Sweet Potato Salad

One day shy of 2 1/2 years since my last posting.  Pathetic.  Especially since I come across and create some good recipes in the foods classes I teach.

Right now, I have 2 foods classes; Super Foods and Satisfying Salads.  When it works, I use the same recipes or ingredients for both classes just to make my life a little easier.  Yesterday, in Super Foods we made Sweet Potato Hash with Eggs.  Yummy.  I used the opportunity to cook extra sweet potatoes.

For my Satisfying Salads class, I make sure we have something from each of the food groups in our salad.  That includes a whole grain, vegetable(s), fruit, dairy and protein.  We did not have a recipe to work from today, so I don't have measurements to share, but the combination was really good.

pearled barley, cooked and cooled
cubed sweet potatoes - steamed, but not too soft, then rinsed with cool water and refrigerated (I leave the skin on for the extra goodness)
chopped celery
chopped red onion
dried cherries
goat cheese
chopped pecans

The dressing was simple - mayonnaise and a dijon mustard.

Very tasty.  Try it.

Chocolate Chip Cookie Bowls

I'm going to try these soon ...
http://coleensrecipes.blogspot.com/2012/05/cookie-bowls.html

Eggs in Avocado

Sunday night dinner idea:

http://lifehacker.com/5881942/bake-an-egg-in-an-avocado-for-a-fast-and-healthy-breakfast-treat

It took about 30 minutes to cook the eggs well and it was a bit of a challenge in how to eat it, but they were good.

For next time, I think I'll grease a pan (maybe a ramkin), chop the avocado, then top with eggs, salt, pepper and cheese.

Sunday Breakfast Dinner

I tried these tonight:
http://www.yummly.com/recipe/external/Sweet-Potato-Hash-Browns-Martha-Stewart-193808

However, I didn't read the instructions clearly enough beforehand, so I steamed them in the microwave then cooled them off in the freezer before frying them.  I think they turned out fine.  Nobody complained.



With that, we had 2 frittata options: just cheese or spinach, mushroom, onion and cheese.  (I prefer a frittata to quiche as a lower fat, lower carb option)

Baked Frittata
Modified from my WIC cookbook:
Cook vegetables (onion, spinach, broccoli, mushrooms, peppers, etc.)
Grease pan (8" or 9")
Place vegetables in pan

Mix:
6 eggs
1/2 c. milk
salt and pepper to taste
1 c. (or more) cheese

Bake at 375 for approximately 30 minutes



Another go at homemade granola:
Mix together in a large bowl:
1 c. each: bulk wheat flakes, rye flakes, barley flakes, oats (for this batch, it was 1/2 rolled, 1/2 steel cut)
1 c. each: boxed corn flakes and crisp rice cereal
1/2 c. each: quinoa, millet, chia seeds, flax seed (it may be beneficial to use flax meal instead)
1/2 c. each (or more) walnuts, pecans and almonds

Bring to a rolling boil (this can be done in the microwave):
1/2 c. oil
1/2 c. honey
1/4 c. brown sugar
1 t. almond flavoring

Combine two mixtures, spread in  9x13" pans

Bake at 350 until it starts to brown, stirring every 10 minutes.  Be careful, it can burn quickly.

Cool completely before transferring to an fairly air-tight container.  You will need to stir it often as it's cooling too.

Apple Pie

I've posted this pie recipe before, but made more alterations.
http://eggallergyandrecipes.blogspot.com/2009/09/best-egg-free-apple-crumb-pie.html

We have no major allergies in our house, but I have a "thing" about pastry dough, so I use this recipe.

I made an apple pie for my dad's birthday on January 20th, and decided to do another one last night so I could eat more cinnamon (it's a natural antibiotic and I get ear infections a lot).  So, here's what I did last night, which turned out good enough that Jeffry, who normally doesn't like apple pie, commented on it.

First of all, I altered the crust, mixing it up in my food processor (my new favorite appliance):
1/2 c. white flour (I use unbleached)
1/2 c. whole wheat flour
1/4-1/2 c. brown sugar
1/2 c. butter

I patted most of that down into the pie plate, then mixed;
4 peeled and 3 unpeeled Granny Smith apples, chopped (I realize I could have left the skin on all of them - there are a lot of nutrients in apples just under the skin, and the skin adds fiber)
1/2 c. brown sugar
1 1/2 T. cornstarch
1 T. ground cinnamon
1/4-1/2 each: ground nutmeg and cloves

The rest of the crust went on top.

I started baking it at 450, but after 10 minutes, the topping was really brown, so I dropped the temperature down to 400 for the remaining time.

Cara's Birdseed Granola

Combine in large bowl:
1/2 c. each: old fashioned oats, crisp rice cereal, cornflakes, steel cut oats
1/4 c. each: barley flakes, rye flakes, quinoa, oat bran, buckwheat groats
1 T. each: hulled millet, poppy seeds
spices as desired: cinnamon, nutmeg, cloves, etc.

Combine and toast for 5-15 minutes in a 275 degree oven:
1 T. sesame seeds
1/4 c. - heaped - sweetened coconut flakes

Combine first two mixtures

Microwave until at a rolling boil: (1+minute)
1/4 c. olive oil
1/2 c. honey
add:
1 t. flavoring (vanilla, almond, etc.)

Pour this over the first mixture, and stir to coat

Bake at 300 for about 1 hour (when it starts to brown is when I take it out of the oven, usually), stirring every 15 minutes.

While baking, combine and set aside:

1/4 c. pumpkin seeds (they were green, so I think they were raw)
1/8 c. - heaped - each: raw, chopped walnuts, pecans, almonds

Add whatever nuts, seeds or dried fruits you like to the baked granola
allow to cool, stirring every so often to avoid clumping
store so that it stays dry.


For my first batch, I used some hulled barley as well as both some hard and soft wheat berries.  One of these is really hard to chew, so I didn't include them in the recipe.

Oh My Carrot Cake

I started here:
http://allrecipes.com/recipe/moist-carrot-cake/detail.aspx

2 c. all purpose flour
2 t. baking powder
1 1/2 t. salt
2 1/2 t. cinnamon
4 eggs
1 1/2 c. vegetable oil
2 c. white sugar
2 3/4 c. shredded carrots
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple, drained
3/4 c. chopped walnuts
1 c. flaked coconut

I cut the recipe in half and still made 12 muffins.

Here's my recipe:

Mix together:

1/2 c. unbleached flour

1/2 c. whole wheat pastry flour

1 t. baking powder

3/4 t. baking soda

1/2 t. salt

1 1/4 t. cinnamon

Separately, mix:

2 eggs

1/2 c. unsweetened applesauce (one of the single serve containers)

1/4 c. olive oil

1/4 c. honey (maybe a bit more?)

1/4 c. white sugar

3 shredded carrots

1/2 c. coconut

walnuts

Combine two mixtures, bake at 325 for 35 minutes.

Verdict: this is a keeper.