Raw, Vegan, Gluten free Carrot Cake

I have been craving carrot cake recently and decided that would be what I would make for my birthday cake. Yes, I make my own birthday cake.
Since no one else in my house generally eats these things, I wanted to bring it to work. There are a couple folks who follow gluten-free and dairy-free diets, so I wanted to make a GF, DF cake.

I found a carrot cake recipe from Paleo Running Momma, that looked pretty good, but I just couldn't bring myself to make it. It seemed a bit involved and there were a couple ingredients I needed to get from the store. I made the frosting though and put it in the freezer until I made the cake part. After a couple weeks, Dana from Minimalist Baker posted a raw carrot cake. I had all the ingredients, so I decided to switch gears and make that instead.

It turned out pretty well. My food processor is pretty small, so I had to make everything in several batches. This made things take quite a bit longer. I don't think I will make this cake again, because of the food processor issue, and it's fairly dense, but it is tasty. The frosting is very "coconutty" and not very "cream-cheesy." I might try to use tofutti/Trader Joes non-dairy cream cheese if I were ever to try a non-dairy "cream cheese" frosting again.

Rhubarb sour cream muffins

I made these rhubarb muffins with gifted-from-the-neighbor rhubarb:
https://www.geniuskitchen.com/recipe/sour-cream-rhubarb-muffins-27861

They were so good! Sweet and tart and very moist.

Recently made

• Creamed corn-https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/11675-creamed-corn?action=click&module=Global%20Search%20Recipe%20Card&pgType=search&rank=1

I wasn’t too excited about this version. It wasn’t super creamy like my mom made from the can. Could be the corn was a little dehydrated. Either way, I’ll probably not be making this again.

• Cabbage in a mild curry sauce - https://www.thekitchn.com/cabbage-in-mild-yogurt-and-mus-157670

I used this with some red cabbage I needed to use up. I thought it was pretty tasty. Other family members didn’t think similarly.

• Corn fritters - https://smittenkitchen.com/2018/07/corn-fritters/

I really liked these too. R liked it a lot, so the leftovers were great for his daycare lunches.

• Chickpea blondies- https://www.ambitiouskitchen.com/flourless-chocolate-chip-chickpea-blondies-with-sea-salt-vegan-gluten-free-healthy/

I made these for some friends at work who are gluten free. I thought they turned out pretty good, but my food processor didn’t get all of the chickpeas so there were some chunks. I’ll have to use the blender next time.

• Butternut squash linguine - https://cookieandkate.com/2014/creamy-vegan-butternut-squash-linguine-with-fried-sage/

This was ok, but I wouldn’t make it again. It was more like butternut squash bisque on Pasta.

• Vanilla buttercream frosting - https://sallysbakingaddiction.com/vanilla-buttercream/

I used this to frost a chocolate cake for E’s birthday. It was great!

• Vegetarian shepherds/cottage pie - https://cooking.nytimes.com/recipes/1019221-vegetarian-shepherds-pie

This was a bit of work, but I really liked it and thought it turned out great!

• Chocolate ice cream - https://www.allrecipes.com/recipe/56803/very-chocolate-ice-cream/

I thought this turned out pretty good!

• Peanut stew - https://thegirlonbloor.com/slow-cooker-african-inspired-peanut-stew/

I used the instant Pot  to make this, but it was so long ago now, I can’t remember how it tasted...I’ll have to make it again!

Summer Pasta with Zucchini, Ricotta, and Basil

Summer CSA and garden season is upon us and I needed to use up some zucchini. This NYT recipe for Summer Pasta with Zucchini, Ricotta, and Basil was very good! I didn't have the ricotta cheese, and it really is a must, but without it, it was still very tasty! I will definitely make this one again, and I will make sure to have the ricotta cheese.

INGREDIENTS

 Extra-virgin olive oil

1  small onion, finely diced

2  pounds zucchini, sliced into 1/4-inch-thick pieces (for larger zucchini, cut in half lengthwise before slicing)

 Salt and pepper

2  garlic cloves, minced, or 2 tablespoons chopped green garlic

1  ounce basil, about 2 cups loose leaves

1  pound ziti or other dry pasta

8  ounces ricotta, about 1 cup (see recipe)

 Pinch of crushed red pepper

 Zest of 1 lemon

2  ounces grated Parmesan, pecorino or a mixture, about 1 cup, plus more for serving

PREPARATION

Put a pot of water on to boil. In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook the onions in 3 tablespoons olive oil until softened, 5 to 8 minutes. Reduce heat as necessary to keep onions from browning. Add zucchini, season generously with salt and pepper, and continue cooking, stirring occasionally until rather soft, about 10 minutes. Turn off heat.

Meanwhile, use a mortar and pestle to pound garlic, basil and a little salt into a rough paste (or use a mini food processor). Stir in 3 tablespoons olive oil.

Salt the pasta water well and put in the pasta, stirring. Boil per package instructions but make sure to keep pasta quite al dente. Drain pasta, reserving 1 cup of cooking water.

Add cooked pasta to zucchini in skillet and turn heat to medium-high. Add 1/2 cup cooking water, then the ricotta, crushed red pepper and lemon zest, stirring to distribute. Check seasoning and adjust. Cook for 1 minute more. Mixture should look creamy. Add a little more pasta water if necessary. Add the basil paste and half the grated cheese and quickly stir to incorporate. Spoon pasta into warm soup plates and sprinkle with additional cheese. Serve immediately.

Corn Salad

With the great amount of sweetcorn and tomatoes in the CSA and from the farmers market, I needed something to use it up, so I found a Corn Salad with Tomatoes, Feta and Mint recipe from the New York Times. I changed things up quite a bit due to things on hand, so I can't really "review" the recipe. I used an herbed goat cheese instead of feta and left out the mint, but I thought it turned out pretty good. It made quite a bit! I was eating it for a while, because I was the only one who wanted to eat it.


Recipe as prepared:

INGREDIENTS

2 to 3  cups raw or cooked corn kernels (from 4 to 6 ears)

1  large or 2 medium ripe tomatoes, cut into fairly small pieces

4  ounces herbed goat cheese, crumbled (about 1 cup)

3  tablespoons extra virgin olive oil

Salt and freshly ground black pepper

PREPARATION

Put the corn, tomatoes, and cheese in a medium salad bowl. Drizzle with the olive oil and toss.

Add the mint leaves and toss again. Taste and add salt and pepper. Serve.

Savory Veggie muffins

In order to send more food with R to daycare for lunch and a good way to use up more veggies I attempted to make some savory vegetable muffins. I found this recipe from Healthy Little Foodies, and used it as a guide, but after tasting them, I would make several changes.

The recipe didn't call for any salt, I would either add more cheese or salt or both. I think these would be greatly enhanced if there were some herbs added, as well. Maybe an addition of rosemary, thyme, or savory would make these taste much better too. I think these would also be enhanced by using white whole wheat flour too instead of (red) whole wheat flour.

I will definitely try making these again, but for the meantime, they are in the freezer and taken out for daycare lunch every morning. Good thing he can't complaint about having the same thing every day yet!


As made -

Ingredients

• 1 medium (250g) Zucchini, grated
• 1 medium (120g) Carrot, grated
• 1/4 cup (30g) Frozen Peas
• 1/4 cup (30g) Frozen Corn
• 1 cup (125g) Cheddar Cheese, grated
• 1/2 cup Milk
• 1/4 cup Plain Greek Yoghurt
• 1/4 cup Olive Oil
• 2 Eggs
• 2 cups (250g) Plain Wholewheat Flour
• 3 tsp Baking Powder

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to  350F
2. Place the zucchini and carrot onto a clean dish towel and wrap it around the vegetables.  (see image above) Squeeze all the juice out. 
3. Place the zucchini and carrots into a large mixing bowl along with the peas and sweetcorn. Add the cheese, milk, yogurt, olive oil and egg and stir until combined.
4. Mix the flour and baking powder together and then slowly add to the wet ingredients. Fold in gently, until just combined. 
5. Spray a 12 hole muffin tray with oil or grease with butter. Spoon the mixture, equally, between the 12 muffin sections.  Bake for 20-25 mins. 

Kohlrabi use up

I made a salad with kohlrabi. Recipe from the kitchn. I used fresh cherries since they were in season, I thought it was pretty good. I would try it again.

In an effort to use up more CSA kohlrabi, I found this recipe that inspired me to make oven fries with kohlrabi. I sprinkled on some Penzey’s ranch seasoning, and they were delicious!

INGREDIENTS

• 1 ½ to 2 pounds kohlrabi
• 1 tablespoon rice flour, chickpea flour or semolina (more as needed)
•  Salt to taste
• 2 to 4 tablespoons canola oil or grapeseed oil, as needed
•  Chili powder, ground cumin, curry powder or paprika to taste 
• PREPARATION

Peel the kohlrabi and cut into thick sticks, about 1/3 to 1/2 inch wide and about 2 inches long.
Heat the oil over medium high heat in a heavy skillet (cast iron is good). Meanwhile, place the flour in a large bowl, season with salt if desired and quickly toss the kohlrabi sticks in the flour so that they are lightly coated.
When the oil is rippling, carefully add the kohlrabi to the pan in batches so that the pan isn't crowded. Cook on one side until browned, about 2 to 3 minutes. Then, using tongs, turn the pieces over to brown on the other side for another 2 to 3 minutes. The procedure should take only about 5 minutes if there is enough oil in the pan. Drain on paper towels, then sprinkle right away with the seasoning of your choice. Serve hot.