Baby Cake Coffee Cake -- Baby Cake #2

Baby Cake Coffee Cake

The texture of these is delicate and moist, and the taste is so rich and flavourful that you won't miss the white sugar, white flour, and other assorted evils of a more traditional coffee cake. Enjoy, and consider naming your first born (first born baby cake) after me.

ingredients:

1 1/2 cups organic whole milk

2 organic eggs, large

1 tbsp vanilla

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil (I prefer Nutiva)

1/2 cup maple syrup

1 tsp sea salt

2 cups fine almond flour (I used JK Gourmet)

1 tsp organic vanilla bean powder

2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tsp ceylon cinnamon

1 tsp ginger

a quick grind or five of black pepper

1/2 tsp baking soda

1 cup fine kamut flour (whole grain)

1/2 cup organic thompson raisins

1/2 cup chopped pecans

directions:

preheat the oven to 345

1. warm the milk slightly

2. add the coconut oil, and stir until melted

3. add eggs and stir briskly

4. add vanilla and maple syrup, combining well

5. add salt and spices and almond flour, and stir well

6. add baking soda, mix well

7. add kamut flour, and mix thoroughly but briefly

8. add raisins and pecans

9. pour batter into 24 muffin cups, and sprinkle the top with a little cinnamon and a lot of coconut sugar

10. bake at 345 for 30 minutes in the upper half of the oven

Baby Cake Vegan Brownie -- Baby Cake #1

Vegan Brownie

When you read this recipe, as I mentioned, you will see similarities between this and my first posted recipe for Chocolate Muffins. However, I shall simply post the recipe in entirety with the changes, and you can do with it what you wish. I know you must be shaking your head in disbelieving awe. Could something so good for you actually taste this good? The answer is: damn, I hope so. 

My son had one after dinner last night. His opinion was: "This tastes real good." He repeated this sentence about 15 times whist gazing at his chocolate delight. I know, I know. You're casting my words back at me. You're thinking: "That's the kid who ate a cigarette butt. What does he know?" When I asked my husband what he thought of the brownie, he merely stuffed another one in his mouth and grunted. So, kindly and gentle reader, it comes down to you. Vegan Brownie -- yea or nay?

ingredients:

1 3/4 cup filtered water, warmed

1 cup pitted honey dates

1/4 cup clear agave

1 tbsp pure vanilla extract

1 tbsp raw apple cider vinegar

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

2 tsp egg replacer + 4 tbsp filtered water

1 tsp sea salt

1 or 2 tsp cinnamon

3/4 cup raw cacao (or cocoa powder)

1/2 cup pecan meal

1 cup almond meal (blanched)

1 cup kamut pastry flour (whole grain)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup Callebaut chocolate morsels

extra Callebaut morsels to decorate the top

directions:

preheat oven to 345

1. soak dates in water for 10 minutes, and then puree dates in the water. (It's a good idea to check each date to make sure the pit has indeed been removed. Just give it a squeeze)

2. add rest of 'wet' ingredients and puree again

3. stir in dry ingredients one by one. Add the chocolate morsels after everything else has been well combined. I often find it easier to add the baking soda before the kamut flour to ensure even distribution.

4. scoop batter into prepared muffin tins. I use silicone cups placed on a baking sheet. They need to be oiled the first couple of times you use them, but after that are amazingly non-stick, and wonderfully non-wasteful. Decorate the top of the brownies with a few chocolate morsels. This is optional. Not really. Just do it.

5. bake for 30 minutes in the center of the oven

6. remove from oven when the top feels slightly springy to your touch

7. remove brownies from muffin tins or silicone cups a few minutes after removing from oven.

8. Hide them quickly.

makes 24  brownies


(If you can correctly identify where the quote below comes from, you win a vegan brownie!)

yum

yum

extra yum

Cakes Cakes Cakes Baby Cakes

Vegan Brownie
http://voluptuousvegetarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/vegan-brownie-baby-cake-1.html

Coffee Cake
http://voluptuousvegetarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/coffee-cakes-baby-cakes-2.html

Savoury Spinach Cake
http://voluptuousvegetarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/savoury-spinach-cakes-baby-cake-3.html

Vegan Apple Cake
http://voluptuousvegetarian.blogspot.com/2010/11/baby-cake-vegan-apple-cake-baby-cakes-4.html

It was baby-cake-palooza here yesterday. How cute is that? In honour of the occasion, I came up with a vegan apple cake recipe that, while evil, is dairy, egg, and NUT free. You read correctly. There are no nuts in this apple cake. No almond flour. No pecan meal. No wily little walnuts slyly hiding in plain sight ... No complicated alchemy of ground this and pureed that. Just a simple concoction of really traditional things like flour, sugar, and of course, apples. Simple, comfortable, yummy, and reassuring, that in the avant guard world of voluptuous vegetarianism, there is still something that tree nut phobes can enjoy. ;)

I also reprised one of my favourites. A savoury cake rich with spinach, hemp seeds, and flax meal. It's great for brunch, or with soup for dinner. It's not really a dessert cake unless you are Little Pea (very cute book by Amy Krouse Rosenthal), but it's great when you need a quick snack to go, or an easy lunch with a cup of tea.

The coffee cake probably looks familiar. Although I goosed it with some ceylon cinnamon and some ground vanilla powder, the recipe is otherwise identical to my infamous coffee cake post from last month. But I have to say, I think it's much more adorable as a baby cake ... And probably gives you the idea that I really cannot leave well enough alone. I can't. I got these new ingredients and they are like toys that my fingers are just itching to play with ...

Finally, the vegan brownie. The problem I have with vegan cupcakes and so forth is that much of the time they are nutritional devoid. They are full of bad stuff I wouldn't want to eat, and while they may taste sweet and yummy, they are not doing you any favours. This little beauty is full of stuff you really would want to eat, and taste like a piece of evil decadence on a plate. Who's going to quibble over a couple pieces of Callebaut chocolate stuck to the top? ;) I'll have to be honest and say I was trying to recreate my inaugural recipe from the beginning of October, and accidentally doubled the amount of flour. This led me to increase the amount of water by 1/4 cup. This all resulted in a thicker texture of batter, which resulted in less of a cake texture, and more of a brownie texture. I threw in a handful of Callebaut chocolate morsels, and stuck a few more on the top of each baby cake. And a star was born. So, here, humble chocolate muffin, I rename thee Vegan Brownie. Hah.

My Favourite Power Bar -- SsssssssssuperFoods SuperPower SuperBar

I feel like I'm eating big chunks of candy when I eat this. It's kind of spicy and fragrant, redolent of vanilla, cinnamon, and ginger, with the taste of chocolate and berries tying it together. Not that it would float your boat if what you really want is some Callebaut or a corner store chocolate bar. But for me this is it. It satisfies, is a big chewy mouthful, and tastes great. This is chewier than the other power bars I've posted, and certainly will appeal to a different audience because of this.


ingredients:

2 cups pitted dates (or 1 cup unsulphured apricots and 1 cup dates or 1 cup apricots, 1/2 cup dates and 1/2 cup organic raisins ... etc. You get the picture. Any dried fruit you have (organic and unsulphured) that has dried out a bit too much to be enjoyable to eat can be salvaged in this recipe, too.)
1 cup raw almonds
4 tbsp coconut butter
1/4 cup flax meal

1 tbsp acai
2 tbsp pure green barley powder
2 tbsp maca powder
1 tbsp mesquite
2 tbsp hemp protein powder
2 tbsp raw cacao (or 4 tbsp raw cacao for true chocolate lovers)

1/2 tsp sea salt
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger (or 1 tsp ginger for more zing)
1/2 tsp ground vanilla

1/2 cup raw pistachios
1/4 cup raw goji berries


directions:

1. in a food processor, pulse the almonds until they are finely milled
2. add the dates, and pulse until all is pureed together
3. add the coconut butter and pulse
4. add the flax, sea salt, cinnamon, ginger, and vanilla, and pulse
5. add the acai, barley, maca, cacao, mesquite, and hemp, and pulse until thoroughly combined
6. add pistachios, and pulse until finely chopped
7. add the goji berries, and pulse until finely chopped
8. when the mixture is combined well and sticking together well, press it into a square glass pan, smooth the top with your hands, and put it into the refrigerator.
9. when it is thoroughly chilled and firm, cut into bars, squares, rectangles, triangles, circles, stars, rhomboids, trapezoids, hexagons, or octogons. Do not attempt a dodecahedron. Leave that to the professionals.
10. share with your friends, especially Zoe and Su. They really like them.

**note: if your mixture seems too crumbly, you can try adding a little extra coconut butter, or a tbsp or 2 of coconut oil. Or both ;)

update: Just for fun, I added a quarter cup of finely ground chia seeds and a quarter cup of extra virgin coconut oil


variation february 11: 1/4 cup hemp powder instead of 2 tbsp, 1/4 cup ground chia, 1/4 cup coconut oil, a little extra coconut butter, 1/2 cup goji berries instead of 1/4 cup, and 1/4 cup pistachios instead of 1/2 cup. :) (and 1/4 cup raw cacao instead of 2 tbsp, as usual)

Tamari Almonds -- From the simple to the sublime ...

Almonds after roasting, pre-tamari.

Our friend Kim first introduced us to homemade tamari almonds a number of years ago. I've changed the method of cooking from stove top to oven (easier and less high maintenance -- which is ironic, because Kim is definitely less high maintenance than I am), however the spirit of this simple delicacy remains the same. Amazingly, almost everyone seems able to wolf down a relatively large quantity of these tasty little nuggets, and we seem to power through them at an alarming rate whenever we make them. Not that it's a bad thing. Although there are cautions in 'alternative' medicine about over use of soy and soy products, fermented soy is in a different category, and is able to provide hard to come by nutrients. It's also important to note, however, that conventional soy is processed in some dubious ways resulting in high heavy metal content in some non-organic soy products. To be safe, it seems to be recommended to always choose organic when using soy. With that long winded intro, here's the recipe.


ingredients:

2 cups raw almonds
1 1/2 tsp to 3 tsp tamari (depends how seasoned you like 'em)


directions:

1. preheat your oven to 345
2. put the almonds on a baking sheet. You can double the quantity if you have a large baking sheet. I always line mine with a silicone mat. Habit.
3. bake the almonds for between 20 and 30 minutes in the upper half of the oven at 345. I have left a bit of a spread in the time, because there are variables that will affect how toasted the almonds become, and also personal taste enters into it. Generally, I would say they are done when they are lightly browned through, and some of them crack open a little.
4. remove the almonds from the oven and put them in a bowl. Pour the tamari on them an stir well until all the almonds are coated. They will absorb the tamari after a little while.
5. allow them to cool thoroughly, and then store in an airtight container. Humidity will make them lose their crunch, so this is important.

These make a great anytime snack when you just need a little something to tide you over. Almonds are pretty close to a perfect food, so don't be afraid to indulge.

All dressed up with nowhere to go ...

Scrambled Oatmeal -- Eggs for Dinner

In my house, we like breakfast foods for dinner sometimes. Pancakes are great in the evening. And this eggs and porridge hybrid that we call Scrambled Oatmeal is always a rib-sticking comfort food. It's simple and super fast to make, filling, and healthy. You can season it up to suit the individual palates involved, or keep it simple. We tend to eat it savoury, with sea salt and pepper, bouillion seasoning, or even sauteed onion, but maple syrup would work, instead, if you prefer your sweet. Or for breakfast.

ingredients:

3 eggs + enough milk to equal 2 cups

1 cup almond flour

1 cup oatmeal

3/4 tsp sea salt

black pepper

1 tbsp nutritional yeast (optional)

2 tbsp mesquite powder (optional)

directions:

1. beat the eggs and the milk together

2. add the seasonings

3. mix in the almond flour, then the oatmeal

4. for best results, allow the mixture to sit for at least 10 minutes (or up to 30 in the fridge) before cooking

5. cook as you would scrambled eggs (I use a cast iron skillet with a little coconut oil)

6. serve hot for dinner with sides of steamed broccoli and grape tomatoes

This quantity will more than fill 2 adults and a toddler.

We also make it without the almond flour, very successfully.

Bob's New Sweet Potatoes -- Sweet Potato Oven Fries Again

The purple fleshed 'Okinawa' sweet potato, cut and ready to be oven baked.

The white fleshed 'Murasaki' sweet potato, tossed with coconut oil, sea salt and a little almond flour, and oven baked to perfection.

The Okinawa after oven roasting, ready to be eaten. Yummy.

There's this guy we call The Sweet Potato Man. Other people call him Bob Proracki, of Round Plains Plantation. He's a chemical-free sweet potato farmer, and very nice man. His wife Juli is adorable, too. He's my dealer when it comes to sweet potatoes. He hooks me up. I recently was able to purchase some of his new crop of Japanese-style sweet potatoes. To me, these are sweet potatoes the way they are meant to be. I'm not overly enamoured of the wetter texture of the orange fleshed sweet potatoes we find most readily in these parts, and I was excited to learn that there were drier fleshed sweet potatoes on their way. The Murasaki has a white flesh, and is so sweet that my husband likened it to maple syrup. My son was too busy stuffing his face to comment. I was also intrigued by the vibrantly purple flesh of the Okinawa. It is not quite as sweet (and since I don't have much of a sweet tooth, that's fine with me), and to me tastes wonderful.

Both work really well as oven 'fries', which I think is a quick way to cook them (roasting or baking whole takes a whole lot longer), and still enjoy the characteristics of their unique textures. Plus then they are instantly finger food, which is always a plus when you have a 2 1/2 year old in the house ... Thanks Bob! Thanks Juli!  (http://ontariosweetpotato.com/)

Sweet Crackers

They look almost identical to their zesty, savoury cousins. But they are sweet and spicy, and put me in mind of a hybrid of ginger snap and graham wafer. If I were just making them for me, not to be appealing to a child of 2 1/2, I would probably double or triple the amount of ginger I put in them. As they are, they are sweet, crisp, fragrant, and simple. Great with a cup of tea. And because they are made with a little coconut sugar instead of cane sugar, they are low on the glycemic index, and not overly sweet. Plus, made as they are with almond flour and coconut butter, they are high in protein, which also helps stabilize blood sugar levels, and offer a slow burning source of energy.

ingredients:

2 eggs
4 tbsp coconut butter
4 tbsp water
1/2 cup coconut sugar

1 1/2 tsp ground vanilla (or 1 tbsp vanilla extract, and reduce water to 3 tbsp)
1/2 cup flax meal
1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground ginger

1/4 tsp baking soda
3 cups almond flour (JK gourmet)


directions:

1. lightly warm the coconut butter to melt
2. mix in water, eggs, sugar, vanilla, cinnamon, salt, ginger
3. stir in flax meal
4. stir in baking soda
5. stir in almond flour
6. wrap in parchment and chill in the refrigerator
7. preheat oven and roll out between sheets of parchment or silicone to desired thinness
8. score into squares with a dull knife and transfer the parchment or silicone to a baking sheet
9. bake at 300 for 25-30 minutes
10. break apart and store in an airtight container


update: although these are delicious, we found we didn't go through these all that quickly -- perhaps we like the zesty ones better? -- and they ended up stale and un-crisp. So, I put them on a baking sheet and shot them into a 300 degree oven for 30 minutes. Presto: like new. Super ultra crispy.

Chocolate Banana Cakes

One of these things is not like the other ... wait a minute. Scratch that. Neither of them are like the other. In one small way. Okay, I'll admit it. They are almost identical. :)

They are both delectable chocolate banana cakes made with a couple of over ripe bananas just begging for a chance at fate. They both have everyone's favourite superfood -- raw cacao. They both contain very little sweetner and a decent amount of protein. In fact, they are identical in every respect except for one naughty little detail. The bottom cake contains an addition of a few decadent morsels of Callebaut dark chocolate ...

Now, I have to confess I'm not much of a chocolate eater, and I tend to turn up my nose at banana. (Cooked is okay, but raw? Erk.) However, I live with a couple of true chocolate lovers and banana eaters. My little son's first experience with chocolate was raw cacao nibs, which taste to me exactly like dirt. However, to him they are wonderful. I guess I don't  need to bring up the cigarette butt eating incident again, but ...

These little cakes were very popular in our house. We did half the batch with Callebaut morsels, and half sans. The raw cacao make them taste gratifyingly chocolately even without the punch of the chocolate. However, my husband will attest that they certainly aren't harmed in any way by the addition. ;)

ingredients:

1/4 cup extra virgin coconut oil

1 cup milk

2 eggs

1/4 cup clear agave

1 tbsp vanilla extract

2 over ripe bananas (about 1 cup)

1 cup pecan meal

1/2 tsp sea salt

1 tsp cinnamon

dash of freshly ground black pepper (optional)

1/4 cup raw cacao powder (or cocoa if you must ;))

1 cup kamut flour (finely milled, pastry flour texture, whole grain, please)

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/4 to 1/2 cup of high quality chocolate morsels

directions:

preheat oven to 345 and prepare 24 muffin cups (or use a rectangular pan if you prefer)

1. lightly warm the milk and oil together to melt the oil (coconut oil is a solid below 24 degrees)

2. add agave, and eggs, and stir briskly to combine

3. add vanilla

4. lightly mash the bananas (don't puree), and stir into the wet ingredients

5. stir in the pecan meal, sea salt, cinnamon, and black pepper

6. stir in the raw cacao and baking soda

7. add the kamut flour and mix thoroughly

8. if you are not adding chocolate morsels, spoon the batter into 24 muffin cups

9. if you are using chocolate morsels, add 1/2 cup chocolate morsels to the batter, and spoon the batter into 24 muffin cups

10. if you are adding chocolate to half the recipe as we did, spoon the batter into 12 muffin cups, then add 1/4 cup chocolate to the remaining batter, and spoon the remaining batter into 12 more muffin cups.

11. bake at 345 for 22-24 minutes in the upper half of the oven, or until the tops spring back when pressed lightly with a brave finger.

12. use them to bribe your husband to clean up his room.

Stuffed Pasta -- here's the recipe for real this time

Well, I'm about to share with you one of my most personally prized recipes. After much trial and error, I came up with a pasta dough that is super easy to make, unbelievably good for you, has a wonderful texture, and tastes divine. Even my husband, who is usually pretty lackadaisical about food (to my chagrin -- sometimes I want him to get a little bit more excited about the things I make) was impressed. He said it was the best thing he'd ever eaten in his life.

I use a food processor to make the dough. I know traditionalists take a big pile of flour and make a well in it. But I am definitely pushing away the boundaries of traditional pasta.

ingredients:

150 grams frozen spinach, defrosted. (I suppose you could use fresh spinach if you like, but I always just keep a few bags of organic spinach in the freezer for convenience. You'll have to be careful about the quantity of flour added if you use fresh)

1 egg

1/2 cup almond flour

1 tsp sea salt

dash nutmeg

dash black pepper

1 1/2 to 2 cups kamut pastry flour (whole grain)

directions:

1. pulse the spinach in the food processor until it is a green gooey mass of puree

2. add the egg, almond flour, sea salt, and black pepper, and whirl until  combined

3. add the first 1 1/2 cups of flour and pulse until combine. add the remaining flour a little at a time and pulse until the dough forms a firm ball. once the ball forms, don't add any more flour.

4.  wrap in parchment followed by a plastic bag, and set it aside to rest.

meanwhile, there is filling to make!

I made a lovely filling by sauteing some shallots in coconut oil, allowing them to cool, then mixing that into ricotta, a couple of eggs, seasoning it with sea salt, pepper, and some herbs. My two year old turned his nose up at it and refused to eat it.

So, this time I kept it very simple:

simple ricotta filling:

ingredients:

1 400 g container ricotta

2 eggs

1/2 cup almond flour

1/4 cup grated parmesan (there's this cheese guy at the Riverdale Farmer's Market who sells the most amazing raw milk parmigiano reggiano -- swoon)

1/2 tsp sea salt

1/2 tsp marjoram

1/2 tsp oregano

dash of nutmeg

dash of black pepper

directions:

1. combine and season  to taste :) 

You can also do a more complicated filling if you prefer. My mother in law can't eat dairy, so I made a filling from roasted portabellas, shiitakes, oyster mushrooms, and walnuts, jumped up with some roasted garlic and roasted red onion. The whole thing sang nicely with the addition of some ground hemp seeds, almond meal, nutritional yeast, a dash of lemon juice, and apple cider vinegar. Very yummy. But any roasted vegetables could work.

And now the moment you've been waiting for -- the making of the stuffed pasta.

directions:

1. divide your dough into 15 gram balls using a kitchen scale. Or, if you are not as ocd as I am, you can just make smallish balls of dough. A little less than an inch in diameter is good.

2. keeping the balls covered by parchment topped by a damp cloth as you work so they don't dry out, roll them out and fill them, one by one. I guess they roll out to about 2 1/2 or 3 inches in diameter

3. the dough is a little sticky, but I wouldn't add extra flour. Just work quickly so your rolling pin doesn't get dry and crusty.

4. Put some filling near the center of the circle of dough. A little spoonful will do it.

5. fold the dough over itself in half, and press the edges tight. I actually find this easiest to do by picking it up and pinching the edges together

6. Avoid over-filling the dough, or you won't get a good seal, and there will be hell to pay when you boil  the pasta.

7. I do a quick press on both sides with the times of a fork. Who knows if this does anything. But it looks cute.

8. As I work, I line up the finished pasta on a lined baking sheet. You don't want them to stack, because they will stick to each other. They freeze really well, and can be boiled from frozen in about 15 minutes. To freeze, put the filled baking sheet in the freezer until the pasta is frozen through. It can then be bagged and tagged appropriately, to be used when your in-laws come for dinner an you want to impress them.

9. you can also use them the same day. To store for a few hours, put them in layers separated by parchment (including underneath them) in an airtight container in the fridge. 

10. To cook from fresh, bring a largish pot of water to a boil (put a little olive oil in the water). When the water has reached a boil, add the pasta. Once the water returns to the boil, cook for 2 minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon. You can either toss them in a pan with a little tomato sauce, or simply top them with our favourite tomato sauce (or top them with a little olive oil (or coconut oil) and parmesan). If you like pesto, hey, why not? 

11. serve with a little pride and your favourite salad 

12. My son was impressed because the cross section is vaguely fish shaped, and he thought they were fun to eat when I cut them up for him ... 

Zesty Crackers

I'm an addict. I've been forced to acknowledge it. But I can't stop nibbling on these crackers ... so good. These are my favourite snack right now. They are high in protein, and chock full of zesty deliciousness. Must. Eat. More.

ingredients:

2 eggs

4 tbsp organic coconut butter (this is made from ground up coconuts and is delicious -- I use Artisana)

2 tbsp apple cider vinegar

2 tbsp water

1/2 cup flax meal

2 tbsp mesquite powder

1 1/2  tsp sea salt

1 tbsp chili powder (not the same as chili pepper. and depending on how spicy yours is, you might want to adjust this. mine is not 'hot' at all, just savoury)

1/4 tsp ground chipotle (optional)

3 cups almond flour (JK Gourmet)

1/2 tsp baking soda

directions:

1. warm the coconut butter lightly to melt it.

2. add the water, vinegar, and beat in the eggs

3. add the flax meal, and mix thoroughly

4. add the seasonings and the mesquite, and mix

5. add the baking soda, and mix thoroughly

6. add the almond flour cup by cup, and mix thoroughly

7. bake the dough now, or wrap securely and save for later

8. divide the dough into four portions

9. roll each portion of dough between pieces of parchment, or on a silicone baking sheet, and covered by a piece of parchment. Don't try to roll directly on the dough on your counter,  because you will get a sticky mess and then you'll curse my name forever and stop reading my blog ...

10. once you have achieved a reasonably thin flat dough, score it into squares with a dull knife directly on the mat or parchment. Be careful not to get the edges thinner than the rest.

11. put the parchment or silicone mat onto a baking sheet, and bake at 300 for 24 minutes in the upper half of the oven. If you are baking 2 trays at once, switch positions half way through. Turn off the oven after 24 minutes, and leave the crackers in for another 30. This will make them nice and crisp, without burning them.

12. Break the crackers apart into squares and store them in an airtight container when thoroughly cool.

13. hide them so no one else knows they are there. Just kidding. Sort of.

update: if these last you a number of days, and have for some reason become ... uncrisp ... 30 minutes in a medium heat oven (around 250 or 275) will render them once again delightfully crisp. 

rainy day variation: 3 tbsp apple cider vinegar instead of 2, 1 tbsp chili powder instead of 1 1/2 tsp, 1/4 cup nutritional yeast -- still zesty and delicious ... but different. I like it!

Autumn Soup

Tuesday morning November 2nd meant the final farmer's market at East York Civic Center until spring 2011 :(  

Bob Proracki from Round Plains Plantation (http://www.ontariosweetpotato.com) brought me 2 brand new sweet potato types that he grew for the first time this year. Unlike the bright orange, soft fleshed sweet potatoes most people are familiar with (Bob has those, too), these genres have a dry flesh. One is a bright purple fleshed  cutie called the Okinawa, and the other is white fleshed, equally cute, and is called the Mirosaki -- both named after places in Japan. I lived in Japan for a few years in the 90s, and fell in love with the dry fleshed sweet potatoes that the street vendors would roast up at street fairs ... My decade plus long search to find these same treats here brought me to Bob and his fabulous chemical free fare. Tuesday morning was also a fond farewell to our other East York farmer's market fave -- Hillsview Farms. We stocked up on some chemical free produce from them -- some of the best carrots I've ever tasted in my life, sweet broccoli, very nice squashes, bright happy tomatoes, and some adorable little mini cabbages.

In honour of our final farmer's market of the season, we made a lovely roasted vegetable soup when we got home. 

ingredients:

1/2  package dried lima beans, soaked overnight, and rinsed (made 14 cups of beans)

4 tomatoes

1 1/2 baby cabbages

1 carrots

1/2 small butternut squash

1 small onions

2 small (or 1 med/large) cloves of garlic

1 small or medium sweet potato (I just used the usual orange ones in this soup)

sea salt

pepper

coconut oil

marjoram

oregano

1 broccoli

directions:

1.  bring lima beans to a boil and then remove from heat and soak  for 2-3 hours or overnight

2.  rinse lima beans well, and put in a large stock pot with water just to cover

3.   add a few generous tablespoons of coconut oil

4.   add sea salt and black pepper

5.   chop tomatoes and add to pot

6.   dice carrot and add

7.  chop cabbage and add

8.  add salt, pepper, marjoram, and oregano

9.   cover the pot and bring it to a low boil or a heavy simmer. This will need to cook for 1 1/2 to 2 hours

10.  dice the squash, and oven roast on a cookie sheet at 345 for 1/2 hour

11.  dice the sweet potatoes, and oven roast at 345 for 1/2 hour

12.  peel the garlic cloves, quarter the onions, and oven roast at 345 for 1/2 hour

13.  once the garlic and onions are cooked through, chop onions and add both to pot for simmering process

14.  once the lima beans are thoroughly cooked, add squash and sweet potatoes for a final 30 minutes of cooking. At this point, add in as much more water as you need to get the correct broth-to-solids ratio that will please your palate most. Adjust the seasoning, adding more salt and pepper or herbs if needed. 

15.  chop broccoli and add for last 10 minutes of cooking

You can serve this with bread or crackers for a simple meal, or as a starter, if you prefer.

This will make about 4 quarts of soup, so you'll need your big soup pot or dutch oven to make this. It will freeze well in glass jars. Or you can halve the recipe like any normal person would do. :)

It is savoury, delicious, and comforting on a chilly evening. Yum

Organic Chocolate Chip Cookies -- Happy Hallowe'en

These cookies are neither vegetarian -- they contain butter, milk, and eggs -- nor are they particularly healthful, although they do contain all organic ingredients. They are, however, very tasty. This recipe makes a soft cookie that is crisp on the outside when fresh. They keep well, and are enjoyable even a week later. They are also free of chemicals and preservatives, don't contribute in anyway to Big Tobacco (most of the candy companies are actually owned by Big Tobacco), and are thus my Hallowe'en shellout of choice. I'm baking a big double batch of them, and will individually wrap the cookies, and label them with my name, address, and the ingredients used. No doubt some people will opt to throw out rather than enjoy homemade Hallowe'en goods. However, we did the same last year, and they were very well received.


ingredients:

1/2 cup butter (melted)
1 cup organic cane sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 tbsp vanilla extract

1 tsp sea salt
1 tbsp cinnamon

2 cups large flake oats

1 tbsp apple cider vinegar

1/2 tsp baking soda

2 cups unbleached pastry flour

1 cup chocolate chips (our favourite isn't organic -- callebaut morsels ... sooooo good)


directions:

1. combine butter and sugar
2. mix in the eggs
3. stir in the milk
4. add the vanilla
5. add the cinnamon and the sea salt
6. stir in the oats
7. add the apple cider vinegar
8. at this point, it is important to let the mixture sit for a good 10 minutes. This will allow the oats to soften and soak a little, which will help the cookie have a soft and chewy texture instead of a crumbly texture.
9. add the baking soda and stir
10. add the flour, and mix well
11. add the chocolate chips, and stir well.
12. drop by spoonful onto a lined baking sheet. Flatten and shape with a damp fork.
13. bake in a preheated oven at 345 for about 15 minutes

makes 3 dozen (large) cookies