Coconut Oatmeal Layer Cake

Layer 1
2 EnerG eggs with water
3/4 cup shortening (smart balance light)
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup flour
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup coconut
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp salt
1 tsp vanilla
2 Tbsp molasses

Layer 2
1 3/4 cup coconut
2 EnerG eggs
1 cup flour
1/2 cup white sugar
1/4 cup shortening
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup milk

Cream sugars and shortening for 1st layer. Add in remaining ingredients and pour into a greased casserole. Cream sugars and shortening for 2nd layer. Add in remaining ingredients and spoon on top of 1st layer.

Glaze
1 1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp. coconut extract
3 Tbsp. dairy free milk

Blend together then pour over top of cake.

Bake at 350 for 45 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the middle comes out clean.

I had made these oatmeal brown sugar bars once that were awesome. Rich, moist, amazing. But I wrote the recipe down on a piece of paper, placed it on the desk and it promptly got lost. So I did the best I could to remember the recipe, which was layer 1. It just didn't fill out the pan right though!!! So I decided to make layer 2 to place on top. Neither layer turned out as I actually wanted, but both were good. I think for the original bars I was trying to make, there were 2 cups of brown sugar and more shortening. I'll have to try again for those sometime soon :-)

Potato Salad (Mayonnaise Free)

I haven't had potato salad in 8 1/2 months since I haven't been able to eat eggs! I have always really enjoyed potato salad, especially since I discovered adding carrots for some extra goodness. I stumbled across a recipe online for a dijon mustard based sauce that actually turned out quite well.

3 lbs. yukon gold potatoes, cooked in salted water then cubed
3 large stalks celery, diced
2 large carrots, ground in food processor
1 cup pickles, ground in food processor
1/2 cup pickle juice
1 Tbsp. salt
1 Tbsp. onion powder
2 Tbsp. dijon mustard
2 Tbps. yellow mustard
1 Tbsp. white wine vinegar

Combine the last 6 ingredients in the blender and process til creamy and emulsified. Add to the warm potatoes so the vinagrette will soak in. Add in the remaining ingredients and mix to combine. Adjust seasonings as needed. I've been gobbled this up, it turned out pretty tasty. Not as good as mayonnaise, as I am a MAYO girl! But will work until I can eat eggs again. :-)

Pasta Salad

Another dish I made to bring to my friends house for our get-together. I wanted another protein source, so added a can of chickpeas. You could also add diced chicken or turkey to get the same effect.

1 box geminili pasta or pasta of choice, cooked al dente
1/2 bottle TED safe vinagrette dressing. I used Drew's All Natural Roasted Garlic. Also delicious is Brianna's Rich Santa Fe blend
1 package thawed peas
1/2 red pepper, finely diced
1 can black olives, sliced into rounds
1 can chickpeas
1/2 tbsp. onion powder
salt to taste

Mix all ingredients together, preferably adding the sauce when the pasta is still hot so it will absorb. Chill before serving.

Pumpkin Seed Meatballs

Our son was dedicated at church this week, and we had the wonderful experience of going to our good friends home to celebrate afterwards with a fantastic shared lunch. I made these little meat balls that were quite fantastic! I didn't write the recipe down, so the below is a guess! I'll write it down next time I make.

1 1/2 cup of oatmeal, cooked with 2 cups water until thick and sticky.
1 1/2 Tbsp. Maggi's sauce (fermented wheat based sauce, similar to soy sauce)
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. onion powder
1 Tbsp. salt
1 3/4 cup finely ground pumpkin seeds (pepitas)
1 cup finely ground sunflower seed
2 cups quick oats
1 cup crispy rice cereal
additional oatmeal or crispy cereal to make a firm textured, sticky ball

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl and mix until the texture is similar to a looser type cookie dough. It should be very moist and sticky. Spray hands with cooking spray and roll into walnut sized balls. Fry in oil until crispy on all sides, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. Serve with a tomato sauce if desired.

These were good plain, smothered with tomato sauce or would be fantastic with spaghetti or on a meatball hoagie sandwich. I think these went over pretty well! I went with about 45 balls, and came home with 5 :-)

Adventures In Coconut Milk

I have been experimenting with coconut milk trying to make some yummy, dairy free desserts. I was buying several different brands of milk, and therefore was getting drastically different results each time. I'm just guessing which "recipe" is for each of the following pictures, but some of the results were good so I figured I would share.

This first turned out like a coconut curd/pudding type mixture. It was really tasty, thick and creamy. I believe it was 1/2 a can of coconut milk with a cup or so of granulated sugar. It just reached this point where it got thick and creamy instead of syrupy.


The next was a coconut caramel that I then beat with an electric mixer and some powdered sugar. This was a full can of coconut milk and several cups of sugar. It turned out sooooo sweet it wasn't very good.



Lastly my husband made me a coconut cake. Just a recipe we found online that we made MSPI/TED safe. I used the coconut curd in the middle and glazed with the caramel sauce. It was good but way too super sweet! It did lead me to make the coconut candy, so it wasn't a complete failure!

Coconut Candy

I went to the MSPI group at MilkWorks Sunday for the 1st time. This is a group of Moms that meet every 2 weeks that are all avoiding milk and soy in order to nurse their protein sensitive babies. Many Moms are also on the Total Elimination Diet (TED) as well. I wanted to take a treat, so decided to make this coconut candy which would hopefully be safe for most Moms. Unfortunately, I forgot it at home in the rush to get out the door! I'll have to bring next time.

1 can of coconut milk (preferably Thai Kitchen, less preservatives)
3 cups granulated sugar.

Combine in a large pan and allow to cook over medium heat until the mixture becomes a dark caramel color. Stir often, especially towards the end as it will burn quickly. Pour onto a sheet pan, allow to cool and then break into pieces.

It reminds me of maple sugar candy, if you have ever had that. Crispy, yet melts in your mouth.

Cheezy Pasta

Well, I'm honestly not really sure what to call this one. Ever since I learned that nutritional yeast has 8 grams of protein for 2 Tbsp, I have been trying to add it in every day. I don't have many good protein sources, so I really need to work at getting adequate amounts in.

1/2 box pasta of choice (about 8 oz.) cooked in salted water
4 Tbsp. smart balance light
5 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1/2 tsp. onion powder
salt to taste
3 Tbsp. dairy free milk

Combine all together with hot pasta and stir well to combine. Very tasty with a slight "cheesy" taste. My 4 year old loved the 1st time I made but balked the 2nd. Who can keep up with their tastes!

Pesto Pizza

Yummy!!! Hubby made this for lunch on a day that I worked from home. He sat up the meal outside for my 4 year old and I to enjoy lunch. It was fantastic food, company and surroundings! He made the pizza dough from scratch, and then made a pesto out of spinach, pine nuts, olive oil and nutritional yeast. Delicious!

I don't have an actual recipe, so this is a guess. Or follow another pesto recipe.

2 cups fresh spinach
1 garlic clove
3 Tbsp olive oil
3 Tbsp nutritional yeast
1/4 cup pine nuts
salt to taste

Combine all in a food processor, adjusting seasonings as needed. Spread on the pizza dough, add toppings and bake until dough is puffed and done.

My hubby topped our pizza with sauteed mushrooms and onions. Delicious!

Strawberry Lemon Kick Cake

Wow! I can't find where my husband stuck this recipe, but I wanted to upload the picture while I was updating my blog. So good! I LOVE strong, tangy lemon flavors. This one was amazing. The lemon bit me back which is just how I love it! A mild lemon flavored cake smothered with tangy lemon curd and topped with fresh strawberries. I'll admit, a dollop of whipped cream would have really hit the spot! Maybe I'll work on a vegan/soy free coconut whipped cream. Surely it's possible! Enjoy the picture until I can find the recipe. Sooooooo yummy.

Vegetarian Fajitas

Hmmmm, this was yummy until the third time I had them and then I was ready for a break! But that first meal of fajitas...WOW! I don't eat meat, and had no soy meat to use as a protein in these. I figured I could slice up some sunshine burgers and fry them in plenty of oil so they wouldn't fall apart. It worked! Plus they got crispy on the outside which was quite yummy.

I fried up some onion slices, zucchini, yellow squash and mushrooms for my fajitas. We found a MSPI/TED safe fajitas mix at Hyvee that worked great. In addition to the fajita mix I also used some maggi's, which is like a wheat based "soy" sauce at the Asian market. My family would have also enjoyed red or green bell peppers but we didn't have any. Then I also had the fried sunshine burger slices, avocado and salsa. Delicious!

Creamy Mushroom Zucchini Manicotti

I so crave lasagna and manicotti on this diet, probably because I have NEVER figured out a way to make it work without dairy and soy! I got a little creative and the results were good, not fantastic, but good. I figured a vegetable stuffed manicotti shell should be quite tasty smothered in a creamy sauce. I made this over a month ago and just haven't gotten around to blogging it yet. So I don't remember my exact measurements! I'll do my best, but If nothing else, hopefully it can give you an idea to try something different.

Filling:
2 lbs of mushrooms, half button and half crimini (baby bella) roughly chopped
1 large zucchini, grated
1 onion, finely chopped or whizzed in the food processor
1 Tbsp. olive oil

Saute onion in olive oil, then add mushrooms and salt to release their water. Add in the zucchini when the mushrooms are cooked about halfway through.

White Sauce:
2 1/4 cups rice milk
2 heaping Tbsp. flour
1 Tbsp. olive oil
seasonings (garlic and onion powder, salt)

Add the liquid to the blender and turn on low, add the flour and blend until smooth. Add seasonings then transfer to a pot and wisk over medium heat until thickened.

Stuff the uncooked manicotti shells with the cooled filling and place in an oiled casserole dish with several Tbsp. of sauce on the bottom. Pour remaining sauce over the top and bake covered with foil for 30 minutes, then uncover and cook until the manicotti can be pierced with a knife. You can sprinkle nutritional yeast on the top towards the end of cooking to serve as the "cheese."

Flax "Eggs"

I was trolling the internet for interesting recipes and came acoss a site specializing in vegan ice cream. Yummy! It's nice to have someone else do the experimenting and just leave me to the eating! It's also great because the majority of the recipes I looked at were dairy and soy free, or could easily be made so. Coconut milk is a great item to cook with, and now So Delicious actually has coconut milk for drinking, cooking, baking, etc. and I hear it tastes fabulous! Ok, so here is the link to the amazing ice cream site:

http://veganicecream.blogspot.com

And here is a link to making flax "eggs" to use in baking. I've tried before to use flax but wasn't doing it like this and never had success. I think this way will work great and look forward to using in my next baking adventure.

Flax "Eggs"

Note: While there are many ways to replace eggs in baking, my favorite method is to make “flax eggs.” I recommend making these in bulk; it’s easier that way. Combine 1/3 cup flax seeds with 2/3 cup hot water in a blender. Let sit for 15 minutes, then blend until the mixture is gelatinous in texture and whole flax seeds are no longer visible. One tablespoon of flax eggs equals one egg. However, if you use this egg replacer and you notice that your batter isn’t quite as liquid-y as it seems it should be, add 2 to 3 tablespoons water, soy milk, or other liquid. (This is why I have soy milk in this recipe.) Whatever flax eggs you don’t use will keep for 2 weeks in the fridge, so you’ll have some on hand for the future. (One tip for using flax eggs is to beat the flax eggs into the oil/liquid before adding dry ingredients, as I have done in this recipe. It helps distribute the magic flax all throughout your batter.)