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Sourdough Granola Muffins

I haven’t used my sourdough in a few weeks, and I’ve been trying to figure out what to make with it before it grew too much. Today I was trying to come up with an easy baking project that my daughter and I could do that would also use up a really ripe banana I had.

I thought sourdough muffins with banana. I’ve done that before in combination with both strawberries and blueberries. But I don’t have fresh berries to use up. So I thought I could do banana chocolate chip muffins.

As I gathered ingredients I also took out an open bag of butterscotch chips. Then my daughter said she wanted to use her “granola bowl” (the bowl she usually uses for “her granola” when we make it together). So I got out a little coconut to put in her bowl (she LOVES coconut).

Then I thought I guess I could add some coconut to our muffins. Then Rebecca came over to help me get out our mixing bowls and grabbed the nut chopper. I thought I guess I could add nuts too. So my muffins evovled into granola muffins!

I LOVE granola. I could eat it every day. So I figured a granola muffin must be good too. And it is!!! So good! My daughter scarfed down a whole one with lunch.

Sourdough Granola Muffins
Makes 12 muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour (I used sprouted wheat flour…really helps keep them moist)
1 tsp. baking soda
1/4 – 1/2 cup cane sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
1 egg
1 tsp. vanilla
1/4 cup oil (I used coconut)
1 cup sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups total of granola add-ins (I used raisins, chopped crispy walnuts, chocolate chips, butterscotch chips and coconut.)
1 small very ripe banana, mashed (optional)

Preheat oven to 425F.

Combine dry ingredients in small bowl. Stir in granola add-ins. Combine wet ingredients (and mashed banana) in medium bowl. Add dry ingredients to wet ones.

Mix quickly and spoon into muffin cups (I used silicon muffin cups…the muffins popped right out.).

Bake at 425 for 18-20 minutes.

No Bake Carob Cashew Cookies

It’s been a while since I’ve actually posted a recipe. Things have been slightly crazy here lately. So there hasn’t been much new…or much of anything at all going on in my kitchen. But I’m getting back into the swing of things now that I’m not stuck on the couch all day. This is actually something I made last week, but I haven’t been able to be at the computer much since then. Last week I decided to experiment with some no bake cookies. I figured it was a good way to get a few cookies in the house without using the oven. And it’s easy for Rebecca to help. I just used my basic no bake cookie recipe. But I used carob instead of cocoa and homemade cashew butter instead of peanut butter. The result…they taste great…but they are so gooey. I have to store them in the freezer to keep them hard. Something about this combo just didn’t quite work right. I’m guessing it’s the cashew butter. Anyway, they look normal and taste fine. And it was a fun experiment. I’ll post my regular cookie recipe. I got it in 6th grade in home economics class 🙂  I’ve made it a million times with no problems…these are generally pretty fool proof. You just have to use the right ingredients.

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

1 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. cocoa (or carob)
2 Tbsp. butter
1/4 cup milk
1 cup oatmeal (I used rolled oats this time…just realized I’ve used instant in the past…that may have been part of the problem)
1/4 cup peanut butter
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Mix sugar, salt and cocoa in a medium sauce pan.

Add butter and milk. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Continue to cook and stir about 1 1/2 minutes.

Remove from heat. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Drop by spoonfuls onto wax paper lined baking pan. Chill.

Carob Sauce

I made my 2nd carob recipe yesterday…carob sauce. With all of this good homemade ice cream and some good cream to use up it was the perfect fit. Plus it was something simple for Rebecca to help with. This was very easy to make. And tastes so good!!! We all had some on ice cream last night for a special 4th of July dessert. Yum! This is another Nourishing Traditions recipe. And a great way to swap carob for cocoa in your diet. A healthy, tastey treat.

Carob Sauce
Makes 2 1/2 cups

2/3 cup carob powder
1/2 cup butter
1/3 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. chocolate extract (optional) (I didn’t add this…still tastes plenty chocolatey)
pinch of salt
1 cup cream, not ultrapasteurized

Place all ingredients in the top half of a double boiler.

Cook gently, stirring occasionally with a wooden spoon, until well amalgamated (all blended well :).

Real Fruit Popsicles

This isn’t much of a recipe, but I thought I’d share it anyway. Just a fun, healthy summer treat. I cut up a whole watermelon the other day. And realized we could never eat that much watermelon before it goes bad. Sometimes when I have a lot I freeze it. I love to eat it frozen. And Rebecca and I will both eat it when it has thawed. But we already have some in the freezer. So I thought about what else I could do with extra watermelon. And I decided to try making popsicles with it. And it worked! All I did was puree some watermelon and freeze it. That’s it. Nothing added, no extra sugar. Just pure watermelon. And they are so good! Rebecca devoured one last night. I wish I had more strawberries now. They would be even better with strawberry puree mixed in. I have a little more watermelon to use up. I think I’ll make a few more popsicles. And I might see if I can make some watermelon fruit leather too. Just thought I’d pass along this simple idea for a healthy summer treat. It’s especially good for kids or for anyone trying to cut down on added sugar. I think this would work for a lot of fruits. And you can mix them too. I’ll have to try different flavors. Excuse the picture…Rebecca had already taken a couple bites 🙂

Watermelon (Fruit) Popsicles

watermelon

Puree watermelon in a blender. Pour into popsicle molds or cups w/ popsicle sticks. Freeze. Enjoy 🙂

Vanilla Ice Cream

This morning Rebecca and I made a batch of vanilla ice cream. It is the Nourishing Traditions recipe. I never knew making good ice cream could be this easy. I mixed all the ingredients by hand in a large measuring cup and poured it into my ice cream maker. It took about 20 min. from start to finish (with Rebecca helping) to have yummy ice cream. I haven’t gotten a chance to shop for arrowroot yet, so I added about a tsp. of cornstarch. But it’s probably not necessary. And I also haven’t had a chance to pick up really good cream. But even without that I know this is still way better for us than just about any ice cream I can buy. It doesn’t even have sugar in it, just maple syrup. And it tastes unbelievable! I can’t wait to try some when it’s totally firm. I didn’t end up adding any carob chips to it, but I will when I make it again sometime. Now I just need to make some carob sauce to pour over top 🙂  The homemade chocolate sauce (using good ingredients) I have in the fridge will have to do for now 🙂  Hopefully once I get all the good/correct ingredients I’ll calculate the cost to see how this compares to buying ice cream. I didn’t end up taking any pictures after it had firmed up and then we scooped some out. It scooped very nicely. And is so so good!

Right after making the ice cream…Rebecca had to try some “with chocolate” as always.

Vanilla Ice Cream
Makes 1 quart

3 egg yolks
1/2 cup maple syrup
1 Tbsp. vanilla extract
1 Tbsp. arrowroot
3 cups heavy cream, not ultrapasteurized

Beat egg yolks and blend in remaining ingrdients (I just did this all by hand with a whisk). Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to instructions (It took about 15 min. in my Kitchen Aid ice cream maker attachment). Transfer to a shallow plastic container, cover and store in freezer.

Strawberry Ice Cream

I have a bunch of fresh strawberries in my fridge. And I’ve been debating about what to do with them. For some reason on Wed. strawberry ice cream sounded good. I don’t normally like fruity ice creams. And if I did pick one strawberry would not be my first choice. I am a chocolate girl all the way. But I figured it was worth a try with all of these strawberries. I wanted to make something with what I have in the house. And to make something easy/qiuck. I checked my Nourishing Traditions cookbook. It has several ice cream recipes…that you don’t have to cook!! Love that. If you’re afraid of raw eggs, then the recipes are not for you. I trust the eggs we buy, so I don’t worry about it. Plus, if they are good eggs, raw eggs (the yolks at least…not sure about the whites) are actually good for you. I also wanted to make ice cream using just whole milk, no cream…since I don’t have any cream on hand. So I used the NT recipe as my base and modified it a bit. Turned out pretty good. Not quite as creamy as some ice cream…but I didn’t use cream, remember? 🙂  And I didn’t add any chemicals to make it taste creamy when it’s not 😛  But still good. It’s kind of like a sorbet. It’s a treat that I’ll feel good about eating. Only a few ingredients and all good ones. I did have to use a couple tsp. of corn starch since I don’t have any arrowroot. But it’s such a small amount I’m not worried about that. I’ll have to get arrowroot the next time I grocery shop. I only made a half recipe since I didn’t know if this would work or not. If I make it again maybe I’ll double the recipe to get a decent amount. And I’d like to try it with other berries. Blueberry ice cream sounds great! That’ll be on my list in July. And I want to try making this using the NT vanilla recipe and then adding chopped strawberries at the end too. Justin had some last night with fresh strawberries on top. He thought it was ok…but not really like ice cream. It is for sure a healthy, cool summer treat. But it’s not my final attempt at making a quicky, easy, healthy homemade ice cream. NT calls this berry ice cream and suggests raspberries, boysenberries or blackberries.

And just to give you a little nudge to make homemade ice cream or at least think twice about which kind you buy, here is what NT has to say about some of the ingredients many ice cream manufacturers use. They are not required by law to list the additives used in manufacturing. So most ice cream is synthetic from start to finish. And I personally don’t consider a mixture of antifreeze, oil paint, mitrate solvent and lice killer much of a treat 😛

DIETHYLGLYCOL: A cheap chemical used as an emulsifier instead of eggs is the same chemical used in antifreeze and paint removers.

PIPERONAL: Used in place of vanilla. This chemical is used to kill lice.

ALDEHYDE C-17: Used to flavor cherry ice cream. It is inflammable liquid also used in aniline dyes, plastic and rubber.

ETHYL ACETATE: Used to give ice cream a pineapple flavor – and as a cleaner for leather and textiles; its vapors have been known to cause chronic lung, liver and heart damage.

BUTYRALDEHYDE: Used in nut flavored ice cream. It is one of the ingredients of rubber cement.

AMYL ACETATE: Used for its banana flavor. It is also used as an oil paint solvent.

BENZYL ACETATE: Used for its strawberry flavor. It is a nitrate solvent.

Strawberry Ice Cream/Sorbet

2 cups fresh berries or 10 oz. frozen berries, partially thawed (I used fresh strawberries)
2 egg yolks
1 Tbsp. arrowroot (I substitued corn starch)
2 cups heavy cream, not ultrapasteurized (I used whole milk)
1/2 – 3/4 cup maple syrup

Process berries in food processor (I used a blender) for several minutes. Add egg yolks, cream and arrowroot. Process until well blended. Gradually add maple syrup until desired sweetness is obtained. Pour into an ice cream maker and process according to instructions. Transfer to storage container and store in freezer.

Strawberry Shortcake

I’ve never really been a fan of strawberry shortcake. I don’t like biscuit-type things or the sponge cake kind either. And I don’t like whipped cream. So that leaves the strawberries 😛  And that is what I would eat growing up when my mom made it…just the sweetened strawberries (sometimes on ice cream) while everyone else ate the shortcake. It’s strawberry season right now. And I decided I’d try making shortcake…never have before. Laura on Heavenly Homemakers posted a simple, healthy recipe the other day…that looked good to me…because it’s not a biscuit or a sponge 😛  Rebecca and I made it yesterday. So easy! And really good. It is very mildly sweet. And goes really well with strawberries. I still have mine with ice cream instead of whipped cream, but at least this time I actually ate the shortcake 🙂  All 3 of us love it. Of course Rebecca is a girl after my own heart…I got her a little dish…but she wouldn’t eat it until I added ice cream and chocolate 😛

Whole Wheat Strawberry Shortcake

1 1/3 cups whole wheat flour (I use some freshly ground sprouted whole wheat and some freshly ground whole wheat flour)
1 tsp. baking powder
2 eggs
1/2 cup honey
1/3 cup oil (I use coconut oil)
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 cup milk (I used my mild kefir)

4-5 cups of fresh, sliced strawberries (I gave it to Rebecca with fresh strawberries. I mashed some strawberries with cane sugar for ours 🙂  It’s good both ways.)

Whipped cream (fresh cream whipped to form soft peaks, with a bit of stevia added for sweetness) (Justin had readi-whip on his…have some on hand to use up from a dessert I made for church last week. I had ice cream on mine.)
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Mix together flour and baking powder. Add in eggs, honey, oil, vanilla and milk. Stir well (or mix well with hand mixer). Pour into a well buttered 8×8 inch baking pan. Bake at 350° for 20-25 minutes (Mine took about 30 minutes).

Allow cake to cool completely. Top with fresh strawberries and whipped cream. (9 servings)

Peanut Butter Frosting

Last weekend I brought cupcakes to my SIL and BIL’s open house. I made 2 kinds – coconut and chocolate peanut butter. I got the recipe for the chocolate peanut butter cupcakes from my Barefoot Contessa cookbook. I decided to just use my regular chocolate cake recipe with her frosting recipe. Super simple and SO good. What’s not to like about chocolate and peanut butter together? 🙂  It’s not the healthiest recipe…but what cake/frosting is? 😛  Definitely a keeper. And I was finally able to use up my last bit of JIF peanut butter that’s been in my cupboard for a while! We haven’t used that stuff in a long time (total junk). But I sometimes have it on hand for baking…and giving away 🙂  I didn’t have quite enough so I did use some natural peanut butter. Still worked fine. I think Ina suggests Skippy (more junk). Just depends how “bad” you want to make the frosting. This makes quite a bit. I frosted about 2 dozen cupcakes pretty generously.

I won’t have any pictures uploaded until we get our pc hard drive fixed. Too much of a pain to do it on the laptop. Check back in a week or so for pics (at least I hope it won’t be more than a week!)

Peanut Butter Frosting

1 cup confectioners’ sugar
1 cup creamy peanut butter
5 tablespoons unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1/3 cup heavy cream

Place the confectioners’ sugar, peanut butter, butter, vanilla, and salt in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on medium-low speed until creamy, scraping down the bowl with a rubber spatula as you work. Add the cream and beat on high speed until the mixture is light and smooth.

Coconut Cake

My BIL and SIL are both graduating. They will be having a potluck open house next Saturday to celebrate before they move down to Kentucky to continue school (residency and PhD work). I decided to bring a couple different kinds of cupcakes. One of them is coconut. I found this recipe in my Barefoot Contessa cookbook a while back. It sounded like something a little more unique. The actual recipe is for a cake. I made cupcakes. This recipe makes a lot of batter. I think it would work better in 3 cake pans instead of 2 (like the recipe says). I made 30 cupcakes. I’ll add cream cheese frosting with a layer of coconut. I let Justin try one last night. He really liked it. Rebecca and I tasted one without frosting. Not very strong coconut. Tastes more almondy. But I think the frosting really brings out the coconut flavor. These were easy to make and turned out well. Someday I’ll have to try actually making the cake. I’m not making her frosting recipe. I just don’t have time. I’ll be making a different frosting recipe.

Coconut Cake

3/4 lb. (3 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus more for greasing the pans
2 cups sugar
5 extra-large eggs, at room temperature (I just used large eggs)
1 1/2 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 tsp. pure almond extract (This makes it pretty strong. I might cut back if I make it again.)
3 cups all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting the pans
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. kosher salt
1 cup milk
4 ounces sweetened shredded coconut (I might add more next time)

For the frosting:

1 lb. cream cheese, at room temperature
1/2 lb. (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature
3/4 tsp. pure vanilla extract
1/4 tsp. pure almond extract
1 lb. confectioners’ sugar, sifted
6 oz. sweetened shredded coconut

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease 2 (9-inch) round cake pans, then line them parchment paper. Grease them again and dust lightly with flour (I think 3 pans would work better). Or you can use muffin cups.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, cream the butter and sugar on medium-high speed for 3 to 5 minutes, until light yellow and fluffy. Crack the eggs into a small bowl. With the mixer on medium speed, add the eggs 1 at a time, scraping down the bowl once during mixing. Add the vanilla and almond extracts and mix well. The mixture might look curdled; don’t be concerned.

In a separate bowl, sift together the flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt. With the mixer on low speed, alternately add the dry ingredients and the milk to the batter in 3 parts, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. Mix until just combined. Fold in the 4 oz. of coconut with a rubber spatula.

Pour the batter evenly into the 2 pans and smooth the top with a knife. Bake in the center of the oven for 45 to 55 minutes, until the tops are browned and a cake tester comes out clean. Cool on a baking rack for 30 minutes, then turn the cakes out onto a baking rack to finish cooling. I made 30 cupcakes…baked at 350 for about 25 minutes.

For the frosting, in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment, combine the cream cheese, butter, vanilla and almond extract on low speed. Add the confectioners’ sugar and mix until just smooth (don’t whip!).

To assemble, place 1 layer on a flat serving plate, top side down, and spread with frosting. Place the second layer on top, top side up, and frost the top and sides. To decorate the cake, sprinkle the top with coconut and lightly press more coconut onto the sides. Serve at room temperature.

Whole Wheat Soaked Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

I continue to experiment with soaking grains and swapping ingredients. I had some buttermilk and plain yogurt to use up, so I decided to see what I could do with my recipe for yum yum coffee cake yesterday. I replaced the AP flour with half whole wheat flour and half white whole wheat flour. I used organic butter. I replaced all of the sugar with organic cane sugar. I added a few raisins. And I soaked the grains ahead of time. And the verdict…AMAZING! Seriously. It is way better than the original version. So moist and delicious. All 3 of us munched on a bunch right out of the oven even though it was close to dinner time. It was just too good not to. Rebecca kept asking for more. And she walked around saying “mmmmm.” I’m so glad I tried this. I’ll be making it this way from now on. And I’ll feel much better about serving it and eating it knowing that is much healthier. And hooray for my 3rd successful attempt at soaking grains! I think I do notice a difference in my digestion when I do it. So I will definitely keep trying. This was such a treat for breakfast this morning. Still just as moist this morning as it was yesterday right out of the oven. And I’m glad I have a bunch more in the freezer now. I’m going to post this as a separate recipe since it’s quite different from the original.

This recipe is linked to GNOWFGLINS probiotics at every meal – breakfast ideas. Lots of yummy, healthy breakfast ideas.

Whole Wheat Cinnamon Raisin Coffee Cake

2 cups whole wheat flour (I used half whole wheat and half white whole wheat)
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt
3/4 cup butter, at room temp
2 eggs
1 – 1 1/2 cups cultured buttermilk or plain yogurt…enough to get all of the flour moist (I used about half each…what I had on hand) (kefir would work well too)
1 cup cane sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Topping:
1/3 cup cane sugar (regular or brown)
2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 cup nutmeats (optional)
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To soak grains:
Mix flour, buttermilk and/or yogurt. Cover and let set on counter at least 8 hours.

When ready to bake:
Heat oven to 350 deg. Grease a 9×13 pan.

Mix topping ingredients, set aside.

In a large bowl cream the butter and sugar. Add the eggs, one at a time. Beat well. Add vanilla and mix. Add wheat mixture, baking powder, baking soda and salt and mix well. Add extra yogurt or buttermilk if too thick. Put half of the batter in the prepared pan. Top with half of topping and all of the raisins. Spread the rest of the batter on top. Top with remaining topping. Bake 35-40 min.

Serve warm or room temperature. Freezes well. Can be served for breakfast, brunch, a snack or even dessert (with vanilla ice cream:)