Dipped Out

I was left with a decent amount of the dip leftover from the breadstick lesson one week, but instead of tossing it away when I came in the day after, or force-feeding the kids dip for days, I walked right into my inspiration - literally. There was a giant box of well-past-sale-or-eating-point bananas on the kitchen island, with a handy Post-It note on the top:

"Sarah, use these today."

Hmm, use these I will... you didn't specify how, Marlene, but considering I know you adore the fruit, know I bake and there's a fellow staff member whose only pregnancy craving has been banana bread?? You asked for it!

Because my usual banana bread recipe didn't use anything liquidy other than the banana puree itself, I hit the Net to find a suitable base recipe. Even though the dip wasn't all-yogurt, I figured that a touch of lemon juice would help offset the baking soda, and who doesn't like strawberries and banana? I kept on with the breakfast theme by using rolled oats in the dry mix too, and if I did it again I'd even go so far as to sprinkle some crunchy granola on top!

Strawberry-Banana Oatmeal Bread

Makes 2 loaves, 14 slices each

2 cups all purpose flour

2 cups whole wheat flour

1 cup rolled oats

1 1/2 tbsp baking powder

1 tsp baking soda

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup butter

1/4 cup shortening

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1 banana, mashed

1 tbsp vanilla

1/2 tbsp lemon extract

1/2 tbsp lemon juice

3 1/2 cups "Sweet Fruit Dipper" recipe

1. Grease two 9×5" loaf pans, preheat oven to 350F.
2. Mix dry ingredients together and set aside.
3. Beat butter and shortening in a bowl.
4. Add sugar, eggs, banana, vanilla, lemon extract and lemon juice, beating smooth.
5. Alternately add the dip and flour mixtures to the beaten mixture.
6. Bake for 1 hour 10 minutes, or until tester comes out clean.
7. Cool 20 minutes in pans before turning onto wire racks and cooling completely.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 238.3
Total Fat: 8.5 g
Cholesterol: 32.5 mg
Sodium: 111.2 mg
Total Carbs: 36.2 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.8 g
Protein: 5.3 g

Magic Wands and Fairy Dust

When I was at co-op, I got to play the role every day of fairy Godmother, evil witch or crafy magician (depending on who you talked to). Nobody knew what to expect the kitchen to unleash - including me - and so long as I could get a gaggle of kids to settle down for a little while and make it through a lesson plan anything went! Luckily I had one of the easier tasks when it came to keeping the kids entertained, since they knew that regardless of the stuff they had to sit through and do while in my care (including - horrors - dishes!) eventually they would be rewarded with something tasty to supplement whatever the daily snack of the day was. Of course, they knew I was a Nutrition major, even if they didn't really know what that meant, so everything was suspect until they could be convinced that adding a bit of whole wheat or oatmeal to a recipe, cutting down on the sugar and fat or putting a little effort and pride into their food was really not the end of the world. Tasting is believing, I say!

One of the most successful lessons I taught the kids was this basic, sweetened bread dough that we turned into cinnamon-swirled breadsticks. Playing off the idea from a certain pizza chain, I rolled each spicy, whole wheat and oatmeal-laced stick in a cinnamon-sugar mixture and added my flair - a twisted, rope-like appearance. To top it all off (literally), I considered my options. There was no way I was about to give the kids an icing to dunk sugary bread into, but I knew they would probably be missing that aspect since I was trying to bill them as a take-out substitute. Thank goodness we at least had a well-stocked pantry that week, and a fridge with a plethora of dairy I could use! A quick beat together of plain, fat-free yogurt, low-fat cream cheese, a touch of sugar and a spoonful of all-fruit, low-sugar strawberry jam turned into a creamy, dunk-able mixture that the kids eagerly downed not only on their sticks but also on plain pita bread, leftover tortillas and even *gasp* carrot sticks!

I can't vouch for the carrot pairing, but hey, whatever works, right?

Sweet Cinnamon Twistie Sticks

Makes 10

4 cups flour

½ cup oatmeal

3 tbsp sugar
½ tbsp baking powder
1 tbsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp ground nutmeg
1 ¾ cups milk
2 tbsp melted butter or margarine
1 tsp salt
¼ cup sugar
1 tbsp cinnamon
Water, for brushing dough

1. Preheat the oven to 375F. Grease 2 baking sheets.
2. Put the flour, oatmeal, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon and nutmeg into a bowl and mix well.
3. Add the milk, melted butter and salt.
4. Using a wooden spoon, mix it to make a soft dough that comes away from the sides of the bowl.
5. Flour a countertop well and turn the dough out onto it. Knead for about 10 minutes.
6. Divide dough into 10 pieces, set aside.
7. In a small bowl mix together the 2 tbsp sugar and the cinnamon.
8. One piece at a time, roll dough portions into a long snakes.
9. Brush the snakes with a small amount of water and sprinkle with cinnamon-sugar.
10. Fold each roll in half and twist into a rope. Place on the baking sheets at least 2 inches apart.
11. Bake for 20 minutes, serve warm.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 288.3
Total Fat: 4.3 g
Cholesterol: 9.5 mg
Sodium: 75.3 mg
Total Carbs: 53.1 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.7 g
Protein: 8.6 g
 
Sweet Fruit Dipper 
Makes 16 (two-tablespoon) servings
1 cup low fat cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup sugar
2/3 cup non-fat plain yogurt
1/4 cup all-fruit strawberry jam

1. Beat together cream cheese and sugar until fluffy.
2. Add yogurt and jam, beat well.
3. Store, covered, in the fridge.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 70.2
Total Fat: 2.7 g
Cholesterol: 8.6 mg
Sodium: 53.9 mg
Total Carbs: 9.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 0.1 g
Protein: 2.2 g

Princess For A Week

Guess where I'm headed - as we speak??? Here's a clue:

M-I-C...K-E-Y...M-O-U-S-E!!

Yuppers, trip number 8 to Walt Disney World is in progress! I am SO beyond thrilled (can you tell?), especially since being a "foodie" now I'll be able to really pay attention to the details and flair the staff at the park puts into everything they do. I mean yes, it is a theme park, and they do serve gargantuan smoked turkey legs out of "street carts" (delicious, by the way) and to-die-for cinnamon buns in their bakeries, but they've got insanely talented food and beverage staff in all areas of their parks and hotels too that make sure that every meal from counter service to the fanciest sit-down dinner is the most amazing experience it can be. It's even more special to me this time, since with my list of restrictions being what they are (hello - no oils/high fats/meat, etc... in the USA of all places!) I've been given essentially a crash course in the ways and methods of Disney's special dietary department and restaurant systems. Let me tell you - I have never felt more at ease leaving my diet's control in the hands of others than on this trip. I'm still keeping my fingers crossed for no ill effects (if you have allergies, you'll understand!), but at the same time, I'm keeping my mouth open and camera out!!

Because we're going to be away, this week's been all about using up stuff in the fridge that probably wouldn't be "welcoming" us home by the time we get back. Of course, a lot of that stuff is getting shoved into the freezer, but there are a few things I couldn't resist getting my grubby freshly-washed hands on and throwing into some baked yummies!! This time around, it was a handful of strawberries and some cream cheese we had kicking around, plus some extra "bits" in my pantry I wanted to use up in the form of coloured chocolate wafers. The result? Well, some pretty-in-pink rhubarb bars!

Pink Princess Rhubarb Bars

Makes 24

2 1/2 cups diced rhubarb

1/4 cup sugar

1 cup brown sugar
2 tbsp shortening
1/3 cup low fat cream cheese, softened
1 egg
1 cup fresh (or frozen and thawed) mixed berries, pureed
1/2 tbsp vanilla
1/2 tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 1/3 cups flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 cup almonds, toasted and chopped
1/3 cup white chocolate chips (or chopped coloured "coating chocolate")

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees, line a 9 x 13" pan with parchment paper.
2. Toss rhubarb and white sugar, set aside.
3. Cream brown sugar, shortening and cream cheese.
4. Add egg, berry puree, vanilla and ginger, beating well.
5. In another bowl, whisk together flours and baking soda.
6. Stir into creamed mixture until moistened, then fold in rhubarb, almonds and white chocolate chips.
7. Bake for 50 minutes.
8. Cool completely (ideally, chill) before cutting and serving.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 139.2
Total Fat: 4.2 g
Cholesterol: 11.0 mg
Sodium: 19.7 mg
Total Carbs: 26.6 g
Dietary Fiber: 1.5 g
Protein: 2.9 g

Bear With Me!

I'm trying my hand at this whole "blog redesign" thing - the first in a series of overhauls I want to do (which also includes a recipe index... eek!). Sorry for the dust!

How Delicious!

I was recently *gifted* with a rather large slew of apples. Thanks Marlene! 

And I do mean large. Like, "take these home in two batches because there's too many for you to lift at once" large.

In fact, when I weighed them all out over the course of a week and a half (I've got good turnaround on ingredients, eh?), I came up with no less than forty pounds of end-run, can't-be-sold-even-on-the-discount-cart Red Delicious apples. Battered, bruised, soft and some just too far gone to save, I figured apple pie wouldn't go over well - plus the fact that we still had a pie in the freezer from last October! Why not start with cake, then?? I grabbed my mom's copy of "Germanic Apple Cake" - which calls for 6 big'uns - my tube pan and a knife, then scouted the box to find the 6 fruits with the most integrity left. I knew the bounty would quickly turn into "Apple Week" around here, so I wanted to use recipes that involves as much of them as possible! Which of course, turned into a couple other things I'll be sharing!

So why is this called a Germanic Apple Cake? Good question! I honestly couldn't tell you for sure, since I know for a fact that a) my Mom's family is not German, nor were any of their friends and b) this cake is unlike any other "German Apple Cake" I've seen (and I just spent a good hour getting distracted on Google to figure it out. The closest recipe I've found to my Mom's is the Versunkener Apfelkuchen recipe I found on Epicurious. Considering that it's out of The World of Jewish Desserts, it's a good chance that it is a cake from that region and culture, especially since a good portion of both my parents' friends are Jewish! 

Regardless of where this dessert comes from, it is definitely the type of recipe to make if you have a major glut of apples to use up. The whole recipe is basically more "apple" than "cake" in construction, the batter serving little more than as a glue to stick the chunks together. The handwritten recipe I used did use the same blend of whole wheat, all purpose and barley flours for a base, along with oatmeal, but to my version (since I can't leave things alone!) I added flaxseed meal and used leftover packets of instant apple-cinnamon oats instead of plain rolled.

The cake bakes like a dream in the tube pan (which I prefer to a Bundt for sheer ease of unmoulding!) and even a few days later was incredibly rich and moist. With no eggs or dairy in the cake anyways, it's a simple conversion to a vegan dessert too - using agave nectar (ooh, or maple syrup!) in place of the traditional honey. I would definitely suggest looking out for the barley flour for this cake too, but ground up oats or even more wheat flour would work I'm sure.

Germanic Style Apple Bundt

Serves 16

1/4 cup ground flaxseed

3 packets (105 g) apple-cinnamon instant oatmeal (about 1 1/3 cups rolled oats)

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup packed brown sugar
1/3 cup boiling water
3 tbsp agave nectar (or honey)
2/3 cup canola oil
1 tbsp vanilla
1 tbsp maple extract
1 cup flour
1 cup barley flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tbsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tbsp cinnamon
6 large apples, unpeeled, diced

1. Preheat oven to 350F, grease a 10" tube pan.
2. In a large bowl, combine flaxseed, oatmeal, sugars and boiling water, stirring well. Let stand 10 minutes.
3. Add agave, oil, vanilla and maple extract, mixing well.
4. Stir in flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt and cinnamon, then fold in the apples until well combined.
5. Spoon into the prepared pan, smoothing the top.
6. Bake 85 minutes, tenting the top with foil after 45 minutes.
7. Cool in pan for 40 minutes before turning out onto a rack.

Amount Per Serving
Calories: 316.1
Total Fat: 10.4 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 50.0 mg
Total Carbs: 56.4 g
Dietary Fiber: 5.8 g
Protein: 3.7 g