Monday, November 29, 2010

Black Devil's Food Cake (Low-Fat Chocolate Cake)

Next to our mom's chocolate "crazy" cake, this is the best home-made chocolate cake recipe I have found so far!

2 cups flour, plus extra for dusting
1 3/4 cups sugar
1/2 cup unsweetened cocoa
1 tablespoon baking soda
2/3 cup unsweetened applesauce
1 cup buttermilk
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup coffee

Preheat oven toe 350. Spray a 3 X 9 X 2 pan, dust with flour, shake off excess flour.

Sift flour, sugar, cocoa powder, and baking soda. Whisk in applesauce, buttermilk, and oil. Bring coffee to a boil over medium heat in a small saucepan. Stir gently into batter, will be soupy. Pour into pan. Bake 35-40 minutes.


Unknown Internet Source

Make-Ahead Party Mashed Pototoes

I clip coupons from our free local weekly newspaper. I usually ignore the recipes that come along with the coupons, but this one caught my eye. It took about a week for the two of us to finish it, but it was very tasty and easy to make. I didn't think about cutting it in half. There is also an option for chopped bacon, but I didn't add it, so I didn't include it in the recipe.

7 1/2 cups water
12 tablespoons (1 1/2 sticks) unsalted butter or margarine
2 teaspoons garlic salt (I just used minced garlic)
2 teaspoons onion salt (I just used minced onion)
2 8-oz packages cream cheese, cubed and softened (I get low fat)
1 12-oz. can evaporated milk
1 16-oz. contained sour cream (I get low fat)
1 15.3 oz package instant mashed potatoes (9 cups) (I used Hungry Jack brand)
Paprika
Chopped parsley (optional)

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Spray a 13 X 9 inch baking dish with no-stick cooking spray. Heat water, butter, garlic, salt and onion salt to boiling in a 6-quart Dutch oven or saucepan. Remove from heat. Add cream cheese, evaporated milk and sour cream, stirring until cream cheese is dissolved.

Stir in potato flakes, mixing until all ingredients are well combined. Spread potato mixture into prepared pan.

Sprinkle with paprika and bake 1 hour or until bubbling around edges and golden brown. Top with parsley.

Pumpkin Pie Bars

This makes a lot, but is so good and sweet!


2 cups flour
1/3 cups brown sugar
1/3 cups sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1 1/8 cups chopped walnuts or pecans
3/4 cups soft butter or margarine
2 eggs
2 1/2 cups canned or fresh pumpkin
1 3/4 (1 can) cup sweetened condensed milk

3 eggs
2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon allspice
1/4 teaspoon salt

Preheat oven to 350. Mix flour, brown sugar, sugar, cinnamon and nuts until crumbly, then add butter. Reserve 1 1/4 cups for topping.

To remainder, add 2 eggs and mix until dough forms. Spread in bottom of 9 X 13 ungreased pan. Mix pumpkin, milk, eggs, cinnamon, allspice, and salt well and pour over unbaked crust. Top with reserved dry topping.

Bake at 350 for 45-50 minutes until baked through.

Unknown Internet Source

Sunday, November 28, 2010

Chocolate Tapioca Pudding

This is amazing!

1 quart chocolate soy milk (I just used regular chocolate milk)
1/8 tsp salt
1/4 cup quick-cooking granulated tapioca
2/3 cup gluten-free vegan chocolate chips (I just used regular chocolate chips)

Bring soy milk and salt to a simmer in medium saucepan over medium heat. Stir in tapioca, and reduce heat to low. Cook at a low summer 20-25 minutes, or until tapioca is transparent and pudding begins to thicken. Remove from heat, and stir in chocolate chips until melted. Cool completely before serving.


Vegetarian Times, July/August 2010

Potato Knishes

This book also has a Kasha and Onion Knish recipe, but I wanted to try this basic one before going on to more ingredients. This cookbook only includes vegan and parve recipes. This recipe states that usually eggs are in the dough. I want to try other recipes.

According to the two knish recipes in this book, they come out square, but others can be different sizes. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knish for history and links to other cool info.

I started making them, and then my husband put them all together. They came out very good, and they are good with mustard.

This is the complete recipe, which makes about 12. I cut the complete recipe in half, and we got 7 out of the dough. We also had tons of left-over filling, which was unexpected.

3 pounds potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 cups water
2 onions, peeled and finely chopped
2 teaspoons oil
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 cups unbleached white flour
2 teaspoons baking powder

Cook potatoes in boiling water in a covered pot for 20 minutes (I had to uncover it when it boiled over). Drain.

Saute onions with oil and 1/2 teaspoon salt and dash of pepper in a frying pan over medium heat under onions are soft.

Mash cooked potatoes and divide mixture in half. Stir half the mashed potatoes with sauteed onion mixture. Mix remaining potatoes with turmeric, salt, flour, and baking powder to create a dough. (We saw that adding a little water helps with creating a dough.) Knead dough for a few minutes. Then, roll dough out on floured surface until 1/4-inch thick. Cut dough into 4" X 4" squares (about 12). Place 1/12th of potato/onion mixture on each square. Fold corners of dough in and pinch dough tight in center.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Place knishes (pinched side down) (we didn't turn them over) on lightly oiled cookie sheet. Bake at 375 degrees for 45 minutes. Serve warm with mustard of sauerkraut.


The Lowfat Jewish Vegetarian Cookbook, Debra Wasserman, 1994

Sunday, November 14, 2010

Quinoa and Spinach Soup

This is one of the best home-made soups I've ever tasted.


1 medium red onion, diced (1 1/4 cups)
3 cups low-sodium vegetable broth
3/4 cup quinoa, rinsed
1 14.5-oz. can diced tomatoes with basil, garlic, and oregano
10 oz. spinach leaves

Coat large saucepan with cooking spray, and heat over medium heat. Add onion, and saute 5 minutes, or until soft. Stir in broth, and 4 cups water, and bring to a boil. Add quinoa, and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover, and simmer 15 minutes.

Stir in tomatoes and spinach leaves. Simmer 5 minutes, uncovered, or until spinach and quinoa are tender. Season with salt and pepper, if desired, and serve immediately.


Vegetarian Times, January 2009

Tangy Carrot-Apple Salad with Cider Vinaigrette

We have a subscription to the Vegetarian Times, and this recipe (and others) have come from there. It's a great resource for vegetarian and vegan dishes.

1 1/2 Tbs. apple cider vinegar
1 small clove garlic, minced (1/2 tsp)
2 cups grated carrots (I just made 1 cup)
1/2 red apple, diced (1/2 cup)
1/4 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1/4 cup chopped dried cranberries
1 tsp agave nectar or honey
1 Tbs olive oil
2 cups baby spinach leaves

Combine cider vinegar and garlic in small bowl. Let stand for 15 minutes.

Stir together carrots, apple, green onions, parsley, and cranberries in large bowl. Whisk nectar or honey and oil into cider vinegar mixture. Add to carrot mixture; toss to coat. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Cover, and chill for 2 hours, or overnight. Serve on bed on spinach leaves. I decided to combine everything together before chilling, and it was fine.


Vegetarian Times, October 2010

Broccoli Noodle Bake

Very good, and very easy to make!

1/2 cup margarine or butter
1 onion, peeled and chopped (I used a small yellow onion)
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
3 or 4 ribs celery, chopped
2 packages (10 ounces each) frozen chopped broccoli, thawed
8 ounces spaghetti, uncooked
10-12 ounces Cheddar cheese, grated (about 2 cups), divided (I just bought the shredded cheese in a bag, even though I have a grater, and it worked fine)
2 cans (10-3/4 ounces each) condensed cream of mushroom soup, undiluted
1/2 soup can milk
1 can (4 ounces) whole or sliced mushrooms, drained (the smallest can I could find was about 6 ounces, and it was fine)

Melt margarine in a large saucepan; saute onion, green pepper and celery. Put broccoli on top; cover and simmer 5-10 minutes.

Meanwhile, cook spaghetti according to package directions; drain.

In a buttered 3-quart casserole dish, layer spaghetti, vegetable mixture and 3/4's of the cheese. In a small bowl, combine soup and milk; pour over mixture in dish. Spread mushrooms on top. Sprinkle remaining cheese on mushrooms. Bake in preheated 350-degree oven 35-45 minutes, or until hot and bubbling.

Makes 10 servings (good for left-overs!)

Soups, Stews and Casseroles, various contributing editors, 1990