Sweet Potato Casserole

I love how this sweet potato casserole turned out. What a relief, too. I made it for the first time on Thanksgiving morning, after finding the recipe online at the last minute and making several changes. The texture was perfect, a crunchy layer of sugared nuts over a bed of fluffy, spiced sweet potato. It was all I could do not to eat it for breakfast, lunch, and dinner until it disappeared. Fortunately, my husband was able to help me not polish it off by myself. That's especially lucky for me because I made a double batch. Sweet potato casserole is my favorite!

Ingredients

3 cups mashed sweet potatoes
1/2 cup stevia in the raw (can be substituted equal parts for sugar. if using another brand of stevia decrease the amount of significantly)
1/2 cup agave nectar
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup almond milk (or other non dairy milk)
1/2 cup melted butter (I used earth balance soy free spread)
1 tablespoon cinnamon
1 tsp nutmeg

Topping

1/2 cup coconut sugar
1/3 cup tapioca flour (or tapioca starch)
1/3 cup melted butter (again earth balance)
1 cup chopped pecans
1 tbsp cinnamon
pinch of nutmeg

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Combine first 7 ingredients and beat until creamy smooth. Pour into a buttered 1 1/2 to 2 quart casserole dish.  Mix remaining ingredients together and spread over top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes until the topping is golden brown. I think I actually doubled the sweet potato and tripled the topping when I made it. I like the topping nice and thick. If you do a single batch of sweet potato you could probably still double the topping. :-) Store in the refrigerator.

The Spunky Coconut's Incredibly Moist Coffee Cake

 I was looking for a good gluten free cake recipe to make for my husband on his birthday a couple of weeks ago, and luckily I came across this one. Not only does he love coffee cake, but this one is made with white beans in place of most of the flour, so it is higher in fiber and lower in carbs than a birthday cake has any right to be. The ingredients are very pure and minimally processed, and it's free of refined sugar. We ate this for breakfast several mornings in a row and I didn't feel one bit guilty about it. Hats off to Kelly of The Spunky Coconut blog for coming up with this one. It was my first experience baking with beans, and after getting such excellent results, it will definitely not be my last. The beans made the texture of the cake incredibly moist and buttery rich, and the flavor was superb. This is a very authentic coffee cake, both in flavor and appearance. Please don't let the strangeness of baking with beans deter you from trying out this recipe. It was well worth the effort, and actually quite simple to make. Whenever the food processor is involved, things tend to be simpler. God bless that appliance :)

I made a few substitutions because I was out of vanilla creme liquid stevia and I prefer to bake with raw agave nectar. Everything worked out great so I'm going to share my version of the recipe with you. For the original, visit The Spunky Coconut blog.

Cake Ingredients

2 cups cooked white beans (I used cannellini, but any white beans should work)
6 eggs

2 tsp vanilla extract (I use Frontier alcohol free vanilla flavor)
1/3 cup raw agave nectar

1/4 cup stevia in the raw (this brand is granulated, not a powder, and can be substituted equal parts for sugar)

1/4 cup unrefined coconut oil, liquified
1/3 cup coconut flour (I used Bob's Red Mill)

1/2 tsp sea salt
3/4 tsp baking soda (note: I didn't realize that my baking soda was stale and it affected the leavening somewhat. from what I read, 3 months is the age limit and it should be kept sealed for best results)
1.5 tsp baking powder

Crumble Topping Ingredients

3 cups of walnuts
2 tbsp unrefined coconut oil

1/2 cup coconut sugar (I found this at Whole Foods, but it can also be ordered online, The Spunky Coconut has a link)

1 tbsp cinnamon

 

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 325 degrees.

If you're using a food processor, you may want to process the crumble topping first. I find that it's easier to brush the crumb topping into a bowl and then continue following the instructions for the cake batter. Once the crumble topping is pureed to the desired consistency and removed, puree the first 5 cake ingredients. In a small separate bowl, whisk together the baking powder and baking soda. Add the remaining ingredients, including the powder/soda mixture, to the batter and puree until smooth. Pour the cake batter into a 9" x 13" (or something close to that) pan, sprinkle crumble topping over top and swirl into the batter with a fork. I also sprinkled some extra cinnamon lightly over the top of the cake right before placing it in the oven.

Bake for approximately 25 minutes, but don't expect the knife to come completely clean. The beans make the cake very moist. Once the topping is slightly browned the inside of the cake should be done as well. 

Kelly recommends leaving the cake out for the first day and storing it in the refrigerator after that. I did the same. By the way, it is absolutely fantastic cold. Enjoy!

Thanksgiving Recipes

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. I love searching for new recipes and planning the menu. I love, love, love preparing seasonal food and feasting with unapologetic fervor. Then there are the leftovers... Doesn't everything just taste better after it's been sitting in the fridge for a day or two?  Actually I promised myself that I wasn't going to pig out on leftovers this year, and somehow I still ended up in front of the fridge with a spoon, eating sweet potato casserole straight out of the pan. (But it doesn't count unless you make a plate, right?) I've also enjoyed a few slices of pumpkin bread, toasted with a little butter. In a few minutes, I'll probably have pumpkin pie with some vanilla coconut milk ice cream and a dollop of TruWhip (magical dairy free cool whip). So much for that resolution...

This year I tried out several new recipes. Most of them turned out well, or so I'm told :) I'm going to share all of my favorite recipes from Thanksgiving 2010; they can still be useful if you're like me and tend to repeat your favorite Thanksgiving dishes at Christmas. Speaking of Christmas, I can't wait to start experimenting with gluten free Christmas cookies and other desserts. Bring on the Christmas carols, lights, evergreen, and eggnog. This is my favorite time of year!

Happy Holidays!

Eat My Ginger Pate

Have I mentioned that my husband and I are moving? Yep, that's right, next week we're relocating from FL to Las Vegas so that he can pursue some new job opportunities. Vegas, Baby!!! Wow. I don't know what I'm going to do without the humidity.... except possibly a happy dance every time I go outside. Don't think I won't.
So in the spirit of moving, I'm trying to come up with some ideas for travel food. I make a delicious pate with soaked cashews and ginger so I decided to make a test batch tonight. Turned out perfectly. It pairs amazingly well with celery and carrot sticks, and even better with Sami's Garlic Millet Chips. You will need a food processor or a blender to process the ingredients into a creamy consistency.

Ingredients

2 c cashews, soaked for at least 1 hr and drained
1 large red bell pepper
1/2 white onion
3 garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ginger powder
approximately one teaspoon of dried basil (honestly i just gave it a few shakes)
1 tsp apple cider vinegar
Trocomare seasoning salt to taste
1 pro-biotic capsule (optional, it gives the pate a cheesy consistency)


Directions

So easy. Just add all ingredients to blender or food processor and blend until creamy. Enjoy!

Guiltless Gooey Brownie

I'll be honest, it took me about two hours to name this brownie. And the name doesn't come close doing it justice. Guiltless, Gooey, Decadent, Natural, Egg, Grain, Gluten, Dairy, and Refined Sugar Free Chocolate Chip Peanut Butter Protein Brownie would have been a more accurate title, but for obvious reasons I decided to go with the Guiltless Gooey Brownie instead. I've experimented with a few variations on this recipe, which is inspired by The Spunky Coconut's egg free, grain free, gluten free brownie. The one I'm sharing tonight has received the hands-down best reviews from an experienced team of unbiased taste testers (aka my husband and brother-in-law). Brownies conceived in a box can't compare. It's so mouthwatering and decadent that even I tend to forget how genuinely healthy it is. My goal was to create something that could double as a dessert and a protein power snack, and I think I accomplished that here. Let me know what you think, and enjoy the process. I love the smell of hot, fresh brownies!

PS. My candida friendly, stevia sweetened brownie recipe is still undergoing testing. Hopefully it's ready to post after one last experiment...

Ingredients

1/2 c no sugar added applesauce
1/4 c water
1/4 tsp guar gum
1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 tbsp coconut flour
2 tbsp Nutiva hemp protein powder
1/4 c organic cocoa powder'
1 tbsp Stevia in the Raw
1 c organic creamy peanut butter
2 tbsp raw agave nectar
2 droppers vanilla stevia
1 tsp vanilla

1/4 c Enjoy Life dairy & gluten free chocolate chips

Directions

Whisk guar gum and water together in a small bowl and allow the mixture to thicken while blending the other ingredients. In a larger bowl, combine all other ingredients and beat together with hand mixer. Add water and guar gum, beat thoroughly. Stir in chocolate chips. Pour into a square pan and bake at 325 degrees for approximately 30 minutes.