Baruti and Mina's Raw Brownies

[From Mina]  "We have made the brownies without the icing due to the browning of the avocado (while this is not evident because of the cocoa within the frosting, the taste, if the brownies are left in the fridge for several days, is affected greatly).  

Here are the ingredients and steps that we use.  To be posted to FB with pictures =)"

Ingredients 

1 c raw walnuts

1 c deglet or medjool dates (approximately 20-25 dates)

½ c of unsweetened raw cocoa or Dutch cocoa powder (plus/minus to taste)

½ tsp cinnamon (plus/minus to taste)

3 tbsp of raw agave (plus/minus to taste)

Optional: 1 tsp of pure vanilla extract

Requires food processor and loaf pan

Preparation

Add walnuts to food processor and chop until small and crumbly.  Add dates to walnuts then process until combined well.  The mixture should contain no clumps of either dates or walnuts.  Add remaining ingredients (cocoa powder, cinnamon, and agave) and process until mixture looks like slightly moistened soil.  Spread mixture with spatula or fingertips onto bottom of a loaf pan, then place loaf pan in the refrigerator for approximately 30-45 minutes. 

Cut, serve, and enjoy!

Yields approximately 6-8 servings.

From another website I found a recipe for avocado frosting:

Make the frosting*: 

1/2 avocado

3 to 5 tablespoons raw honey (you can adjust to taste)

1/4 cup cocoa powder

2 teaspoons vanilla extract

a hefty dash of cinnamon

a tiny pinch of salt

Combine avocado, honey, 1/4 cup cocoa powder, vanilla, cinnamon and salt in a food processor and blend until smooth. Spread mixture over the brownie layer in the loaf pan, creating an even layer on top.

Honey Milk Ice Cream

We get fresh raw milk delivered every week.  This is what I turn part of it into!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups fresh whole milk
1 1/2 cups fresh heavy cream
1/2 vanilla bean, split
1 pinch sea salt
1/2 cup honey*  add the honey when the cream has cooled to 104 degrees


Directions
In a small saucepan, combine the whole milk, heavy cream, 1/2 vanilla bean, sea salt, and honey. Heat on medium heat just until it starts to simmer, then remove from heat and let cool to room temperature. Transfer to an air-tight container, and let chill in the refrigerator for at least 3 hours, up to 24.

Once chilled, remove the vanilla bean (you can rinse and use for other recipes) whisk the ice cream mixture a few times and then pour into your ice cream maker, freezing according to manufacturer's instructions. The ice cream will be soft-serve texture once it runs through the ice cream maker; to get a more frozen texture, place in an air-tight container and freeze for at least 4 hours before serving. Ice cream will keep well in freezer for about two weeks.

Black Sesame–Pear Tea Cake

INCREDIBLE!! But, after the second time baking this, I will have to pull this out of the tea shop menu list because this recipe ends up making a loaf that doesn't hold its shape very well.  

I used red pear, a mix of light brown sugar and white sugar and salted butter- despite these changes it came out VERYwell.  It was on the soft side- perhaps I should have baked it for the full 1 hr 40 minutes.  I pulled it out 20 minutes earlier because the toothpick came out clean and it had formed nicely by that time.


Ingredients
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature, plus more
1 1/2 cups plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 cup almond flour or almond meal
2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup black sesame seeds
1 1/3 cups plus 2 tablespoons sugar
1 large egg
1 large egg yolk
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 (medium) firm but ripe Bosc pear, peeled, cored, cut into 1/4-inch cubes
ingredient info:

Preparation

Preheat oven to 325°. 
Butter one 9x5x3-inch loaf pan or six 4x2x2-inch paper or metal loaf pans. 

Whisk 1 1/2 cups flour, almond flour, baking powder, baking soda, salt and 2 Tbsp. sesame seeds in a medium bowl. 

Grind remaining 1/2 cup sesame seeds in spice mill to form a thick paste, about 2 minutes.

Using an electric mixer, beat 1/2 cup butter and 1 1/3 cups sugar in a large bowl until well combined, 2–3 minutes. 
Add sesame paste and beat, occasionally scraping down sides of bowl, until blended, 1–2 minutes. 

Add egg and egg yolk. Beat until pale and fluffy, 3–4 minutes. 

On low speed, beat in flour mixture in 3 additions, alternating with buttermilk in 2 additions, beginning and ending with dry ingredients. 

Toss pear with remaining 2 Tbsp. flour in a small bowl; fold into batter.

Spoon batter into prepared pan; smooth top. Sprinkle with remaining 2 Tbsp. sugar.

Bake until a tester comes out clean when inserted into center, about 1 hour 40 minutes for large loaf and 45–55 minutes for small loaves. 

Let cool in pans on a wire rack.

Pavlova

3 egg whites
9 oz. sugar (255 grams)
2 tbs boiling water
1 tspn. cornstarch
1 tsp vinegar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

Beat egg whties until very stiff.
Add water and beat again.
Add sugar in 2 halves, beat well.

Patty Muckala's Tootsie Roll Recipe

1 square unsweetened chocolate
1 Tablespoon butter
Microwave on high 1 minute until melted

Stir in 1/4 cup dark Karo
1/4 tsp. vanilla
Microwave on high one minute

Sift & measure 1 1/4 cup powdered sugar

Add 1 cup powdered to mixture
Then ad 1/4 cup plus 2 T non-fat dry milk
Stir well Place on wax paper dusted with powdered sugar

Knead adding remaining sugar if needed to make a stiff ball.
Divide into 40 balls, roll into pencil strips.  Cut into pieces

Rose shapes: http://butteryum.blogspot.com/2010/04/tootsie-roll-rose.html

French Silk Pie- Gayle Smith?

I remember Katie Smith making a French Silk Pie for one of our Thanksgiving day gatherings at the Andrews.  I'm not sure if it's Gayle's bubbly handwriting on the recipe card- it's definitely not Kate's which I still remember.

3/4 cup butter
1 cup sugar
4 1/2 Tbsp. cocoa powder
3 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream butter well.  Add sugar slowly while beating, then cocoa and vanilla.
Add eggs one at a time- beating 5 minutes minimum for each egg.

Crust:  Crumble Old Fashioned Chocolate wafers (1 box) with hands or rolling pin to desired texture.  Pour in melted butter* and stir until mixture is able to stick together.
Press into pie pan and pour in the filling.  Top with cool whip and chocoalte shavings.

Best to refrigerate before serving.

*The amount is missing so I found a recipe on-line:

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups chocolate cookie crumbs
• 6 tablespoons butter, melted

Directions

1. Mix crumbs and melted butter or margarine until well blended. Press into an 8 or 9 inch pie plate. Chill until firm.

Matcha Muffins

I got this recipe from Rena, Corey's half-sister.  If you want the matcha flavor to come out, use all-purpose flour without substituting whole wheat.  I'd like to try almond milk next as a replacement for the dairy milk.

Ingredients

*I melted the butter first so that it was cooler when I mixed it with the egg and milk

• 1 2/3 cups all-purpose flour
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon baking powder
• 1 tablespoon matcha green tea powder, or to taste
• 1/2 cup white sugar
• 1 egg
• 1/3 cup melted butter
• 1 cup milk
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts (optional)

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease 12 muffin cups, or line with paper muffin liners.
2. Whisk the flour, salt, baking powder, matcha, and sugar together in a mixing bowl; set aside. Whisk together the egg, melted butter, and milk in another bowl. Stir the milk mixture into the flour mixture until just moistened. Stir in walnuts. Divide the batter among the prepared muffin cups.
3. Bake in the preheated oven until golden and the tops spring back when lightly pressed, about 25 minutes. Cool in the muffin tin for 5 minutes, then remove to cool on a wire rack.

Julie Ottis/B.C. 's Curried Fish in Rice Ring

I'm not sure who Julie Ottis/B.C. is but this recipe was originally written in Kaye's beautiful, cursive, school teacher's legible handwriting.  I'm sure the sight of it would invoke fond memories of High School English, Japanese culture and Global Issues classes for all of Kaye's former students. (Sorry mom but I don't recall grammar points- would the course titles be in italics or quotation marks?)

This picture isn't that appetizing but it's the only one that matched the description

Serves 4-6

1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup boiling water
1 lb. pike, pollack, (fillets) sole or haddock
2 Tb. butter
1/4 cup minced onion
2 T flour
1 tsp. curry powder  (what!! after living in India this puny amount seems like NOTHING)
1 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
Dash ginger
3/4 cup milk
3 cup cooked rice
1 pkg (10 oz) frozen peas, cooked with the grain

Heat water & salt to boiling.  Add fish & cover & simmer 6-10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with fork.
Drain and reserve 1/2 cup broth.
Break fillets into 2-in. pieces; keep warm while preparing sauce.
Melt butter in saucepan; stir onion in butter and cook until tender.
Stir in flour, curry powder, sugar, salt and ginger.  Cook over low heat. Stir in reserved broth & milk.  heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil & stir 1 minute.  Stir in fish; heat through.
Mix rice and peas; ;pack lightly in greased 6-cup ring mold.  Unmold on large serving dish; pour fish sauce into center of mold.

Hershey's 5-minute recipe

This was a recipe cut out of a magazine by I don't know who!  In these cases, the nostalgic value is as much in the hard copy as in the recipe.  Maybe I'll get to scanning images of the original recipe cards/pages for the second stage of this project (I'll admit, it's not a priority in my life!).


Chocolate Mousse (Mixes in 5 minutes!)
4 1/2 cup servings

1 teaspoon unflavored gelatine
1 tablespoon cold water
2 tablespoons boiling water
1/2 cup sugar
1/4 cup cocoa
1 teaspoon vanilla
1 cup heavy cream (very cold)

Sprinkle gelatine over cold water in small bowl; stir and let stand 1 minute to soften.
Add boiling water, stir until gelatine is completely dissolved (mixture must be clear).
Stir together sugar and cocoa in small cold mixer bowl; add heavy cream and vanilla.  Beat at a medium speed until stiff peaks form; pour in gelatine mixture and beat until well blended.  Spoon into serving dishes.
chill about 1/2 hour.

Fried Stuffed Mushrooms (From the kitchen of Diane)

2 green onions, finely chopped
1/4 cup green pepper, finely chopped
1/2 - 1 cup clam juice
1 6 1/2 oz. can crab meat
1/2 cup grated low-fat cheese
juice of one lemon
1/2 cup bread crumbs
salt & pepper

24 large mushroom caps

Put onions and green pepper in small pot and pour in enough clam juice to cover them.  Cover the pot and cook till tender.  Scrape into large bowl.

Add crab meat, cheese, lemon juice and bread crumbs. Season with salt and pepper.

Fill 2 similar-sized mushrooms with filling, press caps together and scrape all escaping filling.
Repeat with other caps.

Pour flour into dish, egg whites in another, breadcrumbs in a 3rd dish.
Dip stuffed caps in flour and coat well.

Chill at least an hour (you can stick caps together with a toothpick, too)

Just before serving time, fry the mushrooms in hot fat, turning to borwn evenly.
Serve hot with lemon and tartar sauce.

Cinnamon Buttermilk Cake with Vanilla Buttercream Frosting

Mom found this recipe and I tested it.   It's a great cake (tasted and approved by many friends!)

I did not make the frosting - it tastes great without it - although  I did put some organic hazelnut chocolate spread on a piece today and that was delicious!

Ingredients

• Cake Ingredients:
• 3 cups cake flour
• 1 ½ cups sugar
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 2 tsp baking powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tbsp cinnamon
• 2 cups buttermilk
• 4 eggs
• 2 tsp vanilla extract
• Frosting Ingredients:
• 2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
• 1 16-oz box powdered sugar
• 1 tbsp vanilla extract

Directions

1. To make the cake, preheat your oven to 350 degrees and spray a large 13 x 18 inch jelly roll pan or sheet tray with cooking spray.
2. Cream together the butter and sugar until very light and fluffy, then add the eggs one by one---beating well after each addition. Add the vanilla extract and continue beating until batter is smooth and combined.
3. Whisk together the cake flour, baking powder, salt and cinnamon in another large bowl and add alternately with the buttermilk to the butter and sugar mixture.
4. Continue beating until there are no lumps, then pour batter into your greased pan, smoothing out the top with a rubber spatula.
5. Bake cake for 30-35 minutes until edges are golden and begin to pull away from the sides of the pan. Let cool completely before icing.
6. To make the frosting, beat the butter with the powdered sugar and vanilla until fluffy---about 10 minutes on high. Spread frosting over the cooled cake and cut into small squares.

Apple Cranberry Crisp

I made up this crisp today and it came out so well that I've attempted to remember what I did.  This is why there's alot of approximation in the amounts.  IT TASTED VERY GOOD so I hope it can be replicated!

Filling:

1/4 stick of butter (or 1 ounce of Vegan butter)
3-4 apples, peeled, sliced (I used Fuji)
3/4 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp cardamom

1 can of whole cranberry sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar (I just grabbed some out of the bag and sprinkled it in, the cranberry sauce was already sweetened a bit)


Topping:

1/2 cup butter (or Vegan butter)
1 cup rolled oats (not instant)
1/4-1/2 cup flour (also estimated)
3/4 cup combination of coconut and almond flour (I ground up some almonds)
pinch of sea salt
pinch of nutmeg
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp of vanilla
Agave (I squirted some in)



Directions for filling:

Melt butter in a medium sauce pan and add apples.  Simmer for 5 minutes.  Take off heat.
Mix in the cranberry sauce and brown sugar.  Fill a casserole dish with mixture.

For Topping:
Combine all of the ingredients and spread over the fruit.

White bean, Kale and Bacon soup

This white bean soup recipe makes 4 servings.

Ingredients:

• 1 can Great Northern beans, drained
• 4 cups vegetarian broth
• 3 slices soy bacon, chopped (SmartBacon)
• 1 minced onion
• 3 stalks celery, minced
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 tsp. turmeric
• 1 bay leaf
• 1 teaspoon lemon juice
• pepper, to taste
• salt, to taste
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

 Cook bacon in oil in a Dutch oven or stockpot over medium-low heat until crispy. Remove and reserve to use as a garnish. Increase heat to medium. Add onion, celery and garlic to the oil. Sauté until tender. Stir in turmeric near the end.

Add broth and bay leaf. Simmer about 20 minutes, adding additional stock or water as needed. (optional: puree 1/4 cup of the soup in a food processor or blender and return to pot.) Adjust consistency with more stock or water if necessary.

Add kale and beans, simmer for 15 minutes longer.

 Season with lemon juice, pepper and salt.

 Serve garnished with Parmesan cheese and crumbled bacon.

Southern Biscuits by Brandy Lee Jacob

Serves: 9

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

*Prepare the buttermilk ahead of time and have it chilled

Ingredients

• 2 cups flour 1.75 white & .25 spelt or ww
• 4 teaspoons baking powder
• 1/4 teaspoon baking soda
• 2 teaspoon salt
• 2 tablespoons brown sugar (opt)
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons shortening (Spectrum has a healthier version of vegetable shortening)
• 1 cup buttermilk, chilled (add 1tbsp lemon juice or white vinegar to a container and pour just under a cup of milk into it - let it set and it's ready)

Directions

In a large mixing bowl, combine flour, baking powder, baking soda, brown sugar and salt. 

Using a fork, rub butter and shortening into dry ingredients until mixture looks like crumbs. (The faster the better, you don't want the fats to melt.) 

Make a well in the center and pour in the chilled buttermilk. Stir just until the dough comes together. The dough will be very sticky.

Turn dough onto floured surface, dust top with flour and gently fold dough over on itself 5 or 6 times. Press into a 1-inch thick round. Cut out biscuits with a 2-inch cutter, being sure to push straight down through the dough. 

Place biscuits on baking sheet so that they just touch. Reform scrap dough, working it as little as possible and continue cutting. (Biscuits from the second pass will not be quite as light as those from the first, but hey, that's life.)

Bake until biscuits are tall and light gold on top, 8-12 minutes.