Kale chips

I've been wanting to try to make kale chips for months, but I've been intimidated by the dehydrator.  I decided to finally go for it.  I used 1 recipe cheezy sauce for 1 large mixing bowl full of kale.  Mix well to coat, then put in the dehydrator.  Mine doesn't have variable temperature, so I just plugged it in and let it do it's thing for about 8 hours.  They are yummy.  My two year old kept begging for more.

Apple Muffins

I no longer have white sugar in my house (well, I technically have some in my emergency food storage, but I'm not planning on using it unless I have to). I've been enjoying coming up with substitutions. This recipe is adapted from a cookbook called Special Foods for Special Kids, by Todd Adelman and Jodi Behrend. I bought this book when I found out my oldest child (10 months old at the time) was highly allergic to egg and dairy. All the standard toddler foods I saw my friends giving their children were not an option for her. I had no idea what to feed her, so I turned to books. I like this particular book because each recipe is given without any adaptations first, then has a guide at the bottom for which substitutions to make for specific allergies. A lot of other resources I found were assuming that the child was allergic to most common allergens, so they contained a lot of weird and expensive ingredients.

Anyway, the point of all that rambling is that I used the original recipe, without any allergy adaptations, but replacing the flour with whole-wheat pastry flour and the sugar with honey. I'll list the egg and dairy substitutions in parentheses for those who are interested.

Ingredients
1 C peeled and diced apples
1/2 T lemon juice
1/4 C honey (could use agave or other sweetener to make this vegan)
2 T brown sugar
1/2 C unsweetened applesauce
1/4 C melted margarine (choose dairy free brand)
3 egg whites (use 1/4 C water mixed with 3 tsp. powdered egg replacer, like Ener-G brand)
1 1/2 C whole-wheat pastry flour
2 1/2 t baking powder
1/2 t salt
3/4 t cinnamon

Directions
Toss the diced apples with lemon juice and set aside. Mix honey, brown sugar, and applesauce together. Mix egg and melted butter together, then add to the sugar/applesauce mixture. In a separate bowl, combine the flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon. Add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix to form batter. Add the apples, then put in muffin tins, approx. 2/3 full(lined with cupcake liners, if you wish). Bake at 400 for 18-20 minutes.

Aunt LeArta's Easy Wheat Bread

My great-aunt LeArta is somewhat of a wheat guru. She has a book published called The Amazing Wheat Book, which I highly recommend, especially if you have wheat stored for long-term food storage. This is her basic bread recipe, which is easy enough that I can make it with two small children in the house. The recipe makes 5 loaves, and freezes well.

Mix in bowl till flour is wet:

5 C hot tap water (140 F)

1/3 C honey

5 C wheat flour (of 11-12 C)

1/2-1 C gluten flour

Add and mix for 15 sec:

3 T yeast

Add and mix for 5 min:

2/3 C oil (olive or vegetable)

1 T salt

Add seasoning (if you want)

Continue adding flour (from 5 1/2 to 7 C or more) until dough becomes elastic-like, springs back to the touch and does not stick to your fingers or to the sides and bottom of the bowl. Knead with an electric bread mixer for about 6 minutes or by hand about 10 minutes (300 kneadings)

With oil on your hands remove the dough from bowl and form into loaves. Place in a warm oven (125 degrees), let rise to couble in bulk. Turn oven up to 350 degrees and bake for about 30 minutes or until top and bottom crust are brown.

If you would like more info on bread making, see her book or the Quick Wholesome Foods Video.

Raw Cheesey Dip

I got this recipe from my aunt Kara, who got it from her friend. I've tweaked it a bit, so I feel alright about posting it here.

Ingredients:
1 C raw, unsalted cashews
1/2 C nutritional yeast (not the same as brewers yeast. You might need to buy it at a health food store)
1 red, orange, or yellow pepper
juice from 1 lemon
1 Tbs. Spice Hunter (or similar) brand Mexican seasoning mix (or other spice blend of your choice)

Directions:
In a food processor (or really good blender), blend the cashews into a fine powder. Set aside. Blend the red pepper, then add back the cashew and mix. Mix in yeast, lemon juice and spice. Blend until well integrated. Serve as a dip for veggies, chips or crackers, or spread on tortillas as a sauce for a wrap.

Curry and Cookies

I made dinner tonight for a friend who just had a baby. She is allergic to egg and dairy (just like my daughter), so I made her some recipes I found while I was avoiding those foods.
Shauna's Vegan Chocolate Chip Cookies

Ingredients
2 stick of dairy free butter, softened (I prefer Nucoa or Earth Balance)
1 C white sugar
1 C brown sugar
8 oz silken tofu (soft) pureed in blender or food processor
1 tsp. vanilla
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
3-4 C flour
6-8 oz. semi-sweet chocolate chips
Directions
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. Cream together first five ingredients. Add the next three and mix together. Mix in two to three cups of flour and check the dough. Dough should be sticky enough to form balls, but not stick to your hands. Add more flour if needed. Stir in chocolate chips. Use an ice cream scooper or large spoon to form into balls and place on a cookie sheet or jelly-roll pan (my favorite). Bake for 8-10 minutes, depending on your oven. Cookies should be golden brown on top (see picture above). Cool on a baking rack or somewhere other than the pan you baked them on (they tend to keep cooking and burn or get hard on the bottom if you don't remove them).

These chocolate chip cookies are surprisingly good, unfortunately for me. I had three--so much for eating less refined sugar. The good news is, they are cholesterol free and higher in protein (I think) than "normal" cookies. Someday I'd like to experiment with my recipe and try using agave, raw sugar and/or apple sauce instead of the white and brown sugars. I decided not to tinker with the recipe tonight, since I was giving most of them away.

Masaman Curry for a Crowd (can easily be made vegan, if that is your preference)

1 and 1/2 cans of coconut milk
1 1/2-2T masaman curry paste (depending on how spicy you like it)
1 lb. chicken, cut into big chunks
1 cinnamon stick
2 bay leaves
3 T sugar
1 T salt
5-6 red potatoes, washed and cut into big chunks
1 onion, chopped in big chunks
1 C raw, unsalted cashews
1/2 bag baby carrots (assuming you have the same size bag as me. Use your best judgement)

Directions
Heat coconut milk and curry paste in a large pot over medium heat. Mix well. Stir constantly for about 5 minutes. Add the chicken and stir to cover with the curry. Add the next 4 ingredients, cover and stew for 30 min. Add the last 4 ingredients and simmer for another 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are done. Serve with brown rice.

It sounds like a long time to cook, but if you time it right, it's not bad. I started the rice right after I added the chicken (brown rice takes about 45 min. to cook). Then I chopped the vegetables while the chicken was stewing, so I didn't waste so much time. I made the cookies during the last 1/2 hour, so everything was done at about the same time.

This was the first time I'd given my daughter brown rice and she LOVED it! I made the curry mild enough that she liked that as well. And of course, she loved the cookies.

Tasty Pasta Salad

I adapted this recipe from a Cooking Light recipe (June 2006) to make it more kid-friendly. I tried it out with some friends, and it was a hit!

Ingredients

1 package Wacky Mac, or other brand of veggie enriched pasta

1 avocado, peeled and diced

1 tomato, diced (or 1 1/2 C grape tomatoes, cut in half)

1/2 cucumber, peeled and diced

1/4 red onion, diced

1 can (~15 oz) back beans, drained and rinsed

zest from 1 lime

juice from 1 lime

2 T cilantro, finely chopped

1 T cider vinegar

2 tsp. olive oil

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp pepper

Parmesan cheese (optional)

Directions

Cook pasta according to package directions. While pasta is cooking, chop vegetables and rinse the beans. Combine veggies and beans in a medium bowl. Combine the zest and remaining ingredients in a small bowl and whisk together. When pasta is done, drain it and toss it into the veggie/bean mixture. Pour the lime mixture over the top and toss well. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese, if you like. Chill, if you like, or serve immediately. Serves 4-6, depending on your appetites.

My 2-year old enjoys this dish--I just have to leave the veggies big enough that she can pick out what she doesn't like (lately that's the tomatoes). Feel free to add whatever veggies are your child's favorite.