I really like baking, but like everyone, I worry about how healthy desserts are, so I futzed around with a Crisco recipe, trying to make it vegan. It worked fairly well--the cookies taste good, but the consistency is never quite perfect. So at some point, I googled for a good vegan recipe and found the perfect cookies. They taste amazing (no one would know they're vegan because they taste so yummy, except I announce it constantly), they're relatively healthy, and they're really fast to put together. Also, if you're into eating cookie dough, it's the best dough ever!

Vegan chocolate chip oatmeal peanut butter cookies

1. Preheat oven to 425 F.

2. Ingredients to go in one medium bowl:
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup oatmeal (slow cooking or quick)
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 bag chocolate chips (if you're making the cookies vegan, make sure you check the ingredients of the chocolate chips, even the dark chocolate ones)
--Mix together with a fork.

3. Ingredients for one larger bowl
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup natural peanut butter
1/3 cup milk (soy, rice, hemp, etc)
2 Tbsp canola oil
1 tsp vanilla extract
--Mix well with a fork.

4. Add dry ingredients to wet ingredients and mix well. Drop forkfuls onto cookie sheet and bake about 10 minutes. Remove from oven and let cool for 2 minutes before transferring cookies to wire racks to finish cooling.

Makes 20-24 cookies. Enjoy!

Posted by Leah | Permalink

I have promised this recipe to a couple of people, but after a lovely evening last night with Carolyn, Dave and the cookies, I'm finally getting around to posting it. First, though, I have to explain how the recipe came about.

In February, at the time share in New Zealand, I made four or five batches of these cookies. They all tasted quite good, but the consistency wasn't perfect until the end, because I was changing the recipe from using 3/4 cup Crisco to, ultimately, 1/3 cup canola oil. With David's genetic heart problems and the fact that no one needs to be eating Crisco, the change to a "good" fat seemed the way to go. And then, because vegan baking is even healthier, not to mention I was making a batch for Taylor and Megan when they came over for Fourth of July, I decided to substitute rice milk for the milk, and half a banana for the egg. I love that substitution! It's ingenious. You can taste a little banana in the cookies, which I don't think is a problem, but if you do, feel free to use an egg instead. Either way be careful, though: they're really yummy and disappear quickly.

Continue reading "decadent, but vegan, chocolate chip cookies" »

Posted by Leah | Permalink | Comments (1)

I'm still recovering from landing in the US and having the unsettling sensory overload of understanding the language and culture nuances of everyone around me. And, sifting through the nearly 10,000 pictures we took! (Seriously! Just consider yourself lucky we only posted a fraction on Picasa Web.) I'm also enjoying some simple things I missed while away. Here is one of them, slightly modified to remove all the fat and most (or all, depending on the egg choice) of the cholesterol:

Continue reading "mom's unstuffed cabbage" »

Posted by David | Permalink

We have lots more to say about the trip, but for now this is to say we made it back for Mother's Day and celebrated with German pancakes for Sharon, David's mom. The recipe is surprisingly simple and was a big success, so naturally we had to post it.

German Pancakes

Ingredients:

1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup flour
3 eggs
1/4 cup butter, melted

Preheat oven to 450 degrees Fahrenheit. Melt butter in small saucepan. While butter is melting, combine milk, flour and eggs and mix well. (Whisking works best, I think.)
Pour melted butter into baking dish (large pie pan, 8x8x2 dish, etc.) and slosh around to coat sides. Pour mix into pan on top of butter. Put pan into center oven and bake for 20 minutes. Serve by squeezing lemon juice and sprinkling with powdered sugar.

Proof that it works

Posted by Leah | Permalink | Comments (2)

One of the things we learned at our cooking lesson with Leena was how to make chai (tea), the Indian way. We wrote it down diligently, both thinking it would be fun to make for ourselves, and a fun recipe to share. Then we went to Dal Roti were we had some, and it was different. Asking Ramesh, the chatty owner, about it, he told us how he makes it. So here are both recipes, though I have to admit that we have yet to make either. But we will!

Leena's chai:
(Good for 2 cups, use the teacup/mug you'll be serving the chai in as the measuring cup)

1 cup water
1 cup milk
2 heaping teaspoons sugar
2 small teaspoons powdered (instant) tea
1/2 t crushed cardamon

Boil everything together in pan. After tea comes to a boil let it simmer for a minute (or so).
Mix together by pouring back and forth from pan to large glass.
Strain.
Serve.

Ramesh's chai:
(I'm guessing on amounts for 2 cups because he said how he did it, not how much)

2 cups milk
2 heaping teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons instant tea
1 t crushed cardamon
1/2 t cinnamon
1 knob ginger

Bring milk to boil. Turn down flame, add all ingredients. Turn up flame, allow to boil twice more, bringing down the flame inbetween boiling sessions.
Mix thoroughly by pouring back and forth between pan and large glass.
Strain.
Serve.

We're going to try them out as soon as we have access to a kitchen and we'll let you know how it goes!

Posted by Leah | Permalink

I really love to bake. It's probably because I love to consume sweet things, and that's pretty much all I bake, but I enjoy the process, too. I haven't done much baking in the last couple of years because: 1) our kitchen is tiny!; 2) we're trying to be healthy, which generally means fewer sweet things; and 3) I've been busy; all of which means I've been missing baking for awhile. However, I shouldn't have worried about it, because when it rains it pours: I baked brownies yesterday and cookies and zucchini bread today.

Yesterday's treats were for "my" Somali kids. Three of their five birthdays fall within three months of each other and we're right in the middle of it, so I took over some brownies to celebrate. I didn't actually make them, I just assembled the package (Ghiradelli's double chocolate brownies), but I replaced the oil with applesauce (unsweetened) and the egg with 1/4 of a banana, which is the whole point of this post. Both replacements worked really well.

We've been trying to be healthy, still, not just because it's a good thing to do, but because one of the less pleasant family history pieces David learned from his newly (re)discovered family is that there's a shockingly long line of paternal deaths due to sudden, massive heart attacks, hence David's need of a stent in November. David's been doing what he can to keep it from happening to him. And one of the things he can do is eat better. So, less fat and very little cholesterol is in order, which makes baking just a tad difficult. BUT, applesauce is an amazing fat replacement and using 1/4 banana instead of an egg works wonders. I did the same thing in the chocolate chip cookies I made this morning and they're fabulous! The zucchini bread is a little less fabulous: it still tastes really good, but there's something just a bit off about the consistency. Maybe it's because I used whole wheat flour instead of white?

At any rate, hopefully, both the cookies and bread will be crowd pleasers at our friend Haein's tonight. She's making Korean food, and we volunteered to bring some desserts, hence the frenzy of baking. Not that either is the least bit Korean, but still.

Posted by Leah | Permalink | Comments (3)

Ingredients:

Directions:
Soak chickpeas for a full day in the refrigerator. Cook chickpeas until tender, drain. Blend all ingredients.

Posted by David | Permalink

1 1/2 cups sifted all-purpose flour
1/2 cup sugar
1/8 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ginger
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 cup butter or margarine
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup molasses
3/4 cup boiling water
1 unbaked 8-inch pastry shell (I usually use the size I have so if you only have a 9" pie plate don't worry about it)

Mix together flour, sugar, salt, cinnamon, ginger and nutmeg. Cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse meal. Mix together baking soda and molasses and immediately stir in boiling water. Stir in 1 1/3 cups of the crumb mixture. Turn into pastry shell. Sprinkle remaining 2/3 cup crumb mixture over top., Bake at 375 degrees for 30 to 40 minutes, until crust is lightly browned. Perfect with whipped cream for dessert or cold in the morning for breakfast. This pie can be made ahead a day or two as well as long as you wrap it in plastic wrap after it has cooled. It does not need refrigeration.

Posted by Leah | Permalink

½ large head cauliflower
1 small onion
1-tablespoon vegetable oil
2 eggs
2 tablespoons milk
¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon flour
¾ teaspoon baking powder
½ teaspoon salt
¼ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
½ cup grated Cheddar cheese
oil for frying

Steam cauliflower until tender. While cauliflower is steaming, sauté onion in 1-tablespoon vegetable oil. Set aside. Cut steamed cauliflower into bite size pieces. Mix eggs, milk, flour, baking power, salt, pepper, cheese, and sautéed onion until smooth. Add cauliflower to the batter and mix well. Heat 1 inch of oil until hot. Drop mixture by tablespoon into hot oil and cook until golden brown on each side. Drain well on paper towels.

Makes about 12 pancakes

Note: Broccoli can be substituted for cauliflower

Posted by David | Permalink

I don't think I need much of an introduction here: these ingredients speak for themselves.

Ingredients:

1/2 cup bulgur (easy to find in the bulk food section)
2 T olive oil
2 cups chopped flat-leaf parsley
1/3 cup chopped fresh mint
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
3 T chopped fresh dill
3 T chopped fresh cilantro
2 diced tomatoes
3/4 cup diced red onion
2 minced garlic cloves
1/3 cup lemon or lime juice

Stir bulgur and half of the oil in glass bowl. Add boiling water to cover the bulgur, and cover bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes. Drain bulgur with a sieve, press to remove excess liquid. In a large bowl, add bulgur and stir in remaining ingredients. Refrigerate for several hours and serve cold.

Posted by David | Permalink

Here is a favorite pasta sauce of ours: Pesto!

Ingredients:

1 cup fresh basil
2 garlic cloves
1/4 cup pine nuts
1/4 olive oil
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
salt and pepper

We love the garlic, but if you're not quite such a fan, you might just put in 1 clove. Blend all ingredients together with hand mixer or food processor. Use about 1 tablespoon per person when mixing with cooked pasta and serve immediately. This lasts up a week in the refrigerator, making multiple meals.

Posted by David | Permalink