i eat, you read

Oatmeal Muffins

• 1 1/2 cups oats
• 1 1/4 cups flour
• 1 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1 teaspoon ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 1 cup unsweetened applesauce
• 1/2 cup milk
• 3 Tablespoons vegetable oil
• 1 egg white
• 1/2 cup brown sugar

Topping

• 1 Tablespoon butter
• 1 Tablespoon brown sugar
• 1/4 cup oats
• cinnamon 

Mix wet with dry.  Pour into lined and sprayed baking cups (makes 12) and top with topping.  Bake at 400 for 20 minutes. 

Note: Upon discussions with mom, I wouldn’t use the liners at all.  And if you are using a non-stick muffin pan, reduce the temp about 25 degrees.  That goes for all baked goods and all non-sticks. 

Hearts of Palm Salad

Dressing - teaspoon minced shallot, EVOO, red wine vinegar and salt and pepper

Salad:

• Head of Boston Bibb lettuce
• 2 small oranges - cut into segments shown here - http://www.whfoods.com/genpage.php?tname=preptip&dbid=94
• 1/2 can of hearts of palm cut in half and then in quarters length-wise
• 1 Tbls fresh basil - julienned
• toasted macadamia nuts

Chicken Salad (a-la-no-mayonnaise) 

• About three cups chopped chicken (leftover roasted chicken!) 
• 1 cup plain yogurt (I use Greek)
• 1 Tbls or more fresh ginger (if you freeze the stalk, you can roughly slice of the peel and use a microplane to easily make it useable.)
• 1 cup grapes
• 2 or 3 stalks celery thinly chopped
• 1/2 cup walnuts or other nut
• juice from 1 lemon 
• you could add cilantro or parsley, I was all out. 

Kale and Brussels Sprouts Salad

• 1/2 bunch kale
• 8 brussel sprouts (little package)
• 1 cup grated parmesan or pecorino 
• 1/2 cup toasted nut (almonds, hazelnuts, walnuts…)
• 1/2 clove garlic, finely minced
• 1 Tbls finely minced shallot
• 1 Tbls dijon mustard 
• 1/8 cup lemon juice
• EVOO (maybe 1/4 cup or less) 
• 1/4 tsp salt and some pepper 

Mix the last 6 ingredients and let it hang out for as long as you like, or refrigerate over night or for a few days.  

Finely chop the kale, after removing the middle core.  Shred the brussels sprouts with an instrument or finely shred with a knife.  Mix together with cheese and dressing and top with nuts. I LOVE THIS!

Avocado Salad - serves maybe three. easy to double.

• 1 grapefruit
• 1 avocado
• 1/2 orange
• 1 Tbls lemon juice
• teeny bit of finely chopped shallot (chopped off one little slice and then minced)
• 2 Tbls or so of walnut oil (use olive, or even avocado)
• 1/4 cup loosely chopped parsley, especially including the crunchy stems. or watercress if you could find it. 
• salt to taste

I served this with a whole roasted fish.  I take the gutted fish and stuff with parsley and shallot slices and heavily salt the outside of the fish and lightly salt the center.  Place on large enough piece of parchment paper to fold over.  Make little folds all the way around the fish with the parchment to create a pouch. When you get to the last little bit, blow in to puff up the parchment.  Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes then 350 for 15. Perfect every time. You could also do this with lemons or just salt. 

Coconut Heart Cake

I would make this in three round cake pans instead of the giant heart pan that I used.  Bake at 375 for 20 minutes top if you go that route.  35 at 350 if you use a giant pan. Layer with the pineapple sauce and icing however you like! I did one layer of pineapple sauce in the middle ( I cut the cake in half) and topped with icing.  

Cakes: 

• 1 cup butter
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1 cup coconut milk
• 1 tsp vanilla extract

Cream butter and sugar.  Combine wet ingredients in another dish. Same with dry.  Add wet ingredients and dry in alternate waves to the butter and sugar.

Pineapple Filling

• 1 cup crushed pineapple, drained
• 1/8 cup cornstarch
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup coconut milk

Mix cornstarch and sugar in pan on stove. Add milk and pineapple and cook until thick, stirring occasionally, about 15 minutes.

Icing

• 1 cup butter, room temp
• 3 -4 cups powdered sugar
• pinch salt
• pinch of vanilla
• 3 to 4 tablespoons coconut milk, or water

Beat until chunky, add little bit of water or milk at a time to get the consistency you like. Top with coconut!  

Salted Caramel Pie

- Altered recipe from a Pie cookbook I cannot remember the name of presently and made with a dear friend. It’s a good pie to make with two people.

Crust:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/3 plus 1 Tbls Crisco
• 1/4 tsp sea salt
• 3-4 Tbls water

Mix flour, salt, and crisco with fork until clumpy.  Add about 3 Tbls water and gather into a ball (use more water if necessary).  Remember to do this part quite quickly, you do not want to work with the dough for very long or it will not be delicious. Place parchment paper (or tin foil) over crust and fill with dried beans (that you will have to throw out or save as your pie beans).  This keeps it from puffing up. Bake at 400 degrees for 10 minutes.  Prick with fork and bake until done about 7-10 more minutes.

For the Filling:

You need two pots. One large, one small. In the large pot mix over medium heat:

• 4 egg yolks
• 6 Tbls cornstarch
• 1/2 cup sugar

Slowly add:

• 2 cups milk ( better if it’s whole)

Cook over medium high heat, stirring occasionally for about 15 minutes. When it starts to thicken reduce heat to low and cook until super thick (about 5 more minutes). 

Meanwhile, mix together and heat:

• 1/3 cup water
•  1 cup sugar 

Do not stir. My friend had the caramel part and I told her to stir and she stirred for about 15 minutes until she said, wait, read that again and I read it and it said, do not stir. And then we had to wait a whole 15 minutes longer! So you just mix it up and then do nothing. You could stir it once or twice if you see white chunks forming on the top.  And you can shake the pan to distribute heat. But basically leave it alone and it turns mahogany.

Slowly drizzle the caramel into the custard, whisking away. Add:

• 1 stick butter
• 1 1/2 tsp vanilla

Let this cool for about 15 minutes or longer and then scoop into pie crust and bake at 350 for 15 minutes or until it darkens a bit on top and it looks pretty set.  Let this cool completely and maybe even refrigerate before eating. Serve with heavy cream you have whipped up with no sugar added. We ate it right out of the oven and yeah, it was the best thing I’ve ever eaten, yes. But, it was really messy and altered the shape of the rest of the pie.  So I suggest waiting.

Roasted Maple Hazelnut WonderVeg

• 4/5 parsnips (or rutabaga or sweet potatoes?), sliced about 1 inch
• Brussels sprouts, halved
• 1 fennel stock, green part cut off, sliced kinda thin
• 1/4 -1/2 cup chopped hazelnuts
• 1/8-1/4 cup maple syrup
• EVOO, salt and pepper
• lime

Mix everything (but the lime) in a baking dish and roast at 400 degrees for 25 minutes or until the veggies are nice and brown. You may want to shake em up halfway through.  Squeeze with lime to finish.

Eggplant with Snow Peas and Bok Choy

I don’t usually do well with eggplant. My brother makes a really, really good eggplant parm.  My husband asked me, if you know you don’t do well with it, why would you do this? And I replied, eat it. Just eat it and see.

• 1 large eggplant
• 1 tablespoon peanut oil and 1 tablespoon sesame oil
• snow peas
• 2 sets of 3 bunches of bok choy (they are super small and shrink when steamed)
• bunch of green onions
• 2 cloves garlic
• 1/4 cup chicken broth

Sauce

• 2 teaspoons ginger
• 2 tablespoons soy sauce
• 1 1/2 teaspoon sesame paste
• red pepper flakes
• hot chili oil (if you have it)

If you don’t have sesame and peanut oil, just use the one you have. Heat large frying pan, or wok if you’re fancy, with oils.  Slice eggplant in half, and then in wedges about 1/2 inch thick.  Fry em up! If they don’t all fit in the pan, do in batches, adding more oil with each batch. Fry about 3 minutes on each side, remove and place in container.  Drizzle some of the sauce over them so they don’t get bored while they are waiting.

Add a little more oil and add some more minced ginger and about 2/3 of the thinly sliced green onions bunch.  Add the snow peas for about two minutes.  Really quick here! You want your snow peas crunchy.  Add to the waiting eggplants. Add the rest of the sauce to keep everyone happy.

Squirt a little more oil into the pan.  Fry up the minced garlic and add bok choy.  Stir it around for a hot minute, and then add the chicken broth. Cover until bok choy is steamed, about 5 minutes. Add everything back in just to stir, turn off heat, and top with the rest of the green onions.  Serve with rice and make yourself eat it with chopsticks.