Cooking: I come by it honestly…
Posted on | December 20, 2008 | 2 Comments
I was going through my photos on my computer, and I found this one:
First of all, what a muffin I was! I mean, really – check me out, working that babuschka scarf. I was fashion-forward even then.
Second of all, for anyone who wonders at the origins of my focus on food, here you have it, caught on camera, at the tender age of 8 years old. The story behind this picture is this: I loved pancakes and bacon for breakfast on Saturdays so much that I took over making them for the whole family. My love of cooking has only spiraled farther out of control since then. Look at me now, I am making vegan chocolate pudding and all kinds of other recipes for chrissakes. And yes, I still love a good stack of pancakes too (although not Hungry Jack).
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Chocolate Pudding
Posted on | December 16, 2008 | 1 Comment
Okay, due to popular demand (or at least one request), I am posting the recipe for my chocolate pudding. Now, for alla y’all dairy-tolerant folks (which approximately only 25% of the world’s adult population, whether you know it or not, according to wikipedia), don’t get all uppity and think this isn’t going to be good. This stuff is the bidness, even though the ingredients are somewhat unconventional.
For anyone who is into raw foods (aka living foods), this recipe is pretty much amongst the usual suspects.
Try it out, y’all, it’s gooood. And there is no guilt that goes along with it. Everything in it (according to the sources you go by) is good for you.
Chocolate Pudding (vegan, raw)
(that’s right, no cows were milked for the purpose of this recipe, and no heat was added to the process)
Ingredients:
1/2 florida avocado
1 T vanilla extract
2-4 T raw agave nectar
2-4 T raw cacao powder (or cocoa powder)
~1/8 t finely ground coffee (decaf or regular)
pinch or two cinnamon
pinch or two allspice
small pinch of salt
Notes about the ingredients:
- Florida avocados are large, smooth-skinned, watery avocados with a very mild flavor. They are not rich, intensely flavored like Hass avocados. They are perfect for making into purees, cold soups, and sauces.
- Raw cacao powder vs. powdered cocoa: raw cacao powder is dried cacao nibs that have been finely ground. Cocoa powder has usually been roasted, and has a deeper flavor, but is cooked. If you going raw, you tend to use cacao in favor over cocoa.
- The coffee and spices: I added these to add depth to the flavor of the chocolate. Like wines, chocolates can have various flavors and nuances depending on where it is from. These items actually make the pudding taste more “chocolately.”
- The salt enhances the sweetness of the recipe. Just take my word for it, okay? It’s true.
Instructions:
Place all items in a blender, and blend until smooth. (God, that was hard, wasn’t it?!)
If you want to checkout more great user-contributed raw/living foods recipes, go to http://www.goneraw.com/, it’s a fantastic resource and a great community.
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Crackers!
Posted on | November 17, 2006 | No Comments
Crackers are my obession right now. Honestly! I make crackers at least 2-3 times a week now. It all started innocently enough when I was in the grocery store satisfying a craving for fresh vegetables. I was all done with my purchases, and ready to go, when I glanced at what the person behind me was buying. My eyes fell upon a package of Margaret’s Artisinal Flatbread. I had an immediate craving for it — it made no sense, but I had to buy some too.
So I got the Chive and Garlic, and opened it and…it was okay. A little stale, and didn’t have the crispness that I had a hankering for. Not to mention that the package was $4.99!!!! I didn’t get the craving satisfied, and I was *not* about to pay another five bucks for something that I am sure I could make myself. So I did a little research on the web to see what I could find on flatbreads and crackers.
Here’s what I found: “flatbread” still seems to mean a flat yeasted bread. “Cracker” seems to mean a thin, crisp “quick” bread. I found a couple of recipes that I thought would make what I wanted, and I gave it a go.
My first try was the Spelt Rosemary Crackers. Daaaaaaannnnngggg! These are *good*. Really. Once you eat these, you will not ever want to buy crackers again.
Spelt Rosemary Crackers
2 cups spelt flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1-2 T. ground flax seeds/flax seed meal
1/2 t. crushed rosemary (dried or fresh is fine)
1/4 cup olive oil
1/2 cup water (add in 2 T. quantities until dough sticks together)
- Mix dry ingredients.
- Add olive oil and mix until mixture resembles corn meal.
- Add in 2 T. quantities until dough sticks together.
- Cover in plastic and let sit in refridgerator for 20 minutes.
- Divide dough into 8 pieces and roll out thin. Place on cookie sheet, sprinkle lightly with coarse sea salt and bake in oven at 325 degrees for about 10 minutes. Turn the crackers over and bake another 5 until golden.
- Makes 8 crackers/flatbreads.
Kamut Crackers and Buckwheat Crackers
Okay, so I cheated on these. I had these Arrowhead Mill Pancake Mixes lying around, and I really wanted (for some reason) to try buckwheat crackers. So I used the Buckwheat Pancake Mix, because I didn’t have any buckwheat flour.
Let me tell you that I simply cannot live without these buckwheat sesame crackers that I have made from this mix right now. If I don’t have them every single day I will surely perish and wither away into nothing. Well, it might not be that bad, but these for me are like coffee is for other people. Seriously.
2 cups Arrowhead Mills either Buckwheat Pancake Mix or Kamut Pancake Mix
2 T. sesame seeds
1/4 t. baking powder
4 T. olive oil
~8 T. water (add in 2 T. until dough sticks together)
Same directions as above.
Enjoy the crackers! Let me know how they turn out.
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About
Denise R. Jacobs is an author, speaker, presenter, and educator on many things web.
