"Mix in the Pan" Vegan Chocolate Cake

Recently, my sister-in-law L had a birthday (Happy 17th!).  She is vegan, so I wanted to make something she could enjoy.  This recipe from Choosing Voluntary Simplicity was just perfect.  Go here to get the recipe and see the original post.  I don't know the name of the lady who does this blog, but whoever you are, I like your site!  I have found more than a few great recipes there, along with some excellent advice.  This cake is so simple to make, and results in a moist chocolatey cake that is so delicious you would never know it has no dairy or eggs (soy free too).  This was also my first attempt at making vegan cake frosting and it was a flop, unfortunately.  I found some recipes online that looked good. but required special ingredients I did not have, such as egg replacer.  I tried making a frosting with a substitution, and it was okay at first but started to separate and look a little funny after a while.  If anyone has a good vegan frosting recipe with a consistency similar to regular buttercream I would love to know about it.  Anyway, I was very happy with how this cake turned out.  It is also very low in calories for cake - ONLY 133 CALORIES PER PIECE!  That is if you cut it into 16 pieces, and it is made in an 8-inch square pan.

Velvety Buckwheat Bread

This bread is a variation on the Basic Hearth Bread from Rose Levy Beranbaum's The Bread Bible.  The variation is hers of course, not mine.  I liked the idea of this bread the first time I read about it, and I've been planning to try it for quite some time.  To refer to the original recipe click here.  You will need it to complete the bread, as I am only giving the variation.

• In the dough starter (sponge): Omit the whole wheat flour and use a total of 1 1/4 cups (6.7 oz/192 grams) bread flour.  Increase the yeast from 3/8 teaspoon to 1/2 teaspoon.  Replace 2/3 cup of the water with 3/4 cup of sour cream (so you will use a total of 2/3 cup of water plus 3/4 cup sour cream for the liquid in this version).  
  
• In the flour mixture:  Use 1 1/4 cups of bread flour and add 3/4 cup buckwheat flour.  
  
• Bake at a lower temperature: 450 degrees for 5 minutes; then 400 degrees for 25-35 minutes more, until the bread is golden brown and a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean.  I only needed the addtional 25 minutes in my oven.
  

This bread is definitely velvety.  You can tell the difference just in kneading the dough.  It is soft with the faint hint of the sour cream, giving it a smell similar to a very mild sourdough bread, but with a little nuttiness from the buckwheat flour.  When you make the starter, it will be thicker than the original version, so you won't be able to whisk it, just stir with a spoon until combined.  Also, I didn't throw the ice cubes into the pan at the bottom of the oven for this bread, I just misted it with a spray bottle and quickly closed the oven door.  The crust came out just right for me.

Split Pea Soup

This is my Mom's recipe for Split Pea Soup.  It is another simple, healthy, frugal meal, similar to the Simple Lentil Stew.  It is good with sandwiches or salad, and any of the breads I've blogged about so far.  

Split Pea Soup (Serves 2-4)

4-5 cups water

1 cup split peas

2 carrots finely diced

2 stalks celery finely diced

1 small onion, finely diced

1 cup noodle style pasta (elbow macaroni, spaghetti , angel hair, or whatever)

pinch of celery seed

salt and black pepper to taste

• Place water and split peas in a large saucepan.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer until peas begin to soften, 25-35 minutes.
• Add carrots, celery, onion, and seasonings.  Depending on what type of pasta you use, you may want to add it now or wait a few minutes.
• Cook until all ingredients are tender/done, about another 10-15 minutes.
• Watch pot closely, and simmer with lid tilted, as split peas have a tendency to boil over easily.  Towards the end of cooking, you may need to stir frequently to prevent burning.

This soup is one of my favorite meals.  I think it is best eaten when freshly made.  It tastes fine leftover, but has a tendency to turn into a split pea brick in the refrigerator.  If you do have some left, you will need to add a little water when reheating.  Whatever pasta I choose, I always add a 2 oz. (one) serving.  I used penne this time, so I added it with the veggies since it takes longer to cook.  The recipe should make approximately 4 cups of soup at 175 calories per cup.

Oatmeal Bread

I found this recipe on the back of a bag of King Arthur Bread Flour.  This is the first bread recipe I've tried from King Arthur, and the first one I've ever used oatmeal or raisins in.  I think it is going to be every bit as good as they said!  My husband has already tried some and given it his stamp of approval.  King Arthur describes it as a tender, high rising bread that makes wonderful sandwiches and great toast.  I would have to agree, it seems just right, and I can't wait to try it for my breakfast toast.

Oatmeal Bread

3 cups King Arthur Unbleached Bread Flour

1 cup old-fashioned rolled oats

2 tablespoons butter

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3 tablespoons brown sugar or honey

2 teaspoons instant yeast or 1 packet active dry yeast

1 1/4 cups lukewarm milk

3/4 cup raisins or currants (optional)

If using active dry yeast, dissolve it in the warm milk before combining with the remaining ingredients.

• In a large mixing bowl, or in the bowl of an electric mixer, combine all of the ingredients, mixing to form a shaggy dough.  Knead dough, by hand (10 minutes) or by machine (5 minutes) till it's smooth.  Place dough in a lightly greased bowl, cover and allow it to rise for one hour.  It will become puffy, although it may not double in bulk.
• Transfer the dough to a lightly oiled surface, and shape it into a log.  Place the log in a lightly greased 9x5-inch loaf pan, cover the pan with lightly greased plastic wrap, and allow to rise for 1 to 1 1/2 hours, till it's crested 1 to 2 inches over the rim of the pan.
• Bake the bread in a preheated 350 degree oven for 35-40 minutes, until an instant-read thermometer inserted into the center registers 190 degrees F.  If the bread appears to be browning too quickly, tent it with aluminum foil for the final 10 minutes of baking.
  

Here is what the dough looked like after kneading, but before any rising.

As you can see, I added the optional raisins.  I used fat free milk, since that's what I had on hand.  I let the bread rise for the full 1 1/2 hours the second time.  I mixed the dough in my Cuisinart food processor and kneaded it by hand.  You may want to oil your hands and work surface lightly before kneading, this dough seemed very sticky to me at first and that helped keep me from adding too much flour during kneading and shaping.
Yummy!

Dorie's Chocolate Chunkers

When I first picked up Dorie Greenspan's book, Baking: From My Home To Yours, this was the first recipe that really caught my attention.  I knew I would have to make these cookies!  Mine look nothing like hers, but I'm sure they taste every bit as good.  My Official Cookie Taster (my husband) says they are really good.  The only problem I ran into was not having enough chocolate chips.  So I used 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips instead of a whole cup.  I didn't have any bittersweet chocolate either, so I used 1/2 cup of semisweet chocolate chips (4 oz.) and 2 oz. of unsweetened chocolate instead of just one.  The cookies didn't spread as much as I expected they would, but otherwise they seem to have turned out just right.  I use a tablespoon sized mini ice cream scoop whenever I make drop cookies, and using that I was able to get 40 cookies out of this recipe.  It probably would have been a few more than that if I hadn't run out of chocolate.

Chocolate Chunkers

1/3 cup all purpose flour

1/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

3 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 3 pieces

6 oz. bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped

1 oz. unsweetened chocolate, coarsely chopped

2 large eggs, at room temperature

2/3 cup sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

6 oz. semisweet chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chips or chunks

6 oz. premium quality milk or white chocolate, chopped into chunks, or 1 cup store-bought chips or chunks (I used Ghirardelli white chocolate chips)

1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped nuts, preferably salted peanuts or toasted pecans

1 cup moist, plump raisins (dark or golden) or finely chopped moist, plump dried apricots (I think sweetened dried cranberries would work well also)

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Line two baking sheets with parchment or silicone mats.
• Sift together flour, cocoa, salt, and baking powder.
• Melt butter, bittersweet chocolate, and unsweetened chocolate in a double boiler (set a heatproof bowl over a saucepan of simmering water), stirring occasionally just until melted.  Chocolate and butter should be smooth and shiny, but not so hot that the butter separates.
• Remove the bowl from heat and set on the counter to cool.  Working with a stand mixer using the paddle attachment, or a hand mixer in a large bowl, beat the eggs and sugar together on medium-high speed for about 2 minutes, until they are pale and foamy.  Beat in the vanilla extract, then scrape down the bowl.
• Reduce mixer speed to low and add the melted butter and chocolate mixture, mixing only until incorporated.  Scrape down the bowl again.
• On low speed, add the dry ingredients.  Mix just until the dry ingredients disappear into the dough, which will be thick, smooth and shiny.  Scrape down the bowl, then add the semisweet chocolate chunks, milk (or white) chocolate chunks, nuts, and raisins.  You will have more crunchies than dough at this point.
• Drop dough by generous tablespoonfuls onto the baking sheets, leaving an inch of space between the mounds of dough.   Bake the cookies one sheet at a time for 10-12 minutes.  The tops will look a little dry, but the centers will be soft.
• Remove to a cooling rack and allow to cool.  When cooled, if the chocolate is still gooey and you'd like them firmer, just refrigerate for about 10 minutes.  

My cookies were not gooey, but tender and moist on the inside.  I baked them for the full 12 minutes.  I'll definitely be making this one again!  The next thing you know, there will be nothing but crumbs left.

Gourmet Black Beans and Rice

I found this recipe in my mom's little handwritten book of recipes many years ago, and it was one of my favorite dishes when she made it.  I think I must have copied it down for myself when I was about 15 or 16.  I've started making it fairly often and it is delicious and simple. I usually serve the black beans over brown long grain or basmati rice as you see here.

Gourmet Black Beans - serves 4-6

1 cup (1/2 pound) dried black beans (sorted, rinsed and soaked overnight per package directions)

3-4 cups water (I usually use 4 cups, use less if you prefer your beans with less liquid)

1-4 tablespoons of olive oil (I prefer only 1 tablespoon)

1 large onion, chopped

1 4 oz. jar pimientos

salt to taste

2 tablespoons lemon juice

1/2 teaspoon oregano

1/2 teaspoon sugar

• Drain soaking water off beans, combine beans and water in saucepan.  Cook beans until they are just becoming tender, about 1 to 1 1/2 hours.  
• Add remaining ingredients and simmer until desired doneness is reached, 20-30 minutes more.
• Serve over rice.  It is very good plain, or with a little cheese or sour cream.  I usually leave out the onions since my husband doesn't like them and add some onion powder to enhance the flavor.  If dividing the recipe four ways, the beans are about 135 calories per serving (approximately 2/3 cup each) the way I made them.

If Sarah Palin Were a Cookie, What Kind Would She Be?

I've been a litte down since the 4th.  I'm disappointed, although not surprised at the way things turned out.  That said, there is one person in all of this that I have a lot of respect for - Sarah Palin.  I don't believe that she is presidential material, at least not now.  Who knows what could happen over the next four years, but what I think she is really good at is inspiring Republicans.  I admit I was very excited when I heard her speech at the convention.  I really like her a lot because she is down-to-earth, she sticks to what she believes in, and she has handled all of the criticism much better than I ever could.  I think its sad the way she has been attacked by liberals and the media, especially since the election.  They wouldn't be picking on her though, if they didn't see her as a threat.  That's why I think we should put her to work campaigning for a solid conservative candidate and we'd have the next Republican President in office in 2012.  Anyway, I think Sarah Palin has good things in store for her and four more years of experience can only help her.  

On a lighter note, I thought a batch of cookies is just what I need to cheer up.  If Sarah Palin were a cookie, what kind of cookie would she be?  I looked at several recipes, and none of them seemed quite right until I found this recipe for Oatmeal-Cranberry Chocolate Chip Cookies.  It is from Cooking Light Magazine.  These cookies are made with whole wheat flour, oatmeal, brown sugar, sweetened dried cranberries, and semisweet chocolate chips.  Seems fitting to me!

Makes 36 cookies

1 cup whole wheat flour

1/4 cup all purpose flour

3/4 cup regular oats

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups packed brown sugar

1/4 cup butter, softened

1/4 cup reduced fat sour cream (I used fat free plain yogurt)

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 large egg whites (I used 1/4 cup egg substitute)

3/4 cup sweetened dried cranberries, coarsely chopped

1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

• Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine flours, oats, baking soda, and salt in a medium bowl.  Place sugar, butter, and sour cream in a large bowl and beat with a mixer at high speed until smooth (I used my Cuisinart food processor and pulsed until smooth).  Add vanilla and egg whites, beat well.  Gradually add flour mixture, stirring until blended.  Fold in cranberries and chocolate chips.  
• Drop dough by rounded teaspoonfuls 2 inches apart onto baking sheets lined with parchment paper.  Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes (took only 13 in my oven) or until edges of cookies are browned.  Cool in pan 5 minutes, then transfer to wire racks.

I thought these cookies turned out very well, and they're pretty healthy for cookies (ONLY 88 CALORIES EACH)!  I added the cinnamon, it was not included in the original recipe.  I think they would also be good with cardamom.  I made them in my Cuisinart food processor, which helped make them less chunky (I didn't chop the cranberries first).  I think I would make them again without chopping the cranberries.  They turned out chewy and moist with a hint of tart/sweet cranberries, cinnamon and chocolate.