.

You will want to roll the dough out to be ¼” thick before cutting with your favorite fall cookie cutters. Have you ever been unsure about how thick you are rolling the dough? I have a little trick that will help with that. Just go to the craft store and buy a basswood strip that is ¼” x ¼” and cut it into 2 pieces and you can lay them on each side of your dough. When your rolling pin reaches the level of the strips of wood it won't go any further and your dough is the perfect thickness. I have several sizes so I can easily roll dough to any thickness I want. I store them with my wooden spoons so they are easy to find when I need them. Just as easy and much cheaper than those rubber rings they make to put on your rolling pin.

Pumpkin Cookies

¼ cup vegetable shortening (I only use Crisco for this)

2/3 cup dark brown sugar

½ cup mashed cooked pumpkin

¾ cup molasses

3 cups all purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

½ teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon ground cinnamon

½ teaspoon grated nutmeg

½ teaspoon ground allspice

Colored decorating sugars and/or fall sprinkles if desired.

Cream the sugar and shortening in a large bowl with an electric mixer. Add the pumpkin and molasses and stir to combine well.

Combine the flour, baking soda, salt and spices and blend into the cookie mixture.

Wrap in plastic and chill for 3 or 4 hours.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit.

On a well floured board roll dough to ¼” thick and cut with a well floured cookie cutter

Carefully transfer to a cookie sheet. Sprinkle with decorator sugar and/or sprinkles if desired. Bake in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes.

Cool on a wire rack.

You should get around 2 dozen cookies depending on the size of your cookie cutter.

Mediterranean Bagel Sandwiches

These sandwiches were a real favorite of my daughter when she was growing up. She is a real lover of humus and pita bread and these sandwiches have a very similar flavor but in a sandwich form. I loved them because I could make them all at one time and then freeze them for when she needed to pack them in her lunch. They keep very well in the freezer, properly wrapped for about a month.

One wonderful thing about these is that you can pull the frozen sandwich out of the freezer in the morning and put in your lunch bag and it should be thawed by lunch and it will keep the rest of your lunch cold at the same time. We did find that with an insulated lunch bag we needed to give the sandwiches a head start of thawing in the fridge overnight or they were still frozen at lunch time.

You will need either a blender or better yet a food processor to make these. 

 

Mediterranean Bagel Sandwiches

1 (15 oz) can garbanzo beans

¼ cup tahini paste (sesame seed paste look in the “healthy food” area of your grocery store)

3 Tablespoons lemon juice

2 cloves garlic, minced or chopped

½ teaspoon salt

¼ teaspoon paprika

½ cup fresh parsley

1 (2 oz) jar pimentos

5 split bagels

Put all the ingredients (except the bagels) into the container of your blender or food processor and process until smooth

Divide the filling between the 5 bagels and spread evenly. Wrap each bagel separately and place them all together in a gallon size freezer bag. Label with the contents and date and freeze.

To serve simply pack a frozen sandwich in your lunch bag. They should thaw in about 4 to 6 hours at room temperature. Can be frozen for up to a month.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

Even though we consume probably more than our share of meat in this house I do like to throw in a vegetarian meal from time to time. Most of the time those vegetarian meals are well received.  However from time to time I come up with a recipe that the kids more than like; they absolutely love. This is one of those recipes. No one ever misses the meat when we serve this either so it is great for everyone. The combination of the black beans, mushrooms and cumin gives this dish a wonderful satisfying flavor.

I use green enchilada sauce in this recipe because that is the version we prefer, if you prefer the red sauce feel free to substitute it.

Black Bean and Cheese Enchiladas

1 Tablespoon vegetable oil

2 medium onions, chopped

1 cup chopped mushrooms

2 teaspoons ground cumin

a generous pinch of salt

1 (15 oz0 can black beans, drained and rinsed

8 (8”) flour tortillas (heated)

2 ½ cups Mexican blend shredded cheese (jack cheese, cheddar and sometimes other cheeses are included)

1 (10 oz) can green enchilada sauce

Heat oven to 350 degrees Fahrenheit

Spray a 13”x9” baking dish with non-stick spray

Heat oil in a medium skillet over medium heat; add the onions, mushrooms, cumin, and a generous pinch of salt. Cook until the veggies are softened, stir in the drained beans and allow to cool a bit.

Use about 3 Tablespoons of the bean mixture and ¼ cup of the cheese to fill each tortilla. Roll the tortillas around the filling and place in baking dish seam side down.

Spoon enchilada sauce over the top of enchiladas in baking dish.

Cover with foil and bake for 30 to 35 minutes or until hot and bubbly.

Sprinkle remaining ½ cheese over top and serve.

Salsa Brown Rice

This recipe couldn't be easier and I think it really shows how simple the rice cooker makes life. You will have to experiment with your own rice cooker but I found that mine consistently needs and extra 1/2 cup of water above the water level line with this recipe so that is how I wrote it here.

Salsa Rice
2 rice cooker scoops brown rice
1 cup jarred salsa
amount of water for your rice cooker for 2 scoops of rice plus an extra 1/2 cup

Add the ingredients into your rice cooker, cover and turn rice cooker to "cook" when the rice is done stir to combine.

It is that easy with a rice cooker to make a tasty side dish.

Bean Burritos with Chipolte Sour Cream

We were in the mood for something spicy for dinner (seems like a common theme at our house) and I had some re-fried beans that I wanted to use up so this dinner was developed. The beans are simply doctored with some jarred salsa, certainly quick and easy but it does add so much to them. The real star of this dish, in my opinion is the Chipotle Sour Cream that goes with it. This sour cream would be fantastic over eggs too. I love chipotles and almost always have them on hand. You can certainly adjust the spiciness level to your own tastes and this is pretty mild by our standards. I usually use whatever bagged salad mix I have on hand for these kind of dinners so use what you have. Have fun.

Bean Burritos with Chipotle Sour Cream

1 (15 ounce) can vegetarian re-fried beans
1/2 cup of your favorite jarred salsa, thick and chunky style is best
4 (burrito size) flour tortillas
a handful of salad mix (whatever you have on hand)
1 large tomato sliced
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Chipolte Sour Cream (recipe follows)

Prepare the Chipotle Sour Cream and set aside.
In a small saucepan combine the re-fried beans and salsa and heat over medium heat to heat through.
Meanwhile heat the flour tortillas as directed on the package.
To serve simply layer the ingredients in the tortillas and roll up burrito style.

Chipotle Sour Cream
1/3 cup sour cream
1 chopped chipotle  chili in adobo sauce
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon adobo sauce
Combine the ingredients in a small bowl and blend well. The amount of chipotles can be adjusted to suit your taste.


Serve with the burritos or over eggs.

Peanut Butter Pasta

This is probably the dinner that my kids love the most of everything I have ever made. Not only is this a super easy and quick meal it is made of ingredients that are almost always on hand and nothing in it is expensive so it is great for those days when the wallet is a little lacking.  It is truly a satisfying meatless dinner too and depending on your pasta choice a vegan one too.I hope you will enjoy this as much as we and it will find its way to your dinner table on a regular basis too.
 

Peanut Butter Pasta

2/3 cup apple juice
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 Tablespoons soy sauce
1 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
dash of Tabasco sauce

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
chopped peanuts if desired

1 lb of your favorite pasta, cooked 

In a small saucepan, combine all the ingredients except the cilantro, 

chopped peanut and pasta; mix well. ( a wire whisk really works best here)

Cook over medium-low heat for 3 to 4 minutes or until mixture is 
melted and smooth, stirring frequently. Stir in cilantro just 
before serving. 

Serve over cooked pasta. 
Top with chopped peanuts

I wanted to mention here also that recipe is very forgiving. If for instance you don't 

have apple juice on hand, I have made this with: chicken broth, water and even white 

wine in place of the apple juice. If need be you can use powdered ginger in place of 

the fresh but in this case you notice a difference. If you like spicy add more hot sauce. 

Use your favorite pasta just about any shape works great. I have also added veggies 

and cooked chicken to this a few times too.

You really can't miss with this recipe.

Enjoy 

Pumpkin soup

I first made this vegan friendly soup a couple of years ago for Christmas Dinner as a first course. I had decided to try it simply because the mix of ingredients were all ones we loved and I felt it would be a wonderful beginning to the big meal. It was so good I shared the recipe to with some friends who also loved it. Some of the people I shared it with have family members that can't do milk and this filled that craving for a creamy rich soup that tasted (and has the mouth feel) of cream but without the dairy products.

I know you will love this as soon as you try it.

Pumpkin-Bean Soup

1 (15 oz) can pumpkin
1 (15 oz) can white beans (canellini, white kidney, navy, etc), rinsed and drained
1 (14 oz) can vegetable broth
1 (14 oz) can unsweetened coconut milk
1 teaspoon dried leaf sage, crushed
1/2 Tablespoon soy sauce
dash of hot sauce
salt (to taste)
fresh ground pepper (to taste)
lime wedges (one per person)

combine everything except the lime wedges in a medium sauce pan, Heat through over medium heat.

Serve with a wedge of lime to squeeze into the soup at the table.

Super Easy Baked Ziti

 Possibly the easiest casserole recipe ever!

I have been making this baked ziti recipe for so many years I'm not entirely sure where it came from anymore. The entire family loves it and it is requested on a regular basis by all of the kids. I love it because it is so no fuss that I could probably throw it together in my sleep. It only needs the 13x9 baking dish and a mixing spoon so the amount of dirty dishes is at a bare minimum and the ingredients list is only 4 items long (and one of them is water) and all are things I keep on hand most of the time. This dish has saved the day many times when we have un-expected dinner guests too. And yes, you are putting the pasta in the oven uncooked don't worry it cooks up wonderfully in the oven with the sauce and soaks up a lot of flavor from the sauce as a bonus.

Super Easy Baked Ziti
1pound ziti pasta, uncooked
1 jar of tomato based pasta sauce (24 to 26 ounce size)
water
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preheat oven to 425 degrees Fahrenheit

In a 13"x9" baking dish combine the pasta, the jar of sauce and enough water to fill the sauce jar. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 30 minutes.

Uncover and stir the pasta and sauce. Sprinkle the top with the shredded cheese and return to oven for 10 minutes.

Allow to set for about 15 minutes before serving.


Serves 6 to 8 people