Well we ran out of eggs the other day. And as we haven't been paid yet we didn't run out and buy more eggs. And at the same time I wanted a chocolate cake :) Now I had never up to this point made a cake from scratch, it was always easier to use the box mixes. And as I had recently found a dairy free, hydrogenation free cake mix I didn't really feel the need to learn to make cakes from scratch...but box mixes require eggs....
Solution found!!
This is an amazing cake! Not overly sweet or chocolate-y but really good with frosting. I also made it in an 8x8 square pan so it was more dense and moist than would have been in a 9x13-as the recipe calls for. :)
Ingredients:
3 cups flour
2 cups sugar
6 tbls unsweetened cocoa powder
2 tsp baking soda
2 tsp baking powder
2/3 cup oil
2 cups water
2 tbls white vinegar
2 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven: 350 degrees
Grease and flour either 9x13 or 8x8 pan (or cupcake pan, etc)
In 1 bowl combine the dry ingredients together. In another bowl combine the wet ingredients. Pour the liquid into the dry ingredients. Mix by hand or with mixer until smooth.
Pour into greased & floured pan. You can level the batter and get rid of air bubbles by picking up and dropping the pan on the counter top (only like an inch high).
Bake for 20-25 min, or until toothpick comes out clean from the center.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
Granola
This recipe is good with yogurt--like you would use the store bought kind. Or you can use it just like breakfast cereal, like we do!
4 cups oats
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds and walnuts are both good)
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Mix oats, sugar, nuts, salt, and cinnamon together. Mix oil, honey, vanilla together. You may want to heat the honey mixture but it's not necessary. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Make sure you coat all the dry stuff! Then spread over a well greased cookie sheet (a 12x17 works best).
Note if you do not grease the pan with Pam or something, it will stick REALLY bad and be very annoying to get off.
Spread mixture in a thin layer over the entire pan. Cook for 10 min. Then stir--just try to get some of the bottom stuff up to the top. Cook another 12 min. Remove and let cool. It's best to let cool in a glass bowl where you can stir it every few minutes. If not you'll just have bigger chunks.
If you eat it as just cereal it's good with fresh or dried fruit on top! I really like bananas on it.
This is good for about a week in room temperature and 3 months frozen. Enjoy!
4 cups oats
1 1/2 cup chopped nuts (almonds and walnuts are both good)
1/2 cup brown sugar (packed)
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 cup oil
1/2 cup honey
1 tsp vanilla
Preheat oven to 300 degrees F.
Mix oats, sugar, nuts, salt, and cinnamon together. Mix oil, honey, vanilla together. You may want to heat the honey mixture but it's not necessary. Then add the wet ingredients to the dry ingredients. Make sure you coat all the dry stuff! Then spread over a well greased cookie sheet (a 12x17 works best).
Note if you do not grease the pan with Pam or something, it will stick REALLY bad and be very annoying to get off.
Spread mixture in a thin layer over the entire pan. Cook for 10 min. Then stir--just try to get some of the bottom stuff up to the top. Cook another 12 min. Remove and let cool. It's best to let cool in a glass bowl where you can stir it every few minutes. If not you'll just have bigger chunks.
If you eat it as just cereal it's good with fresh or dried fruit on top! I really like bananas on it.
This is good for about a week in room temperature and 3 months frozen. Enjoy!
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Dairy Allergy
So I am allergic to dairy. At first it's like... man! no cheese! But that's really only the beginning... we'll get to that in a second.
I lived with a dairy allergy for years before actually knowing that I had it. Being allergic to dairy doesn't mean you break out into hives, or your throat swells up and you're in the hospital. It means headaches, and not breathing well. Because, if you are allergic than your body simply makes too much mucus in your sinuses when you eat dairy. This leads to a sinus headache for me. For others it may just be a stuffy nose, some to the point that they feel they cannot breathe.
Now being allergic to dairy is very different than being lactose intolerant. When you are lactose intolerant your body does not have the right enzymes, or enough of them, to properly digest the lactose in milk. This causes stomach aches and most often gas. Being allergic means your body doesn't like the specific proteins in dairy, and reacts to them. This means that lactaid and lactose free milk is no use for those allergic.
Dairy allergy is most common in younger children, and they usually grow out of it. But that's not true for everyone. I actually grew into it--around high school. I didn't know what it was because my headaches tend to feed into other things. I'll get a sinus headache that will make my shoulders and jaw tense up, and then it's a sinus and tension headache--but I only thought it was a tension headache so I never thought there was anything wrong with my sinuses.
Now how to test if you are allergic to dairy. You must first cleanse your body of all dairy, then have a lot in one sitting (ie a milkshake!) and see what happens. To cleanse your body of the dairy you simply do not have dairy for 2 weeks straight. I say simply but most do not realize what that entails. You cannot have milk, cheese, ice cream (or cream of any kind), most cakes, most chocolates, or anything containing any kind of dairy. You will need to read the labels on all the foods you eat avoiding anything that has whey, or cream, etc.
Then if after eating your massive milkshake you develop a headache, or stuffy nose, etc. you will know you are allergic to dairy. If you wish to avoid that headache, etc you will need to be careful what you eat from then on in.
I have gotten to the point that I can have small amounts of dairy--like chocolate chip cookies--on rare occasions, but I'll pay the price if I overdo it, so I've learned to be careful.
I hope you do not have a dairy allergy, as it is very annoying in a culture revolving around milk--but if you do, just know it is managable.
I lived with a dairy allergy for years before actually knowing that I had it. Being allergic to dairy doesn't mean you break out into hives, or your throat swells up and you're in the hospital. It means headaches, and not breathing well. Because, if you are allergic than your body simply makes too much mucus in your sinuses when you eat dairy. This leads to a sinus headache for me. For others it may just be a stuffy nose, some to the point that they feel they cannot breathe.
Now being allergic to dairy is very different than being lactose intolerant. When you are lactose intolerant your body does not have the right enzymes, or enough of them, to properly digest the lactose in milk. This causes stomach aches and most often gas. Being allergic means your body doesn't like the specific proteins in dairy, and reacts to them. This means that lactaid and lactose free milk is no use for those allergic.
Dairy allergy is most common in younger children, and they usually grow out of it. But that's not true for everyone. I actually grew into it--around high school. I didn't know what it was because my headaches tend to feed into other things. I'll get a sinus headache that will make my shoulders and jaw tense up, and then it's a sinus and tension headache--but I only thought it was a tension headache so I never thought there was anything wrong with my sinuses.
Now how to test if you are allergic to dairy. You must first cleanse your body of all dairy, then have a lot in one sitting (ie a milkshake!) and see what happens. To cleanse your body of the dairy you simply do not have dairy for 2 weeks straight. I say simply but most do not realize what that entails. You cannot have milk, cheese, ice cream (or cream of any kind), most cakes, most chocolates, or anything containing any kind of dairy. You will need to read the labels on all the foods you eat avoiding anything that has whey, or cream, etc.
Then if after eating your massive milkshake you develop a headache, or stuffy nose, etc. you will know you are allergic to dairy. If you wish to avoid that headache, etc you will need to be careful what you eat from then on in.
I have gotten to the point that I can have small amounts of dairy--like chocolate chip cookies--on rare occasions, but I'll pay the price if I overdo it, so I've learned to be careful.
I hope you do not have a dairy allergy, as it is very annoying in a culture revolving around milk--but if you do, just know it is managable.
Thursday, November 13, 2008
Whole Wheat Tortillas
Who doesn't love a warm burrito or soft taco? And wouldn't it be even better if it were home-made and straight off the grill, not to mention incredibly tasty and healthy to boot!
Presenting the Homemade Tortilla! And yes, you can make this from your food-storage!
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (in theory you can make it with white, or half/half)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbl oil
1/2 cup warm water
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in oil and water. (Add more water if needed-should be a fairly stiff dough) Knead 5 minutes. Let rest 30 min. Make into balls (about 1 1/2" each). Roll balls into a thin circle. (If you want bigger or smaller tortillas just start with less dough-make sure they can fit your griddle or frying pan.)
Cook on an un-greased medium hot griddle. You might want to experiment with the heat. If it's not hot enough they'll dry out. The tortillas should start to bubble up (looking like a balloon inflating) almost instantly once introduced to the heat. Once it's bubbled quite nicely on one side-flip to the other side and brown. It does not take long for them to cook--don't walk away!
Take off the heat and enjoy! You can keep them under a barely moist towel to keep them soft until you eat them.
Presenting the Homemade Tortilla! And yes, you can make this from your food-storage!
2 cups Whole Wheat Flour (in theory you can make it with white, or half/half)
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
2 tbl oil
1/2 cup warm water
Combine dry ingredients in a bowl. Stir in oil and water. (Add more water if needed-should be a fairly stiff dough) Knead 5 minutes. Let rest 30 min. Make into balls (about 1 1/2" each). Roll balls into a thin circle. (If you want bigger or smaller tortillas just start with less dough-make sure they can fit your griddle or frying pan.)
Cook on an un-greased medium hot griddle. You might want to experiment with the heat. If it's not hot enough they'll dry out. The tortillas should start to bubble up (looking like a balloon inflating) almost instantly once introduced to the heat. Once it's bubbled quite nicely on one side-flip to the other side and brown. It does not take long for them to cook--don't walk away!
Take off the heat and enjoy! You can keep them under a barely moist towel to keep them soft until you eat them.
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Walnuts
Our neighbors have a walnut tree that stretches over our yard, therefore we have fresh walnuts! Now I had never even seen a full walnut (with shell and skin) before diving into these fresh walnuts. So I've done a little research to figure out how to store them properly so they don't go rancid.
Nuts in general have a good amount of oil--which is a very good addition to your diet but also means they can go rancid rather quickly. From my research I suggest walnuts be kept in their shells, in the fridge or freezer until ready to be used. (They will be good in the freezer for up to a year, and in the fridge for up to 3 months.) Once de-shelled keep refrigerated for 1-2 weeks.
Toasting may help prolong the life of the shelled nuts, and definitely enhances flavor and aroma.
Nuts in general have a good amount of oil--which is a very good addition to your diet but also means they can go rancid rather quickly. From my research I suggest walnuts be kept in their shells, in the fridge or freezer until ready to be used. (They will be good in the freezer for up to a year, and in the fridge for up to 3 months.) Once de-shelled keep refrigerated for 1-2 weeks.
Toasting may help prolong the life of the shelled nuts, and definitely enhances flavor and aroma.
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Food Storage
To begin I must explain what is "usually included" in a one-year food storage. These are the items that if you are trying to be prepared for hard times ahead you will want to have. From here on in if a recipe can be made using only these basic ingredients I will label it "Food Storage".
The following list is for one adult for one month. To get a full year just times it all by 12. (As recommended by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.)
-------- ---- #10 cans
Wheat --- 3
White Flour --- 1
White Rice --- 2
Quick Oats --- 1
Macaroni --- 1
Pinto Beans --- 1
White Sugar ---1
Powdered Milk ---1
Cooking Oil OR ---1 24 oz bottle
Shortening --- 1-3# can
Salt ---2 8 oz shakers
(Note that you may want a wheat grinder if you plan to store wheat, though not necessary, there are other ways to eat it.)
Now I am allergic to milk so we do not store powdered milk. We also do not store shortening because of the hydrogenated nature of it. It does keep longer than oil though.
The quantities are in number of #10 cans. This is how you will want to keep your food storage as it will keep it "fresh". This is also how it will come if you buy it directly from the LDS canneries.
The following list is for one adult for one month. To get a full year just times it all by 12. (As recommended by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints.)
-------- ---- #10 cans
Wheat --- 3
White Flour --- 1
White Rice --- 2
Quick Oats --- 1
Macaroni --- 1
Pinto Beans --- 1
White Sugar ---1
Powdered Milk ---1
Cooking Oil OR ---1 24 oz bottle
Shortening --- 1-3# can
Salt ---2 8 oz shakers
(Note that you may want a wheat grinder if you plan to store wheat, though not necessary, there are other ways to eat it.)
Now I am allergic to milk so we do not store powdered milk. We also do not store shortening because of the hydrogenated nature of it. It does keep longer than oil though.
The quantities are in number of #10 cans. This is how you will want to keep your food storage as it will keep it "fresh". This is also how it will come if you buy it directly from the LDS canneries.
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