March of the Penguins

I made these cute appetizers several times between Christmas Eve and New Years Day.   They take a lot of time to assemble, but it goes quicker if you cut all the olives and roasted peppers and let them dry on paper towels while you cut the carrot feet and beaks, and then assemble in assembly line fashion.  The penguins are sitting on turnip skis or ice floes in 1 picture. In the other picture, they are adoring a Broccolini Christmas Tree!  Cream cheese at room temperature with a little butter added and a few seconds in the microwave will help it spread easier into the penguin's olive tummy. Large olive for  body and small olive for head.

Raw Beet Salad

My raw beet salad is so simple - lemon juice and parsley with shredded beets.  There are other recipes out there that have a more traditional dressing with olive oil, perhaps dijon mustard or garlic, but I like the acidic balance the freshly squeezed lemon juice provides to the sweetness of the beets without any other mediators except fresh parsley.  A very healthy, simple, quick salad.

Ginger Molasses Cake

The first recipe I posted here was a slight adaptation of a ginger sour cream bundt cake with ginger-infused strawberries.  My latest favorite ginger cake uses molasses and is a slight adaptation of David Leibovitz's Fresh Ginger Cake. My version replaces 1/2 the oil with homemade applesauce, replaces some of the white flour with coconut flour, replaces the sugar with a stevia baking blend.  The gingered strawberries from my original recipe are replaced with a strawberry-ginger jam that is used as frosting.
Because this recipe uses so much molasses, it also calls for baking soda dissolved in boiling water to counteract the acidity of the molasses.  Molasses is less sweet and has more vitamins and minerals than pure cane sugar.

The easiest method to grate ginger is to freeze it and then send through a food processor. It works even unfrozen.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Butter a 9x 3 round pan, or a 8inch square pan or a heart shaped pan.  There may be too much batter for the last 2 options, so be prepared to make a cupcake or two.
Sprinkle turbinado sugar in the pan.

Sift together:

• 2 cups flour
• 1/2 cup coconut flour
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp ground cloves
• 1/4 to 1/2 ground black pepper

Mix together:

• 3/4-1 cup mild molasses (DL's recipe called for 1 cup)
• 1/4 c Truvia Baking Blend (stevia and sugar mix) 
• 1/4 cup Truvia = 1/2 c sugar. (DL's recipe called for 1 cup sugar) I added a few Tablespoons of ginger sugar (fell off the candied ginger) 
• 1/2 cup peanut oil 
• 1/2 cup applesauce 
• 4 oz grated ginger 
• 2 eggs, room temperature

Add baking soda to boiling water and then add it to the molasses mixture.

• 1 cup boiling water
• 2 tsp baking soda

Stir the dry ingredients into the wet ingredients.
Pour into prepared pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for about 50 minutes or until cake springs back when pressed lightly or inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Serve with gingered strawberry jam and greek or plain yogurt.

Note: the heart shape cake pictured is actually a more traditional ginger cake I baked for Phil's parents with less molasses, which is why it is lighter in color than the slices on the left.  I forgot to take a picture of the whole molasses cake both times I made it.  The first time I baked it in a square pan and Phil and I ate the whole thing ourselves!  The second time I baked it in a heart-shaped pan and brought it to work on Valentine's Day.  There was too much batter to fit, so the extra made 3 cupcakes which was just the right amount for two people.

Smoky Orange Chili with sweet potato, beans, beef

While experimenting with the recently purchased smoked paprika and dried chipotle chili peppers, and  trying to empty the cupboards and freezer of ingredients that needed to be used, I came up with this unique chili.  Adding orange zest and corn balanced the smokiness of the paprika and chipotle that I am not quite used to yet.

Saute: 1 pound ground beef in large pot. Remove cooked beef and and sauté:

Large red onion, diced

2 red or green peppers, diced

3 garlic cloves, diced

Add spices:

1 T chili powder

2 tsp cumin

2 tsp smoked paprika

1/2 dried chipotle pepper, seeds removed, diced

Add: 

Large sweet potato, diced.  

Red kidney beans, a very large can and a small can (about 40 oz and 15 oz), rinsed and drained.

Tomatoes, 1 qt of home-canned tomatoes and 1 large can (28 oz) of diced tomatoes.

Add the cooked ground beef back into the pot.

The Correctors: Orange Zest and Corn

After simmering for a while, I decided it had too much of a smoky flavor for my taste.  There was 1 small orange wasting away in the bin. I added the zest and juice from the little orange to the chili and simmered it for about 30 minutes more.  

Add 2 cups frozen corn and simmer until heated through, about 15 minutes more. Let it sit for a little while. 

The orange zest and the sweetness of the corn mellowed out the smokiness. I liked it even better the next day.

Pumpkin-Apple Butter with Honey, Ginger & Cardamom

Pumpkin-Apple Butter with Honey, Ginger & Cardamom 
(the link to the original creator of this recipe no longer works and I can't find a working link to the original recipe)

Other spices, such as cinnamon or pumpkin pie spice, can be substituted for the ginger and cardamom.

1 15-ounce can solid pack pumpkin
1 medium-large tart apple (e.g., Granny Smith), peeled, cored & grated
1 cup unsweetened apple juice
1/2 cup honey
1 teaspoon ground ginger (I added about 1/2 T fresh ginger)
1/4 teaspoon ground cardamom
Pinch of salt

In a medium, heavy saucepan combine the pumpkin, apple, juice, honey, ginger, cardamom and salt. Bring mixture to a boil over medium-high heat, then reduce to low. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 1 and 1/2 hours. Cool completely in pan, then transfer to an airtight container (It will keep in the refrigerator for up to 2 months). Makes 3 cups (serving size: 2 tablespoons).

Nutrition per Serving (2 tablespoons):Calories 35; Fat 0.1g (sat 0.1g, mono 0g, poly 0g); Protein 0.2g; Cholesterol 0mg; Carbohydrate 9.2g; Sodium 11.1mg.
(Note: nutrition analysis using Diet Analysis Plus 7.0.1)

I made 2 batches at the same time, with about 5 cups roasted butternut squash, 1.5 cups apple cider, 1.5 apples,  and 1/2 cup honey.  Then I split it in 2 pots and in 1 added fresh ginger and cardamon, and the other all ground spices of  cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg, allspice, cloves, and vanilla.  I added 1 T raw brown sugar to both.  Next time I would use sugar and not honey, as the honey has a distinctive taste I'd rather not have in this.

Pumpkin Pie Ice Cream

I loved Adirondack Creamery's Pumpkin Pie ice cream and want to make a homemade version. AC's ingredient list is: Cream, Milk, cane sugar, non-fat dry milk, egg yolks, pumpkin, pure vanilla extract, cinnamon, nutmeg, ginger, cloves, and allspice.  I found two recipes online that are close, but not quite, so I will try my own method. Since I have only made real ice cream twice before, I hope I don't  mess it up.

The recipe David Lebovitz posted has too many steps that don't seem necessary and a cinnamon stick seems to get lost in his recipe.  I do like his proportions of milk and cream and white and brown sugars. The Williams Sonoma recipe seems like it will come out two thick and too sweet with 2 cups of heavy cream and 3/4 cup brown sugar, but the recipe order is simpler, although there is no need to add cold cream to the eggs, so I will heat all the milk and cream.

1. Mix squash with vanilla and chill.

• 1 cup roasted butternut squash puree (or canned pumpkin)
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2. Heat and stir in saucepan:

• 1 1/2 cups whole milk
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 1/3 and 1/4 cup gingered sugar (otherwise combo of white and brown cane sugar)
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly-ground nutmeg
• If not using ginger sugar, use 1/2 tsp ground ginger or 1 tsp freshly grated
• scant 1/16 teaspoon cloves
• 4 allspice berries, crushed and a pinch of ground (or 1/8 teaspoon ground allspice)
• scant 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt

3. Whisk 5 large egg yolks into a bowl

4. Whisk 1/3 to 1/2 the cream into the bowl of egg yolks and pour back into cream pot.
5. Heat and stir until 170 degrees- slightly thick-can run finger through it on back of spoon and it doesn't run back:
6. Pour through a fine mesh strainer into a bowl nestled in a larger bowl of ice water.  Whisk or stir a few times.  
7. Whisk in the pumpkin.  
8. Pour through fine mesh strainer again.  
9. Cover with plastic wrap and chill overnight.  
10. Churn in ice cream maker according to maker's directions.

Original sources or inspiration:
http://www.davidlebovitz.com/2009/11/pumpkin-ice-cream-recipe/
http://www.williams-sonoma.com/recipe/pumpkin-ice-cream.html

Butternut Squash and Black Bean Casserole

Several times I have made variations of a vegan recipe I had found when I was searching for an easy oven-baked recipe for butternut squash and black beans a few  years ago.  It is so easy-no sauteeing of the onions first-everything cooks together in the oven. http://blog.fatfreevegan.com/2008/10/pumpkin-and-black-bean-casserole.html

I liked tonight's version best, but with raw milk and cheddar cheese, it was not vegan, but it sure was tasty!
1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees.  Spray olive oil in casserole dish (approx 8 x 11 or so size)
2. In a large bowl, combine and set aside:

• 1 1/2 cups black beans
• 1/2 cup corn
• 1 medium onion, diced (any kind, I used red)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp ancho chili powder or other mild chili powder
• 1/4 tsp chipotle chili powder
•  a shake of cayenne pepper, maybe l/8 tsp
•  1 quart canned tomatoes, chopped, liquid reserved

3. Peel and slice a medium butternut squash into 1/4 inch thick slices.  Need enough to make 2 layers in the casserole dish.

4. Combine reserved tomato juice (I had more than 1 cup) with 1/2 cup milk (used raw milk tonight) and spices:

• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1/2 teaspoon ground dry mustard powder
• 1/2 tsp Hungarian paprika
• Sprinkle of cayenne pepper
• Sprinkle of black pepper
• 3 T cornstarch

5. Grate about 1/4 cup cheddar cheese (to lightly (not quite) cover top layer of casserole)

6. ASSEMBLE

• Layer half the squash in casserole dish. Follow with half the bean mixture, then 1/2 quash, 1/2 beans.
• Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top.
• Pour tomato juice mixture to cover layers.
• Cover with aluminum foil tightly.
• Bake 30 minutes.
• Remove foil and bake another 30 minutes.

This could easily be made 50% larger by adding a third layer of squash and beans.  Would need to add more liquid too.