Summer Rhubarb Coffeecake

For the second summer in a row, we have had an abundance of rhubarb to havest all season long.  We have given away rhubarb, made Rhubarb Sauce, cooked rhubarb chicken (did not taste good so there is no recipe to share), and baked a Rhubarb Coffee Cake.

I found this recipe in King Arthur's Whole Grain Baking cookbook.  I made a few changes to decrease some of the saturated fat.  By decreasing the butter and replacing it with organic cold pressed canola oil, it takes away some of the saturated fat and replaces it with  Omega-3's.  Also, instead of using buttermilk with saturated fat, I added 1 tablespoon of lemon juice to non-fat milk.  Since rhubarb has such a tart flavor, I use the full amount of sugar in the recipe. I buy organic sugar so I feel a bit better about using it occasionally in recipes.  If you have rhubarb, give this recipe a try.  It is moist, delicious, and has become one of our summer favorites!

Cake

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1/2 cup unbleached flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup canola oil
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 egg
1 cup milk with 1 tablespoon of lemon juice mixed into the milk
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla
2 cups rhubarb cut into small pieces

Topping

3 tablespoons butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
2 tablespoons flour
1 1/2 tablespoons cinnamon

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease and flour two 9-inch round pans or one 9x13 inch pan.

Cake:  Mix the flours, soda and salt in a medium mixing bowl.  Cream together the butter, oil, and sugar in a large bowl.  Beat in the egg.  Add the dry ingredients, half at a time, alternately with the buttermilk.  Add the vanilla.  Stir in the rhubarb until completely mixed.  Pour the batter into the prepared pan(s).

Topping:  Combine the softened butter, sugars, flour, and cinnamon in a small mixing bowl.  Sprinkle the mixture over the batter.

Bake until the top is golden brown and a cake tester inserted in the center comes out clean.  20-25 minutes for rounds and 30-35 minutes for 9x13 pan.  Remove from the oven and cool on a rack for at least 20 minutes before serving.

Taking grief into the kitchen

The last couple of weeks have been rough!  I have been grieving for two families who have each lost a son within the last year.  The most recent loss was just last week.  There are moments when I feel the air is actually being sucked from my lungs because I hurt so bad for them.  It has hit me really hard and my prayers are with them constantly.

I have been living with such a heavy heart, so in an attempt to just function, a few days ago I went out to my garden that I love so much and thinned out the rhubarb plant.  I cleaned the rhubarb and placed it on the kitchen counter where it stayed for 2 days.  (I never let anything sit on my counter for more than an hour). 

Yesterday I walked by and noticed the rhubarb in the kitchen.  It was beginning to get limp at the ends so I figured I better take action whether I felt like it or not.  I cleaned up the rhubarb again and set about making my husband the Rhubarb Sauce he loves so much. 

For me cooking is so therapeutic.  I was at peace in the kitchen and my breathing seemed to come a little easier.  I was even humming by the end of the project. 

Life is full of unexpected moments, both joyful and tragic.  Finding a way to be strong and keep moving forward is key.  I draw my strength from God, first and foremost.  He is always wise, always knowing, always there.  I am thankful that He has given me the ability to find peace and joy with something so simple as working in my beautiful kitchen :)

Sunny Citrus Squares: Girls night in!

Tonight I am having the girls over for a relaxing evening of food, fun and of course a whole lot of visiting!  I am keeping a light menu with shrimp and cocktail sauce, ham and asparagus roll ups, grapes and Sunny Citrus Squares.

I went to the kitchen to bake, rolled up my sleeves (well actually I had on a tank top) and got to work.  Of course, since I didn't plan ahead, I soon realized I was out of powdered sugar.  So, I grabbed my food processor, put in a cup of organic sugar and in no time at all I had organic powdered sugar.  I really don't think I will spend money on powdered sugar again when this was so easy.  It took a little longer than I thought, maybe 5 minutes or so, but I let it process while I mixed the other ingredients.  It worked out very well. A quick tip that I learned really really fast was to tape a Ziploc bag over the top of the feed tube on the food processor.  If not, the powdery sugar flies all over. 

These bars are light and perfect for summer gatherings.  They are very much like the classic lemon bars that we know and love.  I prefer these because there is not much white flour but whole spelt flour instead and there is less butter. 

Sunny Citrus Squares

Crust
1 1/2 cups whole spelt flour
1/4 cup confectioners' sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
6 tablespoons unsalted butter
3 tablespoons orange juice

Filling
4 large eggs
1 1/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup lemon or lime juice or a combination
1/4 cup unbleached flour
2 tablespoons grated citrus zest (the rinds of 1 large lemon and 2 medium limes)
1/2 teaspoon salt
Confectioners' sugar for topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Lightly grease a 9-inch square pan.

To prepare the crust:  Mix flour, sugar and salt in a medium bowl.  Cut the butter into pats and work it into the dry ingredients until the mixture is evenly crumbly.  Add the orange juice and mix until large clumps form.  Press the mixture into the pan, covering the bottom completely.

Bake the crust until it's beginning to brown, 15-20 minutes.  Remove it from the oven.

To prepare the filling:  Beat the eggs, sugar and juice in a medium bowl.  Stir in flour, zest and salt.  Pour the filling over the baked crust.

Return the bars to the oven and bake until they look set all over, 25 minutes.  Remove from the oven and let cool to room temperature.  Cover and refrigerate overnight. 

Remove from the refrigerator one hour before serving and dust with confectioners' sugar.  Cut into squares and serve immediately. 

*Recipe is from Whole Grain Baking

Guilt-free fudgy brownies

Chocolate and I have always had a love/hate relationship.  I adore chocolate!  The problem is I don't know when to stop eating chocolate.  Well that is a raunchy excuse because I do know WHEN to stop I just choose NOT to stop when I should.  Since it is important to enjoy a treat from time to time, discipline with portion control is one of those things I am working on.  Making sure that I am indulging in treats that are made with quality ingredients allows me to enjoy without feeling too guilty.  I found a wonderful brownie recipe some time back and have adapted it to better suit an anti-inflammatory eating plan.  I have changed the amount of butter by cutting it in half and substitute olive oil for the other half.  I have replaced the semi-sweet chocolate chips and cocoa for dark chocolate chips and cocoa.  There is no white sugar in this recipe so that is a healthy plus.  Just a bit of a side note, I tried to add only half the chocolate chips once and the brownies did not turn out very well.  I recommend using the entire 2 cups of chocolate chips. 

These brownies are so delicious, moist, and super easy to whip up in no time at all.  If you are a fan of box brownie mix, I do believe this recipe will cure you of that.  These are pure dark chocolate indulgence and worth every bite.  Enjoy!

Fudgy Brownies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup olive oil
2 cups organic brown sugar
3/4 cup dark chocolate cocoa powder
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon espresso powder
2 teaspoons vanilla
3/4 cup All Whites liquid egg whites
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
2 cups dark chocolate chips

Melt the butter and add the olive oil.  Stir in the brown sugar.  Stir in the cocoa, baking powder, salt, espresso powder and vanilla.  Add the egg whites and beat until smooth.  Add the flour and stir until smooth.  Stir in the dark chocolate chips. 

Spoon the batter into a 9 X 13 greased pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes or until done.  Check to see if the brownies are done by poking a toothpick in the center.  It should be a bit gooey but not raw.  Remove from oven and place on a cooling rack. 

Berry crumble on a dreary day

We celebrated my husbands 50th birthday over the weekend.  I invited about 30 people over and we celebrated in style.  We ate, visited, laughed, and ate some more.  The weather even held out and we had some sunshine.  It was a perfect day with family and friends.  Since it was nice for this important event, I guess I can't really complain too much about the dreary weather today ... right?  There is something about dreary days though, that cause me to crave comfort food.  I have this great recipe for a cobbler that I have added flax meal and whole wheat flour to in order to keep it anti-inflammatory.  I have also switched out the butter for light olive oil.  It is really delicous and perfect for cloudy, rainy, dreary days.  PS....it is pretty good on sunny days as well :)

Berry Crumble

5 cups of a mixture of blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries
2 tablespoons of brown sugar
1 tablespoon of whole wheat flour
1 tablespoon of flax meal
1 teaspoon of cinnamon

Crumb Topping

1/2 cup of brown sugar
1/2 cup of quick cooking oats
1/2 cup of whole wheat flour
1 teaspoon of cinnamon
4 tablespoons of light olive oil

Combine the berries with the brown sugar, flour, flax meal and cinnamon.  Toss to coat and place the mixture in a 9X13 baking dish.  (Place in an 8X8 baking dish if you prefer a thicker dessert)

To make the crumb topping, combine the brown sugar, oats, flour and cinnamon in a bowl.  Add the olive oil and stir until crumbly. 

Sprinkle the crumb mixture over the top of the fruit mixture.  Bake at 400 degrees F for 30 to 35 minutes, or until the fruit is bubbly and the topping is golden brown. 

Black Bean Brownies....no really!

I have been receiving quite a few emails in the past month from wonderful people giving me article ideas.  One particular email for Black Bean Brownies intrigued me.  The recipe was created by Amanda Freitag, celebrity chef and recurring judge on Food Network’s competition show Chopped, along with registered nutritionist Julie Barto for the MS Active Wellness Nutrition Program.” 

Since I am always looking for healthier ways to still get my chocolate fix I tried this recipe out immediately.  As with all of my experiments, I hid the ingredients from my unsuspecting and very good natured husband.  I made sure that he was in the garage working loudly as I dumped the black beans into the food processor and set it to whir, which is never a quiet moment.  While it was whirring, I frantically rinsed out the black bean can to put into recycling so that the evidence would be hidden.  I am pleased to say that he remained in the garage until he smelled the brownies and came in for a taste.  Hee Hee!  Wellllll...HE LOVED THEM!  Yes he did.  When I told him about the black beans, he did not believe me.  Sooooo....I fished the can out of recycling :)  Try these out and let me know what you think.

1 15-oz can black beans, rinsed and drained very well
3 eggs
3 Tbsp canola oil
½ cup unsweetened cocoa powder
Pinch of salt
½ tsp baking powder
1 tsp vanilla extract
2/3 cup brown sugar,
½ cup semi-sweet chocolate chips, divided

Preheat oven to 350. Spray an 8” x 8” baking pan with cooking spray.
In food processor, process black beans until smooth. Add the eggs, oil, cocoa powder, salt, baking powder, vanilla extract, and sugar, and process until smooth. Add ½ of the chocolate chips, and pulse a few times or stir, so that the chips are mixed in. Transfer the batter to the baking pan, and sprinkle the remaining chips on top of the brownies.

Bake for 30-35 minutes, or until a toothpick inserted at the center comes out clean.

No Bake Compromise

I do my best to eat right and cook healthy meals that are quite tasty as well.  However, I am not above a little compromise to please my husband by trying to preserve the food he loves.  One of his all time favorite cookies is the always simple to make No Bake Cookie.  Chocolate, peanut butter and oatmeal deliciousness.  As a side note, they are one of my favorites too.  I experimented today and came up with a delicious version with a few healthier alternatives. Big bonus....the smile on my husbands face.  P.S.  He doesn't know about the "healthy touches".  At least not until he reads this blog in the morning :)

Chocolate No Bake Cookies

2 cups organic sugar
4 tablespoons cocoa powder
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup milk
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup organic almond butter
3 cups oats

Mix the sugar, cocoa powder, butter, olive oil and milk in a saucepan stirring often until it comes to a boil.  Let boil for1 minute.  Then add the remaining ingredients and quickly stir thoroughly as it thickens fast.  Drop by tablespoons onto wax paper.  Let cool.  They will harden as they cool.  Enjoy!

My new favorite grain...Spelt!

Since I purchased the book, "Whole Grain Baking,"  I have learned so much about a wide variety of whole grains.  My most recent cooking adventure included spelt flour, which I had never heard of.  Spelt is a whole grain flour that is delicate and light to bake with.  It has a surprisingly mild flavor that differs from whole wheat, but packs a punch of high fiber and protein content. It does have gluten, but it is imperative not to over mix spelt because it breaks down easier than that of the gluten found in other flours.  Spelt is low on the glycemic index, which means the carbs break down slower and therefore your blood sugar rises slower, and this is better for your body. 

The first recipe I tried using spelt was a bar cookie and was quite successful.  Of course, I began with the original recipe but added my own touches to make it even more healthy.   I replaced the butter with a combination of Mrs. Macs butter/olive oil spread that I make and applesauce.  The spread is simply 1/2 stick of butter and 1/2 cup of light olive oil with a pinch of salt.  Beat well and refrigerate.

My husband loved the dessert.  We were both pleasantly surprised by the delicious flavor and texture of this recipe.  If you are being careful about what you eat this would make a great Valentine's dessert.  Well, even if you are not being careful about what you eat this is a great dessert. 

Banana-Chocolate Chip Squares

1/2 cup Mrs. Macs butter spread
1/4 cup applesauce
1 /4 cups brown sugar (light or dark)
3 ripe medium bananas mashed to make about 1 cup
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 large egg
1 3/4 cups whole spelt flour
1 cup dark chocolate chips
1 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Cream Mrs. Macs butters spread, applesauce, and sugar in a medium bowl until smooth.  Beat in the bananas, lemon juice, vanilla, baking powder, salt and spices.  Add the egg and beat until smooth.  Stir in the flour, mixing thoroughly.  Spoon the batter into a greased 9 X 9 pan.  Allow the batter to rest for 15 minutes before baking.  That allows it to thicken as it stands.  Sprinkle the chips and nuts on top.  Bake at 350 degrees until the center is moist but not liquid.  Let cool on a baking rack.  If you allow them to cool over night the original recipe says that you get even better results.  We couldn't wait that long and dug into them as soon as they cooled.  They were absolutely delicious!

This recipe was adapted from Whole Grain Cooking.

Ginger Cookies

This time of year, when it is cold and wet outside, nothing says comfort like fresh baked cookies hot out of the oven.  Especially when those cookies have ginger, allspice, and cinnamon.  The warm scent envelopes my senses and brings comfort to my soul.  I know...a little carried away for a cookie post.  It is true though.  I made these little Ginger Snaps last night, turned the fireplace on (gas fireplace...no cutting wood), and enjoyed the ambiance.  Not so sure if my husband got the same effect from the aroma, but he definitely enjoyed the finish product.   

A major bonus of theses cookies is the spice combination is very anti-inflammatory.  I try to only  cook and bake food that will enable my body to heal.  I have such a sweet tooth that I search for recipes to enjoy as a treat while not causing my body harm.  If you have any great recipes to share, I would welcome them!  In the meantime, try these out and let me know what you think.

Double-Ginger Ginger Snaps

1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon allspice
1/3 cup finely chopped candied ginger
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup molasses
1/4 cup of olive oil/butter spread
1/4 cup applesauce
1 egg

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.
Combine flour, soda, ground ginger, cinnamon, allspice, and candied ginger in large bowl.
Combine sugar, molasses, butter spread, applesauce, and egg in medium bowl.
Add sugar mix to the flour mix and combine well.  The dough will be stiff.
Roll the dough into 30 tablespoon size balls and place on greased cookie sheets about an inch apart.  Flatten each ball to approximately 1/4 inch with the bottom of a glass dipped in organic sugar. 
Bake for about 15 minutes or until brown and crisp.

Recipe adapted from 400 Calorie Fix.

Healthier alternative to Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photo by:  Elke Dennis/Photoxpress.com

I spent the last couple of days baking Christmas goodies for my neighbors and I say with great pride that I, for once, exhibited extreme discipline.  I did sample a few things, but definitely not in a glutenous manner.  I ran across an old recipe that is a wonderful alternative to chocolate chip oatmeal cookies.  I cannot remember where I originally found this recipe but I did not create it.   The recipe uses canola oil instead of margarine or butter, and oat flour instead of white flour, and raw sugar instead of white sugar.  I have to say it is absolutely delicious.  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Banana Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup oat flour
3/4 cups oats
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/3 tsp soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup raw sugar
1/3 cup canola oil
1/3 cup soy milk (I have also used regular milk)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/2 banana cut into small pieces
1/4 cup nuts (optional)
1/3 cup dark chocolate chips (I always add more)

Mix all ingredients and drop by teaspoonfuls onto a cookie sheet.  Bake at 350 degrees for about 10-12 minutes until done.