Quinoa (not Rice) Pudding

Thought I'd take a quick minute to jot down this yummy recipe. With all the talk of Arsenic in our rice, I must admit, I am making quinoa more than ever (and I made it a lot before!). I adapted this recipe from Martha Stewart's wholeliving.com recipe.

1 1/2 c. quinoa
3 c. plain or vanilla almond milk, unsweetened

Cook covered on medium high, until liquid is gone (about 10 min.). Turn burner off, but leave pot on the burner.

Combine:
2 eggs
1 c. plain or vanilla almond milk, unsweetened
1/2 t. cardemom
1/4 t. cinnamon
1/2 c. raisins, or other dried fruit (chopped apricots, cranberries, etc.)
1/8 c. honey
1/4 c. unrefined cane sugar

Turn heat back on medium, and pour in egg mixture. Stir quickly to avoid eggs curdling, and continue cooking for a five minutes more. You can add more milk if you like your pudding a bit runnier. Cool slightly and serve with a dollop of whip cream if you can have it.

Dark Chocolate Walnut Cake (from Heaven)

Have I mentioned before my love affair with Red Wine? Indeed, it is true. Because of my intolerance to sugar, I DO have to be careful with the smooth red liquid, as I am a pretty cheap drunk after only 1/2 a glass. But I will sip that 1/2 glass with relish.

On one such occasion, I noticed on the back of my bottle of Cocobon ($6.99 at Trader Joe's) that it paired well with Chocolate Walnut cake. Well, the bottle of wine talks, and Ami listens!! I found this cake recipe on another blog called The Nesting Project, and she got it from Bon Appetit 1995.

I adapted it to fit our diets here, and iced it with my favorite fudge icing. I was AMAZED. AMAZED I TELL YOU! This cake melts.in.you.mouth. The only problem you have to sort out is: how much you are going to eat yourself (you did make it afterall), and how much you are going to share. Be warned, I'm a dress-size bigger now.

LET THEM EAT CAKE!!

CAKE:

3 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 c. less a Tbsp.Kamut flour

1.2 t. baking soda

1/2 c. (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

3/4 c. whole unrefined cane sugar (Panela is great), or brown sugar

2 large eggs

1 t. vanilla extract

1/4 c. yogurt

1/4 c. plain almond milk

3/4 c. chopped walnuts

Pre-heat oven to 350. Butter a 13x9 inch glass pan (or two 8" round pans) and line with parchment paper. Stir chocolate in top of double boiler set over simmering water until melted. Set aside to cool.

Sift flour and baking soda into small bowl. Using electric mixer beat butter in large bowl until creamy. Add sugar and beat until fluffy. Beat in eggs one at a time. Beat in vanilla, then melted chocolate. Add dry ingredients alternately with yogurt and water, beating just until blended after each addition. Stir in walnuts.

Bake 20 minutes or until toothpick comes out with a few moist crumbs attatched. Cool cake in pan on a rack.

FUDGE FROSTING (Betty Crocker):

1/2 c. whole unrefined cane sugar

1/4 c. baking cocoa

1/4 c. plain almond milk

2 Tbsp. butter

1 Tbsp. brown rice syrup or corn syrup

Dash of salt

1/2 c. organic powdered sugar

1/2 t. vanilla

Mix sugar and cocoa in saucepan. Stir in milk, butter, rice syrup and salt. Heat to boiling, stirring frequently. Boil 3 minutes, stirring occasionally; cool for 30 minutes.

Beat in powdered sugar and vanilla until smooth. Frosts a 13x9 inch cake.

Yiaourti me Meli (Yogurt with Honey)

A few years back (OK, more than a few) my cousin and I had the wonderful privilege of travelling together. We were single, foot-loose, and fancy-free (and loving every minute of it)! We tried to conserve our $$ by making our own breakfast and lunch, which were quite meagre. But for dinner we splurged and went out. 

On one of our evenings out, we made our way into a Greek restaurant (which is funny, as we were in Germany at the time). The young male owners were also the young male waiters, and neither spoke English. Now, travelling with food sensitivities is difficult. Travelling with food sensitivities in a country where no one understands you is downright impossible.

Through hand signals and a lot of pointing at the menu, I managed to order something. Although I don't remember what dinner was, I never forgot dessert! For one thing, I could actually eat it. For another, it was delicious. And thirdly, it was served to us with much Grecian flourish, and numerous requests to accompany those young male waiters to the DISCO (the only word we understood from them).

A super fun memory, and a dessert that I'm excited to pass on to you. It is easy, but so good!

Serve it after your greek inspired meal, or sneak it as a guilt-free snack. Yes, a dessert thats actually good for you. Who knew that existed?

In individual bowls, put:

3/4 c. plain greek yogurt (balkian)

Drizzle with:

1-2 Tbsp. good quality honey

Top with:

1 Tbsp. walnut pieces

Banana Chocolate Shake

I have been thinking about raw food: how to get more of it, how to NOT cook it, how to get my family to eat it, and most importantly, how to make it taste good! I will share with you as my journey progresses, but for today, I have a dairy-free, sugar-free, yummy shake.

3 bananas (organic if you can - they are much tastier than plain ol' ones)

1 c. coconut milk or milk of your choice

4 T. plain yogurt

1/4 c. cocoa or carob powder

1/2 t. vanilla

Blend everything in your blender or magic bullet (if you don't have one of these, why not?? They're super-fab!). Enjoy!

Pumpkin Pie (Dairy-Free)

In honor of Thanksgiving, here is a recipe for pumpkin pie that everyone can enjoy. The coconut milk gives it a very nice creamy texture.

1/2 can real pumpkin

1/2 c. panela unrefined cane sugar, or sugar of your choice

1 t. cinnamon

1/2 t. nutmeg

1/4 t. ginger

1/4 t. salt

3/4 c. coconut milk

1 egg

1 pie crust

Mix all ingredients. Pour into your pie crust and bake at 425 for 15 minutes. Lower heat to 350 and bake for another 30-35 minutes, or until knife comes out clean. Serve with cool whip or whip cream.