Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake June 6, 2008

This is the second try for the perfect apple cinnamon coffee cake. I got closer this time, using an adapted version of the Awesome Blueberry Cake. This cake is dense, moist, and full of apples.  I made it last night and it’s almost gone!

Apple Cinnamon Coffee Cake

Batter:
1/3 cup applesauce
1/2 cup agave nectar
1/2 cup soymilk
2 tbsp ground flaxseed
1 tsp vanilla

1 3/4 cup whole spelt flour or 1 cup spelt 3/4 cup barley
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp baking powder
2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

2 cups chopped apples (with peels if organic)

Topping:
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (optional)
1/4 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup whole rolled oats
1 tsp cinnamon
2 tbsp light agave nectar
1 tbsp canola oil

In one bowl, mix the wet batter ingredients and flaxseed. In a separate bowl, mix the dry ingredients, minus the apples. Add the wet ingredients to the dry, and mix well. Mix together the topping, and spread evenly on the top of the batter. Bake in a greased 9×9 pan at 350 for 45 minutes.

I appreciate this recipe for its lack of eggs.  I grew up not being able to eat the cookie dough because it had raw eggs in it, and I’m always kind of grossed out by them anyway (uncooked anyway).  I have yet to crack an egg without having a little egg explosion all over my hands. 

My husband’s great-grandmother who lived until 97 is famous for making floating island  for her guests.  Ideally, egg dishes are cooked, but this was not.  I guess my husband didn’t mind as a child, until he realized that his delicious dessert was undercooked eggs floating in undercooked egg custard.  I do not want him to relive this in any way, so I’m extra careful with my egg dishes, or, better yet, I just make a vegan cake.

Apple Cinnamon Muffins May 25, 2008

In my quest for a yummy healthy apple coffee cake, this is my first attempt.  It is based on a coffee cake recipe, but they really are not quite coffee cake texture.  I think they came out well anyway, though.  

Whole Grain Apple Muffins

Batter:
1 1/4 cups oat flour (or finely ground oats)
1 1/4 cups spelt flour or whole wheat flour
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup canola oil
1/3 cup + 1/6 cup agave nectar
2 eggs
1/2 cup plain unsweetened yogurt
1 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 tsp vanilla

1 cup chopped apple pieces
optional: 1/2 cup walnuts

Topping:
1 cup oats
1/3 cup agave nectar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp salt
2 tbsp canola oil
optional: walnut halves for garnish

Mix together the dry batter ingredients in one bowl, and the wet batter ingredients in another bowl.  Add the wet to the dry and mix together.  Fold in chopped apple and walnuts, if using.  Mix together topping.  Pour into muffin tins and put some topping on each muffin.  Add walnut halves to each muffin if you like. 

Bake at 325 for about 15-20 minutes or until golden brown. 

My husband’s opinion of these muffins is “mmmmmmmm”.  I particularly like the chopped apple, because it’s a bit less common to find in a muffin, but so tasty!

Adapted from King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking.

Product Review: Trader Joe’s Gluten Free Pancake Mix May 24, 2008

On weekend mornings, I love to make pancakes or waffles, but by the time I’m done, I’m grouchy and hungry and the whole process has lost its appeal.  So, this week while at Trader Joe’s, I caved in a bought a pancake and waffle mix.  It’s gluten free and there’s no sugar added to the mix.  My husband decided he wanted waffles, and I wanted pancakes.

        

For $2.99, one mix plus a little oil and 3 eggs made enough for two breakfasts for each of us. They are really tasty and soft.  

Ingredients:sweet brown rice flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot flour, rice milk powder, cream of tartar, xanthan gum, baking soda, sea salt, ground vanilla bean 

Gluten Free Chicken Fingers May 19, 2008

Another of my favorite treats that I never expected to be able to eat on a healthy diet is chicken fingers.  This recipe is referred to by my friends as Healthy Chicken Fingers.  They are made with good fresh heart-healthy oil and whole grain flour.  What’s not to love?  I never measure ingredients when I make this recipe, so I have estimated.  Adjust to your liking.

Healthy Chicken Fingers

6 – 8 Chicken tenderloins or chicken breasts cut into strips
1 egg
3/4 – 1 cup Brown Rice Flour
1 tbsp Garlic Powder
1 tbsp Italian Seasoning
A pinch of Red Pepper Flakes
A pinch of Black Pepper
Canola Oil

Put about an inch of oil in a pan on medium heat, and while your oil warms up, mix together all dry ingredients.  Beat the egg and dip the chicken in egg, then in the flour mixture.  Fry until golden brown.  Serve with organic ketchup and a salad. 

My friend commented once that these taste better than the fast food kind.  I hope you think so too!

 

Awesome Blueberry Cake May 18, 2008

I have made this cake 3 times now and every time it’s come out really well. I do suggest that you go with canola oil and not olive oil, because even light flavored olive oil adds a bit of an olivey flavor to the cake. The website also has some good information about agave nectar.

Wheat and sugar free banana muffies May 18, 2008

This post is the first in a series of wheat-free, sugar-free recipes for treats.

Dispite looking quite large and looming in the above picture, these muffins are tiny. That’s why they are called “muffies”. The word muffie is also more fun to say. I just modified a regular banana muffin recipe a bit, and they came out great. You can make them regular sized as well, of course.

3 medium bananas, mashed, blended, or pulverized in a food processor (my personal favorite)

1/2 cup canola oil or 1 4-oz stick of butter

2 large eggs

3/4 cup agave nectar

1 tsp vanilla

3/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cinnamon

1/4 tsp nutmeg

2 cups spelt flour or 1-1/2 cup spelt + 1/2 cup barley flour

1/2 cup of blueberries, walnuts OR chunks of dark chocolate (I like 85% -it has a miniscule amount of sugar-but people who are used to sweets tend to find it too bitter)

Preheat the oven to 350. Mix banana, oil, eggs, agave nectar, and vanilla together. In a seperate bowl, mix baking soda, salt, cinnamon, nutmeg, and flour together. Add liquid to dry, and mix until smooth. If you’re using berries or walnuts, stir them into the batter. If you want chocolaty center muffins (shown on right), place a chunk of chocolate into each muffin tin once you fill them, and carefully cover the chunks with the batter, making sure you don’t push the chunk all the way to the bottom. If you use regular size muffin tins, bake for 23-28 minutes. If you use mini muffin tins, make it about 12 minutes or so… I can’t remember the exact time. Just make sure a cake tester or knife comes out clean.

A NOTE ON MY WEIRD INGREDIENTS

Agave nectar is a low glycemic sweetener, which means your body processes it more slowly than sugar. It is great for people like me who love sweets but can’t really take the high sugar content. It is also the plant tequilla is made from.

Spelt and barley flour can be found at Whole Foods, and some supermarkets. You could always use whole wheat in this recipe. Barley flour makes muffins more crumbly, which is good in small amounts, this is why I used a quarter barley flour. According to King Arthur Flour Whole Grain Baking cookbook, that is the ratio to use. (I recommend the cookbook to those who want to integrate whole grains into their diet while eating “normal”; it also has a lot of good information about baking with less common grains)

Crunchy Granola May 18, 2008

In conversation, my boss often describes people as “crunchy granola” followed by “you’d like them”. Apparently, I’m one of them, I guess. Maybe because I eat organic food and weird grains. Or is it my personality? Probably both, and here’a another reason: I love homemade granola.

Pretty much every package of store-bought granola I’ve looked at is full of sugar, but it’s still really yummy without a ton of sweetness. And it is so easy to make. Here’s my recipe, which is a hybrid of a couple of recipes that I found.

4 cups rolled oats

1/2 cup sunflower seeds

1/2 milled flaxseed (store in the freezer, it will taste a lot better)

2/3 cup cashews

1 cup almonds

1 1/2 tbsp vanilla

4 tbsp canola oil

4-6 tbsp maple syrup

Mix it all together in a big bowl (dry first, then liquids), and spread it on a cookie sheet or two. The thinner you spread it, the faster it will cook, so if you’re anxious to try it use a couple of cookie sheets. Bake at 350 for around 15-20 minutes or until it feels dry when you run your hands through it. Mix up the granola partway through cooking so it browns evenly. Add dried fruit and and soymilk and you have yourself a healthy and filling breakfast.

I will take being called crunchy granola as a compliment, since that must mean that I’m awesome.

My favorite thing in the world: pizza! May 18, 2008

I love pizza.  I really like having someone else cook one and put it in a box for me, but that can’t happen anymore. I came across someone talking about a restuarant that sells spelt pizza, but it’s nowhere near me, which is very, very sad. So, I just have to make my own (what’s new?).

Spelt is the easiest grain to substitute for wheat, in my experience. It has a similar amount of gluten so it acts pretty much just like wheat, and tastes quite similar as well. If you want to know more about spelt, buy a package of spelt cereal, pretzels, or flour, and it will tell you more. They all have little background stories, unlike wheat (just another great benefit of spelt, a history lesson!), such as my bag of Newman’s Own spelt pretzels tells us that it’s been eaten for over 9,000 years.

I’m currently waiting for my dough to rise. Here’s my foolproof spelt pizza recipe.

Spelt Pizza

3-4 cups spelt flour

1 package active dry yeast

1/3 cup warm water (it can be pretty warm without killing the yeast)

1 cup warm water

1/2 tsp salt

2 tbsp olive oil

Dissolve yeast in the 1/3 cup warm water. Add the rest of the water, half of the flour, olive oil, and salt. Mix that up and gradually add flour until it forms a ball and you can knead it. Knead for about 10 minutes (or until the dough is really mixed and/or you’re really bored). Let it rise until it doubles in size, preferably in a warm area. It should take about an hour to rise, or at least 2 if it’s the winter and you are like me and don’t like high heating bills.

Once the dough has risen, punch it down, knead it a tiny bit more, then seperate into 2 or 3 pieces. Each ball will feed 2 people; if you split it into thirds those people might want a side dish with their pizza as well. Freeze what you don’t use in individual baggies. To defrost, leave it in the fridge while you’re at work so you can come home to a delicious and super easy dinner.

Preheat your oven to 400 degrees. Roll out the dough and prick with a fork all over, so air bubbles won’t form, unless, of course, you are one of those people that loves to pop air bubbles on pizzas. Top the pizza however you like. I like fresh mozzarella-tomato-basil and onion-spinach-artichoke.

Cook until the cheese is browned. If you don’t have cheese to gauge it by, I’d say about 10 minutes.