Pumpkin Cake

Yes. Another pumpkin recipe.  But seriously.

It's Thanksgiving.  And I love it.

  the end.

Pumpkin Cake

 1 1/4 c oil
 4 tsp vanilla
 1 c honey
 3/4 c pure maple syrup

 1/4 c unsweetened applesauce 
 4 eggs
 2 c pumpkin or 1 (15 oz.) can of pumpkin
 1/2 c wheat germ
 3 1/2 c whole wheat flour
 2 tsp baking soda
 2 TBSP cinnamon
 1 TBSP nutmeg
 2 tsp ginger
 2 tsp ground cloves

Combine first 7 ingredients and mix well. Combine the dry ingredients, mix well, and combine with wet ingredients.
Mix until blended.

Bake at 350˚ for 40-50 minutes for two 8" cakes and around 35 minutes for a 9x13.


Serve with Cream Cheese Frosting and Enjoy!

Chicken Haystacks

I grew up making many recipes with a can of soup, and I only recently decided to figure out how to avoid them. Yes, I am slow. Tomato soup? Tomato juice, something to thicken it, and some agave. Cream of chicken? It's a chicken gravy: butter, whole-wheat flour, and chicken stock. So, here is my Chicken Haystacks recipe. I also realized that I could make Chicken Pot Pie by using this chicken-gravy base, throwing in some vegetables, and putting it into a whole-wheat pie crust. Voila! Two recipes in one! This is a super easy recipe, but oh, so yummy.

Chicken Haystacks

Throw 6 chicken breasts (salted and peppered) into your slow cooker until done (around 4 hours depending on your slow cooker and the size of the chicken), or cook your chicken however you like.

Make a roux with the butter and flour, then add the chicken stock. Make it as thick or thin as you like:

1 stick butter

3/4 cup whole-wheat flour (approx.)

3 cans (regular size) chicken stock (or make your own)

Salt and pepper to taste

Cook two cups brown rice per directions on the bag. It will take about 40 minutes. This is the base of the haystack.

When the chicken is done, mix it with the gravy. Yes, it's so complicated. The chicken and gravy go on the rice, and then we pile on the goods!

Stackables:

Celery (Cut up one bunch)

Cashews

Crushed pineapple

Green Onions (chop up one bunch)

Pepper (I prefer yellow--chop one up)

Water chestnuts (sometimes I enjoy these on top; sometimes I feel they detract--you decide)

Chow mein noodles usually go on these, but they're made with white flour and sugar, and they're very processed (maybe I should experiment with making my own). If anyone knows of a good substitute for them, or if you think of anything else that would be great on haystacks, let us know!

Pumpkin Pancakes

Since it's Fall--wait, what am I saying? Pumpkin is good in any season. Anyway, since it's Fall, and pumpkin is more in abundance, I'll add to the sweet, pumpkin goodness that's found here. We love to modify Martha Stewart's cupcakes, so when I saw she had a Pumpkin Pancake recipe, I was all over that like Pooh on honey. These are creamy, yes, creamy, and wonderful. We top them with Jessica's homemade syrup (but we use 1 cup maple syrup instead of 1/2 cup honey or agave). If you're feeling really indulgent, you can top it with homemade whipped cream (sweetened with whatever you like), and it tastes like pumpkin pie--I lie not.

Pumpkin Pancakes

Whisk...

1 ¼ cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons turbinado sugar (or sucanat or coconut sugar)

2 teaspoons + a pinch baking powder

1 teaspoon cinnamon

¾ teaspoon ground ginger

½ teaspoon salt;

¼ teaspoon nutmeg

¼ teaspoon ground cloves.

In a separate bowl, stir together

1 ¼ cup milk

½ cup canned pumpkin puree

2 tablespoons melted butter

1 egg

Fold wet mixture into dry ingredients. Melt some butter in a skillet over medium heat; pour in 1/4 cup batter for each pancake. Cook pancakes; serve with syrup or whipped cream (or both!). Makes 8 to 10.

Pumpkin Cookies

You may not know this about me, but I'm famous. Sort of. Well, not really. But everybody knows I make the best pumpkin cookies in all the land. So, when I started eating healthy, nourishing foods, I felt a little sad to lose my reputation. However, it is not gone! No one has missed the old ones at all! Here are my yummy cookies:

Pumpkin Cookies

1 c. pure maple syrup
2 c. canned pumpkin
1 c. olive oil
2 t. vanilla
4 c. whole wheat flour
2 t. baking soda
2 1/2 t. baking powder
1 t. salt
2 t. cinnamon
1 t. nutmeg
1/2 t. allspice
1/2 t. ginger
1 t. cloves

(Some people would defile the pumpkinny goodness by adding chocolate chips. I don't. I'll tell you why in a minute.) Mix ingredients. Drop by tablespoonfuls on a greased cookie sheet. Bake for 12-15 minutes at 350.

Here's why I don't use the chocolate chips:

FROST WITH CREAM CHEESE FROSTING. Oh, yes. Bring it on.

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz. cream cheese
1/2 c. butter
1/3ish c. pure maple syrup
1 t. vanilla

Hallelujah.

Carrot Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting

I would prefer to put a pumpkin recipe up here, but I haven't had the time to make anything pumpkin.

We did have a birthday, however, the request was carrot cake.

Although I admit, it's still ridiculously delicious.

Carrot Cake

3 cups whole wheat flour

2 tsp baking soda

1 TBSP cinnamon

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp ginger

1 1/2 cup honey

3/4 cup buttermilk

3 eggs

1/2 cup oil

2 tsp vanilla

2 cups shredded carrots

1 can crushed pineapples

Bake at 350˚ for 50 minutes

Cream Cheese Frosting

8 oz cream cheese (room temperature)

1/2 cup butter (room temperature)

1/3 cup honey

1 tsp vanilla

Whip all ingredients until thoroughly mixed and enjoy!

Chocolate Beet Cake

What? Beets in chocolate cake? Can it be? Oh, it can. And it's delicious. I have a confession to make. I have learned to love many things in recent years. Beets are not one of them. I've tried. Oh, how I've tried. I guess I just never thought of putting them in a chocolate cake. Now I know. And now I love them. As long as they're in chocolate.

I'm not actually going to put the recipe here because I want you to visit my friend Claudia's blog. She has wonderful things there, including the chocolate beet cake recipe.

By the way, she uses coconut sugar in the cake. Sucanat would work as well. But don't forget to put one or the other in the cake. If you do forget because you are overwhelmed and have a screaming 7 month old and a screaming 8 year old and two more who are yelling, "MOM!" constantly, all the grandparents and aunts and uncles who came to celebrate your four year old's birthday will be grossed out and your father-in-law might even be quite rude and hurt your already very embarrassed feelings. Totally hypothetical. I just thought I'd throw it out there...

Enjoy!

Yummiest Cornbread Ever

Ok.  

You can't eat chili without cornbread.  You just can't. This recipe of Jessica's is truly delicious.  In fact, it is so delicious that I renamed it, "Yummiest Cornbread Ever".  "Whole Wheat Cornbread" just didn't do it justice.

It just didn't.

Yummiest Cornbread Ever

1 c. whole wheat flour
1 c. whole grain yellow cornmeal
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1/3 c. honey
1 c. milk
1/4 c. oil

Blend all ingredients 20 seconds and pour into greased 8" or 9" pan.  Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.
(I usually double it and use a 9x13 pan.  I bake it for about 35 minutes)

13 Bean Chili

I'm super excited to help Jessica out with her blog.  Although, I realized that at least for this recipe, I had to call her and get the recipe before I could put it on here.  So, who knows if I will actually help?  Here's hoping!

And so it begins.  I have been waiting and waiting for the weather to cool off so that I could make chili.  It's one of the best things on a cold day, don't you think?  
Well, you should. 

13 Bean Chili

3 cups dry beans (I used a 13 bean combo, but you can use 12, 15, whatever you can find)

5 cups water

4 cups vegetable broth

3 garlic cloves, chopped

1 onion, chopped

1 bell pepper (I'm sure you can use whatever color you prefer)

28 oz. can diced tomatoes

28 oz. can tomato sauce

1 can diced green chiles (optional)

1 TBSP chili powder

1/4 tsp garlic powder

1/4 tsp onion powder

1/4 tsp red pepper flakes

1/4 tsp oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

Directions:

   Rinse beans and place in crock pot with water.  Cover crock pot, set to low and soak overnight.  In the morning, add the broth, garlic, onion, and bell pepper.  Turn to high and let sit for about 5 hours.  Add the rest of the ingredients and cook until the beans are tender.  Serve it up with some cornbread and Enjoy!

P.S. I'm not as good as Jessica, and am addicted to dairy.  So, I sprinkled mine with a little cheese.  Plus, I think it looks cool in the picture :)

Speed Bread

I love how fast and easy this is. And yum. My mother-in-law came for dinner tonight and she said this recipe needed to be here. (I made the garlic herb version tonight.) So, here it is.

Speed Bread

4 c. whole wheat flour
1 t. salt
4 t. baking powder
1/2 c. olive oil

Blend in food processor or mixer.

Add 1 1/3 cup milk or almond milk (my mom would suggest buttermilk, I'm sure, and I'm guessing she'd be right.)

Mix until dough forms a ball. Pat dough into an ungreased baking dish. Cut into squares before baking. Bake at 450 for 12-15 minutes until golden.

You can also add 1/2 t. garlic powder and 1 t. parsley flakes with the milk to make garlic herb bread.

Mexican Beans

Try these guys. You will love them. Eat them in enchiladas, on tacos, with chips, or (our fave) on tostadas. Or just plain.

Mexican Beans

3 c. dry pinto beans
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 onion, chopped
5 t. salt (I know. Use the good stuff like Real Salt and enjoy its goodness and good-for-you-ness.)
1 t. pepper
1/4 t. cumin
1 jalepeno, diced and seeded (I usually seed 1/2 and leave the rest. I like hot.)
9 c. water

Put it all in the slow cooker on high for 8ish hours. Drain (reserving liquid). Mash, adding liquid to desired consistency. Serve.

NOTE: The beans are healthier if you soak them overnight first. But, if you're not always on top of things and forget to soak them, they will cook up beautifully anyway.

Some News

So, I have been so busy that I've hardly posted, as you've noticed. Sorry about that. It might have something to do with not sleeping since I was about 7 months pregnant, which was nine or so months ago. Maybe.

I digress.

So, I decided to enlist my cute sisters and darling mother to help me. So, you may see some of their whole food deliciousness on my blog, too! Yea!

Welcome to Mom (or Mumsie or Barbara or Barb or Babs or whatever she'll go by here) and Adrienne (AKA Panda) and Stacy (who goes by Stacy)!

Yammies

These are supposed to be called Yam Brownies, but I think that's deceiving because when I hear brownies, I think chocolate. So, I renamed them YAMMIES. Clever, I know. These things are DELICIOUS.

Yammies

1 cup butter (now you know why they are so delicious!)
1 cup agave
4 eggs
2 tsp. vanilla
1 1/2 cups whole wheat flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups peeled and finely shredded yams

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease 9x13 inch baking dish. In a large bowl, cream together butter and agave. Beat in the eggs, one at a time. Add vanilla. Stir in the dry ingredients just until blended. Fold in the yams. Spread the batter in the baking dish. Bake for 35-40 minutes at 325, until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean. Eat and enjoy!

An Apology

I've been slacking on my blogging duties. I apologize. I have been very busy doing this:
It's a hard job, but somebody's gotta do it, right?
Anyway, I have many recipes to share with you, and I will. Soon. I promise.

In the meantime, I have to tell you about this wonderful book I read called The Diet Rebel's Cookbook. I LOVE it. And the two women who wrote it have recipe blogs. Would you like the links? I thought so.

Jillayne Clements has a lovely blog called Cooking Tips and Recipes.
Michelle Stewart has an equally lovely blog called Getting Real With Food.

They only use whole grains and unrefined sweeteners! Hallelujah! Plus, I learned a lot of great things about sprouting (like how to make sprouted wheat flour).

It is probably weird how excited I am, but I've learned to embrace my weirdness.

Tomato-Pesto Lasagna

This is probably my favorite recipe EVER. I have to double it and we still polish off both of them. It is SO GOOD.

Tomato-Pesto Lasagna

Tomato Sauce

1/2 cup olive oil

1 chopped yellow onion

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 28 oz. cans diced tomatoes

2 bay leaves

Pinch red pepper flakes

2 teaspoons oregano

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon ground pepper

Saute onion and garlic in olive oil until onion is translucent. Add tomatoes, bay leaves, red pepper flakes, oregano, salt and pepper. Simmer over medium-low heat for 15 minutes. Remove bay leaves.

Pesto (This is not a vegan pesto. For a vegan pesto recipe, click here. It can be substituted here.)

2 cloves garlic

2 tablespoon pine nuts

2 cups fresh basil, tough stems removed

2/3 cup grated parmesan cheese (or goat feta - that's what we use)

1/2 cup olive oil

1/4 teaspoon olive oil

Blend all ingredients in a blender or food processor.

9 dried lasagna noodles

Boil lasagna noodles. Tricky, eh?

Finally, combine the tomato sauce (If you timed everything well, it should still be warm. If not, reheat it.) and the pesto. Lay three cooked noodles on the bottom of a 9x13 pan. Spoon 1/3 of the tomato-pesto mixture on top. Repeat three times. Eat. And eat. And eat. You won't want to stop. I'm so not kidding. The end.

Cilantro Lime Rice

Since when is rice the most exciting part of a meal? Since I made this the other night. Holy cow.

Cilantro Lime Rice

5 cups water

2 1/2 cups wild rice/brown rice/barley blend

5 teaspoons bouillon

2 garlic cloves, minced

1 onion, chopped

1-2 large limes

1 bunch cilantro, chopped, divided

Place water, rice blend, bouillon, lime juice, garlic, onion and half of the cilantro in a sauce pan. (Make sure the bouillon is dissolved in the water before adding other ingredients.) Cover and cook 55 minutes, or as long as directed for rice. Add the rest of the cilantro when the rice is cooked. Easy peasy. And delicious. If I had known, I would have taken a picture of it for you. But I didn't. Sorry!

Pineapple Curry

Pineapple Curry

4-5 cloves garlic, minced

1 onion, chopped

2 Tbsp red or yellow curry (I always use yellow)

3 cans of coconut milk

2 peppers julienned (use different colors or several of the red, yellow and orange mini peppers)

1/2 head of cauliflower, chopped (optional)

1 can bamboo strips, drained

1 can pineapple, crushed or tidbits (I just decided last night that I prefer the crushed)

Sautee the garlic and onions in oil or water. Add curry. Add coconut milk, bamboo, pineapple, peppers and cauliflower (optional). Bring to a boil and simmer until vegetables are warm. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve over brown rice. Yum. My three year old asked for it for breakfast this morning.

You can add chicken if you want. The original recipe called for it, but I don't do it. Not that this resembles the original recipe anymore...

Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Pancakes

Whole Wheat and Oatmeal Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour

1 Tbsp aluminum-free baking powder

3/4 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups rolled oats

2 cups milk (I use almond milk, but any kind will do - even water will do in a pinch)

3 eggs

1/4 cup oil

splash of cinnamon (I recommend a large splash)

dash of vanilla (once again, I appreciate not-skimpy-dashes)

fruit (berries or bananas are delicious)

Mix and cook on a greased griddle.

Make sure they are heart shaped if you make them on Valentine's Day. These have raspberries in them. My favorite. Simple and yummy. You don't need anything to put on them, but if you're going to anyway, may I suggest 100% pure maple syrup (a little goes a long way), 100% fruit spread, more fruit, or, if you insist...

Vanilla Syrup

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup buttermilk (make by adding 1 tsp lemon juice to milk - even soy or nut milks)

1 stick butter

Bring to a boil. Make sure you use a 3 quart pan. This will cause some bubbling:

1/2 tsp baking soda

Boil for one more minute. Remove from heat. Then add:

1 tsp vanilla

Once again, a little goes a long way. This stuff tastes like caramel.

Granola!

Granola
1/2 cup whole wheat flour

4 cups regular rolled oats

7 cups assorted nuts, seeds or dried fruit of choice (such as chia seeds [they become slimy if you put them in milk, FYI, but they are so good for you, it may be worth it], hemp seeds, flax seeds, almonds, pecans, walnuts, sesame seeds, cashews, sunflower seeds, dried cranberries [Careful - most are very sugary. I found some that were sweetened with apple juice at my local health food store. They were SO GOOD!], raisins, dried coconut, etc.)

2 tsp. vanilla

4 tsp. cinnamon

2 tsp. nutmeg

1 cup honey

Mix flour, oats and assorted yumminess. Warm honey and add cinnamon, nutmeg and vanilla to the warm honey. Combine wet and dry mixtures. Spread onto large baking sheets and bake at 325 for 24 minutes, stirring every 8 minutes. Cool and store in an airtight container. Yeah right. Mine never lasts that long.

Steamed Asparagus

A week or so ago, we were at my in-laws' for dinner. My mother-in-law made steamed broccoli that was so good I could barely stand it. She said that all she did was steam the broccoli and sprinkle olive oil and garlic salt over it when it was done. She told me that she does the same thing with asparagus. Well, it is asparagus season. And we found some lovely asparagus in the store. So, we bought some and tried her trick. The first time I made it, the asparagus didn't even make it to the dinner table. The kids kept insisting that they needed to taste it. They tasted it until it was gone. I didn't complain. What mom would? The next time I made it, I timed it better and it actually made it to the table. It was met with cheers. Success!

Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

Here is my recipe for pizza. Well, pizza crust. I'll tell you what we put on it, but you can put whatever deliciousness you want on it. My kids are making dinner tonight. So, we've taken some pictures for you, too. Ignore my messy kitchen.

Super Easy Whole Wheat Pizza Crust

1 package (2 1/4 teaspoons) rapid yeast

1 cup very warm water

2 1/2 cups whole wheat flour

2 tablespoons oil

1 teaspoon salt

Dissolve yeast in water. Add remaining ingredients and stir to mix well. Knead five times. Let stand for 5 minutes in a bowl in the oven on lowest temp.

Roll dough onto cooking stone or pizza pan (we use cookie sheets and we press more than roll).

Top with whatever you want! Bake at 450 for 9-15 minutes (depending on how thin your crust is).

Here's how we top ours:

It all started when we discovered Beano's White Pizza Sauce. So yummy. It is just oil and herbs. Until our grocery store stopped carrying it. The nerve. So, we've been trying to make our own. We brush olive oil on the crust and sprinkle basil, oregano and Italian Seasoning on top.

It is almost as good, but not quite. (Their website says that another local grocery store that I never go to has some. I may have to visit...) We then top with chopped up red peppers and some goat cheese.

(My milk sensitive ones handle goat cheese fine.)

Very yummy!

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

Delicious and moist. I usually make a not-at-all-vegan frosting out of cream cheese, butter, vanilla and just enough agave nectar to make a nice consistency. I'm sorry. I don't actually measure. And it's not healthy. Don't think I think it is. But it is nice for a very occasional treat.

Whole Wheat Chocolate Cake

3 cups whole wheat flour

6 tablespoons cocoa

2 teaspoons baking soda

1 cup agave nectar

1 teaspoon salt

5/8 cup oil

2 tablespoon white vinegar

2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 cup cold water

Mix all the dry ingredients together in a bowl. Add the wet ingredients and mix until smooth. Pour into a 9 inch by 13 inch baking pan. (The pan does not have to be greased.) Bake at 325 degrees for about 30-40 minutes. Test with a fork for doneness.

Whole Wheat Bread

This is seriously the best and easiest whole wheat bread recipe ever! Enjoy!

Whole Wheat Bread

14 cups whole wheat flour (don’t use all at once!)

3/4 cup gluten flour

2 Tbsp. rapid yeast

6 cups warm water

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup oil

1 1/3 Tbsp. salt

Put 8 cups flour, gluten flour and yeast in bread mixing bowl. Add water. Mix 1

minute and let sit 10 minutes.

Put honey, oil salt and last 6 cups flour in and knead about 6 minutes.

Heat oven to 170 degrees (or “warm”).

Grease 4 pans and put dough in pans. Form into loaves. Put in the oven for 20

minutes.

Turn oven to 350 degrees (leave loaves in oven) and take out after 35 minutes. Turn

out onto rack and cool.

Basil Pesto

Basil Pesto (From Get it Ripe by Jae Steele and by the way, everything of hers is delicious. I highly recommend her book!)

1/4 lb fresh basil leaves (2 1/2 ‐3 cups)

1/2 c. pine nuts or other raw nuts or seeds

2 medium cloves of garlic

1/2 tsp. sea salt

freshly ground black pepper to taste

1/3 c. olive oil

1/4 c. hot filtered water

Wash the basil, remove stems, and add to a food processor or blender along with the

pine nuts or other nuts or seeds, garlic, salt, and pepper. Pulse a few times to break

up and combine ingredients. Add the oil and water and process until desired

consistency (or coarse paste) is achieved.

Kale and Bean Soup

This is from my friend Lynne's recipe blog. It is one of our all time favorites. Don't be frightened of the kale. Really. This is yummy.

KALE AND BEAN SOUP

8 large garlic cloves, crushed or minced.

1 medium onion, chopped

4 cups chopped raw kale.

4 cups chicken or vegetable broth

2-3 (15 ounce) cans beans, such as cannellini , navy, pinto, un-drained.

4 plum tomatoes, chopped

1-2 teaspoons dried Italian herb seasoning.

Salt and pepper to taste.

The recipe calls for a parsley garnish. Basil is much more delicious.

In a large pot steam (or sautee) garlic and onion in a bit of water (or olive oil) until soft. Add kale, broth, beans, tomato, herbs, salt and pepper. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes. Ladle into bowls; sprinkle with chopped parsley (or basil).