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Strawberry Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

It’s summer…and it’s HOT. It might even be in the 100s today. It hasn’t been that hot in Michigan in a long time. When it’s hot the best thing to eat is ice cream 🙂  And sometimes it’s nice to have an ice cream treat…that isn’t filled with chemicals and vegetable oils. Yesterday Rebecca and I created a homemade ice cream sandwich. I used my basic vanilla cookie recipe and created a banana cookie. This cookie is ideal because it stays very soft. It’s even easy to eat when frozen. And it just so happens that we made a big batch of strawberry ice cream on Tuesday. Put them together and you’ve got a unique, healthy ice cream treat that you won’t find in any box.

The ice cream sandwiches turned out great! Rebecca scarfed one down for snack last night. I would even feel good about serving them for breakfast 🙂  They are perfect for adults, kids and even the littlest in the family. Abram (13m) loves homemade ice cream and really enjoyed these cookies as well. They are soft enough that he can easily chew them. This is just one variation of many I hope to try!

I also cut open a cookie and put peanut butter on it like a sandwich as part of Rebecca’s lunch yesterday. She really enjoyed it.

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Fight Back Friday and Fresh Bites Friday.

Strawberry Banana Ice Cream Sandwiches

Cookie:

1 cup whole wheat flour
3/8 cup rapadura
2 Tbsp. honey
1/2 cup mashed ripe banana
1 egg
1/4 tsp. baking soda
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. cinnamon (optional)

Ice Cream:

1 cup strawberries
2 1/2 cups cream
1/2 cup maple syrup or honey (or a combination)
1 tsp. vanilla
3 egg yolks

————————————————
Prepare the ice cream:

Blend all ingredients together. Process in ice cream maker (mine takes about 20 minutes in my Kitchen Aid attachment). Store in container in freezer.

Prepare the cookies:

Heat oven to 425. Stir all ingredients together. Drop by spoonful (big scoops if you want big ice cream sandwiches) onto baking sheet. Bake 8 minutes. Let cool completely.

Assemble sandwiches:

Let ice cream soften slightly. Cut open a cookie*. Place a scoop of ice cream on the bottom half. Top with other half of cookie. Place on a wax paper lined baking sheet. Repeat for remaining cookies. Place in freezer. Once ice cream is solid wrap each sandwich individually in plastc wrap, wax paper or parchment paper.

*If you want really big ice cream sandwiches you can do a full cookie on bottom and top. You can also make smaller cookies for mini ice cream sandwiches that are perfect for kids or a small treat for adults.

Ice cream sandwich variations:

Chocolate cookies (omit banana, reduce flour to 3/4 cups, add 3 Tbsp. cocoa and 1/8 cup milk) with peanut butter, chocolate, mint , cookie dough or vanilla ice cream.

Vanilla cookies with chocolate, vanilla, caramel, cookie dough or strawberry ice cream.

Cinnamon cookies with vanilla or pumpkin ice cream.

Banana cookies with chocolate or peanut butter ice cream.

Meal Plans Week of 6-24-12

Happy Sunday. It’s the start of another hot week here. It’ll be a busy one, too.

Last week we had quite a bit of down time. It was nice. Yesterday we made a trip east to meet our new niece, Bristol. Such a precious little baby! Seeing her, my “baby” definitely doesn’t look anything like a baby 😛  Congratulations, Kevin and Sara and big brother Carson!!!

We have something going on every day this week. Last week Rebecca started dance/gymnastics (which she loves!). This week she also starts swimming. So that will keep us busy. Today is church. Monday is swimming in the morning and dance in the afternoon. Tuesday is swimming and farmer’s market. Wednesday is swimming. Thursday is swimming, and I’m taking a yoga class. Friday we have someone coming to fix one of our basement windows/put in glass block. Saturday I think Rebecca and I will finally have time for our Mommy/daughter date…just squeezing it in this month. We’re going to play mini golf. We’ll stop back home to feed Abram/get dinner ready for the boys. Then Rebecca and I will go out for dinner. That’s it for now. We might go to the library one afternoon. Rebecca is really taking off with her reading, so I’d like to get some early reader books for her. There is also a chance we could have a park playdate one afternoon.

It doesn’t look like we’ll have as much time in the kitchen this week. Last week I made two kinds of pesto, kefir, butterscotch ice cream, strawberry raspberry freezer jam, brownies, two salads for our get-together, a meal for my brother/SIL and froze strawberries. This week I need to use my sourdough. I might make banana or zucchini bread with it. I just finished my soaked graham crackers, so I might make another batch. I want to make more sour cream. And possibly butterscotch sauce and/or ice cream. I might make a batch of homemade noodles. And we’ll see what produce the market has this week. Last week cherries were $8 a quart! So I don’t plan to freeze cherries this year 🙁  I think that’s about it.

No big updates on me. Just taking things one day at a time. I did stop taking my probiotic again. Always experimenting 🙂  Like I’ve said before…if something isn’t working, try something else. At the moment I can’t tell that the probiotic is having any significant impact. I have committed to eating some cultured food daily instead. See how it goes. And I’m still enjoying ice cream for breakfast once in a while in this hot weather 🙂  Here’s what’s on the menu.
——————
S (church, make broth, make kefir)
  B – maple pecan scones, fruit salad
  L – cp roast chicken, baked potatoes, beans
  D – sloppy joes, quinoa salad, fruit salad, milkshakes

M (strain/freeze broth, swimming, dance, strain kefir, prep smoothies)
  B – yogurt, maple pecan scone
  D – (prep ahead) – pasta fagioli soup w/ sloppy corn muffins (from freezer)

T (skim cream, make sc, soak flour, make kefir, swimming, FM, make ic)
  B – smoothie, baked oatmeal
  D – chicken pesto paninis or avocado chicken salad sandwiches, zucchini fries, chips

W (make sd banana bread, make soaked grahams, strain kefir, swimming, playdate)
  B – sd banana bread, fruit
  D – RR – rice balls, beans, tbd

Th (make pesto, sewing, preserve produce?, swimming, library?, yoga)
  B – smoothie, TBD from freezer
  D – (separate) – pulled bbq chicken sandwiches, roasted potatoes and carrots

F (sewing, make yogurt, glass block, library?)
  B – sd english muffin w/ jam and pb
  D – salmon egg cups, sd banana bread, squash

S (mini golf/out to eat)
  B – TBD
  D – leftovers or TBD / Rainbow Grill

"Dutch" Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Last week I made one final strawberry rhubarb dessert. I made a pie to bring to a family gathering. Instead of a traditional pie I made it similar to Dutch Apple Pie with a crumble topping. It was a big hit with everyone. So good! I might have to make this every summer.

This post is linked to Real Food Wednesdays, Fat Tuesday, Fresh Bites Friday and Fight Back Friday.

Dutch Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Pie Crust:

1 1/4 cups all purpose flour (or whole wheat)

1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup + 1 Tbsp. palm shortening or cold butter
1/8 cup + 2 Tbsp. water w/ 1/2 tsp. vinegar

Filling:

2 1/2 cups rhubarb, chopped
2 1/2 cups strawberries, chopped
4 Tbsp. organic cornstarch
3/4 cups organic cane sugar or sucanat
1/2 tsp. cinnamon

Topping:

1/2 cup organic cane sugar or sucanat

3/4 cup flour (AP or whole wheat)
1/3 cup butter, chilled

——————————
Prepare the crust:

In a food processor combine the flour and salt. Add half of the shortening. Pulse. Add the other half. Pulse. Add water + vinegar and pulse until a ball of dough forms. Roll out dough and place in 9″ pie pan.
(You could also do a soaked crust.)

Prepare the filling:

Mix the cornstarch, sugar and cinnamon. Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. of  over the bottom of the pie crust. Mix remaining mixture with the fruit. Pour into pie pan.

Prepare the topping:

Mix the sugar and flour. Cut in butter until crumbly. Sprinkle over top of pie.

Bake at 400 degrees for 50-55 minutes. Let cool completely before slicing.

The Mary Diet

When it comes to “diets” I’ve practically tried it all – low fat, high fat, low carb, high carb, low protein, high protein, low fiber, high fiber, grain free, gluten free, dairy free, egg free, nut free, soy free, red meat free, IBS diet, GAPS,…you get the picture. I’m by no means an expert, but I do have plenty of experience. And my experience leads me to one conclusion…there is no one-size-fits-all diet. There is no perfect way to eat (i.e. GAPS does not work/is not necessary for everyone, paleo is lacking for some people, low carb can really deteriorate some people’s health, etc.). Not everyone needs to avoid gluten/grains. Not everyone needs to avoid dairy. Every body is different and has different needs. Even individuals have different needs at different times. I do believe there are some basic principles that pretty much everyone should follow:

Eat REAL/whole food
Avoid processed/packaged foods (most of the time)
Eat plenty of healthy fat (butter, coconut oil, evoo, lard, tallow, etc.)
Avoid vegetable oils and high omega-6 foods (canola oil, sunflower oil, soybean oil, etc.)
Eat a balance of carb/protein/fat that works for your body (I do better with higher carb, but others do better with higher protein)
Eat animal protein sources (it doesn’t have to be a lot, but animal proteins have a lot of stuff the body really needs, even if it’s just eggs or dairy or seafood)

Aside from that you have to work with your own body and your own lifestyle. So after years and years of trial and error based on a diet that someone else said “should” work, I’ve decided to follow the Mary diet. It’s what works for me. I don’t have it totally figured out. And it will always be changing for the different seasons of my life. So this is not a diet that anyone else should follow. But I decided to give a rough idea of what works and doesn’t work for me. I know I always enjoy reading what others have figured out that works for them. So this is the Mary diet…for now.

I also want to add an update on an experiment I did. I struggled with eating disorders for years. Now I still have a very skewed mentality about food…which is a big part of my problem. For years people acted like I hardly ate anything. My mom was always trying to get me to eat, and her nervousness about it made me nervous. So to this day I always feel like I don’t eat “enough” or as much as everyone else. And I feel like I can’t waste food and that if I miss a meal or snack something horrible will happen. I have a combination of a fear of undereating (that came from others) and a fear of overeating (that came from myself/my fear of getting fat). But none of that is really true. I decided to log my calories (using a free online tool) for a few days, just to see how much I actually do eat. I was quite surprised to find that on average I eat about 2200 – 2800 calories a day! I’d say that’s plenty. The other thing I learned is that I eat a LOT of fat. Many days my fat intake is 60% of my daily calories (see that picture of me…Fat does not make you fat!!! As long as you’re eating the healthy kind – saturated and monounsaturated. When I ate very low fat years ago…that’s when I had the most weight gain. And when I ate lots of processed foods…that were typically low fat). I think I need to try to lower that a bit and increase my carb intake…even them out a little. Fat is very healthy, but I need a few more carbs I think for my body to be in balance. My protein intake is 10-20%…I think that’s about right for me. I think this is a great thing for anyone to do just to assess what your daily intake really is and see if you need adjustments.

I’m working on trying to calm my gut and reduce inflammation. It’s hard to get a good balance. If I eat very much insoluble fiber it causes gas and inflammation. If I eat very much starch it acts like glue in my intestines. If I eat much PUFA it causes major inflammation.

There are many symptoms I experience that tell me something isn’t right. I’m finally realizing that all of the small annoyances I have once in a while aren’t coincidental/random. They are caused by the food I eat and how my body handles them. Allergies, intolerances and inflammation can do major damage.

Here is a list of some of my symptoms that tell me my body is having a reaction of some kind (die off, allergy, intoleranc, inflammation, adrenal fatigue, etc.) – headache, eye pain, bloodshot eyes, itchy eyes, small cysts/bumps on edge of eyelid (makes it feel like there is something in my eye), mouth sores, cystic acne on my face, acne on my head, neck and back, sore throat, stuffy nose, leg swelling, bloated belly (that I can’t suck in…feels like a rock), weight gain, fatigue, oily skin, dull skin and hair, feeling cold/chilled, joint pain, dry/cracked skin/small cuts, constipation, stomach pain, trapped gas, intestinal spasms, rash/skin irritation, build up on my teeth, coated tongue/thrush/yeast,  frequent urination, anxiety and moodiness.

So, on to the diet. I’m still figuring things out. Sometimes it’s a painful process. But I hope I’m getting there. It’s just a list of some of the foods we eat regularly, not an extensive list of all foods. Below the menu I’ve included a timeline of my diet progression over the years. I also wanted to mention that other factors such as sleep, exercise and stress reduction can play a big role in your health.

Have you had experience with all sorts of diets? Have you found anything that works for you?

Must Avoid:

brown rice
corn
potatoes
bananas
carrots
apples
peanuts
almonds
oats
peppers
onions
tomatoes
spinach/most leafy greens (do ok with small amounts of kale and beet greens)
starch/gums – corn starch, potato starch, guar gum, tara gum, arrowroot, carageenan, polysorbate, etc. (ice cream, processed foods, powdered sugar, frosting)
artificial sweeteners
black beans
strawberries
rye
egg whites
barley

My go-to foods:

chicken broth
egg yolks (especially raw) – wondering about this one (1/13)
dairy (all kinds…especially high fat)
seafood
squash
pumpkin
zucchini
avocado
sweet peas
snap peas
coconut oil
EVOO
ground beef
chicken
turkey
romaine and iceburg lettuce
broccoli
brussels sprouts
cauliflower
blueberries
raspberries
peaches
pears
cherries
beans (green/yellow)
honey
maple syrup
beets
white rice
whole wheat (soaked or sprouted)
cocoa

Here is a recap of my progression and what went wrong:
high school – fat free/low fat ice cream in large quantities, extremely low fat diet, no nutrients
college – lived on granola (oats), cereal (processed), ice cream, low fat, carrots, apples, diet pop, high sugar/processed, lots of beans, lots of snacky foods, high sugar/starch, low nutrient, lots of salads – vegetable oils/fat free dressing, peanut butter (basically in college I lived on all the foods that I now can’t eat at all – created intolerances or allergies)
2002 – 2005 – low fat, processed food, ice cream, cereal/granola, citrucel, zelnorm, anti-depressants, birth control
2005 – 2006 – IBS diet – low fat, no red meat, no dairy, no egg yolks, soy/rice milk/products, oats, cereal, graham crackers, grape juice
2006 – 2007 – colon surgery and recovery, stick to IBS diet, fertility treatments, pregnancy, thyroid meds, miralax (so many chemicals/synthetic hormones)
2008 – expand diet – finally start learning about REAL food, pregnancy, breastfeeding
2009 – breastfeeding, oats/cereal, ice cream, juice, fertility treatments
2010 – fertility treatments, tried gluten free, pregnant
2011 – grain free, GAPS, pregnant, breastfeeding, low carb/high protein
2012 – stopped GAPS, RARRF, figure out what works for me, start mineral supplements (calcium, magnesium, blends), start rotating foods more, breastfeeding
2013 – Eat for Heat – finally getting my metabolism, mineral levels and body temp up, have more energy, waiting on allergy, adrenal, mineral and thyroid test results, working on weaning so my body can fully recover, trying to get more sleep to help heal adrenals

Some of the biggest culprits/stumbling blocks/temptations for me over the years have been oats/granola, cereal (processed food), carrots, peanut butter, ice cream (boughten), packaged food (fillers/chemicals), low fat foods, artificial sweeteners, low carb; lack of sleep; synthetic hormones; anxiety. I’m still struggling with the lack of sleep and anxiety.

Here are a few good books/sites that have helped me along the way:

The Mood Cure (for some)
GAPS (for some)
Nourishing Traditions
Fiber Menace (for some)
Diet Recovery / 180 Degree Health
Eat for Heat
Real Food / Real Food for Mother and Baby

This post is linked to Fat Tuesday, Real Food Wednesday, Fresh Bites Friday and Fight Back Friday.

Meal Plans Week of 6-17-12

Happy Father’s Day! I am blessed to have a wonderful father, a loving husband, a great FIL and a caring grandfather. Happy Father’s Day to all of you. We have a little Father’s Day gift today…some much needed rain 🙂  Hopefully it will bring a little break from the heat. We will also (hopefully) have another little gift tomorrow…a new niece! Praying all goes smoothly for my SIL!

Last week we didn’t go many places, but we stayed plenty busy. I ended up making hot fudge, vanilla ice cream (with friends that came for a playdate), butterscotch, graham crackers/homemade deluxe grahams, chocolate ganache cake, strawberry rhubarb pie, mayo, strawberry cream pops, yogurt and froze 5 gallons of strawberries. We also had a fun extended family gathering yesterday.

This week we’ll keep busy. Today is church and celebrating Father’s Day. We might go to Cone World as part of dinner since we got a Living Social Deal for $10 worth of food for $5. A special FD treat…if it’s not too rainy this evening. Monday is milk pick up. And we also got Rebecca signed up for a new dance class. It’s the same class she was supposed to have, but at a different day/time. She’s pretty excited. Tuesday is Farmer’s Market. Wednesday Meijer and co-op pick up. Saturday we will most likely be heading East to meet our new niece and hang out with  my brother and his family. Not sure if we’ll add any other activities like the zoo, library or park.

Last week I did not get enough sleep. Abram is teething like crazy. He’s up 2 or 3 times a night and nursing a lot. I also think he’s going through a growth spurt both physically and mentally. Plus I got to bed late some nights trying to deal with all of the strawberries we picked. I can tell it really took its toll on me. Lack of sleep means the body can’t rest/recover over night (especially when the sleep I do get is broken into little chunks). It also leads to craving carbs/sugar for energy…which leads to eating “junk” food (especially when we have so much of it around!). It’s all homemade food, but I still overdo when I’m overtired and stressed. It also means lack of really nourishing food since I’m eating the sweet stuff instead. The end result? Major flare of inflammation, moody/impatient, acne flare, bloating/puffy, poor digestion, crave sugar. It is also not conducive to keeping up with a little boy that climbs on everything (learned how to climb onto the dining room chairs this week) and gets into everything and keeping Rebecca busy and stimulated enough. She needs new, exciting challenges every day (she’s barely 4 and started reading full sentences last week!! She’s learning how to spell so many words too.)  It’s also tough to make good food choices right now with all of the delicious fresh produce available. I know it sounds strange to have that as a problem, but my body can only handle a small amount of fiber. I have a weakness for fresh sugar snap peas…and they were awesome this week! Sadly strawberries are one of the foods on my eat sparingly list. Any fruit or vegetable with edible seeds is very tough for me. Strawberries, especially, seem to cause me problems. And of course I’ve been eating them with 25 lbs. of freshly picked strawberries in the house! I need to get back on track, keep eating broth (I at least have been good about having that at least once a day), get better about taking my CLO (that seems to help reduce inflammation) and do what I can to get more sleep. I can’t control how much Abram is up. But I will do my best to not make my life so busy that I can’t get to bed on time. I’m hoping to do a bigger diet post update soon where I’ll update the results (that even surprised me!) of my experiment from last week.

That being said, here’s my tentative plan for kitchen work this week. If there is still rhubarb available I’d like to make strawberry rhubarb jam. I want to freeze a few more strawberries yet. Any other preserving will depend on what’s at the market…maybe broccoli? I need to use my sourdough. I want to make a batch of basil pesto since we have lots of basil growing in our window box. We have lots of lettuce, so maybe we’ll be eating some salads. I made a regular batch of pesto this morning. And if time allows I want to work on sewing. I finally got fabric cut out last week. And we’ll be eating another Rebecca recipe this week. I will also likely be making food to bring to my brother/SIL this weekend. Here’s what’s on the menu for now.
—————
S (prep potato salad, make pesto, church, Father’s Day, prep smoothies, make kefir)
  B – bread pudding, fruit salad
  L – grilled pork chops, potato salad, beans
  D – salad/fruit, Cone World? else TBD
M (prep dinner, clean, milk, dance, strain kefir)
  B – smoothies, TBD from freezer
  D – sweet and sour chicken meatballs and veg in the cp over zucchini ribbons

T (make basil pesto, skim cream, fm)
  B – pancakes
  D – pesto chicken over rice, peas

W (freeze strawberries, prep dinner, Meijer, co-op, make ice cream)
  B – smoothies, TBD from freezer
  D – (separate) – beef roast in cp w/ veggies

Th (make/can jam)
  B – sd english muffin w/ strawberry rhubarb jam and pb
  D – RR – pesto salad (“broccoli, carrots, beans and peas topped with basil pesto w/ cheese mixed in, topped with lettuce”), garlic toast, russian custard

F (make food for Sat.?)
  B – yogurt, granola, fruit
  D – scrambled or fried eggs, toast w/ strawberry rhubarb jam, TBD veg, strawberry milkshakes

S (clean, Flint?)
  B – tbd
  D – tbd

RR – Cheese Chicken Nuggets

I’m starting a new recipe category – RR. It does not stand for Rachael Ray (especially since I rarely make her recipes). It stand for Rebecca’s Recipes! As Rebecca and I create and make her recipes I’ll share them…if they are worth sharing 🙂

This week we made “cheese chicken nuggets.” It’s a chicken nugget (her favorite) filled with cheese. I made them using two methods. They both worked fine. I cut up some chicken chunks. Then I pounded some of them thin and rolled them up with cheese inside. Some I just cut a slit in the side and stuffed with a chunk of cheese. Then I breaded them all and baked them. They tasted great! I was pretty rushed when making dinner, so I didn’t do them as neatly as I would have liked and didn’t get in as much cheese as I would have liked. But they were still great. I’ll make them again for sure! I served them with homemade honey mustard.

Cheese Chicken Nuggets

2 large chicken breasts
cheese, cut into strips or chinks or shredded (I used parmesan in some and white cheddar in others)

organic AP flour
panko
egg
seasoning of choice

Cut chicken into large chunks.

Method 1:

Pound chicken pieces very thin. Place small amount of cheese at one end and roll.

Method 2:

Cut large slit into chicken chunks. Stuff cheese inside.

Bread:

Coat in flour, then beaten egg, then seasoned panko or homemade bread crumbs.

Cook:

Place on coconut oil greased baking sheet. Drizzle with coconut oil. Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes.

OR

Fry in a cast iron skillet in coconut oil/palm shortening/lard until crispy on all sides.

Strawberry Cream Pops

Rebecca and I spotted a delicous looking recipe in my Kiwi magazine this week. It sounded so easy that we decided to make it right away. It only has a few ingredients. It is so simple and so good!! Strawberry cream pops are a healthy, delicious treat. I gave one to Rebecca for breakfast yesterday! I always have homemade yogurt on hand. Strawberries are in season (and we have a ton that we just picked). And I happened to make a fresh batch of graham crackers this week. So it was the perfect time to try this recipe. I used a little bit of maple syrup and vanilla to flavor the yogurt. I also scaled back the recipe to just make four. These really are very good. It’s kind of like strawberry cheesecake in a popsicle.

I am so excited now for blueberries to be available in a few weeks…bring on the blueberry cheesecake pops!!! I plan to make a batch with soaked graham crackers and maybe a little raw sour cream mixed in. I think I’ll be having some popsicles for breakfast soon 🙂

This post is linked to Fight Back Friday and Fresh Bites Friday and Real Food Wednesdays.

Strawberry Cream Pops

1 1/2 cups vanilla yogurt (I used homemade full fat yogurt w/ maple syrup and vanilla extract)
3/4 cups fresh or frozen strawberries hulled
3/4 cups crushed graham crackers (preferably homemade…even better use soaked)

Crush graham crackers into pea size pieces (I did this by pulsing them in the food processor a few times).

Combine yogurt and strawberries in a food processor. Process until strawberries break down and mixture turns light pink.

Pour yogurt mixture over graham crackers and mix.

Pour the mixture into 10 popsicle molds and freeze until solid.

Chocolate Ganache Cake

I finally tried my last recipe from my pile that has been on our breakfast nook for years. It’s a Barefoot Contessa recipe that my mom cut out for me. It’s a Valentine’s recipe that she calls Chocolate Ganache Heart Cake and makes in a heart shaped pan. I just used a 9″ round cake pan. I also modified the recipe to use real ingredients…instead of 2 cups of Hershey’s syrup! I used a combo of homemade hot fudge and cocoa powder and cane sugar as a substitute. I also just kept the cake in the pan when I poured the ganache on top to make it easier/less messy. Plus I didn’t want to waste any of the ganache 🙂

This turned out awesome!! I could not stop taking little tastes of it all afternoon/evening 😛  I think I’ll be paying for it today. But it is just so good. I can’t have this around me too often. Justin and Rebecca (and Abram 😉 gave it great reviews as well. It’s a dense, chocolaty, moist, gooey cake. Perfect topped with homemade chocolate and/or vanilla ice cream (Justin had his with both last night :). I’ll post the recipe the way I made it.

Chocolate Ganache Cake

1 stick unsalted butter at room temp
1 1/2 cups organic cane sugar
4 large eggs
8 oz. homemade chocolate sauce
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp. vanilla
1 cup organic AP flour

For the Ganache:
1/2 cup heavy cream
8 oz. good semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 tsp. instant coffee granules

Heat oven to 325. Butter and flour a 9″ cake pan (I always line mine with parchment paper to be sure the cake doesn’t stick).

Cream the butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Mix in the hot fudge, cocoa powder  and vanilla. Add the flour. Mix until just combined. Don’t overbeat. Pour into the pan and bake about 45 minutes, until just set in the middle. Let cool thoroughly in the pan.

For the ganache, heat the cream, chocolate and coffee in a double boiler just until the chocolate melts and the ganache is smooth.

Place the cake upside down on a wire rack and pour the warm glaze evenly over the top. Transfer to a serving plate. Or just keep it in the pan and spread the ganache over top.

Do not refrigerate the cake after it’s glazed.

Homemade Deluxe Grahams

After making thin mint cookies last week I decided it would be fun to experiment with other cookie remakes. The chocolate mint reminded me of Keebler Grasshopper cookies. Before we started eating real food Justin ate those quite often. He also enjoyed the deluxe grahams. So yesterday I did a play on those. I made chocolate covered grahams and chocolate mint covered grahams. So delicous! And much healthier than something you’ll eat out of a box. No HFCS. No hydrogenated oils. No vegetable oils. No refined sugars. Love it!

Homemade Deluxe Grahams and Deluxe Minty Grahams

Graham Crackers

2 cups whole wheat flour
1/2 cup cane sugar or sucanat
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon (you can use less. I like it with a lot)
6 Tbsp. honey
1/4 cup water
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup butter or coconut oil (I generally use 1/4 cup of each), melted
Chocolate Coating

12 oz. semi-sweet chocolate
1/3 cup cream
peppermint oil (optional)

————————
Graham Crackers:

Mix the dry ingredients. Add the wet and mix until a ball of dough forms. If the dough is too try add more honey or butter/oil.

Split dough in half. Roll each half on parchment paper. Cut into squares with a pizza cutter. Place parchment paper on two baking sheets. Bake at 350 for about 15 minutes. Turn off oven. Leave crackers in the oven about 10 minutes to crisp. Remove from the oven and let cool completely.

Chocolate Coating:

Melt the chocolate and cream in a double boiler. Add a few drops of peppermint oil if you want chocolate mint grahams. Dip graham crackers into the chocolate, coating both sides. Place on a parchment lined baking sheet (I just reuse the pans/paper the graham crackers baked on). Place in the refrigerator to harden.

Store in an airtight container. If your house is warm you should store them in the refrigerator or freezer.

Cobb Style Rice Bowls

Last night I made my other Rachael Ray recipe that’s been sitting in my recipe pile for several years. It’s a very simple dish and really can be quite versatile depending on your tastes. I made it mostly according to the recipe. But I don’t have any kale. I just sauteed some leaf lettuce from our garden instead. And I used chopped walnuts instead of sunflower seeds. We all really enjoyed this. Justin and Rebecca would rather not have the tomatoes. They just don’t care for them. I think they are crazy 🙂  This is a great light summer meal. If I make it again I think I’ll increase the amount of dressing on the rice. We could hardly taste it, and I used a half recipe of dressing for 1/5 the amount of rice.

Cobb Style Rice Bowls
4 servings (RR servings…probably more for most people)

8 slices bacon
1 bunch kale, stemmed and thinly sliced (4 cups packed)
1 Tbsp. EVOO (I used coconut oil)
1 pt. grape tomatoes (I used cherry tomatoes)
2 tsp. salt
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar (I used red wine…all I had)*
1 Tbsp. sugar
5 cups cooked brown rice (I used white rice)
1 avocado, thinly sliced (I cut it in chunks)
1/4 cup shelled sunflower seeds (I used chopped crispy walnuts)

In a large, heavy skillet, cook the bacon over medium heat until crisp, about 10 minutes; transfer to a paper towel and discard all but 1 tablespoon of the grease. Add the kale and 3 tablespoons water; cover and cook over medium to medium-low heat until tender, about 8 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a medium skillet, heat the olive oil. Add the tomatoes and 1 teaspoon salt and cook over medium heat, shaking the pan occasionally, until the tomatoes are softened, about 8 minutes. 

In a small bowl, mix the vinegar, sugar and remaining 1 teaspoon salt until dissolved; stir into the rice.* (I would make a lot more dressing for the rice to give it enough flavor)

To serve, divide the rice among 4 bowls and layer with the kale, tomatoes, avocado, bacon and sunflower seeds.