Vegan Carrot Cake

I got a box of carrots from Fair Foods on Thursday and I have been creating lots of ways to use them, glazed, salads and soups. This was a stretch and I was not sure how it would turn out, but it cooked up great and tasted delicious. Great way to get rid of a load of carrots :)

Vegan Carrot Cake

1 cup sugar
8 oz. Pineapple
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 1/2 cups shredded carrots
1/2 cups dried cranberries
2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tbsp baking powder
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2   tsp nutmeg
1/2 tsp allspice
1/2 tsp salt

1. Heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly oil an 8X8 inch baking dish.
2. Pulse pineapple in a food processor until it is finely chopped. (it will look like thick apple sauce)
3. Combine sugar, pineapple and oil. Stir in Carrots and cranberries.
4. Mix together all dry ingredients in a separate bowl. Gradually stir the dry into the wet ingredients until combined.
5. Pour batter into baking pan. Bake for 35 min or until a tester comes out clean in the  middle. Let the cake cool completely then dust with powdered sugar, or try a vegan tofu-cream icing. (I made some icing using Tofu, almond milk and sugar, but I am not set on the proportions well enough yet to post it. Be creative and try it yourself)

Gouda and Apple Stuffed French Toast

I was feeling very gourmet the other morning and decided to make something  fancy. This easy stuffed french toast recipe was quite tasty. :) You can easily substitute pears or peaches for the apple and any cheese will complement well...mix it up and enjoy.

Gouda and Apple Stuffed French Toast

1 green apple
5 slices of gouda cheese
10 slices of bread
1 ripe banana
1 cup milk (we used Almond Milk)
1 egg
1/2 tsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

1. Slice the apple into 1/4 inch slices. Mash the banana in a medium, shallow bowl. Add the milk, egg, cinnamon and nutmeg and whisk until combined.

2. Heat a large skillet over medium heat. Make the sandwiches by stacking the cheese and about 6 slices of apple on one piece of bread and topping it with the second slice of bread.

3. Holding the sandwich together, gently dip both sides in the banana mixture. Then place the dipped sandwich on the hot skillet. Cook until golden brown and flip to cook the other side until cheese begins to melt. Dust with powdered sugar and enjoy.

Tomato Orange Marmalade

Here is another fun way to use tomatoes. This jam takes a long time to boil down, but it is delicious and goes great with scones. http://sarahsfreshlife.blogspot.com/search?q=scones

Tomato Orange Marmalade

3 lbs tomatoes, chopped (this is about 15 medium tomatoes)

3 cups sugar
2 oranges
1 lemon
1/8 tsp salt

1. Chill 2 small plates in the refrigerator for testing your Marmalade, and sterilize your canning equipment and jars.

2. Chop your tomatoes. Grate the peels of the fruit. (I used the zester for the lemon and a large holed cheese grater for the oranges.) Then gently cut the tops and bottoms off the lemon and oranges. Standing them up on a flat end cut the white pith off in strips from the top down. Reserve the strips and the tops. Holding the naked orange or lemon in your hand over your bowl, cut out the fruit segments by running your knife along the pith of each segment. Place the fruit segments in the bowl, and try to catch as much juice as you can into the bowl as you work. When you are done, squeeze as much juice as you can out of the left over pith and tops you previously cut.

3. Add all ingredients to a large pot over medium heat. Stir frequently until sugar is dissolved. (about 6 min)

4. Simmer on low, stirring occasionally as marmalade thickens (50 to 90 min)

5. Begin testing the marmalade after 50 min. Drop a spoonful of Marmalade on a chilled plate, then tilt; if the marmalade is done it should remain in a mound and should not run.

6. Process by filling sterilized jars and boiling 10 min. Let Marmalade stand in jars for 1 day for flavors to develop.

Tomato Jam

Thanks to Nancy at Fair Foods there are a lot of tomatoes in my life. Our relationship usually consists of salads, sandwiches and a lot of saucing. But that was getting a little routine so I decided to spice things up. I found this recipe for Tomato Jam and it is AMAZING!!! I made some tweaks because I have to, but if you would like something new to do with your tomatoes try it! The Jam tastes like the insides of a mincemeat pie, sweet and spicy and very surprising. It takes a good bit of time, but totally worth the wait.

We have not formally eaten any yet, just licked all the remnants out of the pan and on the spoon. But we think it would be great on croissanti with  goat cheese. We will try it.

This recipe makes about 1 pint of jam. Multiplying the recipe works fine, but it takes a little longer to boil down. When I doubled mine it took 2 hours instead of 1 hr. 15 min.
 You can make the jam and put it in the fridge for up to 2 weeks, or you can can it. This recipe requires the water bath canning method, but that is only because the lemon rind and juice lend enough citric acid to keep the botulism at bay. **IMPORTANT** You must have enough lemon or you can make people very sick. Tomatoes do not have enough acidity of their own, and without the lemon you will need to use the pressure canning method. To ensure safe acidity in canned tomatoes, add 2 tablespoons of bottled lemon juice or ½ teaspoon of citric acid per quart. The quantities of this recipe are sufficient, just be careful folks. 

Tomato Jam

1 1/2 lbs tomatoes chopped
1 1/2 cups brown sugar, firmly packed
1/4 cup sherry
1/2 lemon, juiced and zested
1 tbsp ground ginger
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp pepper

1. In a 3-4 quart saucepan, combine all ingredients. Bring to a boil over medium heat, stirring often.

2. Reduce heat to a simmer, stir occasionally, until mixture is reduced to 2 cups and has the consistency of thick jam. (this takes about 1 hr and 15 min)

3. Spoon into prepared sterilized jars and process 10 min in water-bath or place in the refrigerator.

Raw Golden Beet Salad

I am a lover of vegetables but I have NEVER been a lover of beets. My mother tried to feed me canned beets as a kid...FAIL. When roasted beet salad became vogue I tried...really really tried to like them...FAIL.

 After a good friend, Ehren Flynn, called me from his farmers' market asking me for a good recipe he could use with his CSA beets that his wife might actually eat, (love you Jen) I started researching, because I had no ideas for him.

I came across an article that claimed that "beet haters" tend to like raw beets instead of boiled or roasted beets...HUH!!??

Yesterday I got some georgeous golden beets from Fair Foods and I was determined to try a raw beet salad. This recipe is excellent. Even Keith (world renown beet hater) really liked it and said that it did not taste "beety."

So if you are shy with beets, get cozy with this salad and get to know them better...you will like it ;)

Raw Golden Beet Salad

3 Medium to small Golden Beets, peeled and cut into matchsticks
1/2 Large Yellow Onion sliced
1/2 English Cucumber, cut into matchsticks
1.3 cup Chopped Walnuts
2 tbsp Lemon Zest
1/3 cup chopped Fresh Dill
1/3 cup chopped Fresh Parsley 2 tsp Olive Oil
2 tsp Apple Cider Vinegar
1 tsp Whole Grain Mustard
Salt and Pepper

1. Chop beets, cucumber, onion and walnuts, and combine in a large salad bowl. Add the lemon zest, dill and parsley.
2. Whisk together olive oil, cider vinegar, mustard, salt & pepper. Pour dressing over the salad and toss to combine.

White Yam & Apple Soup

Again another season of neighborhood women's Bible study is at an end and we celebrated by having a lunch "feast" together. Everyone contributed and it was quite delicious. I was responsible for soups. Thanks to Fair Foods I had a large amount of White Yams sitting in my kitchen so I made a white yam and apple soup. It was delicious and the recipe was requested, so here it is, cook well and enjoy :)

White Yams are in the same family as sweet potatoes. They have creamy white flesh and taste a bit more like sugar. Regular sweet potatoes or any winter squash can easily be substituted for the White Yam in this recipe.

White Yam and Apple Soup

1 Large Onion, chopped

3 Cloves of Garlic, smashed

1 inch Fresh Ginger, chopped

1 tbsp Butter

6-8 Medium White Yams, peeled and chopped

2 Apples, peeled, cored, and chopped

2 Bouillon Cubes or 2 tsp Bouillon Substitute

1 tsp Thyme

1/2 tsp Nutmeg

Salt and Pepper to taste

1. In a large heavy-bottomed stock pot heat butter. Add the onion, garlic, and ginger and saute until the onion is opaque.

2. Add yams, apples, bouillion and enough water to cover the yams by 1/2 inch. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer covered for 20 minutes or until the yams and apples are soft.

3. With and immersion blender, or in a regular blender in batches, puree the soup. Stir in Thyme, Nutmeg, Salt and Pepper and serve.

Fire Dragon Fruit Smoothie

Thanks to our great friend Grace we were introduced to a new and interesting fruit. Grace brought us a Fire Dragon Fruit which is a tropical fruit from Viet Nam that is a kind of Cactus. It has the internal consistency of a kiwi, and the seeds are also similar.

 It is sweet and fleshy and works well for smoothies. To use it simply split it in half, cut off the ends and peel off the tough skin. We used half of it in our smoothie this morning.

Fire Dragon Smoothie

1/2 Fire Dragon Fruit

2 Bananas

1/4 large Papaya

8-10 frozen Strawberries

2 cups Almond Milk

Water to cover

Add all ingredients into a blender, blend on high until the seeds are pulverized 2-3 min. Enjoy...and feel the power of the dragon. ;)