Summer Fruit Molasses Bites

I really need to learn to follow a recipe.

I wanted to make strawberry rhubarb muffins. I researched a few recipes online and had to work with a few substitutions since we don't have eggs or milk in the house.

I made something delicious and very dessert-like, and hearty, but because I decided to throw in some coconut flour... Well, I was concerned my dough would be too dry and as a consequence I made it too wet. Oops.

I put about one cup strawberries and two cups chopped rhubarb (and sprinkled some white sugar onto it) into the food processor and made it into something the consistency of jam, or maybe chutney. I set that aside.

Preheated the oven to 350 and smeared 30 muffin cups with a generous layer of room temperature coconut oil.

In a BIG bowl, I mixed the following dry ingredients:
- One cup unbleached white flour
- 3/4 cup whole wheat flour
- about 1/2 cup coconut flour
- about 1/2 cup sourghum gluten free flour
- about 1/4 cup flax meal
- 1 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 tablespoons cinnamon

In my kitchen aid mixer:
- 1/4 cup local raw honey* (Omit for true vegan cooking)
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- 1/2 cup agave nectar
- 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup warm coconut oil

In a mixing cup, combine:
- one cup coconut milk
- 1.5 teaspoons strawberry basil balsamic vinegar
Stir and add to mixer when it appears "curdled"
(this is my substitute for buttermilk)

Combine dry to wet ingredients, add fruit.
Poor into muffin tins. Sprinkle with brown sugar and cinnamon.

I think I baked these for an hour.

They have a crisp outer coating and are gooey in the middle like a brownie.

Sweet potato fry snack

Child has a 2-hour delay today and like mom's everywhere I'm screaming "My routine is off!" And it's Monday, which makes it even more difficult. Honestly, I'd rather keep her home for the day!

So at 10:20 a.m., they have a healthy snack from home.

For own snack I made sweet potato fries, sprinkled them with cinnamon and serving with a dipping sauce of 1 part blackstrap molasses to 3 parts pure maple syrup.

Best. Snack. Ever.

Molasses dairy-free sticky rolls

First note: you can not make caramel with brown sugar and coconut oil. But, if you stir in blackstrap molasses and stir like crazy, you can make a syrup that solidifies into molasses candy as soon as it cools. I'm thinking Popsicle sticks and spinning it into lollipops...

For the dough:
- 2 cups organic white flour
- 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
- 1/2 cup sourgum flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax meal
- small handful granulated sugar
- pinch salt
- 1 egg
- 1/3 cup warm coconut oil
Combine.
In another container, mix:
- 1 cup warm soy milk
- 2 tablespoons yeast
- 1/4 cup local raw honey

Combine and knead. Let rise until double. Could take 90 minutes.

Make caramel (see my note above)

Preheat oven to 350. Have daughter roll dough into rectangle. Sprinkle with brown sugar, cinnamon and pecans.

Roll and pinch ends closed. Shape into nice cylinder.

Put some "caramel" on the bottom of a cake pan. Slice into buns. Place buns in pan. Top with "caramel."

Now you're supposed to let them rise 30 more minutes, but I forgot.

Bake 30-35 minutes.

Grain free holiday loaf

Edible Harmony's Cranberry Pumpkin loaf was such a hit in this house that I decided to try a variation of it inspired by the multiple pieces of Starbucks holiday gingerbread loaf that I ate at work last night.

I also decided to use my kitchen aid mixer for the first time. This beast intimidates me.

Into the bowl I placed:
- six eggs
- about 1/3 cup coconut oil which I should have melted
- 1/4 cup unsweetened applesauce
- 1/4 cup blackstrap molasses
- about 2.5 tablespoons local raw honey
- 1 teaspoon vanilla
- 1 cup pumpkin purée
- 1/2 cup coconut flour
- 1/4 cup ground flax
- 1/4 cup sourgum flour
- ground cloves
- 1 teaspoon nutmeg
- ginger
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1 cup finely diced candied ginger
- 3/4 cup dried cranberries

Place in greased loaf pan. Sprinkle heartily with pumpkin seeds. Bake at 375 for 50 minutes.

I had to bake it for more than an hour, but good stuff!!!

Honey Cornbread

At one of my vegan cooking classes taught by Eileen Breslin, I got this recipe for cornbread:

http://angelfoodcooking.blogspot.com/2010/08/cornbread-and.html?m=1

And it's a family favorite.

What I like about vegan cooking is its minimalism. Unless you're talking about stuff like quinoa or seitan, it is usually stuff you have laying around the house.

A vegan doesn't panic if he runs out of milk and eggs during a snowstorm.

So in addition to the health benefits and animal rights, veganism offers simplicity in the kitchen. And I like that.

Today's cornbread might not be considered vegan by hardcore strict vegan standards because I used honey. The original recipe uses sugar, but I thought honey (from a local orchard) would help our immune systems. We're allergy sufferers in this house.

Today's recipe:
HONEY CORNBREAD
Preheat oven to 350. Batter must go into the oven immediately for best results.

Dry ingredients (mix separately from wet, then combine with dry, mix until moistened and bake 30-40 minutes)
- 1 1/2 cup cornmeal
- 1/2 cup unbleached white flour
- 2 teaspoons baking powder
- 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
- 1/4 teaspoon fresh ground sea salt

Wet ingredients
- 1/4 cup local honey
- 2 tablespoons blackstrap molasses
- 3/4 cup unsweetened almond milk
- 1/2 cup unsweetened Silk soymilk
- 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar

Sesame Turkey Barbeque

So, I cook like a spaz. Sometimes I start mixing so many flavors that in the end, I don't know what made the recipe work and what was completely unnecessary.

We have turkey left that had been frozen. We've been eating those super yummy spicy turkey mash up wraps.

I decided to make turkey barbecue, except my family isn't keen on barbecue so I thought I'd try something
more Asian inspired.

The base of this recipe was Betty Crocker's barbecue sauce. As written:

BARBECUE SAUCE
1 cup ketchup
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup water
1/4 cup butter
1 tablespoon paprika
1 teaspoon packed brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Boil. Then stir in:
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

What I did:
3/4 cup no HFCS ketchup
1 cup water
2 tablespoons butter
1 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon black strap molasses
About 1/2 cup Iron chef orange teriyaki sauce
About 1/4 cup Newman's Own sesame ginger dressing
1 teaspoon sesame oil
1 teaspoon walnut oil
1 teaspoon fresh ground black pepper
2 teaspoons lemon juice
2 teaspoons apple cider vinegar
1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
1/2 cup sesame seeds