Vegan Babies aka Banana-Chocolate Brownie Bites

My continued search for vegan brownies for my vegan girl took a turn for the better this week when I hit on these delish brownies. This recipe is a mish-mash of several things I've tried or seen online.

Pulverize in a food processor or blender, until very, very smooth:
1 15-oz. can of black beans, rinsed and drained
3 Tbs. vegetable oil
1 Tbs. ground flax seed whisked with 2 T. water
4 Tbs. cocoa
1 ripe banana
1/2 c. sugar (I used Turbinado)
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. instant coffee granules (optional but adds nice flavor)

Scrape into a bowl and fold in:
1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt

Add:
3/4 cup chocolate chips (mini preferred)

Scoop into mini muffin tins that are well greased.
Bake for 23 minutes at 350 degrees.
Cool for 10 minutes before turning out to cool completely.

Makes 24 minis.

Blueberry Cake with Lemon and Brown Sugar - no recipe, just photos

Ready for the oven with the brown sugar on top

Cooling

Grandma Pizza from ATK

I am completely, 100% addicted to the America's Test Kitchen Radio podcast and have tried several of the recipes in the last year as I've worked my way from the debut episode through the most recent season.

The "grandma pizza" recipe (and pan pizza concept in general) is practically life-chaging for a pizza stone devotee. The pickiest children may prefer that you puree the tomatoes a bit more, or put the cheese on top, instead of under, the cheese. I used Pomi crushed tomatoes. Here's the recipe. I promise to add a photo next time I make it.

Easiest Sticky Cinnamon Rolls Ever

Charlie gets the credit for discovering these which are from the book Teens Cook which, if you're looking for a good tween/teen cookbook, I definitely recommend. The best thing is that they are a no-rise dough so you can have them on the table in an hour. I have only modified the recipe slightly, with the addition of some salt to the dough and a reduction in the butter.

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

The Dough
1 c. cottage cheese
3/4 c. sugar
2 eggs
1/2 c. vegetable oil
1/2 c. milk
1/2 t. salt
2 T. baking powder
4 1/4 c. all-purpose flour plus some for dusting

Put the cottage cheese in a food processor and blend until smooth. Add sugar, eggs, oil, milk, and salt and puree until smooth.
Put the mixture in a large bowl and stir in the baking powder. Add 3 1/2 cups of the flour and stir until it forms a dough. Using your hands, add the remaining dough a little at time until the dough is smooth and not too sticky. This is not so much kneading as a "smush and fold" technique. 
Spread some flour on a clean, flat surface and roll the dough into a large rectangle, about 16x20 inches.

The Filling

2 c. brown sugar

3 T. cinnamon

6 T. butter

1/4-1/2 c. honey

Combine the brown sugar and cinnamon in a bowl.

Melt the butter.

Assembly & Baking

Melt the butter and brush over the entire surface of the dough. Brush the bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking pan. (If you wanted more of a classic sticky bun situation, you could sprinkle nuts in the pan at this point.)

Drizzle the honey over the buttered dough. Now I admit, I didn't measure out the honey at all. I just squeezed it right out of that little bear in sort of a loose grid pattern. Seemed like maybe 1/4 cup total but the recipe calls for 1/2 cup if you want to do it their way.

Sprinkle the cinnamon sugar evenly over the dough. Roll the dough, as tightly as you can, the long way.

Using a serrated bread knife, cut the roll into 1 inch slices. Arrange them into the pan, right up next to each other, and sprinkle with any remaining butter and cinnamon sugar.

Bake for 35-45 minutes or until done.

Remove from the pan and turn out onto a platter.

Eat while warm.

Birthday Dinner, Part Three: Molten Chocolate Cakes

So last but not least, Molten Chocolate Lava Cakes. Hate on them all you want, but seriously, who doesn't love a cake that basically makes its own hot fudge sauce? This recipe comes to me by way of Natalie Bortoli from Food and Wine. These were delicious, if a little over "greased and floured", and they really are super, super easy. Make them soon and make someone very happy. 

Pre-lava action.

http://www.foodandwine.com/recipes/molten-chocolate-cakes-vongerichten  

Note: The recipe calls for 4 6-oz ramekins, but I think you can easily stretch to make 5 or 6. Just make sure to adjust the cooking time down.

Apple-Cinnamon Muffins a la Hilton

My daughter went on her eighth grade trip to Washington, DC and came back talking about two things: Roland Fritter, coolest tour guide ever, and the apple cinnamon muffins at the Hilton somewhere in Maryland. Here is my attempt to replicate them based on a very minimal description. I used an old King Arthur Flour recipe as a guide with several tweaks.

INGREDIENTS

2 cups unbleached all-purpose or white whole wheat flour
1/2 cup oat flour or similar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) butter
1 cup sugar
2 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 cup sour cream

1/2 cup applesauce
1 cup of whatever else you'd like to add for texture (nuts, chopped or dried fruit or my favorite cheat -- crumbled granola or Nutrigrain-type cereal bars that my kids begged me to buy then instantly decided they no longer like.)
Optional: Coarse sugar or streusel (mix flour, brown sugar, cinnamon and butter with a fork until you get a "clumpy" texture) for sprinkling on top

INSTRUCTIONS

1. Line a 12-muffin muffin tin with papers.

2. Whisk together the flours, baking powder, baking soda and salt in a medium bowl.

3. Cream together the butter and sugar in a large mixing bowl (I use my stand mixer) until light and fluffy and almost white in color. Scrape down the bowl to make sure all the butter is incorporated, then turn the mixer back on and add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla, cinnamon, applesauce, and sour cream, and mix until incorporated.

4. Add the dry ingredients, mixing on low speed just until the batter is smooth. Scrape those sides and bottom of the bowl once more, to be sure everything is evenly combined. Gently fold in the fruit and refrigerate for 15 minutes or up to an hour+ if you have the time. (I don't.)

5. Preheat the oven to 400°F. Scoop the batter by the 1/4-cupful into the prepared pan and sprinkle with sugar or other topping. Bake the muffins until a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean, 22 to 25 minutes. Remove from the oven and allow the muffins to cool in the pan for 5 minutes, then remove them to finish cooling.

Big Chewy Chocolate Chip Oatmeal Cookies

I found the base of this recipe on line. A woman named "PANTHERA" (I know.) modified a recipe from a woman named Beatrice, then I took suggestions from the comments, made those changes, and a couple more of my own. I'm not exactly sure whose recipe it is now. But, I assure you, it's a good one.

Preheat your oven to 350.

Mix, in a stand mixer until very light and fluffy:

3/4 c. butter, softened

1/4 c. Crisco

1 c. packed brown sugar

1/2 c. white sugar

Add, and mix until very pale:

2 eggs

2 t. vanilla

Add, and mix until barely mixed:

1 1/4 c. all-purpose flour

1/2 c. spelt or white wheat flour (or whole wheat or just more all-purpose flour)

1 t. baking soda

1 t. salt

Scrape down sides and mix in by hand:

3 c. oats (I used half quick cooking and half regular, rolled oats)

1 c. chocolate chips

1/2 c. mini chocolate chips

Chill dough for at least two hours, the longer the better. Six hours was very good.

Spoon rounded tablespoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets with ample room for spreading. Work quickly and get those cookies in the oven whiles the dough is still cold. Bake for 12-13 minutes. The cookies should be golden around the edge and nice and soft in the middle.  Yields about 40 cookies.

Warning: If you make these on a Sunday then go to Washington, D.C. Monday through Wednesday, you will be disappointed to find these nearly GONE when you return.

Yogurt Biscuits from Super Natural Every Day

When Mama makes biscuits, everyone's happy.

I made these yummy biscuits to go with this broccoli soup for dinner.  They're from Heidi Swanson's cookbook Super Natural Every Day. I like the book quite a bit, in fact, better than her last cookbook, Super Natural Cooking. She also has a nice blog called 101 Cookbooks. It's healthy, interesting stuff and despite the health bent, she seems very lovely and the site's not annoying at all. Anyway, the biscuits were fantastic and you should make some. They'd be a great breakfast with jam.

Makes 12 biscuits (She says 12, I say 16.)

1 ¼ cups spelt flour or whole wheat pastry flour (I used spelt)

1 ¼ cups unbleached all-purpose flour, plus more for kneading and rolling

1 ½ teaspoons fine-grain sea-salt (I used iodized)

1 tablespoon aluminum-free baking powder (I was delighted to find that my baking powder was, in fact, aluminum-free!)

½ cup unsalted butter, chilled and cut into cubes

1 ⅓ cup Greek-style plain yogurt (I used a combo of Greek and regular plain yogurt, about 50/50)

Preheat the oven to 450 with a rack in the middle of the oven. Place an ungreased baking sheet in the oven to preheat as well.

Combine the flours, salt, and baking powder in a food processor. Sprinkle the butter across the top of the dry ingredients and pulse about 20 times, or until the mixture resembles tiny pebbles. Add the yogurt and pulse a few times, or until the yogurt is just incorporated. Avoid overmixing, it’s fine if there are a few dry patches. Gather the dough into a ball and turn it out onto a lightly floured surface. Knead five times and press into an inch thick square. Cut in half and stack one on the other. Repeat two more times - flattening and stacking, then cutting. Add more all purpose flour to prevent sticking when needed. Press or roll out (I pressed) the dough into a 3/4 thick rectangle, but no thicker; if the dough is too tall, the biscuits will tilt and tip over while baking. Cut the dough into twelve equal biscuits.

Transfer the biscuits to the preheated baking sheet leaving 1/2 inch between each biscuit. Bake for 15-18 minutes, until the bottoms are deeply golden and the biscuits are cooked through. Serve with butter and jam.

Puff Daddy Baked Apple Pancakes

Make this for breakfast for someone you love. Everyone will be happy.

Puff Daddy

• 1/2 (1/4 cup) stick unsalted butter
• 2 large firm, tart apples, peeled, cored, and cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
• 1/4 cup brown sugar (granulated is fine in a pinch)
• a couple of decent shakes ground cinnamon
• 4 large eggs
• 1/2 cup milk
• 2/3 cup unbleached all-purpose flour (many recipes call for far less flour but I don't like it too eggy)
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• Confectioner’s sugar

Preheat oven to 425F. Melt butter over medium-high heat in an ovenproof 10-inch skillet. Add apples, granulated sugar, and cinnamon and saute, stirring occasionally, until the apples begin to brown and most of the juices have evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Turn off heat.

Combine eggs, milk, flour, and salt in a bowl and whisk until smooth. You can also whisk in some (2 T.) melted butter but that takes this to a new buttery level that is not actually necessary but, yes, delicious.

Spread the browned apples evenly across the bottom of the pan. Pour the batter over the apples. Place the skillet in the oven and bake until the pancake is golden and puffed, about 15-18 minutes. Be amazed.

Remove the pan from the oven and let the pancake rest in the pan for about 3 minutes. Squeeze a little lemon on it if you wish, sprinkle with confectioner’s sugar, cut into wedges, and serve with warm maple syrup.

Serves 2-4.

Stuffed Portabellas aka Leftover Magic

Okay, you have to believe me when I say that I am a better cook than a food photographer and therefore, these taste way better than this looks. looked before I removed the photo because it looked so very awful.

Stuffing for caps, mix together all ingredients:
2 cups of grain/carb (brown rice, orzo, cous cous, bulgur, leftover pilaf, what have you)
2 cups sauteed veggies (onion, garlic, fresh spinach, grated carrot, etc.)
1/2 t. basil
1/2 t. oregano
1/4 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. olive oil
salt and pepper liberally
Optional: 1/2 c. crumbled feta or 1/4 parmesan or romano (decrease salt if using romano) or whatever cheese you like

4 big portabella mushroom caps, stems removed, brushed clean with a damp paper towel

olive oil

balsamic vinegar

optional: bread crumbs

Generously, oil a Pyrex baking pan with olive oil. Lay the caps smooth side down in the oil. Splash the caps with some nice balsamic vinegar. Mound 1 cup of the stuffing on top of each cap, flattening the stuffing and pressing all over the cap. At this point, feel free to sprinkle on some bread crumbs or a bit more romano cheese for extra crispy topping.

Bake at 375 for about 25-30 minutes or until the top is nice and crispy and the mushroom is cooked through and releasing its juices.

Al Di La's Torta di Pere

I didn't make this recipe up, I've never eaten it at the restaurant and I didn't even blog about it first. But it is a true third-hand winner. And I've made it a half dozen times, without adjusting the recipe one smidge. Imagine a warm Toll House cookie filed with little soft pear pieces nestled inside. It's that good.


The point of origin: Al Di La
The recipe I use from: Smitten Kitchen

Blog-esque photo of the stuff you need.

Couldn't even wait to transfer off the pan before eating some.

Melty goodness.

Zucchini Pie for Zucchini Haters

When I was in fifth grade, my mother made me eat a bite of zucchini. Really-gross-stewed-to-death-like-the-Italians-like-it zucchini. "I don't like it." "Just one bite." "I really hate it." "You have to eat one bite." "I really hate it and I won't eat it." So after a bit of this back and forth, I took a bite but refused to chew it or swallow it. I sat at the table for a while until she needed to go downtown so into the car we went, me still with the zucchini in tow. Once on foot, we saw her banker heading towards us and my mom realized how embarrassing it would be to have an eleven year old with a mouth full of food, unable to say hello. "Okay, you can... Spit. It. Out," she said, under her breath. So I spit it in the gutter and never looked back. No zucchini. Ever. (BTW, that was very therapeutic. Stay with me for the actual recipe...)

And then, a couple of years ago, after 30 years of avoiding the stuff, I had dinner at the lovely home of Michael and Staci, and Staci made a fantastic quiche-like dish called zucchini pie and it was so delicious that I was loath to believe it was, in fact, zucchini. Since then, I've tried. Really I have. Grilled. Raw, shaved onto a salad with lemon and chives. In tempura batter. Not horrible.

But every summer, there it is. A friend has a bumper crop, or it shows up week after week in your farm box, or Nancy Essex shows up with a gift of a giant zucchini in a wine bag and it sits on the counter begging to be eaten. And I wanted to be able to really like it. Here's the best recipe for those times. Even a zucchini hater like me will eat two pieces. I've adapted it only a wee tiny bit from the original Real Simple recipe.

Zucchini pie that would have photographed better with a little green salad or a wedge of fruit.

3 cups zucchini, grated (and peeled and seeded, too, if you really hate the stuff)
1 onion, grated and sauteed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup grated smoked gouda
3 eggs
1/4 cup olive oil (maybe could get away with less)
2 T. pecorino romano cheese
2 t. good pesto
1 t. baking powder
1/2 t. kosher salt
lots of freshly ground pepper
hearty dash of cayenne


Mix all the ingredients in a bowl. Pour into a well greased ceramic pie pan. Bake for 45-50 minutes at 350 or until golden brown and a tester comes out clean. Cool 10-15 minutes before slicing.

Jordan Marsh Berry Muffins

My Grandma Nancy had a real thing about eating in department stores and hotel coffee shops (back when such places were fine places to eat and weren't named things like "Champs".) In fact, for many years, we ate at the Tea Room at Gilmore's department store every Monday. So you can imagine her excitement when we went to Boston to visit my Aunt Dede and had the famous muffins at the Jordan Marsh department store. She was beyond thrilled. We proudly brought that recipe back to Paw Paw, MI and made them in the pizza oven in lieu of the usual Sara Lee coffee time treats.


I can't remember what they originally called for - blueberries or raspberries. Having come late to blueberries, I make these with raspberries and they are delicious.


1/2 c. butter
1 c. sugar
2 eggs
2 c. flour, sifted
2 t. baking powder
1/2 t. salt
1/2 c. milk
1 t. vanilla
2 1/2 c. berries

1. Cream butter and 3/4 c. sugar.
2. Add eggs. Blend well.
3. Sift all dry ingredients.
4. Add to butter mixture, alternating with milk and vanilla.
5. Mash 1/2 the berries with a fork and fold into the batter.
6. Fold in the remaining whole berries
7. Pile high into greased muffin tins.
8. Sprinkle with remaining 1/4 c. sugar.
9. Bake at 375 for 30 minutes.

Birthday Dinner, Part One: Cheese Pizza & Crust Recipe

My kids made me a fantastic birthday dinner Thursday night, complete with setting a fancy table and Top Chef style descriptions of the menu. I couldn't be prouder. Charlie chose cheese pizza as his contribution. The broccoli casserole and molten chocolate cake recipes will follow.

Fancy table, including chocolate milk fixins.

Flowers, natch.

Charlie's finished product.

2 cups warm water

pinch of sugar or smidge of honey

teaspoons active dry yeast

2 tablespoons olive or vegetable oil

5 cups flour (plus extra for handling the dough)

2 teaspoons salt

(corn meal for peel or pan)

1. Measure water into large bowl.  Add the sugar/honey and yeast.  Wait 5 minutes.
2. Stir in the oil.
3. Add 2 cups of the flour and the salt.  Stir with a wooden spoon.
4. Gradually add in the rest of the flour.  Mix with a wooden spoon until it gets too thick, then mix with your hands.  If you need to, add extra flour to keep it from being too sticky.
5. Turn onto a floured work surface.  Knead, pound, and stretch for about five minutes until dough is no longer sticky.
6. Let your dough rest for 1 hour.  Divide and shape into a pizza shapes on a cookie sheet, or pizza peel if using stone.  Dust sheet or peel with plenty of cornmeal.  Top with sauce, toppings, and/or cheese.
7. If using a stone, transfer to pizza stone with a peel.
8. Bake at 500+ degrees for about 8-12 minutes or until crust is golden brown and cheese is bubbly. Watch it closely, the time is approximate.

Eulie's Chocolate Snack Cake

This is another one from the Grandma Eulie archives. When you drink about 14 cups of coffee a day, like she did, you might need a little something to go along with it. Hence, her arsenal of not-too-sweet, no-frosting, all-in-one-pan snack cakes. This is a gem. She apparently adapted it from a recipe on the Gold Medal package, sometime in the mid-1970s.

NOTE: You may mix in entirely in the pan, making this a one pan wonder, to boot.

1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup brown sugar, packed

1/4 cup cocoa

1 t. baking soda

1/2 salt

1/3 cup vegetable oil

1 t. vinegar

1 t. vanilla

1 cup water

Mix dry ingredients well, then add liquids. Bake in an 8x8 ungreased pan. 35-40 minutes or until a wooden pick (seriously, who keeps wooden picks around?) comes out clean. No temp specified, but I think I do about 350.


*Because this is a "wacky" cake, there is no egg in it.  Vegan by accident. Lovely.*

Charlie's Pumpkin Bread

My son fell in love with this pumpkin bread when we visited his cousins in Connecticut for spring break 2005 and his sweet cousin Maddie Atchue made this for him.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Mix all dry ingredients in large bowl:

2 ½ c. sugar

3 ½ c. flour (up to one cup can be whole wheat, oat, multigrain, etc.)

2 t. baking soda

1 ½ t. salt

2 t. cinnamon

1 t. nutmeg

1 t. ginger

Mix all wet ingredients in medium bowl:

4 eggs

½ c. oil

½ c. applesauce (unsweetened)

2/3 c. water

2 c. (or 1 15 oz. can) pumpkin (NOT pumpkin pie mix. I stock up on the Trader Joe's organic canned pumpkin each fall and hoard enough for the year.)

Add wet ingredients to dry ingredients and mix well.  Do not over mix.  Split between two greased, full-size loaf pans.  Bake 50 minutes.

You can also put in muffin tins (use paper liners) and bake for 25 minutes.

Grandma Eulie’s Carrot Cake

The main reason for starting a blog is so I could share my Grandma Eulie's amazing recipes with my cousins who are scattered all over the country. This is a Eulie classic or maybe even THE Eulie classic.  She got the original recipe from her friend Paulette Green.

If you want to bake it in true Eulie style, you have to get up at, oh, maybe 4:30am, bake this cake, and have it ready and frosted when your grandchildren wake up at 8am.

Ingredients:

2 ¼ c. flour

2 t. salt

2 t. baking soda

2 t. cinnamon

(above sifted together)

1 ½ c. vegetable oil

4 eggs

2 c. sugar

3 coarsely grated carrots

1 ½ c. chopped walnuts  (I make it without the nuts which many consider sacrilege.)

1.      Preheat oven to 300 degrees.

2.      Grease and flour 2 8” layer cake pans

3.      Mix sugar, oil, and eggs in large bowl at medium speed for 2 minutes.

4.      Gradually add flour mixture at low speed for 1 minute.

5.      Stir in carrots and nuts until well mixed and spoon into pans.

6.      Bake for 1 ¼ - 1 ½ hours, then cool. 

7.      Make icing and frost.

Icing:

8 oz. package of cream cheese, softened

¼ c. butter

2 t. vanilla

1 package confectioner’s sugar (I’m assuming that means a 1 lb. package.)

Cream the above ingredients until super fluffy.