Spicy Peanut Sauce

Make up a batch of this sauce and store it in your refrigerator. It works splendidly on noodles, rice, or vegetables. My favorite way to use this sauce is to pour it over a vegetable-and-tofu stir-fry on a bed of rice, then top it with some peanuts.

Ingredients

2 tbsp. peanut butter
1 tbsp. tamari or soy sauce (for those avoiding gluten, use the wheat-free version)
3 tbsp. rice wine vinegar
1 tbsp. hot red pepper oil
1 tsp. crushed hot red peppers
3 tbsp. sesame oil
1 tbsp. maple syrup
2 tsp. ginger powder
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tbsp. white wine
1 tsp. dry mustard (hot mustard gives it a nice kick, but is not necessary)
1 c. hot water

Directions

This one couldn’t be more simple. Combine all the ingredients in a jar. Just be sure that the water is hot so that it helps to dissolve the peanut butter into the other ingredients. Stir well until smooth and creamy.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Chocolate Cake with Strawberries

This was my standard “birthday cake” recipe for my children when they were growing up. They always wanted me to use a cake mix out of a box, but I refused. Their friends loved this cake and would never have forgiven me if I didn’t make it for birthday parties. Not all children like strawberries, so I don’t recommend putting them on the cake. I would cut them up into a bowl, and spoon them over each piece, depending on whether or not the person eating that slice liked strawberries.

Ingredients

1 c. melted butter or coconut oil (or combination)
1¼ c. honey
1 tsp. vanilla
3 eggs, separated (set the whites aside to beat stiff)
1 c. water
1/3 c. puréed stewed tomatoes
2½ c. flour (whole wheat or brown rice)
½ c. powdered cocoa
1½ tsp. baking soda
½ tsp. salt
For topping: cut up heaps of fresh strawberries
(Whipped cream optional)

Directions

Put the stewed tomatoes in the blender and purée them. Separate the eggs and set the egg whites aside. Combine the egg yolks with the wet ingredients and blend well. Combine all the dry ingredients except the salt and blend well. Then add the dry ingredients to the wet ingredients and stir until smooth (use an electric mixer if necessary). Put the salt into the egg whites and whip them up until they are stiff. Fold the cake mixture into the stiff egg whites.

While the cake is baking, chop up the strawberries.

Pour the cake mixture into two 8-inch square (or round) baking dishes and bake for 40 minutes at 350°. You can frost the cake or simply cut squares and put them on a plate with whipped cream (sweeten with a little maple syrup) and strawberries. Yum!

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Yael’s French Yogurt Cake

In 1974, I visited my cousin Yael in Paris. She was a Holocaust survivor, a linguist, and a vivacious woman with an active mind. She loved to cook and she also cultivated fruit trees. She baked this cake for me while I was there and she gave me the recipe. She served it with jam on top. This cake has always tasted to me like it has an extra ingredient in it that I didn’t include on purpose and that I can’t quite identify, like a mystery flavor that appears out of thin air.

Ingredients

1½ c. flour (whole wheat or brown rice)
¾ c. honey
1/4 c. maple syrup
1 tsp. baking powder
½ c. yogurt
2/3 c. melted butter
2 beaten eggs
(1 tsp. grated orange or lemon peel – optional)

Directions

Melt the butter. Beat the eggs and combine with the yogurt and butter, blending together well. Add the honey and maple syrup and blend it in to the wet ingredients completely. Mix the baking powder into the flour. Add the flour to the wet ingredients and mix together completely. You might want to use an electric mixer to get all the lumps out.

Pour the mixture into an 8-inch square baking dish and bake for 35 minutes at 350° then turn the heat up to 375° and bake for an additional 10 minutes.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Stuffed with Roasted Vegetables

There are so many delicious meat and starch dishes at Thanksgiving that it’s easy to forget to cook enough vegetables to go with the meal. We usually have either green beans or collards on our table. This vegan and gluten-free recipe provides something a little more, and it features many of those favorite flavors of Thanksgiving. The vegetables are baked inside a small pumpkin. When it’s done, the pumpkin meat is soft and tender and can be scooped out along with the vegetables.

Ingredients

1 small pumpkin (e.g., New England pie pumpkin)
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 chopped red pepper
½ chopped green pepper or orange pepper (or combination)
2 chopped celery stalks
1 chopped Portobello mushroom
½ c. chopped onion or 1 tsp. onion powder
1 large crushed garlic clove or ½ tsp. garlic powder
3 tbsp. chopped fresh parsley or 1 tbsp. dried parsley
1 tbsp. ground sage
1 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. ground dill
½ tsp. black pepper
Salt to taste

Directions

Chop the vegetables. Combine all the ingredients in a mixing bowl. Remove the top from the pumpkin and scoop out the innards. Fill the pumpkin with the veggie mixture. Put the top back on. Bake at 350˚ for 90 minutes (or at 325˚ for 2 hours).

Using 2 little pumpkins, a variation on this recipe would be to include 2 cups of crumbled cornbread and 2 beaten eggs. Also, consider adding ½ cup grated Parmesan cheese. Then you would divide the ingredients between the 2 pumpkins.

Other ingredients that could be added to the filling include chopped Shitake mushrooms, dried cranberries, chopped apples, chestnuts, or walnuts.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Pumpkin Pie

I can’t imagine making a pumpkin pie with pumpkin from a can. I always bake a pumpkin and scoop out the inside for a real pumpkin pie. The seeds are delicious roasted, too (see my recipe for that). Any pumpkin meat that you don’t use in the pie can be frozen in a freezer bag and saved for another time. You will need a crust for this pie recipe below, of course. You can either purchase a ready-made pie shell or you can make your crust from scratch. Refer to my discussion about pie crusts (both with and without gluten) if you decide to make your own. This recipe assumes that you have the pie crust in which to place the pumpkin pie filling. (Or you can make it with no crust for a delicious pudding.)

Ingredients

2 ½ c. pumpkin purée (see below for pumpkin preparation)
¾ cup honey
1 cup scalded milk (lactose-free milk works for the lactose intolerant)
4 eggs (beaten)
2 tbsp. molasses
2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. ginger
½ tsp. allspice
¼ tsp. mace
¼ tsp. salt
(optional: ½ tsp. grated orange peel)
1 pie shell (either make from scratch or purchase ready-made)

Directions
Don’t use jack-o’-lantern pumpkins for pie. They tend to be stringy and tough. Small pie pumpkins are best (New England pie pumpkins are my favorite). Cinderella pumpkins can be sweet and tasty, but note that they have a lot of moisture in them so you might want to use less milk in this recipe if baking a Cinderella pumpkin.

Cut the pumpkin in half and scoop out the innards (use my roasted pumpkin seed recipe to roast those seeds for a delicious snack). Put the pumpkin halves upside down on a cookie sheet with a little water in it (up to about ½ of an inch of water). Bake the pumpkin at 350˚ for about an hour or until it is clearly soft when pierced with a fork. Do not overcook as the pumpkin will turn brown on the bottom and discolor your pie. Once the pumpkin has cooled enough to handle, scoop out the meat, discard the skin, and whirl the pumpkin in a food processor until it is smooth. If it doesn’t whirl up so easily, add a little water, but not much.

Scald the milk. Do not boil. Just allow it to heat until hot then take it off the burner. Preheat the oven to 450˚.

Combine the pumpkin meat, honey, and molasses. Add the spices. Beat the eggs and add those. Whirl the filling in the food processor briefly or mix with an electric mixer to get the spices to blend in. Mix in the milk last. Pour the pie filling mixture into the pie shell. Bake for 10 minutes at 450˚ and then turn the oven down to 350˚. Bake at 350˚ for 50 minutes or until the pie is set. It might need to sit for 15 or 20 minutes after it comes out of the oven to “stick together.” I personally prefer pumpkin pie at room temperature. Because of the eggs and milk, this one needs to be refrigerated to keep.

Whipped cream or vanilla ice cream are a terrific accompaniment!

Eat well, be well, live deliciously! (And a Happy Thanksgiving to all.)

Broccoli Plain and Simple

This straightforward recipe provides a terrific side dish to increase the color and healthfulness of any meal.

Ingredients

1 head of broccoli
2 tbsp. olive oil
1 large crushed clove of garlic
3 tbsp. lemon juice (fresh-squeezed is best)

Directions

Cut the tender broccoli florets off the broccoli and place them in a vegetable steamer in a pot with 1-2 inches of water in the bottom. Steam on high heat for 8-10 minutes or until the broccoli is bright green and tender when pierced with a fork. Do not overcook.

Combine the olive oil and the lemon juice and crush the garlic into it.

Place the broccoli into a serving dish and drizzle the oil/lemon/garlic mixture on it. Serve immediately while still hot (or zap briefly in a microwave to bring back to temperature when the rest of the meal is ready).

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!

Manicotti with Baby Bella Mushrooms

Unless you have a source for gluten-free manicotti noodles (there are some on the market), then this recipe is not gluten-free. And it isn’t lactose-free as it uses both ricotta and mozzarella cheese, which are soft cheeses. It’s just plain delicious, however and a family favorite at our house. Serve with garlic bread, a Caesar salad, and red wine to enter bliss!

Ingredients

16 oz. manicotti noodles (about 16 noodles come in a box)
24 oz. tomato sauce
16 oz. grated mozzarella cheese
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese (for the top)
¾ cup ricotta cheese
2 eggs
3 tbsp. olive oil
1 lb. finely chopped baby Portobello mushrooms
1-2 tbsp. onion powder
1 tsp. garlic powder
½ cup finely chopped fresh basil (or 2 tbsp. dried basil but the dried is not nearly as good as the fresh)
2 tbsp. dried oregano
1 tsp. black pepper
salt to taste

Directions

Preheat the oven to 350°. Boil the manicotti noodles until done al dente (follow the directions on the package). Put a dash of olive oil in the water to help prevent the manicotti noodles from sticking together and run cold water over them right away when you drain them to keep them from getting gummy. You want them to be as firm as possible because you are going to have to stuff them with the other ingredients.

Chop the mushrooms and sauté them in olive oil for about 3-5 minutes, until soft. Add the chopped basil for the last minute or two to wilt it. Beat the eggs and combine them with the ricotta cheese and most of the grated mozzarella. Keep about ½ cup of mozzarella out to sprinkle on the top. Add the herbs/spices to the egg and cheese mixture. Add the mushrooms and basil to the egg and cheese mixture and blend together well.

Grease the baking dish with a little olive oil and then put in just enough tomato sauce to cover the bottom. Now comes the hard part. With a teaspoon, gently fill each manicotti noodle with the filling mixture. Place the stuffed noodles into the baking dish. If they tear while you are working with them, not to worry, just fill them with the filling mixture anyway and place them in the baking dish. When you have stuffed all the noodles and placed them in the baking dish, cover them with the rest of the tomato sauce. Then sprinkle the top with the mozzarella cheese and parmesan cheese reserved for this purpose.

Cover the dish with foil and bake at 350° for 40 minutes, then uncover and bake uncovered for another 15-20 minutes.

Eat well, be well, live deliciously!